Good morning,
Praise the Lord for another glorious day in the Kingdom of Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The Lord blessed us with beautiful mid-week study and fellowship yesterday evening. We looked at Mathew 14, " Sensing the presence of Jesus in the midst of the storm".
A preacher tells a story entitled "Enough is Enough". The central figure of the story is a person who accepted everything that happens as manifestations of divine power. He said, "It is not for me to question the workings of divine providence." All his life, misfortune had been his. Yet never once did he complain. He got married and his wife ran away with the hired man. His daughter was deceived by a villain. His son was lynched. A fire burned down his barn. A cyclone blew away his home. A hail storm destroyed his crops, and the banker foreclosed on his mortgage, taking his farm. Yet, at each stroke of misfortune, he knelt and gave thanks to God Almighty for his unchangeable mercy. After a time, penniless but still submissive to God, he landed in the county poorhouse. One day the overseer sent him out to plow a potato field. A thunderstorm was passing over when, without warning, a bolt of lightning descended from the sky. It melted the plowshare, stripped most of his clothing from him, singed off his beard, branded his naked back with the initials of a neighboring cattleman, and hurled him through a barbed wire fence. When he recovered consciousness, he got up slowly on his knees, clasped his hands, raised his eye toward heaven and, then, for the first time in his life, asserted himself and said, "Lord, this is getting plumb ridiculous."
Have you been there? Haven’t we all, at one time or another, felt that we had more than our fair share? Every one of us has dreams blown away. Every once in a while we back up and say, "Why am I being hit with this storm of life?" Sometimes these storms are caused by the devil, sometimes by other people, and sometimes by us. Sometimes they’re allowed by the Lord. They come from different sources, but they do have a purpose in our life.
Matthew 14, beginning with verse 22, "Right away Jesus made his disciples get into a boat and start back across the lake, but he stayed until he had sent the crowds away. Then he went up on a mountain where he could be alone and pray. Later that evening he was still there. By this time the boat was a long way from the shore. It was going against the wind and was being tossed around by the waves. A little while before morning, Jesus came walking on the water toward his disciples and when they saw him, they thought he was a ghost and they were terrified and started screaming. At once Jesus said to them, "Don’t worry, I am Jesus. Don’t be afraid." Peter replied, "Lord, if it is really you, tell me to come to you on the water." "Come on," Jesus said.
Peter then got out of the boat and started walking on the water toward him, but when Peter saw how strong the wind was, he was afraid and started sinking. "Lord, save me!," he shouted. Right away Jesus reached out his hand. He helped Peter up and said, "You surely don’t have much faith. Why do you doubt?" When Jesus and Peter got into the boat, the wind died down. The men in the boat worshiped Jesus and said, "You really are the Son of God."
Some storms in our lives come because we are out of God’s will. An example of that, of course, is Jonah, who deliberately disobeyed God’s will according to the Bible. God sent a great wind when he was out on the boat. Another perfect example is in Acts 5, as Ananias and Sapphira deliberately lied to God and the Church concerning their giving, and they lost their lives. Perhaps the storm you encounter today could be caused by some disobedience.
Some storms, however, come because we are in God’s will. A storm in your life does not mean necessarily that you are out of the will of the Lord or willfully disobeying him. In fact, there are beautiful examples in the story in Matthew. "Right away, Jesus made his disciples get into a boat and start back across the lake. . .He prevailed upon his disciples to get into the boat." In other words, the disciples found themselves out in the middle of a lake in the midst of a terrible storm. They were fishermen, yet they were still afraid. It had to be a bad storm.
Ironically they were out in the midst of the storm because Jesus told them to get in the boat and go out in the middle of the lake. They were right in the middle of God’s will but having the storm of their lives.
Job, of course, is another perfect example of facing extreme trials while living in the center of God's will. We know that when Satan came to God concerning what was happening on earth, that God challenged him and said, "Look at Job; he’s a perfect man." We know all about the boils head to toe on Job as he sat on an ash heap. Had he sinned against God. The Scriptures record that he was faithful beyond all men. He was a godly man in God’s sight and yet he was going through Yet, we see that Joseph was sold into slavery and taken into Egypt where he spent years in prison after being slandered by the wife of Potiphar, his owner. Joseph, though in a very difficult time of his life, was in the center of God’s will.
