Daily Encouragement

A carriage ride in Williamsburg, Virginia

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“The Preface”

“He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in.  He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.  No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than He blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff”  (Isaiah 40:22-24).

We are visiting in Williamsburg Virginia. We toured the Jamestown Settlement where in 1607 the colonists first arrived from England and established the very first English Colony in the New World. The first settlers endured unimaginable hardship.

I considered whether any of these people, even in their wildest imagination, considered that tourists would be traipsing the grounds where they lived 400 years later or that their lives had any special historical significance. I sure haven’t given much thought about people living 400 years from now!

I heard a message last weekend by missionary Phil Jackson that illustrated our present life as a brief preface to a book that really has no ending chapter as we live on through eternity.  Presently all we know in our own life and that of others is the preface. We really have so little comprehension concerning the rest of the book.

What a powerful perspective is found in all of Isaiah 40.  It is surely one of the greatest expressions of the glory and majesty of God in the entire Bible.  What candid bluntness regarding the puniness of man as we apply this Scripture to the rulers of our day.  Maybe you’d like to review the daily text.  History verifies the truth of this verse over and over.  Are we different today?  I suspect each living generation considers a special significance to their own.  But the Bible tells us, “generations come and generations go” (Ecclesiastes 1:4).  And so will ours, just like the people who lived in 1607.

The main thing is preparing ourselves spiritually for what follows this brief life, which is merely the preface of our book.  But so many give little or no thought to this preparation because their minds are on earthly things.

At 40 years of age Moses made a critical decision to identify with God and His people. “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.  He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time.  He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward” (Hebrews 11:24-26).  The titles, pleasures, and treasures in his day paled in comparison to God.

I’ve given a lot of Scripture to ponder today but let me conclude with that last phrase, “He was looking ahead to his reward.”  That ought to also be our primary outlook today.  Are you looking ahead to your reward?

Be encouraged today,

Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Daily prayer: Father, help us to count the cost before we indulge the pleasure of sin.  Though it may bring momentary pleasure it can also leave a lifetime of regret and cost us far more than we ever intended to pay. Instead we want to enjoy the lasting pleasure of doing that which is right  as we look ahead to our eternal reward. Nothing in all of this temporal world can compare to the sin-free splendor of heaven or hearing Your words of commendation, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
 

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Note: We were unable to get a message off yesterday due to not having internet access.

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In Williamsburg we walked all along the main historic street, Duke of Gloucester, and saw beautiful colonial homes.

Williamsburg stocks

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Today’s suggested music:
“Forever” (Audio)

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