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daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and
exhortation.
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Wednesday,
October
7,
2020
Wellsboro is
our favorite northern tier Pennsylvania town featuring this
wide boulevard lined with colorful trees and authentic gas
lamps. We passed through it this last Sunday after a visit
to the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon.
"A
Vital Reminder"
Note:
Today's message is a bit longer due to a stirred
memory.
Message summary: Sometimes God
speaks to us through a Scripture verse in a most
memorable way.
Listen
to this message on your audio player.
Listen
to this message on your audio player.“God
is not unjust; He will not forget your work and
the love you have shown Him as you have helped His
people and continue to help them” (Hebrews 6:10).
"Your labor in the Lord is not in vain" (1
Corinthians 15:58). "And let us not grow weary of
doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we
do not give up" (Galatians 6:9).
We met Jack and Chris
Mansfield nearly 40 years ago when we served a
church in northern Pennsylvania. They, along with
their three young children, became a very active
part of the church and they served faithfully in
various ways for many years.We are
so thankful that, although both of our families left
that area of northern Pennsylvania in the early
90's, we have stayed in contact. In 2003 I had the
privilege of conducting their oldest daughter
Carrie's wedding. Jack is retired now and they spend
their summers in the Finger Lakes region near their
son and winter in Southern Virginia not far from
their oldest daughter. We rejoice that Jack and
Chris, along with each of their children and
families, serve the Lord and are active in their
churches. Jack told me his son is a leader in his
church.
About
30 years ago I was part of a team on a short-term
mission trip to Fusagasugá, Colombia, about 50 miles
south of the capital, Bogota. Jack was also on that
team that assisted a local church in a construction
project of building a new church building. I had the
opportunity to preach to the national believers
through a translator. One of the most memorable
affirmations in my entire ministry was the pastor
saying to his congregation upon the completion of my
message, "Perfecto!" (Although my message was
certainly far from perfect I was still heartened by
the comment, since I had never heard my own wife
give me that commendation over our many years of
ministry.)
Jack is a forester and at that time was
the general manager of a large lumber processing
mill. He was accustomed to being in charge and
running things efficiently. However, in our mission
project we experienced a painful lack of efficiency
in the construction process both in regard to lack
of suitable equipment and work practices.
Our work mostly consisted of digging by hand large holes for footers that took hours in the blistering sun. This work could have been done in minutes with a back hoe! Since we followed the pace of work done by the Colombian church members who worked alongside us, we took a few more breaks than we're accustomed to in the U.S. when desiring to finish a project!
I recall being discouraged and candidly expressed my emotions to Jack saying something to the effect, "Is this really worth it?" As we talked it out, we both received a breakthrough in God’s assurance that our labor was not in vain. Our work was more than just physical labor; for we were called to build people, which included hours of fellowship working alongside Colombian believers working at their pace. It was part of God’s plan for the mission team who went to serve, as well as the nationals.
The final night we gathered in the national pastor’s home for a special meal and Communion. The pastor expressed his gratitude to the mission team for helping with the project. Through a translator he shared a verse with great earnestness. Although I had surely read it many times in the course of reading the Bible it really jumped out at me when he shared the verse in Spanish and it was translated to English. It meant a great deal to me at the time and has ever since:
Jack is a forester and at that time was
the general manager of a large lumber processing
mill. He was accustomed to being in charge and
running things efficiently. However, in our mission
project we experienced a painful lack of efficiency
in the construction process both in regard to lack
of suitable equipment and work practices.Our work mostly consisted of digging by hand large holes for footers that took hours in the blistering sun. This work could have been done in minutes with a back hoe! Since we followed the pace of work done by the Colombian church members who worked alongside us, we took a few more breaks than we're accustomed to in the U.S. when desiring to finish a project!
I recall being discouraged and candidly expressed my emotions to Jack saying something to the effect, "Is this really worth it?" As we talked it out, we both received a breakthrough in God’s assurance that our labor was not in vain. Our work was more than just physical labor; for we were called to build people, which included hours of fellowship working alongside Colombian believers working at their pace. It was part of God’s plan for the mission team who went to serve, as well as the nationals.
