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Welcome to Daily
Encouragement Net!
Stephen
and
Brooksyne Weber
"We
want to encourage
you daily in your walk with Christ!"
Each
weekday this
website is updated with an encouraging new message
prepared by Stephen and Brooksyne.
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Personal
Ministry Update (Revised
05/08/09) Worldwide
mission impact Reader
comments Powerpoint presentation
used at
churches and conferences to present this ministry.
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this daily encouragement. You may easily unsubscribe at any
time." Daily
prayers:
A selection of prayers written by Brooksyne used in these
messages. Listen
to WDAC "Music for the Heart"
(Streaming HD
radio from our local Christian station)
Agora:
Articles concerning ministry at work. Resources
for Ministers:
Helps and ideas for pastors and others in
ministry.
Hymn
Story Net: Stories and
backgrounds behind the great
hymns. Scripture Memory Songs: A
selection of Scripture verses we
recorded in our home with
some friends. The words are
set to familar music
as an aid to memorization in a discipleship training class. Music:
Songs recorded in my home studio.
Perspectives:
Articles on various contemporary issues.
"A
Little Foolishness" I
invite daily encouragement readers to visit our
blog which is a collection of humorous and satirical
stories
drawn
mostly from our years of ministry, as well as my sometimes fertile
imagination. We also welcome submissions from readers. Humor:
Have a laugh based on real experiences we have had as well as stories
submitted
by readers.
These
are a
selection of books that Brooksyne and I have read that have impacted
our walk with the
Lord and we especially recommend to others!
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Personal
Mission Statement
"I
am created by God to bring
Him glory. Through God’s Son, Jesus Christ, I have been
redeemed and I make it my life’s goal to honor God through my
faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for
eternity."
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Us
Amish hay harvest All
through the summer there are different times for harvest. This
is alfalfa hay being harvested by my friends Eli and Jesse. The
team pulls the operation but a gasoline-powered generator is used to
run the hay baler. Do you notice the puff of smoke in the background
(center left)? That's the steam engine from the Strasburg
Railroad.
Listen to
us share this message on your
audio player.
"A Safeguard For The Soul"
"Finally,
my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no
trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you" (Philippians 3:1). "So I
will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and
are firmly established in the truth you now have. I think it is right
to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body,
because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ
has made clear to me. And I will make every effort to see that after my
departure you will always be able to remember these things" (2 Peter
1:12-15).
What
do you think of when you hear the word "safeguard"? For many years it
has been a popular brand of bath soap and we periodically use it in our
home. I like the fragrance and supposedly using it is a "safeguard"
against offensive body odors. We also serve as chaplains at a
company called Safeguard that, among other things, makes pet homes and
thus the name. But today's first text deals with another type
of safeguard, one we will call a "safeguard
for the soul."
For many as we get older
we tend to be more forgetful and may speak of "senior moments" or as a
friend shared in last night's Bible Study, "data overload".
This is generally short-term memory loss (like forgetting where we put
our wallet, coffee cup, car keys, cell phone, etc.). These
are common sources of minor frustration in our home.
Apparently
a different part of our brain is used for long-term memory and it is
not necessarily related. When my mom's fall resulted in a major head
injury over ten years ago we were advised to expect the greatest impact
would be her short-term memory and that proved to be true. We
need certain prompts to keep us on track, like some tying a string
around a finger or post-it notes (we use a lot of those!).
Today
we want to share about the most important memory prompts, reminders of
spiritual truths.
I have on occasion taught a senior
class. Most class members have been believers for many years
and are familiar with the teachings of the Bible. I realize
particularly with this group my function as a teacher is to remind and
reinforce truths they already know and spur them on to faithfulness
toward God. Now certainly I hope that I periodically share a
new insight or perspective on an old truth but I am fundamentally
committed to "earnestly
contending for the faith once for all delivered to the saints"
(Jude 3). I am not interested in "tickling
ears" (see 2 Timothy 4:2-4)
Let me ask you a question as a maturing
believer (if we are a believer we should all be in the process of
maturing whether young or old in age). How do you respond
when you receive teaching that you are familiar with? Among
some I have noticed a critical spirit expressed by a cavalier, "I
already know that" attitude, while many clamor after "new
teachings". I so appreciate those who have a sweet, receptive
spirit and accept the reminders of truth with joy. That's how I want to
be as I "mature" in years and Christian experience. May old
well-known truths bring reassurance and refreshing to my inner soul.
The
daily texts, although written by two different apostles (Paul and
Peter), are similar and express an attitude we should have when we are
reminded of truths of which we are already familiar. The
apostle Paul was aware that he had shared the same things before with
the Philippians but spoke of them as a "safeguard".
That's a great attitude for us to have as we receive unchanging truth
in this day where the shifting sands of relativism abound.
Although
Peter was confident his readers not only knew the truths he shared but
were also established in them, he pledged to be steadfast in reminding
them of these things. He was determined to "make every effort to see that
after my departure you will always be able to remember these things."
That's a faithful minister!
Do you receive the
reminders of truth with joy? I recall the line in an old hymn
that puts it this way, "I love to tell the story, for those who know it
best, seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest."
That's how I want to be!
Be encouraged
today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer:Father,
may our hearts reflect that of songwriter Catherine Hankey who found it
a privilege to repeat the gospel message to all who would
hear. With each telling of the salvation story she found its
message more wonderfully sweet within her own spirit. May we
never weary of the basics of the gospel and never lose the awe and
wonder of seeing a life that is changed when redemption takes
place. We want to hunger and thirst after righteousness and
never lose sight of the old, old story that will be our theme
throughout eternity. In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
An old memory!
Brooksyne's paternal grandpa, Elbert Sherrell, was one of the godliest
men I ever met. He and his wife lived in a very simple
concrete block home on a desolate mountain ridge in northwest Arkansas
which was reached after traveling about twenty miles of rugged dirt
roads. He didn't drive and used a team of mules for
farming. He and Brooksyne's grandma made a monthly trip to
town with one of his children for food supplies. He had a
very simple but extremely earnest faith that set him apart as one who
loved the fundamental truths of the gospel. Over thirty years later I
can still hear his earnest voice as he prayed nightly for his children
and grandchildren. He was mentally as sharp as a tack until he died
suddenly of a heart attack while going about his farm work.
One night
shortly after we married we drove down from the Springfield MO area and
visited her grandparents. We thought it would be exciting (or perhaps I
did) to go back into a corner of the property and sleep out under the
black canopy of stars in the back of our little pickup. Brooksyne had
heard many stories of weird things (unsolved mysteries) that had
happened on the mountain since childhood which she began to speak of as
we lay in the wide open space. The sound of the summer insects and wild
animal sounds in the mountains was practically deafening. Needless to
say we didn't sleep very well. It was very scary and we were
most anxious to see the sunrise in the very early morning
hours! For the curious here's a google map of the location.
Today's
Suggested Music
and
Supplemental Resources Click
on the link to open and play.
(In
some cases you may also need to click
again to start the song.)
"I Love To Tell The Story"Video The Chuck Wagon
Gang
Regardless
of what country you may live in we sure need a revival! On Sunday
morning July 5 our church will join many others in participating in "Call2Fall", a nationwide prayer
meeting. We encourage others to look into this, especially pastors here
in America. Essentially this is a definite time during worship
on Sunday, July 5th
when we
get on our knees before the Lord in repentant prayer,
pleading with God to reshape our lives, renew our land, and send times
of refreshing (See 2 Chronicles 7:14; Acts 3:19).
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