A daily, Bible-based message of hope and encouragement.
 A daily, Bible-based message of hope, encouragement and exhortation. Click here to support our ministry.The online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber. <Previous Message · Archive edition Friday, August 9, 2013  Wooden flowers at the Central Market in Lancaster PA. "Always Learning"  Listen to this message on your audio player"Always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth" (2 Timothy 3:7). We surely live in the most "educated" period in human history. The other night I heard a young man being interviewed who, like so many, was having a hard time getting a job following his graduation from college. He referred to his generation as being the most “academically qualified” in comparison to all previous generations. Now it is my observation that a greater percentage have additional education and even many advanced degrees but certainly this does not necessarily lead to a knowledge of the truth. In fact for many it has shattered their faith in the truth of the Bible. Always learning can be a commendable trait whether young or old but of infinitely greater importance is coming to the knowledge of the truth! Today's Bible text is from Paul's second letter to Timothy. He is writing of conditions in the last days in which he describes as perilous. Among the conditions of people's hearts is deception. Among the characteristics of both deceivers and the deceived is that they are "always learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." Another version states, "always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth." Could it be that the philosophy of their day was much like ours now – make truth relative so that it conforms to our preferred outlook and resulting lifestyle, rather than accepting truth as originated from Holy Scriptures and conforming to its absolutes. Information abounds as well as the means to acquire it. Just consider what the internet has done regarding the accessibility of information. The Amplified Bible translates this verse, "They are forever inquiring and getting information, but are never able to arrive at a recognition and knowledge of the Truth." I believe the emphasis and capitalization of "Truth" is significant. Paul is not merely speaking in a general sense as to what is true and what is not, but rather the supreme truth of God's revelation in Christ. So many, many are indeed always learning and attaining knowledge without coming to the knowledge of this truth. In the first two chapters of Romans we have three responses to the truth: suppression, exchange, and disobedience (1:18,25;2:8). My, these are surely responses that abound in our day. May it be said of us in regard to our response to the truth that we are learning and fully acknowledging the Truth. If we are doing so we will grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! (see 2 Peter 3:18) Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber  Daily prayer: Father, You grant us access to Your presence through Your Son, Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. As we come into personal relationship with Him we begin to know the Truth that sets us free from the deceit and lies of Satan. Help us to faithfully engraft Your Word into our hearts so that we will filter all that we see, hear and read to find what You, the Source and very Essence of truth have to say to our hearts. Help us to conform to Your will in all matters. Amen.New Testament references to the phrase "the truth" The other night we heard an interesting illustration regarding how many of our current generation regard spiritual truth: A pastor is teaching young students about spiritual truth. He takes a jar full of beans with him. He then gets the students to guess how many beans are in the jar, and writes down their guesses on a notepad. He then asks the class members to list their favorite songs, writing them down alongside the bean estimates. The pastor then returns to the bean guesses, revealing the actual number and then whose guess was closest to being right. After congratulations have been offered to those whose estimate was closest, attention is then refocused on the song list. “And which one of these is closest to being right?” the Pastor asks. Invariably the students argue that when it comes to “favorite songs” there is no right answer. It’s purely subjective, a matter of taste. It’s at that point he asks, “When you decide what to believe in terms of your faith, is that more like guessing the number of beans, or more like choosing your favorite song?” Always he gets the same answer: Choosing one’s faith is more like choosing a favorite song. Thus we see such a demonstration of the loss of objectivity in truth. Walking through Central Market in Lancaster this morning we came across these wooden flowers that we had to feel to believe they weren't real. Silk flowers have become more and more realistic and now we're seeing hand-made wooden flowers looking more and more like fresh flowers!  Amazing in realistic color and detail!  Larger blooms are wooden flowers. "These Things Are True Of You " Video Kristina Heisey and Tommy Walker "All I Have Is Christ" Video Sovereign Grace Music  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 12/31/12)  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. 2013 YTD financial offerings to Daily Encouragement Net as of 8/8/13: $12,233.00 SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION  If a friend forwarded this to you, you can subscribe here.These messages are never sent by us unsolicited. It was sent to you because you either signed up to receive it OR it was forwarded to you. You can also subscribe to the Wordpress rss feed or as an email subscription through Wordpress email subscription. (See the email subscription on the right side after opening this page.) Cancel: These messages are only sent from us to people who request it; please accept our apologies if it reached you in error. You can unsubscribe from this list at any time. 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. Other versions are also occasionally used. © Copyright 2013 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved Daily Encouragement Net Stephen & Brooksyne Weber 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552  Endorsed chaplain "Living securely today anchored in God's solid foundation" www.dailyencouragement.net |
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