Friday: Healing 5

"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him."

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters, and remember today it is Salvation Friday as we did a day swap, we are also going to have communion today. So let's get busy... First the prayer list... Very simple, yet the most important. Pray for the lost and for Jesus to use us to help round them up. We cannot save a soul, but we can help, and remember it is a commandment ... here it is. Mark 16: 15 - He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation."

Healing 5: 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)

This week we talked about how Jesus is the same today as He was yesterday and He will be tomorrow. We talked about several of the healings that were listed in the Bible, we of course in no way touched on all of them. We talked about demons being driven out of the body, we talked about the ability of our Lord Jesus to heal depression, we talked about how He works directly in healing and also how He works with doctors to whom He loaned talent. We talked about how Jesus can heal the broken heart caused by broken marriages, loss of loved ones to death or accident, or any other reason one would have their heart broken. We talked about praying for the sick and the scriptures from where to find this information, and we even talked about Jesus raising the dead. So when it comes to healing what in the world is left to talk about? OUR SINS!

Healing 5: This is the big one, the bottom line so to speak. It is the healing of our soul to make us whole so we can get into heaven to be with our Lord Jesus and other family members who loved and believed and went home before us, or who will arrive after us. We have looked at John 3: 16/18. Now lets together look at these other scriptures..

John 14: 6 - Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 "If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him." (NIV)

Ok, what is next? How do we get lined up for Heaven? For that lets look at Romans 10: 9/10.

Romans 10: 9 - 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. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified , and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. (NIV)

So that is it? No, remember last week how we talked about works and deeds and how after we are saved we must work for the Lord? Now listen to these words ...

Romans 4: 25 - He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. (NIV)

So if we believe, we confess our sins and our belief of Jesus, and we work for Him to show this love, we will be saved and go to Heaven. YES, YOU GOT IT ... Jesus died for us. He paid the debt that we owed and that we can no way pay. Now let's go to the Lord's table and get cleaned.
But first lets pray ...

Dear Father in Heaven, clean me today, I confess I am a sinner, I am stained all over and I need that cleansing blood. So I pray, dear Lord, that You wash me white as snow and that You, based on my faith in You, and the work I do for You, that You will pave my way to Heaven. In Jesus name, Amen.

Before I start this communion service I want to say this ... Yesterday in Washington DC, four men sat down to a table to try and work out some wrongs. They have billed it as a beer thing and they were going to work it out over a beer. Now I have my opinion on this whole thing. I believe from the bottom of my heart the police officer was right and the college professor was wrong and then also so was our President. But with that said, what kind of example does this tell our children? When something goes wrong, sit down over a beer and work it out? No, the way to work it out is with Jesus. And maybe our President, Vice President and the professor and the officer should have worked it out with communion. They could have had their sins and all forgiven.

Luke 22: 19 - And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying. "This is my body given for you; Do this in remembrance of me." (take now your bread and eat of it, and each time you eat bread, at meals, or another other time, when you eat the bread, remember Jesus.)

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." (Drink now your juice, or wine".) The covenant is that his blood will clean You and the promises of Jesus. The communion service was from my New International Version Bible. I use the large print study Bible.

Dear brothers and sisters, drinking beer will never work things out for you. If you want it worked out right, work it out with Jesus, get together with those you disagree with and pray and ask Jesus to help and work it out with communion ... and someone said Amen.

Brothers and sisters it is time for me to go. If you are in need of a touch from God, and you can come to the services at The Bridges on Sunday Morning at 10.00 AM, then by all means come, for I will be preaching and teaching on HEALING AND COMMUNION. Now go forth sharing your blessings and loving God. And know this, I love ya, dan.

The Bridges of Bent Creek
2100 Bent Creek Blvd
Mechanicsburg, Pa. 17050

Thursday: Healing 4

"What do you want me to do for you?" "I want to see!"
"Lazarus come out!"

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. Family day on the line, and remember as we pray for families to pray for the family of God. Please pray for The Saylor Family, Don, Eleanor, Dan, Bob, and Sharon. Pray for Don and Sandy and their son. Pray for Vicki and her family.

Healing 4: Mark 10: 51 - "What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asked him. The blind man said, Rabbi, "I want to see." 52 "Go" said Jesus, "Your faith has healed you." Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road. (NIV) John 11: 41 - So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard me. 42 I knew that You always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me." 43 When He had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "LAZARUS, COME OUT!" 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them..., "Take off the grave clothes and let him go." (NIV)

On Monday I talked about healing the sick, and how Jesus heals us even before we knew we were sick, and how he drove out demons. On Tuesday I talked about depression and how He could heal that. Yesterday it was the broken hearted. Today ...

If you are not swayed by the fact Jesus can heal the things I have talked about up to today, maybe you will come to Jesus if you understand that our Lord Jesus can open eyes that cannot see and make them see again. Yes, our Lord is in the healing business, and we see when He healed the blind eyes that it takes two. One, Jesus, and the other, YOUR OWN FAITH! Oh ye of little faith, how often do we pray for healing to our tired and weary brain, or body, or for the pain we have, or maybe just the flu. Whatever, and then we think, Jesus is just not going to heal me. Folks, we must, I say we must have faith in Jesus. Let's face it, none of us has seen Jesus face to face, and none of us was on the earth when Jesus was here, so we hear the stories, the great stories of Jesus and WE HAVE FAITH THAT THEY ARE TRUE. Christian Religion is truly faith based ... no if, ands, or buts about it. It is by faith we are healed.

James 5: 13 - Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14 Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer OFFERED IN FAITH will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. (NIV)

There you see it right from the Bible...

And just to show you that Jesus can really, really heal, I point out how He raised Lazarus from the dead, and the neat part about this, is He put life back into one who had lost it. Tomorrow we will talk more about this ... for some sweet day, all the dead in Christ shall rise.

COMMUNION TOMORROW... Tomorrow the real healing as we go to day five of the message and we are HEALED FROM OUR SINS. And it just doesn't get better then that, well, until we go home.

Dear Father in Heaven, today I thank You for all the healing You do, some we know about, others we don't, but we have faith You are indeed still in the healing business. I love You Jesus ... and ask for healing for the Saylor family, and also for Vicki and her Dad Don. I pray for Henry and ask Your healing hand on Him, Lord, and be with Elaine as she stands with her dad... I pray for all my neighbors on Dewalt Drive today and Lord I pray others today will pray for those on their street. Thanks again, Jesus for all that You did and the fact You gave us a book to read on life and set an example of the way we should live and love... In the name of Jesus, I give thanks. Amen.

Now go forth sharing those blessings. Showing your love for Jesus by the way you live your life ... Helping people with the talents God lent you. Love ya, dan. And remember Communion Tomorrow...

Wednesday: Healing 3

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters, and welcome to EXCHANGE DAY. Yes, a little change this week. As a rule we have Salvation Wednesday on Wednesday. I want to save that for Friday this week as on Friday we will be having communion, so remember to bring your bread and juice to the computer this Friday. Today, let us pray for the brokenhearted, those with a split family, those who have had tragedy in their lives, those who have had wayward children, pray for anyone who has been brokenhearted. Pray today also for Sandy and Don and their son Jeremy. Pray for Bob. Also please keep praying for the Saylor family. And for Marshall and for Mr. Caba.

Healing 3 Psalm 147: 3 - He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. (NIV)
Yesterday I wrote a tad about depression and this being brokenhearted might have just set off the depression or remembering it might even bring it back. One bright sunny afternoon back in January of 1959 if my memory has it I had the evening off from the Gulf gas/service station I worked at. If I recall correctly, it was a Monday, but that is not really important. I came home right after school and when my mother arrived home she was excited to see me home. What, no work, no going to see your girlfriend? It sure is nice to see you, mom said. Would you like to drive my car and take me to the "Green Stamp Store"? Do you remember those "Green Stamps"? Why I jumped at the chance to drive her big Buick, even though it was almost as old as my hot rod Ford. So we got in the car, me behind the wheel and mamma at my side, no seat belts to hook up. Off we went and folks I was and still am a good driver (yes I am bragging a tad here). On the way to center city, and almost to the Mulberry Street Bridge for those knowing the city, a really big 1947 Buick was coming at me on my side of the street. Never second guess a driver and go to the wrong side of the road, I was taught, go to the right except if you are on a bridge. I went to the right, had mamma's Buick almost to a stop and this guy was coming, seemed like he was coming faster ... SMASH, HEAD ON. Mamma went hard into the windshield smashing it to pieces, I was not hurt. Mamma was and bad, but she said, shut off the motor Danny, I will be ok. I got out and went around to help mamma. No cell phones folks, when I got to the other side of the car, a man, drunk as drunk could be, was laughing at my Mamma, are you hurt lady ha, ha, ha. He was the driver of the other car and he was laughing at my Mamma. My fish came up and my arm came back and I was not a fighter, Mamma said don't hit him, son, and my arm was stopped by a hand. No, it was not the hand of God reaching down, just someone He had in place to help us. A city Police officer grabbed my arm and said, I have called from the box across across the street (police had call boxes), I asked for an ambulance and the Paddy Wagon. The man was arrested for disorderly conduct and paid a five dollar fine and five dollars cost, he had no insurance so ours had to step in. No law suits back then. But the worst was yet to come. Mamma was never right after that, she had a brain tumor caused by the blow to the head they said, and it turned to cancer. Mamma went into a coma and died later that year. I was crushed, BROKENHEARTED, and to this day I remember all the details, it just never went away. Mamma woke up one night, the hospital staff put her in a wheel chair, my brother and I talked to her, that night she went home to Jesus.

