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 Monday, August 12, 2013  Lancaster County farm scene (Photo by Frank G. Heron) Click here for larger image "God's Invisible Qualities"  Listen to this message on your audio player"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse" (Romans 1:20). “Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:8,9).  Yesterday afternoon we took a long walk over to Donegal Springs located just below Cameron Estate Inn, which is about a four mile round trip. Walking alongside the creek we passed a section of newly posted single strand electric fence. The dogs insisted on walking dangerously close to the strand, in spite of Brooksyne trying to pull them in the other direction. Choosing to disregard our warnings, Mollie, the young and excitable border collie, lunged forward and brushed the wire with her head. ZAP!! She yelped painfully, backed off and looked up as if to ask, "WHAT IN THE WORLD WAS THAT?". Well, how do you explain electricity to a dog? On the way back Mollie walked on the opposite side of the road until we passed the wire. We couldn't coax her to get anywhere near the wire so we were convinced that she had a new respect for the electric wire fence, no explanation needed. Though the wire looked harmless, from a distance even invisible, the power-packed jolt it sent out quickly changed her initial impression. I recall a conversation I once had with an electrical engineer about fifteen years ago. I told him my observation concerning many electrical engineers I've met who are Christians and asked him his opinion on why this is so. His answer was very interesting. He shared how in his field of study there's a focus on a power that is present but its source can't be physically seen. Thus faith in an invisible God and His undeniable power is not so difficult for an electrical engineer to grasp! The Apostle Paul speaks of God's "eternal power" as one of God's "invisible qualities". Paul uses a very interesting Greek word for "eternal" in this passage. The word aidios means "everduring" (forward and backward). This power is constant; there's been no diminishment whatsoever from eternity past and there will be no diminishment in eternity future. According to the daily text and certainly in my observation God's invisible qualities are "clearly seen, being understood from what has been made." I pray that the Lord will open every reader's eyes to clearly see the glory of God; to believe and serve Him today. Immortal, invisible, God only wise, In light inaccessible hid from our eyes, Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days, Almighty, victorious, Thy great Name we praise. Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber  Daily prayer: Father, everything in all Your creation cries out that You are eternally sovereign, all-powerful, and faithful in Your works. We are blessed beyond measure by Your handiwork, and Your invisible power that sustains us and empowers us to walk in victory day after day. Your power is constant and there is no diminishment over time. On Your appointed day when we enter the portals of heaven, we will see so much more of Your creative power that is hidden from view on this side of eternity. Keep us faithful and respectful of Your almighty power that reigns in heaven and on earth. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.In the message I mentioned meeting quite a number of electrical engineers through my years of ministry who are Christians, These include our long-time friend Mike Matangelo who now lives in North Carolina. He and his wife Kathy were in the very first service when we established a church in Saint Marys, PA in 1977. Nigel Lee, another electrical engineer who lives in the Boston area along with his wife Laifong, were the very first recipients of this devotional in 1996. Ron Hoover, also an electrical engineer, is a friend in our area who is very supportive of our corporate chaplaincy ministry. He and his wife Bonnie both have a dynamic faith in Christ, with a knack for finding ways to witness in the midst of life's circumstances. Ron tells a story illustrating this. He was in a meeting discussing a quality control issue with several others. There was some frustration in the room and one of the exasperated engineers said, "Jesus Christ couldn't keep this tolerance." Ron said, "Oh...I didn't know that Jesus Christ worked down at our lab." Of course this quieted things down a bit and then Ron solemnly said, "As a matter of fact Jesus Christ could keep this tolerance" and went on to testify of his faith in Christ to the group! A Very Special Bike Ride  On Saturday we gathered with a group of friends in support of our friend, Stephen and his family. He works for JK Mechanical, one of the companies we serve as chaplains, and is also our HVAC service tech. He and his wife Buffy have nine children or as Stephen humorously tells "three and 1/2 dozen" (think about that). Five of the children are adopted with various types of special needs. Their daughter Katrina has Cystic Fibrosis and has been very ill for quite some time. In fact she was discharged from the hospital just prior this event where a group of bikers came up from Maryland to take her for a ride. What a joy for all of us to see the smile that put on her face!  Stephen hugs her and carefully sets her in the bike. A Pleasant Afternoon Walk 8/11/13  As we began our walk we were stalked by our neighbor's rooster, startling us and the dogs as he chased us down the farm trail. We hear his cock-a-doodle-doo throughout the day, but this is the first time we met this feisty rooster.  Rarely do we see other walkers on "our" trail but some neighbors who live at the end of the trail were also out for a Sunday stroll. These folks belong to a group known as "The Old Order River Brethren"  The Donegal Springs pool (The Cameron Estate Inn is just beyond this pool to the left)  The dogs wanted to visit with the ducks. I held Mollie back but Roxie jumped right after this photo was taken and found out it wasn't the shallow water she expected. She swam back immediately but couldn't pull herself back out without out help. I guess both of our dogs had fairly traumatic events on our Sunday afternoon stroll.  The Cameron Inn has quite a history. See here. "God's Been Good" Video Legacy Five As Brooksyne prepared to leave this morning to volunteer at our local thrift store she heard this song on WDAC, our local Christian station and asked if I could find it online. "Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise" Video Steve Green "Immortal Invisible God Only Wise" Video Chris McClarney "Immortal, Invisible" Video Laura Story "Acapella - Everything we need" Video  At the bike ride for Katrina I met Frank G. Heron, a man from their church who was taking photographs. We ended up talking and he has some very interesting insights. He has a massive photo blog and gave me permission to periodically share his photos on this site. 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 8/11/13: $12,418.00 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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