"Being Ready"

xml Podcast feed A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation. Home · About Us · Archives · Donate · Podcast · Free email subscription Previous Message · Easy read/print edition Friday, July 6, 2007 A leaning silo in rural Virginia Click here to listen to us read this message on your audio player. "Being Ready" "Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them--do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish" (Luke 13:4,5). The other day I was scanning the headlines on an online news source and read of a farming accident in Virginia involving several deaths due to methane gas in a manure pit. I grimaced as I considered such an awful way to die. It turns out that among the dead was Amous Stoltzfus, a farm hand who had once worked for my friend Jesse. Last night I listened as Jesse shared about the tumult of emotions he felt at the viewing. (Amous' family is originally from this county and the bodies were returned for burial.) We discussed how difficult this must be for his immediate and extended family. As a minister these are among the hardest times to share comfort with those left behind in such tragic accidents. Truly I was lacking for adequate words that would make sense of this tragedy. Sometimes the best you can do is just prayerfully sympathize in silence. Our daily text has always intrigued me. Jesus is using a contemporary news event to illustrate a vital spiritual truth. There had been an accident regarding a tower in Siloam that fell and eighteen had perished. I've always wondered if it was a construction accident. Obviously then, as now, such events are on people's minds and talked about for quite some time. I find it interesting that Jesus does not address the question that's foremost in people's minds when such things happen. And in this passage recorded in the Scriptures He provides no comforting words. When things like this happen we want to know "Why did it happen?" or as believers more specifically, "Why did God allow it to happen?" Really, in our hearts, we want to know how an unexplainable tragedy relates to God being in control. Jesus does not provide an answer to these "why" questions, but He clearly rebukes the simpleton mentality of people who have the view that those who died "were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem." I have occasionally witnessed this kind of attitude when a judgmental believer sees suffering in someone else, essentially asserting that the suffering either must be due to the Christian's "lack of faith" or "there must be some underlying sin that caused the problem." This is a profane form of spiritual pride. We are all sinners and we all have deficiencies in our faith.* Jesus deals with the bigger and more important issue. Hear the words of our ever truthful Lord. "But unless you repent, you too will all perish." The emphasis of our Lord is in preparing people's hearts for eternity. Have you repented of your sins? Are you ready to meet your Maker right now if it's your time? God doesn't always act according to our expectations or our time table and that's a critical test of faith, particularly when we deal with the great "why" questions. But He is always in absolute control even when the situation we experience seems contrary to that truth. Today I want to encourage each reader, especially those of you who are facing an agonizing situation where you lack understanding. May the Lord give you a deep and abiding assurance of His steadfast love and care as You seek Him above all. Indeed He is in control! Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Expressing ourselves to God in prayer is how we begin our new lives as Christians. I know most readers have already done so and for you this prayer will be an affirmation of your present faith. But I earnestly pray that anyone reading this who has never prayed the prayer of faith will do so today. This will be the beginning of your life with Christ and your preparation to meet your Maker. You may express this in your own words or here's a common prayer that expresses repentance to God and faith in His provision of salvation. I urge you to pray this prayer from your heart today. "Lord Jesus, I confess that I am a sinner and desire to turn to You in repentance. Forgive me of my sins. I believe that You came to this earth and died on the cross as a substitute for me. I place my faith in You and what You have done for me. I receive You into my life and choose this day to follow You. Thank You for hearing my prayer." * Of course some tragedies are a result of specific human sin (i.e. a drunk-driving accident). Luke 13:1-5 - The entire context of today's passage. An online report concerning the Virginia manure pit accident referenced above. Recommended reading: Here is one of the most insightful books I have ever read on the topic of God's control and the mysteries of His providence. The Invisible Hand: Do All Things Really Work for Good? By R.C. Sproul In a world steeped in anguish and evil, how can God be in control? Do all things really work for good? With head-on honesty and biblical insight, Sproul examines the difficult doctrine of divine providence. Discover how your Lord lovingly guides the events of your life without creating human wickedness or destroying human freedom. Today's suggested music: We would like to share audio links to two different songs both titled "God Is In Control" MP3 #1 MP3 #2 Send an email message to Stephen and Brooksyne

