January 21, 2010: The Journey 34

"As you go, preach this message, the Kingdom of God is near."

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters, it is Thursday, and what a great morning to be up and alive and alive in Christ. Oh, if you are not alive in Christ, "then you are really not alive." Quote me on that one, thank you. Being Thursday, means it is family day on this line, so let's pray hard for families today, and pray for those families in Haiti who have lost so much including loved ones, and pray for the new families coming out of that by adoptions of those little orphans. Also remember there are a lot of older children in our very own country looking for homes. Pray also for the Rotz family in the loss of Calvin, husband, father, grandfather and a great man of God and one of our flock at the Bridges. I was at his bedside yesterday just hours before he went to Jesus. As you know I am not afraid to ask, so I did. I said, Calvin do you have Jesus locked in your heart and his answer was, "Yes Pastor, for a long, long time." Brothers and sisters, don't just think others know Christ, ask them!! Other prayer requests and an update on Allison at the end of the message. By the way, on this date in 1994 it was -16 at our airport and -22 at our house... Ah that global warming.

The Journey 34: Matthew 10: 1 - He called His twelve disciples to Him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. Matthew 10: 7 - "As you go, preach this message; 'The Kingdom of heaven is near.'" (NIV)

We have watched this week as Jesus called His first five disciples and now I am jumping to where he sends out those five and the other seven. Here are the names of those first twelve. Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John, sons of Zebedee, Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew, James, son of Alphaeuos and Thaddaeus, Simon and also Judas who later betrayed Jesus.

Now Jesus gave them many instructions which I will talk more about tomorrow, but today I want to talk to you about the power, the almighty power that He entrusted to His disciples. Listen to just some of these powers... First, Jesus told them to preach the same thing that John the Baptist preached and that Jesus also taught... "The Kingdom of Heaven is near." Today, brothers and sisters, that needs to be the backbone of our messages, Salvation through Jesus because the Kingdom of God is near. I want you to remember this. Don't just think of Jesus coming back as the Kingdom of Heaven being near, we must think of when one passes from this earth that the Kingdom of Heaven is near as our Bible tells us we need to be saved before we pass from this earth. Once we die there is not a second chance. So brothers and sisters, for all of us the Kingdom of Heaven is near, and we want to make it into that Kingdom. We do not know when it might end. I mean we could be called anytime, I might be called sitting at this computer typing the message when my heart beat would go ------------------------------------------------------ Folks, we just do not know. Every day is a blessing and every day is a bonus day and we need to make the very, very best out of each day, loving God, and working for Him and loving our families and making amends for our mess-ups in life.

Listen to some of the powers, just some of the powers Jesus gave to those disciples. Matthew 10: 8 - "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give." (NIV)

Let's look at that, Jesus gave them power to heal, to cleanse and drive out demons and even raise up the dead, and yes, they must do it in the name of Jesus. But look also at this. "Freely you have received, freely give." Brothers and sisters, we have been given so much from God and we need to share it with others, and yes, God will give you more and more. And yes, if we truly walk with Jesus, if we truly, truly walk with Jesus, and become disciples of His, we will be entrusted those same powers today, and I do believe people have those powers. I have seen some who are sick and we prayed for on this line be risen up and returned to life, and always we give God the glory, but the prayer of the faithful is powerful, folks, and prayer is comfort, and prayers are heard by God and answered according to His will, which by the way is how we should pray... (another example of Jesus).

Tomorrow, some of the instructions that Jesus gave those disciples and those examples are good for us today.

Dear Father in Heaven, today I start by asking forgiveness of my sins and shortcomings, and Lord, ask that I might work more and more for You this day. I pray that all will pray these kinds of prayers and pray them in faith. Lord, I pray today for all families, from those suffering so much in Haiti to those suffering from broken families all around the world, I pray that families all become stronger by letting You head them up. I pray today for the Rotz family in their time of sorrow, and pray they understand that Calvin now has had total healing. I pray today for the family of God that it grows in numbers and in faith and tighter in Jesus. I pray today for Vicki who has so very, very much on her plate, Lord, please help her unload that plate, help her to do those dishes so the plate is lighter. I pray today for our son Matthew, that He gets the help needed and gets back with You. I pray for Mark and Joan and others who need work, and I pray for Allison and that You hear her directly. I pray for pastor Charles that You heal him to preach again. And Lord, for the Saylor family on this family day, heal them all. In the name of Jesus, I pray... Amen.

