Brown's daily word 9-4-07

Good Morning,
Praise the Lord for this brand new month of September. Saturday, the first of September was one of the ten best days for us as a family. Sunita and Andy were united in the bond of Christian marriage on that day at 2 p.m. at the historic Sarah Jane Memorial United Methodist Church in Johnson City. The Church was full of people, the families and friends of Sunita and Andy. The Lord made the day almost perfect and glorious and beyond belief by anointing it by His Holy Presence and power. The entire ceremony became an event of worship, praise, and adoration. The whole event of ceremony and worship lasted close to two hours. It felt like we were there for under an hour. Praise the Lord for His faithfulness and mercy. The Lord brought Sunita and Andy together and united them in the bond of Holy Matrimony. He has begun a very good work in them. It is our prayer and trust in Him that He will enable them to finish the journey well on earth and continue beyond this earthly pilgrimage.
Shannon Faulkner made headlines a few years ago as she crusaded to become the first female cadet at the Citadel, an all-male military academy. After a prolonged court battle, as you may remember, she finally won the right to enroll, but she couldn’t endure the exercise program required of all cadets. A few days later she dropped out and we have heard almost nothing of her since.
In contrast, you may remember the professional tennis player, Monica Seles, aho was attacked by a crazed man who jumped out of the stands & plunged a knife into her back. It was a terrifying experience, but she did not allow that to stop her. Once her wound healed, she began a rigorous exercise program, regained her strength, and last year won the British Open & placed 2nd in the U.S. Open.
I like to hear stories about people who won’t give up. Quitters do not inspire, but people who stay with a commitment even though the going gets tough are a source of great inspiration to all.
Do you remember the man who came to Jesus and said, "I’ll follow you wherever you go"? Jesus said, "Before you make that kind of commitment, you need to realize that foxes have holes & the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." In other words, "if you follow me, realize that there will be difficulties. There will be times when you will not know where you’ll sleep, or where your next meal is coming from. There will be difficult & discouraging times. But after you realize that, and then put your hands to the plow," He said, "don’t look back."
When people start the Christian life, some quit when the going gets tough. They can become an object of ridicule to some and a source of discouragement to others. That’s the reason Hebrews 12:1-3 is so important. "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders & the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, & sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."
In this passage the Christian life is not compared to a wind sprint, but to a marathon. In a wind sprint you run as fast as you can for a short distance, and speed is the critical factor. In a marathon, however, endurance is the critical factor. Will you make it all the way to the end?
Paul said, "I’ve kept the faith. I’ve finished the course. Therefore there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness. And not for me only..." Finishing the race is critically important for all of us who would be followers of Jesus. And this Scripture gives us holy encouragement, to help us run the race of life faithfully. We are reminded that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, and that we can be inspired by those who have gone before.
Notice that chapter 12 begins with the word "Therefore." That connects it with the previous chapter, and in chapter 11 the writer gives a long list of people who have been found faithful. In vs. 7, he mentions Noah. Do you remember Noah? He spent 120 years of his life building an ark - 120 years! Then I can feel Noah whispering in our ears, saying, "it took me 120 years to build the ark, and it was never easy. People ridiculed me and said, `Are you sure you really heard God? Maybe you just heard someone else.’ I tried to warn them of the judgment that was coming, but no one would listen. So I kept on building, and when the floods came the ark became the vehicle of our salvation. You need to keep on, keeping on, too."
Next, in vs. 8, is Abraham. Abraham, called away from his home in Ur of the Chaldees to a place where God would lead him. Abraham was in his old age when he was told that he and Sarah would conceive and bear a son. The same Abraham was told to take this precious son to the top of the mountain and offer him as a sacrifice. This Abraham passed every test. So when you become discouraged, here is Abraham whispering ,he says, "if you follow God, the world will probably think you crazy because God’s ways are not their ways. But listen carefully to what He tells you, follow in His steps, and be true to His will."
Go on to vs. 22 and the story of Joseph. Remember that Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers. He was taken to Egypt where he was accused of crimes he didn’t commit, and thrown into prison. He was down about as low as a person can go, yet he remained true to God. Then the tables were turned, and suddenly he was very powerful as the Prime Minister of Egypt. He was given full control of money, grain, food, and people. Yet, when he is at the top, he is still faithful to God.
So here is Joseph saying, "Look, it doesn’t take much to be faithful when things are going your way. But when you are at the bottom and everything seems to be falling apart, make sure that you’re still faithful."
There are included such men as Moses, Samson, Samuel, David, and more besides. There is a great cloud of witnesses who gather to cheer us on. They whisper in our ear when we become discouraged, and they say to us, "Don’t give up! Don’t lose heart. Don’t quit, whatever you do."
When I get discouraged, I think not only of the great saints in Scripture, but also of people who have crossed my path who have inspired me. We look to others for inspiration, and sometimes we are the inspiration for someone else. Someone is always watching us, and if we stumble and fall then they, too, will be discouraged.
The writer of Hebrews says is that we need to be prepared for the struggles that we will inevitably have to face, and he begins by saying, "...throw off everything that hinders." Then the writer says that we also need to get rid of "the sin that so easily entangles" us. Now that is probably the best word we can find for what sin does in our lives. It’s entangling. The writer says that we need to throw aside all those things that hinder us and all those things that entangle. Then he says, "Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."
Marathon runners tell us that there are two critical times in the race. The first one is at the beginning. When you begin to run you feel so good that the temptation is to run too fast too soon. If you do this you expend all your energy and don’t have enough left for the end of the race. Some Christians have done that, too, haven’t they? They started out with great promise but didn’t finish the race.
The second critical time in a marathon is at the halfway point. You suddenly realize that you still have as far to go as you’ve already run and you’re already very tired. Runners call it "hitting the wall." You have come to the end of your endurance and you’re not sure you can put one foot in front of the other anymore.
I have seen this happen in the Christian life, too. You have been around for a while and you’ve fought the battles, but you’re not sure there is enough energy left to make it to the end. The temptation is to quit. But the writer says that we are to "run with perseverance the race that’s marked out for us." Don’t grow weary and don’t lose heart.
The final word is this, we must focus our attention on Jesus. Notice what he says, "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."
Jesus was opposed. Jesus was persecuted. People made fun of Him. Yet He stayed the course. He ran the race. He paid the price. So the writer says that when we get weary and tired we are to "fix our eyes on Jesus." Every Christian needs to hear this because it’s so easy to quit. It is easy to say, "I don’t have to do this anymore." But the writer says, "Focus on Jesus. He’s the author and the finisher, the perfecter of our faith," and one day we’re going to stand before Him as our judge.
Romans 3:23 says, "There is no difference, for all have sinned & fallen short of the glory of God." One of these days we are all going to stand before the judge of the universe, as guilty as we can be. The evidence will be overwhelmingly against us. The accuser will be there to accuse us of all the sins we have committed.
Our only hope is to claim the benefit of the cross. Paul said, "God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of Jesus Christ." In the same way the writer of Hebrews says, "Focus on Jesus because the only hope we have is our hope in Him."
Run the race with patience. Don’t lose heart. Don’t become discouraged. Don’t quit. Keep on running the race that has been set before us.
In Jesus , the Author and the Perfecter of our faith,
Brown



"I had feelings of fear about the future...The devil kept on whispering, "It's all right now, but what about afterward? You are going to be very lonely"....And I turned to my God in a kind of desperation and said "Lord, what can I do? How can I go on to the end?" And He said, "None of them that trust in Me shall be desolate." That word has been with me ever since."

Amy Carmichael
On 'weighing the cost' of full time missionary work

Human Resource Director
One day while walking down the street a highly successful HR Director was tragically hit by a bus and she died, Her soul arrived up in heaven where she was met at the Pearly Gates by St. Peter himself.

Welcome to Heaven," said St. Peter. "Before you get settled in though, it seems we have a problem. You see, strangely enough, we've never once had a Human Resources Director make it this far and we're not really sure what to do with you."

"No problem, just let me in" said the woman. " Well, I'd like to, but I have higher orders. What we're going to do is let you have a day in Hell and a day in


Heaven and then you can choose whichever one you want to spend an eternity in."

"Actually, I think I've made up my mind, I prefer to stay in Heaven," said the woman. "Sorry, we have rules..." And with that St. Peter put the executive in an elevator and it went down-down-down to hell. The doors opened and she found herself stepping out onto the putting green of a beautiful golf course. In the distance was a country club and standing in front of her were all her friends -- fellow executives that she had worked with and they were all dressed in evening gowns and cheering for her.

They ran up and kissed her on both cheeks and they talked about old times. They played an excellent round of golf and at night went to the country club where she enjoyed an excellent steak and lobster dinner. She met the Devil who was actually a really nice guy (kinda cute) and she had a great time telling jokes and dancing. She was having such a good time that before she knew it, it was time to leave. Everybody shook her hand and waved good-bye as she got on the elevator. The elevator went up-up-up and opened back up at the Pearly Gates and found St. Peter waiting for her.

"Now it's time to spend a day in heaven," he said. So she spent the next 24 hours lounging around on clouds and playing the harp and singing. She had a great time and before she knew it her 24 hours were up and St. Peter came and got her. "So, you've spent a day in hell and you've spent a day in heaven. Now you must choose your eternity," he said. The woman paused for a second and then replied, "Well, I never thought I'd say this, I mean, Heaven has been really great and all, but I think I had a better time in Hell."

So St. Peter escorted her to the elevator and again she went down-down-down back to Hell. When the doors of the elevator opened she found herself standing in a desolate wasteland covered in garbage and filth. She saw her friends were dressed in rags and were picking up the garbage and putting it in sacks. The Devil came up to her and put his arm around her.

I don't understand," stammered the woman, "yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and a country club and we ate lobster and we danced and had a great time. Now all there is, is a wasteland of garbage and all my friends look miserable."

The Devil looked at her and smiled. "Yesterday we were recruiting you, today you're staff..."