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online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen
&
Brooksyne Weber
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Monday,
February 14,
2022
Ester took this photo of our house as we left
for church early yesterday morning. We had an overnight
snowfall that coated the trees but left the road surfaces,
driveways, and parking lots cleared. What a blessing for
pastors and church leadership that didn't have to consider
closing due to dangerous surfaces for driving or walking.
"A
Lesson From Mr. Wonderful"
Message summary: As we
face a circumstance in life the Holy Spirit can bring to
our remembrance a portion of the Word we have read and
provide an application to the very situation we are in.
“Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this” (2 Timothy 2:7).
Today is Valentine's Day when we
focus on romantic love. We are joining friends for lunch
at the Fox Meadow Creamery and then plan to saunter
through Lititz, one of Lancaster county's most
interesting small towns. (That is, if it's not too cold
for Brooksyne!)Lititz is
having a Fire and Ice Festival that begins later this
week so we hope to see some of the setting up. Either
way it's a beautiful small town to walk through. We'll
stop at the Wilbur Chocolate factory store and purchase
some Wilbur Buds, which are similar to but predate the
much more famous Hershey Kisses (made about 20 miles
away) by about 15 years. Locals would assert they are
far tastier than Hershey kisses!
Chocolates,
along with flowers, are among the most popular
Valentine's Day gifts.
But
my most memorable Valentine’s
Day gift was one that Brooksyne gave me about 15 years
ago, a talking doll named “Mr.
Wonderful” who is handsome with a full head of hair,
slender body and good posture. You can't miss his big
smile displaying both rows of his whitened teeth, his
big feet nor the red rose in his hand. When you press
his cloth hand he, in his distinguished debonair voice,
utters phrases like, “Thinking of you is the best part
of my whole day.” Or “You’re perfect JUST the way you
are; I wouldn’t change ONE
thing.” Well,
through the years we have sure gotten a kick out of Mr.
Wonderful but the humorous doll has on occasion also
brought some conviction!
One of my
(Stephen's) weaker points is patience. We were going out
and since I thought Brooksyne was ready to go I got in
the car and … waited and waited. I started to get
agitated, but then strangely enough the patient voice of
Mr. Wonderful's loving sayings suddenly came to my mind
and began repeating over and over, “Darling, take just
as long as you want to get ready, I don’t mind waiting
one bit.” I smiled to myself as I realized the Lord was
using a silly doll to bring needed conviction toward my
impatience. After I confessed to Brooksyne why I was
pleasant after my long wait, she had a good laugh and
thanked Mr. Wonderful!
Now, what spiritual truth am I going to get out of this story, you may wonder!
2 Timothy 2:7 states, “Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.” The apostle Paul urged Timothy to reflect on what he was saying. The sense of the word “reflect” is “to understand, to think over, to consider.” The Amplified Version states, "Think over these things I am saying [understand them and grasp their application]".
That’s why Scripture study and memorization are so important to the maturing Christian. As we face a circumstance in life the Holy Spirit can bring to our remembrance a portion of the Word we have read (just as I had recalled Mr. Wonderful’s perspective on patience) and provide an application to the very situation we are in.
Now, what spiritual truth am I going to get out of this story, you may wonder!
2 Timothy 2:7 states, “Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.” The apostle Paul urged Timothy to reflect on what he was saying. The sense of the word “reflect” is “to understand, to think over, to consider.” The Amplified Version states, "Think over these things I am saying [understand them and grasp their application]".
That’s why Scripture study and memorization are so important to the maturing Christian. As we face a circumstance in life the Holy Spirit can bring to our remembrance a portion of the Word we have read (just as I had recalled Mr. Wonderful’s perspective on patience) and provide an application to the very situation we are in.
Paul
continues, “For the Lord will give you insight into
all this". We may chuckle at how a silly “Mr.
Wonderful” doll can give a perspective on a life
situation, but oh the joy of experiencing the
transforming power, conviction and perspective of God’s
Word!
Be
encouraged today, (Hebrews 3:13)
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father,
I thank You for the insight given to us
through Your Holy Spirit that makes us wise
unto salvation and brings understanding to our
interpretation of Scripture. Keep us on the
right path so that we don't ignore the
promptings of the Holy Spirit but are careful
to reflect and ponder the truths that teach us
the right way to live. May we not shrug off
what You are saying to us or make excuses for
our delay in obeying Your commands, through
Christ we pray. Amen.We still have
Mr. Wonderful and amazingly he still works so
Brooksyne wrote down his thoughtful sayings this
morning for your edification and as an example
to our men:
- I don’t need sports to make me feel complete, just you by my side to love.
- This evening let’s just lie in bed and talk all night.
- Thinking of you is the best part of my whole day.
- You’re perfect just the way you are. I wouldn’t change one thing.
- How about a big kiss?
- This rose is for you.
- Darling, take just as long as you want to get ready. I don’t mind waiting one bit!
I
had shared an illustration using Mr. Wonderful
in a Sunday School call (or retreat, I can't
recall) and Mike, a thoughtful friend with a
sense of humor came up with some statements a
"Mrs. Wonderful" doll might say.
