DYSMAS CONDUIT
FREE FOOD
(Isa 55:1)
THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2009
Fill in this blank:
I've always thought, "If only I had [ ] I‘d be happy and fulfilled.
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
Today’s Chapter in God’s Word
Acts 13
(The Message)
Listen at
http://www.audiotreasure.com/webindex.htm
Barnabas, Saul, and Doctor Know-It-All
1-2
The congregation in
Barnabas,
Simon, nicknamed
Lucius the Cyrenian,
Manaen, an advisor to the ruler Herod,
Saul.
One day as they were worshiping God—they were also fasting as they waited for guidance—the Holy Spirit spoke: "Take Barnabas and Saul and commission them for the work I have called them to do."
3
So they commissioned them. In that circle of intensity and obedience, of fasting and praying, they laid hands on their heads and sent them off.
4-5
Sent off on their new assignment by the Holy Spirit, Barnabas and Saul went down to
6-7
They traveled the length of the island, and at Paphos came upon a Jewish wizard who had worked himself into the confidence of the governor, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man not easily taken in by charlatans. The wizard's name was Bar-Jesus. He was as crooked as a corkscrew.
7-11
The governor invited Barnabas and Saul in, wanting to hear God's Word firsthand from them. But Dr. Know-It-All (that's the wizard's name in plain English) stirred up a ruckus, trying to divert the governor from becoming a believer. But Saul (or Paul), full of the Holy Spirit and looking him straight in the eye, said, "You bag of wind, you parody of a devil—why, you stay up nights inventing schemes to cheat people out of God. But now you've come up against God himself, and your game is up. You're about to go blind—no sunlight for you for a good long stretch." He was plunged immediately into a shadowy mist and stumbled around, begging people to take his hand and show him the way.
12
When the governor saw what happened, he became a believer, full of enthusiasm over what they were saying about the Master.
Don't Take This Lightly
13-14
From Paphos, Paul and company put out to sea, sailing on to Perga in Pamphylia. That's where John called it quits and went back to
14-15
On the Sabbath they went to the meeting place and took their places. After the reading of the Scriptures—God's Law and the Prophets—the president of the meeting asked them, "Friends, do you have anything you want to say? A word of encouragement, perhaps?"
16-20
Paul stood up, paused and took a deep breath, then said, "Fellow Israelites and friends of God, listen. God took a special interest in our ancestors, pulled our people who were beaten down in Egyptian exile to their feet, and led them out of there in grand style. He took good care of them for nearly forty years in that godforsaken wilderness and then, having wiped out seven enemies who stood in the way, gave them the land of Canaan for their very own—a span in all of about 450 years.
20-22
"Up to the time of Samuel the prophet, God provided judges to lead them. But then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul, son of
23-25
"From out of David's descendants God produced a Savior for
26-29
"Dear brothers and sisters, children of Abraham, and friends of God, this message of salvation has been precisely targeted to you. The citizens and rulers in
29-31
"After they had done everything the prophets said they would do, they took him down from the cross and buried him. And then God raised him from death. There is no disputing that—he appeared over and over again many times and places to those who had known him well in the Galilean years, and these same people continue to give witness that he is alive.
32-35
"And we're here today bringing you good news: the Message that what God promised the fathers has come true for the children—for us! He raised Jesus, exactly as described in the second Psalm:
My Son! My very own Son!
Today I celebrate you!
"When he raised him from the dead, he did it for good—no going back to that rot and decay for him. That's why Isaiah said, 'I'll give to all of you David's guaranteed blessings.' So also the psalmist's prayer: 'You'll never let your Holy One see death's rot and decay.'
36-39
"David, of course, having completed the work God set out for him, has been in the grave, dust and ashes, a long time now. But the One God raised up—no dust and ashes for him! I want you to know, my very dear friends, that it is on account of this resurrected Jesus that the forgiveness of your sins can be promised. He accomplishes, in those who believe, everything that the Law of Moses could never make good on. But everyone who believes in this raised-up Jesus is declared good and right and whole before God.
40-41
"Don't take this lightly. You don't want the prophet's sermon to describe you:
Watch out, cynics;
Look hard—watch your world fall to pieces.
I'm doing something right before your eyes
That you won't believe, though it's staring you in the face."
42-43
When the service was over, Paul and Barnabas were invited back to preach again the next Sabbath. As the meeting broke up, a good many Jews and converts to Judaism went along with Paul and Barnabas, who urged them in long conversations to stick with what they'd started, this living in and by God's grace.
44-45
When the next Sabbath came around, practically the whole city showed up to hear the Word of God. Some of the Jews, seeing the crowds, went wild with jealousy and tore into Paul, contradicting everything he was saying, making an ugly scene.
46-47
But Paul and Barnabas didn't back down. Standing their ground they said, "It was required that God's Word be spoken first of all to you, the Jews. But seeing that you want no part of it—you've made it quite clear that you have no taste or inclination for eternal life—the door is open to all the outsiders. And we're on our way through it, following orders, doing what God commanded when he said,
I've set you up
as light to all nations.
You'll proclaim salvation
to the four winds and seven seas!"
