Good morning,
Praise the Lord for His Word. It is written that "the grass withers and flowers fail, but the Word of our Lord endures for ever". I recall hearing for the first time II Cor. 4:7-12, as it was shared with me by my uncle, who was a lover of the Lord and a lover of His Word. He had only an 8th grade education but he was blessed with a beautiful mind. He can still read the word of God and could share from it with great imagination. I was a young boy when he shared with me about "Jars of Clay". We are “Jars of Clay” in whom the Lord lives and through whom He is seen.
One of the things entrusted to every follower of Christ is the knowledge of the good news that is in Jesus Christ, the presence of God, and the opportunity to be used of God. These things are placed within us in order that others may see the glorious power of God. Our lives are “containers” or “vessels” or “jars of clay” in whom God lives and through whom God works.
My wife, Alice was, given a set china which has intrinsic value because it is both rare and irreplaceable. Additionally, we have assigned considerable extrinsic value to the dishes beyond the actual worth of the china, because of the sentimental value we have attached to it. The "good china" is mostly for looking and is only used on very special occasions. Our everyday dishes are considerably less valuable and are more easily replaced. There is little intrinsic or extrinsic value assigned to our everyday dishes. If one gets broken, there no great sense of grief of loss.
We may live under the illusion that we are fine-china people, but in fact we are more like everyday dish people. Our Lord lives in and through ordinary people.
But this precious treasure – this light and power that now shines within us is held in earthen vessels, that is, in our weak bodies. So everyone can see that our glorious power is from God and is not our own. II Corinthians 4:7
We are told that the precious treasure is the glory of God as revealed in Christ. And, we are told that we are jars of clay. In other words, God has placed himself in very ordinary, everyday people.
We may assign a great deal of extrinsic value to our bodies and spend thousands and thousands of dollars on our bodies, but unless a person has a mouthful of gold teeth, his intrinsic value is actually quite insignificant. A trivia web site notes that the elements in the skin that covers the human body is worth about $4.50… based on the cost of cow hide, which is about 25 cents per square foot, our skin is worth $3.50 of the $4.50 estimated value. (http://www.coolquiz.com/trivia/explain/docs/worth.asp)
The idea is that a clay container is unworthy to hold a thing such as the glory of God. The earthen vessel or jar of clay, like the human body is frail, fragile, and easily returned to dust or clay. (Albert Barnes, Barnes Notes, II Corinthians - Galatians, P. 83)
God deliberately chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. He chose the powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important, so that no one can ever boast in the presence of God. I Corinthians 1:27-29 We must stand in stark contrast to the treasure within us; otherwise we will be mistaken for the treasure. That is what God was saying through the prophet Zachariah when he said, “This is what the Lord says: It is not by force or by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty… then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me.” Zechariah 4:6-9
The visual imagery in of verses II Corinthians 4:8-10 is of gladiatorial or military combat. In a series of statements Paul describes jars of clay people as people who never give up:
• They may be pressed on every side by troubles, but they are not crushed.
• They may be at their wits end, but we are never at hopes end
• They may be persecuted, but God never abandons them.
• They may get knocked down, but they get up and keep going.
When we go through the knocks of life we are reminded that the only thing that distinguishes us from all the other people who are being knocked around, is the way we respond to it. Russian author Dostoevski, best known for his Notes from the Underground, was imprisoned and exiled to Siberia in 1849. He told how, when he was kept in solitary confinement for his political opinions, the little shutter in his cell door was opened every evening, and a mysterious voice whispered, “Courage, brother, we also suffer.”
“The supreme characteristic of the Christian is not that he does not fall, but that every time he falls, he rises again. It is not that he is never beaten, but he is never ultimately defeated.” (William Barclay, The Daily Study Bible, II Corinthians 4:9, P. 223) Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be obvious in our dying bodies. So we live in the face of death, but it has resulted in eternal life for you.” II Corinthians 4:11-12
We live our lives so that others may see the presence of God and receive the person of Christ into their lives.
The Hoover Dam, which was built in the 1930s, is something of an engineering marvel. Originally engineers focused on functionality rather than aesthetics, but under the influence of British architect Gordon Kaufmann, the dam took the look of both a thing of function and streamlined beauty.
A Norwegian immigrant sculptor, Oskar Hansen was responsible for the 30 foot bronzed statues that represented “that eternal vigilance which is the price of liberty.” He also created a bronze plaque memorializing the 96 workers who died during the construction of the dam. The inscription reads, “They died to make the desert bloom.” (Bureau of Reclamation: Lower Colorado Region: The Grand Dam; www.usbr.gov/lchooverdam/History/articles/rhinehart1.htm1)
The image of lives being lived and even lost in the building of a great dam that would provide irrigation for the southwest is not lost on us. We understand and hope that others will be blessed by the living out of our lives. As stewards of a precious treasure, we live as jars of clay so that the life of Christ may be seen in our bodies and result in eternal life for others.
