The
online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen
&
Brooksyne Weber
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daily, Bible-based perspective of hope,
encouragement and exhortation.
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Tuesday, April
25, 2023
Church
traffic in
Mount Joy, PA
These
sights are
reminiscent of
our childhood
when kids
routinely rode
in the back of
pickups or
station wagons
that had a
seat facing
backwards. It
was exciting
for my younger
sister and I
when we had
one of these
station wagons
but only
looking back
got old pretty
quickly!
"The
Assurance of
God's
Providence"
Travel
note: This
morning we
will be
traveling out
to San Diego.
During the
time we are
away from home
we still hope
to post
several Daily
Encouragement
messages but
probably not
each weekday.
See note below
for the nature
of our trip.
Message
summary:
We
can have great
assurance and
peace when we
rest in God’s
providence.
Listen
to our message
on your audio
player
"During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven and said: 'Praise be to the name of God forever and ever; wisdom and power are His. He changes times and seasons; He sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him'" (Daniel 2:19-22).
The daily Scripture portion is a powerful proclamation of the providence of God. Here's an historic definition of this theological term: "God's works of providence are His most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing of all His creatures and all their actions." (Westminster shorter catechism)
"During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven and said: 'Praise be to the name of God forever and ever; wisdom and power are His. He changes times and seasons; He sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him'" (Daniel 2:19-22).
The daily Scripture portion is a powerful proclamation of the providence of God. Here's an historic definition of this theological term: "God's works of providence are His most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing of all His creatures and all their actions." (Westminster shorter catechism)
The
gotquestions.org
teaching site
defines,
"Divine
providence is
the governance
of God by
which He, with
wisdom and
love, cares
for and
directs all
things in the
universe. The
doctrine of
divine
providence
asserts that
God is in
complete
control of all
things.
Today's
text is an
example of
God's
providence.
King
Nebuchadnezzar
had a dream
and God
revealed to
Daniel both
the dream and
the meaning, a
panoramic
sweep through
hundreds of
years into the
future with
the rise and
fall of
various
kingdoms. We
look back now
and see how
this
interpretation
has
been marvelously
fulfilled.
"Praise be to the name of God forever and ever." Before Daniel revealed the dream to the king he offers praise to God. He "praised the God of heaven" (v. 19).
"Wisdom and power are His." This timeless truth is so instructive and encouraging in light of the many issues of uncertainty we face; those things which cause us anxiety and fear. Some we commonly deal with such as the turmoil in the world and especially at this time here in America with uncertainty as to where the nation is headed. Others are personal and reflect our individual situations. It may be a health need, a job situation, a family matter or many other issues that trouble one's spirit.
"He changes times and seasons." We see the hand of God in the changing of the seasons as He ordained at creation. Following the great flood God made a covenant with Noah and seasonal changes have been an evidence of God's faithfulness ever since.
"He sets up kings and deposes them." History sure validates this. Some 2,600 years have passed since Daniel made this statement and history abundantly demonstrates that many kings and kingdoms have come and gone. We live out our lives in a tiny window in the scope of God's providential dealings. Our perspective is narrowly skewed if we don't constantly observe the bigger landscape of God's dealings with humankind.
"He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things." We must look to God as we direct our focus toward Him. A great need for the earnest follower of Christ in this information overload age is godly discernment. It seems that we are awash in biased news, outright lies, distortions, spins and misleading information. We need revelation from God's Word concerning the deep and hidden things not revealed by man, but revealed to our hearts by the inner working of the Holy Spirit.
"He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him." This last phrase really, really blesses us as we prepare this message. Daniel needed the light of God's revelation to interpret the king's dream. God revealed the dream and its meaning to Daniel in the middle of the night. Rather than rushing to the king and boasting of his interpretive skills Daniel broke forth in praise to God and made this glorious declaration about our omniscient God: "He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him".
We're unable to see "what lies in darkness" so let us walk with God everyday of our earthly journey since "light dwells with Him". Nothing surprises God! Since He knows what lies ahead let us be assured that the light of His glory will illumine our path and give us the needed light to see our way through the troubling and narrow passages that await us. God will replace our fear of the future with His promise of provision for that which lies ahead.
"Praise be to the name of God forever and ever." Before Daniel revealed the dream to the king he offers praise to God. He "praised the God of heaven" (v. 19).
"Wisdom and power are His." This timeless truth is so instructive and encouraging in light of the many issues of uncertainty we face; those things which cause us anxiety and fear. Some we commonly deal with such as the turmoil in the world and especially at this time here in America with uncertainty as to where the nation is headed. Others are personal and reflect our individual situations. It may be a health need, a job situation, a family matter or many other issues that trouble one's spirit.
"He changes times and seasons." We see the hand of God in the changing of the seasons as He ordained at creation. Following the great flood God made a covenant with Noah and seasonal changes have been an evidence of God's faithfulness ever since.
"He sets up kings and deposes them." History sure validates this. Some 2,600 years have passed since Daniel made this statement and history abundantly demonstrates that many kings and kingdoms have come and gone. We live out our lives in a tiny window in the scope of God's providential dealings. Our perspective is narrowly skewed if we don't constantly observe the bigger landscape of God's dealings with humankind.
