A daily, Bible-based message of hope and encouragement.
 A daily, Bible-based message of hope, encouragement and exhortation. Click here to support our ministry.The online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber. <Previous Message · Archive edition Tuesday, April 30, 2013  Flowers and flowering trees are in abundance as I take early morning walks with our two dogs. Walking in our neighborhood so pleasurable.  Listen to this message on your audio player."For Such A Worm As I" "How then can a mortal be righteous before God? How can one born of woman be pure? If even the moon is not bright and the stars are not pure in His eyes, how much less a mortal, who is but a maggot—a human being, who is only a worm!" (Job 25:4-6). "But I am a worm and not a man" (Psalm 22:6). "What a wretched man I am!" (Romans 7:24a). Alas! and did my Savior bleed And did my Sovereign die? Would He devote that sacred head For such a worm as I?  Yesterday we had a nice rain and in the afternoon I noticed the robins were feasting on worms crawling up and down our driveway. Now the sight of slimy worms doesn't stir up my appetite, but to a robin it's surely like a juicy steak is to us. That brought to mind the phrase in today's opening hymn that many of us have often sung, "Would He devote that sacred head for such a worm as I?"Last Friday we shared a message concerning our Bible College years in the mid-seventies. Today I will share another illustration from that period. Those were wonderful years that we occasionally revisit from our memorable experiences during that time. In order to help with paying tuition there were various jobs around the campus for students to assist with paying school bills. For a time I drove the garbage truck, one of numerous interesting jobs I've had through the years. Not pleasant at the time but I now see it as part of God's school of real life instruction (AKA "the school of hard knocks"). To this day I have a real appreciation for garbage collection personnel who work hard performing a service necessary to all and yet often under-appreciated. I wonder if there is a garbage collector appreciation day?  The truck I drove was equipped with a front loading lift which attached to the dumpster and then heaved the dumpster over the cab emptying the contents into the back of the truck. Theoretically the driver could stay in the cab and never see or touch anything. But sometimes you still needed to get out. I specifically recall emptying the dumpsters behind the cafeteria. As I can still vividly recall, especially during hotter weather, the dumpsters would have a lot of crawling maggots; tiny white worms that fed on the decaying food. It was a very unpleasant sight to say the least! At that time I was pondering God's love for the fallen race and considered what it would be like to send my precious child to live among the "maggots". Well, like most illustrations, this one has some deficiencies but it sure has caused me to marvel in God's far-reaching love. Some may find this particular illustration distasteful or offensive. But actually the Scripture uses this same imagery in our daily texts. Bildad, one of Job's friends, asks a question that is theologically sound in light of the rest of Scripture that teaches about our innermost need for God due to our sin nature: "How then can a mortal be righteous before God? How can one born of woman be pure? If even the moon is not bright and the stars are not pure in his eyes, how much less a mortal, who is but a maggot—a human being, who is only a worm!" Isaac Watts likely had this verse in mind along with our second text when he wrote the personalized phrase, "such a worm as I". In using this image he was illustrating a theological concept known as total depravity. This doctrine runs so contrary to the self-esteem emphasis of our generation but we do well to recognize the awful extent of sin and our only hope exists in God's redemption through Christ. Paul, in what many see as a description regarding his state without Christ, declares, "What a wretched man I am!" (Surely he'd be required to attend a class for positive self-imagery today.) But immediately following this he asks and answers his own question, "Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:24b,25) Matthew Henry commenting on Psalm 22, which is considered a Messianic Psalm writes, "What little reason has man to be proud, and what great reason to be humble! So weak and impotent, and so easily crushed, and therefore a very unequal match for Almighty God. Shall man be such a fool as to contend with his Maker, who can tread him to pieces more easily than we can a worm? ... Let us therefore wonder at God's condescension in taking such worms as we are into covenant and communion with Himself, especially at the condescension of the Son of God, in emptying Himself so far as to say, 'I am a worm, and no man'." Although Isaac Watts ends the first stanza of his hymn with this question, "Would He devote that sacred head for such a worm as I?" the hymn goes on to declare that we have victory due to Christ's reconciliation. In a refrain written nearly 200 years later, by Ralph E. Hudson in 1885, we exultantly sing the chorus: At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light, And the burden of my heart rolled away, It was there by faith I received my sight, And now I am happy all the day! Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber  Daily prayer: Father, though Bildad's counsel was misapplied to Job's situation, we do well to apply it to our lives, considering that we are but a worm in comparison to Your greatness. You give grace to the humble and oppose the proud. We acknowledge that we are nothing, of no greater value than an earthworm or worse yet, a maggot, in comparison with Your glorious Son, Jesus Christ, who left the throne of heaven and emptied Himself of majestic glory to make His place among us. We are eternally indebted to Your magnificent love that provided a way through Jesus to loosen sin's shackles and for us to be reshaped into Your likeness. It is in Jesus' name that we pray. Amen.Today's first text is a response from Bildad, one of Job's "friends". I recall a conversation many years ago with a friend, Tim Casey, who was a school librarian and a very thoughtful Bible student/teacher. We were musing about just how much counsel we should take from Job's three friends since overall God repudiates their outlook. The truth in today's text is amply testified to in the balance of Scripture. C.S. Lewis expresses the view, "Whenever we find that our religious life is making us feel that we are good-above all, that we are better than someone else-I think we may be sure that we are being acted on, not by God, but by the devil. The real test of being in the presence of God is that you either forget about yourself altogether or see yourself as a small, dirty object." (Mere Christianity 1952, P.124) Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources "At the Cross (Alas, And Did My Savior Bleed)" Video Red Mountain Church (A nice simple, Acapella arrangement) "At the Cross (Alas, And Did My Savior Bleed)" Video George Younce with Ernie Haase & Signature Sound (Gospel style) "At the Cross (Alas, And Did My Savior Bleed)" Video Acapella "At the Cross" Video Brian Doerksen A different song with same title. |
 Stephen and Brooksyne Weber(Click on photo to enlarge) "We want to encourage you daily in your walk with Christ!" Personal Ministry Update (Revised 12/31/12)  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.2013 YTD financial offerings to Daily Encouragement Net as of 4/29/13: $7,189.00 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 to our email list. These messages are never sent by us unsolicited. It was sent to you because you either signed up to receive it OR it was forwarded it to you. You can also subscribe to the Wordpress rss feed or as an email subscription through Wordpress email subscription. (See the email subscription on the right side after opening this page.)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. Other versions are also occasionally used. © Copyright 2013 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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