A
daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and
exhortation.
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Tuesday,
August
11,
2020
Ester took
this photo of an Eastern Tiger
Swallowtail making itself at home on a phlox plant.
Click
on photo to enlarge
"Metamorphosis"
Message
summary: Christ continues to transform lives
today and He is either transforming yours or waiting
for you to call on His Name so you can be
transformed. Please do so today!
Listen
to this message on your audio player.
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will" (Romans 12:1,2).
Butterflies are out in abundance in our flower gardens and Ester patiently waits till they land on a colorful flower before photographing them. She likes to share photos of butterflies, the moon, and sunset views on her Facebook page. We believe she has a good eye for photos, and many have encouraged her in this regard.
Listen
to this message on your audio player."Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will" (Romans 12:1,2).
Butterflies are out in abundance in our flower gardens and Ester patiently waits till they land on a colorful flower before photographing them. She likes to share photos of butterflies, the moon, and sunset views on her Facebook page. We believe she has a good eye for photos, and many have encouraged her in this regard.
She
takes most photos with her iphone but when she gets
serious she pulls out the big tripod and positions
the Nikon Coolpix camera her Aunt Elaine gave her
for Christmas several years ago. Her biggest asset
(and ours as well) is living in the age of digital
photography when you can take lots and lots of
photos and instantly look at them, increasing the
odds that some will turn out really good.
We old-timers remember when we paid for both the film roll and development and, due to cost, we'd likely take a limited number of photos of any subject. Then you would wait till the roll was used up, take it to be developed and then wait some more! Then you finally got to see how your photos came out (closed eyes, people looking in opposite directions, blurry results, and hopefully a few outstanding ones as well). *²
We old-timers remember when we paid for both the film roll and development and, due to cost, we'd likely take a limited number of photos of any subject. Then you would wait till the roll was used up, take it to be developed and then wait some more! Then you finally got to see how your photos came out (closed eyes, people looking in opposite directions, blurry results, and hopefully a few outstanding ones as well). *²
Though
we don't wait any longer to see results of our photo
sessions there is a lot of waiting in life as we
wait out the development of particular situations,
possible opportunities and that of our own physical,
mental and spiritual development.
This
line of thinking got me reflecting on the word,
"metamorphosis" which is actually a Greek word,
Greek being the language used in the original New
Testament. It is used in Romans 12:2 which is
translated in English as "transformed". The Bible doesn't use the word
"butterfly" in any standard Bible translation, but
does use a word often associated with the
"butterfly", "metamorphosis". In fact it was one of
the first really big words I recall learning in
grade school and as most of you know, that is the
scientific word describing the transformation of a
caterpillar into a butterfly. Learning about this
fascinating transformation in my science class was
very exciting; learning to spell "metamorphosis" in
my spelling class was not!
The butterfly larvae feed for about two weeks developing into worm like caterpillars about 2 inches long. Next it will transform into a pupa (or chrysalis) and in about two weeks complete the transformation into a colorful butterfly. After all this most butterfly species live only one to two weeks!
"Transformed" has the basic meaning of changing into another form so the change in view here is not a superficial fluctuation of fashion or conduct but a vital change revealing a new life.
Romans 12:2 instructs, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."
* God said: Let us form man in our image.
* The devil says: I will deform man by sin.
* The world says: We must conform man in our image.
* Education says: Let us inform man by knowledge.
* Society says: We will reform man by culture.
* But only Christ says: I will transform man by grace.*¹
Christ continues to transform lives today and He is either transforming yours or waiting for you to call on His Name so you can be transformed. Start the transformation today or continue to be transformed into His likeness if you have already started the transformation process!
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Jesus, how
grateful I am that You turned the darkness of my
soul into the sunshine of Your glory. You
transformed my heart and renewed my mind when I
received You as my personal Savior. You took away
sin's sorrows and filled me with everlasting joy.
