✝ Daily Encouragement (4/5/24) "The Winter Is Past!"
Published: Fri, 04/05/24
A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation. The online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber.
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Friday, April 5, 2024
 The Little Brown Church In The Vale, Nashua
Iowa
Photo by Steve
Ephraim
"The Winter Is
Past!"
Message
summary:
“There is a time for everything”, as Solomon writes, in Ecclesiastes 3:1 "and a season for every activity under heaven"
. So let’s be blessed and give thanks to God for this spring season who doeth all things well in His time, in His way, and in His
season!
Listen
to our message on your audio player.
"See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land” (Song of Solomon 2:11,12). As I (Stephen) have gotten older I've taken a greater interest in flowers and birds – they seem to go hand in hand, as seen in our text from Solomon. I recall how perplexed I was when my big, burly working class dad started enjoying flowers in his old age and now, as Yogi Berra says, "it's like Déjà vu all over again".
But most of today's message was written more from Brooksyne's
perspective so for the most part she is the "I".
I have enjoyed planting and tending to flowers ever since we got married in
1976. When we moved to our present location in 2002 our yard had anice layout for flower and vegetable gardens.Only about fifteen years before our house was built the plot of ground was fertile Lancaster County farm land so the rich soil has contributed to making gardening a delightful success.
I grew up in rural Oklahoma where temperatures and humidity* soared and my gardening chores as a youngster in a family of seven did not leave me with pleasant memories. Tending the garden seemed to occupy the entire summer as we sometimes planted an entire acre to feed our family. At that time I never thought I’d find myself voluntarily digging dirt, watering plants, fighting off disease and harmful insects, weeding, and getting excited about walking through plant nurseries.
My present delightful ritual is early each morning examining the plants I
have planted from seed growing in our sunny dining room which will be transplanted outside when the temps are warmer.
The ladies from a church we served in an interim pastoral rolemany years ago
presented me
with a garden plaque that said, “A Garden Always Gives Back More Than It Receives” and that for the most part is definitely true!
We have had several days of rain. I suppose the old ditty comes to mind,
"April showers bring May flowers". However we already have the early spring flowers blooming.
In the daily text Solomon is giving us a picture of the spring season when
the winter is past. It’s as though he’s flipping a page on the calendar that turns the previous month of a bleak winter landscape into the new month that bursts forth with signs of spring. Let’s look at the warming signs one phrase at a time:
"See! The winter is past". We may get a few more cold days but you can sure sense the many signs of spring all around us. "The rains are over and gone".
In our region of the world
we don't have specific rainy seasons like much of the world does. It rains as God ordains all through the year. But we are sure ready for the heavy rains we have had this week to be over and for sunny warm weather!
“The flowers appear on the earth".
All gardeners
and those who enjoy the beauty and color of flowers get excited when the crocus or daffodils and other spring bulbs break through the last remnants of snow. After months of seeing the rather dull gray of winter the visual beauty of a colorful flower bursting up through the ground lifts one’s spirit and reminds us that there is much more beauty to come – the buds on the trees, the grass turning green, bunny rabbits populating the landscape, the shedding of winter coats, etc.
Yes, spring is romantic and always full of life – Easter, celebrated each spring, is a marvelous reminder of new life, the resurrected life of our Lord Jesus Christ. John Wesley writes, "The communications of God’s grace, the gifts, and graces, and comforts of the Holy Spirit, are vouchsafed unto, and appear in believers, as buds and blossoms do in the spring". “The season of singing has come”. How can we not burst forth into song or whistle a tune as we begin to spend more time outdoors enjoying the beauty of God’s creation! For the beauty of the earth,
for the glory of the skies, for the love which from our birth over and around us lies. Christ, our Lord, to you we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise. “The cooing of doves is heard in our land” . How perfect that Solomon would refer to a mourning dove (some versions read, “turtle dove”) rather than a remote bird that we can no longer see or identify. Mourning doves are very common small doves that can be spotted all around the world so our international readers will also be familiar with this beautiful bird. Their soft, drawn-out calls sound like laments and can actually be a little frightening if unfamiliar with their song. When I (Brooksyne) was young I mistook the cooing of a mourning dove for a crying baby. Songbirds are one of the most pleasant sounds that fill the spring air. We awaken to their songs as they begin singing about 5:00 AM where we live. They have to rise early since their days are filled with finding mates and constructing their homes from nesting materials. So we usually rise with them as we’re reminded that we have many duties that fill our day as well. I’m thankful for the four seasons where His wonders are displayed in a variety of ways, each unique to that particular season. I will admit to enjoying the spring season when I plant seeds and watch for their germination much more than the fall season where the blooming is over, the vegetables are spent, and I have to pull up plants and store their buds or winter-over plants for the cold months. It’s a little like the anticipation of a long-planned vacation vs. the drudgery of unpacking and washing the dirty clothes after it’s all over! Yet “there is a time for everything”, as Solomon writes, in Ecclesiastes 3:1 "and a season for every activity under heaven". So let’s be blessed by this Spring season and give thanks to God who doeth all things well in His time, in His way, and in His season!