The final night we gathered in the national pastor’s home for a special meal and Communion. The pastor expressed his gratitude to the mission team for helping with the project. Through a translator he shared a verse with great earnestness. Although I had surely read it many times in the course of reading the Bible it really jumped out at me when he shared the verse in Spanish and it was translated to English. It meant a great deal to me at the time and has ever since:
"Porque
Dios no es injusto como para olvidarse de la obra
de ustedes y del amor que han mostrado hacia Su
nombre, habiendo servido, y sirviendo aún, a los
santos."
"God
is not unjust; He will not forget your work and
the love you have shown Him as you have helped His
people and continue to help them" (Hebrews 6:10).
- "God is not unjust." Did you get that? So much discouragement ultimately stems from a failure to accept God’s justice. He truly does everything well, although we may not understand His overall plan. Remember the entire scope of God’s plan will not be fulfilled or revealed on this side; the best and lasting is yet to come. Isn't that a powerful verse to bolster our assurance of our ministry impact? In fact if you can't memorize the entire verse just remember these four words, "God is not unjust".
- "He will not forget your work." Fellow servant, you may feel underappreciated, rejected, taken for granted; you name it. But God’s Word says, "He will not forget your work". I want to hide these truths deep in my heart today and encourage you to do so as well. Even after we depart this earth and join the great cloud of witnesses in Hebrews 12 God will not forget our work. That which is done for Christ goes on. It has lasting, eternal impact. And God does not overlook our effort or forget about it.
- "And the love you have shown Him as you have helped His people." We show our love for God as we help His people. Readers in this encouragement series are involved in scores of different ministries. Even among the several hundred on this list that we know personally we consider the variety of ways that you serve the Lord.
- "And continue to help them." This surely speaks of faithfulness and steadfastness in our service. Our goal, as much as we are able, is to continue helping God's people whether it is those we have personally met or the many who know us only through this internet ministry. But there's another sense that we "continue to help" God's people even after our death. We do so through our spiritual descendants, those whose lives we have impacted who in turn impact others even after our departure. That is a tremendous source of joy and fulfillment! 2 Timothy 2:2 expresses this principle: "And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others." In this sense our ministry impact continues long after we have left our earthly dwelling.
One of
the emotional struggles common to those in ministry
is that of discouragement. We may not see the
results we would like. In fact at times we may see
little or no evidence that our labor in the Lord is
making any difference. This is true whether we are
in vocational ministry or serving the Lord in
various ways in a lay capacity. Sometimes God calls
ministers to places where there is little or no
receptivity to the gospel message. Other times we
see people who once professed Christ as their
Savior, walk away from the Christian lifestyle,
denying the power of God in their lives.
But
you are showing your love for Him in a variety of
ways as you help His people. That’s the very heart
of ministry. Some of you are in vocational ministry,
others are faithfully serving as dedicated lay
people. Anyone involved in ministry knows that one
of Satan’s most vicious and persistent attacks upon
the servants of Christ is discouragement. That’s why
I value the opportunity to encourage our readers on
a daily, ongoing basis! Remember, "Your
labor in the Lord is not in vain."
Be
encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father, our hearts are warmed and
encouraged when we remember that our labor for You
is not in vain. You see our hearts and equip us to
carry out the mission of helping Your people. We
don’t want to look to others for affirmation since
that could lead us to vacillate in our calling or
even struggle with pride. Instead You bless us as we
are faithful to You and remain steadfast in our
commitment to help others. May we not rely on just
the immediate results, but rather recognize that You
are storing up treasures from our work here on
earth, some that will only be revealed in heaven.
Amen.
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father, our hearts are warmed and
encouraged when we remember that our labor for You
is not in vain. You see our hearts and equip us to
carry out the mission of helping Your people. We
don’t want to look to others for affirmation since
that could lead us to vacillate in our calling or
even struggle with pride. Instead You bless us as we
are faithful to You and remain steadfast in our
commitment to help others. May we not rely on just
the immediate results, but rather recognize that You
are storing up treasures from our work here on
earth, some that will only be revealed in heaven.