Sin no longer is my master, but You are my Lord and
Master. It is Your voice that I hear and it is in
Your paths that I walk! Continue the process of
transformation in my life until that final day when
Your work is complete. You gave me my first breath
and I want to give You my final breath as I am
transformed into immortality. Amen.
The butterfly larvae feed for about two weeks developing into worm like caterpillars about 2 inches long. Next it will transform into a pupa (or chrysalis) and in about two weeks complete the transformation into a colorful butterfly. After all this most butterfly species live only one to two weeks!
"Transformed" has the basic meaning of changing into another form so the change in view here is not a superficial fluctuation of fashion or conduct but a vital change revealing a new life.
Romans 12:2 instructs, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."
* God said: Let us form man in our image.
* The devil says: I will deform man by sin.
* The world says: We must conform man in our image.
* Education says: Let us inform man by knowledge.
* Society says: We will reform man by culture.
* But only Christ says: I will transform man by grace.*¹
Christ continues to transform lives today and He is either transforming yours or waiting for you to call on His Name so you can be transformed. Start the transformation today or continue to be transformed into His likeness if you have already started the transformation process!
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Jesus, how
grateful I am that You turned the darkness of my
soul into the sunshine of Your glory. You
transformed my heart and renewed my mind when I
received You as my personal Savior. You took away
sin's sorrows and filled me with everlasting joy.
Sin no longer is my master, but You are my Lord and
Master. It is Your voice that I hear and it is in
Your paths that I walk! Continue the process of
transformation in my life until that final day when
Your work is complete. You gave me my first breath
and I want to give You my final breath as I am
transformed into immortality. Amen.*¹
Study notes for Romans 12:2 from the Middletown
Bible Church
In 2
Corinthians 3:18 we read of the process of "being
transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing
glory". Transformed here is also from the same
word we get metaphorphosis.
Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
"Is He
Worthy" Video West Coast
Baptist College. Brooksyne's
note: I came across this yesterday and
was deeply touched not only by the inspiration of
these words but the delivery of the song by
students standing around the piano. We sing this
in our choir and it is a favorite of ours, but
this arrangement takes it to a new level. If you
tune it in be sure not to turn it off at the end,
as there's more to come. I believe the blessing of
this song will stay with you all day and then
some!
Our
church is using a very interesting video intro to the current
sermon series on words.
*²
Regardless of when the photos were taken my very thrifty mom waited,
perhaps months, till the next occasion when we
could finish the roll. Since our camera was used
infrequently that took months, perhaps a year or
more. And then you waited for a sale on the
development or sent it in the mail which took at
least two or more weeks to get them back! As much
as we want to go back to the old days in some
areas there are other areas where the new and
improved is much more desirable.
Yesterday
we went to an Open House at Audrey's and on their
40th anniversary they were very pleased to have
their record open house day. This is the line
waiting for the doors to open!
Photo
taken by Melissa Marshall, Social Media Coordinator
Click on photo to enlarge
Ester
took our lead photo last week which prompted a
search of butterfly photos taken through the years
we have on our site.
An Eastern Black Swallowtail butterfly on our Autumn Joy Sedum.
Ester took this photo of a Eastern Tiger Swallowtail in our zinnia garden.
I
don't know how she got the black background!
(Click on photo for larger view)
(Click on photo for larger view)
Eastern
Black Swallowtail butterfly on the Day Lily.
This butterfly is found throughout much of
North America and is the state butterfly of New Jersey and Oklahoma.
This
butterfly and bee are demonstrating the virtue of
sharing the same sunflower.
(photo
by Ester)
Two
weeks ago Brooksyne snapped this butterfly photo
on a tiger lily on the Swatara Rail Trail
Click
on photo to enlarge
This photo taken in Centre County, PA by our friend Greg Schneider.
Click on photo to enlarge
Nominally
useful fact for the day: Lepidopterologist
is an entomologist who specializes in the
collection and study of butterflies and moths. AKA
butterfly collector, lepidopterist. bug-hunter,
bugologist, entomologist - a zoologist who studies
insects. We like the term bugologist!
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