Daily Encouragement (Archive Edition)

The online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

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Friday, May 8, 2020

Woodpecker on suet tractor (photo by Ester)

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!"

Message summary: The apostle Paul concluded the Love Chapter with these words, "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love". Today we consider what has not been cancelled.

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"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love" (1 Corinthians 13:13).

Lou Guiliano is a longtime reader from New Jersey, who like many of you, has become our "distant" friend through many years of periodic correspondence. He is a retired pastor and hospice chaplain who was recognized as the New Jersey Hospice Chaplain of the Year in 2006. We met Lou and his wife, Kathy, over 15 years ago when they were visiting in Lancaster County. Yesterday Lou sent me a new song that is pertinent to our day, filled with encouragement and eternal perspective by Kim Collingsworth. I can almost guarantee that it will fill you with joy after listening. (Link to YouTube version of the song is below.)

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.

The apostle Paul concluded the Love Chapter with these words, "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love", what we describe as the "The Ever-Enduring Trifecta" that is far more powerful than any temporal pain or loss we can experience on this side of eternity.

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

Daily prayer: Father, we are not without hope, for we know that You are a God of hope that fills believers with all joy and peace as they trust in You, so that they may overflow with hope by the power of Your Holy Spirit. Help us to spread the overflowing, enduring hope that does not diminish in the midst of evil or pandemic disease, but focuses our hearts on the holy city, the New Jerusalem; the New Jerusalem where Your presence is with Your people; where You will wipe away every tear from our eyes and there will be no more death, sadness, crying, or pain, because all the old ways are gone, for You will make all things new. Come, Lord Jesus, come. Amen.

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.

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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.

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