Trouble viewing this message?  Go here to read it online. (Current issue)
Daily Encouragement Net - Encourage one another daily (Hebrews 3:13)
A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation.

Friday, April 22, 2005

"The Concert of the Ages"

"Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang: 'Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise.' Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: 'To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!'" (Revelation 5:11-13).

When I was a young Christian I used to enjoy going to Christian concerts. Living in the Kansas City, Missouri area and then through my college years in Springfield, Missouri there were a lot of concerts and activities. But for many years we lived in rural upstate Pennsylvania and New England where there were few local concerts to attend. However, here in midstate PA there are a lot of concerts.

Last night we went, along with our pastor and his wife, to a concert with Phillips, Craig and Dean. It was a wonderful evening as they have many songs that have really blessed me through the years. On the way home we reminisced about our younger years (we are all about the same age) and how concerts have changed and how we have changed. We used to attend a large annual outdoor festival in the central PA mountains called "Creation", which had concert after concert over a three day period. Some 80,000 people come to these. At one time this was so exciting to Brooksyne and me, but not now; camping out in tents and using portapotties is for a bygone era!

The group ended the concert last night with a powerful song titled, "the concert of the ages." That's sure got me thinking about a future concert we will all participate in. The daily text presents a powerful preview of a concert the Redeemed through all the ages will not only attend but actually participate in. Read the Scriptural text again slowly and carefully.  Every creature will sing! I guess that means that I'm going to have a part even though I sing terribly here on earth. (I sing so bad that when I pastored, my wife, who was the choir director wouldn't let me sing in the choir!)

We can all begin now to work on the lyrics, "To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!" You know what, I am already getting excited about this concert. What about you? Just imagine the most meaningful, touching, emotionally charged service or concert you've ever experienced on earth. I can recall many in my life.

But this "concert" will be something else altogether. Through this online ministry I hear from readers all over the world and that's so gratifying. The other day a sister from Romania wrote and made a request that, "maybe in heaven Jesus will introduce us."  I certainly believe that can be arranged! But we will be at that concert together. I hope to see all of you there. It will indeed be the concert of the ages as we sing along together in worship to the Lamb!!


Be encouraged today,


Stephen C. Weber

Note from Brooksyne:  In addition to our daily text Revelation 4:8 is an awe-inspiring picture of praise around the throne of God that never ceases.  We usually delegate "Worship" to be an appointed time with others in a church setting, a Christian concert, and of course many of us enjoy worship during our time of devotions.  Those times of praise create cherished moments as we worship our Father. 

But consider praise that is not delegated to a segment of time or initiated by a gifted worship leader. The four living creatures day and night, without ceasing, cry out "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty."  May God instill that pictorial description of praise on our hearts so that as we go about our work day and life's routines we too can join with the living creatures now in declaring "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."

(Today's encouragement is later than usual since Brooksyne and I had an early breakfast meeting.)

Here's the website for "Phillips, Craig and Dean". It plays samples of their music. 
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Support - Is this ministry a blessing to you? Your support is needed and appreciated.
Ministry update - An update of my ministry situation for my family, friends and any who choose to read it!
Home   About Us   Archives   Listen (stream)   MP3 (download)   Print

Join: To receive the "Daily Encouragement" e-mail devotional merely send a blank e-mail to this address.  Or if you prefer use our online web form.
(Some ISPs now use e-mail filtering software that allows you to add e-mail addresses to your 'buddy', 'safe', or 'approved' list.  To insure delivery please add our address to this list.) Welcome letter  (comes with new subscriptions.)
Privacy Statement: Your e-mail address is held in strict confidence in a password-protected mail list and is not used for any other purpose but this daily encouragement.  You may easily unsubscribe at any time.
RSS: To subscribe to RSS feed enter this url into your feed reader: http://mail.byrss.com/pages/35149.xml
Leave: To cancel your address from this mailing list merely send a blank email to the failsafe "leave" address below.
(To change addresses cancel old address and then join again using your new address.)
Weekly Version: The weekly version is comprised of the devotionals from the week and mailed out in a single email on Friday. To receive the weekly version, send a blank email to this address.
Audio files: I enjoy periodically place audio files on this site as a musical supplement to the daily message. I am aware that these may not work on every computer system and I also get confused by legal type issues and certainly want to do all things well. Here's a separate page concerning this.
Pass it on! - If you find this email devotional perspective to be a blessing please pass it on! I do request that you keep the copyright and subscription information intact and place a personal note above it. Please do not send it regularly to the same address unless you are sure they want to receive it. After all anyone can join if they desire! I specifically request that this material not be forwarded to a group list, since many times these types of unsolicited group forwards are unwanted and an annoyance. If you received this but don't know how, it has probably been passed on to you by a friend. You are not subscribed to this list unless your specific email address is at the very bottom footer. Also note the print link for a print ready page. Here are some other ideas to use this ministry in conjunction with your ministry.

How to become a child of God


Your comments are welcome! If you are the original recipient (a member of the mailing list) merely reply to this email. If not or you would prefer to use a webform please visit the comments page. I sure appreciate the input and read each comment and am so often encouraged.  However due to the volume of email I receive I am not necessarily able to reply personally to each one. I regret this since often readers will share a particular need or have a specific question. I certainly do pray when I receive a prayer request and often my wife Brooksyne joins me.

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. Used by permission; 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 2005 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved


Daily Encouragement Net - PO Box 714 - Mount Joy, PA 17552

"Living today anchored in God's solid foundation"

Home