 A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation. <Previous Messages · Archives ·  Archive/print editionMonday, August 31, 2009  Amish Buggy Traffic An enjoyable sight each Sunday morning on the way to church is seeing the horses & buggies as the Amish folks go to their church services which meet in homes every other Sunday. I enjoyed this photo taken by our friend Doris High.  Listen to us share this message on your audio player"Blessed Is The Man" "O Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in You" (Psalm 84:12).   Raymond became a part of our country church when he married in 1937. His wife died about 12 years ago. In his younger years he was an excellent carpenter and craftsman. (Featured is a photo of a cherry corner cabinet he built that was recently for sale at an auction.) He used his talents and skills to serve the Lord as well – the evidences abound in our little church. In today's message I would like to consider the qualities that make a man blessed. There are twenty references in the Scriptures that use the phrase "Blessed is the man" found in both the Old and New Testaments. Perhaps the most familiar is from Psalm 1:1 that states, "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers." Psalm 84 was written by "the sons of Korah" who were the musicians in the temple at the time of David.* It is referred to as The Pearl of Psalms and considered to be "the most sweet of the Psalms of peace." Verse one begins, "How Lovely is Your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty" and each verse continues as a powerful expression of faith in God. Many of us enjoy singing the well-known song, "Better is One Day in Your Courts" that is based on this Psalm. Our daily text is the concluding verse in this Psalm: "O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in You." Charles Spurgeon comments on this verse, "Here is the key of the Psalm. The worship is that of faith, and the blessedness is peculiar to believers. No formal worshipper can enter into this secret. A man must know the Lord by the life of real faith, or he can have no true rejoicing in the Lord's worship, his house, his Son, or His ways." Let us ask ourselves today, "Do we trust God implicitly for everything in life?" If we do, the Lord bestows favor and honor on us, and no good thing does He withhold (84:11). Louisa Stead wrote in 1882 (the year of my grandfather's birth) "I'm so glad I've learned to trust Thee, Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend And I know that Thou art with me Wilt be with me to the end. Are you trusting in the Lord today as you read this message?
Be encouraged today, Stephen C. Weber Daily prayer: Father, You are a sun and shield; a light to those who walk in darkness and a shield to protect us from the enemy's arsenal. You will not withhold anything that will help us serve You better. The longer we walk this spiritual journey we become more trusting because we've seen Your mighty hand and outstretched arm leading us all along the way, just as You led the Israelites out of Egypt. You deliver us from our own peril and provide us with everything we need for this life and the next. We fully trust in You, O Lord Almighty. For more study on today's topic: Here's a listing of the twenty references in Scripture using phrase, "Blessed is the man" Psalm 84 Read Listen * Information about the Sons of Korah Article 1 Article 2 The Elizabethtown Country Fair I have shared in past posts of my enjoyment in attending country fairs. We attended two State Fairs earlier this month in Indiana and Ohio. The other night we walked through our local fair, the Elizabethtown Fair,where we saw a number of friends and enjoyed the local sights and reminders of how blessed we are.  Locally grown produce reminding us of the bountiful and variety of provisions grown here in Lancaster County.  Among my favorite plants is the Coleus since the entire plant is colorful, like a blooming flower. Here's the prize winner along, with a weary observer who peacefully slept the entire time we walked through the large display area. In fact although I could have easily cropped the photo to show only the plant I felt his presence added additional color to the photo!  I have used chainsaws to cut down trees and prepare firewood. Here's a piece we watched a man carve out of a large log using a variety of chain saws! He sure had to have good control of the saw especially when he carved the beak!  Of course we walked through the antique tractor display and saw a large variety of interesting old tractors. Here's one someone had some fun with, welding two old tractors together to make a twin. I imagine it has good pulling power but wonder how well it steers since each side has its own steering wheel. At last year's fair I saw this interesting tractor combination, perhaps built by the same hobbyist. 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.) "Better Is One Day In Your Courts" Video This song is based on Psalm 84. Many of us have sang it in our churches but were perhaps unaware that it is based on this Scripture. "Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus" Video (I am aware I suggested this song in Friday's message but it just goes so well again today!) "Streams Of Water" Psalm 1:1,2 from the Integrity Scripture memory series. Audio Doris High has also posted some Elizabethtown Fair photos here. (I can always count on Doris to have some interesting photos!) Finally today: Ministry has many interesting and at times humorous moments. Yesterday we led a church service in a local assisted living facility. We have had this service for many years and have developed a close relationship with the people. One lady who has attended for many years is a Jewish lady from New York. She sings right along with the hymns and really seems to enjoy herself. I decided to let the residents pick hymns that they wanted to sing. She raised her hand and chose "Silent Night" It was not necessarily the most appropriate seasonally, but what a joy to see her singing of the Messiah! (I wondered what visitors thought as they walked past us singing this famous Christmas carol.) Brooksyne later told me that she lets the residents select Christmas carols year round since they might not live to see the next Christmas season. 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 8/27/09: $7,510.00)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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