The
on line Bible teaching ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily
Encouragement Net is encouraging
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to Daily
Encouragement Net!
Stephen
and
Brooksyne Weber Our
photo taken at the Bridge of Flowers in Sherburne Falls MA Fall 2011
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Daily Encouragement Net Bible
Knowledge Test: A Bible
Knowledge test we prepared using a survey program that can be take on line
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have taken the test the answer key is here. Enjoy!
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Encouragement on Facebook and Twitter: Daily Encouragement on Facebook. Daily Encouragement on Twitter. Daily Prayer blog:
A selection of prayers written
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messages. Listen
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Hymn
Story Net: Stories and
backgrounds behind the great
hymns. Scripture Memory Songs: A
selection of Scripture verses we
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some friends. The words are
set to familiar music
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Songs recorded in my home studio.
Perspectives:
Articles on various contemporary issues.
"A
Little Foolishness" I
invite daily encouragement readers to visit our
blog which is a collection of humorous and satirical
stories
drawn
mostly from our years of ministry, as well as my sometimes fertile
imagination. We also welcome submissions from readers. Humor:
Have a laugh based on real experiences we have had as well as stories
submitted
by readers.
These
are a
selection of books that Brooksyne and I have read that have impacted
our walk with the
Lord and we especially recommend to others!
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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 honor God through my
faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for
eternity."
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"For God
has chosen
the weak things in the world,
the
foolish,
the nothings.
That no flesh will glory
in His presence."
1
Corinthians 1:27-29
This
device counts unique visitors by nation and
state. I
installed the international version in mid April 2010 and the state
version later. They thus register unique
visitors to this page since then.
Note: Today's illustration may not connect with non-football
fans or international readers but has an important spiritual
application.
"Though
you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now,
but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full
of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your
souls" (1 Peter 1:8,9). "In all these things we are more than
conquerors through Him who loved us" (Romans 8:37).
In America our national sports interest turns to football
throughout the fall and winter culminating in the "Super Bowl"
that many of us viewed last night. Most had a favorite team they were hoping to see win the
game. If you're that kind of fan did "your team" win last night?
Having
lived for nearly eight years in New England I'm sure I have many very
disappointed friends up that way! But I also expect to see several
New York friends this week like
Dominic, who attended the game and is very pleased at the outcome.
Some are excited, others disappointed. That's the nature of
competitive sports: the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat.
Let
me share a story today: Imagine that your team is in the Super Bowl but
you have to work and can't watch the game, so you record it intending
to watch it later. But as you leave work someone spills the beans and
informs you that your team won the game. You are thrilled to hear this
but you still decide to watch the game even though you know the
outcome. However you quickly find yourself stressing out as you watch
the game play-by-play. You must mentally pause to remind yourself, "This is only a recording, my team wins!"
Spiritual application: Life
is like that. As God's redeemed children, on the basis of Scripture we
know that we are on the winning side. May God give us grace not to
stress out in the "play-by-play" of life, worrying about finances,
health, world conditions, safety, loneliness, work, home, death, things
people do to us, and all the other things that can cause worry. In
placing our trust in Christ we are "obtaining as the outcome of our faith the salvation of our souls."
Ultimately
this victory is assured on the basis of Christ's finished work. We
don't have to wait to celebrate the victory; He wants us to enjoy
victory right here and now. Peter, who had seen Jesus, wrote to second
generation followers who had not seen Him but had a faith relationship
like us: "Though you
have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but
believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of
glory." Remember, Jesus came so that we "might have life, and that we might have it more abundantly"! (John 10:10)
Paul, who also came faith in Christ following the resurrection wrote: "In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us."
It's a great truth for every one of us. This absolutely reliable source
informs us, "We win!" Paul is writing to the Roman believers and here in
chapter eight he comes to a crescendo in his thought. The context
of "all these things" includes just about all that can go wrong in life, most of which we have never experienced (Romans 8:35).
Every word is rich with meaning but let's consider just the phrase "more than conquerors."
This actually translates a single Greek word "hupernikomen." This
word is linguistically known as a "hapax legomenon", a term used for
words that occur only once in a body of literature (in this case the
New Testament). In fact it's so rare that it's possible that Paul
devised it to express his thought. Brooksyne tells me that I make up words as I preach so I can understand such a theory.
It is actually
a combination of two more familiar words; "huper" from whence we get
"hyper" and nikao from whence "Nike" gets its name. "Nikao" is often translated "overcome" and is found most frequently in
Revelation. I like to compare translations and I suppose for this
verse I'm most blessed by the rendering in the NASV which states "we
overwhelmingly conquer." Now let that bless your soul today,
fellow overcomer!
That
is what we are, through Him who loves us,
and today I urge you to drink deeply from the spiritual reservoir we
have in Christ. Even in the midst of your present trial declare, "I am
more than
victorious through Him who loves me!"
Hide this truth deep in
your heart. Many struggle, but God's eternal Word declares that
what really matters has already been taken care of. "We are (present tense)more than conquerors." Is
Jesus Christ your Saviour and Lord today? Ultimately this is the
only thing that matters in winning the one thing in life that really
does matter.
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
Prayer: Father,
we
recognize that we are overcomers because we are children of God.
The battles we conquer and the ultimate victory we attain in our
lifetime is wholly because of the power of Christ at work in us. We are
more than conquerers through Jesus who loves us and gave His life for
our sins. Thank you for the inexhaustible supply of
Your grace, power, and provision for our salvation and our steadfast
walk with You
in the ensuing battles of daily life.
Note:
Today's game illustration was developed by a friend of mine many years
ago. A reader named Ginger has given me her permission to share her
illustration.
In last Thursday's message
we shared about Menno, a man we met who lived to be over 100 years old.
We received this tribute note from someone who knew him who had read our message: Menno
never seemed to change. He was a farmer all his life, but
intelligent, self-educated, a great lover of the hymns, and full of
energy. I thought it was a great tribute that his children made it
possible for him to stay in his own home until the very end of his
life. He never moved. In his later years, his daughter Rachel lived
with him and cared for him. Then, Rachel had the chance, in her middle
years, to be married. I was at that wedding, and I will never forget
the sight of Menno walking her down the aisle when he was 95 years
old! Rachel's siblings all stepped in so that she could have a
life of her own. What a family! Menno was also a testimony of
faithfulness for me. What a man and what a legacy!
Today's
Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
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