Brown's Daily Word 12-20-07

Good Morning.
This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad it. Praise the Lord, for the He is Emmanuel, the God with us. He became a Man of Sorrows, acquainted with our grief, yet He is the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Most of you have read, heard, or seen the poem called, “One Solitary Life”, which reads, “He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another village, where He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty. Then for three years He was an itinerant preacher. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family or owned a home. He didn’t go to college. He never visited a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place where he was born. He did none of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but Himself.
"He was only thirty-three when the tide of public opinion turned against Him. His friends ran away. One of them denied Him. He was turned over to his enemies and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While He was dying, His executioners gambled for His garments, the only property He had on earth. When He was dead, He was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend. Twenty centuries have come and gone, and today He is the central figure of the human race.
"All the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that have ever sat, all the kings that have ever reigned, put together, have not have not affected the life of man on this earth as much as that one solitary life.” [Attributed to James Allen Francis]
“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, (5) to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” Galatians 4:4-5 (NKJV) Have you ever stopped to consider how different the world might be if Jesus had never been born? Although some unbelievers consider Christianity and its founder Jesus Christ a menace to society that should be removed as soon as possible, they have never really considered how the birth of Jesus Christ has affected this world in which we live!
“In the eighteenth century, there was great attack on foreign missionaries in the London Times. An experienced traveler wrote a letter to the editor in which he criticized this attitude. The letter’s writer said that such an attitude on the part of a voyager was particularly inexcusable – for should he happen to be cast ashore on some uncharted island, he would devoutly pray that the lesson of the missionary had preceded him! The writer of the letter was no less than Charles Darwin, later an enemy of the Christian faith. Nonetheless, he recognized the useful value of the faith.” [D. James Kennedy and Jerry Newcombe. What If Jesus Had Never Been Born? (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1994) p. 157]
Perhaps nothing could be more applicable in this season in which we celebrate the birth of Christ into human form, than by stopping to consider just how great an impact He has had on the human race. -[Principles drawn from D. James Kennedy and Jerry Newcombe. What If Jesus Had Never Been Born? (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1994) p. 157]
Because Christ Lived the World Has Attached A New Value To Human Life.
“So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (Gen 1:27) The concept of sanctity of life is a spiritual concept; the word sanctity comes from the Latin word (sanctus) which means ‘holy’ or sacred to God, that which God has declared is of great value. Even in the world today, when you get into areas where Christianity is not the prominent religion human life is cheap. Christianity has changed the value attached to human life, especially to Children, Women, and the Elderly. Prior to the coming of Christ, abortion, the killing of infants, and abandonment were common practices. Over time the influence of Christianity has stopped the practice of child-killing until the recent revival by the modern practice of abortion. Prior to the Christian influence, a woman’s life was very cheap; in fact, in most ancient cultures, the wife was the property of her husband. In the nineteenth century, Charles Spurgeon told of a Hindu woman who said to a missionary, ‘Surely your Bible was written by a woman.’ ‘Why?’ he asked. ‘Because it says so many kind things for women. Our experts never refer to us but in some reproach.’ (p. 17)
Today we take our values on human life for granted. We do so because we in America have had them so embedded in our culture for centuries. But had Christ never been born, it would have been a far different story; human life would be quite cheap. The morality of any society can easily be judged by the view it holds on human life. Remove the influence of Jesus Christ in the world and you will quickly see how cheap human life becomes.
Because Christ Lived the World Has Changed the Way It Responds To Those In Need. “He who despises his neighbor sins; But he who has mercy on the poor, happy is he.” (Proverbs 14:21)
Before the advent of Christianity there was no organized charitable effort at large in the world. The example and teaching of Jesus changed the way the world reacted to those in need especially the poor, the widowed, and the orphaned.
Hospitals as we know them began through the influence of Christianity. Christianity also gave rise to nursing care. The Red Cross was started by an evangelical Christian.
W. O. Sanders, a skeptic, made this admission about the influence of Christianity, “Your agnostic is tremendously impressed by the power of your faith. He has seen drunkards and libertines and moral degenerates transfigured by it. He has seen the sick, the aged, the friendless comforted and sustained, and he is impressed by your wonderful charities, your asylums, your hospitals, your nurseries, your schools; he must shamefacedly admit that agnostics, as such have built few hospitals and few homes for orphans.” [p. 156] In reality they have built none!!!! A world without Christ would be a world without charity.
Because Christ Lived the World Has Changed Its View about Science. Some think that Christianity and science are opposites and have nothing to do with each other. Science, theology, and history are not three distinct branches of knowledge, but simply three different ways in which to view the reality around us! Blaise Pascal states it well when he said, “Faith tells us what the sensed cannot, but it not contrary to their findings. It simply transcends, without contradicting them.” [p. 99]
Some of the greatest pioneers of science were committed Christians, I will name just a few:
Antiseptic Surgery – Joseph Lister
Bacteriology – Louis Pasteur
Calculus – Isaac Newton
Electromagnetics – Michael Faraday
And the list goes on and on. Countess benefits of science which you enjoy in your everyday life today would not exist if Christ had not been born!
To borrow a phrase from C.S. Lewis, a good description of life on earth if Jesus had never come would be, “always winter but never Christmas.” If Christ had not come life would be meaningless. If Christ had not comet there would be no forgiveness for sin. If Christ had not come there would be no sure hope of Eternal life.
But Christ was born, and, oh, the difference it has made. The world is different because Christ lived. Is the world different because we profess Jesus as our Lord and Savior?
These daily devotionals are posted in my home page, "Brownnaik.com". When you visit the page you can find link to pictures of our grandchildren, Micah and Simeon. You also can find a link to the pictures of children in Orissa , India.
We will soon be posting our annual Christmas letter, that allows us to share about the Amazing Faithfulness of Lord and Savior, Emmanuel, God with us. Praise the Lord for each of you around the corner and around the globe. We are so blessed to belong to Jesus, the newborn King. We are so blessed to belong to His Church, militant and Triumphant. We have been blessed with simple and profound gifts. We are blessed with the best of both worlds. Knowing, Worshipping, Serving Jesus Christ, you never lose.
With much love and gratitude,
Brown
Reporting a Praise the Lord. George Cosler visited his oncologist yesterday in Ogdensburg, NY and he doesn’t have to return until August of 2008. Their visit to the surgeon at Upstate Medical January 10th will hopefully and prayerfully result in removal of the feeding tube. George is maintaining his weight, beginning light exercise and attended the United Methodist Church in Morristown, NY last Sunday. They hopefully will leave for Florida after the January 10th doctor’s visit and join Phyllis’ Mother Dot Catlin, Walt Carmon’s sister. Thank you for all the prayers and praise God for his goodness.