In Jesus the Saviour and the Lord,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxKy_NxB398
Friday, November 6, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Brown's Daily Word 11-05-09
Good morning,
Praise the Lord for the gift of this new day. It is written, “For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations” (Psalm 100:5).
Douglas Coupland wrote a book titled, "Girlfriend in a Coma". In the story a young woman comes out of a coma that she has been in since ‘79. After she has been out of the coma for quite awhile, someone asks about her impressions of people who live in the ‘90s. She says, “A lack. A lack of convictions, of beliefs, of wisdom, or even of good old badness. No sorrow, no nothing. The people I knew when I came back, they only, well, existed. It was so sad.” But what would you expect from people who have crammed their lives with everything but God.
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name” (Psalm 100:4).
We love to go to Washington, DC. One of the blessings of our Nation's capitol is the presence of so many museums. At the Holocaust Museum there is a large wooden altar that came from a Jewish synagogue. The synagogue was vandalized by Nazi soldiers who had come to remove all Jews from that city. The soldiers had tried to destroy the altar. You can still see the hack marks of their axes, but still decipherable across the altar is a single phrase of Hebrew carved deeply into the wood. Though the axes of man attempted to delete the words, the phrase still reads, “Know before Whom you stand.” The problem with our pagan culture is that we do not know before whom we stand, therefore we do not understand the value and purpose of life. “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture” (Psalm 100:1-3).
Too often we are afraid of life. Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Erwin McManus told about an experience with his son who had become afraid. “One summer Aaron went to a youth camp. He was just a little guy, and I was kind of glad because it was a church camp. I figured he wasn’t going to hear all those ghost stories, because ghost stories can really cause a kid to have nightmares. But unfortunately, since it was a Christian camp and they didn’t tell ghost stories, because we don’t believe in ghosts; they told demon and Satan stories instead. And so when Aaron got home, he was terrified. ‘Dad, don’t turn off the light!’ he said before going to bed. ‘No, Daddy, could you stay here with me? Daddy, I’m afraid. They told all these stories about demons.’ And I wanted to say, ‘They’re not real.’ He goes, ‘Daddy, Daddy, would you pray for me that I would be safe?’ I could feel it. I could feel warm-blanket Christianity beginning to wrap around him, a life of safety, safety, safety. I said, ‘Aaron, I will not pray for you to be safe. I will pray that God will make you dangerous, so dangerous that demons will flee when you enter the room.’ And he goes, ‘All right. But pray I would be really, really dangerous, Daddy.’”
We can be afraid of life and retreat from it, or we can become dangerous and face life with boldness. May the Lord make us bold and vigorous. May He make us strong and dangerous in and through the power of the Holy Spirit so that we can walk in triumph.
Psalm 91:1-2 tells us to let the Lord God be our shelter, our refuge and our fortress. A fortress is a stronghold of a permanent nature. Placing our trust in God is placing our trust in something that is permanent.
Psalm 91:3-8, "Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, [and] from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth [shall be thy] shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; [nor] for the arrow [that] flieth by day; [Nor] for the pestilence [that] walketh in darkness; [nor] for the destruction [that] wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; [but] it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.”
These verses tell us that God will deliver us from anything that tries to come against us. God has already made an escape route for anything that Satan tries to throw against us. God has already covered it; He has already given us protection, security, safety, healing, and strength. God has covered it all, and we need only to place our trust in Him and He will deliver it to us for He is our God and in Him we can trust. If we have truly placed our trust in the comfort of God then we should be able to rest at all times in all dangers, and in all circumstances knowing that we are resting in the shadow, the shelter, of the Almighty God. God will send ministering spirits, angels to keep a watch over us and to keep us fully in His protection. He says that no evil shall befall us, nor shall any plague come near our dwelling, because we have made the Lord our refuge our habitation. We have decided to dwell in Him.
Psalm 91:9-11: "Because thou hast made the LORD, [which is] my refuge, [even] the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.”
“For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations” (Psalm 100:5).
In Jesus,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtfkyyPQLAE
Praise the Lord for the gift of this new day. It is written, “For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations” (Psalm 100:5).
Douglas Coupland wrote a book titled, "Girlfriend in a Coma". In the story a young woman comes out of a coma that she has been in since ‘79. After she has been out of the coma for quite awhile, someone asks about her impressions of people who live in the ‘90s. She says, “A lack. A lack of convictions, of beliefs, of wisdom, or even of good old badness. No sorrow, no nothing. The people I knew when I came back, they only, well, existed. It was so sad.” But what would you expect from people who have crammed their lives with everything but God.
