December, 2009
Dear friends,
Another year is almost past, and with its waning we are called to ponder the many
experiences which have been woven into the fabric of our lives this year. We have known many
bright moments that are indelibly imprinted in our minds. There have also been many times that
may at first seem dull or commonplace, difficult or impossible to recall, that are essentially the
canvas of life. When we pause to look back over 2009, we get but a glimpse of a small part of our
life’s tapestry. The small section formed over the course of this year includes bright red, yellow,
and golden hues of celebration. It also contains dark threads of loss, grey threads of uncertainty
or discouragement, blues that are identified with times of calmness and rest, and green threads
representing life. Purples richly cascade in and out among all of the others, declaring preparation
for the presence of Christ's royalty among us. Between it all run the warp and woof of music,
laughter, whispered secrets, and happy plans.
Throughout the course of this year we have sensed with increased urgency the need to
celebrate life. Every time our empty nest at the Parsonage is about to be filled with one or more of
our dear daughters, or their families, we have sensed the vital importance of preparation. We
vacuum, mop, dust, scrub bathrooms, bake, cook, attend to special projects, and stock the larder
so that we may fully enjoy our times together. The arrival of family members brings with them a
sense of celebration. We talk, laugh, sing, reminisce, and eat. (Of course we eat – every Naik
celebration includes a feast!) Life, even in its smaller moments, is worth celebrating.
This year has been especially worthy of celebrating in so many ways. Just prior to her
birthday, Jessica became engaged to Thomas Ross, who is already becoming a son to us. Jessy
and Tom have been industriously making plans for their February, 2010 wedding (details, details).
Most recently, with the help of Tom’s parents, they have been looking for their first home. The
Lord has arranged so many details, and it looks as if their home will be ready for closing before
their wedding day. We have enjoyed having Jessy and Tom home for many weekends over the
course of the year. I also managed to get down to Philadelphia to spend a couple of weekends
with them over the course of the Spring and Summer. (On the first weekend they gave me a great
introduction to Philly, taking me to the Shad Festival, out for gelato, and then to dinner at a
creperie). Jess and Tom are actively involved in the Vineyard Church in Philadelphia. We are so
blessed that the Lord has drawn Jessy and Tom together, and our memories are golden and
brilliant.
Laureen has been living in the Binghamton area this year, and we have been blessed by her
presence. She spent many months working at Lourdes Hospital on the Labor and Delivery floor,
applying her special skills to caring for newborns and their moms, and attending Caesarian
deliveries to help with high risk births. In September she left her job to go on a short term
musical mission with the Fall Tour of the Continentals. After extensive travel across the US and
Canada, including a harrowing drive through snowy mountain passes in Colorado and New
Mexico, she spent 3 weeks ministering in Thailand. We missed her greatly, prayed for her
regularly, and welcomed her heartily upon her return on November 23. Though jet lag
overwhelmed her for many days, she is happily and energetically preparing for Christmas. She
even took Micah back to Boston after Thanksgiving (she’s a wonderful auntie). Laureen has
added memories that are red with excitement, blue with calm resolve, green with new direction.
At the end of this month she is planning to attend Urbana 2009 in St. Louis, MO.
Sunita and Andy have had a super-busy, fulfilling year. This year, after much thought and
even more prayer, they undertook the purchase of a house in Northeastern Washington, DC.
Their beloved “money pit” is a gracious and beautiful home for them, and a welcoming “guest
house” for the many people whom they have welcomed there. They have been thoughtfully,
carefully, choosing colors that reflect themselves, warm golden hues and soothing greens. We
have made several trips to DC this year, usually accompanied by small children and various pieces
of furniture. Bernard, Elisha, and Susannah have twice bee our passengers, squeezed in among
the odd pieces that were destined for the DC home. Shelley, Sharon, and Hosannah also have
gone there with us, and were lucky enough to go to the National Zoo on a 72 degree day when the
orangutans were out on their overhead highway, the anteaters made an extended appearance, and
the other animals were happy to be outside. Sunita and Andy love the Lord, and serve him in
many ways, including a prayer ministry that they have trained for. Sunita still travels from time
to time, and has been to Bangladesh, India, and Israel recently. Sunita and Andy continue to be
actively involved in St. Brendan’s Anglican Church. Sunita and some of her friends from
Washington will be going on a short-term mission trip to Orissa in March, Lord willing, to visit
the persecuted Church there and encourage believers.
Janice and Jeremy are still living in their little house in the big city (or, at least, it is big for
us). Micah and Simeon are growing so quickly that we can barely keep up. Micah recently turned
four, and Simeon turned two in the Summer. Micah has long been a master of words and
thoughts, and Simeon, who should be trying out soon to replace Andy Pettit, is now building a nice
vocabulary. Janice and Jeremy love to take the kids to their favorite retreat in North Conway,
New Hampshire. There they ride the train, hike the mountains, enjoy favorite restaurants, and
take in the stunning scenery. Jeremy continues to work for a downtown firm in Boston,
sharpening his legal skills, while Janice works only part time for Healthcare for the Homeless.
This year she designed a web site and opened a children’s photography business, specializing in
capturing “a child’s nature”. Her artistic photography has been featured in a local boutique, and
Janice is loving her new avocation. Janice, Micah, and Simeon will all have leading roles in
Jessy’s upcoming wedding ceremony, and Micah cannot wait to wear her princess dress. (Simeon
couldn’t care less right now but, as ring-bearer, he should provide some interesting entertainment
on that day). Life is a daily adventure with Janice and her family, and she loves it. Janice and
Jeremy are involved in First Presbyterian Church in Ipswich, MA.
As for us, we are blessed to be serving in our twentieth year in Union Center, preparing to
celebrate our twentieth Christmas here. The parsonage is aglow with lights and sparkle, and
festive with many trees, “houses”, and other seasonal décor. Our hearts are aglow with the love
and joy of our Savior, the sweet times of communion with our family, and our many friends
throughout the world and in our neighborhood. We sometimes cannot believe that the Lord has
allowed us to remain in one place for so long. When Brown and I were children, we each spent
our entire lifetime living in one house. For me, that meant that I was 22 when I left “home”, and
now we have been at home in Union Center for almost that long. What a blessing that is! Every
familiar nook and cranny remind us of the sweet times we have enjoyed in this dear home.
At Thanksgiving this year we were blessed to have all of our family home for all or part of
Thanksgiving break. We joyfully celebrated the season, with playing, laughter, long chats, and
lots of hugs all around. We had an early Christmas celebration with Janice, Jeremy, Micah, and
Simeon, and were touched and renewed by the excitement of the children. “Christmas was made
for children”, or so they say. It is a rosy, lively, vibrant time, sparkling with anticipation and
sprinkled liberally with laughter. It was a worthy celebration! On Thanksgiving Day itself, we
gathered with some friends at the Church, where we prepared a served a mighty 3-turkey feast
(with the help of friends). All were welcome who needed a family to share with on that day.
Brown has entered his twentieth year of ministry in Union Center with vigor. Though he
had some health concerns this summer, the Lord has given grace to overcome. The Lord has
granted His grace to continue the ministry of preaching, teaching, writing, visitation, hospitality,
and television outreach. He loves to entertain friends around the table so we often invite friends
into our home. He is excited about this Holy Season of Advent and Christmas, and about sharing
the Good News, as we experience it afresh and anew in our own hearts. .
I continue to have a quietly lively, busy, fulfilling life. Teaching Geometry at Marathon
basically keeps me out of trouble during the school year, but I try to keep some time on weekends
for household maintenance, shopping, sewing, “connecting” on Facebook, and participating in life
within the church family. Occasionally I have been blessed to preach (just a two or three times a
year), and I am always amazed and overwhelmed by how much more I learn about the Word on
those occasions. Also, in case you haven’t guessed it yet, I simply love this time of year. I find the
preparations for the celebration of Christmas to be energizing, uplifting, exciting, and fulfilling.
Preparation always precedes celebration, and in order to full enjoy the celebration we must be
ready in every aspect. We must especially prepare our hearts and minds, reminding ourselves
that Christ came to us in human form so that we might establish a father-child relationship with
God Almighty.
Just now, as we enter the season of Advent, it is a time of preparation for the season of
Christmas, the celebration of the birth of our Lord. At home, we clean out some of the clutter
from our main rooms, and then dig through lonely closets to find the lovingly stored boxes of
bright decorations that will fill all of the spaces that were just cleaned. These are but a symbol of
the joy that we feel because the Christ of Christmas came to sweep the dirt of sin and clutter of
preoccupation with the world’s affairs from our lives, only to fill the dark and lonely places with
His light, His joy, His peace, and His fellowship. CELEBRATE! G. K. Chesterton wrote, “For
men are homesick in their homes, and strangers under the sun, and they lay their heads in a
foreign land whenever the day is done.” “To an open house in the evening home shall men come,
to an older place than Eden and a taller town than Rome, to the place where God was homeless
and all men are at home.” Praise the Lord for the way He has given us a new family in Jesus
Christ, “for as many as received Him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God.” Praise
the Lord for each of you, around the corner and around the world.
In Christ, our Savior and Lord,
Brown and Alice
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Friday, December 18, 2009
Brown's Daily Word 12-18-09
Good morning,
Praise the Lord that Jesus is the Prince of Peace. He is the King of Nations. As we begin to celebrate the Birth of our Savior and Lord we are aware of the wars that are going on among the nations of the world. In the midst of the wars and rumors of wars we proclaim the birth of the Prince of Peace.
The following story appeared in newspapers nationwide on December 25, 1994 from the Associated Press, dateline London.
"Eighty years ago, on the first Christmas Day of World War I, British and German troops put down their guns and celebrated peacefully together in the no-man’s land between the trenches. The war, briefly, came to a halt. In some places, festivities began when German troops lit candles on Christmas trees on their parapets so the British sentries a few hundred yards away could see them.
"Elsewhere, the British acted first, starting bonfires and letting off rockets.
Pvt. Oswald Tilley of the London Rifle Brigade wrote to his parents: 'Just you think that while you were eating your turkey etc. I was out talking and shaking hands with the very men I had been trying to kill a few hours before! It was astounding.'
"Both armies had received lots of comforts from home and felt generous and well-disposed toward their enemies in the first winter of the war, before the vast battles of attrition began in 1915, eventually claiming ten million lives.
All along the line that Christmas Day, soldiers found their enemies were much like them and began asking why they should be trying to kill each other.
The generals were shocked. High Command diaries and statements express anxiety that if that sort of thing spread it could sap the troops’ will to fight.
The soldiers in khaki and gray sang carols to each other, exchanged gifts of tobacco, jam, sausage, chocolate and liquor, traded names and addresses and played soccer between the shell holes and barbed wire. They even paid mutual trench visits.
"This day is called 'the most famous truce in military history' by British television producer Malcolm Brown and researcher Shirley Seaton in their book 'Christmas Truce,' published in 1984."
Isaiah 9:6-7 NIV "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end."
Christ came to bring peace. Peace was the message that the angels proclaimed in Luke 2:8–14. "Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.' And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!'"
The Peace of Jesus is not the absence of trouble, but it is the presence of God in the midst of trouble. The vision of Isaiah is not simply a kind of peace that is imposed upon us. Rather, it fills the soul of each person and emanates outward. There is peace socially because each person is filled with compassion and meets the needs of those around them. The simple prayer attributed to St. Francis illustrates our deepest intentions.
"Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred . . . let me sow love
Where there is injury . . . pardon
Where there is doubt . . . faith
Where there is despair . . .hope
Where there is darkness . . . light
Where there is sadness . . .joy
Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved as to love
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning, that we are pardoned,
It is in dying that we are born to eternal life .
Let there be pace on earth.
In Christ,
Brown
Praise the Lord for this season. I get excited about the Birth of our Lord and Savior. It is a great thrill to serve Him and worship Him. May He provoke us to go beyond our comfort zone as Mary did to obey Him and proclaim His glory in word and deed.
Pray for the Church around the world during this season as proclaim His birth .
Please pray for us and those who live in this area come and share and rejoice.
Friday December 18,2009; Living Nativity will be presented from 5.30PM to 7.30Pm at the Wesley United Methodist Premises, 1000 Day Hollow Road, Endicott. We will have live animals including the winsome Cast.
7.30PM. our weekly Television out reach on Time Warner cable Ch 4. I will be sharing from Isaiah 7.
8 PM The Handel's Messiah at the Forum, Binghamton
Saturday 10 AM we will be preparing meal at the First United Methodist Church , Endicott to share withe needy and the homeless.
5.30PM we will gather for Fish and Meat Dinner( Polish and Indian cuisine)
at Wesley UMc. We will go our caroling at 6.30PM , walking in the neighborhood, visiting and singing. We will be giving away Bibles as gifts to people living in the area.
Sunday December 20.
Worship Services 8.30 and 11.00 Our Choir will present the Christmas Cantata during both service. Sunday School will meet at 9.50AM . We will giving gifts all the children in the church family at 12.30 including reception for the children and the choir.
9.30AM Worship service at Wesley UMC.
Wednesday December 23.
6 PM. we will gather for a mega Christmas celebration withe special Christmas banquet... Feasting and praising. The songs of Christmas are Joyful and Triumphant.
December 24. Thursday.
Christmas Eve Candle light Communion services : 700 PM and 10.30PM
Come, Share and Rejoice.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJ1vXATVF6I
Praise the Lord that Jesus is the Prince of Peace. He is the King of Nations. As we begin to celebrate the Birth of our Savior and Lord we are aware of the wars that are going on among the nations of the world. In the midst of the wars and rumors of wars we proclaim the birth of the Prince of Peace.
The following story appeared in newspapers nationwide on December 25, 1994 from the Associated Press, dateline London.
"Eighty years ago, on the first Christmas Day of World War I, British and German troops put down their guns and celebrated peacefully together in the no-man’s land between the trenches. The war, briefly, came to a halt. In some places, festivities began when German troops lit candles on Christmas trees on their parapets so the British sentries a few hundred yards away could see them.
"Elsewhere, the British acted first, starting bonfires and letting off rockets.
Pvt. Oswald Tilley of the London Rifle Brigade wrote to his parents: 'Just you think that while you were eating your turkey etc. I was out talking and shaking hands with the very men I had been trying to kill a few hours before! It was astounding.'
"Both armies had received lots of comforts from home and felt generous and well-disposed toward their enemies in the first winter of the war, before the vast battles of attrition began in 1915, eventually claiming ten million lives.
All along the line that Christmas Day, soldiers found their enemies were much like them and began asking why they should be trying to kill each other.
The generals were shocked. High Command diaries and statements express anxiety that if that sort of thing spread it could sap the troops’ will to fight.
The soldiers in khaki and gray sang carols to each other, exchanged gifts of tobacco, jam, sausage, chocolate and liquor, traded names and addresses and played soccer between the shell holes and barbed wire. They even paid mutual trench visits.
"This day is called 'the most famous truce in military history' by British television producer Malcolm Brown and researcher Shirley Seaton in their book 'Christmas Truce,' published in 1984."
Isaiah 9:6-7 NIV "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end."
Christ came to bring peace. Peace was the message that the angels proclaimed in Luke 2:8–14. "Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.' And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!'"
The Peace of Jesus is not the absence of trouble, but it is the presence of God in the midst of trouble. The vision of Isaiah is not simply a kind of peace that is imposed upon us. Rather, it fills the soul of each person and emanates outward. There is peace socially because each person is filled with compassion and meets the needs of those around them. The simple prayer attributed to St. Francis illustrates our deepest intentions.
"Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred . . . let me sow love
Where there is injury . . . pardon
Where there is doubt . . . faith
Where there is despair . . .hope
Where there is darkness . . . light
Where there is sadness . . .joy
Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved as to love
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning, that we are pardoned,
It is in dying that we are born to eternal life .
Let there be pace on earth.
In Christ,
Brown
Praise the Lord for this season. I get excited about the Birth of our Lord and Savior. It is a great thrill to serve Him and worship Him. May He provoke us to go beyond our comfort zone as Mary did to obey Him and proclaim His glory in word and deed.
Pray for the Church around the world during this season as proclaim His birth .
Please pray for us and those who live in this area come and share and rejoice.
Friday December 18,2009; Living Nativity will be presented from 5.30PM to 7.30Pm at the Wesley United Methodist Premises, 1000 Day Hollow Road, Endicott. We will have live animals including the winsome Cast.
7.30PM. our weekly Television out reach on Time Warner cable Ch 4. I will be sharing from Isaiah 7.
8 PM The Handel's Messiah at the Forum, Binghamton
Saturday 10 AM we will be preparing meal at the First United Methodist Church , Endicott to share withe needy and the homeless.
5.30PM we will gather for Fish and Meat Dinner( Polish and Indian cuisine)
at Wesley UMc. We will go our caroling at 6.30PM , walking in the neighborhood, visiting and singing. We will be giving away Bibles as gifts to people living in the area.
Sunday December 20.
Worship Services 8.30 and 11.00 Our Choir will present the Christmas Cantata during both service. Sunday School will meet at 9.50AM . We will giving gifts all the children in the church family at 12.30 including reception for the children and the choir.
9.30AM Worship service at Wesley UMC.
Wednesday December 23.
6 PM. we will gather for a mega Christmas celebration withe special Christmas banquet... Feasting and praising. The songs of Christmas are Joyful and Triumphant.
December 24. Thursday.
Christmas Eve Candle light Communion services : 700 PM and 10.30PM
Come, Share and Rejoice.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJ1vXATVF6I
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Brown's Daily Word 12-16-09
Good morning,
Praise the Lord for Christmas, the best time of the year. Most of the world's popular music is full of sadness, loneliness, brokenness, and meaninglessness. The world's best music is that which glorifies the Savior. The best literature in the world magnifies Jesus, our Lord. The best of the world's art depicts the Savior and the wonders of His creation.
I love to listen to Handel's Messiah, especially in this season. We are going to attend the presentation of "Messiah" in Binghamton this Friday at 8:00 PM. It is to be presented by the Downtown Singers, accompanied by the Binghamton Philharmonic, with soloists from Tri-cities Opera. This is the 27th presentation of the Messiah by the Down Town Singers. The Downtown Singers were organized by one our colleagues, Rev. Hugh Miller.
It was in April, 1742 when George Frederick Handel premiered his oratorio THE MESSIAH in Dublin. The following year several performances were given in London, and King George II was present at one of them. When the King first heard “The Hallelujah Chorus,” he was so overwhelmed and inspired that, in homage to “The King of Kings and Lord of Lords”, he rose to his feet as a tribute of respect. Whenever a monarch stands, protocol demands all present must follow suit. Thus began the custom of the audience standing for the singing of “The Hallelujah Chorus,” in honor of Him Who is the “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.”
Under powerful, Spirit led inspiration, Handel composed his masterpiece in just 24 days. He knew it was God Almighty who had gifted him to create such a masterful piece of sacred music and told a friend that while composing it, “I did think I did see all Heaven before me and the great God Himself.”
Isaiah 9:6 is the basis for the chorus in THE MESSIAH “For Unto Us a Child Is Born.” Jesus is the Mighty God, the Lord God omnipotent who shall reign forever and ever.
Mighty God is the most potent, power-packed name given to our Messiah in Isaiah 9:6. In the original Hebrew the name is “Gibbor El.” When we examined the name Immanuel, we discovered that “El” is the most common term for deity in the Ancient World. Its root meaning is “strength or might.” Most often in the Hebrew Scriptures it refers to God Almighty, the one true God of Israel. When “El” is used for the One, True Living God, it is usually paired with another term so that it will not be mistaken for some pagan counterfeit. Thus for clarity Isaiah yokes “Gibbor” with “El.” The basic sense of the term “Gibbor” is strength, might, power, powerful.
In the Ancient World a king exemplified the power of his kingdom. As Commander-in-chief he would lead his troops in battle and it was imperative that he be a “mighty warrior.” Hebrew women praised David’s military might in I Samuel 18:6-17, “As they were coming home, when David returned from killing the Philistine, the women came out of all the towns of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments. And the women sang to one another as they made merry. They sang, “Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands.”
This is the imagery and expectation behind the promise of the Messiah in Isaiah 9:6; He would be “mighty” in similar fashion to His ancestor David. Our Mighty God is the most powerful Commander-in-chief.
Our Mighty God measures the waters of the oceans and seas “in the hollow of His hand.” A span is “the distance between the tip of the thumb and the tip of the little finger when the hand is fully extended.” What a testimony that is to the mighty, awesome, creative power of God the Son who created all things. “Astronomers tell us that the Milky Way, our Galaxy, contains more than 100 billion stars and that there may be as many as 100 billion other galaxies in the universe. They also believe that the billions of these galaxies have billions of stars with hundreds of millions of planets like our earth. And yet this awesome, humongous universe fits in the palm of its Creator’s hand.” The great Danish philosopher and theologian Soren Kierkegaard pointed out that our Mighty God is even more wonderful and powerful as our Redeemer than He is as our Creator. He stated, “God creates out of nothing. Wonderful, you say. Yes, to be sure, but He does what is still more wonderful: He makes saints out of sinners.” [SOURCE: Soren Kierkegaard, Leadership, Vol. 8, no. 4.].
You and I can trust the same Mighty God, Who holds His universe in the palm of His hand and makes saints out of sinners, to care for us.
In Jesus the Wonderful Councilor and the Mighty God,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IjqEs-f53Y
Praise the Lord for Christmas, the best time of the year. Most of the world's popular music is full of sadness, loneliness, brokenness, and meaninglessness. The world's best music is that which glorifies the Savior. The best literature in the world magnifies Jesus, our Lord. The best of the world's art depicts the Savior and the wonders of His creation.
I love to listen to Handel's Messiah, especially in this season. We are going to attend the presentation of "Messiah" in Binghamton this Friday at 8:00 PM. It is to be presented by the Downtown Singers, accompanied by the Binghamton Philharmonic, with soloists from Tri-cities Opera. This is the 27th presentation of the Messiah by the Down Town Singers. The Downtown Singers were organized by one our colleagues, Rev. Hugh Miller.
It was in April, 1742 when George Frederick Handel premiered his oratorio THE MESSIAH in Dublin. The following year several performances were given in London, and King George II was present at one of them. When the King first heard “The Hallelujah Chorus,” he was so overwhelmed and inspired that, in homage to “The King of Kings and Lord of Lords”, he rose to his feet as a tribute of respect. Whenever a monarch stands, protocol demands all present must follow suit. Thus began the custom of the audience standing for the singing of “The Hallelujah Chorus,” in honor of Him Who is the “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.”
Under powerful, Spirit led inspiration, Handel composed his masterpiece in just 24 days. He knew it was God Almighty who had gifted him to create such a masterful piece of sacred music and told a friend that while composing it, “I did think I did see all Heaven before me and the great God Himself.”
Isaiah 9:6 is the basis for the chorus in THE MESSIAH “For Unto Us a Child Is Born.” Jesus is the Mighty God, the Lord God omnipotent who shall reign forever and ever.
Mighty God is the most potent, power-packed name given to our Messiah in Isaiah 9:6. In the original Hebrew the name is “Gibbor El.” When we examined the name Immanuel, we discovered that “El” is the most common term for deity in the Ancient World. Its root meaning is “strength or might.” Most often in the Hebrew Scriptures it refers to God Almighty, the one true God of Israel. When “El” is used for the One, True Living God, it is usually paired with another term so that it will not be mistaken for some pagan counterfeit. Thus for clarity Isaiah yokes “Gibbor” with “El.” The basic sense of the term “Gibbor” is strength, might, power, powerful.
In the Ancient World a king exemplified the power of his kingdom. As Commander-in-chief he would lead his troops in battle and it was imperative that he be a “mighty warrior.” Hebrew women praised David’s military might in I Samuel 18:6-17, “As they were coming home, when David returned from killing the Philistine, the women came out of all the towns of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments. And the women sang to one another as they made merry. They sang, “Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands.”
This is the imagery and expectation behind the promise of the Messiah in Isaiah 9:6; He would be “mighty” in similar fashion to His ancestor David. Our Mighty God is the most powerful Commander-in-chief.
Our Mighty God measures the waters of the oceans and seas “in the hollow of His hand.” A span is “the distance between the tip of the thumb and the tip of the little finger when the hand is fully extended.” What a testimony that is to the mighty, awesome, creative power of God the Son who created all things. “Astronomers tell us that the Milky Way, our Galaxy, contains more than 100 billion stars and that there may be as many as 100 billion other galaxies in the universe. They also believe that the billions of these galaxies have billions of stars with hundreds of millions of planets like our earth. And yet this awesome, humongous universe fits in the palm of its Creator’s hand.” The great Danish philosopher and theologian Soren Kierkegaard pointed out that our Mighty God is even more wonderful and powerful as our Redeemer than He is as our Creator. He stated, “God creates out of nothing. Wonderful, you say. Yes, to be sure, but He does what is still more wonderful: He makes saints out of sinners.” [SOURCE: Soren Kierkegaard, Leadership, Vol. 8, no. 4.].
You and I can trust the same Mighty God, Who holds His universe in the palm of His hand and makes saints out of sinners, to care for us.
In Jesus the Wonderful Councilor and the Mighty God,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IjqEs-f53Y
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Brown's Daily Word 12-15-09
Good morning,
Praise the Lord for the way He is the Lord of Joy. One of the foundational truths of the Christian faith is Joy. It is an invitation to come to Jesus and experience the Joy that He alone offers. The children of our church presented a Christmas pageant yesterday. It was celebrative and festive. Praise the Lord for the children, who have the capacity for wonder and awe. No wonder our Lord said that until we become like children we can not enter the Kingdom of God.
One of the readings for yesterday was taken from Zephaniah, one of the twelve minor prophets. It was from Zephaniah 3:14 ff. As we read the minor prophets we read about God's judgement on rebellion, on idolatry, on unbelief, on greed and exploitation, and on injustice. It is very beautiful to ponder and to know that the judgment of our Holy and righteous God is always tempered with mercy and grace. The same theme is reverberated in Isaiah 40:1-5, where we read, "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."
The underlying tone of Zephaniah 3:14 is thunderous and triumphant. It reveals a holy imperative, as it calls upon the Lord's people to sing, to shout, and to rejoice, for the Lord has taken away their judgment. The people and the culture who have rejected Christ live under condemnation and judgment. We see universally, in the Christless culture, a deep sense of chaos, confusion, condemnation, dread, and fear. The self-help books that are abundant on our bookshelves cannot remove condemnation or bring about peace or reconciliation. We need divine intervention. We need holy power beyond ourselves. This is the miracle of Christmas - God descending to our level in Jesus Christ, to remove judgment, destroy the works of darkness, and shed abroad in our hearts His light, His grace, and His peace.
In Zephaniah 3:17 we read, "The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty." We can know the Lord God, the maker of Heaven and earth, personally, in and through Jesus Christ. It is written, "The Lord God, who is in our midst, is mighty to save." Zephaniah continues, "He will rejoice over us with joy. He will rest in His love. He will joy over thee with singing."
Without the Lord, there is so much grief, sadness, pain, hopelessness, and despair in the world. Much of the world's music (without Christ) deals with loneliness, violence, brokenness, betrayal, and alienation. Christ came, and the angels declared on Christmas day the good news of great joy. May the Christ of Christmas infuse us with His joy - the joy that the world doesn't know and that the world cannot take away. As we live our lives today, might we become His dispensers of joy to the people with whom we come in contact, that those who walk in darkness and dwell in the shadows of doubt and death, mike make the journey to Jesus and experience His joy and His grace.
THE JOURNEY OF JOY IS MARKED BY God WITH US (VV. 15 & 16). The presence of God brings Joy, which does not come from our circumstances. It is, rather, vested in the grace and benevolence of God. The same God who is Israel’s judge is also Israel’s lover and partner in covenant. His presence removes fear and dread. His perfect love casts out all fear. (I John. 4:18)
In His Joy,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chsky1nrkqI
Praise the Lord for the way He is the Lord of Joy. One of the foundational truths of the Christian faith is Joy. It is an invitation to come to Jesus and experience the Joy that He alone offers. The children of our church presented a Christmas pageant yesterday. It was celebrative and festive. Praise the Lord for the children, who have the capacity for wonder and awe. No wonder our Lord said that until we become like children we can not enter the Kingdom of God.
One of the readings for yesterday was taken from Zephaniah, one of the twelve minor prophets. It was from Zephaniah 3:14 ff. As we read the minor prophets we read about God's judgement on rebellion, on idolatry, on unbelief, on greed and exploitation, and on injustice. It is very beautiful to ponder and to know that the judgment of our Holy and righteous God is always tempered with mercy and grace. The same theme is reverberated in Isaiah 40:1-5, where we read, "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."
The underlying tone of Zephaniah 3:14 is thunderous and triumphant. It reveals a holy imperative, as it calls upon the Lord's people to sing, to shout, and to rejoice, for the Lord has taken away their judgment. The people and the culture who have rejected Christ live under condemnation and judgment. We see universally, in the Christless culture, a deep sense of chaos, confusion, condemnation, dread, and fear. The self-help books that are abundant on our bookshelves cannot remove condemnation or bring about peace or reconciliation. We need divine intervention. We need holy power beyond ourselves. This is the miracle of Christmas - God descending to our level in Jesus Christ, to remove judgment, destroy the works of darkness, and shed abroad in our hearts His light, His grace, and His peace.
In Zephaniah 3:17 we read, "The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty." We can know the Lord God, the maker of Heaven and earth, personally, in and through Jesus Christ. It is written, "The Lord God, who is in our midst, is mighty to save." Zephaniah continues, "He will rejoice over us with joy. He will rest in His love. He will joy over thee with singing."
Without the Lord, there is so much grief, sadness, pain, hopelessness, and despair in the world. Much of the world's music (without Christ) deals with loneliness, violence, brokenness, betrayal, and alienation. Christ came, and the angels declared on Christmas day the good news of great joy. May the Christ of Christmas infuse us with His joy - the joy that the world doesn't know and that the world cannot take away. As we live our lives today, might we become His dispensers of joy to the people with whom we come in contact, that those who walk in darkness and dwell in the shadows of doubt and death, mike make the journey to Jesus and experience His joy and His grace.
THE JOURNEY OF JOY IS MARKED BY God WITH US (VV. 15 & 16). The presence of God brings Joy, which does not come from our circumstances. It is, rather, vested in the grace and benevolence of God. The same God who is Israel’s judge is also Israel’s lover and partner in covenant. His presence removes fear and dread. His perfect love casts out all fear. (I John. 4:18)
In His Joy,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chsky1nrkqI
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