Wednesday: The Plan 3

"For God so loved the world!"

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. I am thrilled this morning, really thrilled! Why am I so thrilled? God gave me another day, and you should be thrilled also for if you are ready this, He gave you another morning also. God is so good. Salvation Wednesday on the line, the day we pray for the lost and pray that God opens doors for we who are saved to help lead in the lost. Let me ask all of you this question this morning... Who led you to The Lord? And where would you be if that person or someone else did not lead you to Him? Maybe face down in the pigpen?

Prayers also today for Vicki, for the Saylor family, for Dale and Blanch, for the family of Steve who went home to be with Jesus.. Anna, Pastor Charles, Pastor Tony, Pastor Rick.

The Plan 3: John 3: 16/17 - 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. (NIV)

Do you love one another today my dear brothers and sisters? Can you hug another person and tell them from the bottom of your heart that you love them, regardless of who that other person might be? Remember this good today folks,

1 John 4: 9 - This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His Son into the world that we might LIVE THROUGH HIM. 10 This is love: Not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear Friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. (NIV)

As a side note, God sent His Son to save all creation... Dogs in heaven folks, yes and cats also.

This week as we study and learn about The Plan, we look at the fact that God had a plan, and folks, He really has a plan for each one of us. I don't care if you are wealthy or poor, or what your color is, God has a plan for us and we should be working for Him. Please pray for what God wants you to do for Him according to His plan and then LISTEN for Him to tell you what He wants you to do.

How often have you made plans to do something and they all fell apart? Let's say we have this big plan for a picnic, or maybe even a wedding, and it is outdoors. Oh my, the day of the event comes and it is raining pitch forks and hammer handles. Your plans are messed up. You had prayed and prayed for a nice day. You go to God and ask Him... Lord, I prayed for a nice day and you messed up my plans. And God might tell you, Son (Daughter) how many times have you messed up my plans? I planned for you to be a leader of mine and instead you turned me away. Or maybe He might say, you were praying for nice weather, but the farmer in back of your home was praying for rain. Sorry, he needed the rain more than you needed the nice day. Are you following me on this today, God's plan is the best for all of us and God is still in control... Amen.

If we are going to be part of this Plan, how much will it cost, you might ask... Come tomorrow we will find out.

Dear Father in Heaven, it is Salvation Wednesday on this line, so I ask today that You use us to help bring in the lost. And Lord, today I just want to lead this prayer for those who might have slipped or never came to You at all... Lord, hear the prayers coming from us through Jesus to You, our Heavenly Father. Lord, please forgive me of my sins and wash me white, as white as the new fallen snow. Save me this day, I want to be born again and walk in the light of Jesus, my Lord and Savior. Place my name in the big book of life... In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

Go forth sharing your blessings and for sure sharing the word of Jesus. love ya, dan.

Tuesday: The Plan 2

"Up in the morning, out on the job, working like the devil for my pay."

"For the wages of sin is death."

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. It is a beautiful day here at the Southern Location of the North Pole. Tuesday and it is Schools Day on this line, and we need to be really praying for our schools. Also please pray for those on our daily prayer list.

The Plan 2: "Up in the morning, out on the job, working like the devil for my pay." That is, if I am not mistaken, the words to the first line of a song from back in the 40's. "For the wages of sin is death." Is the price we pray if we go out and work like the devil for our pay. You really can't work for the devil and expect anything more. Here it is right from the Bible:

Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NIV)

Now I don't know about you, but I do not want to work for the devil and I no longer even want to have a thing to do with him. I long ago came over to our Lord Jesus to be saved, to be Born Again. Think of all those people who are working for the devil and one of your biggest jobs when working for the devil is to be looking over your shoulder. How do we get this off of our back? What must one do to get rid of it? Let's look at a few places in the Bible.

Matthew 9: 13 - "But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice'. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." (NIV)

Here is what it means to me, folks. The verse tells us to go and learn what it means. Are you ready for this today...

Matthew 4: 17 - From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." (NIV)

Ok, that is what it means to me... "I desire mercy, not sacrifice". If we want the mercy that Jesus was talking about we need to be repenting from our sins, and folks, we need to not put it off a day longer. REPENT NOW, SINNERS... and folks, we are sinners, all of us. How long are you going to wait to repent? Till tonight, tomorrow, the next day, next week? Keep putting it off and you might find you do not get it done before your time is up. You cannot hide your sins from the Lord, folks, He sees them all. (Scary isn't it?) Why be scared, why not repent and come nearer and nearer to Jesus? If you don't repent then you get the wages you earned... DEATH!! I like to put it like this... and it is your choice, 100% your choice... Heaven or Hell... Where do you want to go when you check out of here? Up or down, so to speak. Golden streets, or a fire pit.

Can we just pray a little prayer today to ask God to help us repent? It is not always easy, as the devil is up early in the morning and works hard to get us. If you are working for the devil you are on THE WRONG PAYROLL... Amen.

Dear Father in Heaven, help me to repent, and work for Jesus and not evil... Thank You Father... In Jesus name, Amen.

Go forth sharing those blessings and working for Jesus... working for Jesus, oh yes, all part of THE PLAN. Come back tomorrow and let's dig deeper into That Plan... love ya, dan.

Monday: The Plan 1

For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Good Monday Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. It is a perfect fall morning here at the Southern Location of the North Pole. How blessed we are just to receive another day, let alone one that is picture perfect. Monday and the day we pray for our president and his family and all our leaders and all those who put their lives on the line for our safety, our freedom and our health each and everyday of their lives. God Bless them. It is also the day we pray for the families of those who gave up their lives protecting us and our freedoms, and to pray for those wounded doing the same.

As you know, I am enrolled in the Pennsylvania State Police Academy at Hershey, Pennsylvania. On the walls of the Academy are the fine members of the State Police that over the years have lost their lives in the line of duty. There are many of them. Folks, being a police officer in the United States of America is not a cake job, and we need to really appreciate what these men and women do, not be getting upset because they stopped you for speeding and not the one behind you. I just want to remind you of this from Titus 3: 1 - Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to OBEY MAGISTRATES, to be ready to every good work, 2 to speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.- (King James). A Magistrate is another name for police officer. Please obey and respect them. Thank you.

Also, please keep praying for the following, the Saylor family, Vicki, Anna, Blanch, Dale, Luella, Stanley, and Harry. Plus Pastor Charles, Pastor Tony, and Pastor Paul. Also Tom and Kathleen.

The Plan 1: Romans 3: 23 - For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (NIV)

Did you ever hear the saying, the best laid plans often go astray? Or something to those words. How often have you laid out plans to do something to just find them really messed up? Maybe by things that you have no control over. Dolores and I love to go to the Strasburg Rail Road for a day's outing. In fact these little six to seven hour runs are indeed the only vacation we take, yet for weeks now we have been trying to fit in plans for a day out. It just has not happened! Sometimes the plans are messed up by things I guess we could change. It seems that Dolores and I often change our plans as to fit the plans of others, meaning the things we change our plans for are very important so we change to get them done. Example, when people need food, for when people call and say they need food, we tell them to come and get it, and we most often use their time schedule and not ours. I think you know what I am talking about here.

This week I want to talk to you about a plan that we want to make and we really want to stick to it. As we work on this plan we are going to talk about who needs it and why, and then how to lay it out and how to make it work. We will wind up the week this coming Friday with communion as this coming Sunday is worldwide communion. This gives you four days to get your communion ready at work, or wherever you might be on Friday. And why not plan for communion with your co-workers, friends, etc., and be sure to invite those who might not get to church. WILL YOU REACH OUT TO OTHERS THIS WEEK? It is all part of THE PLAN.

So who needs this plan? All of us! Who laid out The Plan? Our Lord Jesus (Jesus is the Word and this comes from the Bible). Now, is there a cost to this plan? Will it cost you anything? Yes, there is a cost, and yes, it will cost you. Come back tomorrow and we will go to step two. Oh, you just asked what was step one... Oh, I told you, did you not pick up on it? Step one was who needs the plan. For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. FOR ALL NEED THE PLAN.

Dear Father in Heaven, thanks for the messages you give to me each week, thanks for keeping this line open for all who want to join us in praying and hearing The Word. Help me always keep the truth and coming from Your Word. Lord, I pray today for safety and good health and for salvation for our President and his family. Bless them, Lord, and may they fall in love with You. Bless our police, our troops, our firefighters, and all who work to keep us safe and healthy, please heal those on our daily prayer list... In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

Go forth and share your blessings, and brothers and sisters, I do not ask often, but please get set for communion this coming Friday, it will be special as communion always is... In other words, share Jesus this week... Love ya, dan.

Friday: Wash Job 5

"This is the cup of the new covenant in my blood."

Good Morning, my dear sisters and brothers. Another day has arrived and we are so blessed. With all that is said, if you wake up in the morning and you truly love Jesus, you are blessed, and if you wake up in America I think you are blessed even more. Someone want to pass that statement on to the White House? Today we pray for all those who are working for the Lord. Remember He called ALL of us into His service. His work is never done. Work from dawn to setting sun, and folks, that means the dawn of your life, to the setting sun of your life, and when you look at it as a daily thing, yes, it is from first light till time to go to bed. Please keep praying for those on our daily list... Vicki and her family and please pray for Vicki's mother, just pray for her, someday I will tell you some of the details. Pray for Pastor Tony. I talked to his wife, Ruby, just yesterday, and Pastor has good days and some bad. He is starting to get confused. Keep praying for Anna Troutman, she is up out of the wheelchair and walking now with a walker. Please also pray for Blanch and Dale... Blanch is very ill and in the hospital.