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name” (Psalm 100:4).
We love to go to Washington, DC. One of the blessings of our Nation's capitol is the presence of so many museums. At the Holocaust Museum there is a large wooden altar that came from a Jewish synagogue. The synagogue was vandalized by Nazi soldiers who had come to remove all Jews from that city. The soldiers had tried to destroy the altar. You can still see the hack marks of their axes, but still decipherable across the altar is a single phrase of Hebrew carved deeply into the wood. Though the axes of man attempted to delete the words, the phrase still reads, “Know before Whom you stand.” The problem with our pagan culture is that we do not know before whom we stand, therefore we do not understand the value and purpose of life. “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture” (Psalm 100:1-3).
Too often we are afraid of life. Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Erwin McManus told about an experience with his son who had become afraid. “One summer Aaron went to a youth camp. He was just a little guy, and I was kind of glad because it was a church camp. I figured he wasn’t going to hear all those ghost stories, because ghost stories can really cause a kid to have nightmares. But unfortunately, since it was a Christian camp and they didn’t tell ghost stories, because we don’t believe in ghosts; they told demon and Satan stories instead. And so when Aaron got home, he was terrified. ‘Dad, don’t turn off the light!’ he said before going to bed. ‘No, Daddy, could you stay here with me? Daddy, I’m afraid. They told all these stories about demons.’ And I wanted to say, ‘They’re not real.’ He goes, ‘Daddy, Daddy, would you pray for me that I would be safe?’ I could feel it. I could feel warm-blanket Christianity beginning to wrap around him, a life of safety, safety, safety. I said, ‘Aaron, I will not pray for you to be safe. I will pray that God will make you dangerous, so dangerous that demons will flee when you enter the room.’ And he goes, ‘All right. But pray I would be really, really dangerous, Daddy.’”
We can be afraid of life and retreat from it, or we can become dangerous and face life with boldness. May the Lord make us bold and vigorous. May He make us strong and dangerous in and through the power of the Holy Spirit so that we can walk in triumph.
Psalm 91:1-2 tells us to let the Lord God be our shelter, our refuge and our fortress. A fortress is a stronghold of a permanent nature. Placing our trust in God is placing our trust in something that is permanent.
Psalm 91:3-8, "Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, [and] from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth [shall be thy] shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; [nor] for the arrow [that] flieth by day; [Nor] for the pestilence [that] walketh in darkness; [nor] for the destruction [that] wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; [but] it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.”
These verses tell us that God will deliver us from anything that tries to come against us. God has already made an escape route for anything that Satan tries to throw against us. God has already covered it; He has already given us protection, security, safety, healing, and strength. God has covered it all, and we need only to place our trust in Him and He will deliver it to us for He is our God and in Him we can trust. If we have truly placed our trust in the comfort of God then we should be able to rest at all times in all dangers, and in all circumstances knowing that we are resting in the shadow, the shelter, of the Almighty God. God will send ministering spirits, angels to keep a watch over us and to keep us fully in His protection. He says that no evil shall befall us, nor shall any plague come near our dwelling, because we have made the Lord our refuge our habitation. We have decided to dwell in Him.
Psalm 91:9-11: "Because thou hast made the LORD, [which is] my refuge, [even] the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.”
“For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations” (Psalm 100:5).
In Jesus,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtfkyyPQLAE
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Brown's Daily Word 11-04-09
Good Morning,
This the morning after elections in the USA. The Lord who made the heavens and the earth is upon the Throne. He is Sovereign. He rules and over rules. Our help is in the name of the Lord. Somebody once said that the God's telephone number is Jeremiah 33:3 (King James Version): "Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not."
Almighty God has promised to hear and answer prayer! Great things happen when we pray! We used to be a praying people! It’s past time for some "Prayer Warriors" to be about the Lord’s business! The Message Bible (MSG), records Jeremiah 33:3in this way: "’Call to Me and I will answer you. I’ll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.’"
Moses cried out to Almighty God and God spared Israel from judgment! Joshua’s prayer made the sun stand still! Hannah’s prayer was answered with a baby boy! Solomon received wisdom in answer to his prayer! Fire came down from Heaven when Elijah prayed, and it devoured the sacrifice on Mount Carmel! Jonah’s prayer brought him out of the belly of the great fish! Peter prayed and Dorcas arose from the dead! The thief on the cross prayed and was saved immediately! The early church prayed and the place was shaken where they gathered together! Peter got out of jail in answer to the early Christians’ prayers! The door of the Philippian jail fell off when Paul and Silas prayed! It is amazing to read of the accounts of the prayers of the saints of Almighty God in the Holy Bible, the written Word of Almighty God!
Church history books will also stir your soul, as one reads how God answered the prayers of people such as the late great Prussian-born British Christian evangelist, George Fredrick Muller (1805 - 1898), of Bristol, England; and, the late great American missionary to the Native Americans, George Brainerd (1718 - 1747), of New England!
The late great British Protestant Christian missionary to China and founder of the China Inland Mission, James Hudson Taylor (1832 - 1905); and, the late great American Presbyterian minister, evangelist, revivalist, and author, Charles Grandison Finney (1792 - 1875) believed the Holy Bible and received the Power of Almighty God through answered prayers! They called upon Almighty God and He answered them; and, showed them great and mighty things which they knew not!
Matthew 7:7 (NLT) records Jesus, our Lord Himself, saying, "Keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened." In Matthew 21:22 (NLT), Jesus, tells His Disciples and us: "...I assure you, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ’May God lift you up and throw you into the sea,’ and it will happen."
In James 4:2 (NLT), we are told, "You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous for what others have, and you can’t possess it, so you fight and quarrel to take it away from them. And yet the reason you don’t have what you want is that you don’t ask God for it." In James 5:16 (NLT), we are told: "Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results."
In Jesus our Saviour,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9koFXq3T_0
This the morning after elections in the USA. The Lord who made the heavens and the earth is upon the Throne. He is Sovereign. He rules and over rules. Our help is in the name of the Lord. Somebody once said that the God's telephone number is Jeremiah 33:3 (King James Version): "Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not."
Almighty God has promised to hear and answer prayer! Great things happen when we pray! We used to be a praying people! It’s past time for some "Prayer Warriors" to be about the Lord’s business! The Message Bible (MSG), records Jeremiah 33:3in this way: "’Call to Me and I will answer you. I’ll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.’"
Moses cried out to Almighty God and God spared Israel from judgment! Joshua’s prayer made the sun stand still! Hannah’s prayer was answered with a baby boy! Solomon received wisdom in answer to his prayer! Fire came down from Heaven when Elijah prayed, and it devoured the sacrifice on Mount Carmel! Jonah’s prayer brought him out of the belly of the great fish! Peter prayed and Dorcas arose from the dead! The thief on the cross prayed and was saved immediately! The early church prayed and the place was shaken where they gathered together! Peter got out of jail in answer to the early Christians’ prayers! The door of the Philippian jail fell off when Paul and Silas prayed! It is amazing to read of the accounts of the prayers of the saints of Almighty God in the Holy Bible, the written Word of Almighty God!
Church history books will also stir your soul, as one reads how God answered the prayers of people such as the late great Prussian-born British Christian evangelist, George Fredrick Muller (1805 - 1898), of Bristol, England; and, the late great American missionary to the Native Americans, George Brainerd (1718 - 1747), of New England!
The late great British Protestant Christian missionary to China and founder of the China Inland Mission, James Hudson Taylor (1832 - 1905); and, the late great American Presbyterian minister, evangelist, revivalist, and author, Charles Grandison Finney (1792 - 1875) believed the Holy Bible and received the Power of Almighty God through answered prayers! They called upon Almighty God and He answered them; and, showed them great and mighty things which they knew not!
Matthew 7:7 (NLT) records Jesus, our Lord Himself, saying, "Keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened." In Matthew 21:22 (NLT), Jesus, tells His Disciples and us: "...I assure you, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ’May God lift you up and throw you into the sea,’ and it will happen."
In James 4:2 (NLT), we are told, "You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous for what others have, and you can’t possess it, so you fight and quarrel to take it away from them. And yet the reason you don’t have what you want is that you don’t ask God for it." In James 5:16 (NLT), we are told: "Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results."
In Jesus our Saviour,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9koFXq3T_0
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Brown's Daily Word 11-03-09
Good morning,
Praise the Lord for this new day. Our favorite granddaughter, Micah, turns 4 years today. She called me 5 times yesterday and just chatted. She talks fluently and can tell some stories. We praise the Lord for Micah.
Sunita got back to Washington after a long flight from Jerusalem. She had a long delay in Newark and so, exhausted, reached her home after midnight.
Laureen and her team left for Bangkok yesterday, flying from Los Angeles. Laureen told me that she put all her necessary belongings in a carry on bag. I was amazed. She told me she is traveling just like missionary, learning to travel light. Less luggage (more comfort?). The Sound Tech for the team quit the team as they were preparing to journey to Thailand. In the Bible, John Mark quit the Missionary journey as it is recorded in the Book of Acts. The Lord is faithful. He provided a new sound tech for the team the very day the old sound tech quit. The new Sound tech was already had a valid passport to travel to Thailand. He was able to get an airline ticket within the day and will be flying out today. Our Lord is in the business of performing miracles.
Our youngest daughter Jessica and her fiance Tom are coming home for the weekend. Praise the Lord for all His blessings.
I just got an e-mail from a young woman, whom I knew when she was a young teenager. She is now married and blessed with three children. She wrote about her mom, whom I knew well in the 1980's, is in poor health and is needing much prayer.
Life is filled with examples of wounded and suffering individuals - people who have been wounded in many different ways - wounded by physical or spiritual warfare. During my High School days we had the "Parable of the Good Samaritan" as the text for English Literature in King James Version. The Parable is the response of Jesus, the Christ, to the question of a certain lawyer who, in trying to justify himself and trap Jesus, the Christ, into saying something wrong, asked Him the question, "And who is my neighbor?"
We know very little about the man who fell among thieves. The Holy Bible - the written Word of Almighty God - does not tell us his name. It does not tell us his race or nationality. It does not tell us whether he was rich or poor, educated or ignorant. In point of fact, he could have been anybody, even someone like one of us! Regardless of who we are, we can be left by the "roadside of life" through no fault of our own in a hurting or wounded condition! We can be hurt in so many ways. Often, it seems, when we are making our greatest progress and when life is at its best for us, suddenly some disaster strikes and becomes a thief that steals our joy or it may steal those things that we love!
Life itself carries with it the possibility of being hurt! If we had no feelings at all, we could not be hurt, but a person without any feeling at all is a dead person! So, the very fact that we can be hurt is a sign that we are still alive! The lesson that Jesus, the Christ, would have us learn from His parable is this: We should be "Good Samaritans" all of the time! However, there are times when we are in no position to be a "Good Samaritan". Instead, we find ourselves being the wounded person who is left by the "roadside of life!"
The tragedy of life is not the wound itself, because life is so constituted that wounds are inevitable! The tragedy comes when we quit or give up on life because of the wound, when we fall down and we can’t get up! There are times, however, when we simply must grit our teeth and say, "I may be down; but, I’m not out!"
There is a story of the late great American golfer, William Ben Hogan (1912 - 1997), whose car was hit by a bus - an accident which left him laying by the roadside wounded! A great career was ended, we thought! It was doubtful whether he would ever walk again, let alone play golf! However, as soon as possible, he got braces and began to swing his golf clubs. It was a painful process. However, he kept on swinging and later came back to win both the United States Open and the British Open championships!
When we are wounded, we can count on help coming our way! Often, it is help that we did not expect! In the "Parable of the Good Samaritan," surely it must have been a disappointment to hear the footsteps of the priest and the Levite as they passed the wounded young man by! But then, he heard other steps, steps that stopped at his side. These were the steps of a Samaritan, an outcast himself and a member of a despised race. It was the Samaritan who tenderly bound up his wounds, puts him on his own donkey, and, walking beside the animal, took him to safety! Life usually works that way. Often, when we need help, it comes from a place that we did not count on!
There is always hope, for Jesus, the Christ, Himself, tells us, in Luke 4:18 (KJV): "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, for He hath anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised." Not only do the wounded have the help of other people, they also have the help of Almighty God who is our Father, a help that gives us serenity and peace!
In Jesus Christ the wounded Healer,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhOJW4Uwy3c
Praise the Lord for this new day. Our favorite granddaughter, Micah, turns 4 years today. She called me 5 times yesterday and just chatted. She talks fluently and can tell some stories. We praise the Lord for Micah.
Sunita got back to Washington after a long flight from Jerusalem. She had a long delay in Newark and so, exhausted, reached her home after midnight.
Laureen and her team left for Bangkok yesterday, flying from Los Angeles. Laureen told me that she put all her necessary belongings in a carry on bag. I was amazed. She told me she is traveling just like missionary, learning to travel light. Less luggage (more comfort?). The Sound Tech for the team quit the team as they were preparing to journey to Thailand. In the Bible, John Mark quit the Missionary journey as it is recorded in the Book of Acts. The Lord is faithful. He provided a new sound tech for the team the very day the old sound tech quit. The new Sound tech was already had a valid passport to travel to Thailand. He was able to get an airline ticket within the day and will be flying out today. Our Lord is in the business of performing miracles.
Our youngest daughter Jessica and her fiance Tom are coming home for the weekend. Praise the Lord for all His blessings.
I just got an e-mail from a young woman, whom I knew when she was a young teenager. She is now married and blessed with three children. She wrote about her mom, whom I knew well in the 1980's, is in poor health and is needing much prayer.
