Brown's Daily Word 2/13/15

Praise the Lord for this new day. Join us for our weekly Television broadcast this evening on Time Warner Cable channel 4.
I am preaching from Mark Chapter 1: A Day in the Life of Jesus. It was a beautiful and bright day yesterday. There is almost two feet of snow on the ground. The fields and the hills are covered and sheltered. I heard some birds sing yesterday. They are the harbingers of spring. The Spring Season has already landed in the area where I was born in Orissa, India. The Mango trees are blossoming. The Cotton trees are bursting forth with deep red flowers. Soon the bushes, flowering trees, and flowering briars will be aflame with beauty. As the spring moves gently and surely the winter makes room for spring and the winter flees away.
  Alice and I walked in the Mall last evening. It was full of people of all ages, cheerful and joyful. Soon the Lord will bring forth the new birth in the abundance and awakening of springtime. They all tell the story of Jesus.
Today I am looking at Mark 1:21-35, where the Scripture tells about a day in the life of the Lord. Mark 1 is written about the beginning of Jesus' ministry. He brings life, abundant and eternal to the world.
 Often people question, "What is life all about?" Henry David Thoreau tried to address this question when he said, “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.”
  In the movie City Slickers (1991), an advertising executive comes to speak to his son's class about what he does for a living. Instead, he launches into a tirade about living a dull life: "Kids, value this time in your life, because this is the time in your life when you still have your choices, and it goes by so quickly. When you're a teenager you think you can do anything, and you do. Your 20s are a blur. Your 30s, you raise your family, you make a little money and you think to yourself, 'What happened to my 20s?' "Your 40s, you grow a little pot belly, you grow another chin. The music starts to get too loud and one of your old girlfriends from high school becomes a grandmother. Your 50s you have a minor surgery. You'll call it a procedure, but it's a surgery. Your 60s you have a major surgery, the music is still loud, but it doesn't matter because you can't hear it anyway. "Seventies, you and the wife retire to Fort Lauderdale; you start eating dinner at 2, lunch around 10, breakfast the night before. And you spend most of your time wandering around malls looking for the ultimate in soft yogurt and muttering, 'How come the kids don't call?' By your 80s, you've had a major stroke, and you end up babbling to some Jamaican nurse, who your wife can't stand but who you call 'Mama.' Any questions?"
Life is more than just moving through the decades. Jesus came so we might have life and live it to the fullest. As we follow Him for a day, and we find few points of connection with Him. It is written "When the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach." The people were amazed that Jesus spoke with such authority. That Saturday, something unusual happened at Jesus' church. A man under the control of an evil spirit jumped up and started to shout at Jesus. Suddenly a man jumped up and started screaming, "What do You want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!"
From the very beginning, demons recognized Jesus as the Son of God, and they trembled because they knew they would be destroyed. Jesus commanded the demon to be silent and leave the man. The man started shaking, and with a final scream, the demon departed. The people were astonished that Jesus had authority to command evil spirits.
The record of Mark contains more demon stories per page than the writings of the other three gospel writers. Demons are real. There are evil entities at work in our world and can't be explained simply as sinful human nature.
During my college days I read Dr. Paul Tournier who was a famous Swiss physician and author who saw the connection between physical and spiritual in sickness. He wrote: "There are many doctors, who in their struggle against disease, have had, like me, the feeling that they were confronting not something passive, but a clever and resourceful enemy" (A Doctor's Casebook in the Light of the Bible).
I love the scene in Mark 1 as Jesus teaches and heals in the synagogue and then goes to Peter's House for "Sunday dinner" - really Sabbath dinner, on Saturday. The Bible says, "As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. . . the fever left her and she began to wait on them."
 Peter was married, although we never learn his wife's name. Peter's mother-in-law was sick in bed with a fever, and Jesus healed her. The purpose of this visit was to share a meal and have fellowship. Peter and Andrew invited Jesus into their home . It wasn't a long walk; Capernaum was a small city, and the distance from the synagogue to Peter's house was about 150 feet. The Bible says, "That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed." Sunset on Saturday would have been the end of the Sabbath. Of course, nobody had watches, so the people waited until they could count three stars in the sky to know Sabbath had ended. People had heard about the power of Jesus, and they anxiously were waiting for the time when they wouldn't violate the Sabbath by carrying their loved ones to meet Jesus.
There was a difference between those who were sick and those who were demon-possessed. Jesus healed the sick and cast out demons. Peter introduced his mother-in-law, who was lying down with fever, to Jesus, and Jesus healed her. She rose up and served Him. In the evening at end of the Sabbath people did bring many hurting people to Jesus and He healed them.
 We are called to introduce the hurting people in our families and in our work circles to Jesus. He is able to give the life and life abundant, life Eternal. It is exciting and adventurous to follow Jesus, for He is the Way, the Life and the Truth.
 In Christ, Brown
http://youtu.be/CoxopsRSfdU?list=PL826D6B4501836F4C

Brown's Daily Word 2/11/15

Praise the Lord  for this new day.  It is going to be a warm Wednesday.  We will meet  for our Wednesday gathering at 6 PM with a very special mral, followed by Bible Study and Choir practice.  I shared with you all about my upcoming retirement.  Thank you for your comments of affirmation and love from so many.  The ministry in the Kingdom of Jesus has been a great adventure.  It has been a testament of the Lord's faithfulless to a "Pilgrims Progress and Regress".  Yes, the Lord of the journey calls us to a journey-- Pilgrims journey that is  onward, upward, and forward by His grace.  Jesus is our trailblazer, our reconnaissance captain, who goes before us and who has not lost a battle.  The "World is our parish".  Thank you all for your continued love and affirmation.  Alice and I have been truly blessed.  Please mark your calendars.  Our last Sunday will be June 28, 2015.  I will be preaching.  Join us for a great time of thanksgiving and praise.   June 28 will be here before you know it.
    We are living in a time of great challenges, but also great opportunities to proclaim the Gospel.  It is written, "The kingdoms of the world have become the kingdoms of  our God and His Christ."  The Lord has called us to be His servants and His warriors, for the battle belongs to the Lord.  Martin Luther remarked that the soldier’s test of loyalty is whether or not he shows up where the battle is hottest.  Anyone can be a soldier behind the lines, but it takes a special kind of courage to go where the bullets are flying.  Paul’s message to his timid yet loyal protégé is clear as, in the writings and ministry of Paul, he encouraged Timothy: "Timothy, stand fast for the gospel.  Never be ashamed of what you believe.  And don’t be ashamed of me because I am in chains.” 

    If any of us feel unequal to the task, remember that the Lord has given us all that we need to be strong in the Lord.  "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and righteousness."  When we consider all that God has done for us, all that Christ has provided for us, and the Holy Spirit who lives within us, there is no excuse for a half-hearted Christian commitment.

    Once again, we live in amazing times, when the world itself seems to be undergoing a seismic change.  Long-held opinions are being overthrown and new ones embraced by millions of people.  All over the world men and women cry out for freedom.  They march in the streets of the Middle East and they gather to pray in Jerusalem.  This is no time for neutrality!  Everyone we meet is going to heaven or hell.  There is no third option.  Jesus said, “He who is not with me is against me” (Matthew 12:30).  Each person makes a choice and then we live by the choices we make.  We are either for Christ or against him.  We  stand with Jesus or against him.

    We are called to never despair and never lose hope.  These are great days to be alive, perhaps the greatest days in all history.  The vast moral decay should not discourage us.  These things were known to God from the beginning and were clearly predicted in the Bible.  "Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."  Ultimately, it is God Himself who stands behind the Gospel message.  Truth does not depend on us but on the Lord himself.  He will preserve the truth and will cause the light of the gospel to shine in the darkness.

    Our part is to be faithful, so let us determine to stand fast by the power of God, to be bold in our witness, to entrust the future into the hands of the Lord, and to live for Christ no matter what it costs.  Paul said, “I am not ashamed.”  What about us?

In Jesus,

Brown

http://youtu.be/LwGvfdtI2c0

Brown's Daily Word 2/10/15

The Lord blessed us with an abundant weekend.  The banquet Saturday was fantastic and brilliant.  Our young Chef David Childs and his team prepared the meal with so much love and served with so much grace.  It was  truly a tremendous blessing.  The message by Dr. Dino Pedrone was uplifting and inspiring.   

    The Lord blessed us in His House this past Sunday.  One of the hardest things I had to do yesterday was that Alice and I announced to our beloved congregations  that I am going retire from the full time ministry at the end of June, 2015.  We have prayerfully come to this decision.  We leave Union Center and Wesley with deep gratitude and thanksgiving.  We came to Union Center June 26, 1990.  We were  young parents, as our oldest daughter was going into 9th grade and the youngest going into First grade.  It was 25 years ago this June.  Our time here has spanned a quarter century.  Our daughters finished high school from here.  They went to colleges from here.  Three got married from here.  Our grandchildren know this home as Grandpa and Grandma's house.   We moved here as young parents and now we leave this place as grandparents.  As we look back in our lives, we just praise the Lord for His faithfulness.  Over this quarter century  we have seen so many miracles, so many blessings... so many lives have been touched by the grace of our Lord Jesus.  We praise the Lord for all of you with whom we are linked through this ministry of Jesus Christ around the corner and around the globe. 

    The Lord has opened doors for me to preach His Word in the local church and also around the globe.  I was born in an obscure village.  He drew me out and blessed every step of the way in my life.  I have been blessed to know and love wonderful people, friends, and family at every stage of my life.  You all have been so kind and gracious to me.  It has been a wonderful journey and an adventure all these years.  The Lord blessed me during my primary school days, Middle School days, College days, Graduate School days, and post-Graduate School days with so many wonderful, kind, generous people of so many diverse cultures, languages, and backgrounds yet one in Jesus Christ our Lord.  It has been a wonderful  blessing and thrill to serve Jesus around the corner and around the globe.  It has been always refreshing and refining for me to share in the ministry of Jesus our Lord.  He has always given me grace and zeal for His Word and for His people.  He has continuously filled my cup to the brim.  His goodness and mercy have followed me and my family all these years and all these days. 

    I praise the Lord for so many of you who have been faithful and fervent partners in the ministry.  The Lord has surrounded me with so many sons and daughters of Barnabas who have greatly encouraged me along the way.  Praise the Lord for your affection, love and affirmation.   My life is very rich, so very much richer by knowing Jesus and by serving Him, and furthermore by knowing so many like you who also love Him and serve Him.  Words are few and inadequate to express the gratitude Alice and I have to the Lord for you all around the corner and around the globe.  "I thank my God at every remembrance of you."  

    It was in 1964 that I started preach, fresh out of High School.  I completed 50 years of ministry in 2014.  It is all His grace and, indeed, it is all of His marvelous grace.  Once again it is officiai that I will be retiring from the full time ministry at the end of June, 2015.  Thank you, each and every one, for your love and grace.  Thank you for praying and sharing.  My heart is blessed.  My soul is full.

    One of the lovely things about the Lord is that He hides the future from us.  Most of us would love a sneak preview of the future.  We say, "Well, Lord, just give me a glance over the next five years.  Let me know how they're going to turn out."  But, the longer we live, the more we realize how kind the Lord is to keep the future from us.  It's mercy that veils our eyes.  How important it is to be able to face that unknown future with absolute confidence and with certainty that while our Lord is working out his purpose universally, he also is working out his program specifically for you and me!  Knowing that our times are in his hands is one of the most wonderful experiences in life.

    There's no way to find out the future.  The stars have as much effect on us as we have on them.  That is precisely nil.  How much better to know that our  lives are  based on the secure and certain promises of God!  We don't need to know the predictions of people when we realize that God has given us something like three thousand promises in his Word.  God gives us promises to keep us from worry.    God knows the way he made us.  That's why so many of his promises start with "Fear not."  Then he gives the specific reason why we shouldn't fear. 

    Most of us are marvelous at worry.  The Bible says worry is a sin because, at the moment of worrying, I'm not trusting. At the moment of trusting, I'm not worrying. God intends us to live a life of freedom from worry.  It is not freedom from concern, and not a complacency, where I couldn't care less about anything.  That would be irresponsible.  There's a world of difference between having a concern and being anxious.  To have a concern or burden that you take to God in prayer is one thing, but to be anxious about the outcome is another.

    How can we live in a world of absolute uncertainty and yet be certain of our position and assured that our times are in his hand?  We don't have to know the way.  We just have to walk with the Lord.  He knows where we're going, and He will never lead us astray. Knowing that, we  face the unknown future with confidence, not in ourselves but in Him.  We have confidence that our Lord God is able. 

    "I know the one in whom I am believing, and because of that," says the apostle, because I know him so well, "I know the one in whom I am believing, and I am persuaded."

    I like the way that King James translates the words to be, "I am persuaded." What it means today is much more like "I am convinced."  Paul was saying, "I know God so well.  I've trusted him through the years.  I've come to such an appreciation of him, that I know now without any doubt that he is able."

    One Pastor says, "If I could have only three words out of the Bible, if that's all I was permitted, they would be these three words: "He is able."  That's all we  need.  It is present, it's continuous.  It doesn't say He was able, He will be able, He might be able, or He could be able.  He is able.  He's not incapacitated by time.  He hasn't lost his touch.  He's just the same today.

    God is able to "keep what I've committed."  What you give Him to keep, what you ask Him to keep, what you hand over to Him to keep, He is able to keep.  Paul committed everything: his life, his future, and the lot.  Then he said, "I rest joyfully. I don't know what the future holds.  I don't have to know.  I don't have answers to all my problems.  I don't know what difficulties there may be.  I don't need to know. But I do know this: Whatever the difficulty is, I'm not facing it alone.  Whatever the problem, I don't face it alone.  Whatever path I go on, I don't travel alone.  I know he will be with me to the very end.  I know the One in whom I am believing.  I'm convinced.  I'm persuaded.  He's able to keep that which I've committed unto Him."  I'm convinced he is able to keep that which I've committed unto Him against that day, so, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

 In Christ,

  Brown

http://youtu.be/0k1WhFtVp0o