Brothers and sisters, I am sure that most all of you have been brokenhearted maybe more than once. I have, but enough about me today. I am sure that things have happened in your life that you never forget, and will never really get over. I am here to tell you today that the only one who can heal a broken heart is Jesus. No doctors, no pills, no shrink. Talking to friends always helped, talking about it would help at first but then it was just a reminder. I had to get it locked into my heart even back then before I was saved, that we will meet again in heaven. From a great song, "When we all get to heaven" we will rejoice and sing and we will meet up with our parents, our loved ones, and all others who have made the cut to rejoice again. This year as we have our 50th class reunion and I get to see all my classmates that remain, again I am reminded of that day, that day when I took Mamma to the Green Stamp store. And I am reminded that to get over it, I had to give it to God. Even now as I am typing this and after fifty years, I have tears in my eyes, and I was already out to my garden and there I sang, "In The Garden". Just the Lord and me, singing my Mamma's song.

Dear brothers and sisters, we really do not want to forget some of the things that caused our hearts to break, we want to remember the good things about the people or the things that caused the heart to break. But we can't keep looking down, we must TRUST AND OBEY, and BELIEVE that on some sweet day we will have it all in front of us together again, together again. Let me say this, people will tell you that "Time heals all wounds". No, time does not heal all wounds, JESUS DOES. Time might bring other things to the front of our memory, but those who lost loved ones, true loved ones, never have a day they don't remember, but God has a way of helping you remember the good things, and God has made us a promise that He does Heal, and healing a broken heart is something ONLY HE can do. Believe it folks, read about it in your Bible. Think about how brokenhearted others are also, we are not in this alone, have good friends to talk to, and talk to Jesus a lot. He will bring other things into your heart that will help you. Remember this scripture, and love on Jesus: Romans 8: 28 - And we know that in ALL THINGS, God works FOR GOOD of those who LOVE HIM who have been called according to His purpose." (NIV) Yes, all things work together for Good if you love the Lord. The pain will ease, the broken heart will be healed only by Jesus and then you will not forget, but you really must Trust God. For those of you who love their pets like we do, we get a broken heart each time one of our little doggies goes home, the others never really replace that one, but they do help. God will make it all right. You do not see it right away if something is fresh.. Time might help, but it does not heal. Again, God is our healer, and in cases of the Broken Heart, Jesus is THE WAY WE MUST GO and we must remember, and I yes I am repeating this over and over, it will get all better when we get home. Put your faith and trust in Jesus. I would even ask this question to those who do not believe in Jesus at all. How in the world do you get past a broken heart without Jesus? I want you to think about Mary, the mother of Jesus, as He was on the cross. Do you think she was brokenhearted that day? What trust and faith she had to have to get past this. Hold tight to Jesus. The answer to the broken heart is in Jesus, and there will be Joy in the Morning, real joy when we all get to heaven. More tomorrow on healing of the body, and on Friday, the healing of our sins ... that, my folks, is the real biggie.

Trust and obey, for there is no other way, to be Happy in Jesus, but to Trust and Obey.

Dear Lord, patch up those broken hearts today, Lord, we know that time does not heal the broken heart and, Lord, in most cases we do not want to really forget, we want to remember the good. Lord, we ask Your hand upon those hearts that have been broken, been fractured, those hearts that have been damaged, Lord. HEAL, Lord, in the name of Jesus I pray, Heal please the broken Heart while You keep the good memories fresh. Lord, I have never forgotten my Mamma and never will, Lord, I long ago forgave that man that did this to us for I had to to get over it. Lord, heal our heavy hearts. Lord, heal those hearts that are broken for any and all reasons. And Lord, heal the sick today those on our prayer lists, Lord. In the name of Jesus ... and Lord, I hope all the readers tell You this today, not just reading my words, but tell You this from their hearts, in fact I pray that they do it ... Jesus, I love You, I really do. Without You, I would be nothing. Thanks, Jesus, for all You do for us everyday, and pardon us when we forget. Thanks, Lord, for healing my broken heart many times over and thanks, Lord, for the good memories of my mamma. In Jesus' name, Amen.

If you need to talk to someone about those broken hearts, if you need someone to help you turn it over to Jesus, you may call me. I will do my very best to help you turn it over to Jesus. Hey, time to go and share your blessings. And folks, believe it or not, helping others will help you deal with a broken heart, so share those blessings ... and call me if you need me. Love ya, dan.
Phone 717 691 8200; Cell Phone 717 991 0754

Tuesday Healing 2

Now Simon's mother-in-law suffered from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. So He bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her..

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. It is Schools day, the day we pray for all schools, and please remember we have now added Sunday School and Vacation Bible School to the list of our schools from pre-school to schools of higher education. And folks, speaking of schools of higher education, please pray for Penn State University that has been listed as, you will not believe this one, has been listed as, please pray hard, has been listed as the number one party (drinking) school in the Nation. I just bet that is why parents spend so much money to send their kids to school, and those same schools also get large tax grants for education. Folks, you can see why we pray for all who go through the doors of our schools. PRAY, WARRIORS, PRAY.
Please pray for Henry who has suffered a stroke, and for his family as they care for him. Also keep praying for the Saylor family. Don is back in the hospital, more then likely an infection from his surgery last week. Please pray for Marshall Lewis and George Caba, both part of our flock at the Bridges and both in the hospital. Also please keep praying for Peggy, Pastor Charles, Pat, Greta, and Jo as they struggle with problems from bad hearts, strokes, etc. Again, these are part of our flock at the Bridges. Also, please pray for Bob Devine, God knows the reason ... Just pray.

Healing 2: Luke 4: 33 - In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, 34 Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, The Holy One of God! 35 "Be quiet!" Jesus said sternly. "Come out of him!" Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him. (NIV)

Luke 4: 39 - Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon's mother-in-law suffered from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. So He bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. (NIV)

It is recorded many places in our Bible that Jesus heals. From driving out demons, to healing the sick, healing the depressed, to healing large crowds. He has healed the blind, open the ears of the deaf, and even raised up the dead. He walked among the people healing them. And yes, Jesus is still in the healing business today. I have said over and over again, I believe all that is in the Bible. I don't believe one thing more than the other. The Bible said God created the heavens and the earth in six days and on the seventh day He rested, and I believe he did it just as the Bible tells us.

Now it is recorded in the Bible that He healed many and here is why, and again from the Bible I just know He is still healing folks today and here is the proof ...

Hebrews 13: 8 - Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (NIV)
Did I just hear a big PRAISE THE LORD? I believe today out of all the pain one might have is the pain of depression and some people live with it daily. I went through a time of it years and years ago and it was not pretty. Many different things can cause depression, such examples might be job stress, home life stress, cannot pay your bills, lost jobs, children that have gone wrong, I am sure there are hundreds of reasons why one might face depression. The loss of a parent, child, friend might be some of the worst depression. And sin, yes, sin can cause depression. Let's talk about how we can deal with the depression.

There are doctors out there that deal with depression and lots of good medications. In depression as well as other health problems, we need to trust them to God. We need to pray about them, and we need to cast our burdens unto the Lord.

Matthew 11: 28 - "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (NIV)

Whatever our problems, we need to learn to turn to God and have Him help us deal with them. And this is hard, folks, so often we go to God, we even get up out of seat in church, we go to the Altar of God and we place our burdens at this feet. We pray, the pastor prays, people lay hands on us. The burden is lifted and placed at the feet of Jesus, we get up and bend over and pick up the burdens and take them back. GIVE THEM TO GOD AND LET HIM HAVE THEM. Burdens are lifted by Jesus. He died to do this for us. Let's let go and let God today. Talk to God often, keep talking to Him and if you are having problems and need the help of others, listen to this, have some good God Fearing Friends and prayer warriors that you can be with and talk to. We who believe in our Lord Jesus truly believe we are to be helping each other. Let's pray.

Dear Father in Heaven, we thank You for your healing hands, we thank You for Your love and care, we thank You that You heal more than just our sins, but that You heal our hurts and pain of life. Lord, heal the sick today, not just those on our list, but others who are asking right now. Take away depression and the cause of it. Show people that Your love is much better than any old illness, let us put the burdens at Your feet and please help us to let them there. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Go forth now and share those blessings, and if you know someone hurting, regardless of the reason, reach out to them in the name of Jesus and in Christian Love ... true Christian Love. love ya, dan.

Monday: Healing

He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering.