Administration Information The Weber Family Stephen, Brooksyne & Ester "Our family wants to encourage you daily in your walk with Christ!" Personal Ministry Update Each weekday morning Brooksyne and I prepare these messages and distribute them at no cost to you and many others all over the world. Would you please consider a financial offering to support us in this encouragement ministry? Thanks! See here for details. Join: To receive these free "Daily Encouragement" devotionals each Monday-Friday through email see this page to subscribe. You can also subscribe to the rss feed. Cancel: To remove your address from this mailing list merely use the link placed by the mailing list software at the very bottom of each message. Weekly Version: The weekly version is designed for those who do not check their email regularly. It is merely the Friday message with a link to previous messages. To receive the free weekly version, send a blank email to this address. (To change addresses cancel your old address and then join again using your new address.) Please feel free to pass this message on! See permissions Daily Encouragement Net is an affiliate of Christianbook.com 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. Used by permission; and the King James Version. © Copyright 2007 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved Daily Encouragement Net 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 Contact us "Living securely today anchored in God's solid foundation" www.dailyencouragement.net

"A Little Yeast"

xml Podcast feed A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation. Home · About Us · Archives · Donate · Podcast · Free email subscription Previous Message · Easy read/print edition Thursday, July 5, 2007 Doris High, a friend of ours, took this beautiful photo of an Iris. Click here to listen to us read this message on your audio player. "A Little Yeast" "Don't you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?" (1 Corinthians 5:6). We sure have a lot of flies! That's part of living out in the country near livestock. Tuesday they harvested the wheat off the field across from us, baled the straw, removed it and then applied thousands of tons of animal waste fertilizer all through the night! It's not the most pleasant time for country living! This has also contributed to the abundant fly population we have. We had chaplain friends who recently visited us from another county. Oblivious to the fly problem here they left the back of their van open during their visit. Brooksyne discovered it an hour after their arrival and immediately shut it after letting them know that they would be returning home with many Lancaster County flies they hadn't counted on. According to my calculations I reckon I (Stephen) weigh about 200,000 times more than a fly, but my, can those pesky critters get under my skin and annoy me! Little things matter. Several years ago I visited a large lumber-processing mill that makes lumber from logs. A crucial job is examining the raw logs for any metal prior to the processing. A single nail can result in extensive damage to the machinery, an expensive plant shutdown, and could even be dangerous if it would fly out and hit someone. So a worker examines each log in the lot before it goes through processing with a powerful metal detector. Consider the tiny nail in relation to the huge log. It's but a tiny, tiny fraction of the log's total volume and yet what tremendous damage it can do. That's true in a lot of things in life isn't it? Can you imagine saying, "This water is great, it's 99% pure and only 1% arsenic" or "My spouse is mostly faithful, he only commits adultery once a month" or "God keeps most of His promises." In 1 Corinthians 5 the Apostle Paul is addressing a situation in the Corinthian church regarding a rather bizarre form of sexual immorality, "a kind that does not occur even among pagans." Incredibly the Corinthian believers were even proud about the situation! Perhaps they reasoned that being open-minded and non-judgmental about the matter was virtuous, kind of a "different strokes for different folks" outlook. That's sure a lot like today's attitude toward sin where "tolerance", as it is understood from a wordly perspective, has been elevated to a cardinal virtue. But Paul doesn't excuse this matter or brush it aside as insignificant. He commanded the church to take prompt, decisive action. Actually his words seem harsh and unloving in this age of toleration. "Even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present. When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord" (1 Corinthians 5:3-5). Wow, how mean-spirited, hateful and intolerant this sounds to modern ears. Lighten up, Paul, most would say today. But Paul's action was loving. Sin destroys. It destroys the individual, the family, the specific local church and the testimony of the whole church. Redemptive love means confronting destructive sin head on, which is what Paul did, because a little sin is a big deal. "Don't you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?" Two challenges to sum up today's message: 1) God has provided a means to deal with the sin in our lives. Don't make excuses but confess, repent (turn away from it), and commit to living a life holy unto the Lord. 2) The true church and godly individuals will be increasingly unpopular in standing up for Biblical standards. We will be labeled mean, hateful, narrow-minded and ignorant. In fact the media is already doing that in many venues. But we resolve in our hearts to: Stay faithful! Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily prayer: Father, the practical example of the Corinthian church serves as an example to the church of our generation. To ignore sin or brush it aside does not make it go away. It only gains strength and infiltrates the rest of the body when not dealt with in a Scriptural manner. We pray for the leadership of our churches and ask You to help them to live pure and holy lives in obedience to You and as an example to their flock. May they be intolerant of sin that jeopardizes the spiritual health of the church. The church's code of conduct is transcribed through Your Holy Scriptures, not the popular philosophy of our day. In turning our eyes away from the sin we in essence give approval, but when we have the courage to deal with it we save not only the transgressor but we also purify Your church. Keep us faithful, prayerful, and vigilant as we seek Your leading in these extremely important matters. Amen. 1 Corinthians 5 (context of today's passage) Today's Music: (not necessarily related to today's theme) "Creation Calls" (listen) "All Creatures of our God and King" (listen) Today's photo: We met Doris and her husband Cerwin through our association with a chaplain ministry to truckers called, "Transport for Christ". Doris has a wonderful way of designing photo montages with accompanying Scripture or sermon points. Check this out! Or this one. Send an email message to Stephen and Brooksyne

