It is Friday. . . Thank you, Jesus. We are just a week away from one of the BIG days in our family. Next Friday, August 31, we will be having the wedding rehearsal for Sunita and Andy's wedding.
It is very hot and humid here today. Sunita is on her way home from Washington, D.C. this afternoon. Thank you for praying for all of us. We praise the Lord for you.
We serve a God who makes astounding promises to His people and He keeps them with wonderful trustworthiness. We can count on Him 24/7.
In 1989 a devastating earthquake flattened the country of Armenia, killing over 30,000 people in less than 4 minutes. In the midst of the confusion that followed, a father left his wife securely at home and rushed to his son’s school, hoping for the best but fearing the worst. When he arrived, he discovered to his horror that his son’s school had been flattened by the massive earthquake. While surveying the rubble, he remembered a promise that he had made to his little boy. “What ever happens, I’ll always be there for you.” The situation looked hopeless, but he just couldn’t take his mind off that promise. He remembered that his son’s classroom had been in the back right corner of the building, so he rushed to that spot over there and started digging through the rubble.
Other grieving parents arrived, crying for their children. Some tried to pull the man off the rubble saying, “It’s too late! They’re dead. You can’t help.” Even a police officer told the grieving father to go home. But courageously he proceeded alone because he needed to know for himself whether his boy was dead or alive and he needed to fulfill his promise, “No matter what, I’ll always be there for you.” He dug for 8 hours, then 12, then 24, then 36. Finally, in the 38th hour, he pulled back a large boulder; among the remaining rubble he heard his son’s voice. He screamed, “Armand!”
The little voice answered him, “Dad, Dad, it’s me.” Then the boy added these priceless words: “I told the other kids not to worry. I told them that you would save us because you promised. You promised me that no matter what happened you would always be there for me. You did it. You did it, Dad!”
"I promise" is a phrase that seems almost meaningless in this day and age. Often when we make a promise, we do our best to keep it, but often we fail to do so. We don’t mean to fail, but sometimes it just happens.
In the Scriptures, we read about a loving heavenly Father who has made many precious promises to us. He has promised that our needs will be taken care of, that our sins are forgiven, that we will never be overwhelmed beyond our ability to bear, and the gift of everlasting life. What sets these promises apart is that God is the One who has made them. God has the power and the integrity to fulfill each and every promise He has made. Like a loving father, God cares for each and every one of us and He has promised that whatever happens He will always be there for us. Even as the world around us quakes and crumbles, our Heavenly Father stands by His promises.
In Psalm 9 we see that, even in a turbulent world, God offers to us in Himself a sanctuary of refuge. Look at Vs 9 of Psalm 9, “The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.” One of the first things you notice from that verse is the fact that we live in a difficult world filled with troubles and oppression. The reality of it all is that life is hard. Nowhere in Scripture are we promised that it will be easy. Life is hard. Bad things happen to good people, to bad people, and to everyone in between. So far this may seem pretty depressing, but before we get to the really good news, we often have to face bad news.
We live in a troubled world. If you are young and at the beginning of your life, then you may be naïve to all the trouble in this world. As you get older you will see more and more suffering and pain. The older you are, the more you have seen of this. There are wars and rumors of wars, there are abusive and corrupt people who oppress innocents, and there is the downfall of our Christian heritage in a decaying culture. On top of all this, our troubled world is a hectic fast-paced world which sets an unrealistically high standard for success. Many of you live such high paced lives that you are literally burned out. You are running here and there and you are weary, anxious, tired and at your wit’s end. It is in God alone that you will find a refuge from the troubles of this life. The word refuge literally means a place of safety. When you are troubled, God wants to be your refuge, your place of safety, the One you turn to for shelter from the pain and strife.
It is often in times of trouble that we turn to God. We know He’s there when times are good, but it’s often when things are not going well that we really turn to God for that refuge. It is in desperation that we cry out to Him to protect and deliver us, and when we call out to Him He is always faithful. He keeps His promise. He will always protect and deliver us. God will be our refuge, but the refuge does not protect us from experiencing the storm, but rather it protects us during the storm. In this life we will experience trouble, but God will see us through it.
When Corrie Ten Boon was in her late teens, she witnessed Nazi soldiers arresting and torturing an older Christian. She said to her dad, “I couldn’t stand that. I would wilt under persecution. I’m afraid I wouldn’t be faithful.” Her father said, “Corrie, God will give you the faith you need.” Yet, she kept insisting, “I don’t have that kind of courage and faith.” Finally her dad said, “Do you remember when you were a little girl and we took rides on the train? I kept your ticket in my pocket. Do you remember when I gave you your ticket?” “She said, “Yeah, right before we got on the train.” “Right,” he said, “I kept it until you needed it so you wouldn’t lose it. God will give you the faith you need. He will empower you by His Holy Spirit according to your need.” Trust Him for that.” Later, when Corrie Ten Boom was arrested and persecuted by the Nazi’s, her faithfulness and strength became an inspiration to all Christians.
God will give you what you need. You can count on Him for that. You can trust God. Look at vs. 10. Psalm 9:10, "And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; for You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You."
We live in a day when it’s hard to trust anybody. We have all been lied to or taken advantage to the point where we are cynical whenever somebody says, “Trust me” or “I promise”.
Psalm 9:10, "And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You. " The more we know the more we trust. When we read through out the Scriptures about God, when we see how He has been proven faithful in the lives of others, and when we by our own experiences find Him to be faithful and true, then we learn to trust in God as our refuge. We come to trust in the promises of God, and one such promise given here in this text is that for those who seek God, He will never forsake them. What a promise! God is saying, “You can count on Me. I won’t let you down.” God will always be there. That’s the promise that He has made. No matter what you are going through, you are not going through it alone. God has promised, and even at those times when you don’t sense that God is with you, He stands by your side, guiding, comforting, and encouraging you.
The early American Indians had a rite of passage, involving training young boys to become Indian braves. On the night of a boy’s thirteenth birthday, after learning hunting, scouting, and fishing skills, he was put to one final test. He was placed in a thick forest to spend the entire night alone. Up until then, he had never been away from his family and the tribe, but on this night he was blindfolded and taken several miles away. When he took off the blindfold, he was in the middle of a thick wood, and he was scared to death! Every time a twig snapped, he would think that a wild animal was getting ready to pounce.
After what seemed like an eternity, and the sun began to rise the next morning. The boy looked around and saw flowers, trees, and a path. Then, to his complete amazement, he saw the figure of a man standing just a few feet away, armed with a bow and arrow. It was his father, who had been there all night long.
God is like that. Even when we don’t see Him, He’s there. He is faithful and true. He has promised, and He keeps His promise. He is our refuge in times of trouble, and we can trust Him on that. In the end we can say, like that little boy, “I told the other kids not to worry. I told them that you would save us because you promised Dad. You promised me that no matter what happened you would always be there for me. You did it. You did it, Dad!”
Pray for our television outreach tonight on cable channel 4 at 7 p.m. If you are in the area, please join our viewing family.
In Christ,
Brown
Lord, behold our family here assembled. We thank Thee for this place in which we dwell; for the love that unites us; for the peace accorded us this day; for the hope with which we expect the morrow; for the health, the work, the food, and the bright skies that make our lives delightful; for our friends in all parts of the earth, and our friendly helpers in this foreign isle [Samoa]... Give us courage, gaiety, and the quiet mind. Spare to us our friends, soften to us our enemies. Bless us, if it may be, in all our innocent endeavors. If it may not be, give us the strength to encounter that which is to come, that we be brave in peril, constant in tribulation, temperate in wrath, and in all changes of fortune and down to the gates of death, loyal and loving to one another.
... Robert Louis Stevenson
A middle-aged woman had a heart attack and was taken to the hospital.
While on the operating table she had a near death experience.
Seeing God she asked "Is my time up?" God said, "No, you have another 40 years, 2 months and 8 days to live,"
Upon recovery, the woman decided to stay in the hospital and have a facelift, liposuction, and a tummy tuck. She even had someone come in and change her hair color. Since she had so much more time to live, she figured she might as well make the most of it.
After her last operation, she was released from the hospital. While crossing the street on her way home, she was killed by an ambulance.
