Praise the Lord. It is Friday and Sunday is coming. Praise the Lord for the way He places before us an open door to worship Him, witness for Him, and serve Him. May the Holy Spirit provoke us to magnify and glorify His Name in word and deed.
One of the persons who dearly loved the Lord and glorified Him in and through her words and deeds is Corrrie Ten Boom. Corrie is one of the saints of Jesus. William Barkley defines a saint as the one who makes it easier for others to believe in Jesus Christ. Corrie Ten Boom certainly did that. She was born in 1892 into a loving, Christian family in the Netherlands. Corrie was living with her older sister and her father in Haarlem when Holland surrendered to the Nazis. As World War II came to the Netherlands, she was 48, unmarried, and worked as a watchmaker in the shop that her grandfather had started in 1837. Her family was deeply committed to the Lord and participated in the Dutch Reformed Church. Her father was a kind man who was friends with half of the residents of the city of Haarlem. Her mother had been known for her kindness to others before her death from a stroke.
Corrie’s family was involved with her church’s effort to give temporary shelter to her Jewish neighbors who were being driven out of their homes. She found places for them to stay in the Dutch countryside. Soon the word spread, and more and more people came to her home for shelter. As quickly as she would find places for them, more would arrive. She had a false wall constructed in her bedroom that led into a hiding place for the Jewish people who were being hunted by the Nazis.
On February 28, 1944, a man came into their shop and asked Corrie to help him. He said that he and his wife had been hiding Jews and that she had been arrested. He needed six hundred gilders to bribe a policeman for her freedom. Corrie promised to help. She found out later that he was a quisling, an informant that had worked with the Nazis from the first day of the occupation. He turned Corrie’s family in to the Gestapo. Later that day, her home was raided, and Corrie and her family were arrested.
Corrie’s father died of an illness within 10 days of being arrested, but Corrie and her older sister Betsie remained in a series of prisons and concentration camps, first in Holland and later in Germany. Although for many people, the concentration camp would have been the end of their work, for Corrie and Betsie the months they spent in Ravensbruck became "their finest hour." The truth of the matter is that Corrie’s finest hour was filled with constant battles with fear of the unknown.
When Corrie Ten Boom and her sister Betsy first arrived at the German concentration camp, they were ordered to strip naked and pass before the watching eyes of German soldiers. These godly women, raised in a devout Christian home where purity and chastity were virtues, were horrified at the experience. Not only were they enduring incredible humiliation, they also did not know whether they would be allowed to live or be executed. The terror of the unknown was before them and they feared for their lives because they knew they were considered the enemy.
How did they keep from coming undone in their experience? They were, in fact, able to keep “the peace that surpasses all understanding” as they stood before the guards. Corrie tells the story of how her sister, Betsy, turned to her and said that they were going to rejoice in the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings. Time and time again, through all kinds of humiliating and degrading experiences, watching countless people killed, with the smell of death all around them, they rejoiced through their fear. They rejoiced because there was Someone in whom they could rejoice. Their fear and doubt were conquered by a deep faith that enabled them to rejoice – no matter what their circumstances or their future.
Because of the strength they drew from keeping their eyes on Christ, who had suffered so willingly for them, Corrie and Betsie were able to keep their eyes off themselves so that they could minister hope and faith to those around them. Corrie described a typical evening in which they would use their smuggled Bible to hold worship services:
"At first Betsie and I called these meetings with great timidity. But as night after night went by and no guard ever came near us, we grew bolder. So many now wanted to join us that we held a second service after evening roll call. These were services like no others, these times in Barracks 28. A single meeting night might include a recital of the Magnificat in Latin by a group of Roman Catholics, a whispered hymn by some Lutherans, and a chant by Easter Orthodox women. With each moment the crowd around us would swell, packing the nearby platforms, hanging over the edges, until the high structures groaned and swayed. At last either Betsie or I would open the Bible. Because only the Hollanders could understand the Dutch text we would translate aloud in German. And then we would hear the life-giving words passed back along the aisles in French, Polish, Russian, Czech, and back into Dutch. They were little previews of heaven, these evenings beneath the light bulb." (Ten Boom 1971, p. 201)
Corrie and Betsie faithfully ministered to their imprisoned and desperate congregation that was housed in the shadow of the crematorium. They overcame their fear for their own lives by keeping their eyes on the One who had suffered on Calvary’s cross, willingly, for them. In response to their stance of faith, Jesus empowered them by His Spirit, touching countless lives that would eventually make their way to death’s door. Corrie wrote,
"If God had not used my sister Betsie and me to bring them to Him, they would never have heard of Him. Many died, or were killed, but many died with the name of Jesus on their lips. They were well worth all our suffering. Faith is like a radar which sees through the fog—the reality of things at a distance that the human eye cannot see."
Betsie, whose health was weak throughout her time in the concentration camp, grew steadily weaker and died on December 16, 1944, just 12 days before Corrie was released from Ravensbruck. Some of her last words to Corrie were, "...we must tell them what we have learned here. We must tell them that there is no pit so deep that He is not deeper still. They will listen to us, Corrie, because we have been here." (Ten Boom, 1971, p. 217)
On December 28, 1944, after ten months of living in concentration camps, Corrie Ten Boom was free. She had lost her father and beloved sister to the horrors of Nazi death camps. For the rest of her life Corrie Ten Boom would tell the story of God’s deep love, His faithfulness in all situations, to countless millions around the world.
When we stand staring at our fears, there is no better place to gaze than upon the presence of Almighty God. This is where we can gain the peace and power that is needed to faithfully stand even though the winds of turbulence beat against our soul and the waves of fear wash over our hearts. We must gaze into His faithfulness, look into His eyes of mercy, and think constantly about His power and Sovereign grace that empowers us to faithfully stand regardless of what may come.
Corrie Ten Boom once said, “When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don’t throw away your ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.”
Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.” (Isaiah 12:2 NIV)
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPPSG_SpojY
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 February 19, 2011
6PM Coffee Fellowship
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music: Worship Band from Hawleyton UMC
Speaker: Rev. Bill Puckey
Friday, February 18, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Brown's Daily Word 2-17-11
The Lord blessed us with a very beautiful Wednesday evening gathering. It is going to be another mild day. Thank you Jesus. It is written in the Book of Galatians that, instead of using our freedom to indulge the pull of sin we are to serve one another in love. The entire message of Galatians is about freedom. You and I are free to become slaves of Jesus, servants of the Almighty God, and full surrender and service to God brings about more freedom than we can obtain in any other manner. We are called by God to do His work, in His world, for His glory and His glory alone. The truth is, no matter who we are we are going to serve some thing or somebody. We are either going to serve ourselves, subject ourselves to another person, ideology, philosophy, goa,l or aspiration in life, or we will willingly and humbly bow our knee before the throne of Lord of lords and the King of kings and say, “Here I am Lord. Use me.”
The theme of service, of offering our lives to God so that we might be blessing to others, is a theme that runs throughout Scripture. In Philippians we read, "If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:1-4 NIV)
After Paul calls the Philippians to consider others as better than themselves, he gives them the precedent for this type of lifestyle. Paul uses the life of Jesus as the model, the benchmark, for the followers of Jesus. Paul says that even though Jesus was God, He willingly took off the robes of royalty and submitted Himself to death on the cross for you and me. What a model! What an inspiration! What a Savior!
Mark 10 "Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:42-45 NIV)
The One we honor, the One we adore, the One we worship as the crucified and risen Savior was willing to give His all in service to those who had turned away from Him. I know that most of us are willing to go the extra mile when someone we know and love is hurting. I have seen over and over again that when tragedy strikes in a home or a heart others rush to the side of the one who is struggling, but most often these folks are close friends or someone we feel is deserving of our time and help. God’s Word does not categorize our service. Jesus didn’t come to give His life for those who loved Him or those who were deserving of His sacrifice. Jesus came to save sinners. He laid down His life for those who were His enemies, those who beat Him unmercifully, and hung Him on a cross.
I believe with all of my heart that we can gauge how we are growing in our walk with the Lord by our willingness to serve those around us who can give nothing in return, perhaps those who have hurt us in the past, or those whom we think are undeserving of our time and energy. There are not any among us for whom this type of love and sacrifice comes naturally. When someone hurts us, says bad things about us, or breaks our hearts our automatic reaction is to strike back. When somebody is a taker, a user, and a manipulator our automatic response is to run from them and never give them the time of day. It is written: The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” In Timothy George’s wonderful commentary on Galatians he quotes the great theologian John Calvin. "Why did Paul call the selfless love of neighbor the fulfilling of the whole law? Not because it is superior to the worship and adoration of God, but rather because it is the proof of it. God is invisible; but he represents himself to us in the brethren and in their persons demands what is due to himself. Love to men springs only from the fear and love of God. (John Calvin, Calvin’s New Testament Commentary. 11:101.)
