Daily Encouragement Net
The online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation.

Join our email list!
About Us     ListenListen to these messages    Archives


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!

Donate to Daily Encouragement Net

Search Daily Encouragement
A new message is updated most weekdays usually by Noon Eastern Time (USA).
(Click refresh or reload for current message)

<Previous message                  Next message

Tuesday, August 23, 2022

Willow tree
John Thomas took this photo near his home at Willow Valley. He noted how the cows on one side had shade while the others didn't as you can see by the shadows of the weeping willows!

"Be Thankful"

Message summary: Let our walk include a grateful heart and a thankful outlook toward God and toward life in general.

Listen to audio message
Listen to this message on your audio player.

"And be thankful" (Colossians 3:15).

John ThomasWe ate breakfast with John Thomas, a longtime Daily Encouragement reader whom we met for the first time at a restaurant in Willow Street. We have only met a small percentage of our readers but being local we finally had that opportunity with John.

We would like to meet each of our readers and listeners but that will only happen on the other side, for the most part. John has a wonderful life story of diligence in his service vocationally and for the Lord. We prayed with him before we all departed and I couldn't help but notice his license plate.

Be thankful
I looked down and smiled at the expression of thankfulness, recognizing it was intended to simply say, "Be Thankful". But John shared with us that not everyone gets it. He told us about a time he observed a man looking at the plate who seemed stumped but recognized the letters must mean something. John told him to look carefully and after a few moments the man responded, "Be thinkin' Florida"?

Now to be sure I don't want to seem judgmental and I've missed some things that are easily apparent to others which later made me feel a bit foolish. But his response may also reflect his priorities. This man may have actually had Florida on his mind!

Let's hope being thankful is always on our mind and on our lips as well.

Scripture teaches that our praise glorifies God. We express our contentedness and thankfulness when we earnestly enter into praise. When we praise the Lord we enter into His presence, acknowledge Him as Lord, and give thanks for His steadfast love and care.

Many have wondered, "What is the distinction between praise and thanksgiving?" Though often used interchangeably, there is some distinction. Praise (worship) is acknowledging who God is by recognizing His many attributes (characteristics).

Thanksgiving, on the other hand, is acknowledging what God has done based upon the ways His attributes impact our lives. However we encourage you not to get hung-up on these distinctions as we both praise and thank God! He is worthy of both because in His mercy He saved us when we were lost and without hope.

Today let us consider thankfulness as an aspect of our walk. After all, God has commanded us all through Scripture to give thanks, "And be thankful" (Colossians 3:15).

The writer of Hebrews ended his letter with a call to praise the Lord. "Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name."

We encourage you to rest in the arms of our loving God and express your love to Him as you recall the ancient words of the Psalmist, "I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord". Let us, as His children, offer up our praise and thanksgiving to Him today and every day. Let our walk include a grateful heart and a thankful outlook toward God and toward life in general.


Be encouraged today, (Hebrews 3:13)


Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Praying manDaily prayer: Father, as we give praise to You we are offering our heartfelt thanks for who You are and all that You do on our behalf. As we mature in our Christian walk we realize that there are many occasions when we must offer a sacrifice of praise since it doesn't always come easily nor often enough. It is in those circumstances that we willfully choose to praise You out of obedient hearts desirous of pleasing You and glorifying Your name. May our words be fruitful and our thoughts praiseworthy in the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.



Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources

"Give Thanks With A Grateful Heart"  Video  Maranatha! Music

"What He's Done"  Video   Kristian Stanfill, Tasha Cobbs Leonard & Anna Golden

Our message yesterday was my testimony, "When I Got Saved". Ethan, a reader shared a message he had sent to his family the day before: "Today is a very significant day for me. 56 years ago, August 21, 1966, at the age of 18, I confessed my sins and accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord.  That began a reality and relationship that has guided my life. I have certainly not lived perfectly, but I would never want to give up what I have been given in the grace, goodness, and kindness of God. That is something I would want everyone to experience, especially you, the members of my family.” He had gotten saved at a holiness campmeeting at Seyfert, a village outside of Reading, PA, on the closing night of the camp.

Glenn, another reader, wrote and shared how he remembered Lowell Lundstrom, the evangelist who preached the night I got saved. In the past he had even traveled to see the Lundstroms who were a singing family and to hear Lowell preach.

Lowell’s ministry began on April 7, 1957 when he gave his heart to Jesus while attending a service at his future wife's Connie’s church in Sisseton, South Dakota. The first words he said when he got up from the altar were: “Wait ‘til everybody hears about this!” Lowell and Connie were married on June 14, 1957 and dedicated the rest of their lives to sharing the great Gospel of Jesus Christ. Lowell often said his heart was summed up in the following order: his God, his girl, and his guitar.

Lowell Lundstrom message clip preaching the Gospel Video
"My Wonderful Lord"  Video  The Lundstroms

"My Wonderful Lord"  Video  The Collingsworth Family (Found this also, one of my favorite singing families.)



Contact Us

Weber couple photo 7/3/22
About Us

"We want to encourage you daily in your walk with Christ!"

 
Personal Ministry Update

Sign up to receive our free

Daily Encouragement email!

(each weekday)

We respect your email privacy


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:  Daily Encouragement on LinkedInWordpress Daily Encouragement on iHeart radio 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.



Donate to Daily Encouragement Net
We want to thank all who financially support our ministry. We realize there are many fine ministries and causes requesting support but if you would like to make a donation to our ministry see here for more information.

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

Make A DonationPlease 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. 

Thank you,

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


dailyencouragement.net

Contact Us

"Living securely today anchored in God's solid foundation"