Brown's Daily Word 2-7-13

Praise the Lord for this seventh day of the second month of 2013. It is going to be blessed and brilliant day for Jesus is Lord and He is upon His Throne. He is in charge. So let us not freak out. All is well. He blessed us with a wonderful Wednesday gathering fellowship, deep sharing and rejoicing in the presence of the Lord and in the presence of His people. One of the themes for yesterdays study and reflection was the importance of serving as part of Christian life and witness. It is written "Do Not Underestimate the Importance of Small Acts of Loving Service Zech 4:
“Who despises the day of small things? Men will rejoice when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.”(Zech. 4:10)
Occasionally we all wonder if our efforts are making a difference. It is easy to grow discouraged thinking that our acts of kindness are insignificant. Many suffer from depression because they do not get a sense of the significance from their lives. People need to know that what they are doing counts.
The Israelites faced a similar problem when they returned from Babylonian captivity and began to rebuild Jerusalem as they fell victim to despondency. The people were discouraged because their numbers were small and their efforts seemed feeble when compared with the accomplishments of their ancestors. When they started to rebuild the temple they only saw how meager their contributions would be and stopped working. Paul once wrote to the Galatians, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” (Gal. 6:9,10)
Jesus fed five thousand people with five small barley loaves and two small fish. (John 6:10,11) Little becomes much when we place it in the Master’s hand.
Many people will not see the greater works that God has been working through their small acts of love until they get to heaven. The Lord is able to take the seeds of small acts of love, faith and truth telling and multiply them significantly. Jesus said, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matt. 17:20) Faith helps us see how God can use small faith to accomplish much for His purposes. Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants.” (Mark 4:30-32). Paul wrote, “Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But 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.” (I Cor. 1:26-29) The Lord does not see as men see. He is a better judge than we are of what instruments will best serve His purpose. Hudson Taylor was once asked, “Why do you think God chose you to start China Inland Mission. He replied, “God picked out somebody who was so weak that apart from Him I knew I could do nothing.” God despises the proud but gives grace to the humble of heart. He uses the people who realize they are small so that apart from His all-sufficient grace we are inadequate.

In Christ,

Brown

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Brown's Daily Word 2-6-13

Praise the Lord for Wednesday. We will gather for our mid-week fellowship, study, and sharing at 6 PM with a special meal, followed by Bible study at 6:30 PM and choir practice at 7:30 PM. It was a few years ago I attended a conference in Washington, DC. One of the speakers at the conference was Chuck Colson. Chuck Colson was blessed with keen and brilliant mind and a brave, beautiful, and warm heart. His words were prophetic and provoking. Recently I read again the story of Telemachus. You can find it in Chuck Colson’s book "Loving God", pp. 241-243. It’s a true story about an Asiatic monk who lived during the fourth century.

One day, as Telemachus was tending his garden at the monastery, he felt that Jesus calling him to go to Rome. He had never been there and had no idea why the Lord would want him to go. The feeling, however, grew stronger until Telemachus knew he must make the long journey. He set out across Asia Minor and caught a boat for Rome. After many days he landed and made his way to the Imperial City. When he got there, he found that the city was in the midst of a great celebration. The Romans had just defeated the Goths.
Telemachus still had no idea why he had come but he noticed great crowds moving through the streets toward the famed Coliseum. He followed the crowds and thought to himself, “Perhaps this is the reason why God has called me here.” It turned out that the crowds had gathered for the gladiator contests. That meant that men would fight against men on the arena floor until only one man was alive. Then the wild animals would be let loose to devour the body of the dead gladiators. It was a violent, bloodthirsty sport. The crowds had come to watch the action.
At length, the gladiators marched in, saluted the emperor and shouted, “We who are about to die salute thee.” Then the games began. Telemachus was shocked. He had never seen such a thing. He knew that he could not keep silent while men killed each other for entertainment. In a flash of blinding insight Telemachus knew what he must do. He ran to the perimeter of the arena and cried with a loud voice, “IN THE NAME OF CHRIST, STOP!”

The crowd paid him no heed. He was just one voice among thousands. So Telemachus made his way to the edge of the arena and stepped onto the sandy floor. There he was, rushing here and there, dodging the gladiators as they thrust at each other. He cried out again, “IN THE NAME OF CHRIST, STOP!” The crowd began to cheer, thinking perhaps that he was part of the entertainment, like a clown at a rodeo.
Then he blocked the vision of one of the gladiators causing him to narrowly avoid a death-dealing blow. Suddenly the mood changed and the crowd became angry. “KILL HIM! KILL HIM! KILL HIM!” The gladiator he had blocked took his sword and struck Telemachus in the chest. Immediately the arena floor turned sandy red from his blood. The little monk fell to the ground and as he died, he cried out for the final time, “IN THE NAME OF CHRIST, STOP!”
Then a strange thing happened. A hush fell over the arena. All eyes were focused on the still form in the crimson sand. The gladiators put down their swords. One by one the spectators left their seats and emptied the Coliseum.
Historians tell us that was the last gladiatorial contest in the Roman Coliseum. Never again did men kill men for entertainment in the arena. When Telemachus died, the gladiator contests died with him.
Think about that story for a moment. Was Telemachus a man of faith? Yes. Did he obey the Lord ? Yes. . Living by faith, in the end, meant dying by faith. Because he obeyed the Lord he made a difference in the world.

We, too, Can Make A Difference.

"All Hail the power of Jesus's Name".

In Him,

Brown

http://youtu.be/AMpZ0TGjbWE

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose"

Jim Elliott

Brown's Daily Word 2-5-13

I talked by phone with our granddaughter from Boston Saturday. She reported that her family is well. She said that they had some guests Saturday and were attending a birthday party, and attending worship services Sunday. Jessica and Tom flew to Nicaragua for a short winter vacation Sunday. The Lord blessed us with an beautiful Lord's day. After morning worship some of my nieces and nephews and one of their friends came to watch the Super Bowl and were sharing some of the traditional Super Bowl food. 

I have been reflecting on some of the great players who play with an undivided heart. We have seen a clip from the movie, "Rudy", which is about a young man playing with undivided heart. Psalm 86:11 addresses that very concept. “Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name” (Psalm 86:11). The NASB renders it, "Unite my heart to fear your name." The CEB gives a more general sense, "Make my heart focused only on honoring your name.” Then we have this paraphrase from the ERV, “Help me make worshiping your name the most important thing in my life." Eugene Peterson (MSG) gives us this colorful rendering: “Put me together, one heart and mind; then, undivided, I’ll worship in joyful fear.”

I like Eugene Peterson's paraphrase because it sounds like the way I often pray: “Put me together, Lord, because right now my life is scattered in a thousand directions.” Most days my heart doesn’t seem “undivided,” and it certainly feels like it needs some kind of “uniting." So I like the phrases: “Unite my heart to fear your name.” "Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.”
Because my heart is so often divided, I need the Lord to unite it somehow so that I might worship him with nothing held back. That is the situation many of us face . Our hearts are fragmented because we are pulled in so many directions at once.

How difficult is to keep our focus on the true treasures of life! How easy to mistake the trinkets for treasures! Focus on the trinkets, the sparkly things, of life pull ours attention from the Lord and His Kingdom.

A verse from 1 Chronicles 12 comes to mind which lists the soldiers who came to David’s aid when he was in Ziklag and later in Hebron. These soldiers from various tribes in Israel realized that even though David was not king over Israel yet, God’s hand was upon him and he was bound to replace Saul sooner or later. The men were from Benjamin, Gad, Manasseh, and so on. Perhaps the most famous were the men of Issachar (1 Chronicles 12:32) who “understood the times and knew what Israel should do.” Many fine sermons have been preached in praise of these men from one of the lesser-known tribes. Then in the very next verse we find an uncommon note about the warriors from the tribe of Zebulon. They are described as "experienced soldiers prepared for battle with every type of weapon, to help David with undivided loyalty. (v. 33).
This great host of trained soldiers came to David, ready to fight. They showed up in full battle gear with shield, spears, and bows, ready to go to battle at a moment’s notice. There is something even better to be said about them. They were men of “undivided loyalty.”

    These lines from Come, Thou Fount speak to our deepest need:
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.
If the first two lines describe our need, then the last two lines describe our prayer. May God take our scattered hearts and unite them, seal them by his grace, that we might serve him with joy on earth as one day we will serve him in heaven.
In Christ,
Brown
http://youtu.be/nXVwHONoLjE