Refreshing Our Spirits With Scripture

 8.4- "I don't believe in the sun because I see it but because by it I see everything." C. S. Lewis Psalm 19 19  The heavens tell of the glory of God; And their expanse declares the work of His hands. 2  Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge. 3  There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard. 4  Their  [ a ] line has gone out into all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them He has placed a tent for the sun, 5  Which is like a groom coming out of his chamber; It rejoices like a strong person to run his course. 6  Its rising is from  [ b ] one end of the heavens, And its circuit to the  [ c ] other end of them; And there is nothing hidden from its heat. 7  The Law of the  Lord  is  [ d ] perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the  Lord  is sure, making wise the simple. 8  The precepts o...

 8.3- "Nothing will cure political ambition but embalming fluid." A Tennesee Writer Arrogance kills intimacy and lack of intimacy kills relationships. James 3. 13  Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.   14  But if you have bitter jealousy and  [ k ] selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and  so  lie against the truth.   15  This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly,  [ l ] natural, demonic.   16  For where jealousy and  [ m ] selfish ambition exist,  [ n ] there is disorder and every evil thing.   17  But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle,  [ o ] reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits,  [ p ] impartial, free of hypocrisy.   18  And the fruit of righteousness is sown in...

 8.2- When my daughter got into the banking industry and had to carefully balance her cash drawer every day I should have had an understanding that she was very accurate with the details about money. After a few years in the banking industry she moved on to be a an accounting assistant with a major media company in downtown Denver in then Atlanta. I still wondered about the connection between her perfectly ordered shoe closet and her ability to properly organized balance sheets. Then she went on to get her accounting degree and persisted in developing her career while raising her sons and volunteering at the school athletic program at Wheeler High School. She worked most effectively with specialty resturant companies who served customers looking for a good time in a good atmosphere with fun and fine food. That fun part is Amy's strong suit. She can make any gathering more festive and fun. Yesterday she reached a goal that she had been working on for about twenty years in the ac...

 8.1- The spread of kindness is a way to comfort people. Nadia Bolz-Weber, a Christian writer, was grieving the death of her nephew on a plane. A fellow passenger quietly handed her a small package of tissues. This gesture, without any conversation, impacted her greatly. On a later flight, Nadia saw a fellow passenger was crying and gave her a package of tissues. This sensitivity led to a long conversation for shared grief and mutual prayers. The kindness of love is a positive yeast that helps make our world a better place. 2 Corinthians 1 3  Blessed  be  the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,   4  who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in  [ b ] any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.   5  For just as the sufferings of Christ are  [ c ] ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abunda...

 7.31- The teacher is true North on the compass. In the journey of life don't try to figure out all the steps before you move. Trust the one who holds the map and your life in his hands. If the tomb of our teacher is not empty then his teaching is a miserable teaching, but if it is empty, it is of infinite importance. 1 Corinthians 15 12  Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?   13  But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised;   14  and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, your faith also is in vain.   15  Moreover, we are even found  to be  false witnesses of God, because we testified  [ g ] against God that He raised  [ h ] Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised.   16  For if the dead are not raised, then not even Chri...

 7.30- The ability to suffer without being destroyed by it becomes a source of encouragement for others to live boldly in spite of fear. Exodus 3 3  Now Moses was pasturing the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the  [ at ] west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.   2  Then the angel of the  Lord  appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of  [ au ] a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not being consumed.   3  So Moses said, “I must turn aside and see this  [ av ] marvelous sight, why the bush is not burning up!”   4  When the  Lord  saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”   5  Then He said, “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for ...

 7.29- A great teacher was explaining to his economics class in school that it is good to learn the methods to run good business from any source. All truth is God's truth. But you cannot work with their purposes and priorities. We want to put faith before our business success and they may or may not. We fail at this and must find our life in God's Amzing Grace but our standards for ourselves remains the same. We cannot place money before people and some of them and some business people don't care about ethics. Just win. Win any cost. Win regardless of who gets chewed up by the machine. No. We can adopt their good practices but not their priorities. We can adopt their good business practices but if the core of their heart and soul is money outcomes then no. We cannot use the guilt manipulation of people for our own selfish ends. That is not pure religion it is a "cult". Regardless of the name on the building whether an auto dealership, multilevel headquarters poli...