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daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and
exhortation.
Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne
Wednesday,
July 1,
2020
Enjoying a Subway BLT lunch yesterday
at Bordner's Cabin with a view of Acrigg's Falls through the
open window. It's in Swatara State Park, Lebanon County, PA.
I even picked some flowers for Brooksyne. (It's Bees Balm,
she tells me, which she used to grow with her herbs - to me
they were colorful, dressed up the dark cabin just a bit,
and also a loving gesture of how much I enjoy her riding
along with me on the trails.)
"Peace
In The City"
Message
summary: Today we will consider violence in the
city.
Listen
to this
message on your audio player.
"I see violence and strife in the city. Day and night they prowl about on its walls; malice and abuse are within it. Destructive forces are at work in the city; threats and lies never leave its streets" (Psalm 55:10,11). "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels” (Psalm 122:6,7).
We live out in the country and we both prefer it that way. Brooksyne was raised on a small farm just west of Tulsa, OK and I was raised in a small suburb of Kansas City. We both have great memories of grandparents who really lived out in the country; hers in the mountains of Arkansas and mine in Harwood, a very tiny rural town in Southern Missouri.
We have visited many major cities here in the US; from San Diego to Seattle on the west coast, from Miami to Boston on the east coast and from the Twin Cities to San Antonio in the center. In the best of times I prefer spending a limited time in the city, even a smaller one like Lancaster. When we lived in New England we enjoyed going to Boston, which is a very walkable city, with lots of character and history. But at the end of the day we were happy to step back into our vehicle and head back to our quieter setting at home.
However, in recent months cities all over America have become increasingly agitated with protests (many which distort the very definition of peaceful), with riots, looting, destruction, violence, disrespect and even killings. We have been eating out underneath our deck gazebo most meals and before we pray for our meal we thank God for the peace that surrounds us as we also pray for the ongoing turmoil in our country.
The other day we were traveling together and Brooksyne read Psalm 55 aloud. When she got to the part we use for our first daily verse we were mutually stunned in that it describes the current conditions in so many of our cities.
Regarding precisely what the Psalmist initially was referring to is rather difficult since the context does not reveal any details as to what is meant. Whether he meant a specific city like Jerusalem or intended a more generic meaning is not clear.
However, this describes many cities today and what they are presently going through:
"I see violence and strife in the city."
Day and night they prowl about on its walls;
malice and abuse are within it.
Destructive forces are at work in the city;
threats and lies never leave its streets"
The second daily text on the other hand is very specific, a prayer for the "peace of Jerusalem". Now of course there is spiritual significance and uniqueness about this holy city; historically, currently and prophetically. The last part of the city's name, Jerusalem, is "salem", a Hebrew word derived from "shalom" which means peace, wholeness, and completeness.
When there's peace in the capital and lead city it's good for the entire country and for that of families and individuals. We can pray for peace in our own country, wherever we live. It's also a fitting prayer for any city, not just Jerusalem, especially during these times when there is so much violence and strife in the city and destructive forces at work.
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer:
Father, since
we submitted our lives to You we have been praying
for the peace of Jerusalem. We continue to pray for
the peace of Jerusalem and we pray for the peace of
Christ to rain down upon the cities of our nation.
We pray for servants of the Gospel who are taking
the message of salvation to the troubled streets of
our land, for their safety and for receptivity from
those looking for answers, the ones that can't be
found in our institutions of higher learning or our
divided political landscape across America. Many
express their rage and anger through lawless acts of
vandalism, destruction, incite fear, and the
calamitous list goes on and on. We pray for our
elected leaders to stand for law and order, to
be strong and courageous in recapturing civility
among the rebellious throngs who resist the
established authority. We pray for churches and
ministries located in these cities to prayerfully
and eagerly present the greatest Authority, our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ, who provides the greatest
Manual of all time, the Holy Bible which gets to the
heart of the matter. No law can change the heart of
humankind, but through salvation of Christ, our
soul's diseases can be healed and the ills of a
country's as well. Help us, we earnestly pray, Amen.
