Friday: Martin Gets a Bath 5

Shout to the Lord, all the earth!

GOOD MORNING, my dear brothers and sisters, Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord for another day. It is a beautiful, most wonderful day here at the Southern Location of the North Pole, just beautiful. It is Friday and the day we pray for all who are working in the field of Harvest for our Lord Jesus. ARE YOU ON THAT LIST? You should be, you know! So pray for your pastors, pray for those singing the Gospel in your church choir and those on the road. Those working for the Lord in countries who hate Christians and also those working the streets of the United States, and remember those working in Washington DC where it seems like those running the country would like to put our Lord Jesus back on the cross. Brothers and sisters, Jesus was on the cross once for us, and now we need to "Take up the cross for Him".

Martin Gets a Bath 5: Well, yesterday Martin and Michael did get to the dog beauty parlor and came home looking great. Now if Martin stays out of the dirt he will look good for Sunday when I preach about him, and have him in church. He will also be with us in concert next Wednesday.

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. (KJV) Psalm 150: 1 Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in His sanctuary: Praise Him in the firmament of His power. 2 Praise Him for His mighty acts: Praise Him according to His excellent Greatness. (KJV)

"I come to the Garden alone, While the dew is still on the roses, And the voice I hear falling on my ear, The Son of God discloses. AND He walks with me and He talks with me and He tells me I am His own, and the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known." (C Austin Miles)

All week I have been talking about sin and being forgiven and then just sinning again, over and over it goes. Sin, get clean, sin, get clean... Yes, like Martin getting a bath and rolling in the dirt. Or like taking your car to the car wash, or washing it at home and then the first time on the road it rains.

Or a new example today is God covers the earth with a clean white snow, and we go out and plow the snow over, turning the dirt to the top, and then again God covers the earth with snow making it white again. I talked about sin and how we should repent, and then I talked about repenting first, before we ask to be forgiven. It is all in the Bible, you know, well, except for my stories of example on Martin and on the snow and also the car wash. But the stain of sin, and how we must repent and how Jesus will forgive us... it is the reason He went to the cross.

The other day before I talked about repenting, I had asked what we needed to do. I wanted the answer about repenting, and I got it from some. I also got a great answer from John Henry Riddlesberger, a dear friend and school teacher in Carlisle Pa. John did not just wear Jesus on his sleeve, he has Jesus in his heart. He said we should be praying more and more, staying in touch with Jesus.. While repenting was what I wanted then, my question for today was what should we do to be replacing sin, and John Henry's answer about praying is the best. We need to be praying more and more and staying in touch with our Lord Jesus. We need to be giving God Glory all the time. You cannot go out and look around without seeing God...

Yesterday I spent the morning in the Hershey Rose Garden, I had one of my antique Chevrolet El Cameos on display talking to people about the Antique Automobile Museum at Hershey Pa. But as I sat there in that beautiful garden looking at all the roses and other flowers I just had to remember the song... "In The Garden". How can anyone not believe in God who made this heaven and earth?

You have heard me talk about my "Rock of Hope" in our front yard. While my small flower garden with tomatoes growing in it needs weeded right now, it is still pretty. I like to go out and talk to Jesus there, a place to be alone with the one who forgave me and still forgives me when I mess up. And yes, I still mess up. My question, what should we do to replace sin, is simple to say, but we must always have Jesus in our minds and hearts, for if we put Him aside for just a minute, Satan will try and get you to sin, he really will. So to add to the words of John Henry, we need to be praying, and we need to be singing praise, we need to be just talking to Jesus like He is here with us, for He is. Talk to him when you drive, just keep your eyes open. It is safer to be praying to our Lord than talking on a cell phone or texting when you drive. The bottom line is we need to REPENT, PRAY FOR FORGIVENESS AND THEN PUT JESUS IN PLACE OF THE SIN... That is right, we need to put Jesus in place of the sin. Working for Him is a good starting place, living for Him in all you do... AMEN.

The series on Martin gets a bath is now finished. Thanks for tuning in. What is next, I have no idea, but till Monday I trust Jesus will give me something to write about, for this has been going on for nearly 15 years. God is good, talk to Him often and let's start right now.

Dear Father in Heaven, I love You. Talk to me Lord, as I talk to You. Talk to all of us today and each day. Help us to put You in our lives in place of sin, instead of calling on You just to forgive our sins or when we want something. Help us to have You as a Father and a friend, someone to be with, someone to walk with, to be alone with and in a crowd with. Father in Heaven, we worship You today and want to do it each day, not just in church for an hour, we want to be with You all the time. Help us as You forgive us, help us to repent and put You in place of sin. In the name of Jesus, Your loving Son and our Savior, I pray. Amen.

Please folks, if you don't go to church, find a good one, yes A GOOD ONE, that still preaches and teaches the word of God from the Bible, and brothers and sisters, they are still out there. Find one that shares their blessings as we all need to do. God has blessed us over and over again, we need to be sharing our blessings, Yesterday I stopped at the home of Harold and Anna Mae Goddard who had bags of fresh garden goodies for our food pantry. They indeed shared their blessings as they worked hard in the garden to raise it. I must tell you this, I saw something in their garden I never saw before, a Sunflower with over, listen to me, a Sunflower with over 3 dozen blooms on it. I have never seen one with more than one bloom. What a blessing... ok, time to go... love ya, dan.
Church at The Bridges
Sunday 10.00 AM
2100 Bent Creek Blvd
Mechanicsburg, Pa. 17050