A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope,
encouragement and exhortation.
Tuesday, November
6, 2018
"Melody of songs about Heaven" Video Calvary Church Choir This is the medley of songs used by our church's choir in last week's service. See if you can find Brooksyne! Old-timers especially will enjoy these songs.
Colorado
National Monument is near Grand Junction Colorado in
the western part of the state. This looks like a scene
from Monument Valley in northeast Arizona.
(Click
to enlarge)
"What
Children Believe"
Message
summary: A consideration of
what children perceive.
Listen
to our message
on your audio player.
"When
I was a child, I used to speak like
a child, think like a child, reason
like a child; when I became a man, I
did away with childish things. For
now we see in a mirror dimly, but
then face to face; now I know in
part, but then I will know fully
just as I also have been fully
known. But now faith, hope, love,
abide these three; but the greatest
of these is love" (1 Corinthians
13:11-13).
Our
friends Jesse and Anna Ruth have seven
children. We met them in early 2003
right after they got married and have
seen the blessings come along one by
one.
Anna
Ruth shared an instructive story with
us concerning a conversation with Sara
Beth, who is now three years old. She
has five older siblings and a younger
brother. Anna Ruth was explaining to
her that there was a time when it was
just her Mom and Dad and no children.
Sara Beth was surprised at this and
she just couldn't imagine that. After
all, in her entire existence, all she
has ever known is having a house full
with a Mom and Dad and brothers and
sisters. At three years old she
probably can't even remember a time
she didn't have a little brother!
Thus
far Sara Beth has had a very protected
life, such a blessing for a child,
which of course is not the case for so
many these days. It brought to mind a
song we enjoy called "What
Children Believe" which seeks to
see life through the eyes and
understanding of little children being
raised in a loving, protected setting.
- "Love lasts forever
- Mom & Daddys stay together
- Cheater's never win
- and a promise is somethin' you keep
- It's bad to lie, but it's okay to cry
- Dreams never die and faith is all you need"
Today's
text is from "The Love Chapter", 1
Corinthians 13, a beloved portion of the
Bible that many have memorized. In
musing over Sara Beth's perception I
considered the phrase, "When I was a
child, I used to speak like a child,
think like a child, reason like a
child" especially the words "reason
like a child".
It's
entirely understandable that Sara Beth
would reason this way, after all that's
her entire frame of reference. She
thinks it's always been that way since
that's all she's known. It's hard at 64
to remember what it was like at Sara
Beth's age but thankfully I was also
raised in a loving, protective home.
But
there's another point in this story I
want to consider. Sara Beth's perception
will expand as she ages and she will be
able to imagine when her Mom and Dad
first got married and there were no
children in the Lapp household and
she'll also learn the world is a lot
bigger than what she now experiences.
Sadly she will also learn, as we all
did, that this world is a very broken
place.
But
I also wonder that in light of eternity
and the spiritual realm if our
understanding is actually similar to
Sara Beth's? The text goes on to state,
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but
then face to face; now I know in part,
but then I will know fully just as I
also have been fully known." I
think we really know a very small part
of the "things which eye has not seen
and ear has not heard, and which have
not entered the heart of man, all that
God has prepared for those who love
Him" (1 Corinthians 2:9).
Be
encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer:
Father, we now see through a mirror
dimly and now know only a small part.
Thank you for that future time when we
shall see and know fully. In the
meantime help us to keep the faith and
live in obedience to your revelation
even when we may not understand and
even if it goes against the grain of
culture. Fill our hearts with an
assurance of Your steadfast love and
care. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen.
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer:
Father, we now see through a mirror
dimly and now know only a small part.
Thank you for that future time when we
shall see and know fully. In the
meantime help us to keep the faith and
live in obedience to your revelation
even when we may not understand and
even if it goes against the grain of
culture. Fill our hearts with an
assurance of Your steadfast love and
care. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen.
Colorado
National Monument
(Click to enlarge)
(Click to enlarge)
Colorado
National Monument
(Click to enlarge)
(Click to enlarge)
On
Friday on the way to Grand Junction
from Denver they passed snowy
mountains near Vail.
(Click to enlarge)
(Click to enlarge)
On
the way back from Grand Junction to
Denver on Sunday on I-70 Brooksyne
passed through a snow storm near Vail.
Two hours late they closed the highway
so their timing was good.
Today's
Suggested
Music and Supplemental Resources
"What
Children Believe" Video
Gold City The songwriters
have a thoughtful second verse:
Sometimes
I wish
I didn't know now
what I didn't know then
When my world was so small,
back before all of this trouble we're in
and right and wrong mattered
and truth was in style
and hope could be seen
through the eyes of a child
I didn't know now
what I didn't know then
When my world was so small,
back before all of this trouble we're in
and right and wrong mattered
and truth was in style
and hope could be seen
through the eyes of a child
"Melody of songs about Heaven" Video Calvary Church Choir This is the medley of songs used by our church's choir in last week's service. See if you can find Brooksyne! Old-timers especially will enjoy these songs.
Finally
today: Today we honor the
cousin-in-law:
Brooksyne
with my cousin Jane and her husband
Tom near Breckenridge, CO. Since we
have an annual family reunion on my
Mom's side we have stayed connected
with my cousins for many years. Jane
is in her seventies now and has (if
I'm not mistaken) climbed all of the
fourteeners in Colorado; that is
peaks over 14,000 feet!
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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