Arriving in front of God (again), she demanded, "I thought you said I had another 40 years. Why didn't you pull me from out of the path of the ambulance?"
God replied, "Sorry about that, I just didn't recognize you!"
Friday, August 24, 2007
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Brown's Daily Word 8-23-07
Good Morning.
Many of us heard the story of an old man, walking the beach at dawn, who noticed a young man ahead of him picking up starfish and flinging them into the sea. Catching up with the youth, he asked what he was doing.
His answer was that the stranded starfish would die if left in the morning sun.
"But the beach goes on for miles and miles, and there are millions of starfish," countered the man. "How can your effort make any difference?"
The young man looked at the starfish in his hand and then threw it to safety in the waves. "It makes a difference to this one," he said.
Sometimes we think that what we do doesn’t amount to much. In Psam 8. king David, ponders anew, what the Almighty can do.
We wonder if anyone even notices us, or would miss us if we weren’t in the room
Some folks even get to wondering if God stills notices them; they feel unimportant
We feel insignificant; how can God notice me? I’m no one special…
When David considered the majesty of God, he felt insignificant too
Like the young man throwing starfish back into the sea…seems like a meaningless task, yet how important he was to the one whose life he saved!
In Psalm 8, David marvels that the glorious Lord of heaven, whose name is excellent, should graciously use people in the earth’s dominion.
This passage considers the dignity of mankind as God’s representatives on earth
David knows the Lord personally. He calls Him YAHWEH (O LORD), then ADONAY (OUR LORD) The Sovereign, or Master over all creation. Set your glory…above the heavens.
We can just imagine David lying on the ground on a dark, starry night; looking up at the stars in the heavens, and considering the God that made it all
One of my favorite things when I was a boy…something we lose as we grow older, is our FASCINATION WITH God. We love, revere, respect and fear; but are we still fascinated with Him?
David was fascinated with his Lord. He hadn’t outgrown it.
God uses the strength of CHILDREN to silence His enemies
So powerful, he needs only man to represent Him on earth. Mankind, even children and infants represent the strength of God
God has ordained that the weak shall confound the strong (1 Cor. 1:27)
David understood that HIS WEAKNESS became GODS’ STRENGTH
In our weakness, God uses us too. In fact, God gets the best results from us when we are at our weakest! It’s then that we don’t interfere with His plan.
We’re back to David lying on the ground, staring at the heavens
He is overwhelmed that God would entrust such a marvelous creation to man, who is here today and gone tomorrow
What is “man”? The Hebrew word used here is e-nos, (mortal, weak man)
This rhetorical question emphasizes the insignificance of man in the scope of Gods’ creation. YET GOD CARES FOR HIM IMMENSELY!
David is amazed that God would elevate finite man to such a high position (v.5)
(6-8) A final reflection on man’s position as Gods’ representative on earth.
a) All things under his feet; even the least important efforts of man are important to God
David concludes with the same expression of praise for his Lord (ADONAY)
He accepts that while he is finite in the universe, he is CHERISHED BY HIS God
Even the insignificant are significant in Gods’ eyes
We are His creation; His delight; His representatives on the earth
The next time we feel unimportant or insignificant, let us REMEMBER HOW God THINKS OF US.
In Love ,
Brown
All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen. -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
My Kind of Barber
A florist went to a barbershop to get a haircut. After the cut, he asked about his bill and the barber replied, "I'm sorry, I cannot accept money from you; I'm doing community service this week." The florist was pleased and left the shop. The next morning when the barber arrived at his shop to open, he found a thank you card and a dozen roses waiting for him at the door.
Later, a policeman came for a haircut. When he started to pay his bill the barber again replied, "I'm sorry, I cannot accept money from you, I'm doing community service this week." The policeman left the shop with a smile. The next morning when the barber arrived to open his shop, he found a thank you card and a dozen donuts waiting at the door.
Then a Baptist preacher came in for a haircut. When he started to pay his bill the barber again replied, "I'm sorry, I cannot accept money from you; I'm doing community service this week." The Baptist preacher was very happy and left the shop.
The next morning when the barber arrived to open the shop, he found a dozen Baptist preachers lined up, waiting for their free haircuts!
Many of us heard the story of an old man, walking the beach at dawn, who noticed a young man ahead of him picking up starfish and flinging them into the sea. Catching up with the youth, he asked what he was doing.
His answer was that the stranded starfish would die if left in the morning sun.
"But the beach goes on for miles and miles, and there are millions of starfish," countered the man. "How can your effort make any difference?"
The young man looked at the starfish in his hand and then threw it to safety in the waves. "It makes a difference to this one," he said.
Sometimes we think that what we do doesn’t amount to much. In Psam 8. king David, ponders anew, what the Almighty can do.
We wonder if anyone even notices us, or would miss us if we weren’t in the room
Some folks even get to wondering if God stills notices them; they feel unimportant
We feel insignificant; how can God notice me? I’m no one special…
When David considered the majesty of God, he felt insignificant too
Like the young man throwing starfish back into the sea…seems like a meaningless task, yet how important he was to the one whose life he saved!
In Psalm 8, David marvels that the glorious Lord of heaven, whose name is excellent, should graciously use people in the earth’s dominion.
This passage considers the dignity of mankind as God’s representatives on earth
David knows the Lord personally. He calls Him YAHWEH (O LORD), then ADONAY (OUR LORD) The Sovereign, or Master over all creation. Set your glory…above the heavens.
We can just imagine David lying on the ground on a dark, starry night; looking up at the stars in the heavens, and considering the God that made it all
One of my favorite things when I was a boy…something we lose as we grow older, is our FASCINATION WITH God. We love, revere, respect and fear; but are we still fascinated with Him?
David was fascinated with his Lord. He hadn’t outgrown it.
God uses the strength of CHILDREN to silence His enemies
So powerful, he needs only man to represent Him on earth. Mankind, even children and infants represent the strength of God
God has ordained that the weak shall confound the strong (1 Cor. 1:27)
David understood that HIS WEAKNESS became GODS’ STRENGTH
In our weakness, God uses us too. In fact, God gets the best results from us when we are at our weakest! It’s then that we don’t interfere with His plan.
We’re back to David lying on the ground, staring at the heavens
He is overwhelmed that God would entrust such a marvelous creation to man, who is here today and gone tomorrow
What is “man”? The Hebrew word used here is e-nos, (mortal, weak man)
This rhetorical question emphasizes the insignificance of man in the scope of Gods’ creation. YET GOD CARES FOR HIM IMMENSELY!
David is amazed that God would elevate finite man to such a high position (v.5)
(6-8) A final reflection on man’s position as Gods’ representative on earth.
a) All things under his feet; even the least important efforts of man are important to God
David concludes with the same expression of praise for his Lord (ADONAY)
He accepts that while he is finite in the universe, he is CHERISHED BY HIS God
Even the insignificant are significant in Gods’ eyes
We are His creation; His delight; His representatives on the earth
The next time we feel unimportant or insignificant, let us REMEMBER HOW God THINKS OF US.
In Love ,
Brown
All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen. -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
My Kind of Barber
A florist went to a barbershop to get a haircut. After the cut, he asked about his bill and the barber replied, "I'm sorry, I cannot accept money from you; I'm doing community service this week." The florist was pleased and left the shop. The next morning when the barber arrived at his shop to open, he found a thank you card and a dozen roses waiting for him at the door.
Later, a policeman came for a haircut. When he started to pay his bill the barber again replied, "I'm sorry, I cannot accept money from you, I'm doing community service this week." The policeman left the shop with a smile. The next morning when the barber arrived to open his shop, he found a thank you card and a dozen donuts waiting at the door.
Then a Baptist preacher came in for a haircut. When he started to pay his bill the barber again replied, "I'm sorry, I cannot accept money from you; I'm doing community service this week." The Baptist preacher was very happy and left the shop.
The next morning when the barber arrived to open the shop, he found a dozen Baptist preachers lined up, waiting for their free haircuts!
Brown's Daily Word 8-22-07
Praise the Lord for summer time. I love the long sunny days. When you go to Northern Europe, the land of the midnight sun, there is brilliant sunshine for 24 hours a day for part of the summer. It is similar to summer time in Alaska, where we experience prolonged sunshine. Outside the Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark’s Parliament building, there are three stone figures guarding the entrance. They represent the earache, the headache, and the stomach ache. We live in a very stressful or stress-filled society, and it affects all of us.
