Daily Encouragement (1/5/22) "The Greatest Resignation" (Part 1)
Published: Wed, 01/05/22
|
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, January 5, 2022
 "The Greatest Resignation"
(Part 1)
Message summary: The greatest resignation is resigning from following Christ and being His disciple.
Listen to this message on your audio player.
“From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more” (John 6:66).
 Last night Harry and Ruth came over to our place for a visit. We met because I will be conducting their wedding ceremony in several weeks. They're a
Christian couple, both widowed, and have found new love in their later years. Brooksyne knows Ruth from our local Mount Joy Gift and Thrift where she serves as a volunteer cashier and where Ruth also works. Ruth is especially admired for her decorating skills in displaying donated items in such a way they have the look and appeal of a purchase you might make at your local department store.In seeking to get to know them better, I asked Harry what he had done for a living, assuming he was retired. He told me, "Oh, I'm still working", which initially embarrassed me since he appeared to be older than me and I was concerned I might have offended him assuming he no longer worked. I was relieved when he told me he was 80. But he still works 35 hours a week at the same wire factory he has worked at for 59 years! How often
do you hear a story like that these days?
He enjoys working and staying active but he also told me how much the company values his work. Growing up on a dairy farm he had learned early the practice of working hard and being responsible, character qualities any company will value.
But his company, like many others all around the country, is now dealing with the difficulty of finding workers. Lately I've been hearing the term, "Great Resignation" such as this headline in yesterday's USA Today newspaper, "Great Resignation: The number of people quitting jobs
hit an all-time high in November as openings stayed near record".
This great resignation describes the mass exodus from the workforce. It's an interesting and troubling phenomenon but in a nutshell it has spiritual causes. Far too many no longer ascribe to the "work ethic" nor practice the first part of the fourth commandment which states "six days thou shalt work".
But today let us consider an even greater resignation. Resigning from following Christ and being His disciple.
 Surely our first daily text is one of the saddest expressions in the Bible. “From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more” (John 6:66). This was the
response by many who, upon hearing the teachings of Jesus, responded this way, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” (John 6:60). This remains the reaction of many when confronted with His teaching.Some of Christ's teaching indeed seems hard in the sense of being hard to understand. Some issues make sense to us, others we accept by faith, not fully understanding with our mind. However I have learned that there are many previously hard teachings that become easier to grasp after a period of maturation and experience as a Christian. But some of His teaching is "hard" in the sense of it being hard to live by. The call to serious discipleship is hard. I believe that's the sense in our daily text. Many years ago I read a book dealing with discipleship. The author, with deep conviction, expressed the teachings of Christ without any soft-pedaling so that each point brought about some discomfort in my usual "comfort level" of following Christ. I believe the sense in the text is “hard to live by”. We can see from some of the disciple's response: “From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.” Mike Ratliff writes in “The High Cost of Discipleship”, “The message of salvation that is normally preached or taught in the vast majority of churches these days has been contaminated with Humanism. The focus is on becoming a Christian for some great benefit or reward from God based upon little to no personal cost. Masses of people respond to that false gospel as well. The genuine gospel that our Saviour preached during His earthly ministry may have mentioned the benefits of being saved, but He
emphasized the cost of becoming His disciple in such a way that it caused many of His hearers to not follow Him anymore. In fact, whenever He saw that the people were flocking to Him to have their felt needs met, He would speak a message to them that expressed that those who are His disciples are the ones who have counted the cost and seen that the eternal is all that truly matters.”
After many of His disciples walked away, “Jesus then said to the twelve, ‘Do you also want to go away?’” (v.67). Peter spoke up and uttered one of the greatest faith statements in the entire Bible: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (vv.68,69). Amen, that’s my belief today as well and I want it to be every day! Let us, like Peter, consecrate ourselves to God and continue as His follower. “A faithful follower I would be, for by His hand He leadeth me.” By the grace of God let us resolve never to go back to our old way of life or be a part of the greatest resignation.
Be encouraged today, (Hebrews 3:13)
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
 Daily prayer: Father, there is no one or no thing that deserves our complete allegiance, but You, our Lord, have the words of eternal
life. Though others may refuse to listen or turn away from the message of salvation we choose to persevere. We persevere in trial and in victory, in the ups and downs and in the course of everyday life. We do not want to be among those who walk with You no more. We seek to steadfastly follow you and do Your will in all things so that we bring honor to Your name. Amen. He’s an ex-con and told me what he does whenever he is tempted to go back to his old way of life. He takes out his faded inmate ID card which reminds him of his past. Although I am sure most of us don’t carry a prison ID card that got me thinking and I will pose it to each reader today. What do you have as a disincentive to ever going back to your old way of life? Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
 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. We realize there are many fine ministries and causes requesting support but if you would like to make a donation to our ministry see here for more information. To donate directly online click here
. This will open to a page that designates
the offering to: STEPHEN & BROOKSYNE WEBER - 700001-237376 SERVING IN SPECIALIZED CHAPLAINCY Please Note: If you desire you can donate directly through PayPal using this link. This will open to a page that states "Brooksyne Weber".
We keep this option available due to the familiarity, convenience, international supporters, and for those who may not need an official receipt. You can also set up for recurring donations. You can also use PayPal on this link.2021 YTD offerings to Daily Encouragement Net: $34,065.00 (Final accounting will not be ready till about 1/10/22 due to lag in posting at end of year)
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 2022 Stephen C. & Brooksyne Weber - All Rights Reserved
 At Shadow Mountain church courtyard 12/5/21
"Living securely today anchored in God's solid foundation" |
Listen to these messages