Good Morning,
Praise the Lord for this Holy Season. The world all around us longs for peace, and we as believers pray for peace as we anticipate celebrating the birth of the Prince of Peace. The angel and the multitude of the heavenly host declared to the lowly shepherds, "Glory to God in the Highest and Peace on earth and good will to all men with whom He is well pleased". Isaiah 2:1-4 gives us a wonderful picture of God’s peace. Verse 4 poetically states that the weapons of war will be transformed into items that are constructive. Swords will beaten into plowshares. Spears will be beaten into pruning hooks. At that time, nations will no longer train their militaries for war any more. The transformation of these weapons is from instruments designed to kill into tools that are used in farming. They become instruments that support life. It is God who gives us the fruits of the field. It is also God who makes peace possible. The United States did not enter WORLD WAR II until after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Both civilians and service men alike remember that event. That day and that event marked a time in the history of our country when no one living at the time would ever forget where they were or what they doing when they heard the news December 7, 1941. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt described that day as a day that would live in infamy. Those who were not living at that time have learned about the events of that historic day from the history books. From the moment that Pearl Harbor was bombed onward, the name of the place known as Pearl Harbor became known as a battle cry. For the Japanese, Pearl Harbor was a victory. Years before the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, there was a young Japanese boy by the name of Mitsuo Fuchida who, at the age of three, aspired to become a national hero like the Japanese national hero Admiral Togo, who had at one time destroyed the Russian fleet in a surprise attack. Years later, Mitsuo Fuchida became the equivalent of the modern day American TOP GUN in Japan. It was Mitsuo Fuchida who led 360 Japanese planes in the attack on Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7, 1941. Almost two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ was born in a town called Bethlehem. Far too many times we make light of the significance of this fact. Jesus is the PRINCE OF PEACE (Isaiah 9:6). The name "Jesus" means Savior (Matthew 1:21). Jesus is our Immanuel, which means that He is God with us (Matthew 1:23). He died in our place as the sacrificial lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). German theologian Karl Barth once said, "In Christ both creation and humanity are reconciled. Forgiveness and reconciliation are one in the same. For God forgives us of our sins through Jesus Christ." It was only through Jesus Christ that Jacob Deshazer, U. S. soldier and ex-POW, was able to get rid of his hatred for the Japanese. Jacob Deshazer had just finished flight school when he heard about the bombing of Pearl Harbor. As a result, Jacob began to hate the Japanese with a passion. He had an axe to grind, a score to settle. In fact he was so hot with passion that he even volunteered for a bombing mission into Japan that was known as the "Doolittle mission". While he was on that mission, he ran out of fuel. Shortly thereafter, he was captured by the Japanese. The next 40 months of his life were spent as a POW. 34 of those 40 months he spent in solitary confinement. One day, he saw a fellow POW die of starvation; that enraged him all the more in his passionate hate for the Japanese. However, instead of building on that hate any more, he reflected on the idea of how he once heard that Jesus Christ could turn hate into love. He spent the next few months begging for a Bible. Finally, his captors got him one. After his conversion, he would pray for his captors even when they beat him. Obviously, through Jesus Christ, God had changed Jacob’s axe to grind and his score to settle into a cross to carry as a disciple of Jesus Christ. God had emotionally and spiritually turned his sword and spear into a plowshare and a pruning hook. One day, years later, Jacob Deshazer and Mitsuo Fuchida ran into each other. It was a meeting that changed Fuchida’s life forever. He had been called to a courthouse as a character witness for war crimes. He had been sent as an investigator to Hiroshima and back to Tokyo along with twelve others after the atomic bomb had been dropped in Hiroshima. Of the thirteen who went to investigate what had happened to Hiroshima, Fuchida was the only one who did not die from radiation. As Fuchida stepped outside the courthouse he saw a crowd around Jacob Deshazer. He noticed that Deshazer was handing out pamphlets of his testimony about how he had turned from hateful U.S. soldier and POW to a new creation in Christ (Second Corinthians 5:17). Paper was scarce, so many were lining the soles of their worn out shoes with these pamphlets. Fuchida took one and read its contents instead. As a result, he accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. He, too, had allowed God to emotionally and spiritually turn his sword and spear into a plowshare and a pruning hook. The spiritual battle has already been won, but the victory that comes from Jesus Christ cannot be our victory until surrender takes place. Sometimes we have been guilty of carrying an axe to grind long for far too long, long after the initial battle or confrontation. We do not have to bear arms to find ourselves fighting with God and each other. All we have to do is refuse to be the peacemakers (Matthew 5:9) that Christ has called us to be as His disciples and we will discover that we have allowed the devil to get a toe hold for his bidding as trouble makers who will in the end only keep biting and devouring one another until we have destroyed each other (Galatians 5:15 paraphrased).
