Good morning,
Praise the Lord for this new day. The Lord blessed us with a "Fantastic"( As they say in England) Wednesday Evening gathering. The fellowship was sweet and the study of the Word of the Lord was a great thrill. Alice and I walked for almost 4 miles, between 8:45 and almost 10 PM. Sunita called from Armenia yesterday. The Lord has blessed her time there. She will be flying back to Washington tomorrow.
One of the hymns of the church our grand daughter Micah loves to sing is, "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing", which, in one verse, states, "Here I raise my Ebenezer". In 1 Samuel 7:12, we read, “Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far has the LORD helped us.”
Our President gave his the State of the Union Address earlier this week. He narrated his take on the 'State of the Union'. Samuel, the great prophet of the nation of Israel, called a meeting of the nation’s leaders. He gave his state of the union address to his people. He told them that if they wanted to experience the blessings of God, they needed to return to their faith in him. Times had been hard and the people were not feeling any particular sense of gratitude to God, but they would never be any better until they turned to God. The entire nation responded positively. At Mizpah, the nation gathered in prayer to seek God’s blessing again. Just at that moment, the Philistine army, the dreaded enemy, saw an opportunity to attack while Israel’s warriors were in prayer. Samuel, however, learned of the treachery. The soldiers formed battle lines and the Philistines were turned back in defeat. It was a great victory for Israel!
The stone that Samuel called Ebenezer was a memorial to God’s faithfulness. Here we raise our Ebenezer because “Thus far has the Lord helped us.” That’s a reminder we could always use! In contrast, Israel didn’t need a memorial to the tough times they had been through. After all, they had experienced them. We don’t need a memorial to our loss and grief. Some things we never forget. Those ancient Israelites were unlikely to forget the years of discouragement.
Memory is an amazing thing. Psychologists tell us that we never really forget anything. Every experience, both good and bad, is filed securely in our mental memory banks. Sometimes we "lose the key", or forget where we put it, but it is still there. We never forget most of the really important things in life. Even when the memories start to grow dim, there are always lots of memorials to bring back our recall. Israel didn’t need a memorial to remind them of what they had been through, but they did need a special reminder of something that can too easily get lost in the darkness. That was the memorial that Samuel raised before them that day. The song says it well, “Here I raise my Ebenezer, Hither by thy help I’ve come.”
The memories of the hard times remain. So can the memory of God’s faithfulness. That was Samuel’s challenge. He wanted his people to not only remember what they had been through, but he wanted them to never forget the Lord who had seen them through it.
Our President gave his the State of the Union Address earlier this week. He narrated his take on the 'State of the Union'. Samuel, the great prophet of the nation of Israel, called a meeting of the nation’s leaders. He gave his state of the union address to his people. He told them that if they wanted to experience the blessings of God, they needed to return to their faith in him. Times had been hard and the people were not feeling any particular sense of gratitude to God, but they would never be any better until they turned to God. The entire nation responded positively. At Mizpah, the nation gathered in prayer to seek God’s blessing again. Just at that moment, the Philistine army, the dreaded enemy, saw an opportunity to attack while Israel’s warriors were in prayer. Samuel, however, learned of the treachery. The soldiers formed battle lines and the Philistines were turned back in defeat. It was a great victory for Israel!
The stone that Samuel called Ebenezer was a memorial to God’s faithfulness. Here we raise our Ebenezer because “Thus far has the Lord helped us.” That’s a reminder we could always use! In contrast, Israel didn’t need a memorial to the tough times they had been through. After all, they had experienced them. We don’t need a memorial to our loss and grief. Some things we never forget. Those ancient Israelites were unlikely to forget the years of discouragement.
Memory is an amazing thing. Psychologists tell us that we never really forget anything. Every experience, both good and bad, is filed securely in our mental memory banks. Sometimes we "lose the key", or forget where we put it, but it is still there. We never forget most of the really important things in life. Even when the memories start to grow dim, there are always lots of memorials to bring back our recall. Israel didn’t need a memorial to remind them of what they had been through, but they did need a special reminder of something that can too easily get lost in the darkness. That was the memorial that Samuel raised before them that day. The song says it well, “Here I raise my Ebenezer, Hither by thy help I’ve come.”
The memories of the hard times remain. So can the memory of God’s faithfulness. That was Samuel’s challenge. He wanted his people to not only remember what they had been through, but he wanted them to never forget the Lord who had seen them through it.
God has helped us. Robert Louis Stevenson, in one of his stories, told of a passenger ship crossing the Atlantic. It encountered a harsh storm that threatened to overwhelm the ship. The captain ordered the passengers below while the crew battled the storm above. At one point, the passengers grew impatient. They hadn’t heard a word from the bridge in a long time. Finally, a volunteer ventured out to see how things were going. A short time later, the man returned to the huddled passengers. “Did you see the captain? What did he say? Are we going to make it?” The messenger responded, ‘I didn’t talk to the captain. But I saw him. He looked at me and smiled. All is well!” And that was enough!
The storm still raged, but your Captain smiled. All is well. Here we raise our Ebenezer. Thus far, the Lord has helped us, and we trust that He will continue to help us.
In Christ,
The storm still raged, but your Captain smiled. All is well. Here we raise our Ebenezer. Thus far, the Lord has helped us, and we trust that He will continue to help us.
In Christ,
Brown
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Praise and Worship Service
First United Methodist Church, Endicott
Sponsored by Union Center UMC
6 PM Gathering - Coffee - Fellowship
6:30 PM Worship
Music: Laureen Naik
Speaker: Brown Naik
On FEBRUARY 11, 2012 Saturday, at First United Methodist Church, 53 McKinley Ave., Endicott, at 5:30 PM - There will be a Special Banquet prepared by Joe Walker, including a variety of international Cuisine... It will be a great celebration. At 6:30 PM there will be a Hymn Sing with Aric Phinney at the Grand Piano and Yancey Moore at the Organ. Dave Berry will lead the Hymn Sing.
On FEBRUARY 4 & 5, the Movie, “Courageous” is to be shown. On Saturday, at First United Methodist Church, 53 McKinley Ave, Endicott the Doors will open at 5:30. On Sunday the movie will be shown at Union Center UMC, doors opening at 2:00. As vividly illustrated in COURAGEOUS, the impact of fathers in the lives of their children is immense. This powerful film has been the starting point for a movement of fathers creating a legacy of Godly families. A free will offering will benefit the youth retreat in April.
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