Brown's Daily Word 8/21/15

   It has been very warm and muggy the last two days.  The cool and refreshing winds are blowing, making hearts glad and jubilant.  The Lord blessed the church-community wide dinner on Wednesday.  The food was overly abundant and the fellowship was sweet.  People came with anticipation and left the dining hall with thanksgiving.  I stopped by the local center where seniors congregate for luncheon.  I met some sweet and beautiful people who were sharing fellowship and a delicious meal, and I was invited graciously to join them.  I left the center blessed and loved. 

 

    Through Wednesday we were having hot and sultry weather.  Yesterday the clouds began to gather and thicken, portending the coming of the storm.  It rained very heavily here yesterday, but the air has been refreshed by it.    

 

    Yesterday I was watching News Conference by President Jimmy Carter.  He shared about his health concern.  He also shared that it has been a life filled all blessings all the days of his life.  He will be 91 years this year.  He talked about his family, his faith in the Lord Jesus, and his family farm.  He talked about being a husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather.  He testified about the mission and ministry of the Carter Center, which blesses millions of people around the world.  It was a heart warming news conference.

 

    Soon after that I read an article by Ann Graham Lotz, the daughter of Dr. Billy Graham.  She wrote about the death of her husband of 49 years.  She said that her husband loved the Lord and served Him.  What a way to live and what a way to serve the Lord in the world today.  The people who love the Lord and serve Him with a passion and dedication make a mega-difference in the world.

 

    We are preparing for the upcoming Sunday morning worship, witness, and celebration, beginning at 11:00 AM.  We are excited about it.  Alice and I will be celebrating our fortieth wedding anniversary on Sunday, so we are planning for a time of fellowship and celebration after worship, with a dinner reception with our church family and friends.  There will be lots of foods, many with an international flavor, which may include some "bizarre foods America".  We praise the Lord for His faithfulness, His grace, and His tender mercies.  Forty years ago we were joined in marriage on a Saturday evening in the little church in Smyrna, New York where Alice was raised and nurtured in Jesus' love.  In retrospect, we marvel at how the Lord has kept us in the grip of His grace and in the hollow of His hand.  Indeed, we can truly say, "(our) cup runneth over". 

 

      Looking back to the early days of the Christian movement, G. Campbell Morgan  a British Clregyman, remarked that “the church did the most for the world when the church was the least like the world.”  When Paul wrote to the young church in Ephesus, he knew they were an island of light in a city filled with darkness.  How could that tiny band of believers make a difference in the cosmopolitan metropolis that was home to the world-famous Temple of Artemis?  In Ephesians 5:8-14, Paul gave his answer: ^"For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light” (v. 8).  This is a beautiful picture of conversion.

 

    Coming to Christ is like walking from the darkness into a room filled with blazing light.  Once we come out of the darkness, we see things we never saw before. When we lived in the darkness, we did whatever we wanted to do, but in the light, we must put off the deeds of darkness and put on a lifestyle befitting the children of the light.

 

    Verse 9 spells this out: “For the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth.”  Goodness touches on how we deal with others. Righteousness involves a new commitment to obey God’s commands.  Truth demands a deep commitment to live with integrity.  When we walk in the light we are no longer free agents, making our own moral choices as we go along.  As Christians we believe something stupendous that the world does not understand at all.  We believe there is a God in heaven who has spoken, that His Word is authoritative, and that He has the absolute right to determine our moral choices,  how we conduct our business affairs, how we spend our money, and all the other choices we make in life.  Obviously the world finds this strange, somewhat mysterious, possibly antisocial and borderline dangerous. Plan to be in the Lords House coming Sunday, to Him singing and shouting praises .  When saints sing and praise Satan trembles.

"They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death."
 Rev 12:11

In Christ,

  Brown

https://youtu.be/twuLr5rQmp0

Brown's Daily Word 8/19/15

    It is one of the ten best days here in central New York.  It is sunny, stunning, and  brilliant.  I wish this weather pattern would last through the 23 rd of December and start snowing on Christmas Eve for the sake of my wife, who loves snow for Christmas.  My daughter in Boston and her family Boston love sunny days in Boston  after the relentless snowy days this past year. 

    Our church will host a church wide dinner, inviting the community to come and join us this evening starting at 4:30 PM.  Those of you that live in the area please join us.  It will be a sizzling summer menu that includes sausages with peppers and onions, sweet corn on the cob, and plenty of dessert.  It will be a blast.  We are excited about this holy event.  Our people prepare the dinner with much love and serve it with much joy.

    Our Lord Jesus performed his first sign / miracle in Cana of Galilee at a wedding reception.  Being with Jesus isn’t about being boring.  Coming to Christ shouldn't be boring.   If it is, you’re not following closely enough.

    Rondal, a New Testament commentator, underlined this thought in the Interpreter’s Bible Commentary.   Many people may be surprised by these amazing truths.  First, it is a fact that Christ was present -  they wanted him to be there, they had no fear that he would be out of his element or fail to fit in or that he would make others uncomfortable.  Christ did not hold aloof from innocent human happiness, (a fact that many of his followers have forgotten with tragic results), making his Faith a more rigorous and stern thing than he ever did.

    To speak plainly, some people don’t want to become a Christian because they think Jesus wants to "rain on their parade.  Know this about weddings when Jesus lived – often lasted a week or more and it was an indulgence of eating, drinking, and wild celebration.  yet we often make Jesus out to be boring. Jesus does His first miracle and the party goes longer and it’s better wine!  Sounds awkward.  If we're truly a Christian – truly a follower of Jesus – life’s often going to be dangerous and exciting. The master of feast tasted the wine and did not know where it came from – but the servant knew –

How often do miracles happen right under our noses and we don't know it.

The servant knew. How heartening is it that the servants were his fellow workers.

Still to this day he works this way, yet  our Lord raises the profile of the servants.  The servants don't raise their own profile, the servants don’t look to be honored, but that’s the way Jesus works –

John 15:15 – “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business.  Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” 

Once the master lets us know what He’s up to, Once He gives us an assignment, once we are willing to be a servant, He  turns the tables and  we are  no longer simply a servant.We have  received a promotion.  Even though we  are still  servants,  we are  a servant and more.  He no longer calls us servant,  He calls us His friends.WOW!

In Him.

 Brown

https://youtu.be/qQ71RWJhS_M

Brown's Daily Word 8/18/15

    Praise the Lord for this sizzling summer day.  The Lord blessed us with a beautiful Sunday in His house last Sunday.  One of the visitors was a young girl who said that she wanted to meet the new pastor in town.  She came with her grandparents.  She was all dressed up for church.  She was sweet, and she made my heart glad.  Praise the Lord for the church, where everybody is somebody and Jesus is Lord. 

    Alice I and took our nieces and nephews to Taughannock State Park and Taughannock Falls yesterday to spend some time with them before they go to school and college.  It was a gorgeous day, sunny and superb.  As we walked we  met some people who had come to the lake area for a wedding.  They were walking on one of the shady and cool trails, enjoying the beauty of the Lord.  Our nieces and nephews got in a swim at the lake.  The water temperature, we were told, was 74.  We met some retired couples who were spending time at the lake shore bathing on the breeze and blessings of the Lord.


    It is another sizzling day here in central New York.  I spoke to one of my nephews who lives in the UK this morning.  He and his wife are expecting their first child.  We praise the Lord.  Our daughter Sunita, who is Washington, DC, is expecting for the first time and her first child is due at the end of this month. She sounds always graceful, and confident in the Lord.  Please pray for the safe arrival of the newborn.

    We have been reading from the Book of the Ephesians for our Sunday morning worship.  There is so much confusion in the world.  People are confused about marriage, about sex, about the present, about the future, about life, and about death.  Jesus came as the Light.  He sheds His light abroad in our hearts.  We can live and walk in the light and in confidence, no longer in quandary and moral and spiritual confusion.  The enemy, the adversary plants seeds of confusion and deep doubt in our hearts and in our lives.  We follow the enemy blindly and are prone to wander away from the One who loves us and came down to give us life, and that life abundantly.
    The story is told of Philip Henry, Matthew Henry’s father.  Matthew Henry was the great Puritan commentator.  Philip Henry was a commoner.  He was lowborn in a day and age when social standing mattered a very great deal and he was engaged to be married to a young Christian woman of a significantly higher social standing than he.  Her parents were concerned and thought this gulf in social status almost to be an insurmountable barrier and so they asked her, “This man, Philip Henry, where has he come from?”.  She replied, “I do not know where he has come from but I know where he is going.”  And that’s Paul’s point in the Book of Ephesians. When God by His Spirit is at work by His Word in the lives of His people they begin to grow in assurance of their destiny and their security.  That’s why Paul described the Holy Spirit as a guarantee and a seal, guaranteeing our possession of the inheritance that is to come, our future.

    When the Spirit comes He helps us know our value, our identity.  Paul prayed that we might have the Spirit “and so know what is the hope to which He has called us and the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints.”  This is a fascinating phrase.  Paul talked about our inheritance - heaven.  Here he spoke about God’s inheritance - we are His inheritance.  Redeemed sinners from every nation under heaven are His inheritance.  We  are His treasure in whom He delights.  This is the dignity of a Christian.  In a day when to follow Jesus may mean to become the object of derision, scorn, and contempt; it a day when to be faithful to the standards of Scripture may become increasingly costly in terms of society and its shifting values; when others around you may shun you for your faith in Jesus, here is help to stand firm.  The true value of a believer is that although the world derides you and scorns you, God the Father Himself considers you His treasure, His portion, His inheritance, His delight.


    Paul prayed that we may know “what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead.”  God is not simply in the business of making empty promises or calling us to live in a certain way without supplying the power to obey.  He is saying that when the Spirit comes and wields His Word and power in our hearts and growing assurance of our destiny enables us to press on until we cross the finish line and take possession of the Promised Land at last.  As we understand our value and our identity as the inheritance and treasured possession of the Father and are made bold to stand firm no matter what the world says, we should also know that God will give us power to persevere.  We will cross the line not because we have the power, not because we have the stamina or the wisdom or the strength, but because the same power that has broken the grip of death and raised Jesus Christ to life and seated Him at the right-hand of glory in heaven is at work to keep us, preserve us, and bring us home.

In Christ,

 Brown

https://youtu.be/45WKXjRkSkU

Brown's Daily Word 8/15/15

Praise the Lord for this beautiful Saturday, a gift from the Lord.  We are excited about being in the Lord's house tomorrow.  We will gather at 11:00 AM at Marathon United Methodist Church for worship, celebration, and witness.  Plan to be in the Lord's house wherever you might be to worship Jesus and proclaim His majesty. 

 

    I was viewing a program this evening as a woman gave a testimony on how Jesus changed her life and delivered her from a cycle of poverty which had kept her in bondage.  The enemy often chains people in that type of chronic bondage.  Jesus came, indeed, to set the captives free, and He still does set the captives free. 

 

    I praise the Lord for the faithful witness of fellow servant and colleague, Kenneth Simpson, who entered the Church Triumphant and the Eternal City.  He served the Lord with great devotion and humility.  He was a blessing in my life. I praise the Lord for the memories we have of Ken Simpson, and the hope is ours because of Christ, that we all shall gather together and lay our crowns at the feet of Jesus. 

 

    Praise the Lord for the sweet and stunning summer season.  We were able to do some traveling over the last few days, before the summer comes to a sudden conclusion.  We were able to see places that we have only heard or read about,  and we got to see many new people.  We saw the great and majestic handiwork of our Lord all around us, in places that we had never before gone.  We were away for 10 days, having taken the train from Syracuse, NY, going west by trains called the Lakeshore Limited and the California Zephyr.  The Lord blessed us, allowing us to see the some of the majestic and stunning places of America.  

 

    In the course of our travels we were awed by majestic mountains as we made our way into and through the stunning Rockies.  We passed through 37 tunnels as we made our way through beautiful topographies that changed from place to place and from state to state.  On our journey we followed the Colorado River, where scores of people were canoeing, kayaking, fishing, white water rafting, and camping.  Many passengers were enroute to Glenwood Springs, Colorado, where there were very famous hot springs and stunning scenery. 

 

    After almost 3 days of travel we arrived in Emeryville, California where we had views of the San Francisco Bay Bridge and, after a little walk, the famous Golden Gate Bridge.  After spending the overnight there, we traveled by train and bus to the wonder-filled Yosemite National Park.  We stayed in the park's lodge overnight and we were overwhelmed by the fragrant cedar scented air.  We walked through cedars, sequoias, and Ponderosa pines, all towering above us.  We took a sight-seeing tour through the park, gazing at the breath-taking scenes and sights all around, from El Capitan to Glacier Point, from the famous Bridal Veil Falls to the majestic Yosemite Falls.  El Capitan has a huge rock face which is one of the favorite climbs for adventurous rock climbers from all over the country, and it is one of the most frequently photographed sites as well.

 

    On Tuesday we took the connecting bus, which followed the Pacific Coast Highway to Santa Barbara, where met our train to LA, and as we went we were treated to endless views of the Pacific Ocean, where many people were at play on the waves and in the water.  Along the way we saw great stretches of RVs camped along the highway, not 50 yards from the Pacific.  We traveled on the Southwest Chief from LA to Flagstaff, Arizona, arriving in Flagstaff long before sunrise.  Along the way we saw almost endless vineyards, vegetable gardens, and orchards.  It was harvest season in many of the fields.

    

    We took a day trip to the glorious Grand Canyon, where we spent the day hiking/walking, in order to have a glimpse of the amazing scenes that unfolded all around us.  We walked 3-4 miles (out of the 225 or so that it would take to circumnavigate the gorge.  Along the way we were enraptured by the views of our Lord's amazing Creation. 

 

     On the way home we rode through the world famous Rocky mountains and back trough the some of the iconic plains, ranches, farm lands, and dynamic deserts.  The Lord blessed us with His favor throughout our journey.  He allowed us to see and visit some of the wonderful places of His Creation.  We saw the hills singing, the mountains proclaiming His majesty.  The deserts and the valleys were blossoming, offering to the Lord unending praise and honor.  We also saw the miles and miles vineyards, cornfields , and fruit trees of all kinds producing their kind in their due season.  We saw thousands and thousands of acres of ranches and prairie land and were reminded of the people who lived there and the pioneers and moved west with faith in the Lord and with the love for their families, exploring and establishing homes, hearths, and altars.  They were brave, courageous, and faithful.  The Lord blessed us to see some amazing places of His creation in America, the Beautiful.  Best of all, He gave us favor with His People from the beginning to the end, as we traveled over 7000 miles by train and bus.  We met some wonderful people.  The cabin crew and hospitality staff on the trains were more than kind and gracious to us.  Everywhere we went we heard the stories and of the people whom we met.  They shared about their lives and families, and many testified to the Lord's wondrous grace and love. 

 

    We visited two of the most amazing US National Parks Yosemite and Grand Canyon.  We met people from all over the globe including Great Britain, France, Italy, Sweden, New Zealand, Austria, China, Japan, and most of the 50 States. Notably, there were many Amish families on the train from Chicago to California, and many times more on the return trip from Flagstaff to Chicago.  There were many Amish families, apparently from multiple Amish communities in various locations. 

 

    Mealtime was a special time to meet and greet men and women from various parts of the country.  We always sat across from one or two persons, with whom we shared not only a meal, but glimpses of our life stories.  During one lunch seating we shared the table with two sisters.  One sister shared that she and her husband were blessed with four children.  They adopted 11 more children. The other sister never got married.  She was a college professor.  She supports and comes alongside her children. 

 

    One morning we shared breakfast with a couple from California.  The husband retired from working in one of the State hospitals as a supervisor, and now he works in a Church run retirement community part time as a chaplain.  He shared about a young girl who was born severely handicapped.  Her parents are from India, and coming from Hindu background.  They had a very difficult time dealing with the handicap of their daughter.  They thought their daughter was cursed by God.  The daughter wanted to go to church, and she insisted on going.  The chaplain told us that the church members saw to it that this young woman did get to come to church.  The church family loved this beautiful young woman and they confirmed in her heart that she was not cursed.  Jesus loved her.  This young lady believed in the Lord and her life changed.  Slowly her family began to come to church.   Recently the young woman died. Her funeral service was held in the church.  Her family and all the extended family attended the service of celebration of her life.  Now the family have put their faith in the Lord Jesus and have become part of the worship community. 

 

    One morning we were seated for breakfast in Arizona as the train was moving east.  A couple came into the dining car where they were seated at our table.  With the initial exchange of formal greetings I asked them where they were from.  The husband said they were from Binghamton, NY, but indicated that we wouldn't know where that was.  After a brief pause he said.  "I know you.  You are pastor Naik Brown". 

 

    We met some of the beautiful people of all ages of all back grounds from all over the globe.  We met some native Americans in Arizona.  I shared with them that I was born In India.  They extended a great sense of love and grace.  One native American was nearly eighty, we think, and was Hopi.  She told us that her mother taught her to always be friendly, but said that it made here cry when people were rude to her in return.  She spent several minutes sharing with us about her life at Grand Canyon Park.

 

    We rode across thousands of miles of prairie land, farms, ranches, high desert, and mountains.  We saw some cathedrals and churches as we were going along, and as we passed through some of the Indian Reservations saw some one room churches.  We came home blessed and soul full.  Thank you for praying for us. We live in a wonderful country .. . and we are so blessed.  It is all so bountiful, so beautiful. The Lord blessed us with some spectacular sunrises and stunning sunsets. 

 In Christ,

 Brown.

https://youtu.be/n7lvyd1JdQU