Question for the day: What is contentment? What is it not?
What can we pray for YOU about today?
Good morning,
This is just a reminder that every day, while we are studying God’s Word to add to our website, someone from our ministry, Dysmas Conduit, is holding you up before the Lord in prayer. May He greatly bless you today as you pursue His will and He is glorified through you.
God’s blessings, our love,
George & Sidney Granger
FREE FOOD
(Isa 55:1)
Today in God’s Word
THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2009
Please join your brothers and sisters
studying and praying with us today…
ENCOURAGEMENT FOR TODAY
August 13, 2009
Distorted Vision
“But godliness with contentment is great gain.”
1 Timothy 6:6 (NIV)
Devotion:
My husband went back to school three years ago. It’s been an adventure! We sold our home to lessen our debt load. We moved to a
Have you ever wished for something you couldn’t have? We all have at one time or another, but what happens when it’s something you really can’t have. Like being model tall instead of average height, or a different nose or longer legs, or the pounds to be distributed differently (a little more in the bust and little less in the stomach, please!). Maybe it’s not your body, but your house, your wardrobe, or the car you drive. If only you had ten times more money, then you’d have all you want!
What’s wrong with wishing for what you can’t have?
It can distort your vision as you become fixated on what you don’t have, and fail to see what you do have. It can get scary and mess with your health or your relationships as you pursue quick fixes. At some point it can even become an obsession.
Right now Richard and I can’t jet to
How do you avoid distorted vision? The first step is to change your focus. You may not be model tall, but are you healthy? Do you have a circle of friends? Has a friend walked with you through a difficult time? Has the presence of God wrapped around you in your quiet time?
The next step is to focus on others. Something happens when you take the time and energy and thought life previously devoted to your thighs or that beautiful house on the other side of town. You begin to see the needs of others. You find joy in generosity to others. You become others-centered.
Contentment becomes like a new set of contacts or binoculars. Our world expands as we see beyond ourselves and invite God into the picture. It becomes a spiritual act of grace, a work of God in our hearts as we give it all to Him.
Dear Father, Today I will not grumble. I will not compare myself to others. I will praise You for the blessings all around me, and Your song of praise will be the words of my mouth, in Jesus’ Name, amen.
Application Steps:
Define what contentment is not:
It is not complacency – it’s not saying “that’s all I’ll ever do or be”
It is not self-righteousness – it doesn’t come from your own efforts
It is not repression – it is not staying in abuse, hunger, or harm’s way
Define what it is:
It is sufficient – pray that God will give you joy to fill the empty places
It is enough – it is a work within that opens your heart and eyes
It is to be full – it reveals your true blessings
Reflections:
Are you willing to trade discontentment for contentment?
Start today by making a list of what truly makes you “rich” in Christ.
Power Verses:
Psalm 73:25, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.” (NIV)
…and…
Back to the Bible
Woodrow Kroll and Tami Weissert
Jesus: Pierced One;
the Alpha and Omega
Thursday, August 13, 2009
When Jesus returns, how will He be recognized?
That shouldn't be a problem, according to Revelation 1 and today's study...
Series: 25 Portraits of Jesus in Revelation (Week 1 of 3)
http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/Back_to_the_Bible/
GDLC Message: http://www.gdlc.org/worship/sermons.aspx
Today’s Chapter in God’s Word
Luke 23
(New International Version Translation)
LISTEN AT
http://www.audiotreasure.com/webindex.htm
Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. [2] And they began to accuse him, saying, "We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Christ, a king."
[3] So Pilate asked Jesus, "Are you the king of the Jews?"
"Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied.
[4] Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no basis for a charge against this man."
[5] But they insisted, "He stirs up the people all over
[6] On hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean. [7] When he learned that Jesus was under Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in
[8] When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform some miracle. [9] He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. [10] The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him. [11] Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. [12] That day Herod and Pilate became friends--before this they had been enemies.
[13] Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, [14] and said to them, "You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. [15] Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death. [16] Therefore, I will punish him and then release him." [17]
[18] With one voice they cried out, "Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!" [19] (Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.)
[20] Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. [21] But they kept shouting, "Crucify him! Crucify him!"
[22] For the third time he spoke to them: "Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him."
[23] But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. [24] So Pilate decided to grant their demand. [25] He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will.
[26] As they led him away, they seized Simon from
" 'they will say to the mountains, "Fall on us!"
and to the hills, "Cover us!" '
[31] For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?"
[32] Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. [33] When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals--one on his right, the other on his left. [34] Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
[35] The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the
[36] The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar [37] and said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself."
[38] There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the Jews.
[39] One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!"
[40] But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? [41] We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong."
[42] Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
[43] Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."
[44] It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, [45] for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. [46] Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last.
[47] The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, "Surely this was a righteous man." [48] When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. [49] But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from
[50] Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, [51] who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of
[55] The women who had come with Jesus from
A question on today’s Scripture:
The [unnamed] person after whom this ministry is named
is found in this chapter.
Can you figure out which verses?
CURRENT PRAYER REQUESTS:
Please pray for Mike and Sandy Brommer as they spread the Lord’s Seed and witness to His glory while on the road today. Please pray also that the Lord will lead him to Kingdom-profitable loads to carry, and that He grants them safe passage today to
THANK YOU FOR PRAYING FOR PASTOR BOB ALLMANN
Pastor Bob is doing so well that he gave his testimony about his accident and road to recovery at St. Mark Lutheran Church in
Please lift in prayer Angel Moore's grandma
Please continue to pray for Billy Hamburg, whose doctors found 5 tumors in his bladder. He had surgery June 29th and the biopsy results showed a cancerous condition. He will be undergoing chemo & radiation treatments and will need the Lord’s Hand to overcome his anxiety as well as the cancer.
Please take a few minutes every day to pray for 11-year-old Dasia who underwent a bone marrow transplant in December. She has been at at U of M since Monday (Aug. 3rd) with a fungus in her lungs that is untreatable apart from surgery, to take out the part of the lung with the fungus. The doctors said that Dasia may not even make it out of the OR. It is an extremely risky surgery, with a high mortality rate. If she makes it out of the OR she will have to be on a ventilator for quite some time. She has been through so much already in her young life. Please pray that God would stretch his healing hand over her and breath new life into her. That He protects her during the surgery and that she comes out without complications.
Answer to question on today’s Scripture:
The [unnamed] person after whom this ministry is named
is found in this chapter.
Can you figure out which verses?
Answer: Vv 40-41
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