Brown's Daily Word 5-8-08

Praise the Lord!
He is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. In Psalm 91 we read,“‘Because he loves me,’ says the Lord, ‘I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.’” If you have a love relationship with God then even the greatest disappointments in life have meaning and purpose, because all of life finds its meaning and purpose in him. Our relationship with God is the filter through which we look at all of life. That relationship helps us to interpret all the things which happen to us. We see him standing there in the midst of the situation we face, holding out his arms to us. I love the story of Jesus’ disciples when they leave Jesus on the shore and head out onto the sea of Galilee. A terrible storm arose and they were straining at the oars just trying to survive. The wind came up against them and it looked as though the sea was going to swallow them. But, suddenly, something worse than the storm frightened them. Their worst fears were realized as they saw what they thought was a ghost floating across the waves. They did not realize it was Jesus walking on the water toward them. Screams of terror arose from the boat. But just as they thought they were going to perish, they heard a familiar voice say, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid” (Mark 6:50).
I believe that has been the experience of Christians throughout the ages. Just as their worst fears were realized, just as they thought the storms of life were going to overcome them and the waves would swallow them, just as they thought they were going to perish, they heard a familiar voice call out to them saying, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid. It is not disaster, it is me!” See him coming to you now. Hear him speak through the storm, “It is I. Don’t be afraid.” Hear him say through the psalmist, “Because you love me I will rescue you. Because you have acknowledged my name I will protect you. I will be with you in trouble. I will deliver you.”
In Jesus who calms storm.
Brown

Please Pray for :
Our sister-in-law, my brother Potel's wife in Orissa, India
Jerry A, as he awaits upcoming surgery
Grayson , as he prepares for upcoming surgery,
.( For healing and full restoration) Connie, Carol, Caroline, Gail, Harvey, David, Dave, Denny, Jack, Wilbur, Alfred, Irene . Laurie.
Happy Birthday to our daughter, Sunita, (on May 1), and to our Friend Linda. . . Sweet servants of Jesus.