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Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Train approaching at Sunrise
This is the Amtrak line near Mount Joy
(Photo by John Heisey)
"Staying On The Old T&O"
Listen to this
message on
your
audio player.
"You did not trust Him or obey Him" (Deuteronomy 9:23). "Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be My people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you" (Jeremiah 7:23). "Teach me to do Thy will; for Thou art my God: Thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness" (Psalm 143:10). "Find out what pleases the Lord" (Ephesians 5:10).
I was recently visiting with Richard, a friend who works at White Oak Display, one of the companies we serve as chaplains. He had a neat photo of a train on his computer which prompted a discussion where I learned that he is a train buff just like me. Since he is from Maryland we talked about the B&O Railroad (Baltimore and Ohio).
When I finished our conversation I urged Richard, a fellow believer in Christ, to stay on the old T&O. He looked at me with a quizzical look. I then elaborated, "Stay on the old Trust and Obey line!"
I've liked trains since I was a small child
and my family stayed at my grandparents in Harwood, Missouri. They lived near
a rail line and upon hearing the train whistle I'd run out as quickly
as my little legs would take me so I could count the engines and railroad
cars. Some of them had over 100 cars. This fun exercise was a pleasant object
lesson that surely helped me in learning to count up to 100. Not sure
how I handled numbers bigger than 100 in my real early years. (I took the train photo on the left in September last year near Marietta, PA on the Norfolk and Southern line which runs along the
Susquehanna River.)
Adrian Rogers, a minister now with the Lord, had a witty way of sharing. He was known to say, "The way to Heaven is not the ladder of logic or the rocket of reason, but the railroad of redemption, the old T&O." T&O is likely a takeoff of the B&O (Baltimore & Ohio) railroad.
So what is "The old T&O"? The T&O stands for "Trust and
Obey", the title of a beloved hymn that has a current and much
needed message. The title for this hymn remains a simple formula in how
to successfully live for Christ.
The hymn originated from a testimony meeting, following an evangelistic crusade held in Brockton, Massachusetts, by Dwight L. Moody. We only lived about 15 miles from Brockton when we served a church in Taunton, Massachusetts and traveled to Brockton often.
At the meeting a young man stood to speak, and it soon became clear he knew little Christian doctrine. But he finished by saying, “I’m not quite sure—but I’m going to trust, and I’m going to obey.”
Daniel Towner, who was in the meeting, jotted down the words, and gave
them to John Sammis, who developed the lyrics from them.* I hope
many of our readers still sing this beloved timeless hymn as we did in our congregation a few Sundays ago.
Today's first text is a rebuke from the Lord to the children of Israel. I purposefully only chose a part of the verse; a stunning, simple indictment of the people from their leader, Moses. "You did not trust Him or obey Him." The failure to trust and obey is the root of sinful behavior. The practice of trusting and obeying is at the heart of godly living.
Our heavenly Father calls out to us in the second daily text: "Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be My people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you." In the third text the Psalmist calls out to God, "Teach me to do Thy will; for Thou art my God: Thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness." And finally the Apostle Paul writes of the ongoing need for children of God to "Find out what pleases the Lord."
Let's all step on board the old T&O, as we trust and obey Jesus and His Holy Word!
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer: Father, though I am sometimes perplexed by that which I
don't understand I have an unshakable confidence in You. Your Word is
truth and Your promises never fail. There are many things of which I am
uncertain, but I have absolute certainty that I can trust You for
everything that concerns me. May obedience be an expression of my
unwavering trust and devoted love toward You, my Lord and my God. Amen.
Brooksyne's further challenge: I challenge our readers to choose the S&N which makes it possible for you to board the T&O. *see below
Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
“Trust And Obey" Video Don Moen
"Life Is Like A Mountain Railroad" Video Steven Curtis Chapman
"Life Is Like A Mountain Railroad" Video Instrumental picking by John Fahey
"This Train Is Bound for Glory" Video Homecoming with some amazing harmonica
"Ride That Glory Train" Video The Crimson River Quartet
*S&N - The straight and narrow!
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 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."
© Copyright 2015 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA
<Previous Message Next Message>
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Train approaching at Sunrise
This is the Amtrak line near Mount Joy
(Photo by John Heisey)
"Staying On The Old T&O"
Listen to this
message on
your
audio player."You did not trust Him or obey Him" (Deuteronomy 9:23). "Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be My people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you" (Jeremiah 7:23). "Teach me to do Thy will; for Thou art my God: Thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness" (Psalm 143:10). "Find out what pleases the Lord" (Ephesians 5:10).
I was recently visiting with Richard, a friend who works at White Oak Display, one of the companies we serve as chaplains. He had a neat photo of a train on his computer which prompted a discussion where I learned that he is a train buff just like me. Since he is from Maryland we talked about the B&O Railroad (Baltimore and Ohio).
