A
daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and
exhortation.
Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne
Wednesday,
September 16,
2020
Gold Finch on
Sunflower, Mount Joy, PA
(Photo taken by
our next door neighbor, Doug Maxwell, in his backyard)
"Purify
My Heart"
Message
summary: Today we encourage you to again
consider God's call to purity and holiness, to make
a renewed commitment that, "I will be careful to
lead a blameless life".
Listen
to this message on your audio player."Since they no
longer have any sense of shame, they have become
promiscuous. They practice every kind of sexual
perversion with a constant desire for more"
(Ephesians 4:19). "I will be careful to lead a
blameless life … I will set before my eyes no
vile thing" (Psalm 101:2a,3a) "I made a covenant
with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl"
(Job 31:1). "Keep yourself pure" (1 Timothy
5:22).
The
internet streaming service Netflix has been in the
news lately due to a vile program they are now
airing concerning children, specifically young
girls. The almost always insightful satire site
"Babylon Bee" has this headline, "Awesome: Netflix
Will Now Just Pump Septic Waste Straight Into Your
Living Room".
Congresswoman
Tulsi Gabbard a former Democratic presidential
primary candidate tweeted: "@netflix child porn
'Cuties' will certainly whet the appetite of
pedophiles & help fuel the child sex
trafficking trade. 1 in 4 victims of trafficking
are children. It happened to my friend's 13 year
old daughter. Netflix, you are now complicit.
#CancelNetflix". Sadly though, and somewhat
predictably, there are many voices on the left who
defend the show!
In
our chaplain ministry a troublesome matter that
employees share with us is their struggle with
pornography. In fact we both have had this
issue come up regardless of gender or age,
although certainly men are more prone to this
sinful allure. This is always sad since
pornography has so many dimensions of
destructiveness. I (Stephen) recall a tearful
conversation with a man who was close to losing
his marriage over it. Thankfully they worked
things out and he, in periodic follow-ups, reports
to me that he is staying on the right track. In
fact he leads a ministry in his church for men and
has taught on this subject.
Today
we want to challenge our readers to moral
purity.
Many years ago I used a rather graphic illustration that is admittedly quite distasteful. I have used many illustrations in my ministry, some better than others, but some were quite memorable. I am sure there are those who will remember this one:
I was
speaking to a group of men at a retreat in the
central Pennsylvania mountains. It was very rustic
and there was one outhouse for the 40 or so men
and boys who attended the camp. As the weekend
progressed the odor got worse. Prior to speaking I
asked one of the boys to collect a substance that
looks like it might have come from an outhouse
from the muddy creek. He did so and placed it in a
big styrofoam cup.
Later, in my message I held up the styrofoam cup, showed them the contents and told the men that the contents were taken from the outhouse but that it was mostly pure water. I asked them if any would like to have a drink. Now I know that's disgusting! Not surprisingly, no volunteers stepped forward. (Of course I disclosed to them afterwards it was just muddy creek water.)
I went on to challenge them to file this illustration in their memory bank so that it might help to deter them from viewing pornography or engaging in sexual immorality. Partaking of pornography and sexual immorality is spiritually far more disgusting, destructive and devastating than even drinking the disgusting contents from a styrofoam cup!
Many years ago I used a rather graphic illustration that is admittedly quite distasteful. I have used many illustrations in my ministry, some better than others, but some were quite memorable. I am sure there are those who will remember this one:
I was
speaking to a group of men at a retreat in the
central Pennsylvania mountains. It was very rustic
and there was one outhouse for the 40 or so men
and boys who attended the camp. As the weekend
progressed the odor got worse. Prior to speaking I
asked one of the boys to collect a substance that
looks like it might have come from an outhouse
from the muddy creek. He did so and placed it in a
big styrofoam cup.Later, in my message I held up the styrofoam cup, showed them the contents and told the men that the contents were taken from the outhouse but that it was mostly pure water. I asked them if any would like to have a drink. Now I know that's disgusting! Not surprisingly, no volunteers stepped forward. (Of course I disclosed to them afterwards it was just muddy creek water.)
I went on to challenge them to file this illustration in their memory bank so that it might help to deter them from viewing pornography or engaging in sexual immorality. Partaking of pornography and sexual immorality is spiritually far more disgusting, destructive and devastating than even drinking the disgusting contents from a styrofoam cup!
The
first daily verse is a description of human
depravity corrected only by spiritual
regeneration: "Since
they no longer have any sense of shame, they
have become promiscuous. They practice every
kind of sexual perversion with a constant desire
for more." That so
describes fallen man and the progression of sin.
The
second daily verse is a passage from the Psalmist
David. He expresses his heart's desire: "I
will be careful to lead a blameless life."
Leading a blameless life does indeed require
diligent, persistent care (and Scripture candidly
records David's moral failure at one point in his
life when he ignored his own spiritual conscious).
The expression "I will set before my eyes no vile thing" is a powerful commitment for all ages but especially in our own, with vile images abounding on many platforms. Job states, "I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl" (Job 31:1). These two verses provide a powerful deterrent to what is normally the first step into any sexual immorality; visual lust. In fact David's greatest recorded sin began when "he saw a woman bathing" (2 Samuel 11:2). Had he walked away from that initial sighting his life and that of his family would have been spared many, many heartaches in the years that followed.
The expression "I will set before my eyes no vile thing" is a powerful commitment for all ages but especially in our own, with vile images abounding on many platforms. Job states, "I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl" (Job 31:1). These two verses provide a powerful deterrent to what is normally the first step into any sexual immorality; visual lust. In fact David's greatest recorded sin began when "he saw a woman bathing" (2 Samuel 11:2). Had he walked away from that initial sighting his life and that of his family would have been spared many, many heartaches in the years that followed.
Today we encourage you to again
consider God's call to purity and holiness and
make a renewed commitment that, "I will be
careful to lead a blameless life".
Be
encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Jesus, You are the pure and blameless
Lamb of God. Though you were tempted in every
way, just as we are, You stood the test and were
without sin. While fasting in the wilderness each
time Satan tried to lure You into his trap, You
stood firm as You quoted the Word of
God. Increase my desire to read, memorize and
meditate upon the Scriptures that I might not sin
against You. Help me not to set anything vile
before my eyes, Lord. May the words of my mouth,
the meditations of my heart, and my seeking to
live a pure life please You and be a testimony of
Your saving grace in my life. In the name of Jesus
I pray, Amen.
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
Coming
up for those who may be interested: We are
joining a group from our area going down to
Washington DC on Saturday, September 26 for a
prayer march called "The Return, National
and Global Day of Prayer and Repentance".
See here for info. America is
in deep trouble so let’s call on God’s power and
a movement of the Holy Spirit to bring
Repentance and Revival to our land!
This
last Sunday after our church service we headed
over to the Old Windmill Farm to bring the Lapp
family over to our home for dinner since two of
the children had birthdays.
Brooksyne
with the newest member of the Old Windmill Farm
team, a miniature horse the younger girls saved
their money to purchase and have named Darling.
Petey,
like most goats is incurably curious and just
had to check our our van seats before we loaded
the family for our trip across the county to
join us for lunch.
Late
in the afternoon we took the entire family to
their oldest son's youth group on Mount Pleasant
Road here in the Mount Joy area. We didn't stay
but ten years ago I went to an Amish youth group
and wrote this message, "Lessons From An Amish Youth
Meeting"
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