Praise the Lord for
this new day. It is going to be one of the glorious days. The trees in the
fields and and around the hills are now full of luxuriant new leaves. They look
a luscious green. Praise the Lord of the creation who decorates His earth with
so much beauty. When I gaze at the trees I am reminded of the song:
You shall go out with joy
And be let forth with peace,
The mountains and the hills
Will break forth before you
There will be shouts of joy
And all the trees of the fields
Will clap, will clap their hands
And all the trees of the fields
Will clap their hands
The trees of the fields will clap their hands
The trees of the fields will clap their hands
While you go out with joy.
And be let forth with peace,
The mountains and the hills
Will break forth before you
There will be shouts of joy
And all the trees of the fields
Will clap, will clap their hands
And all the trees of the fields
Will clap their hands
The trees of the fields will clap their hands
The trees of the fields will clap their hands
While you go out with joy.
The
Christian Gospel is an invitation a great and very deep joy. We rejoice in times
of blessings, when all is well. Jesus, the Lord of Joy, pours upon us His joy
even in the times trials and tragedies.
I recently read the following story. “On November 19,
1991, Cathe Chermesino was running down South Street, trying to make it to
Calvary Baptist School before the late bell rang. On the surface she had it all.
She was a beautiful, talented thirteen-year-old who possessed YMCA swimming
medals, not to mention a beautiful singing voice. When she ran across the
street, she was hit by a fast-moving car and thrown into the air. Immediately
Cathe became totally paralyzed. Cathe now goes to school sitting rigid and
upright in a bulky wheelchair. She breathes through a ventilator and has to
carefully mouth her words so others can lip-read. On the first anniversary of
her accident, she gave her testimony at her church. ‘I’m like the potter’s
clay,’ she said. ‘I’m being reshaped into something that I believe will be far
better. What looks harmful for me will actually turn out to be good. Before the
accident I was an awful snob, but now God has given me an inner peace. I’m
giving my voice a rest until I get to heaven.’ Her mother looked lovingly at her
daughter and added, ‘Cathe needs just two things to make it through. A lot of
prayer and a little bit of oxygen.’ Recently [a friend] wrote Cathe and gave her
a verse from Deuteronomy 31:8, ‘The Lord himself goes before you and will be
with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be
discouraged.’ He said, ‘Lord, if You can help Cathe to rise above her
circumstances, I know that with Your grace I will rise above mine.’”
What happened to Cathe is unfair. Why should she have to live her life as a paralytic? Yet, she continues to love Jesus and serve him in her wheelchair. She even sees God’s grace at work in her disabilities. Like her, we should continue to love and serve the Risen Lord wherever He has placed us, and in whatever circumstances we find ourselves. We should raise our hands in joyful praise and thanksgiving.
What happened to Cathe is unfair. Why should she have to live her life as a paralytic? Yet, she continues to love Jesus and serve him in her wheelchair. She even sees God’s grace at work in her disabilities. Like her, we should continue to love and serve the Risen Lord wherever He has placed us, and in whatever circumstances we find ourselves. We should raise our hands in joyful praise and thanksgiving.
Swiss theologian Karl Barth wrote: “To clasp the hands in prayer is
the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world.”
The Old Testament prophet Malachai dealt with a group of grumbling believers. He wrote, “You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What did we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord Almighty? But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly the evildoers prosper, and even those who challenge God escape’” (Malachi 3:14-15). But Malachi continued the story: “Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored his name. ‘They will be mine,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘in the day when I make up my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him. And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.’” (Malachi 3:16-18).
The final chapter has not yet been written, but, in the end, if our hearts are right, we will become his “treasured possession”. He will have compassion on us, and we will finally see the distinction “between those who serve the Risen Lord and those who do not." For those who love Jesus and serve Him , the best is yet to be. Blessed be His Name.
The Old Testament prophet Malachai dealt with a group of grumbling believers. He wrote, “You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What did we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord Almighty? But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly the evildoers prosper, and even those who challenge God escape’” (Malachi 3:14-15). But Malachi continued the story: “Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored his name. ‘They will be mine,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘in the day when I make up my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him. And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.’” (Malachi 3:16-18).
The final chapter has not yet been written, but, in the end, if our hearts are right, we will become his “treasured possession”. He will have compassion on us, and we will finally see the distinction “between those who serve the Risen Lord and those who do not." For those who love Jesus and serve Him , the best is yet to be. Blessed be His Name.
In Christ,
Brown
Friday May18.,
2012
Television
Outreach
Time Warner Cable
Channel 4
Time
7:00 PM
Saturday evening
worship service.
Location: First
United Methodist Church. Endicott
53 McKinley Avenue,
Endicott.
Sponsored by the
Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive,
Endicott
Saturday May 19,
2012
6 PM Gathering: Coffee
Fellowship
6:30 PM
Worship Service
Worship Music by
Laureen Naik, Emma Brunson
Speaker:
Rev. Bill
Turner
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