A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope,
encouragement and exhortation.
Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne
Friday, October
4, 2019
Wayside
Bible Chapel in Sedona AZ, a lamp shining in a dark
place.
"Shining
In A Dark Place"
I discerned through the pastor's message and available literature that this was a Bible-faithful church. That was further verified when I examined the church website and saw the clear teaching on their Statement Of Faith.
We are thankful for churches like the Wayside Bible Chapel. They surely face much opposition in a spiritually dark place like Sedona. It seems the forces of darkness have always sought to snuff out the light.
Today's first text will be familiar to many. It is our Lord's Word to Peter following his great confession of faith when he proclaimed, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus responded to this confession with a great promise: "Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). God's truth marches on. Nearly two thousand years have passed since He initially made the promise to Peter and the early disciples. And today the true church still makes this proclamation, which is at the heart of the Gospel. In fact it is the very foundation on which Christ built His church.
Many years later Peter wrote to the church, "So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts" (2 Peter 1:19).
Jesus promised that the gates of hell will not prevail against His church, though at times it sure seems like they are prevailing. And that's been the case all through the Church's history. We are reminded in our very day of the forces of hell seeking to destroy the church. The hateful, venomous threats and violent actions of the enemies of Christ are quite evident. Again today we especially consider our oppressed and persecuted brethren in many parts of the world, as well as those within our own country. Please God, strengthen and remind them of Your promise: "The gates of hell will not prevail."
Wherever you live and whatever the conditions, rejoice today in this wonderful promise, "The gates of hell shall not prevail." And then rejoice when you see the lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.
Be encouraged today!
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer:
Father, today
we pray for Your people all over the world; some who
are enduring great persecution for the cause of
Christ. Grant to them a mighty infusion of strength
and assurance. Remind them of the prayers being
offered on their behalf from Your people and from the
One who is ever interceding. We pray Your blessings on
those who serve in hard places and who may be
discouraged as well as those going through tough times
in their own personal life. Remind us all of Your
promise that "the gates of hell shall not
prevail." In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.
Message
summary: Wherever you live and whatever the
conditions, rejoice today in this wonderful promise,
"The gates of hell shall not prevail." And then
rejoice when you see the lamp shining in a dark place,
until the day dawns and the morning star arises in
your hearts.
Listen
to this
message on your audio player.
"Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). "So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts" (2 Peter 1:19).
One day during our trip out west we drove from Flagstaff, Arizona, where we had spent the night, to Sedona. Several years ago I had driven through Sedona and wanted Brooksyne to see it. Sedona is a trendy tourist town surrounded by red bluffs with a very apparent new age type vibe. You can have "spiritual" experiences that I had never heard of!
My main interest for going down that way though was a train ride on the Verde Canyon Railroad which unfortunately had sold out. But we still enjoyed the beautiful trip down Oak Creek Canyon and a slow walk down the main street of the scenic tourist town. I parked in a free city parking lot and, as we walked down to the main street, we passed through a very pleasant church courtyard with a big bench and flowering planters.
A lady was tidying up the area so I engaged in a conversation with her. She was a Japanese American who has lived in the area about 30 years. I wondered how the church was there on what was surely very expensive property along the main road and she told me it had been there for many years before the town became a popular tourist stop. Around the church property were strategically placed literature displays with tracts and photocopies of the pastor's sermons. In our conversation it became clear we shared the same faith and I commended her and the congregation for being like a lamp shining in a dark place. (Although I probably didn't use that exact phrase in the conversation!)
Listen
to this
message on your audio player."Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). "So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts" (2 Peter 1:19).
One day during our trip out west we drove from Flagstaff, Arizona, where we had spent the night, to Sedona. Several years ago I had driven through Sedona and wanted Brooksyne to see it. Sedona is a trendy tourist town surrounded by red bluffs with a very apparent new age type vibe. You can have "spiritual" experiences that I had never heard of!
My main interest for going down that way though was a train ride on the Verde Canyon Railroad which unfortunately had sold out. But we still enjoyed the beautiful trip down Oak Creek Canyon and a slow walk down the main street of the scenic tourist town. I parked in a free city parking lot and, as we walked down to the main street, we passed through a very pleasant church courtyard with a big bench and flowering planters.
A lady was tidying up the area so I engaged in a conversation with her. She was a Japanese American who has lived in the area about 30 years. I wondered how the church was there on what was surely very expensive property along the main road and she told me it had been there for many years before the town became a popular tourist stop. Around the church property were strategically placed literature displays with tracts and photocopies of the pastor's sermons. In our conversation it became clear we shared the same faith and I commended her and the congregation for being like a lamp shining in a dark place. (Although I probably didn't use that exact phrase in the conversation!)
