Daily Encouragement

Monday, December 23, 2024

On Friday we had our first sticking snow of the season and in the evening our neighbor's house on Donegal Springs Road resembled a Thomas Kinkade painting.
Click on photo to enlarge

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Come All You Unfaithful"}}

Message summary: "O Come All You Unfaithful" is a serious song of contemplation reminding us that wherever we are or whatever we've done Jesus invites us to come to Him for forgiveness!

Listen to our message on your audio player.

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit" (Psalm 34:18). “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people" (Luke 2:10).

We are so thankful that God has gifted the Church with not only the time-honored lasting hymns but also music that is written in our lifetime or even in the last year or two. I just heard a song with beautiful accompaniment and powerful lyrics that has the intriguing title "O Come All You Unfaithful" (we'll provides links below if you care to listen to it).

When I first told Brooksyne about the song she thought I was kidding, which I admittedly do a lot. She thought that it was some kind of parody of the great hymn we all love, "O Come All Ye Faithful".

Years ago I recall seeing a video parody about a song that was popular at the time "It's All About You Jesus" but changing the line to "It's all about me". (I also found a video of this parody from about twenty years ago and have a link below.)

But "O Come All You Unfaithful" is a serious song of contemplation reminding us that wherever we are or whatever we've done Jesus invites us to come to Him for forgiveness!

O come all you unfaithful
Come weak and unstable
Come know you are not alone
O come barren and waiting ones
Weary of praying, come
See what your God has done

Christ is born, Christ is born
Christ is born for you

Yesterday we attended a local church where Jacob, (left photo) an employee we see in the course of our chaplain work, gave his testimony at the end of the service. The pastor prefaced the testimony with a call to congregants to place their faith in Christ as He welcomes all regardless of the mess in their lives when they come. It turns out that Jacob's story background included bad decisions that began to destroy his life and even led to a prison sentence.

But Jacob came to Jesus and his life changed! (We have a video link to his testimony below)

Our first text is a Psalm of comfort and reassurance that informs its readers, "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit". This is still true today as God does not change. It's likely some reading this message today are brokenhearted and crushed in spirit. We've all experienced such heartache at some point in our lives and will likely do so again many times before our departure to heaven where there will be no more sorrow or sadness.

The second text is from the very heart of the Christmas story expressed in the angel's message to the shepherds: “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people".

O come bitter and broken
Come with fears unspoken
Come taste of His perfect love
O come guilty and hiding ones
There is no need to run
See what your God has done

He’s the Lamb who was given
Slain for our pardon
His promise is peace
For those who believe

So come, though you have nothing
Come, He is the offering
Come see what your God has done

Be encouraged today, Hebrews 3:13

Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Daily prayer: Father, as believers, we have chosen to accept Your invitation to come and see what You have done and will do for those who choose to follow You. Many have made that choice and, for one reason or another, have walked away from that which we know to be the way of righteousness. We pray for those who have been brought up in a godly home or made a decision to follow you earlier in life, but have now become unfaithful to You. How we pray that they would once again respond to Your invitation to come, though they have nothing so that You will receive the only offering they can present which is Jesus the Sacrifice Lamb who knows of our weaknesses, our unfaithful ways, and is ready to pardon our sins yet again. Ever faithful God, You receive us and forgive us in our unfaithful state when we come to You with humble and repentant hearts. You redirect our steps from the broad road of destruction to the narrow path of righteousness that leads us to life eternal with Christ. Thank You for Your grace that is greater than all our sin. Amen.

Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources

"Jacob George's testimony with intro by pastor" Watch on YouTube

Brooksyne's Note: In light of the message today I feel prompted to share that on Friday evening I had one of those long nights where sleep evaded me. I finally went downstairs and reclined on our sofa that sits next to the cozy coal stove thinking I would drift to sleep. Instead God stirred my heart to listen to three podcasts of Unshackled where the last one ended with a story about a person who once followed Christ and had fallen away. Following that story I began to intercede for a good number of prodigals that I know personally and a number whom we've learned about via daily encouragement readers or other associations. This was before I learned about the song "O Come All You Unfaithful". If I had known about them I might have quoted the lyrics in my mind or in my prayers applying them to those who came to mind that need to get right with God. I concluded my prayer in strong faith that some or all of them might get their hearts aligned with the Lord this new year of 2025.

