Friday, July 13, 2007

"God's Instruction Manual"

A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation.


Previous Message · Easy read/print edition

Friday, July 13, 2007

Lancaster County Covered Bridge
Lancaster County Covered Bridge
Click here for a larger desktop version of this photo along with a Scripture verse.

ListenClick here to listen to us read this message on your audio player.

"God's Instruction Manual"

"And He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment--to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ" (Ephesians 1:9,10).

Several years ago there was an ad about a frustrated father who's trying to assemble a new bike for his daughter. He can't find the assembly instructions and he just can't figure out how to put it together. From upstairs his daughter observes his frustration and quickly runs to her computer and finds the assembly instructions on the internet, prints them out and lets them float down to her dad. He finds them and assumes he's just located the missing instructions. He follows the instruction manual and is able to put the bike together. She's a happy girl!

Consider the degree in which the human race has ignored and continues to ignore the most important instruction manual, the instruction manual of life from the Creator, the Holy Bible. This instruction manual is widely available. If you are reading this you almost certainly have access it. So do all those around you. Yet for the most part the Bible's instructions are ignored and considered irrelevant by "enlightened" modern man. Increasingly they are even mocked by many.

I prepare today's message from here in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, USA at my comfortable desk on a beautiful mid-summer day. This message will be transmitted to your computer using modern technology and will reach you in a matter of seconds after I submit it regardless of where you live in this world. That's astounding isn't it?

Paul wrote the Letter to the Ephesians almost 2000 years ago from prison, bound to a guard. Consider the effort he made to communicate God's truth "to the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus" (1:1). It surely took a lot of time for the message to be delivered and then read aloud as the people assembled in church. But my desire today is like Paul's and many, many others who have gone on before me and like many others who presently serve as ministers of God. I want to share a perspective from the main instruction manual.

The specific verse I have selected for daily comment is extremely rich. Consider merely the phrase "He made known to us." Thank God that He has spoken and made known His ways! Primarily and fundamentally we have His Son and the written Word of God.

"In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed Heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe" (Hebrews 11:2).

"You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:14-17).

God has clearly revealed His will and way. We have an absolutely adequate instruction manual that is so often left under-utilized or even unread, even by believers. Today in all the hustle and bustle of life consider and rejoice that the Almighty Maker of heaven and earth has spoken and has made known His will to the human race. Are you reading and heeding His instruction manual?


Be encouraged today,


Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Daily prayer: Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
(from Psalm 25)



Colorful flower arrangements
An assortment of Brooksyne's flower arrangements
from her garden she distributed yesterday.




Suggested music:
"Open the eyes of my heart"
"Word of God Speak"


Administration Information
Weber family photo 9/30/06
The Weber Family
Stephen, Brooksyne & Ester
"Our family wants to encourage you daily in your walk with Christ!"

Personal Ministry Update

Donate 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!


Daily Encouragement Net is an affiliate of Christianbook.com (Any orders placed to Christian Book Distributers using this link will help the Daily Encouragement ministry through a small commission.)

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
Chaplaincy logo

"Living securely today anchored
in God's solid foundation"


We want to share a brief update concerning our ministry for readers who may be interested. This is an opportunity for us to share our hearts with you as we go forth in this online ministry.

www.dailyencouragement.net

Thursday, July 12, 2007

"Feeding on God's Faithfulness"

A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation.


Previous Message · Easy read/print edition

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Rooster barn art
Yesterday in the course of my travels I passed this colorful barn that sits near a covered bridge. The other side of the barn has a colorful display of three young girls with the chickens. We've been told they're paintings of the farmer's granddaughters!

ListenClick here to listen to us read this message on your audio player.

"Feeding On God's Faithfulness"

"Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart" (Psalm 37:3,4).

