Good morning,
Praise the Lord for this new day. I have been looking at one of the power and praise filled passages in the book of Second Chronicles. 2 Chronicles 20:19-22, "Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the LORD, the God of Israel, with very loud voice. Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the LORD your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful." After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: "Give thanks to the LORD, for his love endures forever." As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.The nation responded to God’s promise with praise. Jehoshaphat placed the praise singers out in front of the army because he believed that God would do what he said and deliver them without even having to fight.
Praise is simply the fruit of faith. The people were responding to what God had said. They were simply thanking God in advance for the victory. Before it even happened, they were thanking God. Praise is verbalized faith. If you thank God after the fact, that’s gratitude. If you thank God before it happens, that’s faith.
God defeated the enemy. They turned on each other and destroyed themselves while the Israelites looked on. 2 Chronicles 20:24, "When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped".
It takes great and deep faith to thank God for everything in your life – even the problems. When we start thanking God NOW when we are in the middle of the storm that is faith - thanking God in advance.
2 Chronicles 20:26-30, "On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah, where they praised the LORD. This is why it is called the Valley of Beracah to this day. Then, led by Jehoshaphat, all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned joyfully to Jerusalem, for the LORD had given them cause to rejoice over their enemies. They entered Jerusalem and went to the temple of the LORD with harps and lutes and trumpets. The fear of God came upon all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard how the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel. And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side."
BERACAH means BLESSING. May the Lord, grant us a Valley of Blessing in our lives today. Our God loves to demonstrate His power in those who will just believe Him and expect Him to work in their lives.
We are also called to be a people of courage. This means that we need to step out in faith. We must be willing to take risks, try new things – even if that means we may fail in the process. Elton Trueblood wrote, "It used to be that Christianity was a revolutionary faith that turned the world upside down. But today Christians sit in Sunday morning church services looking at their watches, wondering what time dinner will be served, or thinking about the kickoff. And we hope that church won’t interfere with the things we would really rather be doing."
God is doing a new thing in the world today. The world is changing, and while these changes bring many challenges they also provide opportunities to witness for Jesus our Lord, as never before.
In Christ,
Brown
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Brown's Daily Word 5-16-11
Good morning,
The Lord blessed us with an abundant weekend. It was great blessing to share in the Women's banquet Saturday noon and the Saturday evening worship, and then the morning worship services on Sunday, the Lord's day. One of our great blessings was to have our friends Linda and her daughter Kristi, visiting from Vermont along with our daughter Sunita and our son-in-law Andy visiting us from Washington, DC.
The readings for Sunday were taken from Psalm 23 and John 10. One of the great hymns of the church we sang was, "Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us". The hymn goes on to say, “Much we need thy tender care; In thy pleasant pastures feed us, for our use thy folds prepare.” Jesus, in John 10, describes a sheep pen which had only one door. When the sheep returned to the fold at night after a day of grazing in the pleasant pastures, the shepherd stood in the doorway and inspected each one with tender care as it entered. If a sheep was scratched or wounded by thorns, the shepherd would anoint it with oil to facilitate healing. If they were thirsty, he gave them water. After all had been counted and brought into the pen, the shepherd would lay across the doorway so no intruder could enter. The shepherd thus became the door. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who protects and sustains the life of the sheep. Jesus said, “I am the gate for the sheep.”
The rest of the hymn, tells us that, “Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, thou hast bought us, thine we are.” The distinguishing mark between the good shepherd and the hired hand is that the good shepherd would lay down his life for the sheep. He was their protector.
In Verse 18 we read, "No man takes my life from Me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have the power to lay it down, and I have the power to take it up again. I have received this command from My Father."
In the book Chicken Soup for the Soul, Eric Butterworth tells the story of a college professor who had his sociology class go into the Baltimore slums to get case histories of 200 young boys. The students were asked to write an evaluation of each boy’s future. In every case the students wrote, "He hasn’t got a chance."
Twenty-five years later another sociology professor came across this earlier study. He had his students do follow up on the same 200 boys who were now men. With the exception of 20 boys who had moved away or died, the students learned that 176 of the remaining 180 had achieved more than ordinary success as lawyers, doctors, and businessmen. The professor was astounded and decided to pursue the matter further. Fortunately, all the men were in the area and he was able to ask each one, "How do you account for your success?" In each case the reply came with feeling, "There was a teacher..."
The teacher was still alive, so he sought her out and asked the old but still alert lady what magic formula she had used to pull these boys out of the slums into successful achievement. The teacher’s eyes sparkled and her lips broke into a gentle smile. "It’s really very simple," she said. "I loved those boys." Their success was based on the love of a teacher.
Our victory, as followers of Jesus is based on the love of a shepherd who was willing to lay down his life for us. He loved us enough that our sinfulness became his burden. He loved us enough that his perfect righteousness became ours.
