Question for the day: What aggravation or disappointment are you facing today?
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 6, 2009
Please join your brothers and sisters
studying and praying with us today…
ENCOURAGEMENT FOR TODAY
August 6, 2009
Still a Pretty Good Day
“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts…”
Colossians 3:15 (NIV)
Devotion:
Several months back, my daughter Ashley had a gymnastics meet that didn’t go so well. She fell on almost every event. She scored well below her expectations and I thought there would be lots of tears at the awards ceremony. But, much to my surprise, she bounced up to me and exclaimed, “Mom, did you see I landed my vault on my feet. That’s a good thing about today.”
She then flitted off with her teammates to get ice cream. One of the other moms grabbed my arm and complimented Ashley’s good attitude. Though I did feel sad for Ashley - after all she had worked so hard to prepare for this meet, my heart still swelled with joy. That compliment meant more than seeing my daughter with a neck full of gold medals. Do I want Ashley to win? Yes, of course. But seeing a good attitude displayed in the face of adversity - well that’s simply priceless.
Ashley’s outlook challenged me. How many times do I have something bad happen in my day and it just seems to turn my whole attitude south? Instead of just resigning myself to being emotional or sensitive, I’ve decided to see this as a call to action. I’ve started making the choice to say a simple statement that often diverts a bad attitude. And the statement is this, “If this is the worst thing that happens to me today, it’s still a pretty good day.”
Boy does this statement put things into perspective. I guess it’s an everyday way to do a little heart check up. The Bible tells us that we should intentionally make our minds think of things that are good, true, excellent, and praiseworthy. The more I think about things like these, the more my perspective seems to stay in check. In Colossians 3:15 we are instructed to, “Let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts… and be thankful.” Verse 16 goes on to say that we should also, “Let the word of God dwell in us richly…” Finally, verse 17 says, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus…”
Letting the peace of Christ rule in our hearts and letting the Word of God dwell in us richly doesn’t just happen naturally. We have to intentionally make those choices. And we have to challenge ourselves to deal with the bad while focusing on all the good that is there as well.
So, what aggravation or disappointment are you facing today? If that’s the worst thing that happens - I bet you could say it’s still a pretty good day too.
Dear Lord, help me to put daily aggravations into proper perspective. Give me the wisdom to choose to let the peace of Christ rule in my heart. And give me a hunger to get into Your word and let Your word get into me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Application Steps:
Each time something aggravates you, make the choice to say, “If this is the worst thing that happens to me today, it’s still a pretty good day.”
Reflections:
Are there some areas that are consistently tripping up your attitude? Find some verses that you can memorize to help redirect your outlook when negativity starts to creep into your heart. Intentionally recall things you are thankful for and focus on praising God for those circumstances.
Power Verses:
Philippians 4:4-5, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all…” (NIV)
Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” (NIV)
Colossians 3:15-17, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (NIV)
…and…
Back to the Bible
Woodrow Kroll and Tami Weissert
Round 7—Temptation;
Round 8—
Thursday, August 06, 2009
In his war against God, Satan went for the direct attacks against Jesus.
And you can win too, when you follow Jesus' strategies for defeating the enemy...
Series: The Long War Against God
http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/Back_to_the_Bible/
GDLC Message: http://www.gdlc.org/worship/sermons.aspx
Luke 16
(New Living Translation)
LISTEN AT
http://www.audiotreasure.com/webindex.htm
Parable of the Shrewd Manager
1 Jesus told this story to his disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a manager handling his affairs. One day a report came that the manager was wasting his employer’s money.2 So the employer called him in and said, ‘What’s this I hear about you? Get your report in order, because you are going to be fired.’3 “The manager thought to himself, ‘Now what? My boss has fired me. I don’t have the strength to dig ditches, and I’m too proud to beg.4 Ah, I know how to ensure that I’ll have plenty of friends who will give me a home when I am fired.’5 “So he invited each person who owed money to his employer to come and discuss the situation. He asked the first one, ‘How much do you owe him?’6 The man replied, ‘I owe him 800 gallons of olive oil.’ So the manager told him, ‘Take the bill and quickly change it to 400 gallons. ’7 “‘And how much do you owe my employer?’ he asked the next man. ‘I owe him 1,000 bushels of wheat,’ was the reply. ‘Here,’ the manager said, ‘take the bill and change it to 800 bushels. ’8 “The rich man had to admire the dishonest rascal for being so shrewd. And it is true that the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with the world around them than are the children of the light.9 Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your earthly possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home. 10 “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities.11 And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven?12 And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own?13 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”14 The Pharisees, who dearly loved their money, heard all this and scoffed at him.15 Then he said to them, “You like to appear righteous in public, but God knows your hearts. What this world honors is detestable in the sight of God.16 “Until John the Baptist, the law of Moses and the messages of the prophets were your guides. But now the Good News of the
Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus
19 Jesus said, “There was a certain rich man who was splendidly clothed in purple and fine linen and who lived each day in luxury.20 At his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores.21 As Lazarus lay there longing for scraps from the rich man’s table, the dogs would come and lick his open sores.22 “Finally, the poor man died and was carried by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried,23 and his soul went to the place of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side.24 “The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.’25 “But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish.26 And besides, there is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there.’27 “Then the rich man said, ‘Please, Father Abraham, at least send him to my father’s home.28 For I have five brothers, and I want him to warn them so they don’t end up in this place of torment.’29 “But Abraham said, ‘Moses and the prophets have warned them. Your brothers can read what they wrote.’30 “The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will repent of their sins and turn to God.’31 “But Abraham said, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t listen even if someone rises from the dead.’”
Luke 16:1-31 (NLT)
A question from Luke 16:19-31
What is your attitude toward money and possessions?
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
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 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 lift before the Lord our friend, Teri, who is facing an extremely large personal challenge. Pray that she will seek Jesus’ Face and strength, and the power found in strong Christian relationships, before it is too late for her to do so. Thank you, George and Sidney
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.
An answer to today’s Scripture question:
What is your attitude toward money and possessions?
The Pharisees considered wealth to be a proof of a person's righteousness. Jesus startled them with this story where a diseased beggar is rewarded and a rich man is punished. The rich man did not go to hell because of his wealth but because he was selfish, refusing to feed Lazarus, take him in, or care for him. The rich man was hardhearted in spite of his great blessings. The amount of money we have is not as important as the way we use it.
—Life Application Bible Notes
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