We have had wonderful rains thus far this summer and as we approach mid-July we are surrounded by lush green fields. Among the beautiful sights out here in the country is seeing livestock grazing in an open field. Around the corner from our home the farmer regularly lets his sheep feed in a field near the road. He apparently limits their access to this particular field as it is regularly lush and green. When I drive by I recall the wonderful description of "green pastures" in the Shepherd's Psalm.

We are all feeding on something. We of course need nutrition for our physical health, but we are also regularly feeding our soul and mind. An abundance of feed is available, some of which is absolutely destructive, while others are wholesome. On the internet I am but a few keystrokes away from spiritually enriching resources and edifying materials to feed on. But a dark, sinister world of destruction is also available on that very same screen.

The daily text contains a number of active injunctions. Psalm 37 is a psalm of David and begins with this command: "Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong." Consider today how much of our fretting in its many forms is a result of evil men or how we may tend to envy those who do wrong and yet prosper. We are soberly reminded of their temporality in verse 2, "like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away."

What is our response to be? The remainder of Psalm 37 elaborates beginning with the daily verse.

Trust, do good, dwell, feed and delight. But today I ponder on the phrase, "feed on His faithfulness." A green pasture of God's faithfulness has been set before all of us. We have a choice. We will be feeding on something. I believe "feeding on His faithfulness" involves orienting our perspective to God's steadfast love and care expressed in His faithfulness.

Faithfulness is one of God's great attributes taught and demonstrated throughout the Scriptures. Indeed let us feed on God's faithfulness today!


Be encouraged today,


Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Daily prayer: Father, You are the faithful, loving God on whom I can rely for everything that concerns me. You provide salvation, safety, shelter, and You satisfy my heart's desires when I feed upon Your Word. May I be found faithful in all things so that Your blessing will rest upon me and all that I do. Amen.



"Discovery Series Booklets" As noted in today's message the web has many spiritually edifying resources. Many individuals and organizations are using the internet as a ministry tool. Today we want to share a resource we have found and use often which is related to the devotional "Our Daily Bread" (mentioned in yesterday's message.) The Discovery Series are small topical booklets dealing with a wide range of issues and they are all available for reading online. We have used these resources extensively in our chaplaincy ministry, but also regularly get requests for help on this online ministry. Since we aren't equipped (or called for that matter) to ongoing "counseling" type interface over the internet we are able to point people to these resources.



Brooksyne's Note: "He's Been Faithful" is a song that powerfully describes God's faithfulness. It was written by Carol Cymbala, who is the director of the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, as a personal reflection. The words will touch your heart as you identify with the experiences of life that Carol wrote about in this moving song.



Additional resources:

The singular best treatment of the topic of the faithfulness of God that I ever recall reading is the chapter in A.W. Pink's book "The Attributes of God". This entire book is available for reading online (turn your speakers down as for some reason they have it set to play music). The chapter on the faithfulness of God is here. You can also purchase the book by visiting the following link.

67723: The Attributes of God, repackaged editionThe Attributes of God By Arthur W. Pink / Baker
A classic bestseller built on a timeless premise: Failure to understand God's character leads to a skewed perception of the Divine---one that is too often cast in our own image. Seeking to remedy this, Pink outlines 17 key characteristics of the Almighty, including his sovereignty, immutability, patience, love, and faithfulness.

As I considered the above book I also recall another formative book I read while in Bible College preparing for ministry that I highly recommend.

1650X: Knowing God: 20th Anniversary EditionKnowing God By J.I. Packer / Inter-varsity Press
J. I. Packer's Knowing God has become a classic of the Christian faith. Why? While it gives us information about God with clarity and grace, it does much more---it aids us in actually knowing him, in building our relationship with him, and helps draw us closer to him in love and worship.



Suggested music on feeding on God's faithfulness (audio clips)
"Faithful One"
"He's been Faithful"




1942 John Deere on trailer
Yesterday afternoon I helped a friend haul his John Deere tractor across the county. Since the rear wheels of the tractor were wider than the trailer we ran into some difficulty and ended up spending a good part of the afternoon on this project.


