✝ Daily Encouragement (5/1/24) "He Was A Faithful Man"
Published: Wed, 05/01/24
Updated: Wed, 05/01/24
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Wednesday, May 1, 2024
Yesterday I had an appointment in the Harrisburg area and Brooksyne snapped
this photo of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Bridge as we crossed the Susquehanna River.
Click on photo to enlarge "He Was A Faithful
Man"
Message summary:
The Bible lists many characteristics of a faithful man but today let us consider the blessing of the small steadiness of every day.
Listen to our message on your audio player.
"I put Hanani my brother, and Hananiah the commander of the fortress, in charge of Jerusalem, for he was a faithful man and feared God more than many" (Nehemiah 7:2). "A faithful man shall abound with blessings" (Proverbs 28:20a). 
Today I will be speaking at a community luncheon and plan to allude to the faithfulness of Marty Witman, who was a regular attendee at these luncheons. Marty passed away two weeks ago at 93 years of age. Brooksyne and I met him several
years ago in a prayer meeting held in his home where he expressed vibrant faith. He attended church on Sunday and went to be with the Lord on Monday.
Brooksyne and I went to his viewing where there were many photos on display
capturing scenes though his life. As I looked at them I considered them a chronicle of his faithfulness to God. Seeing him as a boy, his graduation photo, his wife and young children, his life as a farmer, the heavy duty gloves he wore to prepare large batches of corn for the many gatherings he hosted over the years. Though you may never have met Marty in person his friendly and outgoing personality was fully displayed in his warm smile and love for others. He was a tremendous prayer
warrior.
Several years ago we were at a 70th birthday party for our friend Galen and
his daughter
used a thoughtful phrase concerning her dad's faithfulness as "the small steadiness of every day".
The small steadiness of every day is the basic foundation of faithfulness
quietly demonstrated day after day, month after month, year after year in the long course of life. We've met many people like Marty and Galen who demonstrate the small steadiness of every day and continue to meet them. In fact when greeting people in the course of chaplain work I often comment on an employee's unheralded steadiness and reliability when I come across those kind of
workers.
If you stop and think about it, you can also think of many who are faithful in the small steadiness of every
day yet few of them are famous as the world deems fame. I have referred to this in a past message as quiet faithfulness.In our first daily text Nehemiah refers to an obscure man named Hananiah.* His sole Biblical distinctive is that he was "a faithful man and feared God more than many". In considering this text I observe that being a faithful man and having a fear of God are so inter-related. The massive breakdown in faithfulness we see in our own age is directly related to the loss of having a healthy, holy fear of God. Marty was a God-fearing man which guided him in making the right choices in life that honored God.
In previous generations families commonly imprinted portions of Scripture as
an epitaph on tombstones and it's still practiced by some today. On my parent's tombstone our family inscribed, "For Me To Live Is Christ, To Die Is Gain".
A phrase from today's verse has been used on many tombstones,
"He was a faithful man and feared God more than many". The above pictured epitaph is on the tombstone of Deacon Samuel Peck in Greenwich, Connecticut who died in 1793. Such an epitaph makes us want to hear his story.
The road to being faithful is a long steady slog, the accumulation of many small decisions made throughout life, "the small steadiness of every day". You decide each day that you will live faithfully but the characteristic of being faithful takes time. Good intentions and reality too often do not present the same outcome. The truth of the second daily Scripture is often most evident in one's latter years: "A faithful man shall abound with blessings". Faithfulness has great reward, both in this life and the one to come. If you know Jesus as your personal Savior you are actually abounding in blessings right now, but you can become discouraged with present or recurring trials. God's Word is ever true. Perhaps you need to consider someone who has served God faithfully for many years and observe how they abound with blessings, even in the midst of their ongoing trials. But just remember the greatest blessings are yet to come! Character qualities like faithfulness, steadiness and consistency might sound boring to many today, but they still matter to God. "A faithful man shall abound with blessings", and he does; both in this life and the life to come. Let us all aspire to hear these wonderful words from the supremely Faithful One, "Well done, good and faithful servant" as we practice "the small steadiness of every day".
Be encouraged
today,
Hebrews
3:13
Stephen & Brooksyne
Weber
Daily
prayer:
Father, may my life be marked by faithfulness and integrity. I know that these character traits are not developed over a short period of time but over the duration of my life,
most especially during the challenging times. Obedience does bring blessing and it also brings eternal reward. Help me not to become weary in doing good, for at the proper time that You have ordained, I will reap a harvest if I do not give up. Help me to practice the small steadiness of every day.
Amen.
* Note:
There are several other men named Hananiah in the Bible including a false prophet during the time of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 28:1) and one of the three Hebrews in
Daniel.
Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental
Resources
"Faithful Man"
Watch on YouTube Johnny Minick
"1000 Israeli musicians sing with one voice, BRING THEM
HOME!" Watch on YouTube Homeland concert This inspirational music video was produced in the Caesarea Amphitheatre by over 1000 Israelis, some who are family members of the hostages held by Hamas Terrorists. Watch for the huge double
guitar!
It seems like to us this is the year of the dogwoods. They have been outstanding in their beauty this spring
including our own dogwoods but the blossoms will soon be gone so we captured the lasting beauty by taking this photo yesterday.
Click on photo to enlarge
This morning we received a message from Mugwe who lives in Kenya who wrote, "I stumbled on your material
and I love the photos. There are places I would like to see with my own eyes, including the view from your bedroom window" (We shared the bedroom window photo yesterday.) I'm sure our readers have a great variety of views outside their bedroom
windows!
Jesse shared this photo of a newborn foal (filly) just minutes after her birth on the Old Windmill Farm April
21st. He also took a short video. They named her Butterfly, because of the shape of a butterfly on her nose.
Just five days later Butterfly was standing tall and
straight.
Click on photo to enlarge
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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