Daily Encouragement (09/10/13) "The Power Of The Blessing"

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A daily, Bible-based message of hope, encouragement and exhortation. The online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber. Home · About Us · Archives · Podcast · Free email ·   ·     ·    Click here to support our ministry. <Previous Message       ·       Archive edition Tuesday, September 10, 2013 Hats find resting place on Amish quilt Photo by Nick Nichols "The Power Of The Blessing" Listen to this message on your audio player. "This is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each with the blessing suitable to him" (Genesis 49:28). Yesterday I assisted SportsWorld Ministry by picking up Steve Grant, a former NFL football player at the Harrisburg Airport. Steve will be speaking in school assemblies and to youth groups the next several days here in Lancaster County, sharing his testimony and a challenge to stay on the right path. He uses a card with this quote: "I was stumbling through life, wondering who I was; trying to find myself through fame, money, power, women. It wasn't until I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior that everything became clear, and I finally became who I was destined to be." As we drove along I asked him to share his testimony of living for Christ with me. He was raised in a single parent home, with his father leaving when he was young. But his paternal grandmother was a godly woman who took him to church. In college he made a decision to follow the Lord and when he told his grandma she told him she had been praying for him since he was born. He told me of his various ministries since retiring from pro football and his continued love and esteem for his grandma. Before her death he was called home and shared with me a very specific blessing she had placed upon his life from her deathbed that was very meaningful to him. That brought to mind a blessing that has been very important in my life. Bill Shibilo, a dear older member of the congregation we served in New England, was one of the kindest men I ever met with sterling Christ-like character. At the end of his life we gathered with Bill's family in his hospital room at New England Medical Center in Boston. We sang hymns, read Scripture and prayed. Bill had a debilitating lung disease which made his breathing very labored.  He could hardly speak but mustered the strength to solemnly speak from the depths of his heart, "May God bless your ministry."  That blessing came with an anointing that strengthens me to this day! Today we want to challenge you, our readers, to place a thoughtful blessing upon others. We are not speaking of the typical general blessing we share with many such as "God bless you" which is a part of so much conversation we often utter it with little thought. The Book of Genesis established the practice of conferring blessings; Isaac to his sons and later Jacob to his. We are probably most familiar due to Jacob's deceitfulness but we must see the pattern established by Isaac in Genesis 27 and later used by Jacob to his sons in Genesis 49. In his book "The Blessing" John Trent lists five elements of a Biblical blessing: Appropriate Meaningful Touch - Before a word was spoken, there was the laying on of hands, a hug or reaching out to touch. Appropriate touch conveys in powerful, non-verbal ways, our love and affirmation – preparing the way for our words. Spoken message - Biblically, a child wasn’t left to “fill in the blanks” whether they were valuable to a parent or grandparent. Words were verbalized, including written words today, which can place unconditional love and acceptance into the heart of a child or loved one. Attaching high value - But what words do you say or write? The word, “Blessing” itself carried the idea that the person you’re blessing is of incredible worth and value – even as an imperfect person. In short, you’re helping a child “get the picture” that you see things in their life today, that make them special, useful and of great value to you. Special future - With our touch, with our words that attach high value, come a response in a child or loved one’s heart that can be nothing short of transformational. The light going on in their heart and mind that the way God has made them, they can do more than they ever dreamed in living out a God-honoring future. Genuine commitment - “Blessing” a child doesn’t mean we never discipline them or point out areas where they need to grow. But children “know at an incredibly deep level if they have their parents' “blessing” – if that mom or dad, grandparent, aunt, uncle or other loved one really sees high value in them – even during the tough times. Genuine commitment is an unconditional commitment to an imperfect person that says as long as I have breath, I’ll be there to seek to build these 5 elements of the Blessing into your life and life-story. Today we encourage each of our readers to consider the power of the blessing, both formal blessings such as might be conferred at our time of death but also spontaneous, heartfelt blessings that we thoughtfully share through the course of everyday life. Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily prayer: Father, we pray that You will give us Biblical thoughts and expressions of blessing that we can share with those whom we seek to influence. Not only can we pray for them, but we can also bless them in the name of Jesus. We are instructed to bless even those who curse us, hard as that may be to do. When Jesus instructed His disciples to enter the house where they lodged and place their blessings upon that family saying, "Peace be to this house" Your peace rested upon it. So, we too have power with our prayerful words to make a positive difference in one's life as we speak blessings upon them. Grant us confidence and meaningful expressions of blessings as we reach out in the name of Christ, for it is in His name that we pray. Amen. This morning we bought some mums from our Amish neighbor. John was harvesting beets for sale through our Lancaster CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). Like most Amish we know he prefers to work barefoot! We passed this Amish one room schoolhouse with Amish children gathered together sitting in a field for lunch. The Amish children bring their own lunches to school prepared at home. There is no government funded school lunch program (or breakfast for that matter)! However sometimes a parent will bring lunch to feed all the children which we participated in several years ago. See here for a description and photos. Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources "The Blessing"  Video   John Waller "Bless Us And Keep Us"  Video   John Waller "As for Me and My House"  Video  John Waller "The Blessing" website with ideas and resources. SportsWorld ministry  Steve Grant's profile Today's photo of the Amish quilt was taken by our friend Nick Nichols who shares an extensive collection of his photos here. Click here to record a brief message on your computer's audio device which can then be sent to us. Note: We are testing this as a means of providing another way for our readers to share feedback. You must have a computer microphone for this to work (many have computers with the mic built in). 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 9/9/13: $13,653.00 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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