“Whatever Happened To Joseph?”
August 17, 2012
Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National Park, Utah
(photo by Howard Blichfeldt)
Listen to this message on your audio player.
“Whatever Happened To Joseph?”
I’ve been visiting with a friend in one of our companies who is waiting for an open door of ministry. He trained at Lancaster Bible College, then seminary. For several years we’ve discussed various pending ministry openings but it seems the open door always closes, thus far anyway. This week we discussed a current pastoral position he is being considered for. “May the Lord’s will be done” is his attitude during the wait. In the meantime he remains active in lay ministry and has a supervisory role in his company.
I just received a commentary on Acts from a daily encouragement reader which is written by his pastor. A commentary, for those who may not be aware, is a Bible study reference book that takes a selection of Scripture followed by further explanations or comments. Preachers appreciate commentaries as a resource in sermon preparation but others can also benefit from reading them just for personal enrichment. I read the notes related to Acts 1 and considered a somewhat obscure portion at the end of the chapter that relates to my friend’s situation.
Today I’d like us to consider a man that few give thought to. There are several Josephs in the Bible but this Joseph is a man whose name appears in the first chapter of Acts and then disappears. The only reference given to this particular Joseph, he was a disciple who had been with the Lord from the beginning of His ministry, and witnessed His resurrection. These are pretty astounding credentials.
He, along with Matthias, was being considered for a very important job. Actually, the opportunity of a lifetime. The disciples had an opening to fill among the Twelve and he and Matthias were up for it. Here’s the Scripture reference, “So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias.” After an earnest prayer and a selection procedure Matthias was chosen.
I wonder what happened to Joseph? Did he get bitter or resentful? Was he envious of Matthias? Did he question the selection procedure? Did he stew, “Life just isn’t fair”.
Or did he go on, like millions have since his time, and faithfully serve the Lord the remainder of his life in relative obscurity? I really expect this to be the case.
And I believe there are a lot of people like Joseph. Really, each of us can relate in one way or another. We’ve all had disappointments haven’t we? That job offer that fell through, the personal rejection that still stings, that election or promotion that went to the “other guy”.
How we handle it is what really matters. Sometimes it is made clear to us why a door didn’t open, though not always immediate, but more often over time. At times more training or skills were needed for a particular job situation. There are those circumstances where God was protecting us from a potential danger we ourselves could not see at the time.
We’ve found both in house hunting and in pastoral ministry that God closed the doors we had walked through only to provide a much better opportunity that was not available until several months later. The above examples and many more turn into life lessons that can’t be learned just by reading a book or taking a written examination.
Ultimately it’s God who opens and closes doors. What peace that brings to the quivering heart! I am quite certain that is the attitude of my friend and will be regardless of what happens. Let us all keep serving God in whatever door He opens and trust that He knows best when a door is closed.
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer: Father, we desire to have You lead us in the paths of righteousness that lead us in the way everlasting. Sometimes the next step we take is clearly visible and other times it is a step of faith as darkness seems to veil Your leading. As we earnestly pray we can trust You who stilled the tempest and turned darkness into light. We pray for discernment and a willing spirit to follow Your leading in all matters, no matter the outcome. Amen.
Mount Gretna, PA
Dan invited me to an ordination service in which a decision was being made regarding the selection of a pastor. His church, an old order type Mennonite church, used a selection process similar to that used in Acts 1 that I had never witnessed before. As in Acts 1 two men’s names were proposed, one being Dan’s. The congregation is in earnest prayer during this time that the will of God will preside over the will of man.
In the ordination service the bishop solemnly placed a card in one of two identical Bibles. Each man was then instructed to choose a Bible. The one who chose the Bible with the card was determined to be the man of God’s own choosing. I was very impressed by the service and this earnest means of determining God’s will in a spiritual matter. As I was introduced to this uncommon pastoral selection process I recalled some of the petty politicizing I’ve seen over the years that can easily infect many other selection processes.
