Brown's Daily Word 4/22/16

   It is Friday.  Praise the Lord indeed.  The Lord blessed us some very friendly showers last night, watering the land and thus causing the May flowers to bloom.   The Lord blessed us with a fantastic Thursday, sunny and warm.  At the school, the signboard said that the temperature reading reached 80 degrees (lower 70s would be more accurate).  I drove around the county and mountainside for some bird watching and gazing at the spring flowers and passing by the cattle "on a  thousand  Hills", grazing unhurried and unbothered.  The Lord blessed us with a spectacular time during our release time yesterday.  It is a great thrill to interact withe children with the good News of Jesus our Lord.  Alice and I walked on the good green turf surrounding Lovell Field last evening, feeling the softness of the earth, which the Lord god has created with much love for us. 

    We are getting ready for Sunday.  We will meet at 10 AM for Sunday School and at 11:00 AM for worship.  There will be a church wide fellowship dinner after the morning worship. We will have the assortment foods including Swedish, Italian and Indian. 

    The local School district where Alice teaches will be closed for Spring break next week.  We are planning to visit our grandchildren in Boston next week.  Our grandchildren are counting the days and so are we.

    I was deeply moved and provoked as I read the following story.  On a Sunday morning in 2013, two Muslim suicide bombers entered All Saints' Church in Peshawar, Pakistan and detonated explosives, killing 127 men, women, and children.  250 were wounded.  Because it's a Muslim state, those who were Christians in that church were the oppressed minority of that particular area.  There were no jobs for them apart from the jobs that nobody else wanted.  There was no safety net for their wounds, for their funerals.  There were no social services: there was no one in the society to help them along.

    So on Monday, the day after the bombing, the people at the church came back and gathered the Sunday School papers that had been spread by the bomb, and they gathered the shoes of the children murdered and wounded so they could be used by others who needed them.  Then they washed the walls of the blood of their families and friends.  As they did so, even the secular report said their wails of agony pierced the silence of the indifferent neighborhood around them.  Then, when the walls were clean, they arranged the pews and sat and began to sing songs of praise to God.

    Why?  Because they remembered their charter.  The church, established over 100 years before, had said from its outset, "This church is to be a witness for Christ in a major Islamic city."  They believed they truly would do what the psalmist had said so long ago: that they would enthrone Christ in the praises of his people. They would be a witness to the greatness and the goodness of their God—particularly in the face of tragedy—if they would continue to praise him in the midst of agony and oppression, so that all the world could see our God is not going to be stopped ..

^" And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death" Rev 12:11

"They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.

 In Christ.

 Brown

https://youtu.be/VVFFvGS_gR0"

Brown's Daily Word 4/21/16

    Praise the Lord for the wonders of His love.  The Lord blessed us with a wonderful Wednesday.  It was sunny and stunning.  The Lord of heaven and earth decorated the evening with a brilliant moon, streaming on the earth, accompanied with a gentle breeze.  He blessed us with a wonderful Wednesday gathering for a community dinner which was prepared with much love and served with much gladness. 

    I stopped by the Community Center during the morning to interact with the senior saints who gather there on a daily basis.  I met a woman who accompanied her dear mom who is 91 years old, who is loved, adored, and cherished by her family.  The woman shared with me that she graduated from the local High School and went on to university to get her Ph.D in Biology and she is professor in Pittsburgh.  She further share that her dad passed away at the age of 91 a couple years ago.  Her mom lives at home, where she and her siblings care for her faithfully.  She comes home for a week each month just to spend time with her mom.  It was blessing for me to meet her and her mom whose is name is Alice.  

    I stopped by at Wegmans, one of the more trendy grocery stores in the Triple Cities.  This store carries produce from all over the world.  While surveying the  produce and the products I overheard a beautiful woman inquiring from one of the associates about the "Passover  Groceries', and I said, "what a country". Passover begins on April 22 and concludes on the April 30.  Our  Christian brothers and sisters in the Orthodox Church all over the will observe the Good Friday on April 29 and celebrate Easter on Sunday the May 1, 2016.

    Recent archeological expeditions have unearthed surprising finds of families buried together in age-old cemeteries, side by side, destroying older ideas about Neanderthals in Europe.  Now, we understand they had the same questions about death and the hereafter as we do.  No doubt, an ancient human figure from the mountains of Europe held a dying child in his arms, looking up into the heavens, seeing the signs of life, death and rebirth all about him in nature, and asking himself, “What about this child?  Will I see him again?”

    As a pastor, I have seen that very picture in my ministry many times through the decades.  The questions remain the same.  Death is a familiar, if not foreboding, force that I have seen enter the lives of my own family members and the families of so many of our people, leaving us with the same questions as the ancients.  Not much has changed…or has it?

    The apostle Paul picked up on the theme of death and what happens when we die in 1 Corinthians 15.  Some had taught, even as in Jesus’ time, that there was no resurrection from the dead.  Others had taught that the soul merely sleeps in the grave until Jesus comes again.  Paul, in refuting this bad theology, advanced a powerful argument: that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is not only central to the Christian faith, but it is the center point on the salvation plan of God in human history.  As such, this event has powerful consequences for eternity and for now.

    This leads us to a tremendous truth for our lives this day.  In the resurrection of Jesus Christ, God has overcome the dark tomb of our ancient despair with the bright promise of His new hope.  New hope Is made possible by a new world order
This new world order is now here and underway, though not based on politics, finance, or international relations.  It is a new world order that is greater than all those and greater than all the kingdoms that have ever been or ever will be.  It is a gospel conspiracy that is taking over the earth through love and grace, consuming the earth one person at a time.  As of today, approximately 200,000 people a day are confessing Jesus Christ as Lord.

    St. Paul said, “As in Adam all die, in Christ shall all be made alive.”  He was saying that all includes all of humanity.  We are all sons and daughters of Adam. We all die because we are children carrying the virus of sin.  Sin produces death, but for all who turn to Jesus Christ through repentance and faith will receive resurrection life.  They will be made alive.  Scripture teaches that when we receive Jesus as Lord, we pass from death to life.  We are liberated from judgment.  At death, we pass immediately into the presence of the Lord by the righteous life and sacrificial death of Jesus.  At the second coming of Jesus Christ, our bodies will rise again from the grave, and we will be—body and soul—complete in a new heaven and a new earth.  The old enemy, death, has been dealt a great blow and is on its way to terminal defeat. 

    Previously, the psalmist argued that in Sheol no one could praise God.  Yet, in the Book of Revelation, we see the saints praising the Lamb, Jesus Christ, gathered at the throne of God!  Something has happened, and that something is the resurrection of Jesus.  This is why the Bible says, “Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of His saints.”  This is why St. Paul concluded this magnum opus on the resurrection with his unforgettable line, “Death is swallowed up in victory.  O death, where is your victory?  O death, where is your sting?” (1 Corinthians  15:55

In Christ,

Brown

https://youtu.be/x9WEj6uLgmM?list=PLWvahZRxLnLMSWeULnub0CCeQzvxGM8hB

Brown's Daily Word 4/20/16

   Praise the Lord  for this wonderful Spring season the Lord lavishes upon us  every year and everywhere in His beautiful earth.  I drove to the Triple Cities yesterday to meet with some friends.  It was a beautiful and gorgeous day.  I stopped by our house in Binghamton.  The fruit trees are blooming.  The pear trees are in full bloom. The tulips and the hyacinths are both fragrant and colorful and are in full bloom.  The spring birds and water fowl have returned back to their natural habitat are in mirthful and jubilant spirit joining in continued unending chorus, offering praise to the Lord of Creation and Redemption.  Praise the Lord for the way He fills our souls.  I heard from our friends who are serving as short term missionaries in the Philippines.  They said that it is "My kind of weather, very hot and extremely humid".   I have also been talking to my friends and family back in Orissa, India, where the temperature has been reaching between 105 and 117 in the area where I was born and raised.  I was looking at the long range forecast in that region, which will be reaching 115 in the first part of May.  The schools in the entire state of Orissa are closed on account of extreme heat.

    I praise the Lord for the life and witness of those who loved the Lord and served  Him are are in His presence now, having entered the Church Triumphant.  I praise the Lord for Boyd, who was the organist in one of the first churches I served during the late seventies of the last century.  He was a farmer by vocation.  His wife was a school teacher.  They both served the Lord with grateful hearts and joyful spirits.  Boyd was blessed with a contagious smile and exuberant laughter. 

