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Friday, July 6, 2018
Halfway Lake is in R.B. Winter State Park in Union County, PA. When we passed the lake last Sunday on a very hot afternoon the sandy beach was populated with many swimmers and sunbathers (visible when you enlarge). Swimming takes a hearty effort since the lake is filled by spring-fed mountain streams and regardless of air temperature the water temperature is usually about 50℉ due to much of the lake being filled with water from directly underground. There is an artesian spring, Little Bubbler, that comes up through the sand on the west end of the beach at the park.
(Click to enlarge)
Message summary: May the Lord help us all to keep our spiritual axe sharp!
Listen
to our
message on your audio player.
"If the axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of giving success" (Ecclesiastes 10:10). "If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you" (
Bible teacher Herbert
Lockyer, who is now with the Lord, wrote a book titled
"All The Promises In The Bible". In fact he wrote a
series of books with this theme, "All The _____ Of The
Bible" comprised of 21 volumes! Dr. Lockyer’s gifts
for clearly explaining the profound truths of
Scripture and helping readers apply these precepts to
their everyday lives have made these inspiring books
international bestsellers.
It would be interesting someday to develop a study on all the tools of the Bible. But in my research I don't recall ever seeing such a study, let alone a book, that provides spiritual lessons from the various tools mentioned in the Bible. It would probably be a best seller, especially for men! So let's go for one today!
Like most men, I like tools and have quite a collection accumulated through the years. My dad was a "blue collar" working man and had an extensive work shop and tool collection. I inherited a number of his tools and of course through the years have bought many on my own.
The tools mentioned in the
Bible such as hammer, goad, plumb line, adjustable
wrench and so on each would illustrate a spiritual
truth. (Actually adjustable wrench is not in the Bible
but probably could be a spiritual illustration!) We
should also probably note that the extremely neat tool
shop pictured to the right is not mine!
Today let us consider a spiritual lesson from an illustration in the Bible regarding an ax. I do not recall ever considering this passage till Jesse, an older friend of mine, called my attention to it as we were discussing the Bible. It's a relatively straightforward statement that is pretty self-evident. "If the ax is dull, and one does not sharpen its edge, then one must exert more strength."
The message began with my
recent experience of using a dull ax. Since it didn't
have a sharp edge I just put up with the dull edge;
however it certainly does require more exertion of
strength as I more or less hack away at whatever I am
trying to chop down!
Our specific spiritual lesson is found in the latter part of the verse. "However, the advantage of wisdom is that it brings success." Wisdom is a major theme in the Book of Ecclesiastes which itself is part of the section in the Bible known as the "Wisdom Literature".
As God's children we need to be growing in our spiritual wisdom. This will in turn lead to success. We feel this is primarily speaking of spiritual success, living in a manner pleasing to the Lord and attaining the ultimate form of success which is hearing our Lord's words, "Well done, good and faithful servant". We are blessed to have the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make us wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. (see 2 Timothy 3:14-16).
May the Lord help us all to experience the advantage of wisdom in keeping our spiritual axe sharp!
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer: Father we
thank you for the truths expressed in Scripture that
reveal the way to wisdom. Your Word states that if
any of us lacks wisdom, we should ask of God, who
gives to all generously and without reproach, and it
will be given to us. So we ask that we may present
to You a heart of wisdom. This wisdom from above is
first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full
of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without
hypocrisy. As we attain that wisdom may our lives be
as a sharpened ax, useful for the purpose You
ordained, leading to a life that pleases You. In
Jesus Name, Amen
James 1:5, Psalm 90:12, James 3:17
The Adam Clarke Commentary states, "If the iron be blunt, if the axe have lost its edge, and the owner does not sharpen it, he must apply the more strength to make it cut: but the wisdom that is profitable to direct will teach him that he should whet his axe, and spare his strength. Thus, without wisdom and understanding we cannot go profitably through the meanest concerns in life.
Coffman's Commentary on the Bible provides this paraphrase: "Wisdom can make any job easier; if a person sharpens the axe the job is easier. Wisdom is like that."
Centre County, PA farm scene
(Click to enlarge)
Centre County, PA farm scene
(Click to enlarge)
Centre County, PA farm scene
(Click to enlarge)
Centre County, PA Amish youth
"Blessings" Video Laura Story This is one very thought-provoking song regarding how we perceive blessings from God. Here's the story behind the song, a good teaching!
"Everything We Need" Video Acapella
"Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise" Video Jaron and Katherine Kamin
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
Friday, July 6, 2018
Halfway Lake is in R.B. Winter State Park in Union County, PA. When we passed the lake last Sunday on a very hot afternoon the sandy beach was populated with many swimmers and sunbathers (visible when you enlarge). Swimming takes a hearty effort since the lake is filled by spring-fed mountain streams and regardless of air temperature the water temperature is usually about 50℉ due to much of the lake being filled with water from directly underground. There is an artesian spring, Little Bubbler, that comes up through the sand on the west end of the beach at the park.
(Click to enlarge)
"The
Advantage Of Wisdom"
Message summary: May the Lord help us all to keep our spiritual axe sharp!
Listen
to our
message on your audio player."If the axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of giving success" (Ecclesiastes 10:10). "If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you" (
I recently removed a
Rose Of Sharon tree from our front lawn. It was
planted by the previous owner and for many years it
was a beautiful tree especially during blooming season
(see this photo from 12 years ago).
But in recent years
it became diseased and the trunk was rotting away. So
I set about to remove it. Since I don't have a chain
saw I started with a bow saw but it was hard, stubborn
cutting since I wanted to take it off as low to the
ground as possible so I could mow over it.
After some slow
laborious sawing I recalled that I had an ax among my
tools so I commenced to just chopping the tree down.
However I rarely use the ax and it was not very sharp
to begin with and even less so now, so it was very
slow going with the dull head. I experienced the
truism in today's text, "If
the axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge,
then he must exert more strength."
I finally managed to
cut the tree down and it was low enough that I could
seed the area with grass, although with the heat and
dryness it's certainly not the best time to try to
reseed an empty patch!
Apart from the literal
sense of slow chopping I experienced from the daily
text, let us consider the spiritual meaning, which has
a timeless application for all.
Bible teacher Herbert
Lockyer, who is now with the Lord, wrote a book titled
"All The Promises In The Bible". In fact he wrote a
series of books with this theme, "All The _____ Of The
Bible" comprised of 21 volumes! Dr. Lockyer’s gifts
for clearly explaining the profound truths of
Scripture and helping readers apply these precepts to
their everyday lives have made these inspiring books
international bestsellers.It would be interesting someday to develop a study on all the tools of the Bible. But in my research I don't recall ever seeing such a study, let alone a book, that provides spiritual lessons from the various tools mentioned in the Bible. It would probably be a best seller, especially for men! So let's go for one today!
Like most men, I like tools and have quite a collection accumulated through the years. My dad was a "blue collar" working man and had an extensive work shop and tool collection. I inherited a number of his tools and of course through the years have bought many on my own.
The tools mentioned in the
Bible such as hammer, goad, plumb line, adjustable
wrench and so on each would illustrate a spiritual
truth. (Actually adjustable wrench is not in the Bible
but probably could be a spiritual illustration!) We
should also probably note that the extremely neat tool
shop pictured to the right is not mine!Today let us consider a spiritual lesson from an illustration in the Bible regarding an ax. I do not recall ever considering this passage till Jesse, an older friend of mine, called my attention to it as we were discussing the Bible. It's a relatively straightforward statement that is pretty self-evident. "If the ax is dull, and one does not sharpen its edge, then one must exert more strength."
The message began with my
recent experience of using a dull ax. Since it didn't
have a sharp edge I just put up with the dull edge;
however it certainly does require more exertion of
strength as I more or less hack away at whatever I am
trying to chop down!Our specific spiritual lesson is found in the latter part of the verse. "However, the advantage of wisdom is that it brings success." Wisdom is a major theme in the Book of Ecclesiastes which itself is part of the section in the Bible known as the "Wisdom Literature".
Wesley observes, "As wisdom instructs a
man in the smallest matters, so it is useful for a
man's direction in all weighty affairs."
As God's children we need to be growing in our spiritual wisdom. This will in turn lead to success. We feel this is primarily speaking of spiritual success, living in a manner pleasing to the Lord and attaining the ultimate form of success which is hearing our Lord's words, "Well done, good and faithful servant". We are blessed to have the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make us wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. (see 2 Timothy 3:14-16).
May the Lord help us all to experience the advantage of wisdom in keeping our spiritual axe sharp!
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer: Father we
thank you for the truths expressed in Scripture that
reveal the way to wisdom. Your Word states that if
any of us lacks wisdom, we should ask of God, who
gives to all generously and without reproach, and it
will be given to us. So we ask that we may present
to You a heart of wisdom. This wisdom from above is
first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full
of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without
hypocrisy. As we attain that wisdom may our lives be
as a sharpened ax, useful for the purpose You
ordained, leading to a life that pleases You. In
Jesus Name, AmenJames 1:5, Psalm 90:12, James 3:17
The Adam Clarke Commentary states, "If the iron be blunt, if the axe have lost its edge, and the owner does not sharpen it, he must apply the more strength to make it cut: but the wisdom that is profitable to direct will teach him that he should whet his axe, and spare his strength. Thus, without wisdom and understanding we cannot go profitably through the meanest concerns in life.
Coffman's Commentary on the Bible provides this paraphrase: "Wisdom can make any job easier; if a person sharpens the axe the job is easier. Wisdom is like that."
Wisdom is a gift from God. James 1:5
states, "If any of you lacks wisdom, you
should ask God, who gives generously to all
without finding fault, and it will be given to
you." Wisdom is what God will bless us with
in order for us to glorify Him with the knowledge
we have of Him. (gotquestions.org)
Today
we will share our final selection of photos we
took from our trip last weekend to northern
Pennsylvania. On the way back home to Lancaster
County we purposefully drove through one of
central Pennsylvania's Ridge and Valley Provinces
in eastern Centre County, taking very remote Rt.
192 east from Centre Hall PA (here
on Google map). We especially enjoy these
ridge/valley farm scenes with the mountains in the
background.
Centre County, PA farm scene
(Click to enlarge)
Centre County, PA farm scene
(Click to enlarge)
Centre County, PA farm scene
(Click to enlarge)
Centre County, PA farm scene
(Click to enlarge)
(Click to enlarge)
Centre County, PA farm scene
(Click to enlarge)
(Click to enlarge)
Centre County, PA farm scene
(Click to enlarge)
(Click to enlarge)
Centre County, PA farm scene
(Click to enlarge)
(Click to enlarge)
Centre County, PA farm scene
(Click to enlarge)
(Click to enlarge)
Centre County, PA Amish youth
(Click to enlarge)
(Click to enlarge)
Today's
Suggested
Music and Supplemental Resources
A Daily Encouragement message called "Lessons
From A Broken Axe"
A list of tools in the Bible.
For those who enjoy Bible quizzes: I was searching for a quiz on tools of the Bible. Some of you may find this Bible quiz site interesting. It does have a quiz that has some tool questions!!
A list of tools in the Bible.
For those who enjoy Bible quizzes: I was searching for a quiz on tools of the Bible. Some of you may find this Bible quiz site interesting. It does have a quiz that has some tool questions!!
"Blessings" Video Laura Story This is one very thought-provoking song regarding how we perceive blessings from God. Here's the story behind the song, a good teaching!
"Everything We Need" Video Acapella
"Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise" Video Jaron and Katherine Kamin
Finally today:
Yesterday we passed
this barn-raising at the Verdant View farm east of
Strasburg, PA.
(Click to enlarge)
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