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Wednesday, February 15, 2012
We passed this tidy Lancaster County farm last Friday and what caught our attention most was the huge tree that stood out!
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“How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalm 119:103). “Your words were found and I ate them, and Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart; For I have been called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts” (Jeremiah 15:16).
Yesterday
we shared a photo of chocolate covered strawberries Brooksyne prepared
for me on Valentine’s Day. They not only looked appealing but were
delicious. However Brooksyne had a different experience while eating
one and I’ve asked her to share in her own words:
I was cleaning up in the kitchen and couldn’t resist picking up a chocolate covered strawberry and popping it into my mouth. I was enjoying the sweet taste from the juicy strawberry that was so pleasing to my taste buds when suddenly my sense of smell overrode the sweet taste in my mouth. A familiar though disgusting smell overtook me and I quickly expunged the partially eaten strawberry (sorry to be so descriptive) as I was trying to solve the mystery.
Upon
further inspection I spotted the nasty culprit – a stink bug had
already staked its claim on the chocolate strawberry that I’d chosen to
eat. The brown bug’s color blended perfectly with the
thick chocolate and pecan mixture resulting in my nasty surprise. Thankfully I didn’t chew the stink bug nor did I swallow the critter or I might have smelled like a stink bug all day.
When I came down to tell Stephen of my horrid experience I didn’t have to show him the ugly critter, he smelled it on my breath. What a lovely Valentine greeting I brought him!
But
there is a genuinely sweet treat we can all partake of. We can take in as much as we
want and it will only increase our spiritual vitality! The Psalmist
declares, “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” Elsewhere he stated, “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8).
Psalm 119 is a wonderful extolling of the Scriptures. David had far less of the written Word than we have today, as portions of the Old Testament and all of the New Testament were not yet written. Yet he declared, "How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" May we all have this same attitude concerning His eternal Words. Consider this the next time you enjoy some honey!
Like Jeremiah my prayer is that I may experience God's words as "the joy and the delight of my heart."
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily Prayer: Father, when we examine the Scriptures we see how good you are.
Just as we engage our physical senses in tasting food we engage our
spiritual senses in learning who You are and how You guide us by Your
Spirit. Though we cannot see You, our spirit senses the work You’re
doing in our life. Though we cannot hear You, You lead us through
Your commands in Scripture. Though we cannot feel You, we are warmed by
Your loving words expressed in the Bible. Though we cannot touch You we
feel the extension of Your love as You work on our behalf. Your scent
is present in the very air that we breathe and the beauty of Your
creation that surrounds us everyday. Your words are sweet to our
taste as we hunger for your goodness. May we in turn offer up a sweet
smelling sacrifice that is pleasing to You. In Jesus’ name we
pray. Amen.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Listen
to this
message on
your
audio player“How Sweet Are Your Words!
“How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalm 119:103). “Your words were found and I ate them, and Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart; For I have been called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts” (Jeremiah 15:16).
Yesterday
we shared a photo of chocolate covered strawberries Brooksyne prepared
for me on Valentine’s Day. They not only looked appealing but were
delicious. However Brooksyne had a different experience while eating
one and I’ve asked her to share in her own words:I was cleaning up in the kitchen and couldn’t resist picking up a chocolate covered strawberry and popping it into my mouth. I was enjoying the sweet taste from the juicy strawberry that was so pleasing to my taste buds when suddenly my sense of smell overrode the sweet taste in my mouth. A familiar though disgusting smell overtook me and I quickly expunged the partially eaten strawberry (sorry to be so descriptive) as I was trying to solve the mystery.
Upon
further inspection I spotted the nasty culprit – a stink bug had
already staked its claim on the chocolate strawberry that I’d chosen to
eat. The brown bug’s color blended perfectly with the
thick chocolate and pecan mixture resulting in my nasty surprise. Thankfully I didn’t chew the stink bug nor did I swallow the critter or I might have smelled like a stink bug all day.When I came down to tell Stephen of my horrid experience I didn’t have to show him the ugly critter, he smelled it on my breath. What a lovely Valentine greeting I brought him!
But
there is a genuinely sweet treat we can all partake of. We can take in as much as we
want and it will only increase our spiritual vitality! The Psalmist
declares, “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” Elsewhere he stated, “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8).Psalm 119 is a wonderful extolling of the Scriptures. David had far less of the written Word than we have today, as portions of the Old Testament and all of the New Testament were not yet written. Yet he declared, "How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" May we all have this same attitude concerning His eternal Words. Consider this the next time you enjoy some honey!
Like Jeremiah my prayer is that I may experience God's words as "the joy and the delight of my heart."
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily Prayer: Father, when we examine the Scriptures we see how good you are.
Just as we engage our physical senses in tasting food we engage our
spiritual senses in learning who You are and how You guide us by Your
Spirit. Though we cannot see You, our spirit senses the work You’re
doing in our life. Though we cannot hear You, You lead us through
Your commands in Scripture. Though we cannot feel You, we are warmed by
Your loving words expressed in the Bible. Though we cannot touch You we
feel the extension of Your love as You work on our behalf. Your scent
is present in the very air that we breathe and the beauty of Your
creation that surrounds us everyday. Your words are sweet to our
taste as we hunger for your goodness. May we in turn offer up a sweet
smelling sacrifice that is pleasing to You. In Jesus’ name we
pray. Amen.I just learned this recently; I suppose I had never given it much thought. Each worker bee only produces about 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey in its entire lifetime. The accumulation of such enormous stores of honey in a hive in one day are due to there being anywhere from 20,000 to 80,000 + bees in the hive at one time - all doing the work of nursing brood, cleaning 'house', guarding stores, and foraging for nectar. A bee goes out to forage for honey, visiting 100 flowers per each trip out of the hive, making approximately 10 trips per day, for each day of her whole life - as a forager. (Her life is only 42-45 days). She literally works herself to death for one to 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey. Consider this the next time you spread 1 or 2 teaspoons of honey on a piece of toast! Source
We have a friend who has a daughter taking a medication that has an unintended side effect of completely removing her appetite for sweets! Unfortunately, for the young lady, she could stand to gain a few pounds and the medicine is becoming an interference to this physical need. However, for most of us our consumption of high calorie sweet treats is an ongoing battle in which we must make great effort to restrict our intake.
Today's
Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
"Medley beginning with The Law of the Lord" (Psalm 19) Video
"Hungry" Video Kathryn Scott
"Bread Of Heaven" Video
"Fill My Cup, Lord" Video
Send
a message
to Stephen &
Brooksyne
"Medley beginning with The Law of the Lord" (Psalm 19) Video
"Hungry" Video Kathryn Scott
"Bread Of Heaven" Video
"Fill My Cup, Lord" Video
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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.
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 please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and to prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
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