    I learned about the passing of a colleague and fellow servant, a priest in the Episcopal church, serving three parishes.  He was a dedicated and committed servant.  Along with his shepherding and serving he loved to work out doors with his hands.  He was on a ladder, trimming some trees  with a chain saw.  He fell from the ladder with the chain saw still running.  It fell on his leg severing it.  He was a in place with no one present nearby.  He bled to death.  He was planning to retire on the May 1 this year.  Ironically, his son is the head local EMT.

    Thank you for praying for our grandson who had a fall and suffered a head injury a couple of weeks ago.  The Lord has blessed him, and he will be back to school after their Spring break this week.  Schools in Boston are in Spring break this week.  Our Church will be hosting a community wide dinner this evening starting at 4:30 PM.  We are excited to come together to share the meal together.

    There are times in life when we feel like we make no difference, that if we had never lived or done whatever we have done, things would be the same.  There are times where we wonder, “what if,” what if I had done this or not done that?   Then we realize that if that “what if” had taken place, everything else about our life would also change:  our spouses, our kids, our friends, our jobs , everything.  Whatever we  have done with our lives  “so far,” could be better or far, far worse.  That’s why it’s important to live the life we have, not the one we wish we had.

    No life is ever unimportant or meaningless, even when it seems so.  ^“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?” said Jesus our Lord.  “Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight.  But even the hairs of your head are all counted.  Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Luke 12: 6 – 7)

    In his Letter to the Galatians, the Apostle Paul put it like this: “Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow.  If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6: 7 – 9)

    I’ve recently heard about a film that portrays some of the rubrics of American culture which are good and beautiful.  It is simply about ordinary people who discover that living each ordinary day honorably, with faith in Jesus Christ and selfless concern for His Kingdom and for others, makes for a truly wonderful life,  We  never have to give up. 

     “It will seem like all hell has broken loose — sun, moon, stars, earth, sea, in an uproar and everyone all over the world in a panic, the wind knocked out of them by the threat of doom, the powers-that-be quaking.  And then – then – they’ll see the Son of Man welcomed in grand style — a glorious welcome!  When all this starts to happen, up on your feet.  Stand tall with your heads high. Help is on the way!”

    Jesus told them a story.  “Look at a fig tree.  (Any tree for that matter.)  When the leaves begin to show, one look tells you that summer is right around the corner.  The same here — when you see these things happen, you know God’s kingdom is about here.  Don’t brush this off: I’m not just saying this for some future generation, but for this one, too — these things will happen.  Sky and earth will wear out; my words won’t wear out.  But be on your guard.  Don’t let the sharp edge of your expectation get dulled by parties and drinking and shopping.  Otherwise, that Day is going to take you by complete surprise, spring on you suddenly like a trap, for it’s going to come on everyone, everywhere, at once.  So, whatever you do, don’t go to sleep at the switch.  Pray constantly that you will have the strength and wits to make it through everything that’s coming and end up on your feet before the Son of Man.” (Luke 21: 25 – 36, The Message)

    The day of struggle is the day of grace.

In His Grace,

 Brown

https://youtu.be/ZuZX2e493r8?list=PLcHqC9YNzSaAaAu19bKe9ERIjUfUSVf31

Brown's Daily Word 4/19/16

   Praise the Lord for this new day.  Today New Yorkers, residents of the Empire State, will go to the polls to cast their ballots in the Primary elections.  Plan to go to the polls today.  I spent few days in Washington, DC, our Nation's capital, with Sunita, Andy, Laureen, Gabe, Addie, and Asha.  It was an exceptional treat.  The weather was fabulous.  Spring  blossoms and foliage are bursting to the seams. We were able to get out to walk and wander a lot.  I met some of Sunita' colleagues and had lunch with them.  Alice joined me for the weekend, along with Jess, Tom, and Lindie.  It was a mini family reunion - though we dearly missed Janice, Jeremy, Micah,Simeon, and Ada.  We spent some time at the National Arboretum just outside the city of Washington.  Saturday was a like summery, with balmy breezes and temperatures in the seventies.  The Arboretum was flooded with tourists and  visitors.  The azaleas, along with the dogwood trees, were in full bloom.  The colors were variegated and brilliant.  I felt like all the azaleas found all over the world have been transplanted to the Arboretum. 

