DYSMAS CONDUIT
FREE FOOD
(Isa 55:1)
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2010
Question for the day:
How do you keep a friendship fresh and vibrant?
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 pray for travel mercies for Christine Babel-Henderson. She will begin a 1400 mile trip home to
Please pray for healing for Lee Taglauer. On Friday he had an accident with his table saw and he cut 3 fingers on his left hand which resulted in having 30 some stitches. The cut was not through but more downward. He is home and doing alright. --Linda Meyer
I just got off the phone with Lynda Grosteffon and she is scheduled for another chemo treatment tomorrow (Monday) morning. She is concerned that her white blood cell count will not be high enough for her to have treatment. She is asking us to pray that she will be okay to receive this treatment tomorrow. She knows God is answering the prayers we have lifted up to him on her behalf and she is so thankful for them.
Carolyn Young is scheduled for another round of chemo Monday also. Please pray for her.
Thanks for being faithful prayer servants.
Gretta Coppens
ENCOURAGEMENT FOR TODAY
February 23, 2010
Is Your Spouse Your Best Friend?
Melanie Chitwood
"Two are better than one
because they have a good return for their labor.
For if either of them falls,
the one will lift up his companion.
But woe to the one who falls
when there is not another to lift him up."
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (NAS)
Devotion:
Although I can say today that my husband Scott is my best friend, that hasn't always been the case. When we first were married, I was so close to my twin sister that Scott felt excluded when the three of us were together. Gradually, however, we both learned to develop our friendship with one another.
We reached a big turning point when we left
Scott now is the one I turn to first just to be my friend, not in the way a girlfriend is a friend, but in a way that only a husband can be. The support that this kind of friendship brings is reflected in Ecclesiastes 4:9: "Two are better than one."
What are some specific ways we can develop a close friendship with our spouse? First, we can take note of what's going on where we each spend a great deal of time, the workplace Has he talked about a stressful project? Has she said how energized she is by a new assignment? Follow up by asking for more details and remember to pray for these situations. This shows your thoughtfulness and support. If she's a full-time homemaker, acknowledge that you know her job never ends and that you appreciate her.
Secondly, a great way to forge bonds of friendship is to share an interest. What do you both like to do? You may need to think about what you did while you were dating. Our friends Tracey and Ron take short trips to the mountains. It's more Tracey's passion than Ron's, but he's learned to enjoy it too. My mom and dad are great cooks and have created some incredible meals together. Scott and I have watched countless basketball games together. If you don't already have a shared hobby or pastime, start trying out some activities. It's easy to let the day-in and day-out responsibilities of life to crowd out time for relaxation and laugher, so you'll have to make the choice to have fun together.
Finally, we need to ask ourselves if we're making friendship with our spouse a priority. Do we save our best energy for developing friendship with our spouse or are we too busy? Sometimes we have to say no to other pursuits so we can have time to protect and nurture the gift of friendship in marriage.
The seeds of friendship we plant today will continue to bloom later in our marriages. We've all seen older couples sitting at restaurant tables, eating their entire meal in complete silence. I don't want to look like those silent couples, and I'm sure you don't either. I want to grow old relishing my friendship with my husband, a friendship forged over years of sharing interests and making each other a priority.
Dear Lord, Show me ways to nurture friendship with my spouse, so we can continue to enjoy each other through the passing years. Lord, today, I commit to making friendship with my spouse one of my top priorities. Where I need to give up some activities so I'll have time for friendship with my husband, give me eyes to see that. Thank you for the lifetime friendship you've given us in marriage, in Jesus name, amen.
Application Steps:
Plan to do something fun with your spouse. Do this within one week's time, and don't let anything interfere with these plans.
Reflections:
What do you want your marriage to look like ten years from now? What can you do today to reach your desired outcome?
Is there room in your life for friendship with your spouse? Is there anything you can take out of your life to allow space for your friendship with your spouse to grow?
Power Verses:
Genesis 2:18, "Then the Lord God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone; will make him a helper suitable for him.'" (NAS)
Ephesians 5:28, "So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself."
YOU TUBE SONG FOR TODAY
Friends
Michael W. Smith
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CWtrg9AwVA
…and…
Taking a trip on the Bible Bus
James 2:14 - 26
Faith and Works
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith, but does not have works? Can his faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well," but you don't give them what the body needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way faith, if it doesn't have works, is dead by itself. 18 But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without works, and I will show you faith from my works. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. The demons also believe-and they shudder. 20 Foolish man! Are you willing to learn that faith without works is useless? 21 Wasn't Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active together with his works, and by works, faith was perfected.23 So the Scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness , and he was called God's friend. 24 You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way, wasn't Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by a different route? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
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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