Brown's Daily Word 6-12-07

This is one of the ten best days. We praise the Lord for all His blessings. Praise the Lord for His marvelous grace. It is bright and beautiful all around us. It is just like Summer. The Lord makes all things beautiful in His time. He is the Lord of all Seasons and He is the Lord in every season. He is more than wonderful and marvelous in every way. He performs wonders, mighty deeds and signs even today in and through the Church, His Body. He works wonders and signs and the mighty deeds in and through the faithful witness of His servants. He performs signs and wonders and the mighty deeds often in spite of us. We saw many mighty deeds , wonders and signs during the Franklin Graham Festival. We read in Acts 5: Insomuch that they brought forth the sick, into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them. In the Bible we read of many miracles of God; like miracles of healing: We read of the woman that had an issue of blood for 12 years, and by faith when she touched the hem of His garment she was made whole.
We read in Acts 19:12, how the Lord did many miracles, special miracles, by the hands of Paul. How they brought handkerchiefs and pieces of cloth from off his body to the sick and diseases and evil spirits departed. I truly believe in the miracle working power of Jesus. I am living proof of the miracle working power of Jesus. We have seen Jesus touch impossible situations and change those things. With Him all things are possible. I want to look at something in this Scripture that I think is often overlooked, and that is the presence of Jesus in the shadow of man. A man’s shadow is the symbol of his influence. The shadow of a man is often larger and more far reaching than the man himself. Make no mistake, each of us cast a shadow; either good or evil, but your life is having an effect on someone.
It is very amazing to see how far reaching are the repercussions of a good life. More important than genius or brilliance or even great achievement is the influence of a Godly life. I don't think Job, David, Paul, John or any of these men had any idea how far their shadow would reach. Jesus turned to ordinary people, no more gifted or well trained than you or I, and said, "Ye shall be my witnesses." There is no greater accomplishment that we can make than to have represented Jesus Christ in our community by our way of life, our standards of value and our attitudes toward each other. Peter was passing by. Each of us today are only passing by. What sort of shadow are we leaving behind? Is there healing in our shadow or hurt? Everyone exerts an influence quiet but real, maybe unconscious but in existence. The shadow of harsh words spoken in the morning may linger all day. Are we allowing the presence of the Lord to flow from us or are we allowing a different presence to work through us? The moon lights up the night, but it has no light of its own. It is just a reflector. It reflects the light of the sun. Our shadow is cast by our words, deeds, and works. Often our testimony is spoken louder by our actions than by our words. The fruits of the Spirit are manifest by the actions of our flesh. The presence of the Lord in the shadow of man. Proverbs 20:27. The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord. May the Lord shine on us today and shine through us today.

In His Light,
Brown


At the Day of Judgment, we shall not be asked what we have read, but what we have done.
... Thomas à Kempis

All God's revelations are sealed to us until they are opened to us by obedience. You will never get them open by philosophy or thinking. Immediately you obey, a flash of light comes. Let God's truth work in you by soaking in it, not by worrying into it. Obey God in the thing He is at present showing you, and instantly the next thing is opened up. We read tomes on the work of the Holy Spirit when... five minutes of drastic obedience would make things clear as a sunbeam. We say, "I suppose I shall understand these things some day." You can understand them now: it is not study that does it, but obedience. The tiniest fragment of obedience, and heaven opens up and the profoundest truths of God are yours straight away. God will never reveal more truth about Himself till you obey what you know already. Beware of being wise and prudent.
... Oswald Chambers


No Hidding the Facts
Taking advantage of a balmy day in New York, a priest and three other men of the cloth swapped their clerical garb for polos and khakis and time out on the golf course. After several really horrible shots, their caddy asked, "You guys wouldn't be priests by any chance?"

"Actually, yes, we are," one cleric replied. "How did you know?"

"Easy," said the caddy, "I've never seen such bad golf and such clean language!"