God represents Himself to us in those around us. We are called to love, to serve, and to sacrifice what we want so that we might be used to do what God wants in the lives of others. Professing to be a follower of Jesus doesn’t equate with a life of selfless sacrifice. We must die to ourselves and allow the Lord to rule our hearts. Only then will we see His lifestyle of sacrifice lived out in common, ordinary folks like you and me.
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGbuz8QuhmE
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 February 19, 2011
6PM Coffee Fellowship
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music: Worship Band from Hawleyton UMC
The theme of service, of offering our lives to God so that we might be blessing to others, is a theme that runs throughout Scripture. In Philippians we read, "If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:1-4 NIV)
After Paul calls the Philippians to consider others as better than themselves, he gives them the precedent for this type of lifestyle. Paul uses the life of Jesus as the model, the benchmark, for the followers of Jesus. Paul says that even though Jesus was God, He willingly took off the robes of royalty and submitted Himself to death on the cross for you and me. What a model! What an inspiration! What a Savior!
Mark 10 "Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:42-45 NIV)
The One we honor, the One we adore, the One we worship as the crucified and risen Savior was willing to give His all in service to those who had turned away from Him. I know that most of us are willing to go the extra mile when someone we know and love is hurting. I have seen over and over again that when tragedy strikes in a home or a heart others rush to the side of the one who is struggling, but most often these folks are close friends or someone we feel is deserving of our time and help. God’s Word does not categorize our service. Jesus didn’t come to give His life for those who loved Him or those who were deserving of His sacrifice. Jesus came to save sinners. He laid down His life for those who were His enemies, those who beat Him unmercifully, and hung Him on a cross.
I believe with all of my heart that we can gauge how we are growing in our walk with the Lord by our willingness to serve those around us who can give nothing in return, perhaps those who have hurt us in the past, or those whom we think are undeserving of our time and energy. There are not any among us for whom this type of love and sacrifice comes naturally. When someone hurts us, says bad things about us, or breaks our hearts our automatic reaction is to strike back. When somebody is a taker, a user, and a manipulator our automatic response is to run from them and never give them the time of day. It is written: The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” In Timothy George’s wonderful commentary on Galatians he quotes the great theologian John Calvin. "Why did Paul call the selfless love of neighbor the fulfilling of the whole law? Not because it is superior to the worship and adoration of God, but rather because it is the proof of it. God is invisible; but he represents himself to us in the brethren and in their persons demands what is due to himself. Love to men springs only from the fear and love of God. (John Calvin, Calvin’s New Testament Commentary. 11:101.)
God represents Himself to us in those around us. We are called to love, to serve, and to sacrifice what we want so that we might be used to do what God wants in the lives of others. Professing to be a follower of Jesus doesn’t equate with a life of selfless sacrifice. We must die to ourselves and allow the Lord to rule our hearts. Only then will we see His lifestyle of sacrifice lived out in common, ordinary folks like you and me.
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGbuz8QuhmE
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 February 19, 2011
6PM Coffee Fellowship
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music: Worship Band from Hawleyton UMC
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Brown's Daily Word 2-16-11
Praise the Lord for this warm Wednesday. We will meet for our mid-week gathering today at 6 PM with a home made meal prepared with much love and served with great passion. Whenever I read about the times and the lives of the servants of Christ such as William Carey, John Wesley, Jim Elliot, and others I get excited about the call of Christ upon our lives. He has the prior claim in our lives. Recently I was reading about Walter Gowans
Walter Gowans knew that the Lord was calling him from his homeland to share the gospel in the Sudan.( How the world is now riveted on Egypt, and the whole region of North Africa) He traveled there to work among the people of the region because he knew that was God's plan for his life. God had so impacted his life that it was evident to those around him that Walter was part of something much bigger than his own dreams and aspirations. Walter's mother, who lived in Canada, was so captivated by her son's passion for the mission that she felt as if she were with him every day. Rowland Bingham, one of the founders of the worldwide missionary organization called, S.I.M. writes of the impact that Walter's mother had upon his life. Bingham wrote,
"In the quietness of her parlor she told how God had called a daughter to China, and her eldest boy (Walter Gowans) to the Sudan. She spread out before me the vast extent of those thousands of miles and filled in the teeming masses of people. Ere I closed the interview she had placed upon me the burden of the Sudan. "
Mr. Bingham felt as if God Himself were calling him to leave his post and go to the Sudan to join Walter Gowans as a missionary to the people of the Sudan. He did just that and then eighteen months later Bingham returned to Canada, alone. Walter lay buried in Nigeria's interior. Bingham writes of visiting Mrs. Gowans when he got home,
"I visited Mrs. Gowans to take her the few personal belongings of her son, he recalled. She met me with extended hand. We stood there in silence. Then she said these words: 'Well, Mr. Bingham, I would rather have had Walter go out to the Soudan and die there, all alone, that have him home today, disobeying his Lord.'
