 A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation. <Previous Message · Archives ·  Archive/print editionThursday, April 16, 2009  Kids "tuning" our piano!  Listen to us share this message on your audio player."Stay Tuned On Truth" "You are a king, then!" said Pilate. Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me" (John 18:37).  Yesterday we had our piano tuned here at home and then the tuner, Mr. Keener, followed Brooksyne in his van, through the country to tune the piano at our church. It's interesting listening to a piano tuner at work. If you didn't know better you might think it was a child banging on the keys going from one end of the keyboard to the other.In tuning a piano he initially uses a standardized tuning fork set to a very specific tone. This forms the basis for tuning each note on the piano. If he begins with the wrong tone it will affect his entire tuning job. In the classic hymn "Come Thou Fount" there's a line that states "Tune my heart to sing Thy grace." Indeed our hearts need regularly tuned as we are confronted with conflicting tones all throughout life.  One of my favorite historical characters was a black man by the name of George Washington Carver. He was able to see the hand of God in nature. Carver said, "I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station through which God speaks to us every hour if we will only tune in." One of the great spiritual responsibilities we have is exercising discernment and teaching those whom we influence to do so as well. There is a cacophony of voices that call out to us to go the wrong way. We are exposed to these voices at all ages, but our youth are particularly vulnerable. We need to constantly tune in to hear the voice of God, foundationally through His authoritative, inspired, and inerrant Word, the Holy Scriptures. Today's Bible text is a portion where Pilate is questioning Jesus at His trial. He seems at one point to have the correct revelation that Jesus is a king when he said, "You are a king, then!" Since Pilate's body language (which often speaks louder than words) is not described by John, did he say it in jest as he raised his eyebrows and grimaced while those who stood nearby looked on? Whatever the circumstance, he certainly did not act appropriately and of course was instrumental in the false conviction of Jesus. I am so enriched by what our Lord Jesus said to Pilate and through the Word He now says to us, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth." Christ knew who He was and why He had come. He came to testify to the truth. But let us consider the latter portion of our Lord's response. "Everyone on the side of truth listens to me." I certainly want to be on the side of truth and thus I want to hear the voice of truth. Lord, give us all discernment to truly tune in to hear, listen to and heed Your voice today. Let us stay tuned on Truth! Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily prayer: Father, I want my heart to be tuned to Your Truth and righteousness, for You are the Way, the Truth and the Life. I place my complete trust in You and reject the godless trends and vain philosophies promoted by the world. May Your words be embedded in my heart and mind through the faithful study of Scripture so that I might not sin against You and so that I will recognize truth from error. Keep me faithful and true. Amen.  Brooksyne's Note: Our message today takes me back quite a few years ago when my dad proudly brought home a second hand (probably third or fourth hand) radio console from the 1930's era. It was solid wood with a veneer finish and had the typical dial tuner. As a family we were pretty excited about the "antique" radio and right away we tried to find our favorite radio stations. The problem was we couldn't hear our station clearly without nearby stations trying to butt in. We would try to fine tune it but then we'd then run into static as we got further and further from the actual station we were trying to hear. But if we were patient and fine tuned it delicately and with much deliberation we'd finally get the station we wanted. Of course, anyone who then messed with the dial was in big trouble. Like the radio, when we tune into God's voice and hear His message, there are other messages bombarding our minds and trying to take over or distort His clear, unambiguous message. I pray that I will regularly fine tune my heart to receive what God has for me which means I will not give ear to that which distorts, revises, or adds to the truth of God's Word.and Supplemental Resources |
 "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 4/15/09: $3,225.00)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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