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(Click refresh or reload for current message) Thursday, October 17, 2024 Brooksyne's
Note: This
beautiful
setting along
with the horse
being in the
center of it
makes me long
for a good
long galloping
ride in this
lush pasture.
I grew up
riding horses
but that is
long in my
past, though
I'm hoping I
might have
opportunity to
do so again in
the Promised
Land. Now,
Stephen on the
other hand...*
Photo taken by our friend Jim Hain
"The Supreme Choice" Message summary: Elijah's prophetic challenge expresses life's supreme choice and needs to be considered by each generation. Listen to our message on your audio player. "If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him" (1 Kings 18:21).Today let us consider a very short sermon that Elijah preached. In fact the entire message is summed up in these words: “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” Yesterday we considered how Elijah had asked the people of Israel, “How long will you waver between two opinions?" He follows this question with a simple to understand prophetic challenge*, "If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him". This
bears such a
resemblance to
the powerful
charge Joshua
issued to the
people of God
just prior to
his death: "Now,
therefore,
fear the Lord
and serve Him
in sincerity
and truth; and
put away the
gods which
your fathers
served beyond
the River and
in Egypt, and
serve the
Lord. If it is
disagreeable
in your sight
to serve the
Lord, choose
for yourselves
today whom you
will serve:
whether the
gods which
your fathers
served which
were beyond
the River, or
the gods of
the Amorites
in whose land
you are
living; but as
for me and my
house, we will
serve the
Lord"
(Joshua
24:14,15).
Elijah's prophetic challenge needs to be considered by each generation. Just as Joshua's charge has a timeless application so does Elijah's; "If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him" (1 Kings 18:21). Baal, of course, was a false god worshipped by people at that time. Today Baal represents all the false gods and ideologies that vie for our allegiance. In the first of the Ten Commandments God makes it clear that we are to have no other gods besides Him. "You must not have any other gods except me" (Exodus 20:3). Elijah is calling for complete commitment. We are not given the option of wavering or dividing our allegiance between numerous gods. Elijah's challenge continues to ring down through the ages of time, "If the Lord is God, follow Him". Neither
Jesus nor His
disciples
accommodated
people's
wavering
beliefs or
double-mindedness.
The once
wavering
Thomas, when
confronted
with the
physical
evidence of
the
resurrection,
exclaimed, "My
Lord and my
God" and
went on to
live and give
his life
as a martyr
for his
Master.
Let us
wholeheartedly
serve God
today and
boldly
declare, "The
Lord is God
and I will
follow Him!"
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer:
Father, today
we consider
Elijah's
challenge,
"How long
will you go
limping
between two
opinions? If
the Lord is
God, follow
Him; but if
Baal, then
follow him".
Indeed when
our allegiance
is divided we
do limp, we
are unsteady,
and we will
eventually
fall in
defeat. But
when we take
an upright and
unwavering
stand for You,
our Living
God, we will
be people of
conviction,
courage, and
consistency.
We will be the
salt of the
earth, we will
shine like
stars in the
universe, and
we will be
filled with
righteousness,
peace and joy
in the Holy
Spirit. We
will be
victorious in
this life and
experience
unending
victory in the
life
hereafter, as
we choose to
follow You all
the days of
our life.
Amen.
Today's
Suggested
Music and
Supplemental
Resources "God
And God Alone"
Listen
on YouTube
Stephen
Akin "One
Day"
Listen
on YouTube
Cochren
& Co. We
heard "One
Day" this
morning on
WDAC, our
local
Christian
station. What
an encouraging
song for those
undergoing
heartache,
sickness, or
loss, for one
day we will
see the
Promised Land.
"One day there
will be
healing for
this heartache
we are
feeling"
is just one
line but the
singer deals
with the
issues of our
day that are
sin-based. It
will all
disappear when
we enter the
Promised Land
for sin will
not enter
there!
Hallelujah!!
Moses
Lapp has been
down in North
Carolina
assisting in
the hurricane
recovery
effort in
Swannanoa,
near Black
Mountain, just
east of
Asheville.
When I talked
to him last
night he
reported that
he is having
long days and
expects to
return to
Lancaster
County this
weekend.
This
is the staging
area for the
group he is
working with.
He told me
supplies have
been donated
from all over
the country.
*About
Riding Horses:
Stephen on the
other hand
does not feel
the same way
as I do about
riding horses.
During our
college years
he came to
visit me in
Tulsa where I
lived with my
family on a
small farm. He
had never
ridden a horse
before and we
wanted him to
learn to ride
so we gave him
brief
instructions
on steering
the horse by
the way he
pulled the
reins of the
bridle
including how
to stop the
horse. He
wasn't
listening very
well since he
didn't follow
through with
our
instructions
or fear
overtook him.
Ginger, our
horse, liked
to take her
rider along
the barbed
wire fence
line and did
so as she took
off down the
road in a fast
trot. We
watched as
Stephen yelled
over and over
at the top of
his lungs,
"Stop Horse!
Stop! Stop".
He thought she
was going to
run his leg
into the
barbed wire
fence. We
stood back
laughing
hysterically
at how he
tried to
control the
horse
unsuccessfully.
One ride was
enough to last
him a
lifetime!
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Joy, PA 17552
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2024
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