Daily Encouragement (06/30/14) "Overflowing With Hope"

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The on line Bible teaching ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber 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 Monday, June 30, 2014 Sunday morning ride to church in Lancaster County PA "Overflowing With Hope" Listen to us read this message on your audio player.   "Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope" (Lamentations 3:21). "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" (Romans 15:13). "Gaze upon God and glance at your circumstances" is a wise quote worthy of writing down or memorizing. You might want to post it at your computer or behind your kitchen sink to remind you of this important truth! Some who tend to stay awake at night entertaining the worst possible outcome for their troubling circumstances might want to post it on their bedframe. For way too many in reality there is a tendency to "gaze upon our circumstances and glance at God!" Yesterday I preached from the passage that contains the brief portion in the daily text. I challenge you to remember just three powerful words: "I have hope." These are three of the most assuring words in the entire Bible that you can easily memorize. Hide them deep in your heart today so that you, like Jeremiah can recall them during a time of adversity or despair. Jeremiah uttered these words while in the very midst of one of the most horrendous scenes in human history at the fall of the kingdom, the burning of Jerusalem and the forced exile into Babylon. Just prior to this verse he sums up his despair with these words, "My soul is downcast within me." He surely was experiencing tremendous adversity and even despair. The spiritual truths reserved in Jeremiah's heart were temporarily forgotten as he looked [gazed] upon the heap of human rubble that surrounded him. But finally he reached down deep into his heart and recalled the immutable character of God's faithfulness, "Yet this I call to mind" and declared "therefore I have hope."  His immediate circumstances didn't improve; they actually worsened. But Jeremiah's focus went from trying to fix impossible circumstances in his limited wisdom and power and redirected it to the unending hope that comes through God's steadfast care. In the verses that follow he identifies the immutable character of God as the source of this hope highlighting three specific attributes as expressed in verses 22 & 23: "Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness."         1) The Lord's great love.         2) The Lord's unfailing compassions that are new every morning.         3) The Lord's great faithfulness. As our focus is directed to God and a consideration of His immutable character we are filled with joy and peace which enables us to "overflow with hope."  Isn't that a wonderful spiritual state of mind that we want to experience! It's how I want to live emotionally. The word "overflow" has the sense to "superabound". Picture a bucket that is filled and the contents are continuously being replenished and thus are constantly overflowing.  "Hope"- this word so often has the sense of mere wishful thinking in the English.  But in the Bible it has the sense of "absolute certainty" or "assured confidence". That's the kind of hope the "God of hope" offers to the trusting believer. Today may each of you experience this overflowing hope in your life as you trust in the Lord! My hope is in the Lord From this time on and evermore. Oh my hope is in the Lord forevermore. His tender mercies come with every rising sun. To meet the sinner in his brokenness. To offer healing and forgiveness. And those who trust in Him will find their hearts at rest.* Today in whatever situation we are encountering we all, like Jeremiah, can declare, "I have hope!" Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily prayer: Father, I have hope because I've anchored my faith in Your Holy Word and the unchanging character of who You are.  It is not the circumstances of my day that will determine my eternal future, but it is the hope I have in Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of my soul, that overrides the temporal and potentially discouraging matters that lie before me.  I have a hope that is firm and secure in Christ who speaks to You, Father, on my behalf. Thank You for hearing me and responding to all that concerns me this day.  Amen. Yesterday I shared God's Word with a Vietnamese congregation in Lancaster, a very friendly and welcoming congregation. In the early service I preached to English-speaking younger people and in the second service, with the assistance of a translator, I spoke to many first generation Vietnamese. Pastor Dave and his assistant pastors are out of town at a conference and invited me to speak. Mr. Le Mylong (to my left) was the translator for the second service. The English service sang the same songs popular all through typical American evangelicalism including the typical instruments and pounding drums! During the worship service the children came up to the front as they joyfully danced and sang during the music. What a delightfully distracting sight! The second service was more a middle-aged to older crowd, mostly first generation. We recognized the hymns but of course could not sing with them, though we did sing the English words under our breath. One little lady came up to Stephen following the service and said in halting English, "You have very strong voice, That good, that good." She was actually observing how loud he was, though she did say, "Good for emphasis"! There are a number of Vietnamese who work in the companies we serve as chaplains. They are very kind and receptive toward our friendship though we are extremely limited in our communications. One the way to church yesterday we passed through beautiful rural Lancaster County. These folks were out on a beautiful day for a Sunday hay ride. It's always a pleasure to pass through a covered bridge. A young Amish couple going to church. We passed this farm where the Amish church gathering was held. These boys were pleased to wave as we passed by. Note the men standing in the barn. Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources "My Hope Is In The LORD"  Video  The Talleys "My Hope Is In The Lord"  Video  Tommy Coomes Band "My Hope is in the Lord"  Video   Robin Mark "My Hope is in You"  Video  Aaron Shust "Anchor" Video  Hillsong  We heard this song for the first time yesterday. 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: $6,152.00 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.) 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. 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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Daily Encouragement (06/27/14) "Lay Your Burdens Down"

