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

Wednesday, September 6, 2023

Boldt Castle
A view of Boldt Castle from our boat tour.

"Proclaim His Praise In The Islands"

Message summary: Let's rejoice that God's praise is indeed being proclaimed on the islands!

Listen to our message on your audio player.

"Sing to the LORD a new song, His praise from the ends of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you islands, and all who live in them. Let the desert and its towns raise their voices; let the settlements where Kedar lives rejoice. Let the people of Sela sing for joy; let them shout from the mountaintops. Let them give glory to the LORD and proclaim His praise in the islands" (Isaiah 42:10-12).

This last weekend we took a boat tour of the Thousand Islands area on the Saint Lawrence River between Canada and New York. In fact we actually entered Canadian waters which was a special treat for Ester since she had never been to Canada.

Thousand Islands

The Thousand Islands area is stunningly beautiful as seen in the photo above (which I did not take). Many have summer homes on them. The river is a playground with many boats, large and small, including huge ocean going freighters. The Thousand Islands constitute a North American archipelago of 1,864 islands that straddles the Canada–US border. To constitute being an island it must have a tree.

All of our island experiences have been to off shore islands accessible by a bridge or ferry on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. In New England we enjoyed our visits to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.

The population living on the world's islands is over 730 million, which is approximately 10% of the world's total population. Several islands such as Great Britain, Java (Indonesia) Honshu (Japan) and Luzon (Philippines) have very large populations. Most islands are smaller in size and population. Many islands are unpopulated. The Philippines have a whopping 7,641 islands. However surprising (to me, anyway) the country with the most islands is Sweden which has 267,570 islands.

Consider the daily verse: Isaiah is writing about 750 years before Christ. I see no evidence in his writings that he was a traveler and you can imagine the obstacles to travel in those days. Do you suppose he had ever been on an island?

Yet under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit he writes a powerful call to "Sing to the LORD a new song, His praise from the ends of the earth". He includes those living in the desert and on the mountaintops. The passage ends with this phrase, "Let them give glory to the LORD and proclaim His praise in the islands".

Although islands are beautiful and have special appeal to the vacationer, many island locations pose great challenges to ministry. Those that serve often feel isolated and lonely.

The world's second largest island in land mass is New Guinea with 303,381 square miles, which is larger than Texas. This island has many remote, unreached peoples and some of the most sacrificial mission work in the world. Yet ministries like Wycliffe Bible Translators, Ethnos360 (formerly New Tribes Mission) and others have a powerful presence and entire tribes have come to faith in Christ. Brooksyne and I each have a relative working on this island (or preparing to).

Let's rejoice that God's praise is indeed being proclaimed on the islands!



Be encouraged today, (Hebrews 3:13)


Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Praying man Daily prayer: Father, thank you for the promise of John 3:16 that states, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life". Thank you for those who obey Your commission to go into all the world to spread Your Gospel including the most remote islands. Thank you that all around the world God's praise is indeed being proclaimed, even on the islands. Amen.

* The largest island in the world is Greenland with 840,000 square miles but only 56,000 people.
Australia seems like an island but is considered a continent!



 Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources

"Let the Islands Praise Him"  Watch video on YouTube  Brother and Sister worship duo, Jessica & Austin Meshell

1000 Islands  (Aerial island photo in message from this site)

1000 Islands Gananoque: It Will Take Your Breath Away  Video





Hadley and Katie Hageman
At our family reunion in July we visited with newlyweds, Hadley and Katie Hageman, who are preparing for ministry in Papua, New Guinea with Ethnos 360.  Katie is the granddaughter of Stephen's oldest cousin Jeanine.

David Julian and family
Dave and Amy Julian along with their two sons, Dan and Ben. Dave is Brooksyne's cousin who are currently serving as missionary associates in Papua New Guinea, as of October 21, 2022.They are full-time missionaries who set up health aid posts in strategic locations and train local people in basic medicine and evangelism. The hope is to use these facilities as a tangible example of the gospel to allow them to go into communities where the gospel has not been welcome up to this point and to then be able to plant churches in these areas.

More photos from our trip last weekend to upstate New York. We took a boat tour of the Thousand Islands and Boldt Castle.

Tom Thumb island
Tom Thumb island, the smallest of the Thousand Islands

Boldt Castle dining room
Boldt Castle has an interesting history. It was started over 100 years ago and then left unfinished for many years due to the death of the owner's wife. After many years the bridge authority bought it and is slowly finishing it to show what it would have looked like should it have been finished at that time period. Here's the dining room.

Boldt Castle kitchen
Boldt Castle kitchen

Boldt Castle powerhouse
Boldt Castle powerhouse

Ester in chair in Clayton, New York
When we returned from our 3˝ hour boat trip and castle tour Ester climbed up on this giant chair in Clayton New York and took a nap (maybe).

Finally today:

Corn harvest
This morning we awoke to our most drastic seasonal view change, the harvest of the corn across from our house!

Sylvia Handwerk
Today we attended the monthly prayer luncheon with community folks in a local Mount Joy church. Sylvia Handwerk, a retired school teacher, was the speaker who  enthusiastically spoke about Bible 2 School, a time release ministry held during the elementary school lunch period, where students are released from the campus for an hour to hear a Bible lesson once a week. She challenged those present to volunteer in some capacity so that more grades can be added. Currently lessons are provided for only two grades and there is a great desire and interest to add two more grades.




Contact Us
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.)



We want to thank all who financially support our ministry. 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)
 
Make A DonationIf 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



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.



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 2023 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"