A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope,
encouragement and exhortation.
Yesterday we
passed this Amishman on an interesting looking stand up
cart.
"Seeing
The Unseen"
Message
summary: Fellow believer, may your eyes
of faith be open today. May Christ fill you with
hope and assurance as you realize the protecting
might of the heavenly hosts who are truly
gathered around all of us.
Listen to
our message on your audio player.
"When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. 'Oh, my lord, what shall we do?' the servant asked. 'Don't be afraid,' the prophet answered. 'Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.' And Elisha prayed, 'O LORD, open his eyes so he may see.' Then the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha" (2 Kings 6:15-17).
Today's message is a follow-up to yesterday's message "The Unseen Eternal" which was a reminder that all we presently see is temporary. We need to fix our eyes on the unseen, which is eternal.
A vital spiritual principle is this: It's so easy to see the earthly reality but far more difficult to see the equally valid spiritual reality. Let us desire to have the spiritual discernment of the men of Issachar, "who understood the times and knew what Israel should do" (1 Chronicles 12:32).
A powerful apocalyptic verse at the end of Daniel states, "Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand" (Daniel 12:10). I want to be wise and see and understand the spiritual!
Today's Scripture portion is set about 2,800 years ago. Elisha was a faith-filled prophet who had enraged the king of Aram with his accurate prophetical pronouncements that were in essence divinely given intelligence. In anger the king sent an army to the city to find Elisha. In the dark night they quietly surrounded the city in their attempt to capture Elisha.
Elisha's servant woke up early and saw the vast army surrounding the city. He went to Elisha in panic and despair and asked, 'Oh, my lord, what shall we do?' With his physical eyes he could easily see the army and the situation looked altogether hopeless.
"Don't be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." Elisha, as a man of great faith, saw a reality his servant was unable to see. As I consider this passage I have wondered if Elisha lived in a state of faith where he could always see that which was invisible to others?
I realize I sure am a lot more like the servant than Elisha. I have no trouble seeing the enemy's army. Sometimes they seem so massive and poised for attack. I can feel moments of despair as I struggle to see in faith the unseen spiritual reality.
Elisha didn't rebuke his servant but rather prayed, "O LORD, open his eyes so he may see."
Elisha's prayer was answered immediately in a remarkable way. "Then the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha." The servant's eyes were opened to see the spiritual realm, the protecting might of the heavenly hosts. And conversely, the Arameans who relied on their physical eyes to do battle, were blinded so that they were restrained from harming God's servant (II Kings 6:18).
I firmly believe that this isn't just an historical record of God's help in ages past, but a powerful encouragement for all ages and all believers concerning the unseen reality of the spiritual forces surrounding us, for God does not change. A wonderful New Testament promise that we need to hide deep in our hearts is from I John 4:4, "You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world."
Fellow believer, may your eyes of faith be open today. May Christ fill you with hope and assurance as you realize the protecting might of the heavenly hosts who are truly gathered around all of us.
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Listen to
our message on your audio player."When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. 'Oh, my lord, what shall we do?' the servant asked. 'Don't be afraid,' the prophet answered. 'Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.' And Elisha prayed, 'O LORD, open his eyes so he may see.' Then the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha" (2 Kings 6:15-17).
Today's message is a follow-up to yesterday's message "The Unseen Eternal" which was a reminder that all we presently see is temporary. We need to fix our eyes on the unseen, which is eternal.
A vital spiritual principle is this: It's so easy to see the earthly reality but far more difficult to see the equally valid spiritual reality. Let us desire to have the spiritual discernment of the men of Issachar, "who understood the times and knew what Israel should do" (1 Chronicles 12:32).
A powerful apocalyptic verse at the end of Daniel states, "Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand" (Daniel 12:10). I want to be wise and see and understand the spiritual!
Today's Scripture portion is set about 2,800 years ago. Elisha was a faith-filled prophet who had enraged the king of Aram with his accurate prophetical pronouncements that were in essence divinely given intelligence. In anger the king sent an army to the city to find Elisha. In the dark night they quietly surrounded the city in their attempt to capture Elisha.
Elisha's servant woke up early and saw the vast army surrounding the city. He went to Elisha in panic and despair and asked, 'Oh, my lord, what shall we do?' With his physical eyes he could easily see the army and the situation looked altogether hopeless.
"Don't be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." Elisha, as a man of great faith, saw a reality his servant was unable to see. As I consider this passage I have wondered if Elisha lived in a state of faith where he could always see that which was invisible to others?
I realize I sure am a lot more like the servant than Elisha. I have no trouble seeing the enemy's army. Sometimes they seem so massive and poised for attack. I can feel moments of despair as I struggle to see in faith the unseen spiritual reality.
Elisha didn't rebuke his servant but rather prayed, "O LORD, open his eyes so he may see."
Elisha's prayer was answered immediately in a remarkable way. "Then the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha." The servant's eyes were opened to see the spiritual realm, the protecting might of the heavenly hosts. And conversely, the Arameans who relied on their physical eyes to do battle, were blinded so that they were restrained from harming God's servant (II Kings 6:18).
I firmly believe that this isn't just an historical record of God's help in ages past, but a powerful encouragement for all ages and all believers concerning the unseen reality of the spiritual forces surrounding us, for God does not change. A wonderful New Testament promise that we need to hide deep in our hearts is from I John 4:4, "You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world."
Fellow believer, may your eyes of faith be open today. May Christ fill you with hope and assurance as you realize the protecting might of the heavenly hosts who are truly gathered around all of us.
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer: Father,
help us to walk by faith and not by sight. Give us
divinely prescribed vision to see the hosts of the
heavenly army who stand guard to protect us or engage
in warfare against our enemy in the heavenly realms.
We clothe ourselves in Your armor so that we can take
our stand against the devil's schemes. We stand
against the powers of this dark world and against the
spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. May
we walk in confidence rather than fear as we trust You
to protect and guide us in all our ways. Amen.We are at that time
of year when people enjoy sharing their vacation
photos with us!
Myrtle
Beach sunrise
(Photo
by Dave Comp)
Assateague Island
is a national seashore off the coast of Maryland
where the ponies roam freely. Visitors are welcome
to use the beach but are not to shoo away curious
ponies since the beach belongs to them! This pony
wanted to get his fill of veggies and, since no
one was offering him a carrot, he decided to help
himself to a visitor's bag of veggie sticks.
(Photo by Rick Benedick)
(Photo by Rick Benedick)
Today's
Suggested
Music and Supplemental Resources
"The Battle Belongs to the Lord" Video Maranatha Singers
A
Rain Update: We began measuring rainfall on
Saturday at the beginning of our deluge of rain
for western Lancaster County over the past five
days. We now have an accumulation of 17" with rain
pouring down even as we checked the gauge tonight.
Overnight last night we got 6" so you can just
imagine the flooded creeks and houses in our area.
Sadly one young lady, age 19, was swept away by a
surge of water from a flooded creek and her body
has not yet been recovered.
Finally today:
The Val-Co Field Of
Dreams
Each weekday several of
the employees at Val-Co have a pickup Whiffle ball
game at lunch.
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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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