Brown's Daily Word 7/15/16

The world is deeply saddened and mourns the senseless violence and brutalities committed by the Islamic extremists against innocent civilians and defenseless people.  The world needs Jesus and His grace to overcome the evil with His good.  In the midst of massive grief and unprecedented madness and insanity we call on each other to turn to the One who is our refuge and strength, our very present help in times of trouble.  The Lord, in the midst of human frailty and societal fragility, in the midst of spiritual and moral bankruptcy, invites us to "Come to Jesus and live".   In the midst of our helplessness and hopelessness, Jesus comes and says, "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy ladden and I will give you rest".  The world without Christ has gone desperately and wildly insane. 

    Praise the Lord for the Church; there are countless people who love Jesus around the world and around the corner, serving in every season with the good News of Jesus in Word and deed.  Praise the Lord for pastors, evangelists, and missionaries (both career and short term) serving Jesus in beautiful places and also in hard places.  Our Lord indeed makes all rough places plain.  Praise the Lord for Vacation Bible Schools, summer camps, Beach ministries, Refugee centers,  war torn places. . . may Jesus bring about His great and grand harvest.  

    Plan to be in the Lord's House this coming Sunday with joy and thanksgiving.   Celebrate the Lord's faithfulness and His overcoming power.

    During my undergraduate studies I majored in English Literature.  I loved the Brithish Authors.  In my judgement some of the best literature is rooted Biblical Theology and narrative. I love the writings of John Milton.  When John Milton had lost his eyesight, he penned a sonnet called On His Blindness.  In it, he reflected on what it means in the great scheme of things to lose something so precious.  At one point he said, “God doth not need man’s work or his own gifts,” which is quite a rebuke to our very human pride.  We think God can't do anything without us. How wrong we are!  God was doing fine being the King of the Universe before we ever came along.  He doesn't “need” us to fulfill his duties.  It is an honor that He should use us in any way large or small.  Seen in that light, Milton’s famous last line stands as a very personal statement of what it means to serve God without your eyesight: “They also serve who only stand and wait.”

    At any given moment in history, particular people come to the forefront.  There are presidents and kings, generals and famous people of all varieties.  It is the same in the Christian world.  Not every pastor leads a mega-church.  Not every author becomes world famous.  Not every evangelist speaks to crowds in stadiums.  Jesus alluded to this when he talked about some who have one talent, some who have two talents, and some who have five talents (Matthew 25:14-30). While we like to say the ground is level at the foot of the cross—and it is, in the sense that we are all sinners in desperate need of a Savior—it’s not true that we all have the same gifts, connections, or opportunities. Some have more; some have less.  God is not obligated to treat me the way he treats anyone else.  In the vineyard and fields of Jesus we all are deployed  with diverse gifts and talents to serve the Lord. 

    It is well said that "those who “stand and wait” in the shadows receive the same reward as the man or woman who receives all the public acclaim."  Those who wait, those who serve, those who mow the grass, those who keep the computers running, those who prepare the meals, those who open their home for ministry are all vital to the work of the Kingdom.  In the Christian world we may have our heroes, but those who serve alongside them win the same reward.  “Whoever gives just a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is a disciple—I assure you: He will never lose his reward!”   Matt 10:v. 42).  There are no limits to "whoever" in this promise.  You don’t need to be a pastor, missionary, or professor.  In context, when Jesus spoke of "one of these little ones" He was talking about the least among his followers.  There are “little ones” everywhere.  If you reach out to the hurting, to the forgotten, to the marginalized, to the poor, to the homeless, to the abused,  to the woman trapped in sex trafficking, to a prisoner, to a widow, to an orphan, Jesus sees your concern for the people the world can’t see at all. 

     “Give a cup of cold water.” This action is simple, inexpensive, and often unseen.

I love the certainty with which Jesus spoke of the reward. “I assure you!”

For most of us, a cup of cold water is no big deal.  If we're thirsty, we go to the faucet and fill a glass with water.  If we want it cold, we get some ice from the fridge.  In many parts of the world, however, clean water is a rare treat.  On a hot day, nothing refreshes like a cup of cold water.

    You may forget, but Jesus does not.  You may think nothing of it, but Jesus remembers it forever.  In Matthew 25:34-39, Jesus says this in a different way:

"Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you took care of Me; I was in prison and you visited Me.’  

    “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink?  When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or without clothes and clothe You?  When did we see You sick, or in prison, and visit You?’

    Jesus explained to them, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me” (v. 40).   You see, what matters to Jesus are the things we can't even remember: A cup of cold water.  A quick phone call.  A friendly hello.  A pat on the back.  A prayer over the phone.  A word of encouragement.  A visit with a sick friend.  A trip to the county jail.  We are called to be faithful in doing whatever God gives us to do and, as we are faithful day by day, there will be a thousand chances, some big, some small, some momentary and almost microscopic, for us to do good and show kindness to others around us. Some of those moments we will forget. 

     Jesus is worthy of our praise.  He is worthy of  our service.  He is worthy of our praise.  He is certainly more than worthy of the small things that we can do day by day.

Martin Luther ha penned   in his hymn A Mighty Fortress:

Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;

The body they may kill, God's truth abideth still.

His Kingdom is forever.

 In Jesus our Eternal Companion and the Anchor.

Brown.

  https://youtu.be/jcDC4vLw23k

Brown's Daily Word 7/13/16

 Praise the Lord indeed for this glorious day, one of the ten best days of July. I woke up early this morning to gaze at the morning sun.  The Eastern sky was dazzling with the dawn of a new day.  The Lord of the beauty of all creation decorates the Earth in all seasons with much grandeur and majesty and ethereal beauty.  It is going to be very hot and sizzling here in Central New York today.  Thank you, each and every one, for your kind and prayer-filled thoughts and greetings, coated with fervent friendships and affections.  My heart is warmed and blessed  to know that I am surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.  I am feeling  better and strong and back "in the saddle again".  I will be preaching this coming Sunday on "We have entertained Angels unaware", based on Genesis 18.

    The Lord blessed us with heartwarming and soul-filled moments with three of our grandchildren in Washington, DC.  They are blessed to be living in Washington, DC our Nation's Capital.  They live within walking distance from the  Washington Mall and Union Station, and are very close to the National Arboretum.  Gabe, who is three years old, LOVES trains.  He particularly loves Thomas.  He also LOVES books to be read to him, and he memorizes lines from Children's books.  Addie, who is 19 months old, loves the Hillsong Children's songs (especially when Auntie Laureen is having dance parties with the children.  She is a graceful dancer and sweet in serenading sweet songs.  Asha, who is 10 months old, is all smiles and very gregarious.  She loves people and life so much that she refuses to go to sleep.  Perhaps she is afraid that she might  miss out  something  beautiful.  The children loved to listen to Bach's "Sheep May Safely Graze " before their bed time.  While we were In Washington our granddaughter Ada, who lives in Boston, called me and talked.  She wanted lots of mangoes and apples for her brother Simeon.  She wanted lots of blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries for herself.  She is 5 years old.  She talked to me for 28 minutes.  She is an avid conversationalist.  Micah, who is 10, said that she would love to learn how to cook Indian Curry. 

    My family in India had saved the choicest mangoes for my  visit to  India.  As I could not go there, the team from the USA ate some of the mangoes.  My family  in India was thinking to send some mangoes  for me.  My family  from the States,  refused to bring mangoes back for me as it is against the Federal Law.  In God's providence, Alice and I were in one of   the Wholesale Grocery Stores in the Triple Cities yesterday.  To my utter amazement I saw a bin full of mangoes on sale.  They were red delicious, colorful and tantalizing.  I purchased 18 of them.  I am saving most of those mangoes to share with our grandson Simeon. 

    While we were away in Washington, DC, we missed a very special event in the Philadelphia area, as our dear Jessica made a very special birthday party for one sweet little granddaughter, Lindy, who just turned 1 on July 8.  (She and Simeon share that birth date).  Lindy is very sweet and lovely, and very winsome, and we miss her dearly.  Although we wanted to drive up for the party, my wife and I were still recovering from a particularly nasty stomach bug.  Dear Lindy brings so much joy to her mommy and daddy and to us. 

    Alice I worked in our garden last evening.  As we drove to the Garden the evening skies were  magnificent, ornate with unbelievable colors and brilliance.  We praise the Lord for the fields, gardens, and orchards.  The Lord has blessed us with a luxuriant garden.  It is full of tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, cucumbers onions, pumpkins, squash, beans, snap peas, eggplant, and more.  Praise the Lord for His abundance in every way and in all seasons.  He makes our cups to overflow.  What a God we serve!

