Good morning,
Praise the Lord for the gift of memory. In Philippians 1:3 Paul wrote, "I thank my God at every remembrance of you." Almost everywhere today, we see the tragic impact of the Alzheimers disease on people. At a commuter train station a policeman noticed a woman driver with her head bowed over the steering wheel in obvious discomfort. The police officer asked her, "Is there anything wrong?" Half crying and half laughing, she said, "For ten years I have been driving my husband to this station every morning to catch this train. THIS MORNING I FORGOT HIM!"The worst forgetfulness of all is to forget people!
One of the biggest lessons that we need to learn is that God didn’t put us here for us! God put us here for others! II Corinthians 1:3-4 states, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, WHO COMFORTS US IN ALL OUR TROUBLES, SO THAT WE CAN COMFORT THOSE IN ANY TROUBLE..." God comforts us so that we can comfort others. God ministers to us so that we can minister to others! God loves us so we can love others! GOD PUT US HERE FOR OTHERS! Philippians 2:3, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves." We live in a very self-centered society, where it is every man, woman or child for himself. However, in humility we are to consider others better than ourselves. Philippians 2:4, "Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." We should be interested in others for their good, not for our gossip. Most people are only interested in others because they want to spread the bad news. They want to spread any news they can find out about someone, good, bad, or otherwise! This Memorial Day weekend we need to be concerned about others for their good! For many people, this weekend means picnics, parades, and pubs! It also means grills, food, family, and fun. For a few rare souls, it means going to the graves of deceased loved ones and remembering. Remembrance may be tough to do, and perhaps that’s why some don’t do it, but it’s generally good to remember others, deceased or otherwise. IT’S ALWAYS GOOD TO THINK OF OTHERS, TO LOVE OTHERS, TO REMEMBER OTHERS! John 11:5 "Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus." Jesus loved people! What an understatement. At times Jesus loved some more intensely than others, and there is nothing wrong with that. We are to love all people, but there are times when we love some more intensely. (Or they are needing more love from us than others.) It’s all right to do that, to show more intense love at times. When someone is hurting, don’t you love them even more? If not, why not? We should. Romans 12:15, "Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those weep." Sometimes people hurt a whole lot. They weep. It’s during those times that we need to show them greater kindness and a more intense love. THEY NEED TO BE LOVED. THEY NEED TO BE REMEMBERED. We need to remember people in death. Jesus loved Lazarus who had just died. Jesus loved his sisters as well. Jesus remembered them. Have you ever remembered anyone in death, during their death, during the process of them leaving this world? Here’s a moving story entitled, "Dad’s Glimpse of Heaven", by Edna Hershberger. His last words left us with something to look forward to. At 4:00 a.m. the nurse woke Dad to give him a breathing treatment. "Mr. Hershberger, do you know where you are?" "Goshen Hospital," he answered politely and closed his eyes again. She wrapped the blood pressure cuff around his arm. "Mr. Hershberger, who’s the president of the United States?" Dad looked at me with an expression that said, "Do I have to answer these silly questions in the middle of the night?" She raised her voice, "Mr. Hershberger! Who’s the president of the United States?" "Do we have one?" he asked her. "Good answer, Dad," I teased.The nurse laughed loudly, gave him a mock punch on the shoulder, put an oxygen mask over his face, and turned on the noisy machine. "I guess you’re awake and alert." A week or two. . . That’s how long the doctor said Dad might live, and we wanted to make the most of every minute. I was glad to sit with my father-in-law during the night, while my husband, Dwight, slept on a sofa in the visitor’s lounge down the hall. SWEET MEMORIES. I brushed the damp hair from his forehead. "I wonder how it feels to know that you’ll soon see God." "It feels good," Dad said without hesitating. "It’s such a mystery. Tell us what you feel and see and hear, to help us understand what you’re experiencing." "I’ll try," he promised. "Are you scared?" "No," he said, "I feel at peace. I’ve been wishing to go to heaven all day." That was Tuesday night. In four days, Dad would be transferred to the nursing center where he hoped he’d never have to go. I thought about Dad falling asleep and not waking up. There were some things I wanted to tell him. "Hey, Dad, soon after Dwight and I started dating, he told me what you said about me. You told him he had picked a good one. You told him I was a peach. No one ever called me a peach before. And I’ve loved you ever since." He squeezed my hand and closed his eyes. "I’d better be quiet and let you sleep," I apologized. "No," he said quickly. "I want you to keep talking. I just can’t keep my eyes open." Suddenly Dad jumped as though startled by something. I sat up, held both of his hands in mine, and put my face close to his. "Is something wrong, Dad?" His eyes were open, but he didn’t seem to see me. "I’m leaving," I thought I heard him say in a weak voice. "Did you say, ’I’m leaving?’" I asked quickly. "I’m leaving," he repeated more distinctly. He surely couldn’t mean dying. Not yet! I tried to think of some appropriate last words to say in case this really was the end, but my mind went blank. I started to say, "I love you," but he interrupted me with one word. It sounded like, "cold." "Oh! You’re cold!" I tried to reach for the blanket, but he wouldn’t let go of my hand. He tensed, and quickly spelled it for me, with emphasis on the g sound, "G-o-l-d, gold. G-o-l-d, gold and silver. G-o-l …" I was shivering. My heart was pounding. I leaned my head against the cold metal bed rail. "Lord, please carry him gently," I prayed. "We love you, Dad," I kept repeating, as he took four long, shuddering breaths, and then was still. His hands became limp. I should call the nurse, I thought. But I couldn’t move. I sat there in the darkness, holding Dad’s badly bruised hands with intravenous fluids still running into them. My forehead seemed fused to the bed rail. Tears ran down my cheeks. Six inches from my face, something supernatural had occurred, something far greater than my mind could absorb. I knew God was in the room, but I couldn’t see him or feel him. I longed to be able to see what Dad had seen. I gently laid Dad’s hands on the bed, and walked out to the nurse’s desk. I dried my cheeks and blew my nose. "Excuse me," I said, "my father-in-law is gone." She jumped out of her chair. "What do you mean, ’gone’?" "He just died," I said with a sob. "That can’t be!" she stammered. "He was just joking with me a few minutes ago." She grabbed her stethoscope and rushed into his room, turning on lights and calling his name. I walked down the hall to tell my husband that his father had just gone to heaven, and there really is gold there. That’s remembering and loving a person in death. Matthew 9:35-36, "Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." Jesus was a "looker". That is, he really looked at people. He looked at them deeply and could see their hurt, their pain, their sorrow. Jesus was aware of the people around Him. He was sensitive to them. What about you? Helen Keller once said, "To be blind is bad, but it is worse to have eyes and not to see." Sometimes we are blind to the pain of others. Years ago, the Salvation Army was holding an international convention and their founder, Gen. William Booth, could not attend because of physical weakness. He cabled his convention message to them. It was one word: "OTHERS." Lord, help me to live from day to day In such a self-forgetful way That even when I kneel to pray My prayer shall be for others. Help me in all the work I do To ever be sincere and true And know that all I’d do for you Must needs be done for others. Let "self" be crucified and slain And buried deep, and all in vain May efforts be to rise again Unless to live for others. And when my work on earth is done And my new work in heaven’s begun May I forget the crown I’ve won While thinking still of others. Others, Lord, yes, others Let this my motto be, Help me to live for others That I may live like Thee.
"I thank God at every remembrance of you."
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irZmknvOB4I&feature=related
Friday, May 23, 2008
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Brown's Daily Word 5-22-08
Good Morning,
We are having some cooler days before the summer blast in few days. Praise the Lord for warmer days on the way. The Parsonage and the church grounds look luscious green. Larry Coles, the steward of the grounds and the trees is doing an excellent ministry caring for the Lord's good earth. We have planted several more fruit trees where I had my garden for several years. I have taken an early retirement from active gardening, at the suggestion of the local deer. We are planning to have a small orchard of fruit trees so that pastors who come after us may find us, "faithful and fruitful".
It is hot and humid in Orissa, India at this time of year, usually in high 90's. It is Mango season in India. Sunita is flying to Uganda for two weeks with her ministry and mission for World Vision. Jeremy, Janice, Micah, and Simeon are going to Burlington on Friday to invade the home of our dear friends, Warren and Linda Ayer. Laureen is flying from Washington to join them. Alice, the young grandma, is driving up to Burlington to spoil Micah and Simeon. I will be "Home Alone 2" for the long weekend. . . (Well, not really alone, as Jessica and Tom are coming home to help me with my big Memorial Day Cookout.) I have a very full weekend planned, with a wedding this Saturday and a funeral Sunday afternoon. We are getting ready for worship services for Sunday. Praise the Lord for life that He gives. It is abundant and Eternal Because of Jesus .
