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Monday, November 11, 2013
Yesterday afternoon we passed this long, inviting tree-lined farm lane on Rock Point Road in Lancaster County, PA
Listen to this message on
your audio player.
"Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding?" (Job 12:12). "I then, as Paul--an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus" (Philemon 1:9b).
Today is Veteran's Day here in the United States, a day in which we
properly remember military veterans and consider the price paid for our temporal
freedoms. I realize many veterans read these messages including several
we know, as well as many who are in active service. 
We thank you for
your service. I specifically consider my dad (left) who trained as a pilot in the Army/Air Force during WW2 and Brooksyne's dad (right) who served during the Korean War.
But today we want to focus this devotional on spiritual veterans. Many have gone on before us and are now in what Hebrews 12 calls "a great cloud of witnesses". Others are still on this side and in the senior years of life. They have faithfully served God in their generation and await their call home.
Yesterday we held a service in a nursing home and consider today's first text, "Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding?" We need to value these spiritual veterans and the wisdom and perspective they bring to life. Although many times they have a frail memory they also have insights which can be such a blessing.
Several
weeks ago we wrote about seeing life similar to a football game and
asked our readers to consider, "What quarter are you in?" I
shared this concept in the nursing home several weeks ago and 93 year
old Evelyn, (in left photo) a rather spunky resident, spoke right out:
"I guess I'm in the last
quarter." In fact she was, because she passed away this last week and
her service was held
yesterday. In her obituary we read of her Christian service earlier in
life and how she taught Sunday School in her church. Now she's in her
first quarter in heaven where there is no "final" quarter.
Today let us remember and honor the contribution made by the countless old spiritual veterans who have gone before us. Let us look at an easily overlooked statement made by the apostle Paul, a true veteran of the Christian conflict. He had fought the good fight of faith and was not at all hesitant in identifying himself in the text as an "old man". (The KJV states "the aged".)
Paul is one of scores of men and women through the history of the church who have taken great risks to the point of laying down their lives. They faced hardship and otherwise bear the scars of battle for Christ and for our souls. Our spiritual freedom was supremely paid by Christ's death on the Cross. However many others have paid a price to bring that message to us and help keep our flame lit. Let's honor them and let us now take our place in the line of the faithful!
I'm sure you can think of some veterans today. Why don't you take a moment to thank God for them, and if you're able, give them a personal expression of thanks. You'll make their day.
Finally, we all will become spiritual veterans should the Lord keep us on this side. Brooksyne and I state our determination to stay faithful and invite our readers to join us.
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer: Father,
we honor our military veterans who gave their all that we might enjoy our freedoms. Some
of them bear visible reminders of their service such as a missing limb,
or a jagged scar. Others carry less visible signs such as a pin holding
a bone together, shrapnel buried beneath their skin, tortuous physical
and mental images that cannot be erased from their minds, causing many
of them deep disturbance in their mental health. Many have been
deployed to the Philippines following the indescribable loss of
life and property from the recent typhoon. Help them to make a powerful
difference to those who are left to sort out life in a way they could
never have imagined. We pray that You will encourage
the veteran's families, provide physical, financial and emotional
services, and place godly people in their paths who will build
relationships with them giving them an opportunity to share their
faith. We pray for those serving today who are being denied their
expression of faith due to the politically motivated changes within the
military. We consider the chaplains who uphold the teachings of the
Bible rather than the philosophies of our day that redefine what is
right and what is wrong. Fortify them with courage, wisdom and the
resolve to stay firm in the days ahead to hold to what is true no
matter what they endure as a result. And, lastly, we pray for our
spiritual veterans who have forged the straight and narrow path before
us that leads to eternal life. We follow behind and don't look back to
the broad path that leads to destruction and eternal doom. In the name
of Jesus we pray. Amen.
