Refreshing Our Spirits With Scripture

Larry Wishard’s Intensive Daily Bible Reading and Meditation Plan If you have ten minutes read Jesus from the Gospels. If you have thirty minutes read Jesus, The New Testament. If you have forty minutes read Jesus, The New Testament and Psalms. If you have an hour read all the readings. Think of this time an an intimate conversation with your Father in Heaven. Listen for something of His love He wants to pour into your heart today.   Date___1/26/13__________   Read A Chapter of Jesus Today: _Mt. 26._________________ Read A Chapter from Acts Today:_Acts 26.________________ Read A Chapter from The New Testament Books Today__1 Cor. 12._________________ Read A Paragraph from The Pastoral Epistles Today__2 Tim. 4.19-22____________________ Read A Verse About the Beauty of the Word of God Today__Psalm 119.26______________ Read A Couple of Chapters from the Old Testament Today__Genesis 49,50______________ Read A Chapter from Wisdom L...

Intensive Daily Bible Reading If you have ten minutes, read Jesus from the Gospels. (Read prayerfully seeking guidance from Jesus for your personal situation.) If you have thirty minutes, read Jesus and the New Testament selection. If you have forty minutes, read Jesus, the New Testament and a Psalm selection. If you have an hour, read all the readings. Think of this time as an intimate conversation with your Father in Heaven. Listen for something of His love from His heart to yours today. Date:1/25/13 Read a chapter of Jesus : Matthew 25 Read a chapter from Acts:25 Read a chapter from this New Testament Book:1 Corinthians 11 Read a paragraph from a Holy Spirit inspired older teacher to a younger teacher:2 Timothy 4.9-18 Read a verse about the beauty of the Word of God:Psalm 119.25 Read a couple of chapters from the Old Testament:Genesis 47,48 Read a chapter from Wisdom Literature:Job 25. Read a Psalm:22 Read a few verses from Proverbs:25.1-3 ...

You are not alone.  The writer of Psalm 22. 1-2 God, God . . . my God! Why did you dump me miles from nowhere? Doubled up with pain, I call to God all the day long. No answer. Nothing. I keep at it all night, tossing and turning. Jesus felt God had forsaken Him. Matthew 27. 45-46 From noon to three, the whole earth was dark. Around midafternoon Jesus groaned out of the depths, crying loudly, “ Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? ” which means, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” But in reality  God stands with us as His children, but allows us to growth through challenges 2 Timothy 4. 16-18 At my preliminary hearing no one stood by me. They all ran like scared rabbits. But it doesn’t matter—the Master stood by me and helped me spread the Message loud and clear to those who had never heard it. I was snatched from the jaws of the lion! God’s looking after me, keeping me safe in the kingdom of heaven. All praise to him, praise forever! Oh, yes! ...

Probably if you're reading this you believe in God.  Jesus revealed several things about the beautiful things in this world, they can become a pile of rubble. The thing to do is not to worry but focus on God. Forget about self-confidence; it’s useless. Cultivate God-confidence. 13 No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it. 14 So, my very dear friends, when you see people reducing God to something they can use or control, get out of their company as fast as you can. 1 Corinthians 10.12-14 We want to live well, but our foremost efforts should be to help others live well. 1 Corinthians 10.27 keep your eye on what you’re doing; accept the hard times along with the good; keep the Message alive; 2 Timothy 4.7 The Message Intensive Daily Bible Reading ...

  Jesus said, “You’re hopeless! What arrogant stupidity! You say, ‘If someone makes a promise with his fingers crossed, that’s nothing; but if he swears with his hand on the Bible, that’s serious.’ What ignorance! Does the leather on the Bible carry more weight than the skin on your hands? And what about this piece of trivia: ‘If you shake hands on a promise, that’s nothing; but if you raise your hand that God is your witness, that’s serious’? What ridiculous hairsplitting! What difference does it make whether you shake hands or raise hands? A promise is a promise. What difference does it make if you make your promise inside or outside a house of worship? A promise is a promise. God is present, watching and holding you to account regardless. Matthew 23.16-22, The Message Intensive Daily Bible Reading If you have ten minutes, read Jesus from the Gospels. (Read prayerfully seeking guidance from Jesus for your personal situation.) If you have thirty minutes, read ...

"I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear." Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.   Intensive Daily Bible Reading If you have ten minutes, read Jesus from the Gospels. (Read prayerfully seeking guidance from Jesus for your personal situation.) If you have thirty minutes, read Jesus and the New Testament selection. If you have forty minutes, read Jesus, the New Testament and a Psalm selection. If you have an hour, read all the readings. Think of this time as an intimate conversation with your Father in Heaven. Listen for something of His love from His heart to yours today.   Date:1/21/13   Read a chapter of Jesus : Matthew 21. Read a chapter from Acts:21 Read a chapter from this New Testament Book:1 Corinthians 6,7 Read a paragraph from a Holy Spirit inspired older teacher to a younger teacher:2 Timothy 2.1-13 Read a verse about the beauty of the Word of God:Psalm 119.21 Read a couple of chapters...

