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Monday, June 8, 2015
We took this photo in Lancaster in front of a restored colonial era home.
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 make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
© Copyright 2015 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA
<Previous Message Next Message>
Monday, June 8, 2015
We took this photo in Lancaster in front of a restored colonial era home.
"Sounding A Clear Call"
We are at the shore (Rehoboth Beach, Delaware) for a couple of days. (Podcast not prepared)
"If the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?" (1 Corinthians 14:8).
I saw an interesting t-shirt which proclaimed in bold letters, "The best Christian is a dead Christian." I was shocked and wondered what such a statement might mean and why anyone would wear it on t-shirt. Was it a brazen expression of the hatefulness that is surely increasing toward Christians all around the world?
I then noticed in small print a reference to a Bible verse (Colossians 2:12) and looked it up since I had my Bible with me. The verse states, "Having been buried with Him in baptism and raised with Him through your faith in the power of God, who raised Him from the dead." Oh! So that's what it means, the sense of dying to self and sin, which is a valid Christian teaching.
But I believe this illustrates the
importance of clarity in our witness. There is value in sentence
sermons, phrases, acrostics, etc. that communicate our faith. Many
times I have been encouraged by the message on a bumper sticker,
T-shirt or as I often mention that I appreciate the gospel messages on
barns and silos in our county. I have made and distributed thousands
of small witness cards with a thought-provoking saying such as "Man's
way leads to a hopeless end, but God's way leads to an endless hope",
along with an accompanying Scripture verse. These brief messages of
witness just may get someone to thinking and explore further.
Back to the T-shirt message; "The best Christian is a dead Christian". It was likely worn by an earnest Christian seeking to communicate a spiritual truth. I'll grant that it sure catches your attention but what would many think the phrase means? I wonder how many will look up the Scripture reference, particularly unbelievers.
The
daily verse is addressing clarity in communication illustrating with
the trumpet used for signaling in battle. "If the trumpet does not
sound a clear call." If a certain tune indicated an order of some type
that tune needed to be clear and precise. An uncertain sound would lead
to confusion and possible disaster.
We need to be as clear as possible in our witness to each other and to the world. Today we urge you to boldly and unashamedly bear a witness for Christ in word, deed and for some of you perhaps even on a T-shirt. Let's just make sure the "trumpet" is making a clear, certain sound!
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer:
Father, we rely on
the power of Your Holy Spirit to enable us to give a clear witness of
Biblical truth and the Gospel message. We recognize that we must do this not only by what
we say verbally, or display in our apparel, plaques, screensavers, or
other means of witness. We must also present Your Gospel message by
the way we live our lives. May our words complement our actions as we
seek to reach this lost and dying world. In the name of Jesus we
pray. Amen.
Many years ago I saw a man wearing a t-shirt and initially the screen print photo of duct tape got my attention since I really like duct tape and duct tape stories. I asked him to stop so I could read the entire message. "People use duct tape to fix things. Jesus used three nails."
Saturday afternoon we were blessed when a longtime friend stopped by. We met Junnbug when we served as chaplains over ten years ago at Turkey Hill Dairy. He now lives in his native Puerto Rico with his wife Marie but is in the states visiting family.
We are at the shore (Rehoboth Beach, Delaware) for a couple of days. (Podcast not prepared)
"If the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?" (1 Corinthians 14:8).
I saw an interesting t-shirt which proclaimed in bold letters, "The best Christian is a dead Christian." I was shocked and wondered what such a statement might mean and why anyone would wear it on t-shirt. Was it a brazen expression of the hatefulness that is surely increasing toward Christians all around the world?
I then noticed in small print a reference to a Bible verse (Colossians 2:12) and looked it up since I had my Bible with me. The verse states, "Having been buried with Him in baptism and raised with Him through your faith in the power of God, who raised Him from the dead." Oh! So that's what it means, the sense of dying to self and sin, which is a valid Christian teaching.
But I believe this illustrates the
importance of clarity in our witness. There is value in sentence
sermons, phrases, acrostics, etc. that communicate our faith. Many
times I have been encouraged by the message on a bumper sticker,
T-shirt or as I often mention that I appreciate the gospel messages on
barns and silos in our county. I have made and distributed thousands
of small witness cards with a thought-provoking saying such as "Man's
way leads to a hopeless end, but God's way leads to an endless hope",
along with an accompanying Scripture verse. These brief messages of
witness just may get someone to thinking and explore further.Back to the T-shirt message; "The best Christian is a dead Christian". It was likely worn by an earnest Christian seeking to communicate a spiritual truth. I'll grant that it sure catches your attention but what would many think the phrase means? I wonder how many will look up the Scripture reference, particularly unbelievers.
The
daily verse is addressing clarity in communication illustrating with
the trumpet used for signaling in battle. "If the trumpet does not
sound a clear call." If a certain tune indicated an order of some type
that tune needed to be clear and precise. An uncertain sound would lead
to confusion and possible disaster.We need to be as clear as possible in our witness to each other and to the world. Today we urge you to boldly and unashamedly bear a witness for Christ in word, deed and for some of you perhaps even on a T-shirt. Let's just make sure the "trumpet" is making a clear, certain sound!
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer:
Father, we rely on
the power of Your Holy Spirit to enable us to give a clear witness of
Biblical truth and the Gospel message. We recognize that we must do this not only by what
we say verbally, or display in our apparel, plaques, screensavers, or
other means of witness. We must also present Your Gospel message by
the way we live our lives. May our words complement our actions as we
seek to reach this lost and dying world. In the name of Jesus we
pray. Amen.Many years ago I saw a man wearing a t-shirt and initially the screen print photo of duct tape got my attention since I really like duct tape and duct tape stories. I asked him to stop so I could read the entire message. "People use duct tape to fix things. Jesus used three nails."
Saturday afternoon we were blessed when a longtime friend stopped by. We met Junnbug when we served as chaplains over ten years ago at Turkey Hill Dairy. He now lives in his native Puerto Rico with his wife Marie but is in the states visiting family.
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 make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
© Copyright 2015 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA