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 Thursday, October 25, 2012  In the course of our trip to New England last week we passed this church in Granby, Connecticut. The plethora of orange pumpkins in the front yard brought the fall colors to life on the leaf strewn lawn!  Listen to this message on your audio player."Respect Those Who Work Hard Among You" "And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding" (Jeremiah 3:15). "Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work" (1 Thessalonians 5:12,13).  The other day I was visiting with a friend and had a delicious bowl of chicken corn soup. I knew I was in for a special treat when I saw a quart of heavy cream sitting on the counter. I later found out she prepared the soup with half and half. It was creamy and rich, and I enjoyed it immensely (especially since Brooksyne wasn't there to remind me of the number of calories or fat content)!Good food is one of the many blessings most of us enjoy every day, but there's another blessing that many of us also enjoy and I want to write about that today. It's a special blessing to have a caring pastor who shepherds after God's own heart. This month we are encouraged to express appreciation to our pastors (or more generally clergy). After serving for 25 years in full time pastoral ministry I am grateful for the many occasions the churches I served were kind to me and my family. On Pastor Appreciation Sunday they blessed us with cards, their words, acts of kindness, and often gifts expressing their appreciation. When we transitioned from full-time pastoral service to the chaplaincy ministry in early 2001 we knew the importance of getting involved in a good local church. After all that is something we always stressed when we were pastoring a church! We visited a small friendly country church the first Sunday after our move just up the road from our rented farmhouse at that time and it became our church home. The church has had several pastors since that time and, like so many churches has had some hard times, but is presently in a season of health and unity.  Pastors are under attack; many are burned out, others discouraged and still others maligned. One of the greatest burdens they bear is the tyranny of expectations placed on them by themselves and by others, who often hold unreasonable expectations. When the pastor makes one person happy he's sure to displease another who holds an opposing view! How we need the local church's heeding of the daily text: "Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work." So what can you do to bless and support your pastor? I urge both pastors and church folks to look over some of the linked resources posted in our resource section below. Two other verses so helpful in this regard: "Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you" (Hebrews 13:17). "The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching" (1 Timothy 5:17). Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber  Daily prayer: Father, we thank You for the spiritual leaders You have placed in our lives. We thank You for those who express personal concern when they see that we're troubled and offer Bible-based counsel and encouragement. We thank You for those who contend earnestly for the faith, teaching us simple and profound truths of the Bible. We thank You for those who kneel before You and lift us up in prayer. You've given them a burden to care for our soul, to love us unconditionally. We hold them in the highest regard as they carefully deliver Scriptural truths that will keep us from being shaken as the slide to decadence increases. Keep them safe from the evil one so that they remain a solid example to those whom they shepherd. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Pastor John Howard was my first pastor after I accepted Christ in High School in the early seventies. Pastor Howard never had large churches, but due to his commitment to Christ, integrity, friendliness, love and genuine interest in people he impacted many for the Kingdom. I was one of several ministers he and his wife, Sister Howard, introduced as "one of our boys". I kept up with them through my ministry. Pastor Howard passed away about twelve years ago. About seven years ago my brother Pat and I visited Sister Howard, who was about ninety at the time, in her home in Overland Park Kansas where the photo was taken. She insisted on taking us out for ice cream! At that point she was still active in her church. Several years ago she also finished the race on this side.  We stopped to investigate the striped house and take a photo. The owner, an older man was mowing the lawn, and was pleased that we had stopped and mentioned that he had a boat in the back as well. His wife came out and told us that she had told him the house needed painted. One day she came home from work only to see that he had painted the house in stripes. He must like stripes for he also painted his shed, boat, and chimney that way!  A common site in our area is the hat rack. The Amish men customarily wear their straw hats while outside but place them on a rack when in a restaurant.  On a visit to some Amish friends several weeks ago we saw this colorful vegetable assortment dropped off in front of their barn. Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources "Pastor's Song" Video Donna Jackson "Pastor Appreciation Song" Video Chris Rice video adaptation "Thank God For The Preacher" Video Mike Bowling "Pour My Love On You" Video Phillips, Craig & Dean "If Jesus Came To Your House" Video Red Sovine Some further consideration on this matter: "PRAYER FOR PASTOR" "20 Characteristics of a Christ-like Leader" Paul Chappell This is a great list to inspire pastors. "A Good Pastor Is…?" Yancey Arrington "10 qualities of an effective Preacher" Author not specified "Characteristics Of An Effective Pastor" Ken Kirkley "Eight Ways to Encourage Your Pastor" Victor Parachin "14 Ways to Encourage Your Pastor" Dale A. Robbins 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 10/24/12: $14,511.00. 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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