Praise the Lord for this
new day our Lord has made. We will rejoice and we will worship and serve Him.
Our oldest daughter, Janice, who lives with her family in Boston and along with
her husband Jeremy, is an avid runner. Janice shared with me yesterday that
after the senseless and barbaric terror in Boston thousands were running in
Boston once again. Boston is a beautiful, even gorgeous, city with so many
internally renowned universities, medical centers, churches, theological
institutions, museums, art galleries, the Public Garden, the
Arnold Arboretum, parks, restaurants, the aquarium. One of my classmates is
the Bishop of our united Methodist church in Boston. The people of Boston back
on the saddle again. The Church of Jesus Christ continues to proclaim the good
news. We need to be praying for the evildoers that they will se the light and
find life and liberty in Jesus.
The Lord blessed us with a
wonderful Wednesday gathering yesterday. It is a thrill to be together to share
in the sweet fellowship in Jesus our Lord. In the light of the current national
and international events I was reminded of the story of Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego. When commanded by the Babylonian King to bow down to his golden idol
they replied: "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you
in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is
able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even
if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or
worship the image of gold you have set up." (Daniel 3:16b-18)
WOW!! Even if God doesn’t rescue us…
we WILL NOT bow down.
we WILL NOT fall down
we WILL NOT stumble down before your idol.
We know we have the peace of God when we are able to stand tall and look into the fiery furnace in our life and say: "Even if He doesn’t rescue me …. I will not stumble". It doesn’t mean we won’t be a little scared… but it does mean that even when we are scared, we won’t even think of turning and we won’t consider giving up BECAUSE our trust will be in our Lord… not our circumstances.
Isaiah 26:1-3
“In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; God makes salvation its walls and ramparts. Open the gates that the righteous nation may enter, the nation that keeps faith. You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.”
In Isaiah 26:1 we are told that we have a strong city; God makes salvation its walls and ramparts.The imagery God is using is that of safety and peace INSIDE the walls of a city. In other words, if you’re going to find God’s peace & security you’ve got to be inside the walls. We have to be where He wants us to be. Jesus's church can be a strong city with Jesus sitting right in the middle of it. God’s peace is here BECAUSE Jesus is with us.. He “will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.” (Is 26:3)
I read a story some time ago about Oliver Cromwell, who in the mid-17th Century sent one of his officials to France to represent England in some negotiations. One night during his travels this official found he was unable to sleep. According to the custom of the day a servant slept in his room and that evening the servant was sleeping soundly. In the middle of the night the official woke his servant up to tell the servant that he could not rest because “I am so afraid something will go wrong with the diplomatic mission,”
“Master,” said the servant, “may I ask a question or two?”
“Of course.” Replied the official.
“Did God rule the world before we were born?”
“Most assuredly He did.”
“And will He rule it after we are dead?”
“Certainly He will.”
“Then, master, why not let Him rule the present, too?”
WOW!! Even if God doesn’t rescue us…
we WILL NOT bow down.
we WILL NOT fall down
we WILL NOT stumble down before your idol.
We know we have the peace of God when we are able to stand tall and look into the fiery furnace in our life and say: "Even if He doesn’t rescue me …. I will not stumble". It doesn’t mean we won’t be a little scared… but it does mean that even when we are scared, we won’t even think of turning and we won’t consider giving up BECAUSE our trust will be in our Lord… not our circumstances.
Isaiah 26:1-3
“In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; God makes salvation its walls and ramparts. Open the gates that the righteous nation may enter, the nation that keeps faith. You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.”
In Isaiah 26:1 we are told that we have a strong city; God makes salvation its walls and ramparts.The imagery God is using is that of safety and peace INSIDE the walls of a city. In other words, if you’re going to find God’s peace & security you’ve got to be inside the walls. We have to be where He wants us to be. Jesus's church can be a strong city with Jesus sitting right in the middle of it. God’s peace is here BECAUSE Jesus is with us.. He “will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.” (Is 26:3)
I read a story some time ago about Oliver Cromwell, who in the mid-17th Century sent one of his officials to France to represent England in some negotiations. One night during his travels this official found he was unable to sleep. According to the custom of the day a servant slept in his room and that evening the servant was sleeping soundly. In the middle of the night the official woke his servant up to tell the servant that he could not rest because “I am so afraid something will go wrong with the diplomatic mission,”
“Master,” said the servant, “may I ask a question or two?”
“Of course.” Replied the official.
“Did God rule the world before we were born?”
“Most assuredly He did.”
“And will He rule it after we are dead?”
“Certainly He will.”
“Then, master, why not let Him rule the present, too?”
Something in the servant’s
reply stirred the official’s faith and he felt a deep sense of peace come over
him - and in a few minutes both he and the servant were sound asleep.
In
Christ,
Brown
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