Daily Encouragement Net - A daily, Bible-based message of hope and encouragement.
 The online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation. <Previous Message · Archives · Archive edition Friday, August 6, 2010  Sheep on Cumberland County, PA farm This photo has an intresting unintentional effect, appearing as if it was taken with a fisheye lens. Here's a larger version.  Listen to this message on your audio player."The Living And Enduring Word Of God" "For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring Word of God" (1 Peter 1:23). "Preach the Word" (2 Timothy 4:2). Yesterday I had a long discussion with a thoughtful man about the dearth of God's Word in our land and even in so many of our churches. I've spent a lot of time studying current trends in the "popular" church. All through the years of my ministry I've been quite wary of popular fads, teachings and trends. I suppose I always resisted whatever new thing was coming around unless I found its foundation to be solid scripturally and its teaching fruitful in the lives of believers. So many times these trends have proven over time to be just passing fads, often with a dollar sign attached to the promotions of such. My commission is clear: "Preach the Word." Last night our family sat in a double-length bench type pew at Roxbury Holiness Camp. It was the typical camp style pew where it had a partial back for support and this one even had a carpeted seat for comfortable padding. Sitting in front of us was the man that I had spoken to earlier in the day.  In the afternoon Brooksyne worked in the dish room with a woman who moved here from China in the 90's. She belonged to the underground Chinese church and was able to move to the states when her father got a job here. A graduate of a Christian college she now raises her children in the ways of the Lord. Our first daily Scripture text declares these two powerful qualities of God's Word: 1) The Word of God is living. The writer of Hebrews uses this very phrase when he says "the Word of God is living" (4:12). The living God imparts spiritual life through His living Word. I once read the story of a street evangelist who had placed his hat on the ground and drew a crowd by pointing at it and shouting, "It's alive". When a group had gathered around him he lifted up his hat to reveal a Bible! 2) The Word of God is enduring. The Psalmist wrote, "All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal" (119:160). No other written work comes even remotely close to the Bible in its enduring qualities. Peter concludes the chapter with this powerful truth: "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the Word of the Lord stands forever. And this is the word that was preached to you" (1 Peter 1:24,25). Today we join hundreds of millions of believers all around the globe who are reading, studying and applying the truths of sacred Scripture to their lives. Many will be proclaiming this life-giving Word to others as we are through this encouragement message. And today scores of highly dedicated translators will be working in the remotest areas of the world to translate God's Word so that all might know of God's love and redemption plan. Praise God for the "living and enduring Word of God"! Continue to subject yourself to its life-giving qualities and present them to others! We must be very careful not to dilute or "dress up" the Word to make it more palatable to the masses. It is the individual's heart that Christ is most concerned about, not the impressive stats that we glowingly report to others used often to measure our own personal "success." Preach the Word, my friend, and continue to "declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world… live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us" (I Peter 2:9,11,12). Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily Prayer: We thank You, Father, for the living Word of God that is sharper than any double edged sword. It penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the very thoughts and attitudes of our heart. Help us to align our thoughts and attitudes with the enduring Word of God. You are the Creator and we choose to conform to Your will and live within Your instruction. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. Brooksyne's note: Hebrews 4:12 & 13 are two verses I've been meditating on in the past few weeks. It has been of great blessing to me and a reminder that God sees all things and is the Judge of all that we do and say. Roxbury Camp Yesterday we went as a family to Roxbury Holiness Camp in Franklin County PA right at the foot of Blue Mountain. The camp is celebrating its 75th anniversary.  The main tabernacle is an imposing block building seating perhaps a thousand people on wooden benches. It was pretty full for the service last night. Yesterday morning a message so needed in our time was shared titled, "The Case For Modesty." We were not in on the session but listened to the CD on our way home and appreciated the call to holy living through the way we appropriately cover ourselves.  Many of the people stay the entire week in small cabins in a grove-like setting, reminding me of similar camps in Cherry Tree, PA and Excelsior Springs, Missouri.  The dining hall seats hundreds also. The wooden swivel stools are a neat idea and space savers as well! They're certainly not the kind you want to sit on for a long period of time (which makes room for the next seating!)  We all helped out serving the meals, serving over 800 people in a short amount of time. Brooksyne worked in the traywashing area and Stephen collected dirty trays on one shift and scooped freshly cut tomatoes on the tray for the supper meal. It was hard work but pleasurable as we worked among eager volunteers!  All ages were involved preparing and serving; from Wilma, in her mid-eighties, to this happy little girl who must have been age 12 (the minimum age for helpers). Wilma's husband Jesse is seen in the background counting people leaving the serving area. 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.) "Speak, O Lord" Video Kristyn Getty "Ancient Words" Video Michael W. Smith "How Firm A Foundation" Video Sovereign Grace Music "Thy Word" Video Maranatha Singers Note: Due to our trip to Roxbury Camp we did not post a message yesterday (Thursday, August 5, 2010). 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  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.2010 YTD financial offerings as of 8/5/10 $8,948.00 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 by us 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 through feedburner.Cancel: We respect and value your time and privacy. 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. 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! "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 2010 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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