Praise the Lord for this glorious spring day here in New York. There are two crabapple trees in front of the parsonage. One of the trees was planted in the sixties by Howard and Dorothy Woodward. It is a big tree now. In spring time it blooms with brilliant luxurious colors. The other crabapple tree was planted in this century by Ed Hower. The younger tree blossoms later and it is blossoming now. Ed also planted a small Lilac bush in the green across from the parsonage driveway. It is a huge Bush now. It is also in full bloom. The Lord of Eternal Spring lavishes us with His beauty and blessings perpetually. Our daughter Sunita was born in the Mid-spring season. She is one of Jesus' sweethearts. She loves spring season, the warmth, the colors, and the freshness after a long winter. She loves the simple gifts of Jesus. She loves people. She has a heart for the poor, neglected oppressed. Her ministry is involved in bringing justice and peace into places of darkness, oppression, abuse of power and tyranny. She is flying today to Cypress for two weeks with her work. Andy will be joining her in few days. She will be going back to Israel in June. Please pray for her.
Jesus our Lord is meek and mild when dealing with broken sinners, but He demonstrates a holy indignation against sin, darkness, oppression, and bondage in high places and low places. He is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. He is the Lion of Judah that breaks every chain, over and over again.
In C.S Lewis' Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the third of the Chronicles of Narnia Series, Lewis wants the reader to see the identity of Aslan. Towards the conclusion of the book, Lucy and Edmund come to a large grassy area where, in the midst of a large green, there is a white spot. As they look at the white spot in the midst of the great field and draw closer to it, they find that it is a lamb. The lamb is cooking a breakfast of fish and gives Lucy and Edmund a delicious meal. Then they ask the lamb if He can help them find the land of Aslan. At that moment the white Lamb transforms into the great Aslan Himself, with sunlight beaming forth from His great mane.
C.S. Lewis was saying the truth of Scripture:
Jesus is the gentle, meek Lamb who takes away the sins of the world; He is also
the Lion of Judah, the Judge and the One who comes to bring justice to the
world, to execute judgment on sin and to punish iniquity.
Jesus is the undeniable, absolute King of the universe. If you are a believer, you must recognize that this Christ died for your sins as the Lamb; but He lives and calls for His children to be fruitful, to reflect His heart to the world, to remove the things in their lives that cause others to stumble, or else He comes as the Lion.
Jesus Christ encountered a fig tree ( Mark 11: 12ff)and physically begins to enact what God is going to do to those who have a profession of religion but whose hearts are dead. In the case of the fig tree, we encounter a Jesus who is indignant regarding a leafy religion, one that is supposedly leading you to the first fruit of the season, but there is none to be found.
In the heart of every one who believes in Jesus Christ our Lord there should be a lionhearted indignation regarding sin and its effects in our world. In previous generations, revival always brought biblical justice. In Wesley's day, there were injustices to children who were being used in a sort of slave labor in industrialized England. Wesley and his Methodists were indignant about this and preached against it, and child labor laws were put in place.
In the Great Awakening, Jonathan Edwards and others preached against the dead formalism in the churches of the colonies, and God brought a holy passion for Himself to a people who soon would become a nation. I remember reading that during the Temperance movement many young Christian women signed the temperance pledge that "lips that touch liquor will never touch mine." We smile at such things today and maybe look down our noses at naïve christians falling for a frontier holiness movement.. Yet committed Christians were on the forefront of that movement. Christians were propelled to be involved in the movement because families in rural America were falling apart due to alcoholism. There was indignation against sin and abuse. Where God's children were hurt, Christians inspired by Jesus became lions.
To be a follower of Christ not only is to love what Christ loves, but also to hate what He hates. That means we must speak out against the things that bring pain to human beings and especially that which separates us from God's love in Christ.
Jesus is the Lamb who is the Lion. Coming to terms with the true Person of Jesus Christ, Savior and Judge, is the beginning of coming to faith in Christ and to freedom in Him. The knowledge of God brings freedom. The time for receiving Him and following Him is now, while the Savior of the world comes to your heart, hungry to find the fruit of true faith, a fruit that comes from receiving the love of God in Christ, a fruit for all seasons.
In Christ,
Brown
http://youtu.be/i2Iz4cS1PF8
Jesus is the undeniable, absolute King of the universe. If you are a believer, you must recognize that this Christ died for your sins as the Lamb; but He lives and calls for His children to be fruitful, to reflect His heart to the world, to remove the things in their lives that cause others to stumble, or else He comes as the Lion.
Jesus Christ encountered a fig tree ( Mark 11: 12ff)and physically begins to enact what God is going to do to those who have a profession of religion but whose hearts are dead. In the case of the fig tree, we encounter a Jesus who is indignant regarding a leafy religion, one that is supposedly leading you to the first fruit of the season, but there is none to be found.
In the heart of every one who believes in Jesus Christ our Lord there should be a lionhearted indignation regarding sin and its effects in our world. In previous generations, revival always brought biblical justice. In Wesley's day, there were injustices to children who were being used in a sort of slave labor in industrialized England. Wesley and his Methodists were indignant about this and preached against it, and child labor laws were put in place.
In the Great Awakening, Jonathan Edwards and others preached against the dead formalism in the churches of the colonies, and God brought a holy passion for Himself to a people who soon would become a nation. I remember reading that during the Temperance movement many young Christian women signed the temperance pledge that "lips that touch liquor will never touch mine." We smile at such things today and maybe look down our noses at naïve christians falling for a frontier holiness movement.. Yet committed Christians were on the forefront of that movement. Christians were propelled to be involved in the movement because families in rural America were falling apart due to alcoholism. There was indignation against sin and abuse. Where God's children were hurt, Christians inspired by Jesus became lions.
To be a follower of Christ not only is to love what Christ loves, but also to hate what He hates. That means we must speak out against the things that bring pain to human beings and especially that which separates us from God's love in Christ.
Jesus is the Lamb who is the Lion. Coming to terms with the true Person of Jesus Christ, Savior and Judge, is the beginning of coming to faith in Christ and to freedom in Him. The knowledge of God brings freedom. The time for receiving Him and following Him is now, while the Savior of the world comes to your heart, hungry to find the fruit of true faith, a fruit that comes from receiving the love of God in Christ, a fruit for all seasons.
In Christ,
Brown
http://youtu.be/i2Iz4cS1PF8
