A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation. Previous Message · Easy read/print edition Friday, July 13, 2007  Lancaster County Covered Bridge Click here for a larger desktop version of this photo along with a Scripture verse.  Click here to listen to us read this message on your audio player."God's Instruction Manual" "And He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment--to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ" (Ephesians 1:9,10). Several years ago there was an ad about a frustrated father who's trying to assemble a new bike for his daughter. He can't find the assembly instructions and he just can't figure out how to put it together. From upstairs his daughter observes his frustration and quickly runs to her computer and finds the assembly instructions on the internet, prints them out and lets them float down to her dad. He finds them and assumes he's just located the missing instructions. He follows the instruction manual and is able to put the bike together. She's a happy girl! Consider the degree in which the human race has ignored and continues to ignore the most important instruction manual, the instruction manual of life from the Creator, the Holy Bible. This instruction manual is widely available. If you are reading this you almost certainly have access it. So do all those around you. Yet for the most part the Bible's instructions are ignored and considered irrelevant by "enlightened" modern man. Increasingly they are even mocked by many. I prepare today's message from here in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, USA at my comfortable desk on a beautiful mid-summer day. This message will be transmitted to your computer using modern technology and will reach you in a matter of seconds after I submit it regardless of where you live in this world. That's astounding isn't it? Paul wrote the Letter to the Ephesians almost 2000 years ago from prison, bound to a guard. Consider the effort he made to communicate God's truth "to the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus" (1:1). It surely took a lot of time for the message to be delivered and then read aloud as the people assembled in church. But my desire today is like Paul's and many, many others who have gone on before me and like many others who presently serve as ministers of God. I want to share a perspective from the main instruction manual. The specific verse I have selected for daily comment is extremely rich. Consider merely the phrase "He made known to us." Thank God that He has spoken and made known His ways! Primarily and fundamentally we have His Son and the written Word of God. "In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed Heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe" (Hebrews 11:2). "You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:14-17). God has clearly revealed His will and way. We have an absolutely adequate instruction manual that is so often left under-utilized or even unread, even by believers. Today in all the hustle and bustle of life consider and rejoice that the Almighty Maker of heaven and earth has spoken and has made known His will to the human race. Are you reading and heeding His instruction manual? Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily prayer: Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. (from Psalm 25)  An assortment of Brooksyne's flower arrangements from her garden she distributed yesterday. Suggested music: "Open the eyes of my heart" "Word of God Speak" |
Administration Information  The Weber Family Stephen, Brooksyne & Ester  Each weekday morning Brooksyne and I prepare these messages and distribute them at no cost to you and many others all over the world. Would you please consider a financial offering to support us in this encouragement ministry? Thanks! See here for details.Join: To receive these free "Daily Encouragement" devotionals each Monday-Friday through email see this page to subscribe. You can also subscribe to the rss feed. Cancel: To remove your address from this mailing list merely use the link placed by the mailing list software at the very bottom of each message. Weekly Version: The weekly version is designed for those who do not check their email regularly. It is merely the Friday message with a link to previous messages. To receive the free weekly version, send a blank email to this address. (To change addresses cancel your old address and then join again using your new address.) Please feel free to pass this message on! Daily Encouragement Net is an affiliate of Christianbook.com (Any orders placed to Christian Book Distributers using this link will help the Daily Encouragement ministry through a small commission.) 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. Used by permission; and the King James Version. © Copyright 2007 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved  "Living securely today anchored in God's solid foundation" We want to share a brief update concerning our ministry for readers who may be interested. This is an opportunity for us to share our hearts with you as we go forth in this online ministry. www.dailyencouragement.net |