Now go forth and share those blessings and walk with Jesus and be a disciple for Him. Love ya, Pastor Dan.

Carry The Light Ministries
16 Dewalt Drive
Mechanicsburg, Pa. 17050
Phones, Home 717 691 8200 Cell 717 991 0754

Prayer requests today, for Vicki, for the Saylor Family, for our son Matthew, for the Rotz family and on going prayers for Ron and Donna, and for Skip Shoemaker and for Douglas Boyer and others who I am sure I am missing. And now an update sent to me by the parents of Allison.

Hello prayer warriors,
Allison received a call from the surgeon, Dr. Choti, with the biopsy results. He did confirm that it is a sarcoma. He gave us the type but I refuse to research it via the internet. I don't care what man has to say about it, I am interested in what God has to say about it. We were led to believe that it is a type that generally responds to chemo. Therefore, we also received a call from a Dr. Loeb's office in Johns Hopkins to set up an appointment. We are going tomorrow with a CAT scan scheduled for 1:00PM and to see the doctor at 2:00PM. I tried to get the CAT scan cancelled as I think Allison is still recovering from surgery and the last thing she would want to do is drink more barium. I couldn't even bring myself to tell her about the CAT scan until I was told she must have it. They claim it will be a baseline scan so they can monitor if treatments are working. Allie's response was," If I have to do it, I will." She is such a trooper!!!!!

Today is a much better day than yesterday. She slept last night at 4 hour intervals. She ate scrambled eggs for breakfast and a grilled cheese with tomato soup for lunch. She is still very sore and taking her pain medicine every 4 hours but she is moving pretty well. Her swelling in her legs has gone down, no more "cankles". She still has a swollen belly though. And her mood today is much better.

We are giving thanks to God for the diagnosis, even though it is cancer. We are believing that God can completely heal her of it. She told me yesterday that she is "just so tired of being sick". Unfortunately we have a journey ahead but I prayed with her and we read some scripture and she felt better. She is reading through the book of Luke and there are so many encouraging stories of miraculous healings in that book. Also, I turned on Christian radio today and the song playing was "Four in the Fire". For those that don't know the story, three men were thrown into a fiery furnace because of their faith in God. Once in the fire, the soldiers looked in and saw 4 men in the fire.....that is because God was with them protecting them. The three men emerged from the furnace safe and it even says their clothing did not even smell like smoke. The soldiers who looked in the fire, actually burned their clothes and skin because the fire was made extra hot. Get out your Bible and read the story in Daniel Chapter 3. This meant to me that we are not going into this situation alone. God is with us. He will protect Allison. He can heal Allison. So keep praying that treatment will be so effective that Allie will have complete healing and be a miracle to the expectations that man places on disease.

We thank God for His mercy today as we wanted some good news. We will know a lot more tomorrow after Allie's appointment. Keep lifting her up. Pray that she tolerates the barium drink and the CAT scan. Pray for the perfect treatment plan that perhaps we could do here in PA rather than travel, although we will travel if required. Pray for continued pain relief and incisional healing. Please pray for us to be supportive. Pray for a positive spirit to remain with her as depression is common.

We are so touched by all of our friends and family who have been so supportive. We are so thankful for all of the prayers that continue to go up for Allison. I definitely understand the concept of prayer without ceasing. God and I have an ongoing conversation. I thank each person who has kept the faith, even when we falter. We are ready to battle this cancer and we thank you for supporting us through donations, food, visits, cards, emails, flowers, going to church to pray and mostly for interceding on Allison's behalf. We love you all.
May God bless each one of you today in a special way,
Tom, Zina, Allison and Andy