A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope,
encouragement and exhortation.
Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne
<Previous
Message
Next
Message>
Early yesterday morning we passed one of our favorite Lancaster County settings, this pond and cabin along Meadow View Road north of Mount Joy.
(Click to enlarge)
Message summary: Today, are you free indeed?
Listen
to our
message on your audio player.
"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed" (John 8:36).
Today
is a
holiday here in the USA and many have a day off
of work to celebrate. Lots of picnics, cookouts, camping and
pool parties are planned although with the high
temperatures and humidity we might just stay
inside. More than 150 million hot dogs will be
eaten today, which is enough to stretch from
Washington DC to Los Angeles five times! (Costco
Magazine)
But
Jesus
was
speaking of a slavery that impacts the entire
human race; whether rich or poor, powerful or
weak, intellectual or unlearned, the politically
free, oppressed or even enslaved. People from
every
background and every time period since the fall
are slaves to sin! Yet this is the
very slavery that Jesus came to free us from: "So if the Son
sets you free, you will be free indeed"
(John 8:36).
If you are a citizen of a free country don't take it for granted. Give thanks to God for this wonderful privilege and consider those who sacrificed for your freedoms. Pray for our brothers and sisters who do not have these freedoms.
This last Sunday evening on our way back from our weekend trip we heard a very interesting edition of "Unshackled". It is not the typical program but rather it highlights the importance of our Christian heritage and the present age we live in. You'll be nodding your head and saying "amen" if you're given to verbally affirming. Audio
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 2018 Stephen C. & Brooksyne Weber - All Rights Reserved
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA
Wednesday,
July 4, 2018
Early yesterday morning we passed one of our favorite Lancaster County settings, this pond and cabin along Meadow View Road north of Mount Joy.
(Click to enlarge)
"Free
Indeed!"
Message summary: Today, are you free indeed?
Listen
to our
message on your audio player."So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed" (John 8:36).
Now my debt is paid
It is paid in full
By the precious blood
That my Jesus spilled
Now the curse of sin has no hold on me
Whom the Son sets free, oh, is free indeed!
It is paid in full
By the precious blood
That my Jesus spilled
Now the curse of sin has no hold on me
Whom the Son sets free, oh, is free indeed!
Today
is a
holiday here in the USA and many have a day off
of work to celebrate. Lots of picnics, cookouts, camping and
pool parties are planned although with the high
temperatures and humidity we might just stay
inside. More than 150 million hot dogs will be
eaten today, which is enough to stretch from
Washington DC to Los Angeles five times! (Costco
Magazine)We got a chuckle out of this story which
illustrates how children misunderstand adult words
and concepts:
The Fourth
of July was coming up, and the nursery school
teacher took the opportunity to tell her class
about patriotism. "We live in a great country,"
she said. "One of the things we should be happy
about is that, in this country, we are all free."
One little boy came walking up to her from the
back of the room. Exasperated, he stood with his
hands on his hips and declared. . . . "I'm not
free. I'm four." *
Although today is July 4, regardless of
where you live, the words "July 4th" or "the 4th
of July" has special meaning here in the USA. It's
Independence Day and should be a time we consider
our history and express thanks for our freedoms.
Many take these freedoms for granted and may not
even notice or choose to ignore they are
systematically being diminished.
Our readers live in a variety of countries and are under varying degrees of political freedom or lack of it. Most live in countries with a relatively strong freedom, but others live in places with religious oppression and in some cases outright persecution. However it's doubtful that this material reaches those living in slavery, although millions live under such conditions.
Our readers live in a variety of countries and are under varying degrees of political freedom or lack of it. Most live in countries with a relatively strong freedom, but others live in places with religious oppression and in some cases outright persecution. However it's doubtful that this material reaches those living in slavery, although millions live under such conditions.
But today, regardless of where we live
and conditions we live under we can all share one
freedom in common based on our daily text. "So
if the Son sets you free, you will be free
indeed".
This freedom, available to all, is
infinitely greater than any political or religious
freedoms we may or may not enjoy in this present
life. One hundred or one thousand years into
eternity we suspect that where we lived during our
brief earthly sojourn will be of little regard,
with the one exception of our decision to place
our faith in Jesus Christ and accept His provision
for our slavery to sin.
In John 8 Jesus confronted the Pharisees and religious leaders of His day who had challenged His authority. The encounter specifically began when Jesus asserted, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12). The Pharisees challenged Jesus and the validity of His testimony and of course that has been at the heart of resistance to God's redemption plan ever since.
Jesus taught that those who "hold" to His teaching are truly His disciples (v. 31). He said to them "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:32). This especially infuriated the proud Pharisees who responded, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?" (v. 34).
