Good Morning.
Praise the Lord for the first Friday of April. Palm Sunday is coming. Evidence of the release from the grip of a long winter is all around us. The grass is greening, and Spring flowers are abundantly blooming. Jess and Tom are coming in tonight from Philadelphia for the weekend. I read a story some time ago, about a farmer who had three sons, Jim, John, and Sam. No one in the family ever attended church or had time for God. The pastor and the others in the church tried for years to interest the family in the things of God to no avail. Then one day Sam was bitten by a rattlesnake. The doctor was called and he did all he could to help Sam, but the outlook for Sam’s recovery was very dim indeed. The pastor was called and apprised of the situation. When he arrived, the pastor began to pray as follows: "0 wise and righteous Father, we thank Thee that in Thy wisdom thou didst send this rattlesnake to bite Sam. He has never been inside the church and it is doubtful that he has, in all his time, ever prayed or even acknowledged Thine existence. Now we trust this experience will be a valuable lesson to him and will lead to his genuine repentance. "And now, 0 Father, wilt thou send another rattlesnake to bite Jim, and another to bite John, and another really big one to bite the old man. For years we have done everything we know to get them to turn to Thee, but all in vain. It seems, therefore, that what our combined efforts could not do, this rattlesnake has done. We thus conclude that the only thing that will do this family any real good is rattlesnakes; so, Lord, send us bigger and better rattlesnakes. Amen." This Coming Sunday is Palm Sunday, which ushers us all into Holy Week. We are getting ready for Palm Sunday worship. Our choir is going to present the Easter Cantata during 8.30 and 11.00 worship this Sunday. Plan to be in the house of the Lord in worship and praise. Plan to invite some one join you for the Palm Sunday event.
I love to read from Hebrews 10 : 22 ff Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Someone once penned that Socrates taught for 40 years, Plato for 50, Aristotle for 40, and Jesus for only 3. Yet the influence of Christ’s 3-year ministry infinitely transcends the impact left by the combined 130 years of teaching from these men who were among the greatest philosophers of all antiquity. Jesus painted no pictures, yet some of the finest paintings of Raphael, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci received their inspiration from Him. Jesus wrote no poetry, but Dante, Milton, and scores of the world’s greatest poets were inspired by Him. Jesus composed no music. Still, Haydn, Handel, Beethoven, Bach, and Mendelssohn reached their highest perfection in the hymns and symphonies they composed in His praise. Every sphere of human greatness has been enriched by this humble carpenter of Nazareth. Jesus is the central figure of our faith. Without Him, there would be no faith! He is the author of our faith and the perfecter of our faith when we come to the end of our lives! Our perfection is in Him! "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2qm3eD4akM
Friday, April 3, 2009
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Brown's Daily Word 4-2-09
Good Morning,
Praise the Lord for this new day, a gift from the Lord. It is supposed to reach into the mid- to upper-sixties this afternoon. Praise the Lord!
I read the following story some time ago: One day the preacher visited a certain Sunday school class. He asked, “Who broke down the walls of Jericho?” “I didn’t, mister. Honest!” a startled little boy blurted. The SS teacher said, “This boy is honest. I can vouch for him. He didn’t do it.” Later, the preacher recounted the experience to an elder. The elder replied, “Hmmm, sounds incriminating. But I’ve known the boy and his teacher for a long time. I’m sure neither one is guilty.” Appalled by this time, the preacher took the matter to the Chairman of the Board. The chairman said, “Why make a mountain out of a molehill? Let’s have the walls repaired and charge it to upkeep.” The worst ignorance of all is spiritual ignorance. In this the world we live in spiritual ignorance abounds. The worst of all is when people don’t recognize Jesus as the Son of God and Savior of the world! We read in 1 Peter 1:10 ff, "Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven." C. S. Lewis gave us the following insight, "Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition, when infinite joy is offered to us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in the slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased." Lewis is saying that we are often satisfied by the things of the world. Instead of searching for the deep things of God we are content with the ordinary. We could, rather, be building the kingdom of God!
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGR944fq-Yg
Praise the Lord for this new day, a gift from the Lord. It is supposed to reach into the mid- to upper-sixties this afternoon. Praise the Lord!