I know Dan was excited about this potential opportunity to serve. Potential opportunities always give us reason for contemplation, planning, and talking about the possible changes just ahead. We invest a lot of time, energy, and emotion to such opportunities. It’s hard to be willing without also being excited. Yet Dan was not chosen. What a touching moment to see the brother who had been chosen and Dan hugging each other following the process. But Dan was OK, because he and his family, along with the other believers, had been praying about the outcome and had placed the matter in the Lord’s hands. Now, many years later Dan continues to serve the Lord in his church and in the workplace as a truck driver.
Background Note: Disappointments are often His appointments. God uses circumstances, sometimes disappointing ones, to divert us to other opportunities He has for us. In the beautiful classic hymn “Have Thine Own Way” God moved upon Adelaide Pollard’s heart to write a prayer of consecration. Born in Iowa during the Civil War in 1862 Adelaide committed her life to Jesus at a young age and became involved in ministry. She felt God calling her to Africa as a missionary, but to her intense disappointment, she was unable to raise her financial support. She was in her forties at the time and attended a small prayer meeting where an elderly woman prayed, “It doesn’t matter what You bring into our lives, Lord. Just have Your own way with us.”
Following the prayer meeting Adelaide went home that evening with that phrase shaping words in her heart. She opened her Bible to the story of “the potter and the clay” in Jeremiah 18 and before she retired that night she had written out the prayer, “Have Thine Own Way.”
Brooksyne’s Personal Experience: This hymn has ministered to my heart so many times when I’m in the doorway of uncertainty – the kind of door that swings both ways and I’m not sure which way God wants me to push. Sometimes it’s the waiting He calls me to do and other times it’s the walk that He wants me to pursue. But always I want to be filled with His “Spirit, till all shall see Christ only, always, living in me.”
Thou art the Potter; I am the clay.
Mold me and make me after Thy will,
While I am waiting, yielded and still.
Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne
Ministry Update (Revised 5/12)
Are our daily encouragement messages a blessing to you? We ask you to consider making a donation to Daily Encouragement Net so that we can continue to prepare and provide this daily resource which is accessed by believers and seekers all over the world. Daily Encouragement Net relies solely on the generosity and financial support of its readers and podcast listeners. See here for more information on supporting this ministry. Gifts are tax deductible.
“Grace Capital”
July 5, 2012
Fisher Towers in Canyonlands National Park, Utah
(photo by Howard Blichfeldt)
Listen to this message on your audio player.
“Grace Capital”
Over the years we have attended many great firework shows. In fact we can actually see the Marietta fireworks off in the distance as well as always count on some younger neighbors to provide a pretty good show for us (though our pets are not too grateful for the popping noises).
But the best fireworks show we ever attended (along with some ½ million other fans) was “The Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular” a huge public concert held every 4th of July along the Charles River in Boston. It was undoubtedly the most powerful display I have ever seen. Last night we watched it on TV but it’s nothing like being there.
They use a barge in the river and synchronize music to the fireworks (both live orchestra and recorded). Several times it was so intense that I wondered if they had lost control and the barge was blowing up!* The final three minutes were a massive, constant barrage. One of the songs used during the display was “America the Beautiful”, sung by Ray Charles. When he sang the line “God shed His grace on thee”, I affirmed those words with a heartfelt “Amen” and wondered how many in the crowd recognized that God has indeed shed His grace on America?
Yes, God has shed His grace on America. We wrote about that in yesterday’s message. Yet I earnestly believe that America is running out of “grace capital”. By “grace capital” I mean the residual effects of grace that was upon previous generations who had served God faithfully.
Notice carefully here, I am not suggesting there is any deficiency or limits to God’s grace. Not at all. But I do believe those walking in disobedience to God may very well experience “grace capital” that is a residual from previous generations.
But the Bible and history abundantly teach that one day this grace capital will be spent and judgment will come. Notice the phrase in our second daily text, “until there was no remedy.” This is especially applicable to nations. Even as there is often a time lapse between the promise and the blessing, there is also a time lapse between the disobedient nation and judgment that follows.
