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Tuesday, April 14, 2015
A peaceful spring river walk
(Photo by Georgia)
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>
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
A peaceful spring river walk
(Photo by Georgia)
"Our Heavenly Citizenship"
Listen to this
message on
your
audio player. Ouch! Yesterday I again failed to update the link to the audio message! Here it is if you care to listen to it.
"But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ" (Philippians 3:20).
Here
in the USA it's tax time. Yesterday I spent several hours on the
process and this morning all the forms are filled out and Brooksyne
mailed the envelopes on the way to a meeting. Many pay someone to
prepare their taxes. Regardless of income, many taxpayers have
relatively
easy forms and do it early because they have money coming back. I
do my own which can be a bit complicated and I am not among those
with money coming
back!
I try to get a good start in February and March but typically finalize everything toward the due date. Since our income is from a variety of sources we need to use several forms.
At this time of year I have to take a deep breath and fortify myself with some powerful Biblical truths since I am fulfilling the legal obligation to "render unto Caesar" but admittedly I don't do so joyfully! I consider myself blessed to live in America and want to do my part, but when I file my taxes I'm reminded of the corruption and waste that is a part of human government, a stunning evidence of the Fall. I find it helpful throughout the process to purposefully recall my heavenly citizenship.
Paul, a Roman citizen, surely had his own issues with the government of
his time. After all, when has human government ever been perfect! He
enjoined the believers in Philippi with the forthright statement, "But our citizenship is in heaven." This
is one of those powerful truths we must keep before us if we are to
find the reality of God's promised peace. Yet we often let other
outlooks dim our vision and rob us of peace.
Early
in my Christian walk I heard an expression I have often used. In
referring to Romans 12:1,2 which calls us to present our bodies as a
living sacrifice, "The problem with a living sacrifice is that it's
living and keeps on
jumping off the altar!" Now this is true not only in regard to
consecration but in many other areas as well, including our thought
life. We can commit a matter to the Lord and, if we're not intentional,
we take it back to start our worrying all over again. Do you ever
do that?
When my focus is on my earthly citizenship I find myself experiencing anxiety and at times even despair, especially as we see conditions so similar to 2 Chronicles 36:15,16 unfold before our very eyes. I find that in my life the source of agitation and anxiety often comes from placing too much value in this present life and failing to realize where my primary and ultimate citizenship lies.
What issues are you facing today? What has the potential of robbing you of God's peace and promised abundant life? Undoubtedly for some of you, like me, it will be taxes. But there are many other matters that concern us.
Today remember Paul's words to the Philippian believers. Chained and imprisoned he nevertheless was able to express and encourage joy more in this short epistle than in any other. He wrote, "So you too should be glad and rejoice with me" (Philippians 2:18). It just seems like he's bubbling over with the joy of the Lord. If he can have joy in his horrible surroundings, I can have joy while sending out these forms and you can have joy regardless of what you are facing today!
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer: Father,
at one time we were alienated and excluded from heavenly citizenship.
We were foreigners
destined to perish. But You, in Your great mercy, redeemed us through
Your precious blood and thereby we receive our heavenly
citizenship. We also consider the privilege of being citizens of
the country from which we were born or choose to live in. There are
many benefits as well as responsibilities placed upon us - much that we
appreciate and understand and all the while we struggle with the
corruption and defiance of many in power who no longer heed the Judeo
Christian heritage of our great country's founding. We want to do our
part to turn it around not only for ourselves but for our children and
our children's children. But above all, we fix our attention on our
heavenly citizenship in the midst of our disappointments on earth so
that we do not lose heart. As our focus is
heavenward we are filled with renewed hope and an enduring spirit until
You call us to our home in heaven. Keep us obedient, faithful, and
hopeful till that glorious day. Amen.
Our neighborhood was touched by two tragic events this last weekend:
The Posie Patch is a 90 acre commercial flower grower on Kraybill Church Road right around the bend from our house. The owner and his wife were killed in an auto accident this weekend. We toured the farm several years ago and met Ralph Cramer the owner. He restored old cars as a hobby. Here's an article about the accident from our paper. We have some photos of the Cramer Posie Patch here.
On the other end of our road Brooksyne visited with the sister of a 19 year old young man who loved the Lord who also died this weekend in a motorcycle accident. Here's an article about that accident. For many years his grandmother, Mary Sweigart, was our neighbor. We include these especially for our local readers who would take special interest and pray for these suffering tremendous, unexpected loss.
Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
"It Matters to the Master" Video The Collingsworth Family
Yesterday's message on "Mundane Faithfulness" prompted a couple of interesting comments from two Texan friends:
David Penley wrote, "The importance of simple, persistent, every day faith is so vital. The Lord has really been speaking to me about this in recent days. I read a book about this very thing a couple of months ago entitled "Ordinary: Sustainable Faith in a Radical, Restless World" by Michael Horton, one of my favorite writers, that really spoke to me.