Wash Job 5: Let's today start with a prayer to clean us up. I told you for the last three days that I was going to tell you what really makes us clean, what cleans better then Tide, Lye Soap, 409 Cleaner and even Mr. Clean, the bald guy on the commercials. Let's go now to our Father in Heaven and get this started...

Dear Father in Heaven, please wash us today, wash us white as snow and wash us in the only thing that really cleans us inside and out, and that is the blood of Jesus. Clean us, dear Lord, and get us ready for not just this day but get us ready for the day we get called home. Clean us today and help us stay clean by repenting from sins. Lord, it is hard down here on earth, and we really want to walk each day with Jesus. Keep us safe and sound and help us each day to not just live for You, but to walk in Your light and to tell others about Jesus and to share the blessings that You give to us. Again, we really appreciate You watching over us and our families, and we really appreciate this morning wash job today... In the name of Jesus, I pray, Amen.

Wash Job 5: It is time for that wash job folks, please get that juice and bread. If you must, use water, for you remember Jesus did turn water to wine, and you may also use a piece of bread from your lunch bag or even a cracker from a machine. The important is that you go to God clean and you really believe in this supper with the King. Ready? I am.... In fact Dolores and I already had communion together as we did our morning Bible study. Now I get the wonderful chance to commune with all of you.

Dear Father in Heaven, please bless each person taking communion this day and bless the bread, the juice, and make it meaningful to us this day. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

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." (NIV)

Take now your bread and eat of it, and each time you eat of the bread, each time you break bread, each time you eat, pray and remember Jesus... Ready, let's eat the body... Hmm. Thank You, Jesus, thanks for Your broken body, Your body broken over and over again on the cross.

Sometimes we forget that a spike driven through the hands and feet would break the bones... and the sword into the side would cut and break the body. His body really was broken for us. REMEMBER IT.

Luke 22: 20 - In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you." (NIV)

Take now the cup and drink of it, This is the cleaning power I have been leading up to all week... It will never get better than this till we get to our home in Heaven. Enjoy this, and folks try and stay clean. Keep away from sin and evil. Please, will you now drink with me? Praise You Jesus, Thank You Jesus, You are wonderful, my dear Jesus. Thanks for forgiving us this day, dear Lord. May we walk each day with and for You. I love You Lord... I really do... In Jesus name, AMEN, AMEN.

What a great morning, my dear brothers and sisters, go now and be clean, and remember to share those blessings. Tell someone how you started the day. Maybe someday you can lead communion with your friends at lunch. Love ya, dan. And when I say I love you, I really do...

Thursday: Wash Job 4

Wash the evil from your heart and be saved!

Good Morning from the Southern Location of the North Pole, my dear brothers and sisters. It is Thursday and fall is here, and yesterday we felt like midsummer. What a great day. Thursday is family day on this line, so I ask today you pray for all families and for the family of God. Also please pray for Vicki and her family, for Donna and her complete family, her mother, her sisters and her brothers, Lord, and for her nephew Jeremy. Please pray for Blanch Stambaugh and her husband Dale. Pray for our families at the Bridges and pray for the family in the White House.

I want to share this with you, yesterday a bunch of gospel singers, pastors and others who just love the Lord met for breakfast at a local diner. I think there were 18 of us. Pastor Larry Hale blessed the food before we ate. As we ate we shared the Lord, and some really funny stories that happened to the singers on the road. It was indeed a great morning. Two of the original Couriers were there along with one of the present Couriers. When we were all finished eating we sang Amazing Grace and we sang it out for God. You could have heard a pin drop in the diner. Our waitress stood silent and then just praised God. I jokingly told her, "That was your tip". Brothers and sisters, there is always a way to witness for God. Yesterday we did it this way, no show, no talking, just that one blessed song. Oh, and it sounded pretty good, sitting near me was one of the best tenors in all of MUSIC, (Duane Nicholson) not just gospel music, and one great base/baritone singer (Tim Beitzel). I was facing Neil Enloe who can sing about anything and I could hear his "award winning" voice coming loud and clear (Neil was just inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame). That is a really nice thing, but someday it gets even better for we who love Jesus get inducted into Heaven... YES!!

Wash Job 4: Jeremiah 4: 14 - O Jerusalem, wash the evil from your heart and be saved. How long will you harbor wicked thoughts? (NIV)

Dear brothers and sisters, if you recall last week I talked to you about casting your worries over to Jesus, today I am asking you to wash the evil from your heart. And yes, you can also turn the evil over to Jesus, have Him help you deal with it. So many people harbor evil in their hearts and one way evil comes is in hate or even just dislike. If you hate someone, do you think our Lord Jesus is going to be happy with you? Let me answer that for you... NO!! If someone has taken you to task, or has upset you for whatever reason, or even for no good reason at all, and you for whatever that reason was you are holding hate in your heart toward them, let it go. If you harbor evil in your heart and if you harbor hate for others it will "eat you up." Oh yes it will, it will "eat you up."

Folks, make amends to others. You know yesterday or was it the day before we talked about what comes out of the mouth, and our words. I told you that I was raised by a mamma that taught me that if I had nothing good to say to someone or about someone I should say nothing. But sometimes you would like to just say something. You are really upset with someone for maybe taking you to task for something you had nothing to do with. You would like to really call them down on it but we were raised to not do that, or are told, "Buck it up". As a Christian, and more so as a Pastor, we are expected to not bite back, so to speak. So we keep it inside. Brothers and sisters, we need to not let it in us to a point it can form hate or evil. So what are we to do, we are upset with someone and we really would like to dress it down. Well we could try and talk it out one on one and hope that works out, and/or and we should really do this, give it to God. We need to wash this stuff out of our hearts and keep it out. Folks, we are human and it is hard to do sometimes. You know this even happens in families. I was raised to not take things to bed when it comes to family trouble. Meaning get it ironed out before retiring for the night. We raised the kids the same way. Even if our kids do not agree with each other, they will hug and love each other. Again, hate in your heart will "eat you up" and on the other end, forgiveness will set you free. So if you have a problem and it is eating you up, first pray about it, then try and work it out with the other party and feel better about yourself and them, and be blessed even more by God.

Dear Heavenly Father, I love You and I ask today that You wash my heart and wash away any hate or evil in it, that, that I might know about or that, that I might not even know is there. Lord, wash my heart as only You can wash it. Oh Lord, please look over our prayer list and for the families on that list. Bless and heal them Lord. Help us to love each other this day as You love us. In Jesus name, Amen.

Time to go forth and show your blessings... and folks, please remember this last thing that I want to leave with you... If you fill your heart with love and I mean really fill it, there would not be room in it for hate or evil. Fill the heart and share the love and your other blessings. love ya, dan.

PS. Tomorrow remember to bring your bread and your juice to the computer with you. We will have Holy Communion and ALL ARE WELCOME AT THE LORD'S TABLE. Also, I have been putting it off all week. Tomorrow we find out what cleans the best... Lye Soap, 409 cleaner, Tide, Dove Soap, what does clean the best. Come tomorrow and find out... yes, I will tell you tomorrow. love ya, dan.

Wednesday: Wash Job 3

Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing!

Happy Salvation Wednesday, my dear brothers and sisters. Please take time to pray for the lost today and also pray that you might help our Lord Jesus collect the harvest. The harvest is ripe, the workers are few... BE A WORKER FOR JESUS TODAY.

Prayers for Blanch Stambaugh, one of our flock at The Bridges, was taken to the hospital last night losing a lot of blood. Prayers also for her husband Dale. Prayers for Vicki as a CAT scan shows something inside about the size of a peach, more tests will be done. Prayers for our granddaughter Brittany who broke her leg in basic training in the Navy and they want to put her out for this.

Wash Job 3: So you need rain? Just do what I do, wash the car. Or so it seems, you clean up the car real good and it rains. But out of all things that need washed, what really needs washed the most? May I say it just might be your mouth and tongue. Wow, how I remember my younger days, sitting on a chair eating soap. Back then my mother made soap out of lard and lye, and yes, it was called lye soap, but I got it when I lied, so I guess for me it was "Lie Soap". Oh my gosh, it tasted bad, and I mean I got my mouth washed out with it more than once or twice. You would think I would have learned, and if we cursed, wow, my mamma would make me bite down on it hard and back then "darn it" would get my mouth washed out with soap. You know today people have all those substitute curse words and we know what they are and to me they are just as bad.

James 3 talks about "Taming the Tongue", but can it really be tamed?

James 3: 10 - Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.
11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. (NIV)

Brothers and sisters, I don't know how someone who is really "Born Again" can curse out the one who washed them. How can we praise God and also curse Him at the same time? I cannot do this, but I have heard people do it. I was told by one person that they were a rough Christian... I asked what was a rough Christian, and they told me one that still curses and uses the Lord's name in the curse. That, folks, in my mind is not a rough Christian, that is a real sinner who needs to get on his knees before God and ask to be forgiven and then clean up their mouth. You know washing out a child's mouth with soap might help them not curse (it sure did me) or it might help them not to lie, but if we really want to clean up our mouth, we need to get deeper into The Living Word, into our Lord Jesus.

Brothers and sisters, lying and cursing are not just the only things that the mouth spills out that are wrong. Gossip, passing things on about people, bringing up their past after they have changed their lives. Oh yes, that does make one real big when they know someone who has come to the Lord and been forgiven and their friends or so-called friends say things like... I remember him when he... and then spill out their guts about the past of their friend, which even if true has been taken away by confessing to Jesus. Folks, the tongue is more powerful than the sword, it can do more damage and hurt more. Gossip is bad, folks, and if you get involved in it, you need to, well, you need to pray for forgiveness and maybe EAT SOME SOAP.

Yesterday I mentioned something about good cleaning and I was going to tell you today... oops, you got to come back again tomorrow, or Friday... and on Friday we are going to do communion online. I don't know about you, but it is special for me. So on Friday bring your bread and your cup.

Dear Father in Heaven, please Lord, tame our tongues, help us to learn something my mamma tried to teach me, if you do not have good things to say, say nothing. Lord, that is very hard to do sometimes, very hard, and I confess I can't do that without Your help. Lord be with Blanch, and Vicki and the Saylors and heal them, be with Pastor Charles and rise him up. I ask these things in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Clean your mouth, clean your tongue, and share those blessings... love ya, dan.

Tuesday: Wash Job 2

Wash your hands you sinners!

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. It is Tuesday and that means Schools Days on this line. But first an update on David Orr... David was waiting for a lung transplant, yesterday it came, a double, and he is now recovering... Please keep praying. Also for the others on our prayer list. Today, folks, as we pray for our schools and all who go through their doors, let's also pray for all school age children who cannot get to school. Some live in areas where they just do not get there, others are sick, cancer, etc., and are in hospitals. Please pray, and remember to pray for some of our very best schools, those that happen at home. Yes, home schooling is growing and indeed is part of many Christians...

Wash Job 2: Each morning when I head to the shower, Martin Martin Lehman, my beloved K-9, heads under the bed. You see he just really hates a bath and he knows that from time to time I get him, put him on my shoulder and take him in the shower with me. When Martin is clean and smells good he makes a better doggie in the bed. But all so often after he gets his bath and gets all dried off he will go outside in our yard and roll in the dirt. And he will come in with leaves, grass cuttings and who knows what else in his beautiful long flowing hair. I get upset with him and tell him that he has ruined my work of washing him clean and now will need to do it again. Hmmmmm. I wonder, does God feel like that sometimes when it comes to us?

James 4: 7 - Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and He will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double minded. (NIV)

How often in a days time have we washed our hands and then went back to work and then had to wash them again later? As a former motor head (auto mechanic) I washed my hands over and over again. But let's talk about the scripture above... "Wash your hands, you sinners!" You see we are to wash our hands of sin, clean our hands, keep them away from it, and yes, we are to ask God to wash our hearts minds and souls of those sins, and if we ask in faith they will be cleaned. But then like my little boy Martin who rolls in the dirt, we go and get our hands back in the dirt of sin, which not only gets our hands dirty but we get that dirt into our mind, our hearts and our souls.

Now if I get upset with my little buddy Martin Martin because I love him and want him to look and smell good, how might you think God feels about us? God loves us millions of times more than we can even think about loving our pets. Might God be thinking like this... Oh, there he goes again, Dan is at it again, he has those hands in sin again. Maybe God should call me twice like I call Martin... he got his name Martin Martin because when he was young I always had to call him twice. I can hear God call, Dan, DAN, what are you doing, and maybe your name should be in there also. Joe, JOE, or Sally, SALLY, or Joan, JOAN what are you doing? I just washed all of you yesterday and you are right back in that sin again. REPENT Dan, repent Joe, repent Sally, repent Joan, and I could go on and list each name of almost everyone I know. We are sinners saved by grace, and we do need to repent. Some folks never leave the sin they are paying to have taken away. People living together and not married or married to someone else. People who for one reason or another do not want to get married, but just go on playing house anyway. Some will sit in church and think they are pleasing God... no, no our sins never make God happy and sitting in church does not override the sin. WASH YOUR HANDS, YOU SINNERS. Now that is not me telling you that, I am just the messenger today. I am just telling it as God gives it to me. Folks, tomorrow more on the message Wash Job... Oh, you remember yesterday that I said we were going to be washed a tad different and that you should come back tomorrow and find out... well, please come back tomorrow and find out... we are working towards that point.

Dear Father in Heaven, I am so sorry that over and over again I have soiled my hands in sin, that I have dipped into the pot of sin. Oh Lord, the grease of the trade, the dirt from mechanics or the dirt from other jobs washes off easily compared to the dirt of sin. But You Lord, and only You, can wash the sins away and we know if you ask and we have faith you will wash them away. Lord, help us repent this day and help us not just wash our hands of sins but our minds and hearts also. We need to keep our minds working for You. Help us this day and forgive us this day. Lord, be with our school kids, teachers, and all those who work with our schools. And Lord, please bless those kids with cancer and other problems that keep them out of school. Heal them, oh Lord. Bless those who go to the hospitals to teach our kids. And Lord, bless our kids who have fallen and are in youth prisons and work camps that they might learn the lessons learned in school and also learn to stay away from the sins of crime. Lord, bless those on our prayer lists. Thanks for the new lungs for David, and be with him and his family, and also Lord, for the one who lost their life who lungs were donated, please Lord, bless that family. What a gift some people leave for others. In the name of Jesus, I pray, Amen.

Get going, and I am going to ask you to do this right now... when you finish this message, get up from the computer, go and wash your hands and as you wash them pray this... Lord, forgive me of my sins and wash me clean. Amen. Now go forth and share your blessings... love ya, dan.

Monday: Wash Job 1

He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal.

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters..It is Monday and it is the last day of summer, take some time to enjoy it. Coming soon, God's wonderful paint brush, starting in the North and painting His way toward the South we will see the Mountains and fall colors in all their splendor as only God can make it. Makes me wonder how anyone can not believe in God. So many of the most brilliant colors come from the poison trees and plants... Is there a message there, maybe how the evil can be made good when touched by God!

Ah, Monday and the day we pray for our leaders and all those who work so hard to keep us safe and free. Please pray for our President and other leaders and all members of our Military, and please pray for our granddaughter Brittany who suffered a broken leg in basic training, and now the Navy wants to put her out. She wants to stay in so bad and was to finish basic training this Friday. Her brother Daniel graduates on Friday. Prayers also today for the Saylor Family, Anna Troutman, Pastor Tony and Ruby. For David who is in the hospital waiting a lung transplant, and for Tammy who has stage 3 cancer.

Wash Job 1: Titus 3: 5 - He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. (NIV)

Back in the late 50's and the early 60's we washed a lot of cars at service stations. We had a wash job we called the "Wet Wash" for one buck. A "Wet Wash" was washing the outside of the car only and not drying it down or doing the windows or anything inside the car. Today you can go to a professional car wash and you can still get the outside only washed. Each morning most of us get up and we go to the shower and we get a "Wet Wash" well except we towel off, MAYBE. We scrub behind our ears and all the places we can reach and we make ways to wash our backs and places we have trouble reaching... we wash between our fingers and between our toes, and we dry off and we stand before our mirrors and make ourselves pretty for the workplace or whereever we are going. Surely we do not want to offend anyone by the way we might smell. We put our arms to the sky and put stuff under our arms to help keep us dry and smelling good. The ladies put on perfume (sometimes way to much) and the men pile on the after shave, even if like me and must put it on a beard.. But like the car that was only washed on the outside, the inside of that car was still dirty... tracked in dirt, smoke covered windows, we are still dirty on the inside.

Now we can get a full service car wash at that car wash or we could do it ourselves. We pull that car up to the garage door and we drag out the shop vac and we clean that car really good, and believe it or not, most of the time it is done so it looks good for Sunday. Funny how we want the car to be clean inside and out, yet all so often we forget about our inners. Oh, there are times when we go for one of those colon tests that we drink all that junk and get cleaned out that way but we do not get our "heart, mind, and soul" cleaned. Folks, only God can do that, and He will only do it when He receives the request from You. Folks, this week I want to give examples of different things we spend time cleaning and how we forget about the parts of us that need the most cleaning.

Will you join me this week as we wash with soap, water, and well, come back and see what else we wash with.

Dear Father in Heaven, start me clean this week by forgiving me of my sins. Lord, I pray that others on the line ask that they are forgiven. Lord, please watch over our president and all those with authority over us. Be with our military and Lord, please as you watch over all of them, please help Brittany be healed and be able to stay in the Navy. Please, please be with David and Tammy heal the lung and the cancer. Be with the Saylor family, with Pastor Tony and Pastor Charles and their wives. Lord, be with the others on our prayer list. And Lord, help me each day to work more for You. Lord, some things in my life need to go to make room for more work for You, help me to adjust my time as You want it done. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Time for me to say, go forth and share those blessings... remember what you give in faith will be replaced over and over again. love ya, dan.

Friday: Why Worry 5

"In tithes and offerings you are under a curse. The whole nation of you, because you are robbing me."

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. Do you believe it is Friday already, how time just passes by so very fast. Today is beautiful, do you know that God does not really give us bad days, we sort of make them on our own. Think about that one for a while. Friday and the day we pray for those who really work for the Lord. And you should be on that prayer list. Please add to our daily prayer list, Sandy and her family, Donna and her family, and Beverly and her family. Sandy, Donna, and Beverly are sisters. Pray for their mother whose memory is fading.

Why Worry? You know the bottom line on this worrying thing is we will have far less to worry about and to cast over to God if we just would live to please him to start with. I talked a tad yesterday about people that seem to have a lot of money, big house, big car, boat, motor home, etc. Now some of these folks might have been given their money, some might be in way over their heads and are really just putting on the dog, so to speak... But others who really love God, and who are giving and giving and giving to him, are feeding the poor and putting clothes on the naked, and helping the homeless, don't you think that maybe, just maybe, God is just blessing them and blessing them? You cannot out-give the Lord. If you give in faith from your blessings, your blessings will grow.

Malachi 3: 8 - "Will a man rob God? yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings you are under a curse. 9 The whole nation of you, because you are robbing me." 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. TEST ME IN THIS," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessings that you will not have room enough for it." (NIV)

What else can I say about worries? Let me just wrap it up like this, Come to Jesus, live for Jesus, give to His work, love Him and your neighbors, do what is right...

Father in Heaven, we want to start today living for You. We have bundled up our worries, and we are casting them to you. We pray for our families and pray that those in the family that are not saved come to You. We pray that we can lead our families in Your path, walking in Your light in all we do, we pray that we will help our neighbors and not just those next door. We really want to get it right and not worry about things. Lord, I pray that we head off the worries by not doing things that cause worry. Lord, be with those on our prayer list and help them... in the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Go forth, cast your worries to Jesus and live for God, and do not rob Him, and then share those blessings and stand back for you will be blessed, not because I said so, but because the Lord said so and it is recorded in the Bible... AND I BELIEVE IT. love ya, dan.

Thursday: Worry 4

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. It is Thursday and we are having a nice gentle mist here at the Southern Location of the North Pole. It is great as we just put in mums, lots of mums. Our dear friend Dave Fortney just spent a couple of days working our flower beds, the fall flowers are beautiful. I went and got lights for around our "Rock of Hope", and it even looks good at night. Thursday and family day on the line... So please pray for families. Yesterday we were blessed to have our daughter, Danelle, her husband, and one granddaughter stop by. Also LeaAnne who is just like a daughter to us stopped by, all to check on us. God is good. We received word yesterday that our granddaughter Brittany who was in basic training in the Navy broke her leg and is being sent home. I understand this might be a Navy ending break. Pray for her please. Also pray for the Saylors, Idlers, Vicki and her family and include her mother Jean.

Worry 4: Luke 12: 34 (Jesus speaking) - "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Brothers and sisters, have you ever given much thought to this quote of our Lord Jesus? Where do we put our treasures, and is that really were our heart is? Jesus said it is and you know what, I believe Jesus. Now as a car, truck, bus, motorcycle nut, I need to be real careful. I always looked at the vehicles as a hobby and I have had, folks, I have had hundreds of them. I did buy some just to sell to raise money to pay bills in my younger days and I purchased some over the years to give away. And while I love them, I don't worship them.

Folks, you might know people that have a big Caddy sport utility truck and a big Caddy sport utility vehicle (really nice and costly pickup and station wagon). Parked in the driveway of their half million dollar home is also a big travel trailer or motor home and a big boat. And do we start to judge them that they should not have these things or that they worship money and things? Listen up here for what I tell you just might be a surprise...

I think we Christians should not live in a box, so to speak, and just drive junk vehicles so people will not judge us as worshiping things other than our Lord Jesus. Listen here, if we work hard in life, we get up in the morning and work hard at a good honest job, and if we GIVE TO GOD from the top of our pay and we do that in faith, we find that our Lord God will just keep piling on the blessings, and if we keep sharing those blessings we will receive more blessings. So when you see this in the Bible...

Luke 12: 33A - "Sell your possessions and give to the poor." (NIV)

This does not say sell all of our possessions and give them to the poor. The Bible tells us that we should "provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in Heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys." Luke 12: 33B (NIV)

When we see people or know people who live in those big houses, think of this. First, these folks are paying a very, very big hunk of taxes that help support the habits of our governments. If they are truly giving to our Lord Jesus from their hearts, you can see why they are so blessed. You know that each day I suggest that you share your blessings, ok, I don't suggest it I just say go forth and share your blessings. Brothers and sisters, I am just telling you what Jesus EXPECTS us to do. I have told you before and even today already that we cannot out-give the Lord, but did you know that it is the only place where we are told we can test our Lord God? Yes, we are never to test our Lord except in in our giving in faith. YOUR HOMEWORK, do you know where you find this in your Bible? Let me know... I will tell you tomorrow.

Bottom line, give to the Lord from your blessings and you will be blessed even more. Listen to me here, even in your retirement, or from that unemployment check or from a disability check; whatever the income you have coming in, give from the top and from your heart and watch the blessings grow.

Dear Father in Heaven, we are so blessed. As a child my mamma taught me that I needed to share my things, share my toys. I can see now where she found this, for she loved You so much. If we search out Your word, Lord, we can find lots of things that show us how to live. Lord, in fact if we follow the Bible we can find all the rules we need to live the best life in the world, the best life forever. Lord, help us to walk the line for You, to give from our hearts, and give from our wallets. Lord, help us to pour out love and blessings to all people. Sometimes Lord, I think some people need to get off their couch and go to work, however, Lord, help me keep giving and let me let You do the sorting out of who gets what. Lord, we just need to learn to be good givers to Your Work. Help us learn it and to love it. Lord, bless the poor today by blessing those who give to them so that they may give even more. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

Folks, as you know, Carry The Light Ministries has a food pantry, and we do not ask a lot of questions when people call us for help. We do keep a record of names and have them sign a little book just in case someone would ask us what we do with what is given us. But one thing I want you to know that as we talk to those coming for food, we ask them if they would take some of what we give them and share it with another. Just the other day a lady came to me and said, we will be giving food to your food pantry this year instead of taking from it, and she said God has been really good to us.

Folks, you remember me saying about those who live in the big houses with the big cars... even they are welcome at our food pantry for you just never know what might have happened... a lay-off, sickness in the home... Maybe they just need a boost to get through a month. Folks, today I want all of you to know, if you need a boost, let us know. We do not have money to give, but we can help with food. Ok, time to say it, go forth and share your blessings. love ya, dan.

Tomorrow we will wrap up this series. Send me a note on what you worry about, tomorrow we will give them to the Lord... bye, bye.

Wednesday: Worry 3

"Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom."

Salvation Wednesday, Salvation Wednesday, Give your heart to Jesus and be saved. Salvation Wednesday, Salvation Wednesday, Give your heart to Jesus and be saved. When you're working for the Lord and loving everyone, you will be rewarded for that labor, when you're working for the Lord and loving everyone, you'll be in heaven some sweet day... Oh, Salvation Wednesday, Salvation Wednesday, go working for the Lord today... (Hey, it might be the start to a song.)

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters, I get so excited when I think about Salvation and when I think about it during the week it seems to me to be even better... I mean we go to church expecting to hear about salvation. (If you are not hearing that in your church, RUN.) Yes, we go expecting to hear about salvation, but I think during the week we just must get that shot of salvation. A few good shots of salvation during the week is much better than the shots some people get after work. And I never heard of some getting arrested for "DUJ" they might for DUI but not for "DUJ". So go ahead and drive "Under the influence of Jesus". He will keep you safe, not get you into trouble... AMEN.

Prayers today for the unsaved and for God to use us to help bring in the lost. Please, brothers and sisters, go to work for Jesus. Don't put it off any longer. Please also keep praying for those on our daily prayer list.

Worry 3: Luke 12: 32 - "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom." 33 "Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys." (NIV)

This week we have been talking about worrying and how we should not worry but give the things that you are worrying about over to our Lord. I am preaching on this subject this Sunday and I have asked those coming to church to write down what they worry about on paper and on Sunday when we pray for Jesus to take our worries away, I am going to collect the papers and shred them. I want to show people that like a shredder can cut up the paper, God can take our worries and cast them away.

Yesterday I asked if you know what causes most people to worry. Well here is my opinion what causes most people to worry... "SIN". Think about it brothers and sisters, really think about it. If we would live 100% by "The Word"- remember Jesus is The Word. You do remember that right? Ok, a little review right now! From the book of John.

John 1: 1 - In the beginning was The Word, and The Word was with God and The Word was God. He was God in the beginning. John 1: 12 The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (NIV)

Ok, if we read The Word, and we follow the teachings of Jesus and we do it all the time... hey, no worries. Or would we still worry and have reason to worry? Not according to the Bible, for we are to be casting those worries to the Lord. Again, in my opinion, I think our sins cause us the most worries. Let's look at a few examples... and let's, well let's line them up with the commandments of the Lord. Let's look at the very first commandment... No, don't go to the ten commandments as we know them. Let us go to the story of Adam and Eve. Do you remember how the Lord told them not to eat from that one tree, and when they did not follow that command, DO NOT EAT FROM THAT TREE... they worried about what they did to the point they tried to hide from God in the garden because they were naked. So when we sin, we worry, and do we worry about the Lord finding out about the sin? Brothers and sisters, the Lord sees all of our moves, which includes our sins. When we pray for God to forgive our sins, do we need to name them? Thank God He remembers our sins for we or at least I have sinned so much in my younger days I forgot what all they were.

Let's move on... When we sin against God by cheating on our income tax... oh gosh is that really a sin... Listen, do all the deductions you can do, for we are to give to Caesar what is due him, but we do not need to give him more. But when we lie on those tax forms we are sinning and now don't we really worry about an audit from the IRS? Heck, even if we did not cheat, we would worry about that.

