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"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God" (1 Corinthians 1:18). "You have also given me the shield of your salvation" (2 Samuel 22:36).
Several
days ago we shared a photo of some Christian symbols high up on a
bucket elevator on a farm. (Thanks to my farmer friends Galen and
Ken for the technical word "bucket elevator".) One is the typical star
symbol at Christmas; the other is the cross, a symbol we don't
generally associate with Christmas, but rather during the Easter
season. That got me to thinking and brought a recollection from
about ten years ago.
Here in Pennsylvania for many years we had a major health insurance provider known as Blue Cross/Blue Shield. In fact it was our insurance provider during the years we lived in northern Pennsylvania from 1977 to 1993. In 2001 Blue Cross/Blue Shield experienced some difficulties and became two separate companies which is the case to this day in our state. Now there are two separate companies; Capital Blue Cross and Highmark Blue Shield which actually compete against each other!
But
back when they were having problems and there was uncertainty a rival
company used an interesting slogan to advertise for new
customers. Most memorably I recall one large highway billboard as
you came into Mount Joy that declared, "NO CROSS, NO SHIELD, NO PROBLEM".
Well that sure got me thinking. That seems to me to be the
attitude of many to a vitally more important cross and shield.
The cross is an historic Christian symbol, reminding us of what really happened on an old wooden cross nearly 2000 years ago, when Jesus Christ died as a substitute for our sins. But to the majority at the time, to the majority throughout the ages, and to multitudes of people today it conveys a message of foolishness. They scoff at the notion. This is not new though. In our first daily verse the apostle Paul wrote: "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."
The shield, although not as common as the symbol of the cross, is nevertheless used in Scripture to describe our salvation. In the second daily verse David wrote in one of his songs to the Lord, "You have also given me the shield of your salvation." It's interesting to me that the root Hebrew word used in this passage for salvation is "yesha'", which is also the root word for the Name of Jesus.
The world may indeed feel "no cross, no shield, no problem". But from the perspective of "the redeemed", man's failure to glory in the cross and to appropriate the shield of salvation to their souls is a very big problem. Today join me in thanking God for what took place on the cross which brought about the shield of our salvation.
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer: Father, we're grateful for Jesus who provided the
answer for the sin problem for all time. Without the cross there would
be no redemption; no forgiveness for our sins; no hope for this life or
the next; no sin-free eternity for the redeemed. That which was man's
greatest problem had no earthly fix, but You sent Jesus to be born in a
hallowed manger to be the solution to our desperate condition. To
those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior it is a joyous walk. The
weight of sin is lifted and the shield of salvation empowers us for
Jesus is our Master. But to those who reject Jesus the weight of sin
continues to dominate their lives and enslave them to the schemes of
Satan who is their master. We lift high the banner of the cross of
Jesus as we walk in His resurrected power, and it is also in His name that
we pray. Amen.
Stephen's note: We write these messages each weekday morning (or sometimes the night before due to our schedule). Brooksyne edits and sharpens my writings. Even after we read the podcast together we find ways to sharpen the message and have some final editing. But mistakes still happen and at times they are humorous or worse yet can be misleading. Yesterday I changed something after Brooksyne had finished and an alert reader pointed out the flaw. Regarding our faithful friend Wilfred Nelson I wrote. "For the last several years of his life he was confined to a nursing home in an increasingly diminished mental state before going home to be with the Lord several years." My alert friend wondered if that meant he would be coming back after several years! Of course it should have read, "before going home to be with the Lord several years ago." After the message is sent I can make corrections on the archive version on the website but once the email goes out that's it! You can imagine I heard from my editor when she saw what I had done. As she would say, "This happens way too often."
Today we share a larger than usual selection of music that we feel relates to our message.
"It's About The Cross" Video An interesting perspective on Christmas by a group known as Go Fish
"The Christmas Cross" Video DeWayne Climer
"It's Still The Cross" Video
"The Glory Of The Cross" Video
"I Will Glory In The Cross" Video
"The Old Rugged Cross" Video
"The Power Of The Cross" Video
"Be It Unto Me" Video Tonight Brooksyne will direct a combined church choir in the first of four presentations of the musical titled "O Holy Night". This is one of her favorite songs from the musical.
Friday, December 3, 2010
"The cross we carry is never as heavy
as the chains from which we were freed."
as the chains from which we were freed."
