Refreshing Our Spirits With Scripture

6.7 The father of a loving home. He welcomes all kind of people to be in his circle of concern. He is concerned about the lost sheep. He rejoices when he finds the lost sheep. He rejoices when he finds lost money. He rejoices especially when he finds his lost son.   He is willing to give a certain amount of freedom to his children.   Maybe an astonishing amount of freedom at times.   Then he prays and looks for the return and keeps the family going.   He makes sure the family business keeps going.   He makes sure the provisions of food and drink and music for a joyful home are available.   He tries to preserve the resources of the family for the best uses and limits the waste of money.   He is anxious to reconnect with wayward sons and daughters who want to come home to the family and the family way of life.   He wants to draw the off track, self-righteous folks into a better understanding of his love. Larry Wishard 6.2.17 ...

6.6- People who love Jesus must also love the poor.  Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor."  Jesus instructed the rich to give to the poor.  Jesus cared deeply for the poor and said that they represented him personally.  When you give to the poor to meet their real needs you are meeting the needs of Jesus himself. People who view their home as God’s home when others need it are indeed wise and blessed. When a person is ready to change and get on the page with God then they are honest with themselves and others as they can be.    We must admit that we are selfish, but with repentance we are ready to surrender the control of our lives and our things to God.   He instructs over and over for us to be generous with the poor.    Being on the page with Jesus means that we refuse to cheat anyone and if we have found we have cheated anyone we are ready to pay it back and even more. This is what salvation with Jesus looks like.   Hos...

6.5- We are persistent in prayer regardless of the immediate challenge we are under. Psalm 119. 150  Those who devise wicked schemes are near,      but they are far from your law. Lately, I have been tempted by the evil one to be negative, judgmental, selfish, harsh and unkind.  I have sought forgiveness from God.  My story is one of being a child of God purely by His grace and mercy. 2 Corinthians 2. 5  If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you to some extent—not to put it too severely. 6  The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient. 7  Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8  I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. 9  Another reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. 10  Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And wh...

6.4.17 My prayers go out today to the people who have lost their lives in England both in Manchester and London. Four policemen were injured. On off duty. On BBC there was an interview where I saw the mother of a man, Daniel, 22, who had some profound remarks. He who was in a bar and went outside for a smoke. One of the attackers took a knife and cut him in the belly from the front all the way to his back and screamed. “This is for my family. This is for Islam.” There were people who helped him with a tourniquet and the police carried him to help. She said, “These attacks are absolutely senseless. These people saying their doing it in the name of God. That’s an absolute joke. The first commandment is ‘Thou shalt not kill. All faiths share that belief. If it wasn’t that they would find some other excuse. They are callous. They are barbaric. They are absolutely cowards. We will carry on as normal… we must carry on. If we…play this their way then they’ve ...

6.4-The Importance of Love The sign of Jesus' followers is their love for one another. 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. 4  Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8  Love never fails.

6.3 Thankful that Matt Dabbs reported on a study of ministers who were very satisfied with their relationship with God.  Ministry/Study: These ministers spent more time studying for lesson prep than everyone else and more time in personal study. They also reported significantly better relationships with their elders than everyone else on average. Last, these people were more hopeful about the future on average than the rest of the sample. The more time you spend meditating on God's word, the better relationship you have with God, with yourself and others. If you dwell on the difficulty of the times you will feel hopeless. If you dwell on healthy people who love God and you and dwell on Scripture you will feel hopeful. You get to choose your attitude by your mental choices on a daily basis. During difficult times we need to reflect on the people who are healthy and who have taught us the word of God.  We need to study the Scriptures because they train is int...

6.2- Jesus builds the church.  It is His work and we are merely His assistants. Matthew 16. 18  And I tell you that you are Peter, [ b ] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades [ c ] will not overcome it. 1 9  I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be [ d ] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be [ e ] loosed in heaven.” 20  Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah. 1 Corinthians 13,14 13  If I speak in the tongues [ a ] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2  If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3  If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, [ b ] but do not have love, I gain nothing. 4  Lov...