There are some coaches and athletes who have the attitude that if you're not cheating you're not trying hard enough.  I like what is written in The Message in 2 Timothy 2.6,7 "An athlete who refuses to play by the rules will never get anywhere." Intensive Daily Bible Reading If you have ten minutes, read Jesus from the Gospels. (Read prayerfully seeking guidance from Jesus for your personal situation.) If you have thirty minutes, read Jesus and the New Testament selection. If you have forty minutes, read Jesus, the New Testament and a Psalm selection. If you have an hour, read all the readings. Think of this time as an intimate conversation with your Father in Heaven. Listen for something of His love from His heart to yours today.   Date:1/20/13   Read a chapter of Jesus : Matthew 20. Read a chapter from Acts:20 Read a chapter from this New Testament Book:1 Corinthians 5. Read a paragraph from a Holy Spirit inspired ol...

In Honor of MLK Day: T. S. Elliot said, "The last temptation is the greatest treason: To do the right deed for the wrong reason." Are the disciples of Jesus around the world too comfortable today? Are we too passionate? Are we too passionate about the wrong things? What is the quickest way to get Christians committed to Jesus for the right reasons?   Letter From A Birmingham Jail Whenever the early Christians entered a town, the people in power became disturbed and immediately sought to convict the Christians for being "disturbers of the peace" and "outside agitators."' But the Christians pressed on, in the conviction that they were "a colony of heaven," called to obey God rather than man. Small in number, they were big in commitment. They were too God-intoxicated to be "astronomically intimidated." By their effort and example they brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide and ...

  Impuslive actions with reflection.  Reflection without action. We have so many opportunities for healing the spirit of people who have almost lost hope in our world.  We can extend mercy and support to our neighbors if we keep our eyes open.  Someone who has lost a beloved son our daugther will cross your path this month.  Someone who has grown up without a father in their life will be near you this week. Jesus' prayer approached God as "our heavenly Father" but what does that mean to people whose Father was always absent and when not absent, engaged in exasperating the child.  This morning I want to remind myself to be the kind of father to my children and grandchildren who reflect something positive about "our Father in heaven".  Fathers can be examples of an ethical life.  Children can see in their mom and dad how to live an honorably. No murder. No Adultery. No stealing.  No lies.  Jesus challenges us all to rid ou...

God is the potter.  We are the clay.  This is the vision of the prophet Jeremiah in chapter 18.  If we allow ourselves to be molded and shaped according to God's vision for our example, it can be a good one.  If, on the other hand, if we resist, then it can be an example to other people of how off track people can get and how messed up humans can be. The hopeful thought is that if you are reading this, you are still being shaped by keeping a mind open to change.  If you're seeking Jesus as your example then this can turn out to be truly Amazing.  The man who wrote the song, "Amazing Grace" had been an immoral slave trader prior to changing to follow Jesus.  On his death bed someone ask him his deepest thoughts.  He said, "I am a great sinner, but I have a great Savior." Intensive Daily Bible Reading If you have ten minutes, read Jesus from the Gospels. (Read prayerfully seeking guidance from Jesus for your personal situation.) If yo...

"Inch by inch, everything's a cinch." From an earthly persective that is the only way to get things done.  But what if we took God seriously.  If we did we would pray prayers that ask for things beyond our imagination to be done by God.  We would trust God to help us to tackle anything.  This year let's determine to keep our hopefulness rooted not in what we can do but in what God can do. Intensive Daily Bible Reading If you have ten minutes, read Jesus from the Gospels. (Read prayerfully seeking guidance from Jesus for your personal situation.) If you have thirty minutes, read Jesus and the New Testament selection. If you have forty minutes, read Jesus, the New Testament and a Psalm selection. If you have an hour, read all the readings. Think of this time as an intimate conversation with your Father in Heaven. Listen for something of His love from His heart to yours today.   Date:1/16/03   Read a chapter of Jesus ...

Most of the time our worry comes not from a shortage of bread, but a shortage of faith in our Father in heaven.  I like how Eugene Peterson translated Matthew 16.7-12 Thinking he was scolding them for forgetting bread, they discussed in whispers what to do. Jesus knew what they were doing and said, “Why all these worried whispers about forgetting the bread? Runt believers! Haven’t you caught on yet? Don’t you remember the five loaves of bread and the five thousand people, and how many baskets of fragments you picked up? Or the seven loaves that fed four thousand, and how many baskets of leftovers you collected? Haven’t you realized yet that bread isn’t the problem? The problem is yeast, Pharisee-Sadducee yeast.” Then they got it: that he wasn’t concerned about eating, but teaching—the Pharisee-Sadducee kind of teaching.   Intensive Daily Bible Reading If you have ten minutes, read Jesus from the Gospels. (Read prayerfully seeking guidance from Jesus for your p...

Depressed.   Downcast. Paraplegic. Blind. Mute.   Depressed.   Obsessed.   Mentally ill.   Since we have chosen to follow Jesus, these are the people we work with. It’s been said that a crisis is a terrible thing to waste.   This certainly seems to apply when it comes to spiritual growth.   They may cry out to God and they may reach out and open their hearts to us in this moment.   In that moment all we may have to give them is God’s mercy and love but with this immediately the scene is changed. They are changed and we are changed.   People who are hungry or thirsty or in need of something material are our teachers.   They have a need. We have something material to give.   We give it to God.   He gives the Spirit of His Son Jesus to the body of people around us and to us.   The best answer may be “yes” or may be “no”. We then thank God for what we have.   We distribute it to the best of our ability.   Aga...