Administration Information The Weber Family Stephen, Brooksyne & Ester "Our family wants to encourage you daily in your walk with Christ!" Personal Ministry Update Each weekday morning Brooksyne and I prepare these messages and distribute them at no cost to you and many others all over the world. Would you please consider a financial offering to support us in this encouragement ministry? Thanks! See here for details. Join: To receive these free "Daily Encouragement" devotionals each Monday-Friday through email see this page to subscribe. You can also subscribe to the rss feed. Cancel: To remove your address from this mailing list merely use the link placed by the mailing list software at the very bottom of each message. Weekly Version: The weekly version is designed for those who do not check their email regularly. It is merely the Friday message with a link to previous messages. To receive the free weekly version, send a blank email to this address. (To change addresses cancel your old address and then join again using your new address.) Please feel free to pass this message on! See permissions Daily Encouragement Net is an affiliate of Christianbook.com 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. Used by permission; and the King James Version. © Copyright 2007 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved Daily Encouragement Net 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 Contact us "Living securely today anchored in God's solid foundation" www.dailyencouragement.net

"Free Indeed!"

xml Podcast feed A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation. Home · About Us · Archives · Donate · Podcast · Free email subscription Previous Message · Easy read/print edition Wednesday, July 4, 2007 My feeble attempt at fireworks photography. Last night our neighbors were celebrating the 4th of July. Click here to listen to us read this message on your audio player. "Free Indeed!" "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed" (John 8:36). Today is the Fourth of July and a very special day here in the United States of America. On this day each year we celebrate our national independence and especially celebrate the freedoms we enjoy here in the U.S. Last night Brooksyne, Ester, and I joined with others in our small group in the host's back yard for a study on the parables of Christ. We arranged our lawn chairs in a circle on their deck and were refreshed as we gathered in the great outdoors among the chirping birds, colorful flowers, and green trees that towered over us. I considered this morning, as I was thanking God for our freedoms, that we would not have been able to gather in such a way in many closed countries. As we opened with a hymn we sighted a young boy who was riding his bicycle next door. It was a pleasant, wholesome sight. But I consider that, had we been in a closed country, he very well could have been a spy and the entire group could have been reported to the authorities. We could have been arrested late into the evening. It happens on a regular basis in many godless places and we need to remain prayerful for those who hold to true faith in surroundings such as this. (See below for a link to a riveting testimony from a daily encouragement reader who has experienced such persecution.) As I prepare today's message I am aware that this devotional perspective goes all over the world and in many places July 4 is just another day. Readers live under various degrees of political and religious freedom. Most live in countries with relative freedom. Others live in places with religious oppression and in some cases outright persecution. However I really doubt if this material reaches those living in slavery, although millions live in such places. Today I want to share about a freedom that is available to all that is infinitely greater than any political or religious freedoms we may or may not enjoy for the present. One hundred or one thousand years into eternity I suspect that where we lived during our brief earthly sojourn will be of little regard. In John 8 Jesus confronted the Pharisees and religious leaders of His day who had challenged His authority. The encounter specifically began when Jesus asserted, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12). The Pharisees challenged Jesus and the validity of His testimony and that has been at the heart of resistance to God's redemption plan ever since. Those who "hold" to His teaching are truly His disciples (v. 31). Jesus said to them "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:32). This especially insulted the proud Pharisees who responded, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?" (v. 34). But Jesus was speaking of a slavery that impacts the entire human race, from the richest to the poorest, from the most powerful to the weakest, from the most brilliant to the dullest mind, from the most politically free to the most oppressed. Slavery to sin! And this is the very slavery that Jesus came to free us from: "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." Today, are you free indeed? Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily Prayer: Father, how glorious it is to enjoy freedom from sin, thanks to the sacrifice of Your Son Jesus Christ on my behalf. My life, once enslaved to sin, now enjoys the freedom from that which once held me captive to Satan's bondage. I live in victory because You have set me free and I am now free indeed. Thank You, Father, for delivering me from the domain of darkness and transferring me into the kingdom of Your Son in whom I have redemption, the forgiveness of sin! Amen. The faith Of Donnie Lama The victorious testimony of a Daily Encouragement reader who has experienced persecution for standing up for Christ. Yesterday afternoon I helped my Amish friend Jesse put up his alfalfa hay. I used some muscles that I haven't used for awhile and am sure feeling it this morning, as well as some blisters on my hands. They cut, rake and bale the hay using machinery pulled by a mule team but for some reason they use the steel-wheeled tractor to pull the full wagons into the barn. I wonder how many readers have driven an authentic Amish steel-wheeled tractor! Ester joined me on the hay wagon as I took the hay to be stored in the barn. Amish mule team Today's suggested music: "I am free" (listen) up-beat contemporary "He Set Me Free" (listen) urban "He Set me Free" (listen) country "He Set Me Free" (listen) real country Send an email message to Stephen and Brooksyne

