Brown's Daily Word 8-18-10

Praise the Lord for this day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. It is beautiful and gorgeous here today. We will gather at 6 PM for our mid-week study and fellowship. Praise the Lord for the way He surrounds us with beauty and splendor. Our daughter Sunita, who travels to Africa often, has devolped a great love for the people of Africa. She talks about them with much love and affection. She talks about the Church in Africa that is vibrant .
April 6, 1994 marked the beginning of dark and infamous days for Rwanda, a small country in central Africa. For the next hundred days, up to 800,000 Tutsis were killed by Hutu militia — mostly using clubs and machetes. It was a genocide of monumental proportions, as the rest of the world looked on in silence. A young Christian named Benyoni lived in this world of hate. His name meant “Little Bird” and Benyoni was very musical. He had graduated with honors and become a school principal, but educated people were suspect and routinely executed in Rwanda. Sometimes just wearing a tie could get you killed. Benyoni was at school with eleven of his friends who were teachers when, one day, soldiers came and took Benyoni and the teachers out of the school. As they stood together Benyoni asked the soldiers if he could pray for them. He prayed for his friends and for their families, but he spent the most time praying for the soldiers who had come to kill them. Benyoni’s friends were encouraged and were expecting a miracle as a result of his prayer. The soldiers considered freeing them, but they had their orders and knew they would pay with their lives for failing in their mission. They continued their march outside the town, and when they stopped, Benyoni asked the soldiers if he could sing for them. He began to sing a hymn that I heard for the first time in 1775, while visting the family the Christian singer Cynthia Clawson.
Out of my bondage, sorrow and night,
Jesus, I come; Jesus I come.
Into Thy freedom, gladness and light,
Jesus, I come to Thee.
All the young men began to sing with him. You may remember the last verse of that great hymn:
Out of the fear and dread of the tomb,
Jesus, I come; Jesus, I come.
Into the joy and light of Thy home,
Jesus, I come to Thee.
Out of the depths of ruin untold,
Into the peace of Thy sheltering fold,
Ever Thy glorious face to behold,
Jesus, I come to Thee.

When the last note had been sung, the soldiers raised their rifles and shot all of them to death.

You may be wondering how the story got out since all of them were killed. Those soldiers went out to get as drunk as they could get that night — all except one. He sought out an old Quaker missionary he had met. He asked her, “What kind of God do you serve who could give his followers such courage and joy in the face of death?” She led him to Christ, and soon he was telling anyone who would listen about Jesus and starting Bible studies. It was not long until he was shot as well.
I have been reading from Hebrews 11, the account of the Hall of Fame of the faithful. The Bible speaks of those, “who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength... Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated — the world was not worthy of them” (Hebrews 11:33-34, 36-38).
In Christ,
Brown

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_4g8_e16dc



Saturday Evening Worship Services.

Every Saturday at 6:30 PM
Beginning Saturday, September 18, 2010
Location: First United Methodist Church,
53 McKinley Avenue
Endicott, New York.
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church.
Pastor: Rev. Brown Naik

The first of our Saturday evening worship services will be held on Saturday September 18, 2010 at 6:30 PM, with Rev. Earle Cowden will preaching. The Worship and Praise Band from Davis College will be leading in worship. Ministry for the youth and the children will be provided. The public is invited to join us. For information call: 607-748-6329. 607-427-9098