Good morning,
Today is the 8th anniversary of 9/11. Many of us have very vivid memories of that beautiful morning with a clear-as-crystal sky. Most of us remember exactly where we were and what we were doing when the first news of the horrific attacks came to us. That day, demonic minds conspired to carry out the diabolic attack on innocent people, causing so much tragedy and destruction. The pictures coming out of lower Manhattan, where the World Trade Center used to be, brought home a vivid picture from the pages of Scripture. The pictures, which vividly brought to mind the total devastation of a war zone, caused my mind to flash to Ezekiel's valley of dry bones.
Many commentators believe Ezekiel's valley of dry bones to have been the site of a great battle, where many died. It was probably the site of a great defeat for the armies of Israel, and a sign of great devastation and loss. It was a place the Israelites would know and remember. Who among us could look at a valley of dry bones and not be moved? Who among us could look at a war zone and not be moved? Who among us could look at the destruction in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania and not be moved? These are the sites of one of the greatest acts of cowardice and evil that the world has ever known. When Ezekiel looked across the valley of dry bones God spoke to him, "Mortal can these bones live?" Ezekiel, knowing the power of God, replied, "If you say so." God told Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones. When he did, the bones started to come together. Then they became covered with muscle and skin. When Ezekiel prophesied to the breath, to the Spirit, to make the bones come alive, and they did. The bones lived. God took a huge pile of old dried bones and brought them to life.
God, speaking to Ezekiel in this vision, was saying to Israel, "The devastation may be all around you, but I hear your cries. I know your pain. I know what you are feeling. Yet, I know this Israel will live again. I will breathe the breath of life back into Israel and you will know that I am God and I live among you."
I believe that God says the same thing to us today. I believe that God sees the devastation that is around us. I believe God hears our cries and knows our pain. God knows how we feel. I believe God cries with us and God hurts with us. God is alive. God is here among us. God is in New York, Washington, Pennsylvania, and wherever there are people who are hurting from this great tragedy. God is at work in so many ways in this great tragedy, working in all our lives to bring hope, healing, and wholeness.
Ezekiel's valley of dry bones was the story of hope for Israel. Yet, some three thousand years later, I see in this story hope once again, this time hope for a hurting land, coming out from under a tragedy of terror and destruction. I see Jesus the Risen Christ, the Prince of Peace at work. I see the Love of Jesus, around us. I know that wherever Jesus is at work and wherever His love can be found, we can also find hope.
"How could this happen?" seems to be the question of the day. The most simple and best answer is that the hearts of men are evil. Evil will not go away as long as people are on the earth. As long as people inhabit the earth they will find ways to bring terror and destruction on others, whether they find it in the pages of a great novel or the creativity of their own minds. Evil will always exist this side of heaven, but as long as the Risen Saviour at work here on the earth filling us with love and grace, there will be hope for us.. He turns our mourning in to dancing.
He calls us to Him. He draws His own in to His everlasting arms.
In Him,
Brown
Psalm 46: 1God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
3 Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. 4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.
5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.
6 The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted.
7 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. 8 Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth.
9 He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.
10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jEXDPzqo2g
"We wanted to pass along an update regarding my dad and ask for your prayers for our family. If you have access to any prayer chains, we would also appreciate it if you would add my dad, Ron Thomas, to that list. He has been battling prostate cancer for 3 years and without a miracle he is nearing the end of his earthly life. He is accepting of God's plan but it has been a very difficult past few months, weeks, and days. I flew to be with them today and will be here as long as necessary. Your prayers are very much appreciated. " Lisa.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Brown's Daily Word 9-10-09
Good morning,
Praise the Lord for His faithfulness. Praise the Lord for the way He surrounds us with His mercy and grace. Praise the Lord that He makes all things beautiful in His time, for He is the "Beautiful One". We have been blessed to have Janice, Micah and Simeon spend these few days with us here in New York. I call Micah and Simeon our "fresh air kids" from Boston. We went picking raspberries on Tuesday at a place called "Apple Hills". It was one of the ten best days. It was sunny and warm. You can see and feel the beauty and the blessing of the Lord all around. You can see the manifold witness to "His Handiwork".
In his book "Opening Blind Eyes", John Claypool talks about all of us having three kinds of eyes. He says we, except for those who are literally blind, have eyes of the body. They allow us to see shapes and differentiate between things. Then we have the eyes of the mind, which process the things the eyes of the body discover. For example, the eyes of the body see ice or snow. The eyes of the mind let us know it is cold. But, the most important eyes says Claypool, are the eyes of the heart. The eyes of the heart allow us to see the needs of others around us. The eyes of the heart let us see God at work in the world. The eyes of the heart allow us to be touched by what they see and be about the work that God lays out before us.