I read the following story some time ago: One day the preacher visited a certain Sunday school class. He asked, “Who broke down the walls of Jericho?” “I didn’t, mister. Honest!” a startled little boy blurted. The SS teacher said, “This boy is honest. I can vouch for him. He didn’t do it.” Later, the preacher recounted the experience to an elder. The elder replied, “Hmmm, sounds incriminating. But I’ve known the boy and his teacher for a long time. I’m sure neither one is guilty.” Appalled by this time, the preacher took the matter to the Chairman of the Board. The chairman said, “Why make a mountain out of a molehill? Let’s have the walls repaired and charge it to upkeep.” The worst ignorance of all is spiritual ignorance. In this the world we live in spiritual ignorance abounds. The worst of all is when people don’t recognize Jesus as the Son of God and Savior of the world! We read in 1 Peter 1:10 ff, "Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven." C. S. Lewis gave us the following insight, "Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition, when infinite joy is offered to us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in the slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased." Lewis is saying that we are often satisfied by the things of the world. Instead of searching for the deep things of God we are content with the ordinary. We could, rather, be building the kingdom of God!
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGR944fq-Yg
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Brown's Daily Word 4-1-09
Good Morning,
We enter the mid-point of the week, grateful for God's sustaining hand and providence, and looking forward to another weekend. This weekend is Palm Sunday, when we remember Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem at the beginning of His last week before the Crucifixion. Only He knew the extent of the powerful drama that would unfold over the course of a few days, that would change the course of human history forever.
As we journey with Jesus to Jerusalem, we continue to focus on the Cross and the suffering servant. Christ’s death allows us to Experience Pure Love; Complete Forgiveness; Ultimate Wholeness and Everlasting Life. Hundreds of years before Jesus came to earth prophets predicted the events of His life. His birth, ministry, death, and resurrection were set forth by these inspired men in great detail. Even His return in glory was predicted long before His first coming. These prophecies, called “messianic” prophecies were intended to prepare the world for the coming of the Messiah. Of all the messianic prophecies in the Bible, Isaiah 53 is arguably the clearest and most beautiful of all. It has helped the prophet Isaiah to earn the title “Gospel Prophet.” In the chapters 52 and 53 of Isaiah the story is told of the cross of Christ and the suffering that went along with His atonement for sin. No passage of the Bible, except the Gospel accounts, gives a more vivid picture of the suffering of our Savior at the Cross. Isaiah pictured the Messiah as a suffering servant of Jehovah. According to Acts 8:26-40, when Philip explained this passage to the Ethiopian official as he read this passage hundreds of years later his life was changed. He came to realize that this suffering Servant had indeed suffered for him.
We need to reflect on this story of the suffering of Jesus, as the fact that He died for us has a profound bearing upon our lives. It is because of His death we need never fear death. When the Ethiopian learned the meaning of this passage He immediately obeyed Christ. We also need this kind of obedience in our lives.
In Christ,
Brown
"When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, save in the death of Christ, my God;
All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to his blood.
See, from his head, his hands, his feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down.
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet, or thorns compose so rich a crown?
Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were an offering far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CP4JSVMBdZg
We enter the mid-point of the week, grateful for God's sustaining hand and providence, and looking forward to another weekend. This weekend is Palm Sunday, when we remember Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem at the beginning of His last week before the Crucifixion. Only He knew the extent of the powerful drama that would unfold over the course of a few days, that would change the course of human history forever.
As we journey with Jesus to Jerusalem, we continue to focus on the Cross and the suffering servant. Christ’s death allows us to Experience Pure Love; Complete Forgiveness; Ultimate Wholeness and Everlasting Life. Hundreds of years before Jesus came to earth prophets predicted the events of His life. His birth, ministry, death, and resurrection were set forth by these inspired men in great detail. Even His return in glory was predicted long before His first coming. These prophecies, called “messianic” prophecies were intended to prepare the world for the coming of the Messiah. Of all the messianic prophecies in the Bible, Isaiah 53 is arguably the clearest and most beautiful of all. It has helped the prophet Isaiah to earn the title “Gospel Prophet.” In the chapters 52 and 53 of Isaiah the story is told of the cross of Christ and the suffering that went along with His atonement for sin. No passage of the Bible, except the Gospel accounts, gives a more vivid picture of the suffering of our Savior at the Cross. Isaiah pictured the Messiah as a suffering servant of Jehovah. According to Acts 8:26-40, when Philip explained this passage to the Ethiopian official as he read this passage hundreds of years later his life was changed. He came to realize that this suffering Servant had indeed suffered for him.
We need to reflect on this story of the suffering of Jesus, as the fact that He died for us has a profound bearing upon our lives. It is because of His death we need never fear death. When the Ethiopian learned the meaning of this passage He immediately obeyed Christ. We also need this kind of obedience in our lives.
In Christ,
Brown
"When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, save in the death of Christ, my God;
All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to his blood.
See, from his head, his hands, his feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down.
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet, or thorns compose so rich a crown?
Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were an offering far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CP4JSVMBdZg
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Brown's Daily Word 3-31-09
Good Morning,
Praise the Lord for the way He brings fullness out of emptiness, life our of death, and victory out of defeat. Jesus, our Lord, said in Matthew, “Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it” (8:35). One of the great New Testament Scholars was Dr William Barclay. I was given one of his commentaries on the Gospel according to Matthew by Joyce Thomas during my high school days. Joyce Thomas had a great heart for Jesus and a great zeal to tell the old story of His redeeming love. The last time I had English tea with Joyce Thomas was in her house in England in 1992.
In one of his writings Dr Barclay told about a 4th Century Christian named Telemachus, who decided that the only way to protect himself from the corruption of the world and to serve God was to become a hermit and live in the desert. One day as he rose from his knees it dawned on him that if he wanted to serve God he must serve people. By staying in the desert he was not serving God, and the cities were full of people who needed help. Thus he set out for Rome, then the greatest city in the world. By this time the terrible persecutions of the first 3 centuries were over, and Christianity was the official religion of the Roman Empire. The Emperor was a Christian, and so were most of the people, at least nominally. As strange as it sounds, calling yourself a Christian in 4th Century Rome was the politically correct thing to do, if you wanted the favor of the Emperor! Telemachus arrived in Rome at a time when Stilicho, the Roman general, had gained a mighty victory over the Goths. So to Stilicho there was granted a Roman "triumph" with processions, celebrations, and games in the Coliseum, with the young Emperor Honorius by his side. Though Rome was supposedly a Christian city one thing still lingered from its terrible past. That is, there were still the bloody games in the Coliseum. Christians were no longer thrown to the lions, but those captured in war still had to fight and kill each other in front of the Roman citizens, who roared with blood-lust as the gladiators fought. Telemachus went to the Coliseum where there were 80,000 people. As he entered, the chariot races were ending. There was tension in the crowd as the gladiators prepared to fight. Into the arena they came with their greeting, "Hail, Caesar! We who are about to die salute you!" The fight was on, and Telemachus was appalled. Men for whom Christ had died were killing each other to amuse a supposedly Christian population. He leaped down into the arena and stepped between the gladiators, and for a moment they stopped fighting. "Let the games go on," roared the crowd. The gladiators pushed the old man in the hermit’s robe aside. Again he came between them. The crowd began to hurl stones at him. They urged the gladiators to kill him and get him out of the way, and then the commander of the games gave an order. A gladiator’s sword fell, and Telemachus lay dead. Suddenly the crowd was silent - shocked that a holy man should have been killed in such a way. Quite suddenly there was a mass realization of what the killing really was. Historians tell us that the games in Rome ended abruptly that day, never to begin again. Telemachus, by his death, had ended them. One historian (Gibbon) wrote of him, "His death was more useful to mankind than his life." By losing his life he had done more than he could have ever done by living a life of lonely devotion out in the desert. Cross-bearing is not an accident that happens to us, or something unavoidable that we must face. Cross-bearing is an act of love that we freely choose. It is a task we undertake, a price that we pay, out of love. St Paul wrote, “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). The disciple of Jesus receives with a grateful heart the wonderful forgiveness of God, achieved through His own Son Jesus' death on the cross. Then the disciple of Jesus voluntarily takes up his or her cross. In doing so we find life in all its rich fullness, now and always!
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ld3D4oOzx8o
Praise the Lord for the way He brings fullness out of emptiness, life our of death, and victory out of defeat. Jesus, our Lord, said in Matthew, “Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it” (8:35). One of the great New Testament Scholars was Dr William Barclay. I was given one of his commentaries on the Gospel according to Matthew by Joyce Thomas during my high school days. Joyce Thomas had a great heart for Jesus and a great zeal to tell the old story of His redeeming love. The last time I had English tea with Joyce Thomas was in her house in England in 1992.
