Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Daily Encouragement (07/18/12) "Jesus is the Answer!"

Daily Encouragement Net
A daily, Bible-based message of hope and encouragement.
Having trouble reading this message?  Read mobile edition online
Daily Encouragement Net Header
A daily, Bible-based message of hope, encouragement and exhortation.
The online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
.
Home · About Us · Archives · Podcast · Free email · Daily Encouragement on Facebook  ·  Daily Encouragement on Twitter   ·  RSS feed
 
<Previous Message       ·       Archive edition

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Flower in window
We enjoy seeing the discarded repurposed. This old wood-framed window has been painted with daisies.

ListenListen to this message on your audio player.

"Jesus is the Answer!"

"Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).

Jesus is the answer
Last week I was visiting a company when a man invited me into his office and asked me to have a seat. I could tell there was something on his heart. He began our conversation by saying, "Now I may not be the smartest man but I'm not the dumbest either." He went on to tell me that he had seen a sign in rural Lancaster County that stated, "Jesus Is The Answer" and admitted that he had no idea what that meant. "Answer to what?"

That gave me an opportunity to explain what I thought the owner of the sign was seeking to communicate, that Jesus is the answer to mankind's problems. Many of us "old-timers" will recall a popular song from the 1970's that had a line,
"Jesus is the answer for the world today". Can you imagine if people would really commit themselves to Jesus Christ and live according to His will? That would be the answer to this world's problems as well as the answer to the scores of individual problems we all face.

That's been the message of our ministry since we married in 1976. We want to share the call of our Lord Jesus to this fallen world: "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

Jesus is calling us to come unto Him. He is the true and only source of rest, of peace, of love and of acceptance. He loves you this day and every day. However you're seeking to fill that void, turn to Him. He continues to beckon the human race, "Come unto Me." Jesus ever remains the Answer!

Jesus is the answer, for the world today.
Above Him there's no other, Jesus is the way.
Jesus is the answer, for the world today.
Above Him there's no other, Jesus is the way.

If you have some questions, in the corners of your mind.
Traces of discouragement, and peace you cannot find.
Reflections of your past, seem to face you ev'ryday.
But this one thing I do know, Jesus is the way.


Be encouraged today,


Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Praying manDaily prayer: Father, You provide the answers to life's questions about everything that concerns us. In answer to life's greatest question, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" You sent Your Son to be our Savior who would die for our sins so that we might be forgiven and receive an abundant life here on earth and an eternal life in heaven. We are learning to trust in You with all our hearts and not rely on our own understanding. We want to acknowledge You in all areas of our life so that we will seek You above all and the counsel in Your Holy Word for the answers to life's questions. Jesus truly is the answer for the world today, for He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Amen.



Today we are taking our Amish friends to the shore in Ocean City, New Jersey and will leave very early and return later this evening. (If you received this message as an email at 9:30 it is because I scheduled it very early this morning!)

The children are very excited about our trip and it looks like we will have a sunny, hot day. We also expect to see several long-time friends who live in that area including Ed Berkey, my former District Superintendent from New England, and his wife Gladys.

Calves with buckets
Today we show you a photo from the dairy farm that we found amusing. When it's hard to get down into the crevices of a feeding bucket the next best thing is to wear it for awhile till you get every last possible grain! We looked on for what seemed a very long time as this calf was walking around with a bucket feeding herself.



Today's Suggested Music
and Supplemental Resource

"Jesus Is The Answer"  Video  Andrae Crouch  This old song sure brings back memories of my earliest days as a Christian in the mid seventies. I recall attending several Andrae Crouch concerts and this song being used during the altar call. A popular "cool" expression at that time was "Jesus is the Answer." Now 40 years later this 57 year old still confesses: "He still is!"

"Come To Jesus"  Video  Chris Rice

"Softly and Tenderly"  Video  Sara Groves

"Jesus Is Still The Answer"  Video  Collingsworth Family

"Jesus Is Still The Answer"  Video  Heritage Singers

"Follow Me"  Video  Kelly Willard

Note about music used on Daily Encouragement Net: For many years now we have suggested music that goes along with our daily message. We usually use links to Youtube video that others post. Yesterday a thoughtful reader whom I know personally and respect a great deal made a comment regarding a video his wife had watched and then read the comments which included offensive words. I looked at the Youtube comments to the beautiful spiritual song and also found the language used in  these comments disgusting.

Several observations in regard to comments:
1) People get into religious spats unrelated to the song. For instance on one of the songs used today a discussion completely unrelated to the song develops regarding the musician wearing jewelry!
2) Some anti-religious people may lurk just to cause trouble on a popular video knowing their comments will be read by others.
3) And most sadly in our view is that there has been a coarsening during our lifetime among those who profess to be Christians including uses of language most believers find offensive.

Of course neither the musician nor the person posting to youtube (and certainly not us) has anything to do with this, although comments can be disabled or at least moderated, which is what I would recommend. But the person posting the video has to do this.

When I choose music I don't necessarily read the comments (in fact I usually don't). Sometimes there can be many pages and I may use several songs a day so this would be very time consuming. In addition, comments may be added after I make a link to a video!


Se
nd
a message to Stephen & Broo
k
syne.
Photo of 36th anniversary Stephen and Brooksyne Weber (click to enlarge)
Stephen and Brooksyne Weber
Our 36th anniversary photo
(Click on photo to enlarge)

"We want to encourage you daily in your walk with Christ!"

Personal Ministry Update  (Revised 4/12)

Make A DonationAre 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 supporting 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 7/17/12: $8,701.00. We express thanks to all who support our ministry!

SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
Free email subscriptionWere 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. These messages are 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:
Daily Encouragement on Facebook
The daily message and prayer on Facebook.
Daily Encouragement on Twitter
 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.

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."

Four Spiritual Laws

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

Chaplaincy logo
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
Net Atlantic