The
online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen
&
Brooksyne Weber
A
daily, Bible-based perspective of hope,
encouragement and exhortation.
Mobile users:
Visit Daily Encouragement on your mobile browser, hit "Add to
home screen" or "Add page shortcut." This creates an instant
Daily Encouragement App!
Search Daily Encouragement
A new message is
updated most weekdays usually by Noon Eastern Time (USA).
(Click refresh or reload for current message)
(Click refresh or reload for current message)
"How
Much More"
Message
summary: Praise God for
Jesus' comparative illustration that gives us boundless
hope for those requests dear to our hearts as we go to Him
in earnest prayer. The most important gift our Father
could ever give to us is the Holy Spirit, whom He promised
to give all believers after His death, resurrection and
His return to heaven as mentioned in John 15:26. Our
Father ever loves and cares for His own.
"Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!" (Luke 11:11-13). "For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!" (Romans 5:10).
This morning
Brooksyne went up to our neighbors to gather the eggs laid
overnight and afterwards prepared the freshest egg breakfast
we can possibly have (unless you somehow manage to catch the
egg as it's laid!). We have several neighbors on our rural
road who raise chickens for fresh eggs and Marvin, our
neighbor across the road even has a rooster, which offers us
an authentic old-time country sound in the early morning.Lancaster
County, in spite of being a metro area of over 550,000
people and far from the customary heartland of agriculture
in the Midwest, is one of the most prolific agricultural
producers in the country. Shortly after we moved here Noah
Kreider (now deceased), who ran a large egg producing
company (Kreider Farms), told me that farms in Lancaster
County produce 3 billion eggs a year. That's 89 eggs every
second! And many more have been added the last 20 years
that we have lived here. A recent article in our local
paper reported that Lancaster County farms together house
more than 20 million birds (egg layers and meat birds).
We have a
lot of associations with egg producers including our
friend long-time Galen and his son Daryl who operate a
large chicken house along with their able farm hand, Ken.
For many years we served as
chaplains at the Val-Co company,
one of the world's largest manufacturers of poultry
equipment. Then there's Jesse and Anna, our Amish friends
on the Old Windmill Farm who have supplied us with brown
eggs following a visit on their farm!
Fish and eggs have been a part of the human diet for thousands of years and in today's passage Jesus is illustrating the loving care of the heavenly Father by using an earthly father's nurturing concern in providing for the physical needs of his children.
Most
of us consider scorpions and snakes practically inedible
and that seemed to be the sentiment at the time Jesus
taught upon this earth. Scorpions and snakes were used in
this teaching in the sense as to what a father would not
give to his children. However in some culture snakes and
scorpions are dietary delicacy such as the scorpion
sticks!
Fish and eggs have been a part of the human diet for thousands of years and in today's passage Jesus is illustrating the loving care of the heavenly Father by using an earthly father's nurturing concern in providing for the physical needs of his children.
Most
of us consider scorpions and snakes practically inedible
and that seemed to be the sentiment at the time Jesus
taught upon this earth. Scorpions and snakes were used in
this teaching in the sense as to what a father would not
give to his children. However in some culture snakes and
scorpions are dietary delicacy such as the scorpion
sticks!Both of us
recall eating eggs and fish growing up and all through
life. In my home growing up "fish" was "fish sticks" which
I recall was a real treat at the time. Apart from frying
up some fish we caught I don't think we ever had "real"
seafood till I was an adult. On the other hand Brooksyne's
uncles caught a lot of bass and would pass it onto their
family. They enjoyed it often, though Brooksyne has
memories of spitting out bones in between bites since her
mom didn't bother to filet the fish.
But our moms
never cooked up a dish of scorpions or snakes!
Our Lord's illustration presumes the caring relationship He has ordained that parents should have for their children. The statement, "If you then, though you are evil", intrigues me. I understand this to be in a comparative sense as Jesus shows us the caring heart of His Father. He contrasts our sinful and prone to evil human nature with our holy and perfect God. We never have to question God's motives when He is at work on our behalf, though it may take time (hindsight) and an earnest study of the Scriptures to understand His ways in some situations.
