Daily Encouragement (11/10/21) "Strangers In The World"
Published: Wed, 11/10/21
|
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 [email protected] 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
Wednesday, November 10, 2021
 Lebanon County Farm
(Click on photo to
enlarge to see even more rural beauty)
"Strangers In The World"
This world is not my home, I’m just a passin’ through,
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue. The angels beckon me from Heaven’s open door And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore. Listen to this message on your audio player. “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia” (1 Peter 1:1).
The customary main dish for Thanksgiving here in America is turkey. Due to the supply chain issues there may be a turkey shortage this year, according to news reports we've heard. Today Brooksyne plans to stop at Stauffers, a local market that is advertising them. I recall as a young boy being intrigued that there was a country named Turkey which seemed funny to me since I only associated turkey with the big bird! The apostle Peter wrote his first epistle to believers who lived in the region of present day Turkey (also known as Asia Minor), an area evangelized by Paul during his first missionary journey in Acts 13 and 14. The letter was not written to a specific individual or church as many other New Testament letters are, but “to God’s elect, strangers in the world”, scattered throughout the region.
Peter wrote this letter later in life about 30 years after the resurrection of Christ. Social conditions in the Roman Empire were rapidly deteriorating, though it would still be many years before Rome's complete collapse. Nero was likely in power and his reign was a time of intense suffering for Christians. In this very letter Peter encouraged his fellow believers with this somber reality, “Do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12). But today we want to especially focus on the phrase he uses to address them in his salutation as "strangers in the world". The underlying Greek word for “strangers” (parepidemois) is used only three times in the New Testament; twice by Peter in this letter (here and 2:11, and Hebrews 11:13). It fundamentally means “a resident foreigner”. The word describes one who makes a brief stay in a strange or foreign place, who sojourns or who resides temporarily among a native people to whom he or she does not belong. The stranger did not expect to be regarded as a native of the place where he resided. We must ever be on our guard to resist acclimating our minds or aligning our affections with this evil world system which is “devolving” and corrupting day by day. Remember that we are “strangers”. Feeling "at home" in this world should not be our life's goal, as the "home" we should long for is not of this world.
When Lot stopped being a stranger, and became a resident, even a leader among the inhabitants of Sodom (Genesis 13:1-18), he lost his consecration and his testimony. Everything he lived for went up in smoke! (Genesis 19:1-29) Jim Elliot, a dedicated missionary martyred in the jungles of Ecuador as a young man, was one of great faith. His lasting legacy is evident in his most famous quote: “He is no fool to give what he cannot keep,
to gain what he cannot lose.” We need to keep reminding ourselves that we are residing here as strangers in this present evil age. Our primary citizenship is in heaven. We do well to keep a proper Biblical perspective of our life span on this earth; that we are merely strangers passing through. It won’t be a difficult concept to grasp several hundred years into eternity. But at this point, in our temporal existence, all we see with our natural eyes is this physical world. Today let us heed the message that Peter wrote to the early believers and remember that we are merely strangers passing through! Let's live our lives with a song in our heart, and I suppose no song puts it better in this regard than an old gospel hymn: This world is not my home, I’m just a passin’ through,
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue. The angels beckon me from Heaven’s open door And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore. Be encouraged today, (Hebrews 3:13)
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber  Daily prayer: Father, we’re so thankful
that when our earthly tent is destroyed, we have a building from You, an eternal house in heaven. We make it our life long goal to remain strangers in this world as we maintain friendship with You, our Heavenly Father. Like the Apostle Paul we strain toward that which is ahead as we press toward the goal to win the prize for which You have called us heavenward in Christ Jesus. In Your appointed hour our lowly bodies will be transformed into immortality. We eagerly await that transformation when
anticipation becomes reality for the faithful! Amen.Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
"This World Is Not My Home" Video Guy Penrod
"Wayfaring Stranger" Video The Isaacs  For several weeks our Tuesday early morning drive through Lebanon County was in the dark as we approached the peak of fall foliage. With the time change this last weekend we had a pleasant drive yesterday morning along Rt 117 near Mount Gretna and saw still lots of color.
(Click on photo to enlarge)  A bit farther along we got off the main road to see these structures amidst the surrounding farm land.
(Click on photo to enlarge)  (Click on photo to
enlarge)
 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: STEPHEN & BROOKSYNE WEBER - 700001-237376 SERVING IN SPECIALIZED CHAPLAINCY  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: $16,485.00 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
 Great Smoky Mountains National Park 7/23/21
"Living securely today anchored in God's solid foundation" |
Listen to these messages