Daily Encouragement (01/30/09) "The Power Of Touch"

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A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation. Home   ·   About Us   ·   ·  Podcast  ·  Free email See here for more info. <Previous Message    ·    Archives    ·     Archive/print edition Friday, January 30, 2009 The Amish children were sure enjoying the snow yesterday! Listen to us share this message on your audio player. "The Power Of Touch" "And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country.  People brought all their sick to Him and begged Him to let the sick just touch the edge of His cloak, and all who touched Him were healed" (Matthew 14:35,36). About twenty years ago Brooksyne and I became foster parents to overseas children who had life threatening illnesses.  They came to the U.S. for medical treatment after preapproval from a U.S. hospital and team of doctors who agreed to care for them.  Ester was our fourth child from Guatemala and was also available for adoption – she came to us at 3 months of age, went through many heart operations and has been a great blessing to us since that time. About 18 years ago we went to Guatemala and visited the orphanage in Guatemala City where Ester spent her first three months.  Babies, a number of them sick and abandoned by their birth mothers, lay in the orphanage day after day.  Several were covered with scabies and needed major medical attention.  We went from crib to crib and sought to stimulate each baby by speaking to them and holding them in our arms. We also visited the Rio Dulce where the children from the same orphanage were housed who were beyond diaper age.  About 50 orphans lived in very simple dormitories and were schooled there in the small village.  They were very excited about our arrival and followed us everywhere.  They called me "Papa" and fought over who would sit on my lap.  Brooksyne volunteered to give some badly needed haircuts.  With her hairdressing background it was a simple way she could be of use during our visit.  After a long search a pair of dull everyday scissors was confiscated and Brooksyne began the challenge of cutting the children's hair.  The haircutting line was long and it seemed the more she cut, the line continued to grow.  Eventually she realized that the line kept growing because the children, after they got their haircuts, would go back and line up for another trim.  They simply loved the individual attention and the human touch of a caring person.  Though we couldn't speak their Spanish they craved the universal language of love. Unlike the leper who feels nothing due to nerve damage we are warmed by the touch of another.  Unlike our other four senses (sight, taste, hearing, and smell) which are located in specific parts of the body, our sense of touch is found all over our body. Amazingly, there are over 3,000 touch receptors in each of our fingertips. Jesus invited the disciples to physically touch his hands and feet to feel the piercings from his crucifixion for further proof of His bodily resurrection.  It wasn't enough just to see, they needed to feel the evidence as well (Luke 24:39). When Jesus went about healing the sick and performing great miracles, news about Him quickly spread throughout the region.    People traveled great distances and brought their sick with them.  They knew that huge crowds would gather and it would likely be impossible to have a one on one audience with this Miracle Worker.  But they also knew that healing virtue flowed out from Him and just touching the edge of His cloak could restore them to wholeness. In fact all who touched Him were healed. I wonder what message we send to others by our touch?  I like it when another person extends his or her hand toward me for a firm handshake.  I enjoy it when my wife sitting in the passenger side of the car reaches over and laces her fingers through mine.  I'm genuinely warmed by the hug of another brother who is expressing his brotherly affection for me.  Today, will you join with Brooksyne and me in extending your hand to the oppressed, to the unloved, to those in need.  Be intentional in seeking out that person in church who comes alone and is often overlooked by others.  Shake his or her hand and make eye contact – more than just a dutiful or passing glance.  Communicate to God's creation that they are special to Him and special to you.  Why not ask if you can sit next to them? How about the homeless person or the mentally challenged? Those repulsed by the world are to be embraced by the godly. Our nursing homes are filled with people who long for a warm hug or a loving handshake.  Giving a hand massage is a wonderful way to warm the heart while engaging the spirit of one who is lonely and just needs to know someone is genuinely interested in them.  Will you be that person? O to be His hand extended Reaching out to the oppressed Let me touch Him, let me touch Jesus So that others may know and be blessed Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily Prayer: Father, help me to be Your hand extended to those in need.  We so often complain about our own needs but in reality much of our own needs are met as we reach out to others in need.  Your Scripture declares, "Those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed."  Help us not to put off that which You lay upon our hearts.  May our gentle and loving touch be the finger of God reaching down from heaven to earth.  We were created in Your image and we desire to portray Your loving character as well.  Amen. Marvin Culajay was our second child from Guatemala who came to live with us as he underwent two operations.  He is now grown with a family of his own and reconnected with us about a year ago after finding us through the daily encouragement.  He occasionally calls us and receives our messages daily in Guatemala. Brooksyne's Note: When I volunteered to cut the children's hair it didn't cross my mind that these children might be covered with head lice.  I had no experience with such a parasite and it took several haircuts before I realized what I was seeing especially behind the ears.  I breathed a sigh of relief when we left several days later and there wasn't a sign of lice in my hair….. until a week after I was back home in the U.S.  Kathy, a dear friend in our church, came over and pulled them out one by one, doused me in head lice shampoo, and cut my hair eliminating even more head lice.  It was a small price to pay for helping these precious children. I experienced a temporary discomfort of what they experienced daily. 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 Touch Of The Master's Hand"  Video  This is a classic poem put to music years ago and sung by a choir. The story is acted out with an auctioneer and buyers.  It is extremely well done! "Touch Through Me Holy Spirit"  Video  The graphics and words of this song especially convey the message we wrote about today.  It will touch your heart as you look at the images presented on this video of those who need the human touch. The touching pictures in this video brought to mind a visit I (Brooksyne) had at a Senior home this past week.  I was going room to room making visits and it was nearing bedtime (7:00 PM) when I walked into Clara's* room and saw her fully dressed with the covers pulled up.  When she saw me she began to ask repeatedly, "Where are my clothes?  How am I going to get my clothes?" Though I tried to reassure her that an aid would soon be there to help her she couldn't hear me and became rather distraught.  I spoke louder and again tried to reaessure her. Then I just sat on her bed and began to softly stroke her forehead and comb my fingers through her thin hair.  As I did so I no longer saw her as one who is dull of senses and in the beginning stages of Alzheimers, but I began to imagine her as a little girl, a young woman, somebody's wife or mother.  As I sat there unhurried and lightly massaging her scalp she began to rest and respond to the human touch.  This song speaks to me today as a prayer, "Touch through me, Holy Spirit, touch through me." *Not her real name "He Looked Beyond My Fault"  Video Location of Rio Dulce orphanage (google map) For the terminally curious. We dealt with some interesting traffic yesterday as one driver was bringing home her groceries in her pickup truck. Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne.

