A daily, Bible-based message of hope and encouragement.
 A daily, Bible-based message of hope, encouragement and exhortation. Click here to donate online.The online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber. <Previous Message · Archive edition Wednesday, October 10, 2012  Lori, a reader from Cedar Rapids Iowa, sent us this Autumn photo she had taken in her hometown.  Listen to this message on your audio player."Wholesome Words" "Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear" (Ephesians 4:29). "Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving" (Ephesians 5:4). "But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth" (Colossians 3:8). On Saturday at the National Apple Harvest Festival we perused through the various craft displays and came upon a booth that sold home-made soaps. It had a long but interesting name, "Wash Your Mouth Out Soap Company" with the humorous tag line "Soap So Good It'll Make You Wanna Cuss!!!"  I don't know how many of our readers will identify but the soap sign sure brought back a memory from my younger teen years. I had just begun to use some cuss words in my attempt to look and sound "grown-up". I tried to be careful and swear only around friends I sought to impress. But I still vividly recall the exact place in front of our garage where I tested my new grown up status within the hearing of my mom. I also recall the precise swear word, which I purposely will not mention. I hear profanity all too often among young people and grown-ups. My very upset mom commissioned Pat, my older brother, to wash my mouth out with soap, in this case a bottle of Ivory dish soap squirted directly into my mouth. Eight years older than I he placed me in a bear hug grip as he applied Mom's "therapy". He is a pastor who recently celebrated his 65th birthday but at that time he had not been converted to Christ and took great pleasure in disciplining his little brother. In fact I called him as I was writing this story and he also remembered the occasion. We had a good chuckle together. The soap was not tasty and I learned my lesson, at least to the extent of never swearing in front of Mom again. It was several years later that I was born again and invited the cleansing power of the Holy Spirit to clean up my vocabulary. By the way, it's been some 45 years since this happened and I am grateful for the discipline, although an online search now associates washing the mouth out with soap as child abuse!!! Now we are flooded with a culture of profanity and coarse language, from prime time TV to popular music, from sports to news shows. Just walking through a store or any public setting we're often assaulted by offensive language. But sadder yet is profanity in the pulpit that some pastors use in order to be "relevant". Such strategy, in my opinion, is similar to youth using the salty language they hear from adults to appear "grown-up." This also might be a good time to remind believers not only to guard their language but also to honor God's name in their conversation according to the third commandment, "Do not take the name of the Lord our God in vain". Using God's name flippantly as part of a casual exclamation of excitement is certainly not using it with respect. How can we say, "Oh my God," as simply a mindless exclamation when God to us is completely holy and righteous, the supreme ruler of the universe, the creator, our redeemer, and the judge of all? Today's first text is easy to outline in regard to speech that honors God and is a blessing to others. Let us consider these four standards:
Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber  Daily prayer: Father, we know the oft repeated expression that "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never harm me" is a mistaken message certainly not derived from Scripture. Harmful words or actions do irrevocable damage that will not disappear through first aid or antiseptic. Hurtful words have a way of playing over and over in our head and enter into the deep recesses of our hearts. The more we cling to them the greater we risk exaggerating their original message. We build walls, become defensive and do little to resolve the problem. Help us to weigh our words carefully, put ourselves to the test of asking, "Are the words coming from my mouth pleasing in Your sight". When we habitually put our words to this test we will not use foul language, engage in crude joking, gossip or slander another but we will instead choose to build one another up in love. Keep us faithful in doing so we pray in Jesus name. Amen.Note from Brooksyne: A number of years ago I committed today's passage from Ephesians to memory and also Ephesians 5:4 "Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.." I was in the company of a believer who was exuberant in his recent faith experience and he wanted others to come to Christ. On more than one instance I heard him engage in crude joking or saw inappropriate materials he was reading. I strongly felt compelled by God to speak to him about this inconsistency in his Christian walk. With fear and trembling I shared the above Scriptures and by the grace of God he responded. He and his wife cleaned their house of books and magazines that were dishonoring to God and his conversation changed. Only God knew that he would only have three short months of life remaining to influence people for the Lord. I learned a lesson from this experience, "when God clearly speaks to our hearts, we must obey Him." The man I write about was my father who went to be with Jesus in February of 2000. We are grateful for Lori sharing the photo of her hometown today and providing a glimpse of her neck of the woods. Autumn is such a beautiful season. We would like to share some more local autumn scenes in the next couple of weeks here on daily encouragement. Please consider sending us a scenic nature photo you took. Send it as an email attachment in as high a resolution jpg as you can, tell us where it was taken and we may be able to use it as part of a guest collection. Email to this address. Here are four autumn photos by friends and relatives:  Our friend Howard Blichfeldt took this scene at Acadia National Park in Maine.  My cousin Georgia took this old barn photo in rural Wisconsin.  Our friend Doris High captured the foliage in upstate New York.  Boathouse in Lewes DE taken by our friend Greg Schneider. Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources "Let The Words Of My Mouth" Video Fernando Ortega "May The Words Of My Mouth" Video Christy Nockels "May The Words Of My Mouth" Video Benny Samuel Here's a recent article about profanity in the pulpit titled, "Profane Preachers Contribute to Killing the Conscience" (Note: I find the notion of needing to swear to communicate with relevance disgusting in any context but especially from the pulpit.) 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 an offering 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. Click here to donate online. 2012 financial offerings to Daily Encouragement Net as of 10/9/12: $13,541.00. 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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