Update on Ester: We updated our readers on Friday about Ester's surgery being postponed due to a blood clot found during her pre-op testing last Thursday. I am now injecting her daily with lovenox, a blood-thinner that treats blood clots (Stephen sits to the side, holds her hands, closes his eyes and prays (you might guess that he's closing his eyes for a double reason.) It was a big step for me to inject my daughter in the belly, but I've been encouraged by friends via D.E., facebook, and those personally who've shared their stories or spurred me on by their words. Yesterday Ester asked to be anointed in prayer during the Morning Worship hour and we were so encouraged after doing so. The songs and Scriptures yesterday during church gave me strenth and helped to quiet my fears about the injections.
Friday was such a turnabout for us regarding Ester's health that all three of us clustered downstairs in the family room and didn't say a lot. I went to bed with a heavy heart and awoke early Saturday morning with matters still unsettled. I asked the Lord to assure me that He was going to meet me and give me a peace about the matter before the morning was over. I turned on WDAC, our local Christian radio station and the first song was "Somebody's Praying for Me" followed by the old hymn, "Leave It There, take your burdens to the Lord and leave it there." That was the first blessing and sign from God. I knew He had more for me when I opened up the computer, and sure enough, the compassionate messages and prayers begin to scroll down the page. The first being from one of our long-time readers from Scotland who wrote (in part): "I feel that it's good for you all to know that as you slept last night others in other parts of the world were lifting you up to the Lord in prayer." Isn't it amazingly wonderful to experience the prayers and support of other believers as we undergo trial. Thank you for your messages, both written and those quietly prayed to the Father on our behalf. (Link to song "Somebody's Praying for Me" is below.)
Here's another view of the farm lane in our lead photo with the old brick farmhouse shown at the end of the lane.
A touching Veteran's Day story:
My cousin George Steincross (shown to the left with his wife Joy) is a retired Baptist pastor as well as
a retired National Guard chaplain. He has an interesting veteran opportunity today:
"I am evermore excited about Veterans Day, November 11, 2013. Months ago I had signed up to be a "Guardian" on an Honor Flight from Kansas City to Washington DC. A few weeks ago I got THE CALL asking if I could serve on November 11. The answer, of course, was YES.
So tomorrow morning at 4:00 AM I will be at the airport to board a plane with "my Vet"--Earl Hammer, age 93, Marine, from St. Joseph, MO.
As you may know Honor Flights from all over the USA are trying to transport as many WW II vets as possible to DC to see the WW II Memorial--actually all the memorials, Arlington Cemetery and drive-bys of the Capitol, White House, etc. This will be the 16th flight from Kansas City. The Veterans have everything provided for them and Guardians pay their own way. It is a wonderful program.
We had a Meet and Greet luncheon with Veterans and Guardians on Saturday. Earl seems to be in good shape after 9+ decades. Some macular degeneration and loss of hearing but that seems to be all after all these years/experiences. The main thing for me as a Guardian is to always be within arm's length of Earl in case he needs anything or some assistance.
You will probably be reading this on Monday/Veterans Day. Let this note remind you to say a prayer of thanks for any deceased Veteran you have known and/or thank some Veteran, in some way, today."
Carpe diem, Dub (Dub is the longtime nickname we use for our cousin in the family)
Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
"Somebody's Praying" Video Ricky Skaggs A powerful video for one who needs the reassurance that others are praying. It's an excellent video for military, especially those in active service.
"Find Us Faithful" Video Let There Be Praise singers
"We Will Not Forget" Video Mark Harris
"When Love Comes Home" Video Matthew West
"The Mission" Video Steve Green
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>
Monday, November 11, 2013
Yesterday afternoon we passed this long, inviting tree-lined farm lane on Rock Point Road in Lancaster County, PA
"The Blessing Of Spiritual Veterans"
Listen to this message on
your audio player."Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding?" (Job 12:12). "I then, as Paul--an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus" (Philemon 1:9b).
Today is Veteran's Day here in the United States, a day in which we
properly remember military veterans and consider the price paid for our temporal
freedoms. I realize many veterans read these messages including several
we know, as well as many who are in active service. We thank you for
your service. I specifically consider my dad (left) who trained as a pilot in the Army/Air Force during WW2 and Brooksyne's dad (right) who served during the Korean War.But today we want to focus this devotional on spiritual veterans. Many have gone on before us and are now in what Hebrews 12 calls "a great cloud of witnesses". Others are still on this side and in the senior years of life. They have faithfully served God in their generation and await their call home.
