1/28 Manna

DYSMAS CONDUIT

FREE FOOD

(Isa 55:1)

THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2010

Question for the day: Ever said, “Lord, this is a mess”?

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:

I am requesting prayer as I travel to Haiti with the federal government with the Saginaw Veterans Hospital. A team of two a Dr from Gaylord and I have been approved thru the VA for their first team and we have been waiting this week for the call to leave. Pray for patience that the government is satisfied with safety and they will send us soon. We are not sure where they will send us but we will probably be there for two weeks. Please pray for my Haitian son George who has been in Midland with me since July, that he is comforted to know that there are many people praying and trying to help his people of Haiti. Also that we may hear word from Georges step brother who was in the center of the earthquake and Johanne who was here in Midland 2 years ago on a medical visa. Gods Blessings, Deb Lamberton

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.

ENCOURAGEMENT FOR TODAY

January 28, 2010

Lord, this is a Mess

Lysa TerKeurst

"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness..."

Romans 8:26 (NIV)

Devotion:

Have you ever been in a situation that seemed like such a mess you simply couldn't make sense of it? Like trying to straighten out a tangled fishing line, you wonder how in heavens' name did all these knots get kinked and twisted and pulled so tight. And in the midst of trying to untangle a knot on one side you inadvertently form another on the other end.

It's frustrating when this happens. And it's even more frustrating when it happens in relationships.

The other day I sat down to pray about a messy relationship and the knots were so consuming I couldn't even begin to make sense of it all. I didn't even know what to pray. I kept trying to think of wise words to offer up to the Lord that would surely unlock pieces and parts of this mess. But I was completely without a drop of insight. All I could see was a mess.

So, that's all I prayed, "Lord, this is a mess."

And then I just sat quietly and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

All that waiting time made me feel like my nerves are going to bust out of my skin and start yanking my limbs into action. So, with all my might, I made myself sit and say nothing at all except, "Lord, this is a mess." And you know what? It was really hard to sit there with no answers. No wise words to pray. My usually very verbal self couldn't express anything but, "Lord, this is a mess."

I believe it's situations like this for which Romans 8:26-28 was written:

”In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (NIV)

In our weakness we can't objectively search our mind and spirit. And often in our weakness we can't untangle our knots according to God's will. We are too intertwined in emotion and assumption. That's why sometimes it's best if we just simply sit quietly and let the Spirit do some groaning, untangling and working on our behalf.

Like verse 28 says, there is good to come out of this. God is working and will work good out of this mess. Sometimes I think the only thing standing between our mess and His good work from it is our need to sit quietly. In the quiet beautiful things happen:

We calm down.

We create some white space between our harsh reaction and the way we'd want to react if we really thought things through first.

We can ask God to intervene with real wisdom instead of our assumptions.

God can show us where we need to change. We can't control the other person and parking our efforts toward trying will exhaust us. But we can let God help us change, which will create positive progress.

I can't help but notice that the first four letters of Messiah spell mess. We need Him. Only the Messiah can take our mess and turn it into a untangled message of hope, forgiveness, and ultimately love.

Dear Lord, help me with this mess, in Jesus' Name, amen.

Application Steps:

The next time I'm in the midst of a mess, where is a quiet place I can sit with the Lord? How can I plan now to not react in the moment?

What are some personal benefits that would happen if I heeded this advice and stopped rushing in to fix things, but rather gave God time to speak to my heart?

Reflections:

What relationship do I have in my life that seems to get tangled up and messy most often?

What are some ways I might need to change?

Power Verses:

Psalm 46:10a, "Be still, and know that I am God." (NIV)

Romans 8:26b, "We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." (NIV)

YOU TUBE SONG FOR TODAY

The Lord’s Prayer

(should have been called The Disciple’s Prayer)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84nd7o1zjjA

…and…

Taking a trip on the Bible Bus

Hosea 3:1-4:6

The Lord said to me, "Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes."

[2] So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethek of barley. [3] Then I told her, "You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will live with you."

[4] For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or idol. [5] Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the Lord and to his blessings in the last days.

Hosea 4:1-6 (NIV)

Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites,

because the Lord has a charge to bring

against you who live in the land:

"There is no faithfulness, no love,

no acknowledgment of God in the land.

[2] There is only cursing, lying and murder,

stealing and adultery;

they break all bounds,

and bloodshed follows bloodshed.

[3] Because of this the land mourns,

and all who live in it waste away;

the beasts of the field and the birds of the air

and the fish of the sea are dying.

[4] "But let no man bring a charge,

let no man accuse another,

for your people are like those

who bring charges against a priest.

[5] You stumble day and night,

and the prophets stumble with you.

So I will destroy your mother--

[6] my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.

"Because you have rejected knowledge,

I also reject you as my priests;

because you have ignored the law of your God,

I also will ignore your children.

Listen to Scripture at

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

Listen to Thru the Bible

Dr. J. Vernon McGee

http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/Thru_the_Bible_with_JVernon_McGee/

Please send your prayer requests to

dysmasconduit.@gmail.com