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  Follow Daily Encouragement on Facebook and Twitter    The online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber. <Previous Message · Archives · Archive edition Tuesday, May 10, 2011  We passed this strange looking contraption on the farm around the corner from our house and heard lots of laughter from the riders. Anyone know what this is and what they are planting? (Answer here and I will post the correct answer tomorrow) 40 Day New Testament Reading/Listening Plan: We began a 40 day New Testament reading plan on April 3. If you want to participate and have not been following the reading schedule up to this point we suggest starting with today's reading and reading previous portions after this reading period ends. Here's the entire 40 day schedule. The links below will open to the selection to be read along with a built-in listening device. Three more days! Today we begin Revelation.
"A Faithful Witness" "I know where you live--where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to My name. You did not renounce your faith in Me, even in the days of Antipas, My faithful witness, who was put to death in your city--where Satan lives" (Revelation 2:13). At any given time scores of our brothers and sisters are being persecuted for their faith. Most of the time these persecutions take place under the radar but periodically the awful plight of Christians living in Muslim-dominated lands does make the news. Consider the horror of being a Christian in Egypt, which is presently in the news.  Today in our 40 day New Testament reading schedule we begin the book of Revelation, certainly one of the hardest books to understand which leads to a variety of interpretations by earnest followers. The first several chapters are letters from Christ to churches.In the daily Scripture text Christ is speaking to the church in Pergamum, an otherwise unknown church in Asia Minor, and one of the seven recipients of the letters to the churches. It was a wealthy city whose name meant citadel. Jesus said to this church, "I know where you live." Aren't you glad today that Christ knows where you live? He knows all about your special circumstances and difficulties. Pergamum had a remarkable distinctive and we are uncertain precisely what Christ meant – "where Satan has his throne." Suffice it to say that this must have been an evil and hard place to hold the faith! Christ commends this church for remaining true to His name and not renouncing their faith in Him. Antipas, who had the descriptive character of being Christ's "faithful witness" was martyred late in the lifetime of the Apostle John, although little else is factually known about him from respected historical sources. However, by tradition he was reputed to be the Bishop of the Christian church at Pergamum, and martyred because of his consistent faithful witnessing in the face of all the satanic evil present there. When Antipas was advised, "Antipas, the whole world is against you!", he replied, "Then I am against the whole world!" Antipas was supposedly roasted alive in a hollow life-size bull, which had a bonfire under its belly, because he refused to renounce his faith in Christ Jesus. His faithful witness and martyrdom for his unshakable faith in Christ Jesus are what earned Antipas mention in the pages of Holy Scripture. The verse ends with this phrase, "where Satan lives" which suggests that there are specific locations of evil and satanic influence that are harder to serve in than others. God bless our faithful brothers and sisters who live for God in difficult outposts like this and missionaries who follow God's call to serve in these extremely oppressive areas. Christ commended this church for remaining true to His name. They did not renounce their faith even during the most difficult of circumstances. What about you? Be assured that the immutable God of the universe knows where you live and where you stand. Today, let us make a renewed commitment, like Antipas and the church in Pergamum, to remain true to His name and be His faithful witness! Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber  Daily prayer: Father, like the seven churches in Revelation, we too have strengths and weaknesses, in which we receive Your commendation and need Your correction. We want to be so yielded to Christ that we live for Him and are willing to die for Him. We pray for our brothers and sisters who are currently facing all kinds of torment, suffering, and loss as they stand firm in the faith. We pray that the Good News of Christ is reaching even more due to the persecuted church just as it has throughout the centuries. Those who work the hardest to dispense with the Gospel are now exposed to it through the bold witness of those being imprisoned and persecuted. Bibles, freedom, and personal rights may be withheld, but no ungodly official is able to quench Your Spirit that is very much alive in the hearts of those being persecuted for their faith. The Word of God concealed in their hearts gives them power from on high to overpower the authority of sinful man. Encourage our brothers and sisters as they endure for the sake of Christ. Prompt us by Your Holy Spirit to be faithful in prayer for them, that they will be released from their oppressors, and that their oppressors will come to faith. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.Notes:
We went over to our neighbors Elam and Naomi Stoltzfus who operate the Creekside Greenhouse for some of our plants this year.  As we pulled into the parking area three of their seven children were playing on a wagon.  Elam and Naomi have done a great job developing their small business and work very hard, along with their older children.  You can always count on an Amish-run business to have some canned goods for sale!  As Brooksyne looked for flowers I poked around a bit (as is my custom) and noticed nests high among the plants on the upper shelves where flowers were growing in large trays. I raised up my camera to point inside the nest to investigate. These aren't Easter eggs! Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources "John The Revelator" Video Acapella "Praise To The Lord, The Almighty" Video Travis Cottrell "He Leadeth Me" Video Acapella "A faithful follower I would be" "My Jesus I Love Thee" Video Selah I’ll love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death, And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath; On the home front:  Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne |
 "We want to encourage you daily in your walk with Christ!" Personal Ministry Update (Revised 12/31/10)  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. 2011 financial offerings to Daily Encouragement Net as of 5/9/11: $3,625.00 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. Daily Encouragement on Facebook and Twitter: The daily message and prayer on Facebook. The daily message and prayer on Twitter.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 2011 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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