Daily Encouragement Net
A daily, Bible-based message of hope and encouragement.
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 Thursday, August 26, 2010  Anderson Falls near Columbus Indiana When we were in Indiana I really wanted to see this waterfall after I saw this online photo but it must have been taken during the spring when there was a lot more water! It was still pretty even though the water was barely flowing.  Listen to this message on your audio player."The Good Fight" "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Ephesians 6:12). "I have fought the good fight" (2 Timothy 4:7). Periodically I have opportunities to preach in a variety of churches and am thankful for this privilege. Occasionally I have spoken in liberal denominations where I meet people in these churches that express a sincere personal commitment to Jesus Christ, but either lack the discernment to see the apostasy in much of their denominational leadership or in some cases seem to shrug it off as immaterial to their personal experience or their local church. Others are deeply grieved at the direction their denomination has taken, but they want to avoid conflict so they simply make it a matter of prayer. Still others may feel the Lord has called them in being a part of "the good fight" of truth in restoring their church to Biblical faithfulness. I've never enjoyed fighting. I recall a period in Junior High School when the class bully whose name was Carl put out the word that he wanted to fight me. Perhaps it was my first experience as a child undergoing real emotional stress over a period of months, but thankfully the rumored fight never transpired. To this day I would rather avoid conflict than face it and am uncomfortable reading books or viewing movies that have major conflict. But there is an ongoing conflict in the spiritual realm that is unavoidable. We have no choice in whether or not to engage in this conflict. By virtue of the fallen condition of mankind we are engaged. There is no neutrality in this conflict and in this "good fight" pacifism or non-resistance is not a virtue, but rather a surrender and an alliance with the forces of evil. I believe this is what the Apostle Paul calls "the good fight." This ancient conflict goes back to the heavenly realms and the fall of Satan. As the great old hymn declares, "For still our ancient foe, doth seek to work us woe, his craft and power are great, and armed with cruel hate, on earth is not his equal." Today I pray for all of you fighting the good fight, seeking to contend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the saints. I pray that you will stand up for God's truth and righteousness. I am convinced the battle will become increasingly more fierce before Christ's return. Let us resolve in our hearts to remain faithful to our divine call no matter how great the conflict! Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily prayer: Jesus, we thank You for the spiritual armor that defends us in battle and arms us for the struggle we encounter against the devil's relentless schemes. This armor enables us to withstand the forces of evil, no matter the means or persons the enemy works through to try to weaken or destroy our faith. In addition to the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit we know that our prayers and petitions are heard by You who intercedes for us before our Father in heaven. We use our armor for protection and we use the sword of the Spirit and prayer for weapons to reveal, attack and defeat Satan's strongholds. It is through Your name, Jesus, that we are more than conquerors. Amen. See Ephesians 6:10-18 for the listing of the Armor of God Reader's Notes: Yesterday we shared about the delightful sound of locusts on a late summer evening and commented how a photo of locusts grilling over an open fire would not be appealing to us. Nelson, a friend of ours responded: "You would interested to learn that several of us tried some grilled locust one year when they were plentiful. Not bad - if they are grilled thoroughly and seasoned with Bay seasoning or BBQ sauce! It is best to remove the wings before tasting them. After all, John the Baptist ate honey and wild locusts (probably not grilled)!" He claims they taste like BBQ chicken, just more crispy. Another reader shared this perspective: "Here in Australia the sound of locusts is a most unpleasant sound especially in country areas. Locusts visit us most warm evenings and they cause havoc in farm crops, indeed they can consume hundreds if not millions of acres of crop in one evening. Once when I was a girl I saw a great swarm of locusts where we lived in an outer suburban area. They arrived as a great black cloud and landed on the first garden the saw and after laying that one totally bare they rose as a group and landed on the next garden and so on until there was literally not a speck of green any where. As you can imagine farmers dread this sound. It doesn't happen every year, but this year locusts came in plague proportions.." Today we would like to share several more photos from our trip to Indiana two weeks ago.  In a verdant garden area in the middle of the lodge where many of our family members stayed, we saw lots of beautiful flowers, butterflies and hummingbirds although I sure have a hard time getting a photo of a hummingbird, try as I might!  Bloomington Indiana has a nice downtown with windowboxes filled with colorful flowers and trailing ivies all along the streets.   In Nashville Indiana we saw this very well maintained VW van for sale.  For those who enjoy Demolition Derbies: Mike is a friend who has an interesting hobby. He restores cars to a point where he can run them in a demolition derby and his girlfriend Brooke has the same interest. This is Brooke's car. 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.) "The Battle Belongs To The Lord" Video "Be Strong And take Courage" Video Finally today: Yesterday we shared some photos of the corn harvest across from our home and I predicted the next step would be the application of "organic fertilizer". Sure enough, on the way to church last night I saw...  Tractor with manure spreader 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 8/25/10 $9,218.00 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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