Blessed be the name of the Lord,
Blessed be the name of the Lord,
Blessed be the name of the Lord most high.
The
name of the Lord is a strong tower;
The righteous run into it and they are saved.
The name of the Lord is a strong tower;
The righteous run into it and they are saved."
The righteous run into it and they are saved.
The name of the Lord is a strong tower;
The righteous run into it and they are saved."
We are just 4 months away from Christmas,
2017. We can start anticipating the best. We have already planning
and preparing to celebrate. In a deeper sense, because of Jesus our
Savior and Lord we have countless reasons to celebrate and rejoice in all seasons
and through all seasons. We are planning to host the St. Petersburg {
Russia) Men's Ensemble on Saturday December 2, 2017 at 7:00 PM. We are also
planning to host a Living Nativity with full cast and choir on Saturday
December 16, which will be held on the Village Green, the "City
Center" of Marathon, NY.
The national news today is riveted on
Hurricane Harvey, which is threatening devastation on the Gulf
Coast including Corpus Christi, TX. One week after our wedding in August
1975 we moved to Corpus Christi, TX. I was part of a ministry team that
served in a large Teaching Hospital in Corpus Christi. Alice worked in an
Insurance agency. I am still in contact with some my colleagues from that
setting. Dr. Calixto Sodoy lives in the Philippines. Dr. Fred
Wenger lives in Kansas. The Lord blessed our days in Corpus
Christi. We were part of a Southern Baptist Church that was on the move,
vibrant, and full of zeal for the Lord and His mission. Our oldest daughter,
Janice, was born there. Alice and I had planned to go with our oldest
granddaughter, Micah, on an Amtrak Train trip to San Antonio with a side trip
to Corpus Christi, TX this week. Our dates were from the August 19
through the August 30. Our plans were to start in San Antonio, drive down
to visit Corpus Christi, and on our return trip to visit New Orleans. Had
we taken the trip we would have been facing the eye of the storm. Due to
some unavoidable circumstances we had canceled the trip early this summer.
We have been on the Road again. We
traveled to Philadelphia on Monday, August 21, to be with Jessica, Tom.
Lindy, and newly born Everett Thomas Brown Ross. The journey was pleasant
and the visit was extravagantly joyful as we met with Everett Thomas Brown.
He is beautiful, and handsome. Praise the Lord, for the He
blesses us beyond and above. While we are visiting the newborn grandson,
Alice and I celebrated our 42nd wedding anniversary. We have received so
much love and affection from so many of you, both far and near. We have
been showered with so much grace and kindness. Truly and indeed we have
been blessed in heavenly places. With the birth of Everett Thomas Brown
we have been blessed with 8 Grandchildren. My dad died at the age of 48 without
seeing any of his grandchildren. The Lord of all tender mercies and amazing
grace has allowed me to see 8 grandchildren. Thank you, Jesus.
Alice and drove back to New York yesterday
afternoon. We drove through some of the most scenic routes in
Pennsylvania, including driving along the bank of the Delaware River and barge
canal. Bucks County is studded with splendid Stone buildings and
dwellings, some of which are over 200 years old. The banks of the
Delaware River are breathtaking, with endless mountains and gorgeous valleys.
Sunita and her family, along with
Laureen, are attending a ministry and mission conference in South Carolina this
weekend. One of the speakers for the conference is Dr. Heidi Baker, a
theologian, believer, missionary, and lover of Jesus, who is in much demand as
a speaker around the world. In the midst of the clamor and chaos in the
world Jesus is on the move to accomplish His divine purposes.
We are getting ready for worship this
Sunday. We will meet for worship at 10:30 AM. Plan to be in the
House of the Lord wherever you might be. When the saint go
marching, Satan trembles.
One of the Psalms that I love to read
and share is Psalm 91.that, In the" Believers' Bible
Commentary" William MacDonald begins his comments on Psalm 91 by telling of a
five-year-old boy who was dying of diphtheria in 1922. As his mother
turned her back so she would not see him take his last breath, her
brother-in-law knocked at the door. He said, "I've come just to tell
you that you don't have to worry about the child. He is going to recover,
and God is going to save his soul." He then explained that the Lord
gave him this assurance as he read Psalm 91. MacDonald,
the author of the commentary, was that dying boy. God spared his
life. Thirteen years later, God saved him. For many decades,
God used him to preach and write the gospel. MacDonald labeled his
comments on Psalm 91 as "My Psalm." He stated his willingness
to share the psalm, but insisted that it was his psalm. So it is with
every believer who knows what it is to live in the protective custody of God.
Psalm 91 is considered a messianic psalm that finds its fulfillment in the Lord Jesus Christ. In Matthew 4:5-6, Satan applies this psalm to Jesus. Jesus did not deny that it is about him, even though he resisted Satan's temptation to put God to the test. The promises of God in this psalm are ultimately fulfilled in Christ. Psalm 91 is good news for everyone who trusts in God. Psalm 90 is a warning about the reality of death, but Psalm 91 is a promise of protection for life. Martin Luther called this "the most distinguished jewel among all the psalms of consolation." This psalm must not be used to turn true faith into religious superstition, but the message of this psalm is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. The Lord will protect the one who trusts in him. What does it mean to live in the protective custody of God? It is a life of confident trust, total security, and divine assurance.
In 1952, the American missionary Jim Elliot traveled to Ecuador to share the gospel. On January 8, 1956, the natives he was visiting brutally murdered Elliot and four of his fellow missionaries. Elliot was 28 years old, with a young wife and a daughter who was not yet a year old. In 1958, Jim Elliot's widow Elisabeth published the life and testament of her husband. She called it The Shadow of the Almighty. This title is a reference to Psalm 91 and helps us to properly understand the message of the psalm. This psalm does not guarantee immunity from trouble in life or tragedy in death. It celebrates the benefits of confident trust in God. Trust in God will not keep us from experiencing bad things in life, but it will keep us as we experience bad things in life.
In verses one to two, the psalmist declares the truth and testimony of a life of confident trust. Psalm 91 begins with a general statement of trust in God: "Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty." What is this secret place? It is a person, not a place. This divine person is described in two ways in verse one. He is called "the Most High"—the possessor of heaven and Earth - higher than the kings of the earth and the false gods of the nations. He is also called "the Almighty"—the living God who alone has omnipotent power. Safety and security cannot be found in self-defense, sinful people, ideal circumstances, material resources, or defensive weapons. It is only found in God. In Psalm 90:1, Moses sings, "Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations." God is a shelter to those who trust in him. Psalm 27:5 says, "For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock." Likewise, God is a shadow for those who trust in him. A human shadow produces fear, but the divine shadow gives comfort. It means God is near to provide relief. Warren Wiersbe wrote, "The safest place in the world is a shadow, if it is the shadow of the Almighty."
Craven was a Christian nobleman who lived in London during a plague that ravaged the city in the 15th century. Craven determined to flee the city for his country estate to escape the spreading plague, but as he prepared to leave, he overheard a servant innocently say to another, "I suppose by my Lord's quitting London to avoid the plague, that his God lives in the country and not in town." Convicted, Craven canceled his journey, declaring, "My God lives everywhere and can preserve me in town as well as in the country. I will stay where I am." He remained in London to help the plague victims but never caught the disease himself, because God is a refuge and fortress to those who trust in him.
In Christ.
Brown
