Refreshing Our Spirits With Scripture

7.27-A new attitude about our enemies Psalm 17. 8  Keep me as the apple of your eye;      hide me in the shadow of your wings 9  from the wicked who are out to destroy me,       from my mortal enemies who surround me. 10  They close up their callous hearts,      and their mouths speak with arrogance. 11  They have tracked me down, they now surround me,      with eyes alert, to throw me to the ground. 12  They are like a lion hungry for prey,      like a fierce lion crouching in cover. 13  Rise up, Lord , confront them, bring them down;      with your sword rescue me from the wicked. 14  By your hand save me from such people, Lord ,      from those of this world whose reward is in this life. May what you have stored up for the wicked fill their bellies;      may their children gorge th...

7.26- Perfect justice and perfect righteousness are difficult concepts for us to grasp. God is holy.  When it comes to sin and evil it is necessary for Him to make sure that the consequences of evil are consistently carried out as a teaching for humans to learn how to live well. He has set up a universe with humans having free will choice.  That choice means to choose love or fear.  That choice means to obey God or rebel against Him.  With the rebellion and disobedience come negative outcomes.  This is how we learn. God is love.  He wants all people to be saved and redeemed from the consequences of their sinful choices.  The Bible teaches that all men are sinners and yet God is love and wants to save them. In the Bible we learn that the path to forgiveness involves the shedding of blood of the innocent to pay for the sin of the guilty. They offered lambs blood to atone for their sins in the Old Testament, but it was not effective because th...

7.25- There are times when we get jealous of someone's generosity to others. Matthew 20. 20  “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2  He agreed to pay them a denarius [ a ] for the day and sent them into his vineyard. 3  “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4  He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ 5  So they went. “He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. 6  About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’ 7  “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. “He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’ 8  “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the...

7.24- The Lord is the Helper of the Weak Do you feel weak? It is in times of weakness that we are most aware of God's presence in our lives. . Mark 2:17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” 2 Chronicles 14. 11  Then Asa called to the Lord his God and said, “ Lord , there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. Lord , you are our God; do not let mere mortals prevail against you.”   2 Corinthians 12. 8  Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9  But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weak...

7.23- Six years ago we rolled into Fort Worth and for the first time in nearly forty years we were looking for a church near our home to get into the habit of meeting together with for congregational worship. We picked the Hills church in North Richland Hills and have been very happy there. What we were looking for. 1. A church love God and each other. 2. They love strangers. 3. They love Scripture and know its power. 4. They know the need to focus on Good news. 5. They know and talk often of their mission. 6. They love to sings songs of praise. 7. They love their leaders, both volunteer and staff. 8. They are not wasteful of resources. 9. They are transparent with finances. 10. They walk with Jesus and enjoy their life together. John 13. 34  “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” 1 Corinthians 13. 13...

7.22- 1 Timothy 6. 6  All who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their masters worthy of full respect, so that God’s name and our teaching may not be slandered. 2  Those who have believing masters should not show them disrespect just because they are fellow believers. Instead, they should serve them even better because their masters are dear to them as fellow believers and are devoted to the welfare [ a ] of their slaves.

7.21- 2 Thessalonians 3. 6  In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching [ a ] you received from us. 7  For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, 8  nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. 9  We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate. 10  For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”