Wed. Feb. 29, 2012 Jesus Still Heals

When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, asking for help. "Lord" he said, "my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering." Jesus said to him, "I will go and heal him."

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Good Salvation Wednesday Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. It is raining here at the Southern location of the North Pole on this leap day, a bonus day given to us by our Lord Jesus. Oh, yes, that is correct, every day we get to spend on the green side of the grass is a bonus day given to us by our Lord Jesus. Thank You, Jesus, for another day on earth. Please pray today for Salvation through Jesus and pray that God uses you to help others to become saved.

February 29, 2012 Jesus still heals! Matthew 8:5 - When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, asking for help. 6 "Lord" he said, "my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering." 7 Jesus said to him, "I will go and heal him." (NIV)

Hebrews 13:8 - Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (NIV)

I want to ask you this today, do you really think anything more about Salvation when we have Salvation Wednesday each week? I started this online years and years ago, sort of a mid-week thing to take the place of the missing Wednesday Night church services and prayer meetings. While some churches still have those services, a lot of churches do not. Salvation is the most important reason that I step out for Jesus, it is the Good News we are to spread. Today I want to talk to you about Salvation. First are you saved? How dare you ask me if I am saved, some of you might say! Of course I am saved!! So why do I ask all of you today if you are saved? I gave you that answer the other day when I told you that I love you very much. If I did not love you, I would not care if you have been saved, born again. If Jesus did not love us, all of us, He would not have died for us on the cross. If God our Father did not love us, He would not have sent Jesus, His one and only begotten Son to died for us so that we might live.

John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. (NIV)

So again I ask you, are you saved? Do you understand what it means to be saved? If you are not sure, or you have questions please, please, either call me, 717 991 0754 (my personal cell phone number) or email me. One time I asked my pastor that question, I said "Pastor, do you know Jesus?" "Are you saved?" At first he was taken back, sort of upset, but later on even preached on the fact that I cared enough to ask him. But, wait, this is not about me, it is about all of you and your salvation. If you are saved, praise the Lord, and then my question to you is this. Do you have enough guts, no let me change that word, do you have enough love for others to just plain ask them, ARE YOU SAVED? Then you need to even go farther, and maybe ask if they even know what it means to be saved. Some people think Heaven just happens!! WRONG!!

I want you to look around and open your eyes and see what is going on in the world. Jesus said there would be wars and rumors of wars and we were not to be alarmed for these things would happen. He talked about people being hungry and storms and earthquakes.

But folks, I think we have gone way past things that just upset God, the murder of the unborn, men wanting to marry men and women wanting to marry women and some churches even saying it is ok. Folks, ask your children, be sure they know Jesus, talk to them about being saved. Talk to your friends, pray about it, be bold, don't hold back... Today is Salvation Wednesday on this line, and I am not asking you to send this message to ten people and back to me to be blessed, what I am asking is first for you to address yourself and be sure you are indeed saved. Do you love Jesus? Have you confessed to Him that You love Him? Do you now work for Him? After you have done that I ask that you just ask one person today, and a couple this week, are you saved? Ladies, maybe when you are in the seat at your hair dresser. Maybe sitting in a waiting room at the doctor's office. On the work place, at break time, don't be afraid to ask. What if no one cared enough about you to tell you about Jesus... How about it... Today is salvation Wednesday, pray for salvation for someone and then put feet on those prayers and get out and get someone to the feet of Jesus. Remember you cannot save them, but you can be the middle person for God... Someone please say amen...

Dear Father in Heaven, Thank You for loving me enough to send Jesus to die for me, Dear Jesus, thanks for loving me enough to die for me to save me from my sins... Forgive me of my sins, dear Lord. And now, Lord, help me love others enough to care for them to be sure they are saved... Help me share the biggest blessing You have given me, Salvation through Jesus. Help me share it. In Jesus' name, help me share it... Amen.

Now go forth and remember it is Salvation Wednesday, try to bring someone to the feet of Jesus, maybe just maybe it will be your own self... Remember if you have questions, call... I love ya, Pastor Dan.   

Tuesday Feb. 28, 2012 Jesus Still Heals!

A man with leprosy came and knelt before Him and said, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. "I am willing," He said. "Be Clean!" Immediately he was cured of his leprosy.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Good Tuesday Morning, my dear sweet brothers and sisters. Let me start today by making this statement right from my heart. I love you folks, I really do!! It is not just something I put at the end each day when I write Love ya. I really do love you, all of you. Tuesday and the day we pray for cures for cancer, heart problems, liver troubles, and all other things that attack our bodies and minds. Please pray today for Stanley, for Sterling and Luella, for Vicki, Dolores. Please pray for our schools today also, I know it is not schools day on the line, but yesterday there was a shooting at a school. (The news people call it a school shooting, but it was not the school that did the shooting or was shot.) Anyway, sometimes when this happens it gives others ideas.

February 28, 2012 Jesus Still Heals! Matthew 8:2 - A man with leprosy came and knelt before Him and said, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." 3 Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. "I am willing," He said. "Be Clean!" Immediately he was cured of his leprosy. (NIV) 

Hebrews 13:8 - Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (NIV)

Jesus is still in control, and Jesus still heals. Let's take a look at our scriptures of today and see the examples set forth for us. First,  please note how the man with leprosy approached Jesus. He did it with reverence.  As he approached, he knelt down before Jesus. And again, and we just talked about this in the Lord's prayer... You do remember the will of God, right? Look at the man with leprosy, "Lord, if YOU ARE WILLING, you can make me clean." The man is saying, Jesus it is up to You, the man wants to be clean, but seems to understand that it is the will of Jesus that is to be done. How often do we forget when we ask Jesus for something, be it healing or for something else, do we tell Jesus, yes we would love this, but it is Your will and not my will to be done. Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man and made him whole. Now, was I bold to state "Jesus still heals"?  No, not bold, I make the statement in faith and I have backed it up with scripture... Hebrews 13:8 - Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. As a pastor and even just someone who has been writing on this line a long time, I wait for the Lord to give me a subject, and then to back it up, so that I really know it is the Lord talking to my heart, He gives me scriptures to support the subject He gives me. So when, not if, but when you walk out in faith working for the Lord as we are told to do (Mark 16:15),  support what you tell others, support the good news with scripture.

Dear Father In Heaven. Please, according to Your will for us, hear our prayers for cures for diseases and health problems, and according to Your will for the people on our prayer list, we ask for healing. Thy will be done, Lord, on earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus' name we ask that You be at our schools today and let Your presence be known at the school where the shooting happened yesterday. Lord, help and heal those folks... In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Now go forth sharing those blessings and loving on the Lord. Love ya, Pastor Dan. 

Monday Feb. 27, 2012 Where To Build!

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock."

Good Monday Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. It is a beautiful morning here at the Southern Location of the North Pole, and it is to go to 60 degrees here today. Move over, Bobbie, it is like Florida weather here in Central Pennsylvania. (Bobbie is a prayer warrior who resides in Florida.) Monday is the day we pray for our leaders, and regardless of our politics, we are to pray for our leaders. So please pray today for President Obama and his family, and for our Vice President and other leaders in Washington, and also pray for the leaders in your state house, and also the local leaders, and remember those who lead your schools. It is also the day we pray for our veterans, and as you pray for them, please pray for the 86 year old WW2 veteran who was beaten and robbed of his car at the gas pumps yesterday. Besides losing his car, he suffered a broken leg. Please pray for Stanley Bigham, a WW2 Veteran who had a bad fall and is in bad shape. Also pray for these veterans today:   Grant (Army), Sharon (Navy), Dolores (Air Force).  It is also the day we pray for our current military, and please, by all means include our troops in Afghanistan. It seems the Afghanistan people have turned on our military. On Mondays we also pray for our police, firefighters, and those who work so heard to keep us safe and healthy. Please remember your family doctor in your prayers.

Also please keep praying for Vicki and others on our long term prayer lists.

February 27, 2012 Where To Build: Matthew 7:24 - "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock." 26 "But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rains came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." (NIV)

It was but another way to teach the people, teach the children, teach all people who would hear the message about building on the word of God. It was a few years back when Hope United Methodist Church on the Carlisle Pike in Mechanicsburg, Pa., was building a new addition to their Sunday School building. It was to be a worship building, to use that would be updated as the Old Salem Church was just that, very old, very nice, but no restrooms. That building still stands and is used for special services. Anyway, when the foundation of the new building was about to be poured, old pew Bibles were taken and placed into the corners of the foundation and the cement was poured over them. Trust me when I say the building was also built on solid rock in two ways.

The first rock was of course The Rock, our Lord Jesus.

Psalm 18:2 - The Lord is my ROCK, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my ROCK, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. (NIV)

So where have your built your house, on the rocks or on that sandy ground? Could it be. Did you ever notice that when the storms come, and the streams come up, some houses are washed away, or torn apart while others going through that same storm stand the time and while they might fill with mud they are left standing to go for another day? Did it have anything to do with who might live in the house, maybe, just maybe, some of those are not standing strong on the Lord, our Rock and our Salvation? But let's dig deeper into what Jesus is saying. Is he really talking about a real house, NO, He is just using that as an example for all people to understand.

Jesus is THE ROCK, and what He is telling us is we need to build our house, or ourselves and our families on Jesus and His teachings. My Mamma did a great job on this, I in turn did not do the best job. My Mamma would talk about Jesus, her parents would sit down each night and read the Bible and study it. Yes, it was before TV and all those TV games. Even when I was growing up we did not have TV till I was in Junior High School. So my mamma would talk to us about Jesus and read the Bible and she would make sure we were in Sunday school, and she even would drag me to Prayer Meetings on Wednesday evenings. Yes, my grandparents and my parents built their house, their children on The Solid Rock, our Lord Jesus.

When we build our house on solid rock, can things still go wrong? They sure can, for Satan will look and look for that one place where he can get into that house. A weak piece of wood in the structure, a loose brick, or a hole where a "rat" could get in. I just called Satan a rat. What does this mean, a lapse when we sort of don't stand on The Rock, when we let down our guard, walk away from Jesus for just a few minutes or a day maybe. We need to start each day with the Lord, we need to walk each step with Him, we need to stand with Him daily in all things, and when we lay down our weary heads at night we need Him to watch over us. When we stand with Jesus 24/7 and we teach others, not just our family, but all others this, then and only then will we be building OUR HOUSE ON THE SOLID ROCK... And we add to that... AMEN.

Dear Father in Heaven, Dear Jesus, our Solid Rock, protect us this day from the storms of life, block out the wind and the rain and keep our feet standing on the sure foundation. Lord, look over our prayer requests and honor them according to Your will and help us to honor You by abiding by Your will. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.

Now go forth and share your blessings. Love ya, Pastor Dan.   

Fri/Sat Feb 24/25 2012 Prayer 5

"After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name, Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.  Amen."

Hi Brothers and sisters, it is a beautiful Saturday Morning here at the Southern Location of the North Pole. And today we pray for all those workers in the fields of harvest for our Lord Jesus. Please as you pray remember the "Stoner" family in their mission work, and all others who work. Please pray for Danielle (Daughter of Linda Miller) who had her gall bladder removed yesterday. These from the week past. From Rob Campbell who is taking his sweet bride (his words, folks) to the Dennis Rainy Family Life Ministries retreat for couples held this weekend at Hershey. God is good, and they are expecting 1,000 couples, yes, that is a good number, ONE THOUSAND COUPLES. Also pray for these three people from one family. Donna, for grief, Beverly, for depression and Michael, for financial problems. Please also pray for Carol Harris, and others who have been on our prayer list. Also pray for the "office building move".

Praise God, Praise God... The building move went fine, the building is now on location at our property and ready to be part of the ministry. The moving did cost a hundred dollars over the estimate but trust me, the men earned their keep. At this time I would like to thank the Board of the Directors of the Museum of Bus Transportation, who decided to sell the building after the big flood and offered it to us. We looked it over and decided it was a good purchase, they took our offer, and it was moved from one 501c3 (Museum) to our 501c3 (ministry). As stated before, the vision for the building is to have "Santa's" house, a place for children to come and see Santa and Mrs. Claus, meet our elves (ministry team) and learn the real meaning of Christmas before getting a gift. DO YOU HAVE a copy of the book, Santa and the Christ Child? If you do, please let me know. Now let me get back to the Lord's prayer.

Feb. 24/25 2012: Matthew 6:9 - "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name, 10 Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever, Amen."

Today we pick up on the Lord's prayer with:

Thy Kingdom Come: Again this is the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray, when He said this. "After this manner therefore pray ye:" So we really need to look at what Jesus is teaching us here. Thy Kingdom Come. We are praying for God's Kingdom to come to us, and yes, we are really praying for God our Father in Heaven to send Jesus back to us. Let's back this with some scripture and these words from Jesus and recorded in John 14:3 "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me, that you also may be where I am." Now I ask you this, when you pray this, BE SURE YOU ARE READY FOR WHEN JESUS DOES RETURN.

Thy Will Be Done: Can you all look at this again, as we are praying "THY WILL BE DONE".  In other words, folks, we are praying for what is best for us, by the standards of God. Wow, that is great, is it not? You and I are praying Thy, meaning God's will be done and not "our" will be done. So often we pray to God asking for things, as in petitions and that is good, we need to do this, but the bottom line is we surely want God's will to be done. Now we know Jesus sets examples for us all the time, and listen to this great example from Jesus. Jesus prayed when He was alone in the garden of Gethsemane, and it is recorded in Mark 14: 35/36 - Going a little farther, Jesus fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from Him. "Abba Father, everything is possible for You. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will." In Lehman's Language, Thy will be done, not my will be done. AMEN.

On Earth As It Is In Heaven: All accounts in the Bible tell us that Heaven is a wonderful place and a place where most of us want to go. Now we know in Heaven it is all going to be laid out by God and the will of God, and gosh we even get a brand new body. Jesus has even gone ahead of us to get it ready for us and again I refer you to John 14:3 - "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me, that you also may be where I am." But in this prayer and remember please Jesus wants us to pray this way. On Earth as it is in Heaven. This means to me that Jesus would really like to see earth be to us as Heaven will be. But folks, we need to keep praying that way, but surely when we get to heaven, we will not have things going on as they do on earth. Yesterday when the people moved the building I did not hear one curse word from the workers, not one. Just think, you can't even watch the news on TV without hearing cursing and seeing all the murders, etc. Now as we pray On Earth as it is in Heaven, we need to put feet on those prayers and do our part to keep it the best we can and the best way to do just that is to live each day, walking with Jesus.

Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread: God has promised us that He would supply all our needs (not all our wants, but He does pretty good even at that).  I feel in this line, as we are asking for God to give us our daily bread, be thankful it is more than just bread. He gives us the air we breath, the clothes we have on our backs, and the water we drink. Also our daily bread we need to know is supplied by God through the hands of others, farmers, workers, helpers, bakers, truck drivers, etc. What an amazing network He has set up for all of us to eat. And yes, He even uses those who support Carry The Light Ministries food pantry to work for Him in supplying this need to others.

And Forgive Us our Trespasses (Debts, Sins): Yes, we need to pray often to have our sins forgiven, we really do. Think about it, folks, and maybe we should all do this. Years ago I found out if you wanted to be serious about losing weight, you needed to write down each thing you ate each day. It might surprise you what all you eat, if you write it down, and folks, if we would write down each time in a day we sinned or had a sinful thought, and we wrote it down it might surprise us. WE ARE INDEED SINNERS. And God will forgive us of our sins, but let's look at the next part. Does God expect us to do some things for this forgiveness, things other than just asking and repenting? Listen up.

As We Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us: (debtors, sinners) Matthew 5:43/44 -   "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." Now listen as I put those last two lines together. This is important, folks, do not downplay this.  And Forgive Us our Trespasses, As We Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us: What does this mean, well think about it, if you don't forgive someone else then God is not going to forgive you. Let's say it again together,  And Forgive Us our Trespasses, As We Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us: One more time folks, And Forgive Us our Trespasses, As We Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us:

Lead Us Not Into Temptation: We are asking God not to dangle those tempting things that are not good for us, in front of us. Would God really lead us into temptation? While I am not sure He would lead us, there are times when He does not block us. Remember, please, God gave us free will.

But Deliver Us From Evil: We are asking God, and remember again Jesus taught us to pray this way, we are asking God, to keep us away from evil, we are asking God to keep the devil away from us. We are asking God to help us not break His commandments and laws.

For Thine Is The Kingdom And The Power and The Glory Forever: Here we are just praying and as we pray we our telling God, Hey God this is Your Kingdom, and You are The Power, and We will give You the Glory Forever. We will praise Your Holy Name and love You. And yes, Earth is God's  Kingdom also, remember He did make it. Look around you, folks, we have messed it up because God gave us free will. People worry about us drilling to get the oil and gas out of the ground that God gave to us to use, but they forget that Kids are a gift of God, and murder the unborn. Sometimes I just do not get it. I am glad I am saved, and that some sweet day God will clear me of this place.

AMEN: At the end of a prayer, means "So Be It." Or Amen might be used when in agreeing with someone else. I think most pastors would love to have an "Amen Corner."

So let's close in prayer today... Saying

"Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name, Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen."

Now go forth and share your blessings, and again thanks for those sending in support for our building and move. Now we will be purchasing paint to repaint the inside, it has been cleaned, but will need painted. God is good, God bless you. Love ya, Pastor Dan. 

Thur/Feb 23, 2012 Prayer 4

"After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name, Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.  Amen.

Good Thursday Evening, my dear brothers and sisters. It is Thursday and the day we pray for Churches, and those who attend them, Schools and those who attend them, work for them, etc. And also families, being sure to pray for the family of God. We also have in the following new requests, and listen to this one. From Rob Campbell who is taking his sweet bride (his words, folks) to the Dennis Rainy Family Life Ministries retreat for couples held this weekend at Hershey. God is good, and they are expecting 1,000 couples, yes, that is a good number, ONE THOUSAND COUPLES. Also pray for these three people from one family. Donna, for grief, Beverly, for depression, and Michael, for financial problems. Please also pray for Carol Harris, and others who have been on our prayer list. Also pray for the "office building move." Our office building is being moved tomorrow, Friday afternoon. We are so excited about this. We are thankful to be getting it, and plan to use it 100% for the Lord. Praise God for those checks that are coming in to help cover the costs.

Also folks, while we appreciate all the support coming in from those on the line, please remember we are here to help you. IF YOU NEED HELP WITH FOOD, please contact us. YOU WILL BE HELPED. We have never turned anyone away. God is good. Amen.

Feb. 23, 2012 Prayer 4: Matthew 6:9 - "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name, 10 Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. (King James Version)

The very first thing I want you to notice today is I am using the King James Version, and I want you to note that the words in dark print are not in my New International Version that I use most of the time. While the NIV is easy for me to understand, those who use it must be very, very careful that the translations do not change the meaning of the scriptures. In this our Lord's prayer one line was dropped from what we pray, and I do not like it when the Words of Jesus are changed to mean something different or are just plain left out!!!

Before I get started I must tell you why it is so important to me, that each year I go back over this wonderful prayer. A few years back, maybe 12 or so, I was leading the service at Hope United Methodist Church where I was one of the lay leaders. The pastor was away and I also had the order of service made up and I did not have the Lord's prayer printed in it as was for the norm. Well wouldn't you know it, I was leading and forgot where I was at or just plain could not think of the words. If it were not for "Miss Kim," our music director picking it up, it would have been a mess. (Love you Miss Kim.) After the service God planted on my heart, was I praying this prayer or saying the prayer, was it words or did I really think about what they mean? I confess, I never took a deep look at it till then, and there is so much "meat and potatoes" in this prayer, I must look at it often. I also want to be sure that all those who use it know what it means. Let's get started.

"Our Father" : Now this is the start, the opening and we are stating to whom we are praying to... Our Father, and it should always be spelled out with the Large "F" and not father. So who is our Father? He is God, the one who created the heavens and the earth, and He is also the one who made you and me (and He's still working on me).  Our Father is also who Jesus prayed to the night before He was put to death on the cross. Yes, our Heavenly Father is the same Heavenly Father as Jesus has... Scriptures also tell us that Our Father is a male, as some people try and say that God is a female, let me tell you folks, that is just not right. While God can be all things to you, He is our FATHER. Listen to these words from John 14:6. Jesus said, I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to The Father but through me.

which art in heaven: This line talks about Heaven, where our Father resides. But careful on this one, for we also need to have Him reside in our hearts. Heaven is one of two places we can go after we pass from this earth. The other of course is hell. Jesus made the way for us to go, but the choice is ours. Heaven is also the place where Jesus tells us and it is recorded in John 14:2 "In my Father's house there are many rooms. I shall go and prepare a place for you."

Hallowed be Thy name: Hallowed means to devote to religious uses, and to reverence as sacred. And when put together with be Thy name, means that God The Father is Holy and we should be reverent to Him and even His Holy Name. We should also know that God has many names. We have studied that before.

Ok, this is the stopping point for today. Today let's pray together and while on this subject... well let's pray the prayer Jesus taught us to pray.

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name, Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Now go forth and share those blessings, and yes, you do not want to miss tomorrow, we will finish the prayer... Love ya, Pastor Dan.   

Wed. Feb. 22, 2012 Prayer 3

Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise, give thanks to Him and praise His name.

Good Salvation Wednesday Evening, my dear brothers and sisters. Happy Birthday, Mr. President (The Late President, General George Washington).  Please pray today for salvation for the lost and for God to use those of us who are saved to help bring in the lost. Today Grant and I went to Hershey, and along with my friend Tom Mozer removed the electric from the building we are bringing in for the ministry. It is now ready to be loaded and hauled. We are having it moved by the pros so all goes well and the state permits will be covered. Please pray for the move. Those who might have missed what is going on, we have been blessed by God to have worked out the purchase of a shed type office building, that was under some water at the Museum of Bus Transportation Annex Building. Their board approved the sale to us for $500.00 and it will cost us about $200.00 to transport. It is going to become a place where children can come to talk to Santa and hear about Jesus, and yes, get a toy. All the toys in our inventory will be moved from our food pantry are giving us more room for food and clothing. Thanks for all who have sent donations in to help cover the cost of the building.

February 22, 2012 Prayer 3 Psalm 100:4 - Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise, give thanks to Him and praise His name. (NIV)

As I said the other day there are many different kinds of prayer. I find there are five. Today I am going to do something I don't often do, I am going into the archives and do a reprint on these five prayer points. I am doing this to get the message out as my hand does not want to let me type, so I am having problems, yet I am typing all I can as the doctor wants me to use the hand. Tomorrow and Friday we will again look at the Lord's prayer. Let's pray now and then look at the five points of prayer.

Dear Father in Heaven, please forgive us of our sins and help us through this day. Please look at our prayer requests and please, please use us to help bring in the lost. Lord, thanks for all you do for us, and Lord, thanks trusting us to be in service for You. In Jesus'  name, I pray. Amen.

THERE ARE FIVE KINDS OF PRAYER

1.  PRAISE: PRAISE MEANS THAT WE RECOGNIZE HOW GREAT GOD IS AND WE SAY HOW MUCH WE LOVE GOD.

2.  THANKSGIVING: THANKSGIVING MEANS THAT WE RECOGNIZE WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN TO US AND DONE FOR US AND WE SAY THANK YOU.

3.  CONFESSION: TO CONFESS IS TO TELL GOD THAT WE KNOW WE HAVE DONE THINGS THAT ARE WRONG. WHEN WE

CONFESS WE ALSO SAY TO GOD I’M SORRY. WE MUST ALSO REPENT.

4.  INTERCESSION: INTERCESSION IS PRAYING FOR SOMEONE ELSE THROUGH PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION. WE MAY ASK GOD TO HELP SOMEONE, TO COMFORT SOMEONE OR TO BE PRESENT WITH SOMEONE DURING A DIFFICULT TIME.

5.  PETITION: PETITION IS TELLING GOD WHAT WE NEED, LIKE GIVE US OUR DAILY BREAD. A PRAYER OF PETITION SOMETIMES (OR A LOT OF TIMES) ASKS FOR THINGS THAT WE WANT.

Now go forth and share your blessings.  Love ya, Pastor Dan.    

Tues/Feb 21, 2012 Prayer 2

"But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, Who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him."

Good Tuesday afternoon, please pray for the staff and all who call The Bridges their home as the bug is still there, but getting better. Praise God for that. We have been informed that our Thursday morning sing-along is on. Praise God for that also. Tuesday is the day we pray for cures for cancer, heart problems, failed kidneys, etc. Pray for Tom, Grant and me tomorrow as we disconnect the electric from the building we are getting and get ready for moving day.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012 Prayer: Matthew 6:6 - But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, Who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. (NIV)

What is Jesus telling us with our scripture of today? When we are praying we are not to be a show-off about it. He is also telling us that is good to just go into our room, or I would think any other place that is quiet and we can be alone talking to God. One real interesting point to me here is He knows and sees us so when we pray in secret, we will get rewarded... Yes, that is what the scripture tells us. Wow, in our room to pray, makes me wonder, was Jeff Gordon praying in that car, his room for the race, when his car rolled the other night? I am sure he was, and we were in our room praying for him also. Gosh, my momma loved Jesus and followed Him, and she must have followed Him in this scripture, for me also, for I remember being sent to my room a lot.

Now we who pastor and preach also need to pray in the open, we need to pray for others, but we also must remember this and hey, these are not my words, these are the words from the scriptures. "And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like the pagans for they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him." When I went through Lay Leader classes a few years back, one of the things the instructor taught us was not to preach a prayer. I have given the prayer before a lot of midget and pony football games and also their annual awards dinner. One time before the dinner when I was going up to give the blessing on the food, my son, Keith, one of the coaches, said to me as I passed by, "not too long, dad, don't let the food get cold".

Ok, God wants to hear from us, He wants us to talk to Him, and yesterday we talked about taking time to listen to God.

Tomorrow, how many kinds of prayer are there? Do you know? If you do, share it with me.

Dear Father in Heaven, thanks for the message of today, please help us to walk in Your light, hear our prayers for the sick and heal them according to Your will. Thanks for this day, and may we please You by living it for You. I love You Jesus... and I pray in Your Name... Amen.

Now go forth sharing your blessings. Love ya, Pastor Dan.  

Mon/Feb 20, 2012 Prayer

"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing on the street corners to be seen by man. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full."

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters, it is Monday morning and Monday is the day we pray for our President and all of our leaders, plus our veterans, military, police (state and local plus your sheriff and marshals), Firefighters and all who work to keep us healthy and safe. Also to start the week, please pray for the staff and all who call The Bridges their home. Yesterday (Sunday) church was canceled due to the flu in many who reside there. Pray for Tom Sansoni and the group going to the Holy Lands. Pray for Jean, cancer.

February 20, 2012 Prayer Matthew 6:5 - "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing on the street corners to be seen by man. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full." (NIV)

About once a year or so God plants on my heart to talk to all about prayer. However, each time I write about it, I ask God to give me a new slant on the old, old subject of prayer, or like I put it, talking to God. However, other things come to talking to God.

Let's hope in our cars and we go for a drive and we come to a railroad crossing, and it is not controlled by a cross arm or even lights, it does have an advance warning, a round sign that states Rail Road Crossing Ahead. Then we see the sign at the tracks and remember it is a crossing without lights or a cross arm. You pull up and if you are obeying the law, you will stop, look and listen. Buses that transport people, meaning school buses, charter buses, city buses and cross country buses, plus taxies and even limos must stop at those Rail Road Crossings. Also all trucks carry stuff that can go BOOM...  Must stop at all railroad crossing regardless if they have lights or cross arms, with just two exceptions... One, the crossing in advance is marked by signage that states "Exempt," the other is if a railroad police officer or any other UNIFORMED police officer is moving you on. Bus drivers are to open the window beside them and open the door (lets the train come through.) No, that is so the driver can do what the sign on that crossing without lights tells all what to do... STOP, LOOK AND LISTEN.

Ok Pastor Dan, why are you telling us this? Is it another lesson in safety as you often give, you might ask. Well, you can use it that way, but I am telling you we need that big sign at the railroad crossing, the big cross board with a sign on them STOP, LOOK AND LISTEN maybe in the front of churches once in a while, just to show people this...   When you pray, when you talk to the Lord, please take time to STOP, LOOK AND LISTEN.

STOP: take time to stop for a few minutes each day and talk to Jesus, maybe the best time is on the side of the bed when you first get up, or on your knees bedside. You should also stop and pray many times a day. Take some time with God. Maybe you are even with your friends, take time to stop and pray with them.

LOOK: Yes, look, most often we are taught to bow our heads and close our eyes when we pray and that is great, but sometimes I just like to pray with my eyes wide open looking up toward heaven. I also pray when I drive and when I do that, I also like to keep my eyes open. (Bet you're glad to hear that.) Also maybe before you even start to pray or talk to God it is good to look around you and see what all God has furnished you.

LISTEN: What good is it for you to pray to our Lord seeking answers for something you are praying about if you do not LISTEN to what God tells you? Yes, God does speak to us all, and I hear Him often. No, not something like this,  DAN, I AM TALKING TO YOU... But He has placed just those kind of words on my heart. Dan, I am talking to you about this. Many, many times what I am writing to you about was placed on my heart for me also.

I also like to preach sometimes about hell and preach it so hot that you can feel the heat, and again I think that is God talking to me. In other words, I am just a sinner saved by grace, so unworthy of what Jesus did for me, but hey, I take it, I love Jesus and I give Him all honor and glory for saving my soul... Will you pray a prayer of forgiveness with me this day?

Dear Father in Heaven, Thanks for all You do for us, thanks for taking care of our prayer requests according to Your will for us. And now, Lord, please forgive me of my sins and wash me white today, and Lord, You have given me this day, may I live it to please You. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Now go forth, praying and talking to God, and listening to Him for answers. And yes, take time to STOP, LOOK AND LISTEN. Love ya, Pastor Dan.

Thurs/Fri Feb 16/17 2012 Treasures

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is there your heart will be also."

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. It is Friday Morning and yes, I did not get the message out last night for after doing some necessary ministry typing, my hand gave up on me. God telling me to go to bed and rest, which I did! Prayers today for Churches and all who attend them and of course their staff and pastor. For Families including the Family of God. For schools and all who attend them. Also for all those who go into the fields of harvest and work for the Lord. New to our prayer list today, Pray for Rose, a 40 year old lady who has colon cancer and is having surgery. For Karen who broke her arm, and for these on our ongoing list. Ronald (cancer), Donna (Heart), Shelly (Kidneys), Patsy (Pain), Burt (Fall), Barbara Paules, (cellulitis). Also Kelly Pallone (brain cancer, has been in a coma for three weeks), Carlene Cunningham (serious breast cancer and also colon cancer).  For the following adult children:  Matthew, Laura and Jan.  For Vicki who needs to be on our list each day. Also for Allison (cancer), Kelly's and Bruce's dads are very ill and need prayer, and pray for Billie Jo and Catherine her grandmother. For Tom Sansoni and his group heading to the Holy Lands.

Praise reports. Janet and Charles home safe from their big trip! Carry The Light Ministries' offer was accepted on a building (shed type, but big) that will be trucked in very soon. GOD IS GOOD. Praise Report. A surprise visit happened at the Saylor home, when brother Daniel who lives out of the area in Ohio, showed up at the door. Praise God for that and a safe trip for him coming and going. GOD IS GOOD.

Feb 16/17 Treasures: Matthew 6:19 - "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is there your heart will be also." (NIV)

GUILTY!! Ok, so God is once again having me write on a subject that I need to be very, very careful with. All my life I have been a car, truck, motorcycle and bus nut (ok, just a plain nut).  Folks, I do not "worship" these vehicles, I worship God and God alone, but I still have this hobby as most people on earth have hobbies. Some of them are bigger than others. Some of the vehicles that I have purchased and stored have been then donated to museums, given to other charities to be used in their ministries, etc. But I do not want to labor on this as we are not to be talking about it, as we will be rewarded in heaven. Still with that said, I am truly a person who loves automobiles and their history and even the new ones. I must tell you this story, a few years back two young men, yes, and I mean young as in teenagers were here helping work on a school bus that was going to a friend. One of the boys fell in love with an old station wagon I had parked here. It was a nice car but needed work and he wanted to purchase it. I told him, if his father would approve the sale, he could purchase the car for 300 boxes of Mac and Cheese for our food pantry. That same afternoon this lad, still not licensed to drive, showed up with OVER 300 boxes of Mac and Cheese, for you see this lad found a buy on the product, which I told him would cost about 50 cents per box and that would be about $150 and since he got a deal, he purchased more... Good kid right? God is good.

But let's look deeper into the scripture, for it is not just about me. Look around your place, if you collect things, ok, but don't worship them. Everybody collects something, for it is fun. Salt and Pepper shakers, thimbles, little bells, teddy bears, ducks, I mean most people collect something, the thing is do not put your collection ahead of God. I know a few people that over the years moved so slow they collected dust. (That was a joke,  folks) Anyway, Jesus is telling us we should build up our treasures in heaven where they will not be stolen, or rust and the moth will not eat them. How do we build treasures in heaven, I mean I cannot take a bus and drive up to the golden gate someday and say I want to put this into heaven. No, how you build treasures in heaven, I could make it real simple and use this wording that I do each day... "Share your blessings." Warning, you must be careful on this one for as you share your blessings that God has given you, you are going to get more back. And please, folks, do not think that sharing your blessings is always about sending someone a check, however, that is a good one. Of course we are to give to the storehouse, in other words, to the place you worship so they have the means to keep working for God. But giving and sharing can also go to places like the Red Cross, Salvation Army, your local food pantry, veterans and I could go on and on. I do say this, if you give to a national organization, the money does not get used as it does if you stay local. But even still, you might consider sharing your blessings with a neighbor in need, and I could go on and on.

This, folks, is how you store up treasures in Heaven, you do them by doing good things for God here on earth. Folks, giving to help start a local "strip club" would not be a way to build up treasures in heaven. (Not kidding on that one.) The story is long, so let me wrap it up this way. WHATEVER you can do in the name of Jesus, and do it in faith, from your heart, will help you build up those treasures in heaven... and someone said Amen.

Dear Father in Heaven, we look to You for all things, and start this day by thanking You and giving You praise for all things good in our lives. Even in pain, Lord, we give thanks for we know the pain Jesus went through for us. Lord, guide us in our giving so it reaches whom You want it to reach, help us to pray about how we share our blessings, and help us to now worship our collections of "stuff" here on earth, for Lord, we should not have it as Your word tells us so help us with this. I confess, Lord, I am a vehicle nut, and always have been, help me not ever bow down to these things. Lord, be with all those on our prayer list and as we want them healed, we want it to be as Your will and not ours. We truly respect Your will in our lives, and I confess sometimes I don't like it, but Lord, I love You and again respect and love all You do for all of us. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Now go forth building your treasures in heaven by SHARING YOUR BLESSINGS in the name of Jesus... Love ya, Pastor Dan.

To help support the purchase of the building Carry The Light Ministries has purchased, and to help rebuild the inside to get it ready for the mission, this will be used for holding toys for those coming to visit Santa, an outreach of the ministry. All kids who visit Santa are told about the real meaning of Christmas. Hey, if we cannot get into public schools as Santa, and we cannot work the malls as Santa and tell about Jesus we will bring the children to our food pantry for this outreach... Someone please say Amen here. You may send if you wish, and only if from your heart, a donation to

Carry The Light Ministries

16 Dewalt Drive

Mechanicsburg Pa. 17055

Dollars received above what is needed for the building will be used in the food pantry.  

Wed. Feb. 15, 2012 No Rewards

"Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in Heaven."

Good Salvation Wednesday, my dear brothers and sisters. Yes,  Salvation Wednesday and the day we pray for our brothers and sisters who might be lost and also pray for we who are saved to go out and help bring in the lost. Also please keep praying for those on our prayer list this week. Please pray for the following:  Ronald (cancer), Donna (Heart), Skelly (Kidneys), Patsy (Pain), Burt (Fall), Barbara Paules (cellulitis). Also Kelly Pallone (brain cancer, has been in a coma for three weeks), Carlene Cunningham (serious breast cancer and also colon cancer).  For the following adult children:  Matthew, Laura and Jan.  For Vicki who needs to be on our list each day. Also for Allison (cancer), Kelly's and Bruce's dads are very ill and need prayer, and pray for Billie Jo and Catherine her grandmother.

A short update! It seems I am doing better writing in the evening when my hand is working better. However, this seems to make my writings a day late. So I am going to start writing the evening before for the next day. Also I am going to keep adding to the prayer lists, leaving the names on for a week, and at the beginning of the week, I will clear that list and start anew, leaving on those who I know still need that prayer daily. Yes, I can copy and paste this way and it helps with my typing for now. I am not going to stop writing as I want to do this for God, and also the doctor said USE IT!!

February 15: No Reward: Matthew 6:1 - "Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in Heaven." (NIV)

I want to try and relate this to Carry The Light Food Pantry. Over the years we have debated if we wanted to call in the news folks on the one day a year when we have our big food distribution. (All other food distribution is done by appointment with those coming for food.)

While a few years ago, Chuck Rhoads (ABC 27 TV News) did an Out and About with Santa and Mrs. Claus, and we also do TV shots to get food in, we have never had the news come on a day we handed out food. And I base this on the above scripture and of course it is supported by our ministry team. I cannot say that I have not been tempted to call them out, for we would more than likely pick up some who would donate food, I just think it would be out of line and we would lose our rewards in heaven.

With all that said, we have hit a point where we must get the word out to the needy, that we do have food to hand out, for as we have grown, God has been good, and this year after our big day, we had almost as much food on the shelves after we gave out as we did going in, of course we purchased a lot of food for just that reason. While we had over 165 families call on us during 2011, we need to keep letting the public know we are here. Most of our names come in from schools, and children and youth. So I need you to pray for me, and for our ministry team as we seek ways to get the word out, without crossing the line and looking for a pat on the back. ALL OF US, on the ministry team and those who come to help throughout the year will receive their rewards in heaven. We also need to be careful that we do not over-extend ourselves and have our food bank emptied in a few days. In other words, I do not want to put an ad in our big city paper saying WE HAVE FOOD, COME AND GET IT.

Just today I did the following. I contacted the veterans administration in our county as we keep hearing that we have veterans who do not have enough to eat. I think that is really bad and we need to always stand by and help those who have given for us by their service to our country. As they have said many times about those in the military, "All gave some and Some gave all." On our ministry team we have two veterans out of the five of us. Grant is an Army veteran and Dolores is an Air Force veteran (thanks for your service to our country).

I contacted the county to see if we were listed on their list of food banks, or food pantries and we were not. We were on, and we are now on again. Again this is within the county (Cumberland County Pa.) where we have our food pantry. With that said, we do not stop at county lines helping others and we never have. NO ONE HAS EVER BEEN TURNED AWAY. Other food pantries also know that if they cannot by their rules help folks, or they are not near a distribution date, they can refer people to us.

I also contacted a small paper called "The Guide" who said they will run a story that I write about Carry The Light Food Pantry.

I also want to thank all of you on this line, who support our efforts with your dollars and food donations, it is indeed appreciated. Please pray for us as we take another step out in faith and grow. We also have put a bid on a big shed type building that was damaged in the flood last year. Please pray about that. If we do not get it, we are going to need to either purchase a new one or stick build one. Our basement is running out of room. God is good.

Dear Father in Heaven, we love You and we look to You for our Salvation and for helping us to reach out to others. Please keep blessing our ministry, so that we can pass the blessings along to others, and Lord, please help us to remember always to keep sharing our blessings and wait for our rewards when we get home with You. Lord, please look over our prayer requests and as we really would like all them healed, it is Your will we want You to do. Thanks for all You do for all of us each day. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Now folks, go forth and share your blessings, and again, thanks for reading and thanks for sharing your blessings. Love ya, Pastor Dan.  

Tues Feb 14, 2012 Love Your Enemies

"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and send rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

Happy St. Valentines' day, my dear brothers and sisters. PRAISE THE LORD, PRAISE THE LORD. The stitches in my right hand were removed this afternoon, and although I still have no feeling in the hand, I am to use it all I can. Now I knew going in I had severe nerve damage in my hand and now it is 100% in the hands of God to heal. Not a bad place to be. In the meantime, maybe I can now get back on schedule with my typing. Thanks for all your prayers. PRAISE THE LORD, PRAISE THE LORD. Billie Jo (last name withheld) who comes to our food panty, had her appendix burst on February 8th, and while she was in the hospital for nine days, she was at our home today, and moving slowly and taking her grandmother to the doctors. Ministry partners Grant and Wanda were here and loaded her car, and we sat down and ate together. After lunch I anointed them with oil in the name of Jesus and we laid hands on both of them praising and thanking God for His Healing hand. Please pray for the following:  Ronald (cancer), Donna (Heart), Skelly (Kidneys), Patsy (Pain), Burt (Fall), Barbara Paules (cellulitis). Also Kelly Pallone (brain cancer, has been in a coma for three weeks), Carlene Cunningham, (serious breast cancer and also colon cancer). For the following adult children:  Matthew, Laura and Jan. For Vicki, who needs to be on our list each day. Also for Allison (cancer), Kelly's and Bruce's dads are very ill and need prayer.

Feb 14, 2012 Love Your Enemies: Matthew 5:43 - "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and send rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (NIV)

I did not plan it this way, but love your enemies just happened to come up on St. Valentines' day. Our Lord Jesus when discussing gifts that we have received out of all the gifts love is the best. Love is talked about many, many, many times in the Bible. I just want to quote it from four places today.

John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not parish but have eternal life." (NIV)

Now this one reminds me of our men and women of our military and also our police and firefighters.

John 15:13 - "Greater Love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends." (NIV)

Then there is this ORDER for Jesus:

John 15:17 - "This is my command: Love each other." (NIV)

And from the book of Psalms:

Psalm 36:7a - How priceless is your UNFAILING love!! (NIV)

So let us look for a minute or two at the scriptures and see what the example of Jesus is. The example of Love from Jesus is all throughout the Bible and hard to just point it to these verses, but it is very clear that we are to love everyone, and just look at our main scripture in Matthew today, we see how Jesus not just tells us to love everyone, but he uses the example of sending the sun on the good and the evil and the same with rain. We have learned this lesson at our food pantry, while we pray with everyone who comes for food, we do not turn anyone away, even if we suspect they do not know Jesus as their Savior. In fact when we love on our enemies does that not give us a chance to witness for Jesus when we do this? When Carry The Light Ministries got our 501c3 which among other things would let us get food from the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, we could purchase it for much less dollars than going to the food stores. (We also receive a lot of food donated by others.) Anyway when I went to talk to the People at Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, I was told if we signed with them, we could not have prayer with them. Well. they did not need to go further, for if we cannot pray with people and lay hands on them, they why have the food pantry? We are HERE TO FUEL THE BODY AND THE SOUL. And being able to pray with everyone who comes for food is most important to us. Do you see where I am coming from? Jesus points out that if love only those who love us, what have we gained? So, folks, we need to love everyone. Everyone, Jesus tells us, and while we might not like the life style of some, we are to love the person and hate their sins, and yes, while we are at it, we should hate our own sins also.

Those other scriptures...  John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." We all know this example God sent Jesus to die for us, and folks, that is great love, and He died for all of us, even those who hated them. And then there is

John 15:13 - "Greater Love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for his friends." (NIV)  Taking the example from Christ who laid down His love for us, many of our military have laid down their lives for all of us so we would be able to be free, and dare I say, all who served were ready to  lay it down if called upon... Our police officers nationwide would do the same if needed... And so would our firefighters.

So enough for today, Happy St. Valentines' Day. 

Dear Father in Heaven, thanks for teaching us love, and thanks for working on my hand and for our friend Billie Jo, thanks for sparing her life. Dear Lord, please hear our prayers and answer them according to your will for we know that Your will, is better for us than ours. Thanks, Jesus, and I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Now go forth sharing your blessings and showing your love for others. And please remember there is a difference between love and lust, and love and sex. Love, real love, is from God... Love ya, Pastor Dan. 

Monday February 13, 2012 An Eye for and Eye

"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for Eye, and tooth for tooth,' But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you."

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. It is Monday and we have a big, big prayer list for today. So let me get right to it. Pray for our President and all other leaders, National, State and Local. Also on Mondays we pray for our veterans and military, police and firefighters. And please pray for the following: Ronald (cancer), Donna (heart), Skelly (kidneys), Patsy (pain), Burt (Fall), Barbara Paules (cellulitis). Also Kelly Pallone (brain cancer, has been in a coma for three weeks), Carlene Cunningham (serious breast cancer and also colon cancer).  For the following adult children: Matthew, Laura and Jan, also for Vicki who needs to be on our list each day. Also for Allison (cancer). Also my daughter Danelle's next door neighbors, Kelly and Bruce, both of their fathers are very ill and need prayer.

Monday: An Eye for an Eye: Matthew 5:38 - "You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for Eye, and tooth for tooth,' 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41 If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you." (NIV)

Ok, what is the example of that Jesus is trying to teach us here? Number one, I think He wants to show us to be peaceful people, and let Him deal with those who cause problems. He teaches us to turn the other cheek if someone strikes you, and folks, I don't think this just means if someone hits you with a fist, but I think this might also mean when someone slams us with words. Instead of hitting back with a fist, or in the case when they used words, walk away, and don't get into a "mouth battle". When Jesus talks about someone suing you, you are to try and settle it. So I repeat, we are to be a peaceful people, He wants us to just turn the other cheek, to walk away from trouble. I am sure many, many people, while going out working for the Lord, will face those who want to hurt us, and Jesus is telling us, we are to stand up for Him, and act like He did. The best example was when Jesus was taken into custody and put on trial for our sins, He did not fight back, and even went as far as to put an ear back on one of the servants of the high priest when it was cut off by one in the company of Jesus. Recorded in Matthew 26:47/53 you can read for yourself this story. (I am having trouble typing.)

Dear Father in Heaven, please review our prayer requests and answer them according to your will. And Lord, help us to be peaceful, to turn the other cheek, and Lord, please help us on the road also for people cut us off, and we must learn not to go after them and do the same to them. Help us and give us strength... In the name of Jesus, I pray.  Amen.

Now go forth sharing your blessings, and yes, turning the other cheek... love ya, Pastor Dan.  

Fri/Sat Feb 10/11, 2012 It's the law 4

"Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.' But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; or by the earth, for it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair hair white or black. Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes' and your no be 'No'. Anything beyond this comes from the evil one."

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. I was starting to write on Friday and my hand did not want to do it. So it is Saturday Morning. Please pray for our veterans, our current Military, The Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines Coast Guard, Merchant Marines, Police, Fire Fighters, and all others who work to keep us free and safe. Pray for our President and all other leaders, National, State and Local. And please pray for the following:  Ronald (cancer),  Donna (Heart), Skelly (Kidneys), Patsy, (Pain), Burt (Fall) Barbara Paules (cellulitis). Also Kelly Pallone (brain cancer has been in a coma for three weeks), Carlene Cunningham (serious breast cancer and also colon cancer).  For the following adult children Matthew, Laura and Jan, and also for Vicki who needs to be on our list each day. Also for Allison (cancer).

It's The Law 4: Matthew 5:33 - "Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.' 34 But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair hair white or black. Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes' and your no, be 'No'. Anything beyond this comes from the evil one." (NIV)

At one time when you went to court, you would put your left hand on a Bible and your right hand in the air and they would ask you "Do you swear to tell the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you God?" and you are to answer I do. Now the Bible in most cases has been removed, but we are to still "swear" to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God. You are being sworn in and your truth is not just expected, it is demanded, and if you lie under oath, you could be fined or even go to jail. In our scriptures, Jesus tells us not to swear just to always tell the truth and of course Jesus once again is setting examples of this. Jesus always spoke the truth and of course he wants us always to speak the truth. Keeping your word, or telling the truth is very important, and some might think that telling the truth or keeping your word is just by what comes out of your mouth. No, you can lie or break an oath when you say, sign a contract to buy and car and then don't pay for it if you took out a loan. The same with your home when you sign on the line, you are saying I am telling you the truth, I will pay for this house. Sometimes in life things do happen that make it look like we lied or did not tell the truth on things. Let's say for example you purchased your house and maybe you had two incomes and one person was laid off, or maybe in a marriage one person walks out and does not pay their share, leaving the other to hold the bag so to speak.

Then to protect our word, we sometimes need to make changes, sell the car, or even downsize on the home. In other words we must do all we can do to carry out our word. Jesus makes it very plain and simple for us to understand. Say Yes or No and mean what you say.

These statements of Jesus go right back to the old testament, as Exodus 20:16 - You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

Now as I have told you many times, neighbor means everyone that is NOT YOU. Even your family can be your neighbor when telling the good news of Jesus. We sometimes think of neighbors as just those across the street or next door. Our neighbors live on our street and in our town, and in our state and in our nation and all over the world. We are not talking Mr. Roger's neighborhood, we are talking about the NEIGHBORHOOD OF JESUS CHRIST...  and we all said AMEN.

Dear Father in Heaven, Help us to always tell the truth and to keep our word, be it spoken or in writing, and dear Lord, please check on our prayer requests and heal them according to your will. And Lord, thanks for the reminder today of how your hands must have hurt from the nails... Forgive me when I complain about pain... In Jesus' name, I pray, AMEN.  

This morning when Dolores and I were praying I was praying for the pain in my hand to be lifted, when I remembered that Jesus had nails put through His hands. Excuse me when I complain about the pain. Just shows we are weak and He is strong, and that is why Jesus loves us little children. And I love ya also... Pastor Dan.