48-49
When the non-Jewish outsiders heard this, they could hardly believe their good fortune. All who were marked out for real life put their trust in God—they honored God's Word by receiving that life. And this Message of salvation spread like wildfire all through the region.
50-52
Some of the Jews convinced the most respected women and leading men of the town that their precious way of life was about to be destroyed. Alarmed, they turned on Paul and Barnabas and forced them to leave. Paul and Barnabas shrugged their shoulders and went on to the next town, Iconium, brimming with joy and the Holy Spirit, two happy disciples.
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
Please remain in prayer concerning his continued healing and that he is upheld by the Spirit, becoming physically strong as he returns to serving the Lord… what he loves to do!
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 pray for my Aunt Barb, her kids, and grandkids. My Uncle Walt was called home yesterday and it was totally unexpected. Please ask for comfort for all of us, but especially for his immediate family. Also, that they might pass quickly through this grieving process and find comfort knowing Uncle Walt is now seeing Jesus face to face and that one day we will all be together again.
In Jesus most holy name. Thanks so much --Lynn Boone
Grandpa Vince went home to be with the Lord tonight at 6:45 pm, his daughter said we went peacefully and he is in a much better place, please pray for family and friends who will miss him.
Also, a very good friend Lois lost her husband Mike to a car accident, his car went into the
ENCOURAGEMENT FOR TODAY
August 27, 2009
The Perfect Fit
"I have chosen the way of truth;
I have set my heart on your laws."
Psalm 119:30 (NIV)
Devotion:
As a little girl, I had longed for a daddy to pick me up, swing me around, and tell me I was lovely and loved. When this childhood longing went unmet, it became an adult emptiness and brokenness that drove me to seek out all kinds of misguided remedies.
My primary remedy was to look for someone or something that would make me feel loved and significant. It's as if I carried around a little heart-shaped cup and extended it to whatever or whomever I perceived might fill it.
I presented the cup to my education: "Will you fill me?"
I offered it to my husband: "Will you fill me?"
I held it out to my child: "Will you fill me?"
I extended it to my material possessions: "Will you fill me?"
I presented it to each of my jobs: "Will you fill me?"
Within these questions were many more entanglements: "Will you right all my wrongs?" "Will you fill up my insecurities?" "Will you make me feel significant?" The more I offered my emptiness hoping something could fill it, the more frustrated I felt.
And when I had grown in my faith, I was especially perplexed. Wasn't being a Christian supposed to fix these kinds of issues in my heart? What was I missing?
Have you ever been there?
Why is it so tempting to look to things of this world for fulfillment? This notion that worldly things can fulfill is all around us. It's on TV, the focus of countless secular songs, and it's what dominates American advertisements. I can't even stand in the grocery store checkout lane without being bombarded with suggestions for a more fulfilling life. A better husband. A better body. A better career. A more beautifully decorated house. The magazines seem so slick, their promises so enticing. They sneak into our thought processes and make us think, "If only I had _______________, I'd be so happy. I'd be so fulfilled."
So, we chase and chase until we bankrupt our relationships, our bank accounts, and our very souls. The reality is every single thing the world offers is temporary. No person, possession, profession, or position can ever fill the cup of a wounded, empty heart—not my heart, not your heart. It's an emptiness only God can fill.
Whatever "if only I had" statement we are struggling with, we can replace it with solid truths from Scripture that will never leave us empty. It's a bold statement to make and might even sound a bit trite, but it's true.
When God's Word gets inside of us, it becomes the new way we process life. It rearranges our thoughts, our motives, our needs, and our desires. Our soul was tailor made to be filled with God and His truth; therefore, it seeps into every part of us and fills us completely. It is the only perfect fit.
Dear Lord, we ask today that You set within us a passion for Your Word. A passion that will override the fleshly desire within us to chase after fulfillment from people, possessions, professions, or positions. Lord, help us place the highest importance on getting into Your Word every day. And may we always approach Your Word with a humility of need and a heart ready to receive all You want to teach us, in Jesus' Name, amen.
Application Steps:
Fill in this blank: I've always thought, "If only I had _________________ I‘d be happy and fulfilled.
Now, visit Lysa's blog for a list of Bible Verses to help replace this faulty script we play in our minds.
Reflections:
What or who have I tried to get fulfillment from?
How does this damage my relationships?
Power Verses:
Psalm 19:7a, "The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul." (NIV)
Psalm 27:10 -11a, "Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me. Teach me your way O Lord; lead me in a straight path…" (NIV)
Psalm 45:1a, "My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king…" (NIV)
…and…
TURNING POINT
Dr. David Jeremiah
The Perfect Storm Part 2
Thursday, August 27, 2009
As the young mother waited in the oncologist's office, she began to question her salvation. If she was truly saved, why was she about to hear that the treatment wasn't working – that she would be leaving her two young daughters without a mother? Christians aren't supposed to suffer these types of storms in their lives! But she knew this wasn't true, just as all of us who know God's Word understand that we'll encounter trials in our lives. In this message, we'll learn that even the apostle Paul faced storms in his life.
Series: Church in Action 5: The Faithful Prisoner of the Church
VIEW OR LISTEN AT
http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/Turning_Point/
GDLC Message: http://www.gdlc.org/worship/sermons.aspx
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