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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 Follow Daily Encouragement on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn     See here for more info. <Previous Message · Archive edition Friday, October 3, 2014 Listen to this message on your audio player."Dead To Sin" "In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus" (Romans 6:11). "Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh" (Romans 13:14). All to Jesus I surrender; Humbly at His feet I bow, Worldly pleasures all forsaken; Take me, Jesus, take me now.  Brooksyne and Ester saw a cat lying in the field behind our home. It was visible from our deck and had not moved for hours. They took the dog out to investigate. When she lurched at the cat it still did not move and they assumed he (or she) was dead. (Note: photo to the left is not the same cat!)We periodically glanced at the cat for several hours to see if it might move, but finally I felt it was time to dispose of the "dead" cat (after all, who wants to watch or smell a decaying animal?) I grabbed a shovel and proceeded toward the cat, but when I got close the cat's eyes opened and he looked right at me. Next he saw the shovel and scrammed into the woods! I reckon the cat reasoned, "I'm not that dead!" Figuratively speaking, God has called us to be dead to sin much like the cat in our story appeared to be dead to those around him. Today we have on our hearts several situations we are encountering in the course of our service as chaplains. We want to help people accept Christ and to get on the right path in life or in many cases equip them to grow in their walk with the Lord as believers. In yesterday's message we shared Bible teaching from a quote posted on a bumper sticker that states, "Sin would be less attractive if the wages were paid immediately." People often make wrong choices and yet don't always face the consequences immediately. In a corollary truth when making good choices we don't always see the benefits immediately. In both cases there is an indeterminate amount of time between reaping and sowing. Our daily verse presents a vital daily principle for the believer, "In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus." Notice its call to action and obedience on our part. "Count yourselves"; that's a daily decision and commitment we need to make. Other translations render the passage, "reckon ye also yourselves" (KJV) and "consider yourselves" (Amplified). The single Greek word this translates is "logizesthe", which conveys the sense, "to do this continually"." F. B. Meyer writes, "Reckon that you have died, and whenever sin arises, to menace or allure you, point back to the grave, and argue that since you died in Christ, you have passed altogether beyond its jurisdiction, for you have yielded your members as weapons of righteousness unto God. And having been crucified with Christ, you now no longer live, but Christ liveth in you (Galatians 2:20). Let it become your daily habit to place the grave of Jesus between yourself and all allurements of the world, the flesh, and the devil." Sin is a harsh taskmaster as illustrated by this little poem which would be a good one to memorize: Sin will take you farther than you ever thought you’d stray Sin will leave you so lost, you think you’ll never find your way Sin will keep you longer than you ever thought you’d stay Sin will cost you more than you ever thought you’d pay Later in Romans Paul calls believers, "to offer your bodies as living sacrifices" (Romans 12:1). It's been said that the problem with a living sacrifice is that it keeps jumping off the altar! How true. We need to regularly apply the truth expressed in our daily verse. A volitional choice to consider ourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let's make that choice today. Consider this: Before our regeneration We lived in sin and loved it; Since our regeneration We may lapse into sin but we loathe it. Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber  Daily prayer: Father, we thank You for Jesus' death on our behalf making it possible for us to be forgiven and walk in newness of life. Our sin nature no longer dominates, but our spiritual nature becomes the driving force behind our thoughts, our actions, and our conversation. In earnest we seek to bring forth abundantly good fruit which brings praise and glory to You, Father. Seeking personal attention, applause, or praise for our fruit would be gratifying the desires of our sin nature turning our good fruits into rotting, infested, and stench-filled fruit fit only for the waste pile. Because we love righteousness and loathe sinfulness we never want to live the reverse order again. Help us when we do fall and uphold us so we can stand against the enemy and not lapse into doing things the "old familiar" way. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.Reader's Note: Yesterday we shared a video about the origination of the song, "I Have Decided To Follow Jesus". David Penley, a Texan friend and seminary professor observes: The song, "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus" has long been one of my favorites. The video about how it was written was especially meaningful to me. The part of India he was talking about in the video is Nagaland. I had a student from Nagaland several years ago, who did his Masters degree in our program. His family and ours became friends. He stayed and did his doctorate, and I served as his supervisor for that. Today he is president of a Christian college in Nagaland. He invited me to serve on his college's board (which I still do), and I went to Nagaland to teach at his college a few years ago. He told me the story of how his people used to be headhunters, and I went to museums that included this part of their history while I was in Nagaland. He also told me the story I heard in the video of how those committed missionaries gave their lives to bring the Gospel to them. Today it is the most Christian part of India. The people were all so loving and friendly. They are the most gentle and caring people you could imagine. What a difference Christ makes! I was blessed to hear how this song I so love is connected to these people I have come to so love. Yesterday morning our local journey took us intentionally through Lancaster County back roads on our way to our chaplaincy posts. When possible, and if I have the time, I never take the same road twice preferring to explore new areas.  Approaching the Lime Valley Covered Bridge in southern Lancaster County, PA.  A photo through the window of this covered bridge looks like a framed landscape picture!  Penn Grant Road farm and barn After driving through the Lime Valley covered bridge we saw this. (Click on photo for larger view and see the yellow chairs on the deck overlooking the bridge.)  Tobacco shocks (Click on photo to enlarge)  It seems every other Amish farm has a small roadside stand; some with just a few varieties of produce, others with large carts of produce and flowers. And there are still other large homemade structures that are filled with many shelves of fresh and home canned produce.  This eye catching barn on Strasburg Road has a huge quilt design made of several panels attached to its side. (Click on photo to enlarge)  Oops! Brooksyne was not the intended subject of this photo but I (Stephen) decided to keep and post it since this is most often the way we capture our Lancaster landscape and people photos as we travel to our different chaplain spots. I'm doing the driving and Brooksyne is snapping the camera. (This time the mirror got in the way and ended up capturing a "selfie" of the photographer.) Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources Precept Austin commentary notes on Romans 6:11. (This is an outstanding resource for serious Bible students.) "I Surrender All" Video "Knowing You" Video Graham Kendrick 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: $9,252.00 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.) 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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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