A
daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and
exhortation.
Friday,
May
8,
2020
Ester snapped a photo of this female hairy
woodpecker feeding at a tractor filled with tasty suet.
Looks like the woodpecker needs a napkin to remove the
crumbs from the beak.
"What's
Not
Cancelled!"
"And
now these three remain: faith, hope and love"
(1 Corinthians 13:13).
![]() Kim
introduces the song by musing on how in various
ways we have all been impacted by cancellations
during this coronavirus pandemic. Right away
activities we had scheduled were cancelled and
at this point we have cancellations out through
late June. We are awaiting word about an annual
family reunion in Oklahoma scheduled for July.
Kim
describes our present days of uncertainty in the
first verse:
When life is put on hold All our plans have cancelled Things have changed Nothing feels the same Disappointments, fears and doubts Go hand in hand and waves of war Everywhere uncertainty Those
last two words, fittingly describe "pandemic"
which means "prevalent over a whole country or
the world". But
the first part of the chorus is a thoughtful
transition:
But in the midst of chaos In the midst of fear There is something to remember Yes there is something we all need to hear What we all need to
hear and take to heart is a reminder of what has not
been cancelled! If we were to make a list we could
start with "the joy of the Lord, the peace of God, the
presence of the Holy Spirit." These truths of eternal
worth have not been cancelled! A consideration of
these will bring about a needed perspective that will
surely refresh our spirit and remind us that we have a
living hope.
Hope
is one of the most necessary spiritual and
emotional components of life. Without it we live
in despair. It has been said, "Man can live
about 40 days without food, about three days
without water, about eight minutes without air,
but only for one second without hope."
In the book of Lamentations the prophet Jeremiah is living through the period of Judah's final conquest by the Babylonians. In the portion that precedes the third daily verse he describes the horrible, despicable events that accompanied this time and Jeremiah seems to be teetering on despair. But in this text we have one of the greatest transition verses in all of Scripture. In the midst of this terrific despair Jeremiah writes, "Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope". What Jeremiah called to mind brought hope from despair and today some 2,600 years later, it will do so for us as we reflect on the immutable attributes of God such as His omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence (simply put, He is all-powerful, all-knowing and all-present). The kingdoms of this world are all temporary, self-serving, and polluted by the wiles of Satan's strategy to steal, kill and destroy, striving for total destruction. But, as believers, we follow after Christ who brings abundant eternal life and a glorious inheritance that's being preserved in heaven for us. Let us renounce the world and enter into His kingdom of righteousness, peace and joy. Though the world may crumble around us, our hope remains fixed on the eternal kingdom not seen by human eyes nor marred by the affliction of pain, disease or death. Such anticipation fills us with inexpressible and glorious joy as we await the day that Jesus Christ is revealed in all His glory, splendor and holiness. ![]() Hope remains. The nature of the hope we have is foundationally a spiritual hope. The "good life" (peace and prosperity), as many of us know or desire it to be on this earth, is not guaranteed by God. So many, many of the heroes of the faith of the past and present testify to this. (Read Hebrews 11.) The hope that remains is the assurance that ultimately "In all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28). This is an enduring hope, which cannot be cancelled; and in this kind of hope we can all be absolutely confident. Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber ![]() Today's
Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
"Joy Has Not Been
Cancelled" Video Kim Collingsworth
(includes introduction)
When life is put on
hold
All our plans have cancelled Things have changed Nothing feels the same Disappointments fears and doubts Go hand in hand and waves of war Everywhere uncertainty But in the midst of chaos In the midst of fear There is something to remember Yes there is something we all need to hear Joy is not cancelled It still remains Gods' goodness, kindness His grace isn't running low And He has not changed So when the trials and tests that come Darkness only hides the sun And You can't seem to find Your way No light of day They never change they will endure No matter what things look like All around us In the midst of chaos In the midst of fear There is something to remember Yes there is something we all need to hear Joy is not cancelled It still remains Gods' goodness, kindness His grace isn't running low And He has not changed His power is still abundant His mercies are still new God's plans have not been cancelled He's fully in control And everything that matters still remains Yes everything that matters still remains "Living
Hope" Video Calvary Church
Choir, Orchestra and congregation. After these many
weeks of cancelled church services it's a nice
reminder of what church looked like in the good old
days!
Followup on Wednesday's
message on "essential work". I just read this article
this morning: No Lottery Lockdown
Today is our 44th
wedding anniversary
Our engagement photo was taken among the stately oaks at Central Bible College where we met our Freshmen year of college in 1973. Our first date was on Brooksyne's birthday on October 21, 1973 when I invited her to church on a Sunday evening. At that time local churches sent buses to the campus to pick up students and, as we waited on the bus, her old boyfriend and his mom showed up from Tulsa, (180 miles from campus)! Brooksyne, extremely surprised and embarrassed, felt she must meet with them and jumped off the bus leaving me to go to church by myself on our very first date. We started dating again three months later. In Brooksyne's defense - she had broken off with her old boyfriend, but I guess his mother thought a surprise visit on her birthday would patch things up, but fortunately (for me) it didn't. We started going steady in the Spring of 1974 and got engaged in the fall of 1975.
Here we are coming down the church aisle
as a newly married couple on May 8, 1976 in Sapulpa,
Oklahoma. The wedding was held in the church where
Brooksyne led Children's Church over the summer months
when she wasn't attending CBC in Springfield, MO where
we first met.
![]() Forty-four years later we are still enjoying our union and serving the Lord together. We
enjoyed team ministry even before our marriage when
we served together in missions and children's
ministries at CBC. Ester took this photo in front of
our Dogwood tree this morning.
Finally today:
The blessing of knowledgeable friends!
This photo was taken in 2008 after I had
found this small Honda riding mower along the road
and paid $50.00 for. It didn't work but I had
friends! These three came over and Fred (on the
left) is a mechanic for a farm implement company. He
looked it over and said, "Do you have a hammer and
can of WD-40?" I did and Fred knew where to spray
and where to hit and that mower started right up and
served me for about 5 years till I bought a larger
lawn tractor in 2013 which my neighbor sold me
before he moved. I still use that tractor but
yesterday I just couldn't get it started. I tried a
trickle charge then tried jumping it. It just
wouldn't turn over. So once again I called Fred and
described the problem over the phone. He said, "You
wouldn't have happened to have left the _____ would
you?" I told him I didn't think so but would check.
Sure enough I had left it on and the motor started
right up! Now what do you suppose I had failed to
turn off that kept it from starting?
Respond here.
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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