Brown's Daily Word & India update12-15-08

Good Morning,
Praise the Lord, for it is Monday. The Lord blessed us wonderfully yesterday all day. We gathered for our family breakfast, a breakfast buffet, at 7a.m. Tom, Dean , Kathy, and Terri cooked up a storm. The St. Petersburg Men's ensemble presented a wonderful concert, presented in Russian. "Love in any language is fluently spoken here." Glenn gave his testimony. It was great morning.
The Lord blessed us during our morning worship services. We went our for caroling in the evening. Praise the Lord for the songs of Christmas. Praise the Lord for Christmas lights. Praise the Lord the way Christmas changes the world.
The Old Testament reading for yesterday, the third Sunday in Advent was taken from Isaiah 61. The prophet Isaiah ministered some 700 years before Jesus was born and brought a message that contained both bad news of judgment and good news of joy, peace, forgiveness and hope. “The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. [JOY] He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, [PEACE] to proclaim freedom for the captives [FORGIVENESS] and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor [HOPE] and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion -- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness [JOY] instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair…”Isaiah looks ahead to the time when glad tidings will be preached to the sad and the sorrowful, to the depressed and the despondent. To “proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” was a promise of a joyful jubilee. This must have been good news to those who were grieving. The “garment of praise” would replace the sackcloth of sadness. Ashes represent anguish while oil stands for joy in the Bible. God’s people had been pummeled with problems and yet, in the midst of the mess of their lives, these words filled them with a longing for something more. They had waited a long time for a special gift from God.
That reminds me of the woman who frantically bought a box of 50 identical Christmas cards so she could get them in the mail on time. She hastily opened each card and signed her name without bothering to read what was printed inside. Several days after they had been mailed, she came across one leftover card and discovered to her dismay that the inside had these words: “This card is just to say, a special gift is on the way.” (She should have read the card before she sent it.) Joy throbs throughout Scripture as a profound, compelling quality of life that transcends the delights and disasters which may dog God’s people. Joy is a divine dimension of living that is not shackled by circumstances. The Hebrew word means, “To leap or spin around with pleasure.” In the New Testament the word refers to “gladness, bliss and celebration.” We can be helped greatly in our journey towards joy if we learn to see the Almighty not as a taskmaster, but as the God of the Universe with a smile on His face. Listen to how God feels about you from Zephaniah 3:17: “The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” God delights in you and breaks out into song when He thinks about you! That’s hard to believe, isn’t it? I love how the Living Bible paraphrases this verse: “Is that a joyous choir I hear? No, it is the Lord himself exulting over you in happy song.” Luke 10:21 says that Jesus “was full of joy.” Acts 16:34 says that the Philippian jailer “…was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole family.” Is joy really what we want this Christmas? If so, then we must receive Jesus as Savior and Lord. Christ was born in Bethlehem but He must be born in you. Corrie Ten Boom once said, “If Jesus were born one thousand times in Bethlehem and not in me, then I would still be lost.” It’s easy to get all sentimental during this season, but we must not substitute sentimentality for salvation. This good news of great joy is “for all people.” God’s mega-message was never intended to just be for one group of people in one part of the world. God’s good news of great joy is for all people everywhere. It is “joy to the world.” “Rejoice, ye who feel that ye are lost; your Saviour comes to seek and save you. Be of good cheer ye who are in prison, for he comes to set you free. Ye, who are famished and ready to die, rejoice that he has consecrated for you a Bethlehem, a house of bread, and he has come to be the bread of life to your souls. Rejoice, O sinners everywhere, for the restorer of the castaways, the Saviour of the fallen is born. Join in the joy, ye saints, for he is the preserver of the saved ones, delivering them from innumerable perils, and he is the sure perfecter of such as he preserves. Jesus is no partial Saviour, beginning a work and not concluding it; but, restoring and upholding, he also perfects and presents the saved ones without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing before his Father’s throne. Rejoice aloud all ye people, let your hills and valleys ring with joy, for a Saviour who is mighty to save is born among you.” - Charles Spurgeon.

Joy to the world,
Brown


Hi Pastor Brown!

I had a real neat thing happen to me at dinner today, and I want to share it with you.

Okay, I decided to go to Boscov's right after church to pick up one last gift. I thought I could pick up something to eat at their little restaurant there. Well, the restaurant was closed. So, I started home. I then decided to stop at Christie's to eat because one of my cousins works there. She wasn't working, so I asked for a table "out of the way". I ate my meal...all the time enjoying the conversation of two nice looking young men sitting across from me. (By young, I mean young enough to be my grandsons!) I thought I heard the word "God" used once in a while. So, I strained to hear more. Sure enough, they said their blessing when the food arrived. Then I listened more closely, and it was obvious they were truly believers. I was thrilled. I only tell you this next part because it is such a vital part of the story. I asked the Lord if He wanted me to pick up their check. I felt strongly He wanted me to do that. I felt all giggly and thought I would just tell them to leave the tip when I left. So, I tore a piece of the paper tablecloth off and wrote a note to the waitress. It said, "I want their check, too." I put an arrow pointing towards them. Lo and behold, when the waitress arrived, I was handing the note to her, and one of the young men said, "She wanted to pick up our check, too." I was speechless, but I finally told the waitress to show them the note. Then they were speechless. They had a questionmark written all over their faces. I said, "I'm a Believer, too, and I enjoyed so much your conversation about God." None of us could believe what was happening. Okay, here's the bottom line: they go to Davis College. One boy is a preacher's kid, and the other boy is from India. I asked him if he knew you. He said no, but he decided that your brother teaches at Davis. The other boy (preacher's kid) said he had met you. I bragged about you to the Indian boy and told him to go out of his way to meet you because he would just love you. I wouldn't be surprised if they show up in one of your services some day. The preacher's kid's name is Steve. Can't believe I didn't get his last name. But the boy from India is Sam They're both beautiful kids and glow with the Love of Jesus. Do you think my meeting them was a coincidence? I don't. I get so discouraged with the way the world is today. These two encouraged my heart soooooooooo much. Believe me, Pastor, I'm not bragging. I'm just so tickled that I had to share this with someone. I thought you would be the logical one. HAVE A GREAT DAY!

Love in Christ,
Your Sister....L

Dear Friends,
Good morning. Merry Christmas. We are just under two weeks away from celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior. We praise the Lord for the Christ of Christmas, who came to preach Good News to the poor, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.
Thank you for your continual prayer for the persecuted and oppressed Christians of Orissa, India. As you know, over 70,000 Christians have been made homeless. Many are still living in refugee camps, under deplorable conditions. It is winter in Orissa now, with night-time temperatures falling to near-freezing. There are over 10,000 refugees living in the camp in G. Udayagiri. This camp is located on the grounds of Hubbock High School, the school which I attended, and from which I graduated in 1964. I personally know many of the people who are living in this camp. We have been sending some financial support to them from time to time, as the Lord has made it available. We would like to be able to send them a special Christmas gift of blankets and saris (women's wear). We would also like to send some gifts for the children - particularly clothing and shoes - at the Dugudi campus. Only 15 of them are still living on the Dugudi campus - because of safety considerations, the rest of the children were sent back to their families.
Twenty-five dollars will buy two blankets or two saris. We would also like to be able to make a gift of at least twenty-five dollars for each child, for the purchase of clothing and shoes.
I appeal to you in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, who came to seek, to save, and to serve the lost, the last, and the least, that we joyfully and prayerful step out in faith to help our brothers and sisters who have lost so much for the love of the Savior. You can make your checks payable to the Union Center United Methodist Church, with the memo line reading "Orissa Mission". Then send your check to the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128 Maple Drive, Endicott, NY 13760. Thank you for caring and sharing at this time of great need.
"Then the King will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.'"
In Christ,
Brown

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06xqOjoMEfw

Mon, 15/12/2008 - 1:34pm The Exodus of Christians from Kandhamal District of Orissa-attention of the Human Rights organisations
The Exodus of Christians from Kandhamal District: There is considerable reduction of refugees in Relief Camps (from 24,000 to 11,000). The claim that those who leave the relief camps are going back to their own villages and settling down in their homes is not true. Most of them have migrated to relief camps in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Jharsuguda, Berhampur and also settled down in rented houses and in the houses of relatives, friends, acquaintances etc. elsewhere. It is estimated that 10,000 to 15,000 Christians of Kandhamal district are living outside the district.
There are 9 camps in Kandhamal run by the government where nearly 12,000 people are staying at present.
Another 5 camps are outside Kandhamal: in Cuttack-1: 140 (65 families), in Bhubaneswar-2: 800(200 families), in Berhampur-1: 400(160 families), in Jharsuguda-1: 2000.
1200 families have left the state.There are also other victims who have left Orissa for Maharastra, Kerala, Goa and other states. The old, women and children are already suffering under the biting winter as they do not have sufficient warm clothes. A dead man was not allowed to be buried in his village as he did not become a Hindu in Sarthaguda of Tikabali block.
Christians are not allowed to harvest the paddy from their own fields in many Gram Panchayats if they do not become Hindus. Ms Lalitha Digal, 45 yrs, wife of Jemadar Digal, was killed at Dodabali village, under Gandringan G.P, under Sarangard police station on 25thNovemeber 2008. Late Digal was staying at the relief camp K. Nuagam, and on 21st Novemeber 2008 she had gone to the village to harvest the paddy. It is reported that she was staying at her friends' house of the same village. She was dragged from the house and killed, thereafter the body has not yet been found. Mr. Jamadar has lodged an FIR at the Sarngard police station through K.Nuagam police out post.
The children/students are the worst sufferers as they are languishing in the camps instead of going to schools.
Looting of Houses, Churches & Religious Houses: As the people had fled because of threats and fear, criminals are looting the homes, churches, religious houses and institutions. They are destroying and burning whatever is left behind.
Non Acceptance of FIRs: FIRs are not accepted in Daringabadi and Sarangoda Police Stations.
There is a strong rumour that the saffron forces have distributed flags to each household and to be put on the housetop so that they would be spared from the attacks in the next round. For this, preparations are underway for making new weapons and country made guns.
posted in: Current Issue, Persecution, East India
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Sun, 14/12/2008 - 10:14pm Christmas, moment of peace and hope for young widows of Orissa
http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=13997&geo=2&size=A
Christmas, moment of peace and hope for young widows of Orissaby Nirmala CarvalhoThe husband of Asmitha Digal, a 25-year-old mother of two daughters, was killed by Hindu fundamentalists during the first days of the pogrom against Christians. The woman testifies to the violence she has suffered, but says that she will not give in to the logic of violence. A Christian activist denounces treatment as "second-class citizens."
Bangalore (AsiaNews) - Leaving behind the trauma, pain, and violence suffered; testifying to the martyrdom suffered by one's loved ones without giving in to the logic of hatred, and issuing a message of peace and hope ahead of Christmas. In this spirit, 24 young widows of the district of Kandhamal, in Orissa, have recounted the anti-Christian pogrom unleashed by Hindu fundamentalists.
The women have left the refugee camp in Orissa, and have come to Bangalore. The trip was organized by activists of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), in order to permit the women to celebrate the Christmas holiday. In Orissa, tension remains high, and the Christian community has been threatened with new violence in the case of celebrations connected to Christmas.
Among the many stories of women marked by pain and suffering, AsiaNewshas gathered that of Asmitha Digal, from the village of Bataguda, 25 years old and with two young children, whose husband was barbarously killed by fundamentalists: "On August 26th [editor's note: one of the first days of the anti-Christian violence in Orisa] my husband Rajesh came by train, got off at Muniguda station and began walking to Kandhamal as there was no other transport and all the roads were blocked with felled trees. He was accompanied by a young Hindu boy Tunguru Mallick."
"At around 9 am," Asmitha continues, "they had reached Paburia village, they were stopped by a mob of nearly 60 RSS extremists [editor's note: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a nationalist paramilitary group] armed with long wooden clubs and batons, they snatched Rajesh's satchel, which had a Bible and gospel tracts. Mallick ran away and hid in some bushes, they thrashed Rajesh and told him to embrace Hinduism which he meekly refused. This angered the extremists who threw him into a pit and covered him with mud neck-downwards, and once again told him to become Hindu, yet again Rajesh refused, then they took huge stones and stoned him to death."
Asmitha says that she tried to report the case, but received no response or compensation. For her, the trip to Bangalore represents an opportunity to issue a message of hope. "I have to live for my children, my husband is with Jesus, and Jesus will be born for us at Christmas to bring us a new life. Jesus comes as a little baby, so helpless and born in a stable, our relief camps are like stables - bare tents, and we like Jesus are shivering in the cold, but Christ is alive and this is what makes the radicals afraid, we pray and believe in a living God."