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Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Here is an early morning view from Kraybill Church Road in front of our home across the field to our Amish neighbor's farm in the distance with fog in the background. The green cover grass was planted following the corn harvest and will be harvested next spring.
(Click on photo to enlarge)
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"Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18).
Last
night we attended a banquet with some friends and heard a presentation
concerning the ministry of
"Faith and Action", which seeks to provide a witness for Christ to
leaders
in Washington, DC. Their headquarters is right across from the Supreme
Court and they made news recently when vandals toppled over an 850
pound granite sculpture of the Ten Commandments. The sculpture has been
restored and is a silent witness to the justices as they go into the
Supreme Court. The massive amount of security cameras in that area have
allowed them to identify the two men who toppled the sculpture (who
appear as though they could be Capitol Hill staffers). Faith and Action are giving
them an opportunity to come forward and join Rob Schenk, the leader of
the ministry, for a meal to talk over the matter rather than pressing charges.
For
20 years Rob Schenk has been a "missionary" to Washington seeking to
stand as a representative of Biblical truth to the secular powers. He
shared stories and fielded questions about his ministry and conditions
in Washington. Several weeks ago he was able to provide comfort and
counsel at the Naval Yard shooting. Each year the ministry has some
interesting outreaches such as a live nativity and Bible reading
marathon during the National Day of Prayer from the steps of the
Capitol.
We are thankful and pray for ministries like Faith and Action. They face much opposition in Washington. It seems the forces of darkness have always sought to quench the light and that's just what they experience.
Today's text will be familiar to many. It is our Lord's Word to Peter following his great confession of faith when he proclaimed, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus responded to this confession with a great promise: "Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). God's truth marches on. Nearly two thousand years have passed since He initially made the promise to Peter and the early disciples. And today the true church still makes this proclamation, which is at the heart of the Gospel. In fact it is the very foundation on which Christ has built His church.
Jesus promised that the gates of hell will not prevail against His church. It sure seems like they are prevailing at times doesn't it? And that's been the case all through the Church's history. We are reminded in our very day of the forces of hell seeking to destroy the church. The hateful, venomous threats and violent actions of the enemies of Christ are quite evident. Again today we especially consider our oppressed and persecuted brethren in many parts of the world. Please God, strengthen and remind them of Your promise: "The gates of hell will not prevail."
Wherever you live and whatever the conditions, rejoice today in this wonderful promise, "The gates of hell shall not prevail."
Be encouraged today!
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer: Father
today we pray for Your people all over the world; some who are enduring
great persecution for the cause of Christ. Grant to them a mighty
infusion of strength and assurance. Remind them of the prayers being
offered on their behalf from Your people and from the One who is ever
interceding. We pray Your blessings on those who serve in hard places
and who may be discouraged as well as those going through tough times
in their own personal life. Remind us all of Your promise that "the gates of hell shall not
prevail." In Jesus' Name we pray, Amen.
Thank you for all the feedback yesterday concerning our ministry
anniversary, Brooksyne's birthday and Ester's hospitalization. The
interest, encouragement and prayers are so appreciated!
Report on Ester: WE'RE
HOME! It's about 12:45 as of my writing. Ester has a little cough but
her high fevers and chills have been gone about 48 hours so she has
been discharged. Over the next week or two she will fully recover
and carefully monitored as she awaits an operation to replace the
defective atrial lead. At the present her pacer is programmed with only
the ventricle leads in operation. So we are being careful and prayerful
that she will not go into flutter as we await her "fix."
Yesterday Britta, a friend we met in one of the companies we serve as chaplains, stopped by and surprised Ester at the hospital. It was a great encouragement!
Our meeting last night was at the Good 'N Plenty Restaurant which serves "family style" Pennsylvania Dutch cooking in an old Amish farmhouse that has some extensive add-on.
We
sat across from Christ and Dolly Lapp who established "Plain 'N Fancy",
the first Lancaster County family style restaurant in 1959 and then
started Good 'N Plenty in 1969.
These are tourist destination restaurants that Lancaster is known for
with plenty of good food. "Family style" means you sit at a large table
with other diners you may not even know. The food is brought out on
huge platters and passed around the table just like at home and you can
eat all you want. Chris told us that on a busy Saturday he remembers
when the cooks prepared 1/2
ton of potatoes for mashed potatoes. It is still a family-owned
business with some now
working from the fourth generation. ("Christ" is not an uncommon name
around here, often as a last name. The pronunciation is the same way
you pronounce Chris."
A lesson in how not to regift: Last night we sat with some friends whose beach house we stayed in last Spring. We had a small gift of appreciation for them and I knew that Brooksyne had brought it though I don't pay much attention to the smaller details. Following the meeting I saw a gift bag next to Brooksyne's chair and picked it up to give to Pam as I said, "We just want you to have this as a small token of our appreciation in your allowing us to use your Beach House." Brooksyne is looking at me a little befuddled and Pam looked a little confused. Turns out the gift bag was actually a gift Pam had given to Brooksyne earlier for her birthday. Obviously, ladies handle these matters much better than many of us menfolk. (Brooksyne sure would have been upset with me as I was trying to give back to Pam the bath and body works items which she is very fond of.)
Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
"Higher Ground" Video The Smucker Family
"Press On" Video Selah
"He's Ever Interceding" Video Homecoming series
Faith and Action
Article concerning Ten Commandments vandalism
Good 'N Plenty Restaurant
Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne
To receive the "Daily Encouragement" each Monday-Friday through email see this page to subscribe to our email list. You can also subscribe to the Wordpress rss feed or through a Wordpress email subscription. (See the email subscription on the right side after opening this page.)
Are
our daily encouragement messages a blessing to you? We ask you to
consider making a donation to Daily Encouragement Net so that we can
continue to prepare and provide this daily resource which is
accessed by believers and seekers all over the world. Daily
Encouragement Net relies solely on the generosity and financial support
of its readers and podcast listeners. See here for more information on supporting this
ministry. Gifts are tax deductible.
Permissions: Please feel free to pass on, reproduce and distribute any material on Daily Encouragement Net, in part or in whole, in any format, provided that you do not alter the wording in any way or charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. It is our desire to spread this material, not protect or restrict it. I do request that you keep the contact, copyright and subscription information intact.
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."
© Copyright 2013 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA
<Previous Message Next Message>
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Here is an early morning view from Kraybill Church Road in front of our home across the field to our Amish neighbor's farm in the distance with fog in the background. The green cover grass was planted following the corn harvest and will be harvested next spring.
(Click on photo to enlarge)
"The Gates Of Hell Shall Not Prevail"
Listen to this message on
your audio player"Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18).
Last
night we attended a banquet with some friends and heard a presentation
concerning the ministry of
"Faith and Action", which seeks to provide a witness for Christ to
leaders
in Washington, DC. Their headquarters is right across from the Supreme
Court and they made news recently when vandals toppled over an 850
pound granite sculpture of the Ten Commandments. The sculpture has been
restored and is a silent witness to the justices as they go into the
Supreme Court. The massive amount of security cameras in that area have
allowed them to identify the two men who toppled the sculpture (who
appear as though they could be Capitol Hill staffers). Faith and Action are giving
them an opportunity to come forward and join Rob Schenk, the leader of
the ministry, for a meal to talk over the matter rather than pressing charges.For
20 years Rob Schenk has been a "missionary" to Washington seeking to
stand as a representative of Biblical truth to the secular powers. He
shared stories and fielded questions about his ministry and conditions
in Washington. Several weeks ago he was able to provide comfort and
counsel at the Naval Yard shooting. Each year the ministry has some
interesting outreaches such as a live nativity and Bible reading
marathon during the National Day of Prayer from the steps of the
Capitol.We are thankful and pray for ministries like Faith and Action. They face much opposition in Washington. It seems the forces of darkness have always sought to quench the light and that's just what they experience.
Today's text will be familiar to many. It is our Lord's Word to Peter following his great confession of faith when he proclaimed, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus responded to this confession with a great promise: "Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). God's truth marches on. Nearly two thousand years have passed since He initially made the promise to Peter and the early disciples. And today the true church still makes this proclamation, which is at the heart of the Gospel. In fact it is the very foundation on which Christ has built His church.
