A
daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and
exhortation.
Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne
Wednesday,
November 11,
2020
Lebanon County
farm in morning fog.
"A
Consideration Of Spiritual Veterans"
Message summary: Let us remember our leaders, the spiritual veterans of faith, who spoke the Word of God to us. Let us consider the outcome of their way of life and let us imitate their faith.
"Remember
your leaders, who spoke the Word of God to you.
Consider the outcome of their way of life and
imitate their faith" (Hebrews 13:7).
Today we commemorate Veteran's Day here in the United States, a day in which we properly remember military veterans and honor their service for our temporal freedoms. Many veterans read these messages, including several we know personally, and we have other readers who are in active service. We thank you for your sacrificial service. My dad, Eugene C. Weber, was a World War 2 veteran and trained as a pilot. Brooksyne’s father, Brooklyn Sherrell, served in the Army during the Korean War.
Veterans have been around as long as wars have been fought going back to the very first recorded war in the Bible in Genesis 14.
But today we focus this encouragement message on spiritual veterans, those who enlisted in service for the Lord on their day of salvation who have been in the good fight of faith for many years. Yesterday I spoke to Jim Smith, who I met about 15 years ago at a Roxbury campmeeting. He began his faith journey with the Lord in his mid-thirties after being an educated agnostic. He's in his eighties but still seeking to exert his influence on any who will listen. "To whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen to me? Their ears are closed so they cannot hear. The word of the LORD is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it" (Ezekiel 6:10).
Today we commemorate Veteran's Day here in the United States, a day in which we properly remember military veterans and honor their service for our temporal freedoms. Many veterans read these messages, including several we know personally, and we have other readers who are in active service. We thank you for your sacrificial service. My dad, Eugene C. Weber, was a World War 2 veteran and trained as a pilot. Brooksyne’s father, Brooklyn Sherrell, served in the Army during the Korean War.
Veterans have been around as long as wars have been fought going back to the very first recorded war in the Bible in Genesis 14.
But today we focus this encouragement message on spiritual veterans, those who enlisted in service for the Lord on their day of salvation who have been in the good fight of faith for many years. Yesterday I spoke to Jim Smith, who I met about 15 years ago at a Roxbury campmeeting. He began his faith journey with the Lord in his mid-thirties after being an educated agnostic. He's in his eighties but still seeking to exert his influence on any who will listen. "To whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen to me? Their ears are closed so they cannot hear. The word of the LORD is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it" (Ezekiel 6:10).
Many
spiritual veterans have fought the enemy valiantly
who have received their eternal reward and joined
with others in the great cloud of witnesses. And yet
there are those who remain on this side in their
senior years of life. They have faithfully served
God in their generation and, even as they endure the
pain and complications of aging, they faithfully
await the Master's call home and continue to serve
Him, offering their life's example, wisdom and
prayers to succeeding generations (see
Job 12:12),
including those who are increasingly uninterested.
Today's message is based on a passage in Hebrews 13. It does not specifically address veterans as we use the term today but has a very needed lesson. Let me try to squeeze some juice out of our daily verse and outline it in three parts:
Today, let us indeed remember our leaders, the spiritual veterans of faith, who spoke the Word of God to us. Let us consider the outcome of their way of life and let us imitate their faith.
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Today's message is based on a passage in Hebrews 13. It does not specifically address veterans as we use the term today but has a very needed lesson. Let me try to squeeze some juice out of our daily verse and outline it in three parts:
1)
"Remember your leaders, who spoke the Word of
God to you." Without a doubt the Apostle is
referring to spiritual leaders. Certainly not
political leaders! He's writing of those "who
spoke the Word of God to you". Among all the
qualities we may value in our spiritual leaders:
administrative skills, compassionate care, vision
casting and so forth, the writer of Hebrews
singularly highlights the spiritual leader’s major
duty as one, "who spoke the Word of God to
you". This is consistent with Paul's
challenge to Timothy, "Preach the Word" (2
Timothy 4:2).
What a blessing to honor those who have been faithful in preaching the Word of God which enables us to understand and assimilate Scriptural teaching into our lives. Each day we receive a brief spiritual challenge from Richard Dresselhaus who in his eighties and long "retired" continues to speak the Word of God through his blog, "One For The Road".
What a blessing to honor those who have been faithful in preaching the Word of God which enables us to understand and assimilate Scriptural teaching into our lives. Each day we receive a brief spiritual challenge from Richard Dresselhaus who in his eighties and long "retired" continues to speak the Word of God through his blog, "One For The Road".
Hopefully,
for most the face and name of a pastor(s) comes
readily to mind when you recall a spiritual leader
who spoke the Word of God to you. We consider our
now retired former Pastor John Keefer, our present
Pastor Beau Eckert and many others. But the
application surely also applies to a godly parent
or another close relative, a Sunday School teacher
or other church leader. For some it will be a camp
counselor, a youth leader or another individual
along life's journey who has impacted your life
for Christ.
2) "Consider the outcome of their way of life." The Amplified Bible elaborates here that we are to, "Observe attentively and consider their manner of living". I am so thankful for those whose lives I have personally observed as I witnessed the transforming change Christ makes over the course of one's life. In some cases we observe the outcome in the sense of those who now reside in heaven after a life of faithful service to the Lord. In other cases they are still living on this side and we can consider the present outcome of their way of life as they demonstrate a steady, mature and disciplined life. The leaders whom our text refers to were real people who were known personally by those whom they served. Now especially we are hearing about the "virtual church" but we must always seek to be a part of the real local church.
