Brown's Daily Word 6-10-09

Good morning,
Praise the Lord for this new day. Morning has broken; I heard the birds sing so sweetly starting around 4.35 AM. The moon was waning, making room for the brilliant sun, chasing away the darkness. Praise Jesus who is the author and the maker of this day. We will meet for our mid-week service starting at 6 PM, with a hot and happy meal followed by the Bible study and prayer meeting at 6:30. We will studying Revelation 3 this evening. Those of you living in the vicinity, please join us. It will be a great treat to feast on the Word of the Lord.
In his book, "In the Eye of the Storm", author Max Lucado described the following scene.. "An old man walks down a Florida beach. The sun sets like an orange ball on the horizon. The waves slap the sand. The smell of salt water stings the air. The beach is vacant. No sun to entice the sunbathers. Not enough light for the fisherman. So, aside from a few joggers and strollers, this gentleman is alone. "He carries a bucket in his bony hand. A bucket of shrimp. It's not for him. It's not for the fish. It's for the sea gulls. "He walks to an isolated pier cast in gold by the setting sun. He steps to the end of the pier. The time has come for the weekly ritual. "He stands and waits. "Soon the sky becomes a mass of dancing dots. The evening silence gives way to the screeching of birds. They fill the sky and then cover the moorings. They are on a pilgrimage to meet the old man. "For a half hour or so, the bushy- browed, shoulder-bent gentleman will stand on the pier, surrounded by the birds of the sea, until the bucket is empty. "But even after the food is gone, his feathered friends still linger. They linger as if they're attracted to more than just food. They perch on his hat. They walk on the pier. And they all share a moment together." This elderly gentleman is committed to the task of feeding the seagulls, though the task seems very mundane. We live in a society that both fears and avoids commitment. Nobody wants to be committed to anything these days. In fact, the operational attitude today appears to be, "I want to keep my options open. I don’t want to be tied down. I don’t want to commit to anything because life is a buffet, and I don’t want to get to the end and say, `Oh, I filled my plate up with the wrong stuff!’" This philosophy of life is tragic because the fact is that we cannot live without making commitments. Nothing truly great ever happens without the making of commitments. Lack of commitment leads to lack of focus, and lack of focus leads to a life of drifting along with the tide. "If you want to be my follower you must love me more than your own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters; yes, more than your own life. Otherwise you CANNOT be my disciple. And you CANNOT be my disciple if you do not carry your own cross and follow me; No one can become my disciple without giving up EVERYTHING for me." (Luke 14:25,26,33 ) Jesus teaches us that we have to love Him more than our parents, more than our husband or wife, more than our kids, and more than our own lives. It calls for a strong commitment. Jesus Christ has a right to make such a call for commitment in our lives. He made us. He created us. He loves us. He has a plan for each of our lives. He died on the cross for us and fought the powers of death and hell for us. Nobody else has ever done that. Nobody else can claim those three things -- that you were made by them, that you were planned for a purpose by them, and that they died for you. Jesus, in essence, says, "I gave My life for you. I expect your life." He deserves first place in our lives.
Some people imagine that Jesus is just a piece of their lives. Their lives are compartmentalized, with a section labeled "career", a section labeled "relationships", a section labeled "family", etc. Jesus does not desire to be just a small part of our lives. He wants to be our life. When a pilot taxi’s a 747 down the runway, there’s a point of no return, a point in which that plane has to commit to the air, because if it doesn’t commit to the air after that point it’s going to crash; there’s not enough runway for it to slow down. There is that point at which it has to make the commitment to go airborne or face destruction. "You call me 'Teacher’ and 'Lord’, and you are right, because it is true. And since I, the Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. How true it is that a servant is not greater than the master. Nor are messengers more important than the one who sends them. You know these things--now do them! That is the path of blessing." John 13:12-17 (NLT) In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sR8rlTIU8_Y
Actual Sentences Found In Patients' Hospital Charts
Patient has chest pain if she lies on her left side for over a year.
On the second day the knee was better, and on the third day it disappeared.
The patient is tearful and crying constantly. She also appears to be depressed.
The patient has been depressed since she began seeing me in 1993.
Discharge status: Alive but without my permission.
Healthy appearing decrepit 69-year-old male, mentally alert but forgetful.
The patient refused autopsy.
The patient has no previous history of suicides.
Patient has left white blood cells at another hospital.
Patient's medical history has been remarkably with only a 40-pound weight gain in the past three days.
She is numb from her toes down.
While in ER, she was examined, X-rated, and sent home.
The skin was moist and dry.
Occasional, constant infrequent headaches.
Patient was alert and unresponsive.
Rectal examination revealed a normal size thyroid.
She stated that she had been constipated for most of her life, until she got a divorce.
I saw your patient today, who is still under our car for physical therapy.
The patient was to have a bowel resection. However, he took a job as a stockbroker instead.
Skin: somewhat pale but present.
The pelvic exam will be done later on the floor.
Patient was seen in consultation by Dr. Blank, who felt we should sit on the abdomen and I agree.
Patient has two teenage children, but no other abnormalities.