Good morning,
Praise the Lord for this is Friday and Sunday is coming. My granddaughter and grandson love the New England Patriots. They, with their family will be watching the Superbowl this Sunday. A committed and devoted Christian athlete, Tim Tebow did not make it to the Superbowl. Contrary to popular opinion, God does not play favorites.
I was browsing through the news last night. It was reported that a devoted and committed missionary couple was murdered in Mexico yesterday. They have lived and worked in a small village in Mexico for over 20 years, ministering to the poor.
One of my favorite movies is Chariots of Fire, the story of Eric Liddell, who won a gold medal in the 400-meter race at the 1924 Olympics in Paris, France. After the Olympics he became a missionary to China. He was a wonderful and godly man. He was also so much loved, that the Chinese erected a monument to him after his death. Eric Liddell was so popular in his day that when he left Edinburgh for China in 1925, thousands of people went to the port just to get a glimpse of him boarding the ship so that they could wish him farewell.
During World War II Eric Liddell was taken prisoner and was among the two Prior to his arrest, Liddell managed to get his wife, Florence, and their two children to safety in Canada. (She was pregnant at the time with their third daughter, whom Eric would never see.) Unfortunately, however, just before the end of World War II, Eric Liddell developed a brain tumor. Because of the war he was not able to get appropriate medical attention, and he died several weeks later. He was just forty-two years old when he died.
How could that possibly be? Eric Liddell was a godly man who lived for the glory of Christ. He was a tremendous testimony to the grace of God. He was able to influence thousands of people to consider the claims of the gospel. Why should a young man who was making a difference for Christ die at such a young age? Why not have ungodly, wicked men have brain tumors die at forty-two?
"The Preacher" who wrote Ecclesiastes recognized that he lived in a time when some of the good die young and some of the wicked die old. People did not understand why bad things happen to some good people while some wicked people seem to prosper. It was difficult to make sense of how things worked in the world. It is against this background that the Preacher in Ecclesaistes 7 encouraged people to trust God even though they cannot make sense of this paradoxical world.
The Preacher began with an observation in verse 15, “In my vain life I have seen everything. There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing.” Such was the story of Eric Liddell. He “is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness.”
This is also the story of many righteous young people including the five young missionaries who were ambushed by the Aucas in Ecuador in 1955. They knew Jesus,, they loved the Lord,, and they wanted to serve Jesus their entire lives, but then, tragedy struck, and they were struck down in their youth.
On the other hand, there are many wicked and sinful people, who don’t care about God and the things of God. They care only about themselves. Many of them grow old and comfortable and prosperous. Why is this so? Why, so often, do the good die young and the live to be old? It seems so paradoxical. It seems so backward.
The Preacher said in verse 18, “It is good that you should take hold of this, and from that withhold not your hand, for the one who fears God shall come out from both of them.” The Preacher desired that we should understand and take hold of the truths that neither self-righteousness nor self-indulgence help us make sense of our paradoxical world. In fact, they both lead to destruction and death. However, the one who fears God, the one who trusts God, shall come out, or escape, from both of them.
The only way to live and act in a paradoxical world is to trust Jesus Christ,. When the righteous die young, we must trust Jesus Christ. When the economy does not work as expected, we must trust Jesus Christ . When the elections don’t give us the right politicians and leaders, we must trust the Lord Christ.. When our children turn their backs on the faith, we must trust the Lord.. When our spouse walks out on us, you must trust the Lord. When the world doesn’t make sense, we must trust Jesus Christ, the Alpha and Omega, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
The Preacher’s quest was to discover how to live a meaningful life. He had tried all kinds of ways to search out how to live a meaningful life, but, in a sense, the more he learned the less he knew.
Bible commentator Charles Bridges said that “our highest knowledge is but a mere atom, when compared with the unsearchable extent of our ignorance. The more we know of God—his nature (Job 9:7)—his works (Psalm 92:5)—his dispensations (Romans 11:33), the more we are humbled in the sense of our ignorance.”
We need to understand our own limitations in terms of what we know and even of what we can know. Recognizing our limitations should produce a humble trust and reliance upon what God has revealed to us in his Word. We live in a world that is often very difficult to understand. Often, things go awry, and we cannot understand it. Yet, in the midst of the paradoxical world, we can trust in Jesus, knowing that He is in sovereign control of all things. We can believe that nothing happens apart from His sovereign will. We must believe that He will work all things for His glory and our good — even though we do not understand it at the present time. We are called to serve Him, witness for Him, worship Him, and love Him. We are called to remain obedient and faithful. We are called to remain in the race that is set before us and, by His grace and for His glory, finish the race well.
In Christ who makes all things beautiful and glorious in His time.
Brown
http://youtu.be/e8HgAVenbUU
Friday, February 3, 2012
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Brown's Daily Word 2-2-12
Good morning,
Praise the Lord for this second day of February, also known as Groundhog's Day. It has been very mild. Alice and I walked for over 4 miles last night between 8: 45 and a little after 10 PM. The days are getting longer. The Lord is upon the Throne. He is sovereign. He is Almighty and all-glorious. All is well. Though it is Groundhog's Day here in the USA, it is the Day of God's Grace in His Kingdom everywhere. It is about grace upon grace.
For our Wednesday Gathering yesterday evening we looked briefly on John 3, which contains the first Nick at night incident. It is about coming face to face with grace.
Some time ago I read that during a British conference on comparative religions, experts from around the world were discussing whether any one belief was unique to the Christian faith. The debate went on for some time until C. S. Lewis wandered into the room. "What’s the rumpus about?" he asked, and heard in reply that his colleagues were discussing Christianity’s unique contribution among the world’s religions. Lewis responded, "Oh, that’s easy. It’s grace."
We read in John 3 how our Lord Jesus made room and time for one man who came to him by night. It was the dark night of the soul for Nicodemus. Our Lord also made room and time for a woman whom He met at midday by the well of Jacob as is recorded in John 4. It was the dark night of the soul for the Samaritan woman, whose name we do not know.
Nicodemus had devoted his life to keeping God’s law as well as all the manmade laws that were attached to it. He was an outstanding religious scholar & well respected in His field. He seemed to have everything: position, wealth, influence; status, education, & respect---yet he was searching for something more. He was awakened to his need of something far greater that what he had attained. He became aware of his own need of grace.
Nicodemus came to Jesus and put forth a question to Christ. Then he waited expectantly for a response from Jesus. The eyes of God looked at this intellectual, inquisitive, educated, wealthy, respected, religious, searching Pharisee, and saw beyond the courtesy of his demeanor to the inward cry of heart. With compassionate gentleness, yet convicting truthfulness, Jesus pinned down his need when He declared in simplicity, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of unless a man is born again,” (John 3:3). In essence, Jesus was saying, “Nicodemus unless you have a completely new beginning, unless you are born again you will not see the kingdom of God. Spiritual rebirth is the only answer to the unspoken, unconscious need of your heart.”
The expression of studied politeness must have been wiped from his face as Jesus' response pierced through all the layers of morality and religiosity,
all the years of thinking and training, all the accumulated pride and prejudice, all the complicated reasoning and rationalizing. Jesus’ words touched the very nerve in Nicodemus’s soul, and he asked with unbelief, “How can a man be born when he is old? . . . Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born” (John 3:4). With amazing clarity and simplicity Nicodemus seemed to have grasped that this was exactly what he was searching for. This was the need of his heart. This was the missing piece in his life. Nicodemus knew the answer was impossibly unattainable. It was beyond his reach. To be born again as Jesus described was beyond human achievement. Perhaps for the first time in his life, Nicodemus was aware that he was totally helpless .
Jesus makes change possible! Grace is the answer to our need! Grace teaches us that God loves us because of who God is, not because of who we are. Grace appeals to us, beckons us, calls to us.
Nicodemus came to Jesus and put forth a question to Christ. Then he waited expectantly for a response from Jesus. The eyes of God looked at this intellectual, inquisitive, educated, wealthy, respected, religious, searching Pharisee, and saw beyond the courtesy of his demeanor to the inward cry of heart. With compassionate gentleness, yet convicting truthfulness, Jesus pinned down his need when He declared in simplicity, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of unless a man is born again,” (John 3:3). In essence, Jesus was saying, “Nicodemus unless you have a completely new beginning, unless you are born again you will not see the kingdom of God. Spiritual rebirth is the only answer to the unspoken, unconscious need of your heart.”
The expression of studied politeness must have been wiped from his face as Jesus' response pierced through all the layers of morality and religiosity,
all the years of thinking and training, all the accumulated pride and prejudice, all the complicated reasoning and rationalizing. Jesus’ words touched the very nerve in Nicodemus’s soul, and he asked with unbelief, “How can a man be born when he is old? . . . Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born” (John 3:4). With amazing clarity and simplicity Nicodemus seemed to have grasped that this was exactly what he was searching for. This was the need of his heart. This was the missing piece in his life. Nicodemus knew the answer was impossibly unattainable. It was beyond his reach. To be born again as Jesus described was beyond human achievement. Perhaps for the first time in his life, Nicodemus was aware that he was totally helpless .
Jesus makes change possible! Grace is the answer to our need! Grace teaches us that God loves us because of who God is, not because of who we are. Grace appeals to us, beckons us, calls to us.
Ernest Hemingway told a story about a Spanish father whose relationship with his son Paco had become strained to the point that it eventually shattered. When his rebellious son ran away, his father began a long and difficult search to find him. As a last resort the exhausted father placed an ad in the Madrid newspaper, hoping that his son would see it and respond. The ad read, "Dear Paco, Please meet me in front of the Hotel Montana Noon Tuesday. All is forgiven. Papa". Since Paco is a common name in Spain, when the father went to the square he found eight hundred young men named Paco waiting for their fathers.
I believe that everyone is a “Paco”. They don’t know how but they long to experience the grace of God. We all have a longing, a need for a true home, where we can be accepted & cherished. We have this longing because God’s Spirit whispers to us to come home. Whatever we have done can be forgiven through Jesus’ finished work at the cross. No matter what we have done and regardless of what we have become, we can be made new through the grace and power of God.
I believe that everyone is a “Paco”. They don’t know how but they long to experience the grace of God. We all have a longing, a need for a true home, where we can be accepted & cherished. We have this longing because God’s Spirit whispers to us to come home. Whatever we have done can be forgiven through Jesus’ finished work at the cross. No matter what we have done and regardless of what we have become, we can be made new through the grace and power of God.
In His Grace,
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, which will include 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. For Information call : 607-748-1358. 607-748-6329
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Brown's Daily Word 1-31-12
Good morning,
Praise the Lord for this beautiful and brilliant day. Our daughter Janice wrote us a note yesterday saying it is just 7 weeks until spring. It is going to be a spring like day today. Thank you Jesus. Spring has almost arrived in Orissa, India. I have been talking to my friends and family members and they tell me the mango trees have started to blossom again. The spring birds, the harbingers of spring, have migrated back to announce the arrival of spring in Orissa. Praise the Lord for the seasons and the times of our lives.
In John’s Gospel we read about some Greeks who wanted to see Jesus. They wanted to be close to Him, to learn from Him, to check Him out, maybe to follow Him. There was something about Him that attracted them and gave them hope. It reminds me of Don Quixote’s sidekick, Sancho Panza, in Man of LaMancha. Sancho, when asked why he stuck with and followed Don Quixote in his fantasy world, replied, “I like him…I really like him.” The rich young ruler, the Greeks, and many others FOLLOWED JESUS BECAUSE THEY REALLY LIKED HIM; something about Him gave them hope.
According to Jesus our Lord, LIFE COMES THROUGH FOLLOWING. “Whoever serves me must follow me…” John 12. We live as servants. The Book of John repeatedly shows Jesus teaching that WE HAVE A GOD-GIVEN PURPOSE OF SERVANTHOOD. We are to serve Him. He came not “To be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28). As evangelist D. L. Moody once said, “The measure of a man is not how many servants he has, but how many men he serves.”
In 1903, a young, bright man named William Borden graduated from high school – a millionaire. He was the heir to the Borden Dairy fortune. Following graduation William traveled around the world. Everywhere he went he was touched by the needs of people. He eventually wrote his parents to announce he would give up his fortune and devote his life to missionary service. In his Bible he wrote two words: NO RESERVES. After enrolling in Yale in 1905, William quickly became the spiritual leader of the entire campus. He spearheaded a revival movement that led, by his graduation, to 1,000 of Yale’s 1,300 students becoming involved in weekly Bible fellowships. He led off campus, inner-city ministries as well. Upon graduating from Yale he repeated his intention to be a missionary and enrolled in seminary. Upon receiving his ministerial degree he decided to take a one-way trip to Egypt where he would learn Arabic in order to reach Muslims with the Gospel. Leaving all his fortune behind, he set sail. On the way he wrote two more words in his Bible: NO RETREATS. He arrived in Egypt full of anticipation and immersed himself in the tasks at hand. But within days of his arrival he became very weak and was soon diagnosed with spinal meningitis. A short time later, William Whiting Borden died at the age of 25. Human logic can never understand his death, yet an ocean away hundreds were impacted because of his joyful, willing, sacrifice. That’s the way William would have wanted it. During the last fleeting days of his life, in labored handwriting, he had penned two more words in his Bible: NO REGRETS. No reserves, no retreats, no regrets.
In 1903, a young, bright man named William Borden graduated from high school – a millionaire. He was the heir to the Borden Dairy fortune. Following graduation William traveled around the world. Everywhere he went he was touched by the needs of people. He eventually wrote his parents to announce he would give up his fortune and devote his life to missionary service. In his Bible he wrote two words: NO RESERVES. After enrolling in Yale in 1905, William quickly became the spiritual leader of the entire campus. He spearheaded a revival movement that led, by his graduation, to 1,000 of Yale’s 1,300 students becoming involved in weekly Bible fellowships. He led off campus, inner-city ministries as well. Upon graduating from Yale he repeated his intention to be a missionary and enrolled in seminary. Upon receiving his ministerial degree he decided to take a one-way trip to Egypt where he would learn Arabic in order to reach Muslims with the Gospel. Leaving all his fortune behind, he set sail. On the way he wrote two more words in his Bible: NO RETREATS. He arrived in Egypt full of anticipation and immersed himself in the tasks at hand. But within days of his arrival he became very weak and was soon diagnosed with spinal meningitis. A short time later, William Whiting Borden died at the age of 25. Human logic can never understand his death, yet an ocean away hundreds were impacted because of his joyful, willing, sacrifice. That’s the way William would have wanted it. During the last fleeting days of his life, in labored handwriting, he had penned two more words in his Bible: NO REGRETS. No reserves, no retreats, no regrets.
May the Lord of this world and the King of Angels grant us His courage and His grace that we might be able to declare: No reserves, no retreats, no regrets.
In Christ,
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. For Information call : 607-748-1358. 607-748-6329
Monday, January 30, 2012
Brown's Daily Word 1-30-12
Good morning,
Praise the Lord for this new day. Here we are at the next to the last day of January. It has been so mild around here we have seen Crocus up by the parsonage grounds. Sunita flew back to Washington, DC safe, sound, and blessed. Micah called us yesterday and gave us full report on her parents, and on her little brother and sister. She told us that she rode her bike for three miles (with no training wheels).
The Lord blessed us with a joyful weekend. It was a great thrill and joy to be in the house of the Lord worshipping and serving testifying. Laureen led the worship Saturday evening. Alice preached at Wesley yesterday. When the saints gather to worship and proclaim His majesty, Satan trembles. The Gospel reading for yesterday was taken from Mark 1: 21-28. The ministry of our Lord Jesus included preaching, teaching, and prophesying. He confronted the ugliness of His opposition.
Strangely, the ugliness is not always found outside our four walls, but it’s often found in our midst. The ugliness, along with the darkness, is often discovered in ourselves. One does not have to search the far corners of the world to encounter evil; but that evil can be found in our very midst. There is an ongoing spiritual war that attempts to hinder the work of God. Satan goes to church every Sunday to undermine its mission and ministry.
In Mark 1:21-28, Jesus and His disciples were in the Synagogue. Jesus was teaching with authority. In the same synagogue was a man possessed of an unclean spirit-- demon possessed. In the Gospel of Mark, the demons were the first to recognize who Jesus was. Here is a man who knew who Jesus was. He heard the word preached by Jesus. The demon knew the right things to say, calling Jesus the Holy One of God.
The first thing we learn about Jesus and his effect on his community is that all responded with immediacy. Throughout the opening chapters, Mark consistently used the phrase, “And immediately”. The word ' immediately" occurs 41 times in Mark's Gospel. "And immediately he saw the heavens opened and the spirit descending upon him like a dove. . . And immediately the spirit drove him into the wilderness. . . And immediately Simon and Andrew left their nets and followed Jesus. . . And immediately, he called James and John and they left their father in the boat. . . And immediately the paralytic rose up and too up his mat and went out. . . And immediately, after she touched the hem of his garment her twelve years of hemorrhaging ceased and she was healed."
Throughout Mark’s gospel, there is an immediate response to God’s voice – to his word. The Greek word used here for ‘immediate’ is the word, “euthus” meaning without wavering and straightway. It indicates more than a lack of hesitation but it implies a person charging to his goal with an urgency and filled with excitement. Jesus approached his ministry as though he was charging forward to his goal. People responded to his word, as though they were running across the finish line winning a race.
That is how we also must approach this ministry. We have to respond to it as we were crossing the finish line. In reaching the lost we must respond immediately - no, not later. There is no time even to think it over or pray over it. We have to do it right now. We must proclaim healing to the sick right now, proclaim life to the dead right now, and proclaim liberty to the demonic right now.
To have such a ministry means to have direct contact with that which seems unclean. Ministry cannot be done from a distance but, rather, ministry is to be done "up close and personal". We need to realize that the Lord has given us authority to confront that evil in our lives, and around us. Jesus has given ys authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt us. The good news is that the same Jesus who encountered those unclean spirits long ago with an authoritative word is alive today, speaking such words to today’s bound people.
The good news today is that Jesus has declared to our unclean spirit, “Be silent, and come out.” “Be silent and Come out”. He speaks to those spirits of selfishness, jealousy, dissension, and envy to be silent and come out. He addresses the spirits of sorcery, idolatry, and witchcraft to, “Be silent and come out.” He commands the spirits of drunkenness, rebellion, and that party spirit to “be silent and come out”. The spirit of doubt, fear, worry, and anxiety,or the spirit of prejudice, hatred, and bigotry are commanded to be silent and come out.
Then, only, can the Spirit of the Risen Lord dwell within, and there is room for nothing else.
All Hail the power of Jesus's Name.
In Him,
Brown
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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