When I finished our conversation I urged Richard, a fellow believer in Christ, to stay on the old T&O. He looked at me with a quizzical look. I then elaborated, "Stay on the old Trust and Obey line!"
I've liked trains since I was a small child
and my family stayed at my grandparents in Harwood, Missouri. They lived near
a rail line and upon hearing the train whistle I'd run out as quickly
as my little legs would take me so I could count the engines and railroad
cars. Some of them had over 100 cars. This fun exercise was a pleasant object
lesson that surely helped me in learning to count up to 100. Not sure
how I handled numbers bigger than 100 in my real early years. (I took the train photo on the left in September last year near Marietta, PA on the Norfolk and Southern line which runs along the
Susquehanna River.)Adrian Rogers, a minister now with the Lord, had a witty way of sharing. He was known to say, "The way to Heaven is not the ladder of logic or the rocket of reason, but the railroad of redemption, the old T&O." T&O is likely a takeoff of the B&O (Baltimore & Ohio) railroad.
So what is "The old T&O"? The T&O stands for "Trust and
Obey", the title of a beloved hymn that has a current and much
needed message. The title for this hymn remains a simple formula in how
to successfully live for Christ.The hymn originated from a testimony meeting, following an evangelistic crusade held in Brockton, Massachusetts, by Dwight L. Moody. We only lived about 15 miles from Brockton when we served a church in Taunton, Massachusetts and traveled to Brockton often.
At the meeting a young man stood to speak, and it soon became clear he knew little Christian doctrine. But he finished by saying, “I’m not quite sure—but I’m going to trust, and I’m going to obey.”
Daniel Towner, who was in the meeting, jotted down the words, and gave
them to John Sammis, who developed the lyrics from them.* I hope
many of our readers still sing this beloved timeless hymn as we did in our congregation a few Sundays ago.Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
Today's first text is a rebuke from the Lord to the children of Israel. I purposefully only chose a part of the verse; a stunning, simple indictment of the people from their leader, Moses. "You did not trust Him or obey Him." The failure to trust and obey is the root of sinful behavior. The practice of trusting and obeying is at the heart of godly living.
Our heavenly Father calls out to us in the second daily text: "Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be My people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you." In the third text the Psalmist calls out to God, "Teach me to do Thy will; for Thou art my God: Thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness." And finally the Apostle Paul writes of the ongoing need for children of God to "Find out what pleases the Lord."
Let's all step on board the old T&O, as we trust and obey Jesus and His Holy Word!
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer: Father, though I am sometimes perplexed by that which I
don't understand I have an unshakable confidence in You. Your Word is
truth and Your promises never fail. There are many things of which I am
uncertain, but I have absolute certainty that I can trust You for
everything that concerns me. May obedience be an expression of my
unwavering trust and devoted love toward You, my Lord and my God. Amen.Brooksyne's further challenge: I challenge our readers to choose the S&N which makes it possible for you to board the T&O. *see below
2015 Pennsylvania Farm Show
Yesterday afternoon Ester and I (Stephen) went to the Pennsylvania Farm Show held each January in Harrisburg.
The large Turkey Hill Cow in front of the complex.
The butter sculpture is always a highlight of the Farmshow. The life-size sculpture, consisting of 1,100 pounds of butter, depicts a food bank worker pouring milk into a boy's cup while his mother looks on holding a bag of groceries. They stand in front of a cooler filled with gallons of milk bearing the message, "Fill a Glass with Hope." A farmer and his cow stand nearby.
This colorful rooster was decorating the produce area.
Sorry but this huge New Holland sprayer is sold. Curt, the salesman who is also a friend informed me that he could order another for anyone who might be interested!
Yesterday afternoon Ester and I (Stephen) went to the Pennsylvania Farm Show held each January in Harrisburg.
The large Turkey Hill Cow in front of the complex.
The butter sculpture is always a highlight of the Farmshow. The life-size sculpture, consisting of 1,100 pounds of butter, depicts a food bank worker pouring milk into a boy's cup while his mother looks on holding a bag of groceries. They stand in front of a cooler filled with gallons of milk bearing the message, "Fill a Glass with Hope." A farmer and his cow stand nearby.
This colorful rooster was decorating the produce area.
Sorry but this huge New Holland sprayer is sold. Curt, the salesman who is also a friend informed me that he could order another for anyone who might be interested!
Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
“Trust And Obey" Video Don Moen
"Life Is Like A Mountain Railroad" Video Steven Curtis Chapman
"Life Is Like A Mountain Railroad" Video Instrumental picking by John Fahey
"This Train Is Bound for Glory" Video Homecoming with some amazing harmonica
"Ride That Glory Train" Video The Crimson River Quartet
*S&N - The straight and narrow!
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 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."
© Copyright 2015 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA