Daily Encouragement

Tuesday, May 21, 2024

Yesterday was Pentecost Monday (also known as Whit Monday). It's a day when Amish take off work and the youth get together. These young people in Lebanon County are headed to a youth gathering.
(Click on photo to enlarge)

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Message summary: Certainly one of the greatest blessings of life is being ready when our time comes to depart from this life or when the Lord returns.

Listen to our message on your audio player.

“So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him” (Matthew 24:44).

On late Sunday afternoon we took a bike ride on the river trail after a busy weekend with our Open House on Saturday and both morning worship and nursing home ministry on Sunday afternoon. It was nice to get out in nature with the sun shining after many days of drizzle and rain (God's creation).

At our turn around point on the trail at the boat ramp in Falmouth Brooksyne began receiving texts. Chris, an employee, in one of our companies, a young father with four children, had passed away. They were group texts so we began to get the shocked responses from others in the group.

Company management requested that we come in Monday morning to share a message and visit with the employees, many who first heard of his death at the meeting. It was a tough visit to make and people often expect the "preacher" to have some answers to "why" did this happen. But the truth is we don't have answers. I call events like this the "mysteries of providence".

Employees recall their last words with Chris last Friday, one specifically recalling it was "Have a great weekend". But no one expected the weekend to go for him as it did when he didn't awaken from his sleep Sunday morning.

Of course I shared a few words of comfort with the team but God also laid on my heart the daily Scripture verse to share, “So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him”.

We’re always in a state of getting ready for something in every season of life, whether it’s attending kindergarten the first day, our first piano recital, entering high school, our first job, getting engaged and married, having our first baby or first grandchild.

And then those latter years when one has to sell their house and valuables to move into a retirement home. On Sunday as we walked into an assisted living center where I preached at a chapel service we noticed a truck with furnishings parked in front. Throughout the service we observed family members carrying in the furniture we had seen in the parking lot.

We finally face life’s greatest event and one requiring ultimate preparation, our transition to the other side.

Jesus stressed getting ready, the kind of getting ready that supersedes all those important things that are present only for the very limited time we live on this terrestrial ball (a two word phrase from the hymn, "All Hail The Power Of Jesus' Name").

Unambiguously Jesus declared to His disciples in His long teaching on the Mount of Olives, "You also must be ready".

He’s specifically speaking of His promised return to earth: a future event which devout believers hold dear. But the command is always appropriate whether it's preparation for Christ's return or our imminent death. Many mock and scoff at the mention of the vital necessity of being ready. Indeed our death or the return of Christ may come at an hour we least expect.

Sadly, in my observation, even in much of the visible church this vital need to be prepared is too often under-proclaimed.

Most simply put if off or ignore it altogether. In fact Jesus Himself likened His soon return to the days of Noah. People went about their business unaware of their impending doom. Perhaps the economy was strong and people were living well. They reasoned, “Who needs to listen to that crazy preacher building a boat?" Similar to the days of Solomon, “A man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry” (Ecclesiastes 8:15).

But Jesus said, "You also must be ready". And He went on to state, "because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him". In some cases we expect an imminent death such as the end stages of a deadly disease but most of the time we just don't know. So we have a very forthright warning from Jesus Himself that we are to be ready for His return and for our death. However regarding the specific date or time we do not know, even though all throughout the church age many have attempted to forecast that date, but as you know they've been wrong every time!

So the focus is not so much the unannounced date, as it is living in a state of preparedness for our death or the Lord’s return, whichever comes first. We won’t have time to get ready at the trumpet sound, so we must be ready before that great and glorious moment when Jesus appears in the clouds. Through Scripture and God's messengers we have been adequately warned.

Have you heeded that warning?
Are you ready?
Are you warning others?

The greatest reward in this life is being ready when our time comes to depart from this life or when the Lord returns to take us with Him in the air.

Be encouraged today, Hebrews 3:13

Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Daily prayer: Father, depending on the state of our hearts we view the Scriptures about death or the return of Your Son, in dread as a warning, or in joyful anticipation as a welcoming. We prepare our hearts by trusting You and asking You for the forgiveness of sins and inviting You to reign in our lives. We pray for those we love that they too will make spiritual preparations for their death or be ready for the trumpet sound when the dead in Christ rise first and then we who believe will be caught up to meet Jesus in the skies. We have been warned, so we want to be prepared and welcome with great anticipation the time when we will transition to immortality upon our death or when Christ returns at His second coming. We lift up our heads as our redemption draws near. Amen.

For further Scripture regarding the second coming of Christ see I Thessalonians 4:13-5:11; Revelation 1:7.

Note: Due to our unexpected schedule change yesterday followed by guests who arrived from New York we did not post a message yesterday.

Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources

"The Praise Is Yours/Worthy Of It All" Watch on YouTube Calvary Church choir and orchestra selections from this last Sunday.

On Saturday afternoon we had our "open house" for our new bedroom addition. We had many people visit throughout the afternoon, our final guests being local friends Lloyd and Mary Ann Miller. We connected with Mary Ann through Daily Encouragement many years ago and also served as chaplains at the company founded by her father Sam Smucker for many years.They recently hosted the wedding and reception for their oldest granddaughter and new husband in their beautiful home setting that includes breathtaking views of farmland along with a well manicured lawn and gardens. What a memorable wedding that must have been!

Dave and Matt, two of the men who worked on our project as the framers examine what they did as our neighbor (and dog watcher) John looks on.

(Photo by Nick Nichols)

Ester took photos throughout the project and compiled them in a video

Yesterday guests visited our home from the Finger Lakes region of New York in the latter afternoon and dined with us at dinner. They came down to Lancaster County to see Daniel, the current Sight and Sound presentation; Fred and Pam (left), Tom and Priscilla. Both men are retired engineers who went to Cornell. Tom had a career as a college professor and Fred worked his entire career at Kodak. Pam was a home economics instructor and Priscilla a hospice nurse. Both couples are faithful followers of Christ and very much based in their faith and reality. Our association with them is through Daily Encouragement.

The baby robins in the nest above our fan are growing rapidly and always hungry it seems, keeping their diligent mom busy collecting worms.

(Click on photo to enlarge)

Yesterday morning we stopped by the Flower Wagon greenhouse near Lititz as advertised with this truck.

This morning the corn was planted in the field across from our house.

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