A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope,
encouragement and exhortation.
Daily
Encouragement on
Thursday,
February 21, 2019
"A
Brand New Ending"
Message
summary:
Although we can't go
back and make a brand
new start, through the
grace of God we can
start right now and have
a brand new ending!
Listen to our
message on your audio
player.
"Therefore,
if anyone is in
Christ, the new
creation has come: The
old has gone, the new
is here!" (2
Corinthians 5:17).
We have a
friend who has an
inspiring story. Suzanne
attends the same church
we do and we enjoy
seeing her vibrant smile
and hearing about her
faith-filled outlook.
Suzanne had a
hard start in life as a
Vietnamese orphan born
at the end of the
Vietnam War. She came to
the US in April 1975 to
be adopted by an
American family as part
of a huge humanitarian
airlift known as
"Operation Babylift".
I recall
seeing the above photo
years ago and thinking,
"What in the world is
this all about?" Well,
now I
know. The babies were
placed in cardboard
boxes and airlifted out
of Saigon. Suzanne, at 5
months, was included
among the babies and she
might be in this above
photo posted online.
Suzanne
was adopted, raised in a
Christian home and
accepted Christ at an
early age. Her parents
very possibly died
during the uprising in
Vietnam. She will soon
turn 44 and we often see
her glowing smile among
the church people. She
was among the first who
introduced herself to us
over a year and a half
ago by saying, "My name
is Suzanne. I was
brought here as a baby
and I've been here ever
since. I love going to
church!" Sunday morning
we engaged in a
conversation with her
where I took the photo
of Suzanne and Brooksyne
as they visited
following the service.We all have
different starts in
life. There are those
who had a good start and
even some born with the
proverbial "silver
spoon". Brooksyne and I
were both wanted and
born into loving
families. That's an
easily taken for granted
blessing.
But we know
it's not the story for
many. Millions of babies
are murdered while still
in the womb, which many
now celebrate in our
increasingly decadent
age. Some are born in
poverty and/or face
abuse.
Being in
people work we observe
and hear so many sad
stories of heartbreaking
childhoods. I recently
spoke to a man who
boasted that he had ten
kids by five different
women as if this were
some type of noble
accomplishment. All I
could think of was the
kind of upbringing these
children will endure.
Increasingly we observe
these dysfunctional
types of people as a
result of generational
decadence with so many
not even being aware of
God's standards for
marriage and sexuality.
Brooksyne
wrote this in our radio
message this morning,
"Ungodly temporal
pleasure can also bring
lasting regrets with
grave consequences, not
just for the primary
actors but the innocent
lives who are changed as
a result. Romans 14:7
says, 'No one lives
unto himself alone'".
Doug is a
friend of ours from one
of our companies who has
an interesting quote in
each of his emails. "Though
no one can go back and
make a brand new
start, anyone can
start from now and
make a brand new
ending."
That is an
expression of 2
Corinthians 5:17. "Therefore,
if anyone is in
Christ, the new
creation has come: The
old has gone, the new
is here!"
Working in the
brokenness of our world
we have stories like the
man with ten children
mentioned above (who
didn't express interest
in spiritual things or
indicate that he was
looking for a new
start). But we rejoice
to see others such as a
single father overcoming
drug addiction who is
now attending church
with his children and
seeking to get back on
the right track in life.
Today, like
Suzanne, many of you
reading this had a
really hard start in
life and have overcome
many obstacles and will
spend the rest of your
life overcoming. Jesus
is the supreme example
of One who overcame the
world even to the very
end of His life on
earth.
Tragically,
the majority live in
defiance and
disobedience to God's
commands and are
experiencing the
consequences. We are
pleased at the good news
of the redemption story
of One who came to seek
and save the lost.
Indeed although we can't
go back and make a brand
new start, through the
grace of God we can
start right now and have
a brand new ending!
Be encouraged
today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father,
though we might
have an
upbringing much
different than
that of our
neighbor,
spouse, or
co-worker, we
all have the
same opportunity
to be a new
creation in
Christ. Not one
of us, no matter
how happy or sad
our past, how
difficult or
carefree our
upbringing we
all have the
need to come to
Christ and be
forgiven our
sins. Though our
sins are as
scarlet they
become white as
snow when we are
cleansed by the
blood of the
Lamb. We can't
go back and
change the past
but we can
entrust You with
our present and
eternal future.
Thank You for
Jesus who became
the supreme
example to us of
an Overcomer,
who taught us to
overcome the sin
of this world
and its
destructive
effects in our
life! Amen.
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father,
though we might
have an
upbringing much
different than
that of our
neighbor,
spouse, or
co-worker, we
all have the
same opportunity
to be a new
creation in
Christ. Not one
of us, no matter
how happy or sad
our past, how
difficult or
carefree our
upbringing we
all have the
need to come to
Christ and be
forgiven our
sins. Though our
sins are as
scarlet they
become white as
snow when we are
cleansed by the
blood of the
Lamb. We can't
go back and
change the past
but we can
entrust You with
our present and
eternal future.
Thank You for
Jesus who became
the supreme
example to us of
an Overcomer,
who taught us to
overcome the sin
of this world
and its
destructive
effects in our
life! Amen.Our
Neighborhood
Birds On A
Snowy Day
After
Doug, our next
door neighbor,
posted a great photo
of a bluebird he
had taken in his
yard I
(Brooksyne)
teasingly wrote,
"Doug, it's not
fair that you
have blue birds
all the time and
they never ever
visit us. Could
you send a few
our way?"
He responded,
"I'll send some
over."
Sure
enough! The next
day blue birds
came to visit us
and have been
visiting for
three days - two
and three
couples at a
time! Cardinals,
Blue birds,
Juncos,
Goldfinches,
Purplefinches,
Mourning Doves,
and a few other
birds have stuck
it out with us
during the snowy
day. Thanks to
Stephen who put
out lots of suet
and filled our
birdfeeders.
A little
peanut butter
sure made a
few of them
happy,
especially the
blue birds.
Red,
White and Blue
(Red
Cardinal, White
Snow, and Blue
Birds make for a
very patriotic
scene)
Two
favorite
sightings are
the cardinals
and bluebirds.
As you can see
we had snow
blowing from all
directions.
(Ester's
photo)
Purple
finch enjoying
sunflower seed
(Ester's
photo)
Bluebird
enjoying suet.
(Ester's
photo)
Our
very popular
front yard
feeders
It's
hard to capture
the colors of
the birds with
the glistening
snow in the
background.
Today's
Suggested
Music and Supplemental Resources
The
Children of an Lac
full movie as YouTube video
(note: this was made in 1980 and
is rather poor quality)
Savior
of Saigon Video
(A nice summary) 3 minutes
Yesterday we had requests for the ultimate accounting calendar we showed yesterday. However it was just an graphic I made to illustrate the point! If you want you can just create a task called "Remember the ultimate accounting!" on your calendar and repeat it every day. However, if you are like me you would have a tendency to disregard it due to familiarity.
Finally
today:
Mr.
Squirrel is content with the
seeds that fall to the ground
which is where we like him to
stay, rather than on the
birdfeeders.
Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne
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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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