A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope,
encouragement and exhortation.
Daily
Encouragement on
Wednesday, July
10, 2019
Late
yesterday afternoon we had several paragliders flying
over our rural neighborhood.
Yesterday afternoon when I was mowing our lawn two
Amish spring wagons passed by one after the other. The
second had a raised back seat that looked like the old
jalopy on the Beverly Hillbillies (photo). All the seats were
filled with what appeared to be the Amish grandfather
sitting in the middle in the back. They all smiled and
waved, appearing to all be out for a nice summer ride.
"The Deceitfulness
Of Sin" (Part 2)
Message
summary:
Today
may we all be
aware of sin's
deceptiveness and
the peril of
having a hard
heart. "Above
all else, guard
your heart, for
it is the
wellspring of
life"
(Proverbs 4:23).
Listen to our
message on your
audio player.
"You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right. You are full of all kinds of deceits and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord?" (Acts 13:10).
Some people (probably many) are desperate to get attention and fame. A recently reported stunt is opening a carton of ice cream in a store, licking it, and then placing it back in the freezer for some unwary customer to buy. Yuck! Of course this is posted on social media with the goal of "fame". We see a continued breakdown in our society which is ultimately a result of forsaking God and His ways which includes practicing the "Golden Rule", "Do unto others as you would have then do unto you" (Matthew 7:12).
This lawlessness was demonstrated in a stunning way last week at a Walgreen's store in Philadelphia with some 60 young people storming in and looting the store. Various store cameras chronicle their actions. Let's hope this lawless act doesn't catch on.
It all goes back to "the deceitfulness of sin", a phrase used in yesterday's text. Today let us examine a rather obscure text for a lesson on deception.
The background: On his first missionary journey Paul and Barnabas were in the city of Paphos on the western tip of the island of Cyprus. Sergius Paulus, the proconsul [military commander], summoned for Paul and Barnabas because he wanted to hear the Word of God. What a great joy it must have been for a leading government official to have an earnest desire to hear God's messengers expound on the Word of God. No mention of separation of church/state debate in this passage. And you can be sure Paul and Barnabas didn't present some "feel good" message!
But whenever and wherever truth is proclaimed there is always some form of opposition. "But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith" (Acts 13:8).
The daily verse is a very direct rebuke by the Spirit-filled Apostle of Christ to this sorcerer. The Scripture tells us that "Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said 'You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right. You are full of all kinds of deceits and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord?'" (Acts 13:9,10).
The lesson: Today Paul's rebuke of Elymas sounds so harsh and unkind to many. He sure wasn't practicing the mealy-mouthed tolerance so common in our day. But he was doing what preachers and all true men and women of God should do when confronting evil. For the sake of Sergius Paulus and the other hearers, and for the integrity of the Gospel, Paul spoke the truth.
We are distressed as we see events such as described in our opening paragraphs and so many being hardened by sin's deceitfulness in our day. The impact on our culture can readily be seen. The prophet Isaiah wrote, "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil". Micah wrote of those "who hate good and love evil" (Micah 3:2), and the people during Malachi's time had wearied the Lord with the convoluted notion that, "Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and He delights in them" (Malachi 2:17). An attitude some have today.
Today may we all be aware of sin's deceptiveness and the peril of having a hard heart. Proverbs 4:23 states "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life".
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
"You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right. You are full of all kinds of deceits and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord?" (Acts 13:10).
Some people (probably many) are desperate to get attention and fame. A recently reported stunt is opening a carton of ice cream in a store, licking it, and then placing it back in the freezer for some unwary customer to buy. Yuck! Of course this is posted on social media with the goal of "fame". We see a continued breakdown in our society which is ultimately a result of forsaking God and His ways which includes practicing the "Golden Rule", "Do unto others as you would have then do unto you" (Matthew 7:12).
This lawlessness was demonstrated in a stunning way last week at a Walgreen's store in Philadelphia with some 60 young people storming in and looting the store. Various store cameras chronicle their actions. Let's hope this lawless act doesn't catch on.
It all goes back to "the deceitfulness of sin", a phrase used in yesterday's text. Today let us examine a rather obscure text for a lesson on deception.
The background: On his first missionary journey Paul and Barnabas were in the city of Paphos on the western tip of the island of Cyprus. Sergius Paulus, the proconsul [military commander], summoned for Paul and Barnabas because he wanted to hear the Word of God. What a great joy it must have been for a leading government official to have an earnest desire to hear God's messengers expound on the Word of God. No mention of separation of church/state debate in this passage. And you can be sure Paul and Barnabas didn't present some "feel good" message!
