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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.  Monday, January 13, 2014  Our friends Cerwin and Doris High are visiting family in one of our favorite places. Doris shared this photo on her blog which brought a good memory and smile. Do you recognize where this photo was taken? (* See below for answer.) "Diligent In Business"  Listen to this message on your audio player."This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah, doing what was good and right and faithful before the LORD his God. In everything that he undertook in the service of God's temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered" (2 Chronicles 31:20,21). "A righteous man will be remembered forever" (Psalm 112:6). "Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord" (Romans 12:11). "Reputation is what others think about you. Character is what God sees when no one else is looking." Two weeks ago I preached a message at a nursing home and shared an illustration about Harper Hull, a local businessman who had become our friend in the course of our chaplaincy work. Afterward I walked through the room greeting the residents and one man told me he had worked for Harper. He fondly recalled that each day Harper left his office and walked out into the plant to greet each employee by name, and this was no small company. Another resident informed me that he had known Harper through his association with CBMC, a Christian businessman's organization.  Harper was the cofounder and owner of Trojan Yachts, a company headquartered in Lancaster till it was sold in 1992. The Argonaut yacht featured in the "Sea Hunt" TV series from the early sixties was constructed by Harper's company. He had a degree in naval architecture and marine engineering (the first time I ever heard of that field!) He began using a computer back in 1957 and still did accounting work for a group of companies we served while he was in his late eighties.One of the interesting aspects of our corporate chaplain work is that, similar to pastoring, we see people over a long-term and through many phases of life (to the extent we continue working with the same company). We look for evidence of faith and values when we step into an office or workspace, which often leads into a spiritual discussion. It might be a Bible purposefully placed on a desk, Scripture art on the wall or other indications of faith.  For a number of years we visited with Harper in his office and we were blessed by a little plaque on his shelf that simply stated, "Diligent in business, serving the Lord." Over time we learned more about Harper, a gentle and quiet man. His plaque expressed the outlook of a man who lived out his faith. Harper accepted Christ in 1949 and lived the rest of his life for the Lord. He not only displayed the plaque but he also put those words into practice. Business people often get a bad rap but there are many, many business people like Harper who serve the Lord faithfully and are diligent in business. William Crumblehulme was an English businessman who owned a large foundry and lived over 100 years ago. He was a devout believer and earnestly practiced his faith in Christ. One of his favorite sayings was "To be diligent in business is quite compatible with the life of active Christian service." On his tombstone are written these words, "Fervent in spirit, diligent in business, serving the Lord."  Today we encourage readers in regard to the business part of life. Some see work as a necessary evil but God has ordained work. The first daily text is actually a summary of the life of King Hezekiah but I believe it's a powerful model for all of us. In relationship to today's message I especially note two descriptive words that characterized Hezekiah, "worked wholeheartedly". For the sake of clarity and personal application I want to paraphrase this verse slightly. Not only is it a historical record, but it has application for our own lives as well. I will use my own name as this is truly what I aspire to. When my time on earth is ended and a summary is made of my life, I would be pleased to have this written about me: "This is what Stephen did, that which was good and right and faithful before the LORD his God. In everything that he undertook in the service of God's ministry and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered." I encourage you to place your name in the text and make it your aspiration as well. May we all, like Hezekiah and Harper, be diligent in business, serving the Lord! Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber  Daily prayer: Father, the example of Hezekiah reminds us that doing our work diligently and honestly is pleasing in Your sight. We are to seek You wholeheartedly as we carry out our responsibilities, whether it is at work or at home. In our temporal earthy dwelling we want to apply eternal kingdom principles in all we do and say rather than possessing a complaining, discontent demeanor. As we are faithful in pursuing righteousness and spreading peace and joy You prosper us in our family relations, our places of employment, our relationships, and in our financial endeavors. We thank You for Your blessings in the name of Jesus. Amen.Note from Brooksyne: I too was impressed with Harper's diligence in his work skills as I saw him for many years in our weekly chaplaincy role. But even more importantly Stephen and I were deeply touched by the diligence and devotion he gave to his wife in her later years during a long physical struggle before her death. Many times we upheld him in prayer, along with many other caring believers, as we considered his exhausting role as Caregiver, both physically and emotionally. His love for her was unwavering and an exemplary model to his family and others. He didn't just repeat meaningful words to his young bride 63 years earlier, but he carried out his vows in words and actions; "in sickness and in health, till death do us part." We had an interesting experience when Harper passed away in 2009 and shared it here.  Saturday morning we enjoyed breakfast and a time of fellowship with Daryl and Janet Leisey. I met Daryl when we first moved to Lancaster County and he was the HR director in a company I served as chaplain at the time. We developed a friendship and have stayed in touch over the years. He has been very encouraging and first planted the seed for our local radio ministry on WDAC 94.5 FM. After I resigned from the chaplain service company in 2004 Daryl invited me for breakfast and shared valuable advice and insights as Brooksyne and I struck out on our own. Daryl is a business consultant with the North Group. He has uncanny insight expressed by asking questions I never thought of!  We had a real blessing yesterday in our church as five of our men sang several songs, including one of my old favorites, "I Must Tell Jesus". Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources "Seek Ye First " Video Maranatha Singers "You Are My All in All" Video Gaither Vocal Band featuring David Phelps Trojan Yachts * The big boot photo was taken at the L.L. Bean flagship store in Freeport, Maine! Finally today, a home plumbing update: We shared last week about our pipes breaking due to freezing during the polar vortex. Saturday I essentially completed the project and water has been restored to that section of our house! I learned two new (to me) plumbing methods: 1) Pex pipe is very flexible and connected by a special crimp ring; no glue or solder. It was very easy to use with the special crimping tool a friend lent to me. Since pex bends easily you avoid a number of fittings compared to non-flexible pipe. It has a special go/no-go gauge which immediately verifies you got it right. 2) In several places I used sharkbite type fittings in which you just push the pipe in and it grips and seals. I used this connecting existing cpvc to pex. Works great. Two types are shown. I first tried plastic but it broke when I took it apart. Metal is better! Two cautions: Critically important that you place the pipe in the right depth and with pex you use a small sleeve, which is very easy to forget.  Now I have to finish the project by doing all I can to stop the flow of cold air that froze the pipes in the first place and then repairing the drywall ceiling. (I would rather plumb than drywall and Brooksyne is not warming to the idea of her involvement in the drywall project!) |
 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: $27,952.00 (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) Due to a large increase in year-end gifts and the office being closed for several days due to Christmas and New year it takes several days for the accounting office to catch up. I can see there are a number of year end gifts that have not yet been placed in my account. 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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