If these two men, who were enemies due to the war that they fought in, can become brothers in Christ then why is it so hard for some of us to do the same? The reason it is hard might be because we have not been willing to surrender our swords and spears so that Christ can reconcile us to each other and to God. We cannot proclaim God’s peace unless we have proclaimed it in our own lives. In Jesus our Saviour,
Brownhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpgaWm2pnNs
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Brown's Daily Word & India update12-16-08
Good Morning,
In the Gospel of Luke, we come across two characters who make their appearance in the final acts of the Christmas drama. One is a man named Simeon; the other is a woman named Anna. They don’t appear in any nativity scenes or in many Christmas cards, but they are significant players in the first Christmas pageant. Both of these individuals were waiting for something -- actually, they were waiting for someone. Luke uses a Greek word of anticipation that identifies them as waiting with expectation for the coming of the Messiah, or Savior. It literally means that they were “alert to His appearance, and ready to welcome Him.” We see this word in Luke 2:25 in reference to Simeon where we read that “He was waiting...” and in Luke 2:38 to describe a woman named Anna who was, “...looking forward to...” Simeon was Waiting For Comfort: We’re introduced to Simeon in Luke 2:25, “Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon Him.” Simeon’s expectation focused on the comfort that Christ would bring. Among Jews of Simeon’s day one of the popular titles for the Messiah was Comforter. They were longing for the Messiah to come and bring His comfort to them. The desire to be comforted is a universal human need. We all struggle at times with loneliness, emptiness, insecurity, and even desperation. In fact, the Christmas season is one of the major crisis times of the year for depression and suicide. It is a part of the human condition. The Holy Spirit prompted Simeon to go to the temple courts at just the right time on just the right day that Joseph and Mary were bringing their infant to the Temple. When Simeon looked at the baby Jesus, now about 6 weeks old, he knew that God’s promise had been kept. Here was Immanuel, “God With Us,” to make everything right, to provide significance by His presence, and to eliminate rejection, fear, and loneliness. Luke 2:28 says that Simeon reached down and took Jesus out of Mary’s arms and began to praise God. As he broke out into praise, he acknowledged that God had not only fulfilled the individual promise to himself, but also the promises of the prophets to send the Anointed One to comfort both Jews and Gentiles. The other Christmas Character waiting with anticipation was Anna. After her husband had died, she had dedicated herself to fasting and praying in the temple. In fact, the Bible says that she never left the temple but worshipped day and night. She was looking forward to the same person as Simeon was, but with a different orientation. Instead of looking for comfort, Anna was looking for forgiveness. Take a look at verse 38: “Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.” The word redemption is related to the idea of captivity. The Old Testament Passover and the release of Israel from Egyptian slavery stood in Anna’s day as the ultimate redemption and the symbol of God’s power to release captives. Ultimately, Passover pointed ahead to that day when God would provide deliverance from the slavery of sin. When Anna saw Jesus, she gave thanks to God and spoke of Him to all who were waiting for redemption. Here, at last, was the One who would save His people from their sins. When Jesus came, He provided the very things that Simeon and Anna were waiting for -- God’s comfort and His forgiveness. How can we not find what we have been looking for? Once we have found it, how can we keep quiet about it? Once you have the Son, you have everything. Many years ago, there was a very wealthy man who shared a passion for art collecting with his son. They had priceless works by Picasso and Van Gogh adorning the walls of their family estate. As winter approached, war engulfed the nation, and the young man left to serve his country. After only a few short weeks, his father received a telegram saying that his son had died. Distraught and lonely, the old man faced the upcoming Christmas holidays with anguish and sadness. The joy of the season had vanished with the death of his son. On Christmas morning, a knock on the door awakened the depressed old man. As he walked to the door, the masterpieces of art on the walls only reminded him that his son was not coming home. As he opened the door he was greeted by a soldier with a large package in his hands who said, “I was a friend of your son. I was the one he was rescuing when he died. May I come in for a few moments? I have something to show you.” The soldier mentioned that he was an artist and then gave the old man the package. The paper gave way to reveal a portrait of the man’s son. Though the world would never consider it the work of a genius, the painting featured the young man’s face in striking detail. Overcome with emotion, the man hung the portrait over the fireplace, pushing aside millions of dollars worth of art. Then the old man sat in his chair and spent Christmas gazing at the gift he had been given.The painting of his son soon became his most prized possession, far eclipsing any interest in the pieces of art for which museums around the world clamored. The following spring, the old man died. The art world waited with anticipation for the upcoming auction. According to the will of the old man, all the art works would be auctioned on Christmas Day, the day he had received the greatest gift. The day soon arrived and art collectors from around the world gathered to bid on some of the world’s most spectacular paintings. Dreams were to be fulfilled that day. The auction began with a painting that was not on anyone’s museum list. It was the painting of the man’s son. The auctioneer asked for an opening bid, but the room was silent. “Who will open the bidding with $100?” No one spoke. Finally someone said, “Who cares about that painting. It’s just a picture of his son. Let’s move on to the good stuff.” The auctioneer responded, “No, we have to sell this one first. Now, who will take the son?” Finally, a neighbor of the old man offered $10 dollars. “That’s all I have. I knew the boy, so I’d like to have it.” The auctioneer said, “Going once, going twice…gone.” The gavel fell. Cheers filled the room and someone exclaimed, “Now we can bid on the real treasures!” The auctioneer looked at the room filled with people and announced that the auction was over. Everyone was stunned. Someone spoke up and said, “What do you mean, it’s over? We didn’t come here for a painting of someone’s son. There are millions of dollars worth of art here! What’s going on?” The auctioneer replied, “It’s very simple. According to the will of the Father, whoever takes the son gets it all.” This is the message of Christmas. Because of the Father’s love, whoever takes the Son gets it all.
