A daily, Bible-based message of hope and encouragement.
 A daily, Bible-based message of hope, encouragement and exhortation. The online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber. <Previous Message · Archive edition Monday, January 9, 2012  What a lovely burst of color the amaryllis provides amidst the bleak days of winter "hibernation" for flowers and vegetation.  Listen to this message on your audio player."You Were There!" "But while Joseph was there in the prison, the LORD was with him; He showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden" (Genesis 39:20-21).  In the course of our present Sunday School lessons we are studying the life of Joseph. One can repeatedly read the account in Genesis from childhood into old age, and find refreshment and challenge each time, since Joseph is a most intriguing Bible character and his story full of surprises. A.W. Pink, in his book "Gleanings in Genesis", notes 101 parallels between Joseph and Christ. Obviously I won't list them all here!*While a young boy, Joseph's dreams revealed that he was going to be a man of great power. What his dreams didn’t disclose was the humiliating and painful process he would endure before reaching his exalted position in his adopted land of Egypt. Joseph’s jealous brothers who sold him reported him dead, robbing him of his privileged position in Jacob’s household. He was then picked over and purchased like a slab of meat. When things finally began to work in his favor he was falsely accused by Potiphar's wife.  Thrown into prison with no certainty about his future, Joseph interpreted dreams for two prisoners, who "just happened" to be associated with Pharaoh. He was given the interpretation for their future outcome, but none for himself (as the account is revealed). But God would exalt him in due time to a far greater honor and place of influence than before his prison sentence. Following the interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream, he rose to Prime Minister under Pharaoh. Joseph’s prison garb was exchanged for royal attire, and Pharaoh himself “took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger” (41:42). Then he said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but without your word no one will lift hand or foot in all Egypt” (41:44). Wow! Double wow!! Lifted from utter humility to unbelievable honor, God was working on the inner person of Joseph the entire time. He learned a great deal about trusting God through the numerous and enduring trials. Scripture assures us that God's hand was upon Joseph's life. Repeatedly, in the midst of every major setback, the Bible declares, "The Lord was with him." Joseph was but a boy of only 17 years when he came to this foreign godless nation. He experienced great hurt, fought bitterness and rejection, and longed to see his family and homeland. Yet he remained faithful to the God of his childhood in a land of idolatry, without the encouragement of other believers, no Christian retreats or Men's Conventions, and no written Scripture to sustain him. Yes, indeed, "the Lord was with him." We appreciate a song by the group, Avalon, titled "You Were There" reminding us of God's presence in the trying times of Biblical characters and His promises to us. We hope each of you will experience the assurance that indeed "The Lord is with you".  Are the hard experiences of life, including hurts from others, going to make you bitter or better? Joseph expressed one of the great principles of life he personally realized from this very difficult experience; "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives" (Genesis 50:20). May we too look for the bigger picture of God's overall plan and remain faithful no matter the painful circumstance of our lives, for the greater good of those whom God has called us to reach. The New Testament repeats this assurance of God's presence with the great promise many of us have memorized: "'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.' So we say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?'" (Hebrews 13:5, 6).Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber  Daily Prayer: Father, during the natural course of events, we often declare “God is good” when circumstances lean in our favor. But the life of Joseph teaches us that, in the midst of granting us giftings and favor, You also grant us unwanted circumstances in our life to bring about Your intended purpose. By the time Joseph married and had two sons he learned that it is You who makes us “forget all our trouble”. And it is You who “makes us fruitful in the land of our suffering.” May we embrace the same attitude as Joseph, who learned far more about You through his years of suffering than his years of ease. Keep us faithful and growing in our sorrows and suffering, in the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.A South African reader writes regarding the story we shared about James Hess, who read through the Bible 55 times: "This reminds me of the story of the young lad who was visiting with his young friend. Upon noticing his friend's grandmother reading her Bible, he said; "Whenever I pass your grandma's room she's reading her Bible". To this his friend replied; "She's cramming for her finals!"  However:  Humphrey, the Lancaster County camel! We periodically pass this camel west of Elizabethtown. The owner is a Christian and has an annual Christmas display with real animals. Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources "You Were There" Video Avalon This is the song we referred to in our message. Excellent music, stirring lyrics with outstanding graphics. "Were You There?" Video Selah This is not necessarily related but couldn't help notice the title with the same words but arranged differently. Is there a name for this? (Actually I also located a song titled "There You Were" but it is not a spiritual song!) * The remarkable list of parallels by A.W. Pink can be found here. |
 Weber family Christmas 2011 "We want to encourage you daily in your walk with Christ!" Personal Ministry Update (Revised 12/11)  Are our daily encouragement messages a blessing to you? Each weekday morning Brooksyne and I prepare these messages and distribute them at no cost to you and many others all over the world. We ask you to consider making a 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 and financial support of its readers and podcast listeners. See here for more information on supporting this ministry. Gifts are tax deductible.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 2012 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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