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March 11, 2004
Day 293
James 1:12-18 Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once
he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has
promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am
being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself
does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and
enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to
sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. Do not be deceived,
my beloved brethren. Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from
above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation
or shifting shadow. In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the
word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.
David continues
to amaze us with his antics. He is responding very well to his therapists.
(He closes his eye and pretends to be asleep when I try to get him to do
anything!) Today he pointed correctly to ‘yes’ and ‘no’ written on the white
board. The therapists are trying to get him sitting up somewhat on the therapy
mat. Everyone at Summit Place is excited by his progress and stop us in the
hall when I am pushing him around in his wheelchair. Please pray for our
video interview on Monday. Pray that he will do everything he is able to
do so that the staff at Shepherd Center get a good picture of what he is
capable of doing.
Construction
news – our push is going to be to get things ready for pouring concrete next
week – so if anyone is familiar with forming concrete or doing rough plumbing,
that would be a great help. We also could use help in finishing our roof
(hot, hard, dangerous, tiring work – if you want to volunteer). Thanks for
your help and prayers.
Romans
6:1-14 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that
grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live
in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ
Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with
Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead
through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly
we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that
our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might
be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who
has died is freed from sin.
Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with
Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die
again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He
died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even
so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts,
and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments
of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the
dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall
not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
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