Refreshing Our Spirits With Scripture

 9.20- 7 Blunders of the World That Lead to Violence  Wealth without Work Pleasure without Conscience Knowledge without Character Commerce without Morality Science without Humanity Worship without Sacrifice Politics without Principle ~ Mahatma Gandhi Matthew 7. 24  “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and [ o ] acts on them, [ p ] may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25  And the rain fell, and the [ q ] floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. 26  Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not [ r ] act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27  The rain fell, and the [ s ] floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”  

 9.19-   A Treasure to be Shared II Corinthians 4:1-7 Bill Crowder In March 1974, Chinese farmers were digging a well when they made a surprising discovery. Buried under the dry ground of central China was the Terracotta Army – life-size terracotta sculptures that dated back to the third century BC. In this extraordinary find were some 8,000 soldiers, 150 cavalry horses, and 130 chariots drawn by 520 horses. The Terracotta Army has become one of the most popular tourist sites in China, attracting over a million visitors annually. This amazing treasure lay hidden centuries but is now being shared with the world. The apostle Paul wrote that followers of Christ have a treasure inside them that is to be shared with the world: “We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure” (2 Corinthians 4:7 NLT). The treasure inside us is the message of Christ and His love. ...

 9.18-   The Restoration Business Philippians 3:1-8 Dennis Fisher Adam Minter is in the junk business. The son of a junkyard owner, he circles the globe researching junk. In his book Junkyard Planet, he chronicles the multibillion-dollar industry of waste recycling. He notes that entrepreneurs around the world devote themselves to locating discarded materials such as copper wire, dirty rags, and plastics and repurposing them to make something new and useful. After the apostle Paul turned his life over to the Savior, he realized his own achievements and abilities amounted to little more than trash. But Jesus transformed it all into something new and useful. Paul said, “Whatever were gains to me I now consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I my gain Christ” (Philippians 3:7-8). Having been trained in Jewish religious law, he had ...

 9.17-   Heavy load shaking.   2020. Covid 19. Financial losses and job losses in many industries around the world. Racial strife and tensions. Political division and hatred. Moral failure of religious leaders and political leaders. What is next? Locusts. My washing machine. A heavy load. A light load. My washing machine is about to shake itself into destruction. I get down on my knees with my pink foam knee pad. I get the tools I need. I make adjustments to the foot pads. The heavy load made a difference. With a light load it didn’t shake. With a heavy load it seemed to shake the washing machine and the house. I was taught to set things so that it can handle the heavy load or the light load. Sheila and I have had some heavy load years, 1969-72. Moved jobs and houses every year or two. Hard financial set backs. Heavy load shaking.   1975 we lost twins in a miscarriage. One of our favorite uncles died suddenly of a heart attack on the same day. Heavy...

 9.16- People who thought we thought we could trust will disappoint us. Leaders rise and fall, come and go. God’s word remains. I heard a friend of mine say yesterday, "I am no role model. If you have put me as your example in life you are aiming too low." Make Jesus your example and the one you imitate." We constantly hear of some national religious leader who has fallen down. They will be exposed for their immorality or their financial mismanagement. I don't believe we should trust our lives over to religious leaders. Trust only God and His living word, Jesus Christ.   Matthew 7. 15  “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16  You will [ k ] know them by their fruits. [ l ] Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17  So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18  A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree ...

 9.15-   Think about what you really, really want. Ask Jesus to give you this. Keep up the request until you change your mind or He gives it to you. Thank Him for it. Tell others what Jesus' mercy has extended to you. Repeat.   Luke 18. 18  Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, 2  saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. 3  There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘ [ a ] Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ 4  For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, 5  yet because this widow bothers me, I will [ b ] give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will [ c ] wear me out.’” 6  And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge *said; 7  now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Hi...

 9.14- About 3,000 years ago there was a person who knew a bit about God and His ways who wrote, “Cast your anxiety on God because He cares for you.” Then a 1,000 years later another man who was an apprentice of Jesus quoted these words to another group of people, but they needed to be reminded of the same thing, “Cast your anxiety on God because He cares for you.” God is presented by Jesus as a Father who was the happiest being in the universe. God has created humans with free will which means that His ways are not forced on people. People come to God based on their own choices. Be sure to know that God wants to bring happiness to those who leave a life of self destruction and move back into the house of love. Jesus told a story about the prodigal son who returned home and the Father said, “Quickly.” Get the best robe. Get the family ring. Get the BBQ fired up. We are going to have a party. This my son has chosen life. If you want to live a heavenly lifestyle cast all you...