Praise the Lord for
another brilliant day. Praise the Lord for the way we find Joy in the presence
of Jesus our Lord. It is written, "weeping may tarry for the night but Joy
comes in the morning". Laureen and I were sharing last evening about the
faithfulness of our Lord. She was sharing with me how blessed she is knowing
Christ and serving Him. We were sharing and praising the Lord how Jesus hands
were kind Hands. His hands were gentle yet mighty. His Hands were tender yet
very firm. His hands are gentle enough to wipe every tear, yet strong enough to
hold the whole world in His Hands. Jesus’ hands transformed everything He
touched.
A blind man once
lived in a deep darkness , but touched by Jesus’ hands color and movement
flooded his life. A leper’s body was diseased and rotting; he was covered with
shame and no one would come near him out of fear, that is, until Jesus touched
the untouchable and his body was made whole and his relationships were
restored. A widow’s son died, and his death meant excruciating loss to her in
every way, but as they carried the young man’s body on a stretcher, taking it to
a dark tomb while his soul was taking its place in the realm of the dead, Jesus’
hands held him and he smiled at his mother as life pulsed through his body. The
funeral procession stopped and a dance
began.
One summer day the
Lord was on a mountain overlooking the Sea of Galilee. There were thousands of
people gathered in the presence of Jesus who desired to be in His presence.
They forgot themselves and were concentrating on Jesus alone. It was dusk.
Jesus performed a great miracle using His Hands again. Here was a God who was
not looking down on the world trying to see what he could get from his subjects
and control them, but a God who was genuinely touched by human need. Jesus took the meager substance the young boy had
for his lunch and multiplied it into abundance so that thousands were filled and
blessed, and still there were leftovers.
Without Jesus we have nothing to give to people. We have nothing to say, nothing to give, nothing to offer. What we do have is something to offer to Jesus. We take the little bit that we have, that we were saving for ourselves, and give it to Him — all of it. He takes our pitiful little offering and turns it into something that cannot only satisfy the needs of other people, but an abundance beyond that. A little in my hands becomes a lot in Jesus’ hands.
How often we want life to become a little bit better. We want a therapeutic gospel that will help us feel better. We want to feel safe and secure. We want a better government. We want our marriages to be better. We want our finances to improve so we will be more comfortable. We want God’s material blessings and think little of the true gifts that God really wants to bless us with.
Recently Texas governor Rick Perry asked people to pray for rain. He said, “I urge Texans of all faiths and traditions to offer prayers on that day for the healing of our land, the rebuilding of our communities and the restoration of our normal way of life.” But there has been an outcry against any call to prayer. Arizona Governor Jan Brewer is also being targeted for her Day of Prayer proclamations. A news agency reports, “The Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation, which has made elimination of the Day of Prayer a central cause of its existence, filed a lawsuit last month to prevent Brewer from declaring May 5 this year’s ‘Day of Prayer’ in Arizona.”
How little we understand our real needs. How little we want to understand our total dependence on God. He is our Creator. He is the source of all things. He is the One on whom we depend for all things in this life. We cannot find life anywhere else. This is the very thing that people today do not want to acknowledge, choosing to not even acknowledge that we are dependent on Him for rain or food. Americans tend to have the misconceived notion that we can do all this ourselves, and desire not to acknowledge that He exists. Many would make it illegal to pray.
Where does all this leave us? Truly we must acknowledge our dependence on God. We need to realize what our real need is: to know God and accept his gift of the Bread of Life. We must stop looking in all the wrong places for the things that we think we need, that we think will ultimately fulfill us. It means that we must rest, truly rest, in the God who can meet all of our true needs. We are to turn from fear and turn to faith.
Without Jesus we have nothing to give to people. We have nothing to say, nothing to give, nothing to offer. What we do have is something to offer to Jesus. We take the little bit that we have, that we were saving for ourselves, and give it to Him — all of it. He takes our pitiful little offering and turns it into something that cannot only satisfy the needs of other people, but an abundance beyond that. A little in my hands becomes a lot in Jesus’ hands.
How often we want life to become a little bit better. We want a therapeutic gospel that will help us feel better. We want to feel safe and secure. We want a better government. We want our marriages to be better. We want our finances to improve so we will be more comfortable. We want God’s material blessings and think little of the true gifts that God really wants to bless us with.
Recently Texas governor Rick Perry asked people to pray for rain. He said, “I urge Texans of all faiths and traditions to offer prayers on that day for the healing of our land, the rebuilding of our communities and the restoration of our normal way of life.” But there has been an outcry against any call to prayer. Arizona Governor Jan Brewer is also being targeted for her Day of Prayer proclamations. A news agency reports, “The Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation, which has made elimination of the Day of Prayer a central cause of its existence, filed a lawsuit last month to prevent Brewer from declaring May 5 this year’s ‘Day of Prayer’ in Arizona.”
How little we understand our real needs. How little we want to understand our total dependence on God. He is our Creator. He is the source of all things. He is the One on whom we depend for all things in this life. We cannot find life anywhere else. This is the very thing that people today do not want to acknowledge, choosing to not even acknowledge that we are dependent on Him for rain or food. Americans tend to have the misconceived notion that we can do all this ourselves, and desire not to acknowledge that He exists. Many would make it illegal to pray.
Where does all this leave us? Truly we must acknowledge our dependence on God. We need to realize what our real need is: to know God and accept his gift of the Bread of Life. We must stop looking in all the wrong places for the things that we think we need, that we think will ultimately fulfill us. It means that we must rest, truly rest, in the God who can meet all of our true needs. We are to turn from fear and turn to faith.
In
Christ,
Brown
We are excited about summer events
that are yet to come. Our Annual VBS, "SKY", will be held August 13-17 from 6 PM
to 8:30 PM, at the First UMC, 54 McKinley Avenue, Endicott. We plan for a
city-wide outreach for the city of Endicott. Pray for us as we plan to reach
children with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The week culminates with our annual
Carnival and Chicken Barbeque ( 12 noon - 4 PM) which will be held at Union
Center UMC, 128 Maple Drive, Endicott. It will be a time of great fellowship,
festivities, food, and fun for all. Pony rides and many games have been planned
for all ages.
Ice Creme Gathering : Family Fellowship and
Sharing. Sunday August 19,2012.
Starting to serve at 4.30 PM: Location: Wesley
United Methodist Church. 100 Day Hollow Road, Endicott. NY 13760
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