I am writing this daily devotional in the evening, knowing that somewhere it is morning. For instance, it is morning in India and in the Far East.
Ps. 121:1-2 "I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth." Our help comes from someone who can do it all, whose wisdom is not wanting. Our help is from someone whose power is not puny or pint-sized and whose love is not limited, provisional or conditional. He is God. He is our Creator and our Father.
Matthew 11:28 Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." I still believe the words of Jesus. I still believe He can do what He claims; not only save us from our sins but also soothe our hearts and minds. He is God in the flesh. He can do anything. He does nothing but good for us.
Some of my favorite Psalms are Psalm 3 and 4, which deal with the subject of lack of sleep. People who are stressed out do not sleep well. Psalm 3 and 4 were written when David was exiled because his own son Absalom had stolen the kingdom. It’s hard to understand how a father and a son could be so opposed to one another. There was so much conflict between them that Absalom wanted to kill his father. That boggles my mind! Family strife can deteriorate badly. Evil can invade our hearts unless guarded by God!
Psalm 3 is a morning Psalm, while Psalm 4 is an evening Psalm. How could David sleep when he knew he was in danger? He knew that God was for him, and that knowledge was even greater than his fears. He knew that God would surround him, sustain him, and save him.
David wrote Psalm 4 as he was about to retire for the evening. He could not do much about the war around him, but he could do something about the war within him. Instead of lying in bed fretting, stewing and worrying, he committed himself and his situation to the Lord and received relief.
V. 1 "Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; be merciful and hear my prayer." Asking is still a good place to start with God in regard to any problem we face in life. If we don’t ask, how do we expect to receive?
Phil. 4:6-7 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Prayer can bring relief from the anxieties of life. God’s inner, calming peace can come through prayer. It’s the kind of peace that enabled Corrie Ten Boom to say after being in a German prison camp, "There is no pit so deep that God is not deeper still."
Someone once said, "God is so BIG He can cover the whole world with his love and so small He can curl up inside your Heart." When God curls up inside through prayer, there is peace.
It has been said that when Robert Louis Stevenson was a boy he once said to his mother, "Momma, you can’t be good without praying." "How do you know, Robert?" she asked. "Because I’ve tried!" he answered.
Prayer does make a difference. God can change us through prayer. God can make us good and He can relieve us of our anxieties or inner turmoil. Of course, some people tend to think, "Why would God be interested in me? Look at everything that I’ve done in life...everything I’ve done wrong. He’s not interested in me."
Vs. 4-5 "In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent. Offer right sacrifices and trust in the Lord." In these verses David is obviously not talking to God. He is talking to people about their relationship to God, how to receive answers, and how to get help from God.
Charles H. Spurgeon was England’s best known preacher in the 1800’s. He often preached to audiences of 10,000 without a PA system. He said one time, "I would recommend you either believe God up to the hilt, or else not to believe at all. Believe this book of God, every letter of it, or else reject it. There is no logical standing place between the two. Be satisfied with nothing less than a faith that swims in the deeps of divine revelation. A faith that paddles about the edge of the water is poor faith at best..."
That’s the kind of belief or faith that David had and we too must have in order to receive from Him. David said "In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds..." Anger is a doorstop to God’s blessings and an open door to the devil.
Most of the time when we get angry about something, someone, or some situation where we feel that we have been wronged, we don’t keep our cool! We often seethe with anger and/or plot in our anger. It is a guaranteed thing that we will get angry in life, but what we do with that anger is what makes a difference. This is why David said, "In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds..."
David was better than most of us,or perhaps he was better at this time. He faced his anger and gave it to the Lord. Instead of lying in bed, thinking about it and letting it work on his heart, he prayed about it and gave it to the Lord. David believed God and trusted Him to take care of the matter. We must do the same.
We must believe that God can do what He says He can do. We must believe that He can calm our anger, soothe our hearts and take away our pain. We must believe God! We must trust Him!
Vs. 6-8 "Let the light of your face shine upon us, O Lord. You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound. I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety." In the darkness of David’s turmoil he found light from the Lord. In his sorrow, he found joy in the Lord. He said, "You have filled my heart with greater joy than a big grain crop, new wine." For us, it might be greater joy than when we have a new car, a new house, and a big bank account! God can bring greater joy into our lives than any material thing can!
David expressed his pleasure over what God had done for him. David asked, he believed, and now he was receiving from God. He welcomed God’s goodness and blessing with open arms and a receptive heart.
Matthew 21:22, "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." We must believe and receive. He wants to bless us. He will bless us when we come to Him in faith, and we must learn to receive His blessings with willing hearts and open arms!
Thank you, Lord. We are not worthy, but you are worthy of our praise and thanks. But thank you for every good gift you have given. Thank you for moments of calm. Thank you for the relief from anxiety that you give. We bless you! We love you!
Sir George Adam Smith told how he and his guide were climbing the Weisshorn in the Swiss Alps. It was stormy and they were making their climb on the sheltered side of the peak. When they reached the summit, they were filled with the exhilaration. Sir George forgot about the fierce winds, leaped up and was nearly blown over the edge to the glacier below! The guide grabbed hold of him and exclaimed: "On your knees, sir. You are safe here only on your knees!"
Life is not easy. We all go through periods of stress and strain. The only safe place in this life is on our knees. The only safe place is in the arms of God.
Janice, Jeremy, Micah, and Simeon are coming in to spend the night with us. What a terrific surprise it was to have them call yesterday to say that they would spend a night here before going down to Pennsylvania. They will return on Monday to join in the festivities and the full household for the wedding.
Psalm 4:8
In Jesus, who gives rest,
Brown
The Bible. Funny?
Someone asked recently in a newspaper, "Are there any jokes in the Bible?" It is filled with humor – usually wry Jewish witticisms, hyperbole and idiom! "You can tame every animal on earth, but not the tongue," says James. "Yeah, yeah," says Micaiah to King Ahab, "You'll win the battle for sure." (I Kings 22). "I don't want to twist your arm, but hey, you owe me on this one," (Paul to Philemon). [Loose paraphrases]
Many of the Proverbs communicate timeless wisdom with a smile and a wink. God invented humor! So surely we would expect Jesus to use it. And He does, frequently. Many of the parables are intrinsically amusing cameos. They were surely not delivered as deadpan monologues, but in the style of the story-teller with voices and gestures to match (and much two-way banter) – and with very likely from time to time the involvement of children or other listeners as props. This method of communication was very near to street theater!
"Full recognition of Christ's humor has been surprisingly rare. In many of the standard efforts to write the Life of Christ there is no mention of humour at all and, when there is any, it is usually confined to a hint or two." [Elton Trueblood, The Humor of Christ]
"Jesus was always had snappy oneliners ready for the occasion, such as, 'Let the dead bury their dead,' and 'The poor you always have with you.' It's how you tell them! Try these prefaced with a heavy shrug and 'Oy Vay'." [Adrian Williams]
"Jesus has a particular eye for the ironical and paradoxical. He gave His disciples nicknames: Peter the Rock who was big on words, but a coward when it mattered; James and John, hotheads, were 'Sons of Thunder'. He told stories about judges who gave justice only after being pestered repeatedly, businessmen who amassed riches only to die the next day, and about priests too precious to help a man who had been beaten up. He talked about people who gave stones in the place of bread, and saw the speck in the eye of another but ignored the log in their own eye. He talked about the blind leading the blind. He called the holy men of his day whitewashed walls" [Rev Peter Weatherby]
"Many of His comments would have had the audience laughing incontrollably, while at the same time making a deep point. The pictures of 'blind Pharisees straining at a gnat but swallowing a camel' (Matt 23:24) is hilarious. Similarly it is reckoned that shpherds were the butt of Galilean society's jokes, and so the one about the shepherd leaving the 99 to search for just one, would have also raised a laugh." [George Newton]
"How often there was a twinkle in the eye of Jesus! His humor shines through his words. For instance, Jesus once pictured the religious legalists of his day. He said they were like a man who polished the outside of his drinking cup, but forgot to clean the inside. "You are like a person," said Jesus, "who picks a fly out of his drink and then swallows a camel" (Matthew 23:24). Jesus made his point by a humorous exaggeration. He used the same kind of humor when he said, "It is much harder for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle" (Mark 10:25). There must have been a twinkle in his eye when he talked about the fault-finder: "Why do you notice the little piece of sawdust that is in your brother's eye, but you don't notice the big piece of wood that is in your own eye?" (Matthew 7:3.
The humor of Jesus show us the quickness of his mind and the playfulness of his outlook. Long before Mary Poppins, Jesus knew that a "spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down." How much we need the humor of Jesus today! We get deadly serious about his words and miss the humor in them. Jesus talked about the necessity of communicating his message. He made this point by an absurd picture: "Does anyone bring a lamp home and put it under a washtub or beneath the bed? Don't you put it up on a table or on the mantel?" (Mark 4:21).
Jesus did not fit the pattern of what people expected a holy man to be like. Luke reported: "By this time a lot of men and women of doubtful reputation were hanging around Jesus, listening intently" (Luke 15:1). The religion scholars were not pleased and growled, "He takes in sinners and eats meals with them, treating them like old friends" (Luke 15:2). Jesus' cousin, John, had followers who fasted all the time. Jesus and his followers had a reputation for eating and drinking. Again, Jesus reached for a humorous image to portray his contemporaries. He said about them: "They're like spoiled children complaining to their parents, 'We wanted to skip rope and you were always too tired; we wanted to talk but you were always too busy.' John the Baptist came fasting and you called him crazy. The Son of Man (Jesus' favorite term for himself) came feasting and you called him a lush" (Luke 7:31-34). I believe that Jesus would approve this little prayer:
God, give me sympathy and common sense,
And help me home with courage high.
God, give me calm and confidence
And please – a twinkle in my eye."
I am writing this daily devotional in the evening, knowing that somewhere it is morning. For instance, it is morning in India and in the Far East.
Ps. 121:1-2 "I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth." Our help comes from someone who can do it all, whose wisdom is not wanting. Our help is from someone whose power is not puny or pint-sized and whose love is not limited, provisional or conditional. He is God. He is our Creator and our Father.
Matthew 11:28 Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." I still believe the words of Jesus. I still believe He can do what He claims; not only save us from our sins but also soothe our hearts and minds. He is God in the flesh. He can do anything. He does nothing but good for us.
Some of my favorite Psalms are Psalm 3 and 4, which deal with the subject of lack of sleep. People who are stressed out do not sleep well. Psalm 3 and 4 were written when David was exiled because his own son Absalom had stolen the kingdom. It’s hard to understand how a father and a son could be so opposed to one another. There was so much conflict between them that Absalom wanted to kill his father. That boggles my mind! Family strife can deteriorate badly. Evil can invade our hearts unless guarded by God!
Psalm 3 is a morning Psalm, while Psalm 4 is an evening Psalm. How could David sleep when he knew he was in danger? He knew that God was for him, and that knowledge was even greater than his fears. He knew that God would surround him, sustain him, and save him.
David wrote Psalm 4 as he was about to retire for the evening. He could not do much about the war around him, but he could do something about the war within him. Instead of lying in bed fretting, stewing and worrying, he committed himself and his situation to the Lord and received relief.
V. 1 "Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; be merciful and hear my prayer." Asking is still a good place to start with God in regard to any problem we face in life. If we don’t ask, how do we expect to receive?
Phil. 4:6-7 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Prayer can bring relief from the anxieties of life. God’s inner, calming peace can come through prayer. It’s the kind of peace that enabled Corrie Ten Boom to say after being in a German prison camp, "There is no pit so deep that God is not deeper still."
Someone once said, "God is so BIG He can cover the whole world with his love and so small He can curl up inside your Heart." When God curls up inside through prayer, there is peace.
It has been said that when Robert Louis Stevenson was a boy he once said to his mother, "Momma, you can’t be good without praying." "How do you know, Robert?" she asked. "Because I’ve tried!" he answered.
Prayer does make a difference. God can change us through prayer. God can make us good and He can relieve us of our anxieties or inner turmoil. Of course, some people tend to think, "Why would God be interested in me? Look at everything that I’ve done in life...everything I’ve done wrong. He’s not interested in me."
Vs. 4-5 "In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent. Offer right sacrifices and trust in the Lord." In these verses David is obviously not talking to God. He is talking to people about their relationship to God, how to receive answers, and how to get help from God.
Charles H. Spurgeon was England’s best known preacher in the 1800’s. He often preached to audiences of 10,000 without a PA system. He said one time, "I would recommend you either believe God up to the hilt, or else not to believe at all. Believe this book of God, every letter of it, or else reject it. There is no logical standing place between the two. Be satisfied with nothing less than a faith that swims in the deeps of divine revelation. A faith that paddles about the edge of the water is poor faith at best..."
That’s the kind of belief or faith that David had and we too must have in order to receive from Him. David said "In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds..." Anger is a doorstop to God’s blessings and an open door to the devil.
Most of the time when we get angry about something, someone, or some situation where we feel that we have been wronged, we don’t keep our cool! We often seethe with anger and/or plot in our anger. It is a guaranteed thing that we will get angry in life, but what we do with that anger is what makes a difference. This is why David said, "In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds..."
David was better than most of us,or perhaps he was better at this time. He faced his anger and gave it to the Lord. Instead of lying in bed, thinking about it and letting it work on his heart, he prayed about it and gave it to the Lord. David believed God and trusted Him to take care of the matter. We must do the same.
We must believe that God can do what He says He can do. We must believe that He can calm our anger, soothe our hearts and take away our pain. We must believe God! We must trust Him!
Vs. 6-8 "Let the light of your face shine upon us, O Lord. You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound. I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety." In the darkness of David’s turmoil he found light from the Lord. In his sorrow, he found joy in the Lord. He said, "You have filled my heart with greater joy than a big grain crop, new wine." For us, it might be greater joy than when we have a new car, a new house, and a big bank account! God can bring greater joy into our lives than any material thing can!
David expressed his pleasure over what God had done for him. David asked, he believed, and now he was receiving from God. He welcomed God’s goodness and blessing with open arms and a receptive heart.
Matthew 21:22, "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." We must believe and receive. He wants to bless us. He will bless us when we come to Him in faith, and we must learn to receive His blessings with willing hearts and open arms!
Thank you, Lord. We are not worthy, but you are worthy of our praise and thanks. But thank you for every good gift you have given. Thank you for moments of calm. Thank you for the relief from anxiety that you give. We bless you! We love you!
Sir George Adam Smith told how he and his guide were climbing the Weisshorn in the Swiss Alps. It was stormy and they were making their climb on the sheltered side of the peak. When they reached the summit, they were filled with the exhilaration. Sir George forgot about the fierce winds, leaped up and was nearly blown over the edge to the glacier below! The guide grabbed hold of him and exclaimed: "On your knees, sir. You are safe here only on your knees!"
Life is not easy. We all go through periods of stress and strain. The only safe place in this life is on our knees. The only safe place is in the arms of God.
Janice, Jeremy, Micah, and Simeon are coming in to spend the night with us. What a terrific surprise it was to have them call yesterday to say that they would spend a night here before going down to Pennsylvania. They will return on Monday to join in the festivities and the full household for the wedding.
Psalm 4:8
In Jesus, who gives rest,
Brown
The Bible. Funny?
Someone asked recently in a newspaper, "Are there any jokes in the Bible?" It is filled with humor – usually wry Jewish witticisms, hyperbole and idiom! "You can tame every animal on earth, but not the tongue," says James. "Yeah, yeah," says Micaiah to King Ahab, "You'll win the battle for sure." (I Kings 22). "I don't want to twist your arm, but hey, you owe me on this one," (Paul to Philemon). [Loose paraphrases]
Many of the Proverbs communicate timeless wisdom with a smile and a wink. God invented humor! So surely we would expect Jesus to use it. And He does, frequently. Many of the parables are intrinsically amusing cameos. They were surely not delivered as deadpan monologues, but in the style of the story-teller with voices and gestures to match (and much two-way banter) – and with very likely from time to time the involvement of children or other listeners as props. This method of communication was very near to street theater!
"Full recognition of Christ's humor has been surprisingly rare. In many of the standard efforts to write the Life of Christ there is no mention of humour at all and, when there is any, it is usually confined to a hint or two." [Elton Trueblood, The Humor of Christ]
"Jesus was always had snappy oneliners ready for the occasion, such as, 'Let the dead bury their dead,' and 'The poor you always have with you.' It's how you tell them! Try these prefaced with a heavy shrug and 'Oy Vay'." [Adrian Williams]
"Jesus has a particular eye for the ironical and paradoxical. He gave His disciples nicknames: Peter the Rock who was big on words, but a coward when it mattered; James and John, hotheads, were 'Sons of Thunder'. He told stories about judges who gave justice only after being pestered repeatedly, businessmen who amassed riches only to die the next day, and about priests too precious to help a man who had been beaten up. He talked about people who gave stones in the place of bread, and saw the speck in the eye of another but ignored the log in their own eye. He talked about the blind leading the blind. He called the holy men of his day whitewashed walls" [Rev Peter Weatherby]
"Many of His comments would have had the audience laughing incontrollably, while at the same time making a deep point. The pictures of 'blind Pharisees straining at a gnat but swallowing a camel' (Matt 23:24) is hilarious. Similarly it is reckoned that shpherds were the butt of Galilean society's jokes, and so the one about the shepherd leaving the 99 to search for just one, would have also raised a laugh." [George Newton]
"How often there was a twinkle in the eye of Jesus! His humor shines through his words. For instance, Jesus once pictured the religious legalists of his day. He said they were like a man who polished the outside of his drinking cup, but forgot to clean the inside. "You are like a person," said Jesus, "who picks a fly out of his drink and then swallows a camel" (Matthew 23:24). Jesus made his point by a humorous exaggeration. He used the same kind of humor when he said, "It is much harder for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle" (Mark 10:25). There must have been a twinkle in his eye when he talked about the fault-finder: "Why do you notice the little piece of sawdust that is in your brother's eye, but you don't notice the big piece of wood that is in your own eye?" (Matthew 7:3.
The humor of Jesus show us the quickness of his mind and the playfulness of his outlook. Long before Mary Poppins, Jesus knew that a "spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down." How much we need the humor of Jesus today! We get deadly serious about his words and miss the humor in them. Jesus talked about the necessity of communicating his message. He made this point by an absurd picture: "Does anyone bring a lamp home and put it under a washtub or beneath the bed? Don't you put it up on a table or on the mantel?" (Mark 4:21).
Jesus did not fit the pattern of what people expected a holy man to be like. Luke reported: "By this time a lot of men and women of doubtful reputation were hanging around Jesus, listening intently" (Luke 15:1). The religion scholars were not pleased and growled, "He takes in sinners and eats meals with them, treating them like old friends" (Luke 15:2). Jesus' cousin, John, had followers who fasted all the time. Jesus and his followers had a reputation for eating and drinking. Again, Jesus reached for a humorous image to portray his contemporaries. He said about them: "They're like spoiled children complaining to their parents, 'We wanted to skip rope and you were always too tired; we wanted to talk but you were always too busy.' John the Baptist came fasting and you called him crazy. The Son of Man (Jesus' favorite term for himself) came feasting and you called him a lush" (Luke 7:31-34). I believe that Jesus would approve this little prayer:
God, give me sympathy and common sense,
And help me home with courage high.
God, give me calm and confidence
And please – a twinkle in my eye."
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Brown's Daily Word 8-21-07
It is reported that the Hurricane Dean has made a huge landfall in Mexico creating havoc and destruction. I was reading sometime ago that on May 18, 1902 a storm with devastating tornadoes ripped through Goliad, Texas taking 114 lives, 40 as they sat in a church service. Many other storms followed in the first half the last century.
Things are better now, because by the 1950’s, Air Force meteorologists began to understand how tornadoes were formed. Within a few years, warning systems were set up. Storm chasers, Doppler radar, television and radio crews warn us of approaching danger. Sirens blast. People have time to take cover.
(Blown Away by William Hauptman, July 1996, p.67).
Warnings are only good if they are responded too appropriately. Since the 1950’s there have been several killer tornadoes but with ample warning times but many people have still died because they have chosen ignore these warnings and continue life as usual, with tragic results.
These are amazing and exciting times in which to live as a Christian. We have been privileged in our lifetimes to witness things that those who lived before us could not even imagine. The world is changing in extra-ordinary ways; we watched as Communism fell in our lifetimes, we look on as every day our world gets closer to acceptance of a one world currency, and eventually a one world leader. Perhaps as no other time in history, people of faith are called to understand the times in which we live. This requires not only awareness of our world situation but of an under-standing of Scripture. How tragic that today men can predict the movement of the stars and even put men on the moon, but they are blind to what God is doing in the world. They know how to get to the stars but so many of them do not know how to get to heaven.
Jesus our Lord is talking about the coming events in Luke 12 (vv. 54-56)
“Then He also said to the multitudes, ‘Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming’; and so it is, (55) And when you see the south wind blow, you say, ‘There will be hot weather’; And there is (56) Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time?”
The people who lived in Palestine in the days of Jesus’ ministry did not have the modern weather observation equipment of today, but they did have the ability to observe the conditions in the sky. Jesus asked why were they so good at reading the earth’s winds , but so poor at reading the spiritual winds? They could read earthly weather, but they neglected the signs of the moral and spiritual climate all around them. Why were they were so shrewd in earthly matters and such dunces in spiritual matters? Jesus calls it hypocrisy, because it was all a pretense though they did not know what was happening.
I am amazed at the energy, time, and money spent in modern society to bring us the very latest weather reports from around the globe. Yet the people of today pay far more attention to tomorrow’s weather forecast than they do to their eternal destiny. The apostle Peter (2 Peter 3:3-7) spoke of the coming judgment when he said, “knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, (4) and saying, ‘Where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation (5) For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water (7) But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.”
Jesus never called people hypocrites without good reason. When Jesus called these people hypocrites it's not because they were confused about who Christ was, or because they had never heard. His anger was directed against those who were in a position to know the truth and who deliberately rejected that truth.
Paul said in his letter to the Romans (1:16) that the wrath of God will be poured out on those “who suppress (KJV hold down) the truth in unrighteousness.“ It is not that these individuals do not know, it is that they refuse to acknowledge God.
The signs are there for those who are willing to observe them, and they warn of an inferno of judgment against an ungodly world, a fact which most people prefer to ignore or deny. Because of this we have a world culture which, in spite of the witness and testimony of the church, continues to reject the good news of Jesus Christ. Moreover, it calls good evil and evil good, worships money, glorifies sex, makes heroes of villains, kills unwanted babies in the name of convenience, and worships self as the god of all things.
As with storm warnings we do not usually pay attention or prepare until we realize the severity of the storm and accept the reality that it is going to hit where we live. In the same way people often ignore the warnings about God’s judgment until they recognize the reality and the severity of it.
In A. D. 79 the Roman city of Pompeii suffered swift and complete destruction with the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Most of us have seen pictures of the archeological exploration of that city. The explosion of Mt. Vesuvius was so sudden that the residents were killed in the midst of their daily routine. What you may not realize is that the citizens of Pompeii did not have to die. Roman writers of the period recorded that for weeks prior to the eruption, there were sounds of rumbling and shaking of the earth. There was even an ominous plume of smoke clearly visible for days before the eruption. The citizens of Pompeii died because they ignored the warnings. Warnings are only good if they are responded to appropriately.
This brings us to the second and final principle. Having issued the warning, Jesus, in verses fifty-seven through fifty-nine, gives the crowd (and us) some advice on how to prepare for judgment. “Yes, and why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right? (58) When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort alone the way to settle with him, lest he drag you to the judge, the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. (59) I tell you, you shall not depart from there till you have paid the last mite.”
In this mini-parable a man is on his way to the judge with an adversary and it tells us that commonsense would be to settle with this man before we stand before the judge.
Like this man we are on our way into the presence of a Judge. Likewise, since we too are all guilty and heading for judgment, the wisest thing to do is to settle out of court before judgment. This is only common sense. The judge of all the earth is coming one day to judge the earth. Because of our guilt, arrival in court means that only a guilty verdict can be expected and then we will have to pay the ultimate price of our guilt. We all have a debt of sin before God that someone must pay (Romans 3:9-31). Either Jesus does it in our stead by his sacrifice on the cross or we will pay every last cent before God. You had better settle with him before it is too late. People will do almost anything to stay out of jail, but how many people will apply the same kind of diligence to stay out of hell?
