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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.  Tuesday, January 7, 2014  Lake Huron shoreline, Michigan Photo by Howard J. Blichfeldt (used by permission)  Listen to this message on your audio player."Still Sustaining All Things" "While the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, will never cease” (Genesis 8:22). "Sustaining all things by His powerful Word" (Hebrews 1:3).  We are experiencing a polar vortex, a term I don’t ever recall hearing before. Actually vortex is a word I've never heard much but do recall years ago attending the Camelbeach water park in the Poconos that had a ride known as "The Vortex". At the ride entrance there are large signs that warn of dire dangers and restrictions similar to what you would expect on a road approaching an active volcano. You climb up a massive tower and again get grilled by a serious-looking park worker who questions whether you are really up to this particular feat. The experience involves a winding tube slide with a 45 degree drop into a funnel where you spin around until you finally drop into a hole where a lifeguard waits to assist you. Given the cold weather we are now having it sounds like something I would like to do again today! The polar vortex is bringing down extremely cold polar temperatures. It was below zero this morning with wind chills of -25 Fahrenheit. The extreme whipping winds brought power lines down around 2 A.M. Knowing how fast the temperature would drop in our rather leaky house, with the howling polar winds coming in from the northwest, I was concerned for our comfort, health and water pipes. One can never be certain when power will return. Thankfully I managed to keep our coal stove going by using the battery backup for our computer till the power was restored just before 4:30 A.M. (The coal stove uses electricity to feed the fire.)Listening to the howling winds and feeling the cool air in our otherwise warm home makes us long for sunny summer weather. But right now the U.S. and many of our friends overseas are in the midst of the winter extreme "fallout". We experience it each year, though this year has record breaking temperatures. God made a standing promise to Noah after the flood which is known as the Noahic Covenant: "As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease" (Genesis 8:22). Each of the events and seasons described in the covenant are easily observable. Here in our rural area we regularly witness "seedtime and harvest." We all experience "cold and heat" in varying extremes depending on where we live. And of course no one would contest that we still have "summer and winter, day and night." As long as the earth endures, these "will never cease". The earth is still enduring and each of these easily observable characteristics have not ceased! God continues to faithfully keep these promises. Using a powerful phrase from the Book of Hebrews He is "sustaining all things by His powerful Word." Although it is forecast to be very cold all day we expect this blast of cold from the polar vortex to soon cease and temperatures to return to more normal tomorrow. But an aspect of God's sustaining care is seen when we consider how much colder or hotter it could get! "Absolute Zero" is a low budget sci-fi movie that postulates that a sudden 90 degree shift in the earth's magnetic pole plunges the equator into the deepest freeze possible - absolute zero. I have read that if the earth were just a small fraction closer or farther from the sun we would have extremes that would make life as we know it intolerable. The same is true for the earth's design in its rotation on its axis and its revolution around the sun. Yet God has designed and sustains the earth in an extremely predictable pattern.  There are design limits in God's continuing care over the earth as He faithfully sustains. We may grumble about the cold or the hot, but I've never met anyone that is terribly worried that the earth will move just a fraction closer to or farther from the sun causing us to suddenly boil or plunge to 100 degrees below zero!Hebrews 1:3 says that Christ is "sustaining all things by His powerful Word." Today I am confident that He will continue to uphold and keep the earth as long as He ordains its existence. He will also continue to sustain you and me. After all, "all things" covers it all! Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber  Daily prayer: Father, You sustain all things by Your powerful Word and through Your sovereign control. The natural order of Your creation is the means by which we live day after day, year after year. Just as there are variables in the seasons there are variables in our lives as we walk this pilgrimage on earth. There are bright, clear days in which we feel on top of the world, and there are dark, cold days when we feel our world has come to a halt. But we are encouraged as we look to Your powerful Word that reminds us You are our loving God who sustains us in the variables of our daily circumstances. Because of that we can trust You even in the extremes of life. We thank You in the powerful name of Jesus who is Your exact representation on earth. Amen. Here's a photo of our coal stove. During the winter it goes a long way to heating our entire home although we also have a heat pump which supplements it.  The interior of our coal stove with the door open Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources "Faithful God" Video Shannon Wexelburg "Faithful God" Video Laura Story "What A Faithful God" Video Robert Critchley "Indescribable" Video Chris Tomlin, Laura Story "Upholding All Things" Video A 1 minute+ devotional thought "God’s Powerful Sustaining Word" A short written devotional from Ligonier Ministries Today's photo of the solitary tree and winter scene was taken in Michigan by our friend Howard Blichfeldt, a professional photographer from the Pittsburgh area and committed Christian. More samples of his photographs are on his website. |
 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 12/31/13: $27,457.00 (Note: Due a lag in reporting from my chaplain agency all 2013 gifts may not be reported for several days. When all gifts are accounted for we will share our final accounting of offerings) 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 2014 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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