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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.  Friday, December 27, 2013  A side view from our home after our snow storm.  Listen to this message on your audio player."King Of Kings And Lord Of Lords" "Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem. 'Where is the One who has been born king of the Jews? We saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him'" (Matthew 2:1,2). "Above His head they placed the written charge against Him: 'this is Jesus, the King of the Jews'" (Matthew 27:37). "God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords" (1 Timothy 6:15).  A popular folk song heard at Christmas is "Sweet Little Jesus Boy" written by Robert MacGimsey as a result of witnessing the crowds of people who saw Christmas as nothing more than a time to drink and party. It was Christmas Eve in 1932 when he attended a midnight church service in New York City and then headed back to his one-room apartment. As he walked the final blocks, he passed the open doors of private clubs where people were shouting and swearing and singing. Others were so drunk they had passed out on the sidewalk. MacGimsey was grieved to see the lack of respect and awe toward the birth of the most perfect Person who ever lived on earth. He thought to himself, "We seem to have missed the whole significance of His life." That night he wrote his thoughts on the back of an envelope. These words, which were written like the spirituals he had loved growing up in the southern United States, flowed out of his heart: Sweet little Jesus Boy, They made You be born in a manger. Sweet little Holy Child, they didn't know who You was. Didn't know You'd come to save us, Lord, To take our sins away. Our eyes was blind, we couldn't see, We didn't know who You was. Consider the line, "They made You be born in a manger." Certainly this was no place for the King of Heaven to make His entry to planet earth. It's not the royalty or pageantry due a king. Today let us take a few moments to consider the phrase, "born King of the Jews". The wise men from the east ask the question in our daily text, "Where is the One who has been born king of the Jews? We saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him." As we shared in yesterday's message little is known about the identity of these wise men (also known as Magi). These wise men came to Jerusalem to make inquiry about a special birth. King Herod heard about it and was greatly disturbed. He was threatened by the prospect of another King. The rest of his response is well known. “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” He feigned interest and sent the wise men to find the child so he might also worship Him (although this was clearly not his motive).  But the wise men's interest was earnest and after their worshipful encounter and offering of gifts to the baby King, they were warned in a dream to depart by another route (not reporting to Herod). Joseph was also directed in a dream to take his little family to Egypt. Herod, furious when the wise men did not report back to him, came down to Bethlehem and we have the record of the horrible carnage from the slaughter of all the infant boys two years old and under.The wise men's designation "King of the Jews" is not used at all during Christ's ministry again until the period of His trial and crucifixion. It was placed on an inscription above the Cross as a means of mocking Him. The remainder of the New Testament powerfully asserts that Jesus Christ is not only the King of the Jews but is the King of kings and Lord of lords. The contrasting attitude between these wise men and Herod is representative of the contrasting attitudes of the world, even 2000 years later toward the King of kings. Some will make great effort to worship and bring their very best gifts. Others are furious and will go to any means to silence the King. We hear new stories every year regarding those who want to do away with the nativity displays which would prompt viewers to think of the original Christmas setting. What about you today? What is your response to the birth of the King? The truly wise still seek and worship Him! Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber  Daily prayer: Father, we worship You, the Lord of lords and King of kings. We travel back in time to that original Christmas when You sent forth Your One and only Son to redeem the world from sin. We are grateful for the amazing sacrifice You made on our behalf as we receive You into our heart, King of kings. May we never have a ho-hum attitude toward the greatest event that ever took place when You came to be our Saviour and Lord. Amen. We want to thank all who have financially supported our ministry this past year. We typically see a spike in giving at the end of the year for which we are most thankful. We realize there are many fine ministries and causes requesting support at this time but if the Lord would lead you we surely need and appreciate the financial support from our readers and listeners. Our ministry is comprised of half our time to Daily Encouragement and the other half to our chaplaincy ministry to companies (of course, this varies week by week). Each of these ministries essentially is the same as a part-time job (20+ hours weekly) for each of us. Our goal for many years is that each phase would provide half of our ministry expenses and income. If you would like to make a donation see here for more information or donate directly online here. Thank you!Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources "King of Kings " Video A powerful reading by S.M. Lockridge "Sweet Little Jesus Boy" Video Charles Haugabrooks Sweet little Jesus boy They made you be born in a manger Sweet little holy child We didn't know who you were Didn't know you'd come to save us Lord To take our sins away Our eyes were blind, we could not see We didn't know who you were Long time ago You were born Born in a manger Lord Sweet little Jesus boy The world treats you mean Lord Treats me mean too But that's how things are down here We don't know who you are You have told us how We are trying Master you have shown us how Even when you were dying Just seems like we can't do right Look how we treated you But please Sir forgive us Lord We didn't know it was you Sweet little Jesus boy Born a long time ago Sweet little holy child We didn't know who you were "The King Is Coming" Video Gaither Vocal Band "Jesus, King Of Angels" Video Fernando Ortega "Computerizing people may be next step in tech" (Article) This is not related to today's message but a friend sent it to us and we thought our readers might find this interesting. |
 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 12/26/13: $25,647.00 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 2013 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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