Thanks and praises unto Jesus our Lord for
the gift of the summer season. He is the Lord of all seasons and the Lord
in every season who makes all things glorious and beautiful in His time and in
His appointed season. We have been on the go during this month. We
drove to Boston for my regular check up with the doctors in Boston. I
have to go through another set of treatments there in the beginning of
September. I am continuing my other treatments here in Binghamton. Thank
you for praying. The Lord gives us His continuous strength and fresh
grace along with daily manna for the journey. We spent a few days
in beautiful Boston where the world comes for vacation and the
holidays. We spent hilarious and sweet days with our grandchildren Micah,
Simeon, and Ada. I spent one afternoon fishing with Simeon.
Alice did some baking and cooking with Micah and Simeon. We
attended worship with all of them in the church they attend. Micah,
Simeon, and Ada are busy with summer events and activities. They
spent a week of Music camp in Maine. They are involved in sailing camp
and tennis camp.
Sunita and Andy, Gabe, Addie, and Asha
spent a few days with us here in New York on their way home from visiting
family and friends in "Pure Michigan". It was a treat and a
thrill to have them with us for a few days. We took lots of walks and
strolls while they were visiting and we found and picked some wild berries.
Sunita loves Ithaca and its gorges. Sunita and Andy spent part
of the day in Ithaca hiking and going out for dinner. On another day
Sunita and Andy also attended Sunita's 20th High School reunion of
her class from Maine-Endwell. She was sharing that it great to reconnect
with high school classmates after 20 years. We all spent two days at the
Chenango county fair in Norwich. Gabe , Addie, and Asha loved the
animals - especially the cows, horses, and chickens. The children
were mesmerized by the horse show that we saw, which included 3 full-sized
stallions and 6 miniatures. We enjoyed the sights and sounds of the
ionic county fair. One highlight for me is exploring the food booth
options at the fair, and I usually gravitate to a food booth run by the
churches of the area. One local church has a permanent food stall, which
is open for the entire week, where men and women of all ages joyously served
the fair patrons.
Alice and I participated in the service
of death Resurrection of Donald Barber Sr. last week. It was a beautify
service of celebration and thanksgiving. Don lived a wonderful life of
service and dedication. He retired at the age of 89 from the last of his
3 jobs. Don and his dear wife Julie went to lunch last Wednesday at a
local diner and then drove to a local cream shop after lunch. Don,
who was 92, died peacefully in his home Thursday early
morning. We praise the Lord for the life and testimony Don Barber.
"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints."
(Psalm 116:15)
The Lord blessed us in His house Sunday
with His grace and joy. We praise the Lord that He is upon His
throne. He reigns, He rules, and He overrules. It is because of His
great faithfulness and authority we can live "in a season of Joy" day
by day. He is the Lord of Joy who invites us to enter the Joy of the
master and He infuses us with His "Joy unspeakable and full of glory".
As Summer is winding down, we are looking forward. Back to Church Sunday
will be on Sunday, September 17. We will meet for worship at 10:30 AM,
with special music. Following the service will be a very special meal.
The Lord always invites us to enter His joy, and He propels us to live "in
a season of joy" in every season.
We are witnessing a massive display of
demonic powers, of fear, and of hatred all around the world. Extreme
fringe groups from all sides are in clamor and collusion. The enemy, the
adversary, brings out the worst - the beast - in all of us. Jesus,
the giver of life, brings out the best in us. The world seems
to be on the verge of exploding. It is written, "And
you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that you be not troubled,
for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet" Mathew
24:6. "The sky is not falling". .Martin
Luther wrote, "Though this world, with devils filled should threaten to
undo us, we will not fear for God has willed his truth to triumph through
us". The Lord of the earth, the mover and shaker of the universe, in
control. He reminds us lucidly and lovingly to "Be still and
know that I am God". The Lord has all the forces and powers, and all
authority to overcome the dark forces of this world. Our trust does not
eradicate all present trials, but when we believe that the tears and
fears of today will be dried by triumphs of tomorrow, we will find the strength
to live for our God. Frustration and tragedy may still come, but they
cannot overwhelm the purposes of our God or the usefulness of our lives when we
continue in the duties he sets before us.
I love the wonderful
narrative of Daniel, the daring one. The account of Daniel in
the lions' den not only encourages us to trust in God, but to live for
him. Because he trusted in his Lord, Daniel was able to live for God in a
great variety of circumstances. The circumstances that climax his life
and most capture our hearts are those that require great courage. We
should recognize that these accounts are recorded precisely for this purpose.
Through Daniel's example, the Bible inspires us to live with courage when
circumstances and threats tempt us to compromise. Our trust in God should fill
us with the courage to live for him. Daniel knew the consequences of his
prayers. The prophet knew that his commitment to his God would cost him
everything: his respect, his position, his life. Still, he continued his
spiritual disciplines. Devotion to God came before his personal
safety. Daniel's faithfulness to duty was challenged by more than
personal tragedy. He was alone in his stand of faith against all the
other advisers of the king. The law—the unchangeable decree of the Medes
and Persians—opposed Daniel. Even the king had no power to alter this
law. Injustice ruled and dominated. Israel remained in powerless
captivity. There is no record his countrymen rising to
give Daniel support.
What could one man do against such
overwhelming institutional and national evil and what would it matter if
one person were to take a stand against an entire nation, culture, and
tradition of godlessness? Would any even care if Daniel did his personal
duty to God? If devotion to duty were to make no difference,
why hold fast to it? Daniel faced enormous temptation of
the sort that argues that because it will make no difference what I do, it does
not matter what I do. Daniel's stoic devotion to Almighty
God teaches us that duty remains even when sin seems unaffected by it.
Even when the sin is so large that our efforts to oppose it seem meaningless,
God requires our faithfulness. We are to stand our ground and
live for him. The Book of Daniel is as much about courage in the face of
overwhelming odds as it is about divine rescue.
Daniel is the story of God's provision
of hope—the message that individual lives can make a difference in difficult
places. Believing that the Lord can change everything through us, beyond
us, or after us is what should keep us living courageously, because we are
living in hope—the confidence that our God will fulfill His purposes through us
if we will stand for him. The world says, "Give in. The stand
you take will make no difference. Why get yourself in trouble? Why
sacrifice for nothing?" God, however, tells us to "Dig
in. Plant your feet firmly on my Word and let me triumph through
you." Trials may come at work or in our family where
others pressure us to abandon our stand for the Lord. We may not be
able to see any value or results from our stand, but stand we must.
God can use us to build his kingdom if we stand our
ground, because we are never alone in our stand for him.
Following this final chapter of the
prophet's life history are Daniel's amazing prophesies of the victories to come
in Jerusalem. The captives from Israel will return to the holy city. Jerusalem
will be restored, and from the former ruins will rise the Savior. This Savior
will defeat forever the enemy who prowls the earth "like a roaring lion
looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8).
As Daniel did his duty, his physical eyes could see only ruin, despair, and
danger. But, through the eyes of faith, Daniel saw much more. By focusing on
Jerusalem he saw sure victory, future triumph, and certain hope. Through the
eyes of hope, ruined Jerusalem shone yet as the great symbol of God's abiding
faithfulness to those he would defend. Daniel was faithful before the threat of
raging lions, because he trusted in the One who shuts the mouth of the great
lion called Satan. The sign of God's faithfulness that we all remember is
Daniel's rescue from the lions. But the greater sign that proves the value of
Daniel's hope for his nation and for us is almost hidden in the last words of
this chapter. The chapter ends with these words, "So this Daniel prospered
during the reign of Darius and during the reign of Cyrus the Persian" (6:28).
The name of the final ruler is most important because under this ruler the
people of Israel began to return to their homeland. And because they returned
to Israel, ultimately a child would be born in the city of David who would be
Christ, our Lord. Daniel's influence and God's promise finally were fulfilled
according to the hope Daniel maintained into his old age. The message to
Daniel's people and to us is that our hope in God is not misplaced. Though we
may have to wait to see the results of our faithfulness—and may never see them
until we are with him—our God will accomplish his purposes. So we trust him and
live for him. Because we know that God shut the mouths of lions for Daniel and
subsequently, shut the mouth of the raging lion who seeks to devour us, we
trust our Savior and live for him. We always live in the hope of the ultimate
and eternal victory he will provide for us.We live and serve under a Captain
who has never lost battle. He is Lord. He is exalted.
In Christ,
Brown
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