Administration Information
Weber family photo 9/30/06
The Weber Family
Stephen, Brooksyne & Ester
"Our family wants to encourage you daily in your walk with Christ!"

Personal Ministry Update

Donate 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!


Daily Encouragement Net is an affiliate of Christianbook.com (Any orders placed to Christian Book Distributers using this link will help the Daily Encouragement ministry through a small commission.)

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
Chaplaincy logo

"Living securely today anchored
in God's solid foundation"


We want to share a brief update concerning our ministry for readers who may be interested. This is an opportunity for us to share our hearts with you as we go forth in this online ministry.

www.dailyencouragement.net

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

"Daily Bread"

A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation.


Previous Message · Easy read/print edition

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Amish hay harvest
Amish hay harvest
Yesterday afternoon I helped out by pitching the hay bales back on the wagon to be stacked in the 90+ degree heat.
We were working near the Strasburg Railroad so we periodically heard the loud whistle of the steam engine.

ListenClick here to listen to us read this message on your audio player.

"Daily Bread"

"Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the Lord?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God" (Proverbs 30:8,9).

One of our favorite print devotionals is the booklet "Our Daily Bread." In the course of our ministry we have distributed thousands of copies and continue to do so. It's a blessing to see that people read them and find value in spiritual truths. Yesterday I was visiting in a home where we had given one of these booklets and saw that the wife had cut out selected pages and taped them to her kitchen cabinets as spiritual reminders!

The title "Our Daily Bread" is surely taken from the well-known words from the Lord's Prayer, "Give us this day our daily bread." However I wonder if our Lord might have also had the daily verse in mind when He shared His model prayer.

Proverb 30 records the sayings of Agur son of Jakeh even though most of the Proverbs were written by Solomon. What a timeless truth he expressed when he prayed the prayer that comprises our daily verse. He introduces this section with these words that reveal his prayerful heart, "Two things I ask of you, O LORD."

There are always dangers in the life of faith and one is the continuous tension between poverty and wealth. As I carefully and prayerfully consider today's verse I admit I have a hard time praying it myself. "Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread." I would desire riches over poverty and certainly more than just daily bread. I want my pantry to be filled and nice vehicles to drive!

But the basis of the prayer is easily observable and is just as appropriate today as three thousand years ago:

1) When things are going well and we're enjoying peace and prosperity it's very easy to forget that this world is not our home. We begin to cling to this temporal world and its values. Our heavenward focus is exchanged for an earthbound focus. Our eyes and thoughts begin to feast upon humankind instead of Almighty God. Agur put it this way: "I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the Lord?'"

2) On the other hand when things are tough we may resort to the arm of flesh (stealing in its many forms) to get by rather than trusting in the Lord. According to Agur we would, in this manner, "dishonor the name of my God."

The tendency for many of us who live in the prosperous regions is to consider those who have more than us to be rich and our economic classes reflect this. We look up the scale and then reckon ourselves "poor" comparatively. Most reading this do not even consider themselves as rich because we use the term "rich" for the very wealthy or at least those several notches up the scale from us. You may even be annoyed at me for pointing this out!

Bill Gates is my age and comparatively he is far, far wealthier in terms of this world's riches than I am. In fact his home is about 45 times larger than mine! I recently heard a contrasting story from a Christian bank president who grew up in India. He told his listeners about growing up in a house that was 8x10. Five people lived and slept in this house. My house is about 20 times larger than that!

But comparatively most of us are very rich when we consider the perspective of the tremendous poverty in many, many parts of the world, especially third-world countries. I have visited some of these countries and seen people that truly know the meaning of "daily bread." Most of us certainly have far more than "daily bread" don't we? Our food pantries and clothes closets are filled. We are "rich in this present world" (1 Timothy 6:17) and do well to regularly heed the cautions.

Today let us count our blessings, share generously from our bounty, and praise God from whom all blessings flow.


