The Morning has broken like the
first morning. Blessed be the Name of our Lord who is our Life, who is the Way,
and who is the Truth. Praise the Lord for this beautiful world where we can know
Him, worship Him, and serve Him, looking unto Him, who is the author and the
finisher of our faith. It is going to be an absolutely fantastic day, with
abundant sunshine. Alice and I walked over three miles last night. I woke up at
4:30 this morning for my devotion time. I saw the moon shining brightly, waiting
for a new dawn to break forth.
It is summer time in Orissa ,
India . It is also the beginning of the mango season there. I purchased some
mangoes from a local grocery store yesterday, along with some fresh coconuts. I
love both. Our grandchildren love mangoes and coconuts. Micah reminds everyone,
"I am 1/4 Indian."
This coming Sunday we will
celebrate Mother's Day here in the States. Praise the Lord for all our moms. It
is written about virtuous and godly moms, "Her children rise up and call her
blessed". I praise the Lord for my mom, who exemplified the life and grace of
Jesus in her life. I learned about Jesus our Lord for the first time from her.
Yesterday I heard about the
sudden death of Larry Miles, a friend from our years in Nichols. He and his dear
family lived in Texas. Larry was the who designed my home page in 2007. Larry
loved Jesus. He was blessed with a heart of a servant. I praise the Lord for the
life and witness of Larry.
Recently the world heard about
the death of Whitney Houston, one of the most talented and most beautiful women
who has ever lived. I thought she was a wonderful person in many ways. She
absolutely had it all: talent, beauty, wealth and the adoration of the world. We
still don’t know about what actually took her life, but we do know her life was
very troubled. She could have had any man she wanted, and yet chose
relationships that were dysfunctional and abusive. She could have existed on the
highs of the audiences standing to their feet, and the heaping praise of the
media, but chose to numb the pain of her life with drugs instead. She could have
had anything she wanted, but she didn’t want anything she had. How is it
possible to have everything and still be disappointed? How can someone with all
the excitement of celebrity drift into boredom and loneliness?
You want to ask such people, who have the world at their feet, “What is it that you feel is missing? How is it that a person can have everything and have nothing? How can a person have all the best of this world and yet want to end it all?” Jesus described it perfectly when he said: “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?” (Luke 9:24-25).
If you do a Google search for “celebrity suicides”, you will be overwhelmed. The suicides, and deaths from drug overdoses, include names like Kurt Cobain, Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe, Michael Jackson, John Belushi, and Chris Farley, to mention just a few. That’s not including the long list of celebrities like Charlie Sheen, Lindsay Lohan, and Demi Moore who are in and out of rehab. Recently I was saddened to hear about the sudden death of Thomas Kinkade, a very gifted and famous artist, who died of drug and alcohol addiction.
I often think that the fame, wealth, and beauty that so many are searching for is a curse rather than a blessing. What must it be like to do anything and everything to "get to the top" and, when you arrive, realize there is nothing there. What must it be like to discover that instead of satisfying you it is terrifying you and destroying you. Talent, beauty, wealth, fame — what more could you ask for? Obviously there is something else.
We have a whole culture that is drowning in addictions of all kinds, trying to avoid life while at the same time desperately seeking it. What they are seeking is a fantasy life where everything is wonderful and you feel good all the time, but that life does not exist. It is fantasy, after all, not reality. What they are seeking is a life where everything revolves around themselves, but that life is a selfish vortex that sucks everything down with it. What they are seeking is an escape from problems, though real life is found in the midst of our problems — by facing problems and dealing with them.
When I think of beautiful people who have it all, and yet find life so disappointing and need drugs in order to face the day, I think of a little nun from Albania, where Sunita and Andy will living and serving over the next six weeks , who was as homely as a woman could be, and yet shone with a beauty that immediately attracted you to her. She shunned the accolades and attention of the world. She never experienced love and marriage. She did not seek out beautiful beach resorts, but lived in the slums of Calcutta. She served the most poverty-stricken people on earth who were plagued with the worst of diseases, and yet she would have described her life as extremely fulfilled. She walked through human suffering and squalor every day, and brought joy to all those around her. In a world of alienation and hate, she shone with the love of God. She didn’t pose naked; she clothed the naked. She died just a day or so after Princess Diana, and guess who got the most press. It brings to mind the Scripture that says, “But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first” (Matthew 19:30).
When I think of all those who are so disillusioned with life they want to end it, I think of someone like Joni Eareckson, whom I met personally in May, 1982, who is paralyzed from the shoulders down. After the accident that paralyzed her, she wanted to die, and actually begged people to end her misery. But, slowly, her attention began to shift from herself to others who had disabilities like her. She saw that God had uniquely placed her in a situation where she could understand and reach a whole group of people who were often ignored in this culture which worships beauty, health and power. As her heart filled with concern for others, her natural self-pity began to dissipate, and a whole world of opportunity and personal growth opened up for her. She recently wrote: “The core of God's plan is to rescue us from sin and self-centeredness. Suffering — especially the chronic kind — is God's choicest tool to accomplish this. It is a long process. But it means I can accept my paralysis as a chronic condition. When I broke my neck, it wasn't a jigsaw puzzle I had to solve fast, or a quick jolt to get me back on track. My paralyzing accident was the beginning of a lengthy process of becoming like Christ.”
Set your affections on something beside yourself. Set your affections on what is Transcendent. The Bible says, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world — the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does — comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:15-17).
Self-centeredness, self-aggrandizement, and self-love only lead to self-destruction. All other addictions stem from the addiction to self. It is apparent from watching the miserable lives of many celebrities, and others who have spent a lifetime loving themselves, who end up despising themselves and life. Be careful what you want — you may just get it.
Here is where the Christian message has such relevance and power. Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). When Jesus says that we have to lose our life before we find it, it means that we lose our concern about ourselves, our reputation, how much money we have, how many things we own, how we look, what advantages we have over others, etc. We lose the life of self-centeredness and begin to center on God, on our relationship with him, on his will for our lives, and on his future destiny for us. We rest in knowing who we are, in knowing we are his. We are at peace because our lives have meaning — even if our abilities, looks, and finances become diminished. We accept what God has given us and know that he is not limited by our limitations. He can use our lives and love others through us. As we begin to forget about ourselves, we begin to see how our lives can be used for others.
We will have an entirely different set of values from the celebrity cult of our day. We believe the Scripture that says, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). It is amazing how freeing that is.
Fame and fortune do not ruin everyone. Tim Tebow and others have not cared how the world thought about them. They continue to share their faith even when the media makes fun of them and mocks them. They just strive to do their best and give glory to God.
This is what it’s all about: Living life for an audience of One. It is enough to live our lives for Jesus, leaving all the rest up to him. He has said, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord,’ plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart’” (Jeremiah 29:11-13).
Life opens up to those who look upward rather than inward. Fulfillment comes to those who do not try to find life by filling it with things or the acceptance of the crowd. Life surprises us with joy for those who refuse to live as though the world revolves around them. Life is aflame for those who live with eyes to see the hand of the Risen Lord in all of life — He makes all things glorious and beautiful in His time.
You want to ask such people, who have the world at their feet, “What is it that you feel is missing? How is it that a person can have everything and have nothing? How can a person have all the best of this world and yet want to end it all?” Jesus described it perfectly when he said: “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?” (Luke 9:24-25).
If you do a Google search for “celebrity suicides”, you will be overwhelmed. The suicides, and deaths from drug overdoses, include names like Kurt Cobain, Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe, Michael Jackson, John Belushi, and Chris Farley, to mention just a few. That’s not including the long list of celebrities like Charlie Sheen, Lindsay Lohan, and Demi Moore who are in and out of rehab. Recently I was saddened to hear about the sudden death of Thomas Kinkade, a very gifted and famous artist, who died of drug and alcohol addiction.
I often think that the fame, wealth, and beauty that so many are searching for is a curse rather than a blessing. What must it be like to do anything and everything to "get to the top" and, when you arrive, realize there is nothing there. What must it be like to discover that instead of satisfying you it is terrifying you and destroying you. Talent, beauty, wealth, fame — what more could you ask for? Obviously there is something else.
We have a whole culture that is drowning in addictions of all kinds, trying to avoid life while at the same time desperately seeking it. What they are seeking is a fantasy life where everything is wonderful and you feel good all the time, but that life does not exist. It is fantasy, after all, not reality. What they are seeking is a life where everything revolves around themselves, but that life is a selfish vortex that sucks everything down with it. What they are seeking is an escape from problems, though real life is found in the midst of our problems — by facing problems and dealing with them.
When I think of beautiful people who have it all, and yet find life so disappointing and need drugs in order to face the day, I think of a little nun from Albania, where Sunita and Andy will living and serving over the next six weeks , who was as homely as a woman could be, and yet shone with a beauty that immediately attracted you to her. She shunned the accolades and attention of the world. She never experienced love and marriage. She did not seek out beautiful beach resorts, but lived in the slums of Calcutta. She served the most poverty-stricken people on earth who were plagued with the worst of diseases, and yet she would have described her life as extremely fulfilled. She walked through human suffering and squalor every day, and brought joy to all those around her. In a world of alienation and hate, she shone with the love of God. She didn’t pose naked; she clothed the naked. She died just a day or so after Princess Diana, and guess who got the most press. It brings to mind the Scripture that says, “But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first” (Matthew 19:30).
When I think of all those who are so disillusioned with life they want to end it, I think of someone like Joni Eareckson, whom I met personally in May, 1982, who is paralyzed from the shoulders down. After the accident that paralyzed her, she wanted to die, and actually begged people to end her misery. But, slowly, her attention began to shift from herself to others who had disabilities like her. She saw that God had uniquely placed her in a situation where she could understand and reach a whole group of people who were often ignored in this culture which worships beauty, health and power. As her heart filled with concern for others, her natural self-pity began to dissipate, and a whole world of opportunity and personal growth opened up for her. She recently wrote: “The core of God's plan is to rescue us from sin and self-centeredness. Suffering — especially the chronic kind — is God's choicest tool to accomplish this. It is a long process. But it means I can accept my paralysis as a chronic condition. When I broke my neck, it wasn't a jigsaw puzzle I had to solve fast, or a quick jolt to get me back on track. My paralyzing accident was the beginning of a lengthy process of becoming like Christ.”
Set your affections on something beside yourself. Set your affections on what is Transcendent. The Bible says, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world — the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does — comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:15-17).
Self-centeredness, self-aggrandizement, and self-love only lead to self-destruction. All other addictions stem from the addiction to self. It is apparent from watching the miserable lives of many celebrities, and others who have spent a lifetime loving themselves, who end up despising themselves and life. Be careful what you want — you may just get it.
Here is where the Christian message has such relevance and power. Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). When Jesus says that we have to lose our life before we find it, it means that we lose our concern about ourselves, our reputation, how much money we have, how many things we own, how we look, what advantages we have over others, etc. We lose the life of self-centeredness and begin to center on God, on our relationship with him, on his will for our lives, and on his future destiny for us. We rest in knowing who we are, in knowing we are his. We are at peace because our lives have meaning — even if our abilities, looks, and finances become diminished. We accept what God has given us and know that he is not limited by our limitations. He can use our lives and love others through us. As we begin to forget about ourselves, we begin to see how our lives can be used for others.
We will have an entirely different set of values from the celebrity cult of our day. We believe the Scripture that says, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). It is amazing how freeing that is.
Fame and fortune do not ruin everyone. Tim Tebow and others have not cared how the world thought about them. They continue to share their faith even when the media makes fun of them and mocks them. They just strive to do their best and give glory to God.
This is what it’s all about: Living life for an audience of One. It is enough to live our lives for Jesus, leaving all the rest up to him. He has said, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord,’ plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart’” (Jeremiah 29:11-13).
Life opens up to those who look upward rather than inward. Fulfillment comes to those who do not try to find life by filling it with things or the acceptance of the crowd. Life surprises us with joy for those who refuse to live as though the world revolves around them. Life is aflame for those who live with eyes to see the hand of the Risen Lord in all of life — He makes all things glorious and beautiful in His time.
In Christ,
Brown
http://youtu.be/tkr9p09k01I
Friday, May 11, 2012
Our weekly Television outreach at 7
PM
On Time Warner Cable Channel 4
Union Center UMC Saturday Evening
Worship Service
Location: First United Methodist Church, 53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott, NY
Sponsored by: Union Center UMC
Date: Saturday, May 12, 2012
Location: First United Methodist Church, 53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott, NY
Sponsored by: Union Center UMC
Date: Saturday, May 12, 2012
Time: 6:00 PM Gathering for Coffee and
Fellowship
6:30 PM Worship Service
Music: Jane Hettinger
Speaker: Dave Hettinger
Come! Share! Rejoice!
6:30 PM Worship Service
Music: Jane Hettinger
Speaker: Dave Hettinger
Come! Share! Rejoice!
