Brown's Daily Word 5/1/15

Praise the Lord for this First day of May. Today we celebrate the birthday of our daughter, sweet Sunita. She was born this day in Barnes Kasson Hospital in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, surrounded by beautiful mountains and the spectacular viaduct. Sunita has grown to be sweet servant of Jesus and a woman of faith. We praise the Lord for her. She provokes me to follow Jesus and serve Him with joy. Alice baked chocolate chip cookies galore and homemade breads in honor of Sunita's birthday. I get to eat some of them. It is a gorgeous spring day here in New York. As far as I am concerned, the Spring season in New York is amazing, spectacular , better than anywhere else on earth. I wish you were here.
  Join us for our Friday evening television outreach this evening at 7:00 PM on Time Warner Cable channel 4. This morning I have been reflecting on the Book of Jude. The entire Book has 25 verses. The Epistle of Jude has only one chapter with 25 verses. Verses 24-25 together make one of the greatest doxologies in the New Testament. This declaration of praise teaches us that God is able to keep us when we cannot keep ourselves. Edward C. Pentecost wrote, “Here is the greatest theme of victory to be sounded, the highest note of praise and adoration possible, and the greatest assurance for the redeemed.” The doxology in Jude 24-25 teaches us to trust and praise the God who is able to keep us.
Jude 24-25 is one of the amazing New Testament doxologies that praise God for being able. “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy.” The emphasis is on divine omnipotence — the inherent and infinite power of God. Jude did not remember when God was able in the past. He did not promise that God will be able in the future. This is real-time assurance. Whenever it is, wherever we are, whatever we need, our Lord is able. The first assurance of this doxology covers our entire Christian journey from earth to glory: “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling.” The KJV says, “Now unto him who is able to keep you from falling.” The original is more emphatic. Stumbling precedes falling. God is able to keep us from falling on our face.
The world is a slippery place. The devil constantly schemes to trip us. Our sinful flesh is prone to trip, stumble, and fall, but or Lord is able to keep us from stumbling. Psalm 121:3 says, “He will not let your foot be moved.” Our Lord can keep us from falling into the error of sin and falling away from the faith. This is living hope which the Lord Jesus Christ offers the guilty, the dying, and the grieving. The only hope in the face of death is that God is able to present us blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy. Great joy is more than personal happiness. It is a public celebration with singing, dancing, and shouting. This is what heaven will be like! Psalm 16:11 says, “You make known to me the path of life; in Your presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
The Month of May has come with much beauty, and June will soon be upon us. This is a gentle reminder of our retirement gathering and celebration on Saturday, June 27, from 5 to 7 PM. It will be a blast and we will be blessed. We are serving a variety of foods, including Indian, French, Italian, and American. There will lots of music, time for stories and testimonies, and plenty of good times to go around. Best of all, you will get to meet our grandchildren, and they will make you laugh, so come prepared. They are nothing like the children we raised in the parsonage, but they bring us great joy.
  In Christ, Brown.
https://youtu.be/cH_LLGiE0f0