Brown's Daily Word 1-4-13

Praise the Lord for this first Friday of January 2013. The Russian Orthodox Church will celebrate Christmas on Monday, January 7, 2013. Sunday, January 6, 2013 is Christmas Eve in the Russian Orthodox Church. The Russian Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas with an all night vigil on Christmas Eve. The Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas with great solemnity and yet with great exuberance, and jubilant triumph. A very Merry Christmas to all our Russian Orthodox Friends. We can sing and proclaim, "Joy to the world, the Savior reigns."
The Christ of Christmas brings Joy to the hearts and lives that are in Christ. He brings Joy to those who have surrendered their lives to Him, those who worship and serve Him. Jesus comes to transform our lives and infuse us with His Joy.

I heard a story that illustrates this point in an interesting way. An author named Bret Harte wrote a story about the Wild West, called “The Luck of Roaring Camp.” Roaring Camp was the meanest, toughest Mining Town in all the West. There were more murders and thefts than any other place around. Roaring Camp was inhabited entirely by men … except for one woman who made her living in the only way she knew how. Her name was Cherokee Sal.
Eventually, Cherokee Sal became pregnant and gave birth to baby. The mother died in childbirth, and no one knew who the father might be. The men put the baby boy in a box with some old rags under her. Somehow, that just didn’t seem right, so one of the men rode 80 miles to buy a Rosewood Cradle. When they put the rags and the baby in the beautiful new cradle, the rags just didn’t look right. So another man rode to Sacramento and purchased some silk and lacy blankets. They men lined the Rosewood Cradle with silk and tucked the new blanket around the little baby girl. But then someone noticed that the floor under the cradle looked dirty.
The next thing you knew, a few of those big, tough men got down on their hands and knees and scrubbed the floor until it was spotless. Of course, then the walls and the ceiling … and the dirty windows looked awful. So they washed down the walls and the ceiling, and they even hung some clean white curtains on the windows. Things were beginning to look a lot better. But they soon realized they had to give up their carousing and fighting. After all, the baby needed a lot of sleep, and babies can’t sleep during a brawl. Besides all that, the baby didn’t like angry voices or frowning faces. So the men started smiling and talking in pleasant, cheerful tones. Moreover, since babies shouldn’t be left alone, they set the cradle by the entrance of the Mine and one of the men stayed next to him while the others worked.
Then somebody noticed how ugly the mine entrance was. So they planted some flowers and made a small garden near the cradle. As they worked, the men looked for shiny little stones that they could show to the baby and watch her gurgle and coo. But when they held the stones down near her, they saw that their hands looked black and dirty. They didn’t want to scare the little baby with their scraggly hair and wild beards, so pretty soon the general store sold out of soap and shaving gear. The baby changed everything.

This story gives a small picture of the way the Son of God can transform our lives. Has the Bethlehem Baby changed our lives?

Joy to the World! The Lord is Come!

http://youtu.be/MpgaWm2pnNs

In Christ,

Brown

Brown's Daily Word 1-3-12

Praise the Lord for the beauty and the blessings of this new day of the new year.

I was fanning through the Book of Esther this morning. The word "God" does not occur in the entire Book Of Esther. Yet, the Lord God is at work through the pages of the Book. We are fascinated how the Lord uses common people like us to accomplish His mighty deeds in His Story that is still unfolding. He used Esther to demonstrate His mighty power. I have been and am blessed to have many beautiful and brave women in my life, whom the Lord has used to bless my life.

There was a crisis - both a national and spiritual crisis that occurred in the book of Esther. Esther was facing a challenge. She sent a response to Mordecai that we read about in Esther 4:15-16

Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast just as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”

Mordecai’s great appeal to Esther was based on a great principle: the greater the privilege the greater the responsibility. The more you have, the more you have to answer for. The more God has given you, the greater your responsibility to use it for his Kingdom.

There is no safety in the world. Bad things happen to good people all the time. We also learn that there are no coincidences in life. You are where you are because God wants you to be there. You probably are not a queen in a foreign court (as Esther was), but wherever you are right now, God had a hand in getting you there. Your highest calling is to use your position in life to support the cause of Christ in the world. In the end we must do what Esther did—fast and pray and seek the Lord so that when the time comes, we can do the right thing, the hard thing, the tough choice that lies along the road of obedience to God, leaving the results with Him. That’s the real meaning of, “If I perish, I perish.” Those are solemn words of faith spoken by a woman who has put her life in God’s hands.

There is no one so free as the person who is not afraid to die. If you do not fear to die, then you are free to serve the Lord and do whatever he calls you to do.

I love to read British History. On Christmas Day 1939, King George VI of England gave a brief radio address to his troubled nation. England was already at war with Germany. Soon all of Europe would be plunged into the horror of brutal, unrestrained warfare. Hoping to calm the troubled hearts of his countrymen, the king offered words of encouragement as the storm clouds gathered overhead. He ended his remarks by quoting a hitherto unknown poem by Louise Haskins, “The Gate of Year.” It has since become known around the world: “I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: ‘Give me a light, that I may tread safely into the unknown!’ And he replied: ‘Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.’”

What a word this is for us today. No one but the Lord of history knows what the future holds. Let us do as the poet suggested and place our hands in the hand of the Living Lord who is the Light of the world, and let us go out into the unknown future with confidence. Knowing that we are walking the Living Lord, the Risen One, we need not fear the future. To walk with the Lord is the greatest of all joys, and it is indeed safer than any known way.

In Christ,

Brown

http://youtu.be/d61LamkXfwk

Brown's Daily Word 1-2-13

Happy New Year. A hope Filled and very Blessed New Year to you all in the Lord Jesus, who is the Alpha and the Omega.

I watched some football last Sunday. One of the most fascinating games was between the Cowboys and the Redskins. Sunita and Andy are Redskins Fans. Monday morning many of Coaches and the mangers who lost the season were fired. General George Patton famously once remarked, ”Americans love a winner. The statement FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION from the movie, "Apollo 13" is part of American Psyche. America will not tolerate a loser.

Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft stated: “Success is a lousy teacher. It makes smart people think they can’t lose.” That’s the problem with winners. Once you think you can’t lose, you feel invincible. At that point, you are about to become a loser. You just don’t know it yet. You can win too much, too soon, too easily. Before long you prove the old adage that it’s just a short step from victory to defeat. For all the problems that losing brings, at least it cures the illusion of invincibility.

The God of the Bible prefers losers - that is, he can use people who know their weakness, see their flaws, admit their mistakes, and cry out to him for help. God specializes in taking losers and displaying his power through them. We need to think about a few Biblical heroes. Abraham lied, Moses had committed murder, David committed adultery and murder, and Peter denied Christ. The Lord loves to use people like us in His Kingdom, That is, He chooses people with FEARS, failures and frailties, doubts and denials, flaws and faults, sin and self-centeredness.

If God chose only well-rounded people with no character flaws, some of the credit would inevitably go to the people and not to the Lord. By choosing flawed people with a questionable past, a shaky present, and an uncertain future, God alone gets the glory when they accomplish amazing things by his power.
This is what Paul was saying in 2 Corinthians 4:7. It’s one of the most important verses for understanding who we are and how God works through us. “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us."

The word used for “jars of clay” refers to ordinary earthenware. These clay pots were used by common people to store grain, hide valuables, and to keep oil for lighting their lamps. Paul was saying, “We’re not like a vase from the Ming dynasty. We’re cheap brown pots you can buy at Wal-Mart.” Here are two things we know about those clay plots:
They were fragile.
They were easily broken.
The same is true of all of us all the time. We all have limits, whether we like to admit it or not. We can go and go, but sooner or later life catches up with us and we break like everyone else.
We, as humans, like to think we can handle anything, but we cannot. We like to think we can go forever, but we do not. We like to think we can stand up to anything, but we cannot. Here’s a good lesson in biblical self-esteem: "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust".
We really are nothing but a bunch of ordinary clay pots. God formed the first man out of the dust of the earth (Genesis 2:7), and all are made from the same clay. In one of his sermons John MacArthur writes about what it means that God chooses to work through “jars of clay.” He points out that when God wanted to communicate his message, he didn’t go to the elite of Egypt, Greece, Rome, or even to the elite of Israel. “Where did He go? He went to the shore of Galilee and found a bunch of fishermen.” “He’s still doing it." God intends to bless the world by “hiding” the gospel in “clay pots” that don’t seem very impressive by worldly standards.
We wouldn’t do it this way, but God has a special purpose in mind. He does it to demonstrate the true source of spiritual power - His divine Power. His power is different. His power is at work in the world today. God’s power truly is different. It unites people, tears down walls, restores marriages, rebuilds families, lifts up the downtrodden, heals broken hearts, forgives the deepest sins, imparts hope in the darkest hour, and gives light in the valley of death. God’s army isn’t perfect. Someone has called the church “the march of the unqualified.” So get in line and join with the rest of God’s clay pots and see what he can do through us.
In Christ , Happy New Year,
Brown
http://youtu.be/sR8rlTIU8_Y

Brown's daily word 1-1-13

Over and over again, in the midst of our sinfulness our Lord is making all things new again. Our Lord is, was, and forever will be interested more in our future than our past. When we confess our sins, not only is he faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness, but the Bible also says, "I will forgive their wickedness and remember their sin no more.” (Jeremiah 31:34). Our Lord God is Mighty and merciful. He is the Lord in every season and the Lord of all seasons. He is the Mighty Warrior and He is the Prince of Peace. His grace is all sufficient and His love is ineffable. His Joy is unspeakable. Salvation belongs to our God who is upon the Throne. "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever." We can live, give, receive, worship, and serve in this new year with confidence and holy boldness, knowing that the future belongs to those who belong to Jesus Christ , the Lord of lords and the King of kings.

Paul, whose life was made new and transformed by the Risen Lord wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Any one who is in Christ is a new creation, the old has gone and the new has come.” Again he said in Galatians 6:15 “The only thing that counts is the new creation.” In Philippians 3 Paul declared, “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead" (v. 13).

There is a fierce concentration implicit in the words “one thing I do.” Greatness in any arena comes to those who can say with the Apostle Paul, “One thing I do.” In his case, it meant lookinto the heavenly goal of winning the prize. That phrase covers all that God has for us when we finally stand before Jesus Christ and hear him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of the Lord."

     Every time I have been in London, England I have made a point of visiting Westminster Abbey. As we enter the majestic Abbey we will see the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and next to it is the tomb of great Missionary David Livingstone. When Dr. David Livingstone returned from Africa to England, he was asked, “Where are you ready to go next?” “I am ready to go anywhere,” he replied, “provided it be forward." This must be the attitude of the servant of God every single day. “Lord, I am ready to go wherever you lead, no matter where that takes me.” In the spiritual life, direction makes all the difference. True believers are not yet in heaven, but they aim their steps in that direction. In Paul’s case that involved both a sanctified forgetting and a resolute pushing forward.
In 1905 a young man from a wealthy family entered Yale University. His family intended that after completing his degree he would enter a suitable career in America. God, however, gripped his heart with the needs of China and he volunteered to go to that country with the gospel, much to the dismay of his family and friends. He left America but never made it to China, succumbing to a disease before reaching that distant shore. After his death, a note was found in his Bible that summarized his life: “No reserves. No retreats. No regrets.” I wonder how many of us could say the same thing?
Paul said, “I haven’t arrived yet, but I’m still climbing!” It’s not enough to start well. You also have to end well.
In Christ,
Brown
http://youtu.be/76RrdwElnTU

Brown's Daily Word 12-31-12

Praise the Lord for this last day of 2012. Praise the Lord for His faithfulness and for His tender mercies. It is a wonderful blessing to enter the New Year through Christmas, through much celebration and through much rejoicing. Praise the Lord that He has come down to be with us. He is Emmanuel, God with us. The Word became flesh and dwells with us even now and through Eternity.

“Be very careful, then, how you live-not as unwise but as wise” (Ephesians 5:15). To “be careful” means literally to walk accurately or precisely. The King James uses the old word “circumspectly.” It has the idea of walking on a narrow path along the side of a steep mountain. Keep your eyes open lest you take a wrong step and plunge to your death.

Sometimes we are guilty of living too fast. We make too many snap judgments, we come to too many hasty decisions, we speak too fast, we move too fast, we react too fast, and we answer before we hear the question. The divine prescription for our hurried lives is still: “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). When we slow down enough to get God involved, we discover that he can do more through us than we can ever accomplish on our own. We are invited to redeem time. “Making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16).
The King James Version uses the word “redeem,” as in “redeeming the time.” To us redeem is a salvation word, but originally it comes from the marketplace and means to “buy back” or to “purchase” something. You “redeem” something when you buy it for your own use.

“These are desperate times!” (The Message - Ephesians 5:16) The NIV uses the word “opportunity” instead of time. Paul indicated that there is a particular reason we must “redeem the time” and grasp the urgency of the moment “Because the days are evil.” Paul wrote these words while chained to the guards in a Roman jail. The emperor was Nero, a perverted excuse for a king . Before too long he would set fire to Rome and blame the Christians. Later he would order Paul beheaded. Ephesus, a city wholly given over to heathenism, was in Paul's day the most important city in the Roman province of Asia. Meanwhile clouds of persecution were rolling in. As the gospel spread, it encountered opposition in the form of entrenched interests that saw Jesus and his followers as a threat. That’s what Paul meant when he said, “These are desperate times!”

Evil days tempt us to despair, encourage us to give up. When the day is dark and the hearts of men have grown cold, we feel that there is nothing to be done, and sometimes we give up too soon. “Day of moral corruption offer special opportunities for the prosecution of great enterprises for the kingdom of God” (G. Campbell Morgan). That’s good news. In fact, the things that make it difficult for us for live as Christians are the things that make us shine. Hard times are blessings in disguise. Days of moral compromise offer incredible opportunities for the gospel.
When the world around us seems to be going haywire, we have an incredible opportunity to display the life-changing power of Jesus Christ. The darker the night, the brighter the light shines. “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is” (Ephesians 5:17). These are great days to be alive. They are exciting, amazing, uncertain, and sometimes frightening days (or all at the same time).
Whatever our days be like, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6). “There is no rock like our God” (1 Samuel 2:2). “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them” (2 Kings 6:16).

“He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20). In Christ,
Brown
http://youtu.be/3x2fSxOeij4