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 Thursday, September 20, 2012  Mums at the Village Farm Market  Listen to this message on your audio player."Kill The Spider!" "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry" (Colossians 3:5).  Yesterday I attended a CBMC meeting, a Christian business group I have been a part of since moving to Lancaster County in 2001. Three other men sat at my table whom I met for the first time. We shared a little about ourselves, our families and what we do for a living. Phil Lapp, a sales manager for Auntie Anne's Pretzels, shared about his background. As his last name suggests (to locals) he has an Amish heritage but is not in that particular faith group. He shared several ministries he is involved with including the Gideons, a ministry group of professional laypersons, that distributes Bibles.The Gideons I have met for the most part tend to be older and Phil acknowledged that was the case with his Gideon Camp. He proceeded to tell an experience he had when he joined. He has an outgoing personality and shared that in expressing a desire to provide some youthful input to a group of older men he suggested to them, "I would like to youthanize you." Of course that sounds like "euthanize" and that sure brought a laugh among the men. Of course euthanize means "to kill (a person or animal) painlessly, especially to relieve suffering from an incurable illness." Is there a spiritual lesson here? Euthanize is the attitude we must have toward sin although in this form it certainly may not be painless and we must heed the apostle Paul's forthright words in our daily text: "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry" (Colossians 3:5). I consider today a friend who "played around" with a certain matter in his life. Initially it seemed harmless with few consequences. (Satan's devices are always portrayed as "harmless" and he's a master at masquerading or completely obscuring the consequences). But in time the matter grew until it became more and more gripping and eventually it captivated him and became a very destructive force in his life. I enjoy this illustration I read in an online commentary: "Have you heard about the man whose bad habit was hindering his fellowship with God and hurting his Christian testimony? He said he prayed that God would forgive him for his addiction—but he didn't stop! He is like the man who often went forward at the end of church services to kneel and pray, 'Lord, take the cobwebs out of my life.' One Sunday morning his pastor, tired of hearing the same old prayer, knelt beside him and cried out, 'Lord, kill the spider!' Yes, sometimes it takes radical action to break a sinful habit. We need to do more than ask God for cleansing each time we succumb to temptation. We must take whatever steps are needed to get the cobwebs out of our life. We must confess our sin and determine to be done with it. Then we must feed our mind with God's Word and do all we can to stay away from the people and places that tempt us to sin. That's what Christ meant when He said, 'If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out' (Matthew 5:29). Kill the spider and you'll get rid of the cobwebs. Remember that admitting sin is no substitute for quitting sin." We do well to seriously heed the words of the Holy Scripture. What unwholesome or harmful matter(s) are you playing around with? I appeal to you, take decisive action and put it to death. Kill the spider! Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber  Daily prayer: Father, I ask you to help me to be serious about dealing with everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles me. Help me not to play around with these matters that hold me captive and bring destruction. Put to death any desire or behavior which resurrects my earthly nature. I want to be separated from that which is evil and wholly consecrated to You. It is in Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Our speaker at CBMC yesterday was Josh Enck who is the CCO and Co-President of Sight and Sound Theaters. He shared his testimony and how the Lord was working through the Sight and Sound theaters. These shows give a clear gospel presentation. They have been presenting Bible character-based dramas since 1977 and this has been the best year yet for attendance with 1.3 million attending shows here in Lancaster County and in Branson Missouri so far this year. He shared about a new show being planned for 2014 on a Bible character Sight and Sound has so far never dealt with.  Apples at the Village Farm Market Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne. |
 Stephen and Brooksyne Weber (Click on photo to enlarge) "We want to encourage you daily in your walk with Christ!" Personal Ministry Update (Revised 4/12)  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 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 9/19/12: $12,161.00. 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. 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:  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. 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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