The daily verse may sound very harsh in our age of moral relativism and the pluralistic society in which we live today, but it expresses a profound truth and can be applied to both individuals and nations. Have you received the knowledge of the truth? Are you living your life in obedience to God?
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer: Father, it is not Your will that any should perish but that all would come to repentance. Yet You don’t force us to follow Your prescribed plan, but give us a free will to come willingly, lovingly, obediently, and gratefully as we come to realize that there is none like You. No one else could touch our hearts like You do, grant us peace that is eternal and prepare a home for us to last for all eternity. We don’t presume upon Your grace, but we do receive it by faith with thanksgiving. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
* One city did have a rather shortened fireworks display last night! See here.
Yesterday we enjoyed our time visiting at the The Daniel Boone Homestead (except for the extreme heat) and will share some photos next week. However here’s one that relates with our message today. Can any reader tell us what this is? We’ll answer tomorrow.
When we lived in New England we often rode our bikes along the Shining Sea Bikeway between Woods Hole and Falmouth and stopped to see a plaque honoring Katharine Lee Bates, who is from Falmouth.
The Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular www.july4.org
This week we are featuring photos from friends. Today’s photo was taken by Howard Blichfeldt and is part of his Utah collection. Howard was introduced to us several years ago by Alvin Worhthley, my chaplain supervisor, who saw Howard’s desire to be used in ministry. Howard has given us permission to periodically use a photo he has taken on our site. We expect to see Howard later this summer when he presents an exhibit of his photographs at the Mount Gretna Outdoor Art Show. Video
Ministry Update (Revised 5/12)
Are our daily encouragement messages a blessing to you? We ask you to consider making a donation to Daily Encouragement Net so that we can continue to prepare and provide this daily resource which is accessed by believers and seekers all over the world. Daily Encouragement Net relies solely on the generosity and financial support of its readers and podcast listeners. See here for more information on supporting this ministry. Gifts are tax deductible.
“A Time To Honor”
May 11, 2012
Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National Park, Utah
(photo by Howard Blichfeldt)
Listen to this message on your audio player.
“A Time To Honor”
Someone has described motherhood like this: “It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.” There’s much truth to this statement as mothers will testify that their hearts are enlarged far beyond their own personal needs to those of their children, not just in their formative years but for the rest of their lives.
Mother’s Day will be celebrated here in the United States on Sunday. This is a day which acknowledges the sacrificial contributions mothers make in the lives of their children. The theme of honoring our mothers will also resonate in the pulpits on Sunday as many ministers preach on the topic of the family, highlighting the theme of honoring mothers. Wherever you live, today’s message is pertinent. I hope each mother reading this will be honored by the expression of the daily verses as her children rise up and call her “blessed.”
On Mother’s Day Pastor Bob got everyone’s attention by introducing his sermon with this simple question, “Will everyone who is the son or daughter of a mother, please raise your hand?” Slowly but surely everyone rose their hand as they caught onto the question. I could ask the same question today of each reader, although I can’t see your hands. No matter how much our childhood backgrounds differ, this is one truth we all have in common.
My mom was gloriously promoted to heaven in November 2005 and Brooksyne’s in October 2002, so we both write from that perspective. Today in this message we rise up and call our mothers “blessed”.
The command to honor our father and mother goes back to the Fifth Commandment: “Honor your father and your mother.” It is certainly applicable all through childhood. A favorite memory verse we taught Ester during her childhood years was Ephesians 6:1, “Children obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.” But the honor is applicable after we reach adulthood as well and the attitude of this command still pertains though both our parents are now with the Lord.
Today I urge each reader to rise up and call your mother blessed. Express honor toward her in your words and in your actions. For most of our readers this comes very naturally out of your gratitude for a loving and caring mother.
