January 14, 2010: The Journey 28

"It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. Please brothers and sisters, pray daily for our brothers and sisters in Haiti. I am sure you know by now that they have had a 7.0 earthquake and as of this morning over 100,000 have been reported dead. Also it is family day on this line and we must remember that these folks in Haiti are part of our family. As started yesterday, personal prayer requests will be at the end.

The Journey 28: Matthew 4:7 - Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" (NIV)

Yesterday I wrote about how Jesus wants us to follow Him in almost everything that He did while walking the face of the earth, and we are to follow His examples. I also stated that I do not think that Jesus wants us to let the devil lead us around as we see Jesus let him do. As far as what happened when Jesus was tempted by the devil, we are for sure to follow that part, in other words, do what Jesus did except do not let evildoers lead you anytime. Jesus told us that "Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." So what does that mean? Some will say that God has furnished us more than bread to eat and while that is very, very true, we cannot fully live even on all that good food. To really live, to really be alive, we need to live according to the word of God, the words God spoke when He put Adam and Eve in the garden, the words in the commandments and on and on and on... We need to feed the hungry and clothe the naked, all of those will come in future lessons as we travel on with the journey. Brothers and sisters, in short, if we are not BORN AGAIN, we are not really living.

I want to take a good look at this statement in today's lesson. Do not put your Lord God to the test. Folks, if you are going to skydive, please use a parachute, and to tell you the truth I don't know why anyone would jump out of a good airplane. Don't test God. The Bible tells us that He is with us and protects us, but please look both ways before crossing the street. Now God did protect us on this one because He gave us eyes to see and ears to hear, and if for those without sight, God gave them dogs to train to help those who are blind, and others with sight to help also. If you see a blind person trying to cross a street and you are walking, ask if you can help, if you are in a car and see that white cane with the red tip, you had better stop. But don't test God by just walking across the street without looking. You see signs in towns now that tell us to stop for those in the crosswalks, and some people just walk out. No, no, you better look. I have also heard people say that God protects drunks, but trust me, you better not be drinking and be caught, for I am not sure how much protection you will GET IN JAIL. Don't test God, EXCEPT in this one thing... and I will bring this out and close for the day...

Malachi 3:10 - "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 blessing that you will not have room enough for it." (NIV)

In short, you just cannot out give the Lord... Amen.

Father in Heaven, our Dear, dear Father in Heaven... Please be with our brothers and sisters in Haiti and help them Lord, first help those who are injured and those who are healthy humble to You and confess their sins, and then help with the recovery, bless all those going into help with safety. Be with our military that are going in and flying in supplies, and be on board that big Hospital ship that is leaving to go down to Haiti. Please, Lord, be with families starting with the family of God, and Lord, be with those on our prayer list that we now post each day at the end of the message... In the mighty name of Jesus, I pray, Amen.

Go forth now sharing your blessings and remember those words of God from the book of Malachi... You just cannot out give God... love ya, Pastor Dan.

Prayers today for
Steve: who had cancer and was doing good until recently when his ribs and back started to fracture, pray also for Steve's roommate in the hospital, his name is David.
Prayers for Ron Leidigh: who has stage 4 cancer and also for his wife Donna who needs that prayer support as she "stands by her man".
Listen to this one. Prayers for Linda and Mike (last name withheld by me) their 19 year old son Garrett (he needs prayers also) was in a drunk driving accident that killed his best friend (pray for that family). Garrett is now in prison and that has stressed out his sister Bryranny who is 24 and she just had a stroke. You talk about a family needing prayer on the day we pray for families!
Ronnie Gates, knee surgery
Tammy Levarto: cancer Surgery today
Rev. Tom Dewolf: gall bladder surgery today
Harvey Brown: liver
Rick Hudson: Singing Job
Hank, Mark, and add Joan McCabe: Jobs
Allison Speck: keep praying, the surgery did not go as planned but God is in control.
Edgar Patterson: rehabbing