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"For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring Word of God" (1 Peter 1:23).
Today is my spiritual birthday. Thirty-four years ago today I placed my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. Several months earlier I had been confronted with the Gospel through the witness of my older brother. At that time he urged me to accept Christ, but I initially rejected Christ's claims on my life.
For the next several months the Holy Spirit worked in my life to convict me of my sin and need for Christ. On Sunday evening August 22, 1971 I reluctantly went to an evangelistic service in a convention hall in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. The Holy Spirit dealt with my heart that night and I accepted Jesus Christ into my life and became "born again".
In our daily text Peter is writing to the believers in the first century church. Like us, they had never seen Christ during His earthly ministry (1 Peter 1:8) but at the proclamation of the gospel they had believed in Him for their salvation. Peter says they had been "born again", a term first used by Jesus when He witnessed to Nicodemus (John 3). This is one of the Biblical terms used for conversion.
This new birth was "not of perishable seed, but of imperishable." This indicates the spiritual, eternal dimension of the work of the Spirit and Word of God in our lives.
Note these two powerful qualities of God's Word:
1) The Word of God is living. The writer of Hebrews uses this very phrase when he says the "word of God is living" (4:12). The living God imparts spiritual life through His living Word. I once read the story of a street evangelist who had placed his hat on the ground and drew a crowd by pointing at it and shouting, "it's alive". When a group had gathered around him he lifted up his hat to reveal a Bible!
2) The Word of God is enduring. The Psalmist wrote, "All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal" (119:160). No other written work comes even remotely close to the Bible in its enduring qualities. Peter concludes the chapter with this powerful truth: "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever." And this is the word that was preached to you.
Today we join hundreds of millions of believers around the world who will be reading and applying the truths of Scripture to our lives. Many will be proclaiming this life-giving Word to others as I am through this encouragement message. And today scores of highly dedicated translators will be working in the remotest areas of the world to translate God's Word so that all might know God's love.
Praise God for the "living and enduring Word of God"! Continue to subject yourself to its life-giving qualities and present them to others!
Be encouraged today,
Stephen C. Weber
Brooksyne's Prayer - "O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come! How powerful and enduring Your Word is. It is living, relevant and active in the lives of believers all over the globe. It is more than print on a page, for the Word of God penetrates the heart; guiding, instructing, convicting, delighting, comforting and performing the supernatural work of God in our lives. Increase our love and passion for reading Your Word faithfully so that we may grow in understanding and appreciation for all You have to show us. In Jesus' Name, Amen."
I am aware that most readers have already placed their faith in Christ and accepted Him as their personal Savior. However you may be reading this and realize that this is a step you need to take. Here is a concise presentation of the Gospel with a challenge to receive Christ. I pray that every reader will be a faithful follower of Christ!
PS: The night I gave my heart to the Lord an evangelist by the name of Lowell Lundstrom spoke. Thankfully his ministry is still reaching people for Christ!
Hymn Sing – This last Friday night we had a hymn sing in my Amish neighbor's barn. It was quite an experience! We had invited the neighbors, friends from church and even had mentioned it on this daily encouragement site. I was expecting about 25 people since it was invitations by word of mouth, but the barn was practically full with over 100 people from many faith backgrounds, including several groups that had come though this site. But the largest group was from a church known as the "River Brethren".
Brooksyne and I led the service and as is their custom the men sat apart from the women in this group. They are known as plain people and dressed in a simple and very distinct manner and the men had really, really long beards. The elders sat right in the front and looked like the patriarchs. But my, O my, did this group sing! We didn't have nearly enough hymnbooks. Since it was large print there were groups of four sharing a book. Others knew the hymns by memory so they just sang from their heart. Since we were honoring the Amish tradition of "no instrumentation" we sang acapella. Ester claims she could hear us from the front of our house which is well over a quarter of a mile away.
At one point one of the River Brethren members chose a song that Brooksyne was not familiar with. One of them spoke out two lines of the song and then everyone sang those two lines, pausing in two line segments, as we sang all three verses of the song. We found out later this is the manner in which they learn songs. We began the service by praying the Lord's Prayer together and ended with a Scripture reading. It was a wonderful evening and we sure hope to have another one. Another interesting aspect to the service was that the only light was by gas lanterns! Since both ends of the old barn were open we had great ventilation.
Additional note from Brooksyne - It was an experience I'll never forget. I feel very privileged to have been a part of this unique service. I say "unique" in the sense that the Amish folks do not worship with the English. I asked a number of older "English" folks (those who are not Amish) who have lived here all their lives if they'd seen this kind of setting before. Each of them thought a bit and then responded that they had not. It was a coming together of different customs and even different cultures. But it turned into a blending of faiths as we united in one purpose – to glorify God. As I opened the hymn sing I shared some thoughts from Martin Luther.
Martin Luther believed that the reformation was not complete until the saints of God had two things in their possession: a Bible in their own tongue, and a hymnal, which they called a Psalter. He believed they needed the Bible that could lead them to a deeper understanding of their faith and a companion volume that would help them express with joy and delight the depths of their faith. When these two elements are blended together they bring glory and praise to God: the declaration of the doctrines that deepen our roots in Biblical truth, and then the expression of our faith in melody as it flows from our lips and our voices in song.