"O Come All You Unfaithful" Watch on YouTube Sovereign Grace Music

"O Come All You Unfaithful" Watch on YouTube Hot Springs Worship (Arkansas). Here's another rendition. This local church does a great job with the song. What also caught my attention was the beautiful glass chapel they were singing in.

"Come You Unfaithful" Watch on YouTube Michael Boggs This is a different song with a similar theme and also with very thoughtful lyrics. "For those of us who don’t always feel faithful, certain, or joyful in life, 'Come You Unfaithful' is a reminder that Christ still came for us in spite of that."

On Friday we attended a Christmas luncheon at White Oak Display in Palmyra, PA. (Photo taken afterward during a brief company meeting.) This company makes displays you see in many stores such as Bass Pro Shop, Hersheys and WaWa. We have served this company together for 16 years.

Friday evening we attended a Christmas banquet at the John Wright Restaurant in Wrightsville, PA across the Susquehanna River. We joined the employees of Kleen-Rite, a company that manufactures and sells equipment and supplies to car washes. Keith Lutz, one of the owners, expressed "excitement" about the snowfall that day. He spotted the first salt truck of the season. Of course salt and the road dirt on cars increases car wash usage and thus sales. When we served a home repair company they got excited about high winds and thunder storms that always increased their sales. Business owners often have a different view than car owners and home owners about such adverse weather conditions. Kleen-Rite company is headquartered in Columbia, PA and has large distribution centers in Mount Joy, Dallas, Kansas City and Las Vegas.

We regularly see most of the some 100 employees but rarely see the truck drivers for obvious reasons. Bill Risbon (on left) is 78 years old. He's been driving since he was 18 and has logged 10,000,000 miles.(You read that right!) He's still driving and told me he had a trip coming up this weekend. He's retired 4 times but keeps coming back.

Dean Thompson Family: On Saturday we had a visit from our longtime friends Dean and Jill Thompson and their family from North Carolina. Many of our regular readers will remember our visits with Marilyn Thompson whose beautiful home was located right across the road from the Pacific in San Diego. Marilyn passed away two years ago and we inherited her maltipoos, Rose and Falcon. How it happened: Dean, Marilyn's son, and his family kept the dogs for several months and then called to see if we'd be interested in increasing our canine family (we had two of our own at the time already). Dean's wife, Jill, knew we had a soft spot for these cute dogs we'd come to know during our visits over the years. We said "Yes" and they came to us in November two years ago via a flight from Los Angeles. They just turned 5 years old last week. The family came to see us AND the dogs. We wondered if Rosie and Falcon would remember them, and YES they sure did. Their tails wagged so fast it made me dizzy to watch them. They knew all of them the instant they walked into the door. It was a very fun reunion for the adults, children and dogs! Of course we had to put our Sadie in the photo lest she feel a little left out. She will be 6 years old on Jan. 2.

Over sixteen years ago on May 6, 2008, Marilyn Thompson who was a daily encouragement reader wanted to meet us. She brought along Jill and Dean and their two youngest at the time. What a delightful visit we had that would result in a long friendship with visits to Marilyn's houses both in Maryland and San Diego. Over the next several years, if you scroll back, you'll see that God greatly blessed Jill and Dean with five children over a five year span (twins included). They started late but quickly grew a "brood of kids". Marilyn was so proud of her grandchildren!

Resources for Christmas Celebrations

(We will leave these resources posted below our daily messages through Christmas)

Each year we share several online resources that we have used over the years and that may be a blessing to families and churches during this Christmas season.

"In Remembrance of Me" pdf This is a passion-filled Scripture reading for two adults. Brooksyne and I have used this reading with great receptivity during Christmas Eve services many years. We suggest, if possible, a musical background as the message is read. It is also a great lead-in to a Communion service. It should be thoroughly practiced and read with great expression.

"When Christ Was Born" pdf This is an adaptation to the tune of "How Great Thou Art". It's a great song to sing as a congregation since most are familiar with and love the tune.

Responsive Christmas Scripture readings for church or family:
John 1:1-18 pdf "O Come Let Us Adore Him" pdf

My First Christmas In Heaven This is a blessed reminder for all who lost a loved one this year. We first posted this when my Mom died in 2005.

Christmas Knowledge Test Test yourself to see how well you know the Christmas story! After you finish there is a link to test key.

Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne