 A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation. <Previous Messages · Archives ·  Archive/print editionThursday, June 25, 2009  Cape May lighthouse This lighthouse is on the very southern tip of New Jersey. We walked over five miles yesterday on sand and boardwalks during the peaks of sunshine and in the downpours of rain!  Listen to us share this message on your audio player."A Pleasant Hope" "Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure" (1 John 3:2,3). When Brooksyne and I got married in 1976 we lived near Pleasant Hope, a small town in Southwestern Missouri about twenty-five miles north of Springfield. In fact our very first joint checking account was opened at the Bank of Pleasant Hope. I don't know the basis of this name but the names of many geographical locations have a religious significance, as they were settled by devout people of faith. In Lancaster County we have a village named Mount Hope. Since devoted religious immigrants settled this area in the 18th century it likely represents an expression of faith. Hope is one of the greatest of God's blessings. Our relationship with God always involves faith, and active faith in Him always leads to hope. When our faith in God is weak, inactive or non-existent we have either no hope or a misplaced hope. Today we want to share about a pleasant hope that is the heritage of all true followers of Christ. We are included in the "beloved" that John writes to who are "Now (present tense) the children of God." As children of God there's a lot about our future, both the immediate and distant, which is very unclear to us. I believe this in part is the sense of the expression from our text, "it has not appeared as yet what we will be." An old gospel hymn puts it this way, "Many things about tomorrow, I don't seem to understand, but I know Who holds tomorrow and I know Who holds my hand." The aged apostle John writes with much certainty about the future, "we know that when He appears." His future appearance, although mocked and scorned by the world, is a fixed reality. At that time "we will be like Him, and we will see Him just as He is!" Elsewhere the Scriptures refer to the return of Christ as the "Blessed Hope" and it truly is. Today I am so blessed and challenged by the latter phrase in our daily text, "And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure." This hope is not a mere wish but an absolute certainty and leads to an unshakable confidence concerning the future promise of God. As a result of this we, as God's children, will purify ourselves because our coming Lord is absolutely pure. A commentary notes, "The Christian life is a process of becoming more and more like Christ. This process will not be complete until we see Christ face to face, but knowing that this is our ultimate destiny should motivate us to purify ourselves. To purify means to keep morally straight, free from the corruption of sin. God also purifies us, but there is action we must take to remain morally fit." This action, I believe, is staying true to the pure doctrine of Scripture, not just reading it but living it. We must be vigilant in keeping God's standards as our rule book, rather than the ever changing standards of this world that reflects people's human nature, not the spiritual nature that has been redeemed and refined by the inerrant Holy Word of God. Genuine Christ-directed faith leads to a real hope and that leads to an amazing, unexplainable ability to rejoice whatever the circumstances. Surely some of you are facing very trying circumstances as you read this. Today I encourage you to focus on the hope we have in Christ and I end with a thought-provoking saying I really like: "Man's way leads to a hopeless end, but God's way leads to an endless hope." Amen!!! Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily Prayer: Father, we share the sentiment Paul expressed when he wrote, "If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men." Our hope is not limited to this earthly existence, but rather it flourishes and yields growing anticipation as we contemplate the blessed future event of our Lord's soon return. Being aware of our unworthiness and inclination to sin gives us all the more motivation to fix our hope on You. We want to set our affections on things above, not on things of this earth, for we are dead to the world and our life is hidden with Christ through You, Father. Purify our thoughts, actions, and conversation as we with renewed determination fix our hope on the Everlasting One.  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.) "The Lighthouse" (Video) "My Hope Is In The Lord" Video "The Solid Rock" Video "My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less" A beautiful acapella arrangement.  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 6/24/09: $5,450.00)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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