 A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation. Home · About Us ·  · Podcast · Free emailSee here for more info. Wednesday, October 29, 2008  Golden bronzed leaves  Listen to us share this message on your audio player."I'm Not Going Back!" "From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more" (John 6:66). "So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised" (Hebrews 10:35,36). I heard a challenging sermon dealing with integrity and faithfulness using the text, "David shepherded them with integrity of heart." The preacher then challenged the congregation to renew their commitment to "our high calling in Christ Jesus." We concluded with a chorus that challenges and motivates me to persevere each time I sing it; "cause I never want to go back to my old life." Surely our first daily text is one of the saddest expressions in the Bible. This was the response by many who upon hearing the teachings of Jesus said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?" (John 6:60). This remains the reaction of many when confronted with His teaching. Some of His teaching indeed seems so hard to understand. Some issues make sense to us, others we accept by faith. (And I have learned that there are many previously hard teachings that become easier to grasp after a period of growth and experience as a Christian.) After many of His disciples walked away, "Jesus then said to the twelve, 'Do you also want to go away?'” (v.67). Peter spoke up and uttered one of the greatest faith statements in the entire Bible: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (vv.68,69). The early Hebrew Christians were enduring persecution and were tempted to return to their old way of life. However, every generation of believers has this call to persevere. Every individual follower of Christ has this call as well. The letter to the Hebrews laboriously teaches the superiority of the way of Christ over the old religious system the initial readers had come out of. Of course His way is infinitely superior to any system devised by man. A key purpose of the entire letter to the Hebrews can be summed up in the exhortation and promise of the second daily verse: "So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded." The exhortation – "Do not throw away your confidence." This is the confidence or assurance believers have in Christ. We are not to throw it away or cast it aside. The promise – "it will be richly rewarded." Notice the certainty of this promise "it will be", not might be or should be. Praise God, it will be richly rewarded. "How and when will this happen?" our hearts cry out, especially as we are undergoing trial? But I particularly consider this with those being persecuted. This answer and date is not given, but the writer goes on to say, "You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised" (Hebrews 10:36). Keep trusting in Him today, fellow believer. Your confidence in Christ will be richly rewarded! But some throw it away. May we have a persevering heart to do the will of God regardless of luring temptations or formidable obstacles we encounter. Today, may we all, like Peter, consecrate ourselves to God and continue as His follower. "A faithful follower I would be, for by His hand He leadeth me." By the grace of God I'm not going back to my old life! Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily prayer: Father, there is no one or no thing that is worthy of our complete allegiance, but You, our Lord, who has the words of eternal life. Though others may refuse to listen or turn away from the message of salvation we choose to persevere. We persevere in trial and in victory, in the ups and downs and in the in-betweens of everyday circumstances. We seek to do Your will in all things so that we will be richly rewarded at the end of this life. In the name of Jesus we persevere. Amen. PS: It's interesting that the first daily verse is the only 6:66 reference in the entire New Testament! "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Brooksyne's Note: I find it interesting that Peter, who eventually denied Christ, is the named disciple who, previous to this tragic experience, spoke up as as others walked away from Christ, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." Though Peter allowed raging fear to wipe out the remembrance of his powerful statement of faith, surely this is also what caused him to realize that after having denied Jesus, there truly was no one to whom he could go who has the words of eternal life. This caused such deep sorrow that he wept bitterly after his outright denial. Surely this deep seated conviction is also what drove him back to the loving, forgiving arms of our Savior upon his repentance. When we have allowed fear or foolishness to drive us away from our Lord, may we also humbly draw near to Him and find forgiveness and acceptance once again.  Among Brooksyne's final freshcut flowers of the season is this interesting double gerber daisy bloom. (Two blooms from the same stem.)  Here's the stem from the back.  Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources (Click on the link to open and play) "Grace Alone" Video This powerful song was written by Scott Wesley Brown and is a reminder of the source of our persevering power in going forth in grace alone. May God help each one of us. "Press On!" Video by Selah. This is such a well-written song! "When The Tears Fall" Video by the Newsboys. A great song of overcoming faith in the face of adversity. "Take My Life And Let It Be" Audio from Wholehearted Hymns "By What Death Will You Glorify God?" A brief article by John Piper concerning Christ's final words to Peter. Info about multi-media files used on daily encouragement. Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne. |
 Stephen and Brooksyne Weber "We want to encourage you daily in your walk with Christ!" Personal Ministry Update Revised 10/21/08 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 daily encouragement ministry? Donations are tax deductible and will be receipted directly by my chaplaincy endorsing ministry. Thanks! See here for details.(2008 YTD financial offerings to Daily Encouragement Net through 10/28/2008: $16,181.00) SUBSCRIPTION INFO  Were you forwarded this edition of Daily Encouragement Net? To receive these free "Daily Encouragement" devotionals each Monday-Friday through email see this page to subscribe. This newsletter is never sent unsolicited. It was sent to you because you signed up to receive it OR a friend forwarded it to you. You can also subscribe to the rss feed.Cancel: We respect and value your time and privacy. If this newsletter no longer meets your needs we will be happy to remove your address from the list immediately. To remove your address merely use the link automatically inserted 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 these messages on! "A Daily Prayer" - A blog simply posting the daily prayer. We keep this up each day since it's merely the prayer from the Daily Encouragement Net message! "Clear Minded" - New this month. I plan to write and post longer, periodic articles on specific issues impacting the faithful believer and church. "A Little Foolishness" - A humor/satire blog (a great outlet for non-serious writing but at times with a subtle message!) I haven't had time or "inspiration" for this for awhile but it has several stories that get regular page views. "Hymns of Hope" - Brooksyne along with two friends made a CD using classic hymns. Brooksyne tells the background story of the 11 hymns. We are distributing this CD without charge in our ministry. All of these songs are also available for download on the site. If any reader in this series would like a CD merely write us and request one.  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, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version. © Copyright 2008 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved Daily Encouragement Net Stephen & Brooksyne Weber 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 Contact us  "Living securely today anchored in God's solid foundation" www.dailyencouragement.net |
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Daily Encouragement (10/29/08) "I'm Not Going Back"
