A
daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and
exhortation.
Tuesday,
June 1,
2021
Joe Sherer, a longtime pastor friend who now
lives in Willow Street, PA, sent this photo he took of a
bluebird in his backyard bluebird box. That's a hard
picture to get!
"On
This Day"
Listen
to this message on your audio player.
“This is the day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm (118:24). “But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them” (Acts 16:25).
“This is the day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm (118:24). “But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them” (Acts 16:25).
We
enjoy reading books and blogs that tells of certain
events that took place on a particular day. It's
statistically likely that a few of you reading this
message have a birthday today. If so, Happy Birthday! It
indeed is a very significant day in your life.Robert J.
Morgan has one such book titled, "On This Day" and tells
the story of an event that took place on this day (June
1) in 1661.
James
Guthrie was a preacher of the gospel who lived in the
1600's in the Scottish town of Stirling. He was accused
of disloyalty, for he had preached that Christ, not the
Scottish king, should rule the church. Given the
opportunity to recant Guthrie refused, thus he was
sentenced to be hanged.
The day of
his execution was set for June 1,
1661, a mere 360 years ago.*1 That morning Guthrie rose about 4:00 A.M. for
worship. When asked how he was, he replied, “Very well.
This is the day that the Lord hath made; let us rejoice
and be glad in it.” What remarkable peace and
assurance filled the spirit of James Guthrie that he
could rejoice like this on his day of execution!
Later that
day from the scaffold he preached his last sermon. "I do
believe that Jesus Christ came into the world to save
sinners of whom I am the chief, through faith in His
righteousness and blood, have I obtained mercy, and in
Him and through Him alone have I the hope of a blessed
conquest and victory over sin and Satan, and hell and
death, and that I shall attain unto the Resurrection of
the just and be made a partaker of eternal life; I know
whom I have believed, and He is able to keep that which
I have committed to him against that day." He urged his
listeners to seek Christ's free grace. *2
Many
believers have lived with the Psalmist’s perspective in
our first daily text, “This
is the day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice
and be glad in it”. In fact many of us
have sung the words of this Psalm set to music. It’s a
great perspective to live by; to recognize that each day
is created by God. We
must volitionally make it our resolve to rejoice
and be glad, for whatever God has in store for
us each day, since this is the key to victory no
matter what the circumstance. It’s also a great
verse to memorize and quote to yourself and others. It’s
fresh and applicable each morning.
In Philippi Paul and Silas had their
robes torn off and were beaten with rods with many
blows, before being thrown into prison (see Acts
16:22-24). We can probably agree they were not having
what we would call a good day! "But about midnight
Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of
praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to
them" (Acts 16:25).We don’t know what hymns of praise Paul and Silas were singing in Acts 16 when they were imprisoned. It sure wasn’t most all of the hymns we sing since at that point they wouldn’t have been written. We think they would have enjoyed songs like “Blessed Assurance”, “What A Friend We Have In Jesus”, “It Is Well With My Soul”. An even more recently written song they might have enjoyed singing is "Ten Thousand Reasons" (Bless the Lord O My Soul).
However the Psalms were considered the hymnbook for the ancient Israelites and people during the Bible times. Who knows, it is certainly possible that Paul and Silas also found comfort and assurance in what we know as Psalm 118:24, "This is the day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it". And indeed let us!
Be
encouraged today, (Hebrews 3:13)
Stephen
& Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father, we
thank You for this day, the day which You have
made. Like the Psalmist, we look to You to
“bring us word of Your unfailing love, for we
have put our trust in You.” We expect good and
not harm from Your unfailing love, so we
struggle when the circumstances of our lives
would appear otherwise. As we mature in our
faith help us to weigh the experiences of our
life here on earth with the eternal outcome of
the many blessings You have waiting for us in
heaven. Help us to recognize that there is much
we endure on this side that serves as an example
to others such as the jailers and other
prisoners who looked on and listened when Paul
and Silas sang in prison. The fruit of the
spirit can be exemplified in believers who rise
each morning with the joyful proclamation, “This
is the day which the lord has made; let us
rejoice and be glad in it.” Amen.
*1 "A mere 360 years ago" in light of eternity!
