A daily, Bible-based message of hope and encouragement.
 A daily, Bible-based message of hope, encouragement and exhortation. Click here to donate online.The online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber. <Previous Message · Archive edition Monday, October 15, 2012  We traveled through Connecticut over the weekend and saw many colonial style homes with rock walls, a beautiful distinction throughout New England. The foliage is at its peek in most areas.  Listen to this message on your audio player.Note: Due to travel the podcast was not prepared. "Faith That Is Tested" "Therefore, among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring" (2 Thessalonians 1:4). Yesterday we visited with Wayne and Yvette Gallagher who are planting a church in Southbridge, Massachusetts. We will share more about them in a future message. It was heartening to attend their church plant yesterday, presently meeting in a building that also serves as a nightclub. After the service we visited another building they will be moving into in November that's located in the center of town, an ideal location. We sought to encourage them in their Christian service as church planters. Though it's been 35 years since we planted a church in Northern Pennsylvania we easily recall the extraordinary ups and downs, and the feelings of discouragement as it seems there are more doors that close than those that open in the start-up. That happened in Bible church plants as well! The apostle Paul served a very brief time in Thessalonica proclaiming the Gospel when he was run out of town. The story is recorded in Acts 17:1-10. However a church was indeed planted and later Paul wrote two letters to this church, which are now part of the New Testament. This church, planted under such difficult circumstances, needed some encouragement and instruction from its founder. In the book of Acts I find it interesting that the Thessalonians are compared negatively to Berea, the community that Paul visited after leaving Thessalonica. Luke, the historian writes, "Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians" (Acts 17:11). I wonder how the Thessalonian Chamber of Commerce liked this remark! But in the daily text the Apostle Paul encourages the Thessalonian believers by informing them that he was boasting about their faith and perseverance among other churches, for they were enduring all kinds of persecutions and trials. "Therefore, among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring." One of our long-time favorite Bible teachers is Warren Wiersbe. We memorized one of his quotes many years ago: "Faith that cannot be tested is faith that cannot be trusted". Many of you are enduring trials today. Some of you are enduring persecution. Our ministry places us in a position to observe human need in so many different places by so many different people for so many different reasons. This includes daily Encouragement readers who write us and share their burdens. Today your faith may be under a test. Our word of encouragement and we're also making it a daily prayer is from an old hymn, the writer who has long been in the presence of the Faithful One. It will be a double blessing if you happen to know the tune and can hum along. Read it slowly and let your faith rise upward to the present and future reward of remaining faithful in the midst of difficulty! Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber  Daily prayer: Today we will suggest the old hymn as a prayer Be still, my soul; the Lord is on thy side. Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain; Leave to thy God to order and provide. In every change He faithful will remain. Be still, my soul; thy best, thy heavenly Friend Thro' thorny ways leads to a joyful end. Be still, my soul; thy God doth undertake To guide the future as He has the past. Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake; All now mysterious shall be bright at last. Be still, my soul; the waves and winds still know His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below. Be still, my soul; the hour is hastening on When we shall be forever with the Lord, When disappointment, grief and fear are gone, Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored. Be still, my soul; when change and tears are past, All safe and blessed we shall meet at last. We are in New England enjoying the scenery and fall foliage.  On the way up on Friday we had lunch with my brother and his church staff in the Lehigh Valley. We honored them for clergy appreciation month.  A Stately Church in Litchfield Connecticut. Notice the bagpipers!  In Granby CT we passed several painted horses, this one in the front yard of a residential home.  A Connecticut farm  Mama bear being followed by 2 cubs in rural Connecticut (only one cub seen in the photo). Interestingly they were running out of the yard of a residential home. I wonder if the people inside realized they had 3 bears in their yard? Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne. |
 Stephen and Brooksyne Weber (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 an offering to 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. Click here to donate online. 2012 financial offerings to Daily Encouragement Net as of 10/14/12: $13,541.00. 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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