DYSMAS CONDUIT
FREE FOOD
(Isa 55:1)
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10, 2010
Question for the day:
Who wrote:
"Set your minds on things above,
not on earthly things."
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 a positive answer from the review board as they discuss and review Ed Dean's case tomorrow. Pray that none of the doctors request any additional testing that would further delay this process. Once he passes the review board, he will be put on the list for his lung transplant, which he needs so badly!
Also, please pray for patience, comfort, and peace for him and for Cathy as they await word on the review. Thank you. Barb Patrick
Please lift in prayer a faith family member that is going for an interview for work on Thursday, March 11, 2010 at 8:15 am. --Ranee
Please lift up in prayer the Emeott Family. Today, Becky Emmeot had surgery. Friday, Becky’s sister Roxanne will have major surgery.
God we pray for your continued healing hand for Becky in her recovery.
Protect Roxanne in her surgery and grant her your healing and strength in her recovery as well. We know you are in control God. Watch over the whole family including their mother Rita who is caring for her two daughters.
Grant your healing, peace, and comfort. --Pastor Kurt
Please hold up before the Lord a dear friend, Ann Long, who is to undergo cancer surgery on March 29. Also please ask for strength for her family, especially her husband, Dennis.
ENCOURAGEMENT FOR TODAY
March 10, 2010
Thinking Higher
Rachel Olsen
"Set your minds on things above,
not on earthly things."
Colossians 3:2 (NIV)
Devotion:
After becoming a believer nearly two decades ago, I've never been more excited about heaven than now. Honestly, I never gave it much thought before.
Perhaps I was too busy trying to figure out how to live in Christ on earth. And perhaps I was bit scared off by the oft-repeated adage that you can become "too heavenly minded to be of any earthly good."
I'd heard friends, loved ones and church leaders all warn of this. A focus on heaven can sabotage my walk with God? Really?
That's not what I'm seeing in the Bible, nor is it what I'm experiencing.
Jesus told us to seek the kingdom of heaven first and foremost (Matthew 6:33). The Bible tells us that heaven is where God and Jesus are. And a taste for it is God-placed in our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11). E.M. Bounds writes, "The power of the Spirit binds us to heaven because Jesus is there. We are bound to love it, think about it, and desire it, for Jesus is its center and glory."
So thinking about, longing for, and planning for this glorious point and place in eternity where we'll be united with our Savior is a way to worship Christ. It is a means of seeing and savoring Him. And, it fills us with hope. Hope, the Bible reveals, is the seed-starter of faith.
Hope can shore us up in the face of much heartache and trouble on earth. It can make us eternal optimists. C.S. Lewis writes, "In the truest sense, Christian pilgrims have the best of both worlds. We have joy whenever this world reminds us of the next, and we take solace whenever it doesn't."
"Strongly, insistently, the Holy Spirit uses heaven and its untold, manifold good to move saints to action, awaken them from death, and to increase their zeal and love," Bounds explains. Heaven, then, is a stimulant for us on earth - a stimulant towards action, love, and zeal for Christ. Not a distraction.
Besides, being too heavenly minded has never been my struggle. I am so much more prone to being so earthly minded that I'm of little heavenly good. I can become myopically focused on me: my wants, my needs, my troubles, my possessions, my plans. I grow obsessed with Rachel-like living. Or else, I become hyper-focused on the state of the world: the popular culture, the politics, the weather, the economy.
When the reality of eternity and heaven comes crashing through my heart and thoughts, it pulls my focus up. Way up. Much needed perspective is gained and I'm able to redirect my thoughts and actions towards Christ-like living. I begin living now, again, for this future place and goal.
I'm guessing the "too heavenly minded" saying originated to describe someone who - like the Pharisees - spent their lives becoming self-righteous through their spiritual actions. Or, perhaps someone who spent so much time in the pew that they neglected their family, friends, or serving their community. I suspect these people were hearers but not doers of the Word.
I'd also guess these people probably didn't think much about heaven at all. Because to gain a true grasp of heaven is to have your eyes spiritually opened. It is to understand where this all is heading, and what you are truly made for.
It is to think and live higher.
Dear Lord, give me a vision and passion for heaven. May I live for that kingdom - for its King and by its rules. And help me to be of earthly good as I pass through this place, preparing for the next, in Jesus' Name, amen.
Application Steps:
Are your ideas about heaven and the life to come fuzzy? Begin searching the Bible for passages about it.
Reflections:
Do you think about heaven much? Do you believe you can think about it too much?
How do you feel when you do ponder your life to come in heaven?
How do your views on heaven influence your days here on earth?
Power Verses:
Ecclesiastes 3:11a, "He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men." (NIV)
2 Peter 3:13, "But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness." (NIV)
YOU TUBE SONG FOR TODAY
Finally Home
MercyMe
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zI3lXSOt3c
…and…
Taking a trip on the Bible Bus
Joel 2:4 -14
4 Their appearance is like that of horses, and they gallop like war horses. 5 They bound on the tops of the mountains. Their sound is like the sound of chariots, like the sound of fiery flames consuming stubble, like a mighty army deployed for war. 6 Nations writhe in horror before them; all faces turn pale. 7 They attack as warriors [attack]; they scale walls as men of war [do]. Each goes on his own path, and they do not change their course. 8 They do not push each other; each man proceeds on his own path. They dodge the missiles, never stopping. 9 They storm the city; they run on the wall; they climb into the houses; they enter through the windows like thieves. 10 The earth quakes before them; the sky shakes. The sun and moon grow dark, and the stars cease their shining. 11 The Lord raises His voice in the presence of His army. His camp is very large; Those who carry out His command are powerful. Indeed, the Day of the Lord is terrible and dreadful- who can endure it?
God's Call for Repentance
12 Even now- [this is]*The bracketed text has been added for clarity. the Lord's declaration- turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning. 13 Tear your hearts, not just your clothes, and return to the Lord your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, rich in faithful love, and He relents from sending disaster. 14 Who knows? He may turn and relentand leave a blessing behind Him, [so you can] offer grain and wine to the Lord your 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
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