A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope,
encouragement and exhortation.
Daily
Encouragement on
Monday, April 1,
2019
This weekend I
got out for my first trail bike ride of the season on the
Lancaster Junction Trail near Spooky Nook. Along the way I
passed this spacious Amish farm with several barns and out
buildings.
"Foolish
Living"
Message
summary: Today
let's examine a very
serious teaching in the
Bible on foolish living
when God called a man,
"You fool".
Listen to our message on your audio player.
And He told them a parable, saying, "The land of a rich man was very productive. And he began reasoning to himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, 'Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God" (Luke 12:16-21).
Today is April
Fool's Day, widely
recognized all over the
world as a day marked by
pranks, hoaxes, and
other practical jokes of
varying sophistication
on friends, family
members, teachers,
neighbors, work
associates, etc. Today you may
be the recipient
of a good-natured prank
so beware!
Listen to our message on your audio player.
And He told them a parable, saying, "The land of a rich man was very productive. And he began reasoning to himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, 'Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God" (Luke 12:16-21).
Today is April
Fool's Day, widely
recognized all over the
world as a day marked by
pranks, hoaxes, and
other practical jokes of
varying sophistication
on friends, family
members, teachers,
neighbors, work
associates, etc. Today you may
be the recipient
of a good-natured prank
so beware!This morning
Australia McDonald's
announced the launch of
its new 'McPickle'
burger on Instagram,
made from "juicy,
flavoursome pickles
layered between melted
cheese, ketchup sauce
and toasted sesame seed
buns". Actually I like
pickles so that doesn't
really sound all that
bad, though
it turns out McDonalds
was pulling their own
prank on April Fool's
Day!
In
our family Brooksyne is
the most creative
prankster and our most
memorable day on April
1st took place on
eight years ago. Several
weeks earlier Ester had
picked Mollie out of a
litter of abandoned pups
at the humane league.
The day before Ester's
birthday, March 8th,
Mollie joined us and won
Ester's heart and
absolute devotion (just
like her most recent
puppy, Sadie Willow).
Mollie's name was Reba
at the humane league
before Ester renamed
her.Early on April
1, 2011 Brooksyne woke
Ester up startling her
with news that she
received a phone call
from the Humane League.
Unfortunately the puppy
in our possession, Reba
whom we now called
Mollie, had been tagged
with the wrong name and
Ester was to take her
back to the league. Reba
was mistaken for another
sibling so Ester was
instructed to return
Mollie and then she
would be given the
correct puppy.
Imagine just
how stunned Ester was at
the dreadful mistake and
her reaction to
returning Mollie was
heartbreaking. Brooksyne
kept a straight face,
including a sympathetic
tone as she sought to
comfort Ester. Just when
Ester was about to break
into sobs, of course,
Brooksyne pulled out the
"APRIL FOOLS!" tagline
for permitting herself
to make up such a
horrible scenario. It
was a joke that has
haunted Brooksyne ever
since because Ester has
never let her live down
what a terrible joke she
played on her -
something unexpected
from a loving mother
which Brooksyne always
aspires to be!
But, today on a much more serious note, let's examine a very serious teaching in the Bible on foolish living when God called a man, "You fool". The entire context is in a teaching by Jesus recorded in Luke 12.
I carefully probe this portion of Scripture and wonder why God called this man a "fool". After all, he was a successful businessman; working hard, prospering and planning ahead for retirement. Isn't that good? Isn't that the American way?
But his goal was bigger barns, temporal pleasure and security. It was all about "me". Life's energy was expanded in this pursuit. When he felt like he had attained this goal he could lean back feeling quite satisfied and say to his soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry".
But, today on a much more serious note, let's examine a very serious teaching in the Bible on foolish living when God called a man, "You fool". The entire context is in a teaching by Jesus recorded in Luke 12.
I carefully probe this portion of Scripture and wonder why God called this man a "fool". After all, he was a successful businessman; working hard, prospering and planning ahead for retirement. Isn't that good? Isn't that the American way?
But his goal was bigger barns, temporal pleasure and security. It was all about "me". Life's energy was expanded in this pursuit. When he felt like he had attained this goal he could lean back feeling quite satisfied and say to his soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry".
But that very
night his life was
demanded of him. Jesus
ends the parable with
this probing statement:
"So
is the man who stores
up treasure for
himself, and is not
rich toward God" (Luke
12:21).
God calls this man and so many who live who live like him "fool" for a specific reason.
The man's foolishness was demonstrated in three ways:
1) He was self-sufficient. "And I will say to my soul, 'Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come'" (v. 19). He forgot the source of his blessing, that God was in charge. It's God who gives us the ability to create wealth and our lives are in His hands. Fools believe they control their own destiny. "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God'" (Psalm 14:1).
2) He was self-focused. "Take your ease, eat, drink and be merry." It was all about him and his comforts.
3) He was rich to self but not "rich toward God" (v. 21). He did not use his resources for God and His Kingdom but instead selfishly considered only his desires.
We all need to keep these three questions before us:
What's your fundamental outlook on life today? Are you storing up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal?" (Matthew 6:19). Or are you storing up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal? (Matthew 6:20).
Today let us commit ourselves to being "rich toward God"! Let us seek first His Kingdom! Let us build our lives on the solid rock of Jesus and be like the person whom He called the "wise man" (Matthew 7:24).
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer:
Father,
we are barraged
with colorful
ads, luring
commercials, and
attractive
displays
enticing us to
make grand
purchases. When
"material
things" consume
our soul they
capture our
passion, our
wallets and our
time. You have
commanded us to
seek first Your
kingdom and Your
righteousness
and all these
things will be
added unto us.
