A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope,
encouragement and exhortation.
Daily
Encouragement on
Wednesday, March
6, 2019
We drove past
this mountain pond early yesterday morning along Mount
Wilson Road in Lebanon County.
(Click on
photo to enlarge)
"Our
Great Reconciler"
Message
summary: The atoning
death of Christ on the
cross is the supreme
demonstration of God's
love resulting in:
This week we will be examining each of these three "r's".
•
Our redemption from
sin (yesterday's
message)
• Our reconciliation to God (today's message)
• Our restoration to wholeness
• Our reconciliation to God (today's message)
• Our restoration to wholeness
This week we will be examining each of these three "r's".
Listen to our
message on your audio
player.
"For if
while we were
enemies we were
reconciled to God by
the death of His
Son, much more, now
that we are
reconciled, shall we
be saved by His
life. More than
that, we also
rejoice in God
through our Lord
Jesus Christ,
through whom we have
now received
reconciliation"
(Romans 5:10,11).
Hardly a day
goes by that we don't
personally observe the
need for
reconciliation in
marriages, with family
members, friends and
other believers, and
of course the need for
reconciliation with
God.
Believers
may say, "Find out
what God is doing", as
if He's always
changing and doing
something different!
People will flock to
conferences, buy books
or DVDs and
participate in
whatever program or
seminar is currently
hyped to find out what
God is doing.
But God is
doing what He has been
doing since the
original transgression
of Adam and Eve. He is
reconciling the world
to Himself through
Christ. Specific
methods change but the
overall plan; His
mission remains the
same. "All
this is from God,
who reconciled us to
Himself through
Christ and gave us
the ministry of
reconciliation: that
God was reconciling
the world to Himself
in Christ" (2
Corinthians 5:18).
The word "reconcile" comes from the Latin and means to "bring a person again into friendly relations with another after an estrangement". Reconciliation describes the change from a state of enmity between persons to one of friendship. It pictures the reestablishment of an interrupted or broken relationship.
Henry
Blackaby writes, "Sin
breaks our
relationship with God;
it severs
relationships with
others as well. Broken
relationships are the
epidemic of our day.
Sin alienates family
members, separates
friends, divides
churches, and destroys
marriages. Sin creates
mistrust, jealousy,
hatred, and greed, all
of which devastate
relationships. Only
Christ has the remedy
for the disastrous
effect of sin on human
relationships. As His
ambassadors, we are to
take the message of
reconciliation to a
broken, divided world.
We urge reconciliation
first with God, and
then with each other."
Reconciliation produces restoration of a relationship of peace which has been disturbed between God and man in the garden of Eden. Sinful man is reconciled in that his attitude of enmity toward God is changed to one of friendship.
We encourage
you to scroll up the
page and read that
daily Scripture
portion again, slowly,
meaningfully and aloud
if possible. Hear the
glorious truth: "we
have now received
reconciliation"!
Rejoice in this truth
and pray for
opportunities to share
it with others! Today
all over the world, in
large settings and in
small, God is using
His reconciled
children to proclaim
the glorious message
of reconciliation.
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer:
Father, it is
because of the
great love of
Your Son,
Jesus, and His
willingness to
take our sins
upon Himself
that we can be
reconciled to
You. It is the
greatest news
of all time
for all
generations.
Father, we
want to be
passionate as
Christ's
ambassadors
since You are
making Your
appeal through
us reaching
out to others
with the
greatest
message of all
time:
"Be reconciled
to God." When
we were lost,
broken, and
without hope
Christ
reconciled us
to You who
sought us,
repaired our
broken lives,
and gave us
eternal hope.
Where would we
be without
Jesus! Thank
You for
receiving,
redeeming,
reconciling
and restoring
us to
Yourself, our
Creator. Amen.Further
study:
Reconciliation
is a vivid
word, pointing
to the making
of peace after
a quarrel. It
describes the
bringing
together again
people who
have been
estranged and
describes the
state of those
who have been
restored to
friendship. In
the New
Testament it
refers, of
course, to
God's
reconciling of
the world to
Himself
through the
work of Jesus
Christ on the
cross. Thayer
describes it
as "the
restoration
of the favor
of God to
sinners that
repent and put
their trust in
the expiatory
death of
Christ".
Pastor R. Kent
Hughes
comments, "The
ministry of
reconciliation
is not telling
people to make
peace with
God, but
telling them
that God has
made peace
with the
world. The
gospel is not
good advice,
but good
news."
Warren
Wiersbe sums
it up,
"Totally apart
from Law, and
purely by
grace, we have
a salvation
that takes
care of the
past, the
present, and
the future.
Christ died
for us; Christ
lives for us;
Christ is
coming for us!
Hallelujah,
what a
Savior!"
Growing up in southern Missouri (Stephen) and northeast Oklahoma (Brooksyne) we both recall seeing a lot of farm ponds. Brooksyne had one next to the house she grew up in and another at the end of their pasture where she learned to swim. There are not as many in this part of Pennsylvania probably because so much of the land is tilled and there's not as many pastured livestock. But we sure enjoy seeing the ponds! Today we will share some photos we took over the last several days of ponds in our area (Lancaster and Lebanon Counties).
For
many years we
have
appreciated
this view of
the Martin
farm pond with
the evergreen
trees in the
background. We
took this
photo on
Saturday
before the
most recent
snowfall.
(Click
on photo to
enlarge)
Sunday
afternoon we
passed this
scenic farm
pond along
Route 283
between
Lancaster and
Mount Joy.
(Click
on photo to
enlarge)
Yesterday
morning we
drove by this
pond along
Milton Grove
Road. Notice Buford
and Beauty the
swan couple in
the lower
left.
(Click
on photo to
enlarge)
We
first began
taking
photographs of
the swans in
2007 (here).
Swans mate for
life and have
a lifespan of
20-30 years (here).
Here's a
collection of
photos
from several
years ago.
We
drove past
this mountain
pond yesterday
along Mount
Wilson Road in
Lebanon
County.
(Click
on photo to
enlarge)
Early
yesterday the
snow geese had
already
descended on
this pond
along Spangler
Road in
Lebanon County
likely coming
over from the
nearby Middle
Creek Wildlife
Management
Area. See here
or here
for videos.
Here's the
location on Google
maps.
(Click
on photo to
enlarge)
Today's
Suggested
Music and Supplemental Resources
For
every prodigal who’s thrown
their whole life away
Feeling completely unworthy to mention His name
For every soul that’s been shattered by choices you’ve made
The Father still hears every prayer that a broken heart prays
Feeling completely unworthy to mention His name
For every soul that’s been shattered by choices you’ve made
The Father still hears every prayer that a broken heart prays
"You
Came Down" Video
Calvary Church children's
choir In Monday's message
we mentioned these children
singing in our service this last
Sunday.
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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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