    One of the Messages that I was to share during the Mission trip to Orissa, India was based on Exodus 1 and 2.  We discover in this Scripture the astounding way the Lord uses ordinary people to accomplish His extraordinary purposes and promises.  In this instance, the Egyptian midwives were more anxious to please God than to please Pharaoh, and God rewarded them.  Because of the faith of these women, chapter 2 of Exodus records the supernatural events concerning the birth of Moses, his salvation from infanticide, his divine protection, and his engrafting into the Egyptian household, while being reared by his Hebrew mother and sister.  All of this demonstrated the providential power of God over the diabolical plans of a human king.

    In the passage, our wonderful Savior worked on our behalf to accomplish our salvation through improbable ways.  The Egyptian king really was a pawn (as in a chess match), not a king.  He was a pawn in the hands of the true King, Almighty God, to bring about His grand design to save mankind.  Every evil move the pawn made against the true King was a move that was countered and used to advance the true King’s noble and good cause.  The diabolical activity of the pharaoh was, in fact, moving the Hebrew children closer to the birth of Moses, closer to the Exodus, closer to the Promised Land, closer to theocracy, closer to the kingdom of David, closer to the birth of Jesus, closer to the resurrection, closer to His ascension, closer to Pentecost, closer to your birth and mine, and closer to the second coming of Christ.  God used the midwives to demonstrate His sovereign power.  They are the heroines of the story.  They  stood in the gap as the Instrument of the Lord of History in  bringing forth Moses, the one who would save the Hebrew people and bring about the nation of Our Lord God sovereign and mighty yet merciful specializes in bringing life out of death, order out of chaos, and hope our of despair.  He often uses real life heroes and heroines to be His instruments.

    Let us pause and ponder about the "Midwives" who worked silently behind the scene to birth hope in our life's journey - to deliver our dreams and to bring forth faith.  Maybe it is time today to thank God for that person who has had that kind of impact upon our lives.  Maybe it is time to rededicate ourselves to the Lord and say, “Lord, I am ready to be the midwife for another.  I am ready to do Your will. I am ready to bring life, faith, hope, healing to another.  Use me, Lord.”

     Our God still performs miracles today.  Moses was a miracle.  He was born by the intervention of a midwife, through the care of his sister, through the unlikely compassion of the evil pharaoh’s loving daughter and the nursing love of his birth mother.  The miracle is that God intervened on Israel’s behalf at just the right time with the birth of  a savior.  Jesus Christ our Lord came this way: as a miracle to an obscure place in supernatural arrangements and with threats all around.  The answer to your own prayer will come this way, as well.  God most often comes to us not as a King on a steed but as a baby in a reed basket, surrounded by crocs, unseen, unknown, yet powerful to save.

  In Christ,

   Brown

https://youtu.be/3Lab0SHGXkA

Brown's Daily Word 7/13/16

 Praise the Lord indeed for this glorious day, one of the ten best days of July. I woke up early this morning to gaze at the morning sun.  The Eastern sky was dazzling with the dawn of a new day.  The Lord of the beauty of all creation decorates the Earth in all seasons with much grandeur and majesty and ethereal beauty.  It is going to be very hot and sizzling here in Central New York today.  Thank you, each and every one, for your kind and prayer-filled thoughts and greetings, coated with fervent friendships and affections.  My heart is warmed and blessed  to know that I am surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.  I am feeling  better and strong and back "in the saddle again".  I will be preaching this coming Sunday on "We have entertained Angels unaware", based on Genesis 18.

    The Lord blessed us with heartwarming and soul-filled moments with three of our grandchildren in Washington, DC.  They are blessed to be living in Washington, DC our Nation's Capital.  They live within walking distance from the  Washington Mall and Union Station, and are very close to the National Arboretum.  Gabe, who is three years old, LOVES trains.  He particularly loves Thomas.  He also LOVES books to be read to him, and he memorizes lines from Children's books.  Addie, who is 19 months old, loves the Hillsong Children's songs (especially when Auntie Laureen is having dance parties with the children.  She is a graceful dancer and sweet in serenading sweet songs.  Asha, who is 10 months old, is all smiles and very gregarious.  She loves people and life so much that she refuses to go to sleep.  Perhaps she is afraid that she might  miss out  something  beautiful.  The children loved to listen to Bach's "Sheep May Safely Graze " before their bed time.  While we were In Washington our granddaughter Ada, who lives in Boston, called me and talked.  She wanted lots of mangoes and apples for her brother Simeon.  She wanted lots of blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries for herself.  She is 5 years old.  She talked to me for 28 minutes.  She is an avid conversationalist.  Micah, who is 10, said that she would love to learn how to cook Indian Curry. 

    My family in India had saved the choicest mangoes for my  visit to  India.  As I could not go there, the team from the USA ate some of the mangoes.  My family  in India was thinking to send some mangoes  for me.  My family  from the States,  refused to bring mangoes back for me as it is against the Federal Law.  In God's providence, Alice and I were in one of   the Wholesale Grocery Stores in the Triple Cities yesterday.  To my utter amazement I saw a bin full of mangoes on sale.  They were red delicious, colorful and tantalizing.  I purchased 18 of them.  I am saving most of those mangoes to share with our grandson Simeon. 

    While we were away in Washington, DC, we missed a very special event in the Philadelphia area, as our dear Jessica made a very special birthday party for one sweet little granddaughter, Lindy, who just turned 1 on July 8.  (She and Simeon share that birth date).  Lindy is very sweet and lovely, and very winsome, and we miss her dearly.  Although we wanted to drive up for the party, my wife and I were still recovering from a particularly nasty stomach bug.  Dear Lindy brings so much joy to her mommy and daddy and to us. 

    Alice I worked in our garden last evening.  As we drove to the Garden the evening skies were  magnificent, ornate with unbelievable colors and brilliance.  We praise the Lord for the fields, gardens, and orchards.  The Lord has blessed us with a luxuriant garden.  It is full of tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, cucumbers onions, pumpkins, squash, beans, snap peas, eggplant, and more.  Praise the Lord for His abundance in every way and in all seasons.  He makes our cups to overflow.  What a God we serve!

    One of the Messages that I was to share during the Mission trip to Orissa, India was based on Exodus 1 and 2.  We discover in this Scripture the astounding way the Lord uses ordinary people to accomplish His extraordinary purposes and promises.  In this instance, the Egyptian midwives were more anxious to please God than to please Pharaoh, and God rewarded them.  Because of the faith of these women, chapter 2 of Exodus records the supernatural events concerning the birth of Moses, his salvation from infanticide, his divine protection, and his engrafting into the Egyptian household, while being reared by his Hebrew mother and sister.  All of this demonstrated the providential power of God over the diabolical plans of a human king.

    In the passage, our wonderful Savior worked on our behalf to accomplish our salvation through improbable ways.  The Egyptian king really was a pawn (as in a chess match), not a king.  He was a pawn in the hands of the true King, Almighty God, to bring about His grand design to save mankind.  Every evil move the pawn made against the true King was a move that was countered and used to advance the true King’s noble and good cause.  The diabolical activity of the pharaoh was, in fact, moving the Hebrew children closer to the birth of Moses, closer to the Exodus, closer to the Promised Land, closer to theocracy, closer to the kingdom of David, closer to the birth of Jesus, closer to the resurrection, closer to His ascension, closer to Pentecost, closer to your birth and mine, and closer to the second coming of Christ.  God used the midwives to demonstrate His sovereign power.  They are the heroines of the story.  They  stood in the gap as the Instrument of the Lord of History in  bringing forth Moses, the one who would save the Hebrew people and bring about the nation of Our Lord God sovereign and mighty yet merciful specializes in bringing life out of death, order out of chaos, and hope our of despair.  He often uses real life heroes and heroines to be His instruments.

    Let us pause and ponder about the "Midwives" who worked silently behind the scene to birth hope in our life's journey - to deliver our dreams and to bring forth faith.  Maybe it is time today to thank God for that person who has had that kind of impact upon our lives.  Maybe it is time to rededicate ourselves to the Lord and say, “Lord, I am ready to be the midwife for another.  I am ready to do Your will. I am ready to bring life, faith, hope, healing to another.  Use me, Lord.”

     Our God still performs miracles today.  Moses was a miracle.  He was born by the intervention of a midwife, through the care of his sister, through the unlikely compassion of the evil pharaoh’s loving daughter and the nursing love of his birth mother.  The miracle is that God intervened on Israel’s behalf at just the right time with the birth of  a savior.  Jesus Christ our Lord came this way: as a miracle to an obscure place in supernatural arrangements and with threats all around.  The answer to your own prayer will come this way, as well.  God most often comes to us not as a King on a steed but as a baby in a reed basket, surrounded by crocs, unseen, unknown, yet powerful to save.

  In Christ,

   Brown

https://youtu.be/3Lab0SHGXkA

Brown's Daily Word 7/12/16

Praise the Lord for this sweet and splendid summer season here in the America the Beautiful.  My life has gone through some tumbling events and moments during the last few weeks and my little world has become topsy-turvy.  I was all set to travel to Orissa, India on a short Mission trip on the 27th of June, along with our daughter Laureen, our son-in-law Andy ( Sunita's husband) and their dear friends Rob and Lee from Washington, DC.  Our dear friend Neil drove me to LaGuardia International Airport and I was in the airport way BEFORE TIME.  I checked my luggage for the International  flight and proceeded to hang around the Airport as I had ample time before my departure.  It was a beautiful summer day.  As I was lingering at the Airport, I developed some symptoms of weakness and illness.  As I was trying to deal with my apparent illness and weakness, I was given the wrong gate number and I missed my flight.  After some maneuvering with the Airline staff I rebooked my flight via a different route for the following day.  As I was waiting for my next flight I got sicker and weaker the airport.  After prayerful and painful consideration I canceled my flight to India.  I spent overnight in a hotel near the Airport.  The next day I decided to go to Washington, DC to be with Sunita and her children.  My wife Alice was already in Washington with Sunita and our grandchildren while Andy was on the Mission Trip to India.  My flight was scheduled for an evening flight.  The Weather in Washington DC became turbulent  and the flights to Washington were delayed, then canceled.  Finally I got a seat on the last flight on a stand by status and landed in Washington around 1:00 am.  I was getting sicker, weaker and exhausted. 

        Praise the Lord for His faithfulness.  I spent two days and one night in New York City. " My prayer life was enhanced during those turbulent and tumultuous moments."  I have been traveling on International routes for last 42 years.  I had never before purchased Travel insurance.  I had never missed a flight.  I had never canceled a flight.  This is the first time I had purchased travel Insurance, which will cover my travel cancellation expenses and other expenses.   The team traveled to Orissa, India as planned, where the Lord used the team with great favor and fervor. The team returned back to the States rejoicing and praising the Lord for the mighty deeds He performed.  Laureen preached in some of the slots where I was scheduled to preach.  Rob preached during one of the major assemblies when I was scheduled to preach.  Laureen shared that the Lord kept the team healthy and  strong.  Each member of the team was used to bring beautiful blessings to the people.  The Lord blessed their travels and He blessed their encounters with people with much joy and grace.  The team members saw once again first hand the wonder-working power of Jesus in the world today.  I had to cancel all my preaching appointments along with other family and social appointments.  Laureen whispered in my ears loudly few times that It was the best short term mission trip she had taken to India.  One of the great blessings if the ordeal was that Alice and I spent uninterrupted days with our grandchildren In Washington, DC, along with our sweet daughter Sunita.

Our journeys will have ups and downs, but they never will fail to bring us home the Eternal City.

1. "God moves in a mysterious way
   His wonders to perform;
   He plants His footsteps in the sea
   And rides upon the storm.
2. Deep in unfathomable mines
   Of never failing skill
   He treasures up His bright designs
   And works His sov’reign will.
3. Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
   The clouds ye so much dread
   Are big with mercy and shall break
   In blessings on your head.
4. Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
   But trust Him for His grace;
   Behind a frowning providence
   He hides a smiling face.
5. His purposes will ripen fast,
   Unfolding every hour;
   The bud may have a bitter taste,
   But sweet will be the flow’r.
6. Blind unbelief is sure to err
   And scan His work in vain;
   God is His own interpreter,
   And He will make it plain. " William Cowper

In Christ.

 Brown

https://youtu.be/0nJ6wQpLmuo