Good Monday morning, my dear brothers and sisters. I was up very, very early this morning; however, God had not really talked to me yet about the message and how to get started on it. Yesterday in church we were singing "The Healer" when our Lord God spoke to me loud and clear. It is time to write and preach on healing. Next Sunday I will be honoring God and preaching on the subject I just will call "Healing and Communion". I, over the years, have seen the Lord's healing hand work on many, many people and have had that healing myself. I HAD cancer three years ago ... it is gone. I also had Rheumatic fever as a child, and it is gone with no side effects ever. God is still in control and he still heals and this week we are going to talk about it, and we are going to pray about it and on Friday we are going to have communion. Folks, this is going to be an exciting week on this line. So let's get jumping. I am so excited it is hard to contain myself. GOD IS GOOD, and all glory for the healing goes to Him, be it direct, through the hands of a pastor praying for the sick, or through all the great doctors, nurses, and others in the medical fields. ALL GLORY GOES TO GOD ... LET US NOT FORGET IT THIS WEEK.

It is Monday and the day we pray for our leaders, our military, our state and local police, and all others in the protect-us business. And we also pray for all those who help to keep us well. We also need to pray for Pastor Charles Idler, for Don Saylor, who last night was taken back to the hospital, for his family. For Vicki and her family, and there is so much good news coming from her.

Isaiah 53: 3 - He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. 4 Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him, and afflicted. 5 But He WAS PIERCED for our transgressions. He was CRUSHED for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and BY HIS WOUNDS WE ARE HEALED. (NIV)

Folks, sometimes we wonder why God heals one person direct, another through the hands of doctors, still others by the hands of people that God gave healing power to, and some who we might think do not get healed at all.

Let me get right to this, from the very start of man, from the very, very start, God in His wisdom built into us a system of checks and balances that help us fight off sickness all the time. We have been given an autoimmune system that will fight off most all diseases and there are a ton of them. If it were not for this God-given autoimmune system built into our systems at birth, the world would have stopped with Adam and Eve. The truth is that we all have had the healing hand of God upon us and it is daily and we most often or never stop to really think about it or give thanks for it. We tend to think of healing as something that happens after we get sick. Oh yes, we have been healed so many times that we could not count them. It is when the autoimmune system gets out of shape when we get sick, and all so often we are the ones who put it out of shape because of our life styles ... not always mind you, but a lot of times. Think of this, we tax our livers with booze, pills, and junk. We put stress on our heart and the piping that God put in place by eating way too much fat. I know, I like bacon and eggs and eat them also, but I am just stating facts here. We have beat ourselves up over and over again and again. So let us pause right now and thank God for the system of checks and balances that we have called AUTOIMMUNE.

Dear Father in Heaven, as I write on Healing, and I want to get it right and get it out the way You want me to, I want to pause and thank You for the system You built into us while we were in the womb. Thanks for the protection of caring mothers and the autoimmune system you made for us. We are also thankful that You have loaned doctors and medical people the talent to understand this system and when it does get out of shape, they can help us, through Your hands, get it back into shape. Thanks for this very special gift you gave each of us at birth. In Jesus name, Amen.

Ok, let's look a little at the very first attack on our systems. It could well come by a dad who had himself been diseased and he spread it to a baby in his donation of sperm to the mother. And we also need to look at a mother who drinks, smokes, and lives a life that is not good for the baby in her womb. Today so many women invite men "INTO THEIR BODIES" without knowing a thing about their past and where that man's little warrior had been planted before. Straight talk folks, but it is a fact.

And men, have we always checked the landing spot of our little warrior before we PARKED IT? And out of this so often a child is made, and folks once the seed has been planted, you know how I feel about abortion. We need to bring the child into the world and take care of them. Most often, God has already protected our stupid behavior, and has healed those mistakes for us, in body and in mind and in soul.

So as we break for this day, let us look at some of the healings that we may already have been protected from even today. Swine flu, colds, fever, cancer, and heart problems ... face it folks, it is only by the healing hand of Jesus and his protection system that we are even here today. Ok, tomorrow we will get down to "what if we got it" and does God really then take it away? I guess it would be healing as you and I most often think about it ... Just a sneak look ... Have you ever broken a bone, your leg, your arm, your wrist, your hip? The docs might line it up, but God heals it. A great example of God's healing hand in front of us as the bones knit back together again. Oh and one more that is so simple. We all have run and fallen, we get a scrape, a brush burn, some road rash as bikers call it ... and we might put some stuff on it, but who applies the scab and really heals it and most often in a few days or a week you cannot even see where the old hurt was. Later in the week we will talk about some of the harder things to heal, the broken heart from a bad marriage, or a child gone bad, or depression. I am telling you, God has His healing hand on you even as we speak. Let's thank Him and ask Him to really start healing those things we know that are wrong within us.

Dear Father in Heaven, I pray a prayer of praise today, thanking You for all things good. From the air we breathe to the food we eat to the clothes we wear and to the abundance of things You have given over to us. Thanks, Lord, for our leaders, be they in Washington, in our state houses or our local governments. The biggest thing we ask for them, Lord, is that first they have You in their hearts and then that You are first in the business at hand. Lord, I pray for our military, past and present, who have worked so hard to keep us safe and free. And I pray that the reporters would tell the truth about their work in the war zones. I pray also for our state and local police and ask Your protection over them. I pray for firefighters, most who work for free, and ask that You also protect them, and for the fire police standing directing traffic, I ask You put a wall between them and the cars and trucks. And Lord, for all the people in the Medical field, please keep Your hand upon them. And for those doctors to whom You have loaned talent who now use it to destroy babies, I do pray that You recall the talent and man recalls the license to kill. Lord, thanks again for this line and the growth that goes on day-to-day. Protect it, Lord, in the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Tomorrow, healings from the Bible, and a reminder that Jesus is the same today as He was back then, and He will be the same tomorrow also. Now go forth sharing your blessings, and living large for Jesus ... HEY, I love ya, dan.

Friday: Joyful Noise

Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs.

It is Friday and the day we pray for all of God's workers. Do I need to name them all? I don't think I could, but please remember that we all need to be on this list for we all need to be working for our Lord Jesus ... AMEN.

Joyful Noise: Psalm 100: 1 - Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands, 2 Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with SINGING. 3 Know ye that the Lord He is God: It is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. 4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise; be thankful unto Him, and bless His name. 5 For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations. (King James)

We have not done this for a long, long time. Let's put a song in our hearts today, sing, hum, be happy, and be glad, FOR THIS IS THE DAY THAT THE LORD HAS MADE.

"This is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made, that the Lord has made.
We will rejoice, we will rejoice and be glad in it and be glad in it...
This is the day that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it, this is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made."

"This is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made, that the Lord has made.
We will rejoice, we will rejoice and be glad in it and be glad in it...
This is the day that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it, this is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made." You are getting it now ... sing it now so others can hear you ...

"This is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made, that the Lord has made.
We will rejoice, we will rejoice and be glad in it and be glad in it...
This is the day that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it, this is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made."

"A mighty fortress is our God, A bulwark never failing. Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing. For still our ancient foe Doth seek to work us woe; His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate, ON EARTH IS NOT HIS EQUAL."

"This is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made, that the Lord has made.
We will rejoice, we will rejoice and be glad in it and be glad in it...
This is the day that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it, this is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made."

"There's a church in the valley by the wildwood, No lovelier place in the dale. No place is so dear to my childhood as the little brown church in the vale. Oh, Come to the church in the wildwood, oh come to the church in the vale, No spot is so dear to my childhood as the little brown church in the vale."

Oh, Oh,
"This is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made, that the Lord has made.
We will rejoice, we will rejoice and be glad in it and be glad in it...
This is the day that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it, this is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made."

"Love lifted me, Love lifted me, When nothing else could help, Love lifted me.. OH, Oh, oh, Love lifted me, Love lifted me, when nothing else could help, love L I F T ED me"

Onward, Christian soldiers, Marching as to war, with the cross of Jesus going on before."

How great thou art, HOW GREAT THOU ART!

Have a very, very blessed weekend and put that song on your heart and lips and yes, it is a blessing to sing, so share that blessing today... Love ya, dan. And let's hit it one more time -

"This is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made, that the Lord has made.
We will rejoice, we will rejoice and be glad in it and be glad in it...
This is the day that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it, this is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made." Or two

"This is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made, that the Lord has made.
We will rejoice, we will rejoice and be glad in it and be glad in it...
This is the day that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it, this is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made." I LOVE YOU FOLKS... AND I LOVE JESUS EVEN MORE... dan.

Dear Lord, protect all those who are working for you..... In the name of Jesus.. Amen

"This is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made, that the Lord has made.
We will rejoice, we will rejoice and be glad in it and be glad in it...
This is the day that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it, this is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made."

Thursday: Weapons of Mass Destruction 2

"EVERY knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God."

Good morning, my dear brothers and sisters. Today is family day on this line, and I want to thank you for your prayers for the Saylor Family. Don was very, very bad after his surgery, which went well. He was on life support on Tuesday night. I was in with him and his family that evening. Yesterday, Wednesday, I went in at noon. He was sitting up in bed getting ready to eat a big lunch. He is to be coming home today. Can you shout with me PRAISE THE LORD!!!! Ok, I know you can, now will you? PRAISE THE LORD, for He is good ... Also for Peggy Everhard, answered prayers ... PRAISE THE LORD. Please today pray for families and please keep praying for the Saylor family and also remember to pray for the family of God.

Glenvale Church of God is collecting food for Carry The Light Ministries, our supply is low and people keep coming in. We have never turned anyone away ... NEVER. The Glenvale Church of God is located on route 850 just out of Marysville - watch for the signs. You are welcome to drop off food there and of course you are more than welcome to attend services. They are loving, caring, and most of all, the Pastor, Larry Hale and his wife are true believers and followers of Jesus.

Weapons of Mass Destruction 2: Romans 14: 11 - It is written: "' As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'Every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.' 12 So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God." (NIV)

Brothers and Sisters, as I said yesterday your tongue can be used as a weapon, and once it is, the word is out and can destroy others depending on what was said. That is why I call the tongue a weapon of mass destruction for it destroys thousands daily. The Bible also tells us to be ready to say good things, to be ready to tell people about our love for Jesus. 1 Peter 3: 15 - In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. (NIV) Brothers and sisters, even when we are speaking out for our Lord Jesus we are to be respectful to those we are telling. We gain nothing by getting into a shouting match with others trying to tell them about why we follow Jesus. With that said, we are to be telling others. And in fact there are times when we can use our mouth as a weapon when we do not even open it.
For example, if a person is talking down the Lord, or cursing using His name in trash talk ... When we hear people trashing the Lord, we indeed are to speak out. More than once I have told people after hearing them curse that they are trashing the one I love. Let's say you are in a crowd and you overhear people cursing, a nice shout of PRAISE THE LORD, can do wonders. The Bible tells us that it is a sin to keep quiet when we need to be speaking up for the Lord.

Dear Father in Heaven, help us to control our voice, our tongue, and know when we should be speaking out, and when we should just keep quiet. Lord, help us to never be disrespectful to others at anytime regardless of our differences with them. As Christians, Lord, we need to live for You and walk in Your path. I confess, Lord, I cannot do this without You holding my hand. Dear Lord, please bless families this day and everyday. Thanks for taking care of Don and bringing him through his surgery. Lord, I ask You to watch over our children and grandchildren and our great grandchildren. The family keeps growing, bless Daniel and Brittany as they head to the Navy. Please take care of them. Thanks for sparing Brittany in the accident last evening. Lord, thanks again for this line, and thanks for blessing our family, our church family at The Bridges, and Lord, help us work for You building the family of God. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Ok, you know what is next ... share those blessings. love ya, dan.

Wednesday: Weapons of Mass Destruction

I am about to open my mouth!

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. It is SALVATION WEDNESDAY on the line, and we need to be praying harder and harder for God to use us to bring in the lost. Remember Jesus is THE Savior, we are not, we are His workers. Before we start out working to bring in the lost, we need to be sure of our own salvation. I say that from the bottom of my heart. I am praying for God to give me a series of messages on Salvation. Pray for me for that please. So today we pray for Salvation for the lost and for God to use us. The Saylor family thanks all on the line who are praying for them. Don had his surgery yesterday. The surgery went well, but the side effects did not go so well. Don lost a lot of blood and is in intensive care at the Hospital. I was with the family last evening and in the room with Don. He was alert but because of all the machines he of course could not talk. Please keep praying for Don Saylor and his family. Tomorrow is family day. Does your family need special prayers or do you know a family that does? Please send in their names today. Families are very important to our Lord, and we want to keep praying for families ...

Weapons of Mass Destruction: Job 33: 2 - I am about to open my mouth; my words are on the tip of my tongue. 3 My words come from an upright heart; my lips sincerely speak what I know. (NIV)

We all remember our former President George W. Bush talking about weapons of mass destruction. We remember General Colin Powell going to the United Nations and telling about these weapons. For a year or more we talked about weapons of mass destruction being in Iraq. Then President Bush ordered our troops into Iraq. Those weapons were never found and maybe, just maybe, it was due to what I think is the biggest weapon of mass destruction out there ... the tongue, or the voice. You have heard that "loose lips sink ships". Did the loose lips of some, maybe even some in our own country, warn those with the weapons that our military was searching for them in time for them to move them? Maybe, we will never know that answer, but I do know this! The tongue, our voice, our speech, our FREE speech, can hurt and it can hurt bad. And I want to make this point right now ... our fingers on the computer key board and on the cell phone sending messages is the same as our tongue when used. Good or bad, like it or not, this computer thing, what we type, is the same as saying it or worse. I have a really good friend who states "that if it is not in writing it did not happen". While that is a term used most often in business, in training, in contracts, and is very, very important and I am using this to show you the power of the written word.

Weapons of Mass Destruction: The printed news has been doing it for years and years, printing things about others. Years ago, other than those JUNK papers, most good papers checked out things before they printed them. Now things go to print before things are checked out. Folks, for the rest of this week, Lord Willing, I want to talk to you about things that come out of our mouth, and as I talk about it, I want you to remember that on today's market your fingers are indeed an extension of your mouth. And here comes my friend Tom's words, when in writing, there is even a hard copy of what you might have said. It is now in writing, so brothers and sisters, before you say it, think about it, and before you write it, rethink it before you push the send key. Once something is out of your mouth, it is out there, once you press the send button, it is out there. If you are blogging and you are putting out things that are not true, you could be in trouble, if you are slamming others be sure, if you must do it, get it right. How often over the years have all of us wanted to have something we said back? I don't know of one person who wouldn't love to have something they said back, even a message put on a recorder in the heat of the moment, some might like to have back. If you say something to a loved one that hurts and you then you realize you were the one that was wrong, how do you get the words back? You don't, and while you can say over and over again you are sorry, you cannot take back the words.

So today I ask that you start weighing your words, and weighing those things you write to be sure of the facts, and even if you are correct, do you really want to say it or write it? As a Christian some will try and hold us to a higher standard just because we say we love Jesus. The truth about that one is we are still a sinner, and if we live for Jesus we are a forgiven sinner.

Today as you pray for salvation for yourself and others, and you pray to have God use you to help bring in the lost, also let's pray for God to give us the right words to say all the time, let us practice this ... before your words come out of your mouth, or in the case of the computer, your finger tips, let's pray that these words go through our brain, and then take a trip through our heart and then rethink it and then run it past God, and then when we are sure it will not hurt others, say it. My dear mamma told me more then once, "Danny, if you don't have something good to say about someone, don't say anything." Gosh I wish I would have practiced that all my life.

Dear Father in Heaven ... I give you praise and honor for taking Don through his surgery yesterday and now ask that you keep your healing and loving hand on him and his family. Thanks Lord for the staff at the Holy Spirit Hospital, and all other hospitals. Lord, today is salvation Wednesday and I want to just lead this prayer, praying that others might pray this in faith. Lord, forgive me of my sins and clean me as new. Wash me white as the new fallen snow. I confess I am a sinner and need Your love and saving grace. Save me today, Lord, and put me to work for You ... In Jesus' name, Amen.

Go forth now, sharing those blessings and weighing out your words ... love ya ,dan.

Tuesday: Working for Jesus 5

He will not forget your work!

Good Tuesday Morning, my dear brothers and sisters ... busy day ahead. Tuesday is schools day and after all these years, God has touched my heart and told me I need to add and to be sure we are praying for Sunday schools. So please as we pray we want to pray for all schools, public, private, church related and also Sunday schools and Vacation Bible Schools. Please pray for all Vacation Bible Schools that are going on right now, including Glenvale Church of God.
Prayers today for the Saylor family. This is Don's day in surgery, he is to be on the table at noon ... please include him in your lunch prayers. Also pray for the family of Donald, Sandy and Jeremy, as this family needs prayer. Also 16 year old Jordan who we had been praying for to be healed of bone cancer has been called home. Jordan had a five year fight with this cancer. Please pray for his family.

Working for Jesus 5: Hebrews 6: 10 - God is not unjust; He will not forget your work and the love you have shown His as you have helped His people and continue to help them. (NIV)

As I wrap up this series on working for Jesus, I want to point this out ... Jesus will not forget your work! We might think some days we are laboring for not, but let me tell you that when you labor for the Lord, it is a labor of love, or it is for me anyway, and He will remember this. Also not that it is not just your work telling others the good news, but when you help His people ... His people? You know, our brothers and sisters in Christ. And today as I place Sunday schools and Vacation Bible Schools on the prayer list, I think of all those workers for Jesus. Even to this day I have some fond memories of Sunday school and also that Vacation Bible School. I can remember as a child, back when those streets were (all together now) still dirt, and my mamma would make me and I did say make me go to Vacation Bible School, and I hated those short pants she made me wear. Mamma, I just got out of school and now another two weeks. Daniel, get moving. And when my mamma called me Daniel, I got moving, for I was her dear, dear Danny (I was so cute), I know, that changed. But I remember the songs like ...

"Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world, red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight, Jesus loves the children of the world."

I learned about Jesus, and learned to sing those songs and not too many years ago, I got to help with Vacation Bible School and teach those songs to others, and I also got to cook - and I love to cook. Brothers and sisters, there are so many ways to work for Jesus, and also so many ways to put Him into your daily living so people can see Jesus in you even if you work at a place where you cannot really speak out for Jesus. Did you notice that in America, when freedom of speech is limited, it most often is the followers of Jesus that people try to shut up. If I was a betting man, I would bet you that you could make two tee shirts, both with the rainbow on it, on one put two men or two women kissing (that makes me sick) on the other put the Ark with animals going in two by two and one would be banned in public places ... do you know which one would be banned? Right, no Ark in public please.

Now one last thing and I will lose a few on this one - someone will drop off the line, and I will be asking God to give me more on this. Your church will never get you into heaven, only Jesus can do that. If you go to a GOOD church that teaches and preaches the FULL TRUTH about Jesus, it is a good learning place. BUT COULD YOUR CHURCH help keep you out of Heaven? I want you to think about it. ARE YOU SITTING IN A CHURCH AND SUPPORTING THE CHURCH WITH YOUR DOLLARS and they are one that is supporting abortion, supporting gay marriages, and not following the true and complete words? If you are supporting this, if your dollars are going to teach people this, I feel you will be held accountable for it. I know that we who pastor will be held accountable about what we teach and preach. I for sure do not want any part of leading someone down the wrong trail. Oh yes, I sin, as we all do, and I, like you, have been forgiven (if you ask, I have asked) but leading someone down the wrong trail or helping to pay for it ... ouch.

Dear Father in Heaven, praise You Jesus, thank You Jesus, I don't want to ask for a thing in this prayer Jesus, I just want to praise You and thank You for all things. I want to thank You for that glass of chocolate milk I just finished, I want to thank You for that last breath of air I took in and the next one you give me. I want to thank You for this computer, and for all other things today ... Thank You Lord. In Jesus' name I want to give back to You today instead of always asking. Amen.

Now go forth, praying, and working for Jesus and yes, sharing your blessings ... love ya, dan.

Monday: Working for Jesus 4

"If a man WILL NOT work, he shall not eat."

Good Monday morning, my dear brothers and sisters. What a beautiful day here at the Southern Location of the North Pole. 5 months 5 days till Christmas. Thought you might want to know that...

Monday is the day we pray for our leaders, those who have power over us. Also the day we pray for our military, our veterans, our police, firefighters, and all others who work so hard to keep us safe. When you pray for our military today, please pray for Brittany Lehman and Daniel Lehman, yes our grandchildren, brother and sister, who have both enlisted in the United States Navy and will be leaving in the very near future. Prayers also today for the Saylor family and for Don Saylor who is having surgery tomorrow. Pastor Carol has requested prayers for her brother Bud, she tells it is a very serious and personal health issue. Also please pray for our son Matthew.

Working for Jesus 4: 2 Thessalonians 3: 10 - For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man WILL NOT work, he shall not eat." (NIV)

As I move forward on this series of Working for Jesus, I want to review a few points ...
1. You cannot work your way into heaven, it is a gift from God.
2. You must have faith and believe in Jesus.
3. You cannot have faith if you do not have deeds or works.

In other words, we must have the faith in Jesus, but we also must be working for Him, which He has commanded us to do. See Mark 16: 15. But we cannot labor under false pretenses, the labor must be a labor of love for Jesus, and we must have Jesus in our hearts.

Working for Jesus 4. Recently we had some work done in our house. I over heard one of the workers telling the other they were taking too much time in framing out something that will be covered up, no one would see it. Besides that the work was shelving, just going to have food for a food pantry sitting on it. Did it make a difference? Years ago, when I was just a little tike, I painted with my dad and late brother Leonard who was 4 years older than me. I was afraid of the high places so I would of course get stuck painting the banisters. I was impressed how my dad and brother would stretch out those long ladders, 40 footers, to reach high in the air, and that is low in some standards. My dad would teach me that I needed to be proud of working on those banisters, which I learned to hate. 25 cents per hour was nice money back then so I did it. I guess I was about 10 or 11. My dad painted houses in the summer and on nice weekends to support his teaching job. Daddy had this other saying, after telling me how I needed to do a really good job on the banisters, he said when we go up high, we do a really good first coat, we make sure we get to each and every spot and do it right, for on the second coat, if we don't reach the spot, it would be ok, for "high work was not eye work."

Dolores and I built our home about 23 years ago, and used a "stick builder", one who built from scratch, but also the one who had the very best price. It is a good house for the dollar, but every time something does go wrong and we need to "open things up", we find the hidden bad work. One time the roof fell in and water was running in during a snow storm. The house was not very old at that time and we called the contractor. After all the roof had a 25 year warranty and should still be covered. The contractor said there was nothing wrong. I said the water is running in. Not his fault, not covered by warranty ... I asked, is not a roof on a house to keep the water out? He said it was because of an ice buildup along the edge, the man knew I did not climb. When he was done, I told him he lied to me, for this time I did climb, I held on tight and went to the edge of the roof and looked it over, it had fallen in and there was a belly on this part of the roof. So he left and I called in a roofer who opened up the roof, and found that there were no braces from the upper part of the roof to the lower part, it needed to be cross studded, and the rafters just sort of bent over. You see here again is an example of people covering up work they think people cannot see.

Folks, this happens a lot here in America, not just in the building trades, but in cars on assembly lines, private contractors, etc.. With all that said folks, there is One who sees all the work we do, and in the end He will judge us, and our work will also be judged. FOLKS, ANY JOB WORTH DOING, IS WORTH DOING RIGHT. Contractors and others might think they are doing right because it passes the codes, however, does it pass muster with God? Folks, God knows! Any job you do, in the short term or long, you should look at like, God is going to check out my work, because, He is going to do it.

And folks, again I want to point out to you, that "if a man will not work, he shall not eat." This again is from the Bible, you see God does not want us to be lazy. Now someone is going to say they just cannot work, and I am going to tell you that there are very, very few people who cannot work and those people who can work need to be taken care of. Folks, working does not mean you need to go out and dig a ditch, or be president of a bank, in fact right now many people are laid off from their jobs and drawing unemployment. Does that mean they cannot work, or does it mean they will not work? A suggestion, if you are looking for work, in the meantime do some free service type work. Maybe even back where you were working, if they use volunteers, again most all of us can do something. I watch the folks in our flock, and yes, I am going to preach on this one day. How do I tell seniors in a retirement home who are 70, 80, 90 and one at 102 that they should be working? Let me tell you that the activities people get them involved. They help set up the activities, each doing what they can, some push wheelchairs, we have four or five seniors each week putting out and picking up song books. When church is over, some push others to lunch, saving the staff. During the week you will find them greeting people at the entrance, some of the seniors call bingo, and it goes on and on. Also, our attendance is going up and we know we have turnover in retirement homes. People move out, go to full nursing homes, or go to Jesus (I pray). So the residents who attend service are bringing in the new folks, the new members of the family. They are still working for the Lord. One dear sweet lady helps set up the dining room, and she does it daily. I have seen them getting the green beans ready, they have a garden and the food is picked by those doing the back yard farming, and it is used right there at the Bridges. Do you see where I am coming from? If a person can sit at a computer, they can work and do something, does not mean they might be able to hold a full job, but they can work for the Lord. Again, there are a few who might not be able to wor and we need to help them. Sometimes people will come to our food pantry, and yes, you do think, why are these healthy people not working, but we do help them and God will sort it all out in the end ... REMEMBER THAT, GOD IS GOING TO SORT ALL OF IT OUT IN THE END ...

Dear Father in Heaven, Working is harder for some than others, yet we all need to be working for You. Your word tells us that if we do not work we shall not eat, so help us all to be able to do something. Lord, I pray today for our president and all of our leaders, I pray our president's soul first and then that he brings all things to You. Lord please be with our veterans, with our military and all of their families. Be with Daniel and Brittany as they head to the Navy. Be with Don as he heads to surgery. Be with all those health workers who work with talent on loan from You. Lord, please keep blessing this line. And Lord, be with our son Matthew and with Pastor Carol's brother Bud. Lord, Lord, Lord, help us all. Lord, for that one on line who needs the job, please open the door, in the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

Want to work for Jesus? Try sharing your blessings ... love ya, dan.

Friday: Working for Jesus 3

"Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters and welcome to Friday, the day we pray for all those who are working in the fields of Harvest for our Lord Jesus. Mark 16: 15 - Jesus said to them. "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation."

Brothers and sisters, when you choose to go to work for Jesus, you really do not know how many lives you might touch, or who they might be. That is really not important, what is important is that you pray that God will send you, and then listen to where He wants you to go. Listen hard for He will tell you, and sometimes you will wonder why He is sending you some places. We in Carry The Light Ministries feel that our calling has been to outreach seniors, so we have been singing and teaching in the retirement homes. With that said, we have been to retirement homes when only a few people were brought in, and I admit it is hard to set up all the equipment after traveling miles and miles and only have six people before you in a retirement home that might have 400 guests. I have been told by my wife, my ministry partner Pam, and even former ministry partner Joanne Fortney that we have been sent to minister to these people and these are the people God put before us. Again, go where God sends you ...

Prayers today for Pope Benedict who has fallen and broken his wrist. Also pray for safety in travel for 9 members of the Harrisburg Chapter of IAAP as they journey across our country for a meeting and additional education. Also please pray for our Ministry Partner Pamela Bower as she finishes out her life long work and heads for retirement. She has two weeks to go on that life long job.

Working for Jesus 3: Acts 13: 2 - While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." 3 So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. (NIV)

Here we see just one example of where people were gathered to fast and pray and the Holy Spirit spoke to them. Ok, let's get this straight right now ... Our Lord God does talk to us through the power of the Holy Spirit. Yesterday on a local talk show the host was interviewing an atheist, or non-believer, one who did not believe in God at all. He laughed when people would say they heard God speak to them. Said that could not happen. He also said that "Some Christians have less morals then he does". Folks, this is why I say the name Christian is getting a bad rap, but folks, we earn it in a lot of cases. Forget the church part, if a person calls themselves Christians and then uses the name of our Lord in cursing or they go for an abortion, it sort of trashes the word. Yet with that said, we Christians are indeed SINNERS SAVED BY GRACE. So while we need to really follow God, we also need to remind those who do not believe that Jesus went to the cross to save us sinners including them if we just believe in Him. He really did not come to save the saints, but to turn we sinners into saints ... oh when the saints go marching in ... Ok, that for another day.

Ok, in those verses we also see where it shows us an example of the "laying on of hands" and for praying for others. Now I had mentioned that when we go to work for Jesus we do not always know who we are working to bring to the feet of Jesus or if our worked helped them or not. We go and work for Jesus and let the fine details up to Him. In my Christian walk there have been many who have helped me. I need to tell you about just a few. Long ago it was my mamma and dad, who made sure I was in Sunday School and church. Then mamma died and I drifted. When I did go to church, my ears, heart and mind were not open to be saved. As I aged I came back and forth in my walk with the Lord. I thought I was a Christian, but I really was not walking the talk. When Dolores came into my life we made a deal. I picked out our first date and she picked out the second. I took her on a big motorcycle ride, she took me to a gospel concert.... At that concert, my walk started toward God. I met a few men of God that first night. I met Tim Beitzel and Doug Boyer who were singing that night with Brotherhood. I met Duane Nicholson, who was hosting the concert, and I met Neil Enloe who came up out of the crowd at the concert and sang a song he wrote ... The Statue of Liberty. Now Dolores did not know if I would like gospel music, but the one thing I loved in church was the singing. So we sat down and the very first group came out and starting singing "The Old Rugged Cross", and then Dr. Jerry Groff came in from the back playing his trumpet. I was taken in. Thanks to these men and more, my walk took a new turn, thanks to Tim, Doug, Duane, and Neil for helping to get me back on track. Then came others, like Pastor Kevin Brown who drove school bus for me and would witness to me at work, and pray with me in my office. He is now full-time preaching and teaching. Then came Pastor Karen Layman, and Pastor Richard Denison, and Pastor Paul Wyslocki, and Pastor Tony and his wife Ruby, and Pastor Larry Hale and his wife, who were singing at the time. And there were more and more. But the bottom line is as I could handle it, Jesus would feed me more. So, guys, I will give the glory to God for your work. Other than Pastor Layman who has been called home, all the others still work for the Lord. Of course my wife stood beside me through this growing process and she has grown deeper and deeper in love with the Lord. The same is true with our ministry partner ... the love grows deeper with and for the Lord.

So let me wrap it up by saying just this ... Go to work for Jesus, let Him be your doorman, He will put you where He wants you as shown in the scripture of today ... "set me apart Barnabas and Saul for the WORK TO WHICH I HAVE CALLED THEM." While the ones I mentioned have really touched my life, they are still working and still growing in the Lord. Folks, we never stop growing in Jesus, till the day He calls us home. Work for the Lord, and you can do this regardless of your age, or if you are working fulltime on a job, or retired. If we can take in air, in one way or the another we can work for God. Listen, even our flock at the Bridges still work. As one person moves on home to Jesus and another moves in, our flock will try and have them in church the very first Sunday. They do a good job for Jesus.

Let's pray ... Father in Heaven, please open those doors for us, today we want to go deeper into Your word and into Your work. Help me, help us, to be able to witness to at least one person per day, at least one. And Lord protect those on the road for You. Bless them and their families. Traveling mercies for those ladies Lord, and Lord please anoint Pam for her last weeks at work. May her work there be a credit to You even to the last day. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Tomorrow we will be singing at Cedar Haven in Lebanon at 2.00 PM ... Sunday service is at 10.00 AM at the Bridges, and yes you are welcome ... now time for me to say ... please share your blessings ... love ya, dan.

Thursday: Working for Jesus 2

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has not deeds?

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. I need your help. I love to cook, those of you who know me, know that. I love to cook for others. I guess it is just one of my things to do. Last night I was grilling, nice burgers, and wanted to have beans with them. I decided to try some of the Bush's Grilling Beans as advertised. I had a problem, how in the world do you keep them from falling through the grill? Your help would be appreciated ... Family day on the line ... yes, it is Thursday already, can you believe it? Where does time go? I have been out of high school now for over 50 years. Seems like yesterday when I would watch the clock in the afternoon waiting for 3:05 PM so I could run out the door, get in my hot rod Ford, and take off to the gas station where I worked for 50 cents per hour. My boss was nice, I was clocked in at 3 and would work till 11 making 8 hours a day. Ok, back to today. Where did that time go? Anyway, family day, and we need to pray for the Saylor Family. The one who heads this family, under God of course, Don, will be having surgery next Tuesday. But please pray for all of them by name ... Don, for his surgery, Eleanor (mother) for her back, Bob, for his legs and more, and Sharon for her legs, and also so she can get up out of her wheel chair and walk again. Also for Dan as he travels back and forth from Ohio to Central Pa to help his mother, father, sister and brothers. This is a wonderful family who God has blessed Dolores and I so much to know. They truly know the meaning of holding on to Jesus and taking one day at a time. Also please keep praying for the Billings family in Florida, this the family of the two that were murdered.

Working for Jesus 2: James 2: 14 - What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has not deeds? Can such faith save him? (NIV)

Yesterday I talked to you about working for Jesus. I want you to understand this right now ... Working for Jesus will not get you into heaven. It just will not, it is faith and belief in Jesus Christ. But we also know that you just cannot and let me put this very big ... YOU JUST CANNOT have faith in Jesus and not work for Him. This goes hand in hand. Folks, again I invite you to look these things up in your own Bible. Don't just take my word for this. This is the word of the Lord. Once again I want to tell you that I believe in Jesus, and I believe in the word of the Lord as recorded in my Bible. I believe all of it. If I did not believe in one part of the Bible, how could I believe in any? With that said, let me move forward. Folks, we need to work for Jesus, to really show our love for Him. He told us to take His Word, the Good News, to all the world ...

James 2 15 - Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, IS DEAD. (NIV)

What is this saying ... to put it in the words of our ministry partner, Pamela Bower ... "Put feet on your prayers". We can pray and pray for those without food or clothes, or we can pray and also try our best to help them. While no one of us can supply food to the world, we can help others.
Most of us my age (older then dirt) had been raised not to waste food. Our parents had lived through the Great Depression, and had to make do with little, next to nothing. Now we go to those big food buffets, and you see people taking so much food, and then you see them eat a few bits and it goes in the trash and then, and then they go back for more. Folks, those places need to go to people and remind them it is all they can eat.

BREAKING NEWS ... in the background, just in, four police officers shot in New Jersey. Let's pray right now ... Dear Lord, Dear Lord, please be with those police officers who were just shot in New Jersey. Lord, take care of them and all other police officers. Lord, help the guilty to be caught and punished, then forgiven. While I have You Jesus, please watch over the families of those officers, and all other families. Lord it is family day, and please take care of the Billings family and the Saylor family. And Lord, help us to build the family of God. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Ok, I got off track there a tad, so let me sum it up with this ... James 2: 18 - But someone will say, "you have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that and shudder. (NIV)

So let me wrap it up. "Put feet on Your prayers", do something good for someone today. I call it Sharing your blessings. Pastor, Dr. Richard Denison would say "We are blessed to be a blessing". Get to sharing ... love ya, dan.

Wednesday: Working for Jesus

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. Please remember today is Salvation Wednesday on the line. Please pray for the souls of the lost and then get to work for Jesus, doing your best to tell the good news of Salvation to all God's people - and we are all God's people. I got a call yesterday from one of my classmates, now living in the sunny state of Florida, asking for prayers for the family of Bird and Melody Billings. My class mate, Bobbie Deardorf Tucker, lives within four miles of this family. These folks have made the national news as they had seventeen - 17 - children, four birth children and thirteen adopted special needs children. Bird and Melody were murdered the other day in their home. None of the children were harmed ... six people have been arrested.

Oh, and yes, pray for the souls of the ones who did this, and pray that justice is served.

Dear Father in Heaven. Those parents were so special, and now they are gone. Lord, please protect the family. I understand that the older birth children are going to try and keep the family together. Please Lord, bring it about so that these children do not lose their home. I pray also today for the souls of the lost and that includes those who were involved in the murders of these fine parents. Lord, please come back soon. Lord, we here in America pray for peace, no wars, and seem to not understand that Your word talks about wars, but it does not tell us that murder is ok, and the killing of babies is ok. Lord. here in America we are killing more unborn children than the wars kill. Lord, I want to see peace also, I am ready for You to come get us. Until then, keep us working hard for You. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Working for Jesus ... Ephesians 2: 10 - For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (NIV)

Are you a slacker? You do not need to go to the government to see this, it happens at any business. We all have seen it. It works about like this ... about 10% of the work force are slackers. You know the term, they are not pulling their fair share of the work. Come on, be truthful, you have all seen it where you work. You have people who take longer breaks, are on the phone on personal business more than work business. It happens, in fact with the cell phones and computers I would think the slacker number might be higher then 10%. I do hope you are not a slacker. And then there is the other end of the scale also, those who go far and beyond the call of duty, some working even off the clock just because they want to give some extra. I am sure you have seen that. Maybe some of you have called that person a "brown nose" or something to that effect that might not be in my printing. But in most cases all work hard for their dollar.

I get a real charge out of some of the state workers here in Pennsylvania right now. There is no budget in line so the workers might not get a full paycheck this week. They have already been given permission to go to the food banks. WHAT, on the very first day your pay check is late you need the the food bank? We need to have that food pack ready. This is sort of a sideline here ... All of us need a week's worth or more of food that can get you through. Canned meats, things that you can use without cooking, etc., things to use if the power goes down. Oh yes, we just cannot expect the government to come handing things out at will. OUR GOVERNMENT IS GOING BROKE. We need to help each other. So now let me get to working for Jesus.

Working for Jesus ... When it comes to working for Jesus, the slackers are more than 10%. Maybe the workers are about 10%. ARE YOU A SLACKER, when it comes to working for Jesus? How long has it been since you did anything for Jesus? Anything at all? Wait a minute, going to church does not count, unless you are the preacher, or working to get people in the church, but just sitting in the pew, well that just plain stinks, if that is all you are doing and you count that for your working for Jesus. No, no, going to church is where you get the fuel you need to work for Jesus. You need to be working and working hard for Him, and there are so many ways. Right now you could be helping a neighbor. Do you know your own neighborhood? Just because a person has a big house and a Cadillac or two does not mean they do not need help from time to time. Maybe they have fallen on some hard times and you can help. You can work for Jesus in many ways, and when it comes to telling people about Jesus and His love and salvation, which do you think works the best? -- Get in your suit or best dress and put the Bible under your arm and go door to door telling people to believe your way or go to hell ... or to live like a Christian in your neighborhood and help others, and then when talking to them, bring up Jesus or pray with them? You cannot look after the world, but together under Jesus we can and we are charged to do it.

In the scripture I used today it tells us "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." God prepared in advance this work for us to do. If you are not doing it ... WHO IS? Who is carrying the ball that you or I have dropped? In football if we drop the ball, the other team will pick it up and carry it, and when we work for Jesus and drop the ball, WHO IS THE OTHER TEAM? Oh, yes it is Satan, and he is ready, willing and even able to pounce on that fumble. Look, we need good hard workers in business and we need good hard workers for Jesus. No slackers needed. No slackers wanted. However, workers are needed. HOWEVER, AND THIS FOR TOMORROW ... With all of that said, we cannot work our way into heaven. Tomorrow I will tell you about that, and then on Friday I will try and tell you how to balance the act, for we do need balance, right Duane? (side joke there).

Ok, we did pray, so it is time to say this. When you go to the store, get two five pound bags of potatoes, and drop one off on your way home. Set it on a neighbor's door step with a note that just states ... enjoy ... I love you ... your neighbor. No, you do not need to put your name on it. God will sort that all out. I guess what I just said was ... go forth and share your blessings. love ya, dan.

Tuesday: Potatoes and Tree Stumps 2

For it is by grace you have been saved!

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. It is Tuesday and schools day on the line, so let's get praying for our schools. Praise report, praise report ... We have been praying for Peggy Everhard. Peggy resides at the Bridges in the Gardens section, the Dementia Unit. Over a month ago Peggy had a major heart attack to add to her other problems. The family was called together, I was called to her bedside. Peggy always loved to sing. Together we sang Amazing Grace with Peggy trying to sing with us. Time was running out. No, the Amazing Grace from God was heard again, and this past Sunday Peggy was in the front row in church, and at the end of the service, I walked over and asked Dolores to play Amazing Grace. God is Good ... Oh, and Peggy was more alert than I have seen her in years. Someone shout -- PRAISE GOD!

Potatoes and Tree Stumps 2
Ephesians 2: 8 - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. (NIV)

Yes, it does seem that we worship things other than God, idols we could call them, but do these things sneak up on us? Maybe we do not think we are worshiping things other than God, but are we? Notice I am using the word, WE, which of course includes me. But let me turn this around a tad. Let's say we are not worshipping any potatoes, donuts, and/or tree stumps, or old cars, trucks, and yes buses or motorcycles ... but we are indeed worshipping our Lord Jesus. So now my next question is ... How long do you worship God? Is it all the time, or 12 hours out of 24 or is it, well, is it one hour per week? Gosh, have you ever sat in a church when the service is near the end you could see some of the people getting up and leaving? Or during that final hymn, out they go ... Out to the parking lot, car in gear and off and driving like they are on the race track. What is the hurry? Oh yes, first in line at the local all you can stuff in your face buffet. You know, if we worship anything in this country other than God, it just might be food. Oh, and don't get me wrong, I love good food, ok, I really confess I love food, from burgers to steak, from lobster to shrimp, from pizza to liver or pizza with liver and onions on it. Oh yes, it is food ... and yes, wash all that junk down with a diet soda. A dozen years ago or so my dear wife and I went to our local all you can stuff in buffet after church and we did not hurry to get there. We stayed to the end of the service. Near the front of the line I noticed one of the folks that left church early. And then it happened, a whole lot of people came in from church and cut into the line, to get with the one person who saved the spot. And I walked up and said, excuse me, did we learn that in church? And Iasked them to go to the end of the line. And they did, but they were not happy. Do we worship food that much that we just let Jesus in church? I mean, after all, that is where Jesus is right? I mean it has nothing to do with where Jesus should be living, ah, in our hearts. Do we leave him in church?

Are you a one hour Christian? And maybe you are not even that. Christian means, or should mean, that you have Jesus locked into your heart and you are living for Him. Yesterday I mentioned about the people who think they see a vision of one of our respected church leaders from years ago, or even some from today and sometimes our Lord Jesus and/or His dear mother, Mary. But we do not need to bow down and kiss the potato, donut or tree stump, we can be worshipping other things, including food, without even noticing it. It could happen, we need to really review our lives, and again I am saying WE, for I indeed am going to look over mine. Most of you know that I am an old motor head, I have had cars, and cars and cars, and motorcycles and trucks and buses ... and yes I love vehicles, but I AM NOT IN LOVE WITH THEM.

I have been telling people that a pack of smokes would purchase about six boxes of mac and cheese. Well, if I sell one of my old city buses for a thousand dollars or so, I could purchase about 2,000 boxes of mac and cheese for our food pantry ... ANYONE WANT TO BUY A BUS?

Tomorrow, more on this subject, for I do not want to put you, or me, on a guilt trip for having some nice things, for when we work for God, for when we give of our first fruits to Him, He keeps giving back. But for today, be sure you are worshipping God, look yourself in the mirror, search out yourself, don't look to see how others see you, but look and see how God might look at you,
and ask yourself these questions ...

Are you a fulltime Christian or are you a fool time Christian?
Do you love Jesus all the time, or just an hour or two per week?
Do you give to God and others, before giving to yourself?

And then just pray this prayer ... Lord, forgive me when I fall short, and help me be a full timer. Come into my heart today and teach me to live all the time for You. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Now share those blessings, and yes, those Potatoes, Donuts and tree stumps. You could share the potatoes, and donuts and not worship them, and you could, well, help a neighbor dig out an old tree stump. All sorts of ways of sharing those blessings ... get sharing ... love ya, dan.

Want to have fun? The next time you go to the drive-up window of a food place, when you get your meal, ask how much the next car's bill is ... and pay for their meal, pull up, and watch the smile on their face, then just drive away. It is FUN ...

Monday: Potatoes and Tree Stumps

You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything ...

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. It is Monday and the day we pray for our leaders, for all those who have power over us, also for our military, our state and local law enforcement folks, and all others who work for our health and safety. It is a really big group of people.

Potatoes and Tree Stumps:
Exodus 20: 6 - You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me. 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. (NIV)

Once again on the news we see that people have claimed to be able to see The Virgin Mary in something. This time a tree stump. We have had people claim to see The Virgin Mary, Mother Theresa and even Jesus in many forms. I think it was a donut that sort of looked like Mother Theresa, and a potato and I think it was a sweet potato that was in the form of Mary, the mother of Jesus. On the news today people were gathering at a tree that was cut down. To me it looked like it was saw cut in the grain of the wood, but people claim they could see the mother of our Lord Jesus in that old tree stump. Ok, I confess, I have laid on my back in the yard and watched the clouds go past and would watch for shapes of things, and yes I have seen the face of Jesus as I know the face from pictures. But let me say at that point I stop. The news this morning showed people lining up to 'kiss the stump" and folks that is exactly what they were kissing, a big old tree stump.

Exodus 20: starting with verse 4 is very clear about idols, which include things where we think we can see the face of Jesus or others. We should bow down to no idols, which in my mind includes but is not limited to potatoes and tree stumps, and could include money, cars, trucks, and yes, even buses. We must be real careful not to worship "stuff". While most of us like "stuff" of some kind we just do not want it to get in the way of our worship or our living for our Lord Jesus.

Now while some might think that the best way of being sure we are not going to worship stuff is to get rid of the stuff, I do not always agree with that. I feel the very best way to not worship stuff and let it become an idol is to get Jesus locked into your heart, into your soul and into your mind and live for Him.

Please folks, let me just be a few days early this week on Salvation. Maybe I want to take a lesson from the racing people. You know, if Chevrolet wins the big races on the weekend, on Monday the Chevrolets sell a little better. If Toyota has a good weekend race, then on Monday the Toyota gets some extra customers. So I pray that a lot of "fence sitters" got to church yesterday and today I can follow up with a tad of Salvation on Monday. Are you ready to get away from the idols and get to Jesus? Plug Jesus into your life and the life of your family. MEN ... stand up and lead your family, get them into Jesus, not some potato or tree stump, or Chevrolet, Ford, or any other car. Put Jesus first in your life. Lock hands and hearts with Him. Put Him ahead of all you have including your family and friends.

Will you take time to pray for the removal of sins today, to pray to start fresh on this very first day of the rest of your life? Will you start it with Jesus and not a potato or a tree stump? If you already have fallen in love with Jesus, then how about renewing that love this morning? Will you do that today, not for me, but for your very own self? Then you can pray for the other things on our list ...

Dear Father in Heaven, I just want to lead others today to be cleaned or re-cleaned today. I can't pray for the others to be cleaned, only that you might encourage them to come to You. So Lord, I want to do this for myself. First, Lord, I want You to know that I love You, not some potato or tree stump. Well, Lord, I do like a baked potato or some mashed potatoes, but I am not going to bow down and kiss them or any other idol, be they real or a hunk of iron, or even gold. Lord, I want Jesus in my heart today and everyday, so I am asking for You to forgive my sins, and wash me clean today ... set me free, anew ... and Lord, help me walk with You, come into my heart and live, dear Jesus. And I ask this in Your name, Jesus. Amen.

Now go forth sharing your blessings, and talking to others about Jesus ... love ya, dan.

Friday: Mercy (5)

"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him."

"Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."

"I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. It is Friday and the day we pray for all those who work for our Lord Jesus, all those who are going into the fields of Harvest and talking to people about the Good News. Also today, please pray for the family of Jordan. We have been praying for Jordan, 15 years old who had cancer. His cancer is gone, he is healed, he is with Jesus. Not the healing we wanted to see on earth. So pray for his family.

Mercy (5): All week we have been talking about mercy, today I want to talk to you about what I think was the greatest mercy shown which went for all people ... The mercy from God The Father through Jesus His Son was delivered on the cross FOR ALL PEOPLE. All you need to do to receive this mercy is believe in Jesus, and confess unto Him, and then work for Him. Let's face it, if we don't work for Jesus, how can we really believe in what He did for us and still does for us?

All these Bible quotes today will come from my NIV study Bible ...
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."
John 3: 17 - "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him."
John 3: 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."

Now let us go to the cross with Jesus. This in my opinion is where all the mercy comes from when talking about our Lord Jesus. This is where the price was pa, on the cross. This is where our sins, yours and mine, mine and yours, and all the sins of the world, were nailed to the cross, and while Jesus was on the cross, with the nails in His hands, with His side pierced by the sword, with thorns in His head ... Jesus poured out mercy in the form of not just words but these things were written in His blood. Think about it as we review some of His last words ...

Luke 23: 34 - Jesus said: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."

Even as Jesus was telling His Father in Heaven to forgive them, they were dividing up His clothes.

Now when Jesus was put to death there were two criminals who were on crosses next to Him. Here is the word on them ...

Luke 23: 39 - One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at Him. "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!"
Luke 23: 40 - But the other criminal rebuked Him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "Since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong."

Now here comes one really great ACT OF MERCY ... While dying on the cross Jesus forgave the one ... and guess what, the one that hurled insults at Him, WENT TO HELL. Here are the words of Jesus:

Luke 23:43 Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."

Now if there is any doubt about where Jesus might have gone after being put to death, this tells me that as soon as Jesus died, He went to Heaven with the one criminal. Why do I think that? It is in the words of Jesus: Today I will be with you in Paradise. Not tomorrow, but today and Jesus would be with Him in Paradise, in Heaven. I picture it like this. Jesus takes this criminal up to God our Father, Jesus has forgiven him of all his sins and presents Him to God clean. It might have been something like this ... Hi Father, this is Joseph, he is clean of sin and I present him to you to get into Heaven. With that Jesus leaves. Now think of it, it is not going to be any different when we get called. If we know Jesus one on one and we love Him, it would go something like this ...

Hi Father, this is "Tim the Gospel Singer and he loves me and has confessed to me his sins. He is clean, please Father let Tim in. Or it might be like this: Hi Father, this is Dan the Mechanic who is now a pastor. He is clean of sin, please let him in. Hi Father, this is Sharon, she was in the Navy and worked at the Army Base after that. She loves me, Father, and she is now free of sin, please let her in. Hi Father, this is Leslie, and she has worked so hard for me Father, she has been forgiven of her sins, please let her in. Hi Father, this is (now if you love Jesus put your own name in here.) Remember, this is a very personal thing. I am going to do one more. Hi Father, good to see You, look at my hands and feet Father, see the nail scars that they put on me. Father, I did this for You and for all people of the world, red and yellow, black and white ... all people, Father. Oh, and here is "Joe the plumber". He was rough at one time, but he came to me. He gave it all over to me, Father, and I took all of his sins to the cross with me. Please let Joe into paradise.

Now that is the way I picture it on my mind.

Now one last thing ...

John 14: 1 - "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me 2 In my Fathers house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I WILL COME BACK AND TAKE YOU TO BE WITH ME THAT YOU ALSO MAY BE WHERE I AM." (NIV) Yes, again all my Bible quotes came from my NIV study Bible.

Who else will show mercy like this?

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

Who else will show mercy like this? NO ONE!!! And if you are like me this morning you are jumping and shouting THANK YOU JESUS ... and giving a really big AMEN.

Dear Father in Heaven, again I ask for mercy for I am a sinner. Help me be of service to You in the fields of harvest. Help us, Lord. Be with all the workers of Yours. Lord, please touch these workers as I call them by name ... Pastors, Tony, Kevin, Rick, Charles, Larry, Paul, and me, Lord ... and all others who teach, preach, tell, show, etc., others about Your Love. Please heal Pastors Tony and Charles. And please intercede between two of those listed. You know who in the list has been reaching out to one of the others, help me get that fence mended. Lord, we need to get out the word about Your mercy and grace. Help us, dear Lord, help us. In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

Now folks go forth, sharing your blessings and showing mercy to others. Again I tell you that God is going to forgive you as you forgive others. It is the same with Mercy, for indeed if I had to come up with a one word description for mercy, after writing all week about it, it would be just this:

Mercy = Forgiveness! Forgiveness = Mercy ... and it starts with God, comes through Jesus and YOU MUST BE INVOLVED. Check out our Blogspot at carrythelight4Jesus.blogspot.com and get involved ... love ya, dan.

Thursday: Mercy (4)

"Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy."

"I will have mercy on whom I have mercy ..."

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters, and welcome to families day on The Carry The Light Ministries praise, prayer and message line. Yes, today we pray for families, and remember, please remember as you pray for families to pray for the family of God. Please pray for Leslie and her family and for Vicki and her family.

Mercy (4): Matthew 5: 7 - "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy." (NIV)
Roman 9: 14 - "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." (NIV)

Ok, what is God telling us in these two passages about mercy? Here is what God is telling me ... From Matthew 5: 7 - "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy." God is going to show you mercy as you show mercy to others. Our Lord God will bless us as we bless others, He will open the floodgates of blessings upon us when we give to His work in faith. He blesses us over and over again when we share our blessings with others. Why would it be any different when it comes to showing mercy? Is not being able to show mercy a gift that is given to us by God? I believe so, for it takes someone special to show mercy to others. Most often when it comes to showing mercy, being able to forgive is right in the mix. How could you show mercy to someone if you have not forgiven them first? Forgiving others comes right from the heart, and so does showing mercy.

Now what about Roman 9: 14 - "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." I think this is God telling us that when it comes to Him showing mercy and compassion on others, that is His work. Remember I talked about it a tad yesterday, we are to be doing the will of God by working for God, we are not to even be trying to do God's work. Remember, God saves people, we don't, we can only get them to the feet of Jesus and tell them about it. And is not Jesus showing mercy when He does save us? None of us are worthy of it.

Tomorrow the ultimate showing of mercy!

Dear Father in Heaven, the messages that You are giving me this week are exciting, and something we really need to know. Again today I ask that You show mercy on me, on us, on all who ask, that You show mercy by forgiving us of our sins. Forgive me, dear Lord, have mercy on me dear Lord, and Lord please teach me over and over again how You forgive me as I forgive others, and how You show mercy on me as I show it on others. Lord, be with the family of Yours, the family of God, and help it grow, help us to be working for You and teach us the difference between working for You and trying to do Your work, which we cannot ever do. Lord, be with Leslie and her family and bless them. Iron it all out for them, Lord, as only You can do. The same with the family of Vicki. Lord, today I ask for blessings as we talk to people in the Rose Garden at Hershey. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Now go forth and share your love, share your blessings, share forgiveness, and share mercy as God leads you ... love ya, dan.