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Monday, January 30, 2017
Sunset in our neighborhood
Photo taken by our neighbor, Doug
"Not The Only One Left!"
Message summary: Today we encourage you to resist yet another sorry excuse many use to justify disobedience to God. You are not alone in standing up for God and doing right.
Listen to this
message on your
audio player.
"I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too" (1 Kings 19:14). "Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord" (Romans 12:11).
One of the most sinister traps advanced by our ancient enemy in excusing and tolerating wickedness is the myth that "everybody's doing it". This excuse is abundantly used to justify all manner of wickedness. "Nobody's faithful to their marriage vows anymore." "Everybody steals from their employer." "Everybody cheats on tests." Etc. Etc.
A parallel to this is the sense we may have that we are the only ones seeking to do right. Although we know this isn't true we can sometimes feel this way! That's how Elijah felt in our daily text.
Elijah was one of God's faithful servants during a time of great apostasy. He felt he was all alone in his standing up for God as he cried out, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too" (1 Kings 19:14).
Certainly there's no denying that the Israelites had rejected God's covenant, that altars had been desecrated, prophets killed, and Elijah's life was threatened. But the middle clause, "I am the only one left", was simply not true. A few verses later God informed Elijah that he had a reserve of seven thousand who had not bowed to the pagan deity Baal. "Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel--all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him" (1 Kings 19:18).
Today there are many who, like Elijah, still seek to live their lives to please God. There are many marriages where husband and wife are solemnly keeping the sacred covenant. There are many parents who are diligent in raising their children to do right. And, yes, there are honest, hardworking employees and kind, fair employers. There are faithful ministers of the gospel who are taking seriously their vows of ordination. There are those in government who truly live as public servants!
Today we encourage you to resist yet another sorry excuse many use to justify disobedience to God. You are not alone in standing up for God and doing right. In the book of Romans the apostle Paul refers to this experience by Elijah and concludes with this phrase, "So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace" (Romans 11:5). That's still true!
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father,
in the murky and irresponsible world I live in, would You be my
vision. As I meditate upon You and Your statutes would You be my
all-consuming light. When the patterns and ways of the world
conflict with Your will for my life, may they be dimmed as the light of
Your Word exposes them. May I always be drawn to the spiritual
light that comes from You and be repulsed by the sinister darkness that
comes from Satan. I thank You for the strength and
courage I find as I recognize there are many, many others who've chosen
to follow You and not bow down to the gods of this world. We choose to follow You, and You alone! Amen.
"Thanks To Calvary" Video Dailey and Vincent God is still changing lives!!!
Last Friday we shared about our visit to a one room Amish schoolhouse here in Lancaster County. Here are another two songs recorded of the Amish children singing. (Voices only)
"Bind Us Together Lord" Video Amish children singing in a one room schoolhouse in Lancaster County PA. Though many of our readers are familiar with this chorus the children put a little "clap, clap" to it which gives it a very different feel. Perhaps this is common in Amish schools and youth singing groups, but it's hard to imagine this style in the Amish church where the German music is very, very slow in a syncopated manner of singing.
"In That Beautiful Land" Video
Last week I didn't feel I had the liberty to record the children singing and using the video (photos) of them singing. The Amish are naturally reserved about having their photos taken and probably the horrific Amish schoolhouse shooting that took place only a few miles from this school contribute to their desire for privacy. However I found this video online which does show the faces and the setting is very similar to what we experienced last week. Video The photos of the classroom we posted were by permission of the teacher.
Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne
Sunset in our neighborhood
Photo taken by our neighbor, Doug
Message summary: Today we encourage you to resist yet another sorry excuse many use to justify disobedience to God. You are not alone in standing up for God and doing right.
Listen to this
message on your
audio player."I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too" (1 Kings 19:14). "Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord" (Romans 12:11).
One of the most sinister traps advanced by our ancient enemy in excusing and tolerating wickedness is the myth that "everybody's doing it". This excuse is abundantly used to justify all manner of wickedness. "Nobody's faithful to their marriage vows anymore." "Everybody steals from their employer." "Everybody cheats on tests." Etc. Etc.
A parallel to this is the sense we may have that we are the only ones seeking to do right. Although we know this isn't true we can sometimes feel this way! That's how Elijah felt in our daily text.
Elijah was one of God's faithful servants during a time of great apostasy. He felt he was all alone in his standing up for God as he cried out, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too" (1 Kings 19:14).
Certainly there's no denying that the Israelites had rejected God's covenant, that altars had been desecrated, prophets killed, and Elijah's life was threatened. But the middle clause, "I am the only one left", was simply not true. A few verses later God informed Elijah that he had a reserve of seven thousand who had not bowed to the pagan deity Baal. "Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel--all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him" (1 Kings 19:18).
Today there are many who, like Elijah, still seek to live their lives to please God. There are many marriages where husband and wife are solemnly keeping the sacred covenant. There are many parents who are diligent in raising their children to do right. And, yes, there are honest, hardworking employees and kind, fair employers. There are faithful ministers of the gospel who are taking seriously their vows of ordination. There are those in government who truly live as public servants!
Today we encourage you to resist yet another sorry excuse many use to justify disobedience to God. You are not alone in standing up for God and doing right. In the book of Romans the apostle Paul refers to this experience by Elijah and concludes with this phrase, "So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace" (Romans 11:5). That's still true!
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father,
in the murky and irresponsible world I live in, would You be my
vision. As I meditate upon You and Your statutes would You be my
all-consuming light. When the patterns and ways of the world
conflict with Your will for my life, may they be dimmed as the light of
Your Word exposes them. May I always be drawn to the spiritual
light that comes from You and be repulsed by the sinister darkness that
comes from Satan. I thank You for the strength and
courage I find as I recognize there are many, many others who've chosen
to follow You and not bow down to the gods of this world. We choose to follow You, and You alone! Amen.Today's
Suggested
Music and Supplemental Resources
"Thanks To Calvary" Video Dailey and Vincent God is still changing lives!!!
Last Friday we shared about our visit to a one room Amish schoolhouse here in Lancaster County. Here are another two songs recorded of the Amish children singing. (Voices only)
"Bind Us Together Lord" Video Amish children singing in a one room schoolhouse in Lancaster County PA. Though many of our readers are familiar with this chorus the children put a little "clap, clap" to it which gives it a very different feel. Perhaps this is common in Amish schools and youth singing groups, but it's hard to imagine this style in the Amish church where the German music is very, very slow in a syncopated manner of singing.
"In That Beautiful Land" Video
Last week I didn't feel I had the liberty to record the children singing and using the video (photos) of them singing. The Amish are naturally reserved about having their photos taken and probably the horrific Amish schoolhouse shooting that took place only a few miles from this school contribute to their desire for privacy. However I found this video online which does show the faces and the setting is very similar to what we experienced last week. Video The photos of the classroom we posted were by permission of the teacher.
Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne
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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."
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