Thursday: Tempted (4)

"Why are you sleeping?"

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters and welcome to Thursday, Family Day, on this, the Carry The Light Ministries prayer and message line. Yes, the day we pray for families, and believe me when I say we need to be praying for our families. So pray today for the family in the White House, the family in your house, and families all over the world. Families are under attack and not just from Satan, but from our governments across this land. More than ever, I said MORE THAN EVER, families need the Lord.

Tempted (4): Luke 22: 39 Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives and His disciples followed Him. 40 On reaching the place, He said to them, "Pray that you will not fall into temptation." (NIV)

Luke 22: 46 "Why are you sleeping?" He asked them. "Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation." (NIV)

As you see by the scriptures above, Jesus was concerned that even His disciples would not fall into temptation. Today, with all that is going on in the world, we must be awake, awake to what is going on around us all the time, for it would be so easy to fall into temptation, or temptations, that this world has going on right now. I have heard over the years from many different people on this line who are trying to raise their children in a Christian way and how one of the kids have fallen into the temptations of the world. Some have walked away completely from how they were raised. And folks, yes, I was one like that, I was one who was raised in the name of Jesus and did a walk-about, so to speak. Families are under attack and parents, grandparents, and the kids must be wide awake to what is going on around them. There was a time that we would say there was a gas station on each corner, and now it seems that it is a place to get booze. From bars to fancy places to eat to the place you purchase your food to wine stores. We go to the phone book and see that abortion is the first thing listed in the yellow pages. You have Craig's List and you can find anything and people our being murdered through it. It is different than when Jesus told His disciples to stay awake and pray, for it is worse ... far worse. The only thing the same is our dear Jesus and those words of His ring true today. Wake up and pray so you don't fall into temptation ... WAKE UP AND PRAY ... This does not mean we should not sleep at night, but we surely do need to pray when we wake up each day.

Some day as you travel, maybe even today, I challenge you to take a note pad with you, and each time you are tempted by something, write it down. At the end of the day (I hate that term), anyway, at the end of a day see what you have written down. Break them into things that are ok, and things that are really bad. Yes, write down that ice cream, and all those goodies. But men, write down that low cut dress your eyes went to, and ladies, when you looked at buns that were not on the lunch counter, write it down. You see where I am coming from. Oh and parents, look at what is tempting those kids. Check in their rooms, go tuck them in, look around the room. Be alert and pray, and pray for your children and then put feet on those prayers and make sure of the company they keep, etc. Watch for changing habits. Once again, once again ... In the words of Jesus ... "Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation."

Dear Father in Heaven, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Lord help us, help us to be alert, to be ready, to be praying and not be tempted by evil or things that are not good for us. Protect Your children, dear Lord, protect us from all evil. In the name of Jesus, I pray today for families. Lord, in the name of Jesus, I give honor to You dear Lord. Amen.

Go forth, praying and being alert and while you are at it ... SHARE YOUR BLESSINGS. love ya, dan.

Wednesday: Tempted (3)

People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap.

Good Salvation Wednesday Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. It is a beautiful day, just beautiful. Please join me in wishing Big John Henry Riddlesberger a prayerful wish for his upcoming retirement from the Carlisle (PA) High School teaching job. Enjoy, John, and thanks for being a good role model with Jesus for our school kids. Folks, teachers touch more young lives than most others, and they can get them started right or they can mess them up. Also please keep praying for Vicki who keeps having more health problems. Prayers also for my wife as she heads for some testing on Friday. She carries a lot of pain, and only those near her know how much. And by all means keep praying for Don to receive his full sight and for Pastor Charles, Pat, Sharon and Jo, to get out of those wheelchairs and walk. And yes, it is Salvation Wednesday, and we need to be praying for the unsaved and then put feet on our prayers and work in those fields of harvest for Jesus and bring the lost to His feet ... AMEN.

Tempted (3): Out of all things, what might tempt us most? Yes, we could put in drugs, booze, smoking, eating too much, but the bottom line just might be the very love of money. Do you remember Donald Duck's Uncle Scrooge? Do you remember his money vault and how he liked to play in his money? And then there was the banker on the Beverly Hillbillies. And might there be a little of this in a lot of people? When we look at what has happened with the savings of many because their investment funds were lost in part or in some cases in almost whole, were we not warned in the Bible to not store up treasures on earth, but in heaven? And while I think people need to save for retirements, how many people go far beyond that? How many people just love that almighty dollar?

1 Timothy 6: 7: For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. (NIV)

I want to confess to you right now that Dolores and I are very rich. We love Jesus, we have six children, and enough grandkids and great grandkids to fill one of our buses. And we have all of you on this line and our flock at The Bridges and a food bank to help others. And as long as we GIVE TO THE LORD FIRST, WE HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO PAY THE BILLS. Folks, you just cannot count riches in dollars and cents. So why be tempted? I know of people who live on a welfare check who spend half of it going for broke on the daily lottery. And yes, when the old jackpot gets bigger and bigger in those lotteries it does tempt one to spend a buck for all the dreams. Years ago when the lotteries first started here in Pennsylvania, back around 1970 I think it was, a friend of mine hit the big one at that time ... 50 grand. He got a new car, took a room full of friends out for a night on the town, purchased this and that, and when it came time to pay the taxes, he filed bankruptcy. And he is not the only one that has had to do that. Folks, we need to really look at this love of money and there is not better time. This country is depending on a few people to pay all the bills. Recently we were notified that we would get a small increase in our retirement, as the withholding tax was lowered. Looks nice but wait till next April 15 when we must pay Caesar what is due him.

Folks, on this Salvation Wednesday I ask you to put down your love of money and put your love and trust in Jesus. In our house, I love Jesus more than Dolores, more than our kids. Jesus truly heads this household and makes it a home. Sad to say it was not always that way. I had to "crash and burn" so to speak before I learned to let go and let God ... keep Jesus first. To those I hurt, including my children years and years ago, I told them I was sorry ... but the one I hurt most was Jesus and then me, for back then I failed us both. So on this Salvation Wednesday, put down things you put ahead of Jesus and come to His feet ... Amen.

Dear Father in Heaven, years ago I turned my back on You and You took me back and gave me new chances. I sin and need forgiven, but Lord I promise You this ... I am never leaving You again. There is no temptation too big. Lord, help all of us to work for You bringing in the Lost. Lord, bless my big brother John Henry and help him to enjoy his retirement and working more for You. Lord, hug this guy and hug him more each day. Lord, I pray for Vicki, and for the others on our prayer list and Lord, please, please dear Lord, in the name of Jesus, heal Dolores and Pastor Charles, and Pat and Don, and Sharon, and Greta, and Jo and the others on our list. And Lord, for that 15 year old Gordon, wash out the cancer, and for David, don't let Him fall from Grace. Lord, and be with my brother Bill as he works in that automotive field. Lord, Lord, Lord how we love you ... in the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Saturday at noon on the Capitol steps in Harrisburg Pa. ... bring your flag and support our troops ... one hour, and I would love to meet you. I will be the old guy that looks a tad like Santa. Now get busy sharing those blessings and loving on Jesus ... love ya, dan.

Tuesday: Tempted (2)

Jesus answered, "It is written that 'Man does not live on bread alone.' "

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. It is really beautiful, summer-like, here at the Southern Location of the North Pole. Set a record yesterday at 92. Now I make a promise to God each year, get me through winter and I will never complain about the heat of summer. I would much sooner sit under a shade tree with my diet Pepsi on ice then be bundled up stuffing hot coffee in my face. Today being Tuesday it is the day we pray for our schools, yes schools day on this line. Also today please pray for 15 year old Gordon who has cancer and has been 3 months on this earth. Please pray for healing and also that Gordon is saved. He might be, but the one who sent in the request is not sure. Here is another request that I printed off word for word. The one who sent this in takes his time each day to follow this line, he is a great prayer warrior ...

Hi Dan; Hope this weekend finds you well (with the exception of those stones you keep shooting out). I am asking you to pray for my friend David. He is a friend of mine since 1996, we were together at Stand in the Gap in DC and he took the Lord into his heart. He became a tireless worker for Christ, holding prayer at his work(he was a construction worker), stopping along the highway to help motorists, and even becoming a deacon in our church. Three years ago he was deported for mistakes he made in his youth. He always tells me that Jesus was telling him to go and make his citizenship official, but because of the money and his shame he did not. His son got in trouble with the law and David went to court to testify in his behalf. The court did a search on his status and he was arrested. He was in jail for one year then deported to Mexico. His wife is from E-town and moved down with him. They have endured tough times. He does basically the same job down there. In the US he was paid over $60000 a year and in Mexico he makes $100/week. Last week his home was robbed and all of there possessions were taken (computer, TV, Clothes, jewelry, and many personal items). Please pray that he stay STRONG in his FAITH! The enemy has been working on him for many years and we want to claim his life for Christ! Thanks, I appreciate all you do.
Bill Krieger General Service Manager Sutliff Chevrolet

Tempted (2): Luke 4: 3 - The devil said to Him, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread." Jesus answered, "It is written that 'Man does not live on bread alone.' "

Yesterday I said let's put the food away for a minute and today I am saying let's talk about this. Let's first look at the fact that Satan said to Jesus "Turn the stone to bread". Could Jesus have done that? Of course, remember He made everything. And to remind you about food, Dolores and I have a backyard garden and it still amazes me how you plant the little seed in the dirt, and my garden has shale in it, and how this seed grows into good things to eat, and if you don't believe how good the things are, ask the groundhog that lives next to my garden. Now let me go to the next statement, that statement of Jesus. Jesus answered, "It is written that 'Man does not live on bread alone.' " And now the temptation begins. Who among us is not tempted by food, and tempted so much that it becomes a sin? Oh, and how I have been a sinner on eating over the years. Yes, we put junk in our bodies that is really bad for us, and our body is the temple of God. I know I have one dear, dear friend on this line will send me and email about my diet Pepsi. Honest Neil, I am cutting back some ... trying to learn to drink more water. But who among us has not been tempted by the food, and at sometime or other found that our clothes shrink while hanging in the closet? I got so out of control that I had the gastric bypass. And it worked, but the temptation is still there. Who among us has not gone to one of these brunch buffets to find a spread like this ... eggs made to order, home fries, bacon, ham, grits, pancakes, French toast, waffles, and fruits of all type ... oh, and it is a brunch, so we have mashed potatoes, little red potatoes, and Prime Rib and burgers, ham, turkey, chicken, pork chops ... Stop it ... time out, I am going for something to eat ...

Even when our good Lord gives us all this food, it is set up in a way that we become tempted, and folks, I am not going to blame this on Satan, I am going to put the blame where it belongs, right on us. I think that WE GIVE SATAN TOO MUCH CREDIT, when the problem is ours as we just know better. Is this not true in most things? Satan tempted Jesus, and Jesus did not give in. However, what would we have done? Do you see where I am coming from today? We all have temptations around us, some of us it might be food, some it might be drinking, some smoking, but we really know how to deal with them. We have report after report that tells us about being overweight, or what smoking does to us and the chances of cancer coming from it. I watched my brother die because he would not stop smoking and the same thing with Dolores' brother. I know people, and I was one of them, that would overeat time and time again. Who in this world other than me could put down four, yes four Whoppers and still be hungry, and to save those calories, I would wash it all down with, yes, my beloved Diet Pepsi. Today, and again I gave into the surgery, I go and get one Whopper Junior, no cheese. So how many confessions on sinful overeating do we have today? I am sure we have all said at one time or another when looking at a big piece of double chocolate cake, "this is sinful". Maybe we should not blame this on Satan, maybe since we do not want to put it on our own shoulders we should just blame Jesus. After all, He gave us all these things to eat saying He would take care of our needs. I am not blaming anything on Jesus except for all the good things He gave us like, well, like His life. Yes, Jesus did supply all of our needs and we need to control it. Maybe we should put this together, it takes a personal commitment to get into Heaven. We must follow Jesus and live for Him. When it comes to the temptations of life, not just the food, but in life, we need to make a personal commitment and again lean on Jesus, but we NEED TO STOP BLAMING OTHERS. It is time to stop giving Satan glory by falling, and time to take on personal responsibility and to make Godly choices in life. Get on the Jesus team, it is the best. AMEN.

Dear Father in Heaven, we need Your help to make personal commitments to avoid temptations that are no good for us, or no good for others that we share our lives with. Please Lord, Your healing hand is needed on all of us when it comes to temptations. Help us Lord, and your healing hand is also needed on David and Gordon. Also Lord, we ask that You are in our schools. Some will say we put God out of schools, and Lord most of us want You in. Lord, be with our school kids, and all who go through the doors of the schools. Lord ,thanks for all You give us, now give us the strength to control it. In the mighty name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Go forth sharing those blessings, passing up those temptations that are not good for you ... love ya, dan.

Monday: Tempted

Where for forty days, He was tempted by the devil.

Praise God, Praise God, Praise God ... About a year ago we were praying for a lad, a one year old who had cancer. His name is Alexander. Last week they pulled a chemo port from him and sent him home ... HIS CANCER IS GONE. Praise The Lord! Last week a dear friend of my wife Dolores, Wanda Hoch, went to the hospital with pains in the belly area which she had for a while. After days in the hospital it was determined by the doctors she had a blockage of some type so surgery was scheduled, but not in a hurry. She as a patient was taken down in the late afternoon on Thursday. She was opened, her appendix had broke, but instead of the deadly fluid going all through her, it was in a bigger sack. Can you say praise the Lord? This lady is soon 80 and I am giving her age because I want you to see that age does not matter to God when healing, but FAITH DOES.

And that sort of wraps up last week's message on faith and healing ... and do I hear and AMEN?

Good Morning, brothers and sisters, it is Monday and the day we pray for our Leaders, and regardless of who you voted for in the elections past, we need to uplift our President and his family and all of our other leaders. Please pray for Hilary Clinton as she travels. Have you seen her lately, looks like she jumped 10 years in age. Today is also the day when we pray for all those who protect us in their line of work. Military, Police, firefighters, etc., all of them. And let me plug right now the sixth annual Support the Troops rally on the steps of the Capitol of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg, this coming Saturday at noon. I will be opening and closing the event with prayer, so I would be honored if you would come in support of the troops, and also keep me in prayer for this event.

Tempted (1): Luke 4: 1 - Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days and at the end of them He was hungry. (NIV)

Let's put the not eating aside for now and just look at the devil tempting Jesus for 40 days. Can we relate to that, does the old devil tempt us day after day after day? Do you notice as the seasons change so do the temptations of the devil. You are asking what I mean. Well, let's just back up to the Christmas season, while most will tell you that they like the giving of the season, and I would tell you the same, is it not true that deep inside we are wishing for some special things? And the devil hangs those things out in front of us, things like the big screen television, newer and better computers, and of course all those new lines of clothes. How in the world can I go to school with new jeans if they don't come with a hole in the knee? Gosh, do you remember paying good money for jeans that look worn out? Why if my dear late mamma was alive she would be buying up all those iron-on patches and a new sewing kit. And yes, I still wear socks with a hole in them (need the hole to put them on). I am so funny some days (yea, right!!)

Moving on to spring, and does the devil tempt us. Well, let me tell you if you were out to the mall or one of these places like Lowes this past weekend, you would have seen it all. Ladies, you could have looked at the heaping muscles of the men jumping from under those cut off sleeves or even seen some fat that would have turned you away, but enough to look at and be tempted by the devil in your thinking. And men, and yes I noticed also, the way some women were dressed. I mean some for going out did not have much clothes covering them. And we men looked, and yes God gave us eyes, but we get to sinning. I said to my son Matthew when at Lowes that Satan is well at work to tempt people. Folks, we must overcome those temptations of the devil and the only way to do it is by getting tighter and tighter with our Lord Jesus. Today I want you to think about how Satan is tempting you, and how you can get nearer and nearer to Jesus to prevent the temptations from getting to you. Lets pray.

Father in Heaven, we first give Praise for those healings I have mentioned, and give You all the honor and glory. Regardless if your hand is direct or on the doctors, we give You the honor, for if the healings come through the medical people we know that got their talent on loan from You. Lord we ask that You are with our Leaders in Washington and today I pray for Hilary Clinton by name for Your protection. First I pray that she is born again, and loves You and next for You to keep her safe and sound. Lord, be with our troops and all others who work so hard to keep us safe. Lord, two more police officers killed this weekend, Lord, Lord please protect them. And Lord help us to not be tempted by the changes of spring, but to enjoy the rebirth of Your crops and growing things. In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen. And Lord, did I thank You for getting my email back and working? If I did not, let me do it now. Thanks Jesus, I love you. Amen.

Go forth now and watch out for temptations. Shortly Dolores and I will be leaving for our six-hour vacation, going to the railroad in Paradise Pa. We love the place. It takes you back to a slower time. Go forth sharing your blessings with all you meet. love ya, dan.

Friday: Faith (5)

"I see men as trees, walking."

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters, it is a beautiful morning here at the Southern Location of the North Pole. And it is Friday, the day we should be praying for all of us, yes you and me, for it is the day we pray for those who go and work for Jesus! ARE YOU ON THAT PRAYER LIST?? What do you do for Jesus, and do you do it daily?

Additional prayer requests today for Don, who is blind but now seeing light, so please keep flooding heaven with those prayers and put faith on them so they get to Jesus. Prayers also for Pastor Charles, Pat, and Sharon that they will soon be walking again, and that God also restores Pastor to preaching. Also for Greta who is learning to use man-made legs. As you know, we also pray on this line for pets, and today I ask for prayers for our beloved Minx, a very old Pom, who is going today to have his teeth removed. I do not like this being done to a senior dog, but he has an infection. So we will trust God to pull him through. Also one more dog to pray for, ME, I am once again passing those Kidney Stones, I already paved the driveway, and am now working on the street.

Faith (5): Today as I wrap up the series on faith, and trust me when I say I could write for a month ... I want to bring out some points as I ask you, just don't give up the faith. There are times when I think all of us seem to think, will this prayer request ever be answered, so let me point out that "No" is an answer that we don't like to hear, but it is an answer that God does use once in a while. Also prayers don't always get answered on the first request, or in some cases and for whatever reason you might not get the healing you are requesting and you need to go back and ask God again, do not give up your faith, please, praise God for the healing you received and then ask again and again.

Let me bring this out today. From Mark 8: 22 - They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. 23 He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When He had spit on the man's eyes and put His hands on him, Jesus asked, "Do you see anything?" 24 He looked up and said, "I see people; they look like trees walking around." 25 Once more Jesus put His hands on the man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 26 Jesus sent him home, saying. "Don't go into the village." (NIV) My opening line, "I see men as trees walking!" Comes from the King James Edition of the Bible.

Now I am bringing this out and I am preaching on this Sunday at the Bridges, for we have a man that comes to church most often, Don, who for a few years I have been praying for him, and with him that God would let him see.. This past Sunday Don shared with me that he, when waking up, can see enough light to count his fingers. PRAISE GOD, PRAISE GOD... Also as I pray each week for Pastor Charles, I see him coming along, and in a recent service Pastor Charles gave the benediction. So I have told them, to please keep the faith ... and let me tell you, this healing comes from God, not me. I might be laying on the hands, anointing with oil and praying, but only, ONLY, God can heal.

One other point I want to bring out is that regardless of age, we should not stop praying for healing. I was asked one time, you mean you are praying for those who are 90 to be healed from cancer? And yes, I do that. Now to show you that things can happen even to us when we are up in years ... listen to this ... From Genesis 17:16 - I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations, kings of peoples will come from her. 17 Abraham fell face down; he laughed and said to himself, "Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?" 18 And Abraham said to God, "If only Ishmael might live under Your blessing!" 19 Then God said, "Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac." (NIV)

So folks, don't let this age thing get in your way of praying and praying with faith. Folks, I also want you to know that when we pray for healing, regardless of a person's age, first I think we need to pray for them, and with them, and talk to them about Salvation. That needs to not be put on hold. Then we also need to be aware that "Total healing just might be when God takes us home." Someone please say amen ...

So let me wrap it up ... "Faith" - Please never give up, always keep your faith, not in man or machine, but in God The Father, Jesus The Son and The Holy Spirit. Never lose faith ... and don't worry about tomorrow, for if God watches after the sparrow, He for sure will take care of you and me.

Dear Father in Heaven, keep us busy in the fields working for You, from the dawn of our life to the setting sun, we need to be working for You. Lord, please lay your healing hand on those on our prayer list, and please touch the eyes of Don, for he now sees light and his fingers, please let him see the beauty of Your work ... here on earth before he goes home. And please dear Lord, let Pastor Charles preach again. And thanks for all You do, thanks for getting my email back. I love You Jesus. And I pray in faith in Your name, Jesus. Amen.

Hey, enjoy the weekend, be blessed and share those blessings ... love ya, dan.

Thursday: Faith (4)

"You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it."

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. PRAISE THE LORD, PRAISE THE LORD. I got my old e-mail system back yesterday ... wow, am I blessed or what? I am so blessed. Today is Thursday, and that means it is family day on this line, the day we pray for families, so please pray for your family and mine, and please pray for the family in the White House. Also please keep praying for Don, who was blind but is now seeing some light when first waking. Pray for Vicki, who added to all her problems has suffered a fall. Prayers for walking for Greta to learn to use those new man made legs. And for Pastor Charles, Pat and Sharon to get up out of those wheelchairs and walk. Pray also for Pastor Tony and Ruby.

Faith (4): John 14: 13 - "And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it." (NIV)

John 3: 16: "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." (NIV)

John 14: 6: Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. NO ONE comes to the Father except through me." (NIV)

I am going to ask you a question.. Do you have faith in all the above statements? These statements, all from the Bible, all require faith, faith on your part to believe. While all "Born Again" Christians must believe in Jesus, and I am sure all believe in John 3: 16 and John 14: 6, but do all Christians believe in John 14: 13/14? I am not sure they do. Do you have faith when you pray and ask for Jesus to heal you that it will get done? Maybe you have the faith, but maybe you might cancel out your request. Oh, did I say that? Yes, I did. Do you think that when we get to praying and talking with Jesus about healing ourselves or others, then we go out and do things that do not please God, we might be nasty with someone, or we might not be living the word ... do you think that God just might say, why should I heal this person, or honor his request when I hear him cursing on the golf course, or at the ball game of one of your kids. I think along with faith, we must also honor God by LIVING FOR HIM, LIVING TO PLEASE HIM IN ALL WE DO. I want you to really think about this. Are we maybe hanging up on our Lord Jesus instead of hanging out with Him? Think about that ... Let's go to prayer.

Dear Father in Heaven, please help us to get our faith stronger and to live each day, each minute, right down to each second for You. I confess I need You to help me with it all the time. Lord please touch Don's eyes as You touched the eyes of the blind when You walked the earth. Please bring Pastor Charles, Pat and Sharon up out of those wheelchairs. And Lord, please look after Vicki ... I pray healing on her and that You will lift her many problems and troubles. I pray that You will bless families today and that the families will come together under You. I pray also that we might live each minute for You, and yes I asked that twice, for I need to keep that in front of me. In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

Go forth and have a great day, and make it really great by walking in the light of Jesus and sharing the blessings He gives to you ... Love ya, dan.

Wednesday: Faith (3)

"You of little faith, why are you so afraid?"

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. It is Wednesday and that means it is "SALVATION WEDNESDAY". Yes, the day we pray for the unsaved, those who have not been born again. Please do not be fooled by this, for sometimes you might be praying for one you sit with or near in church or maybe, just maybe, even the pastor. Please add Pastor Carol to your prayer list. Also keep praying for "Don" who is blind, however, God is working with him right now. Also for Pastor Charles, Pat and Sharon, for them to get out of the wheelchair. Also pray for Greta who has new legs from the knees down and the best attitude I have seen in my life for a person losing limbs. Please pray that she will walk on them soon. Last night I was given two names of young men, one in the military and leaving for Iraq, "Joseph Habecker", and one working as a mechanic on the striker vehicles in Iraq, "James Warner".

Faith (3): Let me start today by saying if you are not praying in faith that God will hear and answer your prayers, you are wasting your time. Has your faith been tested lately? You know our faith can be tested in many ways, and sometimes we put more faith in some earthly things than in our Lord Jesus. Let me give you an example. Each morning you get up, you get ready for work, or school, or maybe a shopping trip. You go out to your car and you have "faith" that it is going to start, and most often it does, but sometimes it fails. The battery might go dead, or the engine goes bad, etc. You get on the road and you have "faith" that the old piece of steel will keep running and get you to work, why you might even go up on one of those big high bridges and have "faith" that this machine will not stop.

We parents put "faith" in our children, and that can be reversed as our children put "faith" in us. And while we trust in these earthly things, even like this darn computer working, we fail to put full "faith" in the one and only place where it will never fail us ... Our Lord Jesus!!

Here might be the very best one of all, we put "faith" in our governments that they will do what is right, and we put "faith" in those telling us to invest ... and then when things fall apart, and they ask us to believe in them and tell us to keep our dollars invested and it will be all right, we keep having "faith". Folks, again I say, and you can quote me on this, "We often put faith in things that will fail or have failed, while we do not give full faith in our Lord Jesus who will never fail."

My lesson today comes from Matthew 8: 23: Then He got into the boat and His disciples followed Him. 24 Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke Him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!" 26 He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. 27 The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey Him!" (NIV)

The answer to that question, "What kind of man is this?" IS He is God, the one and only place we should put complete "Faith".

Dear Father in Heaven, help us to increase our faith in You more and more each day till our faith is that of the little mustard seed. Lord, we deep down know You will not fail us if we only believe. Lord, we pray for those on our lists that our sick, for those that need protection, but most of all, today we pray for the unsaved that they will come to You, and we ask that You use us to help bring in the lost sheep. Lord, help us as we want to work in those fields, working for You. Keep our faith strong in the place it belongs, in You, our dear Lord Jesus, and I pray in your name. Amen.

Now go forth, having full faith in Jesus and not fool faith in other things. Keep your eye on Jesus and look full into His wonderful face ... and share those blessings .... see ya, love ya, dan.

Tuesday: Faith (2)

"Receive your sight, your faith has healed you."

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. It is a great morning, just wonderful, and I want to thank you for all your prayers for me in the singing of our National Anthem yesterday. It went well, thanks to God and your prayers.

Confession time ... once again my email crashed last night. I went from Comcast back to Verizon because I was having lots of problems with Comcast, and I guess going back changed it again. After three hours on the phone, and listening to many recordings, I got someone who gave me enough help to get it up and running. Praise God, Priase God. With that said, the layout is different, and I can't seem to change the size of the letters, or right now am not sure if it will send when I press send. I guess it is a really good week for me to be writing on Faith. I was almost to the point last night that I would have liked to get the old hammer out and put it lightly to the computer. However, that kind of action never works. Have any of you ever gotten to that point on one of these silly machines? I am just so computer dumb. Anyway, let's move on with the message and I will struggle with the computer later. Pardon me if it comes in the wrong size today.

Ah, Tuesday, and it is Schools day on this line so we pray and pray and pray for our schools and all who enter the doors, and please remember those who work for the schools and don't often go in the buildings. These heros of the road have as many as 90 of our children behind them as they deal with weather, traffic, road rage, and your wonderful children who, when away from their parents, act, well, they act like kids. The hero, the driver of the school bus, and the one seen more than any other school employee by the parents and the public. Today when you stop for a school bus, or pass one (legally), please say a little prayer for their safety ... thanks.

Faith (2): As you know, yesterday I was talking to you about faith also. I told you about "Don", the man at the Bridges who we have been praying for his sight. Don could not see a thing, total darkness. After years of praying, Don when waking in the morning or after a nap, can see enough light to count his fingers. Please, please keep praying for Don, and remember to keep praying for those who are on your prayer lists and this one also. And please, when you know of someone who has been healed that we are praying for, let us know so we can post it and also give GOD ALL THE GLORY. It is so important that we let God have the glory, for it is He and He alone that heals.

Today's story comes from Luke 18: 35 - As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. 37 They told him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by." 38 He called out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" 40 Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to Him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, 41 "What do you want me to do for you?" "Lord I want to see," he replied. 42 Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.." 43 Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all people saw it, they also praised God." (NIV)

As you see in this wonderful story in our Bibles, Jesus healed the blind eyes of the beggar, and it was by the man's own faith that healed him. "Receive your sight; your faith has healed you." Those words are those of Jesus. Folks, how many of us have just given up after praying once, or even maybe praying for days and days for healing for someone or yourself, we have just, well, given up? Folks, never give up on the Lord. I want to remind you of another verse in the Bible: Hebrews 13: 8 - Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (NIV)

So my dear brothers and sisters, since Jesus healed back in the days when He walked the earth, and He is still the same today and He will also be tomorrow and forever, then by all means we need to have faith that He still heals. I WANT TO MAKE THIS STATEMENT. I believe in the Bible, ALL OF IT, from the first words to the last, I do not pick and choose like some do, or try and spin it different directions. I believe it all, just as written. I believe that God made the heavens and earth in six days and then rested on the seventh, and I do not add a tag line that maybe the days were longer back then ... I beleive it took six days. I believe in the cross and that Jesus died for me and was risen on the third day. And I believe He is coming back for us. I BELIEVE IT ALL ... ALL OF IT ... and I pray you also believe it all, because if you only believe some parts, then how can you put any faith in it? If you do not believe that Jesus still heals and even heals through the touch of others in His name, then how in the world can you believe that He went to the cross and died for us? What I am saying here is HAVE FAITH, FOR JESUS STILL HEALS. And folks, I must confess, I think that Jesus is giving me these messages this week for me as much as anyone, for some days when dealing with a lot of pain our faith might go thin, and I do not want that to happen to me, NOR YOU. Lets pray.

Lord, please, please, do not ever let your spirit leave us, keep us "high on faith in You", and Lord, although we might not feel your healing hand today, tomorrow we might, so I pray that the healing we pray for on this line is heard by You and in Your time and by Your will is answered, and Lord help us all to never give up our faith. Please today bless our schools, and Lord, please bless those bus drivers who take our children into traffic. Lord, they need all the help they can get from You. Lord, even bless those bus drivers who do not believe. Show them You are really in the driver's seat. Lord, please return the sight to Don and let Pastor Charles, Pat, and Sharon walk again. Oh, and Lord, heal the pain of Dolores, take away the troubles and heal Vicki, and Lord, if You get a chance, touch my pain. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen .

Folks, I have not figured out how to work spell check on this new program that came forth this morning, it asks me to point out the word that is misspelled and it will show me the correction ... da, if I knew which one I spelled wrong, then I would not need the spell check. Oh well, you are getting used to my spelling. Hey, go and share those blessings and remember I love ya, dan. And now I pray I can copy this and mail it on all four mailings ... pray please.

Monday: Faith (1)

Oh you of little faith!

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. It is Monday and it is very early in the morning, and God woke me this morning to do His work. Monday, blessed Monday, the first day of the work week. Monday is the day we set aside to pray for our leaders, our Military, our police, our firefighters, and all others who work so hard to keep us safe and well. Please add your doctors to your prayers today also.

Regardless if you like our leaders, you do need to LOVE THEM and PRAY FOR THEM. And remember to pray for the families of all those also. Please also as you pray for our military, pray for our MERCHANT MARINES. These brave men and women, running these big ships full of goods, many taking supplies to our troops, are being hijacked by those pirates, and trust me on this, they are not from Pittsburgh Pa.

Oh you of little faith! There is a reason why God is giving me messages this week on faith. For right now I just want you to stop and say PRAISE THE LORD.

Faith (1): Matthew 6:28 - "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O YOU OF LITTLE FAITH?" (NIV)

Now I asked you to say PRAISE THE LORD, and please say it again with me. PRAISE THE LORD. So many times we pray and pray for something and it does not always happen. Now I am very sure and have faith that God hears all my prayers, and if He hears mine, I am also sure that He is hearing yours. Sometimes the prayers are not answered by the time we say Amen, so we think they are not going to be answered, or sometimes it might be in God's will to answer our prayer in a different way and we missed out on the answer. And listen to this, sometimes we must do things to help on those prayers. This week I want to write about Faith, but in the most part I want to write about it as it concerns our heath, and the healing power, the MIGHTY HEALING POWER, OF OUR LORD JESUS.

I believe in the healing power of our Lord Jesus, over and over again we see it in the Bible, and over and over again we see it in friends or even in our own bodies. And I would say that God has healed us thousands of times before we even knew we were sick. In other words, He blocked it. I give all glory to God for I know I have had God's healing hand on cancer in my body, and I give all glory to God for His mighty healing hand on the cancer of my brother in Christ, Bob, squarewheels, Beard. I also know sometimes we pray for healing of things and then do things to hinder God's work. Again I am going to use myself as an example. I pray daily for healing of my back, I need new knees according to the doctors, and I also need at least one shoulder, maybe two, as I cannot get them up in the air anymore, except when praising God ... other than that, they just will not work. But as Dolores and I pray for the healing, I keep on lifting all I can lift, and I refuse to let it get to me. Is that hurting the healing? I don't know, but I need to keep going for God. I know my late brother had cancer, caused by his smoking. Yet as we pray for healing of cancer, people, so many of them, keep smoking. So I ask, why might God want to heal a person of cancer if they are just going to put it right back in their body?

This week, however, I want you to really dwell on the faith part. Do you have faith that God will heal you? Listen to this, week after week at the Bridges I have prayed with, prayed for, and also from time to time asked you to pray, for a man named Don who is blind. Yesterday I wrapped my big old arms around this man as he sat in a wheel chair in church and I prayed for God to give Him is sight. As I finished praying he said to me, "Pastor Dan, when I get up in the morning or after a good nap, I can see light and count my fingers ... I can see my fingers." So I stopped and prayed again, thanking God for bringing in some light, and I HAVE FAITH THAT DON WILL SEE!! It is not because of me, although I do believe God heals through the hands of others, and I have indeed prayed over and over again for that gift. I give all glory to God, for even if He uses me it is just that, He is using me as a tool. Now if you recall from the Bible, and the verse has slipped my memory right now, but God healed the eyes of a man, and the man then saw "men as trees walking", so our Lord God, our Lord Jesus touched his eyes again. So with Don, this just might be the first touch. So please warriors, pray and pray and pray for the healing of Don's eyesight.

As I go on this week I am going to mention others who have been healed, and also some who are waiting, and folks, the big thing I want to bring out is that we NEED TO KEEP OUR FAITH. Please do not lose that faith. For listen to this ... prayer is indeed the key to heaven ... but it is faith that really opens the door. (words from a great song)

Now pray in faith with me. oh, and if you are not praying in faith ... why even pray?

Dear Father in Heaven, some of us seem to let our faith run low, or even run out. We here in America seem to want things to happen at a wave of the hand, or the first time we talk about something. Lord, when we want something we seem to want it yesterday. Lord, I will be very happy to have my prayers answered according to Your will and in Your time, for You know best what is best for us. However Lord, I do, from time to time need to twist Your arm, so to speak. And this is one time, please dear Lord, open those eyes of Don and let him see the beauty of Your work. Also Lord, as I pray for Pastor Charles Idler and Pat Parvin to come up out of those wheelchairs, I want to add to the list, Sharon Saylor, and ask that Your healing hand brings all three up. Let them rise and walk again, and Lord, please let Pastor get back to preaching. Lord, I pray for all those in our military today, all those who work to keep us safe and healthy, like police, firefighters, those on the ambulances of the road and air ... the doctors, nurses and all those working in the health field. Lord, I pray for President Obama today and ask that You keep him and his family safe, as I pray also for our other leaders, Federal, State, and local, Lord bless them. And Lord, thanks again for this line, and Lord I need Your help today as I sing for a group. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Now go forth, HAVING FAITH, having very strong faith, sharing your love and your blessings with others. And let me close with a question I asked my flock yesterday. If you ask God to come into your heart to live ... are you giving Him a good home? love ya, dan.

Friday: Sticks and Stones 5

No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. It is Friday, and the day we pray for those working in the fields of harvest -- those on trips for our Lord, and those just walking and TALKING for and about our Lord Jesus. I remind you of this often, and I will keep doing it, we all need to be on this prayer list as we all should be working those fields of Harvest. For all the "bus people" who follow this line, you need to read today's message in "Our Daily Bread". It is about a bus driver.

Just an update, our phones and computer are back with Verizon, and we also brought in the Fiber Optic service. After being treated really poorly by Comcast, we are happy to be back, and we had the nicest installer ever. And the service, Comcast, had the wrong cables on our sets. We have HD TV, we rented their HD boxes, but the cable they put between the two did not carry HD... so we really never had what we paid for. Today, I will visit Comcast to return the equipment, and I will be tested on what I have been writing about, as I try and explain how they lost us by their very, very bad service. And folks, this will lead into my message today, so that is why I am telling you about this.

Sticks and Stones 5: Today, I hope to wind up the series on the subject about what comes out of our mouth. Did you ever in your life get your mouth so deeply into trouble that someone wanted to punch it off your face. Maybe you were telling everyone how big and bad you were and then someone wanted you to prove it. Maybe it happened years ago in sports, you might have been telling folks how good you were in your sport and in the game they laid you out, so to speak. There are times in our life when we might be asked to prove what comes out of our mouth. Sometimes small lies told over and over again might be believed by even the one telling them, but it does catch up. I think if we all think about this, we all know people like that, maybe in a group or club we belong to, or maybe even at our church. It has recently happened with those who people trusted with their savings. Over and over again we were told that we should keep putting in money, all is fine, then we come to find out that the person investing our money was investing it in their life style. You might be on the side of this that got hurt, or, OR, maybe, just maybe you are the one who puts out those little white lies that seem to take on a life of their own. Think about it. Even telling different stories to different people tend to catch up.

1 John 4: 12 -- No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. (NIV)

While the Bible tells us that IF we love one another, God lives in us and while that is very true, there are people who will tell us with their mouth they are Christians but in no way are they living that life. In all things, what comes out of your mouth is open for judging, and while we are not to judge others, we do need to be aware of what people tell us and we need to, well, test the waters on this. About judging, let me say there are times when we must look deep into things. We should not ever judge someone on their faith, that is the work for Jesus and Him alone, but we at times need to really look at things. Maybe like when we go to the store and we are looking at fresh fruit and fresh veggies, we need to look them over ... we need to be inspectors of the fruit and veggies and we need at times to be an inspector when it comes to looking at others, and other things in our lives. Oh, and most of all, we need to really inspect that one who looks back at us when we look into a mirror ... YES WE DO.

There is a saying that if you "walk like a duck, and quack like a duck, more than likely you are a duck." But today as we know, some ducks do not quack, they say Aflack. So today I say, when we stand before people, when we tell people we are Christians, and we might even pray for people and really do a lot of Christian things, do we really live to show people we are Christians, or we really are "Christ Like"? When we love one another, God lives in us, DO WE GIVE HIM A GOOD HOME? Do you live for God, 7x24x365 and even add a day on leap year? Can others see Jesus in You? I have some dear friends, married to each other and deeply in love, and have two wonderful kids.. Years ago I remember how Mr. --------- told me that they changed churches because there was no Jesus at his old church. It seems that even a church, which is a group of people, would talk about Jesus, sing about Jesus, but when it came down to really living for Jesus, well the bottom line is, Jesus was not really there. Folks, what about you? I have labored on this today enough, what about you, and believe me I asked myself the same question, what about me? Am I living a life that is pleasing to God, are we on this line living to please God? Folks, if we live to please God, and that does not please people, our friends, etc., then that is on our friends, for if we please God, really please God in the way we talk and live, then we are doing it right. If we are living to please people, or living to please our very own self, then we need to adjust our living for God.

In short, it is what comes out of your mouth, what you are living. My friends, please think about this, are our words like sticks and stones and hitting on the one we should love the most, our Lord Jesus, or are our words true, and loving to all others including Jesus? Please, today live like what you tell people you are, UNLESS YOU ARE TELLING PEOPLE YOU ARE NOT A CHRISTIAN, then please change your life, and talk and also walk like a Christian: Be the Christian you say you are, don't just talk it ... WALK IT ALSO ... AMEN.

Dear Father today we invite You into our hearts to live, we really want to walk with You, not just talk about it. Help us to let You show in our walk, and in our life. May what we say be a credit to You, as shown by our living for You. Help us to help others, to show our love to one another so that You feel welcome living in us. Lord, we just need your blessing in all we do, in all we do we need You. Lord, today I pray for all those working in the fields of Harvest for You, and I pray that as we do the work in the fields that we have already been through the harvest and have been living for You, and Lord, as I wind up the series on Sticks and Stones, or what comes out of our mouth, Lord help us ... Protect all those who work the fields, be they in far off lands, or on the streets of America. Lord Jesus, we love You and we pray in Your name today. AMEN.

Now go forth sharing your blessings, and sharing your love for Jesus by living for Him. You are welcome to come to the Susquehanna Senior Living home in Millersburg Pa. tomorrow, Saturday. at 2.00 PM. for a concert by Carry The Light, and like always, you are invited to church at 10.00 AM at the Bridges. And please keep this date open if you can -- Carry The Light Ministries has rented a big covered pavilion in Willow Mill Park for Saturday July 4th ... More details coming ... and you are invited. Time to go, please share those blessings. love ya, dan.

Thursday: Sticks and Stones 4

Though you probe my heart and examine me at night, though you test me, you will find nothing; I have resolved that MY MOUTH WILL NOT SIN.

Today is Family Thursday on the Carry The Light Ministries pray, praise, and message line, and I wish you a blessed and wonderful day, my dear brothers and sisters in Jesus. Please pray today for "Jim" who is going to Iraq. I have withheld his last name, as he does special work for this nation. As you pray for Jim, pray also for his unit and all our other BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN who serve our great country. Yesterday I was blessed by offering prayers at our local "Tea Party". Before I went to the Lord, I made this statement, I am not a democrat nor a republican, "I am a born again, washed in the blood, Christian American and really proud of it." And a few voices in the crowded yelled out as loud as they could ... preach it, pastor, preach it. It felt good to be there.

One last thing, in about an hour, Verizon is coming to switch us back from Comcast, to their service, but far about the DSL, we are going with the Fiber Optic or what ever it is called. So if you do not hear from us tomorrow, then we picked up a bug. So please pray that the transfer goes smoothly.

Sticks and Stones 4: Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never harm me. Yes, I have repeated that today, but the truth is, name calling does hurt people, some have been damaged for life. Think of it, if you were, or since we have kids who read this line, if you are one who is overweight and have those names put at you when you were young like, give him two seats, he is too wide for one, or I don't want him on my team ... or when are you starting your next diet ... and they go on and on. Let me tell you that names can make more scars on a person than a stick or stone.

Psalm 17: 3 - Though you probe my heart and examine me at night, though you test me, you will find nothing; I have resolved that MY MOUTH WILL NOT SIN. (NIV)

The more I read the Bible, and the more I look for words on this subject, the more I find. Your mouth can do damage, it can cause hurt, it can cause sin, and it can keep you out of heaven. Yes, it really can, just keep cursing out the Lord, and never asking for forgiveness, and you will land in Hell.

I am sure that even in the workplace you have seen the mouth or what comes out of it make and/or break many an employee. People have gone up the ladder in the business world because they are a good talker, and some of those same ones were hurt because of the things they said.
My message for this week is called "Before You Open Your Mouth, Engage Your Brain."
Brothers and Sisters, that is what I am praying today that I do, and remember, since we now have computers, email, text messages, etc., our fingers are indeed an outreach of our mouth, are they not?

I did learn very early in life that I did need to engage my brain before my mouth, for as a lad, if my mouth would get me into trouble by saying the wrong things, there was a price to pay, and sometimes that price might have been the "Stick" and other times it was just eating a little bit of "Soap". If I told a lie, my mother would wash my mouth out with soap. Gosh, if she was alive today, I think I would send her to WASHINGTON. But she sure would need a lot of soap. Oh, enough of the jokes, I am serious about this and so is our good Lord. If He was not concerned about how we speak and what we say, it would not be in the Bible, nor would He have made the world by speaking.

Dear Father in Heaven, again I ask that You help us to control our speaking and control what we say about others, control what we say. All too often we are more concerned about what we put in our mouths than what comes out, it should be the other way around. Lord bless this line, and Lord, help it to come through the changeover today. Lord, please protect Jim as he serves this nation, and also his unit and all who are serving in our military. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Now go forth, and be sure your mouth is not a fertilizer machine, say nice things or keep it shut, and remember to share your blessings ... love ya, dan.

Wednesday: Sticks and Stones 2

"And God Said! And God Said! And God Said! Then God Said! And God Said! And God Said!
And God Said! Then God Said! Then God Said!"

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters, and welcome to Salvation Wednesday, the day we pray for the unsaved, those not yet Born Twice, and also that God will use us to help bring in the lost.

And remember as we talk about Sticks and Stones, we need to confess with our mouths to become saved. Prayers today for Oliver Ogden who has Pneumonia and also for Faye Beard as she heals from back surgery. Prayers this day also for Vicki and her family and for the Saylor family.

Praise report: It seems that all of my stones might have passed, now please pray for our son, Keith Lehman, who yesterday was, yes, trying to pass some of those kidney stones. Prayers also for the family of Reverend Alan S. Brown as he has had his graduation day from this earth to the loving waiting arms of Jesus. Pastor Alan was a dear neighbor and friend of mine in our childhood.

Sticks and Stones 2: As you recall yesterday I suggested that you take time to pass through your heart and brain what is going to come out of your mouth. Please take that very seriously ... for once it is out over those lips, it is in the air, and the same with the email and the internet. Once you push the send button, it is out and you just cannot get it back.

Genesis 1: "And God Said! And God Said! And God Said! Then God Said! And God Said! And God Said! And God Said! Then God Said! Then God Said!" (NIV)

These words, And God Said, and Then God Said, all come out of Genesis 1, and they indeed are the words of God as He spoke creation into being. Yes, God spoke into being everything but man. So if you don't think the spoken word is strong, just read the creation story: I bring this out to just show you how strong the spoken word really is. Now listen to these words ...

Numbers: 22: 35 - The angel of the Lord said to Balaam, "Go with the men, but speak only what I tell you." (NIV) You can see early on in the Old Testament that it is recorded just how important speaking is and just how we should stay alert for God to tell us what to say. Here is another good example.

Deuteronomy 18: 17 - The Lord said to me: "What they say is good. 18 I will raise up from them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. 19 If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account. 20 But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death." (NIV)

So now let me sum up the lesson of today. Please talk to God and listen for Him to talk to you. Before you cut loose words of any kind, run them, not just past your brain and heart, but also run them past our dear Lord. Remember the spoken word, good or bad, is strong and powerful, and again once it is out of your mouth, it is out for all the world to hear. If you notice on the news, on TV on Radio, you will see that more and more "sound bites are used". You even must watch for many things are pulled out of the content and can then be used against the one saying them.

A good thing to remember when you are talking, if you do not have good things to say, then unless you are eating, keep that mouth in the closed position. Now what that really means is, if you have nothing good to say, say nothing. Or in my words to be very clear, if you have nothing good to say, then SHUT UP.

Dear Father in Heaven, Please help us each day to learn to talk to You, and to run all of our words past You. If our words are not worthy for Your ears, dear Lord, then teach us not to say them. Regardless of what we speak to others, it should be fit for Your listening. Yes, Lord, we need help with this. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Go forth now and share those blessings and speak good things to, and about, each other. Be kind, be nice, and love each other, as Jesus loves you. And guess what ... I love you also ... dan.

Tuesday: Sticks and Stones

A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret.

Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never harm me.

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. It is a really nice morning here at the Southern Location of the North Pole. We are having a nice rain, which we really need.

Tuesday, and that means it is schools day on this line, the day we pray for our schools and all those that enter the doors. Please also keep praying for Pastor Charles, Pat Parvin, Kathleen Sansoni, and this old man. I am still passing those kidney stones. I have passed enough so far to pave my driveway, and in just a few minutes I am heading to the veterinarians to get a cat scan.

Sticks and Stones: Over the years, the 12 years that I have been writing messages, I have written on this subject before. When I was young and the streets were still dirt, my dear late mamma would tell me not to worry when other kids would call me names. She would say to tell them that "Sticks and stones may break my bones but the names will never harm me." Well guess what, sometimes those names cut pretty deep, and really hurt. So I just want you to remember that in a lot of cases, it is a real sin against God to call others names, or do things that will hurt them. Over the next couple of days, I want to point this out to you ... Here is a start.

Proverbs 11: 13 - A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret. (NIV)

When one gossips, it might not just be that you were told a secret, you might be just passing along a story you heard, and you could be really hurting someone. I want you also to remember this ... Before you engage your mouth on anything, you should pass it through your brain. Remember this, once you say something, once it comes out of your mouth, you cannot put it back in. If you say something that is not true about someone or something that might hurt them, you can later go and tell them you're sorry, but you can never, ever put it back in your mouth. Tomorrow, more on this subject, for it is very important, very important. Oh, and by the way, sticks and stones will break my bones, is also a fact, so don't be throwing stones and sticks at people either.

Dear Father in Heaven, help us to inspect each word that comes forth out of our mouth. It seems so often in this world today that people just do not use their brain. Even on the computer, you can hurt people. Help us to always use the compassion that You have shown us, and help us to love each other. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Go forth saying good things and helping each other and sharing your blessings, and remember even sending text messages on those blueberries can get you in trouble ... think nice. Love ya, dan.

Monday: Fresh Start

That if you confess 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 you confess and are saved.

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters, it is a beautiful Easter Monday here at the Southern Location of the North Pole. It is cold, however the sun and the Son are both shining bright. I pray that in your life one is shining on your body and the other shining in your body.

It is Monday and the day we pray for our leaders, so please pray for our president and his family and remember to pray for "Bo" as the girls got their promised K-9. Please pray also for the leaders of your state and local governments. Monday is also the day we pray for our military, and HOW ABOUT THOSE SEALS!!!!! We have been praying for the safe release of the captured ship captain, and that did not happen, so our Navy Seals went in. Are these guys good or what? I am very pleased to see that President Obama gave the orders to go and do what needed done to get our captain back.

Many ships have been taken by pirates, but this is the first US ship that was taken since back in the 1800's. Maybe this will teach them. Don't mess with our Navy or any of our military for that matter. However with all the prayers, I want to give all the honor and glory to our Lord Jesus for leading this effort.

I want to chat with you just a tad today about a fresh start. I don't know how many of you went to church yesterday, or how many of you go each week, but there is no doubt that attendance is way up at most churches at Christmas and Easter. Besides the increase in attendance, most all messages are related to Jesus going to the cross, and then being raised from the dead. And we know that Jesus took our sins to the cross if, IF, IF, If we ask Him to do just that. I would think that a lot of people prayed to have their sins removed yesterday. Let's face it, the reason Jesus went to the cross was to clean us of sins, and the reason He was risen from the dead was to show that we too will also be risen from the dead and have everlasting life if we just believe in our Lord Jesus as our Savior.

Romans 10: 9 & 10 - That if you confess 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 you confess and are saved. (NIV)

As you can see if you follow the Bible and the teachings, Jesus did all the hard work for us to become saved, or "Born Again". And folks, to get into heaven, make no doubt about it, you must be BORN AGAIN to get in. I get a real charge out of people who will come up to me and say "are you one of those "born again" Christians? Now I might answer them in one of a few different ways. First I might say are you a Christian? If they say yes, I then ask them if they are born again. And if they say no, then I tell them they are not a Christian. The Bible is clear, Jesus was clear, you must be born again to get into heaven. Anyway, our salvation is free, please note, it is not cheap, for Jesus paid for it with His life. Free but not cheap ... Jesus was born to die so we might live.

Folks, will you start fresh with me this Easter Monday? Or maybe you started fresh yesterday. But over the past week you heard my messages if you follow the line. How about it, let's just confess and get a "fresh start".

Dear Father in Heaven, Jesus paid the price for our sins, and today I want to do as the Bible tells us to do, I want to confess with my mouth and let You know that I do believe in my heart that Jesus was risen from the dead. So Lord, hear my prayer and the prayers of others as we confess. Dear Father in Heaven, I am a sinner, and I am indeed in need of the saving grace of our Lord Jesus, please wash me white as snow and give me a fresh start today. Wash me clean, and help me to repent, Lord, for it does no good for me to confess if I don't repent. Lord, I believe in Jesus and I do believe He was risen from the dead. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.

Go forth and share your blessings, and please, as you start fresh today, please try your very best to repent from your sins. And remember this today. I love ya, dan.

Easter 2009

"Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; HE HAS RISEN!"

HE'S ALIVE, HE'S ALIVE, HE'S ALIVE, HE HAS BEEN RISEN FROM THE GRAVE. HE'S ALIVE SO WE MIGHT LIVE ALSO.

Good morning, my dear Brothers and sisters, what a great morning ... what a great day to be alive and even greater when you are alive in our Lord Jesus. Please let's just start the day with prayer ...

Dear Father in Heaven, we are so blessed because of You and Your Son Jesus, we are so blessed because we serve a Risen Savior and not someone or something with no hope for us. Today we want to give thanks to Jesus for going to the cross for us, for taking our sins with Him to the cross. Father, thanks to the cross, we can be free this morning. Bless Your children today Lord, as you have washed us clean of all sin and shame, let us, with Your help, repent of sin and walk with You. Keep us safe this day, oh Lord, and may Your churches be full today and all Pastors preach the truth, the truth of our risen Savior. In the mighty name of Jesus, I humble, bow, and give thanks ... Amen.

Easter 2009: Picture this morning that you and a friend go out early to the cemetery to put some fresh flowers on the grave of a dear friend, or relation. You get to the cemetery at first light and something feels different, something looks different, but you have never been to the cemetery at first light. You park your car and get the flowers out, and as you walk to the grave site of your friend or family member, you notice that there are grave sites sort of open. So your first thinking is that some folks might have been buried late the afternoon of the day before and you are thinking that the workers will arrive soon and fill in the open graves. Then you get to the grave site you came to put the flowers on. This grave is open also and the heavy vault lid is up on the ground and the casket lid is open and your loved one's body is gone. How would you feel? Would you be scared?

When our Lord Jesus was placed in the tomb, and the tomb sealed, and guards placed at the tomb for security reasons on that day we call good Friday, then on the very first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, went to the tomb. They were going there to put spices on the body of Jesus, when they arrived they found the STONE WAS ROLLED AWAY, and the guards who were standing there were as stone statues. When they went looking into the tomb, an Angel of the Lord came upon them and asked them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen!" "Remember how He told you, while He was still with you in Galilee. 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again'". Then they remember His words. (Luke 24: 5B,6,7,8 NIV)

Folks there is not one question in my mind that this happened. It is recorded in my Bible and I believe my Bible, God's Holy Word, that this all happened, and I also HAVE FAITH, that it did. Folks, for the nonbeliever this event is recorded in history and there is no way that anyone can say it did not happen. People saw Jesus killed, they saw Him buried, and as we find out in our coming lessons that Jesus walked and talked again with folks here on earth before He goes up into heaven to sit at the right hand of our Father in Heaven to judge us as we come to get into heaven.

Yes folks, we serve a Risen Savor, we do not serve a piece of iron, or a stone statue, or anything else, or at least we should not. We serve Jesus our Lord only and folks HE IS ALIVE, I SAID HE IS ALIVE! Praise God, Praise God, Praise God ... AMEN, AND AMEN.

So folks, how would you feel if you were in the sandals of one of the women? Would you have questions, would you be frightened at first? Think about it ... You saw this man, your wonderful Friend Jesus put to death on the cross, you saw Him taken down and taken to the tomb. You saw all of this with your very own eyes, and then three days later you go to the tomb and see He is gone. Your first thought is that someone stole His body, and then You are told He is alive. You are shocked, then the angel of the Lord reminded you of the words of Jesus, these words ... "The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again." You are sort of at peace, but not really, really sure at this point. So you are walking along a road talking to each other about this when Jesus comes up to you and walked along with you. But you did not really know who this man was. Jesus then asks you, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?" (Luke 24: 17 NIV) You tell this man Jesus who you did not know at first because Jesus wanted it that way ... After talking about this for a period of time and as evening came on you arrive at your home and you still did not know this man who started walking with you as Jesus blocked you from knowing. You invite Jesus to stop and stay over as it was getting late. When you were at the table to eat, Jesus picked up bread, gave thanks, and broke it, and then he opened your eyes so you might see Him. He is alive, He is alive, HE IS ALIVE. You are so excited you now want to tell everyone.

So, now let us go back to our visit to the local cemetery, and you are standing around that grave of the loved one, and you see the other graves open. What happened the night before, you are thinking, who wanted to rob all these graves, you ask yourself. Then you started to remember about Jesus and the stories about Jesus but you did not take it seriously, you put off this personal relationship, and now you are finding out that Jesus returned the night before and as He promised He would. He came back to get His family, the family of believers, those who were BORN AGAIN. Oh how you hated those words, BORN AGAIN. You went to church once in a while, in fact most of the time you went two, even three times a year. You were a good person, you said you believed in God, but you never asked Jesus into your heart and confessed to Him your love for Him. It is too late, you missed the call. Jesus has returned ...

My dear brothers and sisters, in these days of fighting, of downturn in the economy, when you see killings on the street, when you have loved ones serving in Iraq or some other hotspot in the world, when all else seems to be falling apart, there is hope today. I tell you, my dear brothers and sisters, there is hope in our Jesus, OUR RISEN SAVIOR. THERE IS HOPE, AND A BETTER PLACE AHEAD OF US. Someday our Lord Jesus will return, and I don't know when, it could be today, it could be a thousand years away ... not even Jesus knows, only our Father in Heaven, only God The Father. But why wait? Don't miss the boat, so to speak. Put in for your sure entrance to Heaven. Block the space now by just coming to Jesus.. All this is real, will you join me now and either book your spot, or if you have done this already, then renew this Easter Sunday. Remember Jesus is alive, you are not serving the dead but the living Savior. Jesus is alive, alive. Will you join me right now? Do you have the faith this day to start walking with Jesus? I cannot pray this one for you, only lead you ...

Dear Father in Heaven ... Forgive me this day of my sins. I do believe in Jesus as my Savior and I want to book my place in Heaven right now, I do not want to let it go another minute. Help me to repent of my sins and walk the best I can in the footprints of Jesus. I want to live to please Him, I want to serve Him. I want to be given life after death. I have the faith now Father, help me. In the name of Jesus, I believe and pray ... Amen.

Go forth now, have a great Easter, and remember to share your blessings. love ya, dan.

Good Friday: Holy Week 4

"If I tell you, you will not believe me, and if I asked you, you would not answer. But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the Mighty God."

Happy Good Friday, and my friends, Good Friday is a good day for all of us who are TRUE BELIEVERS. This is the day in history that our Lord Jesus took our sins, YES, OUR SINS, to the cross with Him. The death on the cross was very, very painful, but if we truly follow Jesus and give over our sins, and the pain the sins cause ... and every believer shouted PRAISE GOD AND AMEN.

Dear Father in Heaven, today we ask as we look back to the day You went to the cross, and we know You took our sins and the sins of the world to the cross. Jesus, please forgive us this day, forgive us of our sins, and as we look back and see You being Nailed to the cross, we know we are clean, and now we want to repent. Lord, we also need You to do just that, for You see, Lord, sin is all around us, and it is so easy to step into it.. Lord, protect us from the sins and wash us white as snow. Lord Jesus, I want to thank You for dying for me, and also for others. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Good Friday, Holy Week 4: John 3 16 - For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, BUT TO SAVE THE WORLD THROUGH HIM. 18 Whoever believes in Him is not condemned. But whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." (NIV)

After the supper Jesus had with His disciples in the "upper room", and after Jesus was finished praying at Gethsemane, He was arrested. Those who arrested Jesus took Him to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the teachers of the law and the elders had assembled. Ok, at this point if it was a court in the United States today those arresting Jesus would need to "state their case before the judge".

Here is what the ARREST ORDER SHOULD HAVE SAID ... Jesus, you are guilty of crimes of the sins of Pastor Daniel W. Lehman and then the order should have read with all names there, not just mine. Each of us caused our Lord Jesus to be arrested. Yes, Jesus was arrested and convicted of our sins and our shame, and today I ask all of you to pray for Jesus, and tell Him you are sorry, and I want you to think also of this, that each time you sin, EACH TIME YOU SIN, I want you to think about this, EACH TIME YOU SIN, EACH TIME I SIN, EACH TIME WE ALL SIN, I THINK WE ARE DRIVING ANOTHER NAIL INTO HIS HANDS AND HIS FEET. Now that is my thinking, that is not in the Bible, but if we truly believe that Jesus was put on the cross for our sins, then we are the ones who caused the nails to go in. Think about it and let me know what you think. Today, I want you to really think about it, and pray about it, and then in your mind, pull the nails out. And then we, you and I, need to repent and we need to stop the nailing, we need to PUT OUR HAMMER DOWN! And someone said Amen!

The Bible tells us about Peter who denied Jesus, and I wonder how many people still today say they are a Christian and deny Jesus. I will get in trouble saying this, but our President just did this, when He stood on foreign land and said to the world ... "We, meaning the United States, are not a Christian nation." If you deny you are a Christian you just might be doing what Peter did. But listen up, Jesus was reinstated, and those who have walked from Jesus. Today I ask you this very important question ... if you were arrested for being a Christian, would those who arrest you be able to find enough evidence against you to prove to their court that you are Christian, or would you be set free for a lack of evidence? Would you be one to deny Jesus? Now as for me, there might have been a time that they could not find evidence about me to prove I was a Christian. However today, today, I would stand before the court and confess, YES, I FOLLOW JESUS, AND I AM PROUD OF IT.

Luke 23: 28 Jesus turned and said to them, and said to them, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For the time will come when you will say, 'Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!' 30 Then they will say to the mountains 'Fall on us and to the hills, cover us!' 31 For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?'' (NIV)

Now look at this, a "bedside conversion": Luke 23: 32 - Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with Him to be executed. 33 When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified Him, along with the criminals, one on His right, the other on His left. 34 Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." (NIV) Now while Jesus was on the cross, soldiers came up and mocked Him, spit on Him. Then here comes that bedside conversion, and let me explain that term. This is what means. A person who has not given himself over to Jesus, they are not born again, and they are in bed dying, taking those last breaths, and someone leads them to Jesus, and they confess their love for Jesus. They are saved. Yes, for they indeed confessed over to Jesus and were Born Again. And here is the proof that it happens ... Jesus was on the cross and one criminal rebuked Him, while the other stood up for Jesus, saying this. Luke 23: 42 Then he said this, " Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." 43 Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in Paradise". (NIV) And this one criminal was saved and went home with Jesus. Where do you stand? Then the death came for Jesus. Luke 23: 46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit". (NIV) And it was done. From there he was taken to a tomb to be buried, and a stone was placed in front of the tomb, maybe a boulder would be a better term. Then guards were stationed to watch over the tomb. What happens next?. SEE YOU SUNDAY MORNING FOR A SPECIAL EASTER MESSAGE ...

Remember you are invited to a concert at the Bridges today at 2.00 PM ... Join Carry The Light for this very special concert. Now go forth and share those blessings, and please remember to rejoice today for indeed it is GOOD FRIDAY. Jesus loves you so much He died for You, and I love you also ... dan.

Maundy Thursday: Holy Week 3

"My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."

Good Maundy Thursday morning, my dear brothers and sisters. I am so excited about these next days, they are a time for all to get excited about Jesus. Last Sunday we set an attendance record at the Bridges. It was wonderful, and our flock that Jesus entrusted to us were so full of joy and excitement.

This evening at The Bridges, at 6.30 PM, we will be having a communion/healing service, and you are for sure welcome. Tomorrow, Good Friday, we will be back at the Bridges in concert at 2.00 PM, and again you are invited. And you are also welcome on Easter Sunday Morning at 10:00 AM. Please come out and learn the joy of the love of our Lord Jesus. Remember Jesus did all of this for us, you and me.

Today being Thursday makes it family day on this line. Please pray for your family and mine and also for Tom and Kathleen Sansoni -- Kathleen has cancer. Also pray, and please do this daily, for Pastor Charles Idler and for Pat Parvin, both recovering from strokes. Again, thanks for your prayers for my health. I think I have some of those stones dropping down again, I think satan is trying to stop me from singing and preaching this week, and it just is not going to happen. I have a stronger power then satan, I HAVE JESUS ON BOARD ... AMEN.

Maundy Thursday: Holy Week 2: Yesterday we had our supper (communion) with Jesus in the upper room, and I pray that all of you enjoy online communion as much as I do. Today I want to walk along with Jesus as He goes to Gethsemane where He had a very serious talk with His (our) Father in Heaven.

Before Jesus headed out to pray he was talking to His disciples and telling them how they will fall away on His account. Peter told Jesus "Even if all fall away on account of You, I never will." Jesus told Peter that before the old rooster crows in the morning that he would disown Him three times.

When Jesus arrived with His disciples at Gethsemane, He told them to "Sit here while I go over there and pray." He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with Him. Jesus said to them. "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me."

Matthew 26: 39 - Going a little farther, He fell with His face to the ground and prayed. "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." (NIV)

I want to bring a couple of things out of this one verse. First of all, even though Jesus knew all along that the day would come for Him to be taken under arrest, be beaten and put to death on the cross, you can tell here that He was a tad nervous about it. Was it the fact that He was losing His friends, or was it the pain He knew He was going to have? I don't know, but I do know that I get nervous when I know that I am going to the dentist or someplace for an appointment and there is going to be pain. But it is the next part of the prayer that I want you to take a real close look at. Here it is again ... "Yet not as I will, but as you will." If you recall when Jesus taught us to pray what we call "The Lord's Prayer", we are taught to pray, "Thy will be done", and again as I have said many times in my writings ... our Lord Jesus teaches by example. Here is a good example of Jesus showing us this part of the Lord's prayer when He, Himself, prays in Gethsemane, "Yet not as I will, but as you will." Yes, we see and hear Jesus praying that it is His Father in Heaven whose will should be carried out and not that of Jesus. "Yet not as I will, but as you will." Please remember this, I think one very important part of the messages of Jesus, and there are many, is His bringing out that it should always be God's will for us and not our own. After praying he returned to His disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" Jesus said. Gosh, how many pastors have had that thought in their mind on a Sunday morning? Can you not stay awake for an hour during church? Guilty, gosh, the choir would sing before the message and relax me into my seat and it was zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz and then an elbow from Dolores once in a while to wake me up. And now when I am preaching, well there are some paybacks.

After Jesus was finished praying and while He was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. He had not been with the others and he arrived with a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people and Jesus was arrested, taken into custody. You have the right to remain silent, no, that did not happen. But listen to this, as Jesus was taken, seized, one of the followers of Jesus pulled his sword and cut the ear off of a servant of the high priest. Now comes another act of love by Jesus. "Put your sword back in its place." "For all who draw the sword will die by the sword!" As Jesus put the ear back on the servant of the high priest, He said ... "Do you think I cannot call on my Father and He will put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?" You see once again Jesus could have ended all of this, could have put a stop to it, but that would not have fullfilled that taking away of our sins, the sins of the world, which is the reason Jesus was here. Yes, Jesus healed the sick, He opened the blind eyes, He fed the hungry, He preached, He taught, but His main job was to heal us from our sins and pave the way for us to get into heaven ... So Jesus went forward ...

Please come back tomorrow morning, Good Friday, as we go to the cross with Jesus.

Dear Father in Heaven, if we learn nothing else from the message today, let us learn that we are to do your will. Open our little brains and our minds and souls to know and understand this. Let us know that Your will for us is always better than our own will. Father, we ask Your healing hand on families today, first we ask that You heal hearts, and Lord, today we also ask for healing from cancer for Kathleen and for healing from strokes for Pastor Charles and for Pat. Lord, bless this line and keep it running and thanks for Your healing hand on me. Bless all the families that are using this line. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Now go forth and share your blessings, share your love of Jesus, and REPENT of your sins. Enjoy your day ... love ya, dan.

Wednesday: Holy Week 2

"Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover."

Happy Holy Week, and Happy Salvation Wednesday, as Wednesday is the day we pray for those who are unsaved. Please pray that God will use us to help lead in the lost. Also today please pray for safety in travel for Tom and Pat Collins. Pray for healing for Sharon and Oliver and please also keep me on your prayer list. I think I might have passed that last of those stones and pieces of stone as the pain has finally turned around the other way. Please also keep praying for Pastor Charles Idler and for Pat Parvin as they heal from a stroke.

Holy Week 2: As we keep walking with the Lord, we are going today to the upper room and have the "Feast of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover. We get to sit around the table and eat, pray, and just chat with our Lord Jesus. As you recall, I asked if you would bring juice and bread with you today, and even share communion with a friend or friends at work. So please get your juice and bread and lets now pray over them and also give our sins over to Jesus.

Dear Father in Heaven, as we come to you today we humbly ask that You clean us of our sins. We do confess that we are sinners and we are indeed in need of being cleaned. Lord, we also ask that You would use us this day and every day to help bring in the lost so that they also might be blessed by You and that they would invite You into their hearts and become born again believers. Lord use us, use us daily. I ask healing for Oliver and Sharon, who have bad colds, colds that are lingering and need Your healing hand. Lord, how we love You. Please also lift Pastor Charles up out of the wheelchair and let him preach and teach Your word again. Your healing hand would also be appreciated on Pat and we also ask for you to let her walk again. And yes, oh Lord, I still need that touch to bring me back to serve You better. Now Lord, I ask your blessing on the emblems we will be using for communion this day. Bless them to their intended use..... in the name of Jesus I pray Amen

Holy Week 2: Luke 22: 8 - Jesus sent Peter and John saying, "Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover." 9 Where do you want us to prepare for it? they asked. 10 He Replied, "As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, 11 and say to the owner of the house, 'The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?' 12 He will show you a large upper room, all furnished. Make preparations there." (NIV)

One of the things that we note in these scriptures is where the term "Upper Room" comes from. So we walk with Jesus and the rest of the disciples (we are disciples, remember) and we come now to the house, and we are taken to that upper room where the tables are set for us. Now we today always see the table set with Jesus in the middle and all the disciples on one side of the table with one on each end. As I put it in my mind this morning we are all around the tables, so that we are facing each other. The paintings, prints, etc., we see are beautiful and are done that way so as not to see the backs of the heads. As we gather around the table and we chat with Jesus, a vision comes into my mind that on some sweet day we who truly believe will sit around the table with Jesus and others who were born again when their time on earth was ended. We will join with our Jesus for that great, really great communion. What a great day that will be. It is referred in the Bible in Revelation 19:9, Then the angel said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!' And he added, "These are the true words of God." (NIV)

Again as we look back and the hour came, Jesus reclined at the table with us. And He said this to us. Luke 22: 15 - "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God." 17 After taking the cup, He gave thanks and said, "Take this and divide it among you. 18 For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes." (NIV)

So folks, as we take communion here on earth, when we from time to time have communion at church or online, and in some churches communion happens at most all services. Brothers and sisters, I think it is very, very important to go to God clean as we communion with Him. Remember the words of Jesus when He tells us all He will not eat or drink this meal again until He does it with us in Heaven. Do you see the importance of this? Yes, while we sit and have communion, we look forward to that sweet day we all get together with Jesus for the greatest supper of all. So let's now roll back in time and join with Jesus and His disciples for supper, or what we now call communion.

From Luke 22: 19 - And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them (us) saying, "This is my body given for you: do this in remembrance of me." (NIV) Please take now your bread, and share it and eat it ... It is the body of our Lord Jesus and it is broken for us.

From Luke 22: 20 - In the same way, after the supper He took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you." (NIV) Take now your cup and drink of it ... for this is the blood of Jesus is flowing for us today...

Now let me go on with this message just a tad farther ...

From Luke 22: 21 - "But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. 22 The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed, but woe to that man who betrays Him." (NIV)

Now as we know Judas was the one with the dirty hands. Now I ask this very important question. How many of us who are sitting around the table today, or how many of the people worldwide who will be taking communion over this Easter Season, this Holy Season, will have dirty hands? How many people sit in a church pew and are really not Christians? How many will put Jesus down, or just not stand up for Him. If someone were to arrest you today and charge you with being a Christian, would they be able to get enough evidence to convict you? Do you put Jesus down? Maybe it is just on some things. Think of it, how many people who say there are Christians are jumping for joy with the new laws in a few states that say men can marry men and women can marry women?

Trust me on this one folks, if you are indeed a sinner who REFUSES TO REPENT, then you are also one who is putting down Jesus. It is not the size of the sin, it is the fact that you refuse to repent from your sins. So please, my dear brothers and sisters, take this Holy Season, this Holy Week, this Holy Communion, to really address yourself. I am going to do that. I am not just preaching to you folks, I am as always looking at myself.

Tomorrow we will be going to the Mount of Olives to pray with Jesus. As Jesus prays, do you know what part of the prayer stands out most to me? See you tomorrow when I let you know ...

Now go forth sharing your blessings, sharing your love, and sharing Jesus with others ... love ya, dan.