Charles Colson illustrates this principle at work in his life, when he tells the story of the night that he came to understand that he was a sinner on his way to judgment. “That night when I … sat alone in my car, my own sin – not just dirty politics, but the hatred and evil so deep within me – was thrust before my eyes, forcefully and painfully. For the first time in my life, I felt unclean, and worst of all, I could not escape. In those moments of clarity, I found myself driven irresistibly into the arms of the living God.” [Charles Colson. Who Speaks for God (Wheaton, Crossway Books, 1985) pp. 136-147] People who have allowed God’s grace to work in their lives mourn their sin, the lost do not acknowledge their guilt.
This Preparation Begins With A Sense of Our Sin And . . . This Preparation Involves Real Change
This Preparation Involves Accepting Christ As Your Personal Savior.
The New Testament repeatedly emphasizes the importance of individual acceptance of Christ and the judgment that awaits those who reject Him. The writer of Hebrews says, “it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). J esus calls to all of us to settle things in this life so that our lives will not come to the court of final judgment, where it will be too late to find salvation.
Now is the time to choose! The author of Proverbs warns, "He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy" (Prov. 29:1).
Jesus had asked “How is it you do not know how to interpret this critical hour?” Time is reflected in the Greek language in two different words: chronos and kairos. Some see time only as chronos, a stream of moments flying by at incredible speed. Other have a view of kairos, the critical and often favorable moment to do something for God and his kingdom. Now is such a time!
We spent a few days in Vermont last week with our dear friends, Warren and Linda Ayer. We were blessed, refreshed, and totally spoiled during our visit.
Currently, as most of you know, we are on the home stretch before Sunita's wedding. Summer vacation was wonderful, but now we are getting down to the nitty gritty of final preparations. Sunita is expected home on Friday. Janice and Jeremy are to come in on Monday, Laureen and Jessy on Tuesday. It will be Simeon's first visit to our home in Union Center, and, of course, we are looking forward to our Micah coming home too. Some of Laureen's and Sunita's friends will be staying here with us for a few days also. Alice has been baking cookies for the reception and cleaning up a storm (so that the allergies are lessened during the visits).
Last Sunday we worshipped with old friends at Nichols United Methodist Church, our first time back there for Sunday morning worship since our move to Union Center 17 years ago. We enjoyed a great worship there with the new pastor and the faithful congregation.
Our nephew, Arnold, who spent the summer with Youth Works in Colorado, has been hired as youth pastor for the United Methodist Church in Grand Junction, CO. He will be flying out this Thursday to meet with the staff there (but will be back for the wedding).
Also this Thursday, August 23, Alice and I will be celebrating our 32nd wedding anniversary.. We have been blessed beyond measure. Where has all the time gone?
In His Goodness and Mercy,
Brown
Things are better now, because by the 1950’s, Air Force meteorologists began to understand how tornadoes were formed. Within a few years, warning systems were set up. Storm chasers, Doppler radar, television and radio crews warn us of approaching danger. Sirens blast. People have time to take cover.
(Blown Away by William Hauptman, July 1996, p.67).
Warnings are only good if they are responded too appropriately. Since the 1950’s there have been several killer tornadoes but with ample warning times but many people have still died because they have chosen ignore these warnings and continue life as usual, with tragic results.
These are amazing and exciting times in which to live as a Christian. We have been privileged in our lifetimes to witness things that those who lived before us could not even imagine. The world is changing in extra-ordinary ways; we watched as Communism fell in our lifetimes, we look on as every day our world gets closer to acceptance of a one world currency, and eventually a one world leader. Perhaps as no other time in history, people of faith are called to understand the times in which we live. This requires not only awareness of our world situation but of an under-standing of Scripture. How tragic that today men can predict the movement of the stars and even put men on the moon, but they are blind to what God is doing in the world. They know how to get to the stars but so many of them do not know how to get to heaven.
Jesus our Lord is talking about the coming events in Luke 12 (vv. 54-56)
“Then He also said to the multitudes, ‘Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming’; and so it is, (55) And when you see the south wind blow, you say, ‘There will be hot weather’; And there is (56) Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time?”
The people who lived in Palestine in the days of Jesus’ ministry did not have the modern weather observation equipment of today, but they did have the ability to observe the conditions in the sky. Jesus asked why were they so good at reading the earth’s winds , but so poor at reading the spiritual winds? They could read earthly weather, but they neglected the signs of the moral and spiritual climate all around them. Why were they were so shrewd in earthly matters and such dunces in spiritual matters? Jesus calls it hypocrisy, because it was all a pretense though they did not know what was happening.
I am amazed at the energy, time, and money spent in modern society to bring us the very latest weather reports from around the globe. Yet the people of today pay far more attention to tomorrow’s weather forecast than they do to their eternal destiny. The apostle Peter (2 Peter 3:3-7) spoke of the coming judgment when he said, “knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, (4) and saying, ‘Where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation (5) For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water (7) But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.”
Jesus never called people hypocrites without good reason. When Jesus called these people hypocrites it's not because they were confused about who Christ was, or because they had never heard. His anger was directed against those who were in a position to know the truth and who deliberately rejected that truth.
Paul said in his letter to the Romans (1:16) that the wrath of God will be poured out on those “who suppress (KJV hold down) the truth in unrighteousness.“ It is not that these individuals do not know, it is that they refuse to acknowledge God.
The signs are there for those who are willing to observe them, and they warn of an inferno of judgment against an ungodly world, a fact which most people prefer to ignore or deny. Because of this we have a world culture which, in spite of the witness and testimony of the church, continues to reject the good news of Jesus Christ. Moreover, it calls good evil and evil good, worships money, glorifies sex, makes heroes of villains, kills unwanted babies in the name of convenience, and worships self as the god of all things.
As with storm warnings we do not usually pay attention or prepare until we realize the severity of the storm and accept the reality that it is going to hit where we live. In the same way people often ignore the warnings about God’s judgment until they recognize the reality and the severity of it.
In A. D. 79 the Roman city of Pompeii suffered swift and complete destruction with the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Most of us have seen pictures of the archeological exploration of that city. The explosion of Mt. Vesuvius was so sudden that the residents were killed in the midst of their daily routine. What you may not realize is that the citizens of Pompeii did not have to die. Roman writers of the period recorded that for weeks prior to the eruption, there were sounds of rumbling and shaking of the earth. There was even an ominous plume of smoke clearly visible for days before the eruption. The citizens of Pompeii died because they ignored the warnings. Warnings are only good if they are responded to appropriately.
This brings us to the second and final principle. Having issued the warning, Jesus, in verses fifty-seven through fifty-nine, gives the crowd (and us) some advice on how to prepare for judgment. “Yes, and why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right? (58) When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort alone the way to settle with him, lest he drag you to the judge, the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. (59) I tell you, you shall not depart from there till you have paid the last mite.”
In this mini-parable a man is on his way to the judge with an adversary and it tells us that commonsense would be to settle with this man before we stand before the judge.
Like this man we are on our way into the presence of a Judge. Likewise, since we too are all guilty and heading for judgment, the wisest thing to do is to settle out of court before judgment. This is only common sense. The judge of all the earth is coming one day to judge the earth. Because of our guilt, arrival in court means that only a guilty verdict can be expected and then we will have to pay the ultimate price of our guilt. We all have a debt of sin before God that someone must pay (Romans 3:9-31). Either Jesus does it in our stead by his sacrifice on the cross or we will pay every last cent before God. You had better settle with him before it is too late. People will do almost anything to stay out of jail, but how many people will apply the same kind of diligence to stay out of hell?
Charles Colson illustrates this principle at work in his life, when he tells the story of the night that he came to understand that he was a sinner on his way to judgment. “That night when I … sat alone in my car, my own sin – not just dirty politics, but the hatred and evil so deep within me – was thrust before my eyes, forcefully and painfully. For the first time in my life, I felt unclean, and worst of all, I could not escape. In those moments of clarity, I found myself driven irresistibly into the arms of the living God.” [Charles Colson. Who Speaks for God (Wheaton, Crossway Books, 1985) pp. 136-147] People who have allowed God’s grace to work in their lives mourn their sin, the lost do not acknowledge their guilt.
