Brown's Daily Word 5-16-13

This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. It is going to be one of the ten best days of this Month. I was visiting a young family recently, who live in a very spacious home in the country. They love the Lord. One thing special about this family is they have 12 children. All of them are their biological children. The parents are raising their children in the Lord. The children were very friendly and welcoming. I was reminded of Samuel and Susanna Wesley the parents of John and Charles Wesley who were blessed by 19 children, and who raised them in the Lord in the church.

I am officiating in two weddings this month. One of the young couples has chosen a beautiful park in our area as the site for the wedding. I was visiting the park the other day with the young couple. The park is located at the point where two big rivers in our region converge. I was standing by the the very point where the two rivers merge, creating a magnificent sight. The water flows 24/7. I saw some Canadian geese that were teaching their goslings (2013 Spring Edition) how to swim. It was a beautiful scene as the goslings, carefree and unafraid, were guided and guarded by their parents.

The Bible talks about rivers and streams of living waters. Our Lord Jesus ushered in His ministry by being baptized in the river. The last two chapters of the Bible depict and describe an amazing river. There we have one of the most remarkable and challenging statements in the whole of the New Testament. Jesus said,"If anyone thirsts, let him come unto Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water" (John 7:38). These words were spo­ken by Jesus to people who were spiritually dry, empty, and defeated. They, like many people of our day, kept going through motions of living but finding no real meaning, life, and victory.

David expressed the idea of being soul-thirsty for God when he penned, "As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God, my soul thirsts for God—for the Living God" (Psalm 42:1-2). 

 

Jesus said to the crowd, "If anyone thirsts…" Thirst is a consciousness of an unsatisfied need. Thirst expresses desperation. Thirst will kill faster than hunger. In fact, one can go weeks without food, but only days without water. Jesus was reminding us that their is a cure for this deep longing. "Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water…" Jesus did not promise a trickle or a stream or a flow…He promised a river. Can we attempt to fathom this? The Lord Himself is like a mighty rushing river…a life-giving river; He is like the mighty river found in Ezekiel 47 that produces life wherever it flows.

Jesus did not promise a trickle or a stream or a flow… He promised a river when He said, "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water" (v. 38).

In Christ,

Brown

http://youtu.be/qaHmiFaX_pk

Brown's Daily Word 5-15-13

Thanks be to Jesus for this new day. We will gather for our Wednesday fellowship and study this evening with a very special meal at 6 PM followed by Bible Study at 6:30 PM.

From time to time, we hear about people who hoard things. We wonder how and why they do it. Yet we all love to save things. Favorite photos, interesting articles — we all save things. I love to collect books even though I do not get to read them. My wife whispers loudly in my ears from time to time get rid of some of your books, because you are nearing your Exit-Age( Retirement). I retaliate back saying loudly she needs to get rid of her fabrics. She loves to sew. She sewed my wedding suit. She sowed our oldest daughter's wedding dress. She sewed the dresses for our daughters. They were better than any designers clothes. She is busy sowing for our grandchildren. Janice, our oldest daughter, has her mother's DNA. She also sews for her children. The gist of this is that we both hoard things that are dear to our hearts.

I read about Homer and Langley Collyer, who also hoarded things. In fact, they hoarded everything. Newspapers, letters, clothing — you name it, they kept it. Born in the late 1800s to an affluent Manhattan couple, the brothers lived in a luxurious three-story mansion at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 128th Street. Homer earned a degree in engineering; Langley became a lawyer. All seemed well in the Collyer family. But then mom and dad divorced in 1909. The boys, in their twenties, remained in the home with their mother. Crime escalated in the city and the neighborhood deteriorated. Homer and Langley retaliated by escaping the world. For reasons of their own, the duo retreated into their inherited mansion, where they closed and locked the doors.

The brothers were all but unheard of for nearly 40 years. Then, in 1947, someone reported the suspicion of a dead body at their address. It took seven policemen to break down the door because the entrance was blocked by a wall of newspapers, folding beds, half a sewing machine, old chairs, part of a wine­press and other pieces of junk. After several hours of digging, policemen found the body of Homer, seated on the floor, head between his knees, his long and matted gray hair reaching his shoulders.
Where was Langley? That question triggered one of the strangest search­es in Manhattan history. Fifteen days of quarrying produced 103 tons of junk — gas chandeliers, a sawhorse, the chassis of an old car, a Steinway piano, a horse's jawbone and, finally, one missing brother. The stuff he'd kept had collapsed on him and killed him.
To most this is bizarre! Who wants to live with yesterday's rubble, to hoard the trash of the past? Do we do the same thing, not in our house, but in our heart? Do we store up the remnants of anger and hurt, pack away pain, relive offenses? Do have mental databases where we hoard the clutter and debris of the past?
Though none could blame us, we all have stories of innocence takers, promise breakers, wound makers — We all have had our share of these. Yet, it makes sense to get rid of these piles of trash and give every day a chance? Jesus said, "Give the grace you've been given."
I love to pause and ponder Peter's question: "‘Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?" "'No,not seven times,'Jesus replied, ‘but seventy times seven!'" (Matt. 18:21-22 NLT). For those who insist on an exact number, that is 490. Are we counting each offense so that we can write off the offender at 491? If we are, we need the powerful, grace driven, grace-filled heart and mind of Jesus to keep on bearing,and keep on forgiving.
Our God forgives the unforgivable. As we recite the Apostles' Creed, we declare with boldness, "I believe in the forgiveness of sins". Our Lord pardons the zillion sins of selfish humanity. "Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we're in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ" (Romans 3:24).
In Christ, we are Forgiven.
In Him,
Brown
http://youtu.be/DSKnkqAOhpA

Brown's Daily Word 5-14-13

Praise the Lord for this glorious spring day here in New York. There are two crabapple trees in front of the parsonage. One of the trees was planted in the sixties by Howard and Dorothy Woodward. It is a big tree now. In spring time it blooms with brilliant luxurious colors. The other crabapple tree was planted in this century by Ed Hower. The younger tree blossoms later and it is blossoming now. Ed also planted a small Lilac bush in the green across from the parsonage driveway. It is a huge Bush now. It is also in full bloom. The Lord of Eternal Spring lavishes us with His beauty and blessings perpetually. Our daughter Sunita was born in the Mid-spring season. She is one of Jesus' sweethearts. She loves spring season, the warmth, the colors, and the freshness after a long winter. She loves the simple gifts of Jesus. She loves people. She has a heart for the poor, neglected oppressed. Her ministry is involved in bringing justice and peace into places of darkness, oppression, abuse of power and tyranny. She is flying today to Cypress for two weeks with her work. Andy will be joining her in few days. She will be going back to Israel in June. Please pray for her.

Jesus our Lord is meek and mild when dealing with broken sinners, but He demonstrates a holy indignation against sin, darkness, oppression, and bondage in high places and low places. He is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. He is the Lion of Judah that breaks every chain, over and over again.

In C.S Lewis' Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the third of the Chronicles of Narnia Series, Lewis wants the reader to see the identity of Aslan. Towards the conclusion of the book, Lucy and Edmund come to a large grassy area where, in the midst of a large green, there is a white spot. As they look at the white spot in the midst of the great field and draw closer to it, they find that it is a lamb. The lamb is cooking a breakfast of fish and gives Lucy and Edmund a delicious meal. Then they ask the lamb if He can help them find the land of Aslan. At that moment the white Lamb transforms into the great Aslan Himself, with sunlight beaming forth from His great mane.

C.S. Lewis was saying the truth of Scripture: Jesus is the gentle, meek Lamb who takes away the sins of the world; He is also the Lion of Judah, the Judge and the One who comes to bring justice to the world, to execute judgment on sin and to punish iniquity.
    Jesus is the undeniable, absolute King of the universe. If you are a believer, you must recognize that this Christ died for your sins as the Lamb; but He lives and calls for His children to be fruitful, to reflect His heart to the world, to remove the things in their lives that cause others to stumble, or else He comes as the Lion.
Jesus Christ encountered a fig tree ( Mark 11: 12ff)and physically begins to enact what God is going to do to those who have a profession of religion but whose hearts are dead. In the case of the fig tree, we encounter a Jesus who is indignant regarding a leafy religion, one that is supposedly leading you to the first fruit of the season, but there is none to be found.
     In the heart of every one who believes in Jesus Christ our Lord there should be a lionhearted indignation regarding sin and its effects in our world. In previous generations, revival always brought biblical justice. In Wesley's day, there were injustices to children who were being used in a sort of slave labor in industrialized England. Wesley and his Methodists were indignant about this and preached against it, and child labor laws were put in place.

In the Great Awakening, Jonathan Edwards and others preached against the dead formalism in the churches of the colonies, and God brought a holy passion for Himself to a people who soon would become a nation. I remember reading that during the Temperance movement many young Christian women signed the temperance pledge that "lips that touch liquor will never touch mine." We smile at such things today and maybe look down our noses at naïve christians falling for a frontier holiness movement.. Yet committed Christians were on the forefront of that movement. Christians were propelled to be involved in the movement because families in rural America were falling apart due to alcoholism. There was indignation against sin and abuse. Where God's children were hurt, Christians inspired by Jesus became lions.
    To be a follower of Christ not only is to love what Christ loves, but also to hate what He hates. That means we must speak out against the things that bring pain to human beings and especially that which separates us from God's love in Christ.
    Jesus is the Lamb who is the Lion. Coming to terms with the true Person of Jesus Christ, Savior and Judge, is the beginning of coming to faith in Christ and to freedom in Him. The knowledge of God brings freedom. The time for receiving Him and following Him is now, while the Savior of the world comes to your heart, hungry to find the fruit of true faith, a fruit that comes from receiving the love of God in Christ, a fruit for all seasons.
In Christ,
Brown
http://youtu.be/i2Iz4cS1PF8

Brown's Daily Word 5-13-13

The Lord blessed us with a wonderful Sunday of worship and celebration. Because it was Mothers' Day two women preached during the morning worship services. Lynn spoke at the 8:30 worship Service and Linda spoke at the 9:30 and 11:00 AM worship services. The Lord anointed their message and sharing on Mothers' Day. I was blessed. The church gave a biography of Ruth Bell Graham to all the women present for the worship services. Each speaker based her message on Proverbs 31. On the way out I commented how in Provers 31 the virtuous woman is depicted but her name is not given. Shawn commented "Oh sure, I know her name. Her name is Alice." It was a great compliment on my wife, who is a great wife, wonderful mom, and wonderful grandmom to our three beautiful grandchildren.

I found something written on the Internet about the meanest mom in the world…I don’t know who wrote it, or else I would give them the credit…but here it is:
We had the meanest mom in the whole world! While other kids ate candy for breakfast, we had to have cereal, eggs, and toast. When others had a Pepsi and a Twinkie for lunch, we had to eat sandwiches. And you can guess our mom fixed us a dinner that was different from other kids had, too.
Mom insisted on knowing where we were at all times. You’d think we were convicts in a prison. She had to know who our friends were, and what we were doing with them. She insisted that if we said we would be gone for an hour, we would be gone for an hour or less.
We were ashamed to admit it, but she had the nerve to break the Child Labor Laws by making us work. We had to wash the dishes, make the beds, learn to cook, vacuum the floor, do laundry, and all sorts of cruel jobs. I think she would lie awake at night thinking of more things for us to do. She always insisted on us telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
By the time we were teenagers, she could read our minds. Then, life was really tough! Mom wouldn’t let our friends just honk the horn when they drove up. They had to come up to the door so she could meet them. While everyone else could date when they were 12 or 13, we had to wait until we were 16.
Because of our mom, we missed out on lots of things other kids experienced. None of us have ever been caught shoplifting, vandalizing other’s property, or ever arrested for any crime. It was all her fault. We never got drunk, took up smoking, stayed out all night, or a million other things that other kids did. Sundays were reserved for church, and we never missed once.
Now that we have left home, we are all God-fearing, educated, honest adults. We are doing our best to be mean parents just like Mom was. I think that’s what is wrong with the world today. It just doesn’t have enough mean moms anymore.

My mom, who is 86 years old, is quietly faithful… Hour by hour… Day by day…
Year after year after year…

Proverbs 31:28-30, "Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.¨ Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

Somebody wrote: "What My Mother taught me"

My mother taught me Religion: When I spilled grape juice on the carpet, she instructed, "You better pray the stain will come out of the carpet.¨
My mother taught me logic: From her decisive words," Because I said so, that¡¦s why.¨
My mother taught me irony: "Keep laughing and I'll give you something to cry about.¨
My mother taught me about stamina: "You'll sit there until all that spinach is finished.¨
My mother taught me about weather: "It looks as if a tornado swept through your room.¨
My mother taught me the circle of life: "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out.¨
My mother taught me about Behavior Modification: "Stop acting like your father!¨
My mother taught me envy: "There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have a wonderful Mom like you do!¨

Thanks Mom!

Praise Jesus for all moms who transmit the Love of Jesus and the Love for Jesus to their children and grandchildren.

In Christ,

Brown

http://youtu.be/re5EIUIXbhc