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 Monday, November 11, 2013  Yesterday afternoon we passed this long, inviting tree-lined farm lane on Rock Point Road in Lancaster County, PA "The Blessing Of Spiritual Veterans"  Listen to this message on your audio player."Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding?" (Job 12:12). "I then, as Paul--an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus" (Philemon 1:9b).  Today is Veteran's Day here in the United States, a day in which we properly remember military veterans and consider the price paid for our temporal freedoms. I realize many veterans read these messages including several we know, as well as many who are in active service.  We thank you for your service. I specifically consider my dad (left) who trained as a pilot in the Army/Air Force during WW2 and Brooksyne's dad (right) who served during the Korean War.But today we want to focus this devotional on spiritual veterans. Many have gone on before us and are now in what Hebrews 12 calls "a great cloud of witnesses". Others are still on this side and in the senior years of life. They have faithfully served God in their generation and await their call home. Yesterday we held a service in a nursing home and consider today's first text, "Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding?" We need to value these spiritual veterans and the wisdom and perspective they bring to life. Although many times they have a frail memory they also have insights which can be such a blessing.  Several weeks ago we wrote about seeing life similar to a football game and asked our readers to consider, "What quarter are you in?" I shared this concept in the nursing home several weeks ago and 93 year old Evelyn, (in left photo) a rather spunky resident, spoke right out: "I guess I'm in the last quarter." In fact she was, because she passed away this last week and her service was held yesterday. In her obituary we read of her Christian service earlier in life and how she taught Sunday School in her church. Now she's in her first quarter in heaven where there is no "final" quarter.Today let us remember and honor the contribution made by the countless old spiritual veterans who have gone before us. Let us look at an easily overlooked statement made by the apostle Paul, a true veteran of the Christian conflict. He had fought the good fight of faith and was not at all hesitant in identifying himself in the text as an "old man". (The KJV states "the aged".) Paul is one of scores of men and women through the history of the church who have taken great risks to the point of laying down their lives. They faced hardship and otherwise bear the scars of battle for Christ and for our souls. Our spiritual freedom was supremely paid by Christ's death on the Cross. However many others have paid a price to bring that message to us and help keep our flame lit. Let's honor them and let us now take our place in the line of the faithful! I'm sure you can think of some veterans today. Why don't you take a moment to thank God for them, and if you're able, give them a personal expression of thanks. You'll make their day. Finally, we all will become spiritual veterans should the Lord keep us on this side. Brooksyne and I state our determination to stay faithful and invite our readers to join us. Oh, may all who come behind us find us faithful, May the fire of our devotion light their way. May the footprints that we leave, lead them to believe, And the lives we live inspire them to obey. Oh, may all who come behind us find us faithful. Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber  Daily prayer: Father, we honor our military veterans who gave their all that we might enjoy our freedoms. Some of them bear visible reminders of their service such as a missing limb, or a jagged scar. Others carry less visible signs such as a pin holding a bone together, shrapnel buried beneath their skin, tortuous physical and mental images that cannot be erased from their minds, causing many of them deep disturbance in their mental health. Many have been deployed to the Philippines following the indescribable loss of life and property from the recent typhoon. Help them to make a powerful difference to those who are left to sort out life in a way they could never have imagined. We pray that You will encourage the veteran's families, provide physical, financial and emotional services, and place godly people in their paths who will build relationships with them giving them an opportunity to share their faith. We pray for those serving today who are being denied their expression of faith due to the politically motivated changes within the military. We consider the chaplains who uphold the teachings of the Bible rather than the philosophies of our day that redefine what is right and what is wrong. Fortify them with courage, wisdom and the resolve to stay firm in the days ahead to hold to what is true no matter what they endure as a result. And, lastly, we pray for our spiritual veterans who have forged the straight and narrow path before us that leads to eternal life. We follow behind and don't look back to the broad path that leads to destruction and eternal doom. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.Update on Ester: We updated our readers on Friday about Ester's surgery being postponed due to a blood clot found during her pre-op testing last Thursday. I am now injecting her daily with lovenox, a blood-thinner that treats blood clots (Stephen sits to the side, holds her hands, closes his eyes and prays (you might guess that he's closing his eyes for a double reason.) It was a big step for me to inject my daughter in the belly, but I've been encouraged by friends via D.E., facebook, and those personally who've shared their stories or spurred me on by their words. Yesterday Ester asked to be anointed in prayer during the Morning Worship hour and we were so encouraged after doing so. The songs and Scriptures yesterday during church gave me strenth and helped to quiet my fears about the injections. Friday was such a turnabout for us regarding Ester's health that all three of us clustered downstairs in the family room and didn't say a lot. I went to bed with a heavy heart and awoke early Saturday morning with matters still unsettled. I asked the Lord to assure me that He was going to meet me and give me a peace about the matter before the morning was over. I turned on WDAC, our local Christian radio station and the first song was "Somebody's Praying for Me" followed by the old hymn, "Leave It There, take your burdens to the Lord and leave it there." That was the first blessing and sign from God. I knew He had more for me when I opened up the computer, and sure enough, the compassionate messages and prayers begin to scroll down the page. The first being from one of our long-time readers from Scotland who wrote (in part): "I feel that it's good for you all to know that as you slept last night others in other parts of the world were lifting you up to the Lord in prayer." Isn't it amazingly wonderful to experience the prayers and support of other believers as we undergo trial. Thank you for your messages, both written and those quietly prayed to the Father on our behalf. (Link to song "Somebody's Praying for Me" is below.)  Here's another view of the farm lane in our lead photo with the old brick farmhouse shown at the end of the lane.  Our church is blessed to have three retired minister couples who attend, representing spiritual ministry veterans who are now in their seventies, eighties and nineties! Left to right: Gerald and Fran Book, Jim and Eva Ketner, Jesse and Wilma Dourte, along with our current pastor and his wife, John and Faithe Keefer.  On Saturday evening we attended a concert with Steve Sensenig, an accomplished pianist and gifted son of DE readers, Charles & Hazel Sensenig. Their daughter also accompanied Steve with her flute during three songs. We took our Amish friends and gave them a taste of inspirational culture. They had a great time. I remember their first visit to our home when they asked Brooksyne, "What is that?" referring to our piano. Since then they've gathered around it many times as we've sung hymns together. So a new question we got at the concert was "What was Steve's sister playing?" Of course, we informed them that it was a flute. The five children all sat on the front row with Ester and were amazed by Steve's powerful mastery of the keyboard. A touching Veteran's Day story:  My cousin George Steincross (shown to the left with his wife Joy) is a retired Baptist pastor as well as a retired National Guard chaplain. He has an interesting veteran opportunity today:"I am evermore excited about Veterans Day, November 11, 2013. Months ago I had signed up to be a "Guardian" on an Honor Flight from Kansas City to Washington DC. A few weeks ago I got THE CALL asking if I could serve on November 11. The answer, of course, was YES. So tomorrow morning at 4:00 AM I will be at the airport to board a plane with "my Vet"--Earl Hammer, age 93, Marine, from St. Joseph, MO. As you may know Honor Flights from all over the USA are trying to transport as many WW II vets as possible to DC to see the WW II Memorial--actually all the memorials, Arlington Cemetery and drive-bys of the Capitol, White House, etc. This will be the 16th flight from Kansas City. The Veterans have everything provided for them and Guardians pay their own way. It is a wonderful program. We had a Meet and Greet luncheon with Veterans and Guardians on Saturday. Earl seems to be in good shape after 9+ decades. Some macular degeneration and loss of hearing but that seems to be all after all these years/experiences. The main thing for me as a Guardian is to always be within arm's length of Earl in case he needs anything or some assistance. You will probably be reading this on Monday/Veterans Day. Let this note remind you to say a prayer of thanks for any deceased Veteran you have known and/or thank some Veteran, in some way, today." Carpe diem, Dub (Dub is the longtime nickname we use for our cousin in the family) Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources "Somebody's Praying" Video Ricky Skaggs A powerful video for one who needs the reassurance that others are praying. It's an excellent video for military, especially those in active service. "Find Us Faithful" Video Let There Be Praise singers "We Will Not Forget" Video Mark Harris "When Love Comes Home" Video Matthew West "The Mission" Video Steve Green |
 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 11/10/13: $17,339.00 SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION  If this email was forwarded to you, you can subscribe here.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 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: These messages are only sent from us to people who request it; please accept our apologies if it reached you in error. You can unsubscribe from this list at any time. 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   Endorsed chaplain "Living securely today anchored in God's solid foundation" www.dailyencouragement.net |
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