Refreshing Our Spirits With Scripture

5.18- Jesus and the Old Testament Scripture.  Jesus had been taught the Old Testament in His home I suspect.  He heard Isaiah read in the synagogue.   I would like to view the Old Testament Scriptures in the way Jesus did.  So what if the world mocks and makes fun of us who love the Scripture.  It doesn't matter.  I will not ever be ashamed of the words of Jesus. Period.  End stop. Matthew 1. 18  This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about [ d ] : His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19  Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet [ e ] did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20  But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because ...

5.17- "Answer to the question, do I ever think of quitting? Absolutely not. Not for 1 second. I’m in this for Jesus. He’s my keeper. My sustainer. He’s my reason. He’s all my reasons. I’ll stop & drop at the end of that finish line when I see His glorious face. Not 1 second earlier." Beth Moore 2 Corinthians 4. 16  Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. Awaiting the New Body 5  For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2  Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, 3  because when we a...

5.16- "Reality is, there are many things people really can stop us from doing. Opportunities we will truly never get. But do you realize no one can stop you from doing the most powerful thing in human capacity? No one can stop you from praying. No one can sew up the veil that was torn." Beth Moore Luke 18. 18  Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2  He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3  And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ 4  “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5  yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’” 6  And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7  And ...

5.15- I wish I could turn over some tables. What would you do? If you sat across from a school teacher who described the fear in his students when they have a lock down drill at the high school where he works? What would you do if a buddy who plays golf after breakfast with you says that his grand kids don’t have the same security in their private school that he used to have in his public school? What would you do if your news told you on 4.20.99 that two gunman were killing 12 teenagers and a teacher? Would you stay in your own group, clique, silo of thought, political party, church denomination, behind your gated community? Would you stay quiet? Or would you move out into the lost, broken world and engage in telling it the good news that laying down your life as a ransom for others is better than being a victim? Today, 5.9.19, I was out where a woman tells me that her 74 year old mother fell, hit her head and severely injured her hip and cannot walk. She tells m...

5.14- One of the reasons I love Jesus is that He honors honesty and boldness in dreams for our lives. Do not let negative people who do not know you reduce your best goals. I am enjoying reading Sheila's Christmas gift from our daughter, Amy. The biography of Michelle Obama. A great book and important reading for any young person or even an older one. She tells of going to the college advisor assigned to counsel her. She said she wanted to go to Princeton where her older brother was attending. The counselor who didn’t know her at all except through looking at her grades which were good, but not sensational said, “You are not Princeton material.” Her parents had always encouraged her to go for whatever she wanted in life. She applied to Princeton and some other schools. She wrote a letter describing her dad’s MS and how it had affected her and the family. She asked her principal who knew her quite well to write a letter of recommendation. She was accep...

5.13- Living in an atmosphere of grace, mercy and peace free us to not need to work against other groups. Us versus them dominates the lives of so many religious fanatics who live on hate.  Any other group then their own they feel they must destroy.  Jesus was not like this.  He taught His disciples a better way. Do not focus on hurting other groups.  Focus on helping God and those in need.  Mark 9. 38  “Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.” 39  “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, 40  for whoever is not against us is for us. 41  Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward.

5.12- Jesus came to call you and me. You may say, "Hold on, maybe so you, but He didn't come to call me because I am not a good enough person." I would add, that neither am I. It is that Jesus came to this earth to call people who are spiritually sick and bring them to health.  Spiritual health, emotional health and sometimes even physical health. Jesus hung out with sinners because He came to establish and extend to all of us a grace, mercy and peace atmosphere. Mark 2. 13  Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. 14  As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him. 15  While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16  When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eat...