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"Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless" (Ecclesiastes 5:10). "A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions" (Luke 12:15).
When
we lived in New England we were only 40 minutes from the Atlantic so it
was not unusual to see large boats in people's driveways. Boat owners
often name their boats and one that intrigued me was a boat I passed
frequently named, "Never Enough". I don't know whether the owner's
message was expressing, "There's never enough time to enjoy this boat"
(since it was always in the driveway when I passed by), or was the name
expressing, "I want a bigger boat, this one is not big enough." (Note: The boat pictured to the left is not the same boat as we saw in New England.)
It occurred to me that "never enough" could very well be the motto of the human race. At least here in the prosperous west, even during a time that we're told our economy is like the great depression, people have and want more. We're satisfied only for a short time with our possessions. Today's first verse, although from King Solomon some 3,000 years ago, is a timeless indisputable truth. "Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless."
Jesus made the statement in the second daily text, "A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." Wouldn't that be a great message to place on billboards leading into every city for commuters to read? Can you imagine if it was posted at the entrance to malls! It certainly is a powerful spiritual truth that every earnest believer should memorize and regularly call to mind.
However I believe many people live just the opposite. They live as if a person's life consists solely for the abundance of his or her possessions. You've probably heard the phrase, "He who dies with the most toys wins." Need I say here, that's NOT true.
A bizarre and tragic example of such a fool-hardy philosophy is the story I read recently of a Las Vegas woman who died amidst her "stacked to the ceiling" possessions. She was reported as missing and four months later her dead body was finally discovered buried among the piles of stuff.
Following His statement about the "abundance of possessions" Jesus told a parable about a man who enjoyed an abundant harvest so he built bigger barns and then felt satisfied and secure in his possessions. He sat back, propped his feet up and said, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry."
"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."
From the beginning Satan has tormented the human race with the false notion, "That which God has provided is never quite enough." His crafty lie to Adam and Eve got their eyes off the vast array of trees and plants that was theirs to enjoy; all a gift from God, planted by the supernatural hand of God in the garden of Eden. These would provide outstanding beauty, needed shelter, and physical provision for all of eternity.
But one audience with Satan and suddenly the single forbidden tree became overwhelmingly irresistible. They no longer saw the vast permissible garden but their eyes were fixed on the one forbidden tree. As a result they fell for the lie and our fallen human race has been doing so ever since.
Today let us declare, "Enough."
• Enough that God loves me and has a wonderful plan for my life.
• Enough that Jesus died for my sins.
• Enough that I'm on my way to heaven.
• Enough that I have people that love me and accept me.
We'll stop right here, but we could go on and on and so could you. Let us rejoice today that God's provision for His children is always more than enough!
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer: Father, all I have needed Your hand has provided. Help me to live with a grateful heart in constant assurance that You are more than enough! Your goodness overflows in my life, so much so, that I certainly don't want to hoard Your blessings, but share them with others. Keep me mindful of those who are needy so that I can share Your goodness with them. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Saturday we went to the annual "Mushroom Festival"
in Kennett Square Pennsylvania.
Kennett
Square, Pennsylvania bills itself as the mushroom capital of the world.
Indeed 40% of US mushroom production is from this area and 65% of all
US production is from Pennsylvania. Since I was a little boy my
favorite soup was "Cream Of Mushroom" and I enjoy mushrooms in a
variety of dishes so I was interested in seeing how mushrooms are grown.
(In some cases you may also need to click again to start the song.)
"Enough" Video Chris Tomlin
"My Faith Has Found A Resting Place" Video Adrian Pressley
"He's All You Need" Video Steve Camp We dedicate this song today to a friend who is going through a rough time and to those who may feel lonely.
He's All I Need" Video The Kingsmen
Mushroom Festival
Today's photo of a Hibiscus bloom was taken at Longwood Gardens, which Brooksyne visited this weekend as well. She will share more of her photos from that visit tomorrow.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Hibiscus bloom at Longwood Gardens
Hibiscus bloom at Longwood Gardens
"Never Enough"
"Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless" (Ecclesiastes 5:10). "A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions" (Luke 12:15).
When
we lived in New England we were only 40 minutes from the Atlantic so it
was not unusual to see large boats in people's driveways. Boat owners
often name their boats and one that intrigued me was a boat I passed
frequently named, "Never Enough". I don't know whether the owner's
message was expressing, "There's never enough time to enjoy this boat"
(since it was always in the driveway when I passed by), or was the name
expressing, "I want a bigger boat, this one is not big enough." (Note: The boat pictured to the left is not the same boat as we saw in New England.)It occurred to me that "never enough" could very well be the motto of the human race. At least here in the prosperous west, even during a time that we're told our economy is like the great depression, people have and want more. We're satisfied only for a short time with our possessions. Today's first verse, although from King Solomon some 3,000 years ago, is a timeless indisputable truth. "Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless."
Jesus made the statement in the second daily text, "A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." Wouldn't that be a great message to place on billboards leading into every city for commuters to read? Can you imagine if it was posted at the entrance to malls! It certainly is a powerful spiritual truth that every earnest believer should memorize and regularly call to mind.
