 The online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber. <Previous Message · Archives · Archive edition Wednesday, December 8, 2010  The Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, MO A great seasonal childhood Christmas memory was our family trip to see the Christmas lights at the Country Club Plaza.  Listen to this message on your audio player."Looking Out For The Interests Of Others" "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:3-5).  As part of our chaplain responsibilities we make regular calls to the companies we serve to visit with the employees at work. This is to build relationships, show interest, express care and make ourselves available to anyone who might have a personal need. But we also make calls to the employees or their immediate family members when admitted to hospitals and nursing homes. I once stopped by to see the father of an employee who had dealt with Parkinson's disease for several years. I had visited him a number of times over the course of several years as the disease was slowly progressing. He had a very hard time expressing himself so I had to often ask, "Would you say that again?" attempting to understand what he was saying. Any of you who've had these kind of experiences know how wearying this can be, both for the one speaking and the one listening. But something came out of that visit that was incredibly encouraging and instructive to me. He laboriously asked me how my health was since I had just come through surgery. Then he further inquired, "How's your daughter?" Here's a man dealing with such severe impairment that every thought he tries to convey is a painstaking effort, and yet he was able to recall the health needs of my daughter. He hadn't even met her but learned about some health problems she was dealing with through the Daily Encouragement posts. I prayed with him and left feeling strengthened by his most generous expression of care. (He has since departed to be with the Lord.) "Each of you should look not only to your own interests." Paul isn't suggesting some unrealistic goal in this passage. It's natural to look out for one's own interests. Rather than a selfish attitude it's a responsible one that leads us to take care of our health, finances and so forth and make prudent plans for the future. The important words in this portion are "not only".  In addition to caring for our own needs we are to look out for "the interests of others". This verse is a call for believers not to be so self-absorbed that they fail to see others in need or fail to respond to their need when it's within their ability to do so. It's easy to rattle off, "I'm really concerned about ________". It's quite another thing to demonstrate that care.There's such a tendency in human nature to focus on our own interests. I found the daily text so forthright in acknowledging that we will look out for our own interests. However the tendency is to focus on our own needs to the exclusion of the needs of others. This is especially acute when we are dealing with a very serious situation in our own lives and that's what made my elderly friend's expression of care so touching. "Our attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus." The apostle Paul goes on to describe how Christ demonstrated this attitude using the very powerful teaching of kenosis; how Christ emptied Himself or made Himself nothing (Philippians 2:5ff). The fundamental teaching of the Christmas story is God looking out for the interests of the human race. Today I encourage each of you to express care for others in fulfilling God's call. Our primary motive in doing so is that we are following Christ's example. Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber  Daily prayer: Father, we are all recipients of the kindnesses of others who lay aside their own interests; who give generously of their time and resources to assist us in our hour of need. An even greater blessing results when we are the one who extends ourselves to those in need. Jesus knew of our greatest need and laid aside His throne in heaven for the footstool of earth. He didn't consider equality with You to be more important than our need for salvation but deferred to our need above His own interests. Help us to follow His supreme example as we look to the interests of others in the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.Yesterday Brooksyne and Ester decorated our home and made Christmas cookies. Ester also had some fun with our pets!  Our dog Roxie or should I say Reindeer Roxie! Ester and Brooksyne thought she might just qualify to be in the reindeer line-up with these bright red antlers. After all, Rudolph got to lead because of his bright red nose! However we don't think Roxie was amused.  Our cat Dottie was rejected on the basis of her head just not being big enough to support antlers, but we love her anyway. 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.) "One Day" Video This is a wonderful old hymn by J. Wibur Chapman written over 100 years ago. But the tune and arrangement is a contemporized rendition by Jeff Johnson, but thankfully the powerful lyrics are not altered. (For this version it's been renamed "Glorious Day".) This song goes through the life of Christ from His birth to His second coming. The first verse of the song is most related to today's message. One day when Heaven was filled with His praises, One day when sin was as black as could be, Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin, Dwelt among men, my Example is He! "Christmas Shoes" Video This song has a touching message of giving and service. This is a version directed by a man with some interesting visual effects but the song is sung by New Song. "We Are The Reason" Video We first heard David Meece sing this song at a "Fishnet" Christian festival near Front Royal, Virginia in the late seventies. Resources for Christmas Celebrations (We will leave these resources posted below our daily messages through Christmas) Each year we share several online resources that we have used over the years and that may be a blessing to families and churches during this Christmas season. As we find additional material that we believe will be a blessing we will add it to this list as well. "In Remembrance of Me" pdf This is a passion-filled Scripture reading for two adults. Brooksyne and I have used this reading with great receptivity during Christmas Eve services many years. We suggest, if possible, a musical background as the message is read. It is also a great lead-in to a Communion service. It should be thoroughly practiced and read with great feeling. "When Christ Was Born" pdf This is an adaptation to the tune of "How Great Thou Art". It's a great song to sing as a congregation since most are familiar with and love the tune. Responsive Christmas Scripture readings for church or family: John 1:1-18 pdf "O Come Let Us Adore Him" pdf My First Christmas In Heaven This is a blessed reminder for all who lost a loved one this year. This is the poem that Brooksyne read and wrote about in this message. Christmas Knowledge Test We have also posted two Christmas carol quizzes here (scroll down). Are you Christmas shopping online?  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 considering using these links when purchasing online through CBD! Tip: If you are regular CBD customer consider bookmarking this link and using it whenever you shop. Looking for a very special Christmas gift for your parents? Here's an idea! "The Best Gift You Can Ever Give Your Parents" Looking for a very special Christmas gift for your children? Here's an idea! "The Blessing" 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 12/7/10 $13,764.00 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 |
Daily Encouragement is issued Monday-Friday. To make sure you continue to receive these e-mails in your Inbox (so they're not sent to a junk folder), please add scweber@dailyencouragement.net to your address book or safe sender list. You are receiving these recurring messages as a subscriber to Daily Encouragement Net because you signed up on our website or otherwise requested it unless someone forwarded the message to you. If you desire to unsubscribe use the link below. However, please do not use this link unless your address is the subscribed address below as you will otherwise unsubscribe the person who forwarded it to you!
| You are currently subscribed to dailyencouragement as: stephencweber.dailyencouragement@blogger.com Add scweber@dailyencouragement.net to your email address book to ensure delivery Forward to a Friend | Manage Subscription | Subscribe | Unsubscribe |  |
