A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope,
encouragement and exhortation.
Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
A farm in
rural Pennsylvania
Photo
by Doris High
"His
Bow Remained Steady"
Message summary: In archery and in life we need to keep our bow steady.
Listen
to this
message on your audio player.
It's archery season here in
Pennsylvania and I see many men who have been or are
going hunting. I genuinely express interest in their
pursuit since hunting game goes way back into the
Bible period with Esau being quite a hunter.
Message summary: In archery and in life we need to keep our bow steady.
Listen
to this
message on your audio player."With
bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him
with hostility. But his bow remained steady, his
strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of
the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd,
the Rock of Israel" (Genesis 49:23,24).
It's archery season here in
Pennsylvania and I see many men who have been or are
going hunting. I genuinely express interest in their
pursuit since hunting game goes way back into the
Bible period with Esau being quite a hunter.The
other day Jerry showed me his new Raven brand bow, a
pricey model that is considered one of the best. He
also showed me several of his game shots.
When we
travel in our vehicle to chaplain worksites Brooksyne
often reads the Bible and devotional material aloud to
me as I drive. The other day she read a text which is
the title of today's message. It just seemed to jump
out at me.
The text
comes from Jacob's blessing on his sons and
specifically his blessing on Joseph.
"With
bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him
with hostility." Joseph face hostility from his
own brothers and after being taken into captivity in
Egypt from others. Joseph knew valleys in life and he
knew mountain tops. Jacob seems to sum up this part of
Joseph's life with the colorful expression: "With
bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him
with hostility." In various ways we all have
had Joseph's experience of valleys and mountaintops,
although certainly for most of us not to the same
degree he had.
But it's
the next sentence that I want to highlight today
phrase by phrase.
"But
his bow remained steady." A vital component to
accuracy in archery is keeping the bow steady. I enjoy
outdoor activities but never really pursued hunting (I
do fish some). Many years ago when we lived in a
forested area of northern Pennsylvania we were
visiting two families in the church. It was archery
season so Bruce Jack and Jack Mansfield took me out
and showed me how to shoot the bow. I just couldn't
get the hang of it and when I was holding the bow I
had a hard time keeping it steady, thus my aim was
poor. I think that's the last time I ever shot a bow!
But
Jacob is surely speaking figuratively here. The
Genesis story describes Joseph’s life as being rife
with one unfair, cruel deed after another, but through
it all he remained steadfast. Likewise we need to keep
our bow steady in a figurative sense when the devil
takes aim and shoots his arrows of discouragement,
rage, despair, fear, and all the other arsenal he
points at us.
"His
strong arms stayed limber." It takes strong
arms to keep a bow steady! Limber means flexible and
able to bend well. Being limber is having a supple and
resilient quality. In all that Joseph went through he
not only remained steady but flexible as well. He had
to roll with the punches of life, including those
unjust punches that came one after the other. Some
versions state, "his arms were made agile", "his
strong arms stayed supple".
"Because
of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of
the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel". Jacob
properly attributes this blessing of steadiness,
strength and flexibility to the hand of God and we see
repeatedly this phrase during every unfair
circumstance Joseph was dealt, "The Lord was with
Joseph".
This
text has the first reference to three titles for God
used in the rest of Scripture:
- "The Mighty One" This title is used an additional sixteen times in Scripture (see here)
- "The Shepherd" (this was actually first used in the previous chapter referring to God Genesis 48:15) It is henceforth used all through the Bible, including familiar passages like the 23rd Psalm and in John 10, "I am the good Shepherd."
- "The Rock" This is another common title used throughout the Bible for God such as 2 Samuel 22:2, “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer."
Summing
up:
- Is your bow steady (are you living a steadfast, godly life)?
- Are your strong arms staying limber? Are you flexible as God leads you through the valleys and the mountains of life?
- Are you leaning on the Mighty One, the Shepherd and the Rock?
Be
encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father,
so often when we go through difficulties we seek
knowledge about how to deal with the matter, we get
other's advice, and we learn from others who've had
the same or similar experience as ourselves. As
believers, we've often found ourselves saying,
"We'll just have to trust the Lord." But, then we're
reminded that's the first thing we should do rather
than the last resort in dealing with problems we
can't fix. Help us, in whatever circumstance we're
dealt, to serve You with all our heart and place our
full trust in You to care for us and vindicate us,
like Joseph who was described as a fruitful vine.
Help us also to be fruitful so that we bring
refreshment to those within our influence, choosing
to return good for evil, and shining light in dark
places. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father,
so often when we go through difficulties we seek
knowledge about how to deal with the matter, we get
other's advice, and we learn from others who've had
the same or similar experience as ourselves. As
believers, we've often found ourselves saying,
"We'll just have to trust the Lord." But, then we're
reminded that's the first thing we should do rather
than the last resort in dealing with problems we
can't fix. Help us, in whatever circumstance we're
dealt, to serve You with all our heart and place our
full trust in You to care for us and vindicate us,
like Joseph who was described as a fruitful vine.
