A daily, Bible-based message of hope and encouragement.
 The online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber. <Previous Message · Archives · Archive edition Monday, December 26, 2011  We pass this "Christmas farm" near Elizabethtown, PA. We usually see it from a four lane highway (Rt 283) on our way to Harrisburg but this view is from Ridgeview Road. This photo is from Lancaster Farming used with permission. "A Trustworthy Statement" "It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" (1 Timothy 1:15).  Our family had a touching experience Friday evening in a Harrisburg hospital room. Naomi, an elderly friend whose photo we featured last Tuesday playing the harmonica, was admitted to the hospital with stroke-like symptoms. After a long day of many tests in the E.R. it was nearly 8:00 PM before we were able to see her. With Christmas just around the corner the hospital seemed unusually quiet as we walked into her dark room where she lay curled up in the bed. She awakened at our greeting though she was confused and didn't recognize us.Knowing Naomi's love for music Brooksyne knelt down at her bedside, took her hand, and began to sing "Away In a Manger". Halfway through the 1st verse she began to hum along. By the third verse Naomi began to softly sing the words with Brooksyne. I thought how appropriate the lyrics were as I looked on and considered the fragile state of our dear sister: "Be near me Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay, close by me forever and love me I pray. Bless all the dear children in Thy tender care and take us to heaven to live with Thee there." Over the last several days earnest believers gathered all over the world to give focus to the true meaning of Christmas. We worshiped through song, read Scripture, prayed, heard the Christmas narrative, partook of communion, in addition to other ways we honored our Lord. We gathered in churches, homes, classrooms, hospitals, rehabs, prisons, soup kitchens, and in many other settings to express our faith in the very heart of the Christmas story; "that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." Biblical truths are being mocked and ridiculed and sadly there are those in the visible church who feel we must compromise in disbelief to be accepted by the world. After all there are those who concede that the Creation record in Genesis is a legend, the Biblical miracles aren't real, and the Bible characters are myths. It should not surprise us that the critical events in the life of our Savior; His birth, death, and resurrection are similarly ridiculed. The epistles give little emphasis to the birth of Christ. Apart from the historical record in the narratives of Matthew and Luke, and the prophecies foretold centuries earlier, we have no other information on our Lord's birth. It's not mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles or in the epistles with any detail. Actually there's no record of the early church celebrating Christ's birth as we do today. But they certainly believed in it! Paul introduces a saying that appears to be an early creedal statement of the primitive church. He introduces it as a "trustworthy statement" (literally a "faithful word"), easily memorized, and perhaps used to teach and reinforce the faith in earliest believers. "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" is an absolutely trustworthy statement that impacts the lives of every human born into the world and evident in those present during the time of Christ's appearing:
Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber  Daily Prayer: Father, how grateful we are that Jesus came into this world to save sinners; to turn despair to hope, darkness to light, and death into life. All that we have need of and presently rely on is abundance from Your generous Hand. You are worthy of our trust and deserving of our fully surrendered life. From the cradle to the cross Jesus is Lord of Heaven and Lord of earth. We celebrate the birth of Your Son, Jesus, our Savior, and give thanks for all that it means to us. AmeN.  Have our daily encouragement messages been a blessing to you this last year? As we approach the end of the year, we ask you to consider making a year-end donation to Daily Encouragement Net so that we can continue to prepare and provide this daily resource which is accessed by believers and seekers all over the world. Daily Encouragement Net relies solely on the generosity of its readers and podcast listeners. See here for more information on supporting this ministry.Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources Our friend Mike Martin shared today's Christmas farm photo with us. It is from the Lancaster Farming newspaper and was taken by Stan Hall. |
 Our photo taken at the Bridge of Flowers in Sherburne Falls, MA Fall 2011 "We want to encourage you daily in your walk with Christ!" Personal Ministry Update (Revised 12/11)  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 12/25/11: $16,995.00 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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