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, November 5, 2010  A rusty gate and scenic autumn view along Risser Mill Road, Lancaster County, PA  Listen to this message on your audio player."Imagined Obstacles" "And it will be said: 'Build up, build up, prepare the road! Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people.'" (Isaiah 57:14). "We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5).  Brooksyne and I took a long walk on the farm trail across the street from our home. We were watching the cattle grazing in the recently harvested corn fields and wondered if the farmer knew that his cows were loose. But then as we began to walk in their direction we saw a single fence line we assumed to be electric. But we weren't sure.Now I don't care for the "buzz" you get when you touch an electric fence. However upon close examination it appeared to be merely a thin strand of twine. I teasingly tried to coax Brooksyne into touching it to make sure, but her many years of living on the farm taught her to be very wary of such a challenge! Finally I bravely checked it out and that's all it was. No electric, no buzz. The cattle could have walked through that "fence" so easily. But apparently the farmer had conditioned them by commonly using an electric fence. They assumed it was electric so they didn't even approach the powerless twine used as an obstacle to their roaming out of safe pasture land. As God's people we also deal with obstacles in our own lives. Today's text speaks of these obstacles. Some are real, but others imagined. God gives each of us the power through His Spirit to overcome both types. But in today's message we want to consider the obstacles that are born out of our own imagination or wrong assumptions which may further guide us down the wrong path. When such futile thinking becomes our major focus we resist God's hand when He is wanting to extend it. Like the thin powerless twine that cleverly served as an obstacle to the cattle, we may fear an impotent obstacle. What are you dealing with today? What does God want you to overcome? Is it a real obstacle? If so God will lead you to victory as you faithfully look to Him for guidance and fervently seek Him about the matter. On the other hand, is your obstacle that of your imagination or based only on assumption, not reality. You might even need to do some fact checking to sort the presumptive from reality. A challenge can appear overwhelming when in reality it's nothing more than a vain imagination, similar to the thin powerless twine thought to be powered with electric that bound the cattle in our illustration. As we take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ, God is able to help us to sort fact from reality. The illusions that keep us bound will be loosed to set us free so that we can be the people Christ intends us to be. Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily Prayer: Father, we not only surrender our hearts to You but also our minds. We pray that You would help us sort truth from fiction; to see that which You want us to see, not what the master deceiver dangles before our eyes. So many do not live victorious lives because they imagine that which is not true, they perceive thoughts that are based on false assumptions or the words of others. They limit themselves in areas of service where You want to grow them and make them useful for Your kingdom. Helps us to seek Your will above the opinions of others or our own opinions when they're not based upon factual criteria. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.  We enjoy rural church scenes, especially in the autumn.  Wednesday we shared a photo of a farm pond with a horse in the foreground. Here's the pond scene without the horse. Notice the brilliant splash of red to the left seen in the autumn firebush.  In the course of our chaplain ministry we visit with people in a lot of different work settings. Yesterday I snapped this photo of Ken, who works in a setting with an in-residence mountain goat and a wild turkey appearing to fly overhead. 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.) "I'm Amazed" Video Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir |
  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 11/04/10 $11,914.00 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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