Good morning,
Praise the Lord for this new day in our Lord's Eternal Kingdom. The world is seized with fear and threat of terrorism, danger, and even death. People are scurrying for safety, sanity, and security. In Psalm 37, David tells us that the Lord will hide him in His pavilion. A king's pavilion was a tent that erected in the middle of the army's encampment. The tent was thus surrounded by a army of brave soldiers. With all the host of the army camped about, this was the safest place on the battlefield. Those who were fortunate enough to be allowed to enter the king's pavilion were protected by the soldiers and entertained by the king during the battle!
Life on earth is not a play ground; it is a battle ground. Often the godless culture emphasizes leisure, play, and pleasure. Often the culture without Christ becomes obsessed with entertainment and sports. My children used to sing a song by the Continentals, years ago, "Nero's watching videos while Rome begins to burn". The hedonistic culture is bent on spending all the God-given resources on self-gratification and pleasure. For the Hedonistic culture life is a play ground. Those who are sold out to the mind set that life is a play ground become disillusioned very quickly. For Christians, life is a battle ground and the Battle belongs to the Lord.
As the battles of life rage about us, we are safely tucked away in our King's pavilion. The Bible tells us that "your life is hid with Christ in God", Col. 3:3! Could there be a safer place in all the universe? Of course not! Those who have entered His pavilion are protected by Him and, even while the battles rage around them, they are entertained with the peace and joy of the King Himself. This is promise to those who will abide in that close place! No enemy could penetrate the defenses and enter this private place. It is protected from the enemy!
1. We have a place to exchange our trouble for His peace, 1 Pet. 5:7; Phil. 4:6-7.
2. We have a place to find joy, even during the most troublesome times, 1 Pet. 1:8.
3. Notice the great promise of John 15:11 for those who will abide close to Him!
The assurance of His powerful guardianship allows us to weather the storms of life with confidence and victory. This was what allowed David to face Goliath. This was the confidence that kept Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. This was the assurance that gripped the heart of Daniel! This was the knowledge that allowed Paul to continue, even when he suffered greatly, 2 Cor. 12:7-11.
The same assurance these men had as they faced life is the same assurance we have as we face each day. The Lord still hides us away in His pavilion to provide safety and joy, even during the battles! He puts us in a place where the enemy cannot approach us. The enemies of life may snarl and threaten, but they are powerless to reach us when we are sheltered by the Lord!
Victory in Jesus.
In His Grace,
Brown
Friday, January 8, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Brown's Daily Word 1-6-10
Good morning,
Praise the Lord for gift of music. I love all kinds of music, but the best music is that which glorifies Christ, and exalts His Name. The New York Philharmonic is the oldest symphony orchestra in the United States. Founded in 1842, it was the first to play Dvorak’s “New World” Symphony No. 9, and the first to broadcast a live concert on the radio. Scores of distinguished conductors, soloists, and instrumentalists have performed with the Philharmonic over the years, which now does about two hundred concerts annually. In more than a century and a half, it has performed nearly 14,000 concerts altogether.
King David, known as the sweet psalmist of Israel, was an anointed musician and he knew how best to use music to glorify the Lord. In Psalm 16, King David depicted the Lord as the great Host in a royal banquet. The Lord, the Royal Host, assigns him a pleasant portion. In the same manner as a divine surveyor, He draws the boundary lines in pleasant places (vv. 5-6). Delight, joy, and security characterize all that David received from the Lord, who also counsels and instructs him. God was his teacher, and from Him he learned the “path of life.”
King David took refuge in God, praising Him in the fellowship of faithful believers (v. 3). He set the Lord always before him as the highest reality and priority of his life (v. 8). He rested in safety and waited eagerly for eternity (v. 11). Compared with the Lord, the rest of his life was as nothing: “Apart from you I have no good thing” (v. 2; cf. Phil. 3:8).
Psalm 16:10 expresses David’s faith that God would sustain, preserve, and protect him, even beyond death. In the New Testament, this verse is applied to the Resurrection of Christ as well ( Acts 2:25-28). May the Lord gift us today with His Holy Imagination that we might become poets and musicians to sing His praise and to declare His majesty.
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73kJjTsyLUc
Praise the Lord for gift of music. I love all kinds of music, but the best music is that which glorifies Christ, and exalts His Name. The New York Philharmonic is the oldest symphony orchestra in the United States. Founded in 1842, it was the first to play Dvorak’s “New World” Symphony No. 9, and the first to broadcast a live concert on the radio. Scores of distinguished conductors, soloists, and instrumentalists have performed with the Philharmonic over the years, which now does about two hundred concerts annually. In more than a century and a half, it has performed nearly 14,000 concerts altogether.
