Brown's Daily Word 8/31/17

Praise the Lord that He is alive and at work in the world today. He is on the move. Praise the Lord for the way He has answered in His time to some of the needs we have had as we have been waiting on Him. He surprises us with His answers and provides according to His perfect timing and His grace. We will be in and out of Boston (and other places) for the next two weeks. Thank you all for your faithful and prayerful support.

America the Beautiful, the home of the free and the brave has been dealing with some of the debilitating natural disasters. Damage and destruction have been unprecedented. In the midst of chaos and crisis, Jesus is the Christ. We often, with our limited understanding and capacity, do not understand the sufferings and sorrows, and even utter destruction, which occur. In the midst of all this we turn to the one who is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. His assurance comes to those who know Him as their Good Shepherd.

"But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.'" Isaiah 43:1-2
We will continue to join the countless who are praying for those who have been affected by the catastrophic storms in Texas and the neighboring states. The Good News is that the Lord of life brings out the best in people. In the midst of the cataclysmic deluge and devastation, the Lord has raised countless servants who love Him who have risen to the occasion. They are fearless and zealous in rescuing, serving, and ministering. People of all ages are engaged in rescuing and extending hands and hearts of mercy to people. The Lord of the earth and of the church anoints His people to become instruments of caring and mercy. The Love of Christ compels us. His love is greater than darkness and stronger than the enemy.
Christian ministry and Mission organizations such as World Vision, Samaritan's Purse, along with Churches of all denominations have their missions agencies that are instrumental in reaching out during the times of disaster. Our United Methodist Church has the "United Methodist Committee on Relief". Let us all plan to give generously and sacrificially. We believe and trust that the Lord of the Rainbow and the rain will restore all that the floods have damaged and destroyed. He makes all things glorious and beautiful in His time. "Weeping may tarry for the night but joy comes in the morning". This is the Lord's promise. As we prepare to celebrate Labor Day weekend, may the Lord bless our labor and refresh us in our leisure. The Lord is going to visit the land again, and the valley shall blossom once again. The hills shall sing for joy. 
We are getting ready for our "Back to Church Sunday" on September 17, with worship at 10:30 AM with special music,and a special dinner to follow at about noon.

Praise the Lord for that in all situations on this good earth we get to be the salt and light. At times we find ourselves in some of the most surprising places. In the annals of salvation History we see that the witness and the lives of His servants are intertwined with some messy places and situations. Elijah served in a very dark time in the history of God's people when King Ahab and his wife Jezebel were in charge. Joseph was placed at the right hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt: not an easy place to be for a believer, but God used him to supply food for the Jewish people during a time of great famine. Esther was placed in the court of King Ahasuerus, king of Persia, but through her God's people would be delivered from a holocaust. Daniel was placed in the court of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon - imagine how hard that was, but God used Daniel to introduce that king to the Living God. 
In the New Testament we meet a woman named Joanna, who was King Herod's household manager (Luke 8:3). Joanna was one of the women who went to Jesus' tomb on Easter morning. Imagine working in Herod's palace, the very place John the Baptist was beheaded! In his letter to the Philippians, Paul greeted those who were of Caesar's household (Phil. 4:22). There were believers at the highest levels of the Roman Empire, a very dark place indeed. How did they get into these positions? They were gifted and trustworthy, and somehow, in the midst of it, they were godly. 
I have been reflecting on the witness and the life of Obadiah. Obadiah wasn't the first devout believer God put in a dark place. We see different believers have different callings. Elijah was called to overtly confront evil from the outside, while Obadiah was called to subversively work to overcome it from within. We live in a fallen world with fallen people. Obadiah's career as Ahab's chief of staff is of huge significance to every follower of Christ who struggles with these questions. He shows us God places his servants in surprising places, dark places, to make a difference for him. Wherever we are, we are not there by accident. God can use us to make a difference. 
In some ways Obadiah reminds me of Corrie ten Boom. Many of you know her story. She was an unmarried Christian woman who lived with her sister and father. In 1924 she became the first licensed female watchmaker in the Netherlands. In 1942, a well-dressed Jewish woman came to her home with a suitcase in hand to say that German authorities had visited her. She was afraid to go back. The ten Booms believed God was calling them to help. They invited her to stay with them. The family began hiding Jewish refugees in their home and saved many lives. Eventually, Corrie and her family were arrested and placed in a concentration camp. Her father and sister died there, but Corrie was finally released after 10 months. She later found out her release was the result of a clerical error. She said, "God doesn't have problems—only plans." 
In Christ the Anchor,
Brown
https://youtu.be/yPB9ENSd1Xc

