Brown's Daily Word 6-12-09

Good morning,
Praise the Lord for this new day. Our Lord is upon the throne. He is mighty to save. He is able to redeem and to restore. He is able to shelter His own to the uttermost. His watchful eyes are on the sparrows and also upon those who seek refuge in Him.
I read one time about how shipbuilders of sailboats used to prepare the masts for their ships. They would go to the forest and find an appropriate tree, then they would clear out all the surrounding trees and leave that one standing all alone, leaving it exposed to strong winds and storms. Every time the wind blew the tree, it would make that tree bend a little. This flexibility actually made the tree stronger and more resilient to the stresses the wind put on it. Trees that never have to bend as they mature become brittle and break apart at the first sing of strong winds. The strength found in the storms caused them to be so strong that they could easily withstand the winds at sea.
I believe that if we build our lives on the solid rock of Jesus and His words, then when the storms come, we will not only survive, but we will gain strength just as those trees did. We read about the miracle in Luke 8, when Jesus calmed the storms in the sea of Galilee. I think Jesus used the strong winds of this storm to strengthen the disciples’ faith. Their first reaction was to doubt, "Master, Master, we are going to drown; don’t you care?" Jesus, however, did not jump to His feet in shock. He arose and commanded the storm to stop – and it obeyed! His words had an immediate effect on the storm, but a different kind of storm was taking place in the disciples’ hearts.
Jesus then asked them if they had any faith, But they did not answer His question. They shot back a question of their own, "Who is this that can command the wind and water and have them obey?" In their question lay problems that continue to hinder us today. They did not fully understand who Jesus really was, and sometimes we don’t either. We have storms come into our lives, and we ask the same thing that did, "Lord, don’t you care?" Jesus still responds by saying, "Don’t you have any faith?" The following is a true story about childlike faith. In April 1998, several tornadoes ripped through the southern part of the United States. One of them completely tore a church apart. The next day, National Public Radio aired a story about that church. As the storm approached the church, children were at a choir rehearsal. When the pastor saw the storm coming, he quickly gathered all the children in the main hallway. They huddled together and held tightly to others as the winds ripped the church apart. In an effort to calm the children, the pastor led them in singing, ’Jesus loves the little children.’ Although some of the children were hurt, none of the injuries were serious, and there were no deaths. It was a bona fide miracle. The only part of the church left standing was the main hallway! The most penetrating part of the broadcast was when one little girl reported, "While we were singing, I saw some angels holding up the hallway. But the winds were so strong that the angels started shouting, ‘We need help!’ And then I saw more angels coming to help." That little girl will never forget what she saw, and she knows that angels are watching over the little children, and that they are precious in Jesus sight. Do we at times catch ourselves in the middle of a raging storm, and see no evidence whatsoever of Jesus being with us? Maybe the problem is not that Jesus is not there, but that we don’t have eyes to see Him. Our faith does not lie in the wind or the things in our lives. Our faith only lies in the Risen Lord, the Lord of the storm, and in His ability to command all things to do His will. If we realize this, we will not fill ourselves with worry, fear, or doubt. Our faith is found in the One who came to live among us. Our faith is found in the One who gave up His live for us. Our faith is found in Jesus Christ, the anointed One. He is mighty to save.
In Him,
Brown

Join us on Time Warner Cable channel 4 tonight at 7:00 PM. My message is on Isaiah 6.
Tomorrow afternoon our young friends John and Meghan are getting married. They invited friends and members of the church family to join them at their wedding ceremony at 2:30 PM.
We will gather for worship on Sunday at 8:30 and 11:00, with Sunday School meeting at 9:50, and Wesley's worship at 9:30. I will be preaching from I Samuel 16.
There will be a road rally next Saturday. A sign-up sheet is located in the Narthex. Please join in the fun, fellowship, and adventure.
We will be gathering for the Father-Son breakfast on Sunday, June 21 at 7AM. Dave Hettinger will be the speaker.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-08YZF87OBQ

Doctor Quotes
The following quotes were allegedly taken from actual medical records as dictated by physicians: (maybe even your's?)
~ By the time he was admitted, his rapid heart had stopped and he was feeling better.
~ On the second day, the knee was better and on the third day it had completely disappeared.
~ The patient has been depressed ever since she began seeing me in 1983.
~ Patient was released to outpatient department without dressing.
~ Discharge status: Alive but without permission.
~ The patient refused an autopsy.
~ The patient expired on the floor uneventfully.
~ The patient's medical history has been remarkably insignificant with only a 40 pound weight gain in the past three days.
~ She slipped on the ice and apparently her legs went in separate directions in early December.
~ The patient had waffles for breakfast and anorexia for lunch.
~ She is numb from the toes down.
~ The skin was moist and dry.
~ When she fainted, her eyes rolled around the floor.