Maybe some people do not worry enough about the sins. One person told me they were a rough Christian. I said what is a rough Christian? Their answer was "one who curses and misuses the name of the Lord." No, that is a big sin and should be one to worry about till we cast it to the Lord and then we should never, ever misuse His name again. What about one who robs the bank? Do you think that person does not worry and worry each time someone knocks on the door, being afraid it might be the police? As a child I stole a friend's baseball glove, and until the day came that my daddy found out I worried about it and what was going to happen. I even gave the glove back, but I had already put my name on it. I not only had to give the ball glove back, I got a spanking, got grounded, and had to buy the other kid a new glove out of my paper route money. Only after repaying the debt of that sin did the worry go away. Think about it, things you might have done wrong. Did they not cause you great worry? Look, if you have one of those things hanging now, let's give them to the Lord. And if they are things that broke man's law, you really do need to make it right if you can. If in the past you robbed the bank, you need to fess it up. You know where I am coming from. If you did something, and listen to me here real close, if you did something way back in your past that will harm others by bringing it up, confess it to God and let it go. You do not want to do more damage to others.Ddo you follow me on that one? I hope so.

If we live each day for Jesus, and obey His rules and laws, we will not have the worry of sin on our minds. Let's right now, cast those past sins to God. Let us put our worries away for today and then let us pray for salvation for us and for others... let's go.

Dear Father in Heaven, here they are this morning, all of them, I am holding none back... all my worries that have been caused by my sins are coming at You right now. Forgive me of those sins and block them out of my mind. Also I want to give my other worries to You today, my worries about my family, about their lives and how they live. Lord, help me live within my means and not have the worry of bills hanging over my head. Lord, I need You to help carry those worries to I get myself in order. Lord, I pray today for a seat at Your feet in Heaven when my time is up on earth. I do love You, Jesus, and I believe in the Bible and all that is in it, including Your death on the cross and Your being risen from the dead. Now Lord, put me to work in Your fields of Harvest. In Jesus name I say thanks for taking my worries, and I pray also in the Name of Jesus, the one who gave me freedom from my sins... AMEN.

Go forth now sharing your blessings. And for you from Lebanon and Lancaster area... we will be singing this coming Saturday at Cedar Haven in Lebanon at 2.00 PM. You are welcome... love ya, dan.

Monday: Worry 2

"Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his (her) life?"

"Worry is the advance price you pay for something that might never happen."

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. It is Tuesday and a beauty here at the Southern Location of the North Pole, and it is SCHOOLS DAY here on the line, the day we pray for our schools and all who go through the doors. Brothers and sisters, will you do this, not for me, but for our school kids and employees? Will you go to a school, one near your home, park your car and sit and pray for that school? If you have anointing oil, take it with you and anoint the school by making a small cross on the sign and praying in the name of The Father, The Son and The Holy Ghost. If someone asks you what you are doing, tell them you are praying for the school and all who enter it.

Please remember those on our ongoing prayer list. Saylor Family, Vicki and Josh, Anna Troutman, Pastor Tony and Ruby, Leslie and her family, for Tom and Kathleen Sansoni. Jobs for LeaAnne and Mark.

Worry 2: Luke 12: 25/26 (Jesus speaking) - "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?" (NIV)

Our oldest daughter, Danelle, sent me this one. "Worry is the advance price you pay for something that might never happen." While I am thinking about Danelle, please pray for her and her new job. Danelle is in training to be a city bus driver for CAT, the transit company that services the counties around the Harrisburg Area. It is an excellent transit company. Also bless "Spike" and his staff and bless each bus that their business sells that it works well and is safe for their customers. Folks, "Spike" loves the Lord with all his heart, a real Christian businessman. And another one, "Mike" from Brightbill Body Works, "Mike" is the owner, he sells buses and has contracts to transport children. "Mike" is another one who loves the Lord with all his heart and is also a real Christian businessman.

Please write down all the things that you worry about during the course of a day or week. Write down what has you laying awake at night worrying. Write them down on a note paper and bring them to your desk tomorrow, for tomorrow we are going to give them over to Jesus and then put the paper in the trash can. I am thinking if we write them down we will take this more seriously. You see, it seems when we just think about them, and we go to Jesus with them just on our mind, we might miss a few. Also if we turn them over we might take them back. But there is something about putting things in the trash can that makes things sort of final. Let me ask you this, how often have you really put something in your trash, where you might dump some food stuff, coffee grounds, etc and then you went in and dug it back out. I know in our house we have searched trash for something but it does not happen often. Now if we can put things in the trash and not dig them out, why in the world can we not give things to Jesus and not worry about them? Surely Jesus is above our trash!!

Now I am saying this to make you think about it... Yard sales, we put things out to sell at a yard sale, and when they are gone, do we sit around and say, I want that back? Maybe once in a while, but not often. But when we have worries we turn them over to Jesus and then we take them back, or we just do not turn them over to Jesus in the first place. Is it a lack of trust in our Lord and Savior? I surely hope not, it just seems to be something we find hard to let go of.

We go to Sears, we go to Lowes, we go to a big box store, we go online and buy things and then in a lot of cases we worry about how we are going to pay for the things we purchased. Ok, why not pray and pray hard about things you are going to purchase before you purchase them? I can remember in my very, very young days my mother getting me on my knees beside her in our living room. We had our heads on the couch and we on our knees were praying about a used car she was going to purchase. My dad worked away and he knew she was looking at another car. Her 1941 Dodge was going bad and she was looking at a 1947 Plymouth Coupe (oh it was a sweet car, wish I had it today). Anyway, we prayed and prayed that she was doing the right thing for the car was used and she wanted it to be a good car. She was also praying she was doing the right thing with her money for she was going to pay payments for a few months. Back then a used car was financed for six to twelve months. God answered prayers as the car was a good one. Now I brought this up as we could avoid a lot of our worries if we just would go to God first, before we get into trouble.

And folks, what is the thing we worry about most? What is it, and I will say that it is most of us worrying about the same things. Well folks, if you want to try and guess what causes the most worry, send me an email with that one. I will give you a hint... think back on your life and look over your life and then tell me what you might think. Tomorrow I will tell you what I think causes the most worries.

Dear Father in Heaven, we are working to bundle up our worries and we are going to give them over to You. We want to get all of them so we are writing them down, and we are reading over them, we want to get them all and we want to give them all over to You and we do not want them back. Lord, bless this day, bless our schools and all who go through the doors, bless our school bus drivers and all who enter the buses. Bless my daughter Danelle with mile after mile of safe operation and bless each passenger who rides with her. Bless those who have her in training and the other operators. And Lord, be with those on our prayer lists... Bless "Spike and Mike" as they lead their business under You, Lord. Jobs are needed, Lord, open doors for LeaAnne and Mark and others, Leslie needs help in the court room that is coming up soon, oh Lord if You would, please work this out in advance. Lord, oh Lord, the one still in charge, help our nation, Lord we are failing You, we as a Nation are causing children to be killed before birth, we have people do bad things to our children and they get a slap on their hands. Lord, we need You to help this country when it comes to a lot of things, but children are in my mind today because it is schools day. Lord, bless Your children. In the name of Jesus I ask this... Amen.

Now go forth, and yes, share those blessings and know this. I love ya, dan.

Monday: Why Worry? 1

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry."

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. It is Monday and what a great morning it is, I have found already that I am breathing! What a blessing! Or at least for me it is. Monday and the day we pray for many people. Here is the list...
For the President and Vice President of the United States of America and their families.
Leaders on Capitol Hill and their families.
Leaders in our state houses and their families.
Leaders in our local government and their families.
Leaders on our schools boards of directors and their families.

The fine ladies and gentlemen of the ARMY, NAVY, AIR FORCE, MARINES, COAST GUARD, MERCHANT MARINES, and all the reserves and their families.
Our State and Local Police (Please include our police cadets in this one), Members of the CIA, FBI, Secret Service, and all others who work to keep us safe, and their families.
Firefighters, medics, ambulance personal and their families...

Yes, it is the day we pray for our leaders, and for all who work so hard to keep us safe and free.
Also today, pray for your trash men and ladies and their families and all who serve us in those unwanted jobs...
Ongoing prayers for Vicki, for the Saylor Family, for Anna Troutman, for our flock at the Bridges, for Pastor Tony and his wife Ruby.

Why Worry? 1: Luke 12: 22 - Then Jesus said to His disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear." (NIV)

I don't know about you, but for me, one of the hardest things to do is to not worry. I am sure you have heard the term "I worry myself sick" or words like that. It seems we worry about our family and how they are doing, for when one of our children hurt, we also hurt, when one of our grandkids hurts, we hurt for them. Most people worry about paying their bills, buying food, etc. I can remember back when my mother would say to my dad, "Webster", I just cannot stretch $5.00 to buy a week's worth of groceries for the four of us... ("Webster" my dad's name was Daniel Webster Lehman, I am a Jr. and my dad went by his middle name.) How she would worry over this.

We are to let our Lord Jesus carry our worries, but brothers and sisters, it is very hard to do, or at least it is for me. This week I have asked God to help us all turn our worries over to Him. Each day this week we will talk about it, read some scripture about it, and try and give it over to God. So brothers and sisters, if you have a burden you would like to turn over to God and you want to share it with us so we can pray over it, please do so. Let's today start with what might worry us the most...

