Brown's Daily Word 10/10/14

Praise the Lord for this fabulous Friday.  It is all colorful and all glorious around here.  Praise the Lord for the way He lavishes us with so much beauty and so much bounty of His grace and mercy.  Those of you live in the region join us for our weekly Television Telecast this evening at 7 PM on Time Warner  Cable channel 4.  Plan to be in the House of the Lord this coming Lord's day to worship,  to witness, and to celebrate.  Praise the Lord that we get to celebrate His grace and witness to His faithfulness.  Indeed, Jesus  never fails and His love never ends. 

    Laureen spent some time with her dear friend Kelly in Memphis this week.  She flew back to Washington on Wednesday and drove up to New York to spend a few days with us.  Lord provided for her dream job in Washington.  She will start working in a few days. Tom is recovering from his surgery.  Jessie and Tom are planning to be with us for the weekend.  Sunita, Andy, and Gabe are flying  back to the States from Cypress to attend a family wedding in Michigan.  Then they will be returning back to Cypress next week following the wedding.  Our granddaughter Ada (Three years old) dislocated her elbow - with what is termed nursemaid's elbow.  She spent two days in pain as it took 6 attempts to reset the joint.  Praise the Lord that her arm has been reset and Ada is once again living life out loud. Janice and her family are planning on coming to New York for the weekend.   

    In view of the family gathering and celebration Alice picked out two bushels of the best New York apples - Jonagolds and Northern Spies.  I harvested a bucket of peppers  from our garden.  There are hot, mild Hungarian, green, red, purple, habanero.  We have about two bushels of winter squash yet to harvest.  I picked a lovely summer squash the other day, probably the last for this season.  Summer squash in Autumn?  One of the gigantic Forsythia Bushes in the church grounds is in full bloom.  Spring flowers in Autumn Season?  The Lord of all seasons displays His majesty and beauty in technicolor in every season.  We can say, "My cup runneth over". 

    The Psalm that deals with still waters and green pastures also deals with death valleys.  In Psalm 23 we see ourselves laying down in the green pastures.  We see ourselves being lead by the still (quiet) waters.  We see our selves walking through the valley of shadow of death, and walking through darkness with the Shepherd as our guide.  When we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we are not alone.  The Good and winsome shepherd is with us.  

    In C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, as Aslan makes his way to the stone table he comes to a point where he does not allow Lucy and Susan to go any further.  They are not permitted to make that last leg of the journey with him.  It is a path which he must walk alone, into the heart of death and darkness.  We might say "What is to become of us when it is the Shepherd's valley of the shadow of death?"  Perhaps this is the place where our faith is most shaken, those long hours before the dawn, that silence in which we so often live.

    The Chief Shepherd has passed through the valley of the shadow of death. There is no valley so deep that the Son of God can not fathom.  There is no mountain so high that the Son of Man can't climb, no darkness so grim that the Prince of the dawn cannot illuminate, no sin God can't forgive, no person so lost that Christ can not find him.  There is no bondage so great that the Deliverer can not burst it asunder.  The valley is the Lord's.  The way is safe.  "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow you all the days of your life.  And you shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever."  Amen.

In Christ,

 Brown

http://youtu.be/ZIUCRXMM4pE

Brown's Daily Word 10/9/14

    Praise be to Jesus for this new day.  It is going to be glorious and brilliant.  He blessed us with a sweet Wednesday evening gathering.  As we wake up to a brand new day the fear about the ebola virus is spreading like a wild fire around the corner and around the globe.  When we look at life deeply we recognize that all of us live just a breath away from eternity.  It is easy to be consumed by fear and panic.  Those who love Jesus, serve Him, and live in Him can not live on panic and fear but in faith in His deep abiding peace.       

    I am so blessed.  One if the big blessings is the gift of the Lord in my four daughters.  We cherish our times together.  We rejoice in the blessings and the gifts of the Lord.  Often when we share our time together the Lord does encourage me through their faith and faithfulness to the Lord.   

    Whenever I participate in the service death and resurrection I quote from the Letter of Paul to the Philippians.  This letter was written by Paul while he was held prisoner.  By the world's standards, he should have been miserable, but when you read this letter, from first to the last, it vibrates with joy.  As he came to the closing verses he saide, "Rejoice in the Lord always!  Again I say, Rejoice!"

    One of Paul's favorite words is the Greek word hilarotes, from which we get the word hilarity.  It literally means "laughter from the heart."  When Paul spoke of joy, he did not mean the trivial, shallow, obscene or mean-spirited stuff we call humor today.  He meant a bone-deep, blood-rich, exuberant laughter which comes up out of the depths of a person's soul, a joy which flows from the center of our being, a happiness coming from the depth of our hearts.  Holy hilarity is born out of deep, inner peace, a peace which passes all understanding.  It is a peace which comes from knowing that we are really loved and accepted by God.

    My experience tells me that uptight people can never really experience joy. People who have everything screwed down real tight can never learn to dance. People who are not at peace with themselves, people who carry around the baggage of past hurts and failures, people who look at the world through the narrow lens of their own self-interest, people who just plain don't like themselves or others, can never really discover the hilarity the Gospel promises.  Only those who let go and discover the deep peace which comes in knowing we are loved simply because God chooses to accept and love us, can know the freedom of laughter.

    There's a line from G. K. Chesterton which I've claimed as part of the operating creed for  my life, "Angels can fly because they take themselves so lightly."  In stark contrast to this, I have known a lot of Christians who take themselves entirely too seriously.  We need to take the love of God and the good news of the Gospel seriously, but we don't have to take ourselves seriously at all.  There is great joy that comes in knowing that we can trust the goodness and love of God.

    "Finally, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."  Real joy -- holy hilarity -- is shaped by a disciplined focus of our hearts and minds and souls on things that are good, things that are beautiful, things that are filled with the joy of the Spirit of Christ.

    Paul came to a grand conclusion in Philippians 4:11 when he said, "I have learned to be content with whatever I have.  I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty.  In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need.  I can do all things through him who strengthens me."

    The J. B. Phillips translation has great feeling for the emotion of Paul's letters, "I have learned to be content, whatever the circumstances may be.  I know now how to live when things are difficult and I know how to live when things are prosperous... I have learned the secret of facing plenty or poverty.  I am ready for anything through the strength of the one who lives within me."  Paul said he had already learned all of that.   Jesus, the Lord of Joy, grants us the hilarity of the soul which thrives within us in any circumstances.

In Christ,

 Brown

http://youtu.be/qQ71RWJhS_M

Brown's Daily Word 10/8/14

Thanks be to Jesus for this awesome Autumn day here in New York.  I posted some photographs of the Fall foliage 2014 on my Facebook page.  They are brilliant.  They were taken from around where we live.  We will meet for our Wednesday gathering at 6 PM this evening.  I praise the Lord for the Church of Jesus Christ our Lord.  I have been part of His church all my life.  Praise the Lord for those who were "born in the pew" and the Lord has kept them in the grip of His grace.  Praise the Lord also for others who came to Him at a later date of their lives, some of whom came kicking and screaming.  Nonetheless, they came and they live under His grace. 

    In Ephesians it is written that Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her.  Praise the Lord for all of you who are committed to Christ and to the ministry and mission of the church in the world.  Praise the Lord for you all who are integral part of the local church, worshiping, loving, giving, and witnessing. 

    Bonhoeffer spoke about "Life  Together".  Praise the Lord we can do life together in and through Jesus in and through His Church, the "Body of Christ".  I am so glad and so grateful that the Lord has kept me in the fellowship and the witness of His Church.  The Lord gives His power in loving and in living for Him

Brown's Daily Word update 10/7/14

   Praise the Lord for He is the Resurrection and Life.  We drove to Ogdensburg, New York yesterday to attend the service of death and Resurrection of a man that I had known over the last 25 yars.  The drive, over four hours by car, was beautiful as we drove through some magnificent Autumn colors.  Ogdensburg is located on the banks of the majestic St. Lawrence River.  From there we could see the  Canadian skyline.  The landscape along the Interstate was pastorally picturesque. The man, who was 83 years old, loved the Lord and loved the church, and it is evident that he lived well and died well.  He went to be with Jesus, and Jesus our Lord welcomed him in to His presence.  He was loved by many, for so many attended the service of celebration of his life.  Three United Methodist clergy, including me, shared in the beautiful service.  We shared about the sure and certain hope  of Resurrection because of Jesus.  It was one of the first services in which I have participated after the death of my mom in India. The Lord infused me  with His blessed assurance and the eternal Hope that we have in Him.  It is written  in Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit, you may abound in hope.”  May you be filled with hope, overflowing with hope, abounding with hope.”

Brown's Daily Word 10/7/14

  Praise the Lord. This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.  Thank you all for praying for Tom, our son-in-law.  He went through the surgery and came home same day, and is recovering at home.  I trust you all had a very blessed weekend.  The Lord blessed us with an abundant weekend.  The Fall colors are reaching their peak all around us.  Thank you, Lord, that your "paint box" of colors is never empty.  Praise the Lord for the way He lavishes us with so much grace and gladness, beauty and  bounty.  Indeed, His love never ends and His mercy never ends.  It was a great blessing to be in the house of the Lord yesterday.  I preached from Exodus 17. 

      Some time ago I read about Malcolm Mulgridge, one of my favorite British writers and thinkers.  Malcolm Muggeridge was an atheist  but became a Christian after visiting communist Soviet Union.  He was astounded by the vibrant faith and the faithfulness of Christians in Russia living under the communist regime.  Their faith in Christ was alive and vibrant.  The witness of Christians in Soviet Union led Malcolm Muggeridge  to trust Jesus as his Lord and Savior.  The story goes: Standing beside the family plot in an English cemetery, the  Christian statesman spoke as one who would soon join those of his family who had died.  He contrasted his youthful dreads and desires with those of his old age.  He said that those things which he felt were most desirable in his youth he now saw to be of relatively little importance, while those things which he dreaded in his youth had proven to be the richest experiences of his life.

    I believe that  Muggeridge is right.  Those things which we think are most important often prove to be otherwise, while those things which appear to be undesirable, even painful, often prove most precious and profitable.  In the Exodus 17 reading we discover that the Israelites viewed the lack of water at Rephidim as a disaster and an indication that God had abandoned them to die in the desert.  They questioned a way that was beyond their comprehension.  What first appeared to be an indication of God’s absence proved to be one of the most dramatic illustrations of God’s presence, provision, and protection.  Leaving the Desert of Sin where God’s miraculous provision of manna had commenced (cf. chapter 16), the Israelites went from place to place, as the Lord directed them.  It is significant to note that God was in no hurry to bring the Israelites into the land of Canaan.  While Israel’s later “wilderness wanderings” were the result of their sin at Kadesh-barnea (cf. Numbers 13-14), the wanderings here are designed to serve as Israel’s “boot camp” experiences.  The events of chapter 17 occur while Israel is camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the Israelites or their cattle.

    Note that it was God who led Israel to Rephidim where there was no water.  The Israelites should have learned to trust God to supply their needs, based upon His previous provision of water at Marah (15:22-26) and quail and manna in the wilderness of Sin (chapter 16).  Furthermore, the Israelites did far more than just grumble, as they had previously done.  Before this, the Israelites had grumbled against Moses and Aaron (15:24; 16:2, 7-8), but now they are quarreling with Moses and about to stone him (17:4).  Before, the Israelites asked Moses what they were to drink (15:24), but now they are demanding that Moses give them water to drink.  It is bad enough that the Israelites argued with Moses and demanded that Moses provide them with water, but the text informs us that they were also challenging God here as well.  The issue, however, is not only whether Moses had the right to continue to lead this people, but whether God was among His people. The challenge of the Israelites was, “Is the Lord among us or not?” 

    We share the same DNA, the same mind set, with the the grumbling Israel pilgrims in the wildrrness.  Often we find it very difficult to believe that God is present when things are not going well.  We find it hard to believe that God would lead His people or His church into times and circumstances of difficulty.  When we think this way, we are no different from the Israelites.  We doubt God’s presence and power whenever the going begins to get tough.  We fail to understand the necessity and importance of the school of discipline through which God puts all of His children.

    GOD OFTEN REVEALS HIS PRESENCE THROUGH CIRCUMSTANCES IN WHICH HE APPEARS TO BE ABSENT.  We can generalize God’s dealings with His people by pointing out that God uses those times in which we suppose He is absent to show us how real and present He is.

In Christ,

Brown

http://youtu.be/LC04SXoYlAI