A daily, Bible-based message of hope and encouragement. Having trouble reading this message?
Read mobile edition online
 A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation. Home About Us Archives Free email subscription  Listen to these messages  Text only for printing  See here for more info. <Previous Message · Archive edition Friday, January 31, 2014  Yesterday's sunset from our front porch. (Click on photo for larger image) "Caleb" Listen to this message on your audio player."I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I'm just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then" (Joshua 14:11). "Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord" (Romans 12:11). Nigel and Laifong are friends in Massachusetts who named their son Caleb, which has become a fairly common name for boys. In fact we have a baby in our church named Caleb as well. It took Ester a long to get it straight as Brooksyne would often correct her, "Ester, his name is Caleb, not Cable." It's a good name based on a dynamic Bible character. We don't recall ever meeting anyone our age or older with the name Caleb but today's text references a man 85 years old! I preached a message several years ago about Caleb, highlighting his faithfulness and zeal even when he was an old man. I told the congregation, "Should the Lord tarry and I'm alive at 85 years of age, like Caleb, I want to have the same zeal, fervor and faithfulness." Following the service a young man named Tony walked up and showed me what he had written in the front of his Bible to the effect, "Invite Steve Weber back when he is 85." I was impressed that he had listened so carefully to the message. We had a good chuckle, but who knows, I just might get an invitation to return to preach in that church when I'm 85 and those still in the church at that time will see if I've truly kept my spiritual fervor and am faithfully serving the Lord.  Caleb was one of the twelve who spied out the land of Canaan soon after the Red Sea crossing. He, along with Joshua, stood before the Israelites and with bold confidence declared, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it" (Numbers 13:30). Caleb's faith in God was energized by the great challenge that lay ahead as they set out to defeat the Nephilim, who were giants. He was a valiant "young" man of 40 years when he gave this daring challenge to the Israelites. But as Bible readers know they did not proceed at that time and thus the forty years wilderness wandering. Although Caleb and Joshua both had faith to proceed it was Joshua who assumed the leadership position following Moses' death. One might wonder how Caleb handled this. Was he jealous or resentful? I don't think so! He may not have been as famous as Joshua but his life reminds me of a saying I read many years ago on a church sign: "Better to be faithful than famous." (Attributed to Theodore Roosevelt)Did Caleb's faith and vigor weaken over the years? I'm glad Scripture gives us a glimpse of Caleb 45 years later in his senior years when he said these words, "So here I am today, eighty-five years old! I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I'm just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then!" This Scripture doesn't show Caleb sitting in a rocking chair mulling over the unproductive thought, "If only I were young again." In fact he's charged up and ready to follow the Lord's leading even at 85 years of age! (Of course, his children might have a different estimation since some older folks don't always have as sharp a judgment as when they were young.) We both memorized the second daily verse as young Christians in our early twenties. "Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord." Although we are now in our fifties we want to mirror Caleb's attitude as he kept his spiritual fervor throughout his life and into his eighties.  We would all do well to memorize this verse. It's short but packed with a life long challenge. Let's look at three characteristics we should aspire to:1) "Never be lacking in zeal." The word translated "zeal" is one of my favorite Greek words. "Spoude", which is an ancient word related to our English word "speed", connoting diligence and earnestness. My, how I want that to be true in my life and ministry! Paul knew how the cares of this life could overshadow our zeal causing our enthusiasm to diminish, although Scripture shows no evidence of any such lacking of zeal in his own life! 2) "Keep your spiritual fervor." The word "fervor" literally means "to be hot, boil or glow." The Amplified Version translates this phrase "be aglow in the Spirit". One dynamic I've noticed in my own life and ministry is that keeping a spiritual fire going takes diligence on my part. Paul warned against quenching the Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19). 3) "Serving the Lord." Are you serving the Lord? We have a tendency to compartmentalize our service, which actually limits it. Are you serving the Lord right now? You should be, wherever you are and whatever you're doing. Paul teaches "It is the Lord Christ you are serving" (Colossians 3:24b) and to "Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men" (Ephesians 6:7). Perhaps you can take just a moment right now and earnestly pray, "Lord Jesus, help me to keep my zeal and spiritual fervor today as I serve You in whatever I do!" Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber  Daily prayer: Father, it is our lifelong desire to love You without reserve, to never be lacking in zeal, and to keep our spiritual fervor as we serve You. We devote ourselves to You only and want to do what is good and right in Your sight so that it may go well with us and we will bring You pleasure. We want to be careful that we do not forget You or fail to observe Your commands You have set forth in Your Word. Otherwise our hearts will grow proud and we will forget our first love. Keep us on the right path all the days of our life we pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources "Find Us Faithful" Video Let There Be Praise Singers "Where No One Stands Alone" Video Gaither Vocal Band My brother Pat, who is a pastor in eastern Pennsylvania, shared about a time when he was dedicating a little boy named Joshua but kept referring to him as Caleb throughout the entire ceremony. I wonder if his parents kept saying Joshua under their breath so Pastor would dedicate the right child. At least he had the Bible associations correct and God was never confused! Many years ago we shared a daily encouragement message titled "Famous or Faithful?" Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne  Stephen and Brooksyne Weber(Click on photo to enlarge) About Us "We want to encourage you daily in your walk with Christ!" Personal Ministry Update (Revised 10/21/13) 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.2014 YTD offerings to Daily Encouragement Net: $1,569.00 SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION  If this email was forwarded 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 2014 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 |
Daily Encouragement is issued Monday-Friday. To make sure you continue to receive these e-mails in your Inbox (so they're not sent to a junk folder), please add scweber@dailyencouragement.net to your address book or safe sender list. You are receiving these recurring messages as a subscriber to Daily Encouragement Net because you signed up on our website or otherwise requested it unless someone forwarded the message to you. If you desire to unsubscribe use the link below. However, please do not use this link unless your address is the subscribed address below as you will otherwise unsubscribe the person who forwarded it to you!
| You are currently subscribed to dailyencouragement as: stephencweber.dailyencouragement@blogger.com Add scweber@dailyencouragement.net to your email address book to ensure delivery. Forward to a Friend | Manage Subscription | Subscribe | Unsubscribe |  |
