Praise the Lord for this brand new day. He
blessed us with a gorgeous day yesterday here in the Central New York
with mild weather and abundant sunshine. Alice and I drove in
the countryside celebrating the beauty and the blessings of the Lord in the
great outdoors. We saw flocks of wild turkeys roaming and foraging,
carefree and unhurried. We also saw small family farms with goats, sheep,
geese, ducks, cows, and horses. The days are getting longer with more
daylight. We walked again in the late afternoon, covering more
ground than on previous days on the green grass and frozen ground. We
came upon children who were boot skating on some of "ice
islands". We stopped by the river banks and watched the river
that runs through town. I was reminiscing about an outdoor wedding I
had performed on the very spot where we stood, close to the boat
landing. I had performed the wedding in the early nineties of the last
century. The Lord blessed the couple with a son who is at Clarkson
University studying engineering.
We had some sweet face time with our family
Boston yesterday. It was Ada's 6th birthday. They all spent the day
bowling, ice skating, and just celebrating. Micah, Simeon, and Ada are
all growing up so fast. We talked about doing some camping in the National parks
this summer. We also had a call from daughter who is vacationing in Hawaii.
The Lord is blessing her days there in the tropics. We just compared the
notes, as the area where I was born and raised in Orissa, India resembles
Hawaii to some extent. We have high peaked mountains and deep
valleys. The area is over 5000 feet above sea level yet we were just
50 miles as the crow flies from the shores of the Bay of Bengal. The
region where I was born is also like Hawaii in that it is blessed
profusely with mangoes, papayas, jackfruit, Coffee, pineapples, and sugar
cane. Taro, figs, and tamarinds also grow in abundance.
I learned from one of our friends about the
death of Richard Molyneaux. Richard Molyneaux was our old
neighbor (sort of). He was a born farmer. After serving in
World War II as part of the "Greatest Generation", Richard came
back home and became a farmer. He was blessed to own hundreds of acres of
farm land, which was wooded and had large hunting area. He was one
of the largest growers of Christmas trees in the area, with Molyneaux
Plantation. He also raised fruit like blueberries, as well as maple syrup
and honey. Mr Molyneaux was a committed and faithful Christian who was
a servant of Jesus. As a family we got our annual Christmas trees from
his farm, When the daughters were teenagers we tagged our Christmas
tree on a warm Indian Summer day in October and would always get
a tree 9 feet tall. For a few years it was Blue Spruce and then
we switched to Balsam or Douglas Fir. Alice is a glutton for Christmas
trees. Mr. Molyneaux was kind, gentle, generous, and always
hospitable. During December his farm land became like
Christmas carnival site, for so many young families came there in droves to
pick there Christmas trees. I praise the Lord for his witness for Jesus
our Lord. He lived well. He served the Lord well. He loved
his family well. He died well because of Jesus. He was in his nineties.
Wow! "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His
saints". Psalm 116:15
We are gearing up to host a community wide
dinner. This will be held at the Church tomorrow (Wednesday)
starting at 4:30 PM and concluding at 6:00 PM. All friends and neighbors are warmly
invited for a great time of fellowship and sharing.
We will host our weekly Release time for
the children from the Public School this Thursday at 2:15. Praise the children
who come every week to learn about Jesus. Praise the Lord for workers who
invest their time and talents in the lives of these children.
Friday, the 20th of January, we will be
watching the inauguration of out 45th President of the United States of
America, Mr. Donald J. Trump. God Bless America.
Jesus the Promise Keeper made
another audacious promise: "These things I have spoken
unto you, that in me you might have peace. in the world you will
have tribulation; but, be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."
John 16
I get provoked and inspired by the faith and witness
of Daniel, who was taken as a captive to Babylon along with other young
men from Israel. Daniel could have said, 'when in Rome do as the Romans
do", but instead he "resolved in his heart that he would not defile himself"'.
I love the way the Lord extended His favor and grace to Daniel. "And
God gave Daniel favor". Though Daniel has the favor of the Lord he
was not immune from the trials and tears of life. Daniel walked by
faith. Because he understands the nature of his Lord, Daniel offered God
prayer and praise in a difficult time. Still, Daniel's regard for God had
yet to reach its broadest expression. When the bottom seemed to fall out,
and Daniel's circumstances remained tough, he still proclaimed the greatness of
God. Daniel's response to peril was proclamation. He resisted any
temptation to take credit for the amazing insight God granted him. When
the king asked Daniel if he could reveal the dream, the prophet—who by now knew
the dream and its interpretation—made sure the king knew that God had provided
it all. The prophet was careful to ensure that God alone was
glorified.
The Bible says that God is the One
who keeps us safe because beneath under us are his everlasting arms (Deuteronomy 33:27).
We may think that what we have accomplished, or what we are, is a matter of our
efforts, arrangements, or abilities—or the work of our hands—but the truth is
that other arms have been beneath us. Were it not for those arms beneath
our lives, we would long since have fallen from the heights we thought our
abilities had enabled us to climb. Pride and self-acclaim disappear when
the true source of human achievement is known. If we are anything, it is
only because God climbed the heights with us and kept us from falling.
Daniel knew the trust of God's
enabling and keeping. This erased all reference to self in his
speech. The prophet was so conscious of the work of his God that no
explanation of the king's dream could possibly exclude the proclamation of God
as the source of revelation. Even when the young prophet wasn't yet sure
what the cruel Nebuchadnezzar's response would be, God could not be kept from
Daniel's lips. As a result, God could not be kept from Nebuchadnezzar's
mind. When Daniel finished interpreting the dream, Nebuchadnezzar not
only paid homage to Daniel (because the king didn't fully understand God yet),
the king also honored Daniel's God: "Truly your God is the God of gods,
and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal
this mystery" (2:47). Because of Daniel's proclamation, the king knew
Daniel's ability was from his God. Nebuchadnezzar recognized that the power of
God was an important product of Daniel's proclamation which would have far-reaching
spiritual implications for this despot, but there were even more implications
of Daniel's proclamation.
The proclamation accompanying Daniel's
revelation made the power and presence of the Lord so real that the king would
not touch God's prophet. Daniel's interpretation openly degraded the future of
Babylon and her king. Yet, instead of ordering Daniel's execution for such an
affront, Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before the prophet and praised Daniel's
God. The king was so humbled that the rage Daniel expected never came.
Nebuchadnezzar bowed to Daniel. The prophet's proclamation itself became an
instrument of God used to give perspective to the king and to protect Daniel.
There is never a better time to
proclaim God than when the risk seems great, because God assumes control of
those causes fought in his name. The powers of this world cannot stand when God
is clearly, courageously, and solely proclaimed. By our witness others see the
Lord better, and as a consequence, the Lord affects their lives. Whether they
turn toward him or away from him, they are still being forced to deal with his
testimony through our proclamation.
We can bear almost anything if
only we see God at work in our circumstances. The Book of Daniel teaches
us we may not see God clearly enough to take comfort and strength from our
vision until we proclaim him. Proclamation of God clarifies our vision of
him. When we learn enough of God to express him before others, we begin
to know him well enough to entrust him with our lives. The heart that
overflows with knowledge and love of God is never overwhelmed by the
circumstances that are already in his hands. We hear loud and clear from
many faithful Christians who are in the midst severe persecution from
pagan governments that they keep on praising the Lord and proclaiming His
faithfulness. In the face of adversity, even death, Christians are
proclaiming, Jesus as Lord and Savior.
In Jesus.
Brown
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