I discerned through the pastor's message and available literature that this was a Bible-faithful church. That was further verified when I examined the church website and saw the clear teaching on their Statement Of Faith.
We are thankful for churches like the Wayside Bible Chapel. They surely face much opposition in a spiritually dark place like Sedona. It seems the forces of darkness have always sought to snuff out the light.
Today's first text will be familiar to many. It is our Lord's Word to Peter following his great confession of faith when he proclaimed, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus responded to this confession with a great promise: "Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). God's truth marches on. Nearly two thousand years have passed since He initially made the promise to Peter and the early disciples. And today the true church still makes this proclamation, which is at the heart of the Gospel. In fact it is the very foundation on which Christ built His church.
Many years later Peter wrote to the church, "So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts" (2 Peter 1:19).
Jesus promised that the gates of hell will not prevail against His church, though at times it sure seems like they are prevailing. And that's been the case all through the Church's history. We are reminded in our very day of the forces of hell seeking to destroy the church. The hateful, venomous threats and violent actions of the enemies of Christ are quite evident. Again today we especially consider our oppressed and persecuted brethren in many parts of the world, as well as those within our own country. Please God, strengthen and remind them of Your promise: "The gates of hell will not prevail."
Wherever you live and whatever the conditions, rejoice today in this wonderful promise, "The gates of hell shall not prevail." And then rejoice when you see the lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.
Be encouraged today!
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer:
Father, today
we pray for Your people all over the world; some who
are enduring great persecution for the cause of
Christ. Grant to them a mighty infusion of strength
and assurance. Remind them of the prayers being
offered on their behalf from Your people and from the
One who is ever interceding. We pray Your blessings on
those who serve in hard places and who may be
discouraged as well as those going through tough times
in their own personal life. Remind us all of Your
promise that "the gates of hell shall not
prevail." In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.Oak
Creek Canyon/Sedona Arizona
From
Flagstaff to Sedona we drove a beautiful route
through Oak Creek Canyon.
Wayside
Bible Chapel courtyard which town guests pass
through on the way from parking lots to the Main
Street.
This
was a very friendly hummingbird that didn't mind
Brooksyne getting up close, though it is hard to
capture a good shot when the bird's wings are all
'aflutter.
True to
size horse statue in Sedona, AZ where many westerns
were filmed over the years.
Sedona
is surrounded by scenic red buffs
Today's
Suggested
Music and
Supplemental Resources
"Song For The
Nations" Video
Jim Gilbert
Wayside
Bible Chapel, Sedona
Arizona We appreciate
churches that still place up
a Statement
Of Faith on their
website. This one includes
the present culturally
unpopular but Biblically
faithful position that "Holy
Matrimony, marriage, as a
sacred covenant instituted
and ordained by God joining
together one man as husband
and one woman as wife,
before God and men, and as a
spiritual representation of
the divine relationship
between Jesus Christ and His
Church."
Some more photos
of Sedona from a previous
trip are in this message.
Finally Today:
It was nice to travel and
next week we will share more
photos from our trip out
west but on Thursday we were
back out on the road in
chaplaincy visits and enjoy
seeing the variety of life
here in Lancaster County.
This interesting
buggy has benches in the
back and a makeshift
covering on a rainy day!
Horse team and
wagon train
Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne
To receive the "Daily Encouragement" each Monday-Friday through email see this page to subscribe to our email list. You can also subscribe to the Wordpress rss feed or through a Wordpress email subscription. (See the email subscription on the right side after opening this page.)
We realize there are many fine
ministries and causes requesting support
but if the Lord would lead you we surely need
and appreciate the financial support from our
readers and listeners.Our ministry labor is comprised of approximately half our time to Daily Encouragement and the other half to our chaplaincy ministry to companies for which we receive compensation. Each of these ministries essentially is the same as a part-time job (20+ hours weekly) for each of us. Our goal for many years is that each would provide half of our ministry expenses and income.
If you would consider making a donation to our ministry see here for more information.
Donate directly online here. This will open to a page that designates the offering to: WEBER,STEPHEN CHAP, Specialized Chaplaincy Ministry ID: 700001-237376
Please Note:
We also provide this easy option due to the
convenience, for international supporters, and
for those who may not be concerned regarding
receiving an official tax deductible receipt. Click here
to send an offering using PayPal. This
will open to a page that states "Brooksyne
Weber"Permissions: Please feel free to pass on, reproduce and distribute any material on Daily Encouragement Net, in part or in whole, in any format, provided that you do not alter the wording in any way or charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. It is our desire to spread this material, not protect or restrict it. We do request that you keep the contact, copyright and subscription information intact.
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."
© Copyright 2019 Stephen
C. & Brooksyne Weber - All Rights Reserved
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA