Brown's Daily Word 9-13-13

 Praise the Lord for this Friday the thirtheenth.  It is going to be a glorious day.  The month of September is one of the sacred months in our household.  I came to the USA as young student and landed in New York City, flying on Air France, on the September 5, 1974.  Our oldest daughter Janice was born on September 13, 1976.  I was born on September 17.  We praise the Lord for Janice.  The Lord blessed her diverse gifts and talents. She has a full time professional job, yet she makes time for her hobbies . . . photography, sewing her own clothes and clothes for her three children, knitting, and running.  Best of all, she loves Jesus and serves Him with much joy and obedience.

    Those of you live in the area join us for our weekly Television Outreach this evening at 7 PM  on Time Warner Cable channel 4.  We will have a special ministry event at the Historic First United Methodist Church, Endicott on Saturday September 21, 2013 at 12 Noon.  It is a great time of food, fellowship, and ministry.  Our Church also will have a booth at the Annual Apple Festival of Endicott that will be held on Saturday the 21st of September, 2013.  It will be held at Washington Avenue, Endicott.   We will also have an evening of praise, worship, and testimony on Saturday the 28th of September, 2013.  It will be held at the First United Methodist Church, Endicott.  The worship will start at 5:30 PM, followed by a banquet.

    We are getting ready for our Regular Worship service schedule to begin again  this coming Sunday.

    Union Center United Methodist Church:

•     Worship: 8:30 AM and 11:00 AM 
• Sunday School  for all ages 9:50 AM  
• Coffee hour 12:30 PM   
• The Young Disciples Class will meet at 5 PM

    Wesley United Methodist Church: 

• Worship 9.30 AM 
• The Reformed Presbyterian worship will meet at 11 AM. 

    We are excited and blessed.  The Lord has placed before us an open door for worship and ministry.  Praise the Lord for the Church of the Lord Jesus around the corner and around the globe.  When we gather for worship this coming Sunday we will be joining our brother and sisters around the globe proclaiming that Jesus is Lord.  He the King of kings and the Lord of lords.  I get excited about the Church all over the globe.  Satan trembles when the saints sing and praise the name of Jesus our Lord.

    I love to read art history from time to time.  The best art, the best music, and the best architecture deal withe Biblical themes.  

    In the year 1464 a sculptor named Agostino di Duccio began working on a huge piece of flawed marble.  Intending to produce a magnificent sculpture of an Old Testament prophet for a cathedral in Florence, Italy, he labored for two years and then stopped.  In 1476 Antonio Rossellino started to work on the same piece of marble and in time he also abandoned it.  In 1501 a 26-year-old sculptor,  Michelangelo, was offered a considerable sum of money to produce something worthwhile from that enormous block of marble which had been nicknamed, “the giant.”  As he began his work, he saw a major flaw near the bottom that had stymied other sculptors, including (it is said) Leonardo da Vinci.  He decided to turn that part of the stone into a broken tree stump that would support the right leg. The rest he worked on for four years until he had produced the incomparable sculpture known as “David.”  Today the seventeen-foot-tall statue stands on display at the Academia Gallery in Florence, where people come from around the world to view it.  More than a masterpiece, it is one of the greatest works of art ever produced.  It has been said that there is no statue more perfect.

    How did Michelangelo do it?  Here is the answer in his own words:

“In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it.”

     All of us are works-in-progress.  We are not finished, not glorified, not perfected, and not completed.  We are all “under construction.”  If you ever visited a construction zone, you know that it is noisy and looks messy.  While the hammering and sawing continues, it’s hard to imagine what the final result will be. Praise the Lord  that He never stops working on us because there is so much work that needs to be done.  “Now we are the children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known” (1 John 3:2),

 In Christ,

 Brown

http://youtu.be/M4pLD1L6WqM

Brown's Daily Word 9-12-13

 

    The Lord blessed us with a very hot and sultry summer day here yesterday.  The temperature reached 90.  We had torrential rains in the evening.  Some of the neighboring area received 3 to 5 inches of rain in the very short duration of one to two hours (with another 1 to 2 inches expected at that time).  Some of the roads  flooded.  It is all calm this morning after the thunders, lightning, and rain. 

    For our Wednesday evening Bible Study we are looking at the Epistle of Hebrews.  The central theme of the Epistle is that Jesus Christ is greater than anything and everything!  He is the fulfillment of the Old Testament; all that came before pointed to Him.  This Book tells us of the Supremacy, Sufficiency, Pre-eminence, and Divinity of Christ.  He is supreme over all.   

    In C.S Lewis' "Voyage of the Dawn Treader", the third of the Chronicles of Narnia Series, Lewis wanted the reader to see the identity of Aslan.  This revelation came at the conclusion of the book.  Lucy and Edmund are on an adventure when they come to a large grassy area.  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 time, the white Lamb transforms into the great Aslan Himself, with sunlight beaming forth from His great mane.

    C.S. Lewis was speaking 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.  He is the Lion of Judah, who breaks chains and gives us the victory again and again.. The kings of the world come and go, but Jesus remains.  He is eternal and Immortal.  In the midst of the political and economic winds that shift and change our Savior reigns and lives.  "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, 'The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever.'" Revelation; 11 

  In Christ,

    Brown

http://youtu.be/VRa4t5VG0JI

Brown's Daily Word 9-11-13

Praise the Lord for this new day.  Alice and I drove down to Johns Hopkins yesterday and came home with a good report.  It was a very sunny and sultry day in Baltimore.  The temperature reached 94 degrees.  Summer is still lingering with much sweetness.  Our oldest daughter, Janice, who will celebrate her birthday the day after tomorrow, competed in a Triathlon last week near Boston.  Laureen, with her team from Binghamton House of Prayer, is organizing our annual prayer conference to be held from October 18-20, 2013.  Jessica and Tom are practicing for their 70 mile fund-raiser bike ride at the end of September. 

    Sunita is planning to fly to Jerusalem this coming Saturday with her work and ministry.  She shared with me that she recently had a conference with Christians from Egypt.  The conference was held in  Washington, DC.  She was moved when the Christians from Egypt, where Moses was raised and trained and who stood up to Pharaoh and said "  Let my people Go", sang joyfully "How Great Thou Art" in Arabic.  These Christians, who are under  intense fear and  persecution in their on land see the sovereign power of the living Lord at work.  They shared with Sunita how the Lord's power and might is dismantling the power and tyranny of the "Moslem Brotherhood " in Egypt.  The Christians from Egypt shared with Sunita how the Church of Jesus Christ is vibrant and victorious in the midst of suffering and chaos. 

    We are facing a crisis in Syria, another country that the Lord used in the Redemption History and Salvation story of the world.  Pope Francis had asked for a day of prayer for peaceful resolution in Syria.  The Lord is at work around the corner and around the globe.  

    Today is the 12th anniversary of 9/11.  This anniversary of the 9/11 attacks conjures up many memories and emotions in the hearts of every American and those around the world.  It was a day where we saw unprecedented attacks on our homeland and time seemed to stand still in the enormity of its impact upon our lives.  It reminds us to stand on the scripture, 'God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.' Psalm 46:1

    In the wake of 9/11/2001, many in our nation turned to God for comfort and solace.  It was an "awakening" of sorts for many people.  Therefore it is appropriate that after we pause to remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice in those attacks, that we turn to our family, friends and neighbors and offer encouragement for the future.

    "So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing." 1 Thessalonians 5:11

    "And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near." Hebrews 10:25

    As we reflect on the events of 9/11/2001 and everything that has happened as a result of those attacks, we need not tremble in fear or be anxious about the future when our trust is in the Lord God.  "The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my Savior; thou savest me from violence." 2 Samuel 22:3 KJV

    "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord." Psalm 33:12.

    Let this Day of Remembrance, followed by the National Day of Encouragement, be a renewed call to prayer for our nation, our state, our city, and our neighbors. Let it also be a call to prayer for our troops serving both at home and around the world. ,May God bless each one of you, and may God Bless America!   We are called and sent by the Lord to be the church in the world.. to be the salt of the earth  . to be the light of the world.

 We are called to be the Body Of Christ to the broken world.binding wounds, comforting the grieving, offering food to the hungry—

Gordon MacDonald had written this in his journal:

And more than once I asked myself—as everyone asks—is God here?  And I decided that He is closer to this place than any other place I’ve ever visited.  The strange irony is that, amidst this absolute catastrophe of unspeakable proportions, there is a beauty in the way human beings are acting that defines the imagination.  Everyone—underscore, everyone—is everyone else’s brother or sister.  There are no strangers among the thousands at the work site.  Everyone talks; everyone cooperates; everyone does the next thing that has to be done.  No job is too small, too humble, or, on the other hand, too large.  Tears ran freely, affection was exchanged openly, exhaustion was defied.  We all stopped caring about ourselves.  The words ‘it’s not about me’ were never more true.

No church service; no church sanctuary; no religiously inspiring service has spoken so deeply into my soul and witnessed to the presence of God as those hours last night at the crash site.

In all my years of Christian ministry, I never felt more alive than I felt last night.  The only other time I can remember a similar feeling was the week that Gail & I worked on a Habitat for Humanity project in Hungary.  As much as I love preaching the Bible and all the other things that I have been privileged to do over the years, being on that street, giving cold water to workmen, praying and weeping with them, listening to their stories was the closest I have ever felt to God.  Even though it sounds melodramatic, I kept finding myself saying, “This is the place where Jesus most wants to  be.”

  Praise the Lord that He called us to be in the world and not of the world.

 In Christ,

  Brown 

http://youtu.be/oj-GkDJpr2Y

   Wednesday Gathering at 6 PM  Bible Study a 6.30 PM , Choir Practice at 7.30PM

Brown's Daily Word 9-9-13

    The Lord blessed us with wonderful a day in His house yesterday.  Praise the Lord!  He blessed us  with a  a time  of worship and celebration.  Praise the Lord that " better is one day in His House than thousand elsewhere". 

    Praise the Lord for days of September here in New York.  They have been cool, clear, and crisp   It is now the season for the apple harvest.  The Lord has blessed this region with an abundant of apple harvest.  Blessed be His Name.   We are gearing up for the Fall season in the life of the church with various ministries.  We are getting ready for Apple Festival in Endicott on the September 21.  One of the big events for this Fall Season is our annual Prayer conference to be held in conjunction with the Binghamton House of Prayer from October 18-20, 2013.  The keynote speaker for this exciting events will be Rev. Nigel Mumford.  Those of you who live in the area please plan to join us,  We are expecting the Lord bless His people with miracles, signs, and wonders. You are welcome to register online.

    Our Lord made so many audacious promises and claims.  One of those claims and promises is recorded in Mathew 16, "on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."  In his book, "The Triumph of Christianity", Rodney Stark deals with how the "Jesus Movement" became the world's largest religion.  The opening paragraph gives the flavor of the whole:

“He was a teacher and miracle worker who spent nearly all of his brief ministry in the tiny and obscure province of Galilee, often preaching to outdoor gatherings.  A few listeners took up his invitation to follow him, and a dozen or so became his devoted followers, but when he was executed by the Romans his followers probably numbered no more than several hundred.  How was it possible for this obscure Jewish sect to become the largest religion in the world?”

    The rest of his book attempts to answer that question. Stark writes as a historian, not as a theologian or an evangelist.  His question invites serious contemplation.  How do you get from a dozen devoted followers (minus the one who betrayed him) to the world’s largest religion?

    The final verses of Matthew 28 is where Jesus gives his disciples what we traditionally call the Great Commission.  As I read that passage, I notice something unusual in the preceding verses.

    Some of the disciples had begun to doubt that Jesus had risen from the dead.  This atmosphere of doubt certainly did not seem like a good way to begin a worldwide movement.  “Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.  When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted” (vv. 16-17). 

    Jesus seemingly ignored the fact that “Some doubted.”   It is almost as if Jesus was saying, “Don’t worry about anything.  Don’t even worry about your doubts.  Go and make disciples, and in your going, your doubts will disappear.”  I think that’s exactly what happened.  Nothing dispels doubt like speaking up for Jesus. Get in the arena and your doubts will begin to disappear.

     ”Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (v. 18).  How would the Christian message survive?  It would survive all the assaults against it because all power in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus Christ.  We have nothing to fear as we go into the world because the power of Jesus far surpasses the power and authority of the rulers of this world.

    Think for a moment about some of the richest or most powerful people of this world: Gates, Buffett, Putin, Obama, Merkel.  What is the measure of any of them when they are compared to the Lord Jesus Christ?  They are nothing at all!

    So it is that the Christian movement started with 11 men, some of whom doubted, and has grown to over 2 billion people some 2000 years later.  When Rodney Stark came to the end of his thesis, The Triumph of Christianity, he closed with this simple summary:

“More than 40 percent of the people on earth today are Christians and their number is growing more rapidly than that of any other major faith.”

    Historians and sociologists will offer their own explanations, but we can be content to say that the Jesus' words have indeed come to pass.  It is a miracle of exponential proportions, and we get to be part of it. 

    “I have all power.”
    "I will go with you.”

    If this is true, we cannot fail.  When Jesus gets involved, amazing things happen.  His command and His promise are, "Go, and I will go with you.”
This is the whole plan, and it still works after 2000 years.

  In Him,

 Brown

http://youtu.be/ndVRcqziKWA