"He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things." We must look to God as we direct our focus toward Him. A great need for the earnest follower of Christ in this information overload age is godly discernment. It seems that we are awash in biased news, outright lies, distortions, spins and misleading information. We need revelation from God's Word concerning the deep and hidden things not revealed by man, but revealed to our hearts by the inner working of the Holy Spirit.
"He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him." This last phrase really, really blesses us as we prepare this message. Daniel needed the light of God's revelation to interpret the king's dream. God revealed the dream and its meaning to Daniel in the middle of the night. Rather than rushing to the king and boasting of his interpretive skills Daniel broke forth in praise to God and made this glorious declaration about our omniscient God: "He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him".
We're unable to see "what lies in darkness" so let us walk with God everyday of our earthly journey since "light dwells with Him". Nothing surprises God! Since He knows what lies ahead let us be assured that the light of His glory will illumine our path and give us the needed light to see our way through the troubling and narrow passages that await us. God will replace our fear of the future with His promise of provision for that which lies ahead.
Stephen
and Brooksyne
Weber
Daily
prayer:
Father, we
know that
wisdom is
given to those
who submit to
Your
authority,
those who
honor and
reverence Your
holiness. The
opposite is
true of fools
since they
despise wisdom
and godly
instruction.
You grant a
treasure of
good sense to
the godly, for
You are our
shield,
protecting us
as we walk in
integrity.
When we come
under Your
authority
wisdom will
enter our
hearts and
knowledge will
fill us with
joy.
Discernment
and
understanding
will keep us
safe. Father,
You are the
bright light
that comes
bursting forth
when darkness
seeks to
blindside our
view. All foes
are rendered
powerless in
Your presence
and at Your
command. Thank
You for the
marvelous
wisdom
available to
us as Your
children.(See
Proverbs 2:
The Benefits
of Wisdom)
Travel
note
(continued):
We
had planned
for several
months to make
a trip to San
Diego to visit
our longtime
friend,
Marilyn
Thompson. The
family was
keeping us
informed
concerning
Marilyn's
declining
health and we
knew her time
was near.
However she passed
away Saturday,
April 15. The
family urged
us to come
anyway so we
are going to
be with the
family and
included some
travel time as
well. We will
attend her
celebration of
life on May 6,
which would be
her 84th
birthday. Here
is her obituary.
We
met Marilyn
through Daily
Encouragement
some 20 years
ago. The photo
above shows
Marilyn when
she visited
our home in
May of 2008
along with her
son Dean and
daughter-in-law
Jill along
with their
first two
children,
Hilliard and
Josie Page.
Three more
came along
making a total
of five
grandchildren
for Marilyn.
During their visit in 2008 Marilyn told us the story of how she came across our online ministry about eight years earlier. She mentioned a reader's name, Clare, and asked if we knew her. I assumed she meant a personal acquaintance of ours and we did not recognize the name. Turns out, it was a friend of hers in California who had initially shared with her a daily encouragement message during a very difficult period in her life. Marilyn reached out to us sharing her need in an email. In response Brooksyne wrote back and included a prayer she wrote on behalf of Marilyn's need.
This
exchange of
conversations
and prayers
began a
long-term
friendship
between her
and Marilyn.
An interesting
detail: Years
later we met
Clare while we
were in San
Diego who was
Marilyn's
friend. She
was a prayer
warrior in
Marilyn's
church who
influenced
many women in
their faith
walk. Clare
went to be
with the Lord
a couple years
ago.
While
in southern
California we
expect to also
visit with
friends
Richard and
Elnora
Dresselhaus
(Marilyn's
former pastor
and wife) and
Steve and
Betsy
Nickless,
longtime
readers of
DE. We
will also
visit the area
around Joshua
Tree National
Park. and
celebrate our
47th wedding
anniversary!
Today's
Suggested
Music and Supplemental
Resources
This
last Sunday we
had a missions
service at our
church with
this colorful
background on
the platform.
Dave, the
missions
pastor, is
using a
baseball bat
for an
illustration.
At one point
he swung the
bat which
reminded me of
one of my all
time greatest
pastoral faux
pas from some
35 years ago.
For the
curious I told
the story in
this Daily
Encouragement
message titled
"The
Blessing Of
Being
Forgiven".
Large
mission mural
in our church
foyer
The
mural is made
up of
thousands of
facial photos
representing
people from
all over the
world as seen
in this
close-up.
Sunday
we followed
several Amish
buggies on the
way home from
our church
service. The
Amish meet in
homes for
their church
services and
the host
family
provides a
meal for
attendees
afterwards. As
the family
grows the
buggy gets a
bit tight and
warm, so we
often see one
child sitting
on the side of
the buggy.
That's air
conditioning!
Finally
today:
Yesterday
I mowed the
lawn and
noticed around
sunset how the
trees are
coming along
with our
dogwood
beginning to
bloom which we
will miss this
year.
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We
want to thank
all who
financially
support our
ministry this
past year (and
some for many
years!). 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 and encouragement to you. We also urge you to consider the mission aspect of these daily teachings that are freely available and read by many 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
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This will open
to a page that
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"Brooksyne
Weber". We
keep this
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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.
In considering support we are so pleased when we hear from you, our readers, that our messages are a source of teaching and encouragement to you. We also urge you to consider the mission aspect of these daily teachings that are freely available and read by many 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
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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.
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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Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA