A
daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and
exhortation.
Friday,
April 16,
2021
"The Foundation That Will Stand!"
"The Firm Foundation of Biblical Authority"
This is our
second message concerning "Foundations
That Will Stand!" The
spiritually discerning are aware of the sinking sands
all around us but we thank God for the foundation of
God's Word that will stand forever!
Message summary: "The word of our God stands forever" (Isaiah 40:8).
Podcast not prepared for this message.
"The grass withers, the
flower fades. But the word of our God stands
forever" (Isaiah 40:8). "All Scripture is
God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking,
correcting and training in righteousness, so that
the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every
good work" (2 Timothy 3:16,17).
How firm a foundation,
ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith
in His excellent Word!
We are traveling through New England and for us one of the most enjoyable aspects of travel is viewing the flowers, trees and structures along the way. Depending on the season, of course, you see various plants and trees in full bloom. Right now the beautiful magnolias, dogwoods, red buds and forsythias are in all their glory. We enjoy looking at the houses and building structures as well.
How firm a foundation,
ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith
in His excellent Word!
We are traveling through New England and for us one of the most enjoyable aspects of travel is viewing the flowers, trees and structures along the way. Depending on the season, of course, you see various plants and trees in full bloom. Right now the beautiful magnolias, dogwoods, red buds and forsythias are in all their glory. We enjoy looking at the houses and building structures as well.
But
everything on earth has a "shelf life" and already
much of the attractive foliage on the blooming trees
can easily be spotted in the yards or scattered on the
rooftops of people's homes. While the blooms are
attractive on the trees, their withering pedals appear
as clutter after falling to the ground. Many of the
structures we viewed in our travels are new and
innovative, but we also have seen a good number of
houses, barns, factories and businesses boarded up, in
the process of collapse, or already fallen to the
ground.
Yesterday we drove
by the Silver City Galleria, a super regional mall
built only 30 years ago. It was
a huge mall hosting 120 retail stores, 7 department
stores, a huge ten screen cinema, sit-down
restaurants, and on and on I could go. We shopped
there (mostly Brooksyne) for nearly eight years during
our pastoral role in Taunton. We often met up with
friends at the Food Court, and always enjoyed taking
Ester to see their ornate Christmas decorations that
lined the two level mall spread over 1,000,000 square
feet. It was THE PLACE TO GO at its peak of
popularity. When we were there it was in full bloom,
so to speak, but now it is withered and faded and is now being demolished, as though it never
existed. As we came upon this sad sight it nearly took
our breath away. (Enlarge the photo and see right
through the last remaining standing wall of the
Galleria.)"The grass withers, the flower fades. But the word of our God stands forever."
People,
vegetation, structures, and even memories disappear
and fade with time but God's Word is for all time. The
authority of the Bible refers to the belief that the
Bible is normative for the individual believer and
church in all speech, thought, and practice. In other
words, Scripture is the sole and final authority for
Christians in all matters of faith and practice. I
memorized this doctrinal statement concerning the
Scriptures early in my ministry, "The Scriptures, both
the Old and New Testaments, are verbally inspired of
God and are the revelation of God to man; the
infallible, authoritative rule of faith and conduct."An ancient scheme of Satan is undermining and discrediting the authority of God and His Word. The lack of absolutes in our postmodern world is a breeding ground for Satan to incessantly pose questions in place of truths explicitly taught in the Bible. The result of such "tinkering" brings about massive confusion from day to day, year to year, regarding what is right and what is wrong. It can also erode confidence in those who try to uphold traditional values and truths prescribed over the centuries through the authoritative Word of God.
Thank
God for the firm foundation we have in the Holy
Scriptures! "The
grass withers, the flower fades. But the word of our God
stands forever." His Word reflects the steadfast character of
God who does not change. Today as you read, study,
memorize and live out the teaching of the Scriptures,
rejoice in their surety, their authority, and their
absolute dependability.How
sure the Scriptures are!
God's vital, urgent Word,
as true as steel, and far
more sharp than any sword:
God's vital, urgent Word,
as true as steel, and far
more sharp than any sword:
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer: Father, help us to
fix our eyes on that which changes not. Your eternally
inspired truths are useful for teaching, reproof, and
training in righteousness. Their intent is to guide us
day by day on our earthly journey with daily
decisions, lifestyle, and choices as well as keeping
our hope and focus on that which can't be held with
our hands, seen with our eyes, or heard with our ears,
not down here in our mortal bodies. The Bible only
intensifies our longing with these words, "Eye hath not seen, nor
ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of
man, the things which God hath prepared for them
that love Him." In these
perilous days when so many do what they think is right
in their own eyes we want to walk according to what is
right in Your eyes according to Scripture that fades
not. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
The
spirit of lawlessness is growing rapidly in our age.
Here in America we are dealing with issues
practically unimaginable just a generation ago (or
for that matter, even several years ago!) These
issues signal a return to the turbulent Biblical
period of the Judges when the people became their
own authority and acted on their own opinions of
right and wrong. The writer portrays the spiritual
climate of that age with these words: "Everyone did what was
right in his own eyes" (Judges 21:25).
Ancient as that statement is, it could accurately
headline stories from our own local or national
newspaper today. Scripture memorization: The
second daily verse is a tremendous text concerning the
inspiration and authority of the Holy Scriptures.
During our nearly forty years of ministry many
children (now adults raising their own families) will
recall Brooksyne's knack for putting Scriptures to
music and teaching it to the kids as a memory aid. In
fact she taught II Timothy 3:16 & 17 "All
Scripture is God-breathed..." to the tune of the old
American folk song, "Crawdad Hole." (Some of you may
recall Andy Griffith singing that old southern tune
while strumming his guitar on his front porch.)
I heard
a message many years ago on "The Authority of the Word
of God" challenging followers of Christ to hold
steadfastly to the authority of God's Word amidst the
shifting, sinking sands of postmodern thinking. The
speaker shared a story illustrating his point of how
we need a fixed authority:
A man went by a clock store every morning on the way to work and always set his watch by the clock in the display window. The store owner noticed and one day asked him why he did this. The worker said, "My watch doesn't keep good time and I have the responsibility of setting the clock that blows the whistle at the factory where I work, so I want to make sure it's correct."
The store owner said, "That's interesting, my display clock doesn't keep good time either, so I set it each day by the whistle at the factory."
The point of the story is that you will end up with a chaotic mess or even run in circles if you have no fixed reference point of authority.
Today's
Suggested Music and Supplemental
Resources
"How
Firm A Foundation" Video
Michael Card
"How Firm A Foundation" Video Sovereign Grace Music
“In Christ Alone/The Solid Rock " Video Travis Cottrell
"Rock Of Ages" Video Antrim Mennonite Choir
"How Firm A Foundation" Video Sovereign Grace Music
“In Christ Alone/The Solid Rock " Video Travis Cottrell
"Rock Of Ages" Video Antrim Mennonite Choir
We traveled up to Massachusetts on
Wednesday to take my brother to a shop where
his RV roof was replaced and this morning we
are on Cape Cod. We had planned on biking
but it's a rainy day here!
We drove through Taunton where we
lived in the 90's and this basket shaped
forsythia caught Brooksyne's attention. It's
one of the first times we've seen a
forsythia trimmed in such a way.
New England has lots of rock walls
which add natural beauty to the scenery.
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Well hydrated Cranberry bog
Click to enlarge
Sadly
it appeared to be closed.
The eye catching colors of yellow,
green and white stood out to us in this
photo.
A quintessential Cape Cod home
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& Brooksyne
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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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