But some of you have lasting pain from your upbringing and your relationship is far less than God’s ideal even now. Just this morning we heard the testimony of a man who had been abandoned by his mother. Perhaps even now there is an underlying heartache in your present relationship with your mother.
But God’s command to honor our father and mother, like the command in Hebrews 13:4 to honor marriage, has no exclusionary clause. I’m confident that He will give you the necessary grace to convey that honor, starting with the very fact that God breathed life into you as your mother brought you into this world.
If your parents are living be sure to express your love and appreciation to them. That is something we both really miss doing but are so glad we did it regularly while they were alive. The honor of our parents serves as a foundational base for all human honor.
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer: Father, each spring as we observe tiny featherless fledglings pressed against their mothers in the hollow of their parents’ nest, we’re reminded of the human love children experience from their parents’ safekeeping. We thank You for the loving care You extend to us through the preordained parents who’ve provided for us from birth to independence. Thank You for their model of love, sacrifice, duty, protection, and other virtuous qualities needed to properly raise a family. It has greatly influenced the way we raise our own children.
We also pray for those whose relationship with their parent is a role reversal where they must act as the parent when their own parent behaves as a needy or defiant child. May Your multiplied mercies sustain these caregivers in their ongoing difficult role so that, above all, You are honored and they find deep peace in the midst of the turmoil. Thank You, Father, for our human family, our spiritual family, and for our heavenly family that awaits our arrival on Your appointed day. In the name of Christ Jesus Your Son we pray, amen.
This is a powerful lesson regarding the establishment of God’s pattern for the basic social unit in humanity. Of course this is consistently affirmed in the remainder of the Bible and has been understood by the human race right up to the current time. However in our own time and in recent days we have seen a blasphemous attempt to, as one commentator puts it, radically redefine marriage, subverting society’s most central institution.
The true church of Jesus Christ has been consistent on this matter. For instance The Baptist Confession of Faith (1689) states “Marriage is to be between one man and one woman”. This has been consistently held in all confessions, doctrinal statements and position papers of all churches and denominations. Churches and denominations have had many issues they differed on but on this matter there was unity in understanding.
That is…right up to the last ten or fifteen years when some have abandoned the clear teaching of the Bible on this issue (as well as many others!!!). We are seeing a prophetic statement by Peter come true before our very eyes: “Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute” (2 Peter 2:2). The ESV translates this, “Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.”
We again call on our readers, in the midst of the approaching apostasy, to stay faithful to God and the Holy Scriptures. Contend for the Faith once for all entrusted.
This morning we went to a pastor’s breakfast sponsored by the Gideons, an organization committed to the distribution of the Scriptures. Afterwards I visited with John Heisey, a former neighbor when we first moved to Lancaster County 11 years ago. John is a soft-spoken man who admitted to being rather shy as a child. He likened his involvement in the Gideons to being like the pit crew in a NASCAR race. They may not get the attention if the race is won but the winning driver sure knows how important their role is. We appreciate dedicated servants of Christ like John and the ministry of the Gideons who have impacted countless lives from all tribes and nations.
“Family Prayer Song” Video Maranatha Singers
“Handful Of Weeds” Video Sheri Easter
“Mama’s Bible” Video Jeff and Sherri Easter
“When You Come Home” Video Mark Shultz
Today’s lead photo of the Mesa Arch was taken by our friend Howard Blichfeldt and is part of his Utah collection.
For many years we regularly make this appeal and suggestion: Write your parents a written tribute of your love and appreciation for them! See here. You’ll be so glad you did and your parents will be thrilled with your heartfelt, personal gift to them.
Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne
Ministry Update (Revised 12/11)
Are our daily encouragement messages a blessing to you? We ask you to consider making a donation to Daily Encouragement Net so that we can continue to prepare and provide this daily resource which is accessed by believers and seekers all over the world. Daily Encouragement Net relies solely on the generosity and financial support of its readers and podcast listeners. See here for more information on supporting this ministry. Gifts are tax deductible.