Daily Encouragement Net
A daily, Bible-based message of hope and encouragement. Having trouble reading this message? 
Read mobile edition online

The on line Bible teaching ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber 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 Friday, June 27, 2014 Laurel Run Farm Mifflintown, PA (Photo by Brooksyne) "Lay Your Burdens Down" Listen to us read this message on your audio player. "Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens" (Psalm 68:19). "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). "Casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7). In our final session at the chaplaincy training conference this week we heard Doug Clay share a message on coming to Jesus for our needs. He based his message on the story of the blind man in Mark 8 who came to Jesus to be healed and then came back a second time because he saw men as "trees walking". Doug shared that this illustrated a persistence in coming to Jesus concerning our needs. One of the lines I really liked from his message was, "Starve your doubts and feed your hope". Following his message he asked the various leaders on our chaplain team to come to the front and then extended an altar call for any who may have come to the conference with a special need for which they wanted prayer. I think he was only expecting a few but long lines formed. As I observed the lines I thought of the burdens these people were bearing. For some it was a physical need, for others perhaps a matter in their marriage and family. For others it might have been a financial burden. Perhaps it was a special challenge or hard time for some in their ministry. Brooksyne and I sure recall going to meetings with a heavy heart due to ministry matters in past years. As I observed the line I considered the burdens those we minister to are enduring. Encounters we have in the course of our chaplaincy, notes and prayer requests we receive from Daily Encouragement readers and those in our church and churches we have served. It was a long line in my mind as I considered specific situations people have and are experiencing. One of our favorite writers is Robert J. Morgan, a pastor in Tennessee who shared an interesting illustration: he had been on a long trip and was travel weary as he walked through the airport. He was physically relieved when he spotted a long moving sidewalk and headed in that direction. It was here that the Lord spoke to his heart. He had a bag in each hand but in his fatigue he didn’t even think to set them down. "I was still carrying my load while the moving sidewalk was carrying me. Not until halfway down the hall did I have the presence of mind to release my bags and let the moving sidewalk carry them for me." Can you can identify with Morgan's illustration? In regard to my burdens I tend to set them down (trust) and then pick them back up again (doubt). As we write this message today I consider several I know who face heavy burdens, part of the long line of people who need God's tender touch. "Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens." In Scripture God often emphasizes the unit of time we call the day.  In fact it's the very first unit of time that is referred to in the Bible and the most frequently mentioned starting with Genesis 1:14. Certainly each of us knows about burdens and we can readily identify with the Lord's statement that "each day has enough trouble [burdens] of its own" (Matthew 6:34b). A commentary considers the meaning of the daily text in this way: "God daily carries us as a manifestation of His protective and sustaining care." Such an interpretation brings to mind "Footprints in the Sand" written by Mary Stevenson during her teen years in 1936 as she endured major obstacles in her young life. What assurance His Word brings. Believing friend, God is bearing your burdens today, and wants to lighten your load. He loves you, and the trial you are presently enduring does matter to Him. He is faithful and He will see you through to the other side! Don't try to shoulder your burdens for the heavy load will surely break you.  Instead lay your burdens down at the foot of the cross. Jesus will meet you there. Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily prayer: Father, our faith rests in the finished work of Jesus at Calvary.  Because of His tremendous sacrifice our sins are forgiven and a place is reserved for us in heaven.  We also find rest from our unending troubles in this life as we respond to Jesus' invitation:  "Come to Me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest." Help us to look to You for needed strength and an overcoming spirit as we daily encounter challenges and ongoing burdens. Burdens are lifted at Calvary for that is where Jesus bore not only our sins but also our sorrows. Praise be to You, our Father in heaven, who daily bears our burdens.  