This Preparation Begins With A Sense of Our Sin And . . . This Preparation Involves Real Change
This Preparation Involves Accepting Christ As Your Personal Savior.
The New Testament repeatedly emphasizes the importance of individual acceptance of Christ and the judgment that awaits those who reject Him. The writer of Hebrews says, “it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). J esus calls to all of us to settle things in this life so that our lives will not come to the court of final judgment, where it will be too late to find salvation.
Now is the time to choose! The author of Proverbs warns, "He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy" (Prov. 29:1).
Jesus had asked “How is it you do not know how to interpret this critical hour?” Time is reflected in the Greek language in two different words: chronos and kairos. Some see time only as chronos, a stream of moments flying by at incredible speed. Other have a view of kairos, the critical and often favorable moment to do something for God and his kingdom. Now is such a time!
We spent a few days in Vermont last week with our dear friends, Warren and Linda Ayer. We were blessed, refreshed, and totally spoiled during our visit.
Currently, as most of you know, we are on the home stretch before Sunita's wedding. Summer vacation was wonderful, but now we are getting down to the nitty gritty of final preparations. Sunita is expected home on Friday. Janice and Jeremy are to come in on Monday, Laureen and Jessy on Tuesday. It will be Simeon's first visit to our home in Union Center, and, of course, we are looking forward to our Micah coming home too. Some of Laureen's and Sunita's friends will be staying here with us for a few days also. Alice has been baking cookies for the reception and cleaning up a storm (so that the allergies are lessened during the visits).
Last Sunday we worshipped with old friends at Nichols United Methodist Church, our first time back there for Sunday morning worship since our move to Union Center 17 years ago. We enjoyed a great worship there with the new pastor and the faithful congregation.
Our nephew, Arnold, who spent the summer with Youth Works in Colorado, has been hired as youth pastor for the United Methodist Church in Grand Junction, CO. He will be flying out this Thursday to meet with the staff there (but will be back for the wedding).
Also this Thursday, August 23, Alice and I will be celebrating our 32nd wedding anniversary.. We have been blessed beyond measure. Where has all the time gone?
In His Goodness and Mercy,
Brown
Monday, August 20, 2007
Brown's Daily Word 8/20/07
Praise the Lord that Jesus is the Prince of Peace. He is also is the Lion of Judah, who breaks every chain gives us the victory again and again. He is the mighty warrior. He is known as the captain of the host. He comforts those who are afflicted. He afflicts those who are comfortable. He sets the captives free. In Luke 12, we read that Jesus came to bring fire to the earth! He came to make all things new! Friction is inevitable when the New Creation encounters and confronts the same old world.
Dallas Willard wrote that the world “thinks of justice, peace, and prosperity in negative terms. Justice means that no one’s rights are infringed. Peace means no war or turmoil. Prosperity means no one is in material need.” (Willard, Dallas, The Spirit of the Disciplines, Harper Collins, 1988.) In the New Creation, peace is defined, not as the absence of conflict, but as the fulfillment of the promise of the Kingdom.
In a book called The Blue Mountains of China, Rudy Wiebe put it this way:
“Jesus says in his society there is a new way for [people] to live:
you show wisdom, by trusting people;
you handle leadership, by serving;
you handle offenders, by forgiving;
you handle money, by sharing;
you handle enemies, by loving;
and you handle violence, by suffering.
In fact, you have a new attitude toward everything, toward everybody. Toward nature, toward the state in which you happen to live, toward women, toward slaves, toward all and every single thing. Because this is a Jesus society, and you repent, not by feeling bad, but by thinking different.”
(Wiebe, Rudy, The Blue Mountains of China, McClellan and Stewart, 1970.)
Luke’s Gospel also makes clear that the peace of the New Creation is not just a matter of personal attitude. It is a structural reality
Where the lowly are lifted up and the hungry are filled. (Luke 1:52-53)
Where there is release of the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, and where the oppressed go free. (Luke 4:18)
Where blessed are the poor and the hungry and those who mourn. (Luke 6:20-21)
Where God’s people love not only their friends, but also their enemies; where the other cheek is turned; where shirts are given as well as coats; where lending is done without expectation of return. (Luke 6:27-35) The peace of Christ, which comes through the cross of Christ, is powerful, because strength is found to come from weakness, and greatness from submission, humility, and service.
The peace of Christ is not about opposition. The peace of Christ has only one agenda—to make all things new in accordance with the promise of the Kingdom. Following Christ means living each moment of each day with Christ at the center. To say that Jesus Christ is Lord is to say that Caesar is not, and that our modern day idols—whatever form they may take—are not!
When Hitler and the Nazi party came to power in Germany in the 1930s, Dietrich Bonhoeffer had the opportunity to leave Germany. He chose to stay and resist. “Christians in Germany,” he wrote,” will face the terrible alternative of either willing the defeat of their nation in order that Christian civilization may survive, or willing the victory of their nation and thereby destroying civilization. I know which of these alternatives I must choose; but I cannot make this choice in security.” Bonhoeffer chose to follow Christ, and it brought him into conflict with his world. He vocally opposed the Nazi regime and its policies, spent two years in a concentration camp, and was executed a few days before the Allies liberated the camp.
When the Nazis occupied Holland, Corrie ten Boom was a middle-aged woman who lived with her father and sister and worked with them in the family watch shop. She made no particular decision to become a part of the underground. She made lots of little decisions, though, to follow Christ. She helped to place hundreds of Dutch Jews in hiding in the countryside. Soon there were several Jews living and hiding in her home. Corrie ten Boom chose to follow Christ in the face of the occupation. Eventually she was imprisoned, first in Holland and then in a concentration camp in Germany. She survived, though her sister and her father and her nephew did not. Only one of the people who had been hiding in her home was ever captured; the rest survived the war.
Thousands of other Christians, whose names we will never know, in Germany and other parts of Europe made little decisions to follow Christ, accepting the cost, and it made a difference. Christ, over the last 20000 years, has not watered down his demands upon our lives. He has not watered down his demands nor has he given any sales, or easy bargains for those who would want to find an easier and cheaper way. There are no red hot deal, no easy sales, no closeout bargains, no end of the month clearances with Jesus; the cost to follow him is still and will always be full surrender of one’s life. The cost is a high price, that of my life, but the prize is life--abundant and free. Live in and through Him who bought and paid for my life with the surrender of his life on the tree at Calvary.
Examine for a moment one of the many Old Testament figures say, Daniel. He was forbidden to pray to Jehovah. Violation would result in being thrown into the lion’s den. It wasn’t a tough decision for Daniel to make for he had already made some strong convictions concerning his relationship to God. He kept praying. He was thrown into the lion’s den.
Or take one of my favorite movies "Chariots of Fire", which is about a man who eventually became a missionary and who also won a gold medal running for the 1924 British Olympic team. It happened that Eric Liddell almost lost his chance for that Olympic gold because of his conviction in Christ. One of his preliminary heats was to be run on a Sunday morning, when he would be in church. He announced that he would not run. He was brought up before the British Olympic Committee, but he still refused to run on a Sunday. Then another runner voluntarily withdrew from another heat and let Eric run in his place. Eric ran and won and eventually won the gold medal. He had his eyes on a goal, that of Christ, and was willing to lose the medal he had trained for because of his convictions. There was a cutting edge to his life.
Any Christian living a life full of conviction needs strength which comes from God through his Holy Spirit in our lives. It is God who gives us the strength, the courage, the fortitude, to keep that trust and faith in him strong. The Bible says, "No one who puts his trust in him will ever be disappointed, no one." The inner strength is available for every one who is willing to call upon the resources of God to give them the courage to stand by his or her convictions. The inner strength we receive from God is JUST like that. We know that, as we live, God is watching us, and He will give us the will, the strength, and the inspiration to live for him.
Sometimes we are called to make a stand that cuts across lines that tend to separate us from others, or from what society holds to be dear. If something or someone is destroying your relationship to God, or dimming your vision of righteousness and goodness, if must be stopped. Sometimes we must separate ourselves from situations, or people in order to remain true to our convictions, true to our faith.
