✝ Daily Encouragement (11/28/22) "There's Joy In The House Of The Lord"
Published: Mon, 11/28/22
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.
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.
|
Monday, November 28, 2022
Yesterday afternoon we got acquainted with two calico colored goat twins on the Old Windmill Farm. Usually goats have rather coarse fur but these two have soft hair similar to our maltipoos and shih tzu. It felt more like petting a cat or dog rather than a goat!
(Click on photo to enlarge) "
There's Joy In The House Of The Lord"
Message summary:
Those who follow Christ we can have a great and lasting joy as we consider the present and future
reign of Christ.
 Listen to our message on your audio player.
"And also their relatives, from as far as Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, came bringing food on donkeys and on camels and on mules and on oxen, abundant provisions of flour, cakes of figs, clusters of raisins, and wine and oil, oxen and sheep, for there was joy in Israel" (1 Chronicles 12:40). 
In a footnote last Friday we shared about a traditional Thanksgiving meal delicacy here in the US. Cranberry sauce was surely served as a side dish on most dinner tables here in the U.S. About 25 years ago we lived in southeast Massachusetts near where Ocean Spray is headquartered and where there are many cranberry bogs. The visitor's center
in Plymouth and an annual cranberry festival hosted each fall by local growers is where we learned a lot about the growing and harvesting process.
In the nineties Ocean Spray wanted to expand their business and hired a marketing firm. They introduced the Craisin in 1995. The Craisin is a dried cranberry
similar to a raisin (which is a dried grape). I recall talking to man on a plane to Providence who was on this marketing team who told me about the new product when it was being introduced. Over 25 years later I am sure he is very pleased at the outcome!
Cranberries thrive best in beds within the bog, which consists of alternating layers of sand, peat, gravel and clay. Cranberry vines produce horizontal stems called runners that may grow up to six feet long and can spread profusely over the bog's floor. Whenharvested and appear atop a big pond you may wonder how deep they are but they're only a few feet deep. They
grow when the bog is dry and later it is flooded to harvest the berries. It is one the many interesting food industries in that area of the country such as lobstering.
Well, neither cranberries or craisins are mentioned in the Bible but todaywe consider a verse that does mention raisins. Of course the word craisin come from
raisin which initially prompted a lawsuit from the raisin industry!
"History indicates that raisins were discovered for the first time by accident when they were found in the dried form on vines as early as 2000 BC. Wall
paintings from ancient times show that dried fruits were consumed and used as decorations in the Mediterranean regions of Europe". (The California Raisin Marketing Board)
 Many of us have enjoyed raisins since we were children whether eating them outright or in a raisin filled cookie or pie. We often took them in our school lunch or ate them as an after school snack.
Raisins are mentioned numerous times in the Bible. Today's text is in chapter headlined "The Mighty Men Join David". It describes the time Saul
died and David was made king. It was a time of great unity, feasting and joy.
 Our daily text concludes the chapter and may tend to be overlooked when we read the Bible. "And also their relatives, from as far as Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, came bringing food
on donkeys and on camels and on mules and on oxen, abundant provisions of flour, cakes of figs, clusters of raisins, and wine and oil, oxen and sheep, for there was joy in
Israel"."Came bringing food". This verse may be the Biblical basis for the modern day potluck
dinner!
But our spiritual focus today are the six words that end the chapter: "For there was joy in Israel".
What a celebrative time this must have
been as the people looked forward with great anticipation to David's reign over the people of Israel.
As those who follow Christ we can have a much greater and lasting joy as we consider the present and future reign of Christ. Several times we have begun our
church service with a song that proclaims this.
There's joy in the house of the Lord
There's joy in the house of the Lord today And we won't be quiet We shout out Your praise Be encouraged today, (Hebrews
3:13)
Stephen & Brooksyne
Weber
 Daily prayer
: Father, history informs us and
our own eyes have seen that kings and kingdoms rise and fall. Sin-centered kingdoms fail, bringing destruction and death to both innocent and guilty. So we choose to give You our full allegiance worshiping You, our everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. The joy in Israel as David was installed as king cannot compare with the everlasting joy that will be upon us as we celebrate You, our eternal King of kings and Lord of lords, who died for the sins of the world and reigns forever within our
hearts and the courts of heaven. Amen.Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
"House Of The Lord" Video
Phil Wickham What a joy-filled song
to start a worship service with as we periodically do in our church.
Harvesting Cranberries - Farm Tour Video
This informative video is from Taunton where
we lived from 1993- 2001.
With Santa aboard the Strasburg Railroad this weekend the Casey Jones restaurant railroad dining car is filled to capacity - a sight we don't often see.
There have been times when we were the only customers. We often enjoy a nice meal there
All aboard..... the Stasburg steam
train
Chris Mansfield along with two daughters, Carrie and Katie
. Saturday afternoon we visited our long time friends, the Mansfields, whose family had
converged at this beautiful mansion all the way from New York, Pittsburgh, Boston and Virginia and perhaps other spots as well. As promoted "It’s your chance to live like an industrial tycoon at Annville’s Millard Mansion" and it was a most attractive mansion filled with treasures from all over the world. Jack and Chris
Mansfield attended our church about 40 years ago when we were in St. Marys, PA. and remain our dear friends. Jack, along with his son and grandson had gone hunting when the photo was taken)
Finally
today:
Falcon and his sister Rosie on Squirrel
Watch
Their setting has changed drastically from watching surfers on the Pacific Ocean which was right across Sunset Cliffs Boulevard from their former dwelling in
San Diego.
(Click on photo to enlarge)
|
Listen to these messages