A daily, Bible-based message of hope and encouragement.
 The online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber. <Previous Message · Archives · Archive edition Wednesday, October 12, 2011  This corn crib on an Amish farm is almost full! "Jesus Loves The Little Children" "People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these'" (Mark 10:13,14). This morning we have some special little guests in our home. Four children 4 years and under! Their moms are going out for a shopping expedition and we have been enlisted to watch the kids while they are out. Safe to say that for several hours the atmosphere in our home will be a bit more lively!  One of my favorite pieces of Christian art is a picture of Jesus surrounded by little children with a big smile on His face. A man once told me he was troubled at the notion of Jesus ever smiling. Interestingly, he was not a joyful individual and I suppose it was because of this he didn't want to picture Jesus as being happy. Well, I have a harder time imagining Jesus taking these precious little ones in His arms and having a look of indifference or sadness!Our Lord's statement in the daily text indicated His contraculturalism. In those times children were seen by many as a nuisance. In fact the disciples had sought to forbid the children from coming. But Jesus welcomed them. True followers of Christ have been impacted by His example and today there are so many wonderful examples of ministry to children; feeding them, clothing them and presenting the wonderful message of God's love in the name of Jesus Christ on a level of understanding common to their age. How we especially need to be reminded of the desperate plight of the children in oppressive countries. Through the years we have hosted children from all over the world in our home. My mind floods with memories. Indeed they have been red and yellow, black and white! Today's text is the only time in the gospels the word "indignant" ("much displeased" in the KJV) is used to describe Jesus' attitude. The word in the Amplified Version is described as "indignant and pained." This was directed to the disciples who rebuked those who were bringing little children to Jesus. Perhaps they thought they were doing the Lord a favor by protecting Him from the "nuisance" of those who had come bringing little children for Him to touch. His time was limited, crowds took up valuable space, children were noisy and pampers were yet to be invented so babies could also be...you know...a bit smelly. And then, where do you dispose of the soiled cloth? Jesus surely had more important "adult" issues to deal with they likely reasoned. Yet Jesus responded, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." I am particularly intrigued by the phrase, "for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." The phrase "such as these" certainly refers to the children and perhaps also those who brought them. Jesus wanted them to come to Him and not be hindered by unauthorized screening from the disciples. The ever living Lord continues to proclaim to our generation, "Let the little children come unto me." Those who are created by our Savior are to be cherished by His servants. May we never hamper these small lives but instead let us embrace them in our affections, guide them through our Christian service and teaching, and be in prayerful intercession for them. Today let us heed the example of our Lord with a genuine love for all the children of the world! Jesus loves the little children, All the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white, They are precious in His sight-- Jesus loves the little children of the world. Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber  Daily Prayer: Father, You welcome all to be a part of Your kingdom: the young and the old, the weak and the strong, those born in ideal circumstances and those conceived and born in the worst imaginable settings. All the days ordained for our lives were written in Your book before one of them came to be. May our welcoming voices and warm touch make an eternal difference to the children born in our hostile world, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. We want to follow the example of our Lord Jesus who lovingly embraced and tenderly welcomed the children to spend time with Him. Amen.We received an interesting note from a long time reader yesterday. She had given up a son 46 years earlier to adoption and recently reconnected with him. It turned out to be a wonderful experience. In her words, "What a blessing he is!" She asked us to offer a prayer of thanksgiving on her behalf which we did and to pray for other mothers who found themselves in seemingly impossible situations that also made the agonizing decision to give up their child for adoption. For those who will not reunite here on this side there will be many such reunions on the other side. I believe there will be similar expressions of love, understanding and gratitude during those reunions. Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources Click on the link to open and play.  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. 2011 financial offerings to Daily Encouragement Net as of 10/11/11: $11,348.00 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 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. Daily Encouragement on Facebook and Twitter:  The daily message and prayer on Facebook. The daily message and prayer on Twitter.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! 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! "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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