 A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation. <Previous Message · Archives ·  Archive/print editionMonday, January 5, 2009  (Click on photo to enlarge)  Listen to us share this message on your audio player."Living Responsibly" "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!" (Matthew 25:21). Last night I got a call from Ray, a friend who lives about 100 miles away. He and his wife Vicky are celebrating their 35th anniversary today. This weekend they're planning a trip to Lancaster County so they can go to our local dinner theater and they're also fitting us into their plans so we can visit. I invited them to stay over for church on Sunday but they declined since they need to get back for a missions service in their own church in which Vicky has a role. Initially I suggested that they try to get out of it and then it struck me that this is the very type of commitment and responsibility that I value so highly and try to model myself! This wonderful commendation in our daily Scripture text is part of a parable Jesus told late in His earthly ministry. "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things." This servant had used the talents that were given to him wisely and responsibly. I believe responsibility is a character trait that is often under-rated in our modern world. Actually I would have to say in my observation that irresponsibility is increasingly becoming far more common. We express our faithfulness to God in a number of ways:
We practice these responsibilities in a number of different ways: when we nurture our relationships; when we handle our finances with care and integrity; when we properly care for our belongings; and when we practice healthful living as stewards of the body that God has given us. These matters may not be very "spiritual" sounding but I believe they are important ways we glorify God. Through my years in ministry I've met quite a number of people who appear to have it altogether in personality, appearance, or giftings, but have made a fiasco of their relationships or finances. Or they've ignored repeated warnings about other important matters in their lives. As we begin the first work week of another New Year let me urge you to closely examine your life as a follower of Christ. Are you living in responsible obedience to God on a day by day basis? May God help us this New Year to live our lives responsibly! Be encouraged today, Stephen C. Weber Daily Prayer: Father, we pray that You will empower us to live responsible lives so that we can be living examples of what it means to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age. Help us to resist temptations that weaken our resolve to live holy lives by memorizing and quoting Scripture that speaks to that sinful behavior, even while we're being tempted. We desire to bring joy to Your heart as we live responsibly and cast off that which hinders our spiritual growth. We want to seek first Your Kingdom and Your righteousness so that we will be kingdom servants pursuing righteous living. In the name of Your Son, Jesus, we pray. Amen.  Friday evening we had wonderful fellowship with Chris Muhlhammer along with her daughter Katie and son Mike in Raleigh, North Carolina. They attended our church in northern Pennsylvania before moving to Raleigh 19 years ago, so it was an exciting joyful reunion. As we joined in a time of prayer it was as though we were once again in church together and the time gap ceased to exist. Much adversity has occured in those 19 years, so it was good to see these dear folks remaining vibrant and faithful in their Christian walk. Mike has a wonderful testimony of overcoming his physical adversity.  The Muhlhammers have two very friendly and boisterous golden retrievers and Ester had quite a lively time with them!  During our trip last week we visited Stephen's favorite store in three different places (Charlotte NC, Richmond VA, and Baltimore MD). Can any readers tell us in what store Brooksyne would be able to hold hands with a grizzly bear, hang on to her purse, and keep a smile on her face? (It looks like the bear is smiling also.) Respond here. The photo posted in Friday's encouragement message of Stephen's sister and family was taken on the London Eye. Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources (Click on the link to open and play. In some cases you may also need to click again to start the song.) "Find Us Faithful" Video This is a video prepared by a pastor for his parent's 50th wedding anniversary. His mother was in the hospital with leukemia at the time, and she passed away five days before the anniversary but she did get to see this video. Even though I don't know them I am blessed by the message the video conveys. What a wonderful way to honor a faithful mother! I was looking for a song that came out about the same time that Steve Green sang called "The Mission" which has these words, "There's a call going out, across the land in ev'ry nation, A call to all who swear allegiance, to the cross of Christ, A call to true humility, to live our lives responsibly, To deepen our devotion, to the cross at any price. To love the Lord our God, is the heartbeat of our mission, The spring from which our service overflows. Across the street or around the world, The mission's still the same, Proclaim and live the truth in Jesus' name. |
 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 12/31/08: $21,766.00) SUBSCRIPTION INFO  Were you forwarded this edition of Daily Encouragement Net? If you desire you can receive your own free! To receive these "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" - Longer, periodic articles on specific issues impacting the faithful believer and church. (Actually this is my intent but I haven't done much with it!) "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 2009 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved Daily Encouragement Net Stephen & Brooksyne Weber 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 Contact us |
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