Be encouraged today,


Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Daily prayer: Father, You are the Giver of all good things. You have given us so much and we are indeed grateful. Move upon our hearts to be generous with our resources. When we're tempted to look at other's possessions in comparison to our own, may we always be mindful of those who have less rather than those who have more. This will help us to be more prayerful and generous toward those who are without. It will also help us to be less whining and more content with what we have. Amen.



Brooksyne's note: Our message today reminds me of a dear woman in our past congregation. Ester pretty much adopted her for a grandmother in absence of her own grandmothers who lived over 1000 miles away. Ester gave her many nice little gifts over the years since she had no children and it was a way of honoring her. She was very grateful and expressed it often. But shortly after receiving these gifts she would share them with others in her apartment complex who had very little. At first it slightly annoyed me, but then I came to realize that it was her generous spirit that couldn't resist sharing with others who had less than she. She not only shared her few possessions but she drove many who had
no other means of transportation and visited the needy and on and on the list goes. She continues to do this though she is now in her late seventies. She is an inspiration to me.



Further study: In my observation the Biblical warnings concerning the spiritual dangers to the rich exceed those concerning the spiritual dangers to the poor. Moses warned the people concerning this prior to the Conquest (Deuteronomy 8)
Jesus has numerous warnings to the rich including His famous warning about the eye of the needle.
The apostle Paul's most extensive address of this matter is in 1 Timothy 6.

The Treasure PrincipleThe Treasure Principle By Randy Alcorn / Multnomah
Jesus told a story about a hidden treasure that, once discovered, brought life-changing joy. In The Treasure Principle, Randy Alcorn unearths a simple yet profound principle that will radically change your concept of stewardship. Short on guilt, Alcorn illuminates the liberating joy of giving and its impact, not only for today but for eternity as well. A perennial bestseller, this revised edition includes a new concluding chapter, "31 Radical, Liberating Questions to Ask God About Your Giving."




"Our Daily Bread" This longstanding devotional series serves as a model for the layout of daily encouragement. I recall my Mom reading the "Our Daily Bread" from when I was a child right up to her passing. Most are familair with the little three month booklets but you can also read the messages online.



The Strasburg Railroad
Watch a video about the Strasburg Railroad. Here's a photo I took of the steam engine.



Farm pond
There's just nothing like a cool dip in the farm pond after field work!



Today's suggested music:
As I concluded today's message I included a portion of the Doxology, that wonderful, brief expression of praise sung all through Christ's Church.
  • In our area we periodically hear (and sing) an extended version of the Doxology that is known as the Mennonite Doxology
  • An interesting round version
  • A beautiful piano instrumental version.
  • A "contemporary" version.
Brooksyne suggests "Count Your Blessings" (this is not the version you will expect!)


Administration Information
Weber family photo 9/30/06
The Weber Family
Stephen, Brooksyne & Ester
"Our family wants to encourage you daily in your walk with Christ!"

Personal Ministry Update

Donate 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!


Daily Encouragement Net is an affiliate of Christianbook.com (Any orders placed to Christian Book Distributers using this link will help the Daily Encouragement ministry through a small commission.)

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
Chaplaincy logo

"Living securely today anchored
in God's solid foundation"


We want to share a brief update concerning our ministry for readers who may be interested. This is an opportunity for us to share our hearts with you as we go forth in this online ministry.

www.dailyencouragement.net

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

"Sustaining All Things"

A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation.


Previous Message · Easy read/print edition

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Rural sunrise
Rural Sunrise

ListenClick here to listen to us read this message on your audio player.

"Sustaining All Things"

"The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word" (Hebrews 1:3).

This morning I drove across the county before 5:00 AM. I was quite confident that I would see the sun rise and I was not disappointed. In fact I am certain that it rose wherever you live, although it might be obstructed by clouds. The sun's rising is among "all things" God sustains and we really give it little thought or worry.

