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our daily encouragement messages a blessing to you? We ask you to
consider making a donation to Daily Encouragement Net so that we can
continue to prepare and provide this daily resource which is
accessed by believers and seekers all over the world. Daily
Encouragement Net relies solely on the generosity and financial support
of its readers and podcast listeners. See here for more information on supporting this
ministry. Gifts are tax deductible.
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 2013 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA
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Tuesday, August
27, 2013
Colorful Flower Box Ferris Wheel morphed by the big ferris wheel
in the background at Knoebels Park near Elysburg, Pennsylvania
"Look, Grandma!
Jesus Is Playing The Piano!"
Listen to this message on
your audio player
"And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory" (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Here in Lancaster County we are blessed to have Sight & Sound Theatre, sometimes touted as the "Christian Broadway", which has been dramatizing adventuresome Bible Epics for over 35 years, complete with story, song, and spectacular staging. Currently a revision of Noah is playing at our Sight and Sound Theater.
We have enjoyed several of these outstanding presentations through the years and each one ends with a clear presentation of the Gospel. Of course, the actors are actually local "real" people known throughout our community and in area churches they attend.
A number of years ago Juanita, my mother's longtime friend, shared the following story with us during a visit in her home located in the Branson, MO area. She and her late husband, Warren, had many contacts in the Branson area and were able to get us some free or discounted tickets to several shows and attractions. In fact in three days we attended five!
The attraction that stood out most was the presentation of a drama called "The Promise" which powerfully presented the message of the Gospel. Randy Brooks, the actor who portrayed Jesus, did an outstanding job and is himself a devout believer. In a remarkable way he really fit the stereotypical art image we have of Christ.
Juanita told me they had taken their grandchildren to see the play one Saturday evening and the next day Randy attended their church and was playing the piano. Their grandson in wide-eyed amazement proclaimed, "Look, Grandma! Jesus is playing the piano!"
Most of us do not fit the art image of Christ, but as believers we are all called to reflect His glory in our thinking, in our conversation, and in our actions.
Today, if you are a believer, you will be reflecting His glory. People will be observing your life. Do they see the character of Jesus in you? The verse goes on to declare that we "are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit".
When people see us today they're unlikely to see a physical resemblance to Jesus as the little boy did when pointing out the actor at the piano. But can they see the resemblance in our way of life? Several verses earlier Paul had written to these Corinthian believers: "You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts" (2 Corinthians 3:2,3).
What would the life you are living today look like if it were written down on paper tomorrow for others to read?
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer:
Father, we want to resemble You in our attitudes
and our actions, as we are being transformed into Your likeness with
ever-increasing glory. How grateful we are that the people we are today
will improve with time as we stay the course and invite the work of the
Holy Spirit to continue its sharpening chisel making less of us and
more of You. May all our thought and words and doings honor You and
reflect Your Holy Spirit. Be magnified in our lives, whether in our
suffering affliction and loss, or achieving a life-long goal. In all we
do we seek to honor You. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Brooksyne's troubling remembrance of actors in real life playing godly characters: When I was a young teen my family had gone to Eureka Springs to see the Passion Play. It was outstanding and truly moved us as we viewed Christ's life, His death on the cross and His resurrection.
A short time later we went to a restaurant where these actors had gathered for a meal. Their salty language was that of a sailor's and it left a very bad impression on us. It took away from the worshipful feeling we carried from the message they had just presented a couple hours earlier. Some Christian drama presentations use actors with acting skills, first and foremost. I'm very thankful for those who use actors who are Christian in belief and in behavior, who also have acting skills. Additional thought: Similar to the above story, there are many who claim to be Christians whose behavior reflects that of the world. It certainly leaves a bad witness to those who see or hear it, and sadly it adds truth to the oft quoted cliche, "The church is full of hypocrites."
This thought isn't necessarily related to today's message but I saw it on a blog post last night and it really is food for thought:
Our first ride was up the mountain ski lift to see an overview of the park.
We didn't get sick on this ride but we sure were high above the ground at some points along the way!
The park is replete with fresh flowers and even in late August they are vibrant.
Thiis blacksmith demonstration reminded me of Silver Dollar City.
A carousel museum with old wood carved menagerie animals.
I learned why most carousels have only horses. Do you know? (see below)
Way up high on the Ferris Wheel with Ester. She also had a friend along and they rode some of the thrill rides.
Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
"JUST AS I AM - I Come Broken to Be Mended.." Video Travis Cotrell This song goes to the core of what it is to come to Christ empty-handed and be filled with newness of life fully equipped to do His bidding. A beautiful arrangement that will remind you of the great mercy of our God!
"In My Life" Video Maranatha Singers
Sight And Sound
Knoebels is located here (Bing map)
Carousels often had lions, zebras, elephants, and other wild animals through the early 1900's, but children tended to ride just the horses because they were afraid of the less familiar animals, so craftsmen began to design only horses. Merry-Go-Rounds still feature various animals.
Colorful Flower Box Ferris Wheel morphed by the big ferris wheel
in the background at Knoebels Park near Elysburg, Pennsylvania
"Look, Grandma!
