Brown's Daily Word 6/17/17

Honor and Praises to Jesus, the Bright and the morning star.  His light shines on us and His glory fills the earth in all seasons and in all spheres.  Praise Him for this new day.  I woke up early this morning, refreshed and rested, along with the singing birds with their sonnets and melodies.  As woke up I was reminded of the words of Fernando Ortega:

     If the rain clouds come
     Or the cold winds blow,
     And in my heart I know

     This good day day
     It is a gift from you.
     The world is turning in its place
     Because you made it to.
     I lift my voice
     To sing a song of praise
     On this good day.

     Jesus is the divine and ultimate mover and shaker of the universe.  As it is written, "in Him we live  and move and have our being.  We praise the Lord for His manifold blessings and mercies.  Our daughter Sunita flew from Bangkok back to Washington yesterday.  After more than 21 hours in flight she arrived in Washington, DC safe and sound.  She said the conference was was a blessing, as she got to meet some of the leaders and servants from Southeast Asia who are serving Jesus through the work of World Vision.  

     Our son in law Jeremy celebrated his 40 birthday yesterday.  He said that Janice and he took a walk in the woods and went out for lunch and a birthday dinner.  It was a special-day of celebration indeed.  We praise the Lord for Jeremy.  

     We finished planting garden 2017.  We did much of planting on Thursday afternoon.  The Lord sent a drenching rain all night Thursday.  Thanks be to Jesus for our friend who has given us the garden space.  It is surrounded by a panoramic view of the the hills, downs, farms, and fields.  The morning and evening vista is therapeutic.  The garden is surrounded  by sweet corn fields and bee hives that belong to local bee farmer.  We are grateful and thankful.

     Praise the Lord for the life and witness of Wilbur Wesner, who entered the church triumphant this week.  He and his dear wife Prudence were part of the staff  of the Church I served for 25 years. Wilbur and Trudy, who were married for 61 years, were faithful servants of Jesus.  Wilbur was 86 years old when he entered the Church Triumphant.  "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints".

    Praise the Lord for Saturday.  We are gearing up for an evening of feasting and celebration.  We will gather for a banquet this evening at 6:00 PM.  The menu includes Prime Rib and all the trimmings. Praise the Lord for Sunday, when our Nation celebrates Father's Day.  Praise the Lord all fathers.  I praise the Lord for my dad, whose name was Solomon.  He died in 1973 at the age of 48.  My dad was man of deep faith and great courage who was blessed with a magnanimous spirit and heart overflowing with generosity and kindness.  I am honored and blessed to be the father of my beautiful daughters who refresh my heart and challenge my walk with the Lord.  They provoke me to live on the edge for sake of the Kingdom of Jesus our Lord.

     It’s Father’s Day this weekend, and the very first national celebration of this day was on June 19, 1924, by proclamation of President Calvin Coolidge.  It all came about because of the efforts of Sonora Smart Dodd, who was sitting in church in 1909 listening to a Mother’s Day sermon when the idea of Father’s Day first came to mind.  Having been raised by her father after her mother’s death, Sonora wanted her father to know how special he was to her for all his parental sacrifices and for being, in her eyes, so courageous, selfless, and loving.  Through the efforts of this devoted daughter President Coolidge designated the 3rd Sunday of June as “Father’s Day.”  Our nation has been celebrating Father's Day ever since.

     In June 1992, Jim Davidson and Mike Price climbed Mt. Rainier. On the way down, the two climbers fell 80 feet through a snow bridge into a glacial crevasse.  It was a pitch-black, ice-walled crack in the massive glacier that cover Mt. Rainier.  Mike Price died in that tragic event.

     In his book "The Ledge", Jim Davidson tells the story of his miraculous survival and courageous climb out of the crevasse. Throughout the book, Jim reflects back to his childhood and young adult years, describing his relationship with his dad.  As early as Jim can remember, his father had shown what some considered an almost reckless confidence in his son.  Jim worked for his father, painting high, steep-pitched roofs and electrical towers as early as age 12.  The work terrified his mother, but Jim's father kept communicating his belief that Jim could accomplish great things if he pressed through adversity and kept going.

     As Jim stood, bloodied and bruised, on the two-foot-wide snow ledge next to the body of his climbing partner, he heard the encouraging voice of his father.  With minimal gear and no experience in ice climbing at that level, Jim spent the next five hours climbing out, battling fatigue and the crumbling ice and snow that threatened to bury him.  Throughout his ordeal, Jim kept recalling the words of his dad.  Five grueling hours later, thanks to his father's words, Jim climbed out of the crevasse to safety.

     Our success as fathers depends a lot on the words we speak to our children.  Few fathers will ever have the value of their words tested as dramatically as Jim's father.  Sooner or later, the effectiveness of our words will be evident.

     Sometimes the role of a father's words is de-emphasized.  Many insist that what a father says is not nearly as important as what he does.  Certainly there is a measure of truth in this, but we all know how powerful words can be.  Solomon, the wisest man to ever live, wrote in Proverbs, "The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit" (18:21).  Every one of us can probably think of a moment in our lives when someone's words brought us either life or death.  It then stands to reason that the words a father speaks to a son or daughter are especially powerful