Someone once said, “The two greatest days in a person’s life are the day he was born and the day he finds out why he was born.” Most of us don’t recall the day we were born. However, that day obviously took place; otherwise, we would not be here. Unfortunately, many of us don’t recall the day we found out why we were born. Many people still don’t know why we are here, and that is a pity. John Calvin actually put it even stronger when he said, “All who are ignorant of the purpose for which they live are fools and madmen.” Thomas Carlyle said that “the man without purpose is like a ship without a rudder.” If you don’t know your purpose in life, you will wander aimlessly through life. You will simply exist from one meal to the next, and from one day to the next.When God saved us, I suppose he could have taken us immediately to be with him in heaven for all eternity. But he did not. He left us here on earth, and he left us here for a purpose. I would like to suggest that we are here for five purposes, which are illustrated throughout the pages of Scripture. I will simply draw your attention to a picture of the 1st century Church described in Acts 2:42-47. These purposes follow, as catalogued by Rick Warren in his book "The Purpose Driven Life" 1. We were formed for God’s family. 2. We were created to become like Christ. 3. We were shaped for serving God. 4. We were made for a mission.
5. We were planned for God’s pleasure.
Here, we will focus on the first purpose. Notice that the 1st century Christians were devoted to the fellowship (2:42). That means just what it says: they were committed, dedicated, faithful, and loyal to their new Christian family. Furthermore, all the believers were together (2:44). They spent a lot of time with one another. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts (2:46b). Every Christian ought to be a member of a true Christian church. The apostle Paul wrote to the Church of Ephesus and said, “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household” (Ephesians 2:19). I want to highlight several key truths from this text. First, the church is a family. Paul says that Christians are “members of God’s household.” That is, Christians are members of God’s family. The church is a spiritual family. In fact, your spiritual family is going to outlast your physical family. Though the Bible states that there isn’t marriage in heaven, there are Christians in heaven. In reality we’re all going to be related in heaven, and this spiritual family will actually outlast the blood family that we have here on earth. Second, God expects you and me to be members of a family. Notice that Paul says, “Consequently, you are. . . fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household.” Membership in God’s family is not optional. Every Christian needs a church family. The 1st century Church was devoted to the breaking of bread and to prayer (2:42). Moreover, they were praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people (2:47a). This is a glimpse of God’s people glorifying and magnifying him, because they understood that we have been planned for God’s pleasure. It is in pleasing God that we find true satisfaction in our souls. John Piper put it this way, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him, and we are most satisfied in him in worship.” That is a wonderful statement! Think about it for a moment. When we are truly delighted and satisfied in God, he is glorified, and we find the greatest satisfaction in God when we are worshiping him. God has planned us for his pleasure. The reason any of us exists is to please God. I want to encourage you to find ways to grow in worshiping God. Think about worship as taking place in private and also in public. Our private worship is that worship that takes place between usand the Lord. It is that daily time that we set aside to read God’s word, to pray to him, and to adore him for who is. Our public worship is that worship that takes place each Lord’s Day. It is what we do when we come together each week to ascribe worth to God. When we come to public worship, we are called to come prepared. We are coming to meet with the King of kings, and Lord of lords. We are coming to the One who has created us, and then recreated us in his Son.
Thanks be to Jesus,
Brown
"Life is half spent before we know what it is." George Herbert
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKKCZ3xyKzc&feature=related
We are having some cooler days before the summer blast in few days. Praise the Lord for warmer days on the way. The Parsonage and the church grounds look luscious green. Larry Coles, the steward of the grounds and the trees is doing an excellent ministry caring for the Lord's good earth. We have planted several more fruit trees where I had my garden for several years. I have taken an early retirement from active gardening, at the suggestion of the local deer. We are planning to have a small orchard of fruit trees so that pastors who come after us may find us, "faithful and fruitful".
