Brown's Daily Word 9-18-12

Praise the Lord for this new day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. I had a very blessed and joyful Birthday celebration yesterday. I received birthday greetings from so many of you. I am blessed and very grateful to the Lord for all of you. I talked to our grandchildren. They had gone camping for the weekend. They got back home yesterday late afternoon. I talked to Micah, Simeon and Ada. When they gave the phone to Ada (20 months) she kept on talking. She was not willing to give the phone back to her mommy.

It is a great blessing to worship Jesus as our Lord and serve Him as our King. He invites us in to a life's journey in Joy. Somebody has said the Christian Gospel is an Invitation to Joy. Paul had discovered that life. In the midst of trials, tribulations, and intense persecution he lived a life of joy because He served the Jesus Christ, the Lord of Joy.

In the "Peanuts" cartoon Lucy asks Charlie Brown, "Did you ever know anyone who was really happy..." Before she can finish the question, Snoopy comes dancing into the next frame. As only Snoopy can, he dances his merry way across the frames while Lucy and Charlie watch in amazement. In the last frame Lucy finishes her question, "Did you ever know anyone who was really happy ... and was still in their right mind?"

We might want to ask that question of Paul. By the world's standards of happiness anyone who was in his position and in his right mind should have been miserable. He was in prison when he wrote the letter to the Philippians. He had lost everything. He was isolated from his closest co-workers and most intimate friends and, perhaps most difficult of all, he had no idea what the future might hold. He was waiting for the Emperor to decide whether he would live or die. By the world's standards, he should have been miserable, but with great audacity he declared, "Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I say, Rejoice!"

One of Paul's favorite words is the Greek word hilarotes, from which we get the word hilarity. It literally means "laughter from the heart." When Paul spoke of joy, he was not referring to the trivial, shallow, obscene, or mean-spirited stuff we call humor today. He meant a bone-deep, blood-rich, exuberant laughter which can only come up out of the depths of a person's soul - a joy which flows from the center of our being. It is a happiness coming from the depth of our hearts.

John 15:11 - "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full".

"Eternal Father of my soul, let my first thought today be of You,
Let my first impulse be to worship You,
Let my first speech be Your name,
Let my first action be to kneel before You in prayer.
For Your perfect wisdom and perfect goodness:
For the love with which You love mankind;
For the love with which You love me;
For the great and mysterious opportunity of my life;
For the indwelling of Your Spirit in my heart;
For the sevenfold gifts of Your Spirit;
I praise and worship You, O Lord.
Yet let me not, when this morning prayer is said,
Think my worship ended and spend the day in forgetfulness of You.
Rather from these moments of quietness,
let light go forth, and joy and power that will remain with me
through all the hours of the day,
Keeping me chaste in thought;
Keeping me temperate and truthful in speech;
Keeping me faithful and diligent in my work;
Keeping me humble in my estimation of myself;
Keeping me honorable and generous in my dealing with others;
Keeping me loyal to every hallowed memory of the past;
Keeping me mindful of my eternal destiny as a child of Yours.
Through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen." John Bailee
In Christ,
Brown
http://youtu.be/iPeVIuRjUi4

A Special Saturday Evening of Praise and Worship

Saturday September 29, 2012

Location: First United Methodist Church,
53 McKinley Ave., Endicott, NY

Sponsored by Union Center United Methodist Church.

5:30 PM Community Dinner

6:30 PM Praise and Worship

Special Music by: Praise and worship band

Soloist: Emma Brunson

Preacher: Pastor Marshall Sorber