Jim Scanlon wrote, I have always been a "plodder", not interested in making the "headlines", just following My Shepherd. Warren Wiersbe wrote a book a number of years ago to that effect: "In Praise of Plodders". This is from Prophet 2U, and has what I think is a portion of the book. In Praise of Plodders :: Warren Wiersbe
Listen to this
message on
your
audio player. Ouch! Yesterday I again failed to update the link to the audio message! Here it is if you care to listen to it."But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ" (Philippians 3:20).
Here
in the USA it's tax time. Yesterday I spent several hours on the
process and this morning all the forms are filled out and Brooksyne
mailed the envelopes on the way to a meeting. Many pay someone to
prepare their taxes. Regardless of income, many taxpayers have
relatively
easy forms and do it early because they have money coming back. I
do my own which can be a bit complicated and I am not among those
with money coming
back!I try to get a good start in February and March but typically finalize everything toward the due date. Since our income is from a variety of sources we need to use several forms.
At this time of year I have to take a deep breath and fortify myself with some powerful Biblical truths since I am fulfilling the legal obligation to "render unto Caesar" but admittedly I don't do so joyfully! I consider myself blessed to live in America and want to do my part, but when I file my taxes I'm reminded of the corruption and waste that is a part of human government, a stunning evidence of the Fall. I find it helpful throughout the process to purposefully recall my heavenly citizenship.
Paul, a Roman citizen, surely had his own issues with the government of
his time. After all, when has human government ever been perfect! He
enjoined the believers in Philippi with the forthright statement, "But our citizenship is in heaven." This
is one of those powerful truths we must keep before us if we are to
find the reality of God's promised peace. Yet we often let other
outlooks dim our vision and rob us of peace.Early
in my Christian walk I heard an expression I have often used. In
referring to Romans 12:1,2 which calls us to present our bodies as a
living sacrifice, "The problem with a living sacrifice is that it's
living and keeps on
jumping off the altar!" Now this is true not only in regard to
consecration but in many other areas as well, including our thought
life. We can commit a matter to the Lord and, if we're not intentional,
we take it back to start our worrying all over again. Do you ever
do that?When my focus is on my earthly citizenship I find myself experiencing anxiety and at times even despair, especially as we see conditions so similar to 2 Chronicles 36:15,16 unfold before our very eyes. I find that in my life the source of agitation and anxiety often comes from placing too much value in this present life and failing to realize where my primary and ultimate citizenship lies.
What issues are you facing today? What has the potential of robbing you of God's peace and promised abundant life? Undoubtedly for some of you, like me, it will be taxes. But there are many other matters that concern us.
Today remember Paul's words to the Philippian believers. Chained and imprisoned he nevertheless was able to express and encourage joy more in this short epistle than in any other. He wrote, "So you too should be glad and rejoice with me" (Philippians 2:18). It just seems like he's bubbling over with the joy of the Lord. If he can have joy in his horrible surroundings, I can have joy while sending out these forms and you can have joy regardless of what you are facing today!
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer: Father,
at one time we were alienated and excluded from heavenly citizenship.
We were foreigners
destined to perish. But You, in Your great mercy, redeemed us through
Your precious blood and thereby we receive our heavenly
citizenship. We also consider the privilege of being citizens of
the country from which we were born or choose to live in. There are
many benefits as well as responsibilities placed upon us - much that we
appreciate and understand and all the while we struggle with the
corruption and defiance of many in power who no longer heed the Judeo
Christian heritage of our great country's founding. We want to do our
part to turn it around not only for ourselves but for our children and
our children's children. But above all, we fix our attention on our
heavenly citizenship in the midst of our disappointments on earth so
that we do not lose heart. As our focus is
heavenward we are filled with renewed hope and an enduring spirit until
You call us to our home in heaven. Keep us obedient, faithful, and
hopeful till that glorious day. Amen.Our neighborhood was touched by two tragic events this last weekend:
The Posie Patch is a 90 acre commercial flower grower on Kraybill Church Road right around the bend from our house. The owner and his wife were killed in an auto accident this weekend. We toured the farm several years ago and met Ralph Cramer the owner. He restored old cars as a hobby. Here's an article about the accident from our paper. We have some photos of the Cramer Posie Patch here.
On the other end of our road Brooksyne visited with the sister of a 19 year old young man who loved the Lord who also died this weekend in a motorcycle accident. Here's an article about that accident. For many years his grandmother, Mary Sweigart, was our neighbor. We include these especially for our local readers who would take special interest and pray for these suffering tremendous, unexpected loss.
Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
"It Matters to the Master" Video The Collingsworth Family
Yesterday's message on "Mundane Faithfulness" prompted a couple of interesting comments from two Texan friends:
David Penley wrote, "The importance of simple, persistent, every day faith is so vital. The Lord has really been speaking to me about this in recent days. I read a book about this very thing a couple of months ago entitled "Ordinary: Sustainable Faith in a Radical, Restless World" by Michael Horton, one of my favorite writers, that really spoke to me.
Jim Scanlon wrote, I have always been a "plodder", not interested in making the "headlines", just following My Shepherd. Warren Wiersbe wrote a book a number of years ago to that effect: "In Praise of Plodders". This is from Prophet 2U, and has what I think is a portion of the book. In Praise of Plodders :: Warren Wiersbe
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