Thanks be to Jesus for
this new day. We will gather for Mid-week study and fellowship this
evening at 6:00 PM with a special meal followed by study at 6:30
PM. I drove around the countryside yesterday, by the farm lands and
meadows, hills, streams, and pastures. I saw cattle grazing
unhurried and unafraid. The Spring birds are out in strength,
serenading and singing sweet melodies as songs of praise to the
Lord, the God of all creation. I stopped by to see two farmers. One
of them is blessed to have over 700 acres of land where he and his
son farm. They have a dairy, but they also raise chickens and
turkeys. They produce their own maple syrup. I feel a very keen
affinity to farmers.
Some
of our friends went hunting for razorbacks (wild boars) in the south.
They came home with a bountiful harvest. One of the hunters shot a
bobcat.
Praise
the Lord for this wonderful world. We continue to pray for His peace in
all of the places, in all of the countries, where terror and violence
rear their ugly heads. We pray the Lord, the Lion of Judah,
might destroy the strongholds of the enemy. "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this
world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."
Dorothy
Sayers, in a book of her essays entitled, "The Whimsical Christian",
has one essay called “The Greatest Drama Ever Staged,” where she writes, “The
people who hanged Christ never, to do them justice, accused him of being a bore
— on the contrary, they thought him too dynamic to be safe. It has been
left for later generations to muffle up that shattering personality and
surround him with an atmosphere of tedium. We have very efficiently pared
the claws of the Lion of Judah, certified him ‘meek and mild,’ and recommended
him as a fitting household pet for pale curates and pious old ladies.”
I
am amazed at Jesus’ ability to live without fear. He stared it in the
face and went on with his life. I love the picture of strength in
meekness that John paints of Jesus where he says, “The evening meal was being
served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to
betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his
power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up
from the meal, took off his outer clothing,and wrapped a towel around his
waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his
disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him” (John 13:2-5).
At
the most dangerous hour of Jesus’ life, he calmly took the role of a
servant. He did this, as John said, knowing that “the Father had put all
things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to
God.” Jesus knew the power he had (and continued to have). He has
the power to walk away from danger, He has the power to destroy his
enemies, He even has the power to blow up the universe, but He ignores what he
could do to those who came to destroy Him, and chooses to concentrate on
serving those whom He loves. He does all this, even though it would look
as though his enemies had won. The Bible says, “Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were
called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were
influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish
things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world
to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the
despised things. . ."
In Christ,
Brown
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