Administration Information The Weber Family Stephen, Brooksyne & Ester "Our family wants to encourage you daily in your walk with Christ!" Personal Ministry Update Each weekday morning Brooksyne and I prepare these messages and distribute them at no cost to you and many others all over the world. Would you please consider a financial offering to support us in this encouragement ministry? Thanks! See here for details. Join: To receive these free "Daily Encouragement" devotionals each Monday-Friday through email see this page to subscribe. Cancel: To remove your address from this mailing list merely use the link placed by the mailing list software at the very bottom of each message. Weekly Version: The weekly version is designed for those who do not check their email regularly. It is merely the Friday message with a link to previous messages. To receive the free weekly version, send a blank email to this address. (To change addresses cancel your old address and then join again using your new address.) Please feel free to pass this message on! See permissions Daily Encouragement Net is an affiliate of Christianbook.com 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. Used by permission; and the King James Version. © Copyright 2007 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved Daily Encouragement Net 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 Contact us "Living securely today anchored in God's solid foundation" www.dailyencouragement.net

"Lessons From The Harvest"

xml Podcast feed A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation. Home · About Us · Archives · Donate · Podcast · Free email subscription Previous Message · Easy read/print edition Tuesday, July 3, 2007 A view from the combine of wheat being harvested. Click here for a larger photo with Scripture verse. Click here to listen to us read this message on your audio player. "Lessons From The Harvest" "The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor" (1 Corinthians 3:8). "When the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they ought to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest" (1 Corinthians 9:10). Yesterday afternoon my friend, Galen, called and told me they were harvesting the wheat on his farm. He knows I enjoy farming and invited me over. I climbed up into the combine and rode along with Galen's son, Darrel, for several rows harvesting 20 feet at a time. At one point we switched places and I operated the machine. I sure enjoyed the opportunity. It was a beautiful day and the harvesters were busy all throughout our area and worked late into the evening in the field behind our house. The field across the road is being harvested today. There's a very short window for wheat harvest and when the crop is ready you don't delay. Harvest time is a very busy but joyful time for farmers. Harvest is a word used all through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. In the Old Testament it is generally used in a literal sense. In the New Testament it is used mostly in a figurative sense such as when Jesus said, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." Today the harvest remains plentiful and in many ways the workers are still few. We need to be among those who hear His call and go out to the harvest fields. It's a real blessing to have a role in the spiritual harvest! Whether it's an impact upon an individual or a group it's just great to see people respond to God's love. I know there are so many who I am working with in the harvest; some whom I am aware of, but many, many others whom I am not. One of the vital truths I have learned in ministry is the principle of the cooperative harvest. Jesus commissioned His church to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth. His great command was not spoken to them as individuals but to the entire group. Although we certainly express this obedience individually we must remember that the fulfillment of the Great Commission requires a cooperative effort. Consider the statement in the daily text. "The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose." Planting, watering, reaping; all are part of the process with the goal being a bountiful harvest, agriculturally and spiritually. That is our "one purpose." Any life impacted for Christ and eternity is done so by the cooperative harvest. The plowman and the thresher both have equal hope of sharing in the harvest. One may have the joyful privilege of leading an individual in a prayer of repentance and faith in Christ, but many others have had a part both seen and unseen. A dedicated Sunday School teacher, a praying aunt, a careful translator, a generous contributor to the literature ministry, a Christian songwriter, even that one who might have been mocked and rejected several months earlier when he tried to witness. And after the prayer of commitment is made consider the many who have a part in the discipling and spiritual formation as we grow in grace in preparation for the final harvest. What's your part in the harvest today? Let us each be found faithful! Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily prayer: Father, we thank You that we're part of Your overall plan to harvest souls into the kingdom of heaven. Open our eyes and burden our hearts as we look at the field of souls ripe for harvest. Show us ways in which we can enlarge our circle of influence. What a joy it is to see believers grow in their faith as we diligently plant seeds of salvation and water them with truths from Your Holy Word and by our Christian testimony. Amen. Bringing in the harvest. Darrel had company later in the day as his girlfriend went along for the ride. That must have been a neat date! As we were completing today's message the wheat harvest began across the road from our home. What a great sight and sound! Whole wheat bread! Many years ago when I pastored in upstate Pennsylvania during a mission convention we used a video with an incredible message that was based on the harvest. I have searched for it for years but had been unable to find it. I tried again today and I found it! It is a powerful demonstration of the power of the cooperative harvest. The Harvest By Randolf Productions Inc An award-winning film praised by Josh McDowell: "You walk away feeling, 'I can make a difference!'" Witness the struggle of a North Dakota family suffering the loss of their father, and the blessing of their community rallying to help them harvest their farm without him. The season to gather in the crops has arrived, but in the midst of crisis, only a young boy's prayer can save The Harvest. Based on a true story, this powerful modern-day parable will inspire you to commit your energy and talents to reach the world for Christ---one person at a time. Suggested music: We work the field of souls, together you and I. Some fields are blooming now, other fields are dry. We are not the same, but differences aside, We will work the fields, together you and I. One is off to foreign soil to work a distant land, Another anchors close to home to hold a neighbor's hand. Who has served the Father most and who has labored best? That life devoted to our God, that devotion will be blessed. One shouts the gospel in the streets for everyone to hear. He's bold to everyone he meets and the Word is loud and clear. Another cries alone and prays in silence on her knees. Before the throne from day to day where human eyes don't see. * * "Field of Souls" Wayne Watson © 1995 Word Music/Material Music. Here's a link to a great, but very brief audio clip of this song by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir that has often blessed me as I consider the spiritual harvest. "Bringing in the Sheaves" (country mountain instrumental) This is an old song I recall from childhood that i haven't hear sung in churches probably my entire adult life. I don't think it's probably in to many hymnals. A great joy is traveling with my Amish friend Jesse and waht a blessing to hear his young son Moses sing this song out over and over! Finally, I want to share a promise that I considered using as my text today which I have committed to memory and has often blessed me as I drive through the country whether in planting time or harvest. "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up" (Galatians 6:9). As I was finishing the work on today's message I got a call from my friend Jesse asking me to help him with the alfalfa harvest. It will be quite a contrast since we'll be using a mule team! Send an email message to Stephen and Brooksyne

Administration Information The Weber Family Stephen, Brooksyne & Ester "Our family wants to encourage you daily in your walk with Christ!" Personal Ministry Update Each weekday morning Brooksyne and I prepare these messages and distribute them at no cost to you and many others all over the world. Would you please consider a financial offering to support us in this encouragement ministry? Thanks! See here for details. Join: To receive these free "Daily Encouragement" devotionals each Monday-Friday through email see this page to subscribe. Cancel: To remove your address from this mailing list merely use the link placed by the mailing list software at the very bottom of each message. Weekly Version: The weekly version is designed for those who do not check their email regularly. It is merely the Friday message with a link to previous messages. To receive the free weekly version, send a blank email to this address. (To change addresses cancel your old address and then join again using your new address.) Please feel free to pass this message on! See permissions Daily Encouragement Net is an affiliate of Christianbook.com 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. Used by permission; and the King James Version. © Copyright 2007 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved Daily Encouragement Net 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 Contact us "Living securely today anchored in God's solid foundation" www.dailyencouragement.net

