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Thursday, March 16, 2017

Brown's Daily Word 3/16/17


  " Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen."Ephesians 3:20-21  It was the month of February. The year was 1993.  I was part of a small group of short term missionaries who traveled to Orissa, India. This group consisted of 7 people - kind of a holy number. Three came from Virginia and Maryland.  Erwin DuBois from Endicott and Kit Hart from Nichols were in their their seventies.  They very young at heart.  It was an exciting and invigorating trip.  We flew on a 747 jumbo jet.  Our flight layover was  in Amsterdam, one of the busiest airports in the world.  We had change planes after a few hours layover.  As we were about to board the connecting flight to India our youngest member discovered that he had misplaced his passport.  We looked for it and could not find it, and panic began to take over.  What could you do, as you could not travel without a passport?  We began to pray frantically.  We spoke with airline spokespersons, who could not do anything.  Panic and prayer. . .  We were just about to board the connecting flight when word came that they had located the passport in a trash can.  The cleaning crew had cleaned up.  Praise the Lord that the KLM staff were brilliant in finding the passport.  We went to India where we had a blessed and anointed time.  We were there for one month.  It was powerful.  We returned back to the America the Beautiful, rejoicing and praising the Lord.  We returned from Orissa where it was springtime, the flowers in full bloom, the trees were budding, the spring birds were making melodious sonnets.  The temperatures were in the 90s, sunny, and  brilliant.  We returned in the first part of March.  In fact, it was March 13, 1993.  The blizzard of 1993 blanketed the Southern Tier of New York with a massive snowfall that literally crippled the region for 3 days.



    24 years later Alice and I were in Boston, staying with a beautiful family in their beautiful loft-style home with 12 feet ceilings.  The man shared that his dad was a Jew from Austria who immigrated to America as a young teenager.  The Lord blessed him immensely. and he lived his American dream.  The Lord blessed him in such a way that he was inducted to serve in the US Diplomatic Corps.  His mother had come from Norway.  The wife of the man we stayed with came from the state of Maine.  My host (the husband) graduated from MIT and is a  Professor of Engineering at Northwestern University.  Their home schooled their four children, who later went to University and graduate school.  They all serve the Lord in the church at large.  It was great blessing to share Christian fellowship.   We attended their church last Sunday morning.  (This is also the church where Janice, Jeremy, and their family worship.)  We were welcomed with much love and grace.  We received wonderful and generous hospitaltiy. 



    By the weekend the news teams had started forecasting the ferocity of Stella. The city of Boston was ready for it.  I had my last treatment on the day of the anticipated blizzard.  Some were forecasting over two feet of snow.  We woke up on Tuesday morning, almost before the storm.  We were able drive to the hospital without any problem.  It so happened that Boston got only 6-7 inches of snow followed by slush sleet and then it rained in the evening.  We drove home the day after Stella was no longer active in Massachusetts.  The Mass Pike was all clean and clear, and the sky was sunny and brilliant.  Tractor trailers were banned from the Mass Pike, and the Lord gave us a safe and pleasant trip.  We got home to Marathon in good time.  Broome County along with Marathon (our town)  had become the epicenter of the storm Broome County was almost paralyzed.  The National Guard was called in to help Broome County in the cleanup.  When we came home our driveway had been ploughed "deep and wide".  Praise the Lord for the blessings and simple gifts He bestows upon us so lavishly day in and day out, in season and out of season.  



    While in Boston we were able to spend some beautiful and sweet time with our grandchildren, who are growing up very fast.  The day before the storm, it was a beautiful and sunny day in Boston, and I wanted to explore some of Boston and go out for dinner.  I picked a sea food restaurant called the "Holly Crab".  We followed the GPS, which led us through some of the Historic Boston Neighborhoods.  We drove by a gorgeous and majestic Synagogue.  Finally we came our destination.  We found a lovely parking place a few doors away, which was free after 6:00 PM (and it was almost 6:00 already.  I was looking for a massive building where the restaurant was.  I was disappointed at first to find out that it was a one room building on Commonwealth Avenue - the same street where the Historic Boston University (that was founded by the Methodist church) is located. As Alice and I entered the restaurant we were welcomed by a cheerfully smiling waitress. I noticed there were few other customers sitting scattered around the room.  The waitress brought us the menu, from which I chose Crawfish prepared Cajun style.  Alice ordered a standard American dish.  The waitress brought us no tableware.  To my amazement she brought plastic gloves and a bib.  When dinner was ready she brought my crawfish with its exotic aroma.  She brought my dinner in a plastic bag.  Again there were no utensils.  It turned out that the food was awesome and it was plenty.  As we were eating other customers came in.  Some were ordering some not-so-hot stuff, but as they started eating they were full of tears.  Our waitress was kind, winsome, and gracious.  I asked whether she went to church and without hesitation she said "yes", indeed she went to church.  " I am a Christian" she said.  She further said that her dad is pastor back in Korea.  She told us about her name and shared that She is a student the prestigious Berkeley Conservatory where she specializes in Piano.  I praised the Lord for her and prayed for her.  It was a sweet powerful encounter.  Jesus was with us.



    My doctor  , who is charge of my care had gone to Hong Kong to speak at a medical conference.  She had just returned from Hong Kong on the last day of my treatment.  She was able to fly in just hours before the storm. After the last treatment we had some time with her about progress and prognosis. After her consultation , she asked if she could pray with us.  I said, "Certainly."  She prayed for me and asked the Lord give her wisdom to care for me, and we all joined in prayer.

     William Frey, a retired Episcopal bishop from Colorado, tells the following story: “When I was a younger man, I volunteered to read to a degree student named John who was blind.  One day I asked him, ‘How did you lose your sight?’  ‘A chemical explosion,’ John said, ‘at the age of thirteen.’  ‘How did that make you feel?’, I asked.  ‘Life was over.  I felt helpless.  I hated God,’ John responded.  ‘For the first six months I did nothing to improve my lot in life.  I would eat all my meals alone in my room.  One day my father entered my room and said, “John, winter’s coming and the storm windows need to be up — that’s your job.  I want those hung by the time I get back this evening or else!”  Then he turned, walked out of the room and slammed the door.  I got so angry.  I thought Who does he think I am?  I’m blind!  I was so angry I decided to do it.  I felt my way to the garage, found the windows, located the necessary tools, found the ladder, all the while muttering under my breath, “I’ll show them.  I’ll fall, then they’ll have a blind and paralyzed son!”’  John continued, ‘I got the windows up.  I found out later that never at any moment was my father more than four or five feet away from my side.’”  In the same way, Jesus did not promise to spare us, but he did promise to be with us.  He said, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).



    We returned home blessed and are getting ready for the coming weeks in our Lenten journey.  We are getting ready for this Sunday's Worship.  The Gospel reading for this Sunday is taken from John 4 -  the encounter of Jesus withe Samaritan Woman.  I am preaching on Bad Girls of the Bible: And What We Can Learn from Them.



    We are having a special Lenten event on Saturday the March 25.  We will gather for a special dinner at 6:00 PM.  Dr. James Geer, PH D, Professor of Mathematics at the Watson School pf Engineering, will present, "Simon Peter"  at 7:00 PM.  All are welcome,



    Since "Stella" caused the community dinner (for last evening) to be canceled, it has been rescheduled for next Wednesday, March 22, from 4:30 until all are served.  A special seasonal meal has been planned.

 In Christ,

  Brown

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