Good Morning,
Praise the Lord for this fabulous Friday. It is going to be a beautiful and brilliant day. Praise the Lord for the first day of spring. We have had a very hard and long winter. Praise the Lord for the way He brings the seasons and beautifies the earth, with so much love and grace. The crocus are in full bloom. We have a bee hive in one of the old trees by the parsonage, where the bees are out in full strength. The geese are back. You can hear the "Holy Honk"on the hour and off the hour. Indeed, weeping may tarry for the night but the joy comes in the morning. Praise the Lord for the beauty of the earth.
Last night the Binghamton University men's basketball team played against Duke University. Laureen came home and we all watched the game religiously. All four of our girls, starting with Janice, have been Duke basketball fans. They have converted their mom in to their camp. Alice is driving up to Boston today to spend the first weekend of Spring with Micah, Simeon, and their parents.
We continue to journey to Jerusalem with Jesus and focus on His Passion . Usually I read some of the powerful prophesies regarding Christ's vicarious suffering recorded in the Book of Isaiah. We can read even in the Book of Zechariah regarding the prophecy about our Lord's suffering.
The prophet Zechariah, like Jeremiah and Ezekiel, was both a prophet and a priest. His work was to stir up the people in the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem but he too was given a wonderful insight in the coming of the Messiah when he predicted, ‘The desire of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory’ (2:7). Zechariah’s special emphasis was on the need of national and personal repentance and renewal and how it would be achieved in the coming of Jesus, still some 500 years in the future. Interspersed with stern words of denouncing sin, Zechariah’s prophecy contains brilliant shafts of light on the person and work of the Messiah. They are words which are quoted in the Gospels as a clear foretelling of what actually happened. There’s what we now recognize as the Palm Sunday event: ‘Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey’(9:9). Zechariah also foretold that the scene of superficial rejoicing would not last long. The prophet had to follow up with increasingly somber messages. The king’s shepherd is rejected: ‘Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me! … Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered’ (13:7). But there’s worse to come: ‘They will look on me, the one they have pierced’ (12:10). The prophecies clearly point to the fulfillment of the earlier prophecy of Isaiah when he foretold to the letter that the Servant of the Lord would suffer for the sin of the world (Isaiah 53), and so vividly portrayed in the gospel stories of the Passion of the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 26 and 27) In recording what Zechariah saw in his prophetic eye, he repeated a phrase: ‘on that day’ (12:3,4,6,8,9; 13:1,2,4). Zechariah is referring to ‘the day of the Lord’, a phrase used by many of the prophets and also found in the New Testament. It’s a period of time or a special ‘day’ when God is working out His plan of salvation, looking forward to the time when Christ will be seen to reign over the universe in the new heaven and earth (Phil. 2:6-11). The final fulfillment of ‘the day of the Lord’ will come at the end of history when with wonderful power God will deal with evil and restore His rule. The problem of sin is the central problem in the Old Testament. Sin began in the Garden of Eden and will not be eradicated until the final ‘day of the Lord’. But how is it to happen? Zechariah supplies the key: ‘On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity’ (13:1).
Zechariah’s prophecy tells us of the climax of God’s revelation of His plan of salvation; it’s the crux of the gospel. But it was no afterthought to deal with sinful mankind. It had been conceived in the Eternal Council of Almighty God even before the foundation of the world to bring redemption to His lost creation. It’s what the writer to the Hebrews described as ‘so great salvation’ (2:1). Zechariah specifically states that there will be a special fountain that was ‘to cleanse … from sin and impurity.’ t. Right back at the Fall, God had promised a rescue mission to mankind: He told Satan, ‘I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head and you will strike his heel’ (Gen. 3:15), a clear anticipation of One who would defeat the devil, albeit at great cost to Himself. Zechariah states that ‘a fountain will be opened’. The anticipations of the Messiah clearly show that the ‘fountain’ was already in existence but waiting to be unveiled. The apostle Peter tells his Christian readers that Jesus, ‘a lamb without blemish or defect … was chosen before the creation of the world’ and what’s more, their redemption was only made possible ‘with the precious blood of Christ’ (1 Peter 1:19,20). A fountain conveys the image of something which is always flowing, providing a constant, abundant supply of a life-giving stream. This thought is beautifully captured in the verse of a hymn: ‘There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Immanuel’s veins; And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains’ (William Cowper). The prophet tells us that ‘a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem’. It’s not just for the leaders of the people of God. It’s open for all the inhabitants of the city, however insignificant, recalling Isaiah’s words: "Come, all you who are thirsty, and you, who have no money, come buy and eat!" (55:1). It’s a universal invitation. Isaiah’s words are those which would have been used in the market place. You can imagine the street traders calling out to the passers-by to try their produce - "Come..." Zechariah is acting as the town crier at a carnival, ringing his bell and calling the crowds’ attention to this unrepeatable gift of God, ‘to cleanse them from sin and impurity.’ As the apostle John states, Jesus alone ‘is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world’ (2:2). Zechariah went on to speak of the consequences of cleansing. Changes have to be made when people are cleansed from their ‘sin and impurity’. God’s Word teaches that once you have been made righteous, you start the lifelong process of being made holy. God’s people are required to live holy lives in obedience to His commands. It’s a matter of turning our backs upon the old life and to start anew. God’s people in Zechariah’s day were told to ‘banish the names of the idols’ to be ‘remembered no more’ and to stop receiving guidance from the false ‘prophets and the spirit of impurity’ (13:2). With the eye of faith Zechariah looks forward to ‘the day of the Lord’ when the godly remnant will ‘call on the name of the Lord and I will answer them.’ God will say, ‘They are my people’ (13:9). I quoted a verse from the hymn, ‘There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Immanuel’s veins’. I read some time ago that It’s final two verses are inscribed on Spurgeon’s grave, as his testimony: ‘E’er since by faith, I saw the stream Thy flowing wounds supply, redeeming love has been my theme, and shall be till I die. Then in a nobler, sweeter song I’ll sing Thy power to save, when this poor lisping, stammering tongue lies silent in the grave.’ These are the authentic words of a true believer in Christ. May we be found among that number!
