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Monday, September 1, 2008
Pond view on our evening walk
Yesterday afternoon, for the first time since her ankle break in May, Brooksyne was able to walk our full customary 2 mile walk on the uneven trail. Seeing the duck pond again was a pleasant sight and we share that view with our readers today.
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Monday, September 1, 2008
"Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!" (Proverbs 6:6).
Today is Labor Day here in the US and, although it may not be a holiday where all of our readers live, today's theme will be applicable to readers everywhere. In the daily text Solomon is teaching the value of labor with a rather harsh rebuke to the sluggard.
I
recall a teaching moment from my dad as a small child. We were out
visiting a public place in the Kansas City area where large black ants
were lining the sidewalk. My dad saw me step on one and corrected me
explaining they were living as God intended and were not harming us in
any way.
Edward O. Wilson is a professor at Harvard University and the world's foremost authority in myrmecology which is the study of ants. I recall an article of his in Reader's Digest many years ago and I marvel that anyone would devote their lives to such a study. His 736-page book "The Ants" is the standard work on the little critter and he has since written a sequel titled "Journey to the Ants"!
King Solomon also found the ant an interesting point of observation and we find in his observation another timeless lesson from God's Word. Solomon said "go" and "consider". Well, you rarely have to "go" out of your way to see ants since regardless of where you may live, ants also inhabit nearby.
But taking the time to "consider" the ant's ways takes some effort. Solomon was sure good at that for we read that "he described plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls. He also taught about animals and birds, reptiles and fish" (1 Kings 4:33). Benjamin Franklin observed that "none preaches better than the ant, and she says nothing."
Join me in considering the ways of the ant today:
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer: Father, help us to be teamworkers who are diligent, prepared, strong, resourceful and wise in all our endeavors. These characteristics common to the ant are of great benefit to us as we follow Your daily leading in our lives. We thank You for the ability to work physically and to enjoy the reward of our labor. We're grateful to You for supplying all that we have need of. Amen.
Personal note: We got home from our trip to New England late Thursday afternoon. Due to morning work Friday we were unable to prepare a fresh message for Daily Encouragement.
Yesterday afternoon, for the first time since her ankle break in May, Brooksyne was able to walk our full customary 2 mile walk on the uneven trail. Seeing the duck pond again was a pleasant sight and we share that view with our readers today.
Listen to
us share this message on your
audio player.Monday, September 1, 2008
"Considering The Ant"
"Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!" (Proverbs 6:6).
Today is Labor Day here in the US and, although it may not be a holiday where all of our readers live, today's theme will be applicable to readers everywhere. In the daily text Solomon is teaching the value of labor with a rather harsh rebuke to the sluggard.
I
recall a teaching moment from my dad as a small child. We were out
visiting a public place in the Kansas City area where large black ants
were lining the sidewalk. My dad saw me step on one and corrected me
explaining they were living as God intended and were not harming us in
any way.Edward O. Wilson is a professor at Harvard University and the world's foremost authority in myrmecology which is the study of ants. I recall an article of his in Reader's Digest many years ago and I marvel that anyone would devote their lives to such a study. His 736-page book "The Ants" is the standard work on the little critter and he has since written a sequel titled "Journey to the Ants"!
King Solomon also found the ant an interesting point of observation and we find in his observation another timeless lesson from God's Word. Solomon said "go" and "consider". Well, you rarely have to "go" out of your way to see ants since regardless of where you may live, ants also inhabit nearby.
But taking the time to "consider" the ant's ways takes some effort. Solomon was sure good at that for we read that "he described plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls. He also taught about animals and birds, reptiles and fish" (1 Kings 4:33). Benjamin Franklin observed that "none preaches better than the ant, and she says nothing."
Join me in considering the ways of the ant today:
- The ant demonstrates teamwork. Rev. Mackay, a missionary to Uganda, Africa tells how that one day he saw a colony of soldier ants suspend themselves by their bodies joined together. They were extending from the ground upward through the air to a piece of meat suspended from a branch of a tree, thus forming a sort of Jacob's ladder of themselves. Upon this ladder the feebler members of the ant colony climbed, and supplied their wants!
- The ant demonstrates diligence. They are busy in the work God created for them.
- The ant demonstrates preparation. "They store up their food in the summer" (Proverbs 30:25).
- The ant demonstrates strength. An ant lifts a load many, many times its own weight — I read that a man would have to lift a diesel locomotive and carry it on his back to compare with that of the ant!
- The ant demonstrates resourcefulness. A biologist tells how he watched an ant carrying a piece of straw and came to a crack in the earth that was too wide for it to cross. The ant remained still for a time, as though pondering the situation, then put the straw across the crack and walked over upon it!
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer: Father, help us to be teamworkers who are diligent, prepared, strong, resourceful and wise in all our endeavors. These characteristics common to the ant are of great benefit to us as we follow Your daily leading in our lives. We thank You for the ability to work physically and to enjoy the reward of our labor. We're grateful to You for supplying all that we have need of. Amen.
Personal note: We got home from our trip to New England late Thursday afternoon. Due to morning work Friday we were unable to prepare a fresh message for Daily Encouragement.
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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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Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA
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