DYSMAS CONDUIT
FREE FOOD
(Isa 55:1)
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2009
Question for the day: Do your actions really matter?
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 22
(The Message)
Listen at
http://www.audiotreasure.com/webindex.htm
1-2
"My dear brothers and fathers, listen carefully to what I have to say before you jump to conclusions about me." When they heard him speaking Hebrew, they grew even quieter. No one wanted to miss a word of this.
2-3
He continued, "I am a good Jew, born in
4-5
"I went after anyone connected with this 'Way,' went at them hammer and tongs, ready to kill for God. I rounded up men and women right and left and had them thrown in prison. You can ask the Chief Priest or anyone in the High Council to verify this; they all knew me well. Then I went off to our brothers in
6-7
"As I arrived on the outskirts of
8-9
"'Who are you, Master?' I asked.
"He said, 'I am Jesus the Nazarene, the One you're hunting down.' My companions saw the light, but they didn't hear the conversation.
10-11
"Then I said, 'What do I do now, Master?'
"He said, 'Get to your feet and enter
12-13
"And that's when I met Ananias, a man with a sterling reputation in observing our laws—the Jewish community in
14-16
"Then he said, 'The God of our ancestors has handpicked you to be briefed on his plan of action. You've actually seen the Righteous Innocent and heard him speak. You are to be a key witness to everyone you meet of what you've seen and heard. So what are you waiting for? Get up and get yourself baptized, scrubbed clean of those sins and personally acquainted with God.'
17-18
"Well, it happened just as Ananias said. After I was back in Jerusalem and praying one day in the Temple, lost in the presence of God, I saw him, saw God's Righteous Innocent, and heard him say to me, 'Hurry up! Get out of here as quickly as you can. None of the Jews here in
19-20
"At first I objected: 'Who has better credentials? They all know how obsessed I was with hunting out those who believed in you, beating them up in the meeting places and throwing them in jail. And when your witness Stephen was murdered, I was right there, holding the coats of the murderers and cheering them on. And now they see me totally converted. What better qualification could I have?'
21
"But he said, 'Don't argue. Go. I'm sending you on a long journey to outsider non-Jews.'"
A Roman Citizen
22-25
The people in the crowd had listened attentively up to this point, but now they broke loose, shouting out, "Kill him! He's an insect! Stomp on him!" They shook their fists. They filled the air with curses. That's when the captain intervened and ordered Paul taken into the barracks. By now the captain was thoroughly exasperated. He decided to interrogate Paul under torture in order to get to the bottom of this, to find out what he had done that provoked this outraged violence. As they spread-eagled him with thongs, getting him ready for the whip, Paul said to the centurion standing there, "Is this legal: torturing a Roman citizen without a fair trial?"
26
When the centurion heard that, he went directly to the captain. "Do you realize what you've done? This man is a Roman citizen!"
27
The captain came back and took charge. "Is what I hear right? You're a Roman citizen?"
Paul said, "I certainly am."
28
The captain was impressed. "I paid a huge sum for my citizenship. How much did it cost you?"
"Nothing," said Paul. "It cost me nothing. I was free from the day of my birth."
29
That put a stop to the interrogation. And it put the fear of God into the captain. He had put a Roman citizen in chains and come within a whisker of putting him under torture!
30
The next day, determined to get to the root of the trouble and know for sure what was behind the Jewish accusation, the captain released Paul and ordered a meeting of the high priests and the High Council to see what they could make of it. Paul was led in and took his place before them.
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.
I am requesting prayer for my brother-in-law Carl battling cancer in the liver area. He meets with a surgeon next week to have it removed. They have tried everything else and now they have this risky surgery left as an option. I know we have a great God who is more than able to bring him through this with a positive out come. Thank you for lifting all involved in this to have insight, wisdom, and skillful hands. Carl also has nausia and please pray the new meds will help relieve that. -- Martha Young
ENCOURAGEMENT FOR TODAY
September 4, 2009
The Bigger Picture
T. Suzanne Eller
"Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming.
See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop
and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains."
James 5:7 (NIV)
Devotion:
I overheard a conversation while in an airport. I wanted to jump into the dialogue, but I had a plane to catch and more importantly, I would have to admit that I was eavesdropping, so I moved on. "He's just in it for the money," the man said while we waited in line at security. He named the author of a best-selling Christian book. "It's simplistic. Over-hyped. I can't believe it's sold so many copies." This conversation made me think about my daughter's best friend, Emily.
When I first met Emily she was a new believer. Occasionally our pastor would ask families to pray together. On those Sundays we opened our arms and Emily joined us. But as much as she loved the Ellers, it wasn't her family.
Her parents didn't understand her faith. Her older brother mocked her faith.
Emily went on mission trips. She was involved in youth group. She left for college and organized campus ministries, and even traveled to
What Emily didn't know is that her brother was watching closely. His little sister's faith had grown and now she was a woman of faith.
One day he bought a book and read it straight through the night. Somewhere between dark and dawn Emily's Savior became his. In the next few months he led his fiancé to Christ. He shared his faith with his parents, and now that both of their children's lives had been changed, they too became believers.
That was four years ago. Recently Emily came home to visit her family, and they all came to church. I couldn't help but look back with excitement when I heard these words, "Could families gather together and pray?" Emily walked down the aisle. Her family wrapped her in their arms. It was a beautiful sight.
And the book that the man in the airport said was simplistic and over hyped? That was the very book that Emily's brother read that changed his life. It was an answer to a faithful girl's prayers.
What does this have to do with you and me? As a writer, every day I'm in my home-office wearing jeans and a T-shirt writing on a laptop, hoping that someone might actually hear the message. But I can't see the bigger picture. I don't know if the words are making a difference or not. All I know is that God called me to communicate a message and to be faithful to that call.
Maybe there are days that you struggle, too. Maybe all you hear are the negative comments like those of the man in the airport. But does that mean that nothing good is happening? Absolutely not!
When I think of Emily, I am encouraged to place my ministry in God's hands and allow Him to do the miracles while I type one word at a time.
Will you trust Him to do miracles with your faith and your work as well?
Dear Father, I don't always see the bigger picture, but You do. Today I place my discouragement and comments of others in Your hands. Thank You for wisdom, encouragement, and renewed joy as I trust You with the bigger picture. Amen.
Application Steps:
What is one act that someone did for you that changed your life?
Encourage them today by writing them a note or e-mail thanking them.
Reflections:
When people encounter Jesus, no matter how they find Him, it changes their lives. Stay faithful as you spread the Word.
Power Verses:
Galatians 6:9, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." (NIV)
1 Thessalonians 2:13, "And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers." (ESV)
…and…
TURNING POINT
Dr. David Jeremiah
Slaying the Giant of Discouragement - Part 2
Friday, September 04, 2009
A failing marriage. Loss of a job. The serious illness of someone you love.
All these situations can lead to discouragement.
And being discouraged when we're facing trials is normal.
The problem comes when we allow
this giant of discouragement to take over our lives.
We lose our nerve and just want to give up,
which is exactly what the enemy wants –
to keep us from the work God is doing in and through us.
That's why Dr. Jeremiah is eager to show us how
to regain our perspective and courage as he shares his message,
"Slaying the Giant of Discouragement."
Series: Slaying the Giants in Your Life
VIEW OR LISTEN AT
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