Brown's Daily Word 10-4-10

Good morning,
Praise the Lord for this new day. The Lord blessed us with great weekend of gathering for fellowship and worship services, including the luncheon ministry Saturday noon at the First UMC in Endicott, Saturday Evening worship at the First UMC, and worship gatherings yesterday at Union Center UMC and The Wesley UMC.
Praise the Lord that He alive and well; He is upon the throne. One of the readings for yesterday was taken from Luke 17. Jesus recognized that this is a sinful world in which we live, and that temptations come, but we do not have to be the channel for someone’s downfall. Jesus very bluntly told the disciples how serious this situation is. Jesus said in verse two, “It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.” The point is that it is such a grave offense that it would be better to end their lives, than to be the cause of someone else stumbling in their spiritual walk or possibly even turning away from Jesus and thus missing Heaven.
What does he mean by this reference to "little ones" in verse two? I think there is an application to children; every parent here has felt the awesome responsibility in realizing that their children are going to reflect their lives and their values.
”World War II produced many heroes. One was Butch O’Hare, who was a fighter pilot assigned to an aircraft carrier in the South Pacific. One day, while on a mission, he looked at his fuel gauge and realized someone had forgotten to top off his fuel tank. Unable to complete his mission, he turned around and headed back for the aircraft carrier. As he headed back, he saw a squadron of Japanese Zeroes heading straight for the American fleet. All the American fighter planes were out on a sortie, leaving the fleet virtually defenseless.
He dove his plane into the formation of Japanese planes in a desperate move to divert them away from the fleet. After a frightening air battle, the Japanese airplanes broke off their assault on the fleet. Butch O’Hare’s tattered fighter limped back to the carrier. He was recognized as a hero and given one of the nation’s highest military honors. Later, O’Hare International Airport in Chicago was named after him.
Some years earlier, there was a man in Chicago called Easy Eddie. In those days, Al Capone virtually owned the city. Capone’s mob was involved in bootlegging booze, murder, and prostitution. Easy Eddie was Al Capone’s lawyer who kept Big Al out of jail. In return, Easy Eddie earned big money and lived like a king on an estate that filled an entire city block. However, Easy Eddie had one soft spot, and that was for a son whom he loved dearly. Eddie always saw to it that his son had the best of everything: clothes, cars, and a good education. Despite Eddie’s involvement with the mob, he tried to teach his son right from wrong. Eddie wanted his son to be a better man than he was. There were, however, two things Eddie could not give his son — a good name and a good example.
Deciding that giving his son these two things was more important than lavishing him with riches, Eddie had to rectify the wrong he had done. He went to the authorities and told them the truth about Al Capone. Easy Eddie eventually testified in court against Al Capone and the mob. He knew the cost would be great, but he wanted to be an example to his son and leave him with a good name.
Within a year of testifying against the Mob, Easy Eddie’s life ended in a blaze of gunfire on a lonely Chicago street. He had given his son the greatest gift he had to offer at the greatest price he would ever pay.
What do these stories have to do with one another? Butch O’Hare was Easy Eddie’s son. [Source: Bruce Cecil, Coachella, California] Easy Eddie realized that he was going to have an influence upon his son one way or the other, and he decided to do whatever was necessary to be a good influence.
The phrase “little ones” in Luke 17 probably has a wider application, also referring to spiritually young believers since they are the ones most likely to be negatively influenced by other’s actions and attitudes. Every one of us has an influence other Christians, for good or for ill. Thus we need to follow Jesus' words as stated in verse three, "Take heed to yourselves or Watch yourselves!" (v.3a)


In Christ,
Brown


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 4, 2010 - 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.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVD53598hWI