Amen. This Sunday I will be speaking to a Vietnamese congregation in Lancaster, once with the assistance of a translator and another to English-speaking younger people. I arrived home from the chaplain training conference about midnight last night. Brooksyne picked me up at the Harrisburg airport and waiting for me she forgot the lights were on so we needed a jump! It's always good to be home. (And I, Brooksyne, was happy to sit in the van while Stephen went for help instead of me. I was once again mindful of those who go through life without a companion and the extra load they carry.) Final set of photos from the Chaplaincy training conference: Dr. JoAnn Butrin has been in medical mission service for over 40 years. She shared in a session concerning "Compassion Fatigue" which was very informative. In the course of her service for our Lord she has been to over 90 countries working amongst some of the most tragic of human need, such as with refugees during the Rwandan Civil war. She is a choice servant of our Lord. Here's a photo of JoAnn over 25 years ago when she was visiting our church in northern Pennsylvania. She's holding Heber, a precious child from Guatemala, who lived with us a couple of years while he had three heart operations. Through "Healing the Children" he came to us in 1988, one year before Ester arrived for her surgeries in 1989. Heber became very attached to Brooksyne after his arrival and was anxiously awaiting his return to her arms when we snapped this photo. We hosted four children with severe medical needs from Guatemala and what a rewarding experience it was to help these children and bless their families. Brooksyne did not go with me to this year's chaplain's conference. It's kind of hard to go alone but Dan and Kathy Peternel befriended me and sort of looked out for me, inviting me to join them for dinner. Dan is a chaplain's husband as Kathy is a hospital chaplain. Dave Simpson has been my friend since we we were neighbors in first grade. Dave allowed me to use his vehicle while in Springfield as well as lodging before and after the conference and other expressions of hospitality. He is the owner of Holloway America, a business in Springfield. I snapped this photo yesterday afternoon when I met him for a ride to the airport. He is not posing but like many business owners Dave is very, very busy juggling irons in the fire and making decisions. His company has a payroll and employee benefits of nearly $1,000,000 per month. He has an interesting proposition: Any future president should have run a company for at least 10 years. I agree! Dave is a devout Christian. In one of our chaplain worksites we visit a large heating and air conditioning company arriving early in the morning to see the men off to work. I was heartened to see William, a young college student, working through the summer carrying his Bible as he prepared to leave for the day. Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources "Lay Your Burden Down"  Video  Chuck Girard "Lay Your Burdens Down"  Video  Great song, musicians not specified "Burdens Are Lifted At Calvary"  Video  Gaither Homecoming singers "He Knows My Name"  Video  Paul Baloche "I Cast All My Cares Upon You"  Video  Kelly Willard  We recall singing this chorus for many years. This version is especially nice as I sense the earnestness in Kelly's voice. Robert J. Morgan blog article referred to in message. 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: $6,152.00 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.) 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. 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

Daily Encouragement is issued Monday-Friday.  To make sure you continue to receive these e-mails in your Inbox (so they're not sent to a junk folder), please add scweber@dailyencouragement.net to your address book or safe sender list. You are receiving these recurring messages as a subscriber to Daily Encouragement Net because you signed up on our website or otherwise requested it unless someone forwarded the message to you. If you desire to unsubscribe use the link below.  However, please do not use this link unless your address is the subscribed address below as you will otherwise unsubscribe the person who forwarded it to you!

You are currently subscribed to dailyencouragement as: stephencweber.dailyencouragement@blogger.com Add scweber@dailyencouragement.net to your email address book to ensure delivery.

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