Brown's Daily Word 1-3-08

Good Morning,
We are having our first winter blast of the new year. We have the good news that this winter blast is very temporary. It will be warming up by Friday. It will be in the 50's by next week. Like this winter blast all human suffering and afflictions are temporary . In 2 Cor. 4 Paul calls it" Momentary afflictions" .

The month of January gets its name from the Roman god Janus. He is depicted as a two-faced man. One face looks towards the past and the other towards the future. Our life on Earth can be seen as a “pilgrim” or a “tourist”? . We'll look at the contrast between the biblical “pilgrim” and “tourist” and see how different they are in the story of Abraham. God calls us to be “pilgrims” under His rules, rather than mere “tourists” doing “our own thing”, in the journey of life.

Abraham’s journeying was at a different level. His was a pilgrimage from the city of mankind to the city of God. We're told by the first martyr, Stephen, “The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia” (Acts 7:2), that’s ancient Babylon, now Iraq and Iran. Abraham’s contemporaries had a religious culture of worshipping the moon and kneeling before idols, but following this encounter with the one and only true God he was told to distance himself from this city of human arrogance and wickedness. The Bible’s account makes the point that it wasn't Abraham who found God; it was God who found Abraham. He received a call to which he had to respond, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you” (Gen 12:1). Abraham isn't called simply to adopt a new set of ideas but which would leave his outward life untouched. It was something far more radical; it was to be a crossroad in his life. It was a call to a decisive turning away from the past, a public rejection of his ancestors’ pagan religion.

The commentary in Hebrews tells us that “By faith Abraham obeyed.” He put the past behind him. His response is an example for all of us. But it was no easy matter. The sacrifice must have been enormous. It wasn't that he was a man without responsibilities. He had an elderly father, his wife and other family members to consider. He left a life of comfort and luxury for one where there were no financial certainties. He left the security of the town where he was a citizen for an unknown destination, for the life of a nomad. He put his entire future into God’s hands without any guarantees. There comes times in our lives when we have to make a break and move on. This will mean different things for each of us. But God challenges all who wish to follow Him about priorities. It’s a decision we have to make in our Christian pilgrimage. Jesus reminded Peter when he felt a bit discouraged, “No-one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life” (Luke 18:19).

The writer of Hebrews emphasizes that “He (Abraham) obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.” He'd been told to travel light, leaving behind his country, people and household. This is quite unlike most tourists who fill their suitcases with “everything but the kitchen sink!” The baggage that God had in mind was anything that could hold him back from developing a quality relationship with Him. There are many things that hold us back on our spiritual pilgrimage. God wants His people to free themselves from the culture of this world and to be committed to the values of His kingdom. When we become Christians, God presents us, through the Scriptures, with His agenda. It’s a new set of values and new patterns of behavior.

I read the autobiography of George Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury. Soon after he became a Christian he was called up to do his National Service in the Royal Air Force. He writes that the first test of his Christian discipleship was to follow the advice of his vicar which he found quite daunting: “George,” he said, “you must disclose that you are a Christian right from the start. Don’t be ashamed of your faith. When the lights go out, kneel by your bed and say your prayers.” He goes on to write that: “This seemed easy enough to agree to when in church, but I confess that as I surveyed the crowded billet on my first evening, with the good-natured banter of high-spirited young men all around me, my resolved wavered. Nevertheless, taking a deep breath, I knelt and spent several minutes in prayer.”
Abraham had to maintain his faith in God’s promises in difficult circumstances when the future was far from clear. God told him to leave Ur and gave him very clear promises for the future: “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you.” He was told “to go to the land I will show you.” God often reveals things to us on a “need to know basis.” He tells us some things, but never everything. Abraham received God’s promises in installments. That’s where faith comes in. If all the details of our future pilgrimage were known to us, faith would be redundant, but it doesn't work like that. God does this so that He can develop ongoing faith and friendship with us. Obeying God’s word isn't always the easy option. It can lead to obstacles, hardships and problems, with the temptation to take the line of least resistance. Had Abraham wanted prosperity and comfort, he would have done better to stay in Ur, or even at the halfway stage at Haran. And maybe he wondered, as we do, if his problems were a sign that he had gone out of God’s will. Perhaps he was tempted at times to turn his camel round and go back home. But he kept his nerve, stayed the course and learned that even when you get to Canaan, the place of your inheritance, while still on Earth, you have to keep trusting in God to the very end of life. There’s always an unexplained element to make sure we remain dependent on God. Abraham obeyed as best he could and left everything else to God. Hebrews tells us, “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going” (11:8). That’s the broad picture but there were many difficulties on the way, some of his own making. The biblical record doesn't gloss over the defects of the heroes of the faith. The basic instruction was to “leave your father’s household” but not only did he take his father along, he also took his nephew, Lot, as well. Lot didn't have the committed faith of his uncle. He was a “tourist” rather than a “pilgrim”. Genesis recounts the conflict between the herdsmen of uncle and nephew because there wasn't sufficient pasture together for both their herds. Abraham, although the senior man, generously gave Lot the first choice, an offer he couldn't refuse. The older man, the “pilgrim”, was following God’s values and ways of doing things, of putting others first and living in peace. The younger, the “tourist”, was self-seeking at the cost of the other, and took advantage of the fertile plain by the River Jordan although dangerously close to the wickedly pagan cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. It wasn't long before he was entrapped by their culture, with terrible results for his family. We do well to remember the warning words of Jesus: “Remember Lot’s wife!” (Luke 17:32). Many of God’s promises are conditional on our obedience. This doesn't mean that God breaks His covenant of love with us because He’s unable to do that. Abraham was thus enabled to: PRESS ON TOWARDS THE GOAL

