file: /pub/resources/text/Our.Daily.Bread: db940301.txt
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          OUR DAILY BREAD                           Tuesday, March 1, 1994
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          Read:  John 12:1-11

                              DRAINING OR REPLENISHING?

                    They made Him a supper; and Martha served ...
                      Then Mary ... anointed the feet of Jesus.
                                    --John 12:2-3

          If someone spent the whole day with me, how would he feel at  the
          end  of  the  day -- worn out or built up?  That's  the  kind  of
          question I began to think about as I listened to Clark Hutchinson
          talk  about relationships.  He said he has noticed  three  kinds:
          draining, neutral, and replenishing.

          Hutchinson pointed out that Jesus experienced all three kinds  of
          relationships.  Those that exhausted His energy were perhaps  the
          most  common in our Lord's earthly experience, for He spent  much
          of   His  time  giving.  He  healed  the  sick,  encouraged   the
          downtrodden,  and taught the masses.  We know that  sometimes  He
          must have been worn out by these experiences.  He often went away
          to pray and renew Himself (Matt. 14:23; Luke 5:16).

          Some  of  His relationships were probably just  casual  contacts.
          But the replenishing ones encouraged Jesus.  They were  relation-
          ships  with people such as Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, whose  love
          and presence uplifted the Lord.

          How  do  we  relate to our  friends,  acquaintances,  and  family
          members?  We  can  add to their lives a measure of  happiness  by
          giving  them a chance to talk, encouraging them,  and  suggesting
          life's brighter side.

          Do we leave people drained or replenished?

          Author:  J. David Branon

                             A smile, a word, a touch --
                              And each is easily given,
                           To rescue someone from despair
                            Or smooth the way to heaven.
                                       --Anon.

          THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
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          To get the most out of a relationship, put all you can into it.

          THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:  Deuteronomy 4-6




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