Brown's Daily Word 12-11-12

Praise the Lord for this wonderful season of Advent in the Church calendar as we prepare for the birth of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. I spent almost three weeks overseas. I just got home yesterday early morning flying close to 24 hours in an international flight first crossing the Equator on a ship and then crossing the International Dateline in flight over the Pacific Ocean. I was with two other pastors leading Bible studies and conducting worship services and prayer meetings on an Australian cruise sailing around Southeast and Northern parts of Australia, then sailing to Bali, Indonesia and concluding in Singapore. The ship had 2500 guests from all over the world plus 950 crew members that came from 58 different countries. It is summertime in the land down under. The temperature readings were in the high 90s with 90% humidity. The Lord granted His favor and blessings. The Lord blessed our time at worship, prayer meetings, and very informal conversations and times of prayer.

I have been reading some of the passages from the Word of the Lord that are part of the Advent readings. One of the readings comes from Isaiah 12. It is often said that the shouting side is the winning side. When there is a football match or any contest at all, one would recognize the side that has an upper hand through the ambit and atmosphere. The side that is doing well will be vibrant and the supporters that are watching them will probably dance and sing. The other side that is treading the path of defeat will be struggling to put in their best and will be sweating profusely. Their faces will not be bright. They are not likely to be dancing. They could sing but the songs would probably be asking for God’s intervention.
At the war front, the winning side is vibrant and will shout the songs of victory. The side that is being defeated will not be able to shout because there are too many corpses of their comrades lying on the ground around them. This means the army has been reduced in number and even if they shout, their voices will not be as loud as those of the winning side. Their song will not sing of victory; it would either be of supplication to God or of surrender. In the text above, Israel having felt God’s hand of salvation could not help but shout for joy. A shout is not a silent sound, it is a loud sound that is heard by other people and from the intonation, the hearers will know what it is announcing.

The Psalmist said: “In the day that l cry, then shall my enemies turn back; this l know, for God is with me”

What is the power behind the cry of the Psalmist? It is found in the text we read in Isaiah 12: “Great is the Holy one of Israel in the midst of thee". The Passage begins with these powerful declaration: "Behold , God is my salvation, I will trust, and not be afraid, for the Lord for the Lord Jehovah is my strength, and my song. He also is become my salvation. Indeed, the Lord is our strength, He is our song, and He is our salvation. He is all sufficient. He is all we need. Let this be our theme for this Advent season. Amen

In Christ,

Brown

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