Jesus Is Playing The Piano!"
Listen to this message on
your audio player"And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory" (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Here in Lancaster County we are blessed to have Sight & Sound Theatre, sometimes touted as the "Christian Broadway", which has been dramatizing adventuresome Bible Epics for over 35 years, complete with story, song, and spectacular staging. Currently a revision of Noah is playing at our Sight and Sound Theater.
We have enjoyed several of these outstanding presentations through the years and each one ends with a clear presentation of the Gospel. Of course, the actors are actually local "real" people known throughout our community and in area churches they attend.
A number of years ago Juanita, my mother's longtime friend, shared the following story with us during a visit in her home located in the Branson, MO area. She and her late husband, Warren, had many contacts in the Branson area and were able to get us some free or discounted tickets to several shows and attractions. In fact in three days we attended five!
The attraction that stood out most was the presentation of a drama called "The Promise" which powerfully presented the message of the Gospel. Randy Brooks, the actor who portrayed Jesus, did an outstanding job and is himself a devout believer. In a remarkable way he really fit the stereotypical art image we have of Christ.
Juanita told me they had taken their grandchildren to see the play one Saturday evening and the next day Randy attended their church and was playing the piano. Their grandson in wide-eyed amazement proclaimed, "Look, Grandma! Jesus is playing the piano!"
Most of us do not fit the art image of Christ, but as believers we are all called to reflect His glory in our thinking, in our conversation, and in our actions.
Today, if you are a believer, you will be reflecting His glory. People will be observing your life. Do they see the character of Jesus in you? The verse goes on to declare that we "are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit".
When people see us today they're unlikely to see a physical resemblance to Jesus as the little boy did when pointing out the actor at the piano. But can they see the resemblance in our way of life? Several verses earlier Paul had written to these Corinthian believers: "You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts" (2 Corinthians 3:2,3).
What would the life you are living today look like if it were written down on paper tomorrow for others to read?
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer:
Father, we want to resemble You in our attitudes
and our actions, as we are being transformed into Your likeness with
ever-increasing glory. How grateful we are that the people we are today
will improve with time as we stay the course and invite the work of the
Holy Spirit to continue its sharpening chisel making less of us and
more of You. May all our thought and words and doings honor You and
reflect Your Holy Spirit. Be magnified in our lives, whether in our
suffering affliction and loss, or achieving a life-long goal. In all we
do we seek to honor You. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.Brooksyne's troubling remembrance of actors in real life playing godly characters: When I was a young teen my family had gone to Eureka Springs to see the Passion Play. It was outstanding and truly moved us as we viewed Christ's life, His death on the cross and His resurrection.
A short time later we went to a restaurant where these actors had gathered for a meal. Their salty language was that of a sailor's and it left a very bad impression on us. It took away from the worshipful feeling we carried from the message they had just presented a couple hours earlier. Some Christian drama presentations use actors with acting skills, first and foremost. I'm very thankful for those who use actors who are Christian in belief and in behavior, who also have acting skills. Additional thought: Similar to the above story, there are many who claim to be Christians whose behavior reflects that of the world. It certainly leaves a bad witness to those who see or hear it, and sadly it adds truth to the oft quoted cliche, "The church is full of hypocrites."
This thought isn't necessarily related to today's message but I saw it on a blog post last night and it really is food for thought:
Our first ride was up the mountain ski lift to see an overview of the park.
We didn't get sick on this ride but we sure were high above the ground at some points along the way!
The park is replete with fresh flowers and even in late August they are vibrant.
Thiis blacksmith demonstration reminded me of Silver Dollar City.
A carousel museum with old wood carved menagerie animals.
I learned why most carousels have only horses. Do you know? (see below)
Way up high on the Ferris Wheel with Ester. She also had a friend along and they rode some of the thrill rides.
Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
"JUST AS I AM - I Come Broken to Be Mended.." Video Travis Cotrell This song goes to the core of what it is to come to Christ empty-handed and be filled with newness of life fully equipped to do His bidding. A beautiful arrangement that will remind you of the great mercy of our God!
"In My Life" Video Maranatha Singers
Sight And Sound
Knoebels is located here (Bing map)
Carousels often had lions, zebras, elephants, and other wild animals through the early 1900's, but children tended to ride just the horses because they were afraid of the less familiar animals, so craftsmen began to design only horses. Merry-Go-Rounds still feature various animals.
Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne
To receive the "Daily Encouragement" each Monday-Friday through email see this page to subscribe to our email list. You can also subscribe to the Wordpress rss feed or through a Wordpress email subscription. (See the email subscription on the right side after opening this page.)
Are
our daily encouragement messages a blessing to you? We ask you to
consider making a donation to Daily Encouragement Net so that we can
continue to prepare and provide this daily resource which is
accessed by believers and seekers all over the world. Daily
Encouragement Net relies solely on the generosity and financial support
of its readers and podcast listeners. See here for more information on supporting this
ministry. Gifts are tax deductible.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 2013 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA