A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope,
encouragement and exhortation.
Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne
Thursday,
August 1, 2019
Female Ruby Throated
Hummingbird
I,
Brooksyne, snapped a photo of this hummingbird while
I was sitting on the front porch talking to my
sister in Texas. It flew right in front of me
unexpectedly so I said, "Elaine, hold on for a
minute!" I snapped the photo and apologized to her
for making her hold. I explained and before I
finished she said, "I knew you saw a bird!"
Our families know us well don't they! The male
hummingbird came right after I took this photo but
flitted about so much I couldn't snap his photo.
Note: Late last night I (Stephen) returned from a trip to my family reunion in Nebraska. I picked up my oldest brother Mike in San Francisco Monday 7/22/19 and we drove east to Nebraska over the next 6 days. I am very thankful to be home with my family, resuming and sharing our Daily Encouragement messages!
"Abounding In
Thanksgiving"
Message
summary:
May God help us to
abound with
thanksgiving today!
Listen to our message on your audio player.
"Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving" (Colossians 2:6,7).
After ten days of travel I am thankful to be at home back in the country setting. My trip began in San Francisco the day of my arrival, Monday 7/22/19, although that very evening my brother Mike and I began heading east. A few hours in a big city, especially San Francisco, is enough for me! It was nice to pass through some of California's rich farming areas on the way to Sacramento where we soon hit the Sierra foothills and then the mountains.
The music on my computer froze up while playing a song and it kept repeating, "Thank you, thank you, thank you". Initially I became frustrated, but then the Spirit prompted me to pause and really listen to the repetitious message instead of dwelling on the technical problem. I did and gave thanks. The Bible talks about the trees and the rocks crying out to God, but on that day the Holy Spirit spoke to me through technology as the recording cried out, "Thank You, Thank You".
Erma Bombeck was a writer and humorist, who later in life battled kidney disease and cancer. In 1992 she wrote, "An estimated 1.5 million people are living today after bouts with breast cancer. Every time I forget to feel grateful to be among them, I hear the voice of an eight-year-old named Christina, who had cancer of the nervous system. When asked what she wanted for her birthday, she thought long and hard and finally said, 'I don't know. I have two sticker books and a Cabbage Patch doll. I have everything!'"
That's sure a great example of contentedness and thankfulness; two character qualities that are interrelated and lacking among so many of us today. One of the great sins against God is ingratitude. Yet it is so dominant today right in the midst of affluence and is actually predicted as a mark of the last times. (See 2 Timothy 3:1-5.)
In our daily verses Paul is reminding the Colossian believers of the necessary foundational steps in the Christian walk. Notice the key words: "received", "walk", "rooted", "built up", and "established in the faith".
But today we want to focus on just a single phrase. Paul ends this section of Scripture with the appeal to be people "abounding in thanksgiving". The Greek word used for abound means "to superabound."
Paul writes here from a prison, surely a location very non-conducive to a thankful spirit. He could so easily be in the dumps of despair and legitimately so, due to his unjust circumstances. But early on Paul had learned to praise God even while in prison (see Acts 16). Earlier in the epistle he had himself expressed thankfulness to God for the Colossian believers. Indeed thankfulness is a major theme in Paul's life.
Throughout His Word God regularly calls us to thankfulness. Erwin Lutzer observed, "You can learn to give thanks even if you don't feel particularly thankful. If God gives a command, He expects obedience, whether you are in the mood or not. Thankfulness, like forgiveness, is not an emotion. Thankfulness is an intelligent response of gratitude to God."
Amen! May God help us all to abound with thanksgiving today!
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
Prayer: Father,
our blessings come
from a variety of
sources, but they
originate from Your
generous and loving
interest on our
behalf. You love to
give! In fact, You
gave the ultimate
gift in the
sacrifice of Your
Son who took the
penalty for our
sins. When we
consider the
blessings of family,
friends, work, food,
and other daily
comforts it stirs up
a heart of
gratitude. Help us
to overflow in
thanksgiving so that
it spills out to
those around us even
in the midst of
hardship or
devastation. When
the "norm" of life
is turned upside
down we, in faith,
look more to You and
can find blessings
that we hadn't
considered on a
routine day. In the
name of Jesus we
praise and thank
You, Amen.
Listen to our message on your audio player.
"Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving" (Colossians 2:6,7).
