 A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation. Home · About Us ·  · Podcast · Free emailSee here for more info. Monday, October 27, 2008  (Click on photo to enlarge)  Listen to us share this message on your audio player."We'll Understand It Better By And By" "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28). Yesterday afternoon Brooksyne and I visited the family of a man who had died as a result of a construction accident last week. Though we did not know him personally we are good friends with his older sister and her husband. The entire family is processing his untimely death and we joined with many others who sought to express words of comfort and support as we walked through the long visitation line. In the midst of lingering troubles or unexpected tragedy it is essential that we not allow the troubling circumstances to drain us of the eternal hope that comes from the indwelling Holy Spirit. Paul warned the Corinthian believers, "Do not lose heart…..For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all" (II Corinthians 4:16, 17). The Life Application Bible gives an important faith perspective on this passage in its study notes: "Our troubles should not diminish our faith or disillusion us. We should realize that there is a purpose in our suffering. Problems and human limitations have several benefits: (1) they remind us of Christ's suffering for us; (2) they keep us from pride; (3) they cause us to look beyond this brief life; (4) they prove our faith to others; and (5) they give God the opportunity to demonstrate His power. See your troubles as opportunities!" By faith we must look beyond the painful circumstance visible to all and remind ourselves that God is working in the invisible realm of the hearts of those impacted by the tragedies of this life. Our friend who experienced the sudden loss of her brother asked us to pray that God will work in the hearts of family members. By faith she is looking at the "bigger picture" to see this as a pivotal time for those she loves to find a deepened walk with God. The final outcome is not always seen on this side since the "eternal glory" that far outweighs life's troubling circumstances will not be fully revealed in this life. Believers have long received deep assurance and much needed perspective from Romans 8:28. It was one of the first verses I memorized as a young Christian. How often I have drawn strength from its message and do so again as I slowly read it and again ponder its truth, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." God's going to work through this temporal trial for the ultimate good, although I believe in some cases much will be revealed or clarified on the other side. Trials dark on every hand, and we cannot understand, All the ways that God would lead us To that blessed Promised Land; But He guides us with His eye and we'll follow till we die, For we'll understand it better by and by. * Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily prayer: Father, because we are visually stimulated by that which surrounds us it is easy to become discouraged by what we see. Yet we choose to live by faith, not by sight. We want to rise above life's visible circumstances to scenes invisible here on earth but made known to us through Scripture. Regardless of our limited perspective or the personal cost we persevere in our trials and hardships so that we will gain an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. * "We'll Understand it Better" Charles A. Tindley Here's a part of the background story of Tindley's hymn from "The Complete Book of Hymns".  Songwriter and Preacher, Charles Tindley, didn't have answers for all the questions of life. He was born a slave, his mother died when he was young and his father was sold and separated from him. He plowed fields fourteen hours a day, six days a week and then ran ten miles to night school so he could learn to read. When he moved north to Philadelphia, Tindley started working as a church janitor, then he felt the Lord wanted him in the ministry. He loved to sing, and he often combined songs with sermons. One Sunday morning in 1904, he spoke of the twelve disciples who were always trying to put Jesus on their timetable. They wanted Jesus to set up His Kingdom now. They wanted Jesus to call down fire from heaven now. They wanted answers now. They didn't know why they had to wait. Tindley told his congregation that we want our answers now too. But sometimes we have to wait. How long? For some of the answers we may have to wait until the morning comes, and then "We'll Understand It Better By and By."  The Complete Book of HymnsBy William Petersen & Ardythe Petersen / Tyndale House Sunday Drive Photos  This photo was taken early yesterday morning near Mastersonville, PA where Brooksyne was asked to play the piano for a small rural church.  The fire hall in Schaefferstown, PA sure grabs your attention as you pass it!  We drove by this beautiful church in eastern Lebanon County, PA Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area photo gallery Info about multi-media files used on daily encouragement. Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne. |
 Stephen and Brooksyne Weber "We want to encourage you daily in your walk with Christ!" Personal Ministry Update Revised 10/21/08 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 daily encouragement ministry? Donations are tax deductible and will be receipted directly by my chaplaincy endorsing ministry. Thanks! See here for details.(2008 YTD financial offerings to Daily Encouragement Net through 10/26/2008: $15,761.00) SUBSCRIPTION INFO  Were you forwarded this edition of Daily Encouragement Net? To receive these free "Daily Encouragement" devotionals each Monday-Friday through email see this page to subscribe. This newsletter is never sent unsolicited. It was sent to you because you signed up to receive it OR a friend forwarded it to you. You can also subscribe to the rss feed.Cancel: We respect and value your time and privacy. If this newsletter no longer meets your needs we will be happy to remove your address from the list immediately. To remove your address merely use the link automatically inserted 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 these messages on! "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! "Clear Minded" - New this month. I plan to write and post longer, periodic articles on specific issues impacting the faithful believer and church. "A Little Foolishness" - A humor/satire blog (a great outlet for non-serious writing but at times with a subtle message!) I haven't had time or "inspiration" for this for awhile but it has several stories that get regular page views. "Hymns of Hope" - Brooksyne along with two friends made a CD using classic hymns. Brooksyne tells the background story of the 11 hymns. We are distributing this CD without charge in our ministry. All of these songs are also available for download on the site. If any reader in this series would like a CD merely write us and request one.  Daily Encouragement Net is an affiliate of Christianbook.com. Any orders placed to Christian Book Distributers using this link or any specific product link to a recommended resource in a daily encouragement message will help our Daily Encouragement ministry through a small commission on the sale. Thank you for using these links when purchasing online through CBD!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. © Copyright 2008 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved Daily Encouragement Net Stephen & Brooksyne Weber 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 Contact us  "Living securely today anchored in God's solid foundation" www.dailyencouragement.net |
Monday, October 27, 2008
Daily Encouragement (10/27/08) "We'll Understand It Better By And By"
