A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope,
encouragement and exhortation.
Daily
Encouragement on
Wednesday,
January 9, 2019
This week here in Pennsylvania we have our annual Farm Show which is like our State Fair but held in the winter inside! A highlight each year is the butter sculpture.
"Well
Spoken Of By Everyone"
"In Joppa
there was a disciple
named Tabitha (in
Greek her name is
Dorcas); she was
always doing good and
helping the poor.
About that time she
became sick and died,
and her body was
washed and placed in
an upstairs room.
Lydda was near Joppa;
so when the disciples
heard that Peter was
in Lydda, they sent
two men to him and
urged him, 'Please
come at once!' Peter
went with them, and
when he arrived he was
taken upstairs to the
room. All the widows
stood around him,
crying and showing him
the robes and other
clothing that Dorcas
had made while she was
still with them" (Acts
9:36-39).
"Demetrius
is well spoken of by
everyone—and even by
the truth itself. We
also speak well of
him, and you know that
our testimony is true"
(3 John 1:12).
On Monday
afternoon a 65 year old
man died of a heart
attack after collapsing
at his jobsite in one of
the companies we serve
as chaplains. Tom was a
thirty-five year
employee and a key part
of the company's tech
support team, an expert
in providing advice to
car wash owners at
Kleen-Rite.
Yesterday we
walked through the
company to provide
comfort and support to
the employees, many of
them deeply grieving
over his sudden death.
Tom was clearly a
well-loved man and we
heard many stories of
how he went overboard to
extend kindness to
fellow workers. If
someone needed gas,
their car was broken
down or a tire replaced
Tom was there. If an
employee was fearful of
driving in inclement
weather he picked them
up. A fellow employee's
mom died who lived
several states away and
Tom handed him a wad of
cash and insisted on not
being paid back. One
young lady told us she
and some friends were
out on a motorcycle ride
when her bike broke
down. She tried to call
her dad but couldn't
reach him, so she called
Tom. He drove over to
where she had broken
down, loaded the bike on
his truck and told her
to continue having a
good time with her
friends. Every year Tom
presented every female
employee a red carnation
on Valentine's Day. We
heard moving stories
like this over and over.
Today we use
two lesser considered
Bible texts that are
examples of people who
lived their lives in
such a way that they
made a difference in
other people's lives. We
can learn from their
example as part of the
Holy Scriptures
according to
2
Timothy 3:16,17.
Dorcas was a
disciple in the early
church who lived in
Joppa along the
Mediterranean Sea (near
modern day Tel Aviv).
She died and Peter was
summoned. Dorcas'
grieving friends, "stood
around him, crying and
showing him the robes
and other clothing
that Dorcas had made
while she was still
with them".
I wonder how patient
Peter was as each of the
women showed him the
well tailored robes and
clothing made by Dorcas,
since most men are
typically not all that
interested in tapestry
or clothing designs!
However what her friends
did, because of their
love and respect for
Dorcas, was similar to
our experience yesterday
as fellow employees gave
tangible examples of how
they remembered Tom's
personal expressions of
kindness and generosity
toward them.
Demetrius is
an obscure Bible
character whose brief
but very informative
reference is found in 3
John: "Demetrius is
well spoken of by
everyone—and even by
the truth itself. We
also speak well of
him, and you know that
our testimony is true". What a great
blessing the words, "well spoken
of by everyone".
Some people can be
described in this way.
We will end
today's message with
three challenges:
1) Consider
people in your life like
Tom, Dorcas or
Demetrius. Let them know
now how they have
enriched your life.
2) What will
people say about you
when your time of
departure comes?
Especially consider
those words, "Well
spoken of by everyone".
3) Everyone's
time of departure will
come. Have you made
things right with the
Lord?
Be encouraged
today,
Stephen &
Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer:
Father,
according to Scripture
it's "not by works
of righteousness
which we have done,
but according to
Your mercy that we
are saved." Your
mercy is especially
made known to us when
Jesus left heaven to
be born of a virgin,
when He walked among
us in human flesh, and
when He died for our
sins. As we surrender
our lives to You our
works of righteousness
and goodness will be a
testimony of the
transformation that
has taken place in our
lives. May we, like
Dorcas and Demetrius,
leave a legacy of
kindness so that we
are well spoken of by
everyone, not for our
self-glory but for the
glory of God. Amen.Brooksyne's
Note: As I
read the Scripture in
our message today
about the women
showing Peter their
robes; how lovingly
and carefully Dorcas
had sewn them it made
me think of our walk
through at Kleen-Rite
yesterday. We entered
an office area where
there are several
female workers who are
customer service reps.
As our conversation
centered around Tom
each of them pulled
out a tool that Tom
had given them to keep
in their drawer after
he voluntarily
repaired a necessary
item or piece of
furniture that was not
working properly. One
pulled out a flash
light, another pulled
out a pair of pliers
and yet another
brought out a
multi-head
screwdriver; these
tools made the women
feel that Tom really
cared about their
needs. They were to
save it for any future
repair where they
might need his
assistance. I am sure
now it will also be a
reminder of Tom.
Today's
Suggested
Music and Supplemental Resources
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