Good morning,
Praise the Lord for this last Friday of January. It was somewhat milder yesterday than it has been for a few days here in New York. I spoke with Sunita yesterday; she said her flight was the last flight that landed in Washington. All other flights there after were diverted. Even Air Force One was delayed in landing. Later the the President's Motorcade got stuck for hours in the heavy snow in DC. Thousands and thousands lost power in the Capitol District yesterday. Sunita and Andy and their friends had power undisrupted. I praise the Lord for He has blessed me with friends and family around the corner and around the globe.
One of my favorite verse comes from Philippians 1: 3 ff. I use this verse when ever I conduct a service of death and resurrection, “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.” Paul began by expressing his gratitude for all that the believers of Philippi meant to him. He remembered his friends and his memory led him to give thanks to God. His thanksgiving led naturally to joyful prayer on their behalf. In the words of Steve May, "Whenever you pray for someone, begin by thanking God for them. Thank God for the role they've played in your life, for all that they've done for you, for the good things they've done for others. Even if you're having conflict with this person, thank God that he or she is giving you the opportunity to grow spiritually, learn forgiveness, be more patient, and on and on. If you try, you can find something to be thankful for in just about anyone."
Note one thing about Paul’s thanksgiving for the Philippians. All of it was centered in the gospel. In verse 5 he mentioned their “partnership in the gospel.” The Greek word for “partnership” is koinonia—sometimes translated “fellowship.” In our day “fellowship” means something like a social gathering where we drink tea, and eat cookies and share casual gossip. To most of us “fellowship” means warm friendship with other believers. The word originally had commercial overtones. If two men bought a boat and started a fishing business, they were said to be in koinonia, a formal business partnership. They shared a common vision and invested together to see the vision become a reality. True Christian fellowship means sharing the same vision of getting the gospel to the world—and then investing personally to make it happen. Thus there are financial overtones in the word koinonia as well as a call to personal sacrifice.
When Paul thanked God for the “fellowship” of the Philippians, he was thanking God that from the very first day of their conversion, they rolled up their sleeves and got involved in the advance of the gospel. True fellowship means putting the gospel first as the controlling motive of your life and then doing whatever it takes to spread the life-changing message to the ends of the earth.
As we plan for the weekend let us pray for the church around the corner and around the globe. Plan to join in worship of the living Lord and Savior. It is a great blessing to be part of a worshipping and witnessing congregation.
Sunita shared with me that while in Uganda attended the worship services there. The church in Uganda is vibrant and alive. We are blessed with very faithful congregations as we meet Saturday eve at 6:30 at the First United Methodist Church in Endicott, 8:30 and 11:00 at the Union Center and at 9:30 at the Wesley UMC.
I would like to make note of one particular couple, Irving and Orpha. They are married for 63 years. Irving was in the intensive care unit for 73 days 14 years ago. Orpha has undergone several surgeries. While they were hospitalized they missed attending corporate worship. Now that they are able to go out they never miss a Sunday. They inspire and encourage my heart. May the Holy Spirit provoke us to be in the Lord's house this coming Lord's day, to be part of the fellowship that is unashamed, convinced, and committed. When the saints gather to exalt the name of Jesus, Satan trembles.
In Christ
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bldv9M_nXXE
Saturday evening worship service.
Location: First United Methodist Church. Endicott
53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott.
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott
Saturday January 29.2011 6 PM Gathering: Coffee.
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music by Laureen Naik, Gary and Gena McMyne
Speaker:
Rev. Brown Naik,
Friday, January 28, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Brown's Daily Word 1-27-11
Good morning,
The Lord blessed our Wednesday evening gathering last night. The food is always delicious. The fellowship is always sweet. Our daughter Sunita landed safely back in Washington, DC safely despite the heavy snowfall in our nation's capitol. Praise the Lord. Boston is getting another heavy snowfall. Our grand- children who live there love snow so they are having a great time snowshoeing, sledding, making snow angels, and enjoying other snow activities.
A few years ago I met Elizabeth Elliot, the widow of the late Jim Elliot, in person. Whenever I read her book, "Through Gates of Splendor", I am moved to tears. There are many who recognize the names of Nate Saint … Roger Youderian … Ed McCully … Peter Fleming … Jim Elliot. In 1955 these five young men (all under the age of 35) gathered in Ecuador with a vision of reaching a tribe of Indians called the Aucas (the word means “savage,” a name given to them by other tribes) who lived deep in the rain forest. No one had ever presented the gospel to them. These five missionaries, all highly trained and deeply devoted to God, began praying about ways to make contact. In September they began flying over an Auca village, lowering a pot containing gifts for the Indians. Eventually the Aucas took the gifts and replaced them with simple gifts of their own.
