Brown's Daily Word 10-8-08

Good Morning,
Praise the Lord for this new day the Lord has made. Praise the Lord for the Freedom we have in Jesus Christ the great liberator. The world defines freedom as the license to do whatever we want. Human freedom flows from obedience. Our true freedom comes from our total and joyful surrender to the Lordship and the authority of Jesus.
Students of American history know well of Patrick Henry’s 1775 speech urging military action against British troops. Henry ended with these stirring words: “Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” The crowd rose to their feet shouting: “To Arms! To Arms!”
The poem on the plaque in the base of the Statue of Liberty, The New Colossus, Emma Lazarus, 1883:

"Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
The hope of freedom fills our history, thrills our souls, and unites us in a common cause in this uncommon country. But we are not the only people to long for freedom, nor the only ones to be defined by it. Israel, the people chosen by God, dated their calendar from the day of independence, the day in which they were delivered from slavery. And when Jehovah gives the law that sets them apart from all other nations, he begins the same way: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” (Exodus 20.2). I believe it is accurate to say that freedom is a universal desire.
It is good news, therefore, that for freedom Christ has set his people free (cf. Galatians 5.1). Our hearts ache for the freedom Jesus offers. Not the freedom to sin, but to live as God intends. In order that we might possess it, first notice…

We Find True Freedom in Submission to Jesus (John 8.31-32) Jesus offers the incomparable blessing of freedom in his gospel. John Calvin: “All feel and acknowledge that slavery is a most wretched thing. Since the Gospel delivers us from this, it follows that the treasure of the blessed life comes from the Gospel.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, (pastor imprisoned and executed in Nazi Germany), Cost of Discipleship, “The demand for absolute liberty brings men to the depths of slavery.”
Bonhoeffer understood that created beings cannot have absolute liberty. We must submit either to the God who gives freedom or to sin which tyrannizes.
The world defines “freedom” as the license to do whatever we want. But sin causes us to want that which destroys. The alcoholic wants to be drunk; he will lose his health in so doing and, one day, will lose the freedom to stop drinking. The world’s definition of freedom will not work because our sin nature causes us to want that which will destroy us.
Freedom is not simply being released from the guilt of sin in conversion; it is victory over the power of sin in you daily walk. Many people make a great beginning of the faith, but fall under sin’s tyranny when the freshness of the feelings have worn off, when the world and the devil begin to tempt and tease, and when the desires of our sinful nature rise and announce their preferences. It is not so much beginning, but abiding in Christ’s word that marks a true work of God’s grace.
In His Freedom,
Brown


Report from the Pastor Search Committee:

We do not have a happy report to give. We have not been able to find a
suitable candidate for this church, though we have one promising prospect.
Thank you for your suggestions. We have followed up on each one with interviews or by calling at least three references. The following is our confidential report.

ADAM: Good man but has problems with his wife. One reference told us how he and his wife enjoyed walking nude in the woods.
NOAH: Former pastorate of 120 years with no converts. Prone to unrealistic building projects.

JOSEPH: A big thinker, but a braggart; believes in dream interpreting and has a prison record.
MOSES: A modest and meek man, but poor communicator; even stutters at times. Sometimes blows his stack and acts rashly in business meetings. Some say he left an earlier church over a murder charge.

DEBORAH: One word --- Female.
DAVID: The most promising leader of all until we discovered the affair he had with his neighbor's wife.

SOLOMON: Great preacher, but serious woman problem.
ELIJAH: Prone to depression; collapses under pressure.
HOSEA: A tender and loving pastor, but our people could never handle his wife's occupation.

JONAH: Told us he was swallowed up by a great fish. He said the fish later spit him out on the shore near here. We hung up.
AMOS: Too much of a country hick. Backward and unpolished. With some seminary training, he might have promise; but he has a hang-up against wealthy people.

JOHN: Says he is a Baptist, but doesn't dress like one. May be too
Pentecostal. Tends to lift both hands in the air to worship when he gets
excited. You know we limit to one hand. Sleeps in the outdoors, has a weird diet, and provokes denominational leaders.
PETER: Too blue collar. Has a bad temper, even said to have cursed. He's a loose cannon.

PAUL: Powerful CEO type and fascinating preacher. However, he's short on tact, unforgiving with young ministers, harsh, and has been known to preach all night.
TIMOTHY: Too young.

JESUS: Has had popular times, but once when his church grew to 5000, He managed to offend them all; and his church dwindled down to twelve people. Seldom stays in one place very long. And, of course, he is single.
JUDAS: His references are solid. A steady plodder. Conservative. Good
connections. Knows how to handle money. We're inviting him to preach this Sunday in view of a call.