A daily, Bible-based message of hope and encouragement.
 The online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber. <Previous Message · Archives · Archive edition Thursday, November 10, 2011  We have two large oaks in our front lawn that were likely planted as small trees by the first owner in the late eighties. Our home lot had originally been farmland. Over the past nine years they've increasingly intensified in their foliage colors. Another interesting characteristic of these trees is that many of the leaves stay on all winter prior to dropping as new leaves come out in the Spring.  Listen to this message on your audio player."The Wisdom Of This World" "When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate" (Genesis 3:6). "Professing to be wise, they became fools" (Romans 1:22). For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate" (1 Corinthians 1:19). "For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God" (1 Corinthians 3:19).  In 1638 John Harvard, a devout minister of the Gospel, died at 31 years of age. He left some money and about four hundred books to a new college that had just been established two years earlier. This gift established the library at the new school and in 1639 the school was named after him. The photo to the right shows Nikki and Sarah who had grown up in the church I pastored in New England. I took this photo of them beside the John Harvard statue* in Harvard Yard on the campus of Harvard University. The college's "Rules and Precepts" of 1646 reads as though it came out of a devout Bible College handbook: "Let every Student be plainly instructed, and earnestly pressed to consider well, the maine end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life (John 17:3) and therefore to lay Christ in the bottome, as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning. And seeing the Lord only giveth wisedome, let everyone seriously set himself by prayer in secret to seeke it of Him" (Prov. 2:3). Every one shall so exercise himselfe in reading the Scriptures twice a day, that he shall be ready to give such an account of his proficiency therein, both in Theoreticall observations of Language and Logick, and in practical and spiritual truths, as his Tutor shall require, according to his ability; seeing the entrance of the word giveth light, it giveth understanding to the simple (Psalm 119:130)." (spelling unchanged)   Today we examine the third scheme of Satan, which elevates human wisdom over God's wisdom. Regardless of where we live, we encounter the secularized "wisdom" that prevails in our "postmodern" culture. This "wisdom" that infected Harvard many years ago is now rampant in our culture and impacts many Christian colleges and churches who are forsaking the authoritative wisdom of God as taught in the Scriptures. Sometimes my head spins as I see the rapid decline and the accumulative effect of years of living according to the ever-changing human principles of this world. We must heed the Scriptural warning, "See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ" (Colossians 2:8). The daily verse is such a powerful expression: "For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate" (1 Corinthians 1:19). Paul is actually quoting Isaiah 29:14 in the Old Testament, thus the expression, "It is written." This window of time in which we live, the wisdom and intelligence of the world seems so prevailing, but God's promise stands. It will one day be destroyed. "For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God." The Apostle Paul is saying that wisdom from a worldly standpoint is foolishness to God who is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. Human based wisdom does not form a bedrock foundation of genuine truth that also has eternal ramifications. I want to know the ways of God, who is all-wise so that I recognize foolishness, in whatever form it may appear. Most often academia, political, cultural, media, and even those in particular religious circles are the authoritative sources of wisdom for our day. But I have a desire to receive this unchanging age-old word of wisdom from Daniel: "He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning" (Daniel 2:21). Amen! May God give to each of us wisdom and discernment. The surest way to obtain them is to be an eager student of the Scriptures and apply them to our experiences in life. I want to continue to grow in my understanding of God's ways. And that begins when I recognize that any wisdom that is in conflict with the wisdom of God is foolishness. This day join me in seeking to know the Lord and His ways better! Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber  Daily Prayer: Father, when we gave you our heart, we made the willful choice to no longer conform to the trends and philosophies of this world. Instead we ask You to daily renew our minds so that we see this world and its philosophies through the eyes of Christ. We are put to the test daily in deciding what is truth and what is error. May Your Holy Word be our reference point and Your Spirit be our Guide as we are exposed to countless philosophies based on human understanding and the basic principles of this world rather than Your eternal foundational truths. Sharpen our discernment and grant us courage so that we readily know truth from error and are fearless in saying so. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.In the course of studying for today's message I noted these two contrasting verses regarding the source of true wisdom: "When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate" (Genesis 3:6). "from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 3:15). It seems to me these two verses contrast the wisdom of this world (the tree) and the wisdom of God expressed in the Word of God. Tomorrow we will continue this theme of Satan's schemes with an examination of the rejection of Scriptural standards of morality.  Here's another photo of two large oaks in our front lawn taken yesterday afternoon. Today it's very misty and overcast with a projection of rain. We also have a faint odor indicating there is some organic fertilizer beiing applied to a nearby farm field! Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources "Knowing You" Video Graham Kendrick "Oh I Want To Know You More" Video Steve Green "In The Secret" Video "Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise" Video "All Heaven Declares" Video "You Are God Alone" Video * An interesting article about Harvard written by Mark Roberts who has a Harvard Ph.D. This article has an interesting point about the statue! More info about the Harvard crest from a Christian group on campus. Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne. |
 "We want to encourage you daily in your walk with Christ!" Personal Ministry Update (Revised 10/21/11)  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 teaching 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 11/9/11: $12,451.00 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!) (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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