Personal note: Since I was a small child I have been very geographically inclined; enjoying social studies, pouring over maps and now online maps. I like to visit places not only literally but also via programs like Google Earth. I also recall and log places I have visited over my lifetime including 50 airports and every famously large city in the US except New Orleans. (However in a few situations it was only a connection at the airport such as Atlanta and Detroit.)
Listen
to this
message on your audio player."I see violence and strife in the city. Day and night they prowl about on its walls; malice and abuse are within it. Destructive forces are at work in the city; threats and lies never leave its streets" (Psalm 55:10,11). "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels” (Psalm 122:6,7).
We live out in the country and we both prefer it that way. Brooksyne was raised on a small farm just west of Tulsa, OK and I was raised in a small suburb of Kansas City. We both have great memories of grandparents who really lived out in the country; hers in the mountains of Arkansas and mine in Harwood, a very tiny rural town in Southern Missouri.
We have visited many major cities here in the US; from San Diego to Seattle on the west coast, from Miami to Boston on the east coast and from the Twin Cities to San Antonio in the center. In the best of times I prefer spending a limited time in the city, even a smaller one like Lancaster. When we lived in New England we enjoyed going to Boston, which is a very walkable city, with lots of character and history. But at the end of the day we were happy to step back into our vehicle and head back to our quieter setting at home.
However, in recent months cities all over America have become increasingly agitated with protests (many which distort the very definition of peaceful), with riots, looting, destruction, violence, disrespect and even killings. We have been eating out underneath our deck gazebo most meals and before we pray for our meal we thank God for the peace that surrounds us as we also pray for the ongoing turmoil in our country.
The other day we were traveling together and Brooksyne read Psalm 55 aloud. When she got to the part we use for our first daily verse we were mutually stunned in that it describes the current conditions in so many of our cities.
Regarding precisely what the Psalmist initially was referring to is rather difficult since the context does not reveal any details as to what is meant. Whether he meant a specific city like Jerusalem or intended a more generic meaning is not clear.
However, this describes many cities today and what they are presently going through:
"I see violence and strife in the city."
Day and night they prowl about on its walls;
malice and abuse are within it.
Destructive forces are at work in the city;
threats and lies never leave its streets"
The second daily text on the other hand is very specific, a prayer for the "peace of Jerusalem". Now of course there is spiritual significance and uniqueness about this holy city; historically, currently and prophetically. The last part of the city's name, Jerusalem, is "salem", a Hebrew word derived from "shalom" which means peace, wholeness, and completeness.
When there's peace in the capital and lead city it's good for the entire country and for that of families and individuals. We can pray for peace in our own country, wherever we live. It's also a fitting prayer for any city, not just Jerusalem, especially during these times when there is so much violence and strife in the city and destructive forces at work.
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer:
Father, since
we submitted our lives to You we have been praying
for the peace of Jerusalem. We continue to pray for
the peace of Jerusalem and we pray for the peace of
Christ to rain down upon the cities of our nation.
We pray for servants of the Gospel who are taking
the message of salvation to the troubled streets of
our land, for their safety and for receptivity from
those looking for answers, the ones that can't be
found in our institutions of higher learning or our
divided political landscape across America. Many
express their rage and anger through lawless acts of
vandalism, destruction, incite fear, and the
calamitous list goes on and on. We pray for our
elected leaders to stand for law and order, to
be strong and courageous in recapturing civility
among the rebellious throngs who resist the
established authority. We pray for churches and
ministries located in these cities to prayerfully
and eagerly present the greatest Authority, our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ, who provides the greatest
Manual of all time, the Holy Bible which gets to the
heart of the matter. No law can change the heart of
humankind, but through salvation of Christ, our
soul's diseases can be healed and the ills of a
country's as well. Help us, we earnestly pray, Amen.Personal note: Since I was a small child I have been very geographically inclined; enjoying social studies, pouring over maps and now online maps. I like to visit places not only literally but also via programs like Google Earth. I also recall and log places I have visited over my lifetime including 50 airports and every famously large city in the US except New Orleans. (However in a few situations it was only a connection at the airport such as Atlanta and Detroit.)