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiTIHdp5NVs
Friday, March 20, 2009
Brown's Daily Word 3-19-09
Good morning,
I studied history as part of my undergraduate studies. All of history is His story. I love to study the biographies of the servants of Jesus. I get inspired to follow Christ faithfully, and I get provoked to love Him and His people.
John Calvin (né Jean Cauvin; 10 July 1509 – 27 May 1564) was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he suddenly converted and broke from the Roman Catholic Church in the 1520s. After religious tensions provoked a violent uprising against Protestants in France, Calvin fled to Basel, Switzerland, where in 1536 he published the first edition of his seminal work Institutes of the Christian Religion.
Calvin's writing and preaching provided the seeds for the branch of theology that bears his name. The Presbyterian and other Reformed churches, which look to Calvin as a chief expositor of their beliefs, have spread throughout the world. Calvin's thought exerted considerable influence over major religious figures and entire religious movements, such as Puritanism, and his ideas have been cited as contributing to the rise of capitalism, individualism, and representative democracy in the West.
John Calvin was married to Idelette Calvin. Idelette was pregnant three times, but none of the children lived beyond infancy. Soon after coming to Geneva, Idelette gave birth to Jacques, but he lived only two weeks. John Calvin wrote to a friend, “The Lord has certainly inflicted a severe and bitter wound in the death of our infant son.” They were only married nine years when Idelette died. John described the deathbed: “She suddenly cried out in such a way that all could see that her spirit had risen far above this world. These were her words, ‘O glorious resurrection! O God of Abraham and of all our fathers, the believers of all the ages have trusted on you and none of them have hoped in vain. And now I fix my hope on you.’” After her death, he wrote: “I have been bereaved of the best companion of my life, who, if our lot had been harsher, would have been not only the willing sharer of exile and poverty, but even of death. While she lived she was the faithful helper of my ministry. From her I never experienced the slightest hindrance.” And when he sought to explain God’s will in suffering, John Calvin wrote: “Through trials and tribulations, God weans us of excessive love of this world.”
Leaning on Jesus,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VJoEe_zO_Q
I studied history as part of my undergraduate studies. All of history is His story. I love to study the biographies of the servants of Jesus. I get inspired to follow Christ faithfully, and I get provoked to love Him and His people.
John Calvin (né Jean Cauvin; 10 July 1509 – 27 May 1564) was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he suddenly converted and broke from the Roman Catholic Church in the 1520s. After religious tensions provoked a violent uprising against Protestants in France, Calvin fled to Basel, Switzerland, where in 1536 he published the first edition of his seminal work Institutes of the Christian Religion.
Calvin's writing and preaching provided the seeds for the branch of theology that bears his name. The Presbyterian and other Reformed churches, which look to Calvin as a chief expositor of their beliefs, have spread throughout the world. Calvin's thought exerted considerable influence over major religious figures and entire religious movements, such as Puritanism, and his ideas have been cited as contributing to the rise of capitalism, individualism, and representative democracy in the West.
John Calvin was married to Idelette Calvin. Idelette was pregnant three times, but none of the children lived beyond infancy. Soon after coming to Geneva, Idelette gave birth to Jacques, but he lived only two weeks. John Calvin wrote to a friend, “The Lord has certainly inflicted a severe and bitter wound in the death of our infant son.” They were only married nine years when Idelette died. John described the deathbed: “She suddenly cried out in such a way that all could see that her spirit had risen far above this world. These were her words, ‘O glorious resurrection! O God of Abraham and of all our fathers, the believers of all the ages have trusted on you and none of them have hoped in vain. And now I fix my hope on you.’” After her death, he wrote: “I have been bereaved of the best companion of my life, who, if our lot had been harsher, would have been not only the willing sharer of exile and poverty, but even of death. While she lived she was the faithful helper of my ministry. From her I never experienced the slightest hindrance.” And when he sought to explain God’s will in suffering, John Calvin wrote: “Through trials and tribulations, God weans us of excessive love of this world.”
Leaning on Jesus,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VJoEe_zO_Q
Brown's Daily Word 3-18-09
Good Morning,
The Lord gave us a brilliant day yesterday. It was one of the ten best days of March. I spent the day visiting several people, one of whom was a self employed business man. He was working in his driveway changing the brakes in his vehicle on his driveway. "I am trying to save some money working on my van." He was dirty; he cleaned his hands and gave me a hug. He shared with me that things in the world are in uproar. "They are killing Christians and Jews all over the world. I have erected a big Cross behind my house near the pond. Whenever I am distraught I look at the Cross, and the Lord gives me peace." He shared about how his stepdaughter had brain surgery few years ago, and how the Lord healed her fully. She went on to grad school and is now working for Duke University. She will be getting married in October at the Duke Chapel. He further said that when- ever friends come to visit them he tells about the victory and peace the Lord gives him, in and the through the sign of the cross.
There is a story about a little girl who proudly wore a shiny cross on a chain around her neck. One day she was approached by a man who said to her, “Little girl, don't you know that the cross Jesus died on wasn’t beautiful like the one you’re wearing? It was an ugly, wooden thing.” The girl replied, “Yes, I know. But they told me in Sunday School that whatever Jesus touches, He changes.” That is part of the message in 1 Corinthians 1:18-20, "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate. Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” In verses 22-25 Paul continues, "Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength." Some time ago I read a story about a man by the name of Fred. Fred lives in Afghanistan, and he relates this story about a Muslim woman, a university professor, attending an English class taught by YWAM volunteers. The woman said, “I started to go to sleep & suddenly my bedroom filled with light. At the foot of my bed stood Jesus, & I knew He had come to kill me!” The previous day she had stormed out of the English class after the teacher had begun to answer questions and to speak about Jesus to his students. As she stormed out she cursed the teacher. “I cursed you all the way home,” she told him. “I went home and I lay in bed and I was praying, ‘Allah, I want you to kill those people because they are not English teachers – they are missionaries and I want them out of my country! Kill them!’”It was then that she saw the vision of Jesus standing at the foot of her bed. “I knew He had come to kill me because I was asking Allah to kill His workers. So I got out of bed on my hands and knees. I was trembling, and I crawled to the feet of Jesus, waiting for Him to slay me... As I was trembling at His feet, I started to feel warm all over. I started to feel love wash over my body – love and mercy. I looked up at Him,” she said. “Jesus was so beautiful, I had to give Him my heart.” (Pray Magazine, Sept-Oct, 2002, pg 17) Today, that woman, a university professor, is a Christian who earnestly tells her students that Jesus is real, and that He is her Savior and Lord. Amazingly, from all throughout the Muslim world there are similar accounts surfacing. Jesus is real. Jesus is alive. The one who was slain from the foundations of the world is at work throughout the world, capturing hearts and changing lives.
In Him,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZW44LCiXoA
The Lord gave us a brilliant day yesterday. It was one of the ten best days of March. I spent the day visiting several people, one of whom was a self employed business man. He was working in his driveway changing the brakes in his vehicle on his driveway. "I am trying to save some money working on my van." He was dirty; he cleaned his hands and gave me a hug. He shared with me that things in the world are in uproar. "They are killing Christians and Jews all over the world. I have erected a big Cross behind my house near the pond. Whenever I am distraught I look at the Cross, and the Lord gives me peace." He shared about how his stepdaughter had brain surgery few years ago, and how the Lord healed her fully. She went on to grad school and is now working for Duke University. She will be getting married in October at the Duke Chapel. He further said that when- ever friends come to visit them he tells about the victory and peace the Lord gives him, in and the through the sign of the cross.
