Praise the Lord for this brand new year
filled with His promises saddled with His faithfulness and accompanied
with His endless love and limitless power. It is written, "His
divine power has given us everything we need for life and for
righteousness.." 2Peter 1:3
Beautiful snow days here in Central New York made way for beautiful, torrential
rains washing all dirt and salt away. Yesterday I had a call from our
granddaughter Ada from Boston. She shared about her Christmas
celebrations and vacation. She shared about her upcoming birthday.
My wife and Ada celebrate their birthdays in January. She confided in me
about a birthday gift she has for her grandma. I told her we will go out
for her birthday and she can pick up restaurant. Without a moment of
hesitation she said, "Grandpa we will go to the Indian
Restaurant." Ada will be 6 years old this month.
Sunita called from Washington, DC with Asha nearby. She heard
the ring tone of my phone and she started saying, "Grandpa" and made
some funny noises that I am tickled with.
I
had a call from one of my nephews who lives in Sydney, Australia. He and his
family love the Lord and serve Him. They attend Hiillsong Church.
It is summer time in Australia, with the temperature running into
the 90's. We who live in New England cannot fathom the celebration
of Christmas, not in the "Bleak Midwinter" but in sweet
and stunning summer.
Praise
the Lord for the way He calls us to celebrate His wondrous gift. The
party is still on around the corner and around the globe. My friends and
family in G. Udayagiri, Phulbani celebrate Christmas and New Year with
community-wide banquets. Young people who are home Christmas
vacation go out for picnics in droves. There is a beautiful
reservoir just a mile from the home where I was born. Groups of youth from
different churches and villages congregate and celebrate Jesus and all the
simple gifts He showers us with. The weather there is getting
milder. The Mango trees are beginning to bloom again. The fig
trees, and the tamarind trees are loaded with fruit. They are harvesting
coffee beans from Coffee Plantation just a mile from the House where I was
born. The wild flowers are on the verge of blooming. The hills,
valleys, and mountains will dance and laugh again.
Praise the Lord! He is upon His Throne. He rules and
overrules. Praise the Lord for America the beautiful. We all have
been watching the news unfold regarding the relationship between Russia and the
USA. We will keep praying for peace and good will. I have been
blessed with the faith and friendship of many Russians Ukrainians who
love the Lord and serve Him. There are two churches in Broome County
which are now Ukranian Russian Christian. One is a Russian
Pentecostal Church. They have purchased a big campus with all buildings
and have overgrown the building. They have built a new addition.
The other is a Russian Baptist Church, which is strong and growing.
I have also been blessed by some dear sweet friends who belong to the
Russian Orthodox Church. They will celebrate their Christmas
on January 6. They hold a Christmas Vigil, an all night
service of celebration, worship, and communion. Our friends who come here
from St. Petersburg, Russia belong to the Russian Orthodox Church, and
they always return home from their winter concert tour in the USA to
celebrate Christmas with their families and friends. The Church that
survived 70 years of godless Communism is strong and vibrant. In the
Russian Orthodox church, there are no pews and cushions. People stand for
worship that lasts for over three hours.
Praise the Lord for the ministry of the Gospel around the world. The
United Methodist Overseas Committee of Relief (UMCOR) is involved around the
world bringing the Good News of Jesus in word and deed to the least, the last,
and the lost. Rev. Franklin Graham was interviewed yesterday and he
was sharing that Samaritan's Purse has built mobile Hospitals in Mosul
caring for the wounded and displaced, for the ones who have been
decimated and devastated by the atrocities of violence and war.
Jesus said, "Upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of
hell cannot prevail against it."
Praise
the Lord for Christmas season. Praise the Lord for the Epiphany season
when the wise men, also known as the astrologers, the Magi, the Kings came to
Jesus. I am excited about Jesus, about His church, and about His Eternal
kingdom.
In
The Weight of Glory, C.S. Lewis wrote:
"We are to shine as the sun, we are to be given the Morning Star. I think I begin to see what it means. In one way, of course, God has given us the Morning Star already: you can go and enjoy the gift on many fine mornings if you get up early enough. What more, you may ask, do we want? Ah, but we want so much more-something the books on aesthetics take little notice of. But the poets and the mythologies know all about it. We do not want merely to see beauty, though, God knows, even that is bounty enough. We want something else which can hardly be put into words-to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it.
And then he says:
The door on which we have been knocking all our lives will open at last.
In His Mystery and Wonder.
Brown
https://youtu.be/QoYdQa6Cprc
No comments:
Post a Comment