Brown's Daily Word 10-18-11

Good morning,
Thanks be to Jesus our Lord for this new day. The Lord blessed us during our prayer conference weekend. Our daughter Laureen was part of the worship team, leading during all the sessions, providing worship music. It was a great blessing. Kelly Johnson used the Book of Colossians as the text for the weekend.
The reality is that the Church exists only in Christ. We cannot separate being in Christ and His Church. The existence and mission of the Church is subsumed in Christ. To be in Christ is to be in His Church and to be a Church is to be in Christ. I love the Church. I believe it offers hope for the world. It is the only place for find spiritual healing, where we find acceptance and discover hope for our lives. In Colossians Paul expresses his personal passion, love, and work in Christ’s Church. In so doing he describes what it means for the Church to be in Christ and how the Church expresses Christ. Paul is so moved by his love for people that he is willing to labor, struggle and even suffer so that people can come to know Christ and learn how to follow Him. His love moves him to action, and he is willing to pay the price for that action.
Making a difference in a person’s life is seldom easy. Making a difference in our world is not easy either. Making a difference is determined by our love and labor, our compassion, and our willingness to work on someone else’s behalf. It is both love and labor. Making a difference can be costly.
We live in a world where injustice still exists. Dictators still abuse people. Women and children are still used as slaves. All around us we can see suffering, sorrow and sadness. Paul said that the sacrifice’s he made for others was actually a source of great joy. In order to sacrifice for another we must be willing to humble ourselves and willingly become servants. We must be willing to take the same attitude that Jesus Himself demonstrated. When I set my selfishness aside I can see the needs of others. When I can set my ego aside I can serve them. When I set my own things aside I can sacrifice for them. In so doing I become more like Christ. Christ was joyful when He sacrificed for others, so I will have joy as well. This type of life is possible only when our labor and struggle is in His power. This is not something we can achieve simply by trying harder. It is, in fact, completely beyond our ability and will to do. We labor in His power and it is His energy that invigorates us. To impact the lives of others will demand labor, struggle, and even sacrifice but it must be labor in Christ’s power, not our own.
I love John Bunyan’s famous book, "The Pilgrim’s Progress". The story tells of Everyman, who becomes Christian and journeys toward heaven. Along the way he meets people who help him on his journey and people who hinder his journey. He meets people like Mr. Worldly Wiseman who seeks to persuade Christian to choose a path that offers more pleasure. He also encounters Talkative, who, as his name implies, is all talk and no action. He also meets Atheist, who, along the journey, mocks Christian and his beliefs. We too have people who are seeking to deface what God is doing in our lives.
On the other hand, there is also Hopeful who travels with Christian for most of his journey. The two become great friends as they live the journey together. When Christian has lost faith and is contemplating suicide in the house of Giant Despair it is Hopeful who admonishes and speaks truth to Christian. “With these words, Hopeful, at present did moderate the mind of his brother.” Near the end of the journey the two men attempt to cross a river to make it to the Celestial City. As they step into the river Christian begins to sink and his fears begin to conquer him. In the midst the voice of Hopeful rings clearly, “Be of good cheer, my brother, I feel the bottom, and it is good.”
In Jesus the Solid Rock,
Brown

http://youtu.be/nqyy5zie_g4

Saturday , October 22.2011
Praise and worship service:
First United Methodist Church , Endicott
Sponsored by Union Center UMC
6PM Gathering- Coffeee- Fellowship
6.30PM Worship
Music: Jane Hettinger
Speaker: Dave Hettinger
UPCOMING EVENTS:

OCT. 22 Serving at 12.noon. A Fish Dinner with home made pies at Wesley United Methodist Church, 1000 Day Hollow Road. Endicott.

Chef: Lawrence McMillan . Donation: $7.00 All the proceeds will be used for the feeding ministry in Endicott.

All are invited. Come, Share and Rejoice. For info: call 607-748-1358, 607-748-6329



OCT. 29, 6:30 PM at First United Methodist Church, Endicott, Special evening of musical praise and worship. Various Christian musicians will be participating in this special evening as they offer their gifts and talents to the Lord. A love offering will be received that will benefit needy families in
the community. Some of the musicians are Aric Phinney, Grant DeGaramo, Vin Rosenbarker, Dianne Glann, Laureen Naik, Yancey Moore, others.