Monday: Staying Attached 1

"I am the true vine!"

Good Monday Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. Today is the day we pray for our leaders in Washington and all across the Nation. Also the day we pray for our veterans, our military, our police, firefighters and all those who work to keep us safe and healthy. I want you to really think about these two things this day as you pray... One, we have veterans who are 18 years old and in our military hospitals and some might live there the rest of their lives. Lost limbs, other injuries and of course some of those are mental. Also at the same time the Commander in Chief is standing in front of the White House giving out candy with his wife dressed in custom, while a decision about more troops in the war zones has been on his desk FOR MONTHS. Tomorrow is election day and we need to go to the polls and start turning the country around. I suggest that in all races we Christians vote life, vote for those who fight for the unborn and also for those who still believe in marriages between a man and a woman. Brothers and sisters, please, please pray about your vote. Please add Stanley to your daily prayers. Stanley, a veteran from WW2, lives at the Bridges and has been under the weather for a couple of weeks.

Staying Attached 1: John 15:1 - "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful." (NIV)

Here we find Jesus talking about Himself and calling His Father the gardener and Jesus is telling us that His Father cuts off every branch in Him that bears no fruit. To me this is sending a very serious message. If God The Father trimmed up His one and only Son (John 3:16), then surely we need trimming or pruning so much more. Think of it... God sends His Son down to earth and of course never left Him alone, even on the cross Angels were standing by if Jesus wanted to back out, but of course we know Jesus followed the will of His Father in Heaven, setting that example for us also. So I wonder what kind of trimming or pruning Jesus needed. Let's just think about that today...

When we get up in the morning we should pray about the day, and most of all pray for God to guide us and direct us and lead the way for us. Do you think that this just might be the way it was for Jesus? Don't you think that Jesus went to His Father often for advice? Maybe a prayer would go something like this... My dear Father, what would you like me to do for You today? Please lay it out for me today. And then I think that Jesus did what we so often do not do. Jesus would listen for His Father and maybe that would go like this... Today, Son, I would like You to go out and find some workers, someone to help You with the missions that You are to carry out here on earth. So Jesus would then go and seek out His Disciples. Then Jesus would go in another direction for a while, maybe a different area and there He would maybe feed thousands, or heal folks, cast out demons... and I do believe that God the Father would keep Jesus fresh. So if we are truly going to follow in the footsteps of Jesus and live for Him we need to be talking to our Father in Heaven as Jesus did and asking Him what we should do today. Each morning when I come to the keyboard of the computer I sit down and ask for a message. Sometimes it is a series of events for it is too much for one day. Other times it might be different, but believe it or not, today like others, I do not have a clue as to what God is going to give me till I log on. Some days I struggle with what to write and it most always happens when my mind is full of clutter and I need to clean out the junk, get pruned so to speak. This week as God gives it to me, I would like to talk to you about that pruning and what might happen if you just get cut off from the vine. Let me give you some home work... Today go out and cut some fresh flowers, yes there are mums in bloom. Cut them off, bring them in and do NOT put them in water, just let them lay. Then watch them.. Let's pray.

Dear Father in Heaven, we indeed need to be pruned, and Lord, please consider pruning us as you did our Lord Jesus.. Lord, we do want to walk in His shoes and I am sure that we will need so much more trimming than Jesus. So prune us, and Lord, keep Satan away for if he comes at us we just might get cut from the plant. Father, please look after our President, and Lord, snap him away and let him know he has things to do other than stand on the porch and give out candy to kids. Remind him please that we have men fighting wars right now that depend on him for the right decisions in all he does. Protect him, we pray, and please Lord, I pray he talks to You before bringing things to us. Lord, be with our military and with our veterans including Stanley and now all those young men and women who are coming out of our military and some needing replacement limbs. Oh Lord, be with them and with our current military and all those including police and firefighters who work so hard to protect us. Lord, bless this day I pray, and lead me in the paths where You want me to go. Lord, let us be the clay and mold us please... In Jesus Name, I pray, Amen.

Go forth now, praying first and then following what Jesus wants you to do. I am sure if you pray about sharing your blessings He will tell you to do just that... love ya, dan.

PS: We now have over two hundred dollars that came in from the drive that Brother Rick Brouse asked us to do, it is to help supply turkeys to those additional 33 families we have this year. Thanks for Your support... Carry The Light Ministries, 16 Dewalt Dr., Mechanicsburg, Pa., 17050.