 A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation. <Previous Messages · Archives ·  Archive/print editionWednesday, June 24, 2009  Ocean sunset (Click on photo to enlarge)  Listen to us share this message on your audio player."Lessons From A Coach" "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:1,2).  Last night we joined some friends for dinner. Bill & Pat Preston just celebrated their 49th wedding anniversary and demonstrate a committed walk with the Lord, both turning to Christ early in their marriage. Pat has served with Christian Women's Clubs for many years. Bill is a college cross country and track coach. He has run in many marathons including the Boston Marathon. At 71 years of age he remains in excellent fitness and is a beloved coach to many.In my younger years I enjoyed sports as a participant and actually ran in both cross country and track (long distance). I recall to this day how I esteemed my coach and for a number of years was a high school tennis coach when I lived in northern Pennsylvania. My conversation with Bill has given me cause for considering a passage that has spoken to me for many years. Based on the illustrations the Apostle Paul uses, I believe he also enjoyed sports or at least recognized their value in "connecting" with his readers.  All of us who follow Jesus Christ are participating in a great contest. The writer of Hebrews alludes to this in our daily Scripture portion (many believe to be Paul but this is not specified). The writer speaks to us like a coach. Today let's examine some lessons from this coach! This coach begins by reminding us that "We are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses." These witnesses are the men and women of faith chronicled in Hebrews 11. These witnesses are those all throughout the age who have gone on before us after a life of faithful service to Christ. They include Biblical people of faith and well-known heroes in the church with names many of us recognize such as D.L. Moody, A.W. Tozer and other great gospel preachers and hymn writers such as Fanny Crosby. But I also receive spiritual encouragement as I consider among the witnesses those who personally ministered to me such as my mom and dad, along with many dedicated people that most of you have never heard of like Pastor John Howard, Elbert Sherrell, Tracy Sutherland, Bill Shibilo, Earl Martin and many, many others.* (It might be well for you to develop a similar list with those unique to you.) We are to take this event seriously and this coach instructs us to "Throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles." This speaks of singe-minded dedication, surrendering all to the Great Cause. This coach specifically calls us to a race, "Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." This race is most analogous to a marathon, which begins the moment we accept Christ and continues throughout the remainder of our lives until we either meet the Lord in death or in the rapture. It's a lifelong race! Coach reminds us that a great character quality essential in any athletic contest, but certainly a long distance race is expressed in the phrase "Run with perseverance." All great athletes are characterized by perseverance. They overcome pain, rejection, adverse weather, and all kinds of setbacks to achieve their goal. Likewise, strong, persevering followers of Christ just keep pressing on in spite of the hardship. Coach calls us to keep looking unto Jesus our greatest example, "Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." Today let us stay faithful and keep running this great race with perseverance! Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily prayer: Jesus, the race You've marked out for us doesn't require nearly as much physical stamina as it does spiritual endurance. Those who are physically weak due to disease, illness, and aging are just as qualified to run as those who have young athletic bodies. It's a spiritual race where You call us to perseverance as we discard anything that would trip us up or lead us on a disastrous detour. The great cloud of witnesses spur us on; those from the Biblical period, throughout history, and from our own generation. But above all we thank You, Jesus, that You endured the cross and all the suffering that accompanied it, being spurred on by the joy You knew that would be Yours afterward. You cheer us on by Your own example and by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit that sustains us in our struggle against sin. Keep us faithful to the end, for the end is only the beginning. Amen. * So many have had a personal impact on me and of course most are not known but to a few. In fact I believe the greatest personal impact in each of our lives is from these types of people. As I do some reminiscing I could list many more. One I have written about is Bill Shibilo, a dedicated man in our church in New England who departed for heaven shortly before we left that area. See here. 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) Steve Green  Regardless of what country you may live in we sure need a revival! On Sunday morning July 5 our church will join many others in participating in "Call2Fall", a nationwide prayer meeting. We encourage others to look into this, especially pastors here in America. Essentially this is a definite time during worship on Sunday, July 5th when we get on our knees before the Lord in repentant prayer, pleading with God to reshape our lives, renew our land, and send times of refreshing (See 2 Chronicles 7:14; Acts 3:19).Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne |
 "We want to encourage you daily in your walk with Christ!" Personal Ministry Update Revised 05/08/09  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 6/22/09: $5,350.00)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. or as an email subscription update through feedburner. Subscribe to Daily Encouragement Updates by EmailCancel: 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. (To change addresses cancel your old address and then join again using your new address.) Weekly Version: The weekly version is intended 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. 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  Endorsed chaplain "Living securely today anchored in God's solid foundation" www.dailyencouragement.net |
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