Life is filled with examples of wounded and suffering individuals - people who have been wounded in many different ways - wounded by physical or spiritual warfare. During my High School days we had the "Parable of the Good Samaritan" as the text for English Literature in King James Version. The Parable is the response of Jesus, the Christ, to the question of a certain lawyer who, in trying to justify himself and trap Jesus, the Christ, into saying something wrong, asked Him the question, "And who is my neighbor?"
We know very little about the man who fell among thieves. The Holy Bible - the written Word of Almighty God - does not tell us his name. It does not tell us his race or nationality. It does not tell us whether he was rich or poor, educated or ignorant. In point of fact, he could have been anybody, even someone like one of us! Regardless of who we are, we can be left by the "roadside of life" through no fault of our own in a hurting or wounded condition! We can be hurt in so many ways. Often, it seems, when we are making our greatest progress and when life is at its best for us, suddenly some disaster strikes and becomes a thief that steals our joy or it may steal those things that we love!
Life itself carries with it the possibility of being hurt! If we had no feelings at all, we could not be hurt, but a person without any feeling at all is a dead person! So, the very fact that we can be hurt is a sign that we are still alive! The lesson that Jesus, the Christ, would have us learn from His parable is this: We should be "Good Samaritans" all of the time! However, there are times when we are in no position to be a "Good Samaritan". Instead, we find ourselves being the wounded person who is left by the "roadside of life!"
The tragedy of life is not the wound itself, because life is so constituted that wounds are inevitable! The tragedy comes when we quit or give up on life because of the wound, when we fall down and we can’t get up! There are times, however, when we simply must grit our teeth and say, "I may be down; but, I’m not out!"
There is a story of the late great American golfer, William Ben Hogan (1912 - 1997), whose car was hit by a bus - an accident which left him laying by the roadside wounded! A great career was ended, we thought! It was doubtful whether he would ever walk again, let alone play golf! However, as soon as possible, he got braces and began to swing his golf clubs. It was a painful process. However, he kept on swinging and later came back to win both the United States Open and the British Open championships!
When we are wounded, we can count on help coming our way! Often, it is help that we did not expect! In the "Parable of the Good Samaritan," surely it must have been a disappointment to hear the footsteps of the priest and the Levite as they passed the wounded young man by! But then, he heard other steps, steps that stopped at his side. These were the steps of a Samaritan, an outcast himself and a member of a despised race. It was the Samaritan who tenderly bound up his wounds, puts him on his own donkey, and, walking beside the animal, took him to safety! Life usually works that way. Often, when we need help, it comes from a place that we did not count on!
There is always hope, for Jesus, the Christ, Himself, tells us, in Luke 4:18 (KJV): "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, for He hath anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised." Not only do the wounded have the help of other people, they also have the help of Almighty God who is our Father, a help that gives us serenity and peace!
In Jesus Christ the wounded Healer,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhOJW4Uwy3c
Monday, November 2, 2009
Brown's Daily Word 11-02-09
Good morning,
Praise the Lord for the month of November. Yesterday was the All Saints Day in the church calendar. One of the readings for yesterday was taken from Revelation 21. The following is a part of the message I preached yesterday.
The Bible is full of wonderful promises, but perhaps the most wonderful of all is this: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). There are many things we do not know about what Heaven will be like, because it is beyond our ability to comprehend, but one thing we can be certain of is that Heaven will fulfill our greatest longings, dazzle us with its beauty, obliterate our greatest problems with its power and splendor, be greater than anything we could imagine or dream, and be a place where love and joy will reign unspoiled. Our Lord is busy preparing all of this for us.
Our granddaughter, Micah, will be four years old tomorrow, the 3rd of November, and our grandson Simeon is two years old. They are planning to be with us here in New York, for part of the Thanksgiving season. We make all kinds of preparations to make their time with us memorable and enjoyable. When they come, we give them our bedroom. Grandmom Alice makes all kinds special have special baking sessions with Micah (with a little bit of little Simeon in the mix, I expect). Why did we do all that? It is because we love our grandchildren and want the best for them. The point is, if we make those kinds of preparations for our grandchildren’s visit, how much more does a Lord of love prepare for the time his children will come to his eternal home. The Bible says, “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11). Jesus said, “I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:2-3).
Heaven is a real place with real, meaningful and rewarding work for us to do. The Bible says, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. . . . But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness” (2 Peter 3:10,13). The old earth will pass away and our Lord will create a new earth which will be the home of righteousness. Dallas Willard assures us that “The life we now have as the persons we now are will continue in the universe in which we now exist.” It will not be a strange apparition, but the real world we have known, only new and better.
