A daily, Bible-based message of hope and encouragement.
 A daily, Bible-based message of hope, encouragement and exhortation. The online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber. <Previous Message · Archive edition Wednesday, May 30, 2012  Our friend Greg Schneider sent us this photo of an Amish man working his field near Belleville, PA in the Kishacoquillas Valley.  Listen to this message on your audio player."By The Sweat Of Your Brow" To Adam He said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,' "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return" (Genesis 3:17-19). All throughout our area we see farmers working the fields; the Amish using teams of horses or mules, some forms of Mennonites using tractors with steel wheels (rubber is not allowed) and of course all manner of modern farm equipment. Regardless of their work, with the hot weather we're experiencing, at some point in the day they're all sopping up sweat from their brow!   But I also thought about the toil involved. It didn't just happen. They had to fight the thorns and thistles, persistent weeds, plant diseases, and the varied insects that destroy. It is an ongoing battle requiring attention, time, and diligent labor. The toil behind this beautiful garden was a hard-working Amish woman with sweat on her brow and lots of dirt on her clothing and under her fingernails!Most of us don't work with soil. We may have a small vegetable or flower plot and that's enough to understand the effect of the "curse" referred to in the daily verse.  However I consider the phrase "sweat of the brow" in a broader sense. Regardless of what our work entails it seems there is an aspect of painful toil. I take this internet ministry very seriously and also find it very rewarding in regard to personal fulfillment in helping others on their faith journey. Although I rarely have physical sweat on my brow while preparing my message I certainly know painful toil!My main interest is the preparation of the messages, which is usually a joy but honestly can at times be toilsome. Any preacher or teacher who has prepared messages knows what I mean. Brooksyne and I also find it a blessing in the various ways we interface with readers and podcast listeners, mostly through email, although we do have opportunity to meet some face to face, and others via telephone. Consider your work today. For some of you it's going very well and you might not even use the word "toil" in describing it, let alone painful toil! But for most the toil is rather ongoing and you know painful toil as well. This "painful toil" may not be in the sense of an aching back but an obnoxious boss or fellow workers that are a real pain. It may be a project that is very difficult and everything that could go wrong already has. I want to encourage you today and to do so I must look ahead. Quite honestly I expect toil, which will be very painful and perplexing at times for my remaining time on earth. I ask the Lord to give me wisdom, persistence and an overcoming spirit as I deal with these matters. But to counteract the dread of toil I also look for the blessing of a future promise: "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them" (Revelation 14:13). Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber  Daily prayer: Jesus, my load becomes lighter as I consider that the ongoing toil and labor of this life is only for a season. The daily struggle of meeting deadlines, employee relations, putting out fires, pleasing customers and bosses can be overwhelming and very frustrating, let alone the growing pile of dirty clothes that awaits me at home. Though I've asked for Your divine intervention many times some of these recurring irritants will not go away in my life's work. May the sufficient grace of Your Holy Spirit grant me an enduring and victorious attitude even in the midst of these toilsome labors. Remind me again that Your blessings far outnumber the troubles of this day and that divine rest is promised to those who are faithful to the end. In Your name, Jesus, I pray. Amen.Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources |
| "Holy Spirit Enabled Boldness"  Stephen and Brooksyne Weber Our 36th anniversary photo (Click on photo to enlarge) "We want to encourage you daily in your walk with Christ!" Personal Ministry Update (Revised 4/12)  Are our daily encouragement messages a blessing to you? Each weekday morning Brooksyne and I prepare these messages and distribute them at no cost to you and many others all over the world. We ask you to consider supporting Daily Encouragement Net so that we can continue to prepare and provide this daily resource which is accessed by believers and seekers all over the world. Daily Encouragement Net relies solely on the generosity and financial support of its readers and podcast listeners. See here for more information on supporting this ministry. Gifts are tax deductible. 2012 financial offerings to Daily Encouragement Net as of 5/29/12: $6,245.00. We express thanks to all who support our ministry!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. These messages are 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!) (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. 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 2012 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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