Jesus promised that the gates of hell will not prevail against His church. It sure seems like they are prevailing at times doesn't it? And that's been the case all through the Church's history. We are reminded in our very day of the forces of hell seeking to destroy the church. The hateful, venomous threats and violent actions of the enemies of Christ are quite evident. Again today we especially consider our oppressed and persecuted brethren in many parts of the world. Please God, strengthen and remind them of Your promise: "The gates of hell will not prevail."
Wherever you live and whatever the conditions, rejoice today in this wonderful promise, "The gates of hell shall not prevail."
Be encouraged today!
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer: Father
today we pray for Your people all over the world; some who are enduring
great persecution for the cause of Christ. Grant to them a mighty
infusion of strength and assurance. Remind them of the prayers being
offered on their behalf from Your people and from the One who is ever
interceding. We pray Your blessings on those who serve in hard places
and who may be discouraged as well as those going through tough times
in their own personal life. Remind us all of Your promise that "the gates of hell shall not
prevail." In Jesus' Name we pray, Amen.
Thank you for all the feedback yesterday concerning our ministry
anniversary, Brooksyne's birthday and Ester's hospitalization. The
interest, encouragement and prayers are so appreciated!Report on Ester: WE'RE
HOME! It's about 12:45 as of my writing. Ester has a little cough but
her high fevers and chills have been gone about 48 hours so she has
been discharged. Over the next week or two she will fully recover
and carefully monitored as she awaits an operation to replace the
defective atrial lead. At the present her pacer is programmed with only
the ventricle leads in operation. So we are being careful and prayerful
that she will not go into flutter as we await her "fix." Yesterday Britta, a friend we met in one of the companies we serve as chaplains, stopped by and surprised Ester at the hospital. It was a great encouragement!
Our meeting last night was at the Good 'N Plenty Restaurant which serves "family style" Pennsylvania Dutch cooking in an old Amish farmhouse that has some extensive add-on.
We
sat across from Christ and Dolly Lapp who established "Plain 'N Fancy",
the first Lancaster County family style restaurant in 1959 and then
started Good 'N Plenty in 1969.
These are tourist destination restaurants that Lancaster is known for
with plenty of good food. "Family style" means you sit at a large table
with other diners you may not even know. The food is brought out on
huge platters and passed around the table just like at home and you can
eat all you want. Chris told us that on a busy Saturday he remembers
when the cooks prepared 1/2
ton of potatoes for mashed potatoes. It is still a family-owned
business with some now
working from the fourth generation. ("Christ" is not an uncommon name
around here, often as a last name. The pronunciation is the same way
you pronounce Chris."A lesson in how not to regift: Last night we sat with some friends whose beach house we stayed in last Spring. We had a small gift of appreciation for them and I knew that Brooksyne had brought it though I don't pay much attention to the smaller details. Following the meeting I saw a gift bag next to Brooksyne's chair and picked it up to give to Pam as I said, "We just want you to have this as a small token of our appreciation in your allowing us to use your Beach House." Brooksyne is looking at me a little befuddled and Pam looked a little confused. Turns out the gift bag was actually a gift Pam had given to Brooksyne earlier for her birthday. Obviously, ladies handle these matters much better than many of us menfolk. (Brooksyne sure would have been upset with me as I was trying to give back to Pam the bath and body works items which she is very fond of.)
Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
"Higher Ground" Video The Smucker Family
"Press On" Video Selah
"He's Ever Interceding" Video Homecoming series
Faith and Action
Article concerning Ten Commandments vandalism
Good 'N Plenty Restaurant
Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne
To receive the "Daily Encouragement" each Monday-Friday through email see this page to subscribe to our email list. You can also subscribe to the Wordpress rss feed or through a Wordpress email subscription. (See the email subscription on the right side after opening this page.)
Are
our daily encouragement messages a blessing to you? We ask you to
consider making a donation to Daily Encouragement Net so that we can
continue to prepare and provide this daily resource which is
accessed by believers and seekers all over the world. Daily
Encouragement Net relies solely on the generosity and financial support
of its readers and podcast listeners. See here for more information on supporting this
ministry. Gifts are tax deductible.Permissions: Please feel free to pass on, reproduce and distribute any material on Daily Encouragement Net, in part or in whole, in any format, provided that you do not alter the wording in any way or charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. It is our desire to spread this material, not protect or restrict it. I do request that you keep the contact, copyright and subscription information intact.
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."
© Copyright 2013 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA