Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Daily Encouragement (09/25/13) "Hang In There!"

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Wednesday September 25, 2013

Pumpkin wagon on Grandview Road 9/24/13

"Hang In There!"

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"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us" (Romans 8:37).

"Hang in There" balloon
Our daughter, Ester, had her pacemaker replaced at Hershey Medical Center yesterday afternoon. Following her surgery and post-op care in the hospital she and Brooksyne returned home last night around 11:00. Stephen had been at the hospital prior to the surgery in the early afternoon and then the waiting room and greeted her when she got back to her room about 6:00 PM but at that point he was more than ready to get out of the hospital environment! Brooksyne is always there for the long haul.

Upon their arrival home last night Stephen helped Ester out of the van and noticed a large balloon in the back that Brooksyne had bought at the gift shop. With the monkey hanging upside down it holds a banner that reads, "Hang In There"
which led me to consider a timeless truth from God's Word for today's message.  We write it especially to those who feel as though you are just "Hanging In There" by a thread. Or like the monkey, by its tail.

Andrea Higgins
Before Ester went to surgery she looked up at us and said very matter of factly, "I'm a hupernikomen". She was expressing a spiritual truth we taught her when she was a little girl and that Brooksyne and I have reinforced regularly throughout her life. It's a truth we want to explain in today's message but many of you who have followed our ministry will recall the teaching.

This morning Ester got a message from Andrea, a friend from our church in New England who is confined to a wheelchair due to an automobile accident when she was a baby. We saw her through a number of difficult surgeries while we lived up that way and taught her the principle of being a hupernikomen based on this Scripture passage. She wrote to Ester recalling this teaching.

In today's text
from Romans 8 Paul is writing to the Roman believers about life in the Spirit.  He considers the difficulties and weaknesses that believers experience in this life, but reminds us that God is working out everything for our good (v.28). Paul begins to detail the daunting obstacles a believer may very well endure and builds to a victorious crescendo as he summarizes it in the generalized phrase "In all these things". This includes anything that can go wrong in life, most of which many of us have never experienced. 

Romans 8:37
Wondrously, however, in all these things "we are more than conquerors." This phrase translates the single Greek word "hupernikomen", which can only be found here in the entire NT. It literally means we are "hyper-overcomers" or "preeminently victorious". "Hupernikomen" indicates that "we are winning a most glorious victory" (Linguistic Key to the Greek New Testament.)

This is "through Him who loved us." God's amazing love is the very foundation of this victory and Paul reveals the intensity of His sacrificial love in 8:32, "He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?" Paul repeats the phrase "all things" three times in vv. 28-37 for added emphasis. It's a reminder that there is no hardship we face, presently or in the future, that we can't conquer, with the help of our loving God who gives us all things.

Hide this truth deep in your heart. We will have struggles in this life, but God's eternal Word declares that the ability to work through them has already been taken care of.  If there is a crisis you face this hour, begin to personalize today's Scripture by declaring aloud, "I am more than a conqueror through Jesus who loves me."  Repeat it often so the troubling circumstances are no longer our primary thoughts, but God's Word is.  The crisis will ultimately surrender to the victory Jesus has for you "in all these things." So we urge you, whatever you are going through to "HANG IN THERE"! We are all hupernikomens.


Be encouraged today,


Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Praying manDaily prayer: Father, we thank You for Jesus who intercedes for us in our hardships, persecution, dangers, poverty and troubles of all kinds. Amazingly, You develop in us a spirit that not only overcomes our difficulties, but enables us to overwhelmingly conquer the very thing that Satan intends to use in defeating us. The Apostle Paul found that he delighted in weaknesses and hardships because it was in his weakness that he found Your strength to be superior to his own. Your grace was sufficient for him to deal with his hardship. Yours is an overcoming, conquering strength unavailable to us through genetics, medicine, therapy, or mortal man. It comes only through personal unswerving faith in You and perseverance in prayer that we can overwhelmingly (hupernikomen) conquer our foe! Help us never to give up but hang in there as we endure and overcome the enemy's arsenal. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.



Family Note: Thank you, readers, for your well wishes and prayers for Ester. It was such a blessing to read and hear them throughout the day. As mentioned in yesterday's footnote Ester underwent a replacement pacemaker surgery. This was her 3rd pacemaker and the operation was successful, though there are some lingering concerns. Her pacemaker includes two implanted pacing leads since hers is a dual chamber pacer. The leads made of insulated wire connect to the pacer and carries the electrical impulse from the pacemaker to both chambers of the heart. The leads were implanted back in 2006 and were not to be replaced, just the pacemaker. Unfortunately they were not easily accessed and the insulation of one was very slightly damaged in the process of removing the old pacemaker. (I'm giving a simplified explanation). Stephen's note: I had considered asking him why he didn't use electrical tape but he seemed pretty tired and serious so I refrained.

The leads to the lower ventricle are pacing perfectly, but one of the leads to the upper chamber is not pacing, making it a single chamber pacer instead of the desired dual pacer. Next Tuesday Ester will undergo testing to see if this will be adequate for her needs. If it is not she may have to undergo thoracic surgery and have the leads replaced. If her heart is pacing properly with the present circumstance the long range result will likely be a lessened battery life on this pacer. (Though we've had lots of experience with heart surgeries due to Ester's long history I'm sure not good in explaining in medical jargon the situation, but I know some of you wanted to know the results of her surgery yesterday.) She is plenty sore but recovering as expected. We thank you again for your continued interest and for your prayers. We'll update you following her appointment next week.




Today's Suggested Music
and Supplemental Resources

"Who Shall Separate Us From The Love Of Christ?"  Video  Wayne Tate A song based on Romans 8:35, 37-39

"We've Been Made More Than Conquerors"  Video  Janny Grein

"I Am Persuaded (We Are More Than Conquerors)"  Video 
Maranatha! Singers

"More Than Conquerors"  Video  Hosanna! Music

"More Than Conquerors"  Video 
Acapella

"We are More Than Conquerors"  Video  Melody Four Quartet

For further study on today's topic: http://preceptaustin.org/romans_837-39.htm#8:37

Finally Today:

Ester had her surgery at the new Hershey Medical Center Children's Hospital. This interesting piece of art is in front of the new hospital.

Hershey Medical Center children's hospital "art"

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Stephen, Brooksyne and Ester Weber 04/21/13

Stephen and Brooksyne Weber

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