Brown's Daily Word 6-11-07

It has been an awesome and extraordinary week. The Lord visited our region in an wonderful and personal way in and through the Franklin Graham Festival. The Binghamton University Event Center was transformed in to a cathedral. The Home of the Bearcats became the arena of the Lion Of Judah, Jesus Christ. Every night starting Friday evening the Event Center was rocking as Christians and pre-Christians assembled by the thousands praising Jesus and proclaiming power in His name.
There was an explosive air of anticipation. Saturday night in the world is known as the devil's night. It became the Night of the Savior, Jesus Christ, the Light of the world. It was the night when there was an special invitation to the students and the youth. The place was packed withe high energy crowd of young people.
Saturday morning belonged to children. There was a children's choir consisting of over 1000 children. The Event Center was over flowing with children in the morning and with youth and the students in the evening. The Lord of the harvest visited the center and hundreds of children and the youth turned to Himself. These hundred's of children and the youth publicly went forward to commit their lives to Jesus.
Sunday afternoon the concluding event drew believers and non believers in to the Event center one more time. The Lord did it again. The music was electrifying. The preaching by Franklin Graham was anointed and powerful. People of all ages, from children to the senior citizens, went forward to give their lives to Jesus. Many also went forward to recommit their lives to Him. The Lord drew people from different and diverse back ground to Himself. People from different backgrounds, cultures, and denominations demonstrated and experienced oneness in Jesus Christ the Great Reconciler.
It has been a great honor and privilege for me, along with my wife and family, to be part of this great Jesus event. The Lord indeed has visited our area. He is going to continue to perform, wonders, signs and the miracles in our area. Over two thousand new believers were harvested in to the Kingdom of Jesus which is eternal and triumphant. We have seen signs, wonders and the miracles. The Lord of Grace and grandeur is still at work.
When Jesus walked the earth—teaching, and preaching, and healing—-strange things happened, though not the same kind of strange as in Ripley’s Believe It Or Not. It was more like strange as in counter-intuitive. It was strange as in turning upside-down what everyone knew to be true about how the world worked—what was important and what was not, who was important and who was not, what made for success and what did not. Otherwise responsible men picked up and left home—-left behind jobs and families, all that was familiar-—and followed him. Fishermen became evangelists. Tax collectors became teachers. Zealots became servants. Lepers were cleansed. Paralytics were healed. Sinners were welcomed. Storms were quieted at the sound of his voice. Demons fled. Dead boys and girls were raised to life. The greatest became servants. The proud were humbled. The outcast were welcomed. The conventionally powerful found themselves on the fringe. The last became first. Wherever Jesus went, life happened. . . Real life. . . Abundant life.
Even when Jesus walked no more, and his body was laid in the tomb, life happened. On the third day he rose again from the dead. According to the Book of Acts, everywhere the church went, strange things happened. Or maybe I should say, wherever the Holy Spirit led the church, strange things happened. They were strange as in turning upside-down what everyone knew to be true about how the world worked—-what was important and what was not, who was important and who was not, what made for success and what did not. An uneducated fisherman from the boonies preached in the capital city, and thousands repented and were baptized. A man who had not walked, ever, danced on the temple steps and praised God. Wherever the Holy Spirit led the church, life happened, real life, abundant life. Reading the Book of Acts yields all sorts of wonderful insights about prayer, missions, evangelism, church history and church government, leadership development, cross-cultural interactions, stewardship, perseverance, and preaching. Jesus is alive, a new community of people had been formed, people who demonstrated the reality and power of the risen Christ in their life together. They had a real and abundant life. This isn’t all that the Book of Acts has to say, but all that the Book of Acts says is in light of these truths. Whatever insights the Book of Acts gives on prayer or missions or leadership development or anything else, these insights are best understood in light of and as a consequence of these two truths.
Jesus is alive. He is really alive, and abundantly alive. Because Jesus is alive, a new community of people is formed, who demonstrate the reality and power of the risen Christ in their life together. Because Jesus is alive, a new community of people is formed—-people who demonstrate the reality and power of the risen Christ in their life together.All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.
One of the most powerful demonstrations of the church’s new life together is the way that concerns and priorities about possessions and money are re-ordered. It’s not the re-ordering of money issues that makes for new life. It’s new life in Christ that makes for re-ordering of money issues. Those who were greedy are now generous. Those who coveted wealth as a hedge against insecurity are now secure in Christ. Those who desired the power money grants now desire to serve without power. Those who were seeking “eternal life” based on a financial legacy in their children or their property holdings or their philanthropic name-planting, now are confident in eternal life in Christ. Those who used to view financial gain as a mark of God’s favor upon them individually, now view wealth as a gift from God for the benefit of the body. Those who were held in bondage to their wealth are now free. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, ant it was distributed to anyone as he had need. Those who were hungry are now fed. Those who were homeless are now housed. Those who were held in bondage to their poverty are now free. When worldly values measure nearly everything according to money—-as the world does now and as the world did in the time of the early church—-how better to point to the new and abundant life demonstrated in the life of believers together than by pointing out that the role of money has been turned upside-down!
In some circumstances it might be tempting to interpret this as a not-so-subtle threat so that people will squirm until their wallets come loose…but I don’t think that would be faithful to the text. It’s about money, but it isn’t just about money.
In some circumstances it might be tempting to explain this away so that we can all breathe a sigh of relief…but I don’t think that would be faithful to the text. It’s about grace, but the One who mediates that grace is known as the Lion of Judah, not the teddy bear. Our loving, gracious, forgiving Lord is also a holy Lord, and the church is his bride. Jesus is alive. Really alive. Abundantly alive.
Because Jesus is alive, a new community of people is formed—people who demonstrate the reality and power of the risen Christ in their life together. Real life. Abundant life.