  One of the special attractions of the season is the nesting of a bald eagle.  Two eaglets have hatched at the bald eagle nest at the National Arboretum. Anticipation as we've watched the #dceaglecam has been replaced with ridiculous adorableness.  A bald eagle clutch typically includes two eggs.  The little eagles will likely be on cam for awhile — the nesting period is typically more than 2 months.  You can watch live on the DCEagleCam as the new eaglets experience everything for the first time.

    We all attended the worship on Sunday at St. Brendan's in the City, an Anglican congregation.  I was asked to participate in the dedication service of Addie and Asha.  Many dear friends and neighbors of Sunita and Andy joined for the special service.  Laureen led the service in Music.  It was all blessing.  At the service we were privileged to meet some of those who serve the Lord around the world.  One was a rector from Northern Ireland.  Another church leader and servant was from South Sudan. Another couple is serving in  Burundi in the ministry of economic development.  Another friend of Andy and Sunita flew in from Cypress.  He and his wife are part of a large team that ministers to the refugees that are flocking to Europe.

    Last Sunday was designated as Good Shepherd Sunday in the church calendar.  The Scripture reading was taken from John 10.  I love the hymn, "Savior, like a shepherd lead us, much we need thy tender care.  In thy pleasant pastures feed us, for our use thy folds prepare.”  In John 10 Jesus describes a sheep pen, which would have had only one door.  When the sheep returned to the fold at night after a day of grazing in pleasant pastures, the shepherd stood in the doorway and inspected each one with tender care as it entered.  The rest of our song continues, “Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, thou hast bought us, thine we are.”  The distinguishing mark between the good shepherd and the hired hand is that the good shepherd would lay down his life for the sheep.  He is their protector.

    In the book, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Eric Butterworth tells the story of a college professor who had his sociology class go into the Baltimore slums to get case histories of 200 young boys.  The students were asked to write an evaluation of each boy’s future.  In every case the students wrote, "He hasn’t got a chance."
Twenty-five years later another sociology professor came across this earlier study. He had his students do follow up on the same 200 boys who were now men.  With the exception of 20 boys who had moved away or died, the students learned that 176 of the remaining 180 had achieved more than ordinary success as lawyers, doctors, and businessmen.  The professor was astounded and decided to pursue the matter further.  Fortunately, all the men were in the area and he was able to ask each one, "How do you account for your success?"  In each case the reply came with feeling, "There was a teacher."

    The teacher was still alive, so he sought her out and asked the old but still alert lady what magic formula she had used to pull these boys out of the slums into successful achievement.  The teacher’s eyes sparkled and her lips broke into a gentle smile.  "It’s really very simple," she said.  "I loved those boys."  In other words, their success was based on the love of a teacher.  In the same way, our success as followers of Jesus is based on the love of a shepherd who was willing to lay down his life for us.

    He loved us enough that our sinfulness became his burden.  He loved us enough that his perfect rightness became ours.  He loved us enough to suffer on the cross for us. To save us from eternal death.  To prepare us to enter the Eternal City.. He will keep us safe in the sheepfold if we’re smart sheep and follow the Good Shepherd.

    "And I give them eternal life and they shall never perish and no one shall snatch them out of my hand."  What promises Jesus was making to his followers, to his sheep who follow him!  Eternal life.  Eternal assurance.  “No one shall be able to snatch them out of my hand.  No one shall be able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”  That is precisely what the bad shepherd wants to do: snatch them out of the Father’s hand.  That is what the power of evil wants to do with our lives: snatch us out of the hand of Christ.  The purpose of the power of evil is to snatch us from the hands of our loving Father.  Jesus promises to us that such “snatching” will not occur in our lives.  No one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.  When we are in the grip of God’s loving hands, nothing evil can snatch us away from a Father who holds us firmly in his love.

In Christ the Winsome Shepherd.

  Brown.

https://youtu.be/kmdil5qzESQ