THE GREATEST THING IN THE WORLD

Henry Drummond took a New Testament from his hip picket at an 1881 party among country friends in England. As Drummond began to speak on the greatest thing in the world, Evangelist Dwight L. Moody decided he’d never heard anything so beautiful. Moody decided he wouldn’t rest until Drummond’s book, The Greatest Thing in the World, was read before students in all his schools. “The one great need in our Christian life is love, more love to God and to each other,” Moody wrote as his introduction to Drummond’s little book, now a classic. “Would that we could all move into that Love chapter and live there.” Today, more than ever, our children, our spouses, our extended family, students we teach, our neighbors, our brothers and sisters in the Lord, need to know they are loved. They also need to learn how to love others, God and themselves. Love not only is the greatest thing in the world, love is a God-designed weapon that intercepts Satan’s missiles and blasts through devastating circumstances so we can tunnel through to a victorious life. Of all the books I’ve read outside of the Bible, Henry Drummond’s book has had the most impact on me. Here’s what Drummond says about anger, perhaps the biggest obstacle to demonstrating love. “No form of vice, not worldliness, not greed of gold, not drunkenness itself does more to unchristianize society than evil temper. For embittering life, for breaking up communities, for destroying the most sacred relationships, for devastating homes, for withering up men and women, for taking the bloom of childhood, in short, for sheer gratuitous misery-producing power, this influence stands alone.” The book, first published in 1880, is still available on the internet. My copy is a reprint by Revell Publishing and I’ve had it since 1960. Many lives have been impacted by Drummond’s writing, including mine. ©Ada Brownell 2012

An encouraging word from the Psalmist

Psalm 27:1-5.14 NKJ The Lord is my light and my salvation; Who, shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked came against me To eat up my flesh, My enemies and foes, They stumbled and fell. Though an army should encamp against me, My heart shall not fear, Though war should rise against me, In this I will be confident. One thing have I desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple. For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.... Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord! From Ada: What is "waiting?" The way I understand it, it's kneeling, talking to God, listening for Him to speak to us, and then trusting He will answer.

WHERE DOES FAITH COME FROM?

 “Faith is trusting what the eye can’t see. Eyes see the prowling lion. Faith sees Daniel’s angel. Eyes see storms. Faith sees Noah’s rainbow. Your eyes see your faults. Your faith sees your Savior. Your eyes see your guilt. Your faith sees His blood.”[i]

The above is Max Lucado’s paraphrase of Hebrews 11:11(NIV): “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” 

But where does faith originate?

1.                  Our Creator wrapped faith in our DNA

Dr. Andrew Newberg, neuroscientist and author of "Why We Believe What We Believe," says our brains seem to have a special place for faith. He has tracked how the human brain processes religion and spirituality. It's all part of new field called neurotheology.[1]

Newberg says the frontal lobe, the area right behind our foreheads, helps us focus our attention in prayer and meditation. The pari-et-al lobe, located near the backs of our skulls, is the seat of our sensory information. He says it's involved in that feeling of becoming part of something greater than oneself. The limbic system, nestled deep in the center, regulates our emotions and is responsible for feelings of awe and joy.

Newberg says similar areas of the brain are affected during prayer and meditation. He suggests brain scans may provide proof that our brains are built to believe in God. He says there may be universal features of the human mind that actually make it easier for us to believe in a higher power.

I believe people search for God because of the “God-shaped void” within. If they haven’t heard the gospel or reject it, they worship the earth, an idol they know is nothing but a figure humans created, or devise their own religion—even making unbelief into doctrine.

2.                  God has given each person the ability to believe and his own lump of faith: “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith (Romans 12:2-4).

Often people, who don’t think they believe, find themselves praying when they or a loved one is in danger. A cry for God’s help comes from us spontaneously sometimes in crisis.

3.                  Faith arises from the need to know our Heavenly Father. Since the Lord gave humankind a choice of whether to serve Him, God prevents us from “proving” He exists and leaves that and other vacancies for our faith to fill.