Take, for example, Joseph. Potiphar's wife, had designs on this young man. She thought it would be great fun to seduce him. She tried with all of her charm, but Joseph refused. He said no to this woman and said, "How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?" You remember that he had a price to pay for this rejection, for she brought false charges against him and he was persecuted for righteousness sake."
This is the kind of life Jesus is calling us to live. He calls us to a life with a cutting edge that chooses the costly price of ultimate loyalties to the cheapness of easy thrills or momentary relationships. It is a life that holds onto abiding joys, instead of reaching for quick kicks, and easy pleasures. It is a life that is called upon to weigh the consequences, to think first and then react. We are to react in a way that puts God first and our desires, our aims, and our pleasure second. It is a life that even sometimes calls us to stand apart, or maybe even to stand alone, even in a family. But know and believe that this life full of loyalty, full of commitment, full of Jesus is an abundant life. It is life that is truly rewarding; it is a life worth living.
Jesus calls us to live for Him. He calls us to a life of loyalty and commitment, a life that is lived on the cutting edge of society. He calls us to live with conviction; he calls us to a life in faith. He calls us to live with courage, to draw on His strength and he calls us to be tested. He calls us to make a stand, to live by our convictions even when those convictions might bring separation, or pain into our lives.
We can live up to this calling because we know that Jesus is truly the way, the truth and the life for us.
In Christ,
Brown
Dallas Willard wrote that the world “thinks of justice, peace, and prosperity in negative terms. Justice means that no one’s rights are infringed. Peace means no war or turmoil. Prosperity means no one is in material need.” (Willard, Dallas, The Spirit of the Disciplines, Harper Collins, 1988.) In the New Creation, peace is defined, not as the absence of conflict, but as the fulfillment of the promise of the Kingdom.
In a book called The Blue Mountains of China, Rudy Wiebe put it this way:
“Jesus says in his society there is a new way for [people] to live:
you show wisdom, by trusting people;
you handle leadership, by serving;
you handle offenders, by forgiving;
you handle money, by sharing;
you handle enemies, by loving;
and you handle violence, by suffering.
In fact, you have a new attitude toward everything, toward everybody. Toward nature, toward the state in which you happen to live, toward women, toward slaves, toward all and every single thing. Because this is a Jesus society, and you repent, not by feeling bad, but by thinking different.”
(Wiebe, Rudy, The Blue Mountains of China, McClellan and Stewart, 1970.)
Luke’s Gospel also makes clear that the peace of the New Creation is not just a matter of personal attitude. It is a structural reality
Where the lowly are lifted up and the hungry are filled. (Luke 1:52-53)
Where there is release of the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, and where the oppressed go free. (Luke 4:18)
Where blessed are the poor and the hungry and those who mourn. (Luke 6:20-21)
Where God’s people love not only their friends, but also their enemies; where the other cheek is turned; where shirts are given as well as coats; where lending is done without expectation of return. (Luke 6:27-35) The peace of Christ, which comes through the cross of Christ, is powerful, because strength is found to come from weakness, and greatness from submission, humility, and service.
The peace of Christ is not about opposition. The peace of Christ has only one agenda—to make all things new in accordance with the promise of the Kingdom. Following Christ means living each moment of each day with Christ at the center. To say that Jesus Christ is Lord is to say that Caesar is not, and that our modern day idols—whatever form they may take—are not!
When Hitler and the Nazi party came to power in Germany in the 1930s, Dietrich Bonhoeffer had the opportunity to leave Germany. He chose to stay and resist. “Christians in Germany,” he wrote,” will face the terrible alternative of either willing the defeat of their nation in order that Christian civilization may survive, or willing the victory of their nation and thereby destroying civilization. I know which of these alternatives I must choose; but I cannot make this choice in security.” Bonhoeffer chose to follow Christ, and it brought him into conflict with his world. He vocally opposed the Nazi regime and its policies, spent two years in a concentration camp, and was executed a few days before the Allies liberated the camp.
When the Nazis occupied Holland, Corrie ten Boom was a middle-aged woman who lived with her father and sister and worked with them in the family watch shop. She made no particular decision to become a part of the underground. She made lots of little decisions, though, to follow Christ. She helped to place hundreds of Dutch Jews in hiding in the countryside. Soon there were several Jews living and hiding in her home. Corrie ten Boom chose to follow Christ in the face of the occupation. Eventually she was imprisoned, first in Holland and then in a concentration camp in Germany. She survived, though her sister and her father and her nephew did not. Only one of the people who had been hiding in her home was ever captured; the rest survived the war.
Thousands of other Christians, whose names we will never know, in Germany and other parts of Europe made little decisions to follow Christ, accepting the cost, and it made a difference. Christ, over the last 20000 years, has not watered down his demands upon our lives. He has not watered down his demands nor has he given any sales, or easy bargains for those who would want to find an easier and cheaper way. There are no red hot deal, no easy sales, no closeout bargains, no end of the month clearances with Jesus; the cost to follow him is still and will always be full surrender of one’s life. The cost is a high price, that of my life, but the prize is life--abundant and free. Live in and through Him who bought and paid for my life with the surrender of his life on the tree at Calvary.
Examine for a moment one of the many Old Testament figures say, Daniel. He was forbidden to pray to Jehovah. Violation would result in being thrown into the lion’s den. It wasn’t a tough decision for Daniel to make for he had already made some strong convictions concerning his relationship to God. He kept praying. He was thrown into the lion’s den.
Or take one of my favorite movies "Chariots of Fire", which is about a man who eventually became a missionary and who also won a gold medal running for the 1924 British Olympic team. It happened that Eric Liddell almost lost his chance for that Olympic gold because of his conviction in Christ. One of his preliminary heats was to be run on a Sunday morning, when he would be in church. He announced that he would not run. He was brought up before the British Olympic Committee, but he still refused to run on a Sunday. Then another runner voluntarily withdrew from another heat and let Eric run in his place. Eric ran and won and eventually won the gold medal. He had his eyes on a goal, that of Christ, and was willing to lose the medal he had trained for because of his convictions. There was a cutting edge to his life.
Any Christian living a life full of conviction needs strength which comes from God through his Holy Spirit in our lives. It is God who gives us the strength, the courage, the fortitude, to keep that trust and faith in him strong. The Bible says, "No one who puts his trust in him will ever be disappointed, no one." The inner strength is available for every one who is willing to call upon the resources of God to give them the courage to stand by his or her convictions. The inner strength we receive from God is JUST like that. We know that, as we live, God is watching us, and He will give us the will, the strength, and the inspiration to live for him.
Sometimes we are called to make a stand that cuts across lines that tend to separate us from others, or from what society holds to be dear. If something or someone is destroying your relationship to God, or dimming your vision of righteousness and goodness, if must be stopped. Sometimes we must separate ourselves from situations, or people in order to remain true to our convictions, true to our faith.
Take, for example, Joseph. Potiphar's wife, had designs on this young man. She thought it would be great fun to seduce him. She tried with all of her charm, but Joseph refused. He said no to this woman and said, "How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?" You remember that he had a price to pay for this rejection, for she brought false charges against him and he was persecuted for righteousness sake."
This is the kind of life Jesus is calling us to live. He calls us to a life with a cutting edge that chooses the costly price of ultimate loyalties to the cheapness of easy thrills or momentary relationships. It is a life that holds onto abiding joys, instead of reaching for quick kicks, and easy pleasures. It is a life that is called upon to weigh the consequences, to think first and then react. We are to react in a way that puts God first and our desires, our aims, and our pleasure second. It is a life that even sometimes calls us to stand apart, or maybe even to stand alone, even in a family. But know and believe that this life full of loyalty, full of commitment, full of Jesus is an abundant life. It is life that is truly rewarding; it is a life worth living.
Jesus calls us to live for Him. He calls us to a life of loyalty and commitment, a life that is lived on the cutting edge of society. He calls us to live with conviction; he calls us to a life in faith. He calls us to live with courage, to draw on His strength and he calls us to be tested. He calls us to make a stand, to live by our convictions even when those convictions might bring separation, or pain into our lives.
We can live up to this calling because we know that Jesus is truly the way, the truth and the life for us.
In Christ,
Brown
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
