Refreshing Our Spirits With Scripture

 7.24- Joy is not the absence of suffering, but the presence of God. James 1. 1  [ a ] James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes who are  [ b ] dispersed abroad: Greetings. 2  Consider it all joy, my brothers  and sisters , when you encounter various  [ c ] trials,   3  knowing that the testing of your faith produces  [ d ] endurance.   4  And let  [ e ] endurance have  its  perfect  [ f ] result, so that you may be  [ g ] perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 5  But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and  [ h ] without reproach, and it will be given to him.   6  But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.   7  For that person ought not to expect that he...

 7.23- Our creator and designer is truly amazing. Have you seen the latest pictures of the best telescope? Wow! A famous author, Anne Lamott, said that basically from her point of view there were three basic prayers. Help. Thank you. Wow! Yesterday was one of those days for me with the creator when I saw the pictures from the James Webb telescope. Sheila pointed out to me that the big moon was shining for us last night. I not only saw the universe in a new way yesterday, but I saw four horses and a squirrel showing their beauty to me yesterday. Wow! It also is a help day always when you live in my lame, slow walking body. I'm not complaining because I can walk and move about and use both of my legs to accomplish things I need to get done. God me when I feel weak and overwhelmed it is Help. But then again I am supported and encouraged constantly by many members of my family and friendship circle as well as the support of my creator and so I say. Thank You. Romans 1. 18  F...

 7.22- Reginald Dewayne Betts was convicted of carjacking at 16 and spent 9 years in adult prison as a felon though no one was physically hurt in the carjacking. He got out of prison and became an author and manager of a bookstore. Eventually, he graduated from Yale law school and now works to have good books placed in prison. His words from an interview on 60 Minutes moved me. He said to his family and friends who had written him in prison and kept believing in him, "I've done all this not to make you love me but to be like I was worthy of the love you gave me." 1 Timothy 1 12  I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service,   13  even though I was previously a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief;   14  and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and...

 7.21- Prayer is what Jesus relied on in His hard moments. He had come to know His Father's love prior to entering this planet down at that barn in Bethlehem. By age twelve He was asking the religious teachers some important questions. Then at 30 He began His ministry by turning water into wine at a wedding. Then when He ran into people who were blind, lame, poor or deaf He showed them His Fathers love. Then after 3 years of ministry along with the carpenter work of making custom yokes, He got nearly finished with His work He said in prayer. "Father, I pray that I can finish my work in a good way. .. I do not pray that you take these disciples out of the world, they are in the world but not of the world...I pray that you keep them from the evil one... I pray that they may know the love that you had for me before the world began." This life was the life that our Father in heaven said was the life that pleased Him. If you want a life that is filled with grace and extend...

 7.20- Sunday morning. A good time to remember that death is not the final chapter of our life story. Jesus is the only religious leader in the world whose tomb is empty. He had one man who wanted to be His enemy, Saul who became the apostle, Paul. Jesus recruited him to move from being a violent enemy of Jesus' followers to being a gentle persuader of people and writing nearly half of the New Testament. Many were written from inside prison walls but educated men and women for spiritual for freedom. Nine years ago today Sheila, Jared and I drove out of Denver to start a new phase of our ministry. Writing, prayer and teaching by Zoom and phone. All of you friends online are appreciated by us in this new phase. Thank you all for your encouragement. Philippians 3. 12  Not that I have already  [ g ] grasped  it all  or have already become perfect, but I press on if I may also take hold of that  [ h ] for which I was even taken hold of by ...

 7.19- I came from the Wishard and Woods family from Fannin County Texas. We have had a family tradition of trying to love and build up the community where we live. Silver city. Bartley Woods, Oak Ridge. Bugtussle. Dial. Ladonia. Honey Grove, Fannin County, Texas, The USA and the whole world as we had opportunity. We had jobs to provide for ourselves and our families. Farmers, ranchers, butchers, grocers, teachers, administrators, counselors, coaches, ministers, missionaries, nurses, accountants, engineers, soldiers, veterinaries, EMTs and carpenters. In each of these career fields the core identity was the relationship we had with our Teacher, Savior and Friend, Jesus. One of our favorite songs was Amazing Grace and What a Friend we have in Jesus. A common theme of Jesus is to be a prayerful blessing to others. Our beloved family and friends. Our co-workers in the work of building up the community where we live. Our enemies who have a different point of view than our own. In all t...

 7.18- Do you believe you are supposed to be healed from something you are facing? That sets your sails in a certain direction. My folks had a saying about what they believed they were going to do. "Lord willing." What we know is that God is always willing to give His love and support to those who turn to Him regardless of the health and healing situation. Mark 11. 20  As they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots  up .   21  And being reminded, Peter *said to Him, “Rabbi, look, the fig tree that You cursed has withered.”   22  And Jesus answered and *said to them,  “Have faith in God.   23  Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be  granted  to him.   24  Therefore, I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that ...