DYSMAS CONDUIT
FREE FOOD
(Isa 55:1)
SATURDAY, AUGUST 29, 2009
Question for the day: Was there ever a time when there was no time?
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 15
(The Message)
Listen at
http://www.audiotreasure.com/webindex.htm
To Let Outsiders Inside
1-2
It wasn't long before some Jews showed up from
3
After they were sent off and on their way, they told everyone they met as they traveled through
4-5
When they got to
6-9
The apostles and leaders called a special meeting to consider the matter. The arguments went on and on, back and forth, getting more and more heated. Then Peter took the floor: "Friends, you well know that from early on God made it quite plain that he wanted the pagans to hear the Message of this good news and embrace it—and not in any secondhand or roundabout way, but firsthand, straight from my mouth. And God, who can't be fooled by any pretense on our part but always knows a person's thoughts, gave them the Holy Spirit exactly as he gave him to us. He treated the outsiders exactly as he treated us, beginning at the very center of who they were and working from that center outward, cleaning up their lives as they trusted and believed him.
10-11
"So why are you now trying to out-god God, loading these new believers down with rules that crushed our ancestors and crushed us, too? Don't we believe that we are saved because the Master Jesus amazingly and out of sheer generosity moved to save us just as he did those from beyond our nation? So what are we arguing about?"
12-13
There was dead silence. No one said a word. With the room quiet, Barnabas and Paul reported matter-of-factly on the miracles and wonders God had done among the other nations through their ministry. The silence deepened; you could hear a pin drop.
13-18
James broke the silence. "Friends, listen. Simeon has told us the story of how God at the very outset made sure that racial outsiders were included. This is in perfect agreement with the words of the prophets:
After this, I'm coming back;
I'll rebuild David's ruined house;
I'll put all the pieces together again;
I'll make it look like new
So outsiders who seek will find,
so they'll have a place to come to,
All the pagan peoples
included in what I'm doing.
"God said it and now he's doing it. It's no afterthought; he's always known he would do this.
19-21
"So here is my decision: We're not going to unnecessarily burden non-Jewish people who turn to the Master. We'll write them a letter and tell them, 'Be careful to not get involved in activities connected with idols, to guard the morality of sex and marriage, to not serve food offensive to Jewish Christians—blood, for instance.' This is basic wisdom from Moses, preached and honored for centuries now in city after city as we have met and kept the Sabbath."
22-23
Everyone agreed: apostles, leaders, all the people. They picked Judas (nicknamed Barsabbas) and Silas—they both carried considerable weight in the church—and sent them to
From the apostles and leaders, your friends, to our friends in
Hello!
24-27
We heard that some men from our church went to you and said things that confused and upset you. Mind you, they had no authority from us; we didn't send them. We have agreed unanimously to pick representatives and send them to you with our good friends Barnabas and Paul. We picked men we knew you could trust, Judas and Silas—they've looked death in the face time and again for the sake of our Master Jesus Christ. We've sent them to confirm in a face-to-face meeting with you what we've written.
28-29
It seemed to the Holy Spirit and to us that you should not be saddled with any crushing burden, but be responsible only for these bare necessities: Be careful not to get involved in activities connected with idols; avoid serving food offensive to Jewish Christians (blood, for instance); and guard the morality of sex and marriage. These guidelines are sufficient to keep relations congenial between us. And God be with you! Barnabas and Paul Go Their
30-33
And so off they went to
35
Paul and Barnabas stayed on in Antioch, teaching and preaching the Word of God. But they weren't alone. There were a number of teachers and preachers at that time in
36
After a few days of this, Paul said to Barnabas, "Let's go back and visit all our friends in each of the towns where we preached the Word of God. Let's see how they're doing."
37-41
Barnabas wanted to take John along, the John nicknamed Mark. But Paul wouldn't have him; he wasn't about to take along a quitter who, as soon as the going got tough, had jumped ship on them in Pamphylia. Tempers flared, and they ended up going their separate ways: Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus; Paul chose Silas and, offered up by their friends to the grace of the Master, went to Syria and Cilicia to build up muscle and sinew in those congregations.
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.
Pastor Greg Finke
"In Jesus we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins,
in accordance with the riches of God's grace that He lavished on us..."
Ephesians 1:7
Today, let's spend our time in prayer. Below is a prayer of trust that a friend wrote for me several years ago. It is one I hope that will not only announce your trust in the Lord, but strengthen and unleash it as well for this day ahead. So, let's pray!
Heavenly Father, I bow in worship and praise before you. I cover myself with the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ as my protection during this time of prayer. I surrender myself completely and unreservedly in every area of my life to you. Trusting you, I take a stand against all the workings of satan that would hinder me in this time of prayer, and I address myself only to the true and living God and refuse any involvement of satan in my prayer.
Satan, I command you, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, to leave my presence with all your demons, and I bring the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ between us.
Heavenly Father, I am thankful for the armor you have provided, and I put on the girdle of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the sandals of peace, and the helmet of salvation. I lift up the shield of faith against all of the fiery darts of the enemy, and take in my hand the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, and use your Word against all the forces of evil in my life; and I put on this armor and live and pray in complete dependence upon you, blessed Holy Spirit.
I am grateful, Heavenly Father, that the Lord Jesus Christ spoiled all principalities and powers and made a show of them openly and triumphed over them in Himself. I claim all that victory for my life today. I reject out of my life all the insinuations, the accusations, and the temptations of satan. I affirm that the Word of God is true, and I choose to live today in the light of God's Word. I choose, Heavenly Father, to live in obedience to you and in fellowship with yourself.
Open my eyes and show me the areas of my life that do not please you. Work in my life that there be no ground to give satan a foothold against me. Show me any area of weakness. Show me any area of my life that I must deal with so that I would please you. I do in every way today stand for you and the ministry of the Holy Spirit in my life.
By faith and in dependence upon you, I put off the old man and stand into all of the victory of the crucifixion where the Lord Jesus Christ provided cleansing from the old nature. I put on the new man and stand into all the victory of the resurrection and the provision he has made for me there to live above sin. Therefore, in this day, I put off the old nature with its selfishness, and I put on the new nature with its love. I put off the old nature with its fear and I put on the new nature with its courage. I put off the old nature with its weakness and with all its deceitful lusts and I put on the new nature with all its righteousness and purity.
Holy Spirit, I pray that you would fill me. Come into my life, break down every idol, and cast out every foe.
I trust you, Father. I yield my life to you. I refuse to be discouraged. You are the God of Hope. You have proven your power by resurrecting Jesus Christ from the dead. You are trustworthy. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray. Amen!
Enter your day trusting your Savior and being His Church,
Pastor Greg
…and…
BACK TO THE BIBLE
Woodrow Kroll and Tami Weissert
Jesus: The One Who Suspends Time
From Friday, August 28, 2009
Jesus is not limited or bound by time. In fact,
He can even suspend it, as you'll discover with today's study and Woodrow Kroll...
Series: 25 Portraits of Jesus in Revelation (Week 3 of 3)
VIEW OR LISTEN AT
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