Daily Encouragement (8/6/21) "If Only For This Life"
Published: Fri, 08/06/21
|
A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation. The online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber.
You are receiving this email because you have signed up to receive our Daily Encouragement messages or it was forwarded to you. Don't forget to add scweber@dailyencouragement.net to your address book so we'll be sure to land in your inbox! Having trouble viewing this email? Click here.   <Previous Message Web version of this message
Friday, August 6, 2021  This morning we passed this barn sale near Willow Street with a good attention-getting prop, a FarmAll tractor!
"If Only For This Life"
"If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied" (1 Corinthians 15:19).
All through life we all have hopes and dreams. That's a healthy part of life. We're not speaking here only in a spiritual sense but the hopes we have throughout life.
Our daily text has been on my heart the last several days, especially the phrase "If only for this life". We see the continuation and increase of perilous times in our nation and world. Regardless of what we hope for on this side it seems to be diminishing. So many have hope only for this life and when conditions seem increasingly hopeless they may easily despair. What a fitting time to look beyond this life!
When we were young Christians we both enjoyed a popular Christian musician named Andraé Crouch. He wrote a lot of great songs including one that we used in our wedding, "To God be The Glory" (My Tribute).
 He had a lesser known song with some intriguing words titled, "If Heaven Was Never Promised to Me".But if heaven never was promised to me,
Neither God's promise to live eternally.
It's been worth just having the Lord in my life. Living in a world of darkness, You came along and brought me the light. The basic premise if that even if there were no eternal future it would be worth it "just having the Lord in my life" here and now in our earthly journey. Now that's a great perspective to have but, thankfully, we do have God's promise to live eternally!
Let's examine today's text. It's part of the long chapter (1 Corinthians 15) Paul wrote in defense of the resurrection. Incredibly even in the early days of the church an error had crept in that there was no future resurrection for the believer. In the verses preceding our daily text Paul had written:
"But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are
then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that He raised Christ from the dead. But He did not raise Him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost" (1 Corinthians 15:12-17).
Paul sums up this paragraph with the daily text. "If only for this life we have hope in Christ we are of all people most to be pitied." Christ said, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full". Regardless of the conditions in which we live, Jesus Christ wants us to have a full and abundant life. As
Andraé Crouch wrote, It's been worth just having the Lord in my life. Living in a world of darkness, You came along and brought me the light."
So why would we need to be pitied?" Because Jesus Christ
is the living Lord and has indeed been raised from the dead. The very next verse states, "But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead" (15:20). His resurrection is foundational to the Gospel. We serve a living Savior!
Eternal (everlasting) life is also at the heart of the Gospel! In what is likely the most famous verse in the entire Bible we read, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).
So above all else place your hope in God and His promises, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.
Be encouraged today, (Hebrews 3:13)
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
 Daily prayer: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ! In Your great mercy You have given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for us, who through faith are shielded by Your power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this we greatly rejoice, though now for a little while we may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so
that the proven genuineness of our faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though we have not seen You, we love You; and even though we do not see You now, we believe in You and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for we are receiving the end result of our faith, the salvation of our souls. (Adapted from 1 Peter 1:3-9)
Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
"Christ Our Hope in Life and Death" Video Getty, Boswell, Kauflin, Papa, Merker
What is our hope in life and death?
Christ alone, Christ alone What is our only confidence? That our souls to Him belong Who holds our days within His hand? What comes, apart from His command? And what will keep us to the end? The love of Christ, in which we stand "Sovereign Over Us" Video Aaron Keyes
There is strength within the sorrow
There is beauty in our tears And You meet us in our mourning With a love that casts out fear You are working in our waiting You're sanctifying us When beyond our understanding You're teaching us to trust Your plans are still to prosper You have not forgotten us You're with us in the fire and the flood You're faithful forever Perfect in love You are sovereign over us You are wisdom unimagined Who could understand Your ways Reigning high above the Heavens Reaching down in endless grace You're the lifter of the lowly Compassionate and kind You surround and You uphold me And Your promises are my delight Your plans are still to prosper You have not forgotten us You're with us in the fire and the flood You're faithful forever Perfect in love You are sovereign over us [x2] Even what the enemy means for evil You turn it for our good You turn it for our good and for Your glory Even in the valley, You are faithful You're working for our good You're working for our good and for Your glory [x2] Your plans are still to prosper You have not forgotten us You're with us in the fire and the flood You're faithful forever Perfect in love You are sovereign over us [x2] You're faithful forever Perfect in love You are sovereign over us "Living Hope" Video Shane & Shane
 Yesterday we posed with a giant Amish man with a winnowing fork on the property of Hershey Farm where we are beginning to plan for our 2022 family reunion. The giant sure gives us the appearance of appearing as little people! Just take a look at his big feet!
 This family is filling up the wagon!
Finally today:
Earlier this week we developed a little quiz based on employees we see who have Bible names.
 Yesterday at Smucker and Sons home improvement I visited with these two carpenters.
Left: He is named after one of the two spies who gave a good report to Moses who is not named Caleb.
Right: He is named after a beloved physician.
 I visited with these two young men at Kleen-Rite this morning
Foreground on phone: I was mistaken that he had a Bible name but it is rather one famous in church history. In 165, he was arrested for his faith. In answer to threats of death, he is reported to have said, "If we are punished for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, we hope to be saved." He was beheaded under the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, son of Antonius Pius, and he later became known as ______ Martyr.
Standing in background: I am named after a man, who as a boy was rather curious as to why his father was going to a place of sacrifice without a sacrificial animal.  Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne
To receive the "Daily Encouragement" each Monday-Friday through email see here to sign up for our email list. You can also subscribe to the Wordpress rss feed or through a Wordpress email subscription. (See the email subscription on the right side after opening this page.)
 We want to thank all who financially support our ministry. If you would like to make a donation to our ministry see here for more information.
To donate directly online through our chaplaincy account click here. This will open to a page that designates the offering to: WEBER,STEPHEN CHAP, Specialized Chaplaincy Ministry ID: 700001-237376  Please Note: We also provide this easy option due to the convenience, for international
supporters, and for those who may not be concerned regarding receiving an official tax deductible receipt. Click here to send an offering using PayPal. This will open to a page that states "Brooksyne Weber".2021 YTD offerings to Daily Encouragement Net: $11,130.00 Permissions: Please feel free to pass on, reproduce and distribute any material on Daily Encouragement Net, in part or in whole, in any format, provided that you do not alter the wording in any way or charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. It is our desire to spread this material, not protect or restrict it. We do request that you keep the contact, copyright and subscription information intact.
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 make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity." © Copyright 2021 Stephen C. & Brooksyne Weber - All Rights Reserved
 In front of sign at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park 7/23/21
"Living securely today anchored in God's solid foundation" |
Listen to these messages