Brown's Daily Word 10-28-11

Good morning,
This is the day the Lord has made. We had some wet snow fall in our area yesterday. A few of the Autumn colors are still looking resilient and vibrant. Please pray for our Friday evening television outreach this evening at 7 PM on Time Warner Cable channel 4. We will gather for an evening of great music and worship this Saturday at 6:30 PM at the First United Methodist Church, 53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott. Those who live in the area join us. This will be a great treat and a big blessing. Our daughter Sunita returned from Israel yesterday. She called me and shared that it was great trip. She was able to visit Hebron along with many other sites. Our grand daughter Micah also called me yesterday and reminded me that she will have a birthday next week. I had posted some photographs of the Beautiful Autumn in New York, and had so many comments on them. Our Lord makes all things colorful and glorious in His time.
The Lord blessed us with a beautiful Wednesday Evening gathering. We looked at Hosea chapters 3 and 4. After reading the passages some of the group members commented on the nature of our God as revealed in the Word of the Lord and in the Person of Jesus Christ. Our Lord is forgiving. He is faithful and trustworthy. Faithfulness speaks of the solid trustworthiness and reliability of the person of integrity. It’s one of those characteristics that used to be highly prized. These days, unfortunately, it’s fallen by the wayside to a large degree as people in general become more and more self-centered, as they become people of the moment rather than people of the future and eternity.
Loyalty, or kindness, is that characteristic of God that is often translated ’steadfast love’ or ’loving kindness’. It is the sort of kindness and love that we have seen from God in this book of Hosea so far. It should also be found in his followers. It is a love that seeks the good of the other and results in good deeds done for the other. Knowledge of God, of course, is the key. There’s a cognitive element to godliness that forms the basis for its practical outworking. This is a knowledge of God that implies a grasp of just how great God is. If we truly know God, in all his power, glory, and awesome wonder could we possibly turn away from him to false gods? When we truly know God in his faithfulness and loving kindness, we become more like Him. The failure of faithfulness and loyalty to God and knowledge of Him results in such behaviors as swearing, lying, murder, stealing, adultery, and bloodshed which follows bloodshed. When people turn away from godliness the result is social breakdown.
Just as it was with the nation of Israel at the time of Hosea, faithfulness, loyalty, and knowledge of God are rare characteristics in our world. This not only affects relationships between people, but it also affects the land itself. "3 Therefore the land mourns, and all who live in it languish; together with the wild animals and the birds of the air, even the fish of the sea are perishing." We rarely connect the ecological troubles of the world with the moral failings of our culture, but here we see a close connection. "Therefore the land mourns." When people are more interested in their own prosperity and well-being than anyone else’s, this is what happens. The earth is pillaged. Damage is done to the environment.
The Word of the Lord always offers grace and an invitation. 1. With these ironically prophetic words the people call one another to worship God again: "Come, let us return to the LORD; for it is he who has torn, and he will heal us; he has struck down, and he will bind us up. 2 After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him. 3 Let us know, let us press on to know the LORD; his appearing is as sure as the dawn; he will come to us like the showers, like the spring rains that water the earth."
If only the people had understood the reality of what Hosea foretold, of Jesus Christ who would die and in three days rise again.
In Christ,
Brown


http://youtu.be/HsCp5LG_zNE


Saturday OCT. 29,2011 at 6:30 PM at First United Methodist Church, Endicott, there will be a special evening of musical praise and worship. Various Christian musicians will participate in this special evening as they offer their gifts and talents to the Lord. A love offering will be received to benefit needy families in the community. Some of the musicians are Aric Phinney, Grant DeGaramo, Vin Rosenbarker, Dianne Glann, Laureen Naik, Yancey Moore, Emma Bronson and others.