Here's some information on the "River Brethren"
Monday,
August 22, 2005
"The Living and Enduring Word of God"
"The Living and Enduring Word of God"
"For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring Word of God" (1 Peter 1:23).
Today is my spiritual birthday. Thirty-four years ago today I placed my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. Several months earlier I had been confronted with the Gospel through the witness of my older brother. At that time he urged me to accept Christ, but I initially rejected Christ's claims on my life.
For the next several months the Holy Spirit worked in my life to convict me of my sin and need for Christ. On Sunday evening August 22, 1971 I reluctantly went to an evangelistic service in a convention hall in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. The Holy Spirit dealt with my heart that night and I accepted Jesus Christ into my life and became "born again".
In our daily text Peter is writing to the believers in the first century church. Like us, they had never seen Christ during His earthly ministry (1 Peter 1:8) but at the proclamation of the gospel they had believed in Him for their salvation. Peter says they had been "born again", a term first used by Jesus when He witnessed to Nicodemus (John 3). This is one of the Biblical terms used for conversion.
This new birth was "not of perishable seed, but of imperishable." This indicates the spiritual, eternal dimension of the work of the Spirit and Word of God in our lives.
Note these two powerful qualities of God's Word:
1) The Word of God is living. The writer of Hebrews uses this very phrase when he says the "word of God is living" (4:12). The living God imparts spiritual life through His living Word. I once read the story of a street evangelist who had placed his hat on the ground and drew a crowd by pointing at it and shouting, "it's alive". When a group had gathered around him he lifted up his hat to reveal a Bible!
2) The Word of God is enduring. The Psalmist wrote, "All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal" (119:160). No other written work comes even remotely close to the Bible in its enduring qualities. Peter concludes the chapter with this powerful truth: "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever." And this is the word that was preached to you.
Today we join hundreds of millions of believers around the world who will be reading and applying the truths of Scripture to our lives. Many will be proclaiming this life-giving Word to others as I am through this encouragement message. And today scores of highly dedicated translators will be working in the remotest areas of the world to translate God's Word so that all might know God's love.
Praise God for the "living and enduring Word of God"! Continue to subject yourself to its life-giving qualities and present them to others!
Be encouraged today,
Stephen C. Weber
Brooksyne's Prayer - "O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come! How powerful and enduring Your Word is. It is living, relevant and active in the lives of believers all over the globe. It is more than print on a page, for the Word of God penetrates the heart; guiding, instructing, convicting, delighting, comforting and performing the supernatural work of God in our lives. Increase our love and passion for reading Your Word faithfully so that we may grow in understanding and appreciation for all You have to show us. In Jesus' Name, Amen."
I am aware that most readers have already placed their faith in Christ and accepted Him as their personal Savior. However you may be reading this and realize that this is a step you need to take. Here is a concise presentation of the Gospel with a challenge to receive Christ. I pray that every reader will be a faithful follower of Christ!
PS: The night I gave my heart to the Lord an evangelist by the name of Lowell Lundstrom spoke. Thankfully his ministry is still reaching people for Christ!
Hymn Sing – This last Friday night we had a hymn sing in my Amish neighbor's barn. It was quite an experience! We had invited the neighbors, friends from church and even had mentioned it on this daily encouragement site. I was expecting about 25 people since it was invitations by word of mouth, but the barn was practically full with over 100 people from many faith backgrounds, including several groups that had come though this site. But the largest group was from a church known as the "River Brethren".
Brooksyne and I led the service and as is their custom the men sat apart from the women in this group. They are known as plain people and dressed in a simple and very distinct manner and the men had really, really long beards. The elders sat right in the front and looked like the patriarchs. But my, O my, did this group sing! We didn't have nearly enough hymnbooks. Since it was large print there were groups of four sharing a book. Others knew the hymns by memory so they just sang from their heart. Since we were honoring the Amish tradition of "no instrumentation" we sang acapella. Ester claims she could hear us from the front of our house which is well over a quarter of a mile away.
At one point one of the River Brethren members chose a song that Brooksyne was not familiar with. One of them spoke out two lines of the song and then everyone sang those two lines, pausing in two line segments, as we sang all three verses of the song. We found out later this is the manner in which they learn songs. We began the service by praying the Lord's Prayer together and ended with a Scripture reading. It was a wonderful evening and we sure hope to have another one. Another interesting aspect to the service was that the only light was by gas lanterns! Since both ends of the old barn were open we had great ventilation.
Additional note from Brooksyne - It was an experience I'll never forget. I feel very privileged to have been a part of this unique service. I say "unique" in the sense that the Amish folks do not worship with the English. I asked a number of older "English" folks (those who are not Amish) who have lived here all their lives if they'd seen this kind of setting before. Each of them thought a bit and then responded that they had not. It was a coming together of different customs and even different cultures. But it turned into a blending of faiths as we united in one purpose – to glorify God. As I opened the hymn sing I shared some thoughts from Martin Luther.
Martin Luther believed that the reformation was not complete until the saints of God had two things in their possession: a Bible in their own tongue, and a hymnal, which they called a Psalter. He believed they needed the Bible that could lead them to a deeper understanding of their faith and a companion volume that would help them express with joy and delight the depths of their faith. When these two elements are blended together they bring glory and praise to God: the declaration of the doctrines that deepen our roots in Biblical truth, and then the expression of our faith in melody as it flows from our lips and our voices in song.
Here's some information on the "River Brethren"
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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.
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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