Modern technology works because of the amazing consistency in the Creator's design and His sustaining. For instance the precise time in an atomic clock is measured by the cesium atom's natural frequency of exactly 9,192,631,770 oscillations or cycles of resonant frequency per second. The Cesium Atomic Clock has an accuracy of one second in one million years! God sustains this minute detail and yet most readers can't even comprehend its meaning (and neither can I, let alone how they come up with this!).

Airplanes fly because gravity is consistent. Can you imagine how terrifying flying would be if there were unpredictable gravity surges? Again, this is evidence of God's sustaining power.

Every phrase in today's Scripture is powerful and rich with meaning. But I want to focus on the latter portion that grips my heart today. The Son is "sustaining all things." There are many things we can focus on that will bring us anxiety and distress. It may be a personal health issue or a family matter. It may be our finances or the condition of the world with its turmoil and uncertainty.

We just don't know how these and many other issues will all work out. But we can experience great comfort in this eternal truth: God is sustaining all things by His powerful word! God is sustaining every single microchip and every single cell in my body and everyone else's body. In Colossians 1:17 we read, "In Him all things hold together." Psalm 107:15 states, "Oh that men would praise the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!"

The word "sustaining" is translated "upholding" in the KJV. The Amplified Bible seeks to bring out the richness of the Greek by stating "upholding and maintaining and guiding and propelling the universe by His mighty word of power." The Greek word (pheron) is in the present active indicating a concept that is dynamic, not static. The Son's work of sustaining involves not only support, but also movement. He is the One who carries all things forward on their appointed course.

The God who is sustaining all things certainly is also sustaining each one of us. He speaks through the prophet Isaiah to the ancient people of God and thus through the Scriptures to all of us: "Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all you who remain of the house of Israel, you whom I have upheld since you were conceived, and have carried since your birth" (Isaiah 46:3).

Truly, "He's got the whole world in His hands" and just as truly, "He's got you and me brother (and you and me sister) in His hands!" Rest in that wonderful assurance today. Raise your eyes heavenward and declare "I believe You are sustaining all things by Your powerful Word and You will accomplish what concerns me; Your lovingkindness, O LORD, is everlasting." (Based on Hebrews 1:3, Psalm 138:8.)


Be encouraged today,


Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Daily Prayer: Father, we are assured that You will guide and sustain us this day as we keep in step with Your Spirit. You satisfy our needs and give strength to the weary. Thank You for hearing our cries and saving us from our troubles. Thank You for being close to the brokenhearted and comforting those whose spirits have been crushed. Though we choose to live according to Your ways we know that we're not exempt from problems, so we are greatly encouraged to know that You, Father, solve them all and sustain us in the midst of them. Thank You faithful, holy and righteous One. Amen.



Information about the atomic clock



Suggested music:
As I was completing today's message a song came on WDAC, our local Christian radio station, that seems just right for today's topic. See if you agree!
"The Power Of Your Love" (Interesting version)
"He's Got The Whole World In His Hands" (children's version)


Administration Information
Weber family photo 9/30/06
The Weber Family
Stephen, Brooksyne & Ester
"Our family wants to encourage you daily in your walk with Christ!"

Personal Ministry Update

Donate 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!


Daily Encouragement Net is an affiliate of Christianbook.com (Any orders placed to Christian Book Distributers using this link will help the Daily Encouragement ministry through a small commission.)

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
Chaplaincy logo

"Living securely today anchored
in God's solid foundation"


We want to share a brief update concerning our ministry for readers who may be interested. This is an opportunity for us to share our hearts with you as we go forth in this online ministry.

www.dailyencouragement.net

Monday, July 09, 2007

"Faithful Servants"

A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation.


Previous Message · Easy read/print edition

Monday, July 9, 2007

Carol Menditto
Brooksyne along with Carol Menditto (right) and Lynn, who is the church secretary at Philadelphia Christian Center.

