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Monday, July 13, 2015
Yesterday morning I came up behind this Amish family on the way to church. Rarely am I in the heavily Amish area of Lancaster County on the Lord's Day but yesterday I picked up some friends to visit us for the day. One of the great sights was seeing many Amish families walking to church pulling their children in wagons. (I didn't take a photo. It would have been awkward since our Amish friends were in the van with me but they agreed it was an interesting sight as well!)
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, July 13, 2015
Yesterday morning I came up behind this Amish family on the way to church. Rarely am I in the heavily Amish area of Lancaster County on the Lord's Day but yesterday I picked up some friends to visit us for the day. One of the great sights was seeing many Amish families walking to church pulling their children in wagons. (I didn't take a photo. It would have been awkward since our Amish friends were in the van with me but they agreed it was an interesting sight as well!)
"Let It Shine!"
Listen to this
message on
your
audio player.
"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 5:14-16).
Mike is an earnest follower of Christ who works in one of the companies we visit as chaplains. He seeks to let his light shine in part by placing a short, spiritual message on a small whiteboard in his work area which many pass each day. For many years I have been posting photos of these messages and have on occasion suggested a message for him to use. In fact I have posted 15 of these messages on Daily Encouragement!
Mike has a new message which prompted some reflection
on my part: "What Is Your Visual Reminder Of God's Love?"
For me that can vary. In church it might be focusing upon the Cross. During communion it can be the elements. In church yesterday I was mindful of God's love as children quoted numerous Bible verses that spoke of Christ's sacrificial love. Sitting next to me were our Amish friends and I was reminded of God's love as the young daughter sat on her father's lap and playfully fingered his beard while he listened attentively to Pastor John's sermon.
I love nature (God's creation) and see many reminders of His love in the world He made including last evening's stunning sunset lowering over the cornfield across from our house.
My (Brooksyne) most recent reminder took place this morning when I walked through our vegetable and flower gardens. With the plenteous rains and sunshine the vibrant colors and healthy plants are stunning. It prompted praise to God for His abundance this summer season.
Now we ask you. What are your visual reminders of God's love?
But Mike's whiteboard witness prompts another question: "In what ways is my life a visual reminder of God's love to others?"
A familiar song many of us learned as a child in Sunday School or VBS declares:
Based on a passage many of us memorized from the words of the Lord, the key words we are considering today are: "You are the light of the world. Let your light shine before others."
Pastor Phil Newton comments concerning the phrase ""You are the light of the world." "Jesus uses the same language of Himself in John 8:12, 'I am the Light of the world.' That passage speaks of light in an originative sense. He is the origin of such light so that He can add, 'He who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.' Christians are light in a derivative sense in that the light we have comes as a result of our relationship to Jesus Christ. We do not produce the light, but like the moon that reflects the light of the sun, we too reflect the light of His indwelling life."
Today we need followers of Christ to take His light and spread it out in this world where there is so much darkness.
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer:
Father, the Psalmist writes that those who look to You are radiant.
Perhaps only You see such radiance, yet any brightness that flows from
us is possible because we reflect the light of Your indwelling life
much like the moon that reflects the light of the sun. Thank You for
choosing to dwell among the human race through the person of Jesus, and
thank You for choosing to dwell within the hearts of all who are
yielded to Your Spirit. Through Christ we pray. Amen.
Following our church service yesterday our friends joined us for a cookout and afternoon together before returning them to their dairy farm in the late afternoon. Our Zimbabwean friends joined us as well as Nick, a young man who had come to visit Ester.
The children sure had fun playing with my singing "Billy Bass" in our shed.*
Children playing "Duck, Duck, Goose"
This game is played among the Amish as well as in Zimbabwe!
After lunch we drove over to the Riverfront park along the Susquehanna River where the kids played in the water and took a hike.
Practicing old-fashioned social media.
The young one couldn't take her eyes of the ducklings below.
A pleasant trail for a scooter ride even if the three year old is riding a scooter built for older children. She held her own and gracefully balanced the two wheels!
Back on the farm late yesterday afternoon the Zimbabwean boys got a ride on a cart pulled by a miniature horse.
So did the big old American boy riding over to visit Jesse's parents, Eli and Kate.