T. S. Elliot wrote:
We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
If this fallen world in all of its brokenness can be so wonderful, what must heaven be like? Heaven will be right. It will be a place of righteousness, where all the wrongs of the world will be made right. It will be a place where everything evil is absent, and everything good is present; everything sad will be gone, and only joy will exist; everything disappointing will disappear, and everything exciting will appear; everything depressing will be gone, and everything hopeful will come; everything violent and hateful will be gone, and everything born of love will be prevail; every unfaithfulness will be in the past, and steadfast loyalty will be present; everything detestable will be gone, and everything desirable will abide with us; every sickness will be gone, and complete wholeness will take over our lives; every struggle, frustration and failure will be over, and only success will be possible. “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4).
Every wrong done to you in this world will be made right. Every injustice will be met with justice. Every sorrow will be reversed, and joy will wash over you like a waterfall. The prophet Isaiah wrote, “Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind” (Isaiah 65:17). He went on to say, “They will not toil in vain or bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the Lord, they and their descendants with them. Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox” (Isaiah 65:23-25).
The corrupted, fallen part of the world will be gone, and our Lord will restore the world to the way it was meant to be in the beginning — unspoiled by human sin. Everything false will disappear, and everything good and true will prevail. The Bible says, “Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 21:27).
We will recognize our loved ones, and we will be recognized by them. Our relationships will not be lost, they will be regained and renewed. We will experience these relationships at a level we have never known before. Deep, rewarding and fulfilling relationships will be the hallmark of heaven. On earth we let each other down and disappoint each other. Many times, without knowing it, we hurt each other and fail each other, but there, “we will all be changed — in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). The apostle John wrote, “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). Our fallen, imperfect nature will be healed and we will be capable of intimacy in relationships that we cannot even imagine here and now.
Our relationship with our Living Lord will be healed as well. No longer will our love for him be compromised by a selfish love for ourselves and an enchantment with the things of the world. Our love for Him, and our relationship with Him will be unspoiled. There will be no separation between us. Our sinful nature will be taken away, and we will no longer struggle with sin and temptation. Our relationship with Him will be so intimate that the book of Revelation describes it as a bride coming to her husband — full of love and passion, with arms open wide.
Justice does not always happen in this world. This world is not heaven, and we should not expect it to be. The accounts are settled and our rewards are given in another place and another time. That is what heaven is all about. It is delayed gratification, but gratification nonetheless. C. S. Lewis, in his great book, "The Problem of Pain", struggles with the problems caused by the pains of life. In writing, he says, “Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home.” Jesus said, “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done” (Revelation 22:12). Every sacrifice you have made will be remembered. Every sorrow you have experienced will be dispelled with countless joys. Every rejection will be overcome by an explosion of love. Every work will be rewarded. Far from every mistake being brought out, every good thing you have done will be honored and recompensed.
Heaven will be the residence of God. The greatest reward of heaven will be God himself. Nothing we see or experience will be greater than the fact that we are with God and see him face to face. Paul wrote, “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:12). How wonderful it will be to be in the presence of God where we will perfectly know him and know that we are perfectly known and loved. John wrote in the book of Revelation, “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God’” (Revelation 21:3). We will have no greater reward or relationship than being with our wonderful God and seeing him face to face.
In C. S. Lewis’ wonderful book, "The Final Battle", which is the last volume of "The Chronicles of Narnia", the characters who have lived in Narnia, or visited there, have completed their time and work there. In a closing chapter entitled, “Further Up and Further In,” Aslan, the Lion who represents Christ, has come for them in order to take them home. They are headed away from Narnia and are about to enter Aslan’s country, but they are met with familiar scenes. One of the characters cries out, “I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now. .”
I believe that when we enter the real heaven, we will say, “This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now."
“The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life” (Revelation 22:17).
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qEjRLlL9iE
The following is Micah and Simeon on Halloween, going out as "Extreme Sports" - a rock climber and a kayaker.
Praise the Lord for the month of November. Yesterday was the All Saints Day in the church calendar. One of the readings for yesterday was taken from Revelation 21. The following is a part of the message I preached yesterday.
The Bible is full of wonderful promises, but perhaps the most wonderful of all is this: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). There are many things we do not know about what Heaven will be like, because it is beyond our ability to comprehend, but one thing we can be certain of is that Heaven will fulfill our greatest longings, dazzle us with its beauty, obliterate our greatest problems with its power and splendor, be greater than anything we could imagine or dream, and be a place where love and joy will reign unspoiled. Our Lord is busy preparing all of this for us.
Our granddaughter, Micah, will be four years old tomorrow, the 3rd of November, and our grandson Simeon is two years old. They are planning to be with us here in New York, for part of the Thanksgiving season. We make all kinds of preparations to make their time with us memorable and enjoyable. When they come, we give them our bedroom. Grandmom Alice makes all kinds special have special baking sessions with Micah (with a little bit of little Simeon in the mix, I expect). Why did we do all that? It is because we love our grandchildren and want the best for them. The point is, if we make those kinds of preparations for our grandchildren’s visit, how much more does a Lord of love prepare for the time his children will come to his eternal home. The Bible says, “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11). Jesus said, “I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:2-3).
Heaven is a real place with real, meaningful and rewarding work for us to do. The Bible says, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. . . . But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness” (2 Peter 3:10,13). The old earth will pass away and our Lord will create a new earth which will be the home of righteousness. Dallas Willard assures us that “The life we now have as the persons we now are will continue in the universe in which we now exist.” It will not be a strange apparition, but the real world we have known, only new and better.
T. S. Elliot wrote:
We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
If this fallen world in all of its brokenness can be so wonderful, what must heaven be like? Heaven will be right. It will be a place of righteousness, where all the wrongs of the world will be made right. It will be a place where everything evil is absent, and everything good is present; everything sad will be gone, and only joy will exist; everything disappointing will disappear, and everything exciting will appear; everything depressing will be gone, and everything hopeful will come; everything violent and hateful will be gone, and everything born of love will be prevail; every unfaithfulness will be in the past, and steadfast loyalty will be present; everything detestable will be gone, and everything desirable will abide with us; every sickness will be gone, and complete wholeness will take over our lives; every struggle, frustration and failure will be over, and only success will be possible. “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4).
Every wrong done to you in this world will be made right. Every injustice will be met with justice. Every sorrow will be reversed, and joy will wash over you like a waterfall. The prophet Isaiah wrote, “Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind” (Isaiah 65:17). He went on to say, “They will not toil in vain or bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the Lord, they and their descendants with them. Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox” (Isaiah 65:23-25).
The corrupted, fallen part of the world will be gone, and our Lord will restore the world to the way it was meant to be in the beginning — unspoiled by human sin. Everything false will disappear, and everything good and true will prevail. The Bible says, “Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 21:27).
We will recognize our loved ones, and we will be recognized by them. Our relationships will not be lost, they will be regained and renewed. We will experience these relationships at a level we have never known before. Deep, rewarding and fulfilling relationships will be the hallmark of heaven. On earth we let each other down and disappoint each other. Many times, without knowing it, we hurt each other and fail each other, but there, “we will all be changed — in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). The apostle John wrote, “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). Our fallen, imperfect nature will be healed and we will be capable of intimacy in relationships that we cannot even imagine here and now.
Our relationship with our Living Lord will be healed as well. No longer will our love for him be compromised by a selfish love for ourselves and an enchantment with the things of the world. Our love for Him, and our relationship with Him will be unspoiled. There will be no separation between us. Our sinful nature will be taken away, and we will no longer struggle with sin and temptation. Our relationship with Him will be so intimate that the book of Revelation describes it as a bride coming to her husband — full of love and passion, with arms open wide.
Justice does not always happen in this world. This world is not heaven, and we should not expect it to be. The accounts are settled and our rewards are given in another place and another time. That is what heaven is all about. It is delayed gratification, but gratification nonetheless. C. S. Lewis, in his great book, "The Problem of Pain", struggles with the problems caused by the pains of life. In writing, he says, “Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home.” Jesus said, “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done” (Revelation 22:12). Every sacrifice you have made will be remembered. Every sorrow you have experienced will be dispelled with countless joys. Every rejection will be overcome by an explosion of love. Every work will be rewarded. Far from every mistake being brought out, every good thing you have done will be honored and recompensed.
Heaven will be the residence of God. The greatest reward of heaven will be God himself. Nothing we see or experience will be greater than the fact that we are with God and see him face to face. Paul wrote, “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:12). How wonderful it will be to be in the presence of God where we will perfectly know him and know that we are perfectly known and loved. John wrote in the book of Revelation, “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God’” (Revelation 21:3). We will have no greater reward or relationship than being with our wonderful God and seeing him face to face.
In C. S. Lewis’ wonderful book, "The Final Battle", which is the last volume of "The Chronicles of Narnia", the characters who have lived in Narnia, or visited there, have completed their time and work there. In a closing chapter entitled, “Further Up and Further In,” Aslan, the Lion who represents Christ, has come for them in order to take them home. They are headed away from Narnia and are about to enter Aslan’s country, but they are met with familiar scenes. One of the characters cries out, “I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now. .”
I believe that when we enter the real heaven, we will say, “This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now."
“The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life” (Revelation 22:17).
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qEjRLlL9iE
The following is Micah and Simeon on Halloween, going out as "Extreme Sports" - a rock climber and a kayaker.
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