Brown's Daily Word 10/6/17

"Let there be glory and honor and praises, glory and honor to Jesus. Glory, honor, glory and honor to Him." "Keep your light shining brightly as the darkness covers the earth. For a people that walk in darkness They shall see, they shall see a great light" In a world of darkness Jesus shines brightly. In a world of chaos and confusion He is the Christ. In a world of sin and sadness He is the Savior. In a world filled with wars and rumors of wars He is the Captain who has never lost a battle. He is the Lord of the hosts. We live under His grace and serve Him under His authority.

The Lord blessed us with an awesome and stunning Autumn season thus far. My brother Patel and my first cousin Amos are visiting us from India. We are spending some beautiful times with them. We spent a few days in Washington, DC with Sunita, Andy, Gabe, Addie and Asha. We were blessed with some spectacular weather for sight seeing in our Nation's Capitol. We have had a brief interlude of cold nights. It is otherwise looking like a lingering summer. Our garden is still prolific with beans, peppers, Swiss chard, onions, beets, and potatoes. Alice has been busy canning. She made over 30 jars of peach jam/ peaches from our own tree. Praise the Lord for His abundance and prodigality. We are so blessed.

Our Nation has been struck by the barbaric massacre that shattered the lives of so many this week. In the midst of massive grief and loss the Lord brings out the best in so many who step out to serve with great self abandon and sacrifice. In the midst of the abyss of darkness the Lord of Light shines on His people and through them as His candles of hope and grace. In the face of great demonic acts the Lord raises His people to move out to serve. The churches in the area were filled with praying and worshipping people. Countless people gave with generosity to bless the families of the victims. America is a city built on a hill. America is filled with people of good will and generosity. America is the home of the brave and free. May Jesus continue to bless America and the world. We need to beware of the trials, tragedies, and tribulations that come to all of us. There is no way that a human being living in a troubled world, in troublesome times can avoid real trouble.

In poetic language, the psalmist in Psalm 46 described the way trouble can come. He spoke about the earth being removed, and the mountains being carried into the midst of the sea. . . “though the waters thereof roar and be troubled.” Here he spoke about the trouble which comes with the sheer fury of a storm. What do you do when trouble comes with a fury of a storm from every angle? In the end of Psalms 46:3, he says, “Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.” Here you have a picture of everything shaking, with the swelling of the flood and everything being absolutely overwhelmed. “God Is Our Refuge and Strength, a very present Help in trouble.”

There are things outlined for us in Psalms 46 that we should do when troubles come into our lives. We are called to realize when trouble comes that God is a Refuge for His people. This suggests to us the idea of something like the Cities of Refuge that they had in the Old Testament. We can read about them in the book of Numbers. God, who gave instructions for the building of His ideal nation in Israel, insisted that they should have certain cities dotted around that land that were “Cities of Refuge.” In the Cities of Refuge, there was a touch of mercy. This is the picture that we have of God being a Refuge who is continually available to His people. The Lord Jesus Himself said that all of us who are weary, and heavy laden must come to Him and He will give us rest. There is no way trouble can come into a person’s life — however overwhelming it might be —which can be greater than the strength of God to enable you to survive it. There is no way trouble can come your way outside the permissive will of God!

Satan can throw all the forces of Hell at you, but God is your strength. The Risen Lord is more than adequate to our deepest needs. Not only is God our refuge and our strength, but God is “a very present help” in trouble. We must realize that God is resident among His people. Verse 4: “There is a river, the streams whereof, make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved.” The term “The City of God,” as far as the psalmist was concerned, was a picture that he loved to use of Mount Zion — his favorite place. Mount Zion was the place where The Temple was going to be. Mount Zion was the place where the Tabernacle of the Most High was going to be.

I run to God as my Refuge and I come to Christ, who opens His arms, and who says, “Come unto Me all ye who are weary and heavy laden” and at the same time I relate to Christ who, by His Holy Spirit, is in me. I say, “What a joy the Lord is actually resident in me! This old body of mine, this old mind of mine, this old house of mine is cracking at the foundation. Under pressure the floods are coming, the earthquake is coming, the storm is coming, but the glorious thing about it is this: God is resident within me!”

Psalms 46:11 repeats the same verse. “The Lord of hosts is with us!” The most High is in the midst of us, and I remember that the Lord of Hosts is with us. That helps me to get the whole scene of my trouble into perspective. Not only do I see the God of purpose seated on the Throne above all thrones acting on “my behalf”, but I also see that God has unbelievable power “alive” in might within the very context of my life, and that’s where trouble gets into perspective.

Psalms 46:4, “There is a river, the streams thereof shall make glad the city of God.” It is a vast river with many, many tributaries. God’s a Refuge, God’s a Resident, God’s a River”. God is resident; the City of God is immovable. Psalm 46:5 says, “God is in the midst of her, or within her, she will not fall.” What a God we serve! 
In Him,
Brown
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