DYSMAS CONDUIT
FREE FOOD
(Isa 55:1)
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2010
Question for the day:
How far would you have to go to find someone
who needs to see mercy in their lives today?
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
ENCOURAGEMENT FOR TODAY
February 1, 2010
Acts of Mercy
Ariel Allison Lawhon
"He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."
Micah 6:8 (NIV)
Devotion:
My brother got off the plane with a child in each arm, and two trailing behind. He'd gone to Africa for three children - orphaned by civil war in
A chance encounter in a poverty stricken village left him with a choice to make: rescue a starving baby or leave her to die. So when the young mother thrust her child into his arms, he promised that he would be a father to her. He made the decision without weighing the pros and cons or even consulting his wife. Mercy!
He spent the next two weeks spoon feeding his emaciated child, changing malaria-ridden diapers, and carrying her around in a baby sling. Not to mention keeping the other three children in tow. When he finally arrived in
Merriam Webster's dictionary defines mercy in three ways:
ü "A compassion or forbearance shown to an offender."
ü "A blessing that is an act of divine favor or compassion."
ü "Compassionate treatment of those in distress."
Mercy. It is something that God longs for us to lavish on others. Not just orphans on another continent, but the people in our homes as well. Those in our workplaces. Those in our churches. Strangers on a bus.
I often think of what my brother did in that moment, not because I'm faced with such extreme choices, but because my days are filled with countless opportunities to show mercy. A kind word to my defiant toddler. A welcoming smile when my husband is late for dinner, again. Sitting in silence with the friend who's just had her fifth consecutive miscarriage. Forgiveness when I'd rather hold a grudge. For you it could mean mentoring, giving, volunteering, or sponsoring a child.
It may mean writing a check so earthquake victims have clean drinking water and medical care. Or extending mercy might require you to get your hands dirty locally at a homeless shelter, or nursing home. Or mercy might mean choosing not to end an unplanned pregnancy.
Regardless, when we act justly and love mercy, we show the world that God is real. It's a lesson I learned first hand by watching my brother.
Today my niece is a beautiful, healthy five-year-old with no memories of her near death experience. The starvation and malaria that threatened to claim her are long gone. She laughs and dances and believes that her daddy is the kindest man on earth. But for a single act of mercy, her story could have ended in the dust of
What choice will you make today when faced with the chance to love mercy?
Father, make us a people full of mercy. May I act with justice not only in the big moments of life, but behind closed doors as well. Help me love when I want to hate. Help me give when I want to keep. And bestow on me the grace to be Jesus-with-skin-on to a lost and dying world, in Jesus' Name, amen.
Application Steps:
Find some way to show mercy to someone today.
Reflections:
Pray that God will show you a specific person who needs your mercy, and then offer it with no strings attached.
Ask God how you can be a blessing to someone you know, and someone you don't.
Pray that God will make you into a person who acts justly, loves mercy, and walks humbly with Him.
Power Verses:
Matthew 23:23, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices - mint, dill, and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law - justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former." (NIV)
Zechariah 7:9, "This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another." (NIV)
Matthew 5:7, "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy." (NIV)
YOU TUBE SONG FOR TODAY
Jesus, Take the Wheel
Carrie Underwood
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qT4f9gfCJvk
…and…
Taking a trip on the Bible Bus
Hosea 5:1-14
[1] "Hear this, you priests!
Pay attention, you Israelites!
Listen, O royal house!
This judgment is against you:
You have been a snare at Mizpah,
a net spread out on Tabor.
[2] The rebels are deep in slaughter.
I will discipline all of them.
[3] I know all about Ephraim;
Ephraim, you have now turned to prostitution;
[4] "Their deeds do not permit them
to return to their God.
A spirit of prostitution is in their heart;
they do not acknowledge the Lord.
[5]
the Israelites, even Ephraim, stumble in their sin;
[6] When they go with their flocks and herds
to seek the Lord,
they will not find him;
he has withdrawn himself from them.
[7] They are unfaithful to the Lord;
they give birth to illegitimate children.
Now their New Moon festivals
will devour them and their fields.
[8] "Sound the trumpet in Gibeah,
the horn in Ramah.
Raise the battle cry in Beth Aven;
lead on, O Benjamin.
[9] Ephraim will be laid waste
on the day of reckoning.
Among the tribes of Israel
I proclaim what is certain.
[10]
who move boundary stones.
I will pour out my wrath on them
like a flood of water.
[11] Ephraim is oppressed,
trampled in judgment,
intent on pursuing idols.
[12] I am like a moth to Ephraim,
like rot to the people of
[13] "When Ephraim saw his sickness,
and
then Ephraim turned to
and sent to the great king for help.
But he is not able to cure you,
not able to heal your sores.
[14] For I will be like a lion to Ephraim,
like a great lion to
I will tear them to pieces and go away;
I will carry them off, with no one to rescue them.
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
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