Daily Encouragement

The online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation.

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Friday, June 7, 2024

Late yesterday afternoon the horses were in their pasture along Trout Run Road.

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A Clear Call"}}

Message summary: We need to be as clear as possible in our witness to each other and to the world. Today we urge you to boldly and unashamedly bear a witness for Christ in word, deed and for some of you perhaps even on a T-shirt. Let’s just make sure the “trumpet” is making a clear, certain sound!

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“If the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?” (1 Corinthians 14:8). "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect" (1 Peter 3:15).

Many people wear t-shirts with a message. It may be a witty saying such as the one on our photo. It may be advertising a product. Companies must like it when you pay to buy their product and then give them free advertising!

On other t-shirts people have their favorite singer, sports star or even politician. More than a few will present messages that are unbelievably vile giving you a very clear picture of what they represent.

And of course there are many t-shirts that convey a message of faith, some with a thought-provoking saying. Once I saw a man wearing a t-shirt and initially the screen print photo of duct tape got my attention since I really like duct tape and duct tape stories. I asked him to stop so I could read the entire message. “People use duct tape to fix things. Jesus used three nails.”

A Christian-themed t-shirt I have is one I bought when we visited the headquarters in Bartlesville, OK of "The Voice of the Martyrs", a ministry calling attention to the persecuted church. In large eye-catching letters it states "I Am A Criminal". Smaller letters are used to explain the message. I rarely wear it since people seem to read only the large letters and turn away in embarrassment (or fear).

Once I saw an interesting t-shirt which proclaimed in bold letters, "The best Christian is a dead Christian". I was shocked and wondered what such a statement might mean and why anyone would wear it on t-shirt. Was it a brazen expression of the hatefulness that is surely increasing toward Christians all around the world?

I then noticed in small print a reference to a Bible verse (Colossians 2:12) and looked it up since I had my Bible with me. The verse states, “Having been buried with Him in baptism and raised with Him through your faith in the power of God, who raised Him from the dead".

Oh! So that’s what it means; the sense of dying to self and sin, which is a valid Christian teaching.

But I believe this also illustrates the importance of clarity in our witness. There is value in sentence sermons, phrases, memes, acrostics, etc. that communicate our faith. Many times I have been encouraged by the message on a bumper sticker, T-shirt or I often mention that I appreciate the gospel messages on barns and silos in our county.

I have made and distributed thousands of small witness cards with a thought-provoking saying such as “Man’s way leads to a hopeless end, but God’s way leads to an endless hope”, along with an accompanying Scripture verse. These brief messages of witness just may get someone to thinking and explore further.

Back to the T-shirt message; “The best Christian is a dead Christian”. It was likely worn by an earnest Christian seeking to communicate a spiritual truth. I’ll grant that it sure catches your attention but what would many think the phrase means? I wonder how many will look up the Scripture reference, particularly unbelievers. Probably very few. The message is just not clear.

The daily verse is addressing clarity in communication illustrating with the trumpet used for signaling in battle: “If the trumpet does not sound a clear call...". If a certain tune indicated an order of some type that tune needs to be clear and precise. An uncertain sound would lead to confusion and possible disaster.

We need to be as clear as possible in our witness to each other and to the world. Today we urge you to boldly and unashamedly bear a witness for Christ in word and deed. For some of you perhaps it will be seen on your T-shirt. Let’s just make sure the “trumpet” is making a clear, certain sound!

Be encouraged today, Hebrews 3:13

Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Daily prayer: Father, we rely on the power of Your Holy Spirit to enable us to give a clear witness of Biblical truth and the Gospel message. We recognize that we must do this not only by what we say verbally, or display in our apparel, plaques, screensavers, or other means of witness. We must also present Your Gospel message by the way we live our lives. May our actions complement our words as we seek to reach this lost and dying world. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources

"Everybody Ought To Know" Watch on YouTube Gaither Homecoming Singers A yester-year version sure to bring smiles to those who listen. (See photo below for prompting to share this song.)

https://www.dailyencouragement.net/images/clothing/criminal_t-shirt_front.jpg

Here is a photo of the back of the "I Am A Criminal" t-shirt.

Thankfully we are not a criminal for wearing this in the USA
... not yet anyway.

A photo memory from 7 years ago right after we bought the t-shirt. We had a colorful and joyful 72 year old petite server at our hotel who was vibrant in sharing her faith, including singing "Everybody Ought to Know Who Jesus Is" while she worked! She referred to Brooksyne as Sunshine when she came to join me at breakfast since she sees the wife as sunshine to her husband. Brooksyne is wearing the shirt we had each purchased the day before at Voice Of The Martyrs.

Planter beside our garden shed. Yesterday we both worked hard to clean out our garden shed which had been neglected for way too long.

Finally today:

This morning we were patting each other on the back admiring the improvement of our work shed yesterday. Then we saw the faithful dog walker taking his dog, Millie, for a walk. Not only does he walk Millie but he picks up other's trash along the road they carelessly throw out their car window. You can see the litterbag he is carrying in his right hand. Some days it is over-filled. What a good man seeking to beautify our neighborhood!

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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 and a variety of other versions.

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