He loved us enough to suffer on the cross for us, to save us from eternal death, and to prepare us to meet His Father. He will keep us safe in the sheepfold if we are smart sheep and follow the Good Shepherd.
In Christ,
Brown
http://youtu.be/QbTGUurbGTk
Saturday evening worship service.
Location: First United Methodist Church
53 McKinley Avenue
Endicott
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott
Saturday, May 14, 2011
12 Noon Women's Banquet
Location: Union Center UMC , 128 Maple Drive Endicott,
Speaker: Linda Ayer
6 PM Coffee Fellowship( First UMC Enicott, )
6:30 PM Worship Service Worship Music:
Speaker: Rev Sorber Marshall.
The Lord blessed us with an abundant weekend. It was great blessing to share in the Women's banquet Saturday noon and the Saturday evening worship, and then the morning worship services on Sunday, the Lord's day. One of our great blessings was to have our friends Linda and her daughter Kristi, visiting from Vermont along with our daughter Sunita and our son-in-law Andy visiting us from Washington, DC.
The readings for Sunday were taken from Psalm 23 and John 10. One of the great hymns of the church we sang was, "Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us". The hymn goes on to say, “Much we need thy tender care; In thy pleasant pastures feed us, for our use thy folds prepare.” Jesus, in John 10, describes a sheep pen which had only one door. When the sheep returned to the fold at night after a day of grazing in the pleasant pastures, the shepherd stood in the doorway and inspected each one with tender care as it entered. If a sheep was scratched or wounded by thorns, the shepherd would anoint it with oil to facilitate healing. If they were thirsty, he gave them water. After all had been counted and brought into the pen, the shepherd would lay across the doorway so no intruder could enter. The shepherd thus became the door. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who protects and sustains the life of the sheep. Jesus said, “I am the gate for the sheep.”
The rest of the hymn, tells us that, “Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, thou hast bought us, thine we are.” The distinguishing mark between the good shepherd and the hired hand is that the good shepherd would lay down his life for the sheep. He was their protector.
In Verse 18 we read, "No man takes my life from Me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have the power to lay it down, and I have the power to take it up again. I have received this command from My Father."
In the book Chicken Soup for the Soul, Eric Butterworth tells the story of a college professor who had his sociology class go into the Baltimore slums to get case histories of 200 young boys. The students were asked to write an evaluation of each boy’s future. In every case the students wrote, "He hasn’t got a chance."
Twenty-five years later another sociology professor came across this earlier study. He had his students do follow up on the same 200 boys who were now men. With the exception of 20 boys who had moved away or died, the students learned that 176 of the remaining 180 had achieved more than ordinary success as lawyers, doctors, and businessmen. The professor was astounded and decided to pursue the matter further. Fortunately, all the men were in the area and he was able to ask each one, "How do you account for your success?" In each case the reply came with feeling, "There was a teacher..."
The teacher was still alive, so he sought her out and asked the old but still alert lady what magic formula she had used to pull these boys out of the slums into successful achievement. The teacher’s eyes sparkled and her lips broke into a gentle smile. "It’s really very simple," she said. "I loved those boys." Their success was based on the love of a teacher.
Our victory, as followers of Jesus is based on the love of a shepherd who was willing to lay down his life for us. He loved us enough that our sinfulness became his burden. He loved us enough that his perfect righteousness became ours.
He loved us enough to suffer on the cross for us, to save us from eternal death, and to prepare us to meet His Father. He will keep us safe in the sheepfold if we are smart sheep and follow the Good Shepherd.
In Christ,
Brown
http://youtu.be/QbTGUurbGTk
Saturday evening worship service.
Location: First United Methodist Church
53 McKinley Avenue
Endicott
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott
Saturday, May 14, 2011
12 Noon Women's Banquet
Location: Union Center UMC , 128 Maple Drive Endicott,
Speaker: Linda Ayer
6 PM Coffee Fellowship( First UMC Enicott, )
6:30 PM Worship Service Worship Music:
Speaker: Rev Sorber Marshall.
Brown's Daily Word 5-13-11
Good morning,
This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. This will be another Fabulous Friday. Sunita, Andy and their friend are coming home today from Washington. Sunita loves Spring in New York. We are so blessed. Blessed be the Name of Jesus our Lord. He is the Lord of all seasons and He is the Lord in every Season.
I Corinthians 1:27-29 says, “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things and the things that are not to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.” In other words,
God uses small things to do very BIG things!
Very few people end up having “big lives,” with careers and accomplishments that make the headlines. Our lives … and our ministries … seem to deal with such ordinary things that we can easily lose our enthusiasm. As Christians we often run out of steam because we don't see the big success that we expected. If we don't see impressive results from our service, we erroneously think that God just isn't blessing our efforts and we get discouraged. SIZE becomes our focus. The problem is that when we put all our focus on RESULTS, we take our focus off of the Lord. We easily forget that God can grow a BIG tree out of an insignificant seed. We forget that God can work in invisible ways, similar to the way a little yeast can cause 50 pounds of bread dough to rise.
In reality, most of us cannot remember the big winners of even a few years ago … the ones that supposedly really made a difference. They were renowned as the best of their fields, but how quickly the applause dies away and the accolades cease. In your own life's story the people who made thea BIGGEST differences are probably not famous or super-talented people, but average, everyday people that God put into your life at the right moment … and they had a BIG influence on you.
Our Lord notices and honors those who serve Him faithfully and with much devotion, both in season and out of season. We are so blessed in the ministries the Lord has called us to be engaged in with those saints and servants who serve Him with their talents, with their treasures, and with their time.
Ed is one of those servants of Jesus, who makes coffee every Sunday morning for the Sunday School group to enjoy. Mark is another servant of Jesus who makes the coffee for Saturday Evening ministry. These servants of Christ are among many who are involved in serving Christ faithfully and joyfully. Jesus said that the Kingdom of God is made of small acts that have a BIG effect. In Matthew 25, Jesus gave a story about people who did small acts of kindness for others … giving them food or clothing, or visiting the sick and those in prison.
Jesus said about the final judgment that, “The King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ (Matthew 25:39-41) I want to hear this on that day when I enter into the fullness of the Kingdom of God!
In Christ,
Brown
http://youtu.be/ppcOA_HSs9U
Saturday evening worship service.
Location: First United Methodist Church
53 McKinley Avenue
Endicott
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott
Saturday, May 14, 2011
12 Noon Women's Banquet
Location: Union Center UMC , 128 Maple Drive Endicott,
Speaker: Linda Ayer
6 PM Coffee Fellowship( First UMC Enicott, )
6:30 PM Worship Service Worship Music: Aric Phinney and the worship team
Speaker: Craig Sabin.
This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. This will be another Fabulous Friday. Sunita, Andy and their friend are coming home today from Washington. Sunita loves Spring in New York. We are so blessed. Blessed be the Name of Jesus our Lord. He is the Lord of all seasons and He is the Lord in every Season.
I Corinthians 1:27-29 says, “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things and the things that are not to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.” In other words,
God uses small things to do very BIG things!
Very few people end up having “big lives,” with careers and accomplishments that make the headlines. Our lives … and our ministries … seem to deal with such ordinary things that we can easily lose our enthusiasm. As Christians we often run out of steam because we don't see the big success that we expected. If we don't see impressive results from our service, we erroneously think that God just isn't blessing our efforts and we get discouraged. SIZE becomes our focus. The problem is that when we put all our focus on RESULTS, we take our focus off of the Lord. We easily forget that God can grow a BIG tree out of an insignificant seed. We forget that God can work in invisible ways, similar to the way a little yeast can cause 50 pounds of bread dough to rise.
In reality, most of us cannot remember the big winners of even a few years ago … the ones that supposedly really made a difference. They were renowned as the best of their fields, but how quickly the applause dies away and the accolades cease. In your own life's story the people who made thea BIGGEST differences are probably not famous or super-talented people, but average, everyday people that God put into your life at the right moment … and they had a BIG influence on you.
Our Lord notices and honors those who serve Him faithfully and with much devotion, both in season and out of season. We are so blessed in the ministries the Lord has called us to be engaged in with those saints and servants who serve Him with their talents, with their treasures, and with their time.
Ed is one of those servants of Jesus, who makes coffee every Sunday morning for the Sunday School group to enjoy. Mark is another servant of Jesus who makes the coffee for Saturday Evening ministry. These servants of Christ are among many who are involved in serving Christ faithfully and joyfully. Jesus said that the Kingdom of God is made of small acts that have a BIG effect. In Matthew 25, Jesus gave a story about people who did small acts of kindness for others … giving them food or clothing, or visiting the sick and those in prison.
Jesus said about the final judgment that, “The King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ (Matthew 25:39-41) I want to hear this on that day when I enter into the fullness of the Kingdom of God!
In Christ,
Brown
http://youtu.be/ppcOA_HSs9U
Saturday evening worship service.
Location: First United Methodist Church
53 McKinley Avenue
Endicott
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott
Saturday, May 14, 2011
12 Noon Women's Banquet
Location: Union Center UMC , 128 Maple Drive Endicott,
Speaker: Linda Ayer
6 PM Coffee Fellowship( First UMC Enicott, )
6:30 PM Worship Service Worship Music: Aric Phinney and the worship team
Speaker: Craig Sabin.
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