As we do so we
will be generous
with our
resources for
the sake of the
Kingdom. Help us
to be generous
with our time,
talent, and
treasures so
that Your
kingdom is
enlarged and our
investments have
eternal
dividend. In
Jesus' name we
pray. Amen.
Additional study notes:
1) The parable begins, "The land of a rich man was very productive". We need to remember where all blessings ultimately come from and "Praise God from whom all blessings flow".
2) Brooksyne recalls that when she was growing up she was not allowed to call any person a fool based on Matthew 5:22. The prohibition in Matthew 5:22 is directed to us in regard to calling others a fool. However all standard translations use fool in today's text in regard to what God calls this man. In other places Jesus addresses those whom he call fools or foolish as well. (For example, Matthew 23:17 and Luke 24:25.)
3) I am intrigued by the man talking to his own soul (verse 19), and wonder if there's a deeper meaning to this? Some versions merely state that he was talking to himself but the Greek clearly states "soul" (see here for interlinear). "And I will say to my soul, 'Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry'."
4) The issue was not his intent to build bigger barns but rather his motivation. What a blessing when God prospers a business or individual but they must be certain they remain humble and dependent on God.
This expressive mural is on the wall of the Rainbow's End Christian Youth Center in Mount Joy, PA. It is painted on the entire block wall of the gym.
God calls this man and so many who live who live like him "fool" for a specific reason.
The man's foolishness was demonstrated in three ways:
1) He was self-sufficient. "And I will say to my soul, 'Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come'" (v. 19). He forgot the source of his blessing, that God was in charge. It's God who gives us the ability to create wealth and our lives are in His hands. Fools believe they control their own destiny. "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God'" (Psalm 14:1).
2) He was self-focused. "Take your ease, eat, drink and be merry." It was all about him and his comforts.
3) He was rich to self but not "rich toward God" (v. 21). He did not use his resources for God and His Kingdom but instead selfishly considered only his desires.
We all need to keep these three questions before us:
1) Am I a barn
builder, primarily
focused on the
present?
2) Am I a
kingdom builder,
primarily focused on
the eternal?
3) Am I rich toward self or "rich toward God"?
3) Am I rich toward self or "rich toward God"?
What's your fundamental outlook on life today? Are you storing up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal?" (Matthew 6:19). Or are you storing up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal? (Matthew 6:20).
Today let us commit ourselves to being "rich toward God"! Let us seek first His Kingdom! Let us build our lives on the solid rock of Jesus and be like the person whom He called the "wise man" (Matthew 7:24).
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer:
Father,
we are barraged
with colorful
ads, luring
commercials, and
attractive
displays
enticing us to
make grand
purchases. When
"material
things" consume
our soul they
capture our
passion, our
wallets and our
time. You have
commanded us to
seek first Your
kingdom and Your
righteousness
and all these
things will be
added unto us.
As we do so we
will be generous
with our
resources for
the sake of the
Kingdom. Help us
to be generous
with our time,
talent, and
treasures so
that Your
kingdom is
enlarged and our
investments have
eternal
dividend. In
Jesus' name we
pray. Amen.Additional study notes:
1) The parable begins, "The land of a rich man was very productive". We need to remember where all blessings ultimately come from and "Praise God from whom all blessings flow".
2) Brooksyne recalls that when she was growing up she was not allowed to call any person a fool based on Matthew 5:22. The prohibition in Matthew 5:22 is directed to us in regard to calling others a fool. However all standard translations use fool in today's text in regard to what God calls this man. In other places Jesus addresses those whom he call fools or foolish as well. (For example, Matthew 23:17 and Luke 24:25.)
3) I am intrigued by the man talking to his own soul (verse 19), and wonder if there's a deeper meaning to this? Some versions merely state that he was talking to himself but the Greek clearly states "soul" (see here for interlinear). "And I will say to my soul, 'Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry'."
4) The issue was not his intent to build bigger barns but rather his motivation. What a blessing when God prospers a business or individual but they must be certain they remain humble and dependent on God.
5)
"I
will tear down
my barns and
build larger
ones." Revealing
my analytical
nature I wonder
why he just didn't
propose building
additional larger
barns and still
keep the old
barns!
Friday
evening we
attended a
banquet for REYS
(Rainbows End
Youth
Services)
which provides
ministry to
the youth in
our community.
Our table
mates were
mostly
Lancaster
Bible College
students and
REYS staff
members. We
were blessed
to hang out
with the young
people and
hear of their
zeal for
reaching the
needy and
winning them
to Jesus!
What a
joy to see DJ
and Anna Mary
Paglia. I met DJ
shortly after
moving to
Lancaster County
in 2001. He is a
faithful
minister of the
gospel. He and
Anna Mary will
soon celebrate
their 72nd
wedding
anniversary!
Here's
a photo of the
four of us
together. Their
son, Doug, and I
share the exact
same birthdate -
October 14,
1954.
Brooksyne
with Phil
Miller, one of
her former
Sunday School
students, who is
staying faithful
to the Lord. He
works at WJTL,
one of our local
Christian radio
stations and was
running the
sound system
since we were
meeting in the
WJTL auditorium.
This expressive mural is on the wall of the Rainbow's End Christian Youth Center in Mount Joy, PA. It is painted on the entire block wall of the gym.
Today's
Suggested
Music and Supplemental Resources
Finally
today:
Ever
since we got Mollie she has
aspired to catch a squirrel,
watching them from our front
window, darting out and
sprinting to where she had just
seen one whenever we open the
door to let her out. She never
gives up or loses interest,
reasoning as we probably would,
"What's the use"? But this
weekend, what a surprise, she
finally caught a squirrel!
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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