 A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation. <Previous Message · Archives ·  Archive/print editionFriday, April 3, 2009  (Photo by Chaucee Stillman)  Listen to us share this message on your audio player."The Land Of Canaan" "He (Abraham) took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there" (Genesis 12:5). This week I spoke to Mike, a friend who had just returned from Israel, where he had gone on a college trip with his daughter Chaucee, who is a student at Philadelphia Biblical University. He shared how much he had seen during his twelve day stay and in describing the various sights expressed how huge the Valley of Armageddon was. He shared today's photo with me. I suppose what surprised me is how much green is visible through the trees since I always assumed this was a desert area. Take a look at any regular sized globe or world map. Your little finger will easily cover over Israel, which is among the smallest countries of the world. At 8,019 square miles it's only slightly larger than New Jersey and has less than .015% of the land area on the entire planet. Its population of 7.3 million is less than that of New Jersey and it comprises only .1% of the world's people. The Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths all revere it as the "Holy Land".  This tiny piece of real estate is in the news almost constantly, certainly in a proportion far exceeding its size and population. And earnest believers in Christ know it is here that many of the end-time prophecies will be fulfilled. Actually the current significance of this tiny land should be a real faith builder.The daily text records the very first Biblical reference to this land's significance when the Lord directed Abraham and his family to go there about 1900 BC. It is simply identified as "The land Of Canaan". Abraham's seed became the nation of Israel (named after Abraham's grandson, Jacob, whose name was divinely changed to Israel). At the time of the Exodus the fledgling nation came to be known as the children of Israel and later just Israel. It was through Abraham's seed and in this land that the Messiah was born, lived and died for the sins of the entire human race. It was in this land that the glorious resurrection took place and 40 days later the ascension. Here Jesus Christ established His church that for the last 2,000 years has been bearing witness to all nations of His completed work of redemption. We must keep our eyes first on Christ. I firmly believe greater times of distress are coming upon our world. It has for the most part rejected the redemption plan of Jesus. The activity in that tiny land of Israel will continue to intensify. (Interestingly, the present word "Palestine" is a derivative of the word, "Philistine", which of course was an ancient adversary of Israel). As believers we must continue our mission of faithfully bearing witness for Christ. In a broader context Jesus spoke of the troubling events of the end-times using this phrase, "Such things must happen" (Matthew 24:6). He also said in that same verse, "see to it that you are not alarmed." Today my fellow believer let us continue to faithfully serve the Lord and bear witness to His redemptive work. The final outcome for the true child of God is always good! Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily prayer: Father, when we pause to think about the incredible journey that Abraham, Sarah, and Lot "set out" for so they could eventually "arrive" at the Promised Land I'm reminded of our journey that we, as believers, have "set out" for, from the time we surrendered our hearts to You. Our journey is filled with much accumulations, family and friends, the stuff of life, and it is often strenuous and marked by uncertainties and disappointments, but also achievements and gains. This spiritual journey also provides many opportunities for us to trust You for what lies ahead as we "set out" for our invisible Promised Land on the other side of Jordan. We've set out for the land of heaven, and by faith, we will "arrive" there in good time. And the blessing of this arrival is that we won't have to pack or unpack a thing – all we have need of (and much, more more) will be provided in your well-furnished heaven.  For readers accustomed to a regular schedule, today's message is at a later hour due to our delightful visit with the Schmidts as we enjoyed a light lunch together! Our messages are prepared "to order", thus our schedule changes now and then. Now that our kitchen is completed we're back to having guests and we sure enjoy that. 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. "I Know That My Redeemer Lives" Video |
 "We want to encourage you daily in your walk with Christ!" Personal Ministry Update Revised 01/20/09  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. (2009 YTD financial offerings through 4/02/09: $2,850.00)SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION  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 either 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 these messages no longer meet your needs (providing encouragement) you can remove your address by merely use the link automatically inserted by the mailing list software at the very bottom of each email message. Weekly Version: The weekly version is designed for those who may 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! "A Little Foolishness" - Humor/satire blog (a great outlet for non-serious writing but at times with a subtle message!) Last updated with the story of Mildred Swanson, who joyfully discovers her "spiritual gift" is sending forwarded emails! (Note: This material is satire!) "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!) "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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