OUR DAILY BREAD             Sat., July 1, 1995  
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READ: Psalm 113   

                
               NO DUMPING ALLOWED 

      "[The Lord] raises the poor out of the dust,
        and lifts the needy out of the ash heap."

                                -- Psalm 113:7

For several years I've worked in a ministry to drug
addicts, and I've seen Christ transform many who had
lost hope.  Yet in response to a newspaper article
about our work, I received a letter from someone who
said, "You are wasting your time working with worthless
drug addicts.  They should be given a lethal injection
and tossed on the city dump."  

How heartless!  These people need a massive dose of 
good news.  They (and also that letter writer) need
to hear that God doesn't cast us sinners off on some
trash heap.  On the contrary, He loved this world so
much that He sent His only Son to die for our sins.
And whoever puts his faith in Him will not perish,
but will be given eternal life (Jn. 3:16).

Some people visit dumps, searching for objects to
redeem and restore.  According to Psalm 113, God
looks compassionately on human castaways.  He seeks
ways to lift them out of the ash heaps of sin and
death, and to give them a place of honor and dignity
(vv. 7-8).

If that is God's response to this world's castaways,
we should make it ours.  We too were lost in the 
depths of sin but were raised to newness of life.
God says of sinners, "No dumping allowed!"

                                -- Joanie E. Yoder

        In loving kindness Jesus came
         My soul in mercy to reclaim,
    And from the depths of sin and shame
         Through grace He lifted me.

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           THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
------------------------------------------
    Christ was lifted up on the cross
 that we might be lifted out of our sin.
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THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:  Psalms 112-114

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