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daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and
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Friday,
October
16,
2020
"Be
Still, My Soul"
"When
Faith Is Tested"
Message summary: May your faith arise so that you experience the present and future reward of remaining faithful in the midst of difficulty!
Listen
to this message on your audio player."Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10). "Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring" (2 Thessalonians 1:4).
We always enjoy hearing from any of our readers but especially find fulfillment when an international reader writes us. After all, many of our US readers and others from western countries live relatively similar to us. But we also hear from our fellow believers who live in places characterized by persecution, whose lives are vastly different than ours. Last week we wrote a message titled "A Vital Reminder" with a central theme that God does not forget our work and our labor in the Lord is never in vain.
We were heartened to receive an email from a reader in South Sudan expressing appreciation for the message.
"What a message for us to carry on! God is
not unjust. He will not forget our work. Yes, we
would rather have Jesus. For there is no greater
honour than to serve Jesus!" (see below for
entire email).
The
apostle Paul served a very brief time in
Thessalonica proclaiming the Gospel when he was
literally run out of town. The story is recorded in
Acts 17:1-10. However a church was indeed planted
and later Paul wrote two letters to this church (1
and 2 Thessalonians), which are now part of the New
Testament. This church, planted under such difficult
circumstances, needed some encouragement and
instruction from its founder.
In the book of Acts it's interesting that the Thessalonians are compared negatively to Bereans, the community that Paul visited after leaving Thessalonica. Luke, the historian writes, "Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians" (Acts 17:11). I wonder how the Thessalonian Chamber of Commerce liked this remark!
However we never hear Berea mentioned again in the Bible and of course Thessalonica is remembered. So much for first impressions!
In the daily text the Apostle Paul encourages these Thessalonian believers by informing them that he was boasting about their faith and perseverance among other churches, for they were enduring all kinds of persecutions and trials. "Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring." That must have really encouraged them to read this commendation from Paul.
One of our long-time favorite Bible teachers, Warren Wiersbe, wrote a simple but factual statement in a book we read long ago, "Faith that cannot be tested is faith that cannot be trusted". When going through times of testing it's a good challenge to ask ourselves or others, "Is your faith strong enough to be tested?" If we have to think hard and long about our answer we need to lean harder on Jesus, recall His attributes, and review the many times He has met us at a time when we didn't know what to do, say, or think, but God provided a way when there seemed to be none.
Many of you are enduring trials today. Some of you are enduring persecution like our fellow believers in South Sudan, Nigeria, India, much of the Middle East, China, North Korea, Malaysia and many other places. Our ministry places us in a position to observe human need in so many different places by so many different people for so many different reasons. This includes Daily Encouragement readers who write and share their burdens with us.
Today your faith may be under a test. "Be Still, My Soul", is an old hymn written by Katharina Amalia Dorothea von Schlegel born in 1697. The hymn was published in "A New Collection of Spiritual Songs" in 1752 and has long been a song of encouragement, trust and reminder that God wants us to be still as He shows Himself to be faithful. Written some 275 years ago the Faithful One continues to speak to God's people through this hymn. It will be a double blessing if you happen to know the tune and can hum or sing along. Read or sing it slowly and let your faith arise so that you experience the present and future reward of remaining faithful in the midst of difficulty!
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Today we
suggest this comforting hymn with the words slightly
modified to be recited or sung as a prayer:
In the book of Acts it's interesting that the Thessalonians are compared negatively to Bereans, the community that Paul visited after leaving Thessalonica. Luke, the historian writes, "Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians" (Acts 17:11). I wonder how the Thessalonian Chamber of Commerce liked this remark!
However we never hear Berea mentioned again in the Bible and of course Thessalonica is remembered. So much for first impressions!
In the daily text the Apostle Paul encourages these Thessalonian believers by informing them that he was boasting about their faith and perseverance among other churches, for they were enduring all kinds of persecutions and trials. "Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring." That must have really encouraged them to read this commendation from Paul.
One of our long-time favorite Bible teachers, Warren Wiersbe, wrote a simple but factual statement in a book we read long ago, "Faith that cannot be tested is faith that cannot be trusted". When going through times of testing it's a good challenge to ask ourselves or others, "Is your faith strong enough to be tested?" If we have to think hard and long about our answer we need to lean harder on Jesus, recall His attributes, and review the many times He has met us at a time when we didn't know what to do, say, or think, but God provided a way when there seemed to be none.
