Brown's Daily Word 10-7-08

Good Morning,
Over the last few weeks we have seen great turmoil in the financial world. It is quickly becoming a global crisis. As Christians we are deeply concerned about it. We are called to intercede for our nation, for our leaders, and for our financial institutions, so that the Lord would forgive us and heal our land. There is a wake- up call for us to turn to the Lord of grace and mercy for His power and for His mercy. The earth belongs to the Lord and the fullness thereof. He owns every thing. He gives us generously and lavishly. He calls us to be faithful and trustworthy stewards. He calls us to invest in His kingdom. He takes away from us fear and tyranny. He calls us to be the partners in His miracles as serve Him with our time, talents and treasures.
According to Forbes Magazine, Warren Buffet is the wealthiest man on earth, with a net worth of $62 billion. Comparing his net worth to our nation’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product), however, his relative wealth is less than half of what John D. Rockefeller had when he died. Rockefeller’s $1.4 billion was about 1.5% of the United States GDP; Buffet’s wealth is less than 1% of our country’s GDP. The story has been told that John D. Rockefeller was once asked, “What is the secret for becoming wealthy?” Rockefeller responded: “There are three simple rules for anyone who wants to become rich: 1) Go to work early. 2) Stay at work late. 3) Find oil on your land. This is probably good advice for those who seek wealth, today even more than in the 1870's when Rockefeller’s Standard Oil created a monopoly out of its headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio. C. S. Lewis describes this beautifully in "Weight of Glory", “If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” In 1 Timothy 6:6, Paul reminds Timothy, “There is great gain in godliness, if you have with it, contentment.” One of Aesop’s fables tells the story of a Miser who buried his gold in a secret place in his garden. Every day he went to the spot, dug up the treasure and counted it piece by piece to make sure it was all there. He made so many trips that a Thief, who had been observing him, guessed what the Miser had hidden, and one night quietly dug up the treasure and made off with it. When the Miser discovered his loss, he was overcome with grief and despair. He groaned and cried and tore his hair. A passerby heard his cries and asked what had happened. “My gold! O my gold!” cried the Miser, “someone has robbed me!” “Why did you put it there? Why not keep it in the house where you could easily get it when you had to buy things?” “Buy!” screamed the Miser angrily. “Why, I would never think of spending any of it.” The stranger picked up a large stone and threw it into the hole and said, “If that is the case, cover up that stone. It is worth just as much to you as the treasure you lost!” Each of us wants to steer clear of pain and misery, flee temptation, escape the snare, stay away from senseless and harmful desires, avoid ruin and destruction, and not pierce ourselves with many pangs. These personal dangers would entrap and destroy us; we all agree they should be avoided, but how do we do this? Some witty person said, “Money will buy: * a bed but not sleep; * books but not brains; * food but not appetite; * finery but not beauty; * a house but not a home; * medicine but not health; * luxuries but not culture; * amusements but not happiness; * a crucifix but not a savior; * religion but not salvation.” Wealth is funny that way, isn’t it? It promises happiness, but the more I set my heart on wealth, the more it clouds my vision of what would really make me happy.
There are two things we should note:
1. Faith in God Demands that We Store Up Treasures (1Timothy 6.17-19) 2. Be careful of riches; they make us prideful. We begin to imagine that we are better than others because we have “earned” more cash than some. Money also sings a siren song of salvation. Those who are rich appear to have the power to escape the problems and pains of this world. As a result, a subtle switch happens. Instead of placing my hope in escape from this evil world, my hope slides onto escaping the problems and pains of this world. As a result, I begin to see the pleasures of this world as the place of fulfillment, rather than the presence of God. So, what shall we do? We are advised to invest our wealth, and do so wisely. We should think carefully and prayerfully about every penny you spend. We are to do good with our wallets, to be rich in good works, to be ready to share, to feed the poor. We are to be generous, especially to those in the family of God. We are to be ready to share with those who have need. Why? By so doing we store up treasure for ourselves in heaven. Please, we must not be foolhardy—not one of us can take it with us. We can, however, send it ahead. In his chapter, “Money”, in "Desiring God", John Piper observed that many Christians are confused about how to use their money because they do not realize the state we are in. “There is a war going on. All talk of a Christian’s right to live luxuriantly ‘as a child of the King’ in this atmosphere sounds hollow—especially since the King himself is stripped for battle…. A wartime lifestyle implies that there is a great and worthy cause for which to spend and be spent.” To illustrate, Piper drew the reader’s attention to the Queen Mary, now a floating museum in California. This great ship was built as a luxury liner, and it served the wealthy with lavish comforts. Part of the ship has been restored to show the way it was outfitted in all its regal glory, with grand dining rooms set with china and gold utensils and large, elegant staterooms. Three thousand people could travel the seas in the grandest luxury accommodations. However, if you move your eyes across the partition, you will see the way the ship was refitted for WWII, “The wartime austerities present a sharp contrast. One metal tray with indentations replaces fifteen plates and saucers. Single beds were replaced by bunks, not just double, but eight tiers high.” No longer was the ship the temporary lavish home for 3000 well-to-do socialites vacationing in comfort, but it became the transport vessel to 15,000 soldiers, ferried to war. What would cause the owners of one of the most beautiful, elegant, luxurious ships ever made, to paint it dingy grey and submit it to the indignities of being stripped of its glory and filled with filthy soldiers? Nothing less than the survival of a nation depending on it would engender that response. Have we been lulled to sleep by the comforts of our wealth and forgotten we are at war? I want you to send your wealth to the front lines, to supply the army and fight the battle. Then your Father will see that your heart is thrilled by his cause, and will reward you. Will you lay up treasures in heaven? You think about that.

In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATBLXyJxyTI
Rice raises concern over violence against Christians in Orissa state Published : Oct 6, 2008
NEW DELHI, Oct. 5 (APP): The US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has raised concern about violence against Christians with the Indian leadership on Saturday. Communal violence against Christian community has been continuing for the last several weeks during which the Hindu oufits attacked members of Christian community and their properties. Dozens of Christians have been killed during the violence.
Rice also raised this issue during meeting with the Leader of Opposition L K Advani as BJP is ruling the state, media reports said.
Earlier, French President Nicolas Sarkozy along with the chief of the European Union, Jose Manuel Barosso had strongly raised their concerns with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Marseilles last week.
L K Advani reportedly took up with Rice about the issue of US refusal to grant visa to Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi.
Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil has warned to impose President’s rule in Orissa if the violence is not stopped.
Talking to a private channel, he termed the inaction of the NDA-led Orissa government to check violence a “violation of the Constitution.”
He said security forces and helicopters had been provided to the state to control the situation. Six warnings have been sent to the Orissa state over the issue.
Meanwhile, according to reports, the sporadic incidents of violence are still continuing in Kandamal district of the state.. Thousands of Christians have fled to the dense jungles to escape from violence. More in NEWS REPORTS
Weird Facts - Oldies but goodies

Did you know that Jimmy Carter was the first U.S. president to have been born in a hospital?
Or that Eskimos use refrigerators to keep food FROM freezing?
The sentence "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." Uses every letter in the alphabet. (developed by Western Union to test telex/twx communications)
In every episode of Seinfeld there is a Superman somewhere.
Average life span of a major league baseball: 7 pitches.
A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why.
In the 1940s, the FCC assigned television's Channel 1 to mobile Services(two-way radios in taxicabs, for instance) but did not Pre-number the other channel assignments. That is why your TV set has channels 2and up, but no channel 1.
The San Francisco Cable cars are the only mobile National Monuments.
The only 15 letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is uncopyrightable.
Hang On Sloopy is the official rock song of Ohio.
Did you know that there are coffee flavored PEZ?
The reason firehouses have circular stairways is from the days of yore when the engines were pulled by horses. The horses were stabled on the ground floor and figured out how to walk up straight staircases.
The airplane Buddy Holly died in was the "American Pie." (Thus the name of the Don McLean song.)
When opossums are playing 'possum, they are not "playing." They actually pass out from sheer terror.
The Main Library at Indiana University sinks over an inch every year because when it was built, engineers failed to take into account the weight of all the books that would occupy the building.
The highest point in Pennsylvania is lower than the lowest point in Colorado.
Nutmeg is extremely poisonous if injected intravenously.
If you have three quarters, four dimes, and four pennies, you have $1.19.You also have the largest amount of money in coins without being able to make change for a dollar.
No NFL team, which plays its home games in a domed stadium, has ever won a Superbowl.
The first toilet ever seen on television was on "Leave It to Beaver".