There is a story about a little girl who proudly wore a shiny cross on a chain around her neck. One day she was approached by a man who said to her, “Little girl, don't you know that the cross Jesus died on wasn’t beautiful like the one you’re wearing? It was an ugly, wooden thing.” The girl replied, “Yes, I know. But they told me in Sunday School that whatever Jesus touches, He changes.” That is part of the message in 1 Corinthians 1:18-20, "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate. Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” In verses 22-25 Paul continues, "Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength." Some time ago I read a story about a man by the name of Fred. Fred lives in Afghanistan, and he relates this story about a Muslim woman, a university professor, attending an English class taught by YWAM volunteers. The woman said, “I started to go to sleep & suddenly my bedroom filled with light. At the foot of my bed stood Jesus, & I knew He had come to kill me!” The previous day she had stormed out of the English class after the teacher had begun to answer questions and to speak about Jesus to his students. As she stormed out she cursed the teacher. “I cursed you all the way home,” she told him. “I went home and I lay in bed and I was praying, ‘Allah, I want you to kill those people because they are not English teachers – they are missionaries and I want them out of my country! Kill them!’”It was then that she saw the vision of Jesus standing at the foot of her bed. “I knew He had come to kill me because I was asking Allah to kill His workers. So I got out of bed on my hands and knees. I was trembling, and I crawled to the feet of Jesus, waiting for Him to slay me... As I was trembling at His feet, I started to feel warm all over. I started to feel love wash over my body – love and mercy. I looked up at Him,” she said. “Jesus was so beautiful, I had to give Him my heart.” (Pray Magazine, Sept-Oct, 2002, pg 17) Today, that woman, a university professor, is a Christian who earnestly tells her students that Jesus is real, and that He is her Savior and Lord. Amazingly, from all throughout the Muslim world there are similar accounts surfacing. Jesus is real. Jesus is alive. The one who was slain from the foundations of the world is at work throughout the world, capturing hearts and changing lives.
In Him,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZW44LCiXoA
Brown's Daily Word 3-17-09
Good Morning,
Praise the Lord for this new day. The Lord gave us a wonderful weekend. It was full of His grace and faithfulness. On Saturday evening Laureen, Alice, and I attended a wonderful concert by the Binghamton Philharmonic at the Forum. We were given Orchestra Circle tickets, courtesy of friend Aric. The concert focused on classical Celtic music. The concert featured an amazing Celtic fiddler...WOW!
This weekend, we also watched some NCAA College Basketball games as part of March Madness. Binghamton University, where Alice and Sunita did their graduate studies, and where Laureen obtained her nursing degree, advanced for the first time into the national tournament. To the utter joy and amazement of Jessica and Laureen, Binghamton is playing against Duke on Thursday - double the reason to watch the game.
The Lord blessed us with a wonderful day in His house on Sunday. Better is one day in His House than a thousand elsewhere. We began the day of fellowship and worship with our monthly men's prayer breakfast at 7 a.m. Shawn Rosenbarker gave his testimony, how the Lord has rescued him and transformed his life. It was both powerful and moving. Shawn is one of the young men born and raised in our church. He and his wife are involved now in the life of the church in worship, fellowship and witness. Alice preached at Wesley, on the wedding at Cana. I preached from John 2, the cleansing of the Temple. The title of my sermon was, "The Not so Gentle Jesus". This meditation is a part of the message I shared Sund.
The following passage is quoted from the last chapter of C. S. Lewis's, "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader".
At the end of the world, where the Narnian sky meets the earth, Edmund and Lucy climb out of the Dawn Treader and begin to wade southward along the beach. But between them and the foot of the sky there was something so white on the
green grass…they could hardly look at it. They came on and saw that is was
a Lamb. "Come and have breakfast," said the Lamb in it’s sweet milky voice. Then they noticed for the first time that there was a fire lit on the grass
and fish roasting on it. They sat down and ate the fish, hungry now for the first
time for many days. And it was the most delicious food they have ever tasted. "Please, Lamb," said Lucy, "is this the way to Aslan’s country?" "Not for you," said the Lamb. "For you the door into Aslan’s country is from your
own world." "What!" said Edmund. "Is there a way to Aslan’s country from our world too?" "There is a way into MY country from all the worlds," said the Lamb; but as he
spoke his snowy white flushed into tawny gold and his size changed and he
was Aslan himself, towering above them and scattering light from his mane. C. S. Lewis used the two Bible images for God’s Messiah – a lamb and a lion. The lamb is easier to love. The lamb takes away the sin of the world. The Lamb is gentle, meek and mild, without blemish, soft, and cuddly. It is the lamb that hosts the marriage supper at the last day, and the Lamb lights the city of God, eliminating the need for the sun and moon. The Lion, on the other hand, is ferocious. Of the 150 times that the Bible uses “lion” or “lioness,” none refer to a gentle or friendly relationship. The words “angry” and “Jesus” would seem to never belong together according to contemporary ideas of God. One writer even suggested that theevent recorded in John 2: 13ff is a gross exaggeration, saying, “Catching up some of the reeds that served as bedding for the cattle, he twisted them into the semblance of a scourge, which could hurt neither man nor beast. He did not use it.” This is not the way that the Scripture records the event. No! Men and animals were driven from the temple, tables overturned, coins flying everywhere. In Mark 3:5 it is recorded that Jesus stared at the crowd “with anger.” In Matthew, Jesus tells the Pharisees that they are like whitewashed tombs, a brood of vipers, snakes who will not escape being sentenced to hell. In Revelation 6, we read of the effect the final judgment has on those who do not worship and follow Jesus, “Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, 'Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?’” (Revelation 6.15-17). We domesticate God when we refuse to believe in the anger of his Son. But notice the cause of his anger. His anger is directed at those who would keep people from finding his kindness and compassion. Jesus is not angry at those who confess their need, who call out for help, who cry aloud for mercy. He is angry at the Pharisees who say they have no need, and he is angry at the priests who prevent people from finding true grace. Jesus became angry when looked at the greed and covetousness taking place in the temple courtyard.
He becomes angry today when he sees the greed and covetousness in the hearts of mankind, in our culture, in our economic systems, and in our banking systems. He is angry when He looks at the crookedness of our political leaders. He is angry when He looks at the exploitation of the vulnerable by the powerful . He is angry when our schools become a breeding ground of ignorance and violence. He is angry when He sees the random violence and pervasive godlessness in our culture. He is angry when we become consumed by the drive for pleasure and leisure... by blatant hedonism. He is angry when we become the idol worshippers, and steeped in idleness. He is angry when we are driven by the celebrity culture. He is angry when we become rebellious against His will and purposes. He is angry when we become the seekers of pleasure than seekers of His Kingdom and Holiness.
The Lamb is a Lion – but for those who come to him for mercy and find him as meek as a lamb.
In His Mercy and in His Majesty,
Brownhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N95ULMexSvU
Praise the Lord for this new day. The Lord gave us a wonderful weekend. It was full of His grace and faithfulness. On Saturday evening Laureen, Alice, and I attended a wonderful concert by the Binghamton Philharmonic at the Forum. We were given Orchestra Circle tickets, courtesy of friend Aric. The concert focused on classical Celtic music. The concert featured an amazing Celtic fiddler...WOW!
This weekend, we also watched some NCAA College Basketball games as part of March Madness. Binghamton University, where Alice and Sunita did their graduate studies, and where Laureen obtained her nursing degree, advanced for the first time into the national tournament. To the utter joy and amazement of Jessica and Laureen, Binghamton is playing against Duke on Thursday - double the reason to watch the game.
The Lord blessed us with a wonderful day in His house on Sunday. Better is one day in His House than a thousand elsewhere. We began the day of fellowship and worship with our monthly men's prayer breakfast at 7 a.m. Shawn Rosenbarker gave his testimony, how the Lord has rescued him and transformed his life. It was both powerful and moving. Shawn is one of the young men born and raised in our church. He and his wife are involved now in the life of the church in worship, fellowship and witness. Alice preached at Wesley, on the wedding at Cana. I preached from John 2, the cleansing of the Temple. The title of my sermon was, "The Not so Gentle Jesus". This meditation is a part of the message I shared Sund.
The following passage is quoted from the last chapter of C. S. Lewis's, "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader".
At the end of the world, where the Narnian sky meets the earth, Edmund and Lucy climb out of the Dawn Treader and begin to wade southward along the beach. But between them and the foot of the sky there was something so white on the
green grass…they could hardly look at it. They came on and saw that is was
a Lamb. "Come and have breakfast," said the Lamb in it’s sweet milky voice. Then they noticed for the first time that there was a fire lit on the grass
and fish roasting on it. They sat down and ate the fish, hungry now for the first
time for many days. And it was the most delicious food they have ever tasted. "Please, Lamb," said Lucy, "is this the way to Aslan’s country?" "Not for you," said the Lamb. "For you the door into Aslan’s country is from your
own world." "What!" said Edmund. "Is there a way to Aslan’s country from our world too?" "There is a way into MY country from all the worlds," said the Lamb; but as he
spoke his snowy white flushed into tawny gold and his size changed and he
was Aslan himself, towering above them and scattering light from his mane. C. S. Lewis used the two Bible images for God’s Messiah – a lamb and a lion. The lamb is easier to love. The lamb takes away the sin of the world. The Lamb is gentle, meek and mild, without blemish, soft, and cuddly. It is the lamb that hosts the marriage supper at the last day, and the Lamb lights the city of God, eliminating the need for the sun and moon. The Lion, on the other hand, is ferocious. Of the 150 times that the Bible uses “lion” or “lioness,” none refer to a gentle or friendly relationship. The words “angry” and “Jesus” would seem to never belong together according to contemporary ideas of God. One writer even suggested that theevent recorded in John 2: 13ff is a gross exaggeration, saying, “Catching up some of the reeds that served as bedding for the cattle, he twisted them into the semblance of a scourge, which could hurt neither man nor beast. He did not use it.” This is not the way that the Scripture records the event. No! Men and animals were driven from the temple, tables overturned, coins flying everywhere. In Mark 3:5 it is recorded that Jesus stared at the crowd “with anger.” In Matthew, Jesus tells the Pharisees that they are like whitewashed tombs, a brood of vipers, snakes who will not escape being sentenced to hell. In Revelation 6, we read of the effect the final judgment has on those who do not worship and follow Jesus, “Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, 'Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?’” (Revelation 6.15-17). We domesticate God when we refuse to believe in the anger of his Son. But notice the cause of his anger. His anger is directed at those who would keep people from finding his kindness and compassion. Jesus is not angry at those who confess their need, who call out for help, who cry aloud for mercy. He is angry at the Pharisees who say they have no need, and he is angry at the priests who prevent people from finding true grace. Jesus became angry when looked at the greed and covetousness taking place in the temple courtyard.
