Daily Encouragement

Monday, December 12, 2022

The 100 foot observation silo at the Kreider Farms visitor's center is bright with Christmas colors and you can see it from miles away.*

"The Name Of Jesus Christ"

Message summary: Our world needs a bold, unambiguous, unequivocal proclamation of His glorious Name. We that earnestly follow Him must not be ashamed to use His Name. Please join with us today in proclaiming the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and my Lord!

Listen to our message on your audio player.

"A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ" (Matthew 1:1). "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen" (Revelation 22:21).

The very first name in the very first verse of the New Testament is Jesus Christ and the very last name in the very last verse of the New Testament is Jesus Christ. Such an arrangement is in keeping with Jesus being the First and the Last, the Alpha and Omega!

We passed a church on a major highway with a message that really blessed us. Boldly the lighted sign proclaimed: “WITHOUT CHRIST THERE IS NO CHRISTMAS.”

But increasingly it seems that merely using the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (except as a swear word) is insensitive, offensive and politically incorrect. Over and over I am reading reports of attempts to squelch any reference to the Name above all names.

At times this is driven by those who may profess a love for the Lord Jesus but feel they must be sensitive to those who don't. At other times it's driven by those who feel they have a "right" to silence His name and keep others from doing so as well.

Quite some time ago, in the course of our chaplain work, we attended the funeral of an employee's son. The employee was a faithful follower of Christ but his son had fallen away. The service was officiated by a very apostate churchwoman (the Rev. Dr. type) who managed to get through the entire service without once mentioning the Name of Jesus (or even saying anything about Him for that matter). In her final prayer she did close with this phrase, "the mysterious name", whatever that means.

As Brooksyne and I departed the service we had such a sense of emptiness. When we are accustomed to hearing and proclaiming the name of Jesus the intentional absence of His name can be quite disheartening.

I recall another situation in which a bold, unashamedly Christian company owner shared with me that he had been asked to pray at a large civic event, to which he agreed. Several days later he got a call from the organizer insisting that his prayer must be "politically correct" and not mention the name of Jesus. He declined under these restrictions and told me that the prayer offered by the politically correct minister turned out to be the typical mealy-mouthed, generic type often used at public events. I've little doubt that many who were gathered there felt an emptiness such as we felt at the funeral we had attended where the almighty powerful name of Jesus was MIP (missing in prayer).

Our world needs a bold, unambiguous, unequivocal proclamation of His glorious Name. We that earnestly follow Him must not be ashamed to use His Name. Please join with us today in proclaiming the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and my Lord!

There is power in the name of Jesus
There is power in the name of Jesus
There is power in the name of Jesus
To break every chain, break every chain, break every chain
To break every chain, break every chain, break every chain

Be encouraged today, (Hebrews 3:13)

Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Daily prayer: Jesus, though You are God, You did not cling to Your rights as God. Instead You made Yourself nothing, taking the humble position of a slave, You appeared in human form. Though innocent You died a criminal’s death on a cross. Because of Your loving, sacrificial obedience our Father gave You the name that is above every other name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. I gratefully declare and confess You, Jesus Christ, to be my Lord and Savior right now and forevermore! Amen.

Brooksyne's Note: I was at the Pharmacy a couple of weeks ago, and if your pharmacies are lacking workers like ours, you know there's a lot of stress for those who carry on without sufficient help. The technician at the register was having difficulty with processing an order before it was my turn. He had the same problem with me when I was finally waited on. After his ongoing frustration with no resolving of the problem he cried out the name, "Jesus Christ" in a profane sense! It pierced me to the heart and I couldn't let it go without comment.

After a bit I said to him (as best I can remember): Wow! I heard you call out the name of Jesus who is very dear to me. In fact I love this time of year because we are celebrating Jesus who came to earth to live and die for us. (His look of surprise was priceless.)

I can't remember the rest of our conversation but it certainly got his attention and the register eventually worked properly. Perhaps I was also driven to speak out because he was wearing apparel inconsistent with his gender and a symbol declaring where he stood about such matters. If he feels as strong as he does in what he believes, how can we as believers not take a stand when the name of Jesus is used in a cursory way.

Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources

"Break Every Chain" Video Jesus Culture

"Jesus Name Above All Names" Video Maranatha Music

"I Speak Jesus" Video Here Be Lions Several weeks ago we heard a testimony in our Sunday School Class about a class member who shared about her sister's death and how much this song ministered to them at the time of imminent death and fresh grief.

* The Kreider Farm offers a popular farm tour here in Lancaster County at their main farm in Manheim.

There are many lighted barns with cupolas around Manheim.

On Friday evening we had three company holiday banquets and had to split up to cover them. I had the opportunity to speak at the Audrey's Banquet in Myerstown, PA while Brooksyne read Scripture and offered a prayer at the JK Mechanical Banquet in Strasburg, PA. She was actually able to stop by and visit with several employees as they left the 3rd banquet at Acorn Farm held by Kleen-Rite, since it was on the way home to Mount Joy!

Typical at these banquets are employees receiving recognition for their years of service. Ken Mull, owner of Audrey's, is presenting Joshua an award for 15 years of service. We enjoy our weekly visits with Joshua who often brings us up to date on what he is studying in his daily devotions.

Zane and Chris Phlegar

We had a wonderful day in the Lord yesterday including warm fellowship with Zane and Chris from Beaver Falls, near Pittsburg, PA. We have been in contact with Zane over the past twenty years via dailyencouragement but never face to face. He and his wife visited Sight and Sound to see "David" on Saturday and made arrangements to visit our church on Sunday. Their love and enthusiasm for the Lord was very visible and it was the highlight of our day yesterday. Over the twenty six years that we have been writing Daily Encouragement one of the greatest joys we experience is personally meeting readers that we've only been in touch with via email over the years and then we finally meet. We heard from them what we hear from others, "We feel like we already know you!" since they read about our illustrated lives in context of Christian living. So, we feel the same way when we meet because now we get to know our readers, and that is exciting for us!

Lloyd, Mavis, twins Nigel and Nylah

We got acquainted with this delightful family after saying good-bye to the Phlegars yesterday. They are originally from Ghana, West Africa. As you can see Nigel is quite the "ham" and keeps his mom and dad on their toes.

Children's Christmas program

What a lovely Christmas setting yesterday as the 140 member Children's Choir led us in worship. Various cast members took their place in the manger setting as the Christmas story was narrated in poetic fashion. It's almost as fun to watch the parents and grandparent's faces as it is to watch the children on the platform - when their child's face appear on the big screen.

Special Year-end Financial Appeal

We want to thank all who have financially supported our ministry this past year (and some for many years!). Like most ministries, we typically see a spike in giving at the end of the year for which we are most thankful. We realize there are many fine ministries and causes requesting support at this time but if you would like information about making a donation to our ministry see here.

In considering support we are so pleased when we hear from you, our readers, that our messages are a source of teaching andhttps://youtu.be/a16ajvb2CPw encouragement to you. We also urge you to consider the mission aspect of these daily teachings that are freely available and read all over the world.

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)

If you desire you can also 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, for international supporters, and for those who may not need an official receipt. You can also set up for recurring donations.

Thank you,

Stephen & Brooksyne

Finally today:

Driving through the county on Friday we came up behind a Lamborghini. A teenage temptation came to mind and I considered seeing if he wanted to drag race!

Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne

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