A
daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and
exhortation.
Wednesday,
September 2,
2020
A view from high atop the Martic Forge rail trestle which has been restored and is now part of the Enola Low Grade rail trail in southern Lancaster County. See below for a
photo of the trestle from below.
"A
Consideration Of Quitting"
Message
summary: Today let us
resolve to be quitters of that which leads to sin
and to be doers in that which leads to godliness.
Listen
to this message on your audio player.
"Get
some sense and quit your sinning" (1 Corinthians
15:34). "You have patiently suffered for Me
without quitting" (Revelation 3:2).
Yesterday
we visited a group of employees at a company that
makes retail displays. Janet was wearing a t-shirt
that caught our attention stating on the front, "I'M
A QUITTER". Inquiring as to what the saying
meant she told me she has a friend that went through
Teen Challenge of Philadelphia, a Christian drug and
alcohol rehab program, and upon graduation received
this shirt.
What a
blessing to work with so many people in various
companies who have overcome various addictions and
experienced the blessing of "quitting". Tomorrow I
will see a man, only a few years younger than I, who
was an alcoholic for most of his life since the age
of 14. But in the last several years he's quit and
is happy to report that he's "staying clean" every time I see him.
But "I'M A QUITTER" can be both a
statement of victory or a statement of defeat
depending on context!
A statement of victory: Paul
appealed to the Corinthians, "Get
some sense and quit your sinning". Some
versions render "Become sober-minded" in place of
"Get some sense". Commentator Adam Clarke issues the
challenge: "Awake to righteousness. Shake off your
slumber; awake fully, as ye ought to do. Be in
earnest; do not trifle with God, your souls, and
eternity." That's a good word for all of us today as
we are surrounded by sin and the temptation to sin.
The Bible and history books reveal that it's not new
for our generation since the writer of Hebrews also
addresses the sin problem for his generation. In
Hebrews 12:1 we are commanded to "Lay aside
every weight, and sin which clings so closely".
Let's be a quitter in that
which leads to sin!
A statement of defeat:
In Revelation Christ commended the church in Sardis,
"You have patiently suffered
for Me without quitting". God's Word says my "labor
in the Lord is not in vain" (1 Corinthians
15:58) and at the proper time I will reap a
harvest, if I don't give up! (Galatians 6:9).
So “Do not throw away your confidence, for it
will be richly rewarded” (Hebrews
10:35). Stay faithful, don't give up! Let's not be a
quitter in that which leads to godliness!
Today
let us resolve to be quitters of that which leads to
sin and to be doers in that which leads to
godliness.
Be
encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer: Father, as believers we learn through Scripture, though daily trial and error, and through the examples of earnest believers that which leads to godliness. We especially learn this through Jesus who was clothed in flesh, walked among us, and sinned not. Help us to do that which is necessary, fortifying ourselves through prayer and self-control, to separate ourselves from sin and draw near to You, for under Your wings we are protected from the enemy's snare. We can do all things through Christ who gives us strength. Amen. Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources "The
Blessing" Video BBSO
(Romanian youth) It's so heartening to view
the earnestness of these young people! (Note:
The song is in Romanian but since I've heard the
lyrics so many times it is still a blessing).
Could this be the remnant similar to the young
people when Daniel was young about 610BC?
"He Will Hold You Fast" Video Shane and Shane I am so longing to sing this song congregationally but it is not yet on our church's song list. Hopefully it will be soon since it's a great source of assurance in these very troubling times. Some
of you have perhaps been following the persecution
of Grace Community Church (John MacArthur) and
other churches in California who are daring to
hold church services. The most recent development
is the government suspending a lease on a parking
arrangement the Grace
Community Church has had for 45 years, a
petty, senseless retribution by government
officials. The church has been paying what seems
to me to be a huge fee (some $8,000 per month) for
parking in otherwise unusable spaces that pull up
to a storm drainage system and thus cannot be
developed. I was looking over the church's website
and saw they sang "He Will Hold You Fast" in their
service this last Lord's Day. That must have been
very powerful! John MacArthur shares a very
interesting perspective here: Video Especially insightful
is his comment on "a virus of deception".
Brooksyne's Note: Interestingly, Stephen was downstairs working on our message and included the story about MacArthur's church when a notification came up on my phone about John MacArthur. He shared about his experience of witnessing to a Muslim on a Southwest Airlines trip headed to El Paso where he was in the "dreaded middle seat". It's fairly brief, sometimes funny due to the Muslim's blunt honesty, and it also reveals the way one might witness to an unbelieving Muslim. Video The Babylon Bee has an interesting take on all this: "Gavin Newsom Says California Will Stay On Lockdown Until Scientists Discover Cure For Death" (This is satire but far too true!) On a lighter note Ester has posted her first video posted to YouTube of steam engine 425 taken in Jim Thorpe last week. It will be enjoyable for all train lovers, including the train whistle!
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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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