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Friday, January 2, 2015
Wisconsin winter scene
Photo by Georgia
"Our Greatest Resolution"
Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
“I Am Resolved" Video Dailey and Vincent
"Press On" Video Selah
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 2015 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA
<Previous Message Next Message>
Friday, January 2, 2015
Wisconsin winter scene
Photo by Georgia
"Our Greatest Resolution"
Note: No podcast today, couldn't get microphone to work!!!
"So we make it our goal to please Him" (2 Corinthians 5:9).
Many
of you have already made resolutions for the New Year. A turn of the calender
page from December to January signals a new year and seems like a perfectly good
time for a new start.
The word "resolution" is cousin to "resolve" and people resolve or set a goal(s) regarding matters important to them. All through our lives we lay out goals for what we want to accomplish, whether financial, health-related, spiritual, career oriented, and so forth. Undeniably, many will make fitness and weight loss goals they forsake by week's end!
But today we consider the greatest resolution for the believer. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:9, “We make it our goal to please Him." This is a resolution that the Apostle Paul had made for both himself and his readers when he used the pronoun "we". As part of the Holy Scriptures we are included in this resolution!
The Amplified Bible expresses this sense well: "We are constantly ambitious and strive earnestly to be pleasing to Him."
The word translated "goal" means "to devote oneself zealously to a cause". Elsewhere Paul writes, "I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:14).
Ravi Zacharias challenges followers of Christ to follow the model of many corporations and local churches and develop a personal mission statement. Many years ago I formulated my own. The difficulty for me in this matter is staying succinct since there are so many desirable Scripture verses I'd like to incorporate into a mission statement. Here's the one I have used for many years:
"I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
A great pursuit in life for the redeemed is finding out what pleases the Lord. By God's grace it remains a simple expression of our greatest resolution in life. The quest to find out what pleases the Lord is ongoing. Although God's written revelation regarding what pleases Him is unchangeable, new challenges in different contexts and historical periods are always set before God's people. Doing the right thing requires discernment and resolve, while building a solid foundation based upon that which you find God prohibits and that which pleases Him. Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:10, "Find out what pleases the Lord."
Among our resolutions for 2015 let's make pleasing the Lord our greatest one!
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer: Father,
I make it my goal to please You. So many worthy goals I set last only
for a
season, and the rewards may last only for a season as well. But when I
make a resolve to live righteously, making every effort to please
You, my rewards will last
not only for this life, but for all of eternity. In setting my goals
help me to be willing to lay aside that which hinders and the sin that
so easily entangles so that I reap a harvest of
righteousness, peace, and joy. I want my primary goal to be that of
perseverance so that no circumstances in life will deter me from
my daily walk with Christ. Above all I want to spend my whole life
finding out what pleases You and carry it out as the Holy Spirit enables me. It
is in Jesus' name that I pray. Amen.
Following are a selection of the spiritual resolutions written by Jonathan Edwards before age 20. Edwards preached "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" in 1741 in Enfield, Connecticut which was the start of the Great Awakening:
I came across this postcard from 1915
"So we make it our goal to please Him" (2 Corinthians 5:9).
I am resolved no longer to linger,
Charmed by the world’s delight,
Things that are higher, things that are nobler,
These have allured my sight.
Charmed by the world’s delight,
Things that are higher, things that are nobler,
These have allured my sight.
Many
of you have already made resolutions for the New Year. A turn of the calender
page from December to January signals a new year and seems like a perfectly good
time for a new start.The word "resolution" is cousin to "resolve" and people resolve or set a goal(s) regarding matters important to them. All through our lives we lay out goals for what we want to accomplish, whether financial, health-related, spiritual, career oriented, and so forth. Undeniably, many will make fitness and weight loss goals they forsake by week's end!
But today we consider the greatest resolution for the believer. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:9, “We make it our goal to please Him." This is a resolution that the Apostle Paul had made for both himself and his readers when he used the pronoun "we". As part of the Holy Scriptures we are included in this resolution!
The Amplified Bible expresses this sense well: "We are constantly ambitious and strive earnestly to be pleasing to Him."
The word translated "goal" means "to devote oneself zealously to a cause". Elsewhere Paul writes, "I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:14).Ravi Zacharias challenges followers of Christ to follow the model of many corporations and local churches and develop a personal mission statement. Many years ago I formulated my own. The difficulty for me in this matter is staying succinct since there are so many desirable Scripture verses I'd like to incorporate into a mission statement. Here's the one I have used for many years:
"I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
A great pursuit in life for the redeemed is finding out what pleases the Lord. By God's grace it remains a simple expression of our greatest resolution in life. The quest to find out what pleases the Lord is ongoing. Although God's written revelation regarding what pleases Him is unchangeable, new challenges in different contexts and historical periods are always set before God's people. Doing the right thing requires discernment and resolve, while building a solid foundation based upon that which you find God prohibits and that which pleases Him. Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:10, "Find out what pleases the Lord."