3) Finally we are called to "imitate their faith." The word for "imitate" is a Greek word from which we get "mimic". For those of us in spiritual leadership this is an awesome call and ongoing responsibility. In his pastoral epistles Paul addressed this. To Timothy: "Set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity" (1 Timothy 4:12). To Titus: "In all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us" (Titus 2:7,8).
2) "Consider the outcome of their way of life." The Amplified Bible elaborates here that we are to, "Observe attentively and consider their manner of living". I am so thankful for those whose lives I have personally observed as I witnessed the transforming change Christ makes over the course of one's life. In some cases we observe the outcome in the sense of those who now reside in heaven after a life of faithful service to the Lord. In other cases they are still living on this side and we can consider the present outcome of their way of life as they demonstrate a steady, mature and disciplined life. The leaders whom our text refers to were real people who were known personally by those whom they served. Now especially we are hearing about the "virtual church" but we must always seek to be a part of the real local church.
3) Finally we are called to "imitate their faith." The word for "imitate" is a Greek word from which we get "mimic". For those of us in spiritual leadership this is an awesome call and ongoing responsibility. In his pastoral epistles Paul addressed this. To Timothy: "Set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity" (1 Timothy 4:12). To Titus: "In all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us" (Titus 2:7,8).
Today, let us indeed remember our leaders, the spiritual veterans of faith, who spoke the Word of God to us. Let us consider the outcome of their way of life and let us imitate their faith.
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father, we are
grateful for the men and women who are willing to
lay down their lives to protect our freedoms here in
the United States. We are indebted to them for their
daily sacrifice and we pray for their safekeeping,
including godly chaplains who serve as spiritual
leaders among them. We also consider our many
spiritual warriors who have taken on added
responsibility and assumed difficult duties leading
us, as believers, to victory in this war against sin
and strife, as we steadily march in the army of the
Lord. Bless these who have poured themselves into
our lives and set for us an example to follow; in
their conversation, their lifestyle, their faith,
their doctrine and in their purity. We honor and
bless the previous generations who passed onto us
the Living Water and Bread of Life. We now extend
the same message to our present generation, for with
our mouths we make known Your faithfulness to all
generations. Amen."Soldier
Fighting to Go Home" Video
Ernie Haase & Signature Sound
"There
is A King" Video Church of
the Highlands We first heard this song
last Sunday and continue to be blessed by
the powerful lyrics.
It
won't be long, we will behold him
And every tear He'll wipe away
We'll be at home, the war will be over
Soon we will meet our Savior face to face
And every burden will be lifted in His presence
Every trophy will be laid down at His feet
There is a name that reigns above all others
Jesus Christ, the king above all kings
And every tear He'll wipe away
We'll be at home, the war will be over
Soon we will meet our Savior face to face
And every burden will be lifted in His presence
Every trophy will be laid down at His feet
There is a name that reigns above all others
Jesus Christ, the king above all kings
The
beautiful weather in our area continues with
some nice foliage in Lebanon County early
yesterday morning as we headed to our first
chaplain visit.
Lebanon
County farm pond
Tulpehocken Manor Plantation
is an historic property near Myerstown, PA.
The
horses are made of concrete!
Lebanon
Balogna - We were in the heart of
Pennsylvania Dutch country and ate breakfast
at the Dutchway Farm Market in Myerstown. This
matronly Dutch woman is slicing up Lebanon
Bologna which was developed by the
Pennsylvania Dutch of Lebanon County prior to
the 1780s and was a common item by the early
1800s, reflecting the slow-cured and smoked
sausage traditions of Western Europe. Still
produced primarily in Lebanon, it is found in
markets throughout the United States and
typically served as a cold cut or appetizer.
In addition to the original recipe, a sweet
version is made, which is our family's
preference.
Finally
today:
Last
week we posted a photo of sheep our friend
Phil Huber saw during his hunting trip in
Colorado. Yesterday he shared this video of the sheep.
This is one site you will never see in
Pennsylvania!
Send a message to
Stephen & Brooksyne
To receive the
"Daily Encouragement" each Monday-Friday
through email see this
page to subscribe to our email list. You can also
subscribe to the Wordpress rss feed or
through a Wordpress email subscription.
(See the email subscription on the right side
after opening this page)
We want to thank all who
financially support our ministry. We
realize there are many fine ministries and
causes requesting support but if the Lord
would lead you we surely need and appreciate
the financial support from our readers and
listeners. Our ministry
labor is comprised of approximately half our
time to Daily Encouragement and the other half
to our chaplaincy ministry to companies for
which we receive compensation. Each of these
ministries essentially is the same as a
part-time job (20+ hours weekly) for each of
us. Our goal for many years is that each would
provide half of our ministry expenses and
income.
If you would consider making a donation to our ministry see here for more information.
To donate directly online here. This will open to a page that designates the offering to: WEBER,STEPHEN CHAP, Specialized Chaplaincy Ministry ID: 700001-237376
If you would consider making a donation to our ministry see here for more information.
To donate directly online here. This will open to a page that designates the offering to: WEBER,STEPHEN CHAP, Specialized Chaplaincy Ministry ID: 700001-237376
Please Note:
We also provide this easy option due to
the convenience, for international
supporters, and for those who may not be
concerned regarding receiving an official
tax deductible receipt.
Click
here to send an offering using
PayPal. This will open to a page that
states "Brooksyne Weber".Permissions:
Please feel free to pass on, reproduce and
distribute any material on Daily Encouragement
Net, in part or in whole, in any format,
provided that you do not alter the wording in
any way or charge a fee beyond the cost of
reproduction. It is our desire to spread this
material, not protect or restrict it. We do
request that you keep the contact, copyright and subscription
information intact.
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."
© Copyright 2020 Stephen C. & Brooksyne
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