July 20, 2010 Four Letter Words

"The Lord bless you and keep you, The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you, The Lord turn His face upon you and give you peace."

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. It is Tuesday and it is Schools Day on this line, the day we pray for our schools. Pray for schools in the summer when they are closed, why? Well. because we want God in on the planning of the classes for the next year, we want God to be with teachers, aids, drivers and all others as they get some schooling on their jobs. But most of all we just need to keep God in our schools. Prayers also today for Pastor Tony and Ruby Mayeski. Pastor Tony has ongoing problems with his eyesight and with getting weak, and today his wonderful wife Ruby is having a heart procedure done in the hospital, please pray that all is well and no blockages are found. God is good in matters of the heart, you know.

Four Letter Words (2): Numbers 6 24/26 - "The Lord bless you and keep you, The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you, The Lord turn His face upon you and give you peace." (NIV)

My dear brother in the Lord, Tom Sansoni, and I have been emailing back and forth and the scripture listed above came up just this morning, and it was like God used Tom to plant the message deeper in my mind. When we are talking four letter words and curse words, so often it is the Lord or His name that gets trashed. So what better four letter word to talk about today then the word "Lord"? It is the very best four letter word in the Bible, however, it is not the four letter word I am looking for to use on Friday, now while I know what that word is, do you? It is the backbone of our faith in the Lord, it is why Jesus died on the cross... that is enough hints, let's get into just a few scriptures about the Lord.

Romans 15:5/6 - Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus; that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our LORD Jesus Christ. (NIV)

1 Corinthians 1:3 - Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the LORD Jesus Christ. (NIV)

Hebrews 13:20/21 - Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our LORD equip you in every good thing to do His Will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, Through Jesus Christ, to who be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (NIV)

2 Corinthians 13:14 - The grace of the LORD Jesus Christ and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. (NIV)

Did you notice that all of the above scriptures are used as benedictions at some time or another? Most often it is the one from Numbers: "The Lord bless you and keep you, The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you, The Lord turn His face upon you and give you peace." and also the one from 1 Corinthians, Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the LORD Jesus Christ. Now let's look at just a few more, and there are so many with the name LORD in them.

Psalm 1:1/2 - Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD and his law he meditates day and night. (NIV)

Psalm 4:6 - Many are asking "Who can show us any good?" Let the light of your face shine upon us, O LORD. (NIV)

Psalm 4:8 - I will lie down and sleep in peace for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety. (NIV)

Psalm 23:1 - The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not want. (NIV)

Now just let me wrap all of this up today on the four letter word LORD... If you are someplace when someone curses the Lord's name, even if it is not in four letter words, why not just say this... May The Lord bless you and keep you. Or just pray this: Lord, please bless that person who just swore. Cut the Lord loose on the one who is cutting down the Lord. Please stand firm on the Word of Our Lord, and folks, there is no better way to honor our Lord Jesus Christ than to live daily for Him in all we do. Don't get drawn in by our enemy, Satan, and those who work for him.

Dear Father in Heaven, thanks for all the blessings You send to us each day, and Lord, we ask today that You watch over us and watch over all those on the prayer list. Lord, be with Ruby this day and help her. Thank You, Lord, for taking care of Tom Border and working with the doctors to open all those blockages. Thank You, Jesus... and in Your name, the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray today. Amen.

Now let's go out a little different today, as you go forth share those blessings, and now let's close with the Psalm 100, you will see why. Love ya, Pastor Dan.

Psalm 100: Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness, come before His presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord He is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves. We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise; be thankful unto Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations. (KJV)