What can cause a mother to say such stunning words? It is only the love of God that could allow her to see that there are more important things in this life than life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. More important that these inalienable rights are passionate obedience, radical obedience to the will of God.
Rowland Bingham, after he visited with Mrs. Gowans and gave her the news of her son's death at age of 25, went back to Nigeria where 60 million people were waiting to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. The year was 1900 when he went back to follow God's call and he failed. In 1901, Rowland Bingham and his assistants set up the first home base for the mission at Patigi, 500 miles up the Niger River. Today there are still S.I.M missionaries working to spread the gospel throughout all of Africa. Rowland Bingham once wrote.
Our success in this venture means nothing less than the opening of the country for the gospel; our failure, at most, nothing more than the death of two or three deluded fanatics. Still, even death is not failure. His purposes are accomplished. He uses deaths as well as lives in the furtherance of His cause.
Young men in their early twenties, possessed with a deep love for their Savior and an undying thirst to serve Him no matter the cost has resulted in the salvation of millions. Obedience cost Walter Gowans his life, but today we know him as an overcomer who willingly paid the price of obedience because of his love for Jesus and his desire to see others come to know his Savior's love.
You and I are in a battle every day. If you are not aware of the battle that rages against you by the Enemy of the people of God then that is ample evidence that you are losing ground. The battle is being waged and the troops are growing weary because they have not been told that the battle is won. It's not won by intellect, cunning, brute strength, or the power of the will - it is won because of the victory of the Son. Whatever battle you are facing today we need to know that through Christ Jesus we are more than a conqueror!
"He’s the master of the mighty. He’s the capturer of conquerors. He’s the head of heroes. He’s the leader of legislators. He’s the overseer of the overcomers. He’s the Governor of the governors. He’s the Prince of princes. He’s the King of kings. He’s the Lord of lords. You can trust him.
His office is manifold. His promise is sure. His life is matchless. His goodness is limitless. His mercy is everlasting. His love never changes. His word is enough. His grace is sufficient. His reign is righteous. His yoke is easy. His burden is light. I wish I could describe Him to you. He’s indescribable because He’s incomprehensible. He’s irresistible because He’s invincible. You can’t get Him off your hands. You can’t get off your mind. You can’t outlive Him, and you can’t live without Him. Pilate couldn’t stand it when he found out that he couldn’t stop Him. Pilate couldn’t find any fault in Him, and the witnesses couldn’t get their testimonies to agree, and Herod couldn’t kill Him. And death couldn’t handle Him, and thank God, the grave couldn’t hold Him. There was nobody before Him. There’ll be nobody after Him. He has no predecessor. He’ll have no successor. You can’t impeach Him, and He’s not going to resign. You can trust Him.
He’s the Alpha and the Omega. The beginning and the end. The first and the last. He’s all things. He’s the giver of life. He’s the joy out of every sorrow. He’s the light of every darkness. He’s the peace that passes all understanding. He’s the giver of every good and perfect gift. You can trust Him. There’s no God before Him. There’ll be none after Him. He is the first. He is the last. He is preeminent. There is no other God".S.M. Lockridge
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yX_7j32zgNw
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 February 19, 2011
6PM Coffee Fellowship
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music: Worship Band from Hawleyton UMC
Speaker: Rev. Bill Puckey
Walter Gowans knew that the Lord was calling him from his homeland to share the gospel in the Sudan.( How the world is now riveted on Egypt, and the whole region of North Africa) He traveled there to work among the people of the region because he knew that was God's plan for his life. God had so impacted his life that it was evident to those around him that Walter was part of something much bigger than his own dreams and aspirations. Walter's mother, who lived in Canada, was so captivated by her son's passion for the mission that she felt as if she were with him every day. Rowland Bingham, one of the founders of the worldwide missionary organization called, S.I.M. writes of the impact that Walter's mother had upon his life. Bingham wrote,
"In the quietness of her parlor she told how God had called a daughter to China, and her eldest boy (Walter Gowans) to the Sudan. She spread out before me the vast extent of those thousands of miles and filled in the teeming masses of people. Ere I closed the interview she had placed upon me the burden of the Sudan. "
Mr. Bingham felt as if God Himself were calling him to leave his post and go to the Sudan to join Walter Gowans as a missionary to the people of the Sudan. He did just that and then eighteen months later Bingham returned to Canada, alone. Walter lay buried in Nigeria's interior. Bingham writes of visiting Mrs. Gowans when he got home,
"I visited Mrs. Gowans to take her the few personal belongings of her son, he recalled. She met me with extended hand. We stood there in silence. Then she said these words: 'Well, Mr. Bingham, I would rather have had Walter go out to the Soudan and die there, all alone, that have him home today, disobeying his Lord.'
What can cause a mother to say such stunning words? It is only the love of God that could allow her to see that there are more important things in this life than life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. More important that these inalienable rights are passionate obedience, radical obedience to the will of God.
Rowland Bingham, after he visited with Mrs. Gowans and gave her the news of her son's death at age of 25, went back to Nigeria where 60 million people were waiting to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. The year was 1900 when he went back to follow God's call and he failed. In 1901, Rowland Bingham and his assistants set up the first home base for the mission at Patigi, 500 miles up the Niger River. Today there are still S.I.M missionaries working to spread the gospel throughout all of Africa. Rowland Bingham once wrote.
Our success in this venture means nothing less than the opening of the country for the gospel; our failure, at most, nothing more than the death of two or three deluded fanatics. Still, even death is not failure. His purposes are accomplished. He uses deaths as well as lives in the furtherance of His cause.
Young men in their early twenties, possessed with a deep love for their Savior and an undying thirst to serve Him no matter the cost has resulted in the salvation of millions. Obedience cost Walter Gowans his life, but today we know him as an overcomer who willingly paid the price of obedience because of his love for Jesus and his desire to see others come to know his Savior's love.
You and I are in a battle every day. If you are not aware of the battle that rages against you by the Enemy of the people of God then that is ample evidence that you are losing ground. The battle is being waged and the troops are growing weary because they have not been told that the battle is won. It's not won by intellect, cunning, brute strength, or the power of the will - it is won because of the victory of the Son. Whatever battle you are facing today we need to know that through Christ Jesus we are more than a conqueror!
"He’s the master of the mighty. He’s the capturer of conquerors. He’s the head of heroes. He’s the leader of legislators. He’s the overseer of the overcomers. He’s the Governor of the governors. He’s the Prince of princes. He’s the King of kings. He’s the Lord of lords. You can trust him.
His office is manifold. His promise is sure. His life is matchless. His goodness is limitless. His mercy is everlasting. His love never changes. His word is enough. His grace is sufficient. His reign is righteous. His yoke is easy. His burden is light. I wish I could describe Him to you. He’s indescribable because He’s incomprehensible. He’s irresistible because He’s invincible. You can’t get Him off your hands. You can’t get off your mind. You can’t outlive Him, and you can’t live without Him. Pilate couldn’t stand it when he found out that he couldn’t stop Him. Pilate couldn’t find any fault in Him, and the witnesses couldn’t get their testimonies to agree, and Herod couldn’t kill Him. And death couldn’t handle Him, and thank God, the grave couldn’t hold Him. There was nobody before Him. There’ll be nobody after Him. He has no predecessor. He’ll have no successor. You can’t impeach Him, and He’s not going to resign. You can trust Him.
He’s the Alpha and the Omega. The beginning and the end. The first and the last. He’s all things. He’s the giver of life. He’s the joy out of every sorrow. He’s the light of every darkness. He’s the peace that passes all understanding. He’s the giver of every good and perfect gift. You can trust Him. There’s no God before Him. There’ll be none after Him. He is the first. He is the last. He is preeminent. There is no other God".S.M. Lockridge
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yX_7j32zgNw
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 February 19, 2011
6PM Coffee Fellowship
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music: Worship Band from Hawleyton UMC
Speaker: Rev. Bill Puckey
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Brown's Daily Word 2-15-11
Good morning,
The Lord gave us a beautiful and very blessed day yesterday. Snow has begun to melt. Our daughter Jessie and our son-in-law Tom celebrated their first wedding anniversary yesterday.
I conducted a memorial service yesterday for a young man named Steve. Steve died suddenly last Friday at home. He was only 44 years old. Many many family members and friends attended the service. In the face of death we proclaim the Good News of life eternal in Jesus Christ who came, who saw, and who conquered death. One of the powerful passages is found in 1 John 5:1-6, “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth.” 1 John 5:1-6 (NKJV)
This text reveals that we will face powerful opposition in this world. This opposition is necessary. Helen Keller, famous for the difficulties she overcame being born blind, made the observation that, “The marvelous richness of human experience would lose something of rewarding joy if there were not limitations to overcome. The hilltop hour would not be half so wonderful if there were no dark valleys to traverse.” It is the difficulties in life that give us the opportunity to know what it is like to have victory.
Those who do not know the Lord merely survive in the world. To those who love the Lord and serve Him He has given the authority and power to overcome. “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world.” There is no way to be an overcomer without a new birth, without being born again. Being an overcomer demands that we be born again. There is not one lost person alive today who can honestly say that they are living joyful, fulfilled, victorious lives. That person does not have the ingredient necessary for a victorious life. “And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith." Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is Lord? He is Lord and Savior, who has redeemed us through His blood at the cross. There is mystery and wonder that in and through His death He has given us life and victory.
Let me share about a story, that I have heard in several different forms, “Years ago in London, a liberal minister who didn't believe in the gospel, was visited by a young boy who had been sent by his mother. He said, ‘My mother is dying. Please come and get here in!’ At first he believed the boy meant that his mother was out drunk somewhere so the minister said to the boy, ‘Get a policeman, it is raining out and I don't want to go out. Get a policeman to get her home.’ The boy replied, ‘She is already at home. She’s not drunk; she is at home and she is dying.’ Now the minister was stunned as he understood that she needed words of comfort to face her Maker, so he was worried about what to say. When he arrived at her beside, he told her that she had lived a good life. ‘You've nothing to fear,’ he said, ‘God is Love.’ But his words gave her no hope. The pastor became desperate. All he could remember was a hymn his mother had sung when he was a boy, so he began to sing, ‘There is a fountain filled with blood drawn Immanuel’s veins, and sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.’ Seeing the woman’s face brighten, he falteringly related what he had been taught in his youth - that Christ took the sinner’s place on the cross. In those moments the dying woman found peace by trusting Jesus as her Savior. Presenting the gospel to her, the minister ‘got her.’ The next Sunday he told his congregation about his experience. He concluded, ‘Not only did it get her in, it got me in too. From now on I’ll preach Christ, and Him crucified."
It is written in Revelation 12:11, “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.” (NKJV)
We can overcome the obstacles that we face in this life through the strength that we receive in the Lord. We are reminded in 1 John 4:4, “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (NKJV)
If you have been born again, you have already been made an overcomer in Him. We have already been given the victory through the blood of Jesus Christ. Our challenge now is to live in the light of the victory that has already been won.
In Christ,we are more than conquerors.
Brown
This devotion is posted on my facebookpage.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymrZO1PZbU4
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 February 12, 2011
6PM Coffee Fellowship
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music .: Worship Band from Hawleyton UMC
Speaker: Rev. Bill Puckey
The Lord gave us a beautiful and very blessed day yesterday. Snow has begun to melt. Our daughter Jessie and our son-in-law Tom celebrated their first wedding anniversary yesterday.
I conducted a memorial service yesterday for a young man named Steve. Steve died suddenly last Friday at home. He was only 44 years old. Many many family members and friends attended the service. In the face of death we proclaim the Good News of life eternal in Jesus Christ who came, who saw, and who conquered death. One of the powerful passages is found in 1 John 5:1-6, “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth.” 1 John 5:1-6 (NKJV)
This text reveals that we will face powerful opposition in this world. This opposition is necessary. Helen Keller, famous for the difficulties she overcame being born blind, made the observation that, “The marvelous richness of human experience would lose something of rewarding joy if there were not limitations to overcome. The hilltop hour would not be half so wonderful if there were no dark valleys to traverse.” It is the difficulties in life that give us the opportunity to know what it is like to have victory.
Those who do not know the Lord merely survive in the world. To those who love the Lord and serve Him He has given the authority and power to overcome. “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world.” There is no way to be an overcomer without a new birth, without being born again. Being an overcomer demands that we be born again. There is not one lost person alive today who can honestly say that they are living joyful, fulfilled, victorious lives. That person does not have the ingredient necessary for a victorious life. “And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith." Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is Lord? He is Lord and Savior, who has redeemed us through His blood at the cross. There is mystery and wonder that in and through His death He has given us life and victory.
Let me share about a story, that I have heard in several different forms, “Years ago in London, a liberal minister who didn't believe in the gospel, was visited by a young boy who had been sent by his mother. He said, ‘My mother is dying. Please come and get here in!’ At first he believed the boy meant that his mother was out drunk somewhere so the minister said to the boy, ‘Get a policeman, it is raining out and I don't want to go out. Get a policeman to get her home.’ The boy replied, ‘She is already at home. She’s not drunk; she is at home and she is dying.’ Now the minister was stunned as he understood that she needed words of comfort to face her Maker, so he was worried about what to say. When he arrived at her beside, he told her that she had lived a good life. ‘You've nothing to fear,’ he said, ‘God is Love.’ But his words gave her no hope. The pastor became desperate. All he could remember was a hymn his mother had sung when he was a boy, so he began to sing, ‘There is a fountain filled with blood drawn Immanuel’s veins, and sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.’ Seeing the woman’s face brighten, he falteringly related what he had been taught in his youth - that Christ took the sinner’s place on the cross. In those moments the dying woman found peace by trusting Jesus as her Savior. Presenting the gospel to her, the minister ‘got her.’ The next Sunday he told his congregation about his experience. He concluded, ‘Not only did it get her in, it got me in too. From now on I’ll preach Christ, and Him crucified."
It is written in Revelation 12:11, “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.” (NKJV)
We can overcome the obstacles that we face in this life through the strength that we receive in the Lord. We are reminded in 1 John 4:4, “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (NKJV)
If you have been born again, you have already been made an overcomer in Him. We have already been given the victory through the blood of Jesus Christ. Our challenge now is to live in the light of the victory that has already been won.
In Christ,we are more than conquerors.
Brown
This devotion is posted on my facebookpage.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymrZO1PZbU4
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 February 12, 2011
6PM Coffee Fellowship
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music .: Worship Band from Hawleyton UMC
Speaker: Rev. Bill Puckey
Monday, February 14, 2011
Brown's Daily Word 2-14-11
Praise the Lord for this good day, indeed a gift from the Lord. I trust you had a very blessed weekend of worship and renewal. The Lord blessed us wonderfully during our Saturday evening and Sunday morning worship services. Praise the Lord for the way He is at work around the corner and around the globe. We see before our very eyes the winds of change that blowing in the Middle East and spreading across the region. The nation celebrated President Reagan's 100 birthday this month. During his presidency the Lord moved in the Soviet Union and Europe to bring down the strongholds of communism. We are witnessing the crumbling down of totalitarian regimes of Islamic oppression and tyranny. We will keep on trusting in our Lord God who is sovereign in every way and in every age.
I have a copy of the book by Francis Schaeffer titled, "How Should We Then Live?" This title is also a quote from the King James Version of Ezekiel 33:10.
Schaeffer had a gift for using words well, and this is nowhere seen more clearly than in that book’s title. Then is a very simple word. We hardly think twice about our use of it, but when we reflect on the word then in "How Should We Then Live?" it is clear at once that it is the most important word.
Schaeffer is very clear about where he thinks Western culture is headed. Even though Schaeffer wrote this book in 1976 his writing is remarkably up-to-date. He looked at trends such as increasing economic breakdown, violence in all areas of life and all countries, extreme poverty for many of the Third World’s peoples, a love of affluence, and the underlying relativism of Western thought and concluded that the choice before us is either totalitarianism—an imposed but arbitrary social order—or “once again affirming that base which gave freedom without chaos in the first place—God’s revelation in the Bible and his revelation through Christ.”
Schaeffer’s point is that those who have received this revelation must also act upon it, because that is the very nature of the revelation. It demands application. Schaeffer wrote, “As Christians we are not only to know the right world view, the world view that tells us the truth of what is, but consciously to act upon that world view so as to influence society in all its parts and facets across the whole spectrum of life, as much as we can to the extent of our individual and collective ability.”
So, for example, we live in a culture in which there is an increasing assault on God’s existence, God’s law, and biblical revelation as the basis for how we should then live.
Several years ago, particularly during the elections of the nineties, there was an emphasis on “family values”, but unless we acknowledge God and God’s saving acts as the source and basis for our values, anyone who thinks clearly may refute our concern with such questions as these: What kind of family values are we talking about? A nuclear family? A single-parent family? A homosexual family? Why should one be preferred above another? Or why should we want families at all? In other words, the call for values always invites these rejoinders: Whose values are we talking about and why those?
Paul's writings in the Book Romans12 state, “therefore” (meaning “In view of what I have just been writing), you must not live for yourselves but rather give yourselves wholly to God.” Finally, the Apostle Paul said, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers. . . .to present your bodies as a living sacrifice” (12:1 b, e). Only believers can do that.
Unbelievers cannot present their bodies as a living sacrifice to God. They must first receive and embrace the mercies of God before they can present their bodies as a living sacrifice to God. John MacArthur wrote, "The key to spiritual victory and true happiness is not in trying to get all we can from God but in giving all that we are and have to him."
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEfJpJ1lhQc
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 February 12, 2011
6PM Coffee Fellowship
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music .: Worship Band from Hawleyton UMC
Speaker: Rev. Bill Puckey
I have a copy of the book by Francis Schaeffer titled, "How Should We Then Live?" This title is also a quote from the King James Version of Ezekiel 33:10.
Schaeffer had a gift for using words well, and this is nowhere seen more clearly than in that book’s title. Then is a very simple word. We hardly think twice about our use of it, but when we reflect on the word then in "How Should We Then Live?" it is clear at once that it is the most important word.
Schaeffer is very clear about where he thinks Western culture is headed. Even though Schaeffer wrote this book in 1976 his writing is remarkably up-to-date. He looked at trends such as increasing economic breakdown, violence in all areas of life and all countries, extreme poverty for many of the Third World’s peoples, a love of affluence, and the underlying relativism of Western thought and concluded that the choice before us is either totalitarianism—an imposed but arbitrary social order—or “once again affirming that base which gave freedom without chaos in the first place—God’s revelation in the Bible and his revelation through Christ.”
Schaeffer’s point is that those who have received this revelation must also act upon it, because that is the very nature of the revelation. It demands application. Schaeffer wrote, “As Christians we are not only to know the right world view, the world view that tells us the truth of what is, but consciously to act upon that world view so as to influence society in all its parts and facets across the whole spectrum of life, as much as we can to the extent of our individual and collective ability.”
So, for example, we live in a culture in which there is an increasing assault on God’s existence, God’s law, and biblical revelation as the basis for how we should then live.
Several years ago, particularly during the elections of the nineties, there was an emphasis on “family values”, but unless we acknowledge God and God’s saving acts as the source and basis for our values, anyone who thinks clearly may refute our concern with such questions as these: What kind of family values are we talking about? A nuclear family? A single-parent family? A homosexual family? Why should one be preferred above another? Or why should we want families at all? In other words, the call for values always invites these rejoinders: Whose values are we talking about and why those?
Paul's writings in the Book Romans12 state, “therefore” (meaning “In view of what I have just been writing), you must not live for yourselves but rather give yourselves wholly to God.” Finally, the Apostle Paul said, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers. . . .to present your bodies as a living sacrifice” (12:1 b, e). Only believers can do that.
Unbelievers cannot present their bodies as a living sacrifice to God. They must first receive and embrace the mercies of God before they can present their bodies as a living sacrifice to God. John MacArthur wrote, "The key to spiritual victory and true happiness is not in trying to get all we can from God but in giving all that we are and have to him."
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEfJpJ1lhQc
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 February 12, 2011
6PM Coffee Fellowship
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music .: Worship Band from Hawleyton UMC
Speaker: Rev. Bill Puckey
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