In one of his writings Dr Barclay told about a 4th Century Christian named Telemachus, who decided that the only way to protect himself from the corruption of the world and to serve God was to become a hermit and live in the desert. One day as he rose from his knees it dawned on him that if he wanted to serve God he must serve people. By staying in the desert he was not serving God, and the cities were full of people who needed help. Thus he set out for Rome, then the greatest city in the world. By this time the terrible persecutions of the first 3 centuries were over, and Christianity was the official religion of the Roman Empire. The Emperor was a Christian, and so were most of the people, at least nominally. As strange as it sounds, calling yourself a Christian in 4th Century Rome was the politically correct thing to do, if you wanted the favor of the Emperor! Telemachus arrived in Rome at a time when Stilicho, the Roman general, had gained a mighty victory over the Goths. So to Stilicho there was granted a Roman "triumph" with processions, celebrations, and games in the Coliseum, with the young Emperor Honorius by his side. Though Rome was supposedly a Christian city one thing still lingered from its terrible past. That is, there were still the bloody games in the Coliseum. Christians were no longer thrown to the lions, but those captured in war still had to fight and kill each other in front of the Roman citizens, who roared with blood-lust as the gladiators fought. Telemachus went to the Coliseum where there were 80,000 people. As he entered, the chariot races were ending. There was tension in the crowd as the gladiators prepared to fight. Into the arena they came with their greeting, "Hail, Caesar! We who are about to die salute you!" The fight was on, and Telemachus was appalled. Men for whom Christ had died were killing each other to amuse a supposedly Christian population. He leaped down into the arena and stepped between the gladiators, and for a moment they stopped fighting. "Let the games go on," roared the crowd. The gladiators pushed the old man in the hermit’s robe aside. Again he came between them. The crowd began to hurl stones at him. They urged the gladiators to kill him and get him out of the way, and then the commander of the games gave an order. A gladiator’s sword fell, and Telemachus lay dead. Suddenly the crowd was silent - shocked that a holy man should have been killed in such a way. Quite suddenly there was a mass realization of what the killing really was. Historians tell us that the games in Rome ended abruptly that day, never to begin again. Telemachus, by his death, had ended them. One historian (Gibbon) wrote of him, "His death was more useful to mankind than his life." By losing his life he had done more than he could have ever done by living a life of lonely devotion out in the desert. Cross-bearing is not an accident that happens to us, or something unavoidable that we must face. Cross-bearing is an act of love that we freely choose. It is a task we undertake, a price that we pay, out of love. St Paul wrote, “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). The disciple of Jesus receives with a grateful heart the wonderful forgiveness of God, achieved through His own Son Jesus' death on the cross. Then the disciple of Jesus voluntarily takes up his or her cross. In doing so we find life in all its rich fullness, now and always!
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ld3D4oOzx8o
Monday, March 30, 2009
Brown's Daily Word 3-30-09
Good Morning,
Praise the Lord for this new day. I trust you all had a blessed weekend of rest, renewal, worship, and fellowship. The Lord blessed us during worship yesterday. The readings were taken from Psalm 51 and John 12: 20 ff. Praise the Lord for His Word which is always relevant and contextual. Praise the Lord for the times and days of our lives on earth. He has called us for such time as this. It is exciting to be alive. It is a great thrill to know the Lord and to serve Him.
I praise the Lord for the internet. It is the new and emerging mission field. The social networks on the Internet are exploding. People all over the world now are writing blogs, which are online journals, or web-logs. Some are blaming blogs for ruining the newspaper and classic journalism. The role they serve is to give everyone a voice. People think their thoughts are worthy of being shared with the world. There is also the internet genre which includes Facebook and My Space. People use these formats to keep their friends up-to-date with what is happening in their lives; people really do want to know about friends and relations, both past and current.
The words of Christ as found in John 12 sting us when he says, “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. He who loves his life will lose it…” Jesus tells us we need to focus on something else besides ourselves. Actually, if we are to follow him we need to be like a kernel of wheat and die to our selves. We have to die to self in order to bear much fruit. King David, the one who penned Psalm 51, pleads, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.” There is something inside of us, when we look really deeply, that desires something more. Sometimes we think we want to be famous, admired, revered, or at least seen as important. We want to be something to someone.
