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<Previous Message Next Message> Wednesday, December 2, 2015 Brooksyne and Ester at the entrance to the Antique Archaeology store in Nashville. "Faultless To Stand Before The Throne"
Listen to this message on your audio player. "Once you were alienated and hostile in your minds because of your evil actions. But now He has reconciled you by His physical body through His death, to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before Him" (Colossians 1:21,22). "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness" (Ephesians 4:22-24). For many years I (Stephen, not Brooksyne) have enjoyed a show on the History Channel called "American Pickers". Perhaps you have seen it as well and a few may even enjoy it. Mike and Frank are two colorful characters who scour the backroads of America rummaging through old barns and storage sheds picking out interesting items many would deem junk. However they have devised an interesting scientific sounding term to describe their work as "Antique Archaeology". When they find something they want to purchase they dicker with the owner for the item(s). We have been to several places that the American Pickers should see and I have actually written them with suggestions such as the Right Barber Shop in downtown Lynchburg, Virginia. (So far I've never heard back.) While in Nashville we visited the "Antique Archaeology" store where they end up selling some of the stuff they find (along with another store in Le Claire, Iowa where the show is based). We arrived at the store a few minutes before it opened last Saturday morning and waited in line to gain entry. Based upon the crowd it must be pretty popular. The items for sale were quite pricey and of no interest to me apart from looking at them and soaking in the feel of the old automobile factory where the store is housed. It seemed that most of the items in the store were sold in an "as picked" condition with no restoration. However on the show they speak of restoring items, which can be a lengthy and expensive process. The goal is to restore the item to its original condition. You've probably heard the statement, "God doesn't make junk" which is true. However people can sure junk their lives and even sadder are those who are treated like junk by those who should value them most. A regular encounter in ministry is dealing with people who feel their lives are nothing more than a pile of junk. But the divine picker does not see us that way. He sees us as His own unique creation, fearfully and wonderfully made. Today's Scripture portions contain a powerful before and after. Before redemption we were alienated and hostile in our minds because of our evil actions. We might read this description and compare ourselves with those in far worse condition than we are rather than using God's standard. But we must use God's standard of measurement. Prior to redemption we were all alienated and hostile in our minds because of our evil actions. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). After redemption He reconciled us by His physical body through His death and resurrection, to present us holy, faultless, and blameless before Him. God restores junk-filled lives, even those who may seem hopeless. That's the heart of the gospel! Now we have been made new in the attitude of our minds; and have put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness". Yesterday we wrote about our visit to the Loveless Cafe near Nashville which prompted a consideration of words with the suffix "less". Most of these words are negative such as thankless, joyless, hopeless, heartless, etc. But a line from an old hymn came to mind that makes "less" a glorious positive; in Christ we who are redeemed are faultless to stand before the throne! When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found. Dressed in His righteousness alone, Faultless to stand before the throne. * Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily prayer: Father, when we come to terms with who we are, the choices we've made and the direction in which we're headed we're forced to realize there is nothing in us that merits Your favor, Your forgiveness, or an inheritance in eternal heaven. But for grace we would not receive the "PAID IN FULL" standing that comes through the blood of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who gave His all to put us in right standing with a holy God. There is no covering that will remove the junk and tarnish of our lives, so we will stand before You faultless through Christ's righteousness alone. Thank You for receiving us, though unworthy we are we come to You through the worthy Lamb of God. Amen. Special Note: We want to thank all who have financially supported our ministry this past year. We realize there are many fine ministries and causes requesting support at this time but if the Lord would lead you we surely need and appreciate the financial support from our readers and listeners. We typically see a spike in giving at the end of the year for which we are most thankful. Our ministry labor is comprised of half our time to Daily Encouragement and the other half to our chaplaincy ministry to companies for which we receive a fee (of course this percentage varies week by week). Each of these ministries essentially is the same as a part-time job (20+ hours weekly) for each of us. Our goal for many years is that each phase would provide half of our ministry expenses and income. If you would like to make a donation to our ministry see here for more information or donate directly online here. Thank you! Please Note: Our chaplain agency is unable to provide a receipt if the donation is made through PayPal. However we provide this option due to the convenience, international supporters, and for those who may not be concerned regarding receiving an official receipt. You can also set up for recurring donations. Click here to donate using PayPal. The interior of the Antique Archaeology store is crowded with tourists and stuff. This old crossing guard went for $3,000 and someone bought it while we were there. I watched the couple load it in a truck and asked if they were going to put in in their driveway. He told me it was going inside! (The back side is a Coca Cola promotion that states the speed zone has ended.) All around the Nashville area there is live music, including this young lady who entertained as we walked through the Antique Archaeology store. The Antique Archaeology store is housed in an old automobile factory for Marathon Automobiles. Other stores use the former factory but the long hallways have photos, signs and equipment from the manufacturing process. This old tractor was on the grounds of the Loveless Cafe. It sunk into the ground quite a bit but not as much as one we saw in Iowa many years ago near the Amana Colonies. (see photo) Today's
Suggested
Music and Supplemental Resources
* "The Solid Rock" Video Mark Murchison Just a simple acoustic version by someone appearing to record from his home. "Something Beautiful" Video Gaither Vocal Band "Glorious Freedom" Video Gaither Vocal Band "In Christ Alone" Video Travis Cottrell with nice transition to the Solid Rock. American Pickers Finally Today: Several years ago we walked through downtown Lynchburg Virginia and struck up a conversation with the barber who has owned a downtown Barber Shop for over 50 years. It was filled (over-filled, I should say) with relics, snake skins, antiques, an amazing assortment of stuff -you name it!! We commented on his unusual setting and he said, "You ain't seen nothing yet. I have two stories full of stuff above my barber shop and 40 acres where I live." He told us he watches the American Pickers show regularly. His barber shop would be an excellent site for an airing of the television show and that was the suggestion I made to the show, as mentioned earlier! However they still haven't taken me up on it. 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 carve out the time in our weekly schedule to continue preparing and providing this daily resource, 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. Please Note: Our chaplain agency is unable to provide a receipt if the donation is made through PayPal. However we provide this option due to the convenience, for the benefit of international supporters, and for those for whom an official receipt is not needed. You can also set up for recurring donations. Click here. 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 |