A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope,
encouragement and exhortation.
Daily
Encouragement on
Friday, February
15, 2019
"Never-failing
Love"
Message
summary: Enduring
love
is at the very heart
of Paul's message in
what is known as the
Love Chapter: "Love
never fails."
Listen to our
message on your audio
player.
In yesterday's
message we told a story
about Bill Fernan, a
friend from over 25
years ago, who provided
an example of abiding
love suitable for a
Valentine's Day message.
We appreciate feedback
and one friend wrote,
"What a beautiful
message for Valentine's
Day. I praise God for
the blessing of being
married to a wonderful
man for almost 30 years!
I'm going to share this
message with my newly
engaged daughter and her
fiance."
Examples of
enduring love like we
shared yesterday can be
very heartening and we
are pleased when we hear
fresh stories.
Yesterday, following our
chaplain duties, we had
our Valentine's Day
lunch at Red Lobster.
Then we headed toward
home but made a stop at
Great Clips for
Brooksyne to get a
haircut. I waited in the
van and quite honestly
took a short snooze!
Brooksyne had
to wait for her
appointment so she went
into the Dollar Tree
next door where she had
an interesting
encounter:
I walked into
the food aisle and an
older gentleman, who
looked to be about 6'3"
and perhaps 80 years of
age, turned around and
showed me a jar of
coconut oil. He asked
me, "Do you think this
would help my hands?
Probably because I'm so
old my hands get real
dry and they even have
cracks in the skin". I'd
never tried it for hand
cream but I told him it
was worth a try and if
it didn't work he could
use it in the kitchen as
a substitute for butter
or for frying his eggs.
He decided to give it a
try and then he launched
into explaining to me
why he had about 7 jello
snack packs, each with
four containers of jello
w/ fruit, in his cart.
"My wife won't
eat for the 'girls' at
the nursing home but she
will eat these for me,
so I stock up. I also
try to make a pot of
potato soup and take it
often because she'll eat
that for me as well. She
must remember it from
the years we ate it at
home." I inquired as to
how long she'd been in
the nursing home and he
answered, "I'm 88 and I
was caring for her at
home until she fell and
broke her leg last July.
I couldn't lift her so I
had to admit her to the
home. After the surgery
the dementia worsened;
they think it was due to
the anesthetic, but I
visit her everyday and
feed her at dinner
time."
I expressed my
admiration for his
dedication as a faithful
husband of 62 years. We
talked on for a few
minutes and then he
said, "It sure is hard,
visiting her everyday
and she doesn't even
know who I am."
My heart sure
went out to him and I
felt led to say, "I know
it must be really hard,
but you're doing the
right thing. The people
who work there everyday,
the residents and their
family members see your
dedication. We have so
many broken marriages
and people who are not
faithful to their family
duties, you are showing
them what it is to be a
loving, faithful
husband."
He seemed to
appreciate our
conversation and said,
"It's not everyday you
run into someone you've
never met that you can
just talk to." It was
obvious that he was
lonely and God had a
divine appointment for
him and for me. As I was
leaving the store he was
at the cash register so
I felt the Lord
prompting me to leave a
parting word, "You are
the perfect example of a
valentine." He thanked
me and appeared to be
just a bit embarrassed,
but he also appeared to
be pleased with such an
evaluation on
Valentine's Day.
Consider the
popular portrayal of
love with a gorgeous
Hollywood couple having
a lavish wedding
surrounded by paparazzi.
Magazines and newspapers
sell like
hotcakes. But way
too often the same
Hollywood couple become
headlines again when
they're soon embroiled
in a divorce battle and
once again the magazines
sell like hotcakes so
people can read about
their ugly divorce, to
see who cheated on who
and how much money one
party expects to receive
from the fallout.
However, we believe the full picture of genuine, mature, and enduring servant type love is evident in demonstration we can all observe yet too often overlook. Love's passion will fizzle. Youth and vitality turns into a distant memory captured only in photos or deep in one's heart. But true love will remain all the days of our lives when we take seriously the marital vows, "for better, for worse; in sickness and in health, till death do us part." Maybe we should add "in our days of youth and our golden years". Though I've heard some seniors say, "I don't really see anything golden about getting old."
This enduring love is at the very heart of Paul's message in what is known as the Love Chapter: "Love never fails." Endurance is a word defined as "the act, quality, or power of withstanding hardship or stress." That's the depth of tested love the world needs to see and emulate. As God's children we are called to practice it and be living examples for those who look on, most especially our children. We should not only be attracted to each other, but remain committed to each other as well.
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father,
we thank You for
the wonderful
gift of love
that we
experience in a
romantic
relationship
that often grows
into a marital
bond between a
man and woman.
It is a holy
union in which
we, as devout
believers, make
You the
Cornerstone of
our marriage and
family. May we
be a support to
each other as we
provide a loving
and protective
shelter from the
bitter
disappointments
of life. May the
fruit of the
Spirit be
evident in our
daily walk both
at home and in
public places.
Keep us wholly
faithful to one
another,
rejecting every
lustful
temptation the
devil sends our
way. May we
prove our love
to each other
with mutual
respect,
understanding,
forgiveness,
kindness,
forbearance, and
unity. In the
precious name of
Jesus we
pray.
Amen.
However, we believe the full picture of genuine, mature, and enduring servant type love is evident in demonstration we can all observe yet too often overlook. Love's passion will fizzle. Youth and vitality turns into a distant memory captured only in photos or deep in one's heart. But true love will remain all the days of our lives when we take seriously the marital vows, "for better, for worse; in sickness and in health, till death do us part." Maybe we should add "in our days of youth and our golden years". Though I've heard some seniors say, "I don't really see anything golden about getting old."
This enduring love is at the very heart of Paul's message in what is known as the Love Chapter: "Love never fails." Endurance is a word defined as "the act, quality, or power of withstanding hardship or stress." That's the depth of tested love the world needs to see and emulate. As God's children we are called to practice it and be living examples for those who look on, most especially our children. We should not only be attracted to each other, but remain committed to each other as well.
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father,
we thank You for
the wonderful
gift of love
that we
experience in a
romantic
relationship
that often grows
into a marital
bond between a
man and woman.
It is a holy
union in which
we, as devout
believers, make
You the
Cornerstone of
our marriage and
family. May we
be a support to
each other as we
provide a loving
and protective
shelter from the
bitter
disappointments
of life. May the
fruit of the
Spirit be
evident in our
daily walk both
at home and in
public places.
Keep us wholly
faithful to one
another,
rejecting every
lustful
temptation the
devil sends our
way. May we
prove our love
to each other
with mutual
respect,
understanding,
forgiveness,
kindness,
forbearance, and
unity. In the
precious name of
Jesus we
pray.
Amen.
Yesterday
we took our new
friends, Don and
Tabitha, to
another location
we serve with
Vietnamese
employees who
enjoyed talking
to them. Two of
these employees
recognized Don
as their former
doctor before he
and Tabitha left
for Cambodia as
missionaries
about 12 years
ago.
Today's
Suggested
Music and Supplemental Resources
*
Brooksyne looked it up and
indeed coconut oil is a suitable
hand cream.
The
long code yesterday was the
binary code for 2 Timothy 1:12:
"For I know whom I have
believed, and am persuaded that
He is able to keep that which I
have committed unto Him against
that day." For the record I
can't read the code but used
this nifty online
converter!
Finally
today:
Yesterday
afternoon on our stop for
Brooksyne's haircut we observed
this new Amish buggy parking
hitch in Mount Joy, PA. Horse
emissions are a little hard to
hide and somebody didn't obey
the sign!
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.
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