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Monday, April 6, 2015
"A Glorious Day"
Listen to this
message on
your
audio player.
"It is true! The Lord has risen" (Luke 24:34).
Did you gather with other believers to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ yesterday? I am sure we sang some of the same songs to honor the risen Christ. We're also aware that some of our readers are unable to get out and be with others. We trust you experienced Easter in your heart, and possibly worshipped Him with other believers via television, online or some other valuable resource that brings live worship into your setting.
Upon our awakening on Easter morning we already knew the familiar resurrection story. We can only try to understand the
excitement of those first participants. At that time the news travelled
so slowly compared to today. Likely today the news would first
be disseminated with a tweet hash tag #Christarose. The disciples would
then put their accounts up on their Facebook page and in no
time someone would have a YouTube video posted that would most certainly go viral!
This makes me recall a memorable experience Cal Bacon a friend of mine shared when he was a young music minister in a church in Chicago. I knew Cal in the 1990's in New England before he retired and moved to Florida. For several years he sent out a weekly email update and inspirational message to his family and friends prior to his home going (he died on a mission trip in Africa). He had many children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and when I read his messages I sensed a type of modern patriarch, faithfully serving God and passing on the heritage to those behind him. One of his final messages was on Easter Sunday and he shared a remembrance from early in his ministry. It is a reflection from the past but a timely truth now and always:
"We celebrate
RESURRECTION DAY! I shall never forget an event from the mid-fifties.
I was on staff at the Stone Church in Chicago, Illinois as the Minister
of Music and Youth. It was Easter Sunday Morning and as usual we were
standing in the foyer of that great church welcoming the parishioners
at they came in for worship. They were all dressed up with hats and
corsages. At that time there was no communication from overseas except Western Union
Telegraph. In through the front door popped a young man in a Western
Union uniform. He handed the Pastor a yellow envelope. Pastor tore it
open and it was from a missionary in Jerusalem. The words, written on
1/4" tape and pasted on the yellow paper were read to the congregation: "HE IS NOT HERE STOP HE
IS RISEN STOP HALLELUJAH". ("Stop" was the word used for a period back
then.) That made a tremendous impact on my young mind. And the same
message is just as real today as it was back then. WE SERVE A RISEN
LORD! HALLELUJAH! Our God is different from any other god in the
world. He was embedded into mankind and then killed, but He rose again
and now reigns as King of kings and Lord of lords. Praise His Name!
Let's celebrate. GLORY!"
"It is true! The Lord has risen" (Luke 24:34).
Have you made this affirmation? It was initially made by the two
disciples who encountered the risen Lord on the road to Emmaus. That's
the simple, straightforward report they brought to the eleven.
It's at the very heart of the Christian faith, a matter of "first importance" according to the apostle Paul. In fact Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins" (1 Corinthians 15:17).
You see; our faith is grounded in objective historical fact, not religious myth. Peter wrote, "We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty" (2 Peter 1:16).
And now here we are, nearly 2,000 years later (1,982 years based upon the commonly held date of 33 AD for Christ's resurrection). We write this early on a beautiful Monday morning looking out over a vast farm field. You're reading it in a variety of locations all around the world. After Resurrection Sunday it's back to work, back to living out the remainder of our allotted time on planet earth, back to what has often been referred to as "the daily grind." Yet the reality of the resurrection is a dynamic truth that should impact and permeate every area of our life. It should invigorate our walk with Christ and renew our hope in the midst of the daily grind so that our spirit soars above the wear and tear of life's demands.
One of the great evidences for the validity of the Christian faith is the changed lives of the disciples. From Resurrection morning onward they went forth as devoted servants of the resurrected Christ with many being martyred for their faith. The resurrection truth meant a deep, abiding commitment to the risen Lord for these early disciples of Christ and it has for believers in each subsequent generation, no matter the cost. The horrific murders of the 147 college students in Kenya last week by the Al Shabaab Muslim terrorists along with the 79 they left wounded has weighed heavily on our hearts. Based on the accounts consider the decision they had in their waking moments to either confess or deny Christ. Not only could they conjure in their minds the flash of martyrdom, they were seeing it firsthand as the victims lie dead all around them killed by gunfire, explosions, and even beheadings.
Today, hundreds of millions live for Jesus Christ and we are two of them. We earnestly hope you are as well. Yes, it's true, the Lord is risen! And we believe, you as a reader will properly respond, "He is risen, indeed!" Let us show that with our words, our actions, and our courageous commitment to follow Him, no matter the cost.
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer:
Father, the message "He Is Risen" resounds beyond the inner walls of the tomb
where Jesus' body no longer lay, for it resounds in our hearts and
soars within our spirits nearly 2000 years later. We serve a
risen Savior who is in the world today, who dwells within our hearts,
and who reconciles us to You, our Father in heaven. What a joyous
and triumphant day we celebrate at Easter and everyday as we
acknowledge our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ who died, was buried, and
who rose again. Amen.
My sister Genelle is good at finding old photos.
This photo was snapped on Easter in the mid-sixties in our lawn in Belton, Missouri.
Looks like we had an Easter basket filled with eggs and candy. I wonder if we had to wait till after eating our Easter dinner before indulging in the Easter candy. Mostly likely!
Brooksyne leading our worship on Easter morning with our choir and congregation singing, "Christ the Lord is Risen Today!".
Easter dinner with the Cnubes, from Zimbabwe, Africa now residing in our neighborhood while Notsen furthers his studies as a pastor. Ester's friends, Katharine and Bella Cooke also joined us.
"Glorious Day" Video Casting Crowns
"Going Home" Video Bill Gaither and Tanya Goodman Sykes
"Why Can't We" Video The Isaacs
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>
Monday, April 6, 2015
"A Glorious Day"
Listen to this
message on
your
audio player."It is true! The Lord has risen" (Luke 24:34).
One day the grave could conceal Him no longer,
One day the stone rolled away from the door;
Then He arose, over death He had conquered;
Now is ascended, my Lord evermore!
One day the stone rolled away from the door;
Then He arose, over death He had conquered;
Now is ascended, my Lord evermore!
Did you gather with other believers to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ yesterday? I am sure we sang some of the same songs to honor the risen Christ. We're also aware that some of our readers are unable to get out and be with others. We trust you experienced Easter in your heart, and possibly worshipped Him with other believers via television, online or some other valuable resource that brings live worship into your setting.
Upon our awakening on Easter morning we already knew the familiar resurrection story. We can only try to understand the
excitement of those first participants. At that time the news travelled
so slowly compared to today. Likely today the news would first
be disseminated with a tweet hash tag #Christarose. The disciples would
then put their accounts up on their Facebook page and in no
time someone would have a YouTube video posted that would most certainly go viral!This makes me recall a memorable experience Cal Bacon a friend of mine shared when he was a young music minister in a church in Chicago. I knew Cal in the 1990's in New England before he retired and moved to Florida. For several years he sent out a weekly email update and inspirational message to his family and friends prior to his home going (he died on a mission trip in Africa). He had many children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and when I read his messages I sensed a type of modern patriarch, faithfully serving God and passing on the heritage to those behind him. One of his final messages was on Easter Sunday and he shared a remembrance from early in his ministry. It is a reflection from the past but a timely truth now and always:
"We celebrate
RESURRECTION DAY! I shall never forget an event from the mid-fifties.
I was on staff at the Stone Church in Chicago, Illinois as the Minister
of Music and Youth. It was Easter Sunday Morning and as usual we were
standing in the foyer of that great church welcoming the parishioners
at they came in for worship. They were all dressed up with hats and
corsages. At that time there was no communication from overseas except Western Union
Telegraph. In through the front door popped a young man in a Western
Union uniform. He handed the Pastor a yellow envelope. Pastor tore it
open and it was from a missionary in Jerusalem. The words, written on
1/4" tape and pasted on the yellow paper were read to the congregation: "HE IS NOT HERE STOP HE
IS RISEN STOP HALLELUJAH". ("Stop" was the word used for a period back
then.) That made a tremendous impact on my young mind. And the same
message is just as real today as it was back then. WE SERVE A RISEN
LORD! HALLELUJAH! Our God is different from any other god in the
world. He was embedded into mankind and then killed, but He rose again
and now reigns as King of kings and Lord of lords. Praise His Name!
