Daily Encouragement Net - A daily, Bible-based message of hope and encouragement.
Trouble reading this message? Read online or see archives
Trouble reading this message? Read online or see archives
 The online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation. <Previous Message · Archives · Archive edition Monday, March 22, 2010  Silver Maple behind our house Here's a photo of the same tree without leaves covered with snow, which better reveals why it's such a great climbing tree!  Listen to this message on your audio player. "The Tree" "He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed" (1 Peter 2:24).  I've made a number of visits to a lumber processing mill in Lebanon County. It surely is among the most interesting places I have served as a corporate chaplain. A steady stream of raw material is converted to finished lumber products as immense piles of logs await their turn to go through the extensive finishing process. Surely this lumber mill must process hundreds of thousands of trees every year and yet the resource is renewable. Most of the raw material is harvested from trees here in south central Pennsylvania and a steady supply is available due to nature and foresters who regularly plant new trees."The tree" in our daily text is undoubtedly the most significant single tree that ever grew, that was ever cut down, and that was ever processed into a finished product. Normally in Scripture this tree is known as the cross (describing its finished appearance), but the apostle Peter speaks of the raw material the cross was made of.  Peter was surely aware of a statement made in the Law of Moses written some 1,500 years earlier, "Anyone who is hung on a tree is under God's curse" (Deuteronomy 21:22). The apostle Paul is clearly referring to this statement when he wrote, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: 'Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree'" (Galatians 3:13).Today most all of our readers are surrounded by trees. In our area they're just beginning to bud and in several weeks will burst forth into a lush green. The ornamental varieties will show off huge clusters of flowers. Let these living trees be a reminder of that one single tree that Christ died on once for all to pay for our salvation. The cursed tree of death became the blessed tree of life. Only God can turn curses into blessings. As a result we mercifully receive forgiveness, healing, and eternal life. Today let us rejoice in God's great act of mercy as we "die to sins and live for righteousness." Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily prayer: Father, we thank You for Jesus who redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. The nails bore His body to the tree, and yet our sin condition bore His Spirit to the cross of Calvary. He who knew no sin became sin for us – what an unsurpassed substitutionary death our Savior sacrificed for us so that sin's curse could be removed and the blessings might follow; the blessings of forgiveness for sins, eternal life, a home established in heaven, healing of body, mind and spirit, and the freedom from condemnation for those who are in Christ. What unspeakable joy fills our hearts today as we rejoice in God's goodness to us through Christ Jesus. Amen. As Spring arrived Saturday we enjoyed both a long walk and a bike ride taking in the sights of the season.  It's nice to see members of the animal kingdom getting along in spite of differences. For many years we have watched a family of three Pekin ducks (the white ones) swimming together. There was also a couple of mallards just getting their colors who were always together. But this season it appears that one Pekin and one Mallard is missing so the two groups combined to make a multi-racial grouping.  Here's a sight we don't often see across Donegal Creek. A nesting Canada goose laying on her eggs who kept a wary eye on us as we walked by. The father goose was floating in the water nearby also with a wary eye on us. We'll be watching for the goslings in the next several weeks.  We passed this interesting church sign on the way home from our church yesterday. I know what the message intends, which is a sermon by Dan Houck on repentance. But if I didn't know better I might very reasonably assume it was a public message telling Dan Houck to repent! We'll just add this one to our many humorous bulletin messages and church signs that bring a smile!  The Cross At The Crossroads We passed this large cross on the way back from a family reunion last year at the junction of I-70 and I-57 near Effingham, Illinois. It is is intended to serve as a beacon of hope to the 50,000 travelers estimated to pass by each day. It is reported to be the world's largest cross. See here for details. Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources Click on the link (usually a Youtube video) to open and play. (In some cases you may also need to click again to start the song.) "It's Still The Cross" Video A reminder of what really matters! "Still The Cross" Video Today's message brings to mind "The Tale Of The Three Trees" Video Pekin duck Mallard Duck Canada Goose |
  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.2010 YTD financial offerings as of 3/21/10 $2,353.00 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. You can also subscribe to Daily Encouragement feed updates by email.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. (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. All of these songs are also available for download on the site.  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 2010 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 |
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!
| You are currently subscribed to dailyencouragement as: stephencweber.dailyencouragement@blogger.com Add scweber@dailyencouragement.net to your email address book to ensure delivery Forward to a Friend | Manage Subscription | Subscribe | Unsubscribe |  |
