Daily Encouragement Net - A daily, Bible-based message of hope and encouragement.
Trouble reading this message? Read online or see archives
Trouble reading this message? Read online or see archives
 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 13, 2010  Since 1870 the county courthouse in Greensburg, Indiana has had a tree growing out of the top of the tower!  Listen to this message on your audio player."That day Herod and Pilate became friends--before this they had been enemies" (Luke 23:12). Brooksyne and I are blessed with many friends. As we've grown older we've come to increasingly place great value on long-term, lifelong friendships. Of course we also continue to develop new friendships along the way and expect that many of these will also become friends for life such as Ken and Vickie (photo below). They're friends from Ohio we had dinner with as we were traveling to our family reunion in Indiana. We met them in the last eight years as readers of our Daily Encouragement messages. Making new long-term friends like this is one of the rewarding aspects of our web ministry. Friendships can be based on positive, constructive mutual interests such as the friendship between David and Jonathan. That's certainly the kind we value and strive for. But friendships can also be based on negative, destructive interests such as the sudden and rather convenient friendship of Herod and Pilate. I've witnessed both positive and negative friendships and recall a time when I was pulled into the latter group. It was a learning experience for me and perhaps will be for others as well. Returning home to my home church in Independence, Missouri from Bible College one summer I was enlisted by a disgruntled member in the church to come up against the pastor and his wife concerning a matter. It was a conflict that I had absolutely no business being involved in, yet my "new friend" persuaded me of the rightness of his side of the story. As is often the case I never really heard or even tried to hear the "other side". I still recall the surprise and hurt I caused my dedicated pastor and his wife at the time when I essentially joined an "unholy alliance". Here I was a very young believer, a youth in age and quite immature at the time. In my years of pastoring I am occasionally the recipient of such treatment and know personally the stinging pain it inflicts and the disunity it brings to the congregation. Prior to Christ's trial Herod and Pilate were bitter political enemies. Both had ambitious agendas often in conflict with one another. They sought to gain Caesar's favor as rulers over the troubled Palestinian region in the Roman Empire. But the old phrase "politics makes strange bedfellows" is very evident in their relationship. At Christ's trial they quickly became "friends". I can just see them grinning as they shook hands or patted one another on the back in their newly formed "friendship". I believe the careful historian Luke is being sarcastic when he wrote "...Herod and Pilate became friends" as he qualifies their friendship when describing their prior relationship as having been enemies. He describes a very sad type of "friendship" that is common to this day, particularly in politics (and I'm not just speaking of the kind in Washington DC but politics that arise in workplaces, churches, even families). What kind of friends do you have? What do you talk about when you get together? Is it positive and constructive as you share deeply held mutual interests and values? Or is it negative and destructive? Does your conversation build up or does it tear down? I sure don't want Herod and Pilate to be my models for friendship. What about you? Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily prayer: Jesus, I consider the character traits that make a healthy friendship. Loyalty, compassion, kindness, honesty, patience, forgiveness and a listening ear are just a few of the qualities that are evident in a good friendship. There are so many stories in the Gospels where these qualities are easily seen in the friendships You had with the disciples and others. May the foundation of my friendships be based on godly traits as I come alongside my friends to encourage, challenge, inspire, and stimulate them toward good works in Your name, Jesus. It is in Your name that we pray. Amen. We are in Columbus, Indiana attending a family reunion this weekend. This is a reunion on Stephen's mother's side that get together each year from all over the country and from overseas. Here are some photos we took along our journey the last couple of days.  Naomi Wolgemuth is a dear saint who attended the church we pastor all her life until the past several years since she's been living at Messiah Village, a nursing home near Harrisburg. We stopped by and paid an unannounced visit on our way out to the midwest. She looked great, was very pleased, and was quite surprised!  Ken and Vickie Bender from Lancaster, Ohio. We had dinner at a Cracker Barrel restaurant near Columbus Ohio Wednesday evening and took this photo as we visited while sitting on the white rocking chairs in front of the restaurant. They each have an earnest desire to follow the Lord and serve Him faithfully in the opportunities God gives them.  In Greensburg Indiana we found a neat old general store that features a daily food buffet, floral shop, and delicious homemade fudge. But best of all they have a train that circles the facility; whistle, lights and all!  In Greensburg we also found a hardware store that was one of the old, unrefurbished kind that had real hardwood floors, narrow aisles and lots and lots of neat stuff (a little dust covered which made it even more authentic). It had a distinct old store smell that reminded my brother and me of the small town Harwood Bank from our childhood, where our grandfather, uncle and aunt worked!  This is the cash register at the hardware store which is 86 years old and still used for each sale. The owner invited Ester to step behind the register and wind the handle (to the left) as he rung up our sale!  Columbus Indiana is famous for architecture. Even the bridge over the interstate is an interesting and unusual design. 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.) Friends Each church I served had this song sung during our farewell (in 1993 when we moved on from northern PA and again in 2001 when we left New England to move to Lancaster County). Thankfully we have many friends from each of these churches to this day and have collected many more along the way! Old Friends Along with my dad I enjoyed listening to Roger Miller songs growing up in the sixties in the Kansas City area. (This is not a spiritual song but has an interesting sentiment.) Note: Due to our travels and at times spotty or slow internet service we may not be able to post these messages each weekday as is our practice. Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne. |
  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 8/12/10 $9,108.00 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 through feedburner.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. 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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