"No Cross, No Shield, A Big Problem"
"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God" (1 Corinthians 1:18). "You have also given me the shield of your salvation" (2 Samuel 22:36).
Several
days ago we shared a photo of some Christian symbols high up on a
bucket elevator on a farm. (Thanks to my farmer friends Galen and
Ken for the technical word "bucket elevator".) One is the typical star
symbol at Christmas; the other is the cross, a symbol we don't
generally associate with Christmas, but rather during the Easter
season. That got me to thinking and brought a recollection from
about ten years ago.Here in Pennsylvania for many years we had a major health insurance provider known as Blue Cross/Blue Shield. In fact it was our insurance provider during the years we lived in northern Pennsylvania from 1977 to 1993. In 2001 Blue Cross/Blue Shield experienced some difficulties and became two separate companies which is the case to this day in our state. Now there are two separate companies; Capital Blue Cross and Highmark Blue Shield which actually compete against each other!
The cross is an historic Christian symbol, reminding us of what really happened on an old wooden cross nearly 2000 years ago, when Jesus Christ died as a substitute for our sins. But to the majority at the time, to the majority throughout the ages, and to multitudes of people today it conveys a message of foolishness. They scoff at the notion. This is not new though. In our first daily verse the apostle Paul wrote: "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."
The shield, although not as common as the symbol of the cross, is nevertheless used in Scripture to describe our salvation. In the second daily verse David wrote in one of his songs to the Lord, "You have also given me the shield of your salvation." It's interesting to me that the root Hebrew word used in this passage for salvation is "yesha'", which is also the root word for the Name of Jesus.
The world may indeed feel "no cross, no shield, no problem". But from the perspective of "the redeemed", man's failure to glory in the cross and to appropriate the shield of salvation to their souls is a very big problem. Today join me in thanking God for what took place on the cross which brought about the shield of our salvation.
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer: Father, we're grateful for Jesus who provided the
answer for the sin problem for all time. Without the cross there would
be no redemption; no forgiveness for our sins; no hope for this life or
the next; no sin-free eternity for the redeemed. That which was man's
greatest problem had no earthly fix, but You sent Jesus to be born in a
hallowed manger to be the solution to our desperate condition. To
those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior it is a joyous walk. The
weight of sin is lifted and the shield of salvation empowers us for
Jesus is our Master. But to those who reject Jesus the weight of sin
continues to dominate their lives and enslave them to the schemes of
Satan who is their master. We lift high the banner of the cross of
Jesus as we walk in His resurrected power, and it is also in His name that
we pray. Amen.Stephen's note: We write these messages each weekday morning (or sometimes the night before due to our schedule). Brooksyne edits and sharpens my writings. Even after we read the podcast together we find ways to sharpen the message and have some final editing. But mistakes still happen and at times they are humorous or worse yet can be misleading. Yesterday I changed something after Brooksyne had finished and an alert reader pointed out the flaw. Regarding our faithful friend Wilfred Nelson I wrote. "For the last several years of his life he was confined to a nursing home in an increasingly diminished mental state before going home to be with the Lord several years." My alert friend wondered if that meant he would be coming back after several years! Of course it should have read, "before going home to be with the Lord several years ago." After the message is sent I can make corrections on the archive version on the website but once the email goes out that's it! You can imagine I heard from my editor when she saw what I had done. As she would say, "This happens way too often."
Today's
Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
Click on the link to open and play.
(In some cases you may also need to click again to start the song.)
Click on the link to open and play.
(In some cases you may also need to click again to start the song.)
Today we share a larger than usual selection of music that we feel relates to our message.
"It's About The Cross" Video An interesting perspective on Christmas by a group known as Go Fish
"The Christmas Cross" Video DeWayne Climer
"It's Still The Cross" Video
"The Glory Of The Cross" Video
"I Will Glory In The Cross" Video
"The Old Rugged Cross" Video
"The Power Of The Cross" Video
"Be It Unto Me" Video Tonight Brooksyne will direct a combined church choir in the first of four presentations of the musical titled "O Holy Night". This is one of her favorite songs from the musical.
I
took this photo of Chaplain Dave Hertle at a mobile truck chapel in
Omaha Nebraska several years ago. He is holding the heavy chain
shaped in a cross with the links welded together. David is a chaplain with Transport For Christ.
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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 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."
Daily
Encouragement Net is an affiliate of Christianbook.com
©
Copyright 2010
Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA
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