We can see from Abraham’s experience that some promises didn't come true in his lifetime: the land of Canaan was lived in but never really belonged to him; the nation he was promised was limited to two sons; the great name he was promised had to wait for centuries; and the blessing through him to all people on the Earth isn't yet complete. It’s been said that many of God’s cheques are post-dated! But you may be sure that they are or will be honoured! Abraham had to be patient and to expect their fulfillment through faith and we must learn to do the same. We need to remember that like Abraham, we are on a pilgrimage that will never end until we get to heaven. You'll have heard the story of two missionaries returning home at the end of their ministry. When they reached their home railway station there was a band playing and the city dignitaries waiting on the platform - but it wasn't for them. For a moment they were downcast as there was no-one to welcome them but then they said to each other, “It doesn't matter, we're not ‘home’ yet!” Like Abraham they “looked forward to the city with foundations whose architect and builder is God.”
In Him,
Brown
ORISSA PERSECUTION UPDATE

Orissa witnessed fresh incidents of violence in Kandhamal district of Orissa as late as January 2, 2008. The violence came in the wake of the Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil visit to the strife torn areas to take stock of the situation.

At least five shops were gutted and more than 10 houses set on fire at Gadapur near Brahmanigaon, the place where the communal tension first took place on December 24. The Christian-dominated village was among the worst-affected in the ongoing communal violence that began on the Christmas eve. According to local sources at least 400 houses and six churches were attacked and set on fire in this village on the 25th and 26th of December.

Unconfirmed reports suggest that ten people have died in the violence in various parts of Kandhamal district. The official toll stands at two persons.

Local sources have informed Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) that many Christian families continue to hide in forests and hills in fear of further attacks, without any access to food or water battling the cold. Their homes have been destroyed, property vandalised and family scattered. One hundred and forty two homeless families are at the relief camps set up at Baliguda.

EFI, along with other Christian agencies have met with the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, Vice-President, Mr. Mohammad Hamid Ansari, Union Home Minister Mr Shivraj Patil and Justice S. Rajendra Babu, Chairperson, Nation Human Rights Commission to apprise them of the situation. Christian groups have demanded an independent inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation, not the judicial inquiry proposed by the state government. Christian agencies have further demanded that adequate compensation be provided to families who have lost life and property due to the violence.

Director General of Police, Gopal Chandra Nanda in a press conference on Wednesday told reporters that 80 persons had been arrested for their role in the violence and cases had been registered against 40 of them.

The Government has announced that the families whose houses had been burnt down by the attackers would be provided with one dwelling unit each under the Indira Awas Yojana, a government scheme to provide housing. Those whose houses had been damaged partially would get Rs. 10,000 each as compensation. The next of kin of those killed in the violence would be given Rs. 1 lakh each as ex-gratia from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.

EFI requests you to continue remembering the Christian brothers and sisters who have been affected by the violence in Orissa.