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 The online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber. <Previous Message · Archives · Archive edition Friday, August 26, 2011  Due to the subject matter of today's message we felt a photo of something that smells good would be appropriate. This just happens to be Brooksyne's favorite Yankee Candle fragrance! "Faulty Assumptions" "But let a man examine himself" (1 Corinthians 11:28a). Yesterday I made some early morning chaplain calls and Geno, a friend of mine and reader of this series asked, "How do you come up with all those stories you share?" I told him, "Most originate from the actual experiences and observations I make during the course of life." You see, God can use any circumstance to teach or illustrate lessons from which we can learn solid principles. Following my first chaplain visit I had a brief lapse of free time prior to a scheduled appointment with a Human Resource manager. I was to meet him in a company we'll soon be serving so I decided to take a few minutes to walk through a large Walmart Supercenter nearby. I was looking for a particular item at the back of the store and as I walked along I detected a rather foul odor. The odor persisted wherever I went and eventually I began to wonder if somehow I was the carrier. Brooksyne has been sick this week with a nasty virus and hacking cough so she was not with me; otherwise I could have asked her opinion. Considering my one on one appointment was just minutes away I was a bit distressed. I had showered early in the morning but still couldn't shake the feeling that it just might be me. When I stepped out of the store the odor lifted. I looked back and saw a sewage truck parked in front of the store. Apparently this particular Walmart was having some sewer problems accounting for that malodor. I was immensely relieved. It wasn't me after all! Well that brought to mind another lesson from many years ago that did concern me: When Ester was about four years old Brooksyne and I took her for an appointment to the pediatrician. In the waiting room I smelled a dirty diaper type smell (quite common in a setting like that.) I looked around and said to Brooksyne, "They sure need better ventilation in this waiting room." As Ester sat on my lap the odor continued to permeate and I thought to myself, "Tell Brooksyne to give Ester a good bath when we get home." I couldn't help but wonder what the doctor might think about our hygiene habits. Later that evening I slipped my shoes off and the stench was finally revealed. No! It wasn't my feet, as some of you are thinking right now! I discovered that I had some doggie doo doo on one of my shoes and had been walking around with it all day long. I was the stinking problem! As we journey through life it's easy to make faulty assumptions and fail to thoroughly examine our own life. Paul's gives a simple command for believers in relationship to partaking in Communion. "But let a man examine himself." I believe that's also good general advice for everyday living. As we go through life various scents assault or stimulate our senses. We are tempted to assume that we emit the pleasant while other sources are responsible for the unpleasant. We'd do well to examine ourselves first lest we cast the blame in the wrong direction! Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber  Daily prayer: Father, during life's testings You are providing us opportunities to examine our spiritual condition. It's far too easy to make faulty assumptions. When we fail we often cast blame on others, on circumstances, or sometimes we even question Your hand in the matter. Give us the courage and thoroughness to turn the search light on our own hearts rather than shining the spotlight on others. We invite the spiritual scrub brush of Your Holy Word to do the needed cleansing and purging. Your love is ever before us and will lead us in the way we should go! It's not by our strength or power, but by walking in Your Spirit that we cast out wrong attitudes and stop undesirable behavior. Thank You for never giving up on us and for Your Spirit's conviction in our life! Amen.Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources "Jesus I My Cross Have Taken" Video Indelible Grace If you, like us, appreciate the hymn style music (new and old) you may appreciate this YouTube channel. For instance this hymn was written by John Newton. I do not recall ever hearing it before. "Pensive, Doubting, Fearful Heart" Video Red Mountain Music Regarding yesterday's message "Lessons From The Morning Glory" Jim, a reader from Texas observes: "If you take the Morning Glory and carry out the intrusiveness of this plant that grows where you don't want it to, it is easy to relate it to sin. The beauty of the Morning Glory can be like sin, beautiful to look at [through our fleshly eyes] but, when it grows it can choke out life around it. I'll let you write your own sermon on that one. In some parts of the country, including North Dakota, where my wife is from, Morning Glory is also called "Creeping Jenny", among other names." Here's a case in point: We have an arbor leading to our backyard. Brooksyne planted a beautiful dainty climbing flower called the Cardinal flower to grow over the arbor. However as you can see the Morning Glories are taking over though they have not been planted there for many years!  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 8/25/11: $8,136.00 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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