Yesterday we held a service in a nursing home and consider today's first text, "Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding?" We need to value these spiritual veterans and the wisdom and perspective they bring to life. Although many times they have a frail memory they also have insights which can be such a blessing.
Several
weeks ago we wrote about seeing life similar to a football game and
asked our readers to consider, "What quarter are you in?" I
shared this concept in the nursing home several weeks ago and 93 year
old Evelyn, (in left photo) a rather spunky resident, spoke right out:
"I guess I'm in the last
quarter." In fact she was, because she passed away this last week and
her service was held
yesterday. In her obituary we read of her Christian service earlier in
life and how she taught Sunday School in her church. Now she's in her
first quarter in heaven where there is no "final" quarter.Today let us remember and honor the contribution made by the countless old spiritual veterans who have gone before us. Let us look at an easily overlooked statement made by the apostle Paul, a true veteran of the Christian conflict. He had fought the good fight of faith and was not at all hesitant in identifying himself in the text as an "old man". (The KJV states "the aged".)
Paul is one of scores of men and women through the history of the church who have taken great risks to the point of laying down their lives. They faced hardship and otherwise bear the scars of battle for Christ and for our souls. Our spiritual freedom was supremely paid by Christ's death on the Cross. However many others have paid a price to bring that message to us and help keep our flame lit. Let's honor them and let us now take our place in the line of the faithful!
I'm sure you can think of some veterans today. Why don't you take a moment to thank God for them, and if you're able, give them a personal expression of thanks. You'll make their day.
Finally, we all will become spiritual veterans should the Lord keep us on this side. Brooksyne and I state our determination to stay faithful and invite our readers to join us.
Oh, may all who come behind us find us faithful,
May the fire of our devotion light their way.
May the footprints that we leave, lead them to believe,
And the lives we live inspire them to obey.
Oh, may all who come behind us find us faithful.
May the fire of our devotion light their way.
May the footprints that we leave, lead them to believe,
And the lives we live inspire them to obey.
Oh, may all who come behind us find us faithful.
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer: Father,
we honor our military veterans who gave their all that we might enjoy our freedoms. Some
of them bear visible reminders of their service such as a missing limb,
or a jagged scar. Others carry less visible signs such as a pin holding
a bone together, shrapnel buried beneath their skin, tortuous physical
and mental images that cannot be erased from their minds, causing many
of them deep disturbance in their mental health. Many have been
deployed to the Philippines following the indescribable loss of
life and property from the recent typhoon. Help them to make a powerful
difference to those who are left to sort out life in a way they could
never have imagined. We pray that You will encourage
the veteran's families, provide physical, financial and emotional
services, and place godly people in their paths who will build
relationships with them giving them an opportunity to share their
faith. We pray for those serving today who are being denied their
expression of faith due to the politically motivated changes within the
military. We consider the chaplains who uphold the teachings of the
Bible rather than the philosophies of our day that redefine what is
right and what is wrong. Fortify them with courage, wisdom and the
resolve to stay firm in the days ahead to hold to what is true no
matter what they endure as a result. And, lastly, we pray for our
spiritual veterans who have forged the straight and narrow path before
us that leads to eternal life. We follow behind and don't look back to
the broad path that leads to destruction and eternal doom. In the name
of Jesus we pray. Amen.Update on Ester: We updated our readers on Friday about Ester's surgery being postponed due to a blood clot found during her pre-op testing last Thursday. I am now injecting her daily with lovenox, a blood-thinner that treats blood clots (Stephen sits to the side, holds her hands, closes his eyes and prays (you might guess that he's closing his eyes for a double reason.) It was a big step for me to inject my daughter in the belly, but I've been encouraged by friends via D.E., facebook, and those personally who've shared their stories or spurred me on by their words. Yesterday Ester asked to be anointed in prayer during the Morning Worship hour and we were so encouraged after doing so. The songs and Scriptures yesterday during church gave me strenth and helped to quiet my fears about the injections.