Thank you Brown for this wonderful message of healing. I passed it on to my son-in-law E. today who is married to P. He is suffering terribly with back pain. He was a former fireman, 47 years old and is now unable to work after an unsuccessful back operation. He is waiting for paperwork to come through from the state so that he might go on disability. He was injured carrying a heavy woman down from a second story house. He blew up terribly at P. last night after a basketball game over a misunderstanding. He is going to counseling, but his quality of life has diminished so much. Their oldest daughter, A, received a full basketball scholarship to St. Rose in Albany. She is a senior at UE. Please pray for him for the understanding of God’s love and healing power. He called this afternoon to apologize and was crying through most of the conversation. We’re trying to help in every way we can. Thanks in advance. B.



Hi everyone!
We just returned from another long day at Dartmouth.
Good news - The twins are doing great!!!! One is 1 lb 10 oz and the other is 1 lb 9oz so they are still sharing and doing well in there.

We met with the doctors and have finally agreed on a plan.
We are going to start daily monitoring at Littleton soon (tomorrow or Monday.) Then I will be admitted into Dartmouth hospital around December 28 for more continual monitoring. Once admitted they will be able to monitor me more frequently and be able to have a better chance of saving the twins if anything happens.

We took a tour of the maternity section and it was nice. It will be hard living there for an extended period of time but we'll have to make the best of it. We're hoping the twins will be fine with no problems until mid to end of February so if all goes well I will be there for a while.

Our last stop was the David's house (a big house nearby for family to stay.) David's house was awesome - I was choked up for most of the time there because it was perfect for Eliana. I think she will adjust very well there because it is a huge beautiful house with lots of family rooms, food and toys. She said she wanted to come back to play there and that was what Patrick and I were hoping for.

Please continue to keep the twins and us in your prayers. We are about to start the whirlwind part of this experience. We are really glad to have peace in our hearts that God will take care of us and we keep handing concerns over to him. Thanks for all of your support and we'll keep you posted if anything else happens.
Love,
Cori