A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation. <Previous Message · Easy read/print edition Monday November 12, 2007  Weeping Willow Yesterday afternoon I drove through Kutztown Pennsylvania and passed this stunning weeping willow along Main Street.  Click here to listen to this message on your audio player."Delivering Grace" "I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that He considered me faithful, appointing me to His service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 1:12-14). Manuel Cordero, who also goes by the name of Manny, is a friend of mine from Bible College. As a student I recall his burden for prison ministries and while in college he worked as a volunteer at the Federal Prison Medical Center in Springfield, Missouri. He has served as a prison chaplain his entire ministry and for many years ministered inside federal penitentiaries. He went on to become the national director of training for the entire federal prison system.  Pastor Alex Valezquez and Chaplain Manuel Cordero We visited at a chaplain conference this last Saturday and he introduced me to Alex Valezquez who has a powerful testimony demonstrating God's amazing grace. In the late eighties Manny worked as a prison chaplain at a federal penitentiary in upstate Pennsylvania and met Alex who was imprisoned as a kingpin drug dealer. Alex turned to the Lord and Chaplain Cordero discipled and assisted him in the restoration of his marriage. Alex went on to receive pastoral training and is now pastor of the Oasis Tabernacle in inner city Philadelphia. Interestingly, Chaplain Cordero attends this church and serves as assistant pastor! Manny said that it took a while for him to get used to having a former prisoner that he shepherded now become his shepherd. The motto of Oasis Tabernacle is "A place of refuge for hurting people." I love to hear stories of God's amazing grace. They abound. All over the world today, in the midst of so much bad news, the good news of Jesus Christ is impacting scores of lives. Be assured it is happening, although you won't hear about most of them (until you get to heaven anyway.) The daily text is an abbreviation of Paul's testimony. He testifies to having been "a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man." Perhaps an indication of this was the description, just prior to his conversion on the Damascus Road, that he "was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples" (Acts 9:1). I am especially intrigued and am still seeking insight on the phrase, "I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief." Paul, who was a learned man in regard to religious training, realized after his conversion that in reality he had "acted in ignorance and unbelief." I consider today so many who are taught by this world's standards who also act in ignorance and unbelief. My, how I am tremendously blessed by the last part of today's Scripture selection, "The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus." God continues pouring out His grace abundantly. That saving grace is resulting in remarkable deliverance power for sinners as well as remarkable sustaining power for saints, which I will write about tomorrow. But my specific word of encouragement today is for those of you praying for a lost loved one. Alex, who now pastors in Philadelphia, was raised in a Christian home in New York City. I wonder how many hearts were broken and grievous* tears flowed for this wayward loved one over the decades? How many years of seemingly fruitless prayer ascended to heaven on his behalf? Keep believing today and never give up. The words from a song I recall from my younger days as a Christian brings out an important truth: "God specializes in things thought impossible and He will do what no other power can do." Keep on praying and believing! Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily prayer: Father, I invite the presence of Your Holy Spirit to dominate my life so that every attitude and belief will be submitted to Your Spirit that resides within. The ongoing struggle I encounter with Satan's desire to dominate my life is overcome by the precious, wonder-working blood of the Lamb. Sin seeks to steal my integrity, but Your righteousness upholds it. I intercede on behalf of loved ones who are held captive by sin, that they will lay aside their garments stained with sin and be washed anew in the cleansing fountain of Your precious blood. Amen. * Brooksyne's Note: Recently I was interceding on behalf of a loved one who is not following in the path of godliness. Tears were overflowing and my heart was hurting feeling as thought it was twice the normal size. It was full of frustration, fear and helplessness since I could not change the situation. The next morning in my devotions I came across a thought by Henry Gariepy that especially applied to my prayer time the day before and since then. "Paul tells us 'do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God' in Eph. 4:30. The Holy Spirit is a divine person, and can be grieved, as Paul warns. Grieve is a love word. We grieve those we love. Because the Holy Spirit is our best friend who dwells within our heart, He is grieved by our wrongdoing." After reading the above paragraph it helped me to realize why there is such a heaviness when we pray for one dear to our hearts who is resisting God's voice and tuning in the devil. We, full of love and concern for the spiritual state of our loved one are grieved by the choices he is making and it is understandable that we will feel deeply as we pray on their behalf. It also gives us a sense of what Jesus must feel when He intercedes to the Father on our behalf when we are struggling with sin in our lives. For our many readers who are interceding on behalf of a loved one, keep on praying and believing. God does hear and answer prayer as we shared earlier in the testimony of Alex Valexquez. Sometimes they have to partner with the darkness of sin to finally see the contrast of God's wonderful light of salvation. Some more photos from my weekend    Many of the testimonies the men shared were moving. One young man declared, "I've been a dealer for the devil, now I'm gonna deal for God!" (An interesting way to put it, but I believe we know what he means.) Al was tired when it was over and as he began the final baptism he got confused and began to state "I now pronounce you..." as he caught himself and realized it wasn't a wedding ceremony! Teen Challenge is a Christian drug and alcohol rehab program serving all ages.  Today's suggested music: "Mercy Saw Me" (Audio) This is the version we are familiar with and Linda Reid sang this beautifully in our church in New England. Brooksyne suggested this in light of today's topic and the Teen Challenge baptisms. "Mercy Saw Me" another version (Hi-speed audio) (Low-speed audio) by Gail Kreason "Statue Of Liberty" (Audio) probably the best known song by the original Couriers. Info about multi-media files used on daily encouragement. |
Administration Information  Stephen and Brooksyne "We want to encourage you daily in your walk with Christ!" Personal Ministry Update We share our hearts with you as we go forth in this online ministry.  Each weekday morning Brooksyne and I prepare these messages and distribute them at no cost to you and many others all over the world. Would you please consider a financial offering to support us in this encouragement ministry? Thanks! See here for details.Join: To receive these free "Daily Encouragement" devotionals each Monday-Friday through email see this page to subscribe. You can also subscribe to the rss feed. Cancel: To remove your address from this mailing list merely use the link placed by the mailing list software at the very bottom of each message. Weekly Version: The weekly version is designed for those who do not check their email regularly. It is merely the Friday message with a link to previous messages. To receive the free weekly version, send a blank email to this address. (To change addresses cancel your old address and then join again using your new address.) Please feel free to pass this message on! Daily Encouragement Net is an affiliate of Christianbook.com (Any orders placed to Christian Book Distributers using this link or any specific product link to a recommended resource in a daily encouragement message will help our Daily Encouragement ministry through a small commission on the sale. Thank you for using these links when purchasing online through CBD!) Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and I make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and to prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity." How to become a child of God Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission; and the King James Version. "A Little Foolishness" - We invite daily encouragement readers to visit our new blog which is a collection of humorous and satirical stories drawn mostly from our years of ministry, as well as my sometimes fertile imagination. We also welcome submissions from readers. © Copyright 2007 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved  |
