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 A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation. Home About Us Archives Free email subscription  Listen to these messages  Text only for printing  See here for more info. <Previous Message · Archive edition Wednesday, May 7, 2014  Live Oaks in New Braunfels, Texas The name "Live Oak" comes from the fact that evergreen oaks remain green and "live" throughout winter, when other oaks, such as those growing in our area are dormant, leafless and "dead"-looking through the winter season. "The Blessing of 'Home Folks'" Listen to us read this message on your audio player."God places the lonely in families" (Psalm 68:6). "I kneel before the Father, from whom His whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name" (Ephesians 3:14,15). Blest be the tie that binds Our hearts in Christian love; The fellowship of kindred minds Is like to that above. We returned home from our trip to Texas in the early evening hours yesterday. To use an old cliche, "It's always good to be home!" Ten days away has made a lot of difference in the greening up of the trees and lawns so we have lots of yard work and will resume our chaplain visits tomorrow. Yesterday morning before our flight back home we received a brief email from our pastor that touched our hearts: "So good to hear you are having a wonderful time but we miss you all. Hurry back soon to us, your home folks. Love, Pastor John". John grew up in a rural part of Pennsylvania and we enjoy hearing his folksy words and colloquialisms that come out in his preaching and conversation. I really like the phrase "your home folks". What a blessing it is to have home folks, especially those who notice when you're gone!  While we were in Corpus Christi, TX last Thursday we both enjoyed walking through the USS Lexington Aircraft Carrier. It was commissioned in 1943 and carried about 3000 crew members during WWII. We were impressed with some of the artifacts and photographs that included Scriptures like this faded photograph of a military man posing with his wife and children. The caption under the photograph is our daily text, "He setteth the solitary in families" (Psalm 68:6 KJV). It appears to have been taken about the time Brooksyne and I were growing up. She noted that the girls were dressed alike, the same way she and her sister dressed for church each Sunday. In fact it looks like this family is ready to go to church. Perhaps this photograph and Scripture text served as a visual reminder to the sailors, that their military service provided people in the U.S. as well as their own families their freedom to worship God.The faces of lonely people occupy my thoughts this day. Loneliness is a universal phenomenon that many experience in every culture, regardless of race, nationality, age, or any other factor. You can be in a huge crowd and be lonely. An old rock song states, "All the lonely people, where do they all come from? All the lonely people where do they all belong?" The word "lonely" conveys such sadness and isolation. Many lonely people are not necessarily at a distance from other people. In fact they may very well be surrounded by people in a city, office environment, or their own family members. Even as the planet gets more and more populated it seems loneliness spreads as well.  Fundamentally it's because people have tried replacing the divinely appointed order of our relationship with God, family, and the fellowship of other believers with a host of artificial replacements. Even the meaning of "friend" has changed. Now people collect "friends" on social websites; people they may not even personally know or have a deep, meaningful relationship with. In the beginning God and man had close fellowship and since that time many have had the wonderful assurance expressed by David in the Shepherd's Psalm, "Thou art with me". That's the greatest antidote to loneliness! Hide deeply in your heart these words of our Lord Jesus Christ, "Surely I am with you always" (Matthew 28:20). "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5).In the beginning God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone" and made a helper suitable for him and thus ordained marriage and "places the lonely in families" (Psalm 68:6). We may also refer to our church body or Christian friends as the "family of believers." Jesus defined the meaning of the spiritual family when He expressed to his biological family in Luke 8:21, "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it." Right now there are people in our church that I can easily relate to as a spiritual sibling or a spiritual parent. Today I urge you to treasure and nurture your biological family ties as well as your spiritual family. However as I conclude I still consider the precious souls reading this who are lonely today. It may be that you are separated from your companion or soul-mate by death. Perhaps you've been abandoned by an unfaithful spouse, or are dealing with estranged children. I don't minimize your pain even though it is not presently my experience. Several considerations: 1) Lean heavily upon the steadfast love of the Lord that never ceases. You will find Him to be a friend that sticks closer than a brother. 2) If you aren't already, become active in a local Bible-believing church with a caring pastor and congregation. 3) Often the quickest way to end loneliness is to reach out to another who has a need. When we put others needs first, God has a way of fulfilling our own inner need. 4) If you're lonely due to past hurts and you remain guarded, seek God for healing and start giving of yourself again to cultivate a friendship. We hope each of our readers have the blessing of home folks! I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God. I've been washed in the fountain, cleansed by His blood! Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod. For I'm part of the family, the family of God. Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber  Daily prayer: Father, thank You for the many Scriptures that reassure us we're never alone, such as the oft quoted comfort Psalm, "Thou art with me". It's when we look solely to other people to cure our loneliness that we neglect the greatest cure which is looking to You and finding guidance and solace in Scripture and in prayer! Help us to hide deeply in our hearts the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, "Surely I am with you always" (Matthew 28:20). His promise that He will never leave us nor forsake us enables us to endure even in the loneliest of circumstances. We are encouraged and strengthened by Your promises and by the presence of Your Holy Spirit which keeps us from being alone for all time. Amen.Here are some more photos of our visit to the King Ranch.  A longhorn cow and two calves. Ninety percent of Texas is in some level of drought with about 49 percent in “severe” or worse drought conditions. Circular troughs the size of small ponds which are supplied by artesian wells are provided for the cattle. As we rode the ranch tour bus we saw quite a few simply standing in the middle of the troughs seeking to cool themselves on a hot Texas afternoon.  Old longhorn bull  Due to the size of the ranch and the many gates they developed the bump gate.  An old building on the ranch.  Brooksyne was resting against a sprawling live oak tree when I took this shot of the rattlesnake warning. She checked with the tour guide about all the warning signs and they told us they'd only seen a couple in recent weeks. She was thankful she didn't see or hear ANY rattlesnakes! On the other hand I (Stephen) would have liked to have seen and heard a rattlesnake! Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources "Blest Be The Tie That Binds" Video Homecoming gathering "The Family Of God" Video The Hoppers & Collingsworth Family "Praise His Name" Video This is a video of the Easters recording "Praise His Name". We were on our way home yesterday and were listening to the words of this stirring song that speaks to one who feels all alone in their struggle. "You're not alone so how can you feel lonely" speaks to the fact that "Greater is He that is within me" reminding us that we are never alone if Christ resides within our hearts. We will overcome by the word of our testimony. Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne  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.2014 YTD offerings to Daily Encouragement Net: $4,174.00 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. 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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. Your answers are anonymous and I we are unable to respond. If you want to send a personal message use the 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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