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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 Thursday, February 5, 2015  "The Pattern Of Good Works" Listen to this message on your audio player."In all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works" (Titus 2:7). "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 5:16). "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10). "Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God" (Colossians 1:10). This week in our Daily Encouragement messages we are examining the concept of "pattern" as set forth in the Scriptures. We believe God has provided in the Scriptures a pattern for how we are to live our lives. Today let us examine the pattern of good works. The apostle Paul uses this theme of walking worthily several times in his writings: "Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called" (Ephesians 4:1). "Walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory" (1 Thessalonians 2:12b). 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus are in a category of epistles known as the Pastoral Epistles. Our first daily text is a word to Titus, a young pastor. These epistles are especially highlighted for those entering into ministry since they set a pattern for godly leaders. Yesterday we shared a portion from 2 Timothy read at my ordination service over 35 years ago, Let's spend a few moments examining today's final text which provides a pattern of good works and the nature of walking in a manner worthy of the Lord. This involves: 1) Seeking to "please Him in all respects." This is certainly an all-inclusive statement! We are also told to "find out what pleases the Lord" (Ephesians 5:10). As followers of Christ this is an ongoing pursuit and the main source of finding out what pleases Him is found in the Holy Scriptures. Increasingly the effort to walk with and please the Lord will run contrary to the world's way of thinking. It would be an extremely rare media interview where the "expert" directs us to dig into the Scriptures to find the Lord's answer for the problem at hand. 2) "Bearing fruit in every good work." Jesus Christ called His disciples to fruitfulness and good works. "By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be my disciples" (John 15:8). "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16). All over the world today our brothers and sisters are doing this, often unseen and normally unheralded. Their reward here on earth is seeing lives changed. Their greater eternal reward is yet to come. We are called to bear fruit in the tough prison setting, in the lonely nursing home, in the hospice setting where life's journey ends for so many, the pregnancy crisis center or any door you walk through where you can shine the light of Christ in an otherwise dark circumstance. 3) "Increasing in the knowledge of God." To do so we must read, meditate and even pray the Scriptures. Avail yourself to Study Bibles so that you become familiar with the historical settings or benefit from seeing outlines of a Bible book. Character studies of familiar and not so familiar Bible personalities are commonly featured. Above all read the Scriptures but supplement your Bible readings with information that might help you better grasp and understand the Bible. To summarize our text: We must submit our ways to God in our walk, in our behavior, in our productivity and in our godly knowledge. Let us be faithful so that we bring honor to our Father in heaven, as we practice a pattern of good works! Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber  Daily prayer: Father, I ask myself, "Am I living in a manner worthy of Your name? Do I seek to please You rather than myself? Does the fruit of my labor reflect the Spirit of Christ living within my heart? Do I have a zeal for the things of Christ and a desire to know Him better, to reflect His character every day in my life? Am I steady or do I sputter in my Christian influence?" Father, in all these things I want to be more like Christ, consistent in the ways that bring glory to Your name and growth in my spiritual nature. I want my spiritual walk to be the most important pursuit of my life as I journey here below so that I may influence as many as possible to live for Jesus. It is in His name that I pray. Amen.Colossians 1:10-12 provides a list of items for our consideration. I will phrase them as personal questions:
Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources "Search Me, O God" Video Steve Green "Lord, I Want To Be Like Jesus" Video Fernando Ortega 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 12/10/14) 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.2015 YTD offerings to Daily Encouragement Net: $1,130.00 We express thanks to all who support our ministry! 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 make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and 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* The phrase "terrestrial ball" is found in the great hymn ... "All Hail The Power Of Jesus Name" Video Paul Baloche 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 2015 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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