Brown's Daily Word 3/5/16

    Praise the Lord for this First Saturday of March.  I had my last doctor's appointment (for now) yesterday in Boston.  The doctor was very pleased with my progress.  We praise the Lord.  We left Boston yesterday afternoon and drove back to New York where we arrived safe and sound around 9:00 PM.  The Lord blessed my wife with an extra measure of favor and grace.  She drove well all the way home. 

    It is a sunny day here in central New York.  I talked to one of the many Maple Syrup producers here in our area.  He said that they have produced over 450 gallons of Maple syrup.  There is one more week of High Production season.  Alice and I are planning to attend the local High School's annual play tonight.  Tomorrow we will gather for Sunday School at 10 AM and for worship at 11:00, followed by a mega-Coffee, cookies, and pastries reception.  It is going to a very sweet and blessed day.  Plan to attend the worship of the Lord wherever you might be.

    As I am back home after almost 6 weeks away from home I am reflecting on the reality of the Good News of Christ.  In the Psalm 30:6 we get a glimpse of the gospel, a glimpse of the good news for those who weep.  “Weeping may spend the night,” the psalmist writes, “but joy comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:6).  Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes in the morning.

    Many of us  have spent many a night gently weeping, perhaps when there’s no one around.  Some of us project the image that we always hold it together and are above weeping.  For some of us, perhaps, the metaphorical night of weeping has lasted much more than a night, and has been anything but metaphorical.

    Scripture tells us that God in Jesus Christ arose from his throne in heaven, and walked across the circle of eternity to embrace and hold a weeping world.  In fact, Jesus Christ, the last person people expected to weep, wept for Lazarus individually, wept for Jerusalem corporately, and in his Passion, wept for us  personally.  In his death on the cross Jesus unfolded his love for us and died to atone for all the ways we  have been diverted, perverted, and inverted. 

    Very often we think that we are "suffering in silence", believing ourselves to be completely and utterly alone.  In these times, according to Scripture, we have Someone to put our tears in his bottle (Psalm 56:8).  When life leaves us sitting on the ground, unable to move, Jesus does not walk right by us without seeing us.  Rather, Jesus walks up to us and stretches out his hands to help—and often those hands are the hands of other people.

    Victor Hugo's Les Miserables,  resonates with the gospel as it portrays what it looks like for weeping to spend the night but joy to come in the morning.  In the closing scene the main character, Jean Valjean, dies and meets in heaven the others who have also died, their night of weeping over and their morning joy begun, and he joins the  in the final chorus:

Do you hear the people sing?
Lost in the valley of the night
It is the music of a people who are climbing to the light
For the wretched of the earth there is a flame that never dies
Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise
They will live again in freedom in the garden of the Lord
They will walk behind the ploughshare, they will put away the sword…
Do you hear the people sing? Say do you hear the distant drums?
It is the future that they bring when tomorrow comes!

    The good news of the gospel is that the unconditional love of Jesus Christ ensures that tomorrow will indeed come for us, that our night of weeping will end and everlasting joy will come in the morning—and what a morning that will be!

In Christ,

 Brown

https://youtu.be/4cDFH5ysLoQ

Brown's Daily Word 3/3/16

Praise the Lord for this new day. Praise the Lord for this new month. Praise the Lord for His unfailing love and unending mercies that are new every morning. Thank you for praying for me and my family over these many days. You have been praying faithfully and fervently. Thank you for your cards, emails, and facebook posts, and for praying for me in your local churches. The Lord has kept me in the hollow of His hand. Praise the Lord for His faithfulness. Yesterday I walked almost 2 miles, and along the way I saw many crocuses in full bloom, along with some of the spring birds, squirrels, and Canadian geese doing their “happy dance”. They are all harbingers of spring.

I am done with my treatments. The last treatment was on the 29th of February. It was Glenn W’’s actual birthday (on Leap Day). I was reading that a woman who was expecting and due on the 29th of this February. She took the birthing matters in her own hands so that her baby would not be born on Leap Day. Any day is good day to be alive and well to know Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Alice and I saw the surgeon and his team yesterday. They declared that my surgery was very successful. I am allowed to resume my normal life again. I am permitted to travel and drive and resume all my life’s tasks.

We have spent some time with our grandchildren here in Boston on Tuesday. It was a sunny and brilliant day. We saw two robins in our grandchildren’s school playground. The daffodils are about to burst in full bloom. Our grandson said, "Grandpa, I like Church. I love the Bible stories. They are magical, supernatural, and they are like fairy tales but they all TRUE. Our youngest granddaughter asked her grandmom, “What color are Auntie Sunita’s eyes?” When Grandmom responded that they are brown she said, “I love Auntie Sunita the best.” (Then the conversation was extended to include her other brown-eyed aunties, whom she also declared to love “the best”). Our oldest granddaughter said during our evening walk that day, "Grandpa, I want to be a doctor or a teacher or a musician, and I want to open a special Cafe where I can serve very Special Coffee.”

On Sunday evening I was watching some preachers on TV, one of whom was speaking about “generational blessings”. Often we hear about “generational curses”, but in Christ “generational curses” have been removed. He took our curse upon Himself upon the Cross. It is written in Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Praise the Lord for His blessings, which transcend the generations who are in Christ. My wife’s great-great-great(?) grandmother prayed that succeeding generations of Maynard’s would know the Lord and His great blessings.

