Daily Encouragement (11/12/21) "Jesus Cares For Me"
Published: Fri, 11/12/21
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A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation. The online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber.
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Friday, November 12, 2021 
"Jesus Cares For Me"
Message summary: What a tremendous blessing and relief that we can all confidently declare, Jesus cares for me!
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"Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7).
We have been serving in ministry for over 45 years since we first got married in May 1996. For 25 years I served as pastor in several local churches with Brooksyne working right alongside me, often working longer and harder in her various roles! For twenty years now we have both been serving in chaplaincy, both to the workplace and through this internet ministry. Really though, all three ministry types dovetail
together; our mission is to express the love and care of Jesus.
Yesterday we received an email from a caring mother whom we have never personally met. For many years we visited with her son who works in one of the companies we have served as chaplains. The connection point is daily encouragement, which her son told her about. She wrote to share a burden on her heart, requesting prayer.
One of the great needs we all have is to know we are cared about. We often take for granted or expect that others care about us, but for so many this is not the case. Knowing you are cared for by others is a great blessing, but knowing you are cared for by God is an even greater blessing.
Today let's try to reconstruct a New Testament church service in present day Turkey identified as "God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia” (1 Peter 1:1,2). These were regions rather than cities so this was likely written to a group of local churches separated by many miles.
They were undergoing persecution like so many are today. The esteemed apostle Peter wrote them a letter that was circulated and read verbally to the individual congregations. Wouldn't it have been interesting to be present in one of those services? Like our church services today they likely sang, prayed, and heard a sermon presented by a pastor or church leader. Then the room grew especially quiet as a letter from Peter was read. People in that age surely had a lot better attention span and didn't have many of the distractions we have today, though a group of mixed ages will surely present some distractions and possible interruptions. But they came to church with many of the same burdens that people bear from every generation including our own; medical problems, financial challenges, marriage and family strife, loss of loved ones, people tempted to return to the world's patterns and struggling with sin, etc, etc.
Read 1 Peter in their shoes. Some content that may seem rather academic to us was quite personal to them. It takes about 16 minutes to read 1 Peter in English presumably similar to the original so it really wasn't a long message. Having less modern day distractions than we have today helped fixed on the elder reading the letter. I think when he got to this part of the message it must have deeply touched the people. "πᾶσαν τὴν μέριμναν ὑμῶν ἐπιρίψαντες ἐπ' αὐτόν, ὅτι αὐτῷ μέλει περὶ ὑμῶν." That's the actual Greek text the NT was written in.
Thank the Lord for translators so that we can understand Peter's message: "Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7).
Consider the blessing of being cared for today. Think of people you know who care about you and think of those you especially care about. The act of caring for one another provides so many opportunities for us to develop and cultivate the fruit of the Spirit in our lives as we put into practice these spiritual virtues such as love, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control. Yet sadly there are many in every community, workplace and even in our churches who wonder if anyone does indeed care. We talk with those in the workplace who are very lonely and even being around other people does not always keep one from being lonely. Broken relationships abound, children who don't have the love and support from their parents, or vice versa, and discord is experienced in many settings. Today we are so happy to report that God provides a constant source of care. Rejoice in this simple statement of truth in the latter part of the daily text. "He cares for you". These are powerful words. You can personalize this statement on the veracity of God's reassuring words, "Jesus cares for me". Today, right now, Jesus cares for you. He knows when your heart is pained, when burdens press and cares distress. He knows when your day is weary and your long night is dreary. He knows the sources of anxiety you are dealing with. When it seems no one else wants to help carry our load we are invited, or even implored, to cast our burdens upon our Lord! What a tremendous blessing and relief that we can confidently declare, Jesus cares for me! Jesus cares for me
It seems too good to be All my worries and doubts released Jesus cares for me Be encouraged today, (Hebrews 3:13)
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber  Daily prayer: Father, though we feel at times
no one cares about our needs or even notices that we are in need, we are assured that You take notice and You do care for us. We are invited to pour out the contents of our heart to You. We are not silenced because You're too preoccupied with other matters or unable to meet our need. The prophet Isaiah reminds us that Your arm is not too weak to save us nor is your ear too deaf to hear us when we call upon You. You never weary of hearing from us, for Your heart is touched by our grief, our
perplexities, our weaknesses and our loneliness. We thank You that we can cast our cares upon You because You really do care for us. The best of what You have for us is yet to come in the life eternal when that which contributes to our heartaches of this life will no longer exist. We thank You for being the best Caregiver we will ever have. Amen.Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
"Jesus Cares For Me" Video Bart Millard This song really blesses us!!!
"Does Jesus Care" Video Canton Junction We dedicate this song today to a special friend who is going through a hard time. May Jesus give him a deep assurance that Yes, He cares!
"Lay Your Burdens Down" Video Chuck Girard
Yesterday we walked the path alongside Donegal Creek and saw these ducks near Colebrook Road. We had another beautiful and warmer day though the colder temps are
projected, though nothing like the Northerns Plains predicted to get blizzard like weather early in the week.
Brooksyne's follow-up: On September 27th I had surgery, followed by six weeks of restrictions such as not lifting items weighing more than 5 to 10# (sorry,
Sadie), and the worst restriction was not bending over. Using the "Reach" tool became a daily necessity many times over, along with Stephen and Ester doing some extra bending for me (they were overall very good to come to my aid). Have you ever considered how many things you drop in a day's time? I went back for my six week follow up and the doctor lifted both restrictions for which I felt like a FREE woman. Finally I can do chores that have been put off during the six week
recovery. But even more importantly I want to thank our readers for your prayers lifted for me during my recovery period. It really does feel so good being cared for not only by immediate family members but also by my spiritual family members who are spread out from all across the globe.
Finally today:
Mark Pulliam is a longtime friend who sang the national anthem yesterday at Veteran's Day service in King Of Prussia, PA off this Mission BBQ truck as a
platform!
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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 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
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