Nadya Suleman is a standard in our daily news these days. If you have not heard of her she is the woman who had six children, two with autism, and then just gave birth to eight more. She has been on a roller coaster ride with the media and not painting a good picture of herself. In an interview with the Today Show’s Ann Curry she said, “That was always a dream of mine, to have a large family, a huge family, and I just longed for certain connections and attachments with another person that I really lacked, I believe, growing up.” She went on in the interview to confess the connection she longed for was being filled by children and now she has 14 to help fill that void. But will it? That void inside of us, that desire for something meaningful in our lives, may be filled with many things. It can be full of sports, hobbies, relationships, children, material things, or whatever. Yet, these things cannot satisfy. Pascal, a 17th century philosopher, once said, “There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every[one] which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus.” The void within each of us that we are looking to fill can only be satisfied by God. When we are selfish and self-centered, we lose our lives. To gain life, we need to be focused on the one calling us. It is our narcissistic nature to think that we are seeking God. Many people think that God is on a mountaintop somewhere, and we have to climb to get to him. Only after making that journey can we be worthy to be in His presence. The truth is, we do not seek God; The Lord God, In Jesus Christ, seeks us. One of the reasons the poem "Footprints" is so popular is because the traveler realizes that God was there all along. The same is true with us. God is with us - we just have to be willing to see. During Lent, as we confess and as we go through our spiritual disciplines of self-denial, prayer, reading, and reflecting, the Lord of the Heaven and Earth, continues to call us closer. As we live through hard times, as we struggle with questions about faith, and as we love people we don’t like, God continues to call us closer. To see God we need to get out of the way. We need to die to self, leave ourselves behind for the sake of glorifying God. Just as a kernel of wheat falls to the earth and dies before it bears fruit, we need to die to ourselves and be open to God in our lives. When we do this, we realize the work God does for us, and the opportunities that surround us in which we can glorify God.
May Jesus be praised and glorified,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGbuz8QuhmE
Praise the Lord for this new day. I trust you all had a blessed weekend of rest, renewal, worship, and fellowship. The Lord blessed us during worship yesterday. The readings were taken from Psalm 51 and John 12: 20 ff. Praise the Lord for His Word which is always relevant and contextual. Praise the Lord for the times and days of our lives on earth. He has called us for such time as this. It is exciting to be alive. It is a great thrill to know the Lord and to serve Him.
I praise the Lord for the internet. It is the new and emerging mission field. The social networks on the Internet are exploding. People all over the world now are writing blogs, which are online journals, or web-logs. Some are blaming blogs for ruining the newspaper and classic journalism. The role they serve is to give everyone a voice. People think their thoughts are worthy of being shared with the world. There is also the internet genre which includes Facebook and My Space. People use these formats to keep their friends up-to-date with what is happening in their lives; people really do want to know about friends and relations, both past and current.
The words of Christ as found in John 12 sting us when he says, “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. He who loves his life will lose it…” Jesus tells us we need to focus on something else besides ourselves. Actually, if we are to follow him we need to be like a kernel of wheat and die to our selves. We have to die to self in order to bear much fruit. King David, the one who penned Psalm 51, pleads, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.” There is something inside of us, when we look really deeply, that desires something more. Sometimes we think we want to be famous, admired, revered, or at least seen as important. We want to be something to someone.
Nadya Suleman is a standard in our daily news these days. If you have not heard of her she is the woman who had six children, two with autism, and then just gave birth to eight more. She has been on a roller coaster ride with the media and not painting a good picture of herself. In an interview with the Today Show’s Ann Curry she said, “That was always a dream of mine, to have a large family, a huge family, and I just longed for certain connections and attachments with another person that I really lacked, I believe, growing up.” She went on in the interview to confess the connection she longed for was being filled by children and now she has 14 to help fill that void. But will it? That void inside of us, that desire for something meaningful in our lives, may be filled with many things. It can be full of sports, hobbies, relationships, children, material things, or whatever. Yet, these things cannot satisfy. Pascal, a 17th century philosopher, once said, “There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every[one] which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus.” The void within each of us that we are looking to fill can only be satisfied by God. When we are selfish and self-centered, we lose our lives. To gain life, we need to be focused on the one calling us. It is our narcissistic nature to think that we are seeking God. Many people think that God is on a mountaintop somewhere, and we have to climb to get to him. Only after making that journey can we be worthy to be in His presence. The truth is, we do not seek God; The Lord God, In Jesus Christ, seeks us. One of the reasons the poem "Footprints" is so popular is because the traveler realizes that God was there all along. The same is true with us. God is with us - we just have to be willing to see. During Lent, as we confess and as we go through our spiritual disciplines of self-denial, prayer, reading, and reflecting, the Lord of the Heaven and Earth, continues to call us closer. As we live through hard times, as we struggle with questions about faith, and as we love people we don’t like, God continues to call us closer. To see God we need to get out of the way. We need to die to self, leave ourselves behind for the sake of glorifying God. Just as a kernel of wheat falls to the earth and dies before it bears fruit, we need to die to ourselves and be open to God in our lives. When we do this, we realize the work God does for us, and the opportunities that surround us in which we can glorify God.
May Jesus be praised and glorified,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGbuz8QuhmE
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