Be encouraged
today,
Hebrews
3:13
Stephen & Brooksyne
Weber
Daily
prayer:
Father, we are in awe of Your gifts to us. The domain of Your universe is vast and far beyond that which we can see over a lifetime, but our lives are greatly enriched and blessed as You fill it with individual gifts of beauty we can touch, see, smell, hear, and taste. For the wonder of each hour of the day and of the night, hill and vale and tree and flower, sun and moon and stars of light. We raise to You our hearts
which are filled with unending praise. Amen.
* This brings to mind another Yogi Berra quote, "It ain't the heat, it's the humility". He
was famous for his witty yogisms.
Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental
Resources
"For The Beauty Of The Earth"
Watch on YouTube Reawaken Hymns
Regarding bird feeding and watching we have feeding stations outside our new
bedroom addition, kitchen window and front window so we have lots of views!
An apt word seen on a sign at Audreys.
Once spring arrives that pretty well describes
Brooksyne.
This is what one section of flowers will look like as the season progresses. Hydrangeas are among Brooksyne's favorite flowers and Stephen really likes the colorful coleus as seen in the
middle.
Steve Ephraim, an Iowan reader, sent me several photos and a reflection he
had written about "The Little Brown Church in the Vale" after a visit there this last Sunday on Easter. It's only about 45 minutes from his home. The quaint little church is the basis of the familiar song: "The Church In The WildWood"
Watch on YouTube
The Carter Family
An Encounter with Isaiah 53 in the Little Brown
Church
By Steve Ephraim March 31, 2024 In the heart of the Iowa countryside, nestled among fields of corn and rolling hills, stands the quaint Little Brown Church. Its weathered exterior bears witness to over a century and a half of history, a silent sentinel of faith in an ever-changing world. Inside, the hallowed halls echo with the whispers of prayers and the solemn strains of hymns sung by generations past. On this memorable Easter afternoon, the pews are bathed in soft light streaming through the gothic windows, casting sunbeams onto the worn wooden pews. At the altar, a solitary figure dominates the room, transfixed by the weathered Bible resting majestically atop the ancient book stand. For years, he had heard the words of Isaiah 53 spoken from pulpits and recited in Sunday School classrooms. But today, as he stands before the open pages of the ancient text, something stirs within him, something profound and indescribable. Isaiah 53, a chapter steeped in prophecy, foretells the suffering and sacrificial role of a Messiah yet to come. Each verse, like a brushstroke on the canvas of history, paints a vivid picture of redemption and atonement, of pain and triumph. As the man reads, the words seem to leap from the page, as if imbued with a life of their own. He sees the suffering servant, despised and rejected by men, yet bearing the weight of humanity's sins with silent grace. "He was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities..." The words resonate in the quiet sanctuary, echoing off the walls like a sacred incantation. In that moment, the man feels a stirring in his soul, a deep-seated conviction that this story, this ancient prophecy, holds the key to something greater than he can comprehend. For him, this is more than just a recitation of scripture; it is a revelation, a divine encounter with the very heart of God. In the silence of that sacred space, he feels the presence of something holy, something transcendent, reaching out to touch him in the depths of his being. As he stands there, surrounded by the echoes of generations past, he knows that he will never be the same. This encounter with Isaiah 53 has changed him, transformed him in ways he cannot yet fully grasp. For in the words of that ancient prophet, he has found not just a story, but a truth—a truth that speaks to the deepest longings of the human heart, a truth that offers hope in the midst of despair, redemption in the face of sin. And so, as he emerges from the sanctuary into the warm glow of the afternoon sun, he carries with him not just a book, but a revelation—a revelation that will shape the course of his life for years to come.  Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne
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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.
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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