Daily Encouragement

Wednesday, June 5, 2024

A country view from the Hilltop Acres Farm Market north of Manheim, PA

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Message summary: What's your focus when you rise each morning? We are to "proclaim His salvation day after day".

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“Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in You. Show me the way I should go, for to You I lift up my soul” (Psalm 143:8). “Sing to the LORD, all the earth; proclaim His salvation day after day” (1 Chronicles 16:23).

Yesterday, following an early morning chaplain visit in Lebanon County, we stopped by and walked through Root's Country Market and Auction near Manheim, PA. It was established in 1926 and is held each Tuesday rain or shine.

It's quintessential Lancaster County authenticity where you can buy practically anything from selling points called "stands" which are both inside and outside. It was very crowded yesterday and very warm sunshine seeped in no matter where you found yourself in the "mob" of people. We stopped to see if we could pick up a few plants that Brooksyne wanted but we managed to buy a few unusual flavors of whoopie pies as well - lemon, pumpkin, strawberry, raspberry, peanut butter, shoofly pie though the hot sun did quite a messy job on the overly generous cream filling inside the pies. (No, we did not eat them all but brought most of them home.)

At one stand I saw a small plaque I was tempted to buy but we have about all the wall hangings in our house we can use. I recognized the words as the line from a song we enjoy, "Give Me Jesus". "In The Morning When I Rise Give Me Jesus".

Many of us with a few years behind us in our life cycle recall the typical sound of an old alarm clock, a loud, often unpleasant noise of some type that was indeed effective in waking us up, however abruptly and harshly.

But in this digital age we can awaken to a variety of pleasant sounds and music of our choice. We can program our phone to play a song of faith rather than a pesky beep, beep, beep. Today's old spiritual would be a good one:

In the morning when I rise,
in the morning when I rise,
in the morning when I rise,
give me Jesus.

Refrain:
Give me Jesus, give me Jesus.
You may have all this world, give me Jesus.

Those who follow Christ rightly speak of wanting to be at the very center of God’s will. There are many areas of life we must seek the Lord’s will and submit ourselves to His providential direction. At times we may seek counsel from others and sometimes His will is given progressively, one direction at a time.

Such is the life of faith. When we are confronted with a number of valid choices we rightly ask, “Which way, Lord?” as we trust and depend upon Him to open the right door and close the wrong one, however confusing or disappointing that may sometimes be in the short term.

But there are many other areas in our lives where the will of God is made absolutely clear to us. Today’s second verse is a portion of an ancient Psalm written by David over one million days ago. It tells us that we are to "Sing to the Lord". I am so thankful for the gift of music. The Psalmist who was tremendously blessed with the gift of music wrote "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord"!

God has given each of us a song today and we are called to sing it out to Him. Some of you, like me, aren’t very comfortable singing when others are listening, but God asked for His song. It may be a song you sing heartily or a song that you carry in your heart. It might be a tune that you whistle or hum as you go about your daily duties. We consider Amish businesses where the girls often sing as they work. Whatever the circumstance, let us joyfully present that song today!

David’s ancient command to "Sing to the Lord" is directed to "all the earth", which surely includes you and me wherever we live. As we share these messages each day it is such a joy to realize that wherever you are reading this from, it applies to you!

We are to "proclaim His salvation day after day". Certainly there is an aspect that this proclaiming expresses an upward thanksgiving toward God for our salvation, but it is also a call to outward witness. The word for "proclaim" means "to announce". Today God continues to call His children to proclaim His salvation. The world may ignore, reject and even scorn the message but the call remains, "Proclaim His salvation day after day". Among many other duties, that’s what I choose to do today and desire to faithfully do every day.

Be encouraged today, Hebrews 3:13

Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Daily prayer: Father, there are so many believers You have gifted with the ability to write meaningful words of praise and testimony that mirror the same expression I have in my heart but am unable to put into words or musical script. Though I’ve not been given this same talent thank you for giving me the ability to sing these songs as they resonate from my heart. The Psalmist David, the greatest poet of all time, proclaimed over and over again the wonders of Your salvation. May we never tire of this glorious life-changing theme as we sing about the marvelous miracle of salvation day after day. We want to be faithful in sharing with others by the grace of God. Amen.

Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources

"Give Me Jesus" Watch on YouTube Danny Gokey Many probably assume this a a newer song but it's not. It's an old (1800's) spiritual. Eileen Guenther states, “Spirituals affirm a complete trust in God to make right in the next world what was done wrong in this world”. She notes, “Spirituals are powerful, beautiful music of sorrow and hope”. In his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave (1845), Frederick Douglass (1818–1895) describes spirituals as “those simple and apparently incoherent songs” with “strong, long and profound accents” that “breathed the prayers and complaint of souls suffering the most cruel anguish. Each voice was a witness against slavery and a prayer that God would deliver us from our chains. . . I often found myself in tears listening to them” (cited in Chenu, 2003, 104–105)

Root's Market

ROOT'S Farmers Market and Flea Market in Manheim PA Pennsylvania 4K Drone footage video

At Root's Market I visited for a few minutes with Scott, who sits near us in our Sunday Morning Worship service at church. He was at a stand for "Blessings Of Hope", a local ministry making a huge impact on fighting hunger in a very creative way. They receive foods near expiration date from producers and distribute them through churches and ministries. An example of creativity is that they dehydrate excess vegetables that are at their prime or near their best buy date and make a soup mix out of them!

Later yesterday afternoon we went to a picnic at a conference center near Carlisle, PA and on the way stopped by Ashcombes, one of the largest greenhouses we know of. As Brooksyne walked through the greenhouse I explored the grounds and saw this truck in slight need of rescue.
(Click on photo to enlarge)

It was a picnic for ministers in our area and I caught up with some old friends including 91 year old Philip Bongiorno who was my District Superintendent when I was ordained in 1979. Though we rarely see him I was heartened that he knew right away who we were. In his younger years he was a fiery Italian preacher who always reminded us of the value of our salvation in Christ.

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