It is hot and humid in Orissa, India at this time of year, usually in high 90's. It is Mango season in India. Sunita is flying to Uganda for two weeks with her ministry and mission for World Vision. Jeremy, Janice, Micah, and Simeon are going to Burlington on Friday to invade the home of our dear friends, Warren and Linda Ayer. Laureen is flying from Washington to join them. Alice, the young grandma, is driving up to Burlington to spoil Micah and Simeon. I will be "Home Alone 2" for the long weekend. . . (Well, not really alone, as Jessica and Tom are coming home to help me with my big Memorial Day Cookout.) I have a very full weekend planned, with a wedding this Saturday and a funeral Sunday afternoon. We are getting ready for worship services for Sunday. Praise the Lord for life that He gives. It is abundant and Eternal Because of Jesus .
Someone once said, “The two greatest days in a person’s life are the day he was born and the day he finds out why he was born.” Most of us don’t recall the day we were born. However, that day obviously took place; otherwise, we would not be here. Unfortunately, many of us don’t recall the day we found out why we were born. Many people still don’t know why we are here, and that is a pity. John Calvin actually put it even stronger when he said, “All who are ignorant of the purpose for which they live are fools and madmen.” Thomas Carlyle said that “the man without purpose is like a ship without a rudder.” If you don’t know your purpose in life, you will wander aimlessly through life. You will simply exist from one meal to the next, and from one day to the next.When God saved us, I suppose he could have taken us immediately to be with him in heaven for all eternity. But he did not. He left us here on earth, and he left us here for a purpose. I would like to suggest that we are here for five purposes, which are illustrated throughout the pages of Scripture. I will simply draw your attention to a picture of the 1st century Church described in Acts 2:42-47. These purposes follow, as catalogued by Rick Warren in his book "The Purpose Driven Life" 1. We were formed for God’s family. 2. We were created to become like Christ. 3. We were shaped for serving God. 4. We were made for a mission.
5. We were planned for God’s pleasure.
Here, we will focus on the first purpose. Notice that the 1st century Christians were devoted to the fellowship (2:42). That means just what it says: they were committed, dedicated, faithful, and loyal to their new Christian family. Furthermore, all the believers were together (2:44). They spent a lot of time with one another. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts (2:46b). Every Christian ought to be a member of a true Christian church. The apostle Paul wrote to the Church of Ephesus and said, “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household” (Ephesians 2:19). I want to highlight several key truths from this text. First, the church is a family. Paul says that Christians are “members of God’s household.” That is, Christians are members of God’s family. The church is a spiritual family. In fact, your spiritual family is going to outlast your physical family. Though the Bible states that there isn’t marriage in heaven, there are Christians in heaven. In reality we’re all going to be related in heaven, and this spiritual family will actually outlast the blood family that we have here on earth. Second, God expects you and me to be members of a family. Notice that Paul says, “Consequently, you are. . . fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household.” Membership in God’s family is not optional. Every Christian needs a church family. The 1st century Church was devoted to the breaking of bread and to prayer (2:42). Moreover, they were praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people (2:47a). This is a glimpse of God’s people glorifying and magnifying him, because they understood that we have been planned for God’s pleasure. It is in pleasing God that we find true satisfaction in our souls. John Piper put it this way, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him, and we are most satisfied in him in worship.” That is a wonderful statement! Think about it for a moment. When we are truly delighted and satisfied in God, he is glorified, and we find the greatest satisfaction in God when we are worshiping him. God has planned us for his pleasure. The reason any of us exists is to please God. I want to encourage you to find ways to grow in worshiping God. Think about worship as taking place in private and also in public. Our private worship is that worship that takes place between usand the Lord. It is that daily time that we set aside to read God’s word, to pray to him, and to adore him for who is. Our public worship is that worship that takes place each Lord’s Day. It is what we do when we come together each week to ascribe worth to God. When we come to public worship, we are called to come prepared. We are coming to meet with the King of kings, and Lord of lords. We are coming to the One who has created us, and then recreated us in his Son.
