Praise the Lord for this new day. The dramatic rescue of the 33 trapped Chilean miners serves as a global platform to put the Glory of God on display. Another story notes that the miners were sustained by eating 2 spoonfuls of tuna and a sip of milk every 48 hours for the first 17 days in temperatures exceeding 90 degrees. In a surprising twist of selflessness, the miners actually began to argue, not over who would exit first, but who would exit last.
How then can God get glory from an epic disaster that drew the attention of the world? As Mario Sepulveda Espinace, the second miner rescued, stated “I met God. I met the Devil. God won.” As always, God did win. Along with additional food, water, medicine, survival clothing, and handwritten notes, a Chilean evangelist sent 33 copies of the Bible down to them so that the miners could “find inspiration and hold up for the 4 months they have ahead.” The 4-months was an early estimate for the expected rescue. Chilean engineer Igor Bravo, member of First Baptist Church of Santiago, was responsible for sending down the Bibles, Bible studies, recordings of sermons and Christian music down a series of small shafts through which the other supplies were sent. “I had to help in some Christian way,” Bravo said. “If there is an opportunity to share the Gospel — even if we’re extremely occupied — and to contribute to the Christian cause and evangelism, it’s something that’s in [my] blood.” Through this disaster that could’ve taken the lives of 33 miners, God has sent His Gospel message forth through the faithful ministry of one man below surface along with two of his brothers in Christ and then used them in conjunction with Christian rescuers and pastors at the surface. In doing so, God’s Word went forth and penetrated the hearts of two of the miners. Praise the Lord for the successful rescue mission in Chile. The Chilean miners’ rescue mission was completed as all 33 miners, who had been trapped underground for 69 days, were rescued. This was perhaps the most dramatic and most watched rescue operation ever. The entire world hooked to the miraculous survival story of the miners. On the ground awaited a warm welcome for the men who have survived underground for the longest time ever by family and friends and even the Chilean President. It's been one the world's most challenging, dramatic, long-drawn and most watched rescue operations with the miners being pulled up one by one in a rescue capsule. The miners were trapped almost 2000 feet underground after the mine they were working in collapsed on August 5. Earlier in the ordeal Pope Benedict the 16th sent out a message of hope for the miners, "I continue to entrust to your divine goodness, with hope, the miners of the Atacama region in Chile..." Many thanks and may God bless you."
The rescued miners praised the Lord for the way He gave them grace and strength. Several commented that they were not 33 in number in the mines, they were 34. They felt that the Lord was with them, even as He was with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego .
It was commented that over 600 million people watched the man's landing on the moon in July 1969. They further commented that over 1.2 billion people watched the rescue mission in Chile. Another newscaster said how wonderful it is to see so many from so many nations involved in this mission to rescue human lives, while so many people around the world who are full of hatred and evil are involved killing innocent people in mindless and barbaric, terrorist attacks and killings. It was also commented that whenever there is an humanitarian rescue mission is involved anywhere in the world, Americans are involved in it selflessly with our fail. Americans offer their resources and personnel with great sacrifice and devotion. Almost all the miners and their families spent much time in prayer and even in fasting during this frightening ordeal.
In the Book of Esther we read about another rescue mission of His people which the Lord God performed. It is true that prayer and fasting INCREASES INSIGHT. Prayer and fasting had provided a safe audience for Esther with the king. Esther was living in a very stress-filled environment, and so are we today.
"With today’s constant media barrage of bad news, people feel bad enough already and don’t want anything that makes them feel worse", says anthropologist-turned-brand-strategist Cheryl Swanson. With all the info coming at us 24/7, "We are processing information at 400 times the rate of our Renaissance ancestors." This is a new human task that we haven’t had time to adapt to yet - physically or mentally. That’s why we’re getting tech-related health problems like carpal tunnel, and maybe even mental and neurological problems like attention-deficit disorder. Naturally our attention is fraying.
"Mark Earley recently observed, "From Starbucks, to Red Bull, to No-Doz, Americans are showing signs of addiction to caffeine. Sixty percent of us drink a cup of coffee a day. On average we drink 52 gallons of soda a year. And Starbucks - they get a whopping $5.3 billion of our collective dough."
"Whether we are chemically stimulated because we do not get enough sleep, or whether the caffeine itself is depriving us of precious rest, we also are sleeping less than ever before. Americans get an average of six and a half hours of sleep a night, a 25% drop since the early 1990’s No wonder we are stressed.’" (Breakpoint, 1/17/08)
Prayer and fasting made Esther calm and even able to wait on the Lord's timing one more day. It turned out that one last day was when God was going to set the stage completely for His answer to the prayers of His people. The Bible intentionally showcases Haman’s pride and anger beside Esther’s cool, calm and collected demeanor. Esther was walking closely with God so she was able to conquer stress, while Haman was unstable, unwise and on the brink of a foolish disaster.
Even Jesus indicated that we will have stress. It’s a given. Every life is going to have stress. Prayer and fasting is a great way to respond to and be prepared for it.
Prayer and fasting helps us walk more closely with God and we begin to see that stressful times may actually produce positive results.
We remain calm in conflict through prayer and fasting because as we walk with the Lord we see how He is at work even in the midst of tough times! The Hamans of this world and all the conflict they stir up cannot dissuade us. Instead of anxiety, fear and worry we maintain an attitude of confidence, faith and of hope! We know that God is going to do something good even when times are hard!
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xi0yLRX4d2M
Saturday Evening worship services
at : First United Methodist Church,
53 McKinley Ave., Endicott.
Sponsored by Union Center United Methodist Church.
Schedule for the remainder of October:
October 9, 2010
Music by Rev. William Pucky and his team
Preacher: Brown Naik
October 16, 2010
Music: Laureen Naik and team
Preacher: Dave Hettinger
October 23, 2010
Music by Aric Phinney and team
Preacher: Rev Earle Cowden
October 30, 2010
Music by Laureen Naik and team
Preacher: Jeff Vansyckle
November 6, 2010 - ( Saturday) There will be a Thanksgiving banquet. At 5 PM a traditional Thanksgiving menu will be served, including home made rolls and pies. Chef: Lou Pasquel and team. (Reservations: Call the Church office (607)-748-6329 or email at umcgospel@aol.com
The banquet will be followed by 6:30 PM Worship
Music: Aric Phinney and the team
Speaker: Kelly Johnson from Nashville, TN.
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