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 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.  Thursday, December 12, 2013  The Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, MO A great seasonal childhood Christmas memory was our annual family trip into Kansas City to view the Christmas lights at the Country Club Plaza. "Our Expiration Date" "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" (Mark 8:36). "Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him" (Hebrews 9:27,28).  For many years we have appreciated the Pocket Testament League, a literature ministry headquartered here in Lancaster County. The main focus of this ministry is the power of individual Christians reading, carrying and sharing God's Word. They have active ministry all over the world and really stress the power of individual impact.We receive regular email from this ministry with brief testimonies such as the one we received several days ago from someone who had distributed a Gospel of John. It really demonstrates the power of one individual to make a difference when they step out and share their faith: “I handed a Gospel of John to a lady on the street one day who was accompanied by her pregnant daughter. I stood for a while talking. Only to come to the knowledge that they were on their way to their doctor's office to abort that very baby. I told them God has a divine plan and purpose for that child. They were not believers of the Word at that time, but thanks to that opportunity the Gospel opened up the door for me to share that Word with them. The pregnant girl was being forced to abort her unborn child, because she wasn't married. And she told me if she had gone through with her mother's demands, she would have later committed suicide. Both mother and daughter are now believers of the Word! And the baby boy will soon be celebrating his 1st birthday, on December 23, 2013."  I met Mike Brickley the president (photo above), over ten years ago when I heard him share his testimony at a business meeting. He was the founder and president of a bank in the Silicon Valley and had made vast sums of money during the nineties financing technology companies. He described the opulent lifestyle he was accustomed to, as well as the pain and loss he experienced during the dot com bust. He expressed the joy of serving Jesus and being part of an infinitely greater venture than financing high tech businesses! He shared a concept that really impacted my life.  Like the products we purchase such as fresh milk, we all have an expiration date. This date is not displayed on our bodies, of course, but it is known by God. It's expressed in Scripture in a portion of the daily verse, "Man is destined to die once".Now that's an indisputable truth regardless of your faith background. How many of you know your great grandparents? (Perhaps a few of you do!) But what about your great, great grandparents or your ancestors before that? Over forty years ago I still vividly recall my dad receiving the news that his dad (my grandpa) had passed away and watching him brace himself against the wall weeping. Some thirty years after that it was my Dad's turn. I know who's next. Death is simply the God-ordained transition from this life. * The main question is this: are we ready to die, and are we prepared for the judgment? God has given us a will to decide and no decision in life is greater. However important the choice we make regarding our marriage partner, life's vocation or other big decisions, they pale in comparison to this decision.  But this reality has a huge impact on how we live our lives. That's what was so impacting to Mike Brickley as he considered his own expiration date. Perhaps he considered the verse, "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" (Mark 8:36). We make the decision to live for Christ and then we should have a loving interest that others consider their expiration date and make life's most important decision and be prepared for eternity.The decision is personally choosing to believe in Christ and making Him our Lord and Savior. I hope you have all made this decision and I surely believe most of you have. But if somehow you come across this brief post and haven't yet surrendered your life to Christ or you are not sure let me strongly urge you to do so today. Our prayer today will provide a framework for this expression of faith. Remember, we all have an expiration date! Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber  Daily Prayer: Father, when we were utterly helpless, You sent Jesus at just the right time to die for our sins. Few people are willing to die for a good person, but Jesus died for the good and the bad, even those who nailed Him to the cross. Amazingly, Jesus laid down His life for us while we were still sinners and lived as enemies of the cross. Through Your Holy Spirit You call us to Yourself to begin a wonderful new relationship because Jesus reconciles us to You through His death on the cross that covers our sins. We repent and receive Jesus' gift of forgiveness, His love and His lordship in our lives. And we see how very much You love us, for You call us Your children and this is what we are! Amen.See Romans 5:6-11, I John 3:1 * I am aware that there are two individuals mentioned in Scripture (Enoch and Elijah) that did not die in the usual sense and the Bible teaches that the generation alive at the time of the return of Christ will pass directly to heaven (1 Thessalonian 4:13-18). We want to thank all who have financially supported our ministry this past year. We typically see a spike in giving at the end of the year for which we are most thankful. We realize there are many fine ministries and causes requesting support at this time but if the Lord would lead you we surely need and appreciate the financial support from our readers and listeners. Our ministry is comprised of half our time to Daily Encouragement and the other half to our chaplaincy ministry to companies (of course, this varies week by week). Each of these ministries essentially is the same as a part-time job (20+ hours weekly) for each of us. Our goal for many years is that each phase would provide half of our ministry expenses and income. If you would like to make a donation see here for more information or donate directly online here. Thank you!Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources There are many excellent online presentations of the gospel. Here's one of them called "Need Him" or call 888-NEED HIM to talk to someone about this most important matter. "Just As I Am - I Come Broken To Be Mended" Video Travis Cottrell What a moving song!! "Come to Jesus" Video Chris Rice "Just As I Am" Video Brian Doerksen Pocket Testament League Regarding the opening photo: The Country Club Plaza in Kansas City is famously lighted for Christmas. It is an upscale outdoor shopping area about 5 miles from downtown. Here are some more photos from Google. Virtually every Christmas my Dad would take Mom and us kids into the city to see the lights. For us that was a big deal and great memory! |
 Stephen and Brooksyne Weber(Click on photo to enlarge) Stephen and Brooksyne Weber (Click on photo to enlarge) About Us "We want to encourage you daily in your walk with Christ!" Personal Ministry Update (Revised 10/21/13)  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 12/11/13: $22,519.00 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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