However I believe many people live just the opposite. They live as if a person's life consists solely for the abundance of his or her possessions. You've probably heard the phrase, "He who dies with the most toys wins." Need I say here, that's NOT true.
A bizarre and tragic example of such a fool-hardy philosophy is the story I read recently of a Las Vegas woman who died amidst her "stacked to the ceiling" possessions. She was reported as missing and four months later her dead body was finally discovered buried among the piles of stuff.
Following His statement about the "abundance of possessions" Jesus told a parable about a man who enjoyed an abundant harvest so he built bigger barns and then felt satisfied and secure in his possessions. He sat back, propped his feet up and said, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry."
"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."
From the beginning Satan has tormented the human race with the false notion, "That which God has provided is never quite enough." His crafty lie to Adam and Eve got their eyes off the vast array of trees and plants that was theirs to enjoy; all a gift from God, planted by the supernatural hand of God in the garden of Eden. These would provide outstanding beauty, needed shelter, and physical provision for all of eternity.
But one audience with Satan and suddenly the single forbidden tree became overwhelmingly irresistible. They no longer saw the vast permissible garden but their eyes were fixed on the one forbidden tree. As a result they fell for the lie and our fallen human race has been doing so ever since.
Today let us declare, "Enough."
• Enough that God loves me and has a wonderful plan for my life.
• Enough that Jesus died for my sins.
• Enough that I'm on my way to heaven.
• Enough that I have people that love me and accept me.
We'll stop right here, but we could go on and on and so could you. Let us rejoice today that God's provision for His children is always more than enough!
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer: Father, all I have needed Your hand has provided. Help me to live with a grateful heart in constant assurance that You are more than enough! Your goodness overflows in my life, so much so, that I certainly don't want to hoard Your blessings, but share them with others. Keep me mindful of those who are needy so that I can share Your goodness with them. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Saturday we went to the annual "Mushroom Festival"
in Kennett Square Pennsylvania.
Kennett
Square, Pennsylvania bills itself as the mushroom capital of the world.
Indeed 40% of US mushroom production is from this area and 65% of all
US production is from Pennsylvania. Since I was a little boy my
favorite soup was "Cream Of Mushroom" and I enjoy mushrooms in a
variety of dishes so I was interested in seeing how mushrooms are grown.Here is a mushroom bed. I ate one of these picked right off the top.
I took a tour of a mushroom farm. A bus took us out of town to the Pietro Mushroom farm which has seventy mushroom houses that grow 20,000,000 pounds of mushrooms a year. The mushrooms are grown in very tightly maintained climate conditions on these beds.
They had lots of food at the Festival and of course many dishes made with mushrooms, some rather unusual. Brooksyne and I shared breaded mushrooms, delicious cream of mushroom soup and a portabella mushroom sandwich. But our most daring dish was a bowl of cream of mushroom ice cream! It was quite tasty (the frozen mushrooms tasted like nuts).
I took a tour of a mushroom farm. A bus took us out of town to the Pietro Mushroom farm which has seventy mushroom houses that grow 20,000,000 pounds of mushrooms a year. The mushrooms are grown in very tightly maintained climate conditions on these beds.
They had lots of food at the Festival and of course many dishes made with mushrooms, some rather unusual. Brooksyne and I shared breaded mushrooms, delicious cream of mushroom soup and a portabella mushroom sandwich. But our most daring dish was a bowl of cream of mushroom ice cream! It was quite tasty (the frozen mushrooms tasted like nuts).
At
the festival we met up with Mark Pulliam, a long-time friend who was my
supervisor about eight years ago at a chaplaincy job I had at the time.
Mark now serves as a hospice chaplain.
On
the way back home Saturday afternoon we passed the National Christmas
Center along Route 30 east of Lancaster, where our friend Ashley works.
We took a mini-tour and were inspired by the Biblical account of our
Savior's birth. Ashley is a college student, dedicated believer, and
faithful servant in our church.
Today's
Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
Click
on the link to open and play.(In some cases you may also need to click again to start the song.)
"Enough" Video Chris Tomlin
"My Faith Has Found A Resting Place" Video Adrian Pressley
"It is enough that Jesus died,
and that He died for me!"
and that He died for me!"
"He's All You Need" Video Steve Camp We dedicate this song today to a friend who is going through a rough time and to those who may feel lonely.
He's All I Need" Video The Kingsmen
Mushroom Festival
Today's photo of a Hibiscus bloom was taken at Longwood Gardens, which Brooksyne visited this weekend as well. She will share more of her photos from that visit tomorrow.
Send
a message to Stephen &
Brooksyne.
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Text only version for printing: To make a text only version for printing (without photos or any of the supplemental materials)
1) Open the basic text editor that comes with all computers (known as wordpad, textpad, etc.) You can also use a program like Word and select paste text only.
2) Select and copy the text from the portion of the message you want to print.
3) Paste into the text pad. (The photos won't show up but you will have a brief text description of the photo which you can delete or just ignore.)
4) Format if you desire (change font, increase or decrease size, etc.)
5) Print!
Scripture
references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version.
© 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD
BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation,
New King James
Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the
King
James Version.
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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