Thanks be to Jesus,
Brown
"Life is half spent before we know what it is." George Herbert
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKKCZ3xyKzc&feature=related
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Brown's Daily Word 5-21-08
Good Morning,
One of my favorite passages from the Bible is found in Romans 8:18-25, (King James Version), "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him who hath subjected the same in hope. Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberation of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstborn fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it." Throughout life, we hope for many things! Sometimes, we lose hope, because we find ourselves having to deal with tragedies beyond our imagination, such as cancer, loss of a loved one, loss of a job, failed relationships, and so on. As we experience these different tragedies of life, it is difficult to deal with them, both emotionally and spiritually. Who hasn’t struggled with demoralizing seasons of dark depression? Some get so low and stay there so long, that they contemplate suicide, taking their own lives, because that pathway seems better than enduring the depression any longer. Others seem to go in and out, up and down, seemingly able to get back up after every tragedy. Someone once described depression as "a black hole, an abysmal cave." It certainly includes discouraging feelings that simply refuse to go away. Yet, even in the midst of turmoil and strife, tragedy and despair, Christians have "Perfect Hope!" We can do that because we find ourselves focused on the greater reality of what is yet to come as a result of our relationship with Jesus, the Christ! Paul’s confidant hope was that, in the future, the cloud of suffering would burn off and reveal a day of blazing glory. Whatever sufferings we might go through in this life, even though they are difficult, will fade into insignificance when Almighty God pulls the covers off what He has planned for His people. The Apostle Paul tells us, in Romans 8:19 (NLT), "For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who His children are." The words "waiting eagerly" are a translation of one word which carries the idea of watching with the head erect and outstretched. It’s like waiting for your best friend, whom you haven’t seen for years, to arrive on the plane. You keep going to the arrival window and craning your neck to see if the aircraft is arriving yet. The Apostle Paul personifies creation as waiting eagerly for the revealing of the children of God. Why would the created universe be anxiously looking forward to that future day when the children of God are revealed? In Revelation 21:4 (NLT) we read, "He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and its evils are gone forever."
The French clergyman and author, Thomas Merton (1915 - 1968), once wrote, "’Perfect Hope’ is achieved on the brink of despair when instead of falling over the edge, we find ourselves walking on the air. Hope is always just about to turn into despair, but never does so, for at the moment of supreme crisis, God’s power is suddenly made perfect in our infirmity." Christians are not exempt from the suffering that came into the world when Adam sinned. We are not strangers to tragedy and calamity; we are no strangers to decline and decay. Current global and national events have been a staggering reminder, a wake-up call, to the fact that the world we live in is a fallen one. That is why we look forward so eagerly to the time of adoption as sons and daughters of Almighty God! Those who have been honed and buffeted, bruised and melted in the furnace of affliction, but who have then emerged with emotional stabilty and inner fortitude, are the ones who have a ministry in the lives of others. Their weakness is like a magnet, for when they were weak, our Lord God Almighty was strong! He is ever strong and ever faithful.
In Him,
Brown
All the blessings we enjoy are Divine deposits, committed to our trust on this condition, that they should be dispensed for the benefit of our neighbors. ... John Calvin, The Institutes of the Christian Religion
One of my favorite passages from the Bible is found in Romans 8:18-25, (King James Version), "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him who hath subjected the same in hope. Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberation of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstborn fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it." Throughout life, we hope for many things! Sometimes, we lose hope, because we find ourselves having to deal with tragedies beyond our imagination, such as cancer, loss of a loved one, loss of a job, failed relationships, and so on. As we experience these different tragedies of life, it is difficult to deal with them, both emotionally and spiritually. Who hasn’t struggled with demoralizing seasons of dark depression? Some get so low and stay there so long, that they contemplate suicide, taking their own lives, because that pathway seems better than enduring the depression any longer. Others seem to go in and out, up and down, seemingly able to get back up after every tragedy. Someone once described depression as "a black hole, an abysmal cave." It certainly includes discouraging feelings that simply refuse to go away. Yet, even in the midst of turmoil and strife, tragedy and despair, Christians have "Perfect Hope!" We can do that because we find ourselves focused on the greater reality of what is yet to come as a result of our relationship with Jesus, the Christ! Paul’s confidant hope was that, in the future, the cloud of suffering would burn off and reveal a day of blazing glory. Whatever sufferings we might go through in this life, even though they are difficult, will fade into insignificance when Almighty God pulls the covers off what He has planned for His people. The Apostle Paul tells us, in Romans 8:19 (NLT), "For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who His children are." The words "waiting eagerly" are a translation of one word which carries the idea of watching with the head erect and outstretched. It’s like waiting for your best friend, whom you haven’t seen for years, to arrive on the plane. You keep going to the arrival window and craning your neck to see if the aircraft is arriving yet. The Apostle Paul personifies creation as waiting eagerly for the revealing of the children of God. Why would the created universe be anxiously looking forward to that future day when the children of God are revealed? In Revelation 21:4 (NLT) we read, "He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and its evils are gone forever."
The French clergyman and author, Thomas Merton (1915 - 1968), once wrote, "’Perfect Hope’ is achieved on the brink of despair when instead of falling over the edge, we find ourselves walking on the air. Hope is always just about to turn into despair, but never does so, for at the moment of supreme crisis, God’s power is suddenly made perfect in our infirmity." Christians are not exempt from the suffering that came into the world when Adam sinned. We are not strangers to tragedy and calamity; we are no strangers to decline and decay. Current global and national events have been a staggering reminder, a wake-up call, to the fact that the world we live in is a fallen one. That is why we look forward so eagerly to the time of adoption as sons and daughters of Almighty God! Those who have been honed and buffeted, bruised and melted in the furnace of affliction, but who have then emerged with emotional stabilty and inner fortitude, are the ones who have a ministry in the lives of others. Their weakness is like a magnet, for when they were weak, our Lord God Almighty was strong! He is ever strong and ever faithful.
In Him,
Brown
All the blessings we enjoy are Divine deposits, committed to our trust on this condition, that they should be dispensed for the benefit of our neighbors. ... John Calvin, The Institutes of the Christian Religion
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Brown's Daily Word 5-20-08
Good Morning,
About a year ago I received an email entitled "Whose Hands". This is what it said: A basketball in my hands is worth about $19. In Michael Jordan’s hands it’s worth about $33 million. It depends upon whose hands it’s in. A baseball in my hands is worth about $6. In Mark McGuire’s hands it’s worth about $19 million. It depends upon whose hands it’s in. A tennis racket in my hands is a tennis racket. In Pete Sampras’ hands it’s a Wimbledon Championship. It depends upon whose hands it’s in. A rod in my hands will keep a wild animal away. A rod in Moses’ hands parted a mighty sea. It depends upon whose hands it’s in. A sling shot in my hands is a child’s toy. A sling shot in David’s hands is a mighty weapon. It depends upon whose hands it’s in. Two fish and five loaves of bread in my hands is lunch. Two fish and five loaves of bread in Jesus’ hands fed thousands. It depends upon whose hands it’s in. Nails in my hands will produce a birdhouse. Nails in Jesus’ hands produced salvation for the world. It depends upon whose hands it’s in. Shouldn’t we place our cares in His hands? It really does depend upon whose hands it’s in. Let us notice a few things about some "whose hands" were significant:1. Moses’s hands (Exodus 17:8-12) A) His hands were available. (v.11) B) His hands were useful. (v.11) C) His hands became tired. (v.12) D) His hands needed support. (v.12)* Sometimes we need an Aaron and a Hur to help with our hands.2. The Church’s hands. A) The Disciple’s hands. (Acts 9:20-25) 1) Their hands were available. 2) Their hands were useful. 3) Their hands worked together. 4) Their hands held the rope.* Do you need to hold the rope for someone in your life? B) Dorcas’ hands. (Acts 9:36-43) 1) Her hands were available. 2) Her hands were useful. 3) Her hands had ceased their labor (Because of her death) 4) Her hands were revived. (To labor again)* What talents has God placed in your hands to use for His glory? C) The Apostle’s hands. (Acts 13:1-3) 1) Their hands were available. 2) Their hands were useful. (Do you see a pattern developing?) 3) Their hands ministered a blessing. 4) Their hands sent forth laborers to the mission field.
One of the beloved hymns of the church is, "Take My life and let it be consecrated Lord un to Thee. Take my hands, let them move at the impulse of Thy love." Let that also be our desire today.
Pray for the following:
In New York we are voting for local school budgets and the election of School Board members.
Sunita, together with her team, is going to Uganda for two weeks, leaving this Thursday.
The short term Mission trip to Orissa, India that is leaving on June 16.
Please pray for the following friends of mine for healing and restoration: Jerry, Grayson, Irene, Connie, Jack H, Jack B, Gail, Sarah, Bruce, Joyce, Harvey, Wilbur, Alfred, Ron, David, Ron H, Bob
Pray for those working on behalf of Jesus our Lord, with the victims of the natural disasters in China and in Burma (Myanmar).