Let's celebrate. GLORY!""It is true! The Lord has risen" (Luke 24:34).
Have you made this affirmation? It was initially made by the two
disciples who encountered the risen Lord on the road to Emmaus. That's
the simple, straightforward report they brought to the eleven. It's at the very heart of the Christian faith, a matter of "first importance" according to the apostle Paul. In fact Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins" (1 Corinthians 15:17).
You see; our faith is grounded in objective historical fact, not religious myth. Peter wrote, "We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty" (2 Peter 1:16).
And now here we are, nearly 2,000 years later (1,982 years based upon the commonly held date of 33 AD for Christ's resurrection). We write this early on a beautiful Monday morning looking out over a vast farm field. You're reading it in a variety of locations all around the world. After Resurrection Sunday it's back to work, back to living out the remainder of our allotted time on planet earth, back to what has often been referred to as "the daily grind." Yet the reality of the resurrection is a dynamic truth that should impact and permeate every area of our life. It should invigorate our walk with Christ and renew our hope in the midst of the daily grind so that our spirit soars above the wear and tear of life's demands.
One of the great evidences for the validity of the Christian faith is the changed lives of the disciples. From Resurrection morning onward they went forth as devoted servants of the resurrected Christ with many being martyred for their faith. The resurrection truth meant a deep, abiding commitment to the risen Lord for these early disciples of Christ and it has for believers in each subsequent generation, no matter the cost. The horrific murders of the 147 college students in Kenya last week by the Al Shabaab Muslim terrorists along with the 79 they left wounded has weighed heavily on our hearts. Based on the accounts consider the decision they had in their waking moments to either confess or deny Christ. Not only could they conjure in their minds the flash of martyrdom, they were seeing it firsthand as the victims lie dead all around them killed by gunfire, explosions, and even beheadings.
Today, hundreds of millions live for Jesus Christ and we are two of them. We earnestly hope you are as well. Yes, it's true, the Lord is risen! And we believe, you as a reader will properly respond, "He is risen, indeed!" Let us show that with our words, our actions, and our courageous commitment to follow Him, no matter the cost.
Living, He loved me; dying, He saved me;
Buried, He carried my sins far away;
Rising, He justified freely forever;
One day He’s coming—oh, glorious day!
Buried, He carried my sins far away;
Rising, He justified freely forever;
One day He’s coming—oh, glorious day!
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer:
Father, the message "He Is Risen" resounds beyond the inner walls of the tomb
where Jesus' body no longer lay, for it resounds in our hearts and
soars within our spirits nearly 2000 years later. We serve a
risen Savior who is in the world today, who dwells within our hearts,
and who reconciles us to You, our Father in heaven. What a joyous
and triumphant day we celebrate at Easter and everyday as we
acknowledge our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ who died, was buried, and
who rose again. Amen.My sister Genelle is good at finding old photos.
This photo was snapped on Easter in the mid-sixties in our lawn in Belton, Missouri.
Looks like we had an Easter basket filled with eggs and candy. I wonder if we had to wait till after eating our Easter dinner before indulging in the Easter candy. Mostly likely!
Brooksyne leading our worship on Easter morning with our choir and congregation singing, "Christ the Lord is Risen Today!".
Easter dinner with the Cnubes, from Zimbabwe, Africa now residing in our neighborhood while Notsen furthers his studies as a pastor. Ester's friends, Katharine and Bella Cooke also joined us.
Today's
Suggested
Music and Supplemental Resources
"Glorious Day" Video Casting Crowns
"Going Home" Video Bill Gaither and Tanya Goodman Sykes
"Why Can't We" Video The Isaacs
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