Brown's Daily Word 3-25-11

Good morning,
Praise the Lord for this new day. Last night was a cloudless night. The stars were shining brightly and glittering brilliantly. It is going to be brilliant day.
Please pray for our Friday Evening Television out reach this evening at 7 PM on Time Warner channel 4.
I will be conducting a service of death and resurrection tomorrow noon in Oneonta , New York.
We will gather for our Saturday Evening worship at 6.30 PM. Dr. James Geer PhD, will be portraying the life and witness of Simon Peter during the worship hour Saturday Evening. There will be March Madness banquet at 5 PM prior to the worship hour. All this will take place at the First United Methodist Church, Endicott. We will meet for worship on Sunday, at 8:30 and 11:00 AM at the Union Center UMC and at 9:30 AM at the Wesley UMC.
Jesus, our Lord, talked about the beautiful and blessed life. He declared with great audacity, “Blessed are the poor... the mournful... the meek... the hungry... the merciful... the pure... the peacemakers... and the persecuted.” It sounds foolish on the surface. The Bible indicates this when it says, “For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength” (1 Corinthians 1:25).
The kingdom of God is in opposition to the kingdom of the world. It contradicts the world and its values. It surprises the world and mocks its power. Though the kingdom of God appears weak, Its weakness is overcoming the world. The powerful destroy their enemies and kings control those under them. God does neither. The kingdom of the world demands proof, but God invites us into a life of faith. The kingdom of the world wants to be in charge, the kingdom of God offers life through letting go of control. The world says, “Never forgive,” and the kingdom of God calls us to always forgive. The world tells us to destroy our enemies, the kingdom of God tells us to love our enemies. What could seem to be weaker? What could be more powerful? The Bible says, “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things — and the things that are not — to nullify the things that are” (1 Corinthians 1:27-28).
When our Lord began his ministry He spoke in often confusing parables. It was not to the "movers and shakers "of society that He came; it was to those who were shaken out and moved out — the nobodies of the culture. He seemed to love being around people that no one else had any use for: lepers, hookers, IRS agents.
In the end, Jesus went to the cross with a sense of triumph. It was in the weak submissive act of Jesus dying that a Roman soldier was able to say, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” (Mark 15:39). Without the agonizing death, there would be no resurrection. The world says, “Do what you have to do to get ahead.” Jesus said, “Follow me, regardless of the consequences.” The world says, “Defeat your enemy, crush them.” Jesus said, “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic” (Luke 6:27-29). Weakness — and how we hate it! But in our weakness we become partners with God in his weakness, and his weakness becomes strength, humiliation is followed by exaltation, and death is swallowed up by life. The Bible says, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up” (James 4:10).
The kingdom of God is weakness to the world and is mocked by it, but it is a weakness that overcomes the power of the world. The Bible says, “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11).
Our daughter Sunita lived in Africa. She loves the people of Africa. She is inspired by the faith and the faithfulness of Christians of Africa. For some time she lived in Rwanda. April 6, 1994 marked the beginning of dark and infamous days for Rwanda, a small country in central Africa. For the next hundred days, up to 800,000 Tutsis were killed by Hutu militia — mostly using clubs and machetes. It was a genocide of monumental proportions, as the rest of the world looked on in silence. A young Christian named Benyoni lived in this world of hate His name meant “Little Bird” because he was so musical. He graduated with honors and became a school principal. But educated people were suspect and routinely executed in Rwanda. Sometimes just wearing a tie could get you killed. Benyoni was at school with eleven of his friends who were teachers when one day soldiers came and took Benyoni and the teachers out of the school. As they stood together Benyoni asked the soldiers if he could pray for them. He prayed for his friends and for their families, but he spent the most time praying for the soldiers who had come to kill them. Benyoni’s friends were encouraged and were expecting a miracle as a result of his prayer. The soldiers considered freeing them, but they had their orders and knew they would pay with their lives for failing in their mission. They continued their march outside the town, and when they stopped, Benyoni asked the soldiers if he could sing for them. He began to sing a hymn you may know:
Out of my bondage, sorrow and night,
Jesus, I come; Jesus I come.
Into Thy freedom, gladness and light,
Jesus, I come to Thee.

All the young men began to sing with him. You may remember the last verse of that great hymn:
Out of the fear and dread of the tomb,
Jesus, I come; Jesus, I come.
Into the joy and light of Thy home,
Jesus, I come to Thee.
Out of the depths of ruin untold,
Into the peace of Thy sheltering fold,
Ever Thy glorious face to behold,
Jesus, I come to Thee.

When the last note was sung, the soldiers raised their rifles and shot all of them to death.
You may wonder how the story got out since all of them were killed. Those soldiers went out to get as drunk as they could get that night — all except one. He sought out an old Quaker missionary he had met. He asked her, “What kind of God do you serve who could give his followers such courage and joy in the face of death?” She led him to Christ, and soon he was telling anyone who would listen about Jesus and starting Bible studies. It was not long until militia shot him as well.
We might ask who were the weak and who were the strong in that story. The Bible speaks of those, “who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength... Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated — the world was not worthy of them” (Hebrews 11:33-34, 36-38).

In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irUzutYx5r0




Simon Peter

A special evening worship is coming to First United Methodist Church this Saturday evening, March 26, at 6:30 PM. We will be sharing in a special kind of worship experience with the presentation of the dramatic monologue, "Simon Peter". This presentation provides us with a worship experience through sacred drama and music by sharing a part of this disciple's life with our Lord Jesus Christ. Through his monologue, Peter shares with us some of the joys and conflicts of knowing Christ as a brother, of walking and talking with Him, and of experiencing the power of His Spirit. As we listen to him we, too, can share in his agony in denial and then in his tremendous victory through forgiveness. This beautiful and inspiring dramatic monologue will be presented by Dr. James Geer, PhD, distinguished Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at Binghamton University.
There will also be a meal at 5 PM preceding the presentation of "Simon Peter". The meal will be prepared by Lou Pasquel and Rodney Haines.
Please plan to attend, and invite a friend or two to come as well! .
For Information call: 607-748-6329
607-748-1358