Friday was such a turnabout for us regarding Ester's health that all three of us clustered downstairs in the family room and didn't say a lot. I went to bed with a heavy heart and awoke early Saturday morning with matters still unsettled. I asked the Lord to assure me that He was going to meet me and give me a peace about the matter before the morning was over. I turned on WDAC, our local Christian radio station and the first song was "Somebody's Praying for Me" followed by the old hymn, "Leave It There, take your burdens to the Lord and leave it there." That was the first blessing and sign from God. I knew He had more for me when I opened up the computer, and sure enough, the compassionate messages and prayers begin to scroll down the page. The first being from one of our long-time readers from Scotland who wrote (in part): "I feel that it's good for you all to know that as you slept last night others in other parts of the world were lifting you up to the Lord in prayer." Isn't it amazingly wonderful to experience the prayers and support of other believers as we undergo trial. Thank you for your messages, both written and those quietly prayed to the Father on our behalf. (Link to song "Somebody's Praying for Me" is below.)
Here's another view of the farm lane in our lead photo with the old brick farmhouse shown at the end of the lane.
Our
church is blessed to have three retired minister couples who attend,
representing spiritual ministry veterans who are now in their seventies,
eighties and nineties!
Left to right: Gerald and Fran Book, Jim and Eva Ketner, Jesse and Wilma Dourte, along with our current pastor and his wife, John and Faithe Keefer.
Left to right: Gerald and Fran Book, Jim and Eva Ketner, Jesse and Wilma Dourte, along with our current pastor and his wife, John and Faithe Keefer.
On Saturday evening we attended a concert with Steve Sensenig,
an accomplished pianist and gifted son of DE readers, Charles &
Hazel Sensenig. Their daughter also accompanied Steve with her flute
during three songs. We took our Amish friends and gave them a taste of
inspirational culture. They had a great time. I remember their first
visit to our home when they asked Brooksyne, "What is that?" referring
to our piano. Since then they've gathered around it many times as we've
sung hymns together. So a new question we got at the concert was "What
was Steve's sister playing?" Of course, we informed them that it was a
flute. The five children all sat on the front row with Ester and were
amazed by Steve's powerful mastery of the keyboard.
A touching Veteran's Day story:
My cousin George Steincross (shown to the left with his wife Joy) is a retired Baptist pastor as well as
a retired National Guard chaplain. He has an interesting veteran opportunity today:"I am evermore excited about Veterans Day, November 11, 2013. Months ago I had signed up to be a "Guardian" on an Honor Flight from Kansas City to Washington DC. A few weeks ago I got THE CALL asking if I could serve on November 11. The answer, of course, was YES.
So tomorrow morning at 4:00 AM I will be at the airport to board a plane with "my Vet"--Earl Hammer, age 93, Marine, from St. Joseph, MO.
As you may know Honor Flights from all over the USA are trying to transport as many WW II vets as possible to DC to see the WW II Memorial--actually all the memorials, Arlington Cemetery and drive-bys of the Capitol, White House, etc. This will be the 16th flight from Kansas City. The Veterans have everything provided for them and Guardians pay their own way. It is a wonderful program.
We had a Meet and Greet luncheon with Veterans and Guardians on Saturday. Earl seems to be in good shape after 9+ decades. Some macular degeneration and loss of hearing but that seems to be all after all these years/experiences. The main thing for me as a Guardian is to always be within arm's length of Earl in case he needs anything or some assistance.
You will probably be reading this on Monday/Veterans Day. Let this note remind you to say a prayer of thanks for any deceased Veteran you have known and/or thank some Veteran, in some way, today."
Carpe diem, Dub (Dub is the longtime nickname we use for our cousin in the family)
Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
"Somebody's Praying" Video Ricky Skaggs A powerful video for one who needs the reassurance that others are praying. It's an excellent video for military, especially those in active service.
"Find Us Faithful" Video Let There Be Praise singers
"We Will Not Forget" Video Mark Harris
"When Love Comes Home" Video Matthew West
"The Mission" Video Steve Green
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