Congratulations to our dear friends George and Marion Cameron, of Vermont, who are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary on May 29, 2008 .
The Hands of Jesus are kind hands.
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4dRLFFADKQ&feature=related
About a year ago I received an email entitled "Whose Hands". This is what it said: A basketball in my hands is worth about $19. In Michael Jordan’s hands it’s worth about $33 million. It depends upon whose hands it’s in. A baseball in my hands is worth about $6. In Mark McGuire’s hands it’s worth about $19 million. It depends upon whose hands it’s in. A tennis racket in my hands is a tennis racket. In Pete Sampras’ hands it’s a Wimbledon Championship. It depends upon whose hands it’s in. A rod in my hands will keep a wild animal away. A rod in Moses’ hands parted a mighty sea. It depends upon whose hands it’s in. A sling shot in my hands is a child’s toy. A sling shot in David’s hands is a mighty weapon. It depends upon whose hands it’s in. Two fish and five loaves of bread in my hands is lunch. Two fish and five loaves of bread in Jesus’ hands fed thousands. It depends upon whose hands it’s in. Nails in my hands will produce a birdhouse. Nails in Jesus’ hands produced salvation for the world. It depends upon whose hands it’s in. Shouldn’t we place our cares in His hands? It really does depend upon whose hands it’s in. Let us notice a few things about some "whose hands" were significant:1. Moses’s hands (Exodus 17:8-12) A) His hands were available. (v.11) B) His hands were useful. (v.11) C) His hands became tired. (v.12) D) His hands needed support. (v.12)* Sometimes we need an Aaron and a Hur to help with our hands.2. The Church’s hands. A) The Disciple’s hands. (Acts 9:20-25) 1) Their hands were available. 2) Their hands were useful. 3) Their hands worked together. 4) Their hands held the rope.* Do you need to hold the rope for someone in your life? B) Dorcas’ hands. (Acts 9:36-43) 1) Her hands were available. 2) Her hands were useful. 3) Her hands had ceased their labor (Because of her death) 4) Her hands were revived. (To labor again)* What talents has God placed in your hands to use for His glory? C) The Apostle’s hands. (Acts 13:1-3) 1) Their hands were available. 2) Their hands were useful. (Do you see a pattern developing?) 3) Their hands ministered a blessing. 4) Their hands sent forth laborers to the mission field.
One of the beloved hymns of the church is, "Take My life and let it be consecrated Lord un to Thee. Take my hands, let them move at the impulse of Thy love." Let that also be our desire today.
Pray for the following:
In New York we are voting for local school budgets and the election of School Board members.
Sunita, together with her team, is going to Uganda for two weeks, leaving this Thursday.
The short term Mission trip to Orissa, India that is leaving on June 16.
Please pray for the following friends of mine for healing and restoration: Jerry, Grayson, Irene, Connie, Jack H, Jack B, Gail, Sarah, Bruce, Joyce, Harvey, Wilbur, Alfred, Ron, David, Ron H, Bob
Pray for those working on behalf of Jesus our Lord, with the victims of the natural disasters in China and in Burma (Myanmar).
Congratulations to our dear friends George and Marion Cameron, of Vermont, who are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary on May 29, 2008 .
The Hands of Jesus are kind hands.
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4dRLFFADKQ&feature=related
Monday, May 19, 2008
Brown's Daily Word 5-19-08
Good morning,
This is the day the Lord has made! Let us praise the Lord together, and rejoice, and be glad in it! We were blessed with a wonderful weekend of fellowship and worship. The women's banquet on Saturday was a blessing. The Lord provided wonderfully and marvelously. The food prepared by chef Joe Walker and his team was excellent, and the message brought by Rev. Jan Devine was inspiring. The Lord blessed us through worship yesterday, Trinity Sunday. We praise the Lord, who is revealed to us as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We worship an immortal, eternal, invisible God, who is the God in three persons, the blessed Trinity.