"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 1/28/09: $545.00) 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 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 meets 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! Our other blogs: "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! "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!) "A Little Foolishness" - A humor/satire blog (a great outlet for non-serious writing but at times with a subtle message!)  I haven't had time or "inspiration" for this for awhile but it has several stories that get regular page views. "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 "Living securely today anchored in God's solid foundation" www.dailyencouragement.net

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Daily Encouragement (01/29/09) "Taste And See"

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A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation. Home   ·   About Us   ·   ·  Podcast  ·  Free email See here for more info. <Previous Message    ·    Archives    ·     Archive/print edition Thursday, January 29, 2009 Snowy path We had the deepest snow of the season yesterday.  We often share photos of our walk along our favorite trail across from our home. Here's a spring photo of the same trail which is located here (google map). Listen to us share this message on your audio player. Note: Today's message was primarily written by Brooksyne. "Taste And See" "O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him" (Psalm 34:8). Spicy Mixed Nuts by Candlelight Recently I was going about my nightly duty of picking up things left out in the kitchen before retiring for bed.  The dim light under our range hood was sufficient enough for me to see what needed cleaning. There was a paper plate on the table with what appeared to be a couple of leftover spicy nuts and crumbs from the nut mixture.  I make up large batches of these mixed nuts and give them out to people often referring to these nuts as my "nut ministry".  I assumed that Ester had gotten into the mix I keep in the freezer and failed to clean her plate.  Since I really like these nuts this would allow me to eat a couple nuts without getting into the larger batch for which I am tempted to eat too many. I carried the plate with me into the dark hallway and started munching on the nut that I expected to be an almond, cashew or perhaps my favorite which is a brazil nut.  When I bit into the "nut" I didn't find it to be spicy, sweet or nut flavored at all.  Instead it tasted like a dried out, flavorless biscuit.  It tasted so awful I knew I'd gotten hold of the wrong thing.  I dashed for the trash and spit it out immediately.  Then I headed for Ester's bedroom with the paper plate in hand.  "Ester, what did you leave on this paper plate?"  "Mom, that was Roxie's dog biscuits.  She chewed some of them up but those are the leftover crumbs." Needless to say I felt quite foolish and Ester had a great laugh following my untasty debacle.  I couldn't judge the larger crumbs to be from dog biscuits since I had falsely assumed (hoped) them to be nuts.  The dimmed light didn't help matters, but the taste was all I needed for my palate to discern the difference between people food and dog food! In a much more important test of discernment many people have wrong assumptions about the Lord Jesus Christ.  They've based it on faulty teaching or unanswered prayer (as they saw it).  They've observed the hypocritical lifestyle of so-called believers, the failure of an earnest believer, or had little exposure to the Bible or genuine Christianity. Some envision Jesus to be a killjoy or One who disapproves of all that's fun in life.  There are various and assorted reasons that make people refuse to taste the good things God has for His creation.  Matthew Henry comments on Psalm 34:8 in this way: David would have us to join with him in kind and good thoughts of God. "O taste and see that the Lord is good." (1) We must taste that He is a bountiful benefactor, relish the goodness of God in all His gifts to us, and savor the sweetness of them. Let God's goodness be rolled under the tongue as a sweet morsel. (2) We must see that He is a beautiful Being, and delight in the contemplation of His infinite perfections. By taste and sight we both make discoveries and find satisfaction. Taste and see God's goodness, that is, take notice of it and take comfort in it. Peter enjoins us to discard those attitudes which lead to one's spiritual malnourishment (malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander).  