"The Mansion Builder"

xml Podcast feed A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation. Home · About Us · Archives · Donate · Podcast · Free email subscription Previous Message · Easy read/print edition Monday, July 2, 2007 Lancaster County earthly mansion (Photo for heavenly mansion is unavailable) Click here to listen to us read this message on your audio player. "The Mansion Builder" "In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you" (John 14:2). "For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God" (Hebrews 11:10). "Being confidant of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it out to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:6). Last night we slept in our tent in our front lawn, at least till we woke up at 4:00 AM and went inside due to the cold. We're considering going camping this summer and since we haven't been for years I wanted to see if the tent still worked OK. It sure did! Several weeks go we had a "Parade of Homes" here in Lancaster County. This is an opportunity for home builders and owners to show off their properties to the general public, most of whom really have no intention of buying. They’re just curious. The other night in our Home Bible Study two elderly ladies who sure aren't in the market for a mansion on this side of eternity were describing a huge mansion-like home built out our way that was in the Parade of Homes. By their colorful description it must have been quite a "cottage"! As the old song says, "A tent or a cottage, why should I care? They're building a palace for me over there." God is the Master Builder. "By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible" (Hebrews 11:3). He's still at work building His church and transforming the individual lives of the millions that are daily turning to Him in faith and obedience. He's also at work in preparing a place that people of faith through the generations have been anticipating. In the first daily text I rejoice in the line that states, "if it were not so, I would have told you." Jesus always tells us the truth and just what we need to know. Today, we, like the great man of faith Abraham, "look forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God." We only have glimpses of what this "city" will be like, but we can be assured it will be indescribably wonderful. "For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come" (Hebrews 13:14). Today on the personal level some of you are dealing with what appears to be a lapse in the building program. At times it may even seem that God has abandoned His building project in your life. Your prayers seem to be unanswered. Issues in your life aren't getting resolved as you would like. There may be strife in your marriage and home. Some are dealing with a long-standing stronghold of pornography or other addictions they're seeking to overcome. Others are dealing with lengthy career transitions that have thus far not worked out as they had anticipated. What issue are you dealing with today? Don't give up. Hold to your faith! Here's a promise that we can all count on, "He who began a good work in you will carry it out to completion!" Fellow believer, wherever you live, whatever you're going through; stay faithful to the Mansion Builder, for the Mansion Builder is ever faithful to us. "Do not throw away your confidence, for it will be richly rewarded." "Why should I worry, why should I fret, Cause I've got a Mansion Builder who ain't through with me yet." * Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily prayer: Lord Jesus thank you for the absolute truthfulness of your words. We can rely upon your promises even when the temporal evidence we are experiencing suggests otherwise. Thank you for the promises in Scripture concerning our eternal home. Help us as we deal with what your word says are "our light and momentary troubles" and to recognize that they are "achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." Today "we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." (Prayer based on 2 Corinthians 4:16-18) Recommended Resource Money, Possessions and Eternity, Revised and Updated By Randy Alcorn/Tyndale House Suggested music to reinforce today's theme: "Mansion Builder" (audio) "I've Got A Mansion" (audio) "A Child of the King" (audio) As I was searching for an audio of this song I came also across this story. Words Listen to audio Our earthly home Send an email message to Stephen and Brooksyne

Administration Information The Weber Family Stephen, Brooksyne & Ester "Our family wants to encourage you daily in your walk with Christ!" Personal Ministry Update Each weekday Brooksyne and I prepare these messages and distribute them at no cost to you and many others all over the world. Would you please consider a financial offering to support us in this encouragement ministry? See here for details. Join: To receive these free "Daily Encouragement" devotionals each Monday-Friday through email see this page to subscribe. Cancel: To remove your address from this mailing list merely use the link placed by the mailing list software at the very bottom of each message. Weekly Version: The weekly version is designed for those who do not check their email regularly. It is merely the Friday message with a link to previous messages. To receive the free weekly version, send a blank email to this address. (To change addresses cancel your old address and then join again using your new address.) Please feel free to pass this message on! See permissions Daily Encouragement Net is an affiliate of Christianbook.com 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. Used by permission; and the King James Version. © Copyright 2007 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved Daily Encouragement Net 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 Contact us "Living securely today anchored in God's solid foundation" www.dailyencouragement.net