 The online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber. <Previous Message · Archives · Archive edition Thursday, December 2, 2010  The John Deere Christmas Tree  Listen to this message on your audio player."Faithful Service" "I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that He considered me faithful, appointing me to His service" (1 Timothy 1:12). "I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7).  My memory takes me back today to a man named Wilfred, who for many years, served as our greeter in the church we pastored in northern Pennsylvania. He was very dependable and earnest in his ministry of greeting the folks as they entered the church building. In fact we have a number of readers from that church and I'm sure that just seeing Wilfred's photos will stir up some warm memories of our faithful friend.Wilfred was a simple man and was somewhat limited in the areas in which he could comfortably serve in the church. His role would not be reckoned by many as a position of esteem, but he faithfully served in the best way he knew how, and he was greatly respected for it. For those who knew Wilfred I'm sure you'll recall his friendly greeting and warm smile. Others of you will consider another person like Wilfred who has impacted your life in a similar way. For the last several years of his life he was confined to a nursing home in an increasingly diminished mental state before going home to be with the Lord several years. Wilfred exhibited the fruit of faithfulness while on this earth. It is one of the most under-rated yet vital qualities in the Christian life. The apostle Paul's life was characterized by faithfulness. When he experienced salvation on the Damascus highway he began a long record of faithful service for God. At the very end of his life he could decalre "I have kept the faith." And that is God's call for each one of us. An interesting perspective concerning faithfulness is recorded in 1 Samuel 30. King David and his men were away at battle and while they were away enemies came in and laid the city of Ziklag in ashes, carrying away their wives and children. When the men returned they were overwhelmed with grief. The Scripture says they "wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep." They also blamed David and were ready to stone him. "But David found strength in the LORD his God" (v. 6) and sought direction from the Lord. That's a whole other lesson. David selected 600 men and set out to rescue the women and children. When they came to the Brook Besor, 200 of the men were so exhausted they could not cross over the brook and stayed back with the supplies. The other 400 went on, made a great recovery, and returned with the spoil. When they returned to the brook a protest arose on the part of some who went to battle. They didn't want to share the spoil. Then David made a great statement about faithfulness: "The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike." In fact David made this a statute and ordinance for Israel from that day onward. What David essentially said was, "Not all are equally strong or have the same abilities, but all can be equally faithful to that which is entrusted to them." The 200 who put forth their best were just as worthy of the reward as those who were superior in strength. Remember this truth today in your service for God. He's looking for faithfulness so let us be found faithful in all we do! Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber  Daily prayer: Father, we want to be faithful in our service to You and to those whom You entrust to our care. It's often a challenge and there are many excuses we can give for wanting to quit before Your appointed time. It would have been so understandable for Jesus to give up His plan to redeem the lost when He was beaten, rejected, mocked, and abandoned by those closest to Him. But He was faithful to the mission which is our only hope for salvation. Help us to remember that our labor in the Lord is not in vain; that our faithfulness is critical to the mission You have called us to complete. As we remain faithful we further develop the fruit of patience and endurance and inspire others as we model the fruit of faithfulness. We can do this only through the strength given to us through Christ in whose name we pray. Amen. 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.) "Where's The Line?" Video A very thoughtful song I had not heard before last night. Well worth the listen! "He Leadeth Me" Video "His faithful follower I would be, for by His hand He leadeth me!" 1 Samuel 30 Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne. |
 "We want to encourage you daily in your walk with Christ!" Personal Ministry Update (Revised 10/21/10)  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 12/1/10 $13,534.00 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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