Brown's Daily Word 12/19/14

    Praise the Lord for this Friday, only 6 days before Christmas.  Indeed there is song in the air.  Those of you who live in the area join us for our weekly Television outreach this evening at 7 PM on Time Warner Cable channel 4.   A group of us are  making our annual pilgrimage to hear "Handel's Messiah", presented by the Downtown Singers.  This is a treat for me.   I have attended this powerful and glorious performance for last  28 years.  We are blessed  to have this presentation in  our area. 
    Praise the Lord for the  eternal and never changing Good news of Christmas.  In the world of flux and change the Good News of Christmas is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  We, as human beings, feel that the world around us is accelerating rapidly, that our world is moving forward at a cyclonic rate of change. It is as if this world of ours is a giant gyroscope, twirling, swirling, whirling into its future.   In the midst of it all the Christ of Christmas is the unchanging, eternal, ever present. 
    I read the  story about Robinson Crusoe when I was a young  teenager.  Robinson Crusoe was shipwrecked and left all alone, stranded on an island.  He wandered around that island for days, weeks, months and he knew he was alone on that island.  One day, however, he noticed a footprint in the sand and that footprint was not his own.  Immediately, Robinson Crusoe knew instantly that he was not alone.  Someone else was on that island with him. The story of Robinson Crusoe is the discovery that he was not alone on that island but that someone else was with him.
    Similarly, Christmas is a story of how Jesus  left a sign that we are not alone on this island called Earth, that Christ has left his footprint, indeed God's footprint, in the sands of time so that you and I will know that we are not alone on this island called Earth.  At Christmas, we have received a message from God, a sign from Jesus Christ, that we are not alone and that the Christ of Christmas, has left us a footprint in the sand to assure us that we are not alone. 
    One of the faithful servants of Jesus, Dave Ring, will celebrate his first Christmas in  heaven this year.  Dave used to remind us, "Grass withers, flowers fade, but the Word of our Lord endures for ever".  The Word of God. The story of God putting his footprint into the sands of time.  Christmas is the story of God’s intimacy, of  God’s closeness, and nearness, a reminder that He is “with us”.  Christmas is the story of God’s closeness, so close that a Christ child is born in our hearts, so close to us that we can see God’s footprints in the sands of our lives.  We see the signs of God’s presence all around us because God leaves his footprints all around us. 
    The Good News of Christmas is proclaimed and celebrated around world once again this year of our Lord 2014. The Christmas story will be the same and the words of that eternal story will continue to be sacred: “It came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world was to be enrolled.  And everybody went up to be enrolled, each into his own city. … For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a savior who is Christ the Lord.  And this will be a sign for you, you will find the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.”   As we look for signs in our lives, the sign is that we will find the babe, the Christ, the Presence of God wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.  And suddenly, there will be a multitude of angels and you will join them in singing, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace on earth.”
    That eternal story will continue to be told in the year 3000 AD.  This story will read, will be read and will be proclaimed and will be proclaimed in the year 3000 AD if Jesus tarries that long.  The prophet Isaiah said, “All people are like grass and all beauty is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers.  The flowers fade.  But the word of the Lord, the story of the God becoming a human being, that story will last forever.  Amen
In Christ,
 Brown
http://youtu.be/7HItFqKBAQE

Brown's Daily Word 12/18/14

Praise the Lord for this day.  We are just a week away from Christmas day.  The world is preparing to celebrate  the birth of the Lord of lords and the King of kings and angels and, best of all, the Prince of peace. Here in the Southern Tier the Downtown Singers are preparing to present the historic work, "Handel's Messiah", on Friday and Saturday evenings at the Binghamton High School Auditorium.  We are preparing the presentation of a Living Nativity on Saturday from 5-7 PM at Center Court at the Oakdale Mall, with a rousing rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus at 6.30PM.  Come, share, and rejoice.   The adversary is busy disrupting the celebration of Christmas around the world and around the corner, yet we have the good news and we declare with confidence, "THE LAMB WINS".  Let all join in prayer and praise that the confused world, the hurting world, the frantic world might hear the Good News of Great Joy which shall be to all people. 

 

    Plan to attend Christmas worship services wherever you might be this Sunday morning.  Plan to give generously, for the Lord has given us His Son.  Plan to visit  someone, for it is the season of visitation, the season of giving, the season of celebration, the season of songs, the season of jubilation.  Christmas is full of joy and holy fun.  Younger children think about all of the fun things they'll get. Older children tend to think about all of the fun times they've had.  Christmas is a time for memories: looking back with signs of joy and some longing, and looking ahead to all of the precious moments to be made.  It's always the right time to pause with Mary, focus heart and mind and soul on Jesus as the reason for the season, and softly sing as we pray, "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior."

 

     When I think of Christmas I think of celebrating my early Christmases in the rustic village  in Orissa , India where I lived with my family.  We each received just a set of new clothing for Christmas, and feasted on special Christmas cakes and special Christmas rooster.  It was very simple, unadulterated yet profound, and very sacred.  I remember playing soccer after morning worship and Christmas dinner with my family, a dinner that was shared with all the Hindu neighbors who came uninvited.  We could play soccer all afternoon, and  the temperature was in the 80s  and sunny.

 

    My wife was born and raised in New York.  For her snow was part of the ideal Christmas day.  She prays for snow on Christmas Eve and on Christmas day and for her birthday on the 11th of January.  After living for 40 years in the region I have grown to appreciate snow.  Every time it snows, I feel good, even if it's just a flurry or two.  Snow reminds me of God's grace.  When it snows, all of the potholes and ditches and dirt and garbage and scars of the world are covered.  That reminds me of how God's grace through faith in Jesus covers all of the potholes and ditches and dirt and garbage and scars of our lives.  Of course, the snow melts and gets dirty and all of the potholes and ditches and garbage and scars are exposed again. But then it snows and covers them all over again.  That's why Christmas snow reminds me of  Jesus' love, grace, and forgiveness that cover us again and again and again.

    When I think about Christmas I was reminded of a funny story of Walter and Milton the cockroach.  When Walter started working for the largest corporation in the world, the personnel director said he would have to start at the bottom and work his way up.  So Walter found himself in the basement of the corporation's headquarters building in the mailroom.  Walter liked his job, but often daydreamed about what it would be like to be a junior executive, vice president, president, or even chairman of the board.  One day, as Walter was busy collating the mail, he heard tiny footsteps in the corner and noticed a small cockroach creeping around. Just as he was about to step on it, he heard a small voice scream: "Don't kill me! Please, don't kill me!  I'm Milton the cockroach.  And if you spare my life, I promise to grant all of your wishes."  That sounded like a pretty good deal to Walter.  So he spared Milton the cockroach's life.

    Walter's first wish was to get out of the mailroom and be a junior executive. Milton granted that wish.  Next Walter wanted to become one of the vice presidents of the corporation.  That wish was granted too.  As a matter of fairy tale fact, Milton the cockroach kept granting every one of Walter's wishes until Walter was finally elevated to be chairman of the board, on the top floor of the headquarters building, of the largest corporation in the world.  Now everybody looked up to Walter and he was very happy.  Ever so often, Milton the cockroach could hear Walter saying to himself: "I am Walter.  Everybody respects me.  Everybody knows I'm in control. I'm at the top.  No one is bigger or better or more important than me."

    One day as Walter was sitting behind his desk and daydreaming about how important he had become, he heard footsteps on the top of the roof.  When the sound of the footsteps suddenly stopped, Walter decided to investigate.  What he found was a little boy who was on his knees praying.  By this time, as you can imagine, Walter had become quite impressed with himself and his position as chairman of the board of the largest corporation in the world.  So he asked the boy, "Are you praying to Walter?"  "Of course not," said the little boy with a smile of innocence.  "I'm praying to God!"  Walter responded, "Why are you praying to God?  I'm chairman of the board of the largest corporation in the world.  What can God do for you that I cannot do for you?"  The little boy replied, "God made me and God saved me."

    Walter didn't know what to say.  Very disturbed by this turn of events, he sent for Milton the cockroach as soon as he got back to his office on the top floor of the headquarters building of the largest corporation in the world.  "I want to be like God," Walter told Milton.  So Milton the cockroach granted Walter's wish and Walter went back to the mailroom in the basement.

    That's what Christmas is all about.  God works out His serving ministry in the mailrooms of life.  God comes down to our level to show us how to move up in life and eternity.  It's a gift.  The Babe of Bethlehem.  Jesus, our Lord and Savior.  He makes us want to sing softly as we pray with Mary, "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior."

    All of the fun things and fun times of Christmas remind us that the greatest gift of God Himself was Jesus as our Lord and Savior.  That's why we've got all we want for Christmas through Him.

In Christ,

 Brown

http://youtu.be/9bJX0d9JmFQ

Brown's Daily Word 12/17/14

     Praise the Lord for this Wednesday, just a week away from Christmas Eve.  We will meet for our midweek gathering at 6 PM this evening with a very special meal.   We will be looking at Isaiah chapter 40.  We wish a very happy and Joyful Chanukah  to our Jewish brothers and sisters.  We will keep praying for the Peace of Jerusalem.

    Our Choir will meet at tonight at 7:30 PM for a special Practice for this coming Sunday.  Praise the Lord for the signs, sights, songs, and sounds of the season.  Praise the Lord for the people of Jesus all around the world who are celebrating in diverse ways and methods, in songs, giving, worship, serving, and receiving.  Praise the Lord for the cantatas, concerts, dramas, and plays focused on Jesus and His birth.  In Cyprus and as we flew by way of Paris, we saw many signs of Christmas.  In Orissa, people are preparing for many days of celebration, culminating in Christmas.  Here in the Southern Tier the Downtown Singers are preparing to present the historic work, "Handel's Messiah", on Friday and Saturday evenings at the Binghamton High School Auditorium.  We are preparing the presentation of a Living Nativity on Saturday from 5-7 PM at Center Court at the Oakdale Mall, with a rousing rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus at 6.30PM.  Come, share, and rejoice. 

    In the midst of preparations for Christmas around the corner and around the globe we have violence and bloodshed in Pakistan, Sydney Australlia, Yemen, and the Middle East.  I knew a beautiful young girl who is now grown up. She became a teacher, Sunday School teacher, and a member of the worship band of her church. She loved the Lord and she loved her neighbors.  She was found dead Monday morning after she failed to show up for school.  We pray for her mom and dad for the Lord to comfort them.  "Comfort ye, Comfort ye my people saith your God".    When we see the world that has gone insane we get angry and disturbed.  Martin Luther put it bluntly in his Table Talk: "If I were as our Lord God . . . and these vile people were disobedient as they now be, I would knock the world into pieces."

    Luther got a little carried away, so praise the Lord that  Luther was not God.  God is not  grouchy, standing solemnly aside, staring at us with a cold, ruthless gaze. He is not some kind of cosmic despot who plays favorites with one nation, one race, one political ideology, and comes smashing down on others.  He is not One who likes only good people and checks off those who are bad.  God is a loving Father.  He engages himself in our predicament, endeavoring to counter our own self-destructive bent with the gift He has given us in Jesus Christ.

     "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him" (John 3:16-17).  St. Augustine expressed the love of God by saying, "God loves each one of us as if there were only one of us to love."  That's a universal love!

    We have all seen detective movies where hounds were used to track down the fugitive from justice.  The bloodhound has an amazing capacity to pick up a scent and follow through the greatest difficulties to find the object of its quest.  Francis Thompson, a British poet who lived during the last half of the nineteenth century,   was a man whose ill health early in life drove him to opium addiction.  His poverty set him to selling matches and newspapers along the street.  Later in life he experienced the love of God in a personal way, giving his life to Jesus Christ. He wrote a poem, telling about the divine pursuit of the human soul.  He described God as "the hound of heaven."

    The Christmas message is not merely one of sentimentality about little baby Jesus.  It is a rugged, tough message about the God-Man who walked the face of this earth, was nailed to the Cross, who bore the heavy weight of sin, who was buried, who rose from the dead in victory over your sin and mine and who now offers us a gift which we are invited to receive.  To receive the gift is to inherit the Eternal life.

Eternal life is a whole new dimension of life. It is right here, right now, as well as forever. Eternal life functions in time and above time. It is in this world and in the next world. Eternal life is literally "God life now and forevermore."

 In Christ,

 Brown

http://youtu.be/q5n6X9sUznI

Brown's Daily Word 12/16/14

   Praise the Lord for the signs, sights, songs, and sounds of the season.  Praise the Lord for the people of Jesus all around the world who are celebrating in diverse ways and methods, in songs, giving, worship, serving, and receiving.  Praise the Lord for the cantatas, concerts, dramas, and plays focused on Jesus and His birth.  In Cyprus and as we flew by way of Paris, we saw many signs of Christmas.  In Orissa, people are preparing for many days of celebration, culminating in Christmas.  Here in the Southern Tier the Downtown Singers are preparing to present the historic work, "Handel's Messiah", on Friday and Saturday evenings at the Binghamton High School Auditorium.  We are preparing the presentation of a Living Nativity on Saturday from 5-7 PM at Center Court at the Oakdale Mall, with a rousing rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus at 6.30PM.  Come Share and rejoice      As a young boy for me Christmas was a time of surprises and things that take our breath away.  In fact, all of life can be.  Most of us measure our lives by the breaths we take.  Perhaps it would be better for us to measure our lives by the breaths we miss.  It is during those times of amaze­ment and astonishment, when suddenly our attention is carried away, that God catches us by surprise.  It is He who takes our breath away.
    The Biblical narratives about Advent and Christmas are pregnant with surprises.  The Lord loves to surprise us.  Our Lord is the Lord of mystery and wonder.  He can invade our routine and carefully orchestrated lives and surprise us.  When we walk with the Lord and serve Him He loves to surprise us.  Often we live in the world of mundane and the ordinary.  Then the Lord comes to us and interposes Himself, His plans into our lives.  We are surprised.  Our breath is taken away.  We say it is the "Christ Event".  WOW! 
    This is what happened to Zechariah and Elizabeth.  They were good people.  The Bible says, "Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord" (Luke 1:6).  That is the profile of a very religious person.  They went through all the right motions.  They obeyed the Law.  They were faithful in worship.  They prayed fervently to God.
    It is possible sometimes, to settle into such a reli­gious routine that God has a tough time getting our attention.  Jesus Christ, the very God of the universe, is an active observer of all that is going on in this world and particulrly in our lives.  He knows our every thought.  He observes our yawns.  He knows our fears.  He is concerned about the health problems, financial needs and deep, aching loneliness that mark the existence of some.  You name it and He is aware of it, and He wants to meet us  at our point of need.  He wants to surprise us with His joy.  The Bible records that Zachariah and Elizabeth, faithful servants of the Living God were childless..   Zechariah and Elizabeth had prayed for a child.  Despite this, how stunned they were when their prayer was answered, not in their timing but God's. 
    Let us not be stunned when God answers our prayers.  I can look back and document time after time when God has been faithful.  I can also describe to you many occasions on which God simply has not answered my prayer in the way I want­ed it answered. 
    Zechariah was a clergy person.  He was a paid religious professional, faithful in carrying out the functions that were assigned to him in the temple worship. Apparently, he wasn't accustomed to hear­ing the Word of God as it applied itself in a highly personal way to himself.  How tragic it is when we see a person who should be noted for their faith in the Lord, stumble in disobedience. When God, through the Angel Gabriel, spoke specifically to Zechariah, Zechariah became confused.  He doubted.  He spoke back these words, "How will I know that this is so?  For I am an old man, and my wife is getting on in years" (Luke 1:18).  Gabriel answered, "I am Gabriel.  I stand in the pres­ence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.  But now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur" (Luke 1:19-20).
    Sometimes God has to use severe meth­ods to get our attention.  There need to be times of reflection and contemplation.  I love the  segment of the Roman Catholic Holy Orders which are referred to as the "contemplatives."  These monks, such as Thomas Merton, take vows of silence. Some of us would benefit from at least periods of silence, times in which we stop our talking, our ceaseless babbling, so as to drink from those deep, cool, refreshing springs of spiritual water, which the Lord yearns to provide.
In Jesus our Lord.
 Brown
http://youtu.be/mlIThmTNg9w

Brown's Daily Word 12/15/14

Praise the Lord for this season of wonder and the season of miracles.  Alice and I love this season.  We love the sights and sounds.  We love the celebration.  We love the worship that is the center of the season.  Our people gathered at Wesley Saturday evening for celebration and fellowship.  He blessed us in His House yesterday.  We went out caroling last night, singing joyful carols of Christmas.  The group took packages of homemade cookies and Christmas pastries to be given to the families.  After the caroling we all gathered at the Church Fellowship Hall joining in impromptu sharing.  It was a great blessing.  Today we picked our 2014 Christmas tree; it was 11 feet tall and very big.  I had to trim down from the top.  Now there is a small place for the angel.  The tree is aromatic and gorgeous.

     Today our daughter Laureen is celebrating her birthday.  We praise the Lord for Laureen.  I remember the day she was born.  One of the distinct feature Laureen was born with were her long fingers.  I "prophesied" then and there that Laureen would be a great piano player.  Laureen has grown to love Jesus and worship Him and play piano in a way that honors Jesus.

    Praise the Lord for the Christ of Christmas who transforms people.  He transforms Scrooges into born again men, who are both generous and joyful.  Christ still transforms people today at times through the witness of His people.

    While working as a journalist for the Chicago Tribune, Lee Strobel was assigned to report on the struggles of an impoverished, inner-city family during the weeks leading up to Christmas.  A confirmed atheist at the time, Strobel was mildly surprised by the family's attitude in spite of their circumstances:

The Delgados—60-year-old Perfecta and her granddaughters, Lydia and Jenny—had been burned out of their roach-infested tenement and were now living in a tiny, two-room apartment on the West Side.  As I walked in, I couldn't believe how empty it was.  There was no furniture, no rugs, nothing on the walls—only a small kitchen table and one handful of rice. That's it.  They were virtually devoid of possessions.

In fact, 11-year-old Lydia and 13-year-old Jenny owned only one short-sleeved dress each, plus one thin, gray sweater between them.  When they walked the half-mile to school through the biting cold, Lydia would wear the sweater for part of the distance and then hand it to her shivering sister, who would wear it the rest of the way.

But despite their poverty and the painful arthritis that kept Perfecta from working, she still talked confidently about her faith in Jesus.  She was convinced he had not abandoned them.  I never sensed despair or self-pity in her home; instead, there was a gentle feeling of hope and peace.

    Strobel completed his article, then moved on to more high-profile assignments, but when Christmas Eve arrived, he found his thoughts drifting back to the Delgados and their unflinching belief in God's providence.  In his words: "I continued to wrestle with the irony of the situation.  Here was a family that had nothing but faith, and yet seemed happy, while I had everything I needed materially, but lacked faith—and inside I felt as empty and barren as their apartment."

    In the middle of a slow news day, Strobel decided to pay a visit to the Delgados. When he arrived, he was amazed at what he saw.  Readers of his article had responded to the family's need in overwhelming fashion, filling the small apartment with donations.  Once inside, Strobel encountered new furniture, appliances, and rugs; a large Christmas tree and stacks of wrapped presents; bags of food; and a large selection of warm winter clothing.  Readers had even donated a generous amount of cash.

    But it wasn't the gifts that shocked Lee Strobel, an atheist in the middle of Christmas generosity.  It was the family's response to those gifts. In his words:

As surprised as I was by this outpouring, I was even more astonished by what my visit was interrupting: Perfecta and her granddaughters were getting ready to give away much of their newfound wealth.  When I asked Perfecta why, she replied in halting English: "Our neighbors are still in need.  We cannot have plenty while they have nothing.  This is what Jesus would want us to do."

That blew me away!  If I had been in their position at that time in my life, I would have been hoarding everything.  I asked Perfecta what she thought about the generosity of the people who had sent all of these goodies, and again her response amazed me.  "This is wonderful; this is very good," she said, gesturing toward the largess.  "We did nothing to deserve this—it's a gift from God.  But," she added, "It is not his greatest gift.  No, we celebrate that tomorrow.  That is Jesus."

To her, this child in the manger was the undeserved gift that meant everything—more than material possessions, more than comfort, more than security.  And at that moment, something inside of me wanted desperately to know this Jesus—because, in a sense, I saw him in Perfecta and her granddaughters.

They had peace despite poverty, while I had anxiety despite plenty; they knew the joy of generosity, while I only knew the loneliness of ambition; they looked heavenward for hope, while I only looked out for myself; they experienced the wonder of the spiritual, while I was shackled to the shallowness of the material—and something made me long for what they had.

        Or, more accurately, for the One they knew.
—Lee Strobel, The Case for Christmas (Zondervan, 2005)

    Perfecta knew the words of God declared in Jeremiah 29:11: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

    While I have been in the ministry for the last several decades I have seen our Lord  perform miracles.  I've seen angry, bitter people discover the healing power of forgiveness; I've seen hopeless marriages restored; I've seen the wealthy young rulers of this day discover more joy from giving away their money than they had in making it; I've seen people healed of diseases; and I've seen people with the same diseases discover the joy of the Lord in the midst of dying.  I can share that  the next leg of the journey is better than the last.  Thanks be to Jesus.

In Christ,

 Brown

http://youtu.be/yAyplzXmjVE