Just Us: Manna for August 31, 2009

DYSMAS CONDUIT

FREE FOOD

(Isa 55:1)

MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 2009

Question for the day:

Have you ever arrived at work without the memory of actually driving there?

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 17

(The Message)

Listen at

http://www.audiotreasure.com/webindex.htm

Thessalonica

1-3

They took the road south through Amphipolis and Apollonia to Thessalonica, where there was a community of Jews. Paul went to their meeting place, as he usually did when he came to a town, and for three Sabbaths running he preached to them from the Scriptures. He opened up the texts so they understood what they'd been reading all their lives: that the Messiah absolutely had to be put to death and raised from the dead—there were no other options—and that "this Jesus I'm introducing you to is that Messiah."

4-5

Some of them were won over and joined ranks with Paul and Silas, among them a great many God-fearing Greeks and a considerable number of women from the aristocracy. But the hard-line Jews became furious over the conversions. Mad with jealousy, they rounded up a bunch of brawlers off the streets and soon had an ugly mob terrorizing the city as they hunted down Paul and Silas.

5-7

They broke into Jason's house, thinking that Paul and Silas were there. When they couldn't find them, they collared Jason and his friends instead and dragged them before the city fathers, yelling hysterically, "These people are out to destroy the world, and now they've shown up on our doorstep, attacking everything we hold dear! And Jason is hiding them, these traitors and turncoats who say Jesus is king and Caesar is nothing!"

8-9

The city fathers and the crowd of people were totally alarmed by what they heard. They made Jason and his friends post heavy bail and let them go while they investigated the charges.

Berea

10-12

That night, under cover of darkness, their friends got Paul and Silas out of town as fast as they could. They sent them to Berea, where they again met with the Jewish community. They were treated a lot better there than in Thessalonica. The Jews received Paul's message with enthusiasm and met with him daily, examining the Scriptures to see if they supported what he said. A lot of them became believers, including many Greeks who were prominent in the community, women and men of influence.

13-15

But it wasn't long before reports got back to the Thessalonian hardline Jews that Paul was at it again, preaching the Word of God, this time in Berea. They lost no time responding, and created a mob scene there, too. With the help of his friends, Paul gave them the slip—caught a boat and put out to sea. Silas and Timothy stayed behind. The men who helped Paul escape got him as far as Athens and left him there. Paul sent word back with them to Silas and Timothy: "Come as quickly as you can!"

Athens

The longer Paul waited in Athens for Silas and Timothy, the angrier he got—all those idols! The city was a junkyard of idols.

17-18

He discussed it with the Jews and other like-minded people at their meeting place. And every day he went out on the streets and talked with anyone who happened along. He got to know some of the Epicurean and Stoic intellectuals pretty well through these conversations. Some of them dismissed him with sarcasm: "What an airhead!" But others, listening to him go on about Jesus and the resurrection, were intrigued: "That's a new slant on the gods. Tell us more."

19-21

These people got together and asked him to make a public presentation over at the Areopagus, where things were a little quieter. They said, "This is a new one on us. We've never heard anything quite like it. Where did you come up with this anyway? Explain it so we can understand." Downtown Athens was a great place for gossip. There were always people hanging around, natives and tourists alike, waiting for the latest tidbit on most anything.

22-23

So Paul took his stand in the open space at the Areopagus and laid it out for them. "It is plain to see that you Athenians take your religion seriously. When I arrived here the other day, I was fascinated with all the shrines I came across. And then I found one inscribed, to the god nobody knows. I'm here to introduce you to this God so you can worship intelligently, know who you're dealing with.

24-29

"The God who made the world and everything in it, this Master of sky and land, doesn't live in custom-made shrines or need the human race to run errands for him, as if he couldn't take care of himself. He makes the creatures; the creatures don't make him. Starting from scratch, he made the entire human race and made the earth hospitable, with plenty of time and space for living so we could seek after God, and not just grope around in the dark but actually find him. He doesn't play hide-and-seek with us. He's not remote; he's near. We live and move in him, can't get away from him! One of your poets said it well: 'We're the God-created.' Well, if we are the God-created, it doesn't make a lot of sense to think we could hire a sculptor to chisel a god out of stone for us, does it?

30-31

"God overlooks it as long as you don't know any better—but that time is past. The unknown is now known, and he's calling for a radical life-change. He has set a day when the entire human race will be judged and everything set right. And he has already appointed the judge, confirming him before everyone by raising him from the dead."

32-34

At the phrase "raising him from the dead," the listeners split: Some laughed at him and walked off making jokes; others said, "Let's do this again. We want to hear more." But that was it for the day, and Paul left. There were still others, it turned out, who were convinced then and there, and stuck with Paul—among them Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris.

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 from Winamac, IN to Martinez, CA,.

Please lift up in prayer Roxanne Emmeot. She just received word that she has another brain tumor. Dear Jesus we ask that you lay your comforting hand upon Roxanne and her family. Reassure them of your presence. Jesus we pray that the same power that raised you from the dead bring healing and wholeness to Roxanne. Be with all who tend to her medical/spiritual needs in the days ahead that they might work with great skill and care. We love you Lord and we turn our dear sister to your care. We ask for your miraculous healing power! To you be the glory
alone! --Pastor Kurt

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 29^th 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.

Good Morning Church

Pastor Greg Finke

"Father, forgive them." Luke 23:34

Today is a day for getting free and starting to heal! Are you ready?

Is there someone who has wronged you and the pain is still painful now? Would you like to get free from that and start to heal?

Forgive them.

You might protest, "But they don't deserve it!" And you would be right! Of course, they don't deserve to be forgiven. What they did was wrong!

But I didn't ask if they deserved to be forgiven. I asked if you were ready to forgive them.

"Am I ready to forgive them?" is just another way of asking, "Am I ready to be free? Am I ready to move on from a past I cannot change but cannot forget? Am I ready to begin healing? Am I ready to stop carrying around all the weight of anger and bitterness? Am I ready to finally stop letting the past rule my present?"

If so, then I am ready to forgive them.

You see, forgiving someone is not just one remedy among many options. It is the only remedy for a past we cannot change but cannot forget.

How do we forgive?

Acknowledge you have been wronged and blame the person responsible. (He did it. He meant to do it. He is responsible. We don't excuse the person we forgive; we blame the person we forgive.)

Remember, forgiveness is an act of grace. (What word is in the middle of "forgiveness"? for-give-ness)

Surrender thoughts and plans of getting even to God.

Speak these words to God: I forgive ___(name)____ for what he/she did to me.

Repeat as often as the memory and emotions flare back up.

God begins replacing your hate with His grace.

Forgiving is setting a prisoner free and realizing the prisoner was you.

There is an excellent short book that can help you work through forgiving someone: "The Art of Forgiving: When You Need to Forgive and Don't Know How," by Lewis Smedes.

With the help of the Holy Spirit, go get free and start to heal.

Remember, Jesus loves you and so do I!

Be wise and be Church,

Pastor Greg

…and…

TURNING POINT

Dr. David Jeremiah

Coming At Last To Rome - Part 2

Monday, August 31, 2009

Have you ever arrived at work without the memory of actually driving there? It's probably because many of us operate on autopilot.

We do the ordinary things, those things that have to be done,

and think they have little or no spiritual purpose.

But in reality, as Christians our lives are a series

of trips and destinations planned by God.

Will we make the decision to be an active participant in the journey?

In his message, "Coming at Last to Rome,"