The Apostle Paul is a another example. Paul, who has gone through a shipwreck, was beaten. Paul eventually died a martyr’s death though he was a man of God, one of the great men in the history of the Christian church. He was in the center of God’s will. It is possible for any of us to be obedient to God, walking in the light, living in the center of God’s will, and yet at the same time encounter a terrific storm.
There are many wonderful people who really do love God and who really do obey Him yet, because of life’s uncertainties and the sin of the earth, life gives them a tough blow. When we encounter such a difficult time we need our feet on the ground and understand that storms happen even to people in the will of God. During the storms of life, God is not distant or aloof, but He enters into our storm and walks with us through it. Look at verse 25, "A little while before morning, Jesus came walking on the water toward his disciples." Jesus came to them at their darkest hour and he will do the same thing for us.
The Bible says it was 3 AM when Jesus came. We know that the darkest hour of the night is right before the dawn, a little while right before the morning. There is a hymn "Just When I Need Him, Jesus Is Near. Just when I falter, just when I fear. Ready to help me, ready to cheer. Just when I need Him most." He walks into the storms of life at our darkest hour, when we are the most needy. He saw everything the disciples encountered and knew exactly where they where. He saw their fears and He heard their cries, But He did not come to them until the hour was the darkest.
He comes to give victory over our greatest fears. He came to the disciples, walking on the very thing that frightened them. They worried about the waves as the boat tossed back and forth. They were afraid that they were going to drown or that the boat would capsize. They looked at those high waves coming over the sides of that boat, bailing water as fast as they can. These fishermen, though they had been on the water all their life, were scared to death. The waves came on and on yet, suddenly, he came walking to them on the very thing that brought fear to their hearts. He had conquered the wind and the waves.
In His quiet, majestic way, as walked on the water, it was as if Jesus was saying, "Guys, the thing that is the greatest storm in your life, I keep under my feet." If you are sick, He comes walking on your sickness. If you are afraid of death, He comes walking on the waves of death, as He did on Easter. "Oh, death where is thy sting? Oh, grave where is thy victory?" He still comes walking. All is well.
In Him,
Brown
.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8_EfDqF7YI
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Brown's Daily Word 9-1-10
Good morning,
Praise the Lord for this Wednesday, the first day of September. Three years ago today it was a gorgeous late summer day as we were getting ready for Sunita and Andy's wedding. It seems like yesterday. It is going to be another hot day here in New York, but it is starting to smell "ripe". Though it is still hot, we can sense Autumn in the air. We can see the some of the colors in the trees are slowly developing, and preparing to pop out. We picked up some New York apples and Pennsylvania peaches the other day. Praise the Lord for summer fruits. Alice is busy making sweet pickles from a bushel of cucumbers (31 quarts). She also canned 1 1/2 bushels of tomatoes, froze a bushel of corn and froze 2 bushels of green beans. Praise the Lord for the fresh vegetables! Praise the Lord for all His rich provisions.
Last weekend Janice, Jeremy, Micah, and Simeon went camping along a stream in New Hampshire. They backpacked 3 miles in from their car to their campsite along the stream. Jeremy carefully tied their gorp, animal crackers, and other food supplies in a "bear sack", that is he put it 11 feet above the ground. Other campers, a little farther from the stream, put up their sacks as well, but many were much closer to the ground and not carefully wrapped. In the morning Janice and Jeremy discovered that a bear had attacked their food supplies - and left all the others alone. Micah commented that it may have been better if they had taken the food into the tent. . . how wrong she was! Praise the Lord for their safety! They "borrowed" some food from other campers and made the trek back to the car that morning.
St. Augustine once said, ”Jesus Christ is not valued at all until he is valued above All”. In other words Jesus must be at the center of our lives. The one thing that we keep going back to as those belong to Jesus, is praising God. Louis Albert Banks tells of an elderly Christian man, a fine singer, who learned that he had cancer of the tongue and that he needed surgery. In the hospital after everything was ready for the operation, the man said to the Dr. Are you sure I will never sing again? The Surgeon found it hard to answer his question. He simply shook his head no. The patient then asked if he could sit up for a moment. "I’ve had many good times singing the Praises of God", he said. "And now you tell me I will never sing again. I have one song that will be my last. It will be of gratitude and praise to God." There in the Dr.’s presence the man sang softly the words of Isaac watt’s hymn,
I’ll praise my Maker while I’ve breath,
And when my voice is lost in death,
Praise shall employ my nobler powers;
My days of praise shall ne’er be past,
While life, and thought, and being last,
Or immortality endures.
Why should I make a man my trust?
Princes must die and turn to dust;
Vain is the help of flesh and blood:
Their breath departs, their pomp, and power,
And thoughts, all vanish in an hour,
Nor can they make their promise good.
Happy the man whose hopes rely
On Israel’s God: He made the sky,
And earth, and seas, with all their train:
His truth for ever stands secure;
He saves th’oppressed, He feeds the poor,
And none shall find His promise vain.
The Lord has eyes to give the blind;
The Lord supports the sinking mind;
He sends the labr’ing conscience peace;
He helps the stranger in distress,
The widow, and the fatherless,
And grants the pris’ner sweet release.
He loves His saints, He knows them well,
But turns the wicked down to hell;
Thy God, O Zion! ever reigns:
Let every tongue, let every age,
In this exalted work engage;
Praise Him in everlasting strains.
I’ll praise Him while He lends me breath,
And when my voice is lost in death,
Praise shall employ my nobler powers;
My days of praise shall ne’er be past,
While life, and thought, and being last,
Or immortality endures.
John Wesley gave out this hymn just be fore preaching for the last time in City Road Chapel, Tuesday evening, Februa ry 22, 1791. The following Monday after noon, though very ill, he amazed the friends at his bedside by singing the hymn throughout in a strong voice. The next night, his biographer, Tyler Mann, tells us, he tried scores of times to repeat the hymn, but could only say “I’ll praise—I’ll praise—.” And with praise for his Maker on his lips and in his heart he passed to that life where “immortality endures.”
In Jesus our Lord,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5m48vG2q2E
Praise the Lord for this Wednesday, the first day of September. Three years ago today it was a gorgeous late summer day as we were getting ready for Sunita and Andy's wedding. It seems like yesterday. It is going to be another hot day here in New York, but it is starting to smell "ripe". Though it is still hot, we can sense Autumn in the air. We can see the some of the colors in the trees are slowly developing, and preparing to pop out. We picked up some New York apples and Pennsylvania peaches the other day. Praise the Lord for summer fruits. Alice is busy making sweet pickles from a bushel of cucumbers (31 quarts). She also canned 1 1/2 bushels of tomatoes, froze a bushel of corn and froze 2 bushels of green beans. Praise the Lord for the fresh vegetables! Praise the Lord for all His rich provisions.
Last weekend Janice, Jeremy, Micah, and Simeon went camping along a stream in New Hampshire. They backpacked 3 miles in from their car to their campsite along the stream. Jeremy carefully tied their gorp, animal crackers, and other food supplies in a "bear sack", that is he put it 11 feet above the ground. Other campers, a little farther from the stream, put up their sacks as well, but many were much closer to the ground and not carefully wrapped. In the morning Janice and Jeremy discovered that a bear had attacked their food supplies - and left all the others alone. Micah commented that it may have been better if they had taken the food into the tent. . . how wrong she was! Praise the Lord for their safety! They "borrowed" some food from other campers and made the trek back to the car that morning.
St. Augustine once said, ”Jesus Christ is not valued at all until he is valued above All”. In other words Jesus must be at the center of our lives. The one thing that we keep going back to as those belong to Jesus, is praising God. Louis Albert Banks tells of an elderly Christian man, a fine singer, who learned that he had cancer of the tongue and that he needed surgery. In the hospital after everything was ready for the operation, the man said to the Dr. Are you sure I will never sing again? The Surgeon found it hard to answer his question. He simply shook his head no. The patient then asked if he could sit up for a moment. "I’ve had many good times singing the Praises of God", he said. "And now you tell me I will never sing again. I have one song that will be my last. It will be of gratitude and praise to God." There in the Dr.’s presence the man sang softly the words of Isaac watt’s hymn,
I’ll praise my Maker while I’ve breath,
And when my voice is lost in death,
Praise shall employ my nobler powers;
My days of praise shall ne’er be past,
While life, and thought, and being last,
Or immortality endures.
Why should I make a man my trust?
Princes must die and turn to dust;
Vain is the help of flesh and blood:
Their breath departs, their pomp, and power,
And thoughts, all vanish in an hour,
Nor can they make their promise good.
Happy the man whose hopes rely
On Israel’s God: He made the sky,
And earth, and seas, with all their train:
His truth for ever stands secure;
He saves th’oppressed, He feeds the poor,
And none shall find His promise vain.