It grieves our hearts when we consider how many in our world do not have caring earthly parents. This is especially evident with absentee or abusive fathers and, to a lesser degree, mothers as well. There are many raised in homes with truly (not just comparatively) evil parents who give little attention to their children's well being, but instead feed upon their own destructive addictions or selfish ambitions. We recently read a book by Jim, a retired missionary friend, from our church who had a mother like this. Undoubtedly some readers can identify with this having been raised by these kinds of parents.
We pray that you are allowing God to heal the lingering memories that surface as He reveals His tender mercies to you each day. I'm so glad that, as believers, we have the power to break those bad patterns instead of repeating them. Our model of parenting should be based on Biblical principles rather than making excuses based on the old adage, "Well, that's the way I was raised!" As historians often quote, "Those who don't learn from the past are doomed to repeat the past." I digress a little on this point, but feel it's a very important underlying message as well for all godly parents.
One small portion of the text is especially encouraging, and I want to bring this message to an end with this perspective: "How much more will your Father in heaven…" These powerful words bless and strengthen the child of God today and are true whether or not you've had a loving, caring earthly father. God is more than willing to give us all that we have need of and lovingly supplies more than we actually need.
Our Lord's illustration presumes the caring relationship He has ordained that parents should have for their children. The statement, "If you then, though you are evil", intrigues me. I understand this to be in a comparative sense as Jesus shows us the caring heart of His Father. He contrasts our sinful and prone to evil human nature with our holy and perfect God. We never have to question God's motives when He is at work on our behalf, though it may take time (hindsight) and an earnest study of the Scriptures to understand His ways in some situations.
It grieves our hearts when we consider how many in our world do not have caring earthly parents. This is especially evident with absentee or abusive fathers and, to a lesser degree, mothers as well. There are many raised in homes with truly (not just comparatively) evil parents who give little attention to their children's well being, but instead feed upon their own destructive addictions or selfish ambitions. We recently read a book by Jim, a retired missionary friend, from our church who had a mother like this. Undoubtedly some readers can identify with this having been raised by these kinds of parents.
We pray that you are allowing God to heal the lingering memories that surface as He reveals His tender mercies to you each day. I'm so glad that, as believers, we have the power to break those bad patterns instead of repeating them. Our model of parenting should be based on Biblical principles rather than making excuses based on the old adage, "Well, that's the way I was raised!" As historians often quote, "Those who don't learn from the past are doomed to repeat the past." I digress a little on this point, but feel it's a very important underlying message as well for all godly parents.
One small portion of the text is especially encouraging, and I want to bring this message to an end with this perspective: "How much more will your Father in heaven…" These powerful words bless and strengthen the child of God today and are true whether or not you've had a loving, caring earthly father. God is more than willing to give us all that we have need of and lovingly supplies more than we actually need.
This phrase
(how much more) is used in Romans several times such as
our second daily text, "For if, while we were God’s enemies, we
were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how
much more, having been reconciled, shall we be
saved through His life!" (Romans 5:10).
In these
texts "Christ is showing us the heart of God the Father.
God is not selfish, begrudging or stingy and we don't have
to beg or grovel as we come with our requests. He is a
loving Father who understands, cares, and comforts.
If humans can be kind, imagine how kind God, the Creator
of kindness, can be." (Life Application Bible)
Praise God for Jesus' comparative illustration that gives us boundless hope for those requests dear to our hearts as we go to Him in earnest prayer. The most important gift that our Father could ever give to us is salvation, "the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 3:23). Our Father ever loves and cares for His own.
Praise God for Jesus' comparative illustration that gives us boundless hope for those requests dear to our hearts as we go to Him in earnest prayer. The most important gift that our Father could ever give to us is salvation, "the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 3:23). Our Father ever loves and cares for His own.
Be encouraged today, (Hebrews 3:13)
Stephen
& Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father, help us to give
good gifts to our children just as You
give good gifts to us; gifts of love,
acceptance, forgiveness, affirmation;
provisions of food and clothing, shelter
and mobility, teaching them right from
wrong by instruction and example, and
reinforcing consequence that will help
shape our children into caring, giving
adults who live responsible lives;
children that will care for us in our
needy years even as we cared for them
when they were in need. Help us to give
them personal attention and contribute
to their feelings of worth and value.