Brown's Daily Word 8/27/17

 It is amazing that  we are entering the last few days of August.  Praise the Lord for the way He decorates the earth  with the beauty and blessings of summer.

It is written: "You visit the earth and water it;
you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water;
you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it.
you water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges,
softening it with showers, and blessing its growth.
You crown the year with your bounty;  your wagon tracks overflow with abundance. The  pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy." Psalm 65:10-13

  The Lord of the earth caused the earth to be a storehouse of provisions  for His people.  The earth brings forth an abundant harvest.  The Lord has blessed us with a super Sunday; His day has been filled with sustained and stunning sunshine.  It has been cool and colorful all around us. The Lord blessed us in His House with His presence, His promises, and His power.  It is always a thrill to be In His House with His people, to forget about ourselves and concentrate on His majesty and worship His matchless might.  Some family members joined us for Sunday dinner. We had free range roosters and free range goat meat for dinner along with fresh sweet corn and all kinds of fresh garden vegetables.  We are praising the Lord for His bounty,His  fathomless grace, and the sweetness of His unfailing love.  Sunita, Andy, Gabe, Addie, Asha, and Laureen, along with many of their friends, were attending a ministry and mission conference in South Carolina.  One of the speakers was Heidi Baker -  a scholar, believer, and best of all, a born missionary.  Laureen was sharing that the Lord of the Church and the Lord of the world visited them with fresh grace and fire.

 

    As a nation we are stunned and saddened by the devastating effects of Hurricane Harvey in Texas.  We are praying that the Lord of mercy and grace will sustain His people.  Praise the Lord for all the mission agencies and church groups which are at work in rescue and ministering.  Texas is blessed with strong and vibrant churches of all denominations that are eager to respond with great courage, compassion, and great sacrifice.  According to His Word, the Lord restores the years that the "locusts have eaten".

    Praise the Lord that He is the embodiment and personification of the love that heals and restores.  His love brings life and never fails.  He is love.  It is because we are made in His image that we hunger for love.  Once we receive Christ into our lives, our lives orbit around Him so that we can share love and become channels of His love and freedom.  Without Christ we hunger and starve for love.

   I read about Brian Keenan who In the 1980's   was taken captive in Lebanon and held hostage for four years, suffering physical beatings and psychological oppression, but in his imprisonment he turned to God, and one of the books that led him there was the Song of Songs.  That book awakened within him the longing for romance, the deep desire for intimacy.  It reminded him that he was human; that he was made to love and be loved.  It assured him that love was out there, and it could be found.  He ultimately found that longing fulfilled in a relationship with Jesus our Lord.

    One of the Books of the Bible is Song of Songs which is  often neglected.It   is about human love, but the object of the book, the one it points to, is God, the Lover of our Souls.  It points us to a relationship so intimate, so satisfying, and so transforming that even the Song of all Songs cannot adequately describe it.  As wonderful as it is to love and be loved by another person, it is enough to love and be loved by God.

    One hot and dusty day Jesus was walking through Samaria.  At the hottest point of the day, He came upon a well, and asked a woman there for a drink of water.  It must have gone down nicely—cool and refreshing.  Then Jesus offered her some water—living water, he called it, water that would satisfy her thirst like no other once and for all.  "I'd like some of that water", she said.  "I'm tired of coming out to the well a couple of times a day."  "Very well", said Jesus, "go get your husband and I'll tell you about it".  The woman stammered for a moment.  "I have no husband", she explained.  "I know", said Jesus.  "I also know that you've had five husbands, and the man you're living with now is not your husband."  For years this woman had been looking for love in all the wrong places; she tried all kinds of men; she'd tried marriage, singleness, cohabitation.  None of it satisfied, none of them lasted, but that day at the well she met a man who would love her like no other, a Savior whose love would always satisfy, and never fail. Her life was transformed for ever. She was born again. Jesus brought her out of her shame and shadows. She  began to walk in the light.. in the freedom.  She was given by the Lord the gift courage and fearlessness. The Lord of love and life baptized her with life and liberty.That same love is available to us today.  That same Savior wants a relationship with us.  We're all looking for love, and that's a good thing.  Love is worth pursuing, worth waiting for, and worth celebrating, but ultimately we won't really find what we're looking for until we love and are loved by Jesus.

In Him.

Brown

https://youtu.be/48RnFU6zucU

Brown's Daily Word 8/25/17

Blessed be the name of the Lord, 
Blessed be the name of the Lord, 
Blessed be the name of the Lord most high. 

The name of the Lord is a strong tower;
The righteous run into it and they are saved. 
The name of the Lord is a strong tower; 
The righteous run into it and they are saved."

    We are just 4 months away from Christmas, 2017.  We can start anticipating the best.  We have already planning and preparing to celebrate.  In a deeper sense, because of Jesus our Savior and Lord we have countless reasons to celebrate and rejoice in all seasons and through all seasons.  We are planning to host the St. Petersburg { Russia) Men's Ensemble on Saturday December 2, 2017 at 7:00 PM. We are also planning to host a Living Nativity with full cast and choir on Saturday December 16, which will be held on the Village Green, the "City Center" of Marathon, NY.

    The national news today is riveted on Hurricane Harvey, which is  threatening  devastation on the Gulf Coast including Corpus Christi, TX.  One week after our wedding in August 1975 we moved to Corpus Christi, TX.  I was part of a ministry team that served in a large Teaching Hospital in Corpus Christi.  Alice worked in an Insurance agency.  I am still in contact with some my colleagues from that setting.  Dr. Calixto Sodoy lives in the Philippines.  Dr.  Fred Wenger lives in Kansas.  The Lord blessed our days in Corpus Christi.  We were part of a Southern Baptist Church that was on the move, vibrant, and full of zeal for the Lord and His mission.  Our oldest daughter, Janice, was born there. Alice and I had planned to go with our oldest granddaughter, Micah, on an Amtrak Train trip to San Antonio with a side trip to Corpus Christi, TX this week.  Our dates were from the August 19 through the August 30. Our plans were to start in San Antonio, drive down to visit Corpus Christi, and on our return trip to visit New Orleans.  Had we taken the trip we would have been facing the eye of the storm.  Due to some unavoidable circumstances we had canceled the trip early this summer.

    We have been on the Road again.  We traveled to Philadelphia on Monday, August 21, to be with Jessica, Tom. Lindy, and newly born Everett Thomas Brown Ross.  The journey was pleasant and the visit was extravagantly joyful as we met with Everett Thomas Brown.  He is beautiful, and handsome.  Praise the Lord, for the He blesses us beyond and above.  While we are visiting the newborn grandson, Alice and I celebrated our 42nd wedding anniversary.  We have received so much love and affection from so many of you, both far and near.  We have been showered with so much grace and kindness.  Truly and indeed we have been blessed in heavenly places.  With the birth of Everett Thomas Brown we have been blessed with 8 Grandchildren.  My dad died at the age of 48 without seeing any of his grandchildren. The Lord of all tender mercies and amazing grace has allowed me to see 8 grandchildren.  Thank you, Jesus.

    Alice and drove back to New York yesterday afternoon.  We drove through some of the most scenic routes in Pennsylvania, including driving along the bank of the Delaware River and barge canal.  Bucks County is studded with splendid Stone buildings and dwellings, some of which are over 200 years old.  The banks of the Delaware River are breathtaking, with endless mountains and gorgeous valleys.

    Sunita and her family, along with Laureen, are attending a ministry and mission conference in South Carolina this weekend.  One of the speakers for the conference is Dr. Heidi Baker, a theologian, believer, missionary, and lover of Jesus, who is in much demand as a speaker around the world.  In the midst of the clamor and chaos in the world Jesus is on the move to accomplish His divine purposes.

    We are getting ready for worship this Sunday.  We will meet for worship at 10:30 AM.  Plan to be in the House of the Lord wherever you might be.  When the saint go marching, Satan trembles.

  One of the Psalms  that   I love to read and share is Psalm 91.that,   In the" Believers' Bible Commentary"  William MacDonald begins his comments on Psalm 91 by telling of a five-year-old boy who was dying of diphtheria in 1922.  As his mother turned her back so she would not see him take his last breath, her brother-in-law knocked at the door.  He said, "I've come just to tell you that you don't have to worry about the child.  He is going to recover, and God is going to save his soul."  He then explained that the Lord gave him this assurance as he read Psalm 91.  MacDonald, the author of the commentary, was that dying boy.  God spared his life.  Thirteen years later, God saved him.  For many decades, God used him to preach and write the gospel.  MacDonald labeled his comments on Psalm 91 as "My Psalm."  He stated his willingness to share the psalm, but insisted that it was his psalm.  So it is with every believer who knows what it is to live in the protective custody of God.

 

    Psalm 91 is considered a messianic psalm that finds its fulfillment in the Lord Jesus Christ.  In Matthew 4:5-6, Satan applies this psalm to Jesus.  Jesus did not deny that it is about him, even though he resisted Satan's temptation to put God to the test.  The promises of God in this psalm are ultimately fulfilled in Christ.  Psalm 91 is good news for everyone who trusts in God.  Psalm 90 is a warning about the reality of death, but Psalm 91 is a promise of protection for life.  Martin Luther called this "the most distinguished jewel among all the psalms of consolation."  This psalm must not be used to turn true faith into religious superstition, but the message of this psalm is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.  The Lord will protect the one who trusts in him.  What does it mean to live in the protective custody of God?  It is a life of confident trust, total security, and divine assurance.  

    In 1952, the American missionary Jim Elliot traveled to Ecuador to share the gospel.  On January 8, 1956, the natives he was visiting brutally murdered Elliot and four of his fellow missionaries.  Elliot was 28 years old, with a young wife and a daughter who was not yet a year old.  In 1958, Jim Elliot's widow Elisabeth published the life and testament of her husband. She called it The Shadow of the Almighty.  This title is a reference to Psalm 91 and helps us to properly understand the message of the psalm.  This psalm does not guarantee immunity from trouble in life or tragedy in death.  It celebrates the benefits of confident trust in God.  Trust in God will not keep us from experiencing bad things in life, but it will keep us as we experience bad things in life.  

    In verses one to two, the psalmist declares the truth and testimony of a life of confident trust.  Psalm 91 begins with a general statement of trust in God: "Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty."  What is this secret place?  It is a person, not a place.  This divine person is described in two ways in verse one. He is called "the Most High"—the possessor of heaven and Earth - higher than the kings of the earth and the false gods of the nations.  He is also called "the Almighty"—the living God who alone has omnipotent power.  Safety and security cannot be found in self-defense, sinful people, ideal circumstances, material resources, or defensive weapons.  It is only found in God.  In Psalm 90:1, Moses sings, "Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations."  God is a shelter to those who trust in him. Psalm 27:5 says, "For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock."  Likewise, God is a shadow for those who trust in him.  A human shadow produces fear, but the divine shadow gives comfort.  It means God is near to provide relief.  Warren Wiersbe wrote, "The safest place in the world is a shadow, if it is the shadow of the Almighty." 

    Craven was a Christian nobleman who lived in London during a plague that ravaged the city in the 15th century.  Craven determined to flee the city for his country estate to escape the spreading plague, but as he prepared to leave, he overheard a servant innocently say to another, "I suppose by my Lord's quitting London to avoid the plague, that his God lives in the country and not in town."  Convicted, Craven canceled his journey, declaring, "My God lives everywhere and can preserve me in town as well as in the country.  I will stay where I am." He remained in London to help the plague victims but never caught the disease himself, because God is a refuge and fortress to those who trust in him.

In Christ.

 Brown

https://youtu.be/FBJJJkiRukY