Instead we are to seek spiritual nourishment, "like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good" (I Peter 2:1-3). Some people feed on controversy, dissension, or juicy gossip.  As believers, let us feed on the goodness of the Lord as we load up on His delightful provisions that He has invited us to taste and savor.  Let us taste of God's goodness each day so that we are encouraged both in the best of times and the worst of times to trust in Him.  Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily Prayer:  Father, whet our appetite for spiritual food that brings sustenance, growth and experience as we partake of the Bread of Life.   May our hearts hunger for the wonderful promises, provisions, and principles revealed throughout Your Holy Scripture.  As we regularly feast on these nourishing nuggets we become mature and strengthened so that we can trust You in times of famine.  Keep us tasting and keep us trusting.  In Jesus' name we pray.  Amen. Cinnamon Spiced Nuts Makes about 10 Cups (Above photo is the nuts after they're stirred in the egg white coating and spicy mix,  before they're baked.) Ingredients: 2 Egg Whites, 1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon ginger, 2 Tbsp. Vanilla or Almond Extract, 1/2 tsp. ground cloves. 6 C. mixed salted nuts (2 #), 1 tsp. ground nutmeg, 1 1/4 Cups Sugar, 1 tsp. ground ginger                                     1) Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Grease or spray vegetable spray in a large shallow baking pan or spray on parchment paper (jelly roll pan works great.)  2) With a fork beat egg white and extract together until foamy.  3) Thoroughly coat six cups of nuts with egg white mixture (best tool   for this is clean hands.)  4) Mix sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves & nutmeg together in bowl.  Thoroughly stir coated nut mixture with spice mixture and spread nuts onto the large baking pan.  5) Bake 30 minutes stirring after the first 15 minutes. 6) Allow nuts to cool thoroughly before removing from pan to a shallow bowl.  Nuts will become crisp when cool.  Break apart large clumps and enjoy.  For long storage nuts easily can be frozen. (If you want to use a time saving method:  Mix several Ziploc bags of the measured sugar and spices together and store for quick future usage.) Note: Any nut mixture or single nut variety may be used such as peanuts, pecans, walnut halves, almonds, cashews or brazil nuts.  The salted are best. If you use unsalted you may want to add 1 tsp. salt.   (You may also want to add craisins, raisins, or yogurt covered raisins to your nut mix – Yum, Yum!  I dry fruit on my dehydrator so I occasionally add banana and pineapple to the nut mix.  It adds yet another texture.) This is a great gift to scoop in a sealed bag and put inside a mug or cup that has an inspirational message on the outside.  Beware - you'll get some folks hooked on these great-tasting nuts! Brooksyne's Additional Note:  Stephen didn't know about my dog biscuit sampling until he read today's message. I couldn't bring myself to tell him since I've laughed repeatedly about his goof that took place about twelve years ago.  I found a recipe for making dog biscuits and baked up a batch for our dog, Penny, at the time.  I used cookie cutters in the shape of a bone and had them cooling on the kitchen counter. Stephen is in the habit of walking in the house and helping himself to whatever I might be preparing foodwise.  He whoofed the biscuit down before I could explain and said, "What kind of cookie is this?  It tastes terrible as he went to spit it out."  I would venture to say that readers who have pets in their homes have probably had a sampling or two of dog food without realizing it until after their sense of taste kicks in. 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.) "Taste and See That The Lord Is Good"  Words with tune   A hymn neither of us had ever heard before but found the melody to be very enjoyable and easy to learn. "Oh Taste and See That The Lord Is Good"  Video  A song from a group in Kansas City, where I grew up. The church goes by the abbreviation IHOP (International House Of Prayer) "Taste and See"  Video  An old Petra song with interesting lyrics (Petra was a very "contemporary" group about 25 years ago!) Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne.