A fellow by the name of Tim Bruster tells a powerful story about a mom who took her children to a crowded restaurant one day. Her six-year-old son asked if he could say grace. He prayed, “God is great and God is good, let us thank him for our food, and God I would thank you even more if Mom gets us ice cream for dessert. And liberty and justice for all! Amen!”
Along with the laughter from the other customers nearby, the woman at the very next table growled loudly, “that’s what’s wrong with this country. Kids today don’t even know how to pray. The very idea… asking God for ice cream! Why I never.”
Hearing this, the little boy burst into tears and asked his mother, “Did I do it wrong? I’m sorry. Is God mad at me?” The little boy’s mother pulled him over into her lap. She hugged him and assured him that he had done a terrific job with his prayer and God was certainly not mad at him.
An elderly gentleman walked over to the table. He winked at the little boy and he said, “I know God really well. We visit every day and I happen to know that God loved your prayer. It may have been the best one He has heard all day.”
“Really?” the little boy asked.
“Cross my heart,” said the man. Then he leaned over and whispered into the little boy’s ear, pointing at the woman at the next table who had made the remark that started the whole thing, “Too bad she never asks God for ice cream. A little ice cream is good for the soul sometimes.”
Naturally, the mom ordered ice cream for her kids at the end of the meal. The little boy stared at his for a moment and then he did something that no one in the restaurant that day would ever forget. He picked up his sundae and without a word walked over and placed it in front of the woman at the next table. With a big smile he said to her, “Here, this is for you. Ice cream is good for the soul sometimes and my soul is good already.”
It seems to me that there are several eyes that are open in that story and a couple that were still blind. Perhaps God used a six-year-old little boy and a bowl of ice cream to open some eyes blinded by the dark. God opens blind eyes.
There is one other thing from this lesson that I want to lift up this morning. It is also on that good news front. Jesus comes to us. In the lesson at the end of the man’s confrontation with the Pharisees they kick him out of the temple. When Jesus heard about it, Jesus came to him, and when he found the man gave him the opportunity at an eternal relationship. That says to me that during our times of need, times when it seems that our world is collapsing on us, Jesus will come to us as well, to heal and to give comfort.
Jesus the wonderful and winsome physician heals a blind man as it is recorded in John 9.In this account the man doesn’t come to belief in Jesus until after he is healed. When questioned about it, the man first says the man Jesus. Later he identifies Jesus as a prophet. But, when Jesus seeks him out again, the man comes to understand that Jesus is the Messiah. It is then that he believes.
Jesus comes to us. Jesus calls us. Jesus is seeking a relationship with us, just as he did the man born blind, long before we ever know Him for who He is.
The theological term for that is “Prevenient Grace.” Quite simply it means, the grace that comes before. Before we even knew who God was, God was pursuing a relationship with us, trying to open our blind eyes.
It seems to me, when Jesus comes to us, and anoints us, Christ opens the eyes of our hearts, our eyes are opened. With our eyes opened, we are no longer blinded by the dark.
I would like to wish a very happy birthday to our friends Reed Barton, Gill Woodward and Peter Garnes. All of them turned 90 this week.. Howard Woodward the older brother Gill Woodward drove from Lancaster , PA to join his younger brother Gill celebrate his 90 th birthday.
In Christ,
Brown
"Sorry. I didn't recognize you."
As Bill was approaching mid-life, physically he was a mess. Not only was he going bald, but years of office work had given him a large pot belly. The last straw came when he asked a woman co-worker out on a date, and she all but laughed at him. That does it, he decided. I'm going to start a whole new regimen. He began attending aerobics classes. He started working out with weights. He changed his diet. And he got an expensive hair transplant.
In six months, he was a different man. Again, he asked his female co-worker out, and this time she accepted. There he was, all
dressed up for the date, looking better than he ever had. He stood
poised to ring the woman's doorbell, when a bolt of lightning
struck him and knocked him off his feet. As he lay there dying,
he turned his eyes toward the heavens and said, "Why, God, why now? After all I've been through, how could you do this to me?"
From up above, there came a voice, "Sorry. I didn't recognize
you."
Praise the Lord for His faithfulness. Praise the Lord for the way He surrounds us with His mercy and grace. Praise the Lord that He makes all things beautiful in His time, for He is the "Beautiful One". We have been blessed to have Janice, Micah and Simeon spend these few days with us here in New York. I call Micah and Simeon our "fresh air kids" from Boston. We went picking raspberries on Tuesday at a place called "Apple Hills". It was one of the ten best days. It was sunny and warm. You can see and feel the beauty and the blessing of the Lord all around. You can see the manifold witness to "His Handiwork".
