Daily Encouragement

“You, however, know all about … my purpose” (2 Timothy 3:10).

I have always been a curious person regarding a wide variety of subjects. When I was little my mother nicknamed me “Curious Stephen” since I was always asking questions such as,  Why did they name it that? What does that part do? How does that work?  I continue to be inquisitive to this day and really hope I never lose it, although Brooksyne reminds me that it can annoy some people!

As I think about it, my mother was very inquisitive and I most likely inherited this personality trait from her. Growing up, I asked her many questions, but in her senior years, the tables were turned and she was always asking me questions.  And I must admit there were times that her many questions could start to annoy, especially when I would say “I don’t know the answer” and she was sure that I did!

One underlying question I often ask myself is, “What’s the purpose for that?”

That’s a vital question for why we exist. God created with purpose. One of the greatest innate needs common to all people is a purpose for our being. Many aimlessly drift throughout their lives with little sense of direction or purpose. As a young Christian I learned to share my faith using a booklet called “The Four Spiritual Laws” which begins with the phrase, “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.” Of course the noun “plan” can be equally understood as “purpose” and truly God has a purpose for each one of us.

2 Timothy is considered the last letter that Paul wrote.   The first nine verses in chapter three list over twenty-three godless characteristics evident in a period that Paul describes as “terrible times in these last days.”  In fact it could easily be a description of the world in which we live.  He sums the list up with this phrase, “these men oppose the truth.”

But beginning in verse 10 Paul lists a number of positive personal characteristics that Timothy had observed in his life and thus was well acquainted with. “You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me…the persecutions I endured…” (v. 10).   Paul demonstrated these characteristics day by day; during periods of peace and during times of testing, when he had plenty and when he was in need.  It wasn’t just the words Paul used to teach, but it was his way of life that reinforced that which he professed.

Among the characteristics he listed was “my purpose.”  The word purpose means a “plan” or a “resolve”, denoting that a decision has been made. Another reference states this purpose to be, “the guiding motive of my life and work.”

God has a purpose for each of us. There are aspects of this purpose common to all of us who follow Christ. Although we may not all choose to word it the same way, it would be very similar to my Personal Mission Statement that I wrote many years ago. It could also be called my Personal Purpose Statement. I purposefully place it in the footers of each daily encouragement message.  It reads, “I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God’s Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and I make it my life’s goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and to prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity.”

But I believe God has also specifically equipped each of us for the unique purpose He has for our life. This purpose varies depending on the gifts, callings, and challenges God has granted to us. In Acts 12:36 we read, “When David had served God’s purpose in his own generation.”  My goal is to serve God’s purpose for my life in my generation.  What about you?

Let me ask each reader to consider several questions today:
• Do I know my main purpose in life, both general and specific?
• Do the people who know me clearly observe me living by my purpose?
• Do my priorities in life reflect this purpose?

Be encouraged today,

Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Daily Prayer: Your purpose in my life, Lord, is seen in a multitude of ways; whether it is in my vocational training; in the way I raise my children; in the relationships I engender or in the way I use my gifts to touch other lives.  But Your purpose in my life is most visible to others in my response to heartache, betrayal, disappointment, suffering, and loss.  Your purpose can be seen when I choose not to repay evil for evil, but rather good for evil.  Lord, as I keep Your purpose for my life always before me I will remember that much good spiritual fruit can be developed in me in the ups and downs I encounter today.  May I be faithful in making choices today that reflect Your purpose in my life.  Amen.

“Remember your leaders, who spoke the Word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith” (Hebrews 13:7).

Today is Veteran’s Day here in the United States, a day in which we properly remember veterans and consider their service for our freedoms.  Many veterans read these messages, including several we know personally, and there other readers who are in active service. We thank you for your service. My dad, who went to be with the Lord in 1998, was a World War 2 veteran and trained as a pilot.

Today I  consider Joe Carroll, who regularly listens to our podcast. Joe is a long-term member of a church we served in an interim role in the Harrisburg, PA area several years ago.  He served in the Navy during World War 2 and his ship was struck by a Japanese kamikaze plane, killing many of his crewmates.  The plane actually struck precisely where Joe’s bunk was located, but he was elsewhere on the ship at the time. I wrote a story about him several years ago and link to it below.

But let me take us one step further and focus this encouragement message on spiritual veterans, those who enlisted in the army of the Lord on their day of salvation. Many have fought the enemy valiantly and have received their reward.  They join others in the great cloud of witnesses. And yet there are those who remain on this side in their senior years of life.  They have faithfully served God in their generation.  As they endure the pain and complications of aging they faithfully await the Master’s call home. Today’s message is again based on Hebrews 13.

Our daily verse begins:

“Remember your leaders, who spoke the Word of God to you.” Without a doubt the Apostle is speaking of spiritual leaders.  Among all the qualities we may value in our leaders such as administrative skills, compassionate care, fervent prayer life, vision casting and so forth, the writer of Hebrews singularly highlights this description: “who spoke the Word of God to you.”  This is consistent with Paul’s challenge to Timothy; “Preach The Word” (2 Timothy 4:2).

What a blessing to remember and consider those who have been faithful in preaching the Word in our lives. I certainly hope that’s been a pastor for all of you, but for many it’s also a godly parent(s) or a close relative, a Sunday School teacher or other Christian leader.  For some it will be a camp counselor, a youth leader or another individual we met along life’s journey who has impacted our life for Christ.

“Consider the outcome of their way of life.” The Amplified Bible elaborates here that we are to “Observe attentively and consider their manner of living.” I am so thankful for those whose lives I have personally observed as I witnessed the transforming change Christ makes. In some cases we observe the outcome in the sense of those who have now gone on to heaven after a life of faithful service to the Lord. In other cases they are still living on this side and we observe the present outcome as they demonstrate a steady, mature and disciplined life. The leaders whom our text refers to were real people who were known personally by those they served.

We are called to “imitate their faith.” The word for “imitate” is a Greek word from which we get “mimic”. For those of us in spiritual leadership this is an awesome call and responsibility. In his pastoral epistles Paul addressed this. To Timothy: “set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12). To Titus: “In all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us” (Titus 2:7,8).

Today, let us indeed remember our leaders, who spoke the Word of God to us.  Let us consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.

Be encouraged today,

Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Daily prayer: Father, we march as soldiers in the army of the Lord. We thank you for the many spiritual warriors who have taken on added responsibility and assumed difficult duties leading us to victory in this war against sin and strife.  Bless our leaders who have poured themselves into our lives and set for us an example to follow; in their conversation, their lifestyle, their faith, their doctrine and in their purity.  We honor and bless the previous generation who passed onto us the Living Water and Bread of Life. We now extend the same message to our generation and the next, for with our mouths we will make known Your faithfulness to all generations. Amen.