King David, known as the sweet psalmist of Israel, was an anointed musician and he knew how best to use music to glorify the Lord. In Psalm 16, King David depicted the Lord as the great Host in a royal banquet. The Lord, the Royal Host, assigns him a pleasant portion. In the same manner as a divine surveyor, He draws the boundary lines in pleasant places (vv. 5-6). Delight, joy, and security characterize all that David received from the Lord, who also counsels and instructs him. God was his teacher, and from Him he learned the “path of life.”
King David took refuge in God, praising Him in the fellowship of faithful believers (v. 3). He set the Lord always before him as the highest reality and priority of his life (v. 8). He rested in safety and waited eagerly for eternity (v. 11). Compared with the Lord, the rest of his life was as nothing: “Apart from you I have no good thing” (v. 2; cf. Phil. 3:8).
Psalm 16:10 expresses David’s faith that God would sustain, preserve, and protect him, even beyond death. In the New Testament, this verse is applied to the Resurrection of Christ as well ( Acts 2:25-28). May the Lord gift us today with His Holy Imagination that we might become poets and musicians to sing His praise and to declare His majesty.
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73kJjTsyLUc
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Brown's Daily Word 1-5-10
Praise the Lord for this new day. We are under winter's spell here in New York. It is bitterly cold even in Orissa, India. I have been talking to my friends and family in India, and they tell me that they have never seen such bitter cold weather. Praise the Lord that spring is not far away.
One of my favorite verses is Lamentations 3:22-23, "Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness". God’s compassions are new every morning. He doesn't just offer us a new beginning on January 1st, He has compassion and mercy on us throughout the year and we have opportunity to begin each day afresh and anew. When we read the New Testament we see the Christian life portrayed as a journey and as a race. Jesus is the bread for the journey. He is the fellow and eternal companion in the race we run.
I read the following story some time ago. "In the bleak mid winter I am dreaming of a brilliant summer. In July 1981, Bill Broadhurst entered the Omaha, Nebraska, Pepsi 10k. Broadhurst is slowed by a brain aneurysm he suffered 10 years earlier, which left him partially paralyzed on the left side. He made it his goal to finish the 10k despite this obstacle. He was determined to run because Bill Rogers, his hero and a world-famous distance runner, was in the race that day. Rogers, great runner that he is, placed first in a time of 29 minutes and 37 seconds. One hour in, for Bill Broadhurst, his partially paralyzed left side started to feel like dead weight. After two hours, the cars were back in the streets, and getting through intersections became difficult. At two hours and twenty minutes the pain was so intense and throbbing, he didn’t think he could go on. Then he saw the end. But as soon as he saw it, his heart sank: the banner was gone and everybody had left. Still, having come this far, he decided to push through to the end. As he approached the finish line, he perceived a small gathering of people off to the side. Then they moved out to greet him, and he saw Bill Rogers at the front crowd. They had been waiting for him. As Broadhurst crossed the finish line, Rogers opened his arms, and hugged him. Rogers took the gold medal from around his own neck, and put it around the neck of the last runner to cross the line. "You’re the winner, man," he said. "You take the gold."
What a beautiful picture of our life with Christ. Jesus, the first runner of this race, has not forgotten us, struggling runners that we are. No, He has taken hold of us, He is making us fit for the race, He is cheering us on toward the goal, and He’s waiting for us to give us the prize that he earned. And so, let us not forget Him. "Let us fix our eyes on Him, the author and perfecter of our faith", as we live our lives in an unhindered pursuit of his love and grace.
It is written in Hebrews 12:1-2, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KPdUM_ioW4
One of my favorite verses is Lamentations 3:22-23, "Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness". God’s compassions are new every morning. He doesn't just offer us a new beginning on January 1st, He has compassion and mercy on us throughout the year and we have opportunity to begin each day afresh and anew. When we read the New Testament we see the Christian life portrayed as a journey and as a race. Jesus is the bread for the journey. He is the fellow and eternal companion in the race we run.
I read the following story some time ago. "In the bleak mid winter I am dreaming of a brilliant summer. In July 1981, Bill Broadhurst entered the Omaha, Nebraska, Pepsi 10k. Broadhurst is slowed by a brain aneurysm he suffered 10 years earlier, which left him partially paralyzed on the left side. He made it his goal to finish the 10k despite this obstacle. He was determined to run because Bill Rogers, his hero and a world-famous distance runner, was in the race that day. Rogers, great runner that he is, placed first in a time of 29 minutes and 37 seconds. One hour in, for Bill Broadhurst, his partially paralyzed left side started to feel like dead weight. After two hours, the cars were back in the streets, and getting through intersections became difficult. At two hours and twenty minutes the pain was so intense and throbbing, he didn’t think he could go on. Then he saw the end. But as soon as he saw it, his heart sank: the banner was gone and everybody had left. Still, having come this far, he decided to push through to the end. As he approached the finish line, he perceived a small gathering of people off to the side. Then they moved out to greet him, and he saw Bill Rogers at the front crowd. They had been waiting for him. As Broadhurst crossed the finish line, Rogers opened his arms, and hugged him. Rogers took the gold medal from around his own neck, and put it around the neck of the last runner to cross the line. "You’re the winner, man," he said. "You take the gold."
What a beautiful picture of our life with Christ. Jesus, the first runner of this race, has not forgotten us, struggling runners that we are. No, He has taken hold of us, He is making us fit for the race, He is cheering us on toward the goal, and He’s waiting for us to give us the prize that he earned. And so, let us not forget Him. "Let us fix our eyes on Him, the author and perfecter of our faith", as we live our lives in an unhindered pursuit of his love and grace.
It is written in Hebrews 12:1-2, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KPdUM_ioW4
Monday, January 4, 2010
Brown's Daily Word 1-4-10
Good morning.
Happy New Year. Praise the Lord for this new year and new decade. It is written in Revelation 21 that, "He makes all things new". He takes old broken lives with shattered dreams and hopes when they are given to him (all pieces included) and He makes them new. Praise the Lord as we enter the new year through the Festival of Christmas. In Christmas we celebrate God's unspeakable gift to us in the Person of Jesus Christ "wrapped in swaddling clothes". It is the festival of the Epiphany in the life of the church, starting January 6. Epiphany somehow symbolizes our gift to the Lord in the same way that the Wise men came, offering gifts to the Newborn King.
Laureen came home on Saturday afternoon. She arrived safely after attending the Urbana 2009 Conference in St. Louis, Mo. The Conference, attended by over 17,000 college and university Students and many young adults, focused on the local and worldwide Mission of the Church. Laureen returned with both soul and heart full. She shared during worship services yesterday, which was a huge blessing.
The passage for yesterday was taken from Mathew 2, regarding the Visit of the Magi. The wise men started it all. That is, they started the giving and receiving of Christmas gifts. First of all, their gift was personally given. These were wealthy people who came to present their gifts to the Christ. They came from another country, probably Iraq. Though they could have sent the gift, they really felt a sense of mission and wanted personally to bring these gifts to the Christ child. In Mathew 2:2, "We saw His star in the East and have come to worship Him." When they determined the location of the Savior's birth, "They went their way." Then, "when they saw the star, they rejoiced." In verse 11, "They came into the house. Opening their treasures, they fell down and worshiped Him. Opening their treasures they presented to Him gifts." The gifts were personally given.
Furthermore, the gifts were properly given. There was more to their gifts than just gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh. Theirs was a gift with worship, adoration, glory, honor, and praise to Jesus.
The wise men teach us that to give unexpected gifts to others. No one expected the magi give this gift. They came to present gifts and worship to the King of the Jews, though they themselves were not Jews. They had no part in this according to the standard of the day. They had merely heard about by studying the skies. When the wise men stopped at Herod’s house, you would think that Herod would go down to see Jesus. Nothing could have been further from the truth. Totally unexpected was this visit of the wise men. Nobody would have ever thought that Magi would come, after working their way for weeks and months to the place where Jesus was born, to bring their "unexpected" gifts. It is said that the best gifts are unexpected gifts.
When the Wise men gave the gifts, they did so with joy. They rejoiced when they saw the star. They rejoiced when they saw Mary. This gift was "burning a hole in their pockets", so to speak. They could hardly wait to give it to the child to whom they were to present it.
Richard Foster, the Quaker theologian wrote, "Giving with a glad and generous heart has a way of routing out the tough old miser within us. Even the poor need to know that they can give. Just the very act of letting go of money or some other treasure does something within us. That something is it destroys the demon, greed."
The gift the wise men gave their gifts to Christ that year, but the story has been told now for over two thousand years. People still know the gifts that the wise men gave. They gave a gift that would last. There are two gifts that you can give at Christmas that will last forever. One is the gift of good memories and another is the gift of a Godly heritage.
I want to have a Godly heritage for my children and for my grandchildren. I want to be one who starts a Godly heritage for our family life. That’s the kind of gift that will last.
Often we all struggle with procrastination and slothfulness. Samuel Johnson said, "He who waits to do a great deed of good all at once will never do anything.” Those wise men were not about to go back home until they gave over those gifts to Jesus. They pressed through opposition. They pressed through time. I'm sure they were discouraged. I'm sure people said, "Turn back. You're never going to find Him." I'm sure they said, No, we want to give it now. One of the saddest things in life, which I have observed hundreds of times in hundreds of funerals is to see people look at their loved ones and wish for one day back where they could .
"They were going to be all they wanted to be, tomorrow.
None would be braver or kinder than they, tomorrow.
A friend who was troubled and wearied they knew,
Would be glad for a lift and needed it too,
And on him they would call and see what they could do, tomorrow.
