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 Monday, September 13, 2010  Hibiscus bloom at Longwood Gardens "Never Enough" "Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless" (Ecclesiastes 5:10). "A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions" (Luke 12:15).  When we lived in New England we were only 40 minutes from the Atlantic so it was not unusual to see large boats in people's driveways. Boat owners often name their boats and one that intrigued me was a boat I passed frequently named, "Never Enough". I don't know whether the owner's message was expressing, "There's never enough time to enjoy this boat" (since it was always in the driveway when I passed by), or was the name expressing, "I want a bigger boat, this one is not big enough." (Note: The boat pictured to the left is not the same boat as we saw in New England.)It occurred to me that "never enough" could very well be the motto of the human race. At least here in the prosperous west, even during a time that we're told our economy is like the great depression, people have and want more. We're satisfied only for a short time with our possessions. Today's first verse, although from King Solomon some 3,000 years ago, is a timeless indisputable truth. "Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless." Jesus made the statement in the second daily text, "A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." Wouldn't that be a great message to place on billboards leading into every city for commuters to read? Can you imagine if it was posted at the entrance to malls! It certainly is a powerful spiritual truth that every earnest believer should memorize and regularly call to mind. However I believe many people live just the opposite. They live as if a person's life consists solely for the abundance of his or her possessions. You've probably heard the phrase, "He who dies with the most toys wins." Need I say here, that's NOT true. A bizarre and tragic example of such a fool-hardy philosophy is the story I read recently of a Las Vegas woman who died amidst her "stacked to the ceiling" possessions. She was reported as missing and four months later her dead body was finally discovered buried among the piles of stuff. Following His statement about the "abundance of possessions" Jesus told a parable about a man who enjoyed an abundant harvest so he built bigger barns and then felt satisfied and secure in his possessions. He sat back, propped his feet up and said, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God." From the beginning Satan has tormented the human race with the false notion, "That which God has provided is never quite enough." His crafty lie to Adam and Eve got their eyes off the vast array of trees and plants that was theirs to enjoy; all a gift from God, planted by the supernatural hand of God in the garden of Eden. These would provide outstanding beauty, needed shelter, and physical provision for all of eternity. But one audience with Satan and suddenly the single forbidden tree became overwhelmingly irresistible. They no longer saw the vast permissible garden but their eyes were fixed on the one forbidden tree. As a result they fell for the lie and our fallen human race has been doing so ever since. Today let us declare, "Enough." • Enough that God loves me and has a wonderful plan for my life. • Enough that Jesus died for my sins. • Enough that I'm on my way to heaven. • Enough that I have people that love me and accept me. We'll stop right here, but we could go on and on and so could you. Let us rejoice today that God's provision for His children is always more than enough! Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily prayer: Father, all I have needed Your hand has provided. Help me to live with a grateful heart in constant assurance that You are more than enough! Your goodness overflows in my life, so much so, that I certainly don't want to hoard Your blessings, but share them with others. Keep me mindful of those who are needy so that I can share Your goodness with them. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Saturday we went to the annual "Mushroom Festival" in Kennett Square Pennsylvania.  Kennett Square, Pennsylvania bills itself as the mushroom capital of the world. Indeed 40% of US mushroom production is from this area and 65% of all US production is from Pennsylvania. Since I was a little boy my favorite soup was "Cream Of Mushroom" and I enjoy mushrooms in a variety of dishes so I was interested in seeing how mushrooms are grown. Here is a mushroom bed. I ate one of these picked right off the top.  I took a tour of a mushroom farm. A bus took us out of town to the Pietro Mushroom farm which has seventy mushroom houses that grow 20,000,000 pounds of mushrooms a year. The mushrooms are grown in very tightly maintained climate conditions on these beds.  They had lots of food at the Festival and of course many dishes made with mushrooms, some rather unusual. Brooksyne and I shared breaded mushrooms, delicious cream of mushroom soup and a portabella mushroom sandwich. But our most daring dish was a bowl of cream of mushroom ice cream! It was quite tasty (the frozen mushrooms tasted like nuts).  At the festival we met up with Mark Pulliam, a long-time friend who was my supervisor about eight years ago at a chaplaincy job I had at the time. Mark now serves as a hospice chaplain.  On the way back home Saturday afternoon we passed the National Christmas Center along Route 30 east of Lancaster, where our friend Ashley works. We took a mini-tour and were inspired by the Biblical account of our Savior's birth. Ashley is a college student, dedicated believer, and faithful servant in our church. 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.) "Enough" Video Chris Tomlin "My Faith Has Found A Resting Place" Video Adrian Pressley "It is enough that Jesus died, and that He died for me!" "He's All You Need" Video Steve Camp We dedicate this song today to a friend who is going through a rough time and to those who may feel lonely. He's All I Need" Video The Kingsmen Mushroom Festival Today's photo of a Hibiscus bloom was taken at Longwood Gardens, which Brooksyne visited this weekend as well. She will share more of her photos from that visit tomorrow. |
  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 9/12/10 $9,938.00 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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