"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 1/28/09: $545.00) 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 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 meets 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! Our other blogs: "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! "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!) "A Little Foolishness" - A humor/satire blog (a great outlet for non-serious writing but at times with a subtle message!)  I haven't had time or "inspiration" for this for awhile but it has several stories that get regular page views. "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 "Living securely today anchored in God's solid foundation" www.dailyencouragement.net

Daily Encouragement is issued Monday-Friday.  To make sure you continue to receive these e-mails in your Inbox (so they're not sent to a junk folder), please add scweber@dailyencouragement.net to your address book or safe sender list. You are receiving these recurring messages as a subscriber to Daily Encouragement Net because you signed up on our website or otherwise requested it unless someone forwarded the message to you. If you desire to unsubscribe use the link below.  However, please do not use this link unless your address is the subscribed address below as you will otherwise unsubscribe the person who forwarded it to you!

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Daily Encouragement (01/28/09) "Open The Eyes Of My Heart Lord"

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A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation. Home   ·   About Us   ·   ·  Podcast  ·  Free email See here for more info. <Previous Message    ·    Archives    ·     Archive/print edition Wednesday, January 28, 2009 Winter scene in rural Michigan Photo by Howard J. Blichfeldt (used by permission) Listen to us share this message on your audio player. Charlie and Rosie Goumas "Open The Eyes Of My Heart Lord" "And Elisha prayed, "O Lord, open his eyes so he may see." Then the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha" (2 Kings 6:17). There are several who receive our daily encouragement messages who are blind so they listen to our podcast messages.  We especially consider Charlie and Rosie Goumas from Boston, whom we met at a conference about ten years ago.  With their sense of sight impaired or nonexistent they have nurtured their other four senses to compensate for their vision loss.  This brings back a distant memory for Brooksyne.  She was a hall counselor in college her junior year and became good friends with Melody, a freshman on her hall, who was blind.  Melody could hear things that others did not and she'd recognize family and friends by their scent, the shampoo they used, or by listening to the stride of their walk.  Melody loved to pull pranks and her most frequent one was to secretly slip into a dorm room, pull the mattress off the bed, drag it to the hallway, and prop it up against the student's door.  The first time this happened it was a great mystery as all the students denied their involvement and no one would question a blind student for such a stunt.  After we caught her in the act each student looked forward to seeing her mattress propped against the door – it was a sign that Melody was her friend. Just like one who is blind and must totally rely on other senses, we too must totally rely on our spiritual sense when our visual sense is limited.  Welcome it as a time for deepening our faith instead of relying on our own natural instincts since we are told in Scripture that we are to "walk by faith and not by sight."  God's set of blueprints for our lives is drawn out in the Scriptures but His construction of our spiritual life is not completed in a matter of weeks, months or years – it is an ongoing work in progress all our life. Today's Scripture portion is set about 2,800 years ago.  Elisha was a faith-filled prophet who had enraged the king of Aram with his accurate prophetical pronouncements that were in essence divinely given intelligence.  In anger the king sent an army to the city to find Elisha. In the dark night they quietly surrounded the city in their attempt to capture Elisha.  Elisha's servant woke up early and saw the vast army surrounding the city.  He went to Elisha in panic and despair and asked, 'Oh, my lord, what shall we do?'  With his physical eyes he could easily see the army and the situation looked altogether hopeless. "Don't be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." Elisha, as a man of great faith, saw a reality his servant was unable to see. As I consider this passage I have wondered if Elisha lived in a state of faith where he could always see that which was invisible to others? I realize I'm a lot more like the servant than Elisha. I have no trouble seeing the enemy's army. Sometimes it seem so massive and poised for attack. I can feel moments of despair as I struggle to see in faith the unseen spiritual reality. Elisha didn't rebuke his servant but rather prayed, "O LORD, open his eyes so he may see." That's my own prayer and my prayer for each reader today. Elisha's prayer was answered immediately in a remarkable way. "Then the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha."  