In John 8 Jesus confronted the Pharisees and religious leaders of His day who had challenged His authority. The encounter specifically began when Jesus asserted, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12). The Pharisees challenged Jesus and the validity of His testimony and of course that has been at the heart of resistance to God's redemption plan ever since.
Jesus taught that those who "hold" to His teaching are truly His disciples (v. 31). He said to them "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:32). This especially infuriated the proud Pharisees who responded, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?" (v. 34).
But
Jesus
was
speaking of a slavery that impacts the entire
human race; whether rich or poor, powerful or
weak, intellectual or unlearned, the politically
free, oppressed or even enslaved. People from
every
background and every time period since the fall
are slaves to sin! Yet this is the
very slavery that Jesus came to free us from: "So if the Son
sets you free, you will be free indeed"
(John 8:36).If you are a citizen of a free country don't take it for granted. Give thanks to God for this wonderful privilege and consider those who sacrificed for your freedoms. Pray for our brothers and sisters who do not have these freedoms.
But above all give thanks to God that
Jesus paid the supreme sacrifice so that we might
be freed from the slavery of sin. That's something
that we can all rejoice in no matter the political
conditions of our country.
Today, are you free indeed?
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer:
Father,
how glorious it is to enjoy the many freedoms
provided to us in our homeland of the brave and
the free. We're also mindful and grateful for our
freedom from sin, thanks to the sacrifice of Your
Son on our behalf. Our lives, once enslaved to
sin, now enjoy freedom from that which once held
us captive to Satan's bondage. We live in victory
because You have set us free and we are now free
indeed. Thank You, Father, for delivering us from
the dominion of darkness and transferring us into
the kingdom of Your beloved Son in whom we have
redemption, the forgiveness of sin! Amen.
Christ provides:
Yesterday we stopped by the Seyfert Orchards in Lebanon County and bought 4 pounds of sour cherries for making preserves. So last night Ester pitted the cherries and Brooksyne made Cherry Almond Preserves!
"Man Of Sorrows" Video Joelle Perez, David Quimba, Mark Rasmussen
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer:
Father,
how glorious it is to enjoy the many freedoms
provided to us in our homeland of the brave and
the free. We're also mindful and grateful for our
freedom from sin, thanks to the sacrifice of Your
Son on our behalf. Our lives, once enslaved to
sin, now enjoy freedom from that which once held
us captive to Satan's bondage. We live in victory
because You have set us free and we are now free
indeed. Thank You, Father, for delivering us from
the dominion of darkness and transferring us into
the kingdom of Your beloved Son in whom we have
redemption, the forgiveness of sin! Amen.Christ provides:
1) Freedom from the bondage of sin
(Romans 6:18).
2) Freedom from guilt and shame (Colossians 1:21-23).
3) Freedom from fear of death (Hebrews 2:15).
2) Freedom from guilt and shame (Colossians 1:21-23).
3) Freedom from fear of death (Hebrews 2:15).
Yesterday we stopped by the Seyfert Orchards in Lebanon County and bought 4 pounds of sour cherries for making preserves. So last night Ester pitted the cherries and Brooksyne made Cherry Almond Preserves!
For those who pit lots of cherries
or olives I picked up this nifty cherry picker
at the thrift store for 50 cents awhile back
and finally had a chance to see how it worked.
Ester pitted all the cherries in no time with
the
cherry picker and it never tired her fingers.
It reminds me of an old fashioned syringe.
Ester called it a plunger. (I told her that
instead of getting her blood drawn as she does
so often, she's the one who gets to pull the
syringe on this device.) All pits were
accounted for as well with this tool unlike
some gadgets I've used. I looked up the device
online and it's called a vintage cherry
pitter, patented in 1935, available via ebay
and a few other sites.
The room began to smell like a
cherry pie baking as the cherries boiled for
l5 minutes.
I use a Victoria Steamer instead of
a water bath and the jars seal instantly when
I lift off the lid. I love to hear the pop,
pop, pop! I ended up with 18 jars (15 cups).
The finished product on a layered
biscuit that Stephen and I split. Though it
takes a few days for the jam to thicken we
couldn't wait to sample the delicious results.
Cherry preserves are among my favorite jams.
You can find this recipe here.
Today's
Suggested
Music and Supplemental Resources
"Man Of Sorrows" Video Joelle Perez, David Quimba, Mark Rasmussen
This last Sunday evening on our way back from our weekend trip we heard a very interesting edition of "Unshackled". It is not the typical program but rather it highlights the importance of our Christian heritage and the present age we live in. You'll be nodding your head and saying "amen" if you're given to verbally affirming. Audio
Finally today:
We hope all of our American readers have a
refreshing 4th of July holiday with family and
friends!
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 2018 Stephen C. & Brooksyne Weber - All Rights Reserved
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA