Praise the Lord for the sweet rest He gives us as His gracious gift night after
night. Praise the Lord for His eternal companionship day after day, every day,
all the way, and all the days of our lives. He blessed us with a wonderful
Wednesday gathering and a deep fellowship where people shared with great
transparency. Many shared deep horror and sadness at the abduction of
Christians in the middle East and slaughtering of them, including children and
women. Let us all pray reverently against the insanity and madness of the Islam
terrorists. Only the Lord of the Heaven and Earth has the power against the
demonic and barbaric forces that have been let loose amongst
nations.
I have been thinking about how the Lord, who
is great and mighty delivered His people like Daniel from great terror. In
fact, God delivered him while he was in the lion's den. Those lions
intentionally had been starved and were extremely hungry. In fact, when the
king ordered the conspirators thrown into the den along with their families,
they all were killed immediately. The author of the book of Daniel wants us to
know God always can do the miraculous, and early Christian art often used the
story of Daniel in the lions' den as an Old Testament picture of the
resurrection of Jesus. That's the power of God. He can deliver His people from
bondage in Egypt, from Nebuchadnezzar's fiery furnace and from the lions' den of
the Persians. He can crumble the walls of Jericho, use one smooth stone to fell
a blasphemous Philistine giant, and raise Lazarus from the dead.
Physical deliverance is not always true for
all of God's people in all times and all places. Sometimes He lets them be
beaten, whipped, and even crucified. Foxes'
Book of Martyrs is one of the most prominent books in the English
language, and it describes the torture and death of hundreds of faithful
Christians through the middle of the 16th century. Furthermore, there were
probably more Christians martyred in the 20th century than in the previous 19
combined. So, while Daniel 6 tells of a great miracle of deliverance, God does
not always choose to deliver.
In verse 16 and 20, Darius twice
describes Daniel as "continually serving His God." In the original text, it's
one word and it's only used here in all of Scripture. It means to "move in and
make your home with." Verse 23 says
Daniel trusted his God—even in the most dire of circumstances—and I'm convinced
he did so because years before he put his full trust in the Lord and made his
home with God and learned in time that God was good and always would be his
Comforter, his Counselor, and his Savior. Although Darius foolishly deified
himself, he had no power to save Daniel. Our God shut the mouths of those lions
and saved Daniel from certain death, because He's the all-powerful Savior. He
never sleeps or slumbers, and He is always working to accomplish what He wants
in your life and mine. As the author notes in v. 27, He's the One with the
power to deliver regardless of the circumstances, and that's why we need to continually serve the
Lord and keep on trusting Him and keep on walking by faith.
In the days of Moses, the Hebrews were
oppressed by Pharaoh, but their King still had one more move. David looked to
be an insect to Goliath, but David's King still had one more move. It looked as
if it was all over for Daniel when he was thrown in the lions' den, but his King
still had one more move. Jesus was tortured, crucified, dead and buried. His
enemies said, "That's all folks. Show's over. Time to go home. They were
wrong because the King still had one more move.
Jesus is our King, our Lord and Our God, and
He always has one more move! So let us make our home with Him, because He's the
All-Powerful Savior. Regardless of our circumstances, irrespective of our
situation, our King always has one more move, and that's something—and
Someone—we can celebrate about.
In Christ,
Brown
http://youtu.be/2qCmtUhiKcA
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Brown's Daily Word 2/25/15
This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. We will gather for our Wednesday Evening program at 6 PM with special food. We will be joining for Lenten Study at 6:30 PM and the choir will meet to rehearse at 7:30 PM.
It is written in Psalm 30, "weeping may tarry for the night but joy comes in the morning". In the Gospel according to John, Jesus was invited to a wedding reception in Cana of Galilee. There developed a crisis in the wedding celebration so Jesus took charge. He came as the guest, but became the Host, and in doing so He saved the day.
Jesus injected a sense of laughter and humor into the party. I can just see Jesus and the disciples as they left the marriage feast at Cana: " The disciples had never seen anything like that in their lives. Jesus could have very simply changed water into wine, but His method was humorous.
Elton Trueblood, in his book "The Humor of Christ."expounds on the humor of our Lord. John 2:11: "This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory, and his disciples believed in him." In the midst of the laughter, the fun, the jokes, and the party people believed in the Lord. People got converted! In the midst of the laughter the name of Jesus Christ was glorified. We don't always think about that. We often fail to capture the humor of Jesus. He is the one who turns our mourning into dancing. Jesus is glorified in wedding receptions.
We think He gets glorified in a prayer meeting or a worship service. Jesus our Lord, who is the author of laughter, is glorified in our moments of pure joy and pure laughter. The name of Christ is glorified when we laugh. By the grace of the Lord people can be changed and converted when our joy catches fire in their lives. Empty piety will kill a church faster than apostasy.
Rubens, the seventeenth century artist, once said that with a single stroke of his brush he could change a weeping child into a laughing child. Jesus does that, too, with the brush stroke of forgiveness. He brings joy with the brush stroke of freedom, the brush stroke of love, the brush stroke of power, the brush stroke of eternal life, the brush stroke of acceptance. One brush stroke and He changes the frown and tears into laughter.
Psalm 30:5 "For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favor is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." 11 "Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness." 12 "To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever."
In Christ, Brown
http://youtu.be/iPeVIuRjUi4
It is written in Psalm 30, "weeping may tarry for the night but joy comes in the morning". In the Gospel according to John, Jesus was invited to a wedding reception in Cana of Galilee. There developed a crisis in the wedding celebration so Jesus took charge. He came as the guest, but became the Host, and in doing so He saved the day.
Jesus injected a sense of laughter and humor into the party. I can just see Jesus and the disciples as they left the marriage feast at Cana: " The disciples had never seen anything like that in their lives. Jesus could have very simply changed water into wine, but His method was humorous.
Elton Trueblood, in his book "The Humor of Christ."expounds on the humor of our Lord. John 2:11: "This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory, and his disciples believed in him." In the midst of the laughter, the fun, the jokes, and the party people believed in the Lord. People got converted! In the midst of the laughter the name of Jesus Christ was glorified. We don't always think about that. We often fail to capture the humor of Jesus. He is the one who turns our mourning into dancing. Jesus is glorified in wedding receptions.
We think He gets glorified in a prayer meeting or a worship service. Jesus our Lord, who is the author of laughter, is glorified in our moments of pure joy and pure laughter. The name of Christ is glorified when we laugh. By the grace of the Lord people can be changed and converted when our joy catches fire in their lives. Empty piety will kill a church faster than apostasy.
Rubens, the seventeenth century artist, once said that with a single stroke of his brush he could change a weeping child into a laughing child. Jesus does that, too, with the brush stroke of forgiveness. He brings joy with the brush stroke of freedom, the brush stroke of love, the brush stroke of power, the brush stroke of eternal life, the brush stroke of acceptance. One brush stroke and He changes the frown and tears into laughter.
Psalm 30:5 "For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favor is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." 11 "Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness." 12 "To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever."
In Christ, Brown
http://youtu.be/iPeVIuRjUi4
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Brown's Daily Word 2/24/15
Praise the Lord for this bright new day. Yesterday (Monday) was a brilliant day. It was bright. The fields and the meadows are still covered with lots of snow. The Lord dazzles the earth as He sends the Light that beams over the snow, causing it to sparkle with His splendor. Though it has been cold the sunlight is melting it vigorously. Indeed, there is power not only in the sun, but in the "SON". He has power to cast out darkness. He has the power to dispel the frost from our hearts. He is able to give and He does give us "New Hearts. . . Warm Hearts".
I have been blessed and privileged to be in the Holy Land several times. Every time I have been there I have visited the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee. The Sea of Galilee is a large fresh water lake, teeming with fish and waterfowl. The Dead Sea is, well, dead. Nothing lives in it. What's the difference? The Sea of Galilee receives water and then shares its water. The Jordan River flows out of the Sea of Galilee and provides fresh water for thousands of acres of farmland. That water eventually flows into the Dead Sea, but the Dead Sea has no outlet. It only receives; it never gives.
People are the same way. God never designed you to be a Dead Sea person, only receiving His blessings. He designed you to be a Sea of Galilee person, constantly giving because He has given to you. Never become a blessing receptacle only, but a channel of blessing to others!
In the famous movie Lawrence of Arabia, Peter O'Toole is the lead actor. It is one movie which has many redeeming elements, unlike many that come out of Hollywood nowadays. It is based on the true story of T. E. Lawrence, a dashing British soldier in World War I, who united the Arab tribes and led them in battle against the Turks, who were aligned with the Germans. After the Allied victory, Lawrence was invited to Paris to participate in the peace talks. He took with him several of the Arab leaders who stayed in the same hotel as Lawrence. These desert dwellers had never before seen indoor plumbing. They were amazed that when they turned on the faucet to the bathtub that it filled up with water. They thought it was magic.
After the peace talks were completed, the delegation was preparing to leave. Lawrence was surprised to discover his Arab friends had removed the faucets from their bathtubs and had packed them in their luggage. They assumed the faucets themselves were magic and had produced the water. Lawrence patiently explained that the faucets didn't produce the water, but were connected to pipes which were connected to a source of fresh water. Once they were disconnected from that source, they were just empty fixtures.
What a powerful parable this is of the Christian life! People who find their identity in their religion, race, rank, or by keeping rules are only disconnected faucets; our true worth is found because of our connection with Jesus Christ. If we are not connected to Jesus Christ, then we are cut off from the source of life. Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:7).
The ground is level at the foot of the cross. There is no room for us to feel any sense of superiority above anyone else. It also means that anyone can come to the cross. Since the ground is level, there is no religious mountain of rules and regulations to climb. It also means that we don't have to have any special status or position to come to Jesus. There's an old hymn that says: "The ground is level at the foot of the cross. Anyone may come, for there is no cost. Rich man or poor man, bonded or free, the ground was leveled that day at Calvary."
All we need is an invitation. The Lord's invitation is repeated throughout the Bible. So we wouldn't miss it, He made one final invitation to us on the very last page of His Book. He said, "The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!' And let him who hears say, ‘Come!' Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life" (Revelation 22:17).
In Christ, Brown
http://youtu.be/PANiveIKVX0
I have been blessed and privileged to be in the Holy Land several times. Every time I have been there I have visited the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee. The Sea of Galilee is a large fresh water lake, teeming with fish and waterfowl. The Dead Sea is, well, dead. Nothing lives in it. What's the difference? The Sea of Galilee receives water and then shares its water. The Jordan River flows out of the Sea of Galilee and provides fresh water for thousands of acres of farmland. That water eventually flows into the Dead Sea, but the Dead Sea has no outlet. It only receives; it never gives.
People are the same way. God never designed you to be a Dead Sea person, only receiving His blessings. He designed you to be a Sea of Galilee person, constantly giving because He has given to you. Never become a blessing receptacle only, but a channel of blessing to others!
In the famous movie Lawrence of Arabia, Peter O'Toole is the lead actor. It is one movie which has many redeeming elements, unlike many that come out of Hollywood nowadays. It is based on the true story of T. E. Lawrence, a dashing British soldier in World War I, who united the Arab tribes and led them in battle against the Turks, who were aligned with the Germans. After the Allied victory, Lawrence was invited to Paris to participate in the peace talks. He took with him several of the Arab leaders who stayed in the same hotel as Lawrence. These desert dwellers had never before seen indoor plumbing. They were amazed that when they turned on the faucet to the bathtub that it filled up with water. They thought it was magic.
After the peace talks were completed, the delegation was preparing to leave. Lawrence was surprised to discover his Arab friends had removed the faucets from their bathtubs and had packed them in their luggage. They assumed the faucets themselves were magic and had produced the water. Lawrence patiently explained that the faucets didn't produce the water, but were connected to pipes which were connected to a source of fresh water. Once they were disconnected from that source, they were just empty fixtures.
What a powerful parable this is of the Christian life! People who find their identity in their religion, race, rank, or by keeping rules are only disconnected faucets; our true worth is found because of our connection with Jesus Christ. If we are not connected to Jesus Christ, then we are cut off from the source of life. Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:7).
The ground is level at the foot of the cross. There is no room for us to feel any sense of superiority above anyone else. It also means that anyone can come to the cross. Since the ground is level, there is no religious mountain of rules and regulations to climb. It also means that we don't have to have any special status or position to come to Jesus. There's an old hymn that says: "The ground is level at the foot of the cross. Anyone may come, for there is no cost. Rich man or poor man, bonded or free, the ground was leveled that day at Calvary."
All we need is an invitation. The Lord's invitation is repeated throughout the Bible. So we wouldn't miss it, He made one final invitation to us on the very last page of His Book. He said, "The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!' And let him who hears say, ‘Come!' Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life" (Revelation 22:17).
In Christ, Brown
http://youtu.be/PANiveIKVX0
Monday, February 23, 2015
Brown's Daily Word 2/23/15
Praise the Lord for this new day in our Lord's kingdom, filled with promises and
paved with His grace. He blessed us in His His House yesterday. It was a
bright and beautiful day. Jesus shines in us makes our lives brighter by His
love and power. Snow is beginning to melt around here (or it was yesterday, at
least). We drove by one of the rivers and saw that various birds including
water fowl are congregating by the open waters of the streams. They looked
and sounded cheerful and jubilant.
In the Church calendar we are celebrating the Lenten season, the 40 Days before Easter excluding Sundays. One of the major themes of the Lenten season is forgiveness. Romans 5:.8 "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
In I Samuel 26, there is a great story in the account of David. I have always wondered why David is called a man after God’s own heart, because David had a lot of screw-ups. He committed adultery, put out a hit on the lady’s husband, and had some very negative parenting issues in his life, but God, in the New Testament, calls David “a man after my own heart.”
There is an account where David represented a threat to Saul, the king, because David was going to be anointed as the next king. Saul was pursuing David with an army of 3,000 men. One night, while Saul was on this pursuit out in the wilderness, King Saul and his army were camping. David, with a few of his men, snuck into the camp at night while the army was asleep. They came up to King Saul, who was asleep on the ground and had his spear in the ground next to him. They slept, not with the pointed end into the ground, but the blunt end in the ground in case the enemy would come or attack, so that your weapon was right next to you. David grabbed Saul’s spear. One of his men suggested that David should pin him to the ground right away, because he eventually would kill David. David responded, “How can I raise my hand against God’s anointed?” Despite all of Saul's attempts to murder David, David saw his enemy as anointed by God. David snuck out of the camp, spent the night on a hill overlooking the Israeli camp, and yelled to Saul the next morning, lifting Saul’s spirit. Saul, suddenly humbled, realized that David could have taken his life, and he apologized to David.
What is amazing is the fact that David forgave Saul. In the fullness of time Jesus came as the Son of Man who has the authority to forgive sins. In Mark 2:i ff we read that Jesus was in the house, preaching. When Jesus is in the House something good always happens. People hear the Good News. There is power in the Proclaimed Word. "He speaks and, listening to His voice, new life the dead receive."
In Mark 2 a group of friends had the holy boldness to bring their friend who is paralyzed to Jesus. Because there was a crowd around Jesus the friends made a big hole in the roof and dropped the paralytic on his mat before Jesus, interrupting His preaching. Jesus stopped preaching and riveted his full attention on the four friends. He was moved by their faith. He commanded the paralytic, "My son your sins are forgiven. Take up your pallet and rise up and walk." Jesus had many critics who questioned Him that day. Jesus declared that the Son of Man, as described on Daniel 7, has authority on earth to forgive sins. The paralytic believed in Jesus. He received forgiveness and the healing that followed.
We are often tempted to stay detached, uninvolved, at the edge of the crowd. The Lord calls us to come to Him and live. It is not very pleasant to be paralyzed and on a cot, but if we are then we do not have many responsibilities. Once we meet Jesus face to face, and receive His forgiveness and healing, we will find ourselves on our feet, dancing, with jubilant feet, going into the world to be His witnesses. WOW!
In Christ,
Brown.
http://youtu.be/eOY0mjjmx8Y
In the Church calendar we are celebrating the Lenten season, the 40 Days before Easter excluding Sundays. One of the major themes of the Lenten season is forgiveness. Romans 5:.8 "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
In I Samuel 26, there is a great story in the account of David. I have always wondered why David is called a man after God’s own heart, because David had a lot of screw-ups. He committed adultery, put out a hit on the lady’s husband, and had some very negative parenting issues in his life, but God, in the New Testament, calls David “a man after my own heart.”
There is an account where David represented a threat to Saul, the king, because David was going to be anointed as the next king. Saul was pursuing David with an army of 3,000 men. One night, while Saul was on this pursuit out in the wilderness, King Saul and his army were camping. David, with a few of his men, snuck into the camp at night while the army was asleep. They came up to King Saul, who was asleep on the ground and had his spear in the ground next to him. They slept, not with the pointed end into the ground, but the blunt end in the ground in case the enemy would come or attack, so that your weapon was right next to you. David grabbed Saul’s spear. One of his men suggested that David should pin him to the ground right away, because he eventually would kill David. David responded, “How can I raise my hand against God’s anointed?” Despite all of Saul's attempts to murder David, David saw his enemy as anointed by God. David snuck out of the camp, spent the night on a hill overlooking the Israeli camp, and yelled to Saul the next morning, lifting Saul’s spirit. Saul, suddenly humbled, realized that David could have taken his life, and he apologized to David.
What is amazing is the fact that David forgave Saul. In the fullness of time Jesus came as the Son of Man who has the authority to forgive sins. In Mark 2:i ff we read that Jesus was in the house, preaching. When Jesus is in the House something good always happens. People hear the Good News. There is power in the Proclaimed Word. "He speaks and, listening to His voice, new life the dead receive."
In Mark 2 a group of friends had the holy boldness to bring their friend who is paralyzed to Jesus. Because there was a crowd around Jesus the friends made a big hole in the roof and dropped the paralytic on his mat before Jesus, interrupting His preaching. Jesus stopped preaching and riveted his full attention on the four friends. He was moved by their faith. He commanded the paralytic, "My son your sins are forgiven. Take up your pallet and rise up and walk." Jesus had many critics who questioned Him that day. Jesus declared that the Son of Man, as described on Daniel 7, has authority on earth to forgive sins. The paralytic believed in Jesus. He received forgiveness and the healing that followed.
We are often tempted to stay detached, uninvolved, at the edge of the crowd. The Lord calls us to come to Him and live. It is not very pleasant to be paralyzed and on a cot, but if we are then we do not have many responsibilities. Once we meet Jesus face to face, and receive His forgiveness and healing, we will find ourselves on our feet, dancing, with jubilant feet, going into the world to be His witnesses. WOW!
In Christ,
Brown.
http://youtu.be/eOY0mjjmx8Y
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