In Christ ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltX-6HblGJI
In the Gospel of Luke, we come across two characters who make their appearance in the final acts of the Christmas drama. One is a man named Simeon; the other is a woman named Anna. They don’t appear in any nativity scenes or in many Christmas cards, but they are significant players in the first Christmas pageant. Both of these individuals were waiting for something -- actually, they were waiting for someone. Luke uses a Greek word of anticipation that identifies them as waiting with expectation for the coming of the Messiah, or Savior. It literally means that they were “alert to His appearance, and ready to welcome Him.” We see this word in Luke 2:25 in reference to Simeon where we read that “He was waiting...” and in Luke 2:38 to describe a woman named Anna who was, “...looking forward to...” Simeon was Waiting For Comfort: We’re introduced to Simeon in Luke 2:25, “Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon Him.” Simeon’s expectation focused on the comfort that Christ would bring. Among Jews of Simeon’s day one of the popular titles for the Messiah was Comforter. They were longing for the Messiah to come and bring His comfort to them. The desire to be comforted is a universal human need. We all struggle at times with loneliness, emptiness, insecurity, and even desperation. In fact, the Christmas season is one of the major crisis times of the year for depression and suicide. It is a part of the human condition. The Holy Spirit prompted Simeon to go to the temple courts at just the right time on just the right day that Joseph and Mary were bringing their infant to the Temple. When Simeon looked at the baby Jesus, now about 6 weeks old, he knew that God’s promise had been kept. Here was Immanuel, “God With Us,” to make everything right, to provide significance by His presence, and to eliminate rejection, fear, and loneliness. Luke 2:28 says that Simeon reached down and took Jesus out of Mary’s arms and began to praise God. As he broke out into praise, he acknowledged that God had not only fulfilled the individual promise to himself, but also the promises of the prophets to send the Anointed One to comfort both Jews and Gentiles. The other Christmas Character waiting with anticipation was Anna. After her husband had died, she had dedicated herself to fasting and praying in the temple. In fact, the Bible says that she never left the temple but worshipped day and night. She was looking forward to the same person as Simeon was, but with a different orientation. Instead of looking for comfort, Anna was looking for forgiveness. Take a look at verse 38: “Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.” The word redemption is related to the idea of captivity. The Old Testament Passover and the release of Israel from Egyptian slavery stood in Anna’s day as the ultimate redemption and the symbol of God’s power to release captives. Ultimately, Passover pointed ahead to that day when God would provide deliverance from the slavery of sin. When Anna saw Jesus, she gave thanks to God and spoke of Him to all who were waiting for redemption. Here, at last, was the One who would save His people from their sins. When Jesus came, He provided the very things that Simeon and Anna were waiting for -- God’s comfort and His forgiveness. How can we not find what we have been looking for? Once we have found it, how can we keep quiet about it? Once you have the Son, you have everything. Many years ago, there was a very wealthy man who shared a passion for art collecting with his son. They had priceless works by Picasso and Van Gogh adorning the walls of their family estate. As winter approached, war engulfed the nation, and the young man left to serve his country. After only a few short weeks, his father received a telegram saying that his son had died. Distraught and lonely, the old man faced the upcoming Christmas holidays with anguish and sadness. The joy of the season had vanished with the death of his son. On Christmas morning, a knock on the door awakened the depressed old man. As he walked to the door, the masterpieces of art on the walls only reminded him that his son was not coming home. As he opened the door he was greeted by a soldier with a large package in his hands who said, “I was a friend of your son. I was the one he was rescuing when he died. May I come in for a few moments? I have something to show you.” The soldier mentioned that he was an artist and then gave the old man the package. The paper gave way to reveal a portrait of the man’s son. Though the world would never consider it the work of a genius, the painting featured the young man’s face in striking detail. Overcome with emotion, the man hung the portrait over the fireplace, pushing aside millions of dollars worth of art. Then the old man sat in his chair and spent Christmas gazing at the gift he had been given.The painting of his son soon became his most prized possession, far eclipsing any interest in the pieces of art for which museums around the world clamored. The following spring, the old man died. The art world waited with anticipation for the upcoming auction. According to the will of the old man, all the art works would be auctioned on Christmas Day, the day he had received the greatest gift. The day soon arrived and art collectors from around the world gathered to bid on some of the world’s most spectacular paintings. Dreams were to be fulfilled that day. The auction began with a painting that was not on anyone’s museum list. It was the painting of the man’s son. The auctioneer asked for an opening bid, but the room was silent. “Who will open the bidding with $100?” No one spoke. Finally someone said, “Who cares about that painting. It’s just a picture of his son. Let’s move on to the good stuff.” The auctioneer responded, “No, we have to sell this one first. Now, who will take the son?” Finally, a neighbor of the old man offered $10 dollars. “That’s all I have. I knew the boy, so I’d like to have it.” The auctioneer said, “Going once, going twice…gone.” The gavel fell. Cheers filled the room and someone exclaimed, “Now we can bid on the real treasures!” The auctioneer looked at the room filled with people and announced that the auction was over. Everyone was stunned. Someone spoke up and said, “What do you mean, it’s over? We didn’t come here for a painting of someone’s son. There are millions of dollars worth of art here! What’s going on?” The auctioneer replied, “It’s very simple. According to the will of the Father, whoever takes the son gets it all.” This is the message of Christmas. Because of the Father’s love, whoever takes the Son gets it all.
In Christ ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltX-6HblGJI
Monday, December 15, 2008
Brown's Daily Word & India update12-15-08
Good Morning,
Praise the Lord, for it is Monday. The Lord blessed us wonderfully yesterday all day. We gathered for our family breakfast, a breakfast buffet, at 7a.m. Tom, Dean , Kathy, and Terri cooked up a storm. The St. Petersburg Men's ensemble presented a wonderful concert, presented in Russian. "Love in any language is fluently spoken here." Glenn gave his testimony. It was great morning.
The Lord blessed us during our morning worship services. We went our for caroling in the evening. Praise the Lord for the songs of Christmas. Praise the Lord for Christmas lights. Praise the Lord the way Christmas changes the world.
The Old Testament reading for yesterday, the third Sunday in Advent was taken from Isaiah 61. The prophet Isaiah ministered some 700 years before Jesus was born and brought a message that contained both bad news of judgment and good news of joy, peace, forgiveness and hope. “The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. [JOY] He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, [PEACE] to proclaim freedom for the captives [FORGIVENESS] and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor [HOPE] and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion -- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness [JOY] instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair…”Isaiah looks ahead to the time when glad tidings will be preached to the sad and the sorrowful, to the depressed and the despondent. To “proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” was a promise of a joyful jubilee. This must have been good news to those who were grieving. The “garment of praise” would replace the sackcloth of sadness. Ashes represent anguish while oil stands for joy in the Bible. God’s people had been pummeled with problems and yet, in the midst of the mess of their lives, these words filled them with a longing for something more. They had waited a long time for a special gift from God.
That reminds me of the woman who frantically bought a box of 50 identical Christmas cards so she could get them in the mail on time. She hastily opened each card and signed her name without bothering to read what was printed inside. Several days after they had been mailed, she came across one leftover card and discovered to her dismay that the inside had these words: “This card is just to say, a special gift is on the way.” (She should have read the card before she sent it.) Joy throbs throughout Scripture as a profound, compelling quality of life that transcends the delights and disasters which may dog God’s people. Joy is a divine dimension of living that is not shackled by circumstances. The Hebrew word means, “To leap or spin around with pleasure.” In the New Testament the word refers to “gladness, bliss and celebration.” We can be helped greatly in our journey towards joy if we learn to see the Almighty not as a taskmaster, but as the God of the Universe with a smile on His face. Listen to how God feels about you from Zephaniah 3:17: “The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” God delights in you and breaks out into song when He thinks about you! That’s hard to believe, isn’t it? I love how the Living Bible paraphrases this verse: “Is that a joyous choir I hear? No, it is the Lord himself exulting over you in happy song.” Luke 10:21 says that Jesus “was full of joy.” Acts 16:34 says that the Philippian jailer “…was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole family.” Is joy really what we want this Christmas? If so, then we must receive Jesus as Savior and Lord. Christ was born in Bethlehem but He must be born in you. Corrie Ten Boom once said, “If Jesus were born one thousand times in Bethlehem and not in me, then I would still be lost.” It’s easy to get all sentimental during this season, but we must not substitute sentimentality for salvation. This good news of great joy is “for all people.” God’s mega-message was never intended to just be for one group of people in one part of the world. God’s good news of great joy is for all people everywhere. It is “joy to the world.” “Rejoice, ye who feel that ye are lost; your Saviour comes to seek and save you. Be of good cheer ye who are in prison, for he comes to set you free. Ye, who are famished and ready to die, rejoice that he has consecrated for you a Bethlehem, a house of bread, and he has come to be the bread of life to your souls. Rejoice, O sinners everywhere, for the restorer of the castaways, the Saviour of the fallen is born. Join in the joy, ye saints, for he is the preserver of the saved ones, delivering them from innumerable perils, and he is the sure perfecter of such as he preserves. Jesus is no partial Saviour, beginning a work and not concluding it; but, restoring and upholding, he also perfects and presents the saved ones without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing before his Father’s throne. Rejoice aloud all ye people, let your hills and valleys ring with joy, for a Saviour who is mighty to save is born among you.” - Charles Spurgeon.
Joy to the world,
Brown
Hi Pastor Brown!
I had a real neat thing happen to me at dinner today, and I want to share it with you.
Okay, I decided to go to Boscov's right after church to pick up one last gift. I thought I could pick up something to eat at their little restaurant there. Well, the restaurant was closed. So, I started home. I then decided to stop at Christie's to eat because one of my cousins works there. She wasn't working, so I asked for a table "out of the way". I ate my meal...all the time enjoying the conversation of two nice looking young men sitting across from me. (By young, I mean young enough to be my grandsons!) I thought I heard the word "God" used once in a while. So, I strained to hear more. Sure enough, they said their blessing when the food arrived. Then I listened more closely, and it was obvious they were truly believers. I was thrilled. I only tell you this next part because it is such a vital part of the story. I asked the Lord if He wanted me to pick up their check. I felt strongly He wanted me to do that. I felt all giggly and thought I would just tell them to leave the tip when I left. So, I tore a piece of the paper tablecloth off and wrote a note to the waitress. It said, "I want their check, too." I put an arrow pointing towards them. Lo and behold, when the waitress arrived, I was handing the note to her, and one of the young men said, "She wanted to pick up our check, too." I was speechless, but I finally told the waitress to show them the note. Then they were speechless. They had a questionmark written all over their faces. I said, "I'm a Believer, too, and I enjoyed so much your conversation about God." None of us could believe what was happening. Okay, here's the bottom line: they go to Davis College. One boy is a preacher's kid, and the other boy is from India. I asked him if he knew you. He said no, but he decided that your brother teaches at Davis. The other boy (preacher's kid) said he had met you. I bragged about you to the Indian boy and told him to go out of his way to meet you because he would just love you. I wouldn't be surprised if they show up in one of your services some day. The preacher's kid's name is Steve. Can't believe I didn't get his last name. But the boy from India is Sam They're both beautiful kids and glow with the Love of Jesus. Do you think my meeting them was a coincidence? I don't. I get so discouraged with the way the world is today. These two encouraged my heart soooooooooo much. Believe me, Pastor, I'm not bragging. I'm just so tickled that I had to share this with someone. I thought you would be the logical one. HAVE A GREAT DAY!
Love in Christ,
Your Sister....L
Dear Friends,
Good morning. Merry Christmas. We are just under two weeks away from celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior. We praise the Lord for the Christ of Christmas, who came to preach Good News to the poor, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.
Thank you for your continual prayer for the persecuted and oppressed Christians of Orissa, India. As you know, over 70,000 Christians have been made homeless. Many are still living in refugee camps, under deplorable conditions. It is winter in Orissa now, with night-time temperatures falling to near-freezing. There are over 10,000 refugees living in the camp in G. Udayagiri. This camp is located on the grounds of Hubbock High School, the school which I attended, and from which I graduated in 1964. I personally know many of the people who are living in this camp. We have been sending some financial support to them from time to time, as the Lord has made it available. We would like to be able to send them a special Christmas gift of blankets and saris (women's wear). We would also like to send some gifts for the children - particularly clothing and shoes - at the Dugudi campus. Only 15 of them are still living on the Dugudi campus - because of safety considerations, the rest of the children were sent back to their families.
Twenty-five dollars will buy two blankets or two saris. We would also like to be able to make a gift of at least twenty-five dollars for each child, for the purchase of clothing and shoes.
I appeal to you in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, who came to seek, to save, and to serve the lost, the last, and the least, that we joyfully and prayerful step out in faith to help our brothers and sisters who have lost so much for the love of the Savior. You can make your checks payable to the Union Center United Methodist Church, with the memo line reading "Orissa Mission". Then send your check to the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128 Maple Drive, Endicott, NY 13760. Thank you for caring and sharing at this time of great need.
"Then the King will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.'"
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06xqOjoMEfw
Mon, 15/12/2008 - 1:34pm The Exodus of Christians from Kandhamal District of Orissa-attention of the Human Rights organisations
The Exodus of Christians from Kandhamal District: There is considerable reduction of refugees in Relief Camps (from 24,000 to 11,000). The claim that those who leave the relief camps are going back to their own villages and settling down in their homes is not true. Most of them have migrated to relief camps in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Jharsuguda, Berhampur and also settled down in rented houses and in the houses of relatives, friends, acquaintances etc. elsewhere. It is estimated that 10,000 to 15,000 Christians of Kandhamal district are living outside the district.
There are 9 camps in Kandhamal run by the government where nearly 12,000 people are staying at present.
Another 5 camps are outside Kandhamal: in Cuttack-1: 140 (65 families), in Bhubaneswar-2: 800(200 families), in Berhampur-1: 400(160 families), in Jharsuguda-1: 2000.
1200 families have left the state.There are also other victims who have left Orissa for Maharastra, Kerala, Goa and other states. The old, women and children are already suffering under the biting winter as they do not have sufficient warm clothes. A dead man was not allowed to be buried in his village as he did not become a Hindu in Sarthaguda of Tikabali block.
Christians are not allowed to harvest the paddy from their own fields in many Gram Panchayats if they do not become Hindus. Ms Lalitha Digal, 45 yrs, wife of Jemadar Digal, was killed at Dodabali village, under Gandringan G.P, under Sarangard police station on 25thNovemeber 2008. Late Digal was staying at the relief camp K. Nuagam, and on 21st Novemeber 2008 she had gone to the village to harvest the paddy. It is reported that she was staying at her friends' house of the same village. She was dragged from the house and killed, thereafter the body has not yet been found. Mr. Jamadar has lodged an FIR at the Sarngard police station through K.Nuagam police out post.
The children/students are the worst sufferers as they are languishing in the camps instead of going to schools.
Looting of Houses, Churches & Religious Houses: As the people had fled because of threats and fear, criminals are looting the homes, churches, religious houses and institutions. They are destroying and burning whatever is left behind.
Non Acceptance of FIRs: FIRs are not accepted in Daringabadi and Sarangoda Police Stations.
