Daily Encouragement

Friday, August 25, 2023

All through our area there are many small stands like this selling produce and flowers, including two on our road. This is on an Amish farm and the young lady who made the flowers will be teaching a one room Amish school this fall.

"Remember"

Message summary: Today let us heed the warning of Moses and Malachi and take the necessary measures to remind ourselves never to forget the Lord our God or fail to observe His commands. This is of foremost importance!

Listen to our message on your audio player.

"Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe His commands, His laws and His decrees that I am giving you this day" (Deuteronomy 8:11). “Remember the law of my servant Moses" (Malachi 4:4). "Remember, then, what you received and heard" (Revelation 3:3).

All through life we are capable of forgetting. Some issues of forgetfulness are not all that important but others are. The one of foremost importance is expressed in our first daily text as Moses issued a caution to the Israelites, "Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God".

Deuteronomy is a record of Moses' final sermon before he died and the people of Israel went on to the Promised Land under Joshua's leadership. Moses stresses throughout his message the importance of remembering the Lord and warns of the dire consequences in failing to do so. This is a timeless message!

The words "remember" and "forget" are used 26 times in Deuteronomy. We may wonder how these people could ever forget after seeing the hand of the Lord revealed in such mighty ways under Moses' leadership. Later they witnessed the mighty victories with Joshua.

But early in the book of Judges we read this stunning assessment, "The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD; they forgot the LORD their God" (3:7a).

Forgetting is such a danger that Moses reinforced the importance of remembering the commandments of the Lord in a family household in Deuteronomy 6:6-9. Moses instructed parents to strongly impress the Lord's commandments on their children by talking about them when sitting down and walking along the road (which would have been their way of getting around every day, rather than an occasional leisurely walk). They were to talk about them at bedtime and when they arose. They were to be visually reminded of these commandments by displaying them on their hands and their foreheads. They were to be written on the door frames of their houses and their gates. This commitment to follow God is not for the faint of heart nor the casual observer.

Among the very last words in the Old Testament is “Remember the law of my servant Moses" (Malachi 4:4) Let us heed the warning of Moses and Malachi and take the necessary measures to remind ourselves never to forget the Lord our God or fail to observe His commands. This is of foremost importance!

Be encouraged today, (Hebrews 3:13 )

Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Daily prayer: Father, the commandments that You give are to be impressed upon our hearts. When our acts of obedience come from a heart of love, we are anxious to heed Your Word and align our desires with Your own. When we love You with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our strength we will never forget our miraculous deliverance. For You delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of Your beloved Son in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. May we ever be mindful so that we never forget You, what You have done for us, and thereby walk humbly with You all our days. Amen.

Selected portions of verses implemented into our daily prayer:
Deuteronomy 6:6, Colossians 1:13,14

Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources

Among our ministry venues is periodically leading a service in a nursing home on a Sunday afternoon which we did this last Sunday. Most all of the people have failing memories especially a group that comes over from a special memory care unit. But we have noticed two elements that are often remembered as we share God's truths with them:

1) Scripture verses that they have repeatedly heard and perhaps committed to memory like John 3:16. An Alzheimer patient will readily quote this verse.

2) Hymns they have sung all their lives. In one service a resident loudly whistled the hymn tune as we sang! At first I couldn't figure out where it was coming from but looked around and saw an older man in attendance (likely in his nineties) whistling along in perfect pitch (to the extent I understand what perfect pitch is)!

Here's a quiz I shared in our ABF class this last Sunday to illustrate the importance of keeping ourselves exposed to the Word of God and godly music.

Some of these verses and songs we have perhaps memorized but there's power in just being exposed over many years through our own reading, study and hearing teaching that we get to know these verses and songs even if we haven't purposefully memorized them.

Complete the verse and reference if known:

"For God so loved..." (You better get this one!) _____________________
"In the beginning God..." _________________________
"In the beginning was..." ___________________________________
"For I know the plans..." _______________________________________
"For we know that God..." __________________________________
"The Lord is my shepherd..." ____________________________________
"I am the way..." ___________________________________
"But you shall receive power..." __________________________________
"My God shall supply..." _____________________________
"For by grace..." _______________________________
"Enter into His gates..." _______________________________________
"Behold I stand at the door..." __________________________________
"I can do all things..." _________________________________________
"Behold what manner..." ____________________________________
"For all have sinned..." _________________________________________
"The wages of sin..." ________________________________________
"Thou art worthy..." ___________________________________________
"Thou shalt have no..." ______________________________________
"Thou shalt not..." _____________________________________________
"I will never leave thee..." ______________________________________
"The Lord Thy God in the midst... _________________________________
"Do not fear for I am..." _______________________________________
"Be anxious for nothing"_______________________________________

Complete the line in these hymns and go on to see how much of the song you can remember: (When we did this last Sunday the class ended up singing the song, which illustrates the tune is also an aide to memory!) So go ahead and bellow out.

"Blessed assurance Jesus is mine, …"_____________________________
"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, …"_________________________
"Great is Thy faithfulness, …"_____________________________________
"Then sings my soul, …"________________________________________
"Jesus, Jesus how I trust Him, ..." ________________________________
"What a friend we have in Jesus...." _______________________________
"O for a thousand.." ___________________________________
"On Christ the solid..." _________________________________
"It is well..." __________________________________
"Joyful, joyful we adore Thee..." _________________________________
"On a hill far away..." _____________________________
"I am Thine O Lord..." __________________________
"All to Jesus I surrender..." ____________________________
"Rock of ages..." ______________________________
This is my Father's world..." __________________________________
"Wonderful grace of Jesus..." _________________________________

"How Firm A Foundation..." _________________________________

A candid observation: We enjoy the new music that now dominates in most churches. We often feature on DE new songs we enjoy or are singing in our church with these messages. However since so many churches strive for the new and latest the songs have a brief "shelf life" unlike the hymns of yesterday. Will future generations will have the recall memory for songs sung throughout their lives, as we of previous generations do.

Be sure to check this video out for a touching little story and watch all the way through! (less than 2 minutes)

This week we drove by the Penn State Southeast Agricultural Research Center where they develop test plots for flowers, vegetables and field crops. It's on a country road between Manheim and Mount Joy and we enjoy visiting them from time to time.

Lots and lots of very well watered and maintained flowers. This looks like a commercial greenhouse but the flowers are not for sale.

Brooksyne can get planting ideas.

A large field of sunflowers

When we visited they were hosting a type of field day for farmers with training and demonstrations.

Drone sprayer at Penn State ag field day

A company was demonstrating this drone sprayer that will cover 5 acres in about 15 minutes before needing a battery swap and refill. So far we haven't seen them used around us but I expect we soon will.

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