Brown's Daily Word 01-02-14

    Praise the Lord for this brand NEW YEAR 2014.   The whole creation is moving towards something new and glorious under the Lordship of Jesus the newborn King.  When we are living our lives under His Authority and Kingship it is to be involved and not get bored.  With the talents and the gifts He has given us we are called to be partners in His miracles and mission. 

   "Revelation 21: 1-5 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

² And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
³ And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
⁴ And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
⁵ And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful."  

    We have been given the assurance  that in the end we win and the Lord  is going to make all things new.  We are called to remain determined, singleminded, and looking unto Jesus, the pioneer and the finisher of our faith.

    In 1859, a Frenchman named Charles Blondin became the first to walk across Niagara Falls on a tightrope.  He grew so skillful at traversing this life-threatening chasm that he later walked across carrying a man on his back.  Once Blondin pushed a wheelbarrow containing a small stove made of sheet iron across the gorge.  Midway, he proceeded to light a fire and cook an omelet!  Then he lowered the omelet down to passengers on The Maid of the Mist, who ate it before Blondin continued his crossing!  No one understood how he managed to keep his balance and not fall to his death.

    One day a man asked Blondin his secret.  He replied, “Go look on the other side, there in the direction I’m walking.  Do you see that silver star?  I placed it there.  I never take my eyes from it.  I focus on that star and walk toward it.  That’s what gives me stability.” 

    Jesus is the Bright and Morning Star.  Amid the chaos, He will give you stability. He will grant us His assurance and confidence.

  In Christ,

     Brown

http://youtu.be/EIp_sWpytUg

Brown's Daily Word 01-01-14

    A very blessed and fruitful New Year to you all.  Praise the Lord for His great faithfulness during the year that is past.  He blessed us with an amazing Christmas worship, celebration, giving, and receiving.  Thank you for your cards,  Christmas greetings, and gifts.  We are blessed, so blessed indeed.  I did get to conduct a service of death and resurrection for a wonderful saint and servant of Jesus.  She was 94 years old.  She lived a full and faithful life loving and serving Jesus.  John Wesley said, "Our people die well".  Indeed those who love Jesus and serve Him  die well to go on to live for eternity.  

    All our children and grandchildren "came home" for Christmas.  It was a great gathering indeed.  My daughters provoke me to love Jesus and they encourage me to serve Him well.   We praise the Lord for our daughters. They have grown to be servants of Jesus.  We are blessed with grandchildren who are full of life and joy.  Praise the Lord for this life in Christ which is indeed blessed with grace upon grace.  There is so much in this life we do not fully understand.  There are things in this life do not make sense, yet we see and receive life as a gift from the Lord.  We live with grace and gratitude.  Praise the Lord for the days when it is sunny and sweet.  Praise the Lord for the days of bliss and beauty.  Praise the Lord for the days of victory and triumph.  Praise the Lord when we see clearly how the Lord has answered our prayers and has met all our needs.  Praise the Lord for the days when we can triumphantly declare, "My cup runneth over".  We can also make an audacious claim that "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies".

     They are forecasting some heavy snow for next two days.  It has been very cold the last few days.  It is sunny and the mid 80s in Phubani , where I was born brought up.  My friends and family members are posting their pictures of outdoor picnics for New Year's day.  Shortly the mango tress will be blossoming in Orissa India ... The sweet smell of the blossoms will fill the air.  Praise the Lord for this brand new year.  Helen Keller wrote: "No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars or sailed to an uncharted land or opened a new heaven to the human spirit."

 

    This New Year, I am more confident than ever about the future of the Church of our Lord Jesus, and I am optimistic about your life and mine in the kingdom of God no matter what we might be facing.  I am optimistic because in 2,000 years of human frailty, Satanic opposition, and worldly attack, the promise of our Lord that He would build His church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it is as certain today as ever.

    We see this clearly realized in the early church.  With an apostle in jail, apparently failing to evangelize and reach the Gentiles, the church's future seemed to be in jeopardy.  The truth is that while Paul was in prison, he wrote a letter of thanksgiving to the Church at Philippi about how God was using his situation to advance the kingdom.  Paul thanked God upon every remembrance of them.  Their ministry had produced some great things in the past; they had helped other churches and had been a blessing to the body of Christ.  Paul thanked God for them and for the fellowship they enjoyed in the past.  

    Philippians 1: 6 is one of the greatest verses in the Bible.  Paul begins by speaking of "Being confident of this…" God had done some great things in the past, but there were great things to come.  The Christian life is dynamic, alive, and moving through history to reach each and every new generation that comes along. Likewise, He is calling us  into a future with Him.  The reign of the Lord Jesus guarantees He will see us through.

    "Yet, my brothers, I do not consider myself to have “arrived”, spiritually, nor do I consider myself already perfect.  But I keep going on, grasping ever more firmly that purpose for which Christ grasped me.  My brothers, I do not consider myself to have fully grasped it even now.  But I do concentrate on this: I leave the past behind and with hands outstretched to whatever lies ahead I go straight for the goal—my reward the honor of being called by God in Christ." Philippians 3:13-14
J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS) 

In Christ,

   Brown

http://youtu.be/BQiAWWDO_aY