In January 1956, the five men decided the time had come to make contact in person. After much prayer they established a base camp on a sandy beach of the Curaray River. On January 8, 1956—at about 3:30 PM, they were speared to death by the Indians who mistakenly thought they had come to hurt them. The news shocked the world. Many people wondered how young men with so much promise could waste their lives that way. When the journals of Jim Elliot were published several years later, they were found to contain this sentence, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
The Apostle Paul would agree. Once you decide that your life won’t last forever, you are free to invest it in a cause greater than yourself. You give up what you can’t keep so that in the end you gain what you can never lose. This is what Paul meant when he said, “Whether by life or death.” Paul confessed, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). Here is Paul’s personal mission statement. If we fully understand this then we will understand how Paul could “turn the world upside down” wherever he went.
When James Montgomery Boice came to this verse in his exposition of Philippians, he commented that it is really a definition of what a Christian is. A Christian understands that Christ is his life—and that dying is gain.
What does the phrase “to live is Christ” really mean? F. B. Meyer said that Christ is “the essence of our life … the model of our life … the aim of our life … the solace of our life … the reward of our life.” In other words we live in Christ, for Christ, by Christ, through Christ, and from Christ. He is the beginning, the middle and the end of life. He is truly the Alpha and Omega, the A and Z, and every letter in between.
May Jesus be praised.
Brown
Saturday evening worship service.
Location: First United Methodist Church. Endicott
53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott.
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott
Saturday January 29.2011 6 PM Gathering: Coffee.
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music by Laureen Naik, Gary and Gena McMyne
Speaker:
Rev. Brown Naik,
The Lord blessed our Wednesday evening gathering last night. The food is always delicious. The fellowship is always sweet. Our daughter Sunita landed safely back in Washington, DC safely despite the heavy snowfall in our nation's capitol. Praise the Lord. Boston is getting another heavy snowfall. Our grand- children who live there love snow so they are having a great time snowshoeing, sledding, making snow angels, and enjoying other snow activities.
A few years ago I met Elizabeth Elliot, the widow of the late Jim Elliot, in person. Whenever I read her book, "Through Gates of Splendor", I am moved to tears. There are many who recognize the names of Nate Saint … Roger Youderian … Ed McCully … Peter Fleming … Jim Elliot. In 1955 these five young men (all under the age of 35) gathered in Ecuador with a vision of reaching a tribe of Indians called the Aucas (the word means “savage,” a name given to them by other tribes) who lived deep in the rain forest. No one had ever presented the gospel to them. These five missionaries, all highly trained and deeply devoted to God, began praying about ways to make contact. In September they began flying over an Auca village, lowering a pot containing gifts for the Indians. Eventually the Aucas took the gifts and replaced them with simple gifts of their own.
In January 1956, the five men decided the time had come to make contact in person. After much prayer they established a base camp on a sandy beach of the Curaray River. On January 8, 1956—at about 3:30 PM, they were speared to death by the Indians who mistakenly thought they had come to hurt them. The news shocked the world. Many people wondered how young men with so much promise could waste their lives that way. When the journals of Jim Elliot were published several years later, they were found to contain this sentence, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
The Apostle Paul would agree. Once you decide that your life won’t last forever, you are free to invest it in a cause greater than yourself. You give up what you can’t keep so that in the end you gain what you can never lose. This is what Paul meant when he said, “Whether by life or death.” Paul confessed, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). Here is Paul’s personal mission statement. If we fully understand this then we will understand how Paul could “turn the world upside down” wherever he went.
When James Montgomery Boice came to this verse in his exposition of Philippians, he commented that it is really a definition of what a Christian is. A Christian understands that Christ is his life—and that dying is gain.
What does the phrase “to live is Christ” really mean? F. B. Meyer said that Christ is “the essence of our life … the model of our life … the aim of our life … the solace of our life … the reward of our life.” In other words we live in Christ, for Christ, by Christ, through Christ, and from Christ. He is the beginning, the middle and the end of life. He is truly the Alpha and Omega, the A and Z, and every letter in between.
May Jesus be praised.
Brown
Saturday evening worship service.
Location: First United Methodist Church. Endicott
53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott.
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott
Saturday January 29.2011 6 PM Gathering: Coffee.
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music by Laureen Naik, Gary and Gena McMyne
Speaker:
Rev. Brown Naik,
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Brown's Daily Word 1-26-11
Praise the Lord for this Wednesday. Our daughter Sunita is flying back to Washington, DC today from Uganda. She was in Kampala for several days for work.
We will gather for our mid-week fellowship and Bible study tonight. We will first meet for a meal at 6 PM and will gather for a video presentation and discussion on "Becoming a Contagious Christian" at 6:30. The Choir will meet for practice at 7:30PM.
Today is the Republic Day celebration in India. I was watching some of the celebrations in Delhi, India. The Government of India displayed its military hardware and weapons mass destruction. India is rising to become one of the super powers. Russia, China, and North Korea parade their weapons of mass destruction during times national celebration. We in the States never display our military hardware during their July Fourth celebrations.
Our President gave his State of the Union speech yesterday. We praise the Lord for America the beautiful, the best place on earth to live. May Jesus bless our nation.
We all need encouragement from time to time. All of us at some time or other face a crisis when everything seems to fall apart. There are times of discouragement when things go wrong even when we are trying to do right. At such times, people may even say, “That’s what you get for trying to do right.” There are times of uncertainty, when don’t know how things are going to turn out. There are times of stress, when our load seems heavier than we can bear or the task is more than we can handle. There can also be times of fear when our very sense of security is threatened. In all of those kinds of situations we need to be encouraged in the Lord.
In the midst of a time of great distress it says of David in 1 Samuel 30:6, “…But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.” “Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters….” Some went so far as to suggest that they stone David. It is always easy in a crisis to blame somebody else or to look for a scapegoat.
What does this have to do with encouraging ourselves in God? Frequently, when our life gets hairy, we are tempted to do what David’s troops did. We want to take it out on someone else. We all know the old addage, "misery loves company". When we are in the "pit of despair", instead of spending time with God and asking Him what to do, we become stupid and insensitive. We are hurting so we hurt someone else. People who are hurting often hurt other people.
Think of what must have been going through David’s mind as he stood over the ruins of his home not knowing whether his family was dead or alive. He must have asked himself some serious questions, such as, “Why, if God is with me, is Saul trying to kill me? Why is Saul so insanely jealous of me? Why, if I am anointed, do I have hide myself in the wilderness? Is this the reward I get for being a man after God’s own heart?”
Is it not possible that God intended that a crisis be allowed in David’s life that would force him to seek some answers from deep within? David had a choice. He could either, as a great many of us do, just stand there and continue to look, and see nothing but the disaster, or he could look beyond his circumstances and see God. David looked deep within himself and there he met God. When he did that he found the strength and direction to carry one.
Verse six continues “…But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.”
It is in the book of 1 Samuel 30:6 we find perhaps the most eloquent “but” in the Bible. David had lost just as much as any of the rest of the men. David’s only worldly possession at that moment was the clothing he wore. Everything else was gone; his property was carried off by raiders, his home was a mass of smoldering embers. Yet one thing that the Amalekites had not taken and could not take from him was his relationship with God. Although he could no longer say, “My house, my city, my possessions,” he could say, “My God.” David was able to strengthen himself in the Lord because he had a personal relationship with God.
Alexander MacClaren stated it this way, “Whatever else we lose, as long as we have Him we are rich; and whatever else we possess, we are poor as long as we have Him. God is enough; whatever else may go.”
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vO_bKR2Wzhk
We will gather for our mid-week fellowship and Bible study tonight. We will first meet for a meal at 6 PM and will gather for a video presentation and discussion on "Becoming a Contagious Christian" at 6:30. The Choir will meet for practice at 7:30PM.
Today is the Republic Day celebration in India. I was watching some of the celebrations in Delhi, India. The Government of India displayed its military hardware and weapons mass destruction. India is rising to become one of the super powers. Russia, China, and North Korea parade their weapons of mass destruction during times national celebration. We in the States never display our military hardware during their July Fourth celebrations.
Our President gave his State of the Union speech yesterday. We praise the Lord for America the beautiful, the best place on earth to live. May Jesus bless our nation.
We all need encouragement from time to time. All of us at some time or other face a crisis when everything seems to fall apart. There are times of discouragement when things go wrong even when we are trying to do right. At such times, people may even say, “That’s what you get for trying to do right.” There are times of uncertainty, when don’t know how things are going to turn out. There are times of stress, when our load seems heavier than we can bear or the task is more than we can handle. There can also be times of fear when our very sense of security is threatened. In all of those kinds of situations we need to be encouraged in the Lord.
In the midst of a time of great distress it says of David in 1 Samuel 30:6, “…But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.” “Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters….” Some went so far as to suggest that they stone David. It is always easy in a crisis to blame somebody else or to look for a scapegoat.
What does this have to do with encouraging ourselves in God? Frequently, when our life gets hairy, we are tempted to do what David’s troops did. We want to take it out on someone else. We all know the old addage, "misery loves company". When we are in the "pit of despair", instead of spending time with God and asking Him what to do, we become stupid and insensitive. We are hurting so we hurt someone else. People who are hurting often hurt other people.
Think of what must have been going through David’s mind as he stood over the ruins of his home not knowing whether his family was dead or alive. He must have asked himself some serious questions, such as, “Why, if God is with me, is Saul trying to kill me? Why is Saul so insanely jealous of me? Why, if I am anointed, do I have hide myself in the wilderness? Is this the reward I get for being a man after God’s own heart?”
Is it not possible that God intended that a crisis be allowed in David’s life that would force him to seek some answers from deep within? David had a choice. He could either, as a great many of us do, just stand there and continue to look, and see nothing but the disaster, or he could look beyond his circumstances and see God. David looked deep within himself and there he met God. When he did that he found the strength and direction to carry one.
Verse six continues “…But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.”
It is in the book of 1 Samuel 30:6 we find perhaps the most eloquent “but” in the Bible. David had lost just as much as any of the rest of the men. David’s only worldly possession at that moment was the clothing he wore. Everything else was gone; his property was carried off by raiders, his home was a mass of smoldering embers. Yet one thing that the Amalekites had not taken and could not take from him was his relationship with God. Although he could no longer say, “My house, my city, my possessions,” he could say, “My God.” David was able to strengthen himself in the Lord because he had a personal relationship with God.
Alexander MacClaren stated it this way, “Whatever else we lose, as long as we have Him we are rich; and whatever else we possess, we are poor as long as we have Him. God is enough; whatever else may go.”
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vO_bKR2Wzhk
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Brown's Daily Word 1-25-11
Good morning,
It is a brisk New York winter morning, but energizing and enervating. It was rather cold yesterday for a walk outside, so my wife took advantage of the size of the local mall as a walk spot.
Whenever I read the faith stories of Naomi and Ruth, I am blessed, inspired, and challenged. When Naomi heard that God had visited His people, she returned to her home town of Bethlehem. Yes, she felt hurt by her circumstances, and she was still bitter and angry, but nonetheless she returned. Naomi said, in essence, God has afflicted me, and I am unhappy about it, but where else would I go? He is God and, ultimately, it is He “to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4.13).
We do not want our faith to end when circumstances seem to conspire against us. If we are under the "frowning providence" of God, we need to take a step in the right direction by turning back to the Lord and going where he blesses. We must return to the church and the covenant people, and to corporate worship, even in our hurt and bitterness. To whom else can we go?
Naomi instructed Ruth and Orpah to return to their homelands and families. “Think,” she said. “You will not have a husband or children; instead, you will have trouble and hardship. Turn back.” Orpah followed the instruction of her mother-in-law. Longing for her family and friends, she decided that was the better life and better path. Amazingly, we hear no more about her in the Bible.
The Bible does not promise a life of comfort and ease, but it does promise an eternity of reward and joy. However, that destiny is often reached by the path of suffering. Orpah realized that the way of continuing with her mother-in-law was difficult and turned aside to a more pleasant path.
Ruth’s hope was not so sentimental. She has wisdom beyond her years and beyond Naomi's efforts to dissuade her. Despite an apparently hopeless future of widowhood, childlessness, and poverty, Ruth took Naomi’s hand and walked with her to Bethlehem, saying, “Where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.”
Ruth had come to trust in Naomi’s God in spite of Naomi’s bitterness. She left the Moabite god, Chemosh, and commited herself to the faith of the covenant people. True faith turns to God for a future hope and promise. Ruth demonstrated ideal womanhood as she saw beyond present bitter setbacks. Not controlled by a demand for the securities and comforts of the world, she had courage to go into the unknown, under God's leading. She was radically committed to relationships with the people God brought into her life. Women like Ruth are not prized by a confused culture and lost world, but hers is the kind God honors and entrusts with the work of his kingdom.
Ruth lived an extraordinary faith in a very ordinary life. She returns a widow to a foreign land, worked as a farmhand, and obeyed and served her mother-in-law. She worshipped Jehovah, and she proceeded to love her husband and raise godly children. Other than in the book of Ruth her name is mentioned only in Matthew 1:5 to note that her son was Obed, in the family line of Jesus our Lord and Savior.
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIim2Hvz0sE
Saturday evening worship service.
Location: First United Methodist Church. Endicott
53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott.
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott
Saturday January 29.2011 6 PM Gathering: Coffee.
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music by Laureen Naik, Gary and Gena McMyne
Speaker:
Rev. Brown Naik,
It is a brisk New York winter morning, but energizing and enervating. It was rather cold yesterday for a walk outside, so my wife took advantage of the size of the local mall as a walk spot.
Whenever I read the faith stories of Naomi and Ruth, I am blessed, inspired, and challenged. When Naomi heard that God had visited His people, she returned to her home town of Bethlehem. Yes, she felt hurt by her circumstances, and she was still bitter and angry, but nonetheless she returned. Naomi said, in essence, God has afflicted me, and I am unhappy about it, but where else would I go? He is God and, ultimately, it is He “to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4.13).
We do not want our faith to end when circumstances seem to conspire against us. If we are under the "frowning providence" of God, we need to take a step in the right direction by turning back to the Lord and going where he blesses. We must return to the church and the covenant people, and to corporate worship, even in our hurt and bitterness. To whom else can we go?
Naomi instructed Ruth and Orpah to return to their homelands and families. “Think,” she said. “You will not have a husband or children; instead, you will have trouble and hardship. Turn back.” Orpah followed the instruction of her mother-in-law. Longing for her family and friends, she decided that was the better life and better path. Amazingly, we hear no more about her in the Bible.
The Bible does not promise a life of comfort and ease, but it does promise an eternity of reward and joy. However, that destiny is often reached by the path of suffering. Orpah realized that the way of continuing with her mother-in-law was difficult and turned aside to a more pleasant path.
Ruth’s hope was not so sentimental. She has wisdom beyond her years and beyond Naomi's efforts to dissuade her. Despite an apparently hopeless future of widowhood, childlessness, and poverty, Ruth took Naomi’s hand and walked with her to Bethlehem, saying, “Where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.”
Ruth had come to trust in Naomi’s God in spite of Naomi’s bitterness. She left the Moabite god, Chemosh, and commited herself to the faith of the covenant people. True faith turns to God for a future hope and promise. Ruth demonstrated ideal womanhood as she saw beyond present bitter setbacks. Not controlled by a demand for the securities and comforts of the world, she had courage to go into the unknown, under God's leading. She was radically committed to relationships with the people God brought into her life. Women like Ruth are not prized by a confused culture and lost world, but hers is the kind God honors and entrusts with the work of his kingdom.
Ruth lived an extraordinary faith in a very ordinary life. She returns a widow to a foreign land, worked as a farmhand, and obeyed and served her mother-in-law. She worshipped Jehovah, and she proceeded to love her husband and raise godly children. Other than in the book of Ruth her name is mentioned only in Matthew 1:5 to note that her son was Obed, in the family line of Jesus our Lord and Savior.
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIim2Hvz0sE
Saturday evening worship service.
Location: First United Methodist Church. Endicott
53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott.
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott
Saturday January 29.2011 6 PM Gathering: Coffee.
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music by Laureen Naik, Gary and Gena McMyne
Speaker:
Rev. Brown Naik,
Monday, January 24, 2011
Brown's Daily Word 1-24-11
Good morning,
Praise the Lord for this new day. It is bitterly cold here in New York, with sub-zero temperatures. The Lord blessed us with a very full and very blessed weekend. We had service of death and resurrection Friday evening followed by a full dinner. Saturday evening worship was a real blessing. I had thought of canceling the Saturday evening worship service due to frigid weather. We decided to hold worship, and there were several peoplewho came for the evening worship, including 7 new people who came; it was a great thrill. We had blessed day in the house of the Lord yesterday. I preached during the 8:30 and 11:00 AM services in Union Center, and our friend Mike Wingard preached at Wesley. The Gospel reading was taken from Mathew 4:18 ff. This is the story our Lord's calling of the disciples by the sea of Galillee.
Imagine that these followers, these fishermen, didn’t even take any fish when they followed Jesus. Instead, complete trust gave them a complete life. Real trust gave them real hope. They did not decide to attend once or twice a year or to merely catch Jesus at the feeding of the 5000. They were not just sold on Jesus; they were sold out.
Mike Slaughter, Minister at Ginghamsburg Church in Ohio and author of the book Real Followers says Jesus spoke to everyone but the people who heard fell into three categories. They were the curious, the convinced, and the committed. The disciples were beyond the curious. They were convinced that Jesus was for real and they wanted to become real followers. They fell into the realm of the committed.
The difference in lifestyle is immediately apparent as the curious show up and then leave when Jesus asks for sacrifice and commitment. The convinced are there faithfully like a bunch of roadies at a rock concert. The committed are those who make meaningful sacrifices and lasting commitment. The real follower is found in the life of the one who is committed. Jesus asks for commitment and sacrifice and they give it. The mark of a real disciple is dependence on Jesus and allowing him to lead you. This concept is completely counter to our culture.
Jesus needed and still does need people who are willing to follow him to the ends of the earth.
Becoming a real follower is something that is going to require decision, dedication, and dependence. In Luke’s version of this text Peter falls at Jesus’ feet and declares, “Lord I am a sinful man”
In the words of Thomas Long:...."In these stories of the calling of the disciples, then, Jesus disrupts family structures and disturbs patterns of working and living. He does so, however, not to destroy but to renew. Peter and Andrew do not cease being brothers; they are now brothers who do the will of God (Matt. 12:50). James and John do not cease being sons; they are now not only the children of Zebedee but also the children of God. All four of these disciples leave their fishing nets, but they do not stop fishing. They are now, in the kingdom of heaven, fishers for people. Their past has not been obliterated; it has been transformed by Jesus' call to follow."
“When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die”: Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GINNh15cT08
Praise the Lord for this new day. It is bitterly cold here in New York, with sub-zero temperatures. The Lord blessed us with a very full and very blessed weekend. We had service of death and resurrection Friday evening followed by a full dinner. Saturday evening worship was a real blessing. I had thought of canceling the Saturday evening worship service due to frigid weather. We decided to hold worship, and there were several peoplewho came for the evening worship, including 7 new people who came; it was a great thrill. We had blessed day in the house of the Lord yesterday. I preached during the 8:30 and 11:00 AM services in Union Center, and our friend Mike Wingard preached at Wesley. The Gospel reading was taken from Mathew 4:18 ff. This is the story our Lord's calling of the disciples by the sea of Galillee.
Imagine that these followers, these fishermen, didn’t even take any fish when they followed Jesus. Instead, complete trust gave them a complete life. Real trust gave them real hope. They did not decide to attend once or twice a year or to merely catch Jesus at the feeding of the 5000. They were not just sold on Jesus; they were sold out.
Mike Slaughter, Minister at Ginghamsburg Church in Ohio and author of the book Real Followers says Jesus spoke to everyone but the people who heard fell into three categories. They were the curious, the convinced, and the committed. The disciples were beyond the curious. They were convinced that Jesus was for real and they wanted to become real followers. They fell into the realm of the committed.
The difference in lifestyle is immediately apparent as the curious show up and then leave when Jesus asks for sacrifice and commitment. The convinced are there faithfully like a bunch of roadies at a rock concert. The committed are those who make meaningful sacrifices and lasting commitment. The real follower is found in the life of the one who is committed. Jesus asks for commitment and sacrifice and they give it. The mark of a real disciple is dependence on Jesus and allowing him to lead you. This concept is completely counter to our culture.
Jesus needed and still does need people who are willing to follow him to the ends of the earth.
Becoming a real follower is something that is going to require decision, dedication, and dependence. In Luke’s version of this text Peter falls at Jesus’ feet and declares, “Lord I am a sinful man”
In the words of Thomas Long:...."In these stories of the calling of the disciples, then, Jesus disrupts family structures and disturbs patterns of working and living. He does so, however, not to destroy but to renew. Peter and Andrew do not cease being brothers; they are now brothers who do the will of God (Matt. 12:50). James and John do not cease being sons; they are now not only the children of Zebedee but also the children of God. All four of these disciples leave their fishing nets, but they do not stop fishing. They are now, in the kingdom of heaven, fishers for people. Their past has not been obliterated; it has been transformed by Jesus' call to follow."
“When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die”: Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GINNh15cT08
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