✝ Daily Encouragement (6/12/23) "He Is Able"
Published: Mon, 06/12/23
A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation. The online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber.
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Monday, June 12, 2023
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Saturday we joined friends from our ABF class for a 19 mile ride along the Susquehanna River. This is a photo
of the Safe Harbor Trestle.
(Click to enlarge)
"He Is
Able!"
Message summary:
Today's message is written with reassurance that Christ is able to hold us fast.
Listen
to our message on your audio player.
"Your right hand will hold me fast" (Psalm 139:10). "Now unto Him who is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen" (Jude 1:24,25).
When I fear my faith will fail, Christ will hold me
fast;
When the tempter would prevail, He will hold me fast. I could never keep my hold through life's fearful path; For my love is often cold; He must hold me fast. Jim and Wendy Gambini have been our friends for over twenty years since we first moved to Lancaster County in early 2001. Jim was our pastor for the first several years, a significant change for us, since I had a pastoral role from the first week of our marriage in 1976 up to the time we moved to Lancaster County. Now we would find ourselves seated in a pew every Sunday in the church just up the road from our farmhouse rental.
A lot has changed since 2001 but we have continued to stay up with the
Gambinis through the years even after they moved to Georgia many years ago to be near their son and his family. Wendy has been ill for several years and yesterday we received word that she passed away.
She was only a year younger than Brooksyne and Brooksyne was often mistaken for her at church and in other local settings.
Jim wrote this thoughtful note concerning their 44th wedding anniversary
several years ago while Wendy's disease was progressing:
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As expressed in his note in recent years the Gambinis have faced some
critical health challenges, the kind that tests one's faith, but Jim gives a powerful expression of assurance that "the grace of God has always been superabundant".
His words also remind us of how we were blessed week after week by Jim's
well-crafted, thoroughly prepared sermons. But we also remember Jim for his benedictions concluding our service. He would often use Jude's benediction in our second daily text.
So today let us consider Jude's benediction. A benediction is a short
prayer for divine help, blessing and guidance, usually spoken at the end of a worship service but suitable for all occasions including a blessing in the home. The word comes from the Latin “bene”, well and “dicere”, to speak.
Through the years when I was a pastor I used a variety of Biblical
benedictions when I concluded a worship service. In fact I have them adhered to the back flyleaf on my pulpit Bible. (I also have invocations to use at the beginning of a worship service on the front flyleaf.) Brooksyne has told me that's how she memorized various passages from the Bible from hearing them as weekly benedictions. That very well may be true of other congregants as well whose pastors frequently repeat various Scriptures in closing.
The first part of Jude’s benediction expresses what God will do for us using the glorious phrase, "He is able". He is able
to hold us fast through this life, to
“keep us
from falling” and prepare us for the life to come, "to present us faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy".
In the epistles there are several rich expressions of what God is able to do for us:
"To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen." Today we pray this benediction for you, our reader, that you will experience rich assurance and great joy as you recognize your position in Christ and have a deep settled assurance that Christ will hold you fast. Hold fast to the truth, that He is able to save us who draw near to God through Him, and He is making intercession for us. Be assured that Christ will hold you fast! He will hold me
fast
He will hold me fast For my Savior loves me so He will hold me fast
Be encouraged today, (
Hebrews
3:13)
Stephen & Brooksyne
Weber
![]() Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
"He Will Hold Me Fast" Click to listen on YouTube Shane and Shane
"He Will Hold Me Fast"
Click to listen on YouTube
Selah
We pray that God would use these words to encourage our friend Jim and all
who are facing a hard time.
When I fear my faith will fail, Christ will hold me
fast;
When the tempter would prevail, He will hold me fast. I could never keep my hold through life's fearful path; For my love is often cold; He must hold me fast. He will hold me fast, He will hold me fast; For my Saviour loves me so, He will hold me fast. Those He saves are His delight, Christ will hold me fast; Precious in his holy sight, He will hold me fast. He'll not let my soul be lost; His promises shall last; Bought by Him at such a cost, He will hold me fast. For my life He bled and died, Christ will hold me fast; Justice has been satisfied; He will hold me fast. Raised with Him to endless life, He will hold me fast ‘Till our faith is turned to sight, When He comes at last! If you listen to either of the two videos you may assume that it's a newer song. It does have a newer melody but "He Will Hold You Fast" was first introduced in Philadelphia in the early 1900’s! Robert Harkness who composed the original tune writes,
"During a campaign in Toronto, Canada, a young convert with whom I was
dealing expressed the fear that he would not be able to "hold out."
A day or two later in a letter to Miss Ada Habershon, of London, I mentioned the need for a song which would give definite assurance of success in the Christian life. The weeks passed and a couple of months later during a great campaign in Philadelphia, U.S.A., I received a batch of seven new songs written by Miss Habershon. As Dr. Torrey preached his sermon one afternoon (instead of listening!) I occupied the time in setting the seven lyrics to music. One of these was "He will hold me fast". The same evening it was introduced by Charles M. Alexander to an audience of 4,000 people. Its success was immediate, and it has continued to be a great favorite. It has been translated into many languages. Like many hymns it grew less and less familiar. (We don't recall ever hearing it until several years ago.) Then a musician named Matthew Merker rediscovered and revised it. He tells the story here: The Story Behind the Song video Brooksyne's note: We are blessed when pastors send the congregation off with a blessing, a challenge, or a reassuring text.
Several benedictions that Stephen used while pastoring for nearly thirty
years are stored up in my memory bank simply because I heard them repeatedly and I'm grateful for that way of getting the Word engrafted in my heart without a great deal of exercise getting it there. I have thoroughly enjoyed Warren Wiersbe who has written many books over the years including one that might be of interest to you as he invites you to become a "benediction believer". It might also be of special interest to our readers who are
Pastors.
"Blessing: Receiving and sharing the blessing of the Lord"
by Warren Wiersbe - The words bless, blessed, and blessing are found over 500 times in the Bible. A blessing, says the author, is any act of God that brings Him glory by accomplishing His will and helping His people grow and do His will. Scattered throughout the Bible are statements of blessing that we call "benedictions." In these pages, the author examines 12 of the most prominent benedictions of the Bible and helps readers learn what the blessings are that God wants us to receive
from Him and share with others. In doing so, the author invites us to become "benediction believers."
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Here's a group photo of the trail ride members of our ABF class on the Safe Harbor rail trestle
overlooking the Susquehanna River.
(Click to enlarge) ![]()
I don't believe anyone in our class wanted to rock climb but we enjoyed watching those who did. It's
easy to see the age difference of rock climbers and bikers!
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Prior to our church service yesterday we visited with Susanna and Grover.
Grover served as a military chaplain in Vietnam (
his story
here)
and Susanna was airlifted out of Vietnam in 1975 (her story here
). And here they are almost 50 years
later!
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Yesterday we heard a powerful sermon on hope from David Harrop, our mission pastor. He talked about Mr. 38 and Ms. 12 he found in the Bible. Any
reader have any idea who he was speaking of? Especially touching to us was a very painful experience he had 38 years ago. Here's the video of the sermon.
He stood back up after the final song to reinforce his message with a short benediction, solemnly quoting from Lamentations
3.
"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.
'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul, 'therefore I will hope in Him.' The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
Finally
today:
Cheering the Patient:
We found this photo from over 12 years ago when Jim and Wendy stopped in
to see Ester in the emergency room at Hershey Medical Center when she had Atrial Fibrillation and needed to be shocked back to rhythm. As many of you know, Ester has dealt with the pesty rhythm problem since she was 12 years old. 222 BPM is not only dangerous but also extremely uncomfortable. That visit really cheered Ester up as she greatly loved Pastor Jim and Wendy! Anytime Ester dealt with that recurring health matter "Aunt" Wendy would find out and show up as soon as we got to the
hospital. She was a very caring pastor's wife and will be missed by so many lives she touched along the way, whether in a church setting or in her many administrative roles she held at various
businesses.
I found this article on our website that Jim wrote many years ago based on a sermon he had preached: “DEALING WITH LIFE’S TRANSITIONS”
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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."
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Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
717-823-0592
Daily Encouragement Net
https://www.dailyencouragement.net
Mail service provider is aweber.com
495 Kraybill Church Rd
Mount Joy PA 17552
USA
Unsubscribe | Change Subscriber Options