There is a strong rumour that the saffron forces have distributed flags to each household and to be put on the housetop so that they would be spared from the attacks in the next round. For this, preparations are underway for making new weapons and country made guns.
posted in: Current Issue, Persecution, East India
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Sun, 14/12/2008 - 10:14pm Christmas, moment of peace and hope for young widows of Orissa
http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=13997&geo=2&size=A
Christmas, moment of peace and hope for young widows of Orissaby Nirmala CarvalhoThe husband of Asmitha Digal, a 25-year-old mother of two daughters, was killed by Hindu fundamentalists during the first days of the pogrom against Christians. The woman testifies to the violence she has suffered, but says that she will not give in to the logic of violence. A Christian activist denounces treatment as "second-class citizens."
Bangalore (AsiaNews) - Leaving behind the trauma, pain, and violence suffered; testifying to the martyrdom suffered by one's loved ones without giving in to the logic of hatred, and issuing a message of peace and hope ahead of Christmas. In this spirit, 24 young widows of the district of Kandhamal, in Orissa, have recounted the anti-Christian pogrom unleashed by Hindu fundamentalists.
The women have left the refugee camp in Orissa, and have come to Bangalore. The trip was organized by activists of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), in order to permit the women to celebrate the Christmas holiday. In Orissa, tension remains high, and the Christian community has been threatened with new violence in the case of celebrations connected to Christmas.
Among the many stories of women marked by pain and suffering, AsiaNewshas gathered that of Asmitha Digal, from the village of Bataguda, 25 years old and with two young children, whose husband was barbarously killed by fundamentalists: "On August 26th [editor's note: one of the first days of the anti-Christian violence in Orisa] my husband Rajesh came by train, got off at Muniguda station and began walking to Kandhamal as there was no other transport and all the roads were blocked with felled trees. He was accompanied by a young Hindu boy Tunguru Mallick."
"At around 9 am," Asmitha continues, "they had reached Paburia village, they were stopped by a mob of nearly 60 RSS extremists [editor's note: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a nationalist paramilitary group] armed with long wooden clubs and batons, they snatched Rajesh's satchel, which had a Bible and gospel tracts. Mallick ran away and hid in some bushes, they thrashed Rajesh and told him to embrace Hinduism which he meekly refused. This angered the extremists who threw him into a pit and covered him with mud neck-downwards, and once again told him to become Hindu, yet again Rajesh refused, then they took huge stones and stoned him to death."
Asmitha says that she tried to report the case, but received no response or compensation. For her, the trip to Bangalore represents an opportunity to issue a message of hope. "I have to live for my children, my husband is with Jesus, and Jesus will be born for us at Christmas to bring us a new life. Jesus comes as a little baby, so helpless and born in a stable, our relief camps are like stables - bare tents, and we like Jesus are shivering in the cold, but Christ is alive and this is what makes the radicals afraid, we pray and believe in a living God."
Praise the Lord, for it is Monday. The Lord blessed us wonderfully yesterday all day. We gathered for our family breakfast, a breakfast buffet, at 7a.m. Tom, Dean , Kathy, and Terri cooked up a storm. The St. Petersburg Men's ensemble presented a wonderful concert, presented in Russian. "Love in any language is fluently spoken here." Glenn gave his testimony. It was great morning.
The Lord blessed us during our morning worship services. We went our for caroling in the evening. Praise the Lord for the songs of Christmas. Praise the Lord for Christmas lights. Praise the Lord the way Christmas changes the world.
The Old Testament reading for yesterday, the third Sunday in Advent was taken from Isaiah 61. The prophet Isaiah ministered some 700 years before Jesus was born and brought a message that contained both bad news of judgment and good news of joy, peace, forgiveness and hope. “The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. [JOY] He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, [PEACE] to proclaim freedom for the captives [FORGIVENESS] and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor [HOPE] and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion -- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness [JOY] instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair…”Isaiah looks ahead to the time when glad tidings will be preached to the sad and the sorrowful, to the depressed and the despondent. To “proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” was a promise of a joyful jubilee. This must have been good news to those who were grieving. The “garment of praise” would replace the sackcloth of sadness. Ashes represent anguish while oil stands for joy in the Bible. God’s people had been pummeled with problems and yet, in the midst of the mess of their lives, these words filled them with a longing for something more. They had waited a long time for a special gift from God.
That reminds me of the woman who frantically bought a box of 50 identical Christmas cards so she could get them in the mail on time. She hastily opened each card and signed her name without bothering to read what was printed inside. Several days after they had been mailed, she came across one leftover card and discovered to her dismay that the inside had these words: “This card is just to say, a special gift is on the way.” (She should have read the card before she sent it.) Joy throbs throughout Scripture as a profound, compelling quality of life that transcends the delights and disasters which may dog God’s people. Joy is a divine dimension of living that is not shackled by circumstances. The Hebrew word means, “To leap or spin around with pleasure.” In the New Testament the word refers to “gladness, bliss and celebration.” We can be helped greatly in our journey towards joy if we learn to see the Almighty not as a taskmaster, but as the God of the Universe with a smile on His face. Listen to how God feels about you from Zephaniah 3:17: “The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” God delights in you and breaks out into song when He thinks about you! That’s hard to believe, isn’t it? I love how the Living Bible paraphrases this verse: “Is that a joyous choir I hear? No, it is the Lord himself exulting over you in happy song.” Luke 10:21 says that Jesus “was full of joy.” Acts 16:34 says that the Philippian jailer “…was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole family.” Is joy really what we want this Christmas? If so, then we must receive Jesus as Savior and Lord. Christ was born in Bethlehem but He must be born in you. Corrie Ten Boom once said, “If Jesus were born one thousand times in Bethlehem and not in me, then I would still be lost.” It’s easy to get all sentimental during this season, but we must not substitute sentimentality for salvation. This good news of great joy is “for all people.” God’s mega-message was never intended to just be for one group of people in one part of the world. God’s good news of great joy is for all people everywhere. It is “joy to the world.” “Rejoice, ye who feel that ye are lost; your Saviour comes to seek and save you. Be of good cheer ye who are in prison, for he comes to set you free. Ye, who are famished and ready to die, rejoice that he has consecrated for you a Bethlehem, a house of bread, and he has come to be the bread of life to your souls. Rejoice, O sinners everywhere, for the restorer of the castaways, the Saviour of the fallen is born. Join in the joy, ye saints, for he is the preserver of the saved ones, delivering them from innumerable perils, and he is the sure perfecter of such as he preserves. Jesus is no partial Saviour, beginning a work and not concluding it; but, restoring and upholding, he also perfects and presents the saved ones without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing before his Father’s throne. Rejoice aloud all ye people, let your hills and valleys ring with joy, for a Saviour who is mighty to save is born among you.” - Charles Spurgeon.
Joy to the world,
Brown
Hi Pastor Brown!
I had a real neat thing happen to me at dinner today, and I want to share it with you.
Okay, I decided to go to Boscov's right after church to pick up one last gift. I thought I could pick up something to eat at their little restaurant there. Well, the restaurant was closed. So, I started home. I then decided to stop at Christie's to eat because one of my cousins works there. She wasn't working, so I asked for a table "out of the way". I ate my meal...all the time enjoying the conversation of two nice looking young men sitting across from me. (By young, I mean young enough to be my grandsons!) I thought I heard the word "God" used once in a while. So, I strained to hear more. Sure enough, they said their blessing when the food arrived. Then I listened more closely, and it was obvious they were truly believers. I was thrilled. I only tell you this next part because it is such a vital part of the story. I asked the Lord if He wanted me to pick up their check. I felt strongly He wanted me to do that. I felt all giggly and thought I would just tell them to leave the tip when I left. So, I tore a piece of the paper tablecloth off and wrote a note to the waitress. It said, "I want their check, too." I put an arrow pointing towards them. Lo and behold, when the waitress arrived, I was handing the note to her, and one of the young men said, "She wanted to pick up our check, too." I was speechless, but I finally told the waitress to show them the note. Then they were speechless. They had a questionmark written all over their faces. I said, "I'm a Believer, too, and I enjoyed so much your conversation about God." None of us could believe what was happening. Okay, here's the bottom line: they go to Davis College. One boy is a preacher's kid, and the other boy is from India. I asked him if he knew you. He said no, but he decided that your brother teaches at Davis. The other boy (preacher's kid) said he had met you. I bragged about you to the Indian boy and told him to go out of his way to meet you because he would just love you. I wouldn't be surprised if they show up in one of your services some day. The preacher's kid's name is Steve. Can't believe I didn't get his last name. But the boy from India is Sam They're both beautiful kids and glow with the Love of Jesus. Do you think my meeting them was a coincidence? I don't. I get so discouraged with the way the world is today. These two encouraged my heart soooooooooo much. Believe me, Pastor, I'm not bragging. I'm just so tickled that I had to share this with someone. I thought you would be the logical one. HAVE A GREAT DAY!
Love in Christ,
Your Sister....L
Dear Friends,
Good morning. Merry Christmas. We are just under two weeks away from celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior. We praise the Lord for the Christ of Christmas, who came to preach Good News to the poor, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.
Thank you for your continual prayer for the persecuted and oppressed Christians of Orissa, India. As you know, over 70,000 Christians have been made homeless. Many are still living in refugee camps, under deplorable conditions. It is winter in Orissa now, with night-time temperatures falling to near-freezing. There are over 10,000 refugees living in the camp in G. Udayagiri. This camp is located on the grounds of Hubbock High School, the school which I attended, and from which I graduated in 1964. I personally know many of the people who are living in this camp. We have been sending some financial support to them from time to time, as the Lord has made it available. We would like to be able to send them a special Christmas gift of blankets and saris (women's wear). We would also like to send some gifts for the children - particularly clothing and shoes - at the Dugudi campus. Only 15 of them are still living on the Dugudi campus - because of safety considerations, the rest of the children were sent back to their families.
Twenty-five dollars will buy two blankets or two saris. We would also like to be able to make a gift of at least twenty-five dollars for each child, for the purchase of clothing and shoes.
I appeal to you in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, who came to seek, to save, and to serve the lost, the last, and the least, that we joyfully and prayerful step out in faith to help our brothers and sisters who have lost so much for the love of the Savior. You can make your checks payable to the Union Center United Methodist Church, with the memo line reading "Orissa Mission". Then send your check to the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128 Maple Drive, Endicott, NY 13760. Thank you for caring and sharing at this time of great need.
"Then the King will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.'"
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06xqOjoMEfw
Mon, 15/12/2008 - 1:34pm The Exodus of Christians from Kandhamal District of Orissa-attention of the Human Rights organisations
The Exodus of Christians from Kandhamal District: There is considerable reduction of refugees in Relief Camps (from 24,000 to 11,000). The claim that those who leave the relief camps are going back to their own villages and settling down in their homes is not true. Most of them have migrated to relief camps in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Jharsuguda, Berhampur and also settled down in rented houses and in the houses of relatives, friends, acquaintances etc. elsewhere. It is estimated that 10,000 to 15,000 Christians of Kandhamal district are living outside the district.
There are 9 camps in Kandhamal run by the government where nearly 12,000 people are staying at present.
Another 5 camps are outside Kandhamal: in Cuttack-1: 140 (65 families), in Bhubaneswar-2: 800(200 families), in Berhampur-1: 400(160 families), in Jharsuguda-1: 2000.
1200 families have left the state.There are also other victims who have left Orissa for Maharastra, Kerala, Goa and other states. The old, women and children are already suffering under the biting winter as they do not have sufficient warm clothes. A dead man was not allowed to be buried in his village as he did not become a Hindu in Sarthaguda of Tikabali block.
Christians are not allowed to harvest the paddy from their own fields in many Gram Panchayats if they do not become Hindus. Ms Lalitha Digal, 45 yrs, wife of Jemadar Digal, was killed at Dodabali village, under Gandringan G.P, under Sarangard police station on 25thNovemeber 2008. Late Digal was staying at the relief camp K. Nuagam, and on 21st Novemeber 2008 she had gone to the village to harvest the paddy. It is reported that she was staying at her friends' house of the same village. She was dragged from the house and killed, thereafter the body has not yet been found. Mr. Jamadar has lodged an FIR at the Sarngard police station through K.Nuagam police out post.
The children/students are the worst sufferers as they are languishing in the camps instead of going to schools.
Looting of Houses, Churches & Religious Houses: As the people had fled because of threats and fear, criminals are looting the homes, churches, religious houses and institutions. They are destroying and burning whatever is left behind.
Non Acceptance of FIRs: FIRs are not accepted in Daringabadi and Sarangoda Police Stations.
There is a strong rumour that the saffron forces have distributed flags to each household and to be put on the housetop so that they would be spared from the attacks in the next round. For this, preparations are underway for making new weapons and country made guns.
posted in: Current Issue, Persecution, East India
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Sun, 14/12/2008 - 10:14pm Christmas, moment of peace and hope for young widows of Orissa
http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=13997&geo=2&size=A
Christmas, moment of peace and hope for young widows of Orissaby Nirmala CarvalhoThe husband of Asmitha Digal, a 25-year-old mother of two daughters, was killed by Hindu fundamentalists during the first days of the pogrom against Christians. The woman testifies to the violence she has suffered, but says that she will not give in to the logic of violence. A Christian activist denounces treatment as "second-class citizens."
Bangalore (AsiaNews) - Leaving behind the trauma, pain, and violence suffered; testifying to the martyrdom suffered by one's loved ones without giving in to the logic of hatred, and issuing a message of peace and hope ahead of Christmas. In this spirit, 24 young widows of the district of Kandhamal, in Orissa, have recounted the anti-Christian pogrom unleashed by Hindu fundamentalists.
The women have left the refugee camp in Orissa, and have come to Bangalore. The trip was organized by activists of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), in order to permit the women to celebrate the Christmas holiday. In Orissa, tension remains high, and the Christian community has been threatened with new violence in the case of celebrations connected to Christmas.
Among the many stories of women marked by pain and suffering, AsiaNewshas gathered that of Asmitha Digal, from the village of Bataguda, 25 years old and with two young children, whose husband was barbarously killed by fundamentalists: "On August 26th [editor's note: one of the first days of the anti-Christian violence in Orisa] my husband Rajesh came by train, got off at Muniguda station and began walking to Kandhamal as there was no other transport and all the roads were blocked with felled trees. He was accompanied by a young Hindu boy Tunguru Mallick."
"At around 9 am," Asmitha continues, "they had reached Paburia village, they were stopped by a mob of nearly 60 RSS extremists [editor's note: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a nationalist paramilitary group] armed with long wooden clubs and batons, they snatched Rajesh's satchel, which had a Bible and gospel tracts. Mallick ran away and hid in some bushes, they thrashed Rajesh and told him to embrace Hinduism which he meekly refused. This angered the extremists who threw him into a pit and covered him with mud neck-downwards, and once again told him to become Hindu, yet again Rajesh refused, then they took huge stones and stoned him to death."
Asmitha says that she tried to report the case, but received no response or compensation. For her, the trip to Bangalore represents an opportunity to issue a message of hope. "I have to live for my children, my husband is with Jesus, and Jesus will be born for us at Christmas to bring us a new life. Jesus comes as a little baby, so helpless and born in a stable, our relief camps are like stables - bare tents, and we like Jesus are shivering in the cold, but Christ is alive and this is what makes the radicals afraid, we pray and believe in a living God."
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