Brown's Daily Word 3-3-10

Good morning,

Jesus came, He saw, and He conquered death. He came to turn the world upside down and right side up. The early disciples were accused of turning the world upside down and right side up. The Kingdom principle of our Lord reverses the principles of the this world.

We see things that are unseen. (2 Corinthians 4:18)

We conquer by yielding. (Romans 6:16-18)

We find rest under a yoke. (Matthew 11:28-30)

We reign by serving. (Mark 10:42-44)

We are made great by becoming small. (Luke 9:48)

We are exalted by being humble. (Matthew 23:12)

We become wise by being fools for Christ’s sake. (1 Corinthians 1:20, 21)

We are made free by becoming His bond servants. (Romans 6:10)

We wax strong by becoming weak. (2 Corinthians 12:10)

We triumph by defeat. (2 Corinthians 12:7-9)

We find victory by glorying in our infirmities. (2 Corinthians 12:5)

But, perhaps most difficult of all for us, we live by dying. (John 12:24,25; 2 Corinthians 4:10,11)

On the way to the cross our Lord said (in John 12:23-25), "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life." Jesus was basically telling His disciples that to live they needed to die to themselves. That’s not a comfortable teaching, because most of us are not in a big hurry to die.

When the Apollo project was beginning, there arose an argument between the engineers and scientist over how to make the best use of the space on board the rocket. The scientists wanted as much space as possible for lab work, the engineers wanted it for back up systems in case something failed. They were at a stalemate until they asked the astronauts. What would you have decided for - lab space, or back up units? The astronauts, of course, opted for survival.

Yet, Jesus tells us our very usefulness - our fruitfulness for Him - is tied to our willingness to surrender our lives, and even to die for Him. One Commentator noted that there are 6 instances where Jesus mentioned BEARING FRUIT as a Christian, and 5 of the six are tied to the cross or dying. That which appears to be death to us is often that which gives life.

In his book, "Written in Blood," Robert Coleman told the story of a little boy whose sister needed a blood transfusion. The doctor explained that she had the same disease the boy had recovered from 2 years earlier. Her only chance for recovery was a transfusion from someone who had previously conquered the disease. Since the two children had the same rare blood type, the boy was the ideal donor.

"Would you give your blood to Mary?" the doctor asked.

Johnny hesitated. His lower lip started to tremble. Then he smiled and said, "Sure, for my sister."

Soon the two children were wheeled into the hospital room, Mary, pale and thin; Johnny, robust and healthy. Neither spoke, but when their eyes met, Johnny grinned. As the nurse inserted the needle into his arm, Johnny’s smile faded. He watched the blood flow through the tube.

With the ordeal almost over, his voice, slightly shaky, broke the silence, "Doctor, when do I die?"

In Christ,

Brown

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE1X4QL5hs0