Help us also to be fruitful so that we bring
refreshment to those within our influence, choosing
to return good for evil, and shining light in dark
places. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.Today's
Suggested Music and
Supplemental Resources
"Through It All"
Video
The Booth Brothers This
could be Joseph's song.
"Praise The Name Of
Jesus" Video
Kent Henry "He's my Rock,
He's my Fortress, He's my
Deliverer, in Him will I
trust" This is one of the
first Scripture choruses we
recall singing back in the
seventies. Still a great
message!
Doris High's
collection of back road photos
from which today's lead photo
was chosen. Through the years we
have used many of Doris High's
photos with her permission. This
collection is from rural central
Pennsylvania.
Monday we mentioned
that it was the 23rd anniversary
of our Daily Encouragement
ministry. We will continue to
post this information all week
long for those who may not read
each message.
Here's
some info about Daily
Encouragement Net
Daily Encouragement Ministry Chronology
- October 21, 1996 - First email sent to Nigel and Laifong Lee a married couple and developed into a list (which was merely a group list added to manually one by one.)
- 1999 - Website developed by Andy Larrimore, a friend in the church we served at the time in New England.
- 2002 - Began one minute radio spots extracted from Daily Encouragement messages and in recent years original messages written by Brooksyne that may not be featured in one of our DE messages.
- 2004 - Resigned from full-time job with chaplain agency.
- 2005 - Developed html email (formatted with photos as opposed to just plain text), began podcasting daily messages, set up blogs/RSS feeds, Brooksyne "officially" joined in the message preparation.
- 2006 - Received official endorsement as the first "internet chaplain" from chaplaincy endorsement agency. (I already had endorsement for corporate chaplaincy and Civil Air Patrol chaplaincy.)
Although we are thonkful for spellchick we still need to poofread carefully to see if we any words out.
Ministry update: For those interested we direct you to a revised ministry update in light of our 23rd ministry anniversary. http://www.dailyencouragement.net/ministryupdate.htm
Survey:
If you would care to do so we
have prepared a short survey (it
takes about five minutes). Since
we know little about many of our
readers and podcast listeners we
find this helpful in having
sense of who you are and how you
are using our materials.https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/27SRDHY
Support:
We are thankful for those who
support our ministry with their
financial offerings. Some give
monthly, others periodically or
one-time. We generally each
spend about 1/2 day preparing
these messages, managing the
technical details and responding
to email feedback (some days
more, some days less). Our
prayer has been that offerings
would be essentially 1/2 of our
family income since we work
together. We also receive income
from our corporate chaplaincy
ministry. If any reader would
like to consider an offering to
our online ministry information
is here: http://www.dailyencouragement.net/support.htm
Make an offering
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Future plans:
Essentially we look for strength
to continue to prepare these
messages each weekday and for
the foreseeable future intend a
ministry mix between internet
and chaplaincy. Essentially the
chaplaincy gets us out regularly
to the real world for a fresh
perspective!
Brooksyne's Note: As we share the history of this web ministry I am reminded of our Lord's faithfulness and the diverse giftings He gives to those He has called. It is extremely humbling to us that God's Spirit speaks to the hearts of men and women all around the world through our daily messages. When we got our first computer Stephen and I would never have imagined the medium of computer technology giving us "a voice" to reach people all over the world. Your prayers, feedback, and support spur us on and challenge us to remain faithful in this writing ministry. Join us in continually giving thanks for His abundant blessings that far outnumber the grievous burdens one endures over a lifetime.
Here's the very first daily Encouragement message from Monday, October 21, 1996:
Brooksyne's Note: As we share the history of this web ministry I am reminded of our Lord's faithfulness and the diverse giftings He gives to those He has called. It is extremely humbling to us that God's Spirit speaks to the hearts of men and women all around the world through our daily messages. When we got our first computer Stephen and I would never have imagined the medium of computer technology giving us "a voice" to reach people all over the world. Your prayers, feedback, and support spur us on and challenge us to remain faithful in this writing ministry. Join us in continually giving thanks for His abundant blessings that far outnumber the grievous burdens one endures over a lifetime.
Here's the very first daily Encouragement message from Monday, October 21, 1996:
"Let us not give up
meeting together, as some are
in the habit of doing, but let
us encourage one another--and
all the more as you see the
Day approaching" (Hebrews
10:25).
Hopefully each of you were in church yesterday and received fresh strength from the Lord and His Word. Unfortunately, then, even as now, some had forsaken this important element of growth and discipleship. As we see the Day of Christ's return drawing ever closer may we be encouraged. Whatever you do today remember the main thing: "Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might" (Deuteronomy 6:5).
Hopefully each of you were in church yesterday and received fresh strength from the Lord and His Word. Unfortunately, then, even as now, some had forsaken this important element of growth and discipleship. As we see the Day of Christ's return drawing ever closer may we be encouraged. Whatever you do today remember the main thing: "Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might" (Deuteronomy 6:5).
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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."
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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