February 17, 2011 Real Love 3

"If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."

Good Spring morning from the Southern Location of the North Pole. Wow, what a great week we are having; it sure is spring-like. God is peeling the ice off the rivers by giving us warm days and then the cold nights, letting the ice melt slowly. GOD IS GOOD, HURRAY FOR GOD.

Today is Thursday and it is families day and schools day on this old line. Today, I ask that you pray for the line. I have not pushed for the line to grow for a while and today I invite you to invite one or two of your friends, or your enemies, to join us on the line. Hey it is FREE. Also be sure you mention our food pantry and know that we do have food and are willing to help those in need. Please, please remember that, maybe you know of someone from your workplace that just needs some help to get over the hump, so to speak. Please let them know about Carry The Light Ministries.

Thanks to Grant and Wanda Crockett for putting in a day of work in our ministry food pantry. We had a great time stocking the shelves with goodies from God's people. Today on this schools day, let me tell you about Silver Spring Elementary School, one of the schools of the Cumberland Valley School District. The other week the kids brought in soup for their SOUP-er Bowl and they gifted it to Carry The Light Ministries. Almost 400 cans of soup were dropped off here, most of them family size cans. Thanks to Jennifer Miller and her staff of teachers and a hard-working crew of kids.

The Big Trip 10-4 Real Love 4: Romans 12:20 - "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." (NIV)

You remember the TV series MASH and how they took care of the wounded at the MASH unit? Do you remember those shots of when the doctors would work on the enemies, when they would patch up those who were shooting at our guys? Yes, we need to reach out to those who really don't like us. I was talking to my oldest daughter, Danelle, the other day, and we were just talking about how nice it would be if everyone liked us. She is like me, as is our baby daughter, Leanne, wanting all people to really like us. And when someone does not, we work hard to find out why and try and correct it.

Now my dear late mamma sat me down one time when I was little and crying to her about someone not liking me. Why, mamma, don't they like me, I asked, they want to beat me up and I did nothing to them. She would then tell me what I would guess many mothers back then told their kids. Danny, she said, I will give you an extra nickel tomorrow and you can buy this guy a soda. Why, mamma, would I want to buy a soda for a guy who just beat me up? Well, son, it is like this, you can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar. And to this day I know what it means. She also had this saying about "killing people with kindness". She was just a great woman who loved everyone, and would do anything she could for anyone. "Mamma, your lead did work, it just took me a while to get it all together."

I remember a few years back when Dolores and I were really into riding motorcycle and we road with the Christian Motorcyclist Association a lot (also the Gold Wing Road Riders). Anyway, one of our pastors from the Christian group was in Florida during bike week and one of the outlaw bikers came up and poured a beer over his head and cursed him out. The next year the same biker came back and said he was sorry and should not have done it and handed his beer to our pastor and was told to pour it on him (the outlaw biker), and of course the pastor did not do it. What he did was lead the outlaw biker to Jesus.

Sometimes we think we just cannot do this, give someone who hates us food, give someone who downs our Lord Jesus something to drink. Folks, again I want to point this out... When God sends us rain, it does not just go on the gardens of those who love Him, but also on the gardens of those who hate Him... It takes water to bring up the food plants, so is Jesus not setting an example of how we should feed our enemies? As much as I try, I have yet to find in the Bible Jesus telling us to do something that He did not do to set the example for us. I wish I would have learned and put to practice His lessons and the lessons of my late mamma. God is good and so was my mamma...

Now how does this last verse of today's scripture fit in? If we feed our enemy and we give them water, "In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." Well one thing, it sure will make a person who is trying to bring you down feel bad. Our enemies really would like us to "hit back" but we have turned the other side of our face and we have given good and not evil. The Biker pastor would not even the score by pouring a beer on the head of an outlaw biker, instead he prayed for him and led him to the Lord.

Real Love might be described something like this... Love on people just as you would like them to love on you... and folks, again I say, love is not sex and sex is not love.

Dear Father in Heaven, help us to really understand this thing I am calling Real Love. Yes, real love was you going to the cross for us, but it goes so much deeper than that, and we need You to open it up to us... In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Now go forth sharing your blessings, and sharing your love of others, and giving your enemies something to eat and drink, oh, and yes, you can give food and water to your friends also.
You can send me a diet cherry Pepsi... just kidding, Love ya, Pastor Dan. And I am not kidding about that love...