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, February 6, 2012  A winter farm scene at the end of our road. (Although we presently do not have any snow cover) Click on image for larger view.  Listen to this message on your audio player"The Victorious Outcome" Note: Today's illustration may not connect with non-football fans or international readers but has an important spiritual application. "Though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls" (1 Peter 1:8,9). "In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us" (Romans 8:37).  In America our national sports interest turns to football throughout the fall and winter culminating in the "Super Bowl" that many of us viewed last night. Most had a favorite team they were hoping to see win the game. If you're that kind of fan did "your team" win last night?Having lived for nearly eight years in New England I'm sure I have many very disappointed friends up that way! But I also expect to see several New York friends this week like Dominic, who attended the game and is very pleased at the outcome. Some are excited, others disappointed. That's the nature of competitive sports: the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat.  Let me share a story today: Imagine that your team is in the Super Bowl but you have to work and can't watch the game, so you record it intending to watch it later. But as you leave work someone spills the beans and informs you that your team won the game. You are thrilled to hear this but you still decide to watch the game even though you know the outcome. However you quickly find yourself stressing out as you watch the game play-by-play. You must mentally pause to remind yourself, "This is only a recording, my team wins!"Spiritual application: Life is like that. As God's redeemed children, on the basis of Scripture we know that we are on the winning side. May God give us grace not to stress out in the "play-by-play" of life, worrying about finances, health, world conditions, safety, loneliness, work, home, death, things people do to us, and all the other things that can cause worry. In placing our trust in Christ we are "obtaining as the outcome of our faith the salvation of our souls." Ultimately this victory is assured on the basis of Christ's finished work. We don't have to wait to celebrate the victory; He wants us to enjoy victory right here and now. Peter, who had seen Jesus, wrote to second generation followers who had not seen Him but had a faith relationship like us: "Though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory." Remember, Jesus came so that we "might have life, and that we might have it more abundantly"! (John 10:10)  Paul, who also came faith in Christ following the resurrection wrote: "In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." It's a great truth for every one of us. This absolutely reliable source informs us, "We win!" Paul is writing to the Roman believers and here in chapter eight he comes to a crescendo in his thought. The context of "all these things" includes just about all that can go wrong in life, most of which we have never experienced (Romans 8:35). Every word is rich with meaning but let's consider just the phrase "more than conquerors." This actually translates a single Greek word "hupernikomen." This word is linguistically known as a "hapax legomenon", a term used for words that occur only once in a body of literature (in this case the New Testament). In fact it's so rare that it's possible that Paul devised it to express his thought. Brooksyne tells me that I make up words as I preach so I can understand such a theory. It is actually a combination of two more familiar words; "huper" from whence we get "hyper" and nikao from whence "Nike" gets its name. "Nikao" is often translated "overcome" and is found most frequently in Revelation. I like to compare translations and I suppose for this verse I'm most blessed by the rendering in the NASV which states "we overwhelmingly conquer." Now let that bless your soul today, fellow overcomer! That is what we are, through Him who loves us, and today I urge you to drink deeply from the spiritual reservoir we have in Christ. Even in the midst of your present trial declare, "I am more than victorious through Him who loves me!" Hide this truth deep in your heart. Many struggle, but God's eternal Word declares that what really matters has already been taken care of. "We are (present tense) more than conquerors." Is Jesus Christ your Saviour and Lord today? Ultimately this is the only thing that matters in winning the one thing in life that really does matter. Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber  Daily Prayer: Father, we recognize that we are overcomers because we are children of God. The battles we conquer and the ultimate victory we attain in our lifetime is wholly because of the power of Christ at work in us. We are more than conquerers through Jesus who loves us and gave His life for our sins. Thank you for the inexhaustible supply of Your grace, power, and provision for our salvation and our steadfast walk with You in the ensuing battles of daily life.Note: Today's game illustration was developed by a friend of mine many years ago. A reader named Ginger has given me her permission to share her illustration. In last Thursday's message we shared about Menno, a man we met who lived to be over 100 years old. We received this tribute note from someone who knew him who had read our message: Menno never seemed to change. He was a farmer all his life, but intelligent, self-educated, a great lover of the hymns, and full of energy. I thought it was a great tribute that his children made it possible for him to stay in his own home until the very end of his life. He never moved. In his later years, his daughter Rachel lived with him and cared for him. Then, Rachel had the chance, in her middle years, to be married. I was at that wedding, and I will never forget the sight of Menno walking her down the aisle when he was 95 years old! Rachel's siblings all stepped in so that she could have a life of her own. What a family! Menno was also a testimony of faithfulness for me. What a man and what a legacy! |
 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.2012 financial offerings to Daily Encouragement Net as of 2/5/12: $1,355.00 We express thanks to all who support 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. 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 |
Daily Encouragement is issued Monday-Friday. To make sure you continue to receive these e-mails in your Inbox (so they're not sent to a junk folder), please add scweber@dailyencouragement.net to your address book or safe sender list. You are receiving these recurring messages as a subscriber to Daily Encouragement Net because you signed up on our website or otherwise requested it unless someone forwarded the message to you. If you desire to unsubscribe use the link below. However, please do not use this link unless your address is the subscribed address below as you will otherwise unsubscribe the person who forwarded it to you!
| You are currently subscribed to dailyencouragement as: stephencweber.dailyencouragement@blogger.com Add scweber@dailyencouragement.net to your email address book to ensure delivery Forward to a Friend | Manage Subscription | Subscribe | Unsubscribe |  |
