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Monday, March 12, 2012 ![]() Last week we passed the Hans Herr home, which is the oldest homestead in Lancaster County. ![]() "One Thing I Ask Of The LORD" "One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek Him in His temple" (Psalm 27:4). "This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in His presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and He knows everything" (1 John 3:19,20). I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold; I’d rather be His than have riches untold; I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands; I’d rather be led by His nail-pierced hand. ![]() David sums up what life's highest aspiration should be in Psalm 27:4: "One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek Him in His temple." To gaze or meditate upon the beauty of the Lord brings peace and assurance as one who has been forgiven and placed in right relationship with God. Prior to placing our faith in Christ we are all under God's condemnation. His condemnation of us is absolutely just and completely consistent with the nature of a sinless, holy God. The repentant thief was wise in his observation as he spoke not just for himself, but for the entire human race, as he stated, "We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man (Jesus) has done nothing wrong" (Luke 23:41). ![]() The apostle John makes a statement in this portion of Scripture that describes the human condition of self-condemnation. He describes it in a way that I readily identify with when he uses the phrase, "our hearts condemn us." I've experienced this from time to time and I’m confident that you have as well. I don't believe John is speaking of the healthy Holy Spirit-prompted conviction of sin that leads us to repentance. Rather he speaks of self-condemnation that can afflict God's children, robbing them of the peace and assurance of salvation that God has provided through the sacrificial death of His Son. The Study Bible comments on this portion of Scripture “our hearts condemn us” in the following words: “An oversensitive conscience can be quieted by the knowledge that God Himself has declared active love to be an evidence of salvation. He knows the hearts of all – whether, in spite of shortcomings, they have been born of Him.” Two truths need to be deeply appropriated from today's text: 1) "God is greater than our hearts" 2) "He knows all things" Today we encourage you to rest in a deep assurance of the Father's love and acceptance. Some readers struggle with self-condemnation, which the enemy of our soul delights in. He will use that to create self-doubt, worthlessness, and tempt you to admit defeat and walk away from God; God who has not left us in our condemned state but instead has provided His rich mercy. Let us accept the truth of God, Who is greater than our hearts and humbly realize that He indeed knows all things, even those things which we do not fully understand. Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber ![]() ![]() We
shared in Friday's message that Ester had her 23rd birthday on March 9 so we enjoyed a week-end celebration. We loaded her down with some birthday balloons in the back of our van on Friday which add color and flare to our dining room. She appreciated the reader's responses to her life story that she wrote (with some support by Brooksyne). ![]() Last night we had some friends over for a birthday meal for Ester including Mike and Nicole Martin who lead Triple Tree Biker church which reaches out to the motorcycle culture. They had some interesting stories to tell regarding their ministry efforts and Ester took this shot as we were visiting at the dinner table. Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources "One Thing Have I Desired" Video Maranatha Singers A beautiful rendition of Psalm 27:4, our first daily text. "You Deliver Me" Video Selah "No Condemnation" Video Don Moen "I'd Rather Have Jesus" Video Crabb family "I'd Rather Have Jesus" Video A powerful version by Dallas Holm we have periodically used in this series. The Hans Herr home The 1719 Hans Herr House, built in that year by Hans’ son, Christian, is the oldest surviving dwelling place of European settlers in what is now Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is also the oldest original Mennonite meeting house still standing in the Western Hemisphere. ![]() 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." Daily Encouragement Net is an affiliate of Christianbook.com © Copyright 2012 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA |