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 The online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber. <Previous Message · Archives · Archive edition "The Blessing Of Brakes" "Do not be deceived: 'Bad company corrupts good morals.' Become sober-minded as you ought, and stop sinning; for some have no knowledge of God" (1 Corinthians 15:33,34). "My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6). We have been on many mountain roads over the last week, the most notable one as we were coming down from Clingman's Dome, the highest point in Tennessee, which is over 6,600 feet to Gatlinburg at 1,200 feet. I frankly didn't give it much thought at the time but we're sure glad our brakes worked!  Yesterday we toured the Bristol Speedway and Dragstrip. This was one of the best tours I've ever been on. The tour guide took us down the drag strip hitting a nerve-racking* 60 mph at the ¼ mile mark and thankfully stopping (without a parachute) before we hit the bluff at the end. The real dragsters go over 300 mph in that distance and have a parachute to brake or else! The speedway tour also included several laps around the highly banked race track where drivers rely on their brakes functioning properly or they would be in real trouble. That sure got me thinking. I'm confident that not one of you would venture out on the road in your car today if you knew that your brakes didn't work. Even though your intent was to get to a particular destination and value the accelerator petal, all through the trip, and certainly at the end you expect to apply your brakes. If you've ever had a brake malfunction you know what a blessing stopping is! My most heartpounding brake experience took place over 30 years ago. I drove a school bus to supplement our income when we planted a church in northern Pennsylvania which is a very mountainous region. Mostly I drove kids to and from school but I was asked to make a special trip driving an adult fellowship from the Shiloh Presbyterian Church to a Penn State football game in State College. A designated bus was used for these longer trips but I received no special training on how to drive it. As I was going down a long grade on a mountain I pumped the brakes as I was accustomed to doing on my other bus. But this bus had air brakes and the more I pumped the less brake power I had until I lost them completely. To this day I still can't explain how I was able to stop the bus short of divine intervention without having an accident, but that experience is a lasting reminder of the blessing or should I say necessity of brakes! Let us consider the blessing of another type of brake in regard to our spiritual life. We may very well find it annoying, slowing us down or stopping us in places where we would rather see a green light. Tragically the vast majority are charging right through the red lights as they completely disregard the God-ordained brakes that He so wisely and graciously provides, such as this passage from I Corinthians 15:34: "Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning." 1) The brake of Scriptural commands and prohibitions. God's Word has both "go" and "stop" commands. When facing temptation from the enemy we do well to recall the stop commands. Our text today states, "My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge." This is speaking about the knowledge of God and His Word. So many disregard this knowledge and we see our society racing headlong to most certain judgment. The faithful church and ministry will continue to "devote themselves to the apostles' teaching" (Acts 2:42) and "contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints" (Jude 3). 2) The brake of Godly counsel. Solomon wrote, "My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity" (Proverbs 3:1,2). We need to heed the counsel of the wise and esteem the elderly who have gone on before us. Wisdom has been defined as "knowledge rightly applied." 3) The brake of Holy Spirit guidance. The Holy Spirit not only compels us to move forward but at times will lead us to stop. Paul was intending to continue his mission work in Asia Minor when he had his Macedonian vision where the Holy Spirit essentially stopped him and led him in another direction. "When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to" (Acts 16:7). As we walk with the Lord, in sensitivity to His Spirit, we need to rejoice in both the goes and the stops! 4) The brake of tradition. This point is most difficult to develop since many have developed a negative attitude toward tradition and even the Scriptures speak out against tradition in some circumstances. Certainly, tradition for tradition's sake needs to be evaluated carefully. But it seems to me that an attitude prevails in the church among more than a few that "different" is seen as better, cooler, more appealing to a current generation. Good practices developed over years can be too quickly shrugged aside in favor of the new, without considering what significance is lost in the process. When we have Communion in our church and I am sure it is somewhat different than the New Testament Church which commemorated this God-ordained sacrament. Yet I hope there are more similarities than dissimilarities as we seek to hold true to the command of Christ who told His followers: "Do this in remembrance of me." Today let us thank God for the blessing of brakes. When He flashes the yellow light of caution we need to slowly, carefully, and Scripturally assess the situation. When He flashes the red light we need to STOP! Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber  Daily prayer: Father, it is because of Your wise, loving ways that You teach us about the wiles of our adversary, the devil, and his cunning ways. We are not caught unaware but recognize his strategy as we regularly read Your Word and store it up in our hearts. Your knowledge is powerful as it opens the eyes of our hearts. Your precepts are right and because of that we hate every wrong path. Direct our footsteps according to Your Word so that we are in pace with You, observing the yellow lights of caution and stopping at the red lights of danger. As we do so we will not allow sin to rule over us. Amen.* Just kidding about the nerve-racking, but she really did step on it! Some More Scenes From Our Journey  The Weber family at the 2011 reunion. All four of us Weber kids were able to attend this year.  Stephen's first cousins  Our tour included a visit to the very posh Burton Smith owner's suite.  The banks at Bristol Speedway are famously steep, among the steepest in any NASCAR racetrack. It was quite a chore to climb them!  The winner drives up to a checkered rooftop on the speedway infield for ceremonies. The speedway holds 160,000.  Yesterday afternoon we saw this old railroad steam engine in Strasburg, VA In yesterday's message I shared a photo from "Happy Days", which brought to mind a nickname I had in the seventies based on a character from the show. Many of you properly recalled that it was Potsie Weber, who is at the right side in the photo! Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources "Slow Down" Video Chuck Girard This is a very thoughtful song I recall from my earliest days as a Christian. "Lay Your Burden Down" Video Another Chuck Girard classic which goes well with today's message. 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 "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 8/9/11: $7,726.00 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! Our other blogs: "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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