Refreshing Our Spirits With Scripture

1.5- Does God know you? Jesus spoke of people whom God did not know. Matthew 7. 21  “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter . 22  Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many [ n ] miracles?’ 23  And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness .’ Jesus knocks on the door of our heart, but we much be the one to open it. Revelation 3. 14  “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the [ k ] Beginning of the creation of God, says this: 15  ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. 16  So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will [ l ] spit you out of My mouth. 17  Because you say...

1.4- The nature of God is love. God is love. 1 John 4. 7  Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is [ a ] born of God and knows God. 8  The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9  By this the love of God was manifested [ b ] in us, that God has sent His [ c ] only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 10  I n this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11  Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12  No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. 13  By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14  We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. 15  Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides ...

1.3- It is important to remember our job is not to judge people, but the teach them the good news and help them to get to know God. Matthew 7. 7  “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. 2  For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and [ a ] by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. 3  Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4  Or how [ b ] can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? 5  You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. Romans 2. 2  Therefore you have no excuse, [ a ] everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. 2  And we know that the judgment of God [ b ] rightly falls upon those who pr...

1.2- It's a New Year. Put the past in the past. Move on. Philippians 3. 12  Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on [ h ] so that I may lay hold of that [ i ] for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. 13  Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do : forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14  I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15  Let us therefore, as many as are [ j ] perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you; 16  however, let us keep [ k ] living by that same standard to which we have attained.

1.1- God wants to provide for His children all of what we need and much of what we want. We need a Savior and He sent Jesus, His Son, to be born in Bethlehem. We need Immanuel, God with us. We need grace, mercy and peace. Grace is getting what we don’t deserve. Mercy is not getting what we do deserve. Peace is what comes into our hearts as we have received into our hearts what flows out of God’s heart into us, His children. He had planned from the foundation of the world that His Son would die and be resurrected through the power of the Holy Spirit. This is good news, God sends us grace, mercy and peace through His Holy Spirit to spread this good news all over the world.   Beginning at Jerusalem, but extending all over the world to all people and all nations. This good news of Jesus Christ as our Savior came to America with the arrival of the Pilgrims.  Then down to Texas and one of the groups that met first there in 1879 continues today, The...

12.31 You are strong. You have been weak, but today you are strong in God's strength. Matthew 5.3 3  “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule. The Message Colin O'brady crossing Anartica said he finished by telling himself that he was strong.   The truth is that human beings can be awful. Malachi 3. 5  “Yes, I’m on my way to visit you with Judgment. I’ll present compelling evidence against sorcerers, adulterers, liars, those who exploit workers, those who take advantage of widows and orphans, those who are inhospitable to the homeless—anyone and everyone who doesn’t honor me.” A Message from God -of-the-Angel-Armies. Titus 1.  10-16  For there are a lot of rebels out there, full of loose, confusing, and deceiving talk. Those who were brought up religious and ought to know better are the worst. They’ve got to be shut up. They’re disrupting entire families with their ...

12.30- About 15 locations for our family table with Jesus.  We gathered around a table and ate some food and normally had some meat and bread.  We would thank God in the name of Jesus Christ for the food.  His presence was experienced as we talked over the good things and the hard things we were going through.  The family love was so normal and regular as breathing.  For many years it was taken for granted.  Then when we experienced loss from that table we came to appreciate the family table more. Mom left in 2003 and dad a year later in 2004. Sheila's mom, Gladys Self, left in 2007 and Ralph in 2011. People we had been at the table with many times, but now at the table with Jesus in heaven we believe. If you are a follower of Jesus and enjoyed a meal with your loved ones yesterday or today, do not take it for granted.  John 21. 21  1-3  After this, Jesus appeared again to the disciples, this time at the Tiberias Sea (the Sea o...