Brown's Daily Word 11/26/16

 Praise the Lord for this festive and celebrative Thanksgiving season.  I trust that you all had a blessed time of feasting, friendship, fellowship, and even football.  Thank you all for your Thanksgiving greetings and well-wishes.  We have been profoundly and abundantly blessed.  Alice made her annual "Black Friday" pilgrimage yesterday.  Usually she goes out with one or two or more of our daughters but this year went out alone.  While she was out she met up with some colleagues and friends.  Today we walked briefly alongside our town park.  It has been a relatively mild day. 

    Tomorrow is the first Sunday of Advent in our Christian calendar.  The Advent season begins four Sundays before Christmas.  Advent promises the sure coming of the Lord.  The Lord is coming whether or not the world is ready.  We as Christians have a great expectation of Christ coming again.  Even as a family looks forward to their child's return from war or as a bride anticipates her wedding day, so Christians look forward with joy to the coming of Christ.  This joy is well expressed in the Advent hymns: "Joy to the World" and "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel".  Even in the midst of a world gone mad, filled with wars and rumors of wars, we proclaim of the good news that Jesus is coming as the Prince of Peace and the Lord of lords. 

    For centuries the people of Israel awaited the anointed one - the Messiah - that He would come to release them from the bondage of displacement and initiate a new beginning.  For the Church today, the coming of Christ means still more.  In the coming of Christ as "the Word made flesh," our hope is not diminished, but intensified.  May the depth of our hope in our Savior and Lord be manifested in our

daily living, with gratitude, thankfulness, and expectation.  In the words of Charles Wesley, "Come, Thou long-expected Jesus".   This sense of expectation is well-expressed in the following passage from the liturgy of the Moravian Church:

        "Lord, for Thy coming us prepare;

        May we, to meet Thee without fear,

        At all times ready be:

        In faith and love preserve us sound;

        O let us day and night be found

        Waiting with joy to welcome Thee."

Romans 13:11-14: 

"Besides this you know what hour it is, how it is full time now for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed; the night is far gone, the day is at hand. Let us then cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us conduct ourselves becomingly as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy.  But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires."

    May the Lord bless each of us as we prepare for the Advent season and propel us to be effective witnesses and servants in His Kingdom. 

In Christ,

Brown

https://youtu.be/iO7ySn-Swwc

Brown's Daily Word 11/24/16

`Governor Bradford of Massachusetts made this first Thanksgiving Proclamation three years after the Pilgrims settled at Plymouth:

"Inasmuch as the great Father has given us this year an abundant harvest of Indian corn, wheat, peas, beans, squashes, and garden vegetables, and has made the forests to abound with game and the sea with fish and clams, and inasmuch as He has protected us from the ravages of the savages, has spared us from pestilence and disease, has granted us freedom to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience.

Now I, your magistrate, do proclaim that all ye Pilgrims, with your wives and ye little ones, do gather at ye meeting house, on ye hill, between the hours of 9 and 12 in the daytime, on Thursday, November 29th, of the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and twenty three and the third year since ye Pilgrims landed on ye Pilgrim Rock, there to listen to ye pastor and render thanksgiving to ye Almighty God for all His blessings."

William Bradford
Ye Governor of Ye Colony



    Happy Thanksgiving to each and every one of you.  Alice and I thank the Lord for you all, around the corner and around the globe.  In and through Christ we are all linked with a deep bond.  I share the above declaration regarding the first Thanksgiving that was celebrated by the Pilgrims in this new world which we now call America the beautiful.  Alice and I drove down to the Triple Cities the other day to do some shopping for Thanksgiving.  The stores were crowded with families shopping for their Thanksgiving celebrations.  Many were even buying their Christmas trees and wreaths, getting ready for their Christmas celebrations.  Something magical and wonderful happens during this season, and somehow the Lord brings out the best in us.  People become more cheerful, joyful, kindhearted, generous.  We came across bell-ringers for the Salvation Army Christmas drive. 

    Alice went out yesterday to beat the rush at JoAnn Fabrics on Black Friday (they had a Black Friday Sale on Wednesday and Friday) so that she could mark off one of many places to be at  6 AM  tomorrow morning,  When our girls were young she spent many a long hour knitting and sewing for them, and now we have 7 grandchildren to decorate.  It is always delightfully heartwarming to see how people travel by the millions to be with their families in this season and to celebrate with them. 

    The other day - on Monday -  there was an accident on I-81 near our town.  It involved a bus filled with high school students on their way to a business conference in New York City.  The first responders from our town acted as good Samaritans to welcome these young people to our Civic Center, where they were given shelter and hospitality.  Praise the Lord for the was He teaches us to be good Samaritans and good neighbors, even to strangers. 

    Alice and I have had standing plans to spend this Thanksgiving in Boston with Janice and Jeremy, Micah, Simeon, and Ada.  Janice had even purchased father-daughter tickets to go to Handel's "Messiah" tomorrow in Boston.  Nevertheless, on account of my current medical condition, we could not go, so we stayed in the Southern Tier.  Alice made one of her best Thanksgiving meals here to share with my brother and sister, along with our nephews and nieces.  I watched the iconic Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade this morning and some football this afternoon.  Sunita, Andy, and their little ones, along with Laureen, spent their Thanksgiving with some friends from their church fellowship in Washington.  Jess, Tom, and Lindy joined Tom's parents and grandparents for dinner, and we were blessed to have a time of Google Chat with them this morning. 

    Deuteronomy 8:7-10 says, "For the Lord  your God is brining you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper.  And you shall eat and be full, and  you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you."

    I had a brief chat this afternoon with my nieces and nephews, who are in high school and college, inculcating within them that it is a high honor and privilege to live in the United States of America, where we have freedom to pursue our dreams and to honor the Lord and glorify His name.  Even the daughter of an immigrant from India has become the Governor of South Carolina, and she soon will become the US Ambassador to the UN. 

    May the Lord bless our nation and heal our land.  May He bring us back to Himself once again.  May Christ propel us to enter the seasons of Advent and Christmas with grateful hearts. 

With deep gratitude and thanksgiving,

Brown

    https://youtu.be/_Z2_JLqOjNY

Brown's Daily Word 11/22/16

It has already begun to look like Christmas everywhere around our region.  The National Weather Service forecast highlighted Binghamton, which (in some spots) had 22" of snow by last evening.  They broadcast that in one area of Upstate New York there was a 37" snowfall.  Last year the total snowfall for the entire winter (for Binghamton) was 32".  My wife put up her first Christmas tree yesterday and made her first batch of Christmas cookies.  We are blessed to have a ski resort just a town away from us - Greek Peak.  If you drive through that area you are transported to the Alpine areas of Switzerland (Austria, Germany).  Skiers from all around the region flock to the slopes.  Some of Alice's students work part time in various capacities at Greek Peak and, for the most part, they love it.  Fresh snow reminds us of the Word of God, how Christ our Savior makes our soiled and stained lives stainless and beautiful.  Isaiah 1:18  says, "Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool."

    Today I am attaching one of my favorite songs, "Somewhere It's Snowing".  Please take time to listen to it.  I trust that it blesses you as much as it has blessed me.       

    During the Thanksgiving season I rivet my thoughts and focus on some of the paramount passages from the Book of Habbakkuk 3 Verses 17-18 show us what faith looks like when life tumbles in around us:

"Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls.  Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior."  The word “rejoice” literally means to jump for joy.  We might even say it means to dance for joy. 

    Habakkuk described a total economic meltdown.  Ancient Israel was an agricultural society where, if you ran out of figs, olives, grapes, grain, sheep, and cattle, you were in big trouble!  What would we do if we faced total economic ruin,

if our investments were to disappear?  Currently we see the stock market poised to hit an all-time high (1900), but what would we  do if tomorrow the stock market imploded?  What if it suddenly went from 19,000 all the way to zero?  What would  we do then?

    Kay Warren is the wife of Rick Warren, who is the pastor of Saddleback Church in Southern California and the author of the mega-bestseller LThe Purpose Driven Life.  Rick and Kay were put in the spotlight in a very sad way just few years ago when their 27-year-old son Matthew died unexpectedly.  Following her son's unexpected and tragic death, Kay Warren made some very personal reflections on what would have been Matthew’s 29th birthday.  Here is part of what she wrote:

    "On July 18, 1985, I gave birth to our beloved gift of God, Matthew David Warren. Holding him in my arms that morning, I had no idea how dark the journey would get for him - and for those who love him.  All I knew that bright morning was that I was madly in love with him, and could see nothing ahead but a mother's dreams of a good life for her son.  I remember Easter 1985 - I was sick in bed, unable to go to church.  Rick took the kids to church and I stayed by myself for a few hours - the TV remote by my side as my only companion.  Somehow I dropped the remote and couldn't retrieve it - so there I was, alone on one of the most joyous holidays, with not even a TV preacher to keep me company, full of anxiety and fear for myself and my unborn child.  I painfully reached for my Bible and it fell open to Habakkuk 3: 17-19 (NIV): 'Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails, and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.  The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to go on the heights.'

    "This was a word from the Lord to me - and I determined that even IF my worst nightmares came true - if my baby died, or I never walked again - that I would trust in God my Savior; I would rejoice in the Sovereign Lord.  So today - his 29th birthday - through weeping - I shout it to the watching universe: I will rejoice in Lord; I will be joyful in God my Savior.  My heart remains wounded and battered, but my faith is steady.  There is, and will be, as Steven Curtis Chapman says, a "glorious unfolding" of all that God has in store for me and my family.  God is faithful to his promises of rebuilding and restoring the ruins - and I am confident that I will yet be a witness to many, many, many lives healed and hope restored - all because of my beloved gift of God, Matthew David Warren.  I miss you, darling boy.....but it will just be for a little while."

    Could we say, “Yes, Lord,” when the dearest thing in life is taken from us?  Often we serve God and love him and praise him when all is going well, but how do we respond when hard times come?  Sometimes the fig tree does not bud. Sometimes there are no grapes on the vine.  Sometimes the olive crop fails.  Sometimes the fields produce no food.  Sometimes there are no sheep in the pen.  Sometimes there are no cattle in the stalls.  When all in our lives comes to a screeching halt, we can get angry with God and give up on God altogether or we can turn to the Lord and, by His grace, stand on His promises and  hold onto Him, who is the Author and Finisher of our Faith.     

    

    The last verse of Habakkuk is often overlooked, though powerful and compelling:  “The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights” (v. 19).

    In Christ,

     Brown

https://youtu.be/PzCKNnlK7lo

Brown's Daily Word 11/21/16

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas everywhere you go."  This past Saturday the Central New York temperatures were in the mid to upper sixties, warm and balmy.  Alice and I drove over some of the back roads, past meadows, fields, and pastures of our beautiful region.  Hunting season has begun in earnest in New York State. Both the avid and amateur hunters are out, vigorously looking for the "big one".  Some already have bragging rights as they have brought down large deer, some eight pointers included.  Praise the Lord for the traditional rituals, such as when families gather to venture into the woods for their hunting.  Lo and behold, the winds came in and the temperatures began to drop on Saturday evening, and then continued to fall as a winter storm came into the area on Sunday.

    The Lord blessed us in His house yesterday as we gathered for worship, witness, and celebration.  Praise the Lord for this Thanksgiving week.  People travel all around the country to be with their loved ones and celebrate with them. 

    Alice was pleasantly surprised to get a text at 5:23 this morning, saying that school was closed for today.  As much as she wanted to, she couldn't get back to sleep because she gets as excited as a child with snow days.  She perpetually dreams of a white Christmas, and at times the Lord answers that prayer with a yes.  She is busy today, planning to bake and cook, and has a project on her knitting needles.  She is also planning to put up her first Christmas tree today.  Alice is planning to bake traditional apple and pumpkin pies later this week and plans to roast a large turkey (of course!)  We are using our own potatoes from our garden as well as buttercup squash that was harvested locally.  Winter squash from our garden has made a regular appearance on the dinner table - sometimes roasted - including buttercup, butternut, carnival, and delicata.  This is courtesy of the kindness and generosity of our farmer friend who prepared a plot of land for our garden this summer, and who harvested the potatoes for us. 

    We thank the Lord for each one of you, for your love and affection over all these years.  Our generous God and loving Savior lavishes us with all good and perfect gifts that money cannot buy.  We pray for the Lord's constant and continued comfort over all those whose loved ones have gone to be with Jesus over the course of this year.  We are reminded that they are joining Jesus at His banqueting table for the first time, for He is the Host and they are the honored guests at His table.  For this promise and assurance we are ever so grateful to Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. 

    John Reynolds, in his Anecdotes of John Wesley (1828), told the story of Wesley’s student days at Lincoln College in Oxford.  A porter knocked on Wesley’s door one evening and asked to speak with him.  After some conversation, Wesley noted the man’s thin coat (it was a cold winter night), and suggested that he had better get a warmer one.  The porter replied: "This coat ... is the only coat I have in the world - and I thank God for it."  When asked if he had eaten, he replied: "I have had nothing today but a draught of spring water ... and I thank God for that." 

    Wesley, growing uneasy in the man’s presence, reminded him that the headmaster would lock him out if he did not soon return to his quarters.  "Then what shall you have to thank God for?", Wesley asked.  "I will thank Him," replied the porter, "that I have dry stones to lie upon." 

    Deeply moved by the man’s sincerity, Wesley said, "You thank God when you have nothing to wear; ... nothing to eat ... [and] no bed to lie on.  I cannot see what you have to thank God for."  The man replied: "I thank God... that he has given me life and being; a heart to love Him, and a desire to serve Him."

    The man left with a coat from Wesley’s closet, some money for food and words of appreciation for his living testimony.  Wesley later wrote these words in his Journal: "I shall never forget that porter.  He convinced me there is something in religion to which I am a stranger."

    This anecdote is impressive, challenging, and begs the question, “Do I offer that kind of thanksgiving to God, or am I, as Wesley put it, a stranger to that side of religion?”

    One of my favorite Psalms is Psalm 65.  I never get tired of reading it during this season.  It invigorates me and propels me to those moments when my heart is full of gratitude.

    Psalm 65:9-13 "You take care of the earth and water it, making it rich and fertile. The rivers of God will not run dry; they provide a bountiful harvest of grain, for you have ordered it so.  You drench the plowed ground with rain, melting the clods and leveling the ridges. You soften the earth with showers and bless its abundant crops.  You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.  The wilderness becomes a lush pasture, and the hillsides blossom with joy.  The meadows are clothed with flocks of sheep, and the valleys are carpeted with grain. They all shout and sing for joy!"

In Christ

 Brown

https://youtu.be/yNbLtiG2dWU