We have spent over a month here beautiful Boston with only a small 5 day break back in NY. We have met some wonderful people. Many are fellow sojourners in Christ and even in suffering. The Lord has provided us with some very competent and compassionate medical staff. We have met some wonderful people where we are staying. Alice and I have cooked Authentic Indian Dishes and for the residents and staff. Alice has baked some her signature pastries and breads. The Lord has granted us His sweet favor before the people everywhere we have been during these past weeks. We have been asked to lead an evening prayer meeting. This has been a great blessing. The Students from various Colleges and Universities who participate in Relay for Life have prepared meals for the Guests here. The Catering Staff from the Four Seasons Hotel prepared a sumptuous dinner for the Guests here, too, as well as a local prep school. The Lord has been providing His daily bread with so much generosity and kindness.

We are planning to be back in Marathon this Friday, March 4 or Saturday, the 5th. I am planning to preach this coming Sunday. The church family in Marathon has continued the ministry of Preaching, Teaching, and visiting faithfully and joyfully. We praise the Lord for each of them.

For about 130 years, people from the United States and around the world have traveled to a broad plateau in the Rocky Mountains in the northwest corner of Wyoming to the world's oldest and largest national park to see its unparalleled array of geysers and hot springs. During the winter of 1807, John Colter was the first to see the wonders of what has become known as Yellowstone Park. The area was nicknamed "Colter's Hell" because no one back in St. Louis would believe him. It wasn't until Thomas Moran painted Yellowstone Park and William Jackson photographed it in 1871 that the country realized that this national treasure actually existed. Then on March 1, 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant signed an act of Congress making Yellowstone the first national park.
Perhaps the most well known feature of Yellowstone National Park is the geyser that is called "Old Faithful." Old Faithful is not the largest or most regulated geyser in the park, but it has become a popular destination because it erupts more frequently than any of the other big geysers, roughly every 76 minutes, with as much as 8,400 gallons of boiling water which shoots some 150 feet skyward. These eruptions can last anywhere from 90 seconds to 5 minutes.

The name “Old Faithful” brings to mind our Lord, Who is always faithful. In Revelation 19:11, 16 it is written, “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True.” . . . “On His robe and on His thigh He has a name inscribed: King of kings and Lord of lords.” Revelation 1:5, “and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and ruler of kings on earth.”

Brown

 

Israel Houghton - Great is Thy faithfulness [with lyrics]

Brown's Daily Word 2/15/16

Praise the Lord for this new day.  The Good news is that while we were yet in our sin Christ died for us.  Herein is love.... Our hearts belong to Jesus.  Yesterday was Valentine's Day.  It was the coldest Valentine's day here in Central NY.  The Lord blessed us in His house.  Our heats were strangely warmed by the power of His Holy Spirit.   My wife, who is one of the best cooks, made a very special V-Day dinner.  It was sumptuous.  Our youngest daughter, Jessica, and her husband, Tom, celebrated their 6th wedding anniversary yesterday.  Their lovely daughter Lindy is growing up like beautiful rose.  

    We are driving back to Boston today for my further treatment.  We will be there  through March 1.  The Lord has made ample provisions for us.  Please continue to pray for us.  We are standing on the promises of Jesus.  I will be posting brief messages on Face Book from time to time.

   One of the Hard Sayings of Jesus our Lord:  "Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me."  Mathew 16:24 To deny yourself and pick up your cross of suffering means many things: It means to put your own plans, pleasures and priorities on hold.  It means to put the need of others first, before your own needs.  It means to take care of those people whom God has put at your doorstep.

    I have been thinking of beautiful stories of people who have been carrying genuinely heavy crosses:

I know of a  man who cares for his ninety-four year old father who is dying.  The burden is heavy.  I know of a family who recently cared for their ninety-eight year old mother as she slowly died.  The burden was heavy.  I know of a young woman who took family leave from Boeing  to care for her dying mother for weeks and months.  The burden was heavy.  I know a family taking care their Alzheimer's afflicted mom at home.  I know of children who are caring for their parents who have been married for 69 years and who are in their nineties.  I have known of so many  almost numberless, who minister and care for their loved ones and families and even neighbors with sacrificial love and devotion.  None of these crosses were made out of lightweight aluminum; none of them were made out of Styrofoam.   These crosses were all heavy, heavy like wood.

    We can  talk about parents who care for their sick children.  To truly love is to carry the burden and pain of childhood.  It is at the heart of love.  Then, there are illustrations of “I want to help you carry that heavy cross.”  I am thinking of a woman whose husband had Alzheimer’s Disease.  The burden was genuinely heavy and friends said to her, “Let us help carry that cross.  Let us help you carry that burden.  It is too much to carry for person.”  

    I think of a friend who had the hepatitis and was dying of a liver disorder.  The people in church  said, “Let us help you carry that cross.  Let us help you carry that burden.  It is too heavy for one person to carry.” I think of a woman whose husband was dying of cancer and friends said, “I We want to help carry that cross. That cross is too heavy for one person.” Not light-weight aluminum. Not painted Styrofoam, but wood.

    St. Francis of Assisi said; “It is in giving that we receive.  It is in dying that we are born to a new and living hope.”  Jesus said, “He who loses his life will find it.”

    The Gospel of Jesus is the great invitation to live as Christ lived, to love as Christ loved.  There is no greater love than this than a person lays down his life for his friend.  The Gospel is that great invitation to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Christ.

 In Christ, 

 Brown

https://youtu.be/qC1IllbwX4w