He becomes angry today when he sees the greed and covetousness in the hearts of mankind, in our culture, in our economic systems, and in our banking systems. He is angry when He looks at the crookedness of our political leaders. He is angry when He looks at the exploitation of the vulnerable by the powerful . He is angry when our schools become a breeding ground of ignorance and violence. He is angry when He sees the random violence and pervasive godlessness in our culture. He is angry when we become consumed by the drive for pleasure and leisure... by blatant hedonism. He is angry when we become the idol worshippers, and steeped in idleness. He is angry when we are driven by the celebrity culture. He is angry when we become rebellious against His will and purposes. He is angry when we become the seekers of pleasure than seekers of His Kingdom and Holiness.
The Lamb is a Lion – but for those who come to him for mercy and find him as meek as a lamb.
In His Mercy and in His Majesty,
Brownhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N95ULMexSvU
Brown's Daily Word 3-16-09
Good morning,
Praise the Lord for this beautiful and bright day. I trust you had a wonderful and worshipful weekend. Praise the Lord for His awesome power and magnificent grace.
We live in a world in which things go wrong. Pick up the newspaper any day of the week, and you will read of tragic accidents, deaths, murders, suicides, and so on. And, frankly, it so often seems to be about someone else. But, occasionally, that tragedy strikes close to home. Where do you go when tragedy strikes? Where do you find comfort when difficulty comes? Where do you find hope in the midst of trial? For us as Christians, the answer is in God Himself as He has revealed Himself to us in His Word. And one of the most precious of all comforts is found in this text. Romans 8:28 can shelter our souls in the midst of a violent storm. It is a text that can give comfort and hope in the midst of any difficulty or trial. I love what Bible commentator John Stott says about Romans 8:28. He says that Romans 8:28 is “like a pillow on which to rest our weary heads.” Romans 8:28 begins with the words, “And we know.” Verse 22 also begins with the words, “For we know.” In the space of seven verses Paul makes two assertions about what we know as Christians. Verse 22 is about the groaning of creation, and verse 28 is about God’s providential love and care for His own. Yet there are many other things we do not know. For example, in the middle of these two assertions of Christian knowledge Paul says in verse 26b, “For we do not know what to pray for.” In fact, we are caught in a continuous tension between what we know and what we do not know. There are some things about which we have clear knowledge, and yet there are also things about which we have no knowledge. And sometimes, we confuse the two! Nevertheless, in Romans 8:28 Paul lists five truths about God’s providence that we know. So, let us observe five unshakeable convictions that we know concerning God’s providence.We Know That God Works (8:28c) The first unshakeable conviction we know concerning God’s providence is that God works. Paul says, “And we know that in all things God works. . .” (8:28c). That is, God is at work in our lives. William Carey, often called the Father of Modern Missions, faced a ministry disappointment of overwhelming proportions. Carey began his missionary career to India in 1793. He labored in that country for 40 continuous years, never once returning to his native England. Carey was a prodigious translator, translating portions of Scripture into over a dozen Indian languages. One afternoon, after 20 years of plodding labor in that country, a fire raged through his printing plant and warehouse. All of his printing equipment was destroyed, but most tragically, many of his precious manuscripts were completely consumed by the fire. Of course, Carey had no computer back-up files or Xerox masters. Twenty years of nonstop labor were gone within a few hours. How would he respond to this crushing devastation? William Carey wrote to his friend, Andrew Murray, in England: "The ground must be labored over again, but we are not discouraged. . . . We have all been supported under the affliction, and preserved from discouragement. To me the consideration of the divine sovereignty and wisdom has been very supporting. . . . I endeavored to improve this our affliction last Lord’s day, from Psalm 46:10, ’Be still and know that I am God.’ I principally dwelt upon two ideas: God has a sovereign right to dispose of us as He pleases. We ought to acquiesce in all that God does with us and to us." Carey understood that it is not all things but rather God who is at work in our lives. God is, as John Stott observes, “ceaselessly, energetically and purposefully active on our behalf.” The first unshakeable truth that we should know is that God is at work in this world. It is His world. He is the Creator. He is the Sustainer. He is in providential control of all things. We Know That God Works for the Good of His People (8:28d) The second unshakeable conviction we know concerning God’s providence is that God works for the good of His people. Paul says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him. . .” (8:28d). The Bible teaches us that God is good, and that all His works are expressions of His goodness that are intended to promote His people’s good (2 Chronicles 7:3; Psalm 25:8). We Know That God Works for the Good of His People in All Things (8:28b) The third unshakeable conviction we know concerning God’s providence is that God works for the good of His people in all things. Paul says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him. . .” (8:28b). God works for the good of His people not merely in the good things or the indifferent things but in all things. That includes the sufferings of verse 17 as well as the groanings of verse 23. And so, as commentator Anders Nygren says, “Thus all that is negative in this life is seen to have a positive purpose in the execution of God’s eternal plan.” There is nothing that is beyond the scope of His sovereign decrees. We often do not understand what God is doing in all the things that happen to us. While we often do not understand how God is working for our good in all things, we must believe that God is working for our good in all things. That is what it means to trust God. We Know That God Works for the Good of Those Who Love Him (8:28e) The fourth unshakeable conviction we know concerning God’s providence is that God works for the good of those who love Him. Paul says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him. . .” (8:28e). This is a necessary limitation. Paul is not expressing a general, superficial optimism that everything tends to everybody’s good in the end. No, if the good, which is God’s purpose, is our completed salvation, then its beneficiaries are His people who are described as those who love Him. In other words, Paul is limiting the truth of this verse to Christians only. We are reminded here of something that is emphasized everywhere in the Bible. There is only one real division of humanity ultimately. We are on one side or the other of this dividing line, and all other divisions and distinctions are finally irrelevant. This statement is true only of those who love God, that is, for Christians. As for those who are not Christians the Bible tells us plainly that all things do not work for the good of them. They, the Bible tells us, are under “the wrath of God” (1:18). Paul has already warned us in Romans 1:18 that “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.” That is the present position of non-Christians before God. Whatever else may be true of those who do not love God, however happy and prosperous they may be, however much the sun may seem to be shining on their heads, the terrible fact remains that they are all presently under the wrath of Almighty God. We Know That God Works for the Good of Those Who Have Been Called According to His Purpose (8:28f) The fifth and final unshakeable conviction we know concerning God’s providence is that God works for the good of those who have been called according to His purpose. Paul says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose” (8:28f). Our love for God is in fact a sign of God’s prior love for us. The reason we love God is because He first loved us (1 John 4:10). Because He first loved us, we have been called according to His purpose. And we then responded in love to His love and calling. But it first begins with God’s love and calling to us. Joseph was cruelly sold by his brothers into slavery in Egypt. But, this was Joseph’s conviction which he said to his brothers after many years of hardship and suffering: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (Genesis 50:20). Similarly, God said through the prophet Jeremiah to the Jews in Babylon after the catastrophic destruction of Jerusalem: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11). And finally, the most significant expression of God’s sovereign providence in our human affairs occurs in Jesus’ death on the cross. The sinless Son of God went to the cross according to “the definite plan and foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:23) in order that He might save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). God used the most heinous, tragic act in human history for our good. And if God did that for us in the death of His Son, then we can cling to these five unshakeable convictions we know concerning God’s providence in Romans 8:28; “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Amen.
Have a wonderful and graceful day,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqqtyuivolA
Praise the Lord for this beautiful and bright day. I trust you had a wonderful and worshipful weekend. Praise the Lord for His awesome power and magnificent grace.
We live in a world in which things go wrong. Pick up the newspaper any day of the week, and you will read of tragic accidents, deaths, murders, suicides, and so on. And, frankly, it so often seems to be about someone else. But, occasionally, that tragedy strikes close to home. Where do you go when tragedy strikes? Where do you find comfort when difficulty comes? Where do you find hope in the midst of trial? For us as Christians, the answer is in God Himself as He has revealed Himself to us in His Word. And one of the most precious of all comforts is found in this text. Romans 8:28 can shelter our souls in the midst of a violent storm. It is a text that can give comfort and hope in the midst of any difficulty or trial. I love what Bible commentator John Stott says about Romans 8:28. He says that Romans 8:28 is “like a pillow on which to rest our weary heads.” Romans 8:28 begins with the words, “And we know.” Verse 22 also begins with the words, “For we know.” In the space of seven verses Paul makes two assertions about what we know as Christians. Verse 22 is about the groaning of creation, and verse 28 is about God’s providential love and care for His own. Yet there are many other things we do not know. For example, in the middle of these two assertions of Christian knowledge Paul says in verse 26b, “For we do not know what to pray for.” In fact, we are caught in a continuous tension between what we know and what we do not know. There are some things about which we have clear knowledge, and yet there are also things about which we have no knowledge. And sometimes, we confuse the two! Nevertheless, in Romans 8:28 Paul lists five truths about God’s providence that we know. So, let us observe five unshakeable convictions that we know concerning God’s providence.We Know That God Works (8:28c) The first unshakeable conviction we know concerning God’s providence is that God works. Paul says, “And we know that in all things God works. . .” (8:28c). That is, God is at work in our lives. William Carey, often called the Father of Modern Missions, faced a ministry disappointment of overwhelming proportions. Carey began his missionary career to India in 1793. He labored in that country for 40 continuous years, never once returning to his native England. Carey was a prodigious translator, translating portions of Scripture into over a dozen Indian languages. One afternoon, after 20 years of plodding labor in that country, a fire raged through his printing plant and warehouse. All of his printing equipment was destroyed, but most tragically, many of his precious manuscripts were completely consumed by the fire. Of course, Carey had no computer back-up files or Xerox masters. Twenty years of nonstop labor were gone within a few hours. How would he respond to this crushing devastation? William Carey wrote to his friend, Andrew Murray, in England: "The ground must be labored over again, but we are not discouraged. . . . We have all been supported under the affliction, and preserved from discouragement. To me the consideration of the divine sovereignty and wisdom has been very supporting. . . . I endeavored to improve this our affliction last Lord’s day, from Psalm 46:10, ’Be still and know that I am God.’ I principally dwelt upon two ideas: God has a sovereign right to dispose of us as He pleases. We ought to acquiesce in all that God does with us and to us." Carey understood that it is not all things but rather God who is at work in our lives. God is, as John Stott observes, “ceaselessly, energetically and purposefully active on our behalf.” The first unshakeable truth that we should know is that God is at work in this world. It is His world. He is the Creator. He is the Sustainer. He is in providential control of all things. We Know That God Works for the Good of His People (8:28d) The second unshakeable conviction we know concerning God’s providence is that God works for the good of His people. Paul says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him. . .” (8:28d). The Bible teaches us that God is good, and that all His works are expressions of His goodness that are intended to promote His people’s good (2 Chronicles 7:3; Psalm 25:8). We Know That God Works for the Good of His People in All Things (8:28b) The third unshakeable conviction we know concerning God’s providence is that God works for the good of His people in all things. Paul says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him. . .” (8:28b). God works for the good of His people not merely in the good things or the indifferent things but in all things. That includes the sufferings of verse 17 as well as the groanings of verse 23. And so, as commentator Anders Nygren says, “Thus all that is negative in this life is seen to have a positive purpose in the execution of God’s eternal plan.” There is nothing that is beyond the scope of His sovereign decrees. We often do not understand what God is doing in all the things that happen to us. While we often do not understand how God is working for our good in all things, we must believe that God is working for our good in all things. That is what it means to trust God. We Know That God Works for the Good of Those Who Love Him (8:28e) The fourth unshakeable conviction we know concerning God’s providence is that God works for the good of those who love Him. Paul says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him. . .” (8:28e). This is a necessary limitation. Paul is not expressing a general, superficial optimism that everything tends to everybody’s good in the end. No, if the good, which is God’s purpose, is our completed salvation, then its beneficiaries are His people who are described as those who love Him. In other words, Paul is limiting the truth of this verse to Christians only. We are reminded here of something that is emphasized everywhere in the Bible. There is only one real division of humanity ultimately. We are on one side or the other of this dividing line, and all other divisions and distinctions are finally irrelevant. This statement is true only of those who love God, that is, for Christians. As for those who are not Christians the Bible tells us plainly that all things do not work for the good of them. They, the Bible tells us, are under “the wrath of God” (1:18). Paul has already warned us in Romans 1:18 that “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.” That is the present position of non-Christians before God. Whatever else may be true of those who do not love God, however happy and prosperous they may be, however much the sun may seem to be shining on their heads, the terrible fact remains that they are all presently under the wrath of Almighty God. We Know That God Works for the Good of Those Who Have Been Called According to His Purpose (8:28f) The fifth and final unshakeable conviction we know concerning God’s providence is that God works for the good of those who have been called according to His purpose. Paul says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose” (8:28f). Our love for God is in fact a sign of God’s prior love for us. The reason we love God is because He first loved us (1 John 4:10). Because He first loved us, we have been called according to His purpose. And we then responded in love to His love and calling. But it first begins with God’s love and calling to us. Joseph was cruelly sold by his brothers into slavery in Egypt. But, this was Joseph’s conviction which he said to his brothers after many years of hardship and suffering: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (Genesis 50:20). Similarly, God said through the prophet Jeremiah to the Jews in Babylon after the catastrophic destruction of Jerusalem: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11). And finally, the most significant expression of God’s sovereign providence in our human affairs occurs in Jesus’ death on the cross. The sinless Son of God went to the cross according to “the definite plan and foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:23) in order that He might save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). God used the most heinous, tragic act in human history for our good. And if God did that for us in the death of His Son, then we can cling to these five unshakeable convictions we know concerning God’s providence in Romans 8:28; “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Amen.
Have a wonderful and graceful day,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqqtyuivolA
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