Brown's Daily Word 10-5-09

Good morning,
Praise the Lord for this new day, a gift from the Lord. Praise the Lord for His faithfulness. Praise the Lord for the church, the Body of Christ on earth. Praise the Lord for the way He is present with us in a very special way in the moments of corporate worship, fellowship and witness.
One of those special times of corporate worship will be next Monday, October 12, at 7 PM. The Continentals Worship Band will be joining us for an evening of worship and praise, reminding us that Christ is our Hope. They will be leading a worship concert, which will be held at the First Presbyterian Church in Endicott. Our daughter Laureen is one of the directors of the team. I would like to offer a special invitation to all who live around here to please join us. The church is located at 29 Grant Avenue in Endicott.
One of the readings for yesterday was taken from Hebrews 1. The writer of the book of Hebrews returns again and again to the word “better” which is found some thirteen times in this book to show the superiority of Jesus to every other religious system. “Christ is better than the angels (1:4). He brought in a better hope (7:19) because He is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises (8:6).” [Warren Wiersbe. "Be Confident.” (Wheaton: Ill.: Victor Books, 1982) p. 8] The book of Hebrews is a letter which was written to a group of people who were about to give up on their faith. They were at a standstill spiritually and in danger of going back-wards (5:12). They were exhorted to take stock of what Jesus has to offer and not to give in to fear or doubt, but to stay the course. “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, (2) has in these last days spoken to us by His Son…”Ever since the world began, God has been speaking to human beings at different times and in different ways. Sometimes He speaks by direct communication, sometimes through dreams and visions, but most of all through his prophets. In biblical times when God’s prophets spoke, His people listened. The reason was simple. When a prophet spoke, the people knew they were hearing from God. The Apostle Peter said, “For prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21). John MacArthur stated in his commentary, “Every religion is but man’s attempt to discover God. Christianity is God bursting into man’s world and showing and telling man what He is like.” [John McArthur. McArthur New Testament Commentary – Hebrews. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1983) p. 3] Jesus, the Christ, is supreme - He is superior to everyone and everything! He is superior in His Person, better than the Prophets, better than the Angels, better than Moses, better than Joshua, better than "The Sabbath", and better than other priests! Jesus, the Christ, is superior as our Priest. He is greater than the earthly priesthood, greater than the Mosaic Law (Old Covenant), greater than annual sacrifices, and greater than daily offerings! Jesus, the Christ, is superior for Life. He alone gives us Eternal Life! An old Puritan preacher once said that there were two things he needed to know, "Does Almighty God speak?" and "What does Almighty God say?" Those questions may not appear to be very profound. However, the answers give "light" to those who are wandering in the aimless, darkened streets of adverse situations and circumstances! God speaks life to dead situations, He speaks hope to the places of hopelessness, and He speaks wellness to the places of disease and illness. In the words of Charles Wesley, "He speaks, and listening to his voice,new life the dead receive; the mournful, broken hearts rejoice, the humble poor believe. Because the Lord loves to communicate with us, He loves to hear from us, too. We can talk to Him. He listens to us. He feels our love for Him. He feels of our pain and He acquainted with our sorrow and our grief.
I heard about a man who, as he traveled, began to visit churches. He was traveling in the Northeast and out West and in the foyer of every church he visited he noticed a golden phone with a sign above it that said, “Talk with God, $10,000.” Finally, he came to Tennessee and as was his custom, he visited a church. He noticed the same golden phone in the foyer, but this time the sign said, “Talk with God, 25 cents.” He was confused, and so he called one of the elders over to ask him why there was such a difference in cost. The elder replied, “Well, you see, from here it’s not long distance.”
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eiy3_KRKNaQ