A
daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and
exhortation.
Monday,
August 9,
2021
Yesterday we
attended an open house for a recently restored one room
schoolhouse north of Mount Joy. The Lincoln School was
built in 1884 as a one-room school and was used until
1952. After numerous usages the church next door recently
restored the building, landscaped the entrance way and
added an outdoor drinking fountain along with a bicycle
pump and repair stand to accommodate bicyclists who
frequent the highway next to the school (seen on the left
in photo).
"Open
House In Heaven"
"Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matthew 11:28). “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived the things God has prepared for those who love Him" (1 Corinthians 2:9). "We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8).
This morning we will be attending an Open
House at Audrey's, a wholesale distributor of gift and
home decor items where we serve as chaplains. Their
warehouse is located out in the Lebanon County
countryside in a beautiful rural setting. (see here on Google map). Today many
wholesale shoppers will converge on what will
undoubtedly be the busiest usage that rural country road
gets annually!
An open house is a day when members of the public are invited to visit a place or institution, especially one to which they do not normally have access.
Yesterday
following our church service I visited for a few minutes
with Chris, a longtime friend I met at CBMC who is a
realtor. An open house is frequently associated with
real estate. We've been to these types of open houses
which is an interesting strategy by realtors attempting
to sell a home. The potential buyer can get an idea
whether this is the type of place they would like to
live. Typically in an open house the homeowner and
realtor attempt to set an ambience perhaps using soft
music, fragrant candles and so forth to enhance the
desirability of the property.
Today let us imagine two different kinds of "open houses".
An open house is a day when members of the public are invited to visit a place or institution, especially one to which they do not normally have access.
Yesterday
following our church service I visited for a few minutes
with Chris, a longtime friend I met at CBMC who is a
realtor. An open house is frequently associated with
real estate. We've been to these types of open houses
which is an interesting strategy by realtors attempting
to sell a home. The potential buyer can get an idea
whether this is the type of place they would like to
live. Typically in an open house the homeowner and
realtor attempt to set an ambience perhaps using soft
music, fragrant candles and so forth to enhance the
desirability of the property. Today let us imagine two different kinds of "open houses".
What if there was an open house in heaven?
You could visit for an hour or so and see if this is the
kind of place where you would like to spend eternity.
Let's imagine an angelic realtor walking you through and
showing you the benefits of living for God and having
this place as your eternal residence. The biggest
challenge being that the guests just wanted to abandon
their current living quarters and move in immediately!
Or, what if there was an open house in
hell? A minion of Satan would serve as realtor
and... well I really don't even want to imagine how his
pitch would go! The guests complain about the heat and
the burning sulfur smell and want to get out as soon as
possible and never return.
Furthermore imagine if guests had the
opportunity to go to both open houses and then make the
choice?
Well, of course I am just imagining. That's
not the way God has worked it out. From the beginning
His plan for our eternal destination is in direct
correlation to our faith in Christ. Will we believe what
God and His Word says?
God's call to the fallen human race is to
come into His house of faith and forgiveness. As we
often hear, "Whosoever will may come". Puritan writer
Thomas Watson wrote, "God keeps open house for hungry
sinners."
God's ongoing cry to the unbelieving world is "Come to Jesus!" This is our plea for family, friends, neighbors, fellow workers and it's the missions call to the entire human race.
The Lord continues to work through His church as He invites the world to "come" to His open house. His compassionate call is extended to everyone, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest". Elsewhere the call is expressed, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink" (John 7:37). Yet it is obvious that many, as Christ somberly acknowledged, "refuse to come to Me to have life".
As a minister of the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ I extend the call to you, "Come to Jesus". I know most of our readers have accepted Christ's invitation, but still we encourage you to examine your own heart in this matter.
For anyone reading this message who has never come to Jesus, He is speaking to your heart even now. Do not resist the Holy Spirit, rather accept God's saving grace and start believing in the One who invites us to drink from the living water so that we never thirst again.
God's ongoing cry to the unbelieving world is "Come to Jesus!" This is our plea for family, friends, neighbors, fellow workers and it's the missions call to the entire human race.
The Lord continues to work through His church as He invites the world to "come" to His open house. His compassionate call is extended to everyone, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest". Elsewhere the call is expressed, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink" (John 7:37). Yet it is obvious that many, as Christ somberly acknowledged, "refuse to come to Me to have life".
As a minister of the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ I extend the call to you, "Come to Jesus". I know most of our readers have accepted Christ's invitation, but still we encourage you to examine your own heart in this matter.
For anyone reading this message who has never come to Jesus, He is speaking to your heart even now. Do not resist the Holy Spirit, rather accept God's saving grace and start believing in the One who invites us to drink from the living water so that we never thirst again.
Be encouraged today, (Hebrews 3:13)
Stephen
& Brooksyne Weber
Today
we share what is often called the sinner's
prayer: Jesus, I confess that I am a
sinner and have not lived my life for You. I
am among those who have refused to accept
Your invitation to have new life. I now want
to turn away from darkness as I desire Your
forgiveness so I come to You who gives life
everlasting. I accept You as my personal
Savior who died on the cross for me. Please
forgive all my sins, especially for
rejecting You time after time when Your
Spirit was drawing me to Yourself. I
do believe You are the Son of God and that
You love me so much You are not willing that
I should perish. I want to live for You and
grow in my new spiritual life. Help me to
know the purpose and meaning for my life as
laid out in Scripture. Give me understanding
and growth as I devote myself to reading the
Bible, daily prayer, and fellowship with
other Christian believers.
Today
we share what is often called the sinner's
prayer: Jesus, I confess that I am a
sinner and have not lived my life for You. I
am among those who have refused to accept
Your invitation to have new life. I now want
to turn away from darkness as I desire Your
forgiveness so I come to You who gives life
everlasting. I accept You as my personal
Savior who died on the cross for me. Please
forgive all my sins, especially for
rejecting You time after time when Your
Spirit was drawing me to Yourself. I
do believe You are the Son of God and that
You love me so much You are not willing that
I should perish. I want to live for You and
grow in my new spiritual life. Help me to
know the purpose and meaning for my life as
laid out in Scripture. Give me understanding
and growth as I devote myself to reading the
Bible, daily prayer, and fellowship with
other Christian believers.Today's
Suggested Music and Supplemental
Resources
"I Can Only Imagine" Video MercyMe
"I Can Only Imagine" Video MercyMe
Yesterday
we were especially blessed by a sermon from
Brad Mullen, a retired pastor, who shared a
perspective of life and aging based on
Ecclesiastes 12.
Returning
home from church yesterday we passed some
Amish traffic. When these youngsters get a
little older and bigger they will have
difficulty fitting on this bench!
Finally
today: We've
lived in the Lancaster County for 20 years
now and our eyes are still drawn to summer
kitchens that are especially common in
farm house settings. In February 2001 we
left New England and settled here by
renting a 100 year old farmhouse for a
year. The house included a summer kitchen
though it was in need of a lot of repair.
Little critters could get in since there
were holes in the foundational structure,
and that's how we got a surprise litter of
four kittens from a feral cat. We kept one
that Ester named Dottie and she lived with
us for over 17 years until her death. "What to Expect When You
Hear the Words Summer Kitchen".
We
were pulling into our driveway on Friday
when our garden flag really stood out
among the flowers. The sun shone in such
a way that the pumpkins seemed to be lit
up! It was early preview of the lit up
jack-o-lanterns that will soon appear as
fall is just around the corner!
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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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