ListenClick here to listen to us read this message on your audio player.

"Faithful Servants"

"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).

Last Friday we went to a Memorial Service in the Philadelphia area. Following the service we drove by the campus of the Philadelphia Biblical University since we have some friends who attended in the past. Upon our return home I got lost in the sprawling Philadelphia area and kept relying on my sense of intuition to get back on a main highway, since I didn't want to stop and ask directions or look at a map!

We passed a huge and very busy casino and noticed across the street from it was a large church. I told Brooksyne "I think that's Phil Menditto's church". We turned around and sure enough it was the church where he is the pastor. We visited with an associate pastor who told us Phil was not in but gave us a tour of the church building. When we went into the sanctuary we saw Phil's wife, Carol, and had a nice visit.

Phil and Carol are friends from Bible College. Phil spoke in our church in northern Pennsylvania several times back in the 70's. He and his wife Carol started the church in Philadelphia in 1981. We recall speaking for them once when the church met in a Howard Johnson's Hotel. They had services in a large function room and used several of the motel rooms for nursery and classrooms. The agreement with the hotel was that they could use rooms without charge if they took those that had been occupied the night before and would clean them before leaving!

Over the years we haven't had a lot of contact with the Mendittos due to various ministry moves but we'd heard the church had really grown. It is now a large multi-racial, multi-ethnic congregation with believers from over 50 nations. The church has all kinds of programs unique to city ministry such as a feeding program to the homeless. They also have a hands-on Bible training program called Master's Commission among many other ministries.

We were so heartened by our visit and the evidence of God's blessing on this church and our friends. Planting a church in a hard place and sticking with it for over 25 years is worthy of honor. I know they had some real discouraging times early on and likely have all along, as is true of all Christian ministry. They surely became weary in doing good at times. There were setbacks and disappointments. But they pressed on in faithful service, didn't give up, and are now reaping a harvest with scores of souls they are impacting for Christ and eternity.

That's the joy of ministry and is available to all of us in service since the Word says, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Let us continue to be faithful servants!


Be encouraged today,


Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Daily prayer: Father, Your promise to bring forth a harvest to those of us who labor in Your vineyard gives us Scriptural motivation to never give up. In the process of planting gospel seeds we realize that many will not take root and germinate much like the seeds we plant in the fields. But there are others that will take hold of the life-giving Vine and spring forth into new life. Help us not to become weary by the numbers who fall by the wayside, but renew and strengthen our resolve to be faithful in service as we rejoice in those whose surrendered hearts have brought about changed lives! Amen.



Some more people in our life

Oberholser family
We had a pleasant reunion in church yesterday. Rebecca (picured with the baby) grew up in our church in northern Pennsylvania where her family attended and for many years I was her pastor. Her husband Jason grew up in southcentral Pennsylvania and for many years our present pastor, Bob Verno (right side in photo), was his pastor. Jason and Becky are serving the Lord together and considering missionary service. Last week we shared a message about the "Cooperative Harvest" and this is a demonstration of that concept. Rebecca's parents, Greg and Linda Burns, remain our friends to this day and we have seen them several times in recent years at weddings. We first met them when Greg was finishing at Penn State and moving to our area to work as the County Agricultural extension agent. At that time Rebecca was just a toddler.

Kim Garrett with Ester
Kim Garrett joined us for breakfast Saturday morning and then went for a long walk with Ester. Kim taught Ester when she attended a Christian school and continues to be a blessing to Ester years later.

Losey family
Jim is a friend of mine I periodically work with when I assist my friend Jesse in stonemason work. His family joined us in church yesterday and then came to our home for dinner. What a lovely family!



Suggested music: "Find Us faithful" Audio version 1 Audio version 2


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Weber family photo 9/30/06
The Weber Family
Stephen, Brooksyne & Ester
"Our family wants to encourage you daily in your walk with Christ!"

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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."

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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.

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