In Genesis 1, Psalm 8, and the last portion of Matthew 28, we are given a brief glimpse into the person, the nature, the majesty, and the authority of God. Though the world we live in is both complex and complicated, with problems and crises that can be daunting, overwhelming, and often oppressive, we have a God who is more than able to overcome. He is beyond. As Karl Barth said, He is "wholly other". Psalm 8 speaks of God's greatness and man's little-ness. We are reminded that we cannot box God in, with our little minds and thoughts. Praise the Lord for the way He is beyond us, fully transcendent. Yet, He is imminent, God with us through Jesus Christ and through the Holy Spirit, even now. In such a world as the one we live in, we have such a God, in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Psalm 8 also speaks of the beauty and splendor of God, as revealed in nature and the Universe. As Chris Tomlin wrote, God is indescribable; He is an amazing God.
As we look around in the Season of Spring, we see the beauty of the Lord's hand, bursting forth all around us. John Keats wrote, "A thing of beauty is a joy forever".
It was a blessing to have Sunita and Andy with us for the weekend. Praise the Lord for our son-in-law Jeremy, who graduated yesterday from Boston University School of Law. He has accepted a job offer to work for a firm located in downtown Boston, beginning in August.
Psalm 8
A David Psalm
1 God, brilliant Lord, yours is a household name. 2 Nursing infants gurgle choruses about you; toddlers shout the songs That drown out enemy talk, and silence atheist babble. 3-4 I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous, your handmade sky-jewelry, Moon and stars mounted in their settings. Then I look at my micro-self and wonder, Why do you bother with us? Why take a second look our way? 5-8 Yet we've so narrowly missed being gods, bright with Eden's dawn light. You put us in charge of your handcrafted world, repeated to us your Genesis-charge, Made us lords of sheep and cattle, even animals out in the wild, Birds flying and fish swimming, whales singing in the ocean deeps. 9 God, brilliant Lord, your name echoes around the world.
In His Mercy,
Brown
This is the day the Lord has made! Let us praise the Lord together, and rejoice, and be glad in it! We were blessed with a wonderful weekend of fellowship and worship. The women's banquet on Saturday was a blessing. The Lord provided wonderfully and marvelously. The food prepared by chef Joe Walker and his team was excellent, and the message brought by Rev. Jan Devine was inspiring. The Lord blessed us through worship yesterday, Trinity Sunday. We praise the Lord, who is revealed to us as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We worship an immortal, eternal, invisible God, who is the God in three persons, the blessed Trinity.
In Genesis 1, Psalm 8, and the last portion of Matthew 28, we are given a brief glimpse into the person, the nature, the majesty, and the authority of God. Though the world we live in is both complex and complicated, with problems and crises that can be daunting, overwhelming, and often oppressive, we have a God who is more than able to overcome. He is beyond. As Karl Barth said, He is "wholly other". Psalm 8 speaks of God's greatness and man's little-ness. We are reminded that we cannot box God in, with our little minds and thoughts. Praise the Lord for the way He is beyond us, fully transcendent. Yet, He is imminent, God with us through Jesus Christ and through the Holy Spirit, even now. In such a world as the one we live in, we have such a God, in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Psalm 8 also speaks of the beauty and splendor of God, as revealed in nature and the Universe. As Chris Tomlin wrote, God is indescribable; He is an amazing God.
As we look around in the Season of Spring, we see the beauty of the Lord's hand, bursting forth all around us. John Keats wrote, "A thing of beauty is a joy forever".
It was a blessing to have Sunita and Andy with us for the weekend. Praise the Lord for our son-in-law Jeremy, who graduated yesterday from Boston University School of Law. He has accepted a job offer to work for a firm located in downtown Boston, beginning in August.
Psalm 8
A David Psalm
1 God, brilliant Lord, yours is a household name. 2 Nursing infants gurgle choruses about you; toddlers shout the songs That drown out enemy talk, and silence atheist babble. 3-4 I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous, your handmade sky-jewelry, Moon and stars mounted in their settings. Then I look at my micro-self and wonder, Why do you bother with us? Why take a second look our way? 5-8 Yet we've so narrowly missed being gods, bright with Eden's dawn light. You put us in charge of your handcrafted world, repeated to us your Genesis-charge, Made us lords of sheep and cattle, even animals out in the wild, Birds flying and fish swimming, whales singing in the ocean deeps. 9 God, brilliant Lord, your name echoes around the world.
In His Mercy,
Brown
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