Amen."Worth
It All"
Video
The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir
"It's
Gonna be Worth It"
Video
Rita Springer
"Build
My Life" Video
Housefires
"Little Is Much When God Is In It" Video Larry Ford with Homecoming Singers
"I'd Rather Have Jesus" Video Dallas Holm
"Little Is Much When God Is In It" Video Larry Ford with Homecoming Singers
"I'd Rather Have Jesus" Video Dallas Holm
Some photos from our 1991 missions
trip to Fusagasugá, Colombia
We so enjoyed the children who
seemed to like being around us.
Some of our team with two of the nationals.
I have to admit, all these years later I'm still pretty proud of this hole I dug!
Some of our team with two of the nationals.
I have to admit, all these years later I'm still pretty proud of this hole I dug!
Reading Scripture before preaching while Missionary Myrna Wilkins translates.
I still recall the way the people earnestly and enthusiastically entered into worship.
Finally today:
Yesterday's
message on "The Abundance Of Grace"
prompted this thoughtful response from Jim
Gambini, who was our pastor the first
several years we lived in Lancaster
County. He and his wife Wendy now live in
Georgia.
Hello Webers!!
Greetings from some of your "southern
brethren."
Just a thought on grace - although I have tons of thoughts about grace since I find it so valuable on which to ponder and meditate.
In Ephesians we're told that the forgiveness God has granted us "in accord with the riches of His grace that He lavished upon us." The word "lavish" is intended to bring up images of our being granted something really, really good and in such abundance so as to seem far more than we really need. The image that comes to my mind is of a 55 gallon drum full of grace. God dumps this on us and we're drenched in this grace. But then God fills it again (or has another one handy) and dumps that on us again... and again and again... You get the idea. We're saying, "OK, God, that's plenty, really. Thanks, but i think that'll be enough." And God says, "Not yet. I want to give you more."
I have often thought of the woman who anointed Jesus with her expensive perfume. She really could have used something much cheaper but we're told that she used some really expensive stuff. What she did was quite lavish.
I ponder these images and think on the grace God pours out on us. God's grace, as lavish as the expensive perfume that woman used on Jesus, was not too much. That woman did not waste one drop of that perfume on Jesus. It was lavish but it was just right. God's grace is lavish and he lavishes it on us - but it's never wasteful. God lavishes his grace on us because we need it. And the reason we need it is because our sin is so heinous, so deep, so tragic. It takes a lavish amount of grace for us to be forgiven, for us to be healed from our sin. We can dance and celebrate the lavish gift but must never presume upon it or take it for granted. Grace is precious stuff.
Well, that's enough of my sermon. Like I said, grace is one of my favorite meditations. Maybe because I need it so much.
Hello Webers!!
Greetings from some of your "southern
brethren."Just a thought on grace - although I have tons of thoughts about grace since I find it so valuable on which to ponder and meditate.
In Ephesians we're told that the forgiveness God has granted us "in accord with the riches of His grace that He lavished upon us." The word "lavish" is intended to bring up images of our being granted something really, really good and in such abundance so as to seem far more than we really need. The image that comes to my mind is of a 55 gallon drum full of grace. God dumps this on us and we're drenched in this grace. But then God fills it again (or has another one handy) and dumps that on us again... and again and again... You get the idea. We're saying, "OK, God, that's plenty, really. Thanks, but i think that'll be enough." And God says, "Not yet. I want to give you more."
I have often thought of the woman who anointed Jesus with her expensive perfume. She really could have used something much cheaper but we're told that she used some really expensive stuff. What she did was quite lavish.
I ponder these images and think on the grace God pours out on us. God's grace, as lavish as the expensive perfume that woman used on Jesus, was not too much. That woman did not waste one drop of that perfume on Jesus. It was lavish but it was just right. God's grace is lavish and he lavishes it on us - but it's never wasteful. God lavishes his grace on us because we need it. And the reason we need it is because our sin is so heinous, so deep, so tragic. It takes a lavish amount of grace for us to be forgiven, for us to be healed from our sin. We can dance and celebrate the lavish gift but must never presume upon it or take it for granted. Grace is precious stuff.
Well, that's enough of my sermon. Like I said, grace is one of my favorite meditations. Maybe because I need it so much.
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
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