In his book "Opening Blind Eyes", John Claypool talks about all of us having three kinds of eyes. He says we, except for those who are literally blind, have eyes of the body. They allow us to see shapes and differentiate between things. Then we have the eyes of the mind, which process the things the eyes of the body discover. For example, the eyes of the body see ice or snow. The eyes of the mind let us know it is cold. But, the most important eyes says Claypool, are the eyes of the heart. The eyes of the heart allow us to see the needs of others around us. The eyes of the heart let us see God at work in the world. The eyes of the heart allow us to be touched by what they see and be about the work that God lays out before us.
A fellow by the name of Tim Bruster tells a powerful story about a mom who took her children to a crowded restaurant one day. Her six-year-old son asked if he could say grace. He prayed, “God is great and God is good, let us thank him for our food, and God I would thank you even more if Mom gets us ice cream for dessert. And liberty and justice for all! Amen!”
Along with the laughter from the other customers nearby, the woman at the very next table growled loudly, “that’s what’s wrong with this country. Kids today don’t even know how to pray. The very idea… asking God for ice cream! Why I never.”
Hearing this, the little boy burst into tears and asked his mother, “Did I do it wrong? I’m sorry. Is God mad at me?” The little boy’s mother pulled him over into her lap. She hugged him and assured him that he had done a terrific job with his prayer and God was certainly not mad at him.
An elderly gentleman walked over to the table. He winked at the little boy and he said, “I know God really well. We visit every day and I happen to know that God loved your prayer. It may have been the best one He has heard all day.”
“Really?” the little boy asked.
“Cross my heart,” said the man. Then he leaned over and whispered into the little boy’s ear, pointing at the woman at the next table who had made the remark that started the whole thing, “Too bad she never asks God for ice cream. A little ice cream is good for the soul sometimes.”
Naturally, the mom ordered ice cream for her kids at the end of the meal. The little boy stared at his for a moment and then he did something that no one in the restaurant that day would ever forget. He picked up his sundae and without a word walked over and placed it in front of the woman at the next table. With a big smile he said to her, “Here, this is for you. Ice cream is good for the soul sometimes and my soul is good already.”
It seems to me that there are several eyes that are open in that story and a couple that were still blind. Perhaps God used a six-year-old little boy and a bowl of ice cream to open some eyes blinded by the dark. God opens blind eyes.
There is one other thing from this lesson that I want to lift up this morning. It is also on that good news front. Jesus comes to us. In the lesson at the end of the man’s confrontation with the Pharisees they kick him out of the temple. When Jesus heard about it, Jesus came to him, and when he found the man gave him the opportunity at an eternal relationship. That says to me that during our times of need, times when it seems that our world is collapsing on us, Jesus will come to us as well, to heal and to give comfort.
Jesus the wonderful and winsome physician heals a blind man as it is recorded in John 9.In this account the man doesn’t come to belief in Jesus until after he is healed. When questioned about it, the man first says the man Jesus. Later he identifies Jesus as a prophet. But, when Jesus seeks him out again, the man comes to understand that Jesus is the Messiah. It is then that he believes.
Jesus comes to us. Jesus calls us. Jesus is seeking a relationship with us, just as he did the man born blind, long before we ever know Him for who He is.
The theological term for that is “Prevenient Grace.” Quite simply it means, the grace that comes before. Before we even knew who God was, God was pursuing a relationship with us, trying to open our blind eyes.
It seems to me, when Jesus comes to us, and anoints us, Christ opens the eyes of our hearts, our eyes are opened. With our eyes opened, we are no longer blinded by the dark.
I would like to wish a very happy birthday to our friends Reed Barton, Gill Woodward and Peter Garnes. All of them turned 90 this week.. Howard Woodward the older brother Gill Woodward drove from Lancaster , PA to join his younger brother Gill celebrate his 90 th birthday.
In Christ,
Brown
"Sorry. I didn't recognize you."
As Bill was approaching mid-life, physically he was a mess. Not only was he going bald, but years of office work had given him a large pot belly. The last straw came when he asked a woman co-worker out on a date, and she all but laughed at him. That does it, he decided. I'm going to start a whole new regimen. He began attending aerobics classes. He started working out with weights. He changed his diet. And he got an expensive hair transplant.
In six months, he was a different man. Again, he asked his female co-worker out, and this time she accepted. There he was, all
dressed up for the date, looking better than he ever had. He stood
poised to ring the woman's doorbell, when a bolt of lightning
struck him and knocked him off his feet. As he lay there dying,
he turned his eyes toward the heavens and said, "Why, God, why now? After all I've been through, how could you do this to me?"
From up above, there came a voice, "Sorry. I didn't recognize
you."
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