Daily
prayer: Father, we
thank You for this day, the day which You have
made. Like the Psalmist, we look to You to
“bring us word of Your unfailing love, for we
have put our trust in You.” We expect good and
not harm from Your unfailing love, so we
struggle when the circumstances of our lives
would appear otherwise. As we mature in our
faith help us to weigh the experiences of our
life here on earth with the eternal outcome of
the many blessings You have waiting for us in
heaven. Help us to recognize that there is much
we endure on this side that serves as an example
to others such as the jailers and other
prisoners who looked on and listened when Paul
and Silas sang in prison. The fruit of the
spirit can be exemplified in believers who rise
each morning with the joyful proclamation, “This
is the day which the lord has made; let us
rejoice and be glad in it.” Amen.
See Psalms 118:25, 143:8
*1 "A mere 360 years ago" in light of eternity!
*2
from Christianity.com
More
on the story of Guthrie’s execution:
“James Guthrie’s five year old son was brought
to him. Taking the boy on his knee, he said,
‘William, the day will come when they will cast
up to you that your father was hanged. But be
not thou ashamed, Lad. It is in a good cause.’
Guthrie mounted the scaffold and preached for an hour to the assembled multitude. Then he was hanged, after which his head was hacked off and affixed on Netherbow Port. In coming months little William, sneaking away to steal glances at his father’s decaying head, would run home crying, ‘I’ve seen my father’s head! I’ve seen my father’s head!’ Its impact wasn’t lost, for William learned to lean on Christ, to spend time alone in prayer, and to excel in school. He might have become a powerful minister but for an early death from illness.
Rest of the story: Guthrie’s bleached skull looked down on the throngs of Netherbow Port for 27 years until a brave student climbed up, removed it, and buried it with reverence.”
Guthrie mounted the scaffold and preached for an hour to the assembled multitude. Then he was hanged, after which his head was hacked off and affixed on Netherbow Port. In coming months little William, sneaking away to steal glances at his father’s decaying head, would run home crying, ‘I’ve seen my father’s head! I’ve seen my father’s head!’ Its impact wasn’t lost, for William learned to lean on Christ, to spend time alone in prayer, and to excel in school. He might have become a powerful minister but for an early death from illness.
Rest of the story: Guthrie’s bleached skull looked down on the throngs of Netherbow Port for 27 years until a brave student climbed up, removed it, and buried it with reverence.”
Today's
Suggested Music and Supplemental
Resources
"This
is the Day"
Video
Maranatha This
is the tune we sang for many years.
"This
Is The Day"
Video
Phil Wickham
"Blessed
Assurance" Video Jeremy
Riddle
"Ten
Thousand Reasons" Video Selah
"Battle
Belongs" Video Phil Wickham
This is a song we have really been enjoying
the last several months as we have been
singing it in our church. It would have been
a good one for Paul and Silas or James
Guthrie for that matter.
When
all I see is the battle
You see my victory
When all I see is the mountain
You see a mountain moved
And as I walk through the shadow
Your love surrounds me
There’s nothing to fear now
For I am safe with You
So when I fight I’ll fight on my knees
With my hands lifted high
Oh God the battle belongs to You
And every fear I lay at Your feet
I’ll sing through the night
Oh God the battle belongs to You
You see my victory
When all I see is the mountain
You see a mountain moved
And as I walk through the shadow
Your love surrounds me
There’s nothing to fear now
For I am safe with You
So when I fight I’ll fight on my knees
With my hands lifted high
Oh God the battle belongs to You
And every fear I lay at Your feet
I’ll sing through the night
Oh God the battle belongs to You
Finally
today: We had a
new addition for our Memorial Day cookout
yesterday.
We
just built a Gazebo on our back deck and are
very pleased with the outcome since we enjoy
dining outside a lot during the nice
weather. The instructions claimed it would
require 4 people to assemble but we managed
to get it up with a little help from Ester,
though mostly just the two of us over a span
of three days (rain was sometimes the
hindrance).
Here's
a view from our front yard.
Whoever
named it Gazebo should get a prize.
It's
real nice in the evening!
I
have an Alexa Dot mounted on the ceiling and
can play music or listen to podcasts which
adds nicely to the ambience.
Send
a message to Stephen
& Brooksyne
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Weber".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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