Money, or maybe the lack of it... Those who have money worry about it; those who don't have any, worry about getting the bills paid. When the stock market did the big dive last year, or was it two years ago, I did not worry about it at all. Why? Because I did not have any money in the stock market. (There are some good reasons not to have a lot of money.) Money can do a lot of good, and it can be the "Root of Evil". The first lesson we need to look at is we should not worship money. Do you remember "Uncle Scrooge" from the Donald Duck cartoons? Old Uncle Scrooge would swim and play in his money. Let's talk about this for a bit. When it comes to our money, if we learn to share it with God, who gave it to us in the first place, we will find that we will have enough to get our bills paid. A person told me once that I can't share my money with God for after I pay all my bills there is nothing left to share, or to give to God... STOP, STOP... Give to God from the top and watch the check book balance grow... Now you still cannot recklessly spend, but if you are using good judgment and you give to God from your heart and from the top you will learn the lesson for today... "You just cannot out give our Lord Jesus." So instead of worrying about your money and other blessings, share them. Yes share them... and watch them grow.

Dear Father in Heaven, as we talk to You and each other this week about worries, today we want to ask that You teach us to share our blessings from the top, and by doing this we want to give our money worries over to You. Today we pray about this along with praying for our leaders, for our military for our police and all who have authority over us and who work to protect us. And of course, Lord, we pray also for their families. We pray for those on our prayer lists. And Lord, thanks for watching over us and thanks that we do not need to worry about the air we breathe. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Why Worry... Line up the worries and let's, well, let's dump them on Jesus this week. Bundle them up, and tomorrow we are going to walk them to the Altar of our Lord. These statements I do not take lightly... 1 Share your blessings 2 Love ya, dan.

9/11/01 NEVER FORGET

"You will hear of wars and rumors of wars."

Special thanks today for Firefighters, Police Officers, Medical Services, also men and women past and present who served our country in the United States Navy, United States Air Force, United States Army, United States Marines, United States Coast Guard, The Merchant Marines, and the men and women of all the reserves and National Guard Units from across this land. May God bless you and keep you safe. Thanks to those who gave their lives to keep us safe, Please God bless their families. And for our wounded warriors, please God heal them... PLEASE SUPPORT THESE GROUPS AND PRAY FOR THEM DAILY.

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. Today is Friday, we are having a soft much needed rain, and the air is so fresh as it is coming in the open window beside my desk. Today is the day we pray for all those who work the fields for Jesus, Pastors, Missionaries, Gospel Singers, Street Preachers, Chaplains and many others.

Like so many others, I remember 9/11/01 like it happened yesterday. I remember watching Fox News when they were giving the news on the first plane crash and still thinking it was an accident, then on live TV I, like millions of others saw that second plane hitting the other building. I yelled to Dolores who was in her bedroom to come in and I told her we were under attack. I knew it in my heart and my mind right then and there. Then the news of the two other planes going down...

Brothers and sisters, please never forget this day. Our president has now changed the day from a day of remembrance to a day of service or something like that. Folks, there is nothing wrong with service, and it is my opinion that it all should be in service to God. Yes, picking up trash along the road, painting a fence at the ball field, helping your neighbor mow their lawn, is all service to God... Nothing wrong with it, but we also need to NEVER FORGET what happened on this day eight years ago. And while I am at it, we should also NEVER FORGET what happened on 12/7/1941.

Brothers and sisters, we were attacked right here on our ground. Please remember how people joined hands and jumped off the tops of those buildings.. Please remember how when people were running out of the building, FIREFIGHTERS AND POLICE OFFICERS WERE RUNNING IN. Please remember why we went to war, even in Iraq. Never found those weapons of mass destruction... no wonder, we gave them over a year warning we were coming. How much warning did we get on December 7, 1941 or September 11, 2001? NONE. Brothers and sisters, I hate war, I really, really do, many, many fine men and women have over the years given their lives, limbs, even their minds during these wars. WE NEED TO REMEMBER. We need this Day of Remembrance even if our president does not seem to care.

Do you remember how people got together and prayed, do you remember how full the churches got after 9/11/01? Do you know that this year our president did not proclaim the "National Day of Prayer" as has been done ever year since President Reagan proclaimed the day in May... NEVER FORGET... However, as we remember what happened eight years ago, and it was an act of war, and never forget that, let us take a quick look at what the Bible tells us about wars. I want to start with Jesus telling his disciples about the end of time...

"Matthew 24: 4 - Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. 6 You will HEAR OF WARS AND RUMORS OF WARS, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains." (NIV)

We are, or at least we were, a Christian Nation, and we are falling away fast in my opinion, but we who remain solid to our Lord Jesus Christ, listen to what happens... Now we are told not to worry about the wars and rumors of war, the Bible tells this about we who dearly love Jesus.

Matthew 24: 9 - "Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from faith and will betray and hate each other 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive man people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but he who stand firm to the end WILL BE SAVED." (NIV) Please, please take time to read Matthew 24 1/35 and you will see where I am coming from....

Remember this event, but don't be alarmed, and please know this could happen again, and again. I believe that God could have stopped this, I really do, for God is in control. I don't believe God caused it, but He did let it happen... and it humbled this country like had not happened since 12/7/1941. Some pastors back on the days after 9/11/01 said it was the lifestyle of the gay community that caused this to happen. To me, I believe God left it happen because of SIN, not just that of being in that lifestyle, but all sin. Folks, this country has turned away from God, after the strikes to our country in New York, Washington, and the fields of Pennsylvania, we came to God, but we are drifting again. We pay out billions and billions of dollars to protect our great country, but our best protection is still free. Come to God, come back to God, get on your knees and pray and pray and pray and ask God to protect us. One news man stated when the second plane hit the second tower, "America, pray". Our leaders in Washington stood on the steps to our Capitol and held hands and prayed. They gave support to our then president George W. Bush to "go get them", and he tried. Now we are forgetting, getting like Nam again. Brothers and Sisters... SUPPORT OUR TROOPS. Today, tomorrow, each day, when you see a police officer, a firefighter, a person in our military uniforms, walk up to them and salute them, and say... THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE. Don't bow down, that is for our Lord and only our Lord. Let's pray.

Dear Father in Heaven, I remember that day so clearly, and Lord, I never want to forget. I was too young to remember the hit December 7 1941, but it was taught in school and by our parents. But above all we want to never forget You, We need You in America and we need You in our houses because without You in them it will always be just a house, You make it a home. Lord, thanks for our men and women in uniform all of them, police, firefighters and all others I mentioned today. Lord, protect them and keep them going and Lord bless and protect their families, Lord, not just today but all days. Dear Father, I pray that America comes back to You. The men and women who live together will get married, the gays turn straight, the sins stops, and may we repent as individuals and as a nation, as our nation is truly a nation of individuals and we need to humble to You. Lord, please don't let us forget these dates and please do not let us forget how Jesus went to the cross for us. Let us remember, protect those who work for You also, those in Your service. Jesus, we need to repent and we need your help doing it. In Jesus name, I pray... Amen.

Folks, pray, remember, and share... and be safe. I will be on City Island for the memory walk tomorrow, and if you are there look me up... I look like Santa. Sunday Church at the Bridges 10:00 AM. Now share those blessings. love ya, dan.

Thursday: Labor 4

The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose.

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters, I am running a tad late today. Why? Well, I labored for God, before I labored for God! You will need to read the message to figure that one out...

Today is Thursday and a beautiful day here at the Southern Location of the North Pole. Some sun, some overcast, and full Son. We need some rain, and according to the weather, folks, God is going to send some. It will come in God's time, not the weatherman's time.

Family day on the line and our families do need prayer. Please pray for your family and mine as I pray for my family and yours. Keep praying full force for the Saylor family, the Idler Family, and Vicki and her family, the families at the Bridges, LeaAnne and her family, and keep praying for jobs for LeaAnne and Mark. Pray for the family in the Whitehouse and most of all pray for THE FAMILY OF GOD.

On a sad note today, our beloved Millie died in my arms last evening at about 4:30 PM. As much as we love to take in senior dogs this is not an easy thing. She will be waiting in heaven, as yes, pets will be in heaven, Her little body is resting near the rock with the others. We now have eight ranging in age from 19.5 years old to 1.5 years old... all but the baby, the puppy, the rest are all over 10. Some are blind, others cannot hear, some cannot hear and are also blind, some walk with a limp (as I also do) but like me, they all eat, sleep, and well you know. Our goats are doing good, and the chickens are now laying about seven eggs a day. People coming for food will be getting fresh eggs.

Labor 4: 1 Corinthians 3:8 - The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. 9 For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building. (NIV)

Let me explain that in the opening... "I labored for God, before I labored for God." First of all I want you to know that laboring for God is a labor of love for Dolores and I, even when the pain is so high it brings us to our knees. Today "I labored for God, before I labored for God." It went like this. I got up and took my shower (needed so the dogs would come to me), then I cleaned up after the dogs, while Dolores put out their breakfast. We then did our daily Bible study to take in a little fuel. After that it was out to feed the rabbit, the goats, the chickens and put some fresh water and sodas out for our trash collectors. God rewarded us with seven fresh eggs. Then I brought a big turkey up from our downstairs frig where this big big bird was thawing. I then cleaned it, and stuffed it, making my own stuffing. So far you might be thinking was this laboring for God? Yes and as I said it is a labor of love for I love to cook. Those who know me might say it is one of the things I like to do most. God makes most of it turn out good tasting as I just sort of throw things in the pans. But the labor of love is doing it and then giving it away. I love to cook for groups, for neighbors, and for this very, very, very special family who have trouble getting around. And what do you think this family does, well they invite in a neighbor or two to eat with them. They share the blessing.... and they also pray for us, and when I see just how they live each minute for God, I feel so honored to just be able to serve God by helping them. You do know that when you help others you are serving God, right? The mother of this family has learned to live one day at a time and do it for the Lord.