In Christ,
Brown
If man is not made for God, why is he not happy except in God? If man is made for God, why is he so opposed to God?
... Blaise Pascal


Church Choir Proficiency Test
In order to measure your level of proficiency as a choir member, the following test has been carefully developed by experts. Read and reflect on each situation and then select the option that will enhance the quality of the performance.

1. You are entering the choir loft on Sunday morning and suddenly trip and fall down. You should:
a. Assume a kneeling position and break into fervent prayer.
b. Pretend that you've had a heart attack.
c. Crawl into the nearest chair.
d. Sink to the floor in shame.

2. You are a soprano and count incorrectly. As a result you boom out a high "C" one measure too soon. You should:
a. Slide into an inspired "O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing."
b. Look triumphant and hold on to the note.
c. Stop abruptly in mid squawk but keep your lips moving.
d. Sink to the floor in shame.

3. After all those long hard choir rehearsals, you show up twenty minutes late for the Christmas musical. You should:
a. Climb into the back row of the choir from the baptistery.
b. Enter pretending to be a soundman checking cables and thensuddenly slip yourself into the choir.
c. Turn the lights out in the church and slip into the choir during the blackout.
d. Read M. Stephen's pamphlet "Techniques for Tardy Appearances."

4. While singing, you discover you have only one page of a two page hymn. You should:
a. Hum for your life.
b. Sing "watermelon, watermelon, watermelon."
c. Try to get another hymnal out of the choir rack with your feet.
d. Sing the first page over again.

5. Inevitably that dreaded big sneeze occurs toward the end of the choir special. You should:
a. As you sneeze, come down hard on your neighbor's foot to create a diversion.
b. Try to make it harmonize.
c. Sneeze into the hair of the choir member in front of you to muffle the noise.
d. Sink to the floor in shame.

Count the number of A's, B's, C's, and D's you checked and find your proficiency rating below:

4 or more A's...there is nothing more you need to know to be a first rate choir member.
4 or more B's...your church choir reflexes are fully developed and you should do well in choir.
4 or more C's...your church choral experience is spotty but your team spirit is on target. You will be an asset to most any choir.
4 or more D's...it is recommended you take soccer or group therapy counseling.