A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope,
encouragement and exhortation.
Daily
Encouragement on
Tuesday, April 9,
2019
Larry Garber
We have worked with Larry
Garber for many years in nursing home ministry where he has
a real burden for the elderly. He also has been a long-time
pro-life advocate. Today's quote from Scott Klusendorf is a
portion of a letter he wrote to the editor of our local
paper, Lancaster News. Larry is holding a model of a
pre-born baby he uses for demonstrations. Today we honor
Larry for his faithfulness.
"Knit
Together In Utero"
Message
summary: How
many decades have you
been living?
Listen to our message on your audio player.
"For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well" (Psalm 139:13,14).
Rick, a friend who leads a company, sent us a copy of his article for the company newsletter to preview. He wrote "now, in my sixth decade, I have a different perspective than I did as a younger man." The "different perspective" viewpoint from which he now sees things is worthy of consideration and is certainly true for all of us who've been around for a while (at least it should be!)
But reading the phrase "now, in my sixth decade" at face value would lead many to deduce that Rick is in his sixties.
However Rick is in his fifties and, as a trained accountant, is merely acknowledging the first decade of his life; (0-9, 10-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59 means he is indeed living in his sixth decade).*
After reviewing his article I wrote back and told him that if he included the portion of a decade he had lived in his pre-birth existence he could accurately say, "now, in my seventh decade". For Brooksyne and me it would be our eighth decade! (Note from Brooksyne: Stephen is quite comfortable in referring to our "eighth decade", but I'm a little more sensitive about saying or doing anything that makes us sound older than we already are).
Listen to our message on your audio player.
"For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well" (Psalm 139:13,14).
Rick, a friend who leads a company, sent us a copy of his article for the company newsletter to preview. He wrote "now, in my sixth decade, I have a different perspective than I did as a younger man." The "different perspective" viewpoint from which he now sees things is worthy of consideration and is certainly true for all of us who've been around for a while (at least it should be!)
But reading the phrase "now, in my sixth decade" at face value would lead many to deduce that Rick is in his sixties.
However Rick is in his fifties and, as a trained accountant, is merely acknowledging the first decade of his life; (0-9, 10-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59 means he is indeed living in his sixth decade).*
After reviewing his article I wrote back and told him that if he included the portion of a decade he had lived in his pre-birth existence he could accurately say, "now, in my seventh decade". For Brooksyne and me it would be our eighth decade! (Note from Brooksyne: Stephen is quite comfortable in referring to our "eighth decade", but I'm a little more sensitive about saying or doing anything that makes us sound older than we already are).
Each
of us began our life
as a separate single
cell. During the next
nine months we grew in
our mother's womb and
nothing new was added
but water, oxygen and
nutrition. Our
entire genetic
makeup was contained
in that single cell.
We have never existed
before and there will
never be another of
us. Thankfully
for me and my parents,
who loved me, this
process was not
interrupted and after
nine months of being "knit
together" of
growth in utero I was
born. In
developmental terms as
measured by cell
replication, we spend
90 percent of our
lives in utero. From
fertilization to
natural death, there
exists an unbroken
continuum of human
development during
which we need only
oxygen, water, and
nutrients to live and
develop physically.
By the time we are born this one single cell became two hundred million cells and at birth we weighed six billion times more than the fertilized egg. If we had continued at this rate of growth by our first birthday we would have weighed 72,000,000,000 pounds, which would have been an extremely "heavy" burden for our Moms.
Today's Bible text is so powerful. Note what it says and doesn't say.
By the time we are born this one single cell became two hundred million cells and at birth we weighed six billion times more than the fertilized egg. If we had continued at this rate of growth by our first birthday we would have weighed 72,000,000,000 pounds, which would have been an extremely "heavy" burden for our Moms.
Today's Bible text is so powerful. Note what it says and doesn't say.
It says "You
knit me
together in my
mother's womb."
It doesn't say "You knit the blob of tissue together in my mother's womb that would at some undetermined time become me."
It doesn't say "You knit the blob of tissue together in my mother's womb that would at some undetermined time become me."
Scott
Klusendorf, author of The
Case For Life
writes,
"The science
of embryology
establishes that from
the earliest stages of
development, you were a
distinct, living and
whole human being. You
weren’t part of another
human being like skin
cells on the back of my
hand; you were already a
whole living member of
the human family even
though you had yet to
mature.
"There is no essential difference between the embryo you once were and the adult you are today that somehow justifies killing you at that earlier stage of development. Differences of size, level of development, environment and degree of dependency are not good reasons for saying you could be killed then but not now."
"There is no essential difference between the embryo you once were and the adult you are today that somehow justifies killing you at that earlier stage of development. Differences of size, level of development, environment and degree of dependency are not good reasons for saying you could be killed then but not now."
So, how many
decades have you been
living?
Be encouraged today,
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer:
Father,
thank You for
creating my
inmost parts:
You knit me
together in my
mother's womb
and for that I
praise and thank
you because I am
fearfully and
wonderfully
made. Everything
in all of Your
creation is
amazing and
perfectly formed
for Your glory
and for our
good. While
proponents of
abortion speak
in terms of
inconvenience,
death, and doing
away with the
very one You
created, we who
are pro-life
speak in terms
of nurturing,
loving, and
giving thanks
for new life.
Bless and
empower those
who
sacrificially
take a stand and
lovingly raise
their voice to
affirm life and
reject any law,
politician, or
other powerful
lobbies that
seek to present
abortion as an
acceptable form
of birth
control. In
Jesus' name we
pray. Amen. * Of
course "now, in
my sixth decade"
could also mean
he has lived in
the 60's, 70's,
80's, 90's,
2000's and
2010's.
Sadie
likes to play
but Mollie does
not like to
share her ring
toss.
Surprisingly the
little pup
doesn't back
down for either
dog, though the
big dogs weigh
six times her
weight.
Our
older dog Roxie,
who is now 14 1/2
years old really
doesn't want to
play much anymore,
just rest most of
the time. But
Sadie doesn't
understand that!
Sunday
afternoon we
took a
historical
walking tour
of the
Musselman-Vesta
Iron Furnace
Center and
furnace ruins.
Musselman-Vesta
Iron Furnace
Center,
Marietta, PA
On
Sunday afternoon
we toured the Musselman-Vesta
Iron Furnace
Center
with a very
knowledgeable
local guide
telling us about
the furnace and
grounds at the
diorama. The
center has been
beautifully
restored.
The
diorama shows
how the furnace
would have
looked over 100
years ago. At
the bottom of
the diorama (not
seen) is the
Pennsylvania
Canal where
barges brought
in anthracite
coal. In the mid
1800's there
were seven such
furnaces on a
small stretch
along the
Susquehanna
River where we
now ride our
bikes along the
former rail
line. Most have
little visible
remains.
Present
day ruins with
the unloading
piers still
standing and
factory housing
in the
background which
is still used.
Today's
Suggested
Music and Supplemental Resources
"Fearfully
and Wonderfully Made"
Video
Matt Redman
"You Knit Me Together" Video Steve Green A children's song with a good message!
"You are Fearfully and Wonderfully Made" An amazing video teaching by Louie Giglio
Here's an interesting website dealing with the chronology of a new life.
"You Knit Me Together" Video Steve Green A children's song with a good message!
"You are Fearfully and Wonderfully Made" An amazing video teaching by Louie Giglio
Here's an interesting website dealing with the chronology of a new life.
"Until
Then" Video
Video from the concert Brooksyne
sang in two weeks ago (about 4
songs were not recorded,
unfortunately they were our
favorites).
"A
Few Good Men" Video
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.
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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