The servant's eyes were opened to see the spiritual realm, the protecting might of the heavenly hosts.  And conversely, the Arameans who relied on their physical eyes to do battle were blinded, in answer to Elisha's prayer, so that they were restrained from harming God's servant (II Kings 6:18). I firmly believe that this isn't just a historical record of God's help in ages past, but a powerful encouragement for all ages and all believers concerning the unseen reality of the spiritual forces which surround us. A wonderful New Testament promise that we need to hide deep in our hearts is from I John 4:4, "You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world." Fellow believer, may your eyes of faith be open today.  May God help you see the heavenly hosts who are assigned to protect and do battle for you during your earthly sojourn. Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily prayer: Father, help us to walk by faith and not by sight.  Give us divinely prescribed vision to see the hosts of the heavenly army who stand guard to protect us or engage in warfare against our enemy in the heavenly realms.  We clothe ourselves in Your armor so that we can take our stand against the devil's schemes.  We stand against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  May we walk in confidence rather than fear as we trust You to protect and guide us in all our ways.  Amen. Brooksyne's Note:  Last night we had a relaxing evening and watched several news reports.  After a while my relaxation evaporated into feelings of despair and I told Stephen, "Let's turn it off.  It's all the same and so discouraging."  A silly rerun of Gilligan's Island was a welcome respite from the fearful realities of our unstable world.  As we shared our message this morning from II Kings it helped me to envision the Lord's armies encamped around us holding off those who seek to do us evil for their own ill-gotten gain.  Only God can turn evil into good or in some circumstances He uses evil to reveal His saving grace to those who otherwise turn a deaf ear. We found this 32 year old photo of Melody who sang in our wedding in 1976.  She has a beautiful voice and often sang in our chapel services.  At the time her father pastored a church in the Springfield, MO area where we attended Central Bible College. We were blessed as we found her name in a search this morning, along with a phone number, where she teaches braille to the blind. We talked to her a brief moment and she immediately recalled who we were.  She was in class so we will call back this evening and catch up on 32 years that have passed! 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 Battle Belongs To The Lord"  Video  This song came to mind as Stephen was considering songs that have a theme compatible to our message today. This version is the original arrangement and vocals that was introduced by the Maranatha singers.  Its text helps us to visualize the heavenly army doing battle for us. "My Tribute"  (Audio)  This song was sung at our wedding in Sapulpa, Oklahoma in 1976 by Melody.  This remains our desire as we soon celebrate our 33rd anniversary! "Blessed Assurance"  Audio from the Lifespring Hymnstory podcast. Fanny Crosby was a blind hymn writer yet many of her songs refer to seeing and sight such as this hymn which has the phrase, "Visions of rapture now burst on my sight."  Steve Webb does a great job of preparing these hymn story podcasts. "Open The Eyes Of My Heart"  Video   This lively version is by the Oslo Gospel Choir. Today's photo in rural Michigan was taken by Howard J. Blichfeldt and is used with his permission. His website is here. Howard is a friend of this ministry who desires to honor the Lord through his photography. Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne.

"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 1/27/09: $545.00) 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 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 meets 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! Our other blogs: "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! "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!) "A Little Foolishness" - A humor/satire blog (a great outlet for non-serious writing but at times with a subtle message!)  I haven't had time or "inspiration" for this for awhile but it has several stories that get regular page views. "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 "Living securely today anchored in God's solid foundation" www.dailyencouragement.net

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