Good morning,
It is Friday now, but Sunday's coming. We approach Thanksgiving with joy and thanks for all that He does in our lives. He orchestrates the order of the entire universe, and yet takes the time to listen to each child's prayers. Praise the Lord, for He is Good, and His truth endures! The Good News of Jesus Christ our Lord is simple yet so profound. The late Dr. D. J. Kennedy ( One of my favorite preachers)used to say that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is so simple that even a little child can understand, yet it is so profound a Ph.D. can not comprehend it.
Our Lord made an audacious declaration when He said, "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you". He exhorts us to learn to live our lives, focused on Christ and His Eternal everlasting Kingdom.
William H. Hinson was a great pastor of the First United Methodist Church, Houston. Some time ago he entered the church triumphant. He told a story of why animal trainers carry a stool when they go into a cage of lions. They have their whips, of course, and their pistols are at their sides, but invariably they also carry a stool. Hinson said it is the most important tool of the trainer. The trainer holds the stool by the back and thrusts the legs toward the face of the wild animal. Those who know maintain that the animal tries to focus on all four legs at once. In the attempt to focus on all four, a kind of paralysis overwhelms the animal, and it becomes tame, weak, and disabled because its attention is fragmented. (John Maxwell; Developing the Leader within You, (Thomas Nelson, 1993). When we are attempting to focus on too much at once we are become distracted and in some ways paralyzed. We lose the ability to attack, so to speak, because we are not focused.
Tim Sanders, the former chief solutions officer at Yahoo! and author of Love Is the Killer App, shared the following thought about establishing priorities:
Take your life and all the things that you think are important, and put them in one of three categories. These three categories are represented by three items: glass, metal, and rubber. The things that are made of rubber, when you drop them, will bounce back. Things that are made of metal, when they get dropped, create a lot of noise. But you can recover from the drop. For example, if you miss a meeting at work, you can usually get the notes. Or, if you forget to balance your checkbook and you lose track of how much you have in your account, and the bank notifies you that you have been spending more than you have, that’s going to create a little bit of noise in your life, but you can recover from it.
Then, there are things made of glass. When you drop one of these, it will shatter into pieces and never be the same. Even though you can piece it back together, it will still be missing some pieces and it certainly won’t look the same. Neither could you actually fill it up with water, because the consequences of it be being broken will forever affect how it’s used. The thing is, you’re the only person who knows what those things are that you can’t afford to drop. More than likely, they have a lot to do with your relationships, including your marriage, your family, and your friends. (Tim Sanders, www.sanderssays.typepad.com.
How may we begin to anticipate God’s renewed blessing in our lives? We begin by seeking first His Kingdom and His righteousness first in all things. Our relationships with the Lord and with the people we love are precious and to be prioritized. Christ is not valued at all, unless he is valued above all!
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zC617kE1maU
Friday, November 20, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Brown's Daily Word 11-19-09
Good morning,
Praise the Lord for His Majesty and Authority. We have been studying from the Book of Revelation in our Wednesday evening Bible study. It is exciting to see the Lord at work in His creation. It is exciting to know how the Lord is going to bring His creation to a triumphant consummation, with a triumphant new Heaven and a new earth. Great music, literature, and art have pulled heavily from the Book of Revelation, from Handel’s "Messiah" to Dante’s Inferno to Michelangelo’s "The Last Judgement."
As a young boy I was enthralled and amazed at tall buildings, sky scrapers, and tall and majestic mountains. While attending a conference in Chicago in September, 1985, I made a point to visit the Sears Tower. In July 2009 the Sears Tower was renamed to Willis Tower, but many refuse to accept the name change of Chicago's most iconic skyscraper, with some even starting a petition against it. I found about the some of the facts and figures about the Sears Tower.
I. The Sears tower is the largest building in America
A. It is 110 stories tall and 1,454 feet high.
1. It contains 4.5 million square feet of floor space
2. It took three years to build at a cost of $150 million dollars
3. It contains 43,000 miles of telephone cable, 2,000 miles of electric cable
4. 76,000 tons of steel, 16,000 bronze tinted windows
5. It contains 2,232 steps from the ground floor to the roof
6. It is so tall it can be seen for over 40 miles away.
It is an extraordinary sensation that you get as you stand at the bottom and look up the tower and feel overwhelmed by the immense structure before you. Even those of you who understand what it takes to build a small house can probably only imagine the intricate details and coordination that must have happened for such a building to exist. It is said that if you dropped a pebble or penny from the roof of the Sears tower it would kill someone if it hit them. (Force = Mass x Acceleration, and it would be accelerating the whole way to the ground)
As extraordinary as a building can be it does not hold a candle to our Savior Jesus Christ. Colossians 1:15-20, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”
Jesus is beyond extraordinary.
Do we want to be a part of something that generations will be baffled at? Let us continue to follow and serve Jesus.
In Him,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-zJHgaoVa4
Praise the Lord for His Majesty and Authority. We have been studying from the Book of Revelation in our Wednesday evening Bible study. It is exciting to see the Lord at work in His creation. It is exciting to know how the Lord is going to bring His creation to a triumphant consummation, with a triumphant new Heaven and a new earth. Great music, literature, and art have pulled heavily from the Book of Revelation, from Handel’s "Messiah" to Dante’s Inferno to Michelangelo’s "The Last Judgement."
As a young boy I was enthralled and amazed at tall buildings, sky scrapers, and tall and majestic mountains. While attending a conference in Chicago in September, 1985, I made a point to visit the Sears Tower. In July 2009 the Sears Tower was renamed to Willis Tower, but many refuse to accept the name change of Chicago's most iconic skyscraper, with some even starting a petition against it. I found about the some of the facts and figures about the Sears Tower.
I. The Sears tower is the largest building in America
A. It is 110 stories tall and 1,454 feet high.
1. It contains 4.5 million square feet of floor space
2. It took three years to build at a cost of $150 million dollars
3. It contains 43,000 miles of telephone cable, 2,000 miles of electric cable
4. 76,000 tons of steel, 16,000 bronze tinted windows
5. It contains 2,232 steps from the ground floor to the roof
6. It is so tall it can be seen for over 40 miles away.
It is an extraordinary sensation that you get as you stand at the bottom and look up the tower and feel overwhelmed by the immense structure before you. Even those of you who understand what it takes to build a small house can probably only imagine the intricate details and coordination that must have happened for such a building to exist. It is said that if you dropped a pebble or penny from the roof of the Sears tower it would kill someone if it hit them. (Force = Mass x Acceleration, and it would be accelerating the whole way to the ground)
As extraordinary as a building can be it does not hold a candle to our Savior Jesus Christ. Colossians 1:15-20, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”
Jesus is beyond extraordinary.
Do we want to be a part of something that generations will be baffled at? Let us continue to follow and serve Jesus.
In Him,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-zJHgaoVa4
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Brown's Daily Word 11-18-09
Good morning,
Some time ago I read the story of Demi-Lee Brennan. Demi-Lee had a liver transplant at age 9. She faced a life on anti-rejection drugs like every other transplant patient. Nine months later, however, her red blood cells were being attacked by her own white blood cells. It was as if her body was treating them as if they were invaders. Something radical had to be done to save her. On a whim her doctor decided to take her off the anti-rejection medications and she got better. What happened was that her blood type had changed. She was no longer O-negative like her parents, but had taken on the donor’s O-positive type.
Now, at 15, she is totally off any immunosuppresion and, although she has to retake every childhood shot she’s ever had, she is normal. The fact that a young boy had died to give her a new life is not taken lightly. She says, "I’m probably the most grateful person because that has saved my life and gave me a chance to fulfill my life. I just want to live it the most I’ve got for them and to show them that I’m so grateful."
Radical transformations do happen. They are not limited to the case when a donor’s blood cells invade a person’s marrow, but they do take place spiritually, when the Lord of New Life,calls us to new life through His son, Jesus. John 15 is part of the Upper Room Discourse. "I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete." When we trust in Jesus as our Savior and Lord, His joy is within us. If we want to harvest a sense of joy then it starts with obeying our Lord. It is found as we remain in Him. We are invited to abide in Him.
Bryan Wilkerson, senior pastor of Grace Chapel in Massachusetts, tells of a sterling silver tea set given in love by a family member. He describes it as quite old, beautifully made, displayed on a stand in our dining room, and unusable. The giver had it chemically coated so that it wouldn’t tarnish and hot water will ruin the finish.
Christ does not transform us so we can be put on display. The vine nourishes us so that we can be used. We are everyday dishes. When we remain attached to the vine, our Lord, we discover we too are used by Jesus as His instruments of love, peace, and joy.
In Christ,
Brown
The St. Petersburg ( Russia) Men's Ensemble
Sunday December 6, 2009.
The St. Petersburg Men's ensemble will be in concert on Sunday, December 6, 2009 at The Union Center United Methodist Church, Endicott, New York. They will present a program of traditional Russian Classical Christian Music along with some Russian Folk Music, all sung in a powerful a capella. The public is cordially invited to come. The Concert is scheduled for 7 PM. The Union Center United Methodist Church is located at 128 Maple Drive, Endicott, New York. For information call (607)-748-1358, or (607)-748-6329.
We will meet for our mid-week services tonight. We start with a meal at 6 PM, followed by Bible Study at 6:30 PM. We will be studying from Revelation 19. The Adult Choir will practice at 7:30 PM. They will be working on the music for the Christmas Cantata.
On Saturday, we will meet at 5:30 PM at Wesley UMC for dinner and fellowship. The meal will be followed by a Thanksgiving service at 6:30 PM. Al Smith will be bringing the message.
Some time ago I read the story of Demi-Lee Brennan. Demi-Lee had a liver transplant at age 9. She faced a life on anti-rejection drugs like every other transplant patient. Nine months later, however, her red blood cells were being attacked by her own white blood cells. It was as if her body was treating them as if they were invaders. Something radical had to be done to save her. On a whim her doctor decided to take her off the anti-rejection medications and she got better. What happened was that her blood type had changed. She was no longer O-negative like her parents, but had taken on the donor’s O-positive type.
Now, at 15, she is totally off any immunosuppresion and, although she has to retake every childhood shot she’s ever had, she is normal. The fact that a young boy had died to give her a new life is not taken lightly. She says, "I’m probably the most grateful person because that has saved my life and gave me a chance to fulfill my life. I just want to live it the most I’ve got for them and to show them that I’m so grateful."
Radical transformations do happen. They are not limited to the case when a donor’s blood cells invade a person’s marrow, but they do take place spiritually, when the Lord of New Life,calls us to new life through His son, Jesus. John 15 is part of the Upper Room Discourse. "I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete." When we trust in Jesus as our Savior and Lord, His joy is within us. If we want to harvest a sense of joy then it starts with obeying our Lord. It is found as we remain in Him. We are invited to abide in Him.
Bryan Wilkerson, senior pastor of Grace Chapel in Massachusetts, tells of a sterling silver tea set given in love by a family member. He describes it as quite old, beautifully made, displayed on a stand in our dining room, and unusable. The giver had it chemically coated so that it wouldn’t tarnish and hot water will ruin the finish.
Christ does not transform us so we can be put on display. The vine nourishes us so that we can be used. We are everyday dishes. When we remain attached to the vine, our Lord, we discover we too are used by Jesus as His instruments of love, peace, and joy.
In Christ,
Brown
The St. Petersburg ( Russia) Men's Ensemble
Sunday December 6, 2009.
The St. Petersburg Men's ensemble will be in concert on Sunday, December 6, 2009 at The Union Center United Methodist Church, Endicott, New York. They will present a program of traditional Russian Classical Christian Music along with some Russian Folk Music, all sung in a powerful a capella. The public is cordially invited to come. The Concert is scheduled for 7 PM. The Union Center United Methodist Church is located at 128 Maple Drive, Endicott, New York. For information call (607)-748-1358, or (607)-748-6329.
We will meet for our mid-week services tonight. We start with a meal at 6 PM, followed by Bible Study at 6:30 PM. We will be studying from Revelation 19. The Adult Choir will practice at 7:30 PM. They will be working on the music for the Christmas Cantata.
On Saturday, we will meet at 5:30 PM at Wesley UMC for dinner and fellowship. The meal will be followed by a Thanksgiving service at 6:30 PM. Al Smith will be bringing the message.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Brown's Daily Word 11-17-09
Good morning,
Praise the Lord for the sunny days He has given us here in New York. The month of November has been mild and beautiful. We have been reading from Laureen's blog, that the temperature in Thailand has been in the upper nineties with 85%of humidity. Janice had flown to Florida to spend few days with her dear friend, whose husband was gunned down one and one half years ago by an illegal immigrant. Jeremy took Micah and Simeon to New Hampshire for hiking and roughing it in a lodge. They all are back in Boston now. Laureen and her team will be back in Los Angeles this coming Sunday where they are scheduled to present two concerts in Los Angeles area before heading home for Thanksgiving. Thank you for praying for them.
Our family loves Christian music. Our daughters got introduced Christian music at a very early age. Alice told me that one of her desires was to marry a preacher and sing in the choir. (More specifically, she had a strong inkling that she would marry a preacher). She has been singing in the choir most our married lives. She has started listening Christmas music and has started decorating for Christmas. Praise the Lord for the way He puts a new song in our hearts. Only Biblical Faith talks about singing to the Lord a new song. Most other religions chant. They have no songs.
Psalm 105:1-4 proclaims: “Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. SING to him, SING praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.”
One of the most famous singers in Scripture was a shepherd boy named David. He grew up to be the King of Israel and is still celebrated as the “Man After God’s Own Heart”. He could sing and he could play a harp, and all of his music glorified God and rejoiced in His blessings. David was a man after God’s own heart, and he cemented his relationship to God through his singing and playing music. Singing was the way David declared his joy in God. He sang because he had a song.
Back in 1998, researchers found that music stimulates the auditory nerves and creates brain messages that ripple through the body, influencing muscle tone equilibrium and joint flexibility. The human heartbeat is especially attuned to sound. As music changes in tempo and volume, it acts as a natural pacemaker. Our breathing slows down or speeds up along with the music.
A study at Michigan State University found that just 15 minutes of listening to music increases levels of immune chemicals that are vital to protect us against disease. The release of cortisol (the “stress hormone”) dropped by up to 25%.
In addition, they found that music has a direct effect on the function of the brain. It can slow down and equalize brain waves to create a meditative state or it can energize brain waves, quickening the thinking process and enhancing creativity
(Don Campbell, founder of Institute for Music, Health and Education “Bottom Line –Tomorrow” Sept 1998 p. 9) Scientists have been amazed to find that music is able to help heal the body.
• Burn victims, encouraged to sing while having their dressing changed, experienced less pain.
• Cancer patients who listened to - and practiced with - musical instruments, saw their levels of stress hormones drop and their immune systems get stronger.
Professor Richard Fratianne observed: "By helping patients relax, music eases pain and may even speed recovery," (Peter Jaret Reader’s Digest 9/01)
Carol Lee one of the saints of the church has undergone 18 surgeries up to this day. She experienced the H1N1 flu following a recent surgery. She had a stroke not too long ago, and a result of of her stroke was that she could not talk. Her doctor told her to sing. She began sing hymns and praise songs. The Lord brought her out of the debilitating effects of her stroke. She and her husband Bud faithfully attend worship and sing praises to Jesus. Carol told the church not to be afraid of H1N1 flu. Do not be afraid of any disease. The Lord gives us the victory.
So, just on a physical level, music has the power to sooth the savage beast of our lives. On a spiritual level songs can do even more than that for us because Christian music has words, and those words focus on God’s power and love. That is one of the reasons that Paul told the church at Ephesus: “SPEAK TO ONE ANOTHER with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs…” (Ephesians 5:19)
Focus on the words of those songs, because the words we sing on Sunday morning lift us up… they don’t drag us down.
On the other hand, if you listen to the popular music of our day you’ll find a vast number of songs that communicate:
Hopelessness
Immorality
Anger and rage
Selfishness and self-centeredness
The University of Pittsburgh did a study a few years ago where they examined 279 of the top songs on the radio in 2005. They ONLY looked at references to drugs and alcohol but what they found is instructive:
• Gangster rapsters – spoke favorably of these items in 80% of their songs
• Country music had 37% of its music praising the wonders of alcohol.
• Rhythm and Blues followed with 20%
• Rock had 14% of its songs praising drugs and alcohol
• And Pop music had 7%
(University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine published in the “Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine”)
And these are just the references in popular music praising drugs and alcohol.
The scholars of this study didn’t examine the songs that told of sexual immorality, vengeance, and greed. And they didn’t consider the vast number of songs that were filled with hopelessness and despair.
Most of the songs that are popular on radio don’t lift people up. They drag people down and encourage lifestyles and attitudes that rob them of joy. In contrast the psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs tell us about a God that loves us and cares what happens to us. They lift us up and give a reason to have joy in our lives. Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs have the power to transform us, and the power to give us joy in a world that is often difficult and harsh. In fact, they have even more power than that.
In Acts 16 we are told of the time Paul and Silas were arrested for preaching the Gospel. They were beaten, chained, and locked in a jail cell where their feet were fastened in stocks. HOW did they respond to this? How did Paul and Silas react to the injustice of their punishment? The pain of their beatings? The terror of a jail cell that they shared with vermin and rats? The uncertainty of what their future held? What did they do about their situation? They sang.
Acts 16:25 tells us that “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose.” (Acts 16:26) Their singing did not create the earthquake. No… their God did that.
But when they sang, they declared their faith in a faithful God who could do mighty deeds like that. Their singing was like a faucet that they turned on and opened up the pipeline of God’s power.
A man named Jack Hinton was on a short-term mission’s trip to the island of Tobago. He was leading worship at a leper colony there and there was time for one more song, so he asked if anyone had a request. A woman who had been facing away from the pulpit turned around. “It was the most hideous face I had ever seen,” Hinton said. “The woman’s nose and ears were entirely gone. The disease had destroyed her lips as well. She lifted a fingerless hand in the air and asked, ‘Can we sing Count Your Many Blessings?’”
Overcome with emotion, Hinton left the service. He was followed by another team member who said, “Jack, I guess you’ll never be able to sing that song again.” “Yes I will,” he replied, “but I’ll never sing the same way.”
Let the Redeemed of the Lord Sing,
In Him,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MJ4VqfCRZI
Praise the Lord for the sunny days He has given us here in New York. The month of November has been mild and beautiful. We have been reading from Laureen's blog, that the temperature in Thailand has been in the upper nineties with 85%of humidity. Janice had flown to Florida to spend few days with her dear friend, whose husband was gunned down one and one half years ago by an illegal immigrant. Jeremy took Micah and Simeon to New Hampshire for hiking and roughing it in a lodge. They all are back in Boston now. Laureen and her team will be back in Los Angeles this coming Sunday where they are scheduled to present two concerts in Los Angeles area before heading home for Thanksgiving. Thank you for praying for them.
Our family loves Christian music. Our daughters got introduced Christian music at a very early age. Alice told me that one of her desires was to marry a preacher and sing in the choir. (More specifically, she had a strong inkling that she would marry a preacher). She has been singing in the choir most our married lives. She has started listening Christmas music and has started decorating for Christmas. Praise the Lord for the way He puts a new song in our hearts. Only Biblical Faith talks about singing to the Lord a new song. Most other religions chant. They have no songs.
Psalm 105:1-4 proclaims: “Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. SING to him, SING praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.”
One of the most famous singers in Scripture was a shepherd boy named David. He grew up to be the King of Israel and is still celebrated as the “Man After God’s Own Heart”. He could sing and he could play a harp, and all of his music glorified God and rejoiced in His blessings. David was a man after God’s own heart, and he cemented his relationship to God through his singing and playing music. Singing was the way David declared his joy in God. He sang because he had a song.
Back in 1998, researchers found that music stimulates the auditory nerves and creates brain messages that ripple through the body, influencing muscle tone equilibrium and joint flexibility. The human heartbeat is especially attuned to sound. As music changes in tempo and volume, it acts as a natural pacemaker. Our breathing slows down or speeds up along with the music.
A study at Michigan State University found that just 15 minutes of listening to music increases levels of immune chemicals that are vital to protect us against disease. The release of cortisol (the “stress hormone”) dropped by up to 25%.
In addition, they found that music has a direct effect on the function of the brain. It can slow down and equalize brain waves to create a meditative state or it can energize brain waves, quickening the thinking process and enhancing creativity
(Don Campbell, founder of Institute for Music, Health and Education “Bottom Line –Tomorrow” Sept 1998 p. 9) Scientists have been amazed to find that music is able to help heal the body.
• Burn victims, encouraged to sing while having their dressing changed, experienced less pain.
• Cancer patients who listened to - and practiced with - musical instruments, saw their levels of stress hormones drop and their immune systems get stronger.
Professor Richard Fratianne observed: "By helping patients relax, music eases pain and may even speed recovery," (Peter Jaret Reader’s Digest 9/01)
Carol Lee one of the saints of the church has undergone 18 surgeries up to this day. She experienced the H1N1 flu following a recent surgery. She had a stroke not too long ago, and a result of of her stroke was that she could not talk. Her doctor told her to sing. She began sing hymns and praise songs. The Lord brought her out of the debilitating effects of her stroke. She and her husband Bud faithfully attend worship and sing praises to Jesus. Carol told the church not to be afraid of H1N1 flu. Do not be afraid of any disease. The Lord gives us the victory.
So, just on a physical level, music has the power to sooth the savage beast of our lives. On a spiritual level songs can do even more than that for us because Christian music has words, and those words focus on God’s power and love. That is one of the reasons that Paul told the church at Ephesus: “SPEAK TO ONE ANOTHER with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs…” (Ephesians 5:19)
Focus on the words of those songs, because the words we sing on Sunday morning lift us up… they don’t drag us down.
On the other hand, if you listen to the popular music of our day you’ll find a vast number of songs that communicate:
Hopelessness
Immorality
Anger and rage
Selfishness and self-centeredness
The University of Pittsburgh did a study a few years ago where they examined 279 of the top songs on the radio in 2005. They ONLY looked at references to drugs and alcohol but what they found is instructive:
• Gangster rapsters – spoke favorably of these items in 80% of their songs
• Country music had 37% of its music praising the wonders of alcohol.
• Rhythm and Blues followed with 20%
• Rock had 14% of its songs praising drugs and alcohol
• And Pop music had 7%
(University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine published in the “Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine”)
And these are just the references in popular music praising drugs and alcohol.
The scholars of this study didn’t examine the songs that told of sexual immorality, vengeance, and greed. And they didn’t consider the vast number of songs that were filled with hopelessness and despair.
Most of the songs that are popular on radio don’t lift people up. They drag people down and encourage lifestyles and attitudes that rob them of joy. In contrast the psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs tell us about a God that loves us and cares what happens to us. They lift us up and give a reason to have joy in our lives. Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs have the power to transform us, and the power to give us joy in a world that is often difficult and harsh. In fact, they have even more power than that.
In Acts 16 we are told of the time Paul and Silas were arrested for preaching the Gospel. They were beaten, chained, and locked in a jail cell where their feet were fastened in stocks. HOW did they respond to this? How did Paul and Silas react to the injustice of their punishment? The pain of their beatings? The terror of a jail cell that they shared with vermin and rats? The uncertainty of what their future held? What did they do about their situation? They sang.
Acts 16:25 tells us that “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose.” (Acts 16:26) Their singing did not create the earthquake. No… their God did that.
But when they sang, they declared their faith in a faithful God who could do mighty deeds like that. Their singing was like a faucet that they turned on and opened up the pipeline of God’s power.
A man named Jack Hinton was on a short-term mission’s trip to the island of Tobago. He was leading worship at a leper colony there and there was time for one more song, so he asked if anyone had a request. A woman who had been facing away from the pulpit turned around. “It was the most hideous face I had ever seen,” Hinton said. “The woman’s nose and ears were entirely gone. The disease had destroyed her lips as well. She lifted a fingerless hand in the air and asked, ‘Can we sing Count Your Many Blessings?’”
Overcome with emotion, Hinton left the service. He was followed by another team member who said, “Jack, I guess you’ll never be able to sing that song again.” “Yes I will,” he replied, “but I’ll never sing the same way.”
Let the Redeemed of the Lord Sing,
In Him,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MJ4VqfCRZI
Monday, November 16, 2009
Brown's Daily Word 11-16-09
Good morning,
Praise the Lord for His love, which never fails. He blessed us with a fantastic weekend. Praise the Lord for His bountiful provisions in season and out of season. It is always a great treat to be in the Lord's house with His people to declare the mighty deeds of Jesus our Lord. The Thanksgiving banquet served following the Worship yesterday was a wonderful blessing. Jesus our Lord showed up in worship and in fellowship to enrich our lives and to deepen in us His grace and His mercy. One of the readings for yesterday was taken from Hebrews 10:19-25. This is one of the favorite passages of our friend Warren Ayer. "And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good works..." (Hebrews 10:24)
Jonathan Hull, in his novel The Distance from Normandy, told the story of an elderly widower who decided to take responsibility for his troubled teenage grandson. Expelled from school for pulling a knife on a bully, "Andrew" traveled from Chicago to San Diego to spend three agonizing weeks with "Mead," a World War II veteran who had lost his wife three years previously. Everything about this young man provoked anything but love in his grandfather, from the baggy jeans hanging almost down to his knees, to his dirty, unlaced sneakers; from his rumpled black tee-shirt, to the earring in his left earlobe; from his messy hair streaked with yellow along the top, to his attitude which was part "scared little kid" and part "rebel without a cause."
Of course, the feelings were mutual. Andrew was a misfit dealing with many inner demons, an outcast who was at the bottom of his high school pecking order. To him, his grandfather was just a stodgy, old man, long on rules and order, and short on anything else that matters to a teen. As young as he may have been, however, Andrew could see that Mead himself struggled with his own demons, some of which went back to his days in the Army. As they stumbled through this misbegotten visit, they constantly provoked the worst in each other, not the best. Yet, this is a story of how, eventually, "both of them confront the secrets they have been trying to forget."
"And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good works..." (Hebrews 10:24) What a strange way of speaking about the how-to’s of Christian love! "Provoke," indeed!
In that novel young Andrew needed to see the very human side of his grandfather before anything could happen for good in his own life, and in his relationship with the old man. Likewise, Mead needed to open himself and see his grandson as he was, and not as the young punk who defied everything this grandfather held dear... that same thing needs to happen among God’s people.
When the Scripture says, "let us consider how to provoke one another to love," the verse could also be translated, "let us notice each other," (Jewett, p. 177). In order to provoke one another to God’s kind of love and to the "doing" of what we say we believe, we need to pay attention to each other. We need to see one another as we really are, not as what we think we are. Often we project upon other people our own fears or anxieties, or we see them as being separated from us. In other words, we see what we want or need to see.
It is often difficult to see others (and ourselves) as we really are. Sometimes we must be "poked" out of our illusions. That Greek word "paroxymos," (provoke) by the way, literally means "with" (para) "sharp" (oxys). "And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good works..." (Hebrews 10:24)
Can love be provoked? The life story of Jesus is nothing if not a provocative account of God’s human side. The Lord took on human form. This is what that big word, "incarnation," means - in "carnal" form, "carne" being "flesh," as in "flesh and bones and blood," just like us. God is not just some lofty idea, or a mirror of our own dreams or wishes. God is real. We hold onto this fact, especially in uncertain times. "The confession of our hope," which the author of this letter to the Hebrews calls us "to hold fast without wavering," involves more than just affirming some words written upon a piece of paper. It means being so bold as to relate with God as He really is, because Jesus made it possible for us to do so. "Just as I am," we sing in that old hymn, "I come." And the Lord God responds, "I’ve been waiting. Welcome."
In Jesus,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twuLr5rQmp0
Laureen and her group in Thailand .Thank you for praying and sharing
Praise the Lord for His love, which never fails. He blessed us with a fantastic weekend. Praise the Lord for His bountiful provisions in season and out of season. It is always a great treat to be in the Lord's house with His people to declare the mighty deeds of Jesus our Lord. The Thanksgiving banquet served following the Worship yesterday was a wonderful blessing. Jesus our Lord showed up in worship and in fellowship to enrich our lives and to deepen in us His grace and His mercy. One of the readings for yesterday was taken from Hebrews 10:19-25. This is one of the favorite passages of our friend Warren Ayer. "And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good works..." (Hebrews 10:24)
Jonathan Hull, in his novel The Distance from Normandy, told the story of an elderly widower who decided to take responsibility for his troubled teenage grandson. Expelled from school for pulling a knife on a bully, "Andrew" traveled from Chicago to San Diego to spend three agonizing weeks with "Mead," a World War II veteran who had lost his wife three years previously. Everything about this young man provoked anything but love in his grandfather, from the baggy jeans hanging almost down to his knees, to his dirty, unlaced sneakers; from his rumpled black tee-shirt, to the earring in his left earlobe; from his messy hair streaked with yellow along the top, to his attitude which was part "scared little kid" and part "rebel without a cause."
Of course, the feelings were mutual. Andrew was a misfit dealing with many inner demons, an outcast who was at the bottom of his high school pecking order. To him, his grandfather was just a stodgy, old man, long on rules and order, and short on anything else that matters to a teen. As young as he may have been, however, Andrew could see that Mead himself struggled with his own demons, some of which went back to his days in the Army. As they stumbled through this misbegotten visit, they constantly provoked the worst in each other, not the best. Yet, this is a story of how, eventually, "both of them confront the secrets they have been trying to forget."
"And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good works..." (Hebrews 10:24) What a strange way of speaking about the how-to’s of Christian love! "Provoke," indeed!
In that novel young Andrew needed to see the very human side of his grandfather before anything could happen for good in his own life, and in his relationship with the old man. Likewise, Mead needed to open himself and see his grandson as he was, and not as the young punk who defied everything this grandfather held dear... that same thing needs to happen among God’s people.
When the Scripture says, "let us consider how to provoke one another to love," the verse could also be translated, "let us notice each other," (Jewett, p. 177). In order to provoke one another to God’s kind of love and to the "doing" of what we say we believe, we need to pay attention to each other. We need to see one another as we really are, not as what we think we are. Often we project upon other people our own fears or anxieties, or we see them as being separated from us. In other words, we see what we want or need to see.
It is often difficult to see others (and ourselves) as we really are. Sometimes we must be "poked" out of our illusions. That Greek word "paroxymos," (provoke) by the way, literally means "with" (para) "sharp" (oxys). "And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good works..." (Hebrews 10:24)
Can love be provoked? The life story of Jesus is nothing if not a provocative account of God’s human side. The Lord took on human form. This is what that big word, "incarnation," means - in "carnal" form, "carne" being "flesh," as in "flesh and bones and blood," just like us. God is not just some lofty idea, or a mirror of our own dreams or wishes. God is real. We hold onto this fact, especially in uncertain times. "The confession of our hope," which the author of this letter to the Hebrews calls us "to hold fast without wavering," involves more than just affirming some words written upon a piece of paper. It means being so bold as to relate with God as He really is, because Jesus made it possible for us to do so. "Just as I am," we sing in that old hymn, "I come." And the Lord God responds, "I’ve been waiting. Welcome."
In Jesus,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twuLr5rQmp0
Laureen and her group in Thailand .Thank you for praying and sharing
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