So all those things together before I got to the message was the laboring before I am laboring... and when this message is done, I want to labor some more for God. I need to get the rest of the meal ready, go to the store, for as I make this dinner, I want to also make some soup, I just love soup.

Brothers and sisters, I am not bragging this morning, I am trying to tell you just how blessed we really are. ALL OF YOUR LABOR should be for God. All of it, I don't care if you are working for a salary to pay your bills, for who you are working, it should be for God. If you are working at a job that God is not proud of you for doing, QUIT IT, STOP IT. If your job is doing something that each day you need to pray to be forgiven for doing, you need to change jobs. Trust God to get you another.

In the scripture above, one man plants a seed and another does the watering. You know often farming is teamwork. I had a group of men on an outing last year to the Mason/Dixon dairy farm in Gettysburg Pa. If my memory is correct they are milking near 2,500 head of cows, three times a day. It takes team work. Leslie Waybright, a long time friend of mine, is part of the family. Her husband, one of the family owners, works as hard if not harder than the hired help. He is the head of the feeding team. He puts out the feed by the dump truck load, using a loader to put it on the truck. But think about this and line it up with the man who planted the seed and the man who watered the seed. This family gets up in the morning and goes to work, working at home so to speak. They feed, they water, they clean up, they milk, and they do it again, and they do not buy new cows, so it is the baby area, they raise their own feed in the most part and listen to me on this one, they make electric from the cow dung and that not only runs the farm and the family homes on the farm and some of the neighbors, they sell some back to the power company. And the work never ends. They even plant the seeds for the crops, but there is at least one thing on the farm they cannot do. And neither could the men in the Bible who planted the seed and who watered the seed... What might it be?

God made it grow... Now think about it real hard. This is why we labor for God. Even those who do not believe in God labor for Him. Yes, they do, unless they have one of those trash jobs like holding onto a pole with no clothes on and dancing, or something else that God does not approve of.

When the man plants the seeds and the next man waters the seeds, GOD MAKES THEM GROW.

1 Corinthians 3: 7 - So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. (NIV)

Think of the Waybights and the Mason/Dixon farm. They do all the work, but without God, the corn would not grow, the wheat would not grow, even the grass would not grow tall to be cut into hay, and you could feed all the cows, you can clean after them and you can TRY and milk them, but without the hand of God making that cow make the milk, you would have nothing. God is good, and folks, when I say that we need to do all our labor for God, just who do you think is laboring for us? Do you think God's labor ended with the making of heaven and earth, or after Jesus went to the cross? No, God labors for us daily.

Brothers and sisters, in closing, tell me this... How long has it been since you thought about how GOD LABORS FOR US? I must confess, I thought about it today as God gave me this message.
And do you know that when God labors for us, it is a labor of love...

Dear Father in Heaven... I love You and I want to thank You for laboring for me. You know, Lord, You put a really fresh look on this for me. I know You heal, I know You make the rain, the sun and all we need to make things grow, but I really never looked at it as You laboring for us. And gosh, Lord, You really still are a Servant just like when Jesus showed us when He walked the earth. Lord, we just need to open our eyes and look. We are blind and today for one, You healed my blind eyes again. I love You, Lord. Look after families today, mine and all others, Lord. And Lord, thanks for letting me labor for You, thanks for trusting me enough to work for You. Bless the food I am cooking as a labor of love and touch it, Lord. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Each day God labors for me, and today He really opened my eyes to it. Now it is our turn to labor for Him. We for sure can get started on it just by sharing our blessings.

Also, I want to remind you that we do have a blog spot... http://carrythelight4Jesus.blogspot.com/
Our ministry partner, Pamela Bower, keeps it up daily. She even corrects my spelling. Thanks Pam, you are loved. Now get sharing... love ya, dan.

Wednesday: Labor 3

"My Food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work."

"Let us labor for The Master from the dawn to setting sun." Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters, and welcome to Salvation Wednesday on Carry The Light Ministries pray, praise and message line...

Please pray today for the souls of the unsaved, and for those you are not sure about, and for Jesus to use us (you and me) to help bring in the lost. Do you have the nerve to just walk up to someone and ask them "Are you born again?" "Do you know Jesus?" These are tough questions to ask people and it does take some nerve. Once I asked my pastor, Dr. Richard Denison, was he saved, did he have Jesus in his heart... I am glad I asked. First he was taken back, well, upset that I questioned him. Later he preached on it telling all I cared enough to be concerned. So even if you think someone is saved, ask them anyway, like I am going to ask you right now.... ARE YOU SAVED? Do you know Jesus, and there is a difference between knowing Him and KNOWING HIM if you get where I am coming from. I would love to see about 2 to 3 hundred emails in my box today that just said "YES".

Prayers today beside Salvation prayers for the Saylor family. Don is weak and his wife tired, Bob is improving but not ready to be released for work. Sharon tells me she hurts but doing better, and folks, if you saw the smile on their faces you would think there was nothing wrong. You see they all walk with Jesus one day at a time, and they trust Him to carry their load. Ongoing prayers for Vicki, Anna, Pastor Charles, Pat, Greta, Jo, Dolores, and for jobs for LeaAnne and Mark. Prayers for our daughter Danelle as she started a new job yesterday. Last night I did my first night at the Pennsylvania State Police Academy and I am tired this morning. We took a walking tour of the Academy. Next week, we go in the simulators and get to train as the new cadets do in bringing down the "bad guys". I asked when we get to ride the Harleys and they sort of laughed at me...

One more prayer request... we have a very, very sick Yorkie this morning, and as soon as the vet opens I will be there. It is our beloved Millie Lillie, who we adopted about three years ago. Also pray that whatever she has does not spread to the others.

Labor 3: John 4: 32 - But He said to them, "I have food to eat that you know nothing about." 33 Then His disciples said to each other, "Could someone have brought Him food?" 34 "My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work. 35 Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest." (NIV)

Did you ever work at a place where you really hated what you did? Maybe it was the only job that was there, or the only one that paid good money, or for whatever reason you hated that job. Maybe it was a really neat job, one you loved, and then the company changed bosses and you get this new boss that changes the work rules, and the job you once loved is now a real chore just to get up and go to. I have been there and done that. I carried mail for a few years, and while being a Letter Carrier is a great and wonderful job and there are thousands of postal workers who love the job, I got to hate it. You see I started out as a truck driver on the extra board, did most all truck jobs, shoving mail into mail boxes and also running pickups in the evenings, and I really loved it. Then a new boss decided I should be a walking carrier for a while and I hated it. Then I got a part time job driving school buses and I loved it. The postal job paid good money, the school bus driving job paid next to nothing at the time. And one day I gave up the post office for the school bus. Why?

Folks, when you are going out working day after day and laboring hard, it is just not about money or at least it should not be. While you need to be able to buy food and put a roof over your head, working or laboring should be a Labor of Love. The ideal job would be that you love the job so much that you would be willing to work it for free, but you get paid.

Folks, in the scripture above Jesus points out that He was not working for food, but was working to finish the work God sent Him here to do. He also points out to His disciples, who by the way we now are, that there is a harvest to bring in. Folks, if a farmer has crops that are ready to harvest and he/she does not bring them in, what happens? Yes they will rot in the fields. Even if you have just a few tomato plants and you do not pick the fruit when it is ripe, it will rot.

Now listen to me here... The harvest is ripe, the workers are few, the harvest is ripe for picking and we are to be working the fields of harvest for our Lord. What happens to the harvest when it is not worked or picked? It rots... oh I did mention that but did you put it together as we talk about people, you know your neighbors, my neighbors, those across the street, across the town or across the world... If we do not get to the fields and work the crops, evil will... SATAN HAS CROP PICKERS, DON'T YOU KNOW? In fact you can watch them on the news daily. Now I will say this even if it makes some mad. Washington has a lot of those evil crop pickers even if some of them call themselves Christians. Yes, they put laws into effect that block Christians for trying to pray (notice I said trying) at schools, ball games and on government property all over the country. Folk,s you cannot really block anyone from praying if they really want to pray. You might block them from using a loud speaker or sound system, but if you truly want to pray someplace, go and do it... and by all means go into those fields and work the crops. It is far better to get to a person before Satan gets them than after. It is much harder to use fruit or veggies that are half rotten than when you get them just right for the picking. Yes, we can and should work on the rotten crops and the half rotten crops and not just let them lay. We need to work to salvage all for salvation, and not let it rot in the first place. I asked the question, ARE YOU SAVED? If you are, are you ready to walk into the fields of harvest and bring in the corps? Now when you hit that reply I would love to see it like this... YES-YES... one yes for being saved, and one for going to work for Jesus... A LABOR OF LOVE FOR SURE. And the pay, well let's just say it is Divine and Heavenly.

Dear Father in heaven, I am ready and willing to go to work for You, wash me clean and open doors and send me out. Send me to the lost and help me bring them in. Help me remember that I can save no one, but I am needed to bring the crop to Your feet. Help me live to please You and to set an example for others to see. I love You Lord. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.