Today's
Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
"God Of
This City" Video Chris Tomlin
"Prayer
for the City" Video Oslo
Gospel Choir
"A Prayer
For Our City" Video Pray London (a new
Zoom-style song appropriate for any city using the Lord's
Prayer with a beautiful prayer at the end)
"We Pray
For Our City" Video Maranatha! Praise Band
"Build
Your Kingdom Here" Video Rend Collective
"Jerusalem"
Video
The Hoppers
Yesterday
following a chaplaincy visit to Audrey's in northern
Lebanon County we went to Swatara State Park for a long
bike ride on the trails and enjoyed lunch in Bordner's
cabin.
The view
of the cabin coming up from Bear Hole Trail. The cabin
was built by Armar Bordner, a high school shop
teacher, in the 1930's. He lived with his wife,
daughter and their German Shepherd here for many
years. He died at age 90.
The view
of Bordner's cabin from the waterfall. Here is a page with directions and many
photos of the cabin. It has been called Lebanon
County's "Fallingwater", an allusion to the slightly
more famous Fallingwater in western PA
designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright!
This long
COR-TEN steel trail bridge is over Swatara Creek.
We passed
this dilapidated house at the end of the trail on
Swopes Valley Road.
Saying
this house is in ramshackle condition would be kind!
This deer
was right off the bike trail staring intently at us, waiting for us to
leave.
We passed
this church on the way back on Green Point School Road.
A very good message for these times but they'd be wise
to use spell check as I often do, unless Brooksyne's
around since she is my personal and reliable Spell
Checker. (It appears that the sun climbs up trees)!
Finally
today these words of wisdom from Lois, a faithful
reader in New York in response to yesterday's message:
A few
words I came across last week are doomsurfing and
doomscrolling. Merriam Webster defines them as:
Doomscrolling and doomsurfing are new terms referring to
the tendency to continue to surf or scroll through bad
news, even though that news is saddening, disheartening,
or depressing.
Interesting that morning I read an antidote for ‘the dooms’ in Psalms 119:37. (Our church is corporately doing a reading plan to read through the Bible.) God had a word prepared for me ahead of time! I have been purposefully limiting my time looking at news and delving into current event issues. (Maybe a little ‘head in the sand’ way to deal with things.) I find myself disheartened with the abundance of negativity out there. I have never seen such a time that the enemy of our souls has had such success in stirring up fear and anxiety, depression, and disunity among God’s people. This morning I read Psalms 119:97. I can easily say with the psalmist, ‘Oh, how I love Your law!’ But I was convicted when I read the second half-‘I meditate on it all day long.’ In January I determined to daily read and refresh memorizing Philippians 4:4-9. The last several weeks I’ve been praising Him for His encouraging word to me on a daily basis. Thank you for being a voice to encourage.
Interesting that morning I read an antidote for ‘the dooms’ in Psalms 119:37. (Our church is corporately doing a reading plan to read through the Bible.) God had a word prepared for me ahead of time! I have been purposefully limiting my time looking at news and delving into current event issues. (Maybe a little ‘head in the sand’ way to deal with things.) I find myself disheartened with the abundance of negativity out there. I have never seen such a time that the enemy of our souls has had such success in stirring up fear and anxiety, depression, and disunity among God’s people. This morning I read Psalms 119:97. I can easily say with the psalmist, ‘Oh, how I love Your law!’ But I was convicted when I read the second half-‘I meditate on it all day long.’ In January I determined to daily read and refresh memorizing Philippians 4:4-9. The last several weeks I’ve been praising Him for His encouraging word to me on a daily basis. Thank you for being a voice to encourage.
So far
Linda wins the prize for the most interesting mask we
see in our chaplain work!
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."
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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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