But whenever and wherever truth is proclaimed there is always some form of opposition. "But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith" (Acts 13:8).
The daily verse is a very direct rebuke by the Spirit-filled Apostle of Christ to this sorcerer. The Scripture tells us that "Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said 'You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right. You are full of all kinds of deceits and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord?'" (Acts 13:9,10).
The lesson: Today Paul's rebuke of Elymas sounds so harsh and unkind to many. He sure wasn't practicing the mealy-mouthed tolerance so common in our day. But he was doing what preachers and all true men and women of God should do when confronting evil. For the sake of Sergius Paulus and the other hearers, and for the integrity of the Gospel, Paul spoke the truth.
We are distressed as we see events such as described in our opening paragraphs and so many being hardened by sin's deceitfulness in our day. The impact on our culture can readily be seen. The prophet Isaiah wrote, "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil". Micah wrote of those "who hate good and love evil" (Micah 3:2), and the people during Malachi's time had wearied the Lord with the convoluted notion that, "Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and He delights in them" (Malachi 2:17). An attitude some have today.
Today may we all be aware of sin's deceptiveness and the peril of having a hard heart. Proverbs 4:23 states "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life".
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer:
Father, the
wellspring of
life comes
from those
whose hearts
are devoted to
You, committed
to walking in
Your righteous
paths as they
seek to please
You in all
their ways. On
the other hand
"there are
those who rise
up and say to
themselves, He
won't call me
to account.
The wicked
freely strut
about when
what is vile
is honored
among men."
"But You, O
God, do see
trouble and
grief; You
consider it to
take it in
hand." One
day each
person will be
called upon to
give an
account, to
bow their
knees and
confess with
their tongue
that Jesus
Christ is
Lord. We
want to be
among those
who joyously
testify to
that truth
here and now,
to the glory
of God the
Father. Amen.Scripture
quotes or
allusions in
prayer are
from Psalm
10:13; 12:8;
10:14;
Philippians
2:10,11
Another
faint view of
a paraglider
gliding over
our neighbor's
house across
our front
yard.
The
above and
following
photos were
taken during
Brooksyne's
morning walk
on our road
early this
morning. Due
to lots of
rain the field
corn is
already at the
stage of
showing only
rooftop views
at a distance.
It sure makes
for a lot of
green in our
neighboring
pastures and
happens to be
Brooksyne's
favorite time
of the year,
probably mine
as well.
This
view is taken
catty-cornered
from our
house. Due to
a little fog
in the
distance the
farm views are
not so visible
but Brooksyne
enjoyed
snapping a
photo of the
flowers and
trees and corn
in the
distance.
Just
around the
bend from our
house sits
Kraybill
Mennonite
Cemetery,
surrounded by
the white
fence, with
graves as
early as the
1700's. We now
have a number
of friends and
acquaintances
buried there
and someday
our bodies may
also be buried
there though
our souls will
be at home
with Christ!
Today's
Suggested
Music and
Supplemental Resources
"The
Lion and The Lamb"
Video
Big Daddy Weave
This song is a nice
follow-up to our prayer
today. "Oh every knee
will bow before the Lion and
the Lamb."
I don't care to
provide links to the evil
activities described in the
first two paragraphs but a
quick search will locate
what I wrote about.
Finally
today:
Update on
Ester: A number of
local readers know of
Ester's most recent
health setback so I will
give an update, which is
good news today. Ester
has been on coumadin
(warfarin) for many
years because of her
atrial fibrillation. Due
to her erratic
supratherapeutic INR
numbers (very high), she
was admitted to Hershey
Medical Center on
Monday. Her numbers had
been climbing since the
fourth of July, but when
her home monitor would
no longer record the
results we were certain
that it was due to very
high numbers and it was
time to go to the
hospital. Sure enough,
her INR in the ER was
17.6 - a very critical
stage which is dangerous
for the possibility of
her bleeding out. She
was given 15 mg of
Vitamin K over the next
two days and was
discharged late
yesterday afternoon with
a reading of 7.0. Still
a high but indicative
that the numbers were
falling. She just took
her test a few minutes
ago and it read 2.8
which is within
therapeutic range, so we
are rejoicing that the
current crisis is now
over. She is carefully
monitored through the
anticoagulation clinic
at HMC and we're very
thankful for the home
kit which keeps us on
top of things. There are
several theories as to
why she spikes
sporadically to such
critically high numbers,
so we'll see if we can
defeat this ongoing
challenge she faces from
time to time.
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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Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA
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