After ten days of travel I am thankful to be at home back in the country setting. My trip began in San Francisco the day of my arrival, Monday 7/22/19, although that very evening my brother Mike and I began heading east. A few hours in a big city, especially San Francisco, is enough for me! It was nice to pass through some of California's rich farming areas on the way to Sacramento where we soon hit the Sierra foothills and then the mountains.
The music on my computer froze up while playing a song and it kept repeating, "Thank you, thank you, thank you". Initially I became frustrated, but then the Spirit prompted me to pause and really listen to the repetitious message instead of dwelling on the technical problem. I did and gave thanks. The Bible talks about the trees and the rocks crying out to God, but on that day the Holy Spirit spoke to me through technology as the recording cried out, "Thank You, Thank You".
Erma Bombeck was a writer and humorist, who later in life battled kidney disease and cancer. In 1992 she wrote, "An estimated 1.5 million people are living today after bouts with breast cancer. Every time I forget to feel grateful to be among them, I hear the voice of an eight-year-old named Christina, who had cancer of the nervous system. When asked what she wanted for her birthday, she thought long and hard and finally said, 'I don't know. I have two sticker books and a Cabbage Patch doll. I have everything!'"
That's sure a great example of contentedness and thankfulness; two character qualities that are interrelated and lacking among so many of us today. One of the great sins against God is ingratitude. Yet it is so dominant today right in the midst of affluence and is actually predicted as a mark of the last times. (See 2 Timothy 3:1-5.)
In our daily verses Paul is reminding the Colossian believers of the necessary foundational steps in the Christian walk. Notice the key words: "received", "walk", "rooted", "built up", and "established in the faith".
But today we want to focus on just a single phrase. Paul ends this section of Scripture with the appeal to be people "abounding in thanksgiving". The Greek word used for abound means "to superabound."
Paul writes here from a prison, surely a location very non-conducive to a thankful spirit. He could so easily be in the dumps of despair and legitimately so, due to his unjust circumstances. But early on Paul had learned to praise God even while in prison (see Acts 16). Earlier in the epistle he had himself expressed thankfulness to God for the Colossian believers. Indeed thankfulness is a major theme in Paul's life.
Throughout His Word God regularly calls us to thankfulness. Erwin Lutzer observed, "You can learn to give thanks even if you don't feel particularly thankful. If God gives a command, He expects obedience, whether you are in the mood or not. Thankfulness, like forgiveness, is not an emotion. Thankfulness is an intelligent response of gratitude to God."
Amen! May God help us all to abound with thanksgiving today!
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
Prayer: Father,
our blessings come
from a variety of
sources, but they
originate from Your
generous and loving
interest on our
behalf. You love to
give! In fact, You
gave the ultimate
gift in the
sacrifice of Your
Son who took the
penalty for our
sins. When we
consider the
blessings of family,
friends, work, food,
and other daily
comforts it stirs up
a heart of
gratitude. Help us
to overflow in
thanksgiving so that
it spills out to
those around us even
in the midst of
hardship or
devastation. When
the "norm" of life
is turned upside
down we, in faith,
look more to You and
can find blessings
that we hadn't
considered on a
routine day. In the
name of Jesus we
praise and thank
You, Amen.Today
and tomorrow I
will share some
photos from my
trip.
I stopped by
the Jelly Belly
factory in Fairfield,
CA.
One of my
favorite traveling
experiences is factory
tours!
A tractor
in Solano County,
California
Field of
sunflowers near
Vacaville, CA
Although
most of our trip was
straight through on
interstate highways we
did go around Lake
Tahoe. This photo was
taken at inspiration
point.
Click
to enlarge
Nevada was
rather desolate but
still beautiful in its
own way. On I-80 we
often drove along a
train line that I was
on, along with my Mom
and sister, during my
first trip to
California back in the
sixties. At that time
we had taken the train
out to see Mike and
his wife Billie and
their baby daughter
Greta, the first
grandchild. Mike's
wife died in the
eighties from cancer
and he has lived as a
widower ever since. He
wanted to drive east
to the reunion and to
see his daughter
Greta, who is now in
her fifties and lives
with her family in
Saint Louis. Greta and
her husband Dean met
us at the reunion in
Nebraska.
Today's
Suggested
Music and
Supplemental Resources
"Give Thanks
With A Grateful Heart"
Video
Don Moen
Finally today:
Click to
enlarge
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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