The
online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen
& Brooksyne Weber
A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation. Home About Us Archives Free email subscription Listen to these messages Text only for printing <Previous
Message
Next
Message
Wednesday, November 2, 2011 This is the view of my neighbor's barn on a lovely autum day. The snow is melted and it feels like fall again after this weekend's winter storm. However, there are still homes in our region without power so the power trucks are out in full force. Listen to this message on your audio player. "The Power Of Scripture" "This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalm 118:24). Today we would like to consider the power of a single Scripture verse and how its influence one one's life, and the outflow of that influence. I (Stephen) want to share a story about my aunt to illustrate. I had a lot of aunts on my mother’s side along with one uncle, each of them having lived well into their 80's and 90's before their deaths. My Mom's oldest sister was Anita Ruth whom her sibling called "Sis" but we cousins referred to as "Aunt Ruth". She went to be with the Lord about ten years ago living well into her nineties. Windsor, a tiny town in west central Missouri near the village of Tightwad, was her home town. As she aged Aunt Ruth became more and more forgetful but remained spry and witty to the end. When I went to Kansas City I would take my Mom down through the country to Windsor to visit her. She lived in a nursing home at the time and was so pleased when we stopped for a visit. She would grip me tightly around the neck as I stooped down to hug her and keep repeating, "It's so good to see you. Darling". Her gnarled fingers were usually donned with gigantic costume rings which only added to her colorful, eccentric personality. As she and Mom visited I'd pay a visit to the local barbershop since I like to get my hair cut in old-fashioned small town barber shops. While the barber was cutting my hair I asked him if he knew Ruth Campbell. He paused for a moment and then clarified, "You mean Anita Ruth?" It turns out that she had been his Sunday School teacher when he was four or five and he most certainly remembered her. In fact he was still attending the same church. Aunt Ruth's favorite Bible verse was, "This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." She said it all the time and I sure miss hearing her say it. Back in the eighties we sang many Scripture verses verbatim. This verse was one of them and I've no doubt that many of you still sing it! To this day most of my cousins will identify this verse with our Aunt Ruth. I consider how other people in my life are known for Scripture verses they often quote or are known to cherish. Jack, a long-time forester friend from our church in northern Pennsylvania, often quotes Proverbs 3:5&6. I always appreciate hearing Brooksyne lead out in the 23rd Psalm most often in a hospital setting or memorial service. She memorized this Psalm as a child in Sunday School. Those from my former congregations might think of me when they read I Corinthians 15:58 which I often quoted and still do today: "Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, for you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." As a matter of fact I have a clock on a wooden plaque the congregation from where I served in St. Marys, PA gave me upon my departure hanging right here in my office. The inscription included on the plaque has this very verse on it. (Pardon the poor photography!) Earl Martin, a godly man who passed away eight years ago, chose a theme verse at the beginning of each year. I can still recall him sharing it with our congregation the first week of January 2003 prior to his death the following summer. "The joy of the Lord is my strength" from Nehemiah 8:9 was his theme verse that year. As a matter of fact this verse was a backdrop for the theme of his funeral which, in addition to the inspiration of the written Holy Word, it added special personal meaning. What about you? Do you have a life's verse or a verse you often refer to or are known for? If not, perhaps you'd like to consider one that affirms or directs your life's message! Thank God for the power of Scripture. Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily Prayer: Father, Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and light unto my path. I pray that the light of Your Word shines forth not only in my path, but spreads out to those nearby. As I meditate, memorize and endear Your Word to my heart I pray that meaningful Scripture will be a natural outflow of who I have become through Christ. In honoring Your Word the power of Your Holy Spirit uses Scripture to bring conviction, instruction, and inspiration. Help us to be faithful in reading and engrafting Your Word to our hearts so that we consistently and earnestly contend for the faith no matter the difficulty or temptation we face this day. Amen. Please help us continue this free encouragement ministry Sign up here for the free daily email encouragement. Ministry Update (Revised 10/21/11) Permissions: Please feel free to pass on, reproduce and distribute any material on Daily Encouragement Net, in part or in whole, in any format, provided that you do not alter the wording in any way or charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. It is our desire to spread this material, not protect or restrict it. I do request that you keep the contact, copyright and subscription information intact. 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." © Copyright 2011 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA
Home
www.dailyencouragement.net Contact us 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 since then.
"Living securely today anchored in God's solid foundation" |