Nick, a young man whom Ester met from my brother's church, came down for a visit. Nick has experience as a farm hand and, after spending the day with us, he stayed around to help Jesse with the milking and joined them for good old-fashioned Pennsylvania Dutch food. This cow appears to be saying, "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"
Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
Listen to this
message on
your
audio player."You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 5:14-16).
We are called to take His light
To a world where wrong seems right.
What could be too great a cost
For sharing life with one who's lost?
To a world where wrong seems right.
What could be too great a cost
For sharing life with one who's lost?
Mike is an earnest follower of Christ who works in one of the companies we visit as chaplains. He seeks to let his light shine in part by placing a short, spiritual message on a small whiteboard in his work area which many pass each day. For many years I have been posting photos of these messages and have on occasion suggested a message for him to use. In fact I have posted 15 of these messages on Daily Encouragement!
Mike has a new message which prompted some reflection
on my part: "What Is Your Visual Reminder Of God's Love?"For me that can vary. In church it might be focusing upon the Cross. During communion it can be the elements. In church yesterday I was mindful of God's love as children quoted numerous Bible verses that spoke of Christ's sacrificial love. Sitting next to me were our Amish friends and I was reminded of God's love as the young daughter sat on her father's lap and playfully fingered his beard while he listened attentively to Pastor John's sermon.
I love nature (God's creation) and see many reminders of His love in the world He made including last evening's stunning sunset lowering over the cornfield across from our house.
My (Brooksyne) most recent reminder took place this morning when I walked through our vegetable and flower gardens. With the plenteous rains and sunshine the vibrant colors and healthy plants are stunning. It prompted praise to God for His abundance this summer season.
Now we ask you. What are your visual reminders of God's love?
But Mike's whiteboard witness prompts another question: "In what ways is my life a visual reminder of God's love to others?"
A familiar song many of us learned as a child in Sunday School or VBS declares:
This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine.
This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine.
let it shine. let it shine. let it shine.
This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine.
let it shine. let it shine. let it shine.
Based on a passage many of us memorized from the words of the Lord, the key words we are considering today are: "You are the light of the world. Let your light shine before others."
Pastor Phil Newton comments concerning the phrase ""You are the light of the world." "Jesus uses the same language of Himself in John 8:12, 'I am the Light of the world.' That passage speaks of light in an originative sense. He is the origin of such light so that He can add, 'He who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.' Christians are light in a derivative sense in that the light we have comes as a result of our relationship to Jesus Christ. We do not produce the light, but like the moon that reflects the light of the sun, we too reflect the light of His indwelling life."
Today we need followers of Christ to take His light and spread it out in this world where there is so much darkness.
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer:
Father, the Psalmist writes that those who look to You are radiant.
Perhaps only You see such radiance, yet any brightness that flows from
us is possible because we reflect the light of Your indwelling life
much like the moon that reflects the light of the sun. Thank You for
choosing to dwell among the human race through the person of Jesus, and
thank You for choosing to dwell within the hearts of all who are
yielded to Your Spirit. Through Christ we pray. Amen. Following our church service yesterday our friends joined us for a cookout and afternoon together before returning them to their dairy farm in the late afternoon. Our Zimbabwean friends joined us as well as Nick, a young man who had come to visit Ester.
The children sure had fun playing with my singing "Billy Bass" in our shed.*
Children playing "Duck, Duck, Goose"
This game is played among the Amish as well as in Zimbabwe!
After lunch we drove over to the Riverfront park along the Susquehanna River where the kids played in the water and took a hike.
Practicing old-fashioned social media.
The young one couldn't take her eyes of the ducklings below.
A pleasant trail for a scooter ride even if the three year old is riding a scooter built for older children. She held her own and gracefully balanced the two wheels!
Back on the farm late yesterday afternoon the Zimbabwean boys got a ride on a cart pulled by a miniature horse.
So did the big old American boy riding over to visit Jesse's parents, Eli and Kate.
Nick, a young man whom Ester met from my brother's church, came down for a visit. Nick has experience as a farm hand and, after spending the day with us, he stayed around to help Jesse with the milking and joined them for good old-fashioned Pennsylvania Dutch food. This cow appears to be saying, "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"
Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
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