The Lord has eyes to give the blind;
The Lord supports the sinking mind;
He sends the labr’ing conscience peace;
He helps the stranger in distress,
The widow, and the fatherless,
And grants the pris’ner sweet release.
He loves His saints, He knows them well,
But turns the wicked down to hell;
Thy God, O Zion! ever reigns:
Let every tongue, let every age,
In this exalted work engage;
Praise Him in everlasting strains.
I’ll praise Him while He lends me breath,
And when my voice is lost in death,
Praise shall employ my nobler powers;
My days of praise shall ne’er be past,
While life, and thought, and being last,
Or immortality endures.
John Wesley gave out this hymn just be fore preaching for the last time in City Road Chapel, Tuesday evening, Februa ry 22, 1791. The following Monday after noon, though very ill, he amazed the friends at his bedside by singing the hymn throughout in a strong voice. The next night, his biographer, Tyler Mann, tells us, he tried scores of times to repeat the hymn, but could only say “I’ll praise—I’ll praise—.” And with praise for his Maker on his lips and in his heart he passed to that life where “immortality endures.”
In Jesus our Lord,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5m48vG2q2E
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Brown's Daily Word 8-31-10
Good morning,
Praise the Lord for this glorious day in His Kingdom. Our Lord is in control. Yesterday evening I was coming home after visiting family and friends, and had been to the viewing for Gladys Ketchum in the funeral home. I was one mile from the parsonage, driving in a 30 mile per hour zone when suddenly, from out of nowhere, a large deer tried jump over my car. Unfortunately it missed and landed on the hood of my car, causing substantial damage to the car. I was not shaken; I was very calm. I called for the police and he was there in no time. Then I drove my car home. My wife says she thinks that my car is totaled. I praise the Lord for His protection.
The deer came flying out of my blind spot; I could not see the deer. Blind spots are created by virtue of the fact that we don't have eyes all around our heads, and hence it is physically impossible to see everything at once. Blind spots exist not only in the physical world, but also in the spiritual world. When we have spiritual blind spots, we cannot see what God is doing. When you have a spiritual blind spot, God may be doing something fantastic right in your midst and you still will not see it.
I read the following joke some time ago. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson went on a camping trip. After a good meal and a bottle of wine, they lay down for the night and went to sleep. Some hours later, Holmes awoke and nudged his faithful friend, "Watson, look up and tell me what you see." Watson replied, "I see millions and millions of stars." Holmes persisted in his inquiry, "What does that tell you?"
Watson pondered for a minute. "Astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, I observe that Saturn is in Leo. Horologically, I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three. Theologically, I can see that God is all-powerful and that we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. Why, what does it tell you?"
Holmes then said, "Watson you idiot, someone has stolen our tent." Sometimes we are blind to what is going on right in our midst, and in a spiritual sense, we can be blind to what God is doing so well for us.
How many times we have seen people who are unhappy with their lives because not everything is going the way they want. It may be especially true here in America, where the poorest of us lives so much better than so many people around the world. Too often we allow things to pile up on us and we miss out on what joy the Lord has provided for us right here in front of us. Blind spots come into our lives, and we cannot see what great things the Lord is doing right in our midst.
If we were to observe all of the greatness of the Lord's work in our lives, we would jump for joy at just how good the Lord has been to us. He gives us food to eat, water to drink, people to love, places to worship, air to breathe, and strength to live. Oh, praise the lord!
Sadly, it is possible to be touched by the Lord yet not know Him. It is common everyday and everywhere…The blessed are the ones who, in response to the working of God in their lives, choose to seek Him out, to find out more about Him, in order to get to know Him "and the power of His resurrection.” Our Lord is working in each of our lives, though at times we may not recognize it as His working. It may just seem like the ordinary birth of a child or an insignificant change in jobs or just another sunrise. However, each of those of events is an evidence that God is working in us. He desires to open our eyes to His love toward us and our response toward Him. Right now, He may be using the very mundane, and maybe even the very extraordinary, circumstances in our lives to open our eyes to His Majesty and to His authority.
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDN623rmnEY
Praise the Lord for this glorious day in His Kingdom. Our Lord is in control. Yesterday evening I was coming home after visiting family and friends, and had been to the viewing for Gladys Ketchum in the funeral home. I was one mile from the parsonage, driving in a 30 mile per hour zone when suddenly, from out of nowhere, a large deer tried jump over my car. Unfortunately it missed and landed on the hood of my car, causing substantial damage to the car. I was not shaken; I was very calm. I called for the police and he was there in no time. Then I drove my car home. My wife says she thinks that my car is totaled. I praise the Lord for His protection.
The deer came flying out of my blind spot; I could not see the deer. Blind spots are created by virtue of the fact that we don't have eyes all around our heads, and hence it is physically impossible to see everything at once. Blind spots exist not only in the physical world, but also in the spiritual world. When we have spiritual blind spots, we cannot see what God is doing. When you have a spiritual blind spot, God may be doing something fantastic right in your midst and you still will not see it.
I read the following joke some time ago. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson went on a camping trip. After a good meal and a bottle of wine, they lay down for the night and went to sleep. Some hours later, Holmes awoke and nudged his faithful friend, "Watson, look up and tell me what you see." Watson replied, "I see millions and millions of stars." Holmes persisted in his inquiry, "What does that tell you?"
Watson pondered for a minute. "Astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, I observe that Saturn is in Leo. Horologically, I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three. Theologically, I can see that God is all-powerful and that we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. Why, what does it tell you?"
Holmes then said, "Watson you idiot, someone has stolen our tent." Sometimes we are blind to what is going on right in our midst, and in a spiritual sense, we can be blind to what God is doing so well for us.
How many times we have seen people who are unhappy with their lives because not everything is going the way they want. It may be especially true here in America, where the poorest of us lives so much better than so many people around the world. Too often we allow things to pile up on us and we miss out on what joy the Lord has provided for us right here in front of us. Blind spots come into our lives, and we cannot see what great things the Lord is doing right in our midst.
If we were to observe all of the greatness of the Lord's work in our lives, we would jump for joy at just how good the Lord has been to us. He gives us food to eat, water to drink, people to love, places to worship, air to breathe, and strength to live. Oh, praise the lord!
Sadly, it is possible to be touched by the Lord yet not know Him. It is common everyday and everywhere…The blessed are the ones who, in response to the working of God in their lives, choose to seek Him out, to find out more about Him, in order to get to know Him "and the power of His resurrection.” Our Lord is working in each of our lives, though at times we may not recognize it as His working. It may just seem like the ordinary birth of a child or an insignificant change in jobs or just another sunrise. However, each of those of events is an evidence that God is working in us. He desires to open our eyes to His love toward us and our response toward Him. Right now, He may be using the very mundane, and maybe even the very extraordinary, circumstances in our lives to open our eyes to His Majesty and to His authority.
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDN623rmnEY
Monday, August 30, 2010
Brown's Daily Word 8-30-10
Praise the Lord for another brilliant day. It will be like summer here for next several days. In fact, it is expected to stay very warm through Friday, at least.
Two of sweet servants of Jesus went to be with Him this past Thursday. They entered the Church triumphant and the life eternal. One of them was Gladys Ketchum. She loved the Lord and loved the church. She sang in choir. She was avid out door person. She was skiing when she was more than 80 years old. She also ran a bull dozer on her farm. She was always ready to witness for Jesus. She died at the age of 97.
The other Lady was Joan Parks. She also loved the Lord, and she taught Sunday School and directed her church choir. She loved her family dearly. At her death she was 69 years old.
Praise the Lord for all His saints who from their labor rest.
For all the saints who from their labors rest,
Who Thee by faith before the world confessed,
Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest,
Alleluia! Alleluia!
As the NFL season approaches I have been reading the story one football player who, on October 13, 1962, was born in Starkville, Mississippi. His name was Jerry and his father was a bricklayer. As the young boy grew and matured, he and his brothers would go with their father to the job-site to help out. As he continued to grow, Jerry joined his father on the platform while his younger brothers would throw bricks up one-by-one for Jerry to stack for his dad. Jerry never dreamed that in catching brick after brick he was preparing for one of the most prolific football careers that any receiver would ever experience. This is the story of Jerry Rice, the great 19 year veteran of the NFL, 15 years with the San Francisco 49ers .
Jerry Rice graduated from high and attended tiny Mississippi Valley State on a football scholarship. Out of college he was drafted in the first round as the 16th overall pick of the 1985 draft by the San Francisco 49ers. He wasn’t even the first receiver chosen. There were two other receivers drafted before him; the NY Jets drafted Al Toon and then the Cincinnati Bengals chose Eddie Brown before Jerry was ever given the nod. Does anyone know where those guys are now?
In his 19 years in professional football, Rice has always been known as the hardest worker in his chosen career. A good example of his dedication to excellence came from several years ago while he was still with the San Francisco 49ers. He arrived at training camp five days early, on the day when the rookies were to report. Why would he do something like that? Jerry Rice is a champion who strives for excellence in what he does.
It is written in Colossians 3:23 – “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart…” Ecclesiastes 9:10 – “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.” Revelation 3:15-16 – “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” (Mediocrity makes Jesus sick!)
Whenever I visit Westminster Abbey in London I make time to visit the grave of David Livingstone. He is buried next to the tomb of the unknown soldier in the entrance to the majestic Westminster Abbey. During my recent visit to London I spent some time standing by the grave of David Livingstone and thanking the Lord for his life and witness.
David Livingstone was one of the greatest missionaries who ever lived. He moved to Africa, married his wife Mary in Africa in 1845, and never stopped pursuing excellence for the Kingdom of God during his lifetime. There was a time when Dr. Livingstone was approached about the possibility of a missionary society sending some more men to help him in his efforts to reach the people of Africa. They wrote him a letter that read, “Have you found a good road to where you are? If so, we want to know how to send other men to join you.” Livingstone wrote back, “If you have men who will come only if they know there is a good road, I don’t want them. I want men who will come if there is no road at all.”
May the Lord propel us to serve Him with great zeal and great Joy.
In Him,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFNaUUHZT5I
Two of sweet servants of Jesus went to be with Him this past Thursday. They entered the Church triumphant and the life eternal. One of them was Gladys Ketchum. She loved the Lord and loved the church. She sang in choir. She was avid out door person. She was skiing when she was more than 80 years old. She also ran a bull dozer on her farm. She was always ready to witness for Jesus. She died at the age of 97.
The other Lady was Joan Parks. She also loved the Lord, and she taught Sunday School and directed her church choir. She loved her family dearly. At her death she was 69 years old.
Praise the Lord for all His saints who from their labor rest.
For all the saints who from their labors rest,
Who Thee by faith before the world confessed,
Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest,
Alleluia! Alleluia!
As the NFL season approaches I have been reading the story one football player who, on October 13, 1962, was born in Starkville, Mississippi. His name was Jerry and his father was a bricklayer. As the young boy grew and matured, he and his brothers would go with their father to the job-site to help out. As he continued to grow, Jerry joined his father on the platform while his younger brothers would throw bricks up one-by-one for Jerry to stack for his dad. Jerry never dreamed that in catching brick after brick he was preparing for one of the most prolific football careers that any receiver would ever experience. This is the story of Jerry Rice, the great 19 year veteran of the NFL, 15 years with the San Francisco 49ers .
Jerry Rice graduated from high and attended tiny Mississippi Valley State on a football scholarship. Out of college he was drafted in the first round as the 16th overall pick of the 1985 draft by the San Francisco 49ers. He wasn’t even the first receiver chosen. There were two other receivers drafted before him; the NY Jets drafted Al Toon and then the Cincinnati Bengals chose Eddie Brown before Jerry was ever given the nod. Does anyone know where those guys are now?
In his 19 years in professional football, Rice has always been known as the hardest worker in his chosen career. A good example of his dedication to excellence came from several years ago while he was still with the San Francisco 49ers. He arrived at training camp five days early, on the day when the rookies were to report. Why would he do something like that? Jerry Rice is a champion who strives for excellence in what he does.
It is written in Colossians 3:23 – “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart…” Ecclesiastes 9:10 – “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.” Revelation 3:15-16 – “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” (Mediocrity makes Jesus sick!)
Whenever I visit Westminster Abbey in London I make time to visit the grave of David Livingstone. He is buried next to the tomb of the unknown soldier in the entrance to the majestic Westminster Abbey. During my recent visit to London I spent some time standing by the grave of David Livingstone and thanking the Lord for his life and witness.
David Livingstone was one of the greatest missionaries who ever lived. He moved to Africa, married his wife Mary in Africa in 1845, and never stopped pursuing excellence for the Kingdom of God during his lifetime. There was a time when Dr. Livingstone was approached about the possibility of a missionary society sending some more men to help him in his efforts to reach the people of Africa. They wrote him a letter that read, “Have you found a good road to where you are? If so, we want to know how to send other men to join you.” Livingstone wrote back, “If you have men who will come only if they know there is a good road, I don’t want them. I want men who will come if there is no road at all.”
May the Lord propel us to serve Him with great zeal and great Joy.
In Him,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFNaUUHZT5I
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