Many of you are enduring trials today. Some of you are enduring persecution like our fellow believers in South Sudan, Nigeria, India, much of the Middle East, China, North Korea, Malaysia and many other places. Our ministry places us in a position to observe human need in so many different places by so many different people for so many different reasons. This includes Daily Encouragement readers who write and share their burdens with us.
Today your faith may be under a test. "Be Still, My Soul", is an old hymn written by Katharina Amalia Dorothea von Schlegel born in 1697. The hymn was published in "A New Collection of Spiritual Songs" in 1752 and has long been a song of encouragement, trust and reminder that God wants us to be still as He shows Himself to be faithful. Written some 275 years ago the Faithful One continues to speak to God's people through this hymn. It will be a double blessing if you happen to know the tune and can hum or sing along. Read or sing it slowly and let your faith arise so that you experience the present and future reward of remaining faithful in the midst of difficulty!
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Today we
suggest this comforting hymn with the words slightly
modified to be recited or sung as a prayer:Be still, my soul; the Lord is on my side.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
Leave to my God to order and provide.
In every change He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul; my best, my heavenly Friend
Thro’ thorny ways leads to a joyful end.
Be still, my soul; my God doth undertake
To guide the future as He has the past.
My hope, my confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul; the waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.
Be still, my soul; the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul; when change and tears are past,
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
Leave to my God to order and provide.
In every change He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul; my best, my heavenly Friend
Thro’ thorny ways leads to a joyful end.
Be still, my soul; my God doth undertake
To guide the future as He has the past.
My hope, my confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul; the waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.
Be still, my soul; the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul; when change and tears are past,
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.
Letter
from South Sudan (by permission):
Dear Friends,
Warm Greetings from South Sudan!
Thanks for "A vital Reminder". It was
wonderful getting a glimpse of part of journey in
serving the Lord (in the shared pictures). The
entire message really blessed us greatly. From it
we have drawn more zeal and strength to carry on.
Ministry has its ups and downs and we all go
through them.
My husband and I are lawyers by
training. Moses and I met in the school of law
fellowship in Uganda(at Uganda Christian
University in 2006.) where we were both students
in the same academic year.
We later got married after law school.
We remained active in our local church in choir,
membership of different church committees, church
cleaning and preparation for service etc. We both
worked with Court of Appeal and later Supreme
Court (Jackline), as legal researchers in Uganda.
We were on a quick road of a successful legal
career. I later remained in Uganda as Moses went
to work with South Sudan Legislative Assembly. A
few years later, during our 2010 Christmas
holiday, Moses said God had called him/us to join
full time ministry, in particular to serve his
home country people in South Sudan. That's how we
ended up in full time ministry.
We both kept our jobs until 2016 civil
war in South Sudan that disbanded everything. We
were caught up by war with our two young children.
Barely 30 minutes after leaving our residence the
area was bombed. We took refuge in church.
We pulled out for some time and returned to
Uganda. When calm returned we started again. It
was a fertile ground to preach Christ since all
had been affected by war one way or the other. The
remnants needed hope and encouragement as many
lost life, property, and millions were displaced
both internally and others fled to other
countries. This led us to full time ministry.
There have been times when ministry gets
too tough and I have sometimes felt it would be
better to return to legal practice. But we have
encouraged ourselves in the Lord to carry on
knowing that we are called to serve God.
We meet our colleagues who wonder why we
abandoned legal work which has very high monetary
reward. Not to mention some members who will never
appreciate our humble efforts. But we can't look
back, because God called us to serve Him through
encouraging all manner of people and lead them to
His saving grace!
What a message for us to carry on! God
is not unjust. He will not forget our work. Yes,
we would rather have Jesus. For there is no
greater honour than to serve Jesus!
Lastly, we love what has been shared by
the brethren from the south on 'Grace'.
Blessings,
Jackline
& Moses
"Be
Still, My Soul"
Video Selah
"Be
Still, My Soul"
Video Traditional version
"Be
Still, My Soul"
Video Kari Jobe This
version includes a newer bridge (below)
that we sing in our church and it adds a
fresh dimension to this classic hymn.
In
You I rest
In
You I found my hope
In
You I trust
You
never let me go
I
place my life
Within
Your hands alone
Be
still, my soul
Oak leaves in all their fall array
Sunset
through the Oak tree
We
had a beautiful day for the dogs to play
outside. You can see that we sure enjoy our
pets and have really taken a liking to
frolicking Sadie who plays with all her
might and keeps up with her big "sister",
Mollie, though she is 8 years younger.
Ready
to play?
Mollie
will soon be ten but still plays like a
puppy!
(Ester
took all the above photos)
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