Among our resolutions for 2015 let's make pleasing the Lord our greatest one!
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer: Father,
I make it my goal to please You. So many worthy goals I set last only
for a
season, and the rewards may last only for a season as well. But when I
make a resolve to live righteously, making every effort to please
You, my rewards will last
not only for this life, but for all of eternity. In setting my goals
help me to be willing to lay aside that which hinders and the sin that
so easily entangles so that I reap a harvest of
righteousness, peace, and joy. I want my primary goal to be that of
perseverance so that no circumstances in life will deter me from
my daily walk with Christ. Above all I want to spend my whole life
finding out what pleases You and carry it out as the Holy Spirit enables me. It
is in Jesus' name that I pray. Amen.Following are a selection of the spiritual resolutions written by Jonathan Edwards before age 20. Edwards preached "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" in 1741 in Enfield, Connecticut which was the start of the Great Awakening:
- "Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God’s help, I do humbly entreat Him, by His grace, to enable me to keep these resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to His will."
- Resolved, that I will do whatsoever I think to be most to the glory of God, and my own good, profit, and pleasure... To do whatever I think to be my duty... for the good and advantage of mankind in general. "
- Resolved, never to do any manner of thing, whether in soul or body less or more, but what tends to the glory of God...’
- Resolved, never to lose one moment of time, but to improve it in the most profitable way I possibly can.
- Resolved, to live with all my might, while I do live.
- Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do if it were the last hour of my life.
- Resolved, to study the Scriptures so steadily, constantly, and frequently, as that I may find, and plainly perceive, myself to grow in the knowledge of the same.
- Resolved, never, henceforward, till I die, to act as if I were any way my own, but entirely and altogether God’s.
- Resolved, never to allow the least measure of any fretting or uneasiness at my father or mother.
-
Resolved, (That) there be something of benevolence in all I speak.
(Edwards resolved to read these resolutions over once a week!)
I came across this postcard from 1915
Today we
received a prayer that really blessed us from a newer friend. What a
great way to encourage others by writing a personalized prayer!
"Dear Lord, thank You for Stephen & Brooksyne. Thank You for giving them both a heart to encourage people and to tell people about You and Your Son, Jesus. Thank You for sending Jesus to die on the cross for our sins, so that we can be forgiven and live with You in eternity. I pray that you would provide encouragement for Stephen & Brooksyne. Bring other people into their lives who will love and encourage them in their ministry. Keep their marriage strong and give them wisdom in all that they say and do. I pray that you would protect their thought lives and that you would keep Satan from having any foothold in their lives. Please give them health and perseverance as the continue to strive to do Your will in every area of their lives. Thank You for how You are going to continue working through both of them to bring honor and glory to You. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen."
"Dear Lord, thank You for Stephen & Brooksyne. Thank You for giving them both a heart to encourage people and to tell people about You and Your Son, Jesus. Thank You for sending Jesus to die on the cross for our sins, so that we can be forgiven and live with You in eternity. I pray that you would provide encouragement for Stephen & Brooksyne. Bring other people into their lives who will love and encourage them in their ministry. Keep their marriage strong and give them wisdom in all that they say and do. I pray that you would protect their thought lives and that you would keep Satan from having any foothold in their lives. Please give them health and perseverance as the continue to strive to do Your will in every area of their lives. Thank You for how You are going to continue working through both of them to bring honor and glory to You. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen."
Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
“I Am Resolved" Video Dailey and Vincent
"Press On" Video Selah
When the mountain is steep
when the valley is deep
when the body is weary
when we stumble and fall
When the choices are hard
when we're battered and scarred
when we've spent our resource
when we've given our all
In Jesus name we press on
In Jesus name we press on
dear Lord, with the prize
clear before our eyes
we find the strength to press on
"Set My Eyes" (Philippians 3) Video Musicians not specified but nice selection of Scripture set to music!
when the valley is deep
when the body is weary
when we stumble and fall
When the choices are hard
when we're battered and scarred
when we've spent our resource
when we've given our all
In Jesus name we press on
In Jesus name we press on
dear Lord, with the prize
clear before our eyes
we find the strength to press on
"Set My Eyes" (Philippians 3) Video Musicians not specified but nice selection of Scripture set to music!
Today's opening photo was taken by my cousin Georgia who lives in Wisconsin. She posts her photos here.
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 2015 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA