Friday 4/27/2012 Promises From God 9

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

Good Friday Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. Friday and the day we pray for all those who are working for our Lord Jesus in His Fields of Harvest. Please include your pastors and also all those you know who are working those mission fields, and remember those fields do not need to be in a foreign lands. Your mission field for God might just be across the street from your home, or even, and hear me on this, even under your own roof. Many families have members of the family who believe and some that don't or who are just playing with being a Christian. To be a Christian in my opinion you must have Jesus in your heart, and you must be living to please Him. Christian means to me, to be Christ like. As we pray for God's workers I ask you this question again today, ARE YOU ON THIS PRAYER LIST? Also please keep Vicki in your prayers today as she has knee surgery. Let's get to the message.

4/27/2012 Promises From God 9 Matthew 1:20 - But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." (NIV)

Let's talk about Joseph for a minute or two. First, Joseph was a carpenter by trade, but he was best known because he was the earthly father of our Lord Jesus. I want you to think about this, this man, because he was engaged to be married to Mary, is given the responsibility of bringing up Jesus in those tender years. I am sure that when God chose Mary to be the mother of Jesus that she was found to be in favor of God, but I think that Joseph had to be looked over also. Joseph did not just come along for the ride. Man, according to God, heads the household and that means when Jesus was a child, He had a great mother, but He also had a great father here on earth. He did not turn away, like so many dads of today, he raised his Son.

As I look at the scriptures and read over them I find that Jesus was afraid, maybe thinking what has Mary done, was she unfaithful to me, as she is in the motherly way and I did not do it. Then God sent an angel to Joseph in a dream to set the record straight. Even with that, what must have gone through his head, first what do I tell our friends, as they might think either she was sleeping around (today's wording from me) or she was with me before we were married. I would think once he got past that, then he thought about how God has trusted not just Mary, but also him. What great trust.

Now I want you to think about yourself for a few minutes, I want you to think about this, would you be worthy the way you live today of being picked to be the father of Jesus? Ok, back up a minute, MEN, and this is for you MEN. Are you worthy of taking care of your earthly family and are you doing it? I think for some males, and I refuse to call them men, but some males find it like a joke to see how many children they can make with different women. MEN, there is more to being a MAN than just making a baby, that is the easy part, it is how your raise up those kids that counts, and I must confess when I was younger I messed up on this. I could have done much better, and my problem was, you might guess this, my problem was, I was not saved, I was not walking with Jesus, and MEN, when you are not walking with Jesus you are walking with Satan, for there are only two sides and they are good and evil. I know MEN who are so good with their families, and then I know some males, who again I just cannot call them men for they have made children and do not do anything for the kids..

Here we have Joseph and, MEN, let's look at Joseph for right now as an example of how we should be involved with our kids in their tender years. Joseph could have walked away but he did not, and Joseph was even told what to name this child, who is going to be the Christ child, and He will grow up and save people from their sins. There are a lot of lessons in this scripture and I talked about Joseph most of all, but let's just pull out a few of the promises.

One, the angel of the Lord told Joseph not to be afraid and who the Father of Jesus was, God made that promise to Joseph that the Father of Jesus was the Holy Spirit. The main promise in these verses I find to be this. "You are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will SAVE HIS PEOPLE FROM THEIR SINS."

And this promise goes on today, and please notice the scripture tells us that He will save HIS PEOPLE from their sins. To be one of HIS PEOPLE, you need to be born again. Are you born again this day, and yes, I am going to close with a salvation word, are you saved today? Jesus will take you Just as you are... Men, are you doing your job as a father, or are you just a "sperm donor" as Doctor Laura would say? Let's go to Christ right now, and men, let's ask God to help us do a better job as fathers, as dads. Even if our families are out of the nest, we can still be a father, for this job never ends. In our family, I am now the one on the top rung of the ladder just under God, who is on the top of the ladder. If I would have lived like this years ago, I am sure it would have been different. But I know Jesus now and it is my job to get the message to others... Right now, will you join me in renewing or if you have never come to Christ, will you do it today?

Dear Father in Heaven, Please, dear Lord, forgive me of my sins, for I confess I am a sinner, and need Your saving grace. Help me, please, for I know You, Jesus, I know You came to save the sinners, and I am indeed a sinner. Save me, Lord, Save me Lord. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Now go forth and share those blessings and share please the word of the Lord... AND MEN, STEP UP TO THE PLATE AND FOLLOW JESUS AND HIS EXAMPLES AND ALSO THE EXAMPLES OF JOSEPH, the earthly father and leader of the family, under God of course, of Jesus... Love ya, Pastor Dan.   

Thur. 4/26/2012 Promises From God 8

"Have faith in God," Jesus answered. "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."

Good Thursday morning, my dear brothers and sisters, it is a beautiful morning here at the Southern Location of the North Pole, just beautiful. Today we pray for our churches, our schools and our families, and please remember the "family of God." Please keep praying for Allison and Ronald, cancer, Pastor Larry, heart, Dolores, infection, and another knee failure. Please pray also for Vicki who will be having knee surgery tomorrow. As we pray for families, please pray for the Saylor family, and please pray for Noah, that his dad would step up to the plate and take care of business as a dad, like Jesus wants him to do.

4/26/2012 Promises From God 8.  Mark 11:22 - "Have faith in God," Jesus answered. 23 "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins." (NIV)

Brothers and sisters, have you noticed one common thing about all these promises from God that we have covered so far? I want you to really think about it. One thing, they are based on Love from Jesus, but the big thing I have noticed, they all talk about having faith. If anyone ever asks you about our religion, which I like to call "followers of Jesus," you could tell them real fast that our religion is "faith based." When we step out speaking out for Jesus, what are we doing? We are taking a walk out in faith for and with Jesus.

As we look at the scripture of today we see again Jesus starts out by saying, "Have faith in God." So I say to you, dear brothers and sisters, do you have that faith today? Our scripture goes on to tell us that "whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." It is telling us that as we ask, if we ask in faith and have faith, it has already been done. Often I close our prayers by saying they will be done, and folks, it is to be done as per the will of God, but He wants us to have the faith in Him that is that strong that His will and ours will be the same. Several places in the Bible it talks about having faith enough to move a mountain. I want you to think of those men and women back years ago before the days of the big earth moving machines, how they went with picks and shovels and built those turnpike tunnels. They moved part of the mountain so they could just go right through them. And then with the talent that God has loaned man, big earth moving machines were made. At one time we called them "steam shovels." I am talking big digging machines, and today we have those big pans, and folks, those big contractors must have faith in God for they in many cases have leveled mountains, by moving the peaks into the valleys and they built highways and byways and big shopping malls, etc. All spelled out in the Bible if we care enough to dig in and look beyond just a few words and really study what the scripture means to us today.

Jesus has not changed, my brothers and sisters, and nor has His word, but He for sure opens it differently as we grow in Him. Even since I started writing years and years ago, I find different things in the same scriptures, and sometimes I can write on a scripture one day and the very next day He will open my eyes to see it differently. So on this Thursday on the day we pray for churches, schools and families, I ask you, where is your faith level? When you pray to our Father in Heaven through our Lord Jesus Christ, do you pray as if the answer has already been received? Or do you keep praying trying to change God's mind? Let's go to God today and just have faith that what we are asking is answered as we finish our prayers...

Dear Father in Heaven, please bless our churches and the families and people who attend them, please, Lord, I pray for the pastors that they preach the truth as it appears in the Bible and not spin it to say things are ok when they are not. Lord, bless our schools and help us to teach our children and grandchildren and great grandchildren about Jesus so that they may take Jesus back into our schools. And Lord, Father of us all, I pray today for families, and I pray that men, all men, will remember that they are to head up that household under You, of course, and take charge. I pray for the one who has a son named Noah and pray that he, who confesses to love You, will step up to the plate and get involved with Noah. Lord, I pray for all families today, Lord,  and ask a blessing on them. And Lord, please take care of Vicki during surgery tomorrow and please heal Ron and Allison and also Dolores this day... I claim victory in You this day, dear Jesus, as I pray in Your name. Amen.

Now go forth and IN FAITH share those blessings. Love ya, Pastor Dan.   

Wed. 4/25/2012 Promises From God 6

"If you can't?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes."

Jesus looked at them and saids "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God."

Good Salvation Wednesday, my dear brothers and sisters. Yes, the day we pray for Salvation for the unsaved and pray that God will use we who are saved to get the unsaved to the feet of Jesus to be saved.

We break up our week mid-point to pray for salvation for the unsaved. I started this years ago and starting calling it Salvation Wednesday. When I was but a child I would go with my mamma on Wednesday evenings to prayer meeting. It was mid-week and time to replenish your soul on what you might have burnt up. A time to get together with others from your church, study the bible and of course pray and pray and pray. Now there are some churches having mid-week service but many, many remain dark. If I was a pastor in a church right now I would have a Wednesday Evening service and call it "Salvation and Hot Dogs." You need to know that first I am saved, I am born again, I answered the Salvation call from Jesus and I also like to eat Hot Dogs.

I just think you could have a service say starting at 6.00 PM and have Hot Dogs and maybe some homemade soup and have mid-week services. For most who work, getting home, getting the family something to eat and then going back to church is hard, so guess what would not work... Church gets chopped. There I go thinking out loud again. I know some churches do just that, have a service with a light lunch mid-week. So folks, let your Jesus light shine and see if you can bring someone to the feet of Jesus to be saved.

Wednesday 4/25/2012:

Mark 9:23 - "If you can't?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes." (NIV)

Mark 10:27 - Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God." (NIV)

Looking at Mark 9:23 ---- Have you ever got up in the morning, started your day out and found that things just are not going well? You try and do a couple of chores that maybe you do daily and things are just not working, maybe simple things as you hurry around getting ready for the day. You put toast in, and push down the lever and it does not stick, you try and try and that old toaster just does not want to work. You spill your coffee on your clean clothes and so the day goes. Then you remember that you never stopped to pray. You stop and pray, the toaster works, and you put on clean clothes and pour another cup of coffee. Your day gets better and better. Then you remember that Jesus said "Everything is possible for him who believes."

Brothers and sisters, I want you to notice on this scripture that you could take part of a word out, and you would have something like this. Things are possible for him who believes. But Jesus said it this way, everything is possible, I repeat, EVERYTHING is possible. Jesus could have said, some things or a few things but no, JESUS SAID, EVERYTHING is possible for him who believes.

Looking at Mark 10:27 ----- Jesus is telling us with man this is impossible, but not with God. And again we see it worded like this ALL THINGS are possible with God. I do want you to take notice that God did not say all things are possible and EASY, with God.

The bottom line is, folks, there is nothing you cannot do, if you do it with God and you believe... So how do we get started with this? Pray, warriors, pray.

Dear Father in Heaven, please take me this day by the hand and help me in all I do, I know according to Your word and I am leaning on it, that I can do anything if I do it with You. Help me, Lord, and help me bring others, the lost, in to You to be healed and saved. In Jesus' Name, I pray, Amen.

Now go forth believing in God and asking His help in all you do, and yes, even ask Him and talk to Him as you "share your blessings." Love ya, Pastor Dan.

By the way, yesterday I invited you to a picnic, told you to save the date, but I did not give you the date. It is Saturday July 7th and we eat at noon... Hope to see you there...    

Tuesday 4/24/2012 Promises from God 6

"Consider carefully what you hear," He continued. "With the measure you use, it will be measured to you and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him."

Good, let's pray for a cure, Tuesday, my dear brothers and sisters. I had this message ready this morning and my computer had a crash before I had my work saved and it went bye bye. Anyway, pray for a cure for cancer, heart problems, kidney failures, and computer virus, etc. Please keep praying for those on our daily prayer list.

Please put this date in your date book. Carry The Light Ministries summer picnic. Please come and meet our ministry team, and our families and of course you and your family are welcome. We will eat at noon.

4/24/12 Promises From God! 6 Mark 4:24 - "Consider carefully what you hear," He continued. "With the measure you use, it will be measured to you and even more. 25 Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him." (NIV)

Before we get started on the complete scripture of this day, I want you to take a look at those first few words. "Consider carefully what you hear." While this, in the words of Jesus, is tied to this scripture, let's put it into our everyday lives. As we all know, Jesus sets many examples for our daily walk, and let us take a look at this. Consider carefully, what we hear, and let me add to that, how we act on what we hear! These words to me, tell me that before I pass anything on, I should consider if the statement or statements I hear are the truth, and then if I do pass them on, would they hurt someone. In other words would it be gossip? Let's take a good look at some of the things we are asked to pass along that come our way on the e-mail. People send us things that say if we pass them on, even if they are about God, if we pass them on and do it right away, and send a copy back to the one who sent it to us, we will be blessed within five minutes. Please look at the words of Jesus before you send those things, scroll down to the end of them and look them over. And then remember these words of Jesus. "Consider carefully what you hear." Now I could go on and name a few more of these examples, but I am sure you all hear things at work, in the break room or at the coffee pot. As you hear others talking, please go over and over again these words of Jesus. Consider carefully what you hear.

Now let's add in the rest of the verse for Mark 4:24. "Consider carefully what you hear," He continued. "With the measure you use, it will be measured to you and even more. Take a good look at it, again and again, if you "Consider carefully what you hear" and act on it according to how Jesus would want you to act on it, then what you measure out will be given back to you and even more... Let's apply it to another scripture, let's look at the one of the ones we did just yesterday about giving to God. You have heard it because it is in the Bible (reading is like hearing and in fact most cases better as you can go back and review it.) If you consider carefully that scripture and act on it, it will be given back to you even more of a measure than you gave out. AMEN.

And now a quick look at Mark 4:25.  Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him." (NIV)

If indeed we follow those words of Jesus, we will be given more, but if we do not heed the words of Jesus, we might just lose what we already have. I am sure you all have heard the term use it or lose it (think nice, guys).  Let's say you sit around all the time, sit or lay across the bed, day after day and week after week, and then you decide you are going to go and run around the block, how far might you get? You must keep those legs in shape. Folks, let's talk about this, your Jesus smile, and if you share that smile with others, you will find more and more people smiling back at you. Maybe we could also call that one, "do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

Ok, I had more examples this morning but my mind is telling me that I must not have used it so I am losing it. (I plead old age.)

Dear Father in Heaven, I pray that each person right now makes this statement from the bottom of their hearts... Jesus, I truly love You, and please forgive me when I do not show it. Help me really consider all of what you have taught us and shown us and put it into our daily walk... I love You and I am trying hard not to sin, but confess I am indeed a sinner. Please forgive me this day... In the name of Jesus, please act on our prayers according to Your will... in Jesus' name,  Amen.

Now go forth and please consider carefully what you hear and how you act on this from me... Please share your blessings. Love ya,  Pastor Dan.   

Monday 4/23/12 Promises From God 5

I The Lord do not change. /// Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. /// Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, How do we rob You? "In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse! --- The whole nation of you, because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there will 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 blessings that you will not have room enough for it.

Good Monday morning, my dear brothers and sisters, and it is a beautiful morning here at the Southern Location of the North Pole where we missed some snow by this much ( ).   Monday and the day we pray for our President and other leaders of our Great Nation. Also pray for our state leaders, local leaders, and please pray for our veterans, our current military, our police, state and local, and yes, support your local sheriff, and remember your firefighters and all those who work hard to keep you healthy and safe. Prayers also today for Anna Mae Goddard, as she is waiting for the call from Jesus to go home. Prayers today for Vicki as she has her testing for a Friday surgery on her knee. Please keep praying for Dolores for her infection to clear her body. Also pray for our Neighbor "Debbie" who had cancer and is now in remission and for Ronald who has come out of remission. Pray God's healing hand on them please.

A couple of dates to keep in mind. Saturday May 5th on the Capitol Steps in Harrisburg Pa at Noon, a support your troops rally, PLEASE GIVE AN HOUR OF YOUR TIME for our Military!! I am honored to be asked again to give the opening and closing prayers. It is due to our veterans and our current military that an old preacher man can stand on the steps of our Capitol and say these three famous words. "LET US PRAY."

Also please keep Saturday July 7th open for our annual Carry The Light Ministries family picnic. We will eat at Noon, there will be some gospel music before we eat and after we eat. All food will be furnished, yes, old chef Santa is getting it ready now. Ham veggie soup, Turkey corn soup. Hot Dogs, Meat balls, salads, and lots of pie and cake. Come meet our ministry team and their families and our flock from the Bridges. Rain or Shine, it will be great... and you are invited... More coming...

4/23/12 Promises From God (Day 5)

Malachi 3:6 - I The Lord do not change. (NIV)

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

Malachi 3:8 - Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, How do we rob You? "In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse! --- The whole nation of you, because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there will 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 blessings that you will not have room enough for it. (NIV)

Wow, more great promises from our Lord God... God is good, and everyone said ----- AMEN.

Let's look at these scriptures. One real great promise is that God, our Lord Jesus, does not change and will not change. We see it in Malachi 3:6 and again in Hebrews 13:8 and you might ask, what is so good about that? Well, we know how our Lord Jesus set examples for us to live when He walked this earth and those examples stand today. While rules in families might change from day to day, rules for God do not. Might I say they were written in stone. But think about this, a child today does something wrong, breaks one of the house rules so to speak, if they still have house rules. A parent lays down some rules and here are a few examples of how they have changed. When I was a child, if I acted out in the food store, my mother would take me by the arm, turn me around and spank me on my rear end. Today if a child acts out in the food store the mother will yell at the child, I AM GOING TO COUNT!! I AM NOT KIDDING I AM COUNTING TO TEN... 1 2 3, YOU BETTER STRAIGHTEN OUT, I AM COUNTING 1 2 3... Excuse me ma'am, you were at four. One lady came to me once and said to me, Santa, will you talk to my child and make him behave? I said to her, can I spank him on his backside. NO... Mother, he is past the counting stage. Most young mothers can't count to ten anyway. God does not change, we know what to expect from Him, we know what the rules are and they do not change. So are we glad that Jesus does not change? We know the rules and we make a choice, I am happy He is the same... I love You Jesus, and I am happy You forgive my sins.

Now the next scripture for today is also from Malachi 3 and it talks about our robbing from God, and how we should tithe. And in fact it is the only place in the Bible where God tells us it is ok to test Him. We are not as a rule to put our Lord God to the test, but in our giving, if we give in faith we will find out we just cannot out give our Lord. Start by saying He gave His life for us and then so much more... Last night He gave us rain... God is good, and more promises from Him again tomorrow... Do you have a promise from God to share and remember to back it with scripture.

Dear Father, thanks for being the same, each day the same. Please forgive me for my sins, Lord, and help me repent. Please go over our prayer requests and honor them according to Your will. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Now go forth and share those blessings and do it in faith and watch God give you more of them back... and that is a promise from God... Love ya, Pastor Dan.     

Friday 4/20/12 Promises From God 4

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" "What is written in the Law?" He replied. "How do you read it?" He answered: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and Love your neighbor as yourself." You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."

Good Friday Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. Friday and the day we pray for those who work in the fields of Harvest for our Lord Jesus. And I do pray that all of you are on this prayer list for we are all to be taking the Good News of Jesus to all creation. Please remember Daniel Stoner and his family as they go into the back woods to share the Words of Jesus. Please pray for your pastors in your church also.

Please keep on praying for those who have been on our prayer list. Now let's get to the message.

Luke 10:25 - On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 26 "What is written in the Law?" He replied. "How do you read it?" 27 He answered: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and Love your neighbor as yourself." 28 You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live." (NIV)

Brothers and sisters, if we could just learn these two, just these two great commandments, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and Love your neighbor as yourself." If we would learn them and live by them, we would fall into line with what Jesus wants and we would have eternal life. It just sounds so simple to me. Let's find the key word in all of this, and let me tell you it is a four letter word, and there are good four letter words. "Love", my dear brothers and sisters, our whole Christian walk is about Love and let me tell you the word Christian gets a bad rap. Even Pastor Warren from California needs to get this right. His church, the Baptist church, is not a "Christian" church and the Mormon church something else. In my mind there is only one Christian Church and that is God's Church the one you join when you become Born Again. There are churches that their teachings are Christian based, and Baptist is surely one of them. But have you ever heard Glenn Beck, who is a Mormon, confess his love for Jesus? Glenn confesses his love for Jesus all the time, and I believe he walks the walk. I mean all of this is coming up because of Mitt Romney who is running for President. 

Folks, let's break down the word Christian for one minute. "Christian = Christ like".  The word Christian gets a very bad rap. How can, and I am going to get in trouble for this one also. How can anyone be a "Christian" being "Christ Like" and support abortion, and at least one of our "mainline" churches support a woman's right to choose. This is why we must Love, and there is the word again, this is why we must "LOVE" our Lord Jesus with all of our heart, our soul, our strength and mind, and it must be personal between us and Jesus. One on one. Now Jesus loved us enough to give His life for us, so we should be able to Love Him. The harder part of these two great commandments is Loving EVERYONE else, because Jesus said we must love our neighbors, and our neighborhood is the world. While you might find it easy to Love God, and also your neighbor who lives across the street or next door, what about those who are a different shade than you. What about one whose eyes don't look like yours? I want you to think real, real hard about this, my brothers and sisters. Even some people who say they are Christians are talking behind your back. Yes, folks,  it is easy to Love God, or should be, after all He died for all of us, but what about that that person who really cuts you apart all the time, maybe just because you love God and are like me and wear Him in the open. Let the light of Jesus, let your love of Jesus shine and don't let others put you on a guilt trip for the way You live when you are walking it with Jesus. Just love them, and as my dear sweet late mamma taught me, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Love your neighbor, and love them with a True Heart! And remember if you really want your church to be a "Christian Church" then join the Church of Jesus... and be born again...

If you don't know or understand those three words today, Love & Born Again, please call me. Yes we will talk about it... 717 991 0754 is my cell number.

Dear Father in Heaven, help us to follow those two great commandments, Love You and Love everyone else. Help us with it, Lord, and please bless those going out to work for You. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Now go forth and share those blessings. Love Ya, neighbor, and I love You, Jesus. Pastor Dan

Thur. 4/19/2012 Promises From God 3

So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

Good Thursday Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. Thursday and the day we pray for Churches, Schools and families. Now if we pray and pray we should be praying for God to head up all of them. Of course we know that God should be the head of the churches, and if you really think about it, you know that God should be heading up your family, and then the husband. And if we ever want our schools to work again we need to have God head them up. So the common here is that God should be ahead of all we do, very simple to me.

Please keep praying for Ron and Alison who has cancer, Dolores for infection, for Vicki who is going to have surgery in a week. Also new to the list, Clarella Hanna, a young mother with extreme pain throughout her body. Now let's get to the message.

4/19/2012 Promises from God 3: Luke 11:9 - So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. (NIV)

The first part of the scripture states to us. "Ask and it will be given to you."

Looking back to when I was but a child (yes when the streets were still dirt) and I wanted something, let's say an ice cream cone, sometimes when I would ask my mamma, she did not give me a yes right away and I had to ask again, and little Danny would ask so many times my mamma would think I was bugging her. And after asking over and over again, if I was a good little boy, she might give in, but if I was bad, no ice cream for me.

Now if we go to God in prayer, making a request for something and maybe that something might be for food, or let's say healing. If your prayer is not answered right away, do you ask again, and again? Sure we do, look at our prayer lists, we ask over and over and I wonder sometimes does God not answer us right away because we, well, like my mamma told me, I was bad! Maybe God would answer faster if we were not sinning. Just thinking, folks. Maybe if little Danny would have been a good little boy instead of a "brat" maybe I would have gotten that 5 cent ice cream cone on my first asking. Maybe God's will might hinge on us doing better when it comes to not sinning.

Now the next part of the scripture. "Seek and you will find."

How often have you been looking for something, and I am not talking about seeking out God on this, I am talking about just looking for something. Just yesterday I was looking for my watch, I looked and looked, I did not stop after just looking once, I knew I put it someplace. That was yesterday morning, last night when I emptied my pockets after being up all day and looking for my watch several times, I located it, in my shirt pocket, with my cell phone. Now let's relate this to seeking out God. When God gives me a scripture to use, often times I have had that same scripture before, in fact last week He referred me to the same scripture two days in a row, and I had two messages out of it. While I know I am saved, I have given myself over to God the Father by going through His Son Jesus and asking Jesus into my heart, I still need to seek Him out for help and guidance over the days. You see each and every day of our lives we need to be seeking out our Lord Jesus. I think I was in a Sunday school class one time called the Seekers. I hope you can see what I am saying on this. Please, don't stop seeking out God, just because you have become saved. In fact the more you seek Him, the more fun, yes, fun it is.

Now that next part of the scripture tells us this. "Knock and the door will be opened to you."

Ok, we go to someone's home, and you ring that old doorbell, and no one comes to the door, do you just leave, or do you think, I wonder if the doorbell rings, so you knock lightly on the door. No one comes to the door so you knock harder and harder. Now if you see someone pull down the blinds then you know they are hiding from you. But what I am saying is we do not just knock once, never, we just keep knocking. Now let's relate that to God. When we knock seeking out God and asking for Him, if we do not hear back from Him right away, do not give up, God is there, and He loves us and He will get back to us, but caution, folks, sometimes we must understand that NO is an answer. But God will never hide from you, He will not pull down the blinds and shut you out of Heaven. IF YOU ARE SHUT OUT OF HEAVEN, you have done it to yourselves.

So dear brothers and sisters, if when you ask God for help, please be polite but also don't be afraid to ask over and over again, and folks, when you are seeking out His face, please remember to keep on seeking, and praying and praying and seeking. And as for knocking, please keep on knocking, remember even when you tell the jokes, you always knock more than once... remember, "knock, knock" (oh that was bad).  Anyway, I think you get my point. Remember this, anything worth asking for, or asking to, or seeking out, or knocking for, is sure worth doing it more than once, and folks, when seeking out Jesus you are seeking out the best...

Now let's go to that final part of today's scripture and see what it tells us... "For everyone who asks receives, He who seeks finds, and to him who knocks the door will be opened."

And brothers and sisters, that is just another great Promise from God... Don't you just love all these promises? Let's pray.

Dear Father in Heaven, we are never going to stop asking for you to cure the cancer in the bodies of Ron and Alison and others who have cancer, and I am not going to stop asking, Lord, for you to clear the infection from Dolores until it is done. And Lord, I pray that I will never stop seeking You to get nearer and nearer to You, help me with it, Lord. And Lord, I am knocking on Your door and when You are ready for me, I am ready also, until then I want to keep asking and seeking and knocking and working for You. As always,  Lord, please answer our prayer requests according to Your will for us... In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Now brothers and sisters, let's move forward, asking and seeking and knocking and also "sharing our blessings" that we know come from God... Amen... love ya, Pastor Dan.  

Tues/Wed Apr 17/18 2012 Promises from God 2

The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.

Good Salvation Wednesday, my dear brothers and sisters. I am truly sorry about yesterday, I did some very early morning work with my friends from the Museum of Bus Transportation and when I got home at noon went to work in the food bank getting ready for folks to come for food. Last evening we received a call from a nurse for the doctor who was to work on Dolores' knee today. Her surgery was cancelled and she was advised to get in touch with a heart doctor. Something was wrong with the EKG taken in the hospital the week before last, and they waited till she was readied for surgery to mention it. We are taking this as God is just going to take the infection out of her knee, and she will not need the surgeries. Please pray warriors, pray.

Wednesday and the day we pray for Salvation for the unsaved and for God to send we who are saved into the fields of harvest to present the Good News to all the unsaved. We must also remember we need to work for the night is coming then we will work no more. Folks, the Bible does not talk about our retiring from working for Him. In fact, after you retire from your jobs then you should have more time to work for God. Amen!!

Please pray for all who have cancer, as Tuesday, the day I missed this week, was the day we pray for cures. Pray for all those who have heart problems, liver problems, kidney problems, etc.

Let's get to the message...

4/18/2012 Promises from God 2 Luke 1:35 - The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. 37 For nothing is impossible with God. (NIV)

The scripture for today, the promise that God has me looking at today, comes from when the angel of the Lord was talking to Mary about being the mother of Jesus, and of course Mary was a virgin and did not know how she could have a baby without being with a man. The angel of the Lord explained this to her and it is recorded in the scripture above. Let's take a look.

Ladies, picture yourself as this young girl, and Mary was young, and you are told you are going to have a baby, now you know you are a virgin and you are engaged to be married. You are found to be in favor from God and you are going to become the mother of our Savior. So as we look at great promises of God we find the first promise in these verses are "The Holy Spirit will come over you." This was a promise to Mary from God sent to her by an angel of the Lord. As we look at promises in the Bible, some will be for all of us, but there are some that will be for certain folks, and this is one that surely was sent to one person, but affects all of us. We look deeper into that verse and we see the "power of the Most High will overshadow her." The Power or the Most High is God, of course.

Now as we look at Luke 1:36 we see a promise that was made to Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth that they would have a child, and as the angel of the Lord told Mary, Elizabeth was six months along and Elizabeth and Zechariah were not spring chickens. So here we see that you have two ends of the scale, a young girl, who is a virgin, and an older woman, who was at that time barren were picked by God to fulfill His plans for us. But hold on,  folks, it gets better than that in these three verses. Let's look now at Luke 1:37.

Luke 1:37 - For Nothing is impossible with God. (NIV) Look at it again, brothers and sisters, for it tells us NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD. To me that means if we want to get something done, and we are willing to love God and work with Him doing it, nothing is impossible with Him. Let me bring out here that it does not promise that it will be easy, God just makes the promise that with Him, we can "get it done"

So brothers and sisters, as we start each day, we need to get it started with God. I confess that I often get started on something and it is going South on me and I am thinking, I never asked God to help me. So I stop and pray and then things get moving my way. If you cannot get it done, try doing it along side of God, for He has made us this promise. NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH HIM... and someone said Amen.

Dear Father the biggest thing we need done today is that You clear us from our sins and the stains of those sins and help us to repent of them. Lord, Nothing is impossible with You, but maybe your hardest job is working with me and others like me to help us repent of those sins. Lord, I really want to walk each day with You and I need to start each day with You to get it done. HELP me, Lord, help us, Lord. And Lord, on our prayer requests, please honor them according to Your will for us and those we are praying for. In Jesus name, Amen.

Now go forth sharing your blessings and living and working for The Lord. And hugging on His neck and sharing the blessings He has given you. Love ya, Pastor Dan.  

Monday 4/16/2012 Promises from God 1

In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my spirit in those days and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. AND EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.

Good Monday Morning, my dear brothers and sisters, it is a beautiful day here at the Southern Location of the North Pole. Just beautiful, and Monday is the day we pray for our leaders and veterans, military, police, firefighters, and all those who work to keep us healthy and safe. Also please pray for those that have been hit so hard by the twisters coming through the Mid-West. Let me just take a minute and tell you that I met one of my best friends because of a big twister that hit our area a few years back. And then in turn because of the storm, he met this pretty lady and their love grew and they were married a few years back. Sometimes it is hard to see at the time, but if we take a good look at Roman's 8:28  - And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. (NIV)

My good friend, Tom Mozer, had lost half of his house, and his insurance company put him up at a motel where his future wife worked. I did not know Tom at the time, but we had ties due to antique buses and cars. Our friendship grew, his love of Diane grew, and I got to marry them a few years ago. So when I think about storms, I think about the peace that often comes from them as people come together to clean up. Hey Tom and Diane, have a great day, I love you both!

Ok, pray for our President and other leaders, and pray that the mess about our men and women who guard our president gets taken care of. Regardless of who the president is, those folks have a job to do and they have disgraced our Nation.

Please pray for President Obama, first for Salvation, then that he works through Jesus to get the business of this nation done. Pray for all of our leaders, Federal, State, Local, and school. Pray for our military, and please pray for our veterans, and remember, please, those young, some just 18 years of age, who have lost limbs and parts, fighting so we can still speak out for God in our country. Pray for our police, not an easy job, folks, and for our firefighters, most in small towns who do not get paid. Also, when praying remember your family doctor, almost a thing of the past.

Please pray for Allison who will be starting a new type drug to fight cancer. Also, please keep praying for Ronald who also has cancer. And pray for Dolores who has this bad infection and will be having knee surgery on Wednesday to try and wash out the infection from that last new knee. I have cancelled my knee replacement surgery as my place is to take care of Dolores.

4/16/2012 Promises from God (1) Acts 2:17 - In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my spirit in those days and they will prophesy. 19 I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. 21 AND EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED. (NIV)

Unless God changes directions on me, I will be writing about promises that have been given to us by our God. And you will find that if we talked about promises of God each day for a year we would not get them all covered. God has promised us a lot, folks. Let's look at these scriptures of today and just see the promises in just these verses.

From Acts 2:17 - God promises that in the last days, He will pour out His Spirit on ALL people. I want you to notice right here that God promises to pour out His spirit on all people, not just those who love Him, but all people. If you go into a neighborhood and find those who love Jesus and those who hate Him, and then watch the next time it rains, you will find that both those who love God and those who don't all get rain on their yards when it rains. Please use that as an example for yourself, for when you "share your blessings" as this "good looking pastor tells you to each day", please share them with those who love God and those who don't. Also in Acts 2:17 it talks about sons and daughters will prophesy, and the young men will see visions. And brothers and sisters, in those last days, more and more people will come to the Lord.

From Acts 2:19.  Here God is making a promise that in those last days, He will show wonders in Heaven and on earth, and show us signs that it is coming to an end. Once again, folks, He is going to show us all, not just those who are saved.

From Acts 2:20, He makes this promise, that the sun will become dark and the moon like blood. This is  another warning of the end of the age.

From Acts 2:21. This great promise and again not just for those of us who believe now, but all who will "Call upon the name of the Lord to be saved."

Acts 2:21 - AND EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED. (NIV)

That verse was the center of our scripture today. Please be sure to call upon the Lord in the name of Jesus. A great promise for today's lesson...

Dear Father in Heaven, we call upon You in the name of Jesus today asking You look over our prayer requests and honor them according to Your will for us and for those we are praying for. Lord, thanks for the promises and may we try and keep a promise to You by saying we will try our best to repent of sins, and Lord that will take Your help, as we are indeed sinners... Lord, help us through this day. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

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

Fri April 13, 2012 Road to Emmaus 4

They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying "it is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon." Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when He broke the bread.

Good Friday Morning, my dear brothers and sisters, it is a beautiful morning here at the Southern Location of the North Pole. Being Friday it is the day we pray for all those who step out in faith and go working for Jesus. While we think of our pastors, missionaries, great gospel singers, etc., please do note some of the others, like Sunday School teachers, those who work tirelessly without pay taking care of their local churches, there are all sorts of ways to work for our Lord Jesus, and I just know all of you are doing your part. Please keep praying for Ronald Leidigh whose cancer has returned. Pray for Pastor Larry and the Glenvale Church of God. And please keep praying for Dolores. Here is a short update. I had Dolores to the surgeon who put this "third knee" in and he pulled fluid from the knee, you did not need to test the fluid to see it was a "mess".  Dolores is on home meds being put right into her blood stream. Next Wednesday the surgeon is going to go in and clean out the knee, again the following Wednesday he will do it again, this is done by the scope and not cutting her open, so to speak. Then if the infection does not clear, she will require major surgery, removing her knee and putting in a straight rod or pin, then after a while, another surgery to put in another new knee. We have faith that the infection will clear. So please keep praying.

April 13, 2012 The Road to Emmaus 4 Luke 24:33 - They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34 and saying "it is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon." 35 Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when He broke the bread. (NIV)

Before I start with this scripture, I want to go back to yesterday to part of the scripture I used yesterday.

Luke 24:30 - When He was at the table with them, He took bread, gave thanks and broke it and began to give it to them. 31 "THEN THEIR EYES WERE OPENED AND THEY RECOGNIZED HIM."

Yesterday I related His breaking of the bread and how that had happened before, but God pointed out something else this morning as I was reading this scripture in our morning studies here at home. "THEN THEIR EYES WERE OPENED." Brothers and sisters, how many of us, besides me, sat in a church pew for years and years with their eyes closed, and I am not talking about sleeping through the message".  Let me call this kind of sight today, and you can quote me on this, I was suffering from "20/20 blindness".  To quote me again you might say "I knew Jesus but I did not KNOW Him." How many of you can relate to this, you might have gone to church as a child and youth, and even sing in the choir as I did. My eyes could see the words of the songs, and even watch our choir director, the pastor's wife. I could see the pictures of Jesus, but I had this "20/20 blindness" when it came to really seeing Jesus. Now my eyes are open, really open, and brothers and sisters, when I look around it is hard for me NOT TO SEE Jesus. I can pick out people who love Jesus by the way they carry themselves. Some people have told Dolores and I that we should be cutting back when it comes to what all we do. No, no brothers and sisters, in fact just the opposite, we have pledged to work even harder. What if Jesus would have given up after He was arrested, or He would have called in the angels that were standing by as Jesus was "nailed to the cross."

And Jesus did not stop there, He went on after He was risen, and even after He returned to Heaven, for He is working for us each day. Some have told us to get rid of our dogs and other animals, and our dogs are old and handicapped, most are almost blind.

These two men walking toward Emmaus knew a lot about Jesus as they discussed Him with Jesus Himself, but they did not know Him enough to have seen Him while walking, but Jesus opened their eyes as He broke bread...

ARE YOUR EYES OPEN TODAY to see Jesus? Forget the sinners' prayer today, I am asking You point blank, CAN YOU SEE JESUS, DO YOU KNOW HIM TODAY? I don't mean do you know of Him, I am asking DO YOU REALLY KNOW AND LOVE HIM? DO YOU LOVE JESUS? Without a doubt, it is important for your salvation, and it is important for our ministry. Dolores, Pam, Wanda and Grant along with all of those who come to help at the food pantry, feeding the soul is more important to us than feeding the body with soup and veggies, etc. And folks, we care enough to ask people just like I am asking you. DO YOU KNOW AND LOVE JESUS NOW? IF JESUS WOULD RETURN RIGHT N------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------OW, WOULD YOU MAKE THE CUT, MAKE THE GRADE? Think about it, pray about it, and folks, if you are not sure, if you are not sure, talk to your pastor, or call me, I will talk to you and pray with You. My cell phone is 717 991 0754.

Dear Father in Heaven, open our eyes as You forgive our sins, PLEASE, PLEASE, help us to get Your word out, and also to be sure it sticks. Help us to follow up on those who hear it from us and from Your words. Hear our prayers today, Lord, and honor our requests for healing according to Your will. And Lord,  open blind eyes today. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Now go forth and share your blessings and be sure one of those is sharing your love of and for Him, share your story of how much you love Jesus. Do not be afraid, for if someone had not told you about Jesus, where would you be today? Would your eyes be open or closed? Love ya, Pastor Dan.  

Wed/Thur April 11/12 2012 Road to Emmaus 3

As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if He were going farther. But they urged Him strongly, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over."  So He went in to stay with them. When He was at the table with them, He took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him, and He disappeared from their sight.

Good Thursday Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. And since we missed Wednesday and we have prayers for Thursday also we are going to have Salvation prayers that we missed yesterday and also prayers for churches, schools, and families. Also, please pray for Ron Leidigh, for his cancer has returned and is strong, but Ron and his wife, friend and buddy have faith that God again will put the cancer in remission or remove it all together... Also for cancer please pray for Allison who is taking a walk in faith. Dolores is home, and yesterday we had a long lesson on how to work her home meds being installed through a port. (This in part why I did not get the message out yesterday.) I think I told you that I have cancelled my knee replacement for now, maybe forever, as we pray for God to heal it. As you pray for Salvation, please pray first for your salvation, then for that of others, yes, put yourself first, so that you can step out with the Lord talking to others. Then pray for families and churches and remember the family of God, God's own church in your prayers. Please do not throw out the best gift God gave us, that would be Salvation, and the forgiveness of our sins through Jesus Christ.

April 11/12: The Road to Emmaus: 3 Luke 24:28 - As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if He were going farther. 29 But they urged Him strongly, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over."  So He went in to stay with them. 30 When He was at the table with them, He took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him, and He disappeared from their sight. (NIV)

Just a quick review, you will recall that two men were walking along a road going to Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking about the events of the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus. Then Jesus came and starting walking with them, but they could not tell who He was. Now let's go to the scriptures of today. As they came to the village, Jesus was going to go on, and then the two men invited Jesus to stay with them. Remember they at this point do not know who Jesus is and are just asking Him to stay as you might invite someone to stay with you. Gosh, could they not have looked at those nail scarred hands? They did not just invite Jesus to sleep over, they also fed Him, and this is when they did not just invite Him to sleep over, they also sat down with Him to eat. Then when Jesus started to break bread and divide it, they were able to see who He was and then Jesus left them.

Now Jesus has once again pointed out to me something that might be different. First as He walked with them, Jesus got to hear what they felt about Him. Jesus asked what they were talking about, and folks, today I am sure Jesus wants to know what we think about Him. Do we love and respect Him, do we honor Him in ALL WE DO, and do we give Him the honor and glory for the things He has done for us and others? He really wants to see if our love for Him is true or maybe just put on. Now when He sat down and broke bread with them, and broke that bread and started to divide it, they then could see who He was. Now this is not the first time that breaking bread by Jesus was talked about in the Bible. You, I am sure, remember our lesson just last week, when He broke the bread with His disciples in the upper room, and of course you remember it because when we do it here on earth we call it communion. But we also remember how Jesus fed thousands when He took just five loaves of bread and two fish and broke them, and they even had leftovers. Brothers and sisters, as we sit down to eat, we need to pray over our food, but not just pray a prayer of thanks, we need to always remember what Jesus did as He sat down with people and broke bread and we need to remember how he feeds us, and many millions of people, regardless if they loved/love Him or hate Him. When God sends His blessings on the earth, He sends them to all people, an example that we must take. When we have people come to the food pantry to get things to eat, we always pray with them and I boldly ask them if they know Jesus and have Him in their hearts. You might be surprised to find out that some say they do not, or they are not sure. If they tell us they do not know Jesus we still give them food, and we pray with them and even give them Bibles. You see, our number one mission for Jesus is feeding the soul and mind, and then feeding the body.

Now while these men and others got to see Jesus in person before and after He was put to death, our walk, OUR WALK, is and will always be a walk in faith. All of us who love the Lord are like others who might not, we want all the time we can get here on Earth, but we also want to see our Lord Jesus. So today, today let's take a look see for Jesus and while we might not see Him face to face, we will see Him, by His works. Let's just list a few things that Jesus is showing us right now so that we know some of the signs. You know we must be reborn, and each year in the spring we can see the rebirth of things coming out of the ground, flowers, shrubs, and folks, even those weeds because of what happened in the Garden of Eden. We see trees in bloom, and we have rain to replenish the water we drink. He gives us the air we breath, and folks, it is great in the spring. Let me tell you right now as I close up for today... IF YOU CAN'T SEE JESUS EACH DAY, YOU JUST ARE NOT LOOKING. But most of all, if you really want to see Jesus, LOOK INTO YOUR HEART... And remember the day will come, when we see Jesus face to face. ARE YOU READY?

Dear Father in Heaven, please forgive me of my sins and help me to walk this day with You, and help me to see You and all You do for me. I pray today, Lord, that Your will is done on our prayer requests, and also that You use us to greet the lost and bring them to You to be saved. Help us all to feed the soul of others, and doing it by walking in Your light. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Now go forth and love on Jesus and everyone else also. And yes, I am going to say it, are you ready for it?

GO FORTH AND SHARE THOSE BLESSINGS.  Love ya, Pastor Dan.  

Tues. April 10, 2012 Road to Emmaus 2

He asked them, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?" They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked Him, "Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?" "What things?" He asked. "About Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed Him over to be sentenced to death and they crucified Him; but we had hoped that He was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn't find His body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said He was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but Him they did not see."

Good Tuesday Evening, my dear brothers and sisters. PRAISE REPORT, PRAISE REPORT. Dolores is home, I brought her home this morning. However, she still needs our prayers, yours and mine, as her infection in that third replacement knee is, BAD!! Tomorrow there is a