In my book, Swallowed by LIFE: Mysteries of Death, Resurrection and the Eternal, I tell how medical science and common sense show we’re more than a body,  discovering our whole body keeps daying and regenerating cell by cell,  parts being removed and sometimes another transplanted from someone else.  Yet there is room for doubt when it comes to proving we have a soul that lives forever.  We have to believe the evidence.

4.                  Faith comes through hearing the Word—the gospel.

The Apostle Paul wrote “Faith comes by hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17NIV).

 Because faith is necessary to be redeemed from sin and to have our name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, God “breathed” truth into those who wrote His love message to humankind. It is through that love letter—the Bible—we gain knowledge of Him and why He allows us (anybody) to choose to accept it and love and obey Him.

 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2Timothy 3:16KJ).

5.         Faith results from acting on what was heard. From Romans 10NIV: “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved…. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?

6.          Faith comes through the will. We decide whether to believe God’s Word, a false religion, or atheism. Everything about who we are, why we are here and where we are going takes faith. Yet it takes a leap—a decision.

7.         Faith is created by combining belief with common-sense actions. James calls it faith and works. (James 2:22).

8.         Faith develops out of our hopes. We hope for something, but it takes faith to receive it.

9.         Faith can come as a fruit (KJ) and Gift of the Holy Spirit. (Galatians 5:22, 1 Corinthians 12:9).

10.        Faith comes from a combination of our will to believe, and the Holy Spirit’s revelation. The Word must be planted, watered, and then our lives bear fruit.

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[1]CNN report by A. Chris Gajilan on April 4, 2007,

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[i] Excerpted from Everyday Blessings, Max Lucado, “What Faith Sees,” http://www.maxlucado.com/

©Ada Brownell 2012

HOW WE KNOW THE BIBLE IS GOD'S WORD

A SWORD FLASHES IN THE DARKNESS (THE BIBLE IS GOD’S INFALLIBLE WORD) by Ada Brownell “Seek ye out the book of the Lord, and read.” (Isaiah 34”14) I was over at my neighbor’s house picking up some Avon products when she told me about her friend who was visiting. “I don’t know what to do to help her,” Roberta said, tears in her eyes. Roberta’s friend came from South Dakota to take her child to a Denver specialist for tests on his heart. A blood clot developed in the young boy’s arm after the test, and doctors told the mother if the clot moved the short distance up the artery to the heart, the child would die. If they operated to remove the clot, he might lose the use of his arm. I told Roberta we believed in prayer and told her I’d pray for the child. After I went home, however, I realized that wasn’t enough. The mother needed some faith of her own. So I took one of my Bibles and underlined the 91st Psalm: “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God, in Him will I trust .... A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand, but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation. There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling; for He shall give His angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways .... He shall call upon me and I will answer him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.” I put a marker in the Bible and took the Bible to Roberta. Later, Robert related to me what happened. When her friend came home from the hospital, she sat down and read the Psalm. Tears soon dripped on the marked page, but the mother found hope. At the hospital, doctors circled the little boy’s bed in consultation about what they should do. One of them gently began to examine the thin, inflamed arm where needles had inserted dye for the X-rays. “It’s gone!” the doctor said in amazement. “The clot has dissolved.” Like the boy’s mother, many people have found comfort and hope in God’s Word. The Bible is a unique book. There is none other like it -- although many books have been written to take its place. No other writing in the history of the human race has been preserved with the care that has been given the Bible. Not only is it the oldest book of antiquity, throughout history men have spent their lives preserving, copying and translating Scripture. Some of the copying was so meticulous one scribe copied the consonants, another inserted the vowel points and accents, and a third revised the copy. Manuscripts were preserved on fine animal skins and kept in dry places where they would be safe for generations to come. The writing of the Bible also is unique. Unlike Mohammed’s Koran, or Joseph Smith’s Book of Mormon, written almost completely by one man (Mohammed wrote the Koran, but his followers also wrote some of his sayings for the book), the Bible was written by 40 authors over a 1,500-year span, over 30 generations. The authors included peasants, philosophers, fishermen, poets, statesmen, scholars, a doctor and a tax collector. It was written on three continents, Asia, Africa and Europe, and in three languages, Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. Hundreds of controversial subjects are included in the subject matter, but although the authors were so different, they wrote with harmony and continuity from Genesis to Revelation. There is one unfolding story: God’s redemption of man. Another test of the Bible is the fulfillment of prophecy. One of the most outstanding fulfillments of prophecy is taken from the Old Testament book of Ezekiel and was fulfilled in this generation when Israel became a nation. Read it in Ezekiel 37, and then read the book of John in the New Testament. Dozens of Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled in Jesus, including His resurrection from the dead. A great book to read besides the Bible: Evidence that Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell which will help you understand how amazing God’s Word is, and the reality that Jesus is God.

New Review of Swallowed by LIFE posted on Amazon

From Jesse's Dad - This review is from: Swallowed by Life (Kindle Edition)

 Having lost my 10 year old son, Jesse, to Burkitt's Leukemia just over a year ago, Swallowed by Life by Ada Brownell echoes some of the very questions that I was asking after my son's death. I highly recommend it to those who are grieving and those who wish to come alongside someone who is grieving.

 I especially enjoyed her thoughts on the person being more than just the body. This is illustrated wonderfully by examples of body parts and organs being removed, cells and tissues constantly being replaced, and yet, the person we are remains.

 I also appreciated her take on Heaven: a child enjoys playing with toy cars, but an adult drives a real car. A child can't imagine giving up the toy car, whereas an adult realizes that driving a real car is far superior to playing with a toy car. So it will be in Heaven. We will find that all of our earthly pleasures where but a training ground for their Heavenly counterparts.

LIFE QUIZ

Questions

1.  Your body developed from ____ cell.

2. Your body now has about _____ ________ living cells.

3. These cells are constantly ______ and being __________.

4. When God designed you, and loved you, He made you more than a _______.

5. Our skin is rebuilt in ______ days.

6. Cells ______ to replenish themselves.

7. About ________ die every minute.

8. When God created Adam, He made him a living _______.

9.  It is the Spirit of God that gives us a ________ and ________.

10. When sin came into the world and brought death, God promised a Redeemer that would give us back ___________life.

11. For nearly _______ years, prophets wrote and preached about the coming Messiah.

12. The Bible says, “Greater love hath no man than to __________________

for a friend.

13. ___________did that for us.

 14. God loves me just as __ ______.

Choose from these answers:

Messiah

Dying, replaced

Body

Seven

One

Eternal

Lay down his life

Life

Jesus

Soul

I am

Divide

75 trillion

4,000

© Ada Brownell 2012

Mama Liked the Chicken's Tail

 THE CHICKEN’S TAIL

           By Ada Nicholson Brownell

                                               

            When I was growing up, our family went to church most Sundays knowing dinner was still running around in the chicken pen.

            Whether we got out at noon or 1 o’clock, the family tackled the necessary chores to put dinner on the table. Dad or one of my brothers caught the chickens. Mom put water on to boil and went to the cellar for vegetables and fruit.  My older sisters, four of them until they started getting married, peeled potatoes and helped prepare other side dishes. Dad or a brother killed the fryers, dunked them in boiling water, plucked the feathers, and over an open flame burned off pinfeathers.

Mom washed and cut up the chickens, immersed them in flour, salt and pepper, and slithered the pieces into the frying pan.  The aroma filled the comfortable two-story house.

I helped set the table and fill the glasses.

            Often friends, relatives, preachers or missionaries joined the 10 of us for dinner. After someone prayed, Mom glanced around at each child and said, “FHB.” Translation: “Family Hold Back. Don’t take all the food before our guests have some.”

            Since I was the youngest, I usually got a meaty “wishbone” which you don’t see when you buy a cut-up chicken today. Mom always ate the chicken’s tailpiece.

 “I like it,” she’d say with a smile.

            It was a bony piece, and none of us liked the idea of eating the “last piece over the fence.”

            Years later, after I became a mother, I understood why Mom loved the tailpiece. It was because she loved us and wanted us to have the meatier parts.

            Sacrifice is just part of love.  Jesus gave us that example when he sacrificed Heaven and came to earth to suffer and die so that we could have eternal life.  “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

            I’ve always been a little like the chicken’s tail piece—last in many ways, and not the most beautiful and desirable.  But Somebody loves me anyway.

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