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 Tuesday, October 5, 2010  Nobska Lightouse on Cape Cod When we lived in New England we enjoyed visiting Wood's Hole on the southwest part of Cape Cod where we took the ferry to Martha's Vineyard. We once took the young people in our church swimming at this very beach. Click on the photo for a larger version suitable for a desktop background.  Listen to this message on your audio player."The Sure Foundation" "He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure" (Isaiah 33:6).  Have you ever held a billiard ball in your hand? It is about as smooth as you can imagine. Interestingly I've read that proportionately the surface of the earth is smoother than a billiard ball! Dr. John O'Keefe (now deceased), a planetary scientist who worked for NASA, stated that the most extreme variations in the earth's surface are roughly on a scale of one part in a thousand. The equivalent bump on a 2 1/4-inch billiard ball would be about two-thousandths of an inch, so most parts of the Earth are a lot smoother.  But from our perspective, living on it, the earth is quite bumpy! You can also see this when we view it or even feel it on a raised relief map or globe. But from the view of Mars those differences are not detectable at all. This is illustrative as we seek to get a perspective on life, the world situation or even that steep hill or dark valley within our own lives. What a wonderful truth and rich assurance our daily text provides for the believer! How we need to appropriate its truth deep within our hearts as we especially focus on the first part of the verse: "He will be the sure foundation for your times." The KJV uses the phrase "stability of thy times". The Hebrew word that the prophet Isaiah uses here connotes "firmness, security, fidelity". Truly in God we have a firm foundation for all our times. Hannah, rejoicing at the miraculous birth of her son Samuel, prayed, "There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides You; there is no Rock like our God" (1 Samuel 2:2). Life is made up of various times, all of which are ordained of God for His glory and for our growth. Much of our times are spent in abundant blessing. These are the times when we might say, "Life is going smoothly." It is easy to overlook these "smooth" times in our lives and take them for granted, or worse yet, feel that we're entitled to them. However we can easily recall times of difficulty. Life gets bumpy! For some of you it's that way as you read this. It may be a long-term illness in our home, the loss of a job, a broken relationship or other types of uncertainties that can grip our hearts and fill us with fear. It seems that with constant threats of terrorist attacks and decreasing security our world is entering into a time of increasing trouble and instability. The "perilous times" spoken of in the Scriptures may very well characterize the "last days" in which we live. (See 2 Timothy 3:1.) God and His Word provide the steady anchor and sure foundation for our spiritual security and peace. Consider again just the opening phrase in our daily verse: "He will be the sure foundation for your times." What kind of "times" are you going through today? We encourage you to focus on the immutable God whose Word has promised: "You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal" (Isaiah 26:3,4). Today, rest in the assurance that in God we have a sure foundation for all our times; the good, the bad, the easy, the difficult, the memorable and that which we would like to forget. We serve a God of absolute stability; One of whom it is said, "There is no Rock like our God". Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily prayer: Father, thank You for the treasure chest of Your riches; salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The treasure trove which You invite us to partake of stabilizes our hearts when instability surrounds us. Your salvation, wisdom and knowledge surpass those passing and temporal treasures experienced in this mortal life. We walk by faith and not by sight, so keep us steadfast in our times as we hold to You our sure foundation, for there is no Rock like You, our God. Keep our eyes on the invisible God, for though we cannot see You we love You and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, as we await our glorious union in heaven. Amen. PS: I have personally found Scripture memorization a very helpful discipline in my life. However I know that some find this discipline easier than others. A suggestion: Consider memorizing only part of a verse such as the selection used in the daily text. I also at times use the 1st person pronoun to personalize the verse. For example, "He will be the sure foundation for my times" or "God will be the sure foundation for my times." I do believe memorizing the reference is important as well. 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.) "There Is No Rock Like Our God" Video Rita Baloche "What Grace Is Mine" Video Kristyn Getty "Faithful God" Video Josh Helms "Faithful God" Video David Baroni "Faithful God" Video Gateway Church "All Your Promises Are True" Video Shannon Wexelburg The article concerning the earth being smoother than a billiard ball or here. |
  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 10/4/10 $11,203.00 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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