DYSMAS CONDUIT
FREE FOOD
(Isa 55:1)
MONDAY, JANUARY 11, 2010
Question for the day: Have you ever held on to something too long?
What can we pray with 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
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 them to Kingdom-profitable loads to carry, and that He grants them safe passage today.
Please continue to pray for Billy Hamburg. He had another surgery and two more tumors were discovered. Discussion is forthcoming concerning bladder removal. Please pray for the Lord’s Hand to help him overcome his anxiety as well as the cancer.
Please continue to keep Carolyn Young in your prayers. She is hospitalized at Mid-Mich. One of her doctors in examing her today discovered a mass on the left side of her throat. The doctors seemed quite concerned about this in addtional to the others "spots" that they will be biopsing. Lord, even as Carolyn has asked us to come along side her in praying for others, we now lift up Carolyn that Your healing hand would rest mightily upon her. --Pastor John
Please pray for our sister, Debi Ullom, who has been suffering from a very painful back. She is at the hospital ER getting checked out as the pain is so severe.
May God bless those who are caring for Debi with great wisdom and skill, and may Debi be free from this pain through His healing hand. --Lauri Potter
ENCOURAGEMENT FOR TODAY
January 11, 2010
Hoarding What You Have
Wendy Pope
"I was afraid I would lose your money,
so I hid it in the earth.
Look, here is your money back."
Matthew 25:25 (NLT)
Devotion:
Reality shows are the craze today. You can watch children with problems set on the straight and narrow by The World's Strictest Parents. If you are not happy with your spouse, you can Wife Swap for another spouse while millions watch. The world is also even now invited into the private moments of drug and alcohol interventions.
One of the newest reality shows to hit the airwaves is called Hoarders. People on this show have made a lifestyle out of holding on to what they have. In Hoarders, individuals come face to face with the reality of their problem through intervention and encouragement to clear out their stuff.
Our key verse comes from a story of three servants who were entrusted by their master with his money while he was away. The first two servants pleased their master by multiplying or showing growth of what they had been given. The third servant disappointed his master. He had hidden the money, keeping it safe but also keeping it from earning interest. In other words, he hoarded what his master had given him. Why did he hoard what he had been given?
Scripture gives us the answer. The servant was afraid. He was so consumed by his fear that he did nothing. He was afraid of messing up. He was paralyzed by the thought of doing something wrong or reflecting poorly on his master. In fear, he hid the money and then gave it back.
As I pondered the events of this story my mind drew a picture, a picture I did not like. In the picture I was bowing before my holy Lord, giving back exactly what He entrusted to me, nothing more. I questioned, Am I responding to my Master as this servant responded to his master? Have I fully used, or am I fully using -- even developing, the gifts and talents He has entrusted to me? Am I hiding what He gave me in fear of messing up?
What about you? How would you answer these questions? It is easy to think we are not good enough or that we are undeserving of God's gifts. Our negative thoughts take us captive, leading us to believe we would reflect poorly upon our Lord if we dared to multiply and grow what He has given us.
Today's devotion is our intervention. Now is the time to clear out what we've been hoarding or hiding. Praise God our intervention is not dramatized in front of millions of people. We stand before an audience of One - the only One who matters.
Father, I apologize for hiding and hoarding anything tat You have given me. Help me be a good steward of everything You entrust to me. I want to be used to grow Your Kingdom. Supply the confidence I need to clean out my hiding places, in Jesus' Name, amen.
Application Steps:
In a quiet place, read Matthew 25:14-28.
Reflections:
How will I respond to my intervention?
Am I responding to my Master as this servant responded to his master?
Am I fully using, even developing, the gifts and talents God has entrusted to me?
Am I hiding what He gave me out of fear of messing up?
Power Verses:
Romans 12:6a, "We have different gifts, according to the grace given us." (NIV)
Colossians 3:23, "Whatever may be your task, work at it heartily (from the soul), as [something done] for the Lord and not for men…" (Amplified)
…and…
Taking a trip on the Bible Bus
Hebrews 12:1-2
[1] Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
[2] Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Listen to Scripture at
http://www.audiotreasure.com/webindex.htm
Listen to Thru the Bible
Dr. J.
http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/Thru_the_Bible_with_JVernon_McGee/
Please send your prayer requests to
No comments:
Post a Comment