A
daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and
exhortation.
Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne
Monday,
November 30,
2020
Chickies Rock
along the Susquehanna River at Sunset.
Click on
photo to enlarge
"A
Consideration Of Standing Firm"
Message summary: A great impetus for standing firm: "Focus on the coming celebration, not the current chaos".
Listen
to this message on your audio player."If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all” (Isaiah 7:9). "You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near" (James 5:8).
Have
you ever fallen? Of course you have! You did so a
lot when you were learning to walk. Just ask your
parents. We’ve all fallen a few times after being
fully grown and how embarrassing that is!
But falling becomes a greater danger as we age,
causing us to worry less about embarrassment and
more about physical damage. Last December we were in
Wellsboro PA for the "Dickens of a Christmas"
festival when I (Stephen) tripped on an upraised
sidewalk and fell very hard. (We visited Wellsboro
in August and took the photo of the spot, seen to
the right.) It really messed my knees up, taking
several months to recover.
Brooksyne had the same type of experience a couple years earlier as we were preparing to visit one of our companies, though hers left less damage. It's one thing to hear about another's pain, but it heightens one's sensitivity to have the same experience. My mother had a hard fall in her late seventies resulting in a brain injury which impaired her the rest of her life. Some of our readers can relate to her experience through a loved one's fall resulting in lifetime consequences or perhaps you have a similar story of your own.
Some of us will remember the low budget, rather cheesy TV ad, from the eighties with the elderly person calling out the memorable line, "I’ve fallen and I can’t get up". It became a catch phrase for many years and was used jokingly in many settings, most especially among the young (which was "us" at the time).
Today let us consider a spiritual fall and the Scriptural call to "stand firm".
Several days ago Brooksyne was reading her Bible and read aloud a verse I had never (to from my recollection) considered from the context in which she read. Isaiah 7 has a well-known verse concerning the virgin birth of Christ, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14). But several verses before that we have our first daily text, "If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all” (Isaiah 7:9). This sounds a lot like a teaching from Jesus in the Gospels. It also calls to mind the catchy but all too true quote credited to Alexander Hamilton, "Those who stand for nothing fall for anything".
The verse prompted me to do a study of "standing firm" through the Bible. The first reference* to the phrase is at the time of the Exodus when Moses said to the people on the banks of the Red Sea, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again" (Exodus 14:13).
But falling becomes a greater danger as we age,
causing us to worry less about embarrassment and
more about physical damage. Last December we were in
Wellsboro PA for the "Dickens of a Christmas"
festival when I (Stephen) tripped on an upraised
sidewalk and fell very hard. (We visited Wellsboro
in August and took the photo of the spot, seen to
the right.) It really messed my knees up, taking
several months to recover.Brooksyne had the same type of experience a couple years earlier as we were preparing to visit one of our companies, though hers left less damage. It's one thing to hear about another's pain, but it heightens one's sensitivity to have the same experience. My mother had a hard fall in her late seventies resulting in a brain injury which impaired her the rest of her life. Some of our readers can relate to her experience through a loved one's fall resulting in lifetime consequences or perhaps you have a similar story of your own.
Some of us will remember the low budget, rather cheesy TV ad, from the eighties with the elderly person calling out the memorable line, "I’ve fallen and I can’t get up". It became a catch phrase for many years and was used jokingly in many settings, most especially among the young (which was "us" at the time).
Today let us consider a spiritual fall and the Scriptural call to "stand firm".
Several days ago Brooksyne was reading her Bible and read aloud a verse I had never (to from my recollection) considered from the context in which she read. Isaiah 7 has a well-known verse concerning the virgin birth of Christ, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14). But several verses before that we have our first daily text, "If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all” (Isaiah 7:9). This sounds a lot like a teaching from Jesus in the Gospels. It also calls to mind the catchy but all too true quote credited to Alexander Hamilton, "Those who stand for nothing fall for anything".
The verse prompted me to do a study of "standing firm" through the Bible. The first reference* to the phrase is at the time of the Exodus when Moses said to the people on the banks of the Red Sea, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again" (Exodus 14:13).
In
yesterday's message our guest speaker, John Soden, a
Lancaster Bible College professor quoted from
Philippians 4:1, "Therefore, my brothers, whom I
love and long for, my joy and crown, stand
firm thus in the Lord, my beloved."My life verse, states "Therefore, my dear brethren, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain" (1 Corinthians 15:58).
In Mark's gospel Jesus shares this promise, "but he who stands firm to the end will be saved" (Mark 13:13). Let us today determine again that we will stand firm till the end!
The apostle James gives good truth for any generation of believers. "Be patient and stand firm". That's needed today with all the chaos going on. The promise of the return of Christ is real. Our place now is to be patient and stand firm.
Concluding his sermon yesterday Professor Soden shared the simple truth we use in our lead photo today which provides a great impetus for standing firm:
"Focus
on the coming celebration, not the current
chaos"
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
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
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father, I want
to be quick to make eternity-judgments instead of
time-judgments. By faith help me to rise above the
tug of earth and the flow of time, learning to think
and feel as one who has already left this corrupt
world and gone to join the innumerable company of
angels and Church of the First-born in Your
incorruptible heaven. With such thinking I would be
more useful than famous and would rather serve than
be served. You set eternity in the human heart
enabling me to set my affections on heaven
preventing me from falling from grace and standing
firm for righteousness. It's all because of God's
marvelous grace through the sacrifice of His beloved
Son, Jesus. Amen.Portion of prayer inspired by A.W. Tozer's sermon - "Standing for God in These Evil Times"
*
Of course the phrase "stand firm" is
translated slightly differently in various
Bible versions and in this study I also uses
variations such as stands firm and standing
firm.
"There Is A King" Video Calvary Church worship team
"Stand Firm" Video Calvary Chapel Chattanooga
"Firm Foundation" Video Selah
"Rejoice in the Lord" Message by John Soden from Calvary Church service yesterday Video cued to start of message. This also includes a powerful dramatic presentation by "Piercing Word" a local group of committed believers who memorize word for word the Bible and present it in a theatrical format. The sermon series for the past 8 weeks has covered the book of Philippians at Calvary Church. Yesterday's sermon was an overview and Piercing Word presented all four chapters of Philippians (ESV).
“I’ve fallen and I can’t get up." "Life call" commercial from 1987
"There Is A King" Video Calvary Church worship team
"Stand Firm" Video Calvary Chapel Chattanooga
"Firm Foundation" Video Selah
"Rejoice in the Lord" Message by John Soden from Calvary Church service yesterday Video cued to start of message. This also includes a powerful dramatic presentation by "Piercing Word" a local group of committed believers who memorize word for word the Bible and present it in a theatrical format. The sermon series for the past 8 weeks has covered the book of Philippians at Calvary Church. Yesterday's sermon was an overview and Piercing Word presented all four chapters of Philippians (ESV).
“I’ve fallen and I can’t get up." "Life call" commercial from 1987
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