Brown's Daily Word 7/13/09

Good morning,
Praise the Lord! He is always more than wonderful. His grace is always marvelous. Last week we were blessed with a powerful, action-packed, vacation Bible School. Saturday was our annual chicken barbecue. In spite of a downpour in the late afternoon it was a great day of labor of love. It was a day of sweet fellowship. The Lord blessed us with a spectacular Sunday to gather in His house to praise His name and give thanks to Him for His manifold blessings. "Better is one day in Your house than a thousand elsewhere". We had lots of barbecued chicken left from Sunday, but our people took home all the chickens for Sunday dinner. We are a full-service church. Currently, we are getting ready for our another summer event, the "Heaven Now " marriage seminar.
The Epistle reading for yesterday was taken from Ephesians 1:1-14. Many Christians gain their identity more from their family background, work, or human relationships than they receive from who they are in Christ. Too many young people gain their identity from the latest fashions, trends, or popular expectations from their peers. It is no wonder that Paul, throughout his epistles, emphasized that we are found in Christ. Could it be that one of the greatest problems facing Christians today revolves around an identity crisis? Many believers are not growing in Christ or experiencing fruit because they have somehow lost, never realized, or failed to appropriate their identity in Christ. We, who are in Christ, who have trusted Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, are blessed with every spiritual blessing. (Ephesians 1:3) Paul wrote, “Blessed be the God of Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessings, in Christ.” People who fail to realize this will continue to feel insecure, not praising God for all the good things they already possess in Christ. We, who are in Christ, are holy and blameless, having been chosen in Him before the foundation of the world. (Ephesians 1:4) Believers who do not realize their identity in Christ will live with a gnawing sense of guilt feeling that they have to earn their forgiveness, acceptance or belonging . We, who are in Christ, have been adopted as His sons and daughters, deserving all the privileges of being in His eternal family. In Ephesians 1:5 Paul continued, “He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will.” We no longer have to be slaves of sin because we are set free through the blood of His cross. We who are in Christ live primarily for the praise of His glory. Ephesians 1:6) Our greatest purpose, joy, and sense of fulfillment come through pleasing the Lord in all respects. Colossians 1:9 declares that as we praise God for His attributes we are infused with a greater nearness of His dearness and splendor. He fills us up with every good thing. Peter wrote, “Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises so that you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped corruption that is in the world by lust.” (2 Peter 1:3,4) We, who are in Christ, enjoy being eternally redeemed (purchased, bought back from condemnation) through the His blood. As Paul wrote, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.” (Ephesians 1:7) We, who are in Christ, are also equipped with His wisdom. Paul wrote, “Which He lavished upon us. In all wisdom and insight.” (Ephesians 1:8) We, who are in Christ, have obtained an inheritance in Christ so He now works out all things according to His purpose both to will and to do of His good pleasure fro the working out of His will.
Ephesians 1:10,11 affirms that we, who are in Christ, have been brought under Christ’s authority, protection and responsibility. Paul wrote, “And this is His plan. At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ – everything in heaven and on earth.” We, who are in Christ, have been given the Holy Spirit. Spirit filled believers need to see themselves as empowered, equipped and enabled by the power of their resident Holy Spirit. Thank God that He is still working in us to be more conformed to the image of His dear Son. May the Lord help us continue to grow up in all aspects in Christ as we fully realize and appropriate our true identity in Christ.
In Christ,
Brown
Don't forget - the Heaven Now marriage seminar will be held on Saturday, July 18, 2009 . This is be held at the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128. Maple Avenue. Endicott. ( Please make a note on the change of location) The event, which teaches guidelines for a good marriage, will be held from 9:30 AM to 3:00 PM, with lunch and daycare provided. The speaker for the event is Richard P. Larson, the Executive Pastor of the Sierra Bible Church in Sonora, California. To pre-register by phone, please call (607)748-6329. You may also register by e-mail at brownnaik@aol.com.
We are trusting the Lord to give us a great time of refreshment, blessing, and renewal as we come together. We praise the Lord for the gifts of marriage and family. We live in a confused culture that blatantly glamorizes homosexuality, gay marriage, lesbian marriage, and has become militant in trying to legalize them. We uphold the biblical standard regarding the institution of marriage, as God ordained it and Christ beautified it by His presence at the wedding of Cana in Galilee.
Those who live in this area, we extend a warm word of welcome to you, and invite you to join us.

Another upcoming event is a concert by the Continental Singers and Orchestra, to be held on Thursday, July 23, at 7:00 PM. This concert features a 33 member team of singers, instrumentalists, and technicians who will be performing a Christ-honoring program at the First United Methodist Church, 53 McKinley Avenue, in Endicott, NY.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gt0WluTpFTg

Identity Crisis Faced By The Facebook Generation
According to a warning given to the Annual Meeting of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, this generation who use internet for everything and who have never known a world unless they surf on-line are growing up with a dangerous view of the world and their own identity. They are going through major identity crisis. People who born after 1990 have grown up in a world dominated by online social networks such as Facebook and MySpace. Many of these youngsters use Internet as the main medium to communicate. Their relationships are quickly disposed at the click of a mouse. Because of the online social networking, people find the real world boring and unstimulating. Because of this online mess, youngsters are going through the stages of vulnerable to impulsive to suicide.
Chat room communication reduced sensory experience; person’s expression/body language/ voice/tone aren’t there; and this can shape one’s perceptions of the interaction differently. Online session changes the perception to a dream-like state, and this unnatural blending of mind with the other person leads to entirely different meaning to friendships and relationships.