Each morning they stacked up the letters they’d write, tomorrow.
And thought of the folks that they would fill with delight, tomorrow.
The greatest of people they just might have been.
The world would have opened its heart up to them.
But in fact, they passed on and faded from view,
And all they had left when their living was through,
Was a mountain of things they intended to do, tomorrow." (John Maxwell)
In Christ the Bright and the Morning Star.
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzIESPA_-Uw
Happy New Year. Praise the Lord for this new year and new decade. It is written in Revelation 21 that, "He makes all things new". He takes old broken lives with shattered dreams and hopes when they are given to him (all pieces included) and He makes them new. Praise the Lord as we enter the new year through the Festival of Christmas. In Christmas we celebrate God's unspeakable gift to us in the Person of Jesus Christ "wrapped in swaddling clothes". It is the festival of the Epiphany in the life of the church, starting January 6. Epiphany somehow symbolizes our gift to the Lord in the same way that the Wise men came, offering gifts to the Newborn King.
Laureen came home on Saturday afternoon. She arrived safely after attending the Urbana 2009 Conference in St. Louis, Mo. The Conference, attended by over 17,000 college and university Students and many young adults, focused on the local and worldwide Mission of the Church. Laureen returned with both soul and heart full. She shared during worship services yesterday, which was a huge blessing.
The passage for yesterday was taken from Mathew 2, regarding the Visit of the Magi. The wise men started it all. That is, they started the giving and receiving of Christmas gifts. First of all, their gift was personally given. These were wealthy people who came to present their gifts to the Christ. They came from another country, probably Iraq. Though they could have sent the gift, they really felt a sense of mission and wanted personally to bring these gifts to the Christ child. In Mathew 2:2, "We saw His star in the East and have come to worship Him." When they determined the location of the Savior's birth, "They went their way." Then, "when they saw the star, they rejoiced." In verse 11, "They came into the house. Opening their treasures, they fell down and worshiped Him. Opening their treasures they presented to Him gifts." The gifts were personally given.
Furthermore, the gifts were properly given. There was more to their gifts than just gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh. Theirs was a gift with worship, adoration, glory, honor, and praise to Jesus.
The wise men teach us that to give unexpected gifts to others. No one expected the magi give this gift. They came to present gifts and worship to the King of the Jews, though they themselves were not Jews. They had no part in this according to the standard of the day. They had merely heard about by studying the skies. When the wise men stopped at Herod’s house, you would think that Herod would go down to see Jesus. Nothing could have been further from the truth. Totally unexpected was this visit of the wise men. Nobody would have ever thought that Magi would come, after working their way for weeks and months to the place where Jesus was born, to bring their "unexpected" gifts. It is said that the best gifts are unexpected gifts.
When the Wise men gave the gifts, they did so with joy. They rejoiced when they saw the star. They rejoiced when they saw Mary. This gift was "burning a hole in their pockets", so to speak. They could hardly wait to give it to the child to whom they were to present it.
Richard Foster, the Quaker theologian wrote, "Giving with a glad and generous heart has a way of routing out the tough old miser within us. Even the poor need to know that they can give. Just the very act of letting go of money or some other treasure does something within us. That something is it destroys the demon, greed."
The gift the wise men gave their gifts to Christ that year, but the story has been told now for over two thousand years. People still know the gifts that the wise men gave. They gave a gift that would last. There are two gifts that you can give at Christmas that will last forever. One is the gift of good memories and another is the gift of a Godly heritage.
I want to have a Godly heritage for my children and for my grandchildren. I want to be one who starts a Godly heritage for our family life. That’s the kind of gift that will last.
Often we all struggle with procrastination and slothfulness. Samuel Johnson said, "He who waits to do a great deed of good all at once will never do anything.” Those wise men were not about to go back home until they gave over those gifts to Jesus. They pressed through opposition. They pressed through time. I'm sure they were discouraged. I'm sure people said, "Turn back. You're never going to find Him." I'm sure they said, No, we want to give it now. One of the saddest things in life, which I have observed hundreds of times in hundreds of funerals is to see people look at their loved ones and wish for one day back where they could .
"They were going to be all they wanted to be, tomorrow.
None would be braver or kinder than they, tomorrow.
A friend who was troubled and wearied they knew,
Would be glad for a lift and needed it too,
And on him they would call and see what they could do, tomorrow.
Each morning they stacked up the letters they’d write, tomorrow.
And thought of the folks that they would fill with delight, tomorrow.
The greatest of people they just might have been.
The world would have opened its heart up to them.
But in fact, they passed on and faded from view,
And all they had left when their living was through,
Was a mountain of things they intended to do, tomorrow." (John Maxwell)
In Christ the Bright and the Morning Star.
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzIESPA_-Uw
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