 The online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber. <Previous Message · Archives · Archive edition Thursday, January 6, 2011  Conestoga River in Lancaster County, PA Photo taken by our friend Mike Book (Click on photo to enlarge)  Listen to this message on your audio player."The Daily Decision" "Then He said to them all: 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me'" (Luke 9:23). We want you to think with us. How often in a day's time do we say aloud or think in our minds, "I need to decide…"? We suppose it's a lot. These decisions may be due to factors such as the weather, the day of the week, the time of day or the workload before us. "What shall I wear, a coat or light jacket?" What should I prepare for dinner?" "Shall I call or send an email?" And on and on our list goes. But today we want to focus on a daily decision each of us has in common, regardless of where we live on this planet. Every morning when we awaken to a new day we are confronted with this same choice. We memorized the daily verse many years ago. It's a clear call to discipleship from the words of our Lord. Jesus was speaking to the disciples very plainly about how He would be rejected by the priests and chief elders. He then spoke of His suffering, His death and resurrection that would follow. It was a very intense setting as these disciples were trying to understand and also rejecting such disturbing information about their Master. Then Jesus surely added to the intensity of the moment when he then issued this call to His disciples; "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me." Both Matthew and Mark record the same statement (Mt. 16:24, Mk. 8:34), but only Luke records a detail that includes a vital element to this call. Notice the word "daily". By providing this detail Luke emphasized a concept that is often seen in Scripture. The day is a unit of time that the Word seems to stress as important in making a steadfast commitment to our Lord. Here are several phrases from the Scriptures in this regard: "Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve" (Joshua 24:15). "I call to you, O LORD, every day" (Psalm 88:8). "This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalm 118:24).  In the New Testament Jesus taught us in the Lord's Prayer to request, "Give us this day our daily bread" (Matthew 6:11). The apostle Paul emphasized this daily walk in urging the Thessalonian believers to "Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody" (Thessalonians 4:11,12). And in the Pastoral Epistle to Titus he taught, "Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives. (Titus 3:14).Our daily encouragement series is prompted by a command found in Hebrews 3:13 which states: "But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness." We are just two ordinary people making a decision this day to follow Christ. And we want to encourage all of you to do the same! Today and every day. Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber  Daily Prayer: Father, there are many choices I will make today based upon the variables that I cannot foresee. But one choice for me that is not optional because I not only believe the truth of the Gospel, but I am fully committed to following Christ. To do so I must deny my own selfish desires, take up my cross daily, and follow Christ. In denying myself I will be careful never to deny Christ or the work He wants to do in me and on particular days it can be intense and require great sacrifice on my part. I don't know what the cross will look like today, whether it be in the form of physical pain, ridicule of my faith, rejection from one that I love, a major letdown, or whatever difficulty that may come my way. The wonderful blessing is that I don't carry my cross in my own strength but You carry it for me as I lean upon You for strength, guidance, and the assurance that today's cross will soon be exchanged tomorrow's crown.Mission blessings: Last night we visited with Ron and Erma Herr, a missionary couple who serve in Zambia, Africa. They are both retired and for the last eight years have "unretired" to serve the Lord. It was evident the deep burden they bore for the people they serve for Christ. 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.) "Today I Choose" Video Brian Doerksen "I Have Decided To Follow Jesus" Video Selah "Take Up Your Cross And Follow Jesus" Video Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir "The Lord's Prayer" Video Michael W. Smith Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne. |
 "We want to encourage you daily in your walk with Christ!" Personal Ministry Update (Revised 12/31/10)  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 to Daily Encouragement Net through 12/31/10 $19,494.00 Note: A final accounting for 2010 offerings to our ministry will not be available for several days until we receive a final report from our chaplaincy account of offerings given directly online. We want to thank all who have supported our ministry!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 by us 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 through feedburner.Cancel: We respect and value your time and privacy. If you no longer desire to receive these messages you can remove your address from the list by merely using 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 or who may desire less frequent mailings. It is Friday's message with a link to previous messages. To receive the free weekly version, send a blank email to this address. Reader Survey: Please take a few minutes to assist us in improving our ministry effectiveness by filling out this online reader survey. To take the survey click here. 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 2011 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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