Go to work, get laboring for love, don't worry about the money, for if you work for God He will see you are taken care of. SHARE THOSE BLESSINGS. love ya, dan.

Tuesday: Labor 2

"You will eat the fruit of your labor"

Good Tuesday morning, my dear brothers and sisters. What a beautiful weekend here at the Southern Location of the North Pole... and even though I cannot see anything out of my window for it is dark, I know it is a beautiful day because Jesus always sends beautiful days... Even in the mist of the storm there is peace.

Tuesday and that means it is schools day on this line, the day we pray for all who enter all our schools... public, private, church or other, pray, pray, and pray... from early childhood to the schools of higher education, and please remember to pray for Sunday Schools. Also please pray for me as this evening I start school at the Pennsylvania State Police Academy. And I think about this, please pray for schools of this type which would include basic training for our troops and all the schools they have... including the United States Army War College at Carlisle Pa. (Dolores is retired from there).

Labor 2: Yes, this is a good week to talk about labor since Monday was Labor Day. I see our President addressed a labor union group in Ohio. I would like to say something to our president about that... Dear Mr. President, we on this line pray for you and pray for you and we will do that, and we pray for your soul and for salvation... Now sir, I have a request. When you are telling all of us to buy smaller cars to save fuel, would you please PARK OUR JET and save some fuel? Thank you, Mr. President. Now back on subject for Jesus... Sorry I got carried away for a minute.

Psalm 128: 1 - Blessed are all who FEAR THE LORD, who walk in his ways. 2 You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours. 3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your sons will be like olive shoots around your table. 4 Thus is the man blessed who FEARS THE LORD. (NIV)

We all need to be working for the Lord, and we should not take off from it. The Bible tells us in Psalm 128: 2 that we will eat the fruit of our labor. Now this is not just referring to food... God is telling me that this is the way life is in all we do, we reap just what we sow. This includes at your job, in raising a family, in your play, even in retirement we reap what we sow.

From Galatians 6: 7 - Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. (NIV)

Should we fear God if we are not working for Him? Yes, I think so. But some will say we have an all-loving God and I am not going to be afraid of Him. Yes, our God can be all-loving but He is the same God that destroyed everything with a big, big flood. Now I do not want you to be afraid of God, we need to know that He is ready and willing to pick us up and love us and forgive us because we are His children. But we need to fear what will, not what might, happen if we step over the line. We need to know that God is still in control and there will be a day of accounting and we need to fear that day if we are not walking with Him. We should not be afraid of God for He is walking with us, but we need to have reverent fear. I think a good word to work in might be that we need to give Him the respect that He earned, earned when He built the heavens and the earth, and when He gave us His Son Jesus and when His son died on the cross. We need to have great respect for God as we also fear Him. I hope that you all understand that. When you walk with God and you fear Him and respect Him, then and only then do you need not to fear evil...

Psalm 23: 4 - Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for You are with me. Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me... (NIV)

Labor for God, and make it a labor of love for Him. Labor for God at work, at play, at the gym, on the golf course and of course in sharing your blessings. And please remember that fearing God is a good thing, for fearing God will make you stronger in Him... It really will.

Dear Father in Heaven, I want to work for You, I want to repent of my sins, and I want to walk in Your light... I want to feel You next to me in all I do. I don't want to get away from You for I fear what might happen to me if I get away from You. Lord, be with all those who go through all schools doors and please, Lord, be with those we have been praying for. The Saylors, Vicki, Tom and Kathleen, Butch who has cancer. And the others on our daily list. And today Lord, please put your hand on Spike and please give him a special day. He truly knows the meaning of sharing. Lord, and today I pray also for Bob Devine... Heal him Lord. And Lord, Mark and LeaAnne and thousands upon thousands of others need them also. Please open doors... In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

Time for me to get to bed... Folks, Labor Day was fun here at the Southern Location of the North Pole. We went through our cupboard and took boxes and boxes of food down to our food pantry. Some dear friends, Dave and Joanne, stopped by with some stuffed animals for Santa to give away at Christmas, and we had burgers and squash on the grill. I tried some of those Bush Grilling Beans but lost them all through the grill as they fell into the fire. Hmm, I guess I never will know how to grill beans. love ya, dan.

Labor Day 9: Labor 1

"Six days you shall labor and do all your work."

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters, and it is Labor Day Monday, and yes I am working for the Lord this day for that is what we should do. Monday is the day we pray for our leaders so please, please pray for our President and for his safety, and also please pray for his soul, if indeed he is not born again... and I am not judging his soul here, but I don't see how anyone can be saved and want to kill babies and say it is ok for same sex marriage, and that is why I want us all to pray for him. I pray he also runs all things past God before bringing it to the public. Pray also for his family and all of our leaders and their families. Prayers also for our military, our veterans and our present men and women who are Laboring daily for our safety. It is also the day we pray for our police, firefighters, health care workers, ambulance drivers, and workers and those who fly the skies keeping us safe and healthy. Please also today pray for, oh and this will sound funny, pray for tow truck operators, as they put their lives on the line so often picking up wrecks along very busy roads. Prayers ongoing for Pastor Carol, Pastor Charles (wife Katherine), Pastor Tony (wife Ruby), the Saylors, (Don, Eleanor, Daniel, Robert, Sharon). Prayers also for Vicki and her family.

Labor 1: Exodus 20: 8 - Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work. (NIV)

So what day is the Sabbath? Saturday? Sunday? Do you know we could debate that for a long time. Most of us Christians might say it is Sunday, while others would say it is Saturday. If we look at the calendar, Saturday is the seventh day of the week. So today I want to put this in front of you.

First you will recall that Jesus healed on the Sabbath day, which means to me that it is ok to labor on the Sabbath if we are indeed working for the Lord, and it would be a labor of love. There are also many, many people who must work on those days, and if it is indeed a sin to be working on the day we call Sabbath, be it Saturday or Sunday, are we not causing someone else to sin when we go out to eat? Wops did I say that? How many people, after church on Sunday, go out to eat? Let me try and set it up a little different today... It is Labor Day, and I ask this question, how come on LABOR DAY, people take the day off from work? To me, Labor Day means we should Labor. Now before you all email me with the fact that this is wrong, I know it was set up to honor those working in the Labor Unions. Health workers, police, fire fighters, and our beloved military folks are just a few people who must work on the Sabbath. Retirement home workers, cooks, and all those who are waiting on us and even those in the stores like Wal-Mart. Those big stores, it would be nice if they closed on Sunday, but what about those Jewish owners who need to stay open on Saturday to compete with others? So what is the answer? Oh and how about all the pastors that must preach on the Sabbath? Wops, are they sinning by working on the Sabbath? Of course not, Jesus pointed that out to us when He healed on the Sabbath.

First, let's break down the scripture for today, let's see if we can work it to keep it Holy and still make it work today, and yes I think we can do it.

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy: Why not keep each day holy, work hard for your dollars but do it without sin, without shame, and work for the Lord as we do it? Yes, I think we can honor God by keeping all days Holy. Is it ok to curse for six days and not on the Sabbath, NO, is it ok to talk about others six days and just not on the Sabbath? NO. Is it ok to rob a bank (thou shall not steal)? Is it ok to rob banks six days a week and not on the Sabbath? NO (beside that they are closed on the Sabbath or most are). I think you are getting my point, we are to live for God seven days a week, and what better to do than to keep each day holy.

Six days you shall labor and do all your work. Ok, why not labor for six days and then rest on one? Take one day and rest on it, do less labor. Wow, farmers cannot do even this, you must take care of your livestock, feed your pets. But you can back down. A dairy farmer must milk and feed and even clean the stalls and equipment seven days a week, but they do not need to work the fields bringing in the corn and hay and such. Do you see where I am coming from? We need to take a day off from our labor, and since most jobs take five days, we have a day to work around the house.

Now we need to get to church and get fueled up for the Lord, and if you are one that is working on Sunday Morning and cannot get to church, then find one that has a service on an evening. Do you know a lot of churches gave up Sunday evening services because not many people came? Should they have a service even if only one comes? Think about it. Remember that lost sheep, the one that we need to go after, the one I wrote about last week? Many times we in Carry The Light have gone to a retirement home to sing a concert. Sometimes there are only a few come in, as they must depend on the staff and maybe the staff is busy. We set up a lot of equipment for a concert and it is easy to think, why should we come back, but we must remember this, and Pamela, Dolores, and I must remind each other that we are there to serve God and He will put those in front of us who need to hear the word. It seems if any one of us or even two get down because of so few, the one remaining that day will say, remember why we are here... Amen. So we remember that one lost sheep and go get them. We keep each day holy and we try and rest our bodies one day a week. But never do we not labor for the Lord. It is a labor of love.

In closing this out today I want you to remember that Salvation through our Lord Jesus is available seven days a week. If we are saved and we happened to pass away on Sunday will we not still be taken to Heaven?

Dear Father in Heaven, thanks for teaching us to rest our bodies and minds, and thanks for also showing us through Jesus that it is ok to labor for You any day or every day. Thanks for the lesson today, for planting this on my heart. Lord, I know some will question it, but that is ok, for I want only to write what You put on my heart. Thanks for the message. Please look over our prayer requests and please as it is Your will honor those requests. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Go forth sharing your blessings and please do that seven days a week... and yes, rest your bodies and mind... and stay madly in love with Jesus. love ya, dan.