Monday: Lost and Found

"There was a man who had two sons."

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. It is Monday and the day we pray for our leaders, our military, and all who help keep us safe and healthy. A big day of prayer ... Please pray also for one of our bus museum members, George Herwig, who is very weak after surgeries on his head. Also for Bob Beard, who is having shots in his eye tomorrow.

Lost and Found: I spent about 25 years in the school bus business, first as a driver for a few years and then into the office to manage the fleet. We had over a hundred buses, and in each bus there was a place that was called a lost and found box. It always amazed me what had been lost and never reclaimed by the kids. We would leave the things on the bus from day to day except for school books which we could send back to the schools and the kids hunted down. Do you know that kids never lose both gloves? At the end of a school year, we would bring in the boxes and sort them out, taking jackets, etc that were good, to the Goodwill Stores.

As I get older and older, I find myself losing more and more things, and hunting and hunting them. And it happens all the time, I always find them at the very last place I look ... always. However, the most important thing that I had lost and then had found again was my very own soul ... it went something like this ...

I was born on May 16, 1941, and named after my dad, Daniel Webster Lehman Jr. My dad and mother, Sara Margaret Lehman, raised my brother Leonard and myself in the way of the Lord. They really did. Mom made our clothes, and we always looked nice, and although we had nothing fancy our clothes were clean. Living in Harrisburg, Pa., near the Harrisburg, Paxtang line, mom and dad saw that we would get to Sunday School and most often church each week at the 29th Street Evangelical United Brethren Church. I also had to go to Bible School each summer for two weeks. Yes, I knew all about Jesus and loved the stories of Jesus and loved to sing. When I was a senior in high school, I lost my mother, but even before that I got a job to support my habit (cars and trucks), and the job was at a Gulf Gasoline Service Station, and yes, I had to work on Sundays. I did not mind, for I made 50 cents per hour. I slowly got away from church and also away from Jesus. I left Him, I want that to be clear, He did not leave me. As I got older and older, I would come back to God when I was down, and walk away again when I was up. When I was 39, I came back for good and started to grow and grow again in God. And Jesus would forgive me and take me back each time. He never shut the door on me, never. You know that my Lord Jesus forgave me of my sins and does not bring up my past, however once in a while still today, I will hear from someone who will either tell others, I knew him when he would, or they would say to me, I knew you when you did. And let me tell you that it hurts today. It hurts because I was not raised that way, and I turned my back on God. I am sure I am forgiven for there is a story in the Bible about being lost and then found.

From Luke 15: 11/32: You will find Jesus telling the Parable of the Lost Son. Please take time to read it, and please understand that if you are one who fits this bill, being a lost son, or a lost daughter, please know that our Lord Jesus will take you back, He will forgive You, and He will not cast it up to you in any way, shape, or form. I am going to be talking this week about the Lost and the Found, from people to sheep to coins. Jesus has given more than one parable on the Lost.

I just want to drive this home, for regardless of our backgrounds, Jesus will wash us clean, and if we get dirty again, He will clean us again. God is good. And for all of you on the line that have known me from the past, thanks for forgiving me, and not casting it up. Please, try and take time to read Luke chapter 15 from start to finish, and you will get a good idea of how Jesus forgives.

Let me close with this little story today. Those who know us today, know Dolores and me, you know that we have a lot of dogs, older dogs, crippled dogs, blind dogs, and we keep them till they go home. (Yes there will be dogs in heaven.) We have removed all carpet from our home and put down a washable floor. Each morning, we get up and take care of the dogs (and cats) and I mop the house, from one end to the other. During the day, the dogs track in mud, make a mess once in a while, and cause us to do the work over again. We love them and we forgive them. The other day when I was mopping, it came to me that God does the same for us each day, He cleans up our daily mess-ups in life, and He still holds us and loves us. So in the evening as I sit in a big chair or lay across the bed, the dogs, about three on my lap, one or two on the lap of Dolores and the others at our feet, we feel blessed, for we are sitting on the lap of our Master, our Lord Jesus. God loves us all, and He longs to hold you on His lap and cuddle up with you ... Please let Him.

Dear Father in Heaven, thanks for cleaning our past, thanks for cleaning our messes, and thanks for walking with us. Please Lord, watch over our leaders, their families, and our military and their families, and all those who work to keep us safe. And Lord, bless George and heal him, and touch the eyes of my big brother in Christ, Bob. And Lord, please, please, heal Pastor Charles. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Go forth sharing your blessings with others, and also turning more and more to Jesus. Hold on tight to Him, and brothers and sisters, enjoy the ride, or walk. If you are walking away... listen to these words -- ABOUT FACE ... come on back. love ya, dan.