You are our supreme model for giving
good gifts to our children, even as You
give gifts to us that last for a
lifetime and many non-material gifts of
eternal worth that will transfer from
earth to heaven. Help us to do the same
with our children. In the name of Jesus
we pray. Amen.Brooksyne's Note: In a footnote to the paragraph about breaking bad patterns from our childhood I have thanked God repeatedly over the years for my mother who came from an abusive home where her father was an alcoholic and a vile man. His father (my great-grandfather) was also an alcoholic and abusive to his nine children. Most all of them became alcoholic and abusive. How tragic that two generations (at least) were doomed to repeat a terribly destructive lifestyle. I never met my grandfather (nor any of his siblings) because he spent about twenty years in the state penitentiary before his death. He brought such shame and lingering pain to the family that we had no photographs of him and his name was not even mentioned while I was growing up. How tragic!
My mother, along with all her siblings, broke the chain of alcoholism when they individually chose not to have it in their homes. This was very much the proper response since we've learned in recent years that when family members are predisposed to alcoholic tendencies we cannot know ahead of time which family member will be able to stop with just one drink. In fact, I have a cousin in recent years who broke from this pattern of abstinence and became an alcoholic – losing her husband and children and even spent time in jail because of repeatedly driving under the influence of alcohol. One person affected by this predisposed addiction is one too many, for the influence will likely trickle down to the next generations and so forth. There certainly are exceptions, but I'm pleased that my parents played it safe and never felt we were deprived because of our parents' decision.
Day
of the Christian Martyr -
According to church tradition June 29
marks the martyrdom of the Apostle Paul.
This month, Christians around the world
honor the faithful witness of those who,
like the Apostle Paul, have sacrificed
their lives for the advancement of the
gospel. May we be inspired to have that
same boldness to share Christ in our
community.
Today's
Suggested Music and Supplemental
Resources
"Good,
Good Father" Video Pat
Barrett
Ester and
Brooksyne collected our neighbor's eggs
while they're away today. Well, Brooksyne
would correct me by saying SHE collected
the eggs and Ester stood from a distance
and took the photos (birds, chickens, and
the young steer in the background are not
a part of Ester's comfort zone).
Beautiful
brown eggs right out of the coop.
Amazingly these chickens seem to lay very
clean eggs every time Brooksyne is called
upon to collect them. Usually eggs don't
come out so clean and a photo immediately
after collecting them would not look so
nice, as chicken owners would surely
agree.
Finally
today:
This
morning we had our HVAC system serviced
(cleaned and tuned-up) by Brandon, a
service tech from JK Mechanical. As we
shared yesterday in our message about "Working Wholeheartedly",
it is a blessing to see those like Brandon
in the succeeding generations learning a
trade, working hard and living
responsibly! I see Brandon in the course
of our chaplaincy visits to JK but it was
nice to have him perform our service and
learn a little more about him. He is a
graduate of Thaddeus Stevens College of
Technology here in Lancaster.
To
receive the "Daily
Encouragement" each
Monday-Friday use our sign-up
form or this
page to subscribe to our
free email list.
You can also subscribe to the
Wordpress rss
feed or through a Wordpress email
subscription. (See the email
subscription on the top right side
after opening this page.)
Daily
Encouragement on: 
Wordpress
iHeart
radio
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.
Wordpress
iHeart
radioPermissions: 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.
To
donate
directly
online
click here.
This will open
to a page that
designates the
offering to: STEPHEN
&
BROOKSYNE WEBER -
700001-237376 SERVING
IN SPECIALIZED CHAPLAINCY
Please Note: If
you
desire you can donate
directly through
PayPal using this link.
This will open
to a page that
states
"Brooksyne
Weber".
We
keep this option
available due to the
familiarity,
convenience,
international
supporters, and for
those who may not need
an official receipt.
You can also set up
for recurring
donations. You can
also use PayPal
on this link.
Stephen & Brooksyne
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 2022 Stephen C. & Brooksyne Weber - All Rights Reserved
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA