The online
Bible teaching ministry of Stephen
& Brooksyne Weber
A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation. Home Archives About Us Free email subscription Listen to these messages Daily Encouragement on Facebook Twitter Wordpress LinkedIn <Previous Message Next Message> Monday, December 18, 2017
Bunnies, when they aren't leaping for joy, rest in a metal tub on the Old Windmill Farm. "Leaping For Joy" Note: This week we will be considering joy, the theme for the third Sunday in Advent. Message summary: Today we will consider John "leaping for joy" in his mother's womb. Listen to our message on your audio player. "At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: 'Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill His promises to her!'” (Luke 1:39-45). Saturday we went out Christmas caroling with our neighbors on a tractor-pulled farm wagon, no hay so it wasn't technically a "hay ride" but we had nice benches to sit on! Our goal was to spread some Christmas joy, which the many little children made a great contribution to, as there are widows, shut-ins, and others who could benefit from some Christmas spirit without getting out of their homes. Today's text concerns Mary who, shortly after her conception by the Holy Spirit, visited Elizabeth who was six months pregnant with her son John. It's a great text revealing that Jesus, even in His earliest human development as a pre-born infant in Mary's womb, brought joy. "When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit." John was just six months along but made his presence felt by his mother when leaping in her womb. He had also heard Mary's greeting and apparently had some Spirit-given knowledge of the significance of that greeting. The experience resulted in Elizabeth being filled with the Holy Spirit. The Scripture highlights her excitement with the phrase, "In a loud voice she exclaimed." What follows is a powerful Scriptural assertion of the sanctity of life. Christ had been supernaturally conceived only a short time before this. He was at most only weeks old. Yet Elizabeth said to Mary, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" Notice that she identifies Mary as "the mother of my Lord". Even at this early stage in prenatal development Mary is a mother! In God's eyes I can scarcely imagine anything more cursed than the typical pro-abortion view that determines motherhood and the life of the infant in an arbitrary manner depending on whether the unborn child is wanted. Hellish organizations who advance this view like "Planned Parenthood" and the politicians and others who support them will surely face great judgment. "As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill His promises to her!” Once again we have a reference to the unborn baby John leaping but this time with the additional detail "leaped for joy". Today may we all, like John, experience joy as we consider the blessedness of the incarnation of Jesus Christ. Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily prayer: Father, like the pre-born baby, John, who leaped for joy upon hearing the voice of our Lord's mother, may we too experience unbounding joy as we read the Scriptures since they reveal the fulfillment of promises made to her and to all the world that she would be with child and bear a son, and she would call His name Emmanuel, which means God with us. Just as Mary was blessed because she believed that the Lord would fulfill His promises to her, we too are blessed in our daily lives as we trust You for the fulfillment of all Your promises, including the promise that our Messiah will return to earth and gather up the faithful to transport us to our future eternal home in heaven. It's the greatest joy of the season and for every day of our earthly dwelling. Thank You, Father, for making it possible through Jesus, Your Son. Amen. Special Year-end Financial Appeal: We want to thank all who have financially supported our ministry this past year (and some for many years!). 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. Like many ministries, 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 approximately half our time to Daily Encouragement and the other half to our chaplaincy ministry to companies for which we receive compensation. 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 would provide half of our ministry expenses and income. If you would consider making a donation to our ministry see here for more information. To donate directly online here. This will open to a page that designates the offering to: WEBER,STEPHEN CHAP, Specialized Chaplaincy Ministry ID: 700001-237376 Please Note: We also provide this familiar option due to the convenience, for international supporters, and for those who may not be concerned regarding receiving an official tax deductible receipt. Click here to send an offering using PayPal. This will open to a page that states "Brooksyne Weber"
Thank you
Old-Fashioned Christmas caroling Our
transportation using the Brubaker wagon and driven by Leon Rutt on the
1934 Ferguson tractor his grandfather used to drive. The Rutts gathered with their
grown children and grandchildren and invited us to participate.
On Colebrook Road we sang to the elderly couple in the forefront who have raised seven children, all active on the missionary field. On Union School Rd. we sang to Deb and Doug, neighbors we met through our dailyecouragement ministry. Deb has MS and reads hours on end. Brooksyne has visited her several times and, though she is dependent on a wheelchair, she has a very uplifting victorious and uncomplaining attitude - an example for all of us, no matter the difficulty. Personal Note: Ester has been
doing so well physically for the past couple years and we are very
thankful. So many of you write and ask us about her so here's the
latest. I think I'll let our Facebook correspondence inform you, rather
than my writing again of our eventful weekend that began late Friday
morning.
From Ester Weber’s Facebook on Friday, December 15, 2017 What a crazy day it’s been. As some already know by now I was transported to Hershey Medical Center due to atrial flutter
at 11:30 today. My folks were about an hour away so I went by ambulance
since my heart beats over 200 bpm. I was cardioverted (the paddles) and
returned to 70 bpm. But 20
minutes later I was in atrial flutter again and had to be cardioverted
again. They are starting me on a new medication and keeping me for
observation. So, obviously, the New York trip I had planned on has been
canceled. But my mom and dad and I say it was better that I would have
atrial flutter here at home than in New York.
From Brooksyne’s Facebook post on Saturday, December 16, 2017 Thank
you for your many kind wishes and thoughtful comments, and mostly
prayers. Ester Weber is home and recovering very nicely. “There’s no
place like home” takes on new meaning when you’re returning home from a
stay at the hospital. Thankfully, just over 24 hours But they seem much
longer in a hospital setting. And yet we’re very thankful for the
medical staff and good care they give.
Ester's Facebook page yesterday (I slightly edited it for content on our page): I
thought I would share with you about my weekend. I was in the middle of
baking chocolate chip cookies late Friday morning and just got done
putting the second batch of cookies in the oven. I was sitting on the
bar stool waiting for them to be done while watching Jimmy Fallon on
YouTube. I got down from the stool to get something when my heart went
into atrial flutter which is over 200 bpm. I stopped for a moment
thinking maybe I accidentally set it off and it should kick back into
normal rhythm. I was home alone at the time and my parents were in New
Holland doing their chaplaincy. What’s really interesting is during all
of this my parents were having a discussion in car about how long it’s
been since I’ve had atrial flutter so they felt it was safe for me to
go to New York the next day on a bus trip with acquaintances. But
then 10 minutes later I called them and told them I was in atrial
flutter. I wasn’t scared at all, I was calm and very much aware of what
happened. My parents were actually headed to a Christmas luncheon for
one of their companies. To make a long story short, I called 911 and
talk to the dispatcher and told her what happened and she told me the
ambulance was on the way. She also asked if I would like her to stay on
the phone till they get there but I declined. I called my work to let
them know I won’t be in that afternoon and our neighbors next door to
let them know what happened. So I kind of quickly cleaned up the
kitchen and went up to my bedroom and got some stuff to bring along
with me while I’m in atrial flutter. I met the ambulance team outside
of my house. They transported me to Hershey Medical Center and 15
minutes later I reunited with my mom. This story is very funny now
because who would have thought that Jimmy Fallon and chocolate chip
cookies would have affected my atrial flutter. Ha! Joking of course.
Even when I was in the ER room they asked how did this happen. I
told them and all the nurses what I was doing when this took place,
baking chocolate chip cookies and watching Jimmy Fallon on YouTube, and
of course they all asked “Ohh where are the chocolate chip cookies?”
“Why didn’t you bring us any?” Oh, I am so grateful I can laugh about
it now but in the moment it wasn’t easy. I don’t know how I could
remain calm the entire time but I did by the grace of God.
Ester is catching up on her rest and will soon get over the soreness (from the paddles) that comes with having two cardioversions. She will see her congenital cardiologist on the 27th for follow-up. Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources "Joy To The World" Video David Phelps "How Great Our Joy" Video Haven 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.) 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. We do request that you keep the contact, copyright and subscription information intact. 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 2017 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA |