Brown's Daily Word 11-3-10

Good morning,
Praise the Lord for this new day, the morning after the mid-term elections in this America, the Beautiful. Jesus is Lord. We will gather for our Mid-week fellowship and Study today at 6 PM.
Our favorite grand daughter Micah,celebrates her 5th birthday to day in Boston . We praise the Lord for her. Our Lord reigns and He rules. He is upon the Throne. We worship the King of kings and the Lord of lords. May the Lord of all the nations heal our land and turn us back to Him. One of the beautiful cities I visited few years ago is Copenhagen, Denmark. Outside the Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark’s Parliament building, there are three stone figures guarding the entrance. They represent the earache, the headache, and the stomach ache. They were placed there to suggest that if you enter politics, you will have all three.
I think that most of us would agree that entering politics is likely to cause a great deal of stress. David gives us the Lord’s prescription for dealing with the stress in our lives...
Psalm 4:1-8, "Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; Be gracious to me and hear my prayer. O sons of men, how long will my honor become a reproach? How long will you love what is worthless and aim at deception? But know that the Lord has set apart the godly man for Himself; The Lord hears when I call to Him. Tremble, and do not sin; Meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, And trust in the Lord. Many are saying, 'Who will show us any good?' Lift up the light of Your countenance upon us, O Lord! You have put gladness in my heart, More than when their grain and new wine abound. In peace I will both lie down and sleep, For You alone, O Lord, make me to dwell in safety."
Many scholars believe that David wrote Psalm 4 as he was about to retire for the evening. He could not do much about the war around him, but he could do something about the war within him. Instead of lying in bed fretting, stewing and worrying, he committed himself and his situation to the Lord. Psalm 4:1, "Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; Be gracious to me and hear my prayer."
He started by saying, "O God of my righteousness!" David was praising God for who He is. It is important sometimes for us to take our eyes off ourselves and realize the goodness and greatness of our God. "Be gracious to me and hear my prayer." In these words, David asked for grace in his situation. Perhaps David realized that his trouble was, at least in part, a result of his past sins. Sometimes deliverance from our distress is as simple as saying, "God, if I brought this trouble on myself. I am asking You to forgive me." It is truly amazing how gracious God is willing to be to us, if only we would ask Him.

Psalms 4:6-8 (MSG)
6 Why is everyone hungry for more? "More, more," they say. "More, more." I have God’s more-than-enough,
7 More joy in one ordinary day than they get in all their shopping sprees.
8 At day’s end I’m ready for sound sleep, for you, God, have put my life back together.
David indicated the intensity of this search by repeating it over and over. “More, more, more, more.” We see the answer at the end of verse 6. “I have God’s more-than-enough.” The way out of the more-more cycle is to receive and celebrate God’s more-than-enough. A main theme throughout scripture is our Lord's absolute sufficiency, the fact that if He who is our Emmanuel, is with us, and that is all we will ever need. In verse 7 the Psalmist assigned a word to this “more-than-enough” presence of God. He called it “joy.” Joy is an awareness of God’s more-than-enough presence in our lives.
There is more joy in one ordinary day serving Jesus than we can ever get in all our shopping sprees. Jesus is indeed our Eternal Joy.

Blessed be His Name.

In Him,
Brown
Once You Encounter Jesus – You Will Never Be The SAME!!
In Zechariah 4:6 it is written, "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts." As we approach the end of the year, the Lord has placed before us many open doors - for worship, for ministry, and for service. We have been blessed to have many prayer warriors in the life of the church, who are faithfully and joyfully engaged in lives of fervent prayer.
Sunita and Andy's church in Washington, DC goes on retreat together twice a year. Sunita always returns from these events blessed, refreshed, and inspired. We attempted to have our church's prayer retreat at Sky Lake, but scheduling conflicts prohibited it, so we are planning to have our upcoming prayer retreat at our own church here in Union Center. We invite all of you to come and be a part of this event. Keep praying for the Lord to refresh our hearts and renew our minds.
Praise the Lord for each one who has offered his or her time, talents, and treasures to make the upcoming prayer weekend possible. The schedule follows:
• Friday, November 5 - 6 PM Supper, with Indian and Italian dishes. A love offering will be received.
• 6:30 PM The Prayer Conference convenes.
• Saturday, November 6, 8:30 AM breakfast, prepared by Kathy Dence and team. A love offering will be received.
• 9:00 AM - 13 noon The Prayer Conference continues.
• 5 PM Thanksgiving Banquet, held at First United Methodist Church on McKinley Avenue. The menu includes homemade pies, rolls, turkey, and the trimmings. Lou Pasquale is the head chef, together with Rodney Haines as his sous chef. Sign-up sheets for the banquet are located in the Narthex, or reservations can be confirmed by calling the church office at 748-6329.
• 6:30 PM Worship service in the sanctuary at First UMC, Endicott. Music will be provided by Aric Phinney and the team. The speaker will be Kelly Johnson.
• Sunday morning worship services will be at UCUMC at 8:30 and 11:00 AM, with Sunday School at 9:50 AM. Kelly Johnson will be speaking to a combined Adult Sunday School at that time. Worship service will be held at Wesley UMC at 9:30 AM.
• 12:30 PM There will be a meal immediately following the 11:00 AM service. Chefs for the meal are Jeremy and Matt Smith. The menu includes Carribean pork, braised chicken, candied sweet potatoes, salad, green beans, and rolls.



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 Pasquale 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.