Friday, January 12, 2018


We have many squirrels on our property, mostly all gray in color. But yesterday Ester snapped this photo of one with a reddish brown face.

"Never Once"

Message summary: May the Lord give us all overcoming faith both in times of normalcy and in times when we especially face the heat of battle. May the Lord fill us with assurance that, "Never once did we ever walk alone".

Listen to our message on your audio player.

"This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith" (1 John 5:4).

Brooksyne has been singing a song titled, "Never Once" since her choir practice this past week. The choir will be leading worship this Sunday and "Never Once" is one of their numbers which has become one of our favorites. (We post a link to the song below.) The lyrics begin with a battleground setting:


Life is indeed a battleground as we struggle against the forces of evil (Ephesians 6:10ff) and "fight the good fight" (1 Timothy 6:12).

In ministry much of our impact comes in brief conversations when we have opportunity to share a Scriptural perspective with those whom we encounter. Although I still occasionally preach and we have counseling sessions with some most of our people interface takes place in brief moments as we walk through companies as their chaplain. Two tools we often use are direct Scripture verses and allusions to music.

Brooksyne recently reached out to a friend who recently endured great loss. In addition to sharing some comfort thoughts she provided a link to this song, "Never Once" informing the recipient that this song brought tears during choir practice and prompted her to intercede for the family.

Life is really a sequence of overcomings. Most of the time life rolls along rather smoothly and predictably. We call that normalcy, a blessing we often take for granted. When our lives are disrupted a return to this normalcy is especially a blessing. It's kind of like how you feel after you've had the flu, instead of feeling good you feel extra good!

At other times the issues we deal with are more intense and out of the ordinary, but overcoming faith is always the "modus operandi" of the believer's life.  In fact the purpose of these daily encouragement messages is to encourage fellow overcomers who, in the words of an old hymn, are "overcoming daily by the Spirit's sword." In this real time perspective we periodically share with you from our own overcomings.

The daily text is a great source of encouragement. Interestingly the same root Greek word is used for both victory and overcome. It's the word "nike" from which the popular athletic shoe company derives its name. For those who have some knowledge of the Greek the phrase "victory that has overcome the world" translates "νίκη ἡ νικήσασα τὸν κόσμον". Even those who do not know the Greek can see the similarity.

Our faith enables us to overcome the world.  Our confidence is in the One of whom it is said, "He (Jesus) doeth all things well."

Bible teacher Alan Redpath wrote,


You might want to print out the above thought and post it on your fridge or another visible location. It's a stirring thought and may just help you to consider the bigger picture during times of testing.  May the Lord give us all overcoming faith both in times of normalcy and in times when we especially face the heat of battle. May the Lord fill us with assurance that, "Never once did we ever walk alone".



Be encouraged today,


Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Daily prayer: Father, we treasure the intercessory prayers of faithful believers when we undergo testing periods. Because we deal with the visible, we can easily forget that Jesus, invisible to the naked eye, is interceding for us in the heavenly realms, faithfully presenting our needs to You. He is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, realizing the eternal purpose in all that we must deal with. Help us to trust You even when we don't understand Your plan, knowing in our hearts, that You do all things well for Your intended purpose and for our eternal good. Help us to look beyond our immediate need to see the spiritual fruit You are developing in our lives as we remain faithful trusting You to work out that which concerns us. Amen.

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"Never Once"  Video  Matt Redman

"10,000 Reasons"  Video  Matt Redman

"Break Every Chain"  Video  Jesus Culture

"Faith Is The Victory"  Video  Congregational singing