1. Dear, you go ahead and watch the game
while I clean up.
2. Darling, could I massage your feet?
3. Don't hurry back from the mountains—I know how much you enjoy being out in nature with the other guys.
4. Just leave the seat up in the bathroom so it will be more convenient for you.
5. I made your favorite dessert—have an extra piece.
6. The aroma of your socks blends well with the scent of my candles.
7. I subscribed to Field and Stream to stock your bathroom with high quality reading material.
8. You don't have to say a thing—I know what you mean.
9. You just nap for a few minutes until dinner is ready.
10. You must have had a hard day—let me get you the paper and your slippers.
11. It is such a privilege to submit to you, my darling husband.
12. I got up an hour early so that you would have plenty of time in the bathroom.
2. Darling, could I massage your feet?
3. Don't hurry back from the mountains—I know how much you enjoy being out in nature with the other guys.
4. Just leave the seat up in the bathroom so it will be more convenient for you.
5. I made your favorite dessert—have an extra piece.
6. The aroma of your socks blends well with the scent of my candles.
7. I subscribed to Field and Stream to stock your bathroom with high quality reading material.
8. You don't have to say a thing—I know what you mean.
9. You just nap for a few minutes until dinner is ready.
10. You must have had a hard day—let me get you the paper and your slippers.
11. It is such a privilege to submit to you, my darling husband.
12. I got up an hour early so that you would have plenty of time in the bathroom.
Today's
Suggested
Music and Supplemental Resources
Downtown
Lititz, PA Video
We awoke to a
beautiful snow landscape yesterday morning and
want to share several photos of our home
views. Tomorrow we will share several photos
of our neighborhood in our scenic ride to
church.
The view from
our front porch.
Our backyard
view.
On Friday we
shared how our Amish neighbor's barn here on
Kraybill Church Road had burnt down the
previous evening and showed photos of the
remarkable progress they had made of
rebuilding the barn by 11:00AM the very next
morning when we passed by. Brooksyne took this
photo Saturday afternoon when she dropped off
some food for the 30 or so Amish men working.
In the utility building next to the buggy were
three or four long tables where the meals were
being served to the workers. Two or three cars
were lined up in the driveway as neighbors and
friends brought in food supplies. The Amish do
not work on the Lord's Day so we'll try to
share a photo of the progress at the end of
today with tomorrow's message. It's a nice day
here but cold and I expect the outside work
will be finished!
Our local
Facebook page has had several commenting on
the barnraising with lots of photos. We
thought this was a good comment from Friday
morning:
With
all the stuff going on in the world, I know
I’ve become pretty jaded. I’m definitely not
impressed easily anymore but what I saw this
morning blew me away…
I stopped by an Amish farm down the road that had a barn fire late last evening. I know the family a little and just wanted to offer any assistance if needed. I turned down their lane and couldn’t believe the sight. Their community had turned out first thing in the morning and practically had the barn cleared already. I figured they would turn out but thought probably next week after they had a chance to get organized. I talked to the farmer and he was overwhelmed. He told me that people just shut down their businesses and showed up. He had no idea how they had organized so fast. There was already lumber on-site and the trusses were scheduled to arrive by noon today.
There were no “look at me” people there for the media. Just people there to help out a neighbor and friend. How refreshing! It’s something I don’t think I’ll ever forget.
I stopped by an Amish farm down the road that had a barn fire late last evening. I know the family a little and just wanted to offer any assistance if needed. I turned down their lane and couldn’t believe the sight. Their community had turned out first thing in the morning and practically had the barn cleared already. I figured they would turn out but thought probably next week after they had a chance to get organized. I talked to the farmer and he was overwhelmed. He told me that people just shut down their businesses and showed up. He had no idea how they had organized so fast. There was already lumber on-site and the trusses were scheduled to arrive by noon today.
There were no “look at me” people there for the media. Just people there to help out a neighbor and friend. How refreshing! It’s something I don’t think I’ll ever forget.
Yesterday
we were blessed to hear the children sing
and my, oh my, do they ever sing out!
Before the
church service yesterday I visited with Jim
and Fran, noticing their matching bright red
colors from across the auditorium. They are
high school sweethearts from Phoeniz AZ who
went to Moody Bible Institute together, served
for 51 years in missions work in Italy, and
have been married 64 years. Both are still
vibrant in their faith and Jim sings in the
choir which is how we first met Jim!
We joined Jim
and Dorothy Schmidt for lunch yesterday in
their apartment at Calvary Homes yesterday. We
have been friends for over 20 years since we
met them at a conference in Boston. They are
enduring some of the inevitable challenges of
aging but are keeping the faith in the midst
of it all! The blanket on the wall is a gift
from their grandchildren years ago where their
photos were woven directly into this cotton
blanket with tasseled edges, a perfect
opportunity for grandparents to proudly talk a
bit about their grandchildren and
great-grandchildren when visitors arrive.
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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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