 The online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation. <Previous Messages · Archives ·  Archive/print edition Listen to us share this message on your audio player."The Ultimate Race" "Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:1,2). We had an interesting time yesterday in our country church. For several months Mike and Nicole Martin have been attending. Mike is a chaplain to motorcyclists and leads a weekly biker's Bible Study. We decided to have a special service inviting bikers and urging them to ride their motorcycles to church. In my message I challenged the church that we are all in a race (although I used the familiar biker term "ride") and pointed out that we are all running in a race; life's marathon, which is the ultimate race. 1) The ultimate race requires a deliberate start. Jesus is the "author of our faith." In John 3 He calls this start being "born again". At some point in life we all need to place our faith in Christ, confess and ask His forgiveness for our sins, and follow Him. Some do this at a very early age, others after years of open defiance toward God and His ways. Yesterday we had a testimony from a former prison inmate who came to Christ after many years of rebellious living. He is now in Bible College preparing for ministry! 2) The ultimate race is on a designated course. This is "the race that is set before us." Another version states "marked out for us." We have guidance from the Holy Scriptures, the Holy Spirit, and holy men and women who demonstrate the way. Fundamentally our race map is the Word of God, which is "a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path" (Psalm 119:105). The Holy Spirit's guidance is wonderfully expressed in this verse: "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it'" (Isaiah 30:21). And the Lord has placed godly influencers in our lives. Hebrews 13:7 states, "Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith." 3) The ultimate race is run with dependable witnesses. As we run this race "we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses." These are the scores of fellow runners who witness our endurance and persistence as they encourage us on in the faith. These witnesses include those from the Bible who've gone before us and completed the race. Joshua pronounces, "My family and I chose to serve the Lord!" Daniel speaks up, "As a young man I purposed in my heart to live God's way!" Paul joyfully declares, "I counted all loss and I finished the race!" Stephen, in perpetual rejoicing, sees the Lord on His Throne. And our Lord Jesus, who also ran this race victoriously proclaims, "I did all that my Father asked of me." These witnesses also include finishers throughout the history of the church; some well-known, so many, many others known only by their generational peers. I gain spiritual inspiration by realizing my dad is among these witnesses, as is my first pastor as a born-again Christian, James Howard. I gain inspiration as I consider a growing group of brothers and sisters I’ve known personally who have crossed the finish line. In my spirit I can almost hear them all crying out, "Come on Stephen, you can make it, stay faithful, it's incredible up here!" We are also surrounded by scores of fellow runners still in the race. Look around you today! What a great blessing they are. Count me in as one of these runners. We're not in competition; we are in this together and we need each other. Let’s encourage one another as we run this spiritual marathon together. Let's keep running, believers! Let us indeed run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 4) The ultimate race has a definite finish. I am so thankful that there's not just one winner in the ultimate race. Everyone who finishes this race is a winner. This finish will either be at our death, or if we are living at the time, in the rapture of the Church. Either way it will most certainly be a definite event! We need to look to the Lord who is the finisher of our faith. He faithfully finished His race and is now our main inspiration. "Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:2). Today we call all readers to join us in this ultimate race! Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily prayer: Father, we acknowledge that endurance and persistence are attitudes derived from a faith filled-life with You. Our persistence is marked by the determination we have to finish the race though struggles weigh us down and doubts cloud our vision of the finish line. Thank You for marking the race out for us and for the great examples of those who cheer us on as we participate in this Christian race. They finished their race on earth through their enduring faith, though they experienced opposition from sinful people. We endure hardships and struggles as discipline from You, our loving Father, that we may share in Your holiness. Strengthen our feeble arms and weak knees as we lay aside everything that drags us down or tempts us to give up. We persist in the name of Jesus Christ for the heavenly finish line, Amen. We've had a busy several days and since I didn't share a message on Friday I have several photos (along with stories) to share. First several photos and notes from my trip out to the Midwest last week.   My Aunt Frances was a very colorful and vivacious person, which this photo captures. The memorial service was a real blessing. I will share a couple of links that may be of interest to family and friends who may have known her. My cousin George, (whom we call Dub) is a retired minister and shared the eulogy (mp3), which was a wonderful tribute to her. Frankly this eulogy is so good that I think I would enjoy hearing it even if I didn't know her! It demonstates the great generation she came from and the "character capital" that we are rapidly losing! In fact I have a message in the works concerning this vital topic.Here's a photo of the family taken in the church right before the service. The "older" folks in the front are my cousins and their spouses, who are now all grandparents. A visual reminder that, "Generations come and generations go"  Before I left Kansas City I stopped in Thursday evening to visist with my Dad's only sister and one of only two still living from that generation on his side (his younger brother Don and his wife live in Louisville KY.) Aunt Mary is a very spunky 89 year old. She now lives in a senior apartment complex in Raytown, Missouri. She fixed me a nice supper and then we reminisced for awhile. She was married for sixty years to my Uncle Henry, who passed away about 10 years ago. Henry served in World War 2 and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He was among the first to encounter the concentration camps and personally witnessed the horrible scenes. He had photos of the camps which Aunt Mary threw away when he died. Shortly after returning from the War (where he was not injured) they were hit by a drunk driver and Uncle Henry broke his neck and spent months in rehab. He was paralyzed and the doctors stated there was no more they could do and suggested he be placed in institutional care. Aunt Mary took him home and rigged up several home-made physical therapy contraptions and worked with him. All I recall was that he had a limp! My Aunt Mary has two children, four grandchildren and four great granchildren.Photos from our "Biker Day" yesterday.  We had a beautiful autumn day and following the service folks mingled, looking over the various bikes prior to sharing a meal together.  This bike with a sidecar got a lot of attention. Here's another view.  Another collection  Mike Rowan, a dealer in Lancaster brought several interesting bikes including this Y2K jet-powered motorcycle. It was certainly the most unique bike on our groundsw! There are only a few that have been produced and they sell for $185,000! See here or here for videos. Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources Click on the link to open and play. (In some cases you may also need to click again to start the song.) "Hebrews 12:1,2" Audio The daily verse set to music from the Integrity Scripture Memory Series. Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne |
 "We want to encourage you daily in your walk with Christ!" Personal Ministry Update Revised 10/21/09  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. (2009 YTD financial offerings through 10/25/09: $8,670.00)SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION  Were you forwarded this edition of Daily Encouragement Net? If you desire you can receive your own free! To receive these "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 either signed up to receive it OR a friend forwarded it to you. You can also subscribe to the rss feed. or as an email subscription update through feedburner. You can also subscribe to Daily Encouragement feed updates by email.Cancel: We respect and value your time and privacy. If these messages no longer meet your needs (providing encouragement) you can remove your address by merely use 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. 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. 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! "A Little Foolishness" - Humor/satire blog (a great outlet for non-serious writing but at times with a subtle message!) Last updated with the story of Mildred Swanson, who joyfully discovers her "spiritual gift" is sending forwarded emails! (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.  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 2009 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved Daily Encouragement Net Stephen & Brooksyne Weber 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 Contact us  Endorsed chaplain "Living securely today anchored in God's solid foundation" www.dailyencouragement.net |
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