Good morning,
Praise the Lord, for He is the Maker of Haven and Earth. He decorates the earth with His matchless beauty and splendor. The Lord blessed us with a Wonderful Wednesday. Sweet Spring has already arrived here in New York. It is beautiful. The Lord blessed us with a great Wednesday gathering for study and fellowship. The food was delicious and plentiful. The Bible Study time was sweet. We talked about the Healing Christ offers to us. We read about the healing Christ performed that is recorded in John 4.
It is written that this healing was the second sign Jesus performed, according to St John. Can sickness, even sickness unto death, be such a blessing for a Christian? On the surface it would seem not. How can a Christian do God’s will if he is lying in bed, flat on his back? How can pain, discomfort, medical treatment and surgery as well as the compounding effects of medication be in any way a blessed state?
Tony Campolo tells a story about being in a church in Oregon where he was asked to pray for a man who had cancer. Campolo prayed boldly for the man’s healing. That next week he got a telephone call from the man’s wife. She said, “You prayed for my husband. He had cancer.” Campolo thought, when he heard her use the past tense verb, that his cancer had been eradicated! Before he could think much about it she said, “He died.” Campolo felt terrible. But she continued, “Don’t feel bad. When he came into church that Sunday he was filled with anger. He knew he was going to be dead in a short period of time, and he hated God. He was 58 years old, and he wanted to see his children and grandchildren grow up. He was angry that this all-powerful God didn’t take away his sickness and heal him. He would lie in bed and curse God. The more his anger grew towards God, the more miserable he was to everybody around him. It was an awful thing to be in his presence. But the lady told Campolo, “After you prayed for him, a peace had come over him and a joy had come into him. Tony, the last three days have been the best days of our lives. We’ve sung. We’ve laughed. We’ve read Scripture. We prayed. Oh, they’ve been wonderful days. And I called to thank you for laying your hands on him and praying for healing.” And then she said something incredibly profound. She said, “He wasn’t cured, but he was healed.” (Tony Campolo, “Year of Jubilee”, Preaching Today Tape #212.)
Jesus died so we might be healed of our sins. We may not be cured, but we are now healed from the penalty, power, and eventually, the presence of sin. God does all things well.
Every time time I read the story of Father Damien, I get challenged and blessed. in 1873, a young, brave Catholic priest Father Damien volunteered to spend his life serving the people secluded on the island of Molokai, Hawaii, which was a leper colony. When he arrived, he was startled to see people who were not only suffering physically, but socially, and emotionally, and spiritually. In the leper colony he saw extreme drunkenness, immorality, abuse, and an overall sense of hopelessness. What he saw were people who desperately needed to know the answer to a question we all ask... where is God? They needed God’s presence in their life. So, in 1873, Father Damien lived among the 700 lepers. Knowing the dangers, realizing the inevitable results of so much personal contact with a highly contagious disease. He built a hospital, clinics, and churches, and he also built some 600 coffins. The whole time he was giving them the answer to that question... where is God?
Whenever a church service was held, Father Damien would stand up in front of the lepers, and he would warmly and lovingly address them as "my dear brethren." Then, one morning in 1885, at the age of 45, in a calm clear voice, instead of "my dear brethren," he began with, "My fellow lepers, I am one of you now."
It was out of love that a humble priest became one of the them. Out of love he gave those lepers a gift that would change their life for all of eternity. He shared with them the answer to the ever-present question... "Where is God?" The only way he could give them the answer was by becoming one of them.
Jesus came to die for sinners like you and me. He became sin for us that we might have the opportunity to live in Him. He took our place that we might have a place with Him.
Jesus died so we might be healed of our sins. We may not be cured, but we are now healed from the penalty, power, and eventually, the presence of sin. God does all things well.
Every time time I read the story of Father Damien, I get challenged and blessed. in 1873, a young, brave Catholic priest Father Damien volunteered to spend his life serving the people secluded on the island of Molokai, Hawaii, which was a leper colony. When he arrived, he was startled to see people who were not only suffering physically, but socially, and emotionally, and spiritually. In the leper colony he saw extreme drunkenness, immorality, abuse, and an overall sense of hopelessness. What he saw were people who desperately needed to know the answer to a question we all ask... where is God? They needed God’s presence in their life. So, in 1873, Father Damien lived among the 700 lepers. Knowing the dangers, realizing the inevitable results of so much personal contact with a highly contagious disease. He built a hospital, clinics, and churches, and he also built some 600 coffins. The whole time he was giving them the answer to that question... where is God?
Whenever a church service was held, Father Damien would stand up in front of the lepers, and he would warmly and lovingly address them as "my dear brethren." Then, one morning in 1885, at the age of 45, in a calm clear voice, instead of "my dear brethren," he began with, "My fellow lepers, I am one of you now."
It was out of love that a humble priest became one of the them. Out of love he gave those lepers a gift that would change their life for all of eternity. He shared with them the answer to the ever-present question... "Where is God?" The only way he could give them the answer was by becoming one of them.
Jesus came to die for sinners like you and me. He became sin for us that we might have the opportunity to live in Him. He took our place that we might have a place with Him.
In Christ,
Brown
Friday March 16, 2012
Television Outreach
Time Warner Cable Channel 4
Time 7:00 PM
Saturday Evening Worship Service:
Location: First United Methodist Church
53 McKinley Avenue
Endicott, NY
Sponsored by: Union Center United Methodist Church
Time: 6:00 PM gathering for Coffee Fellowship
6:30 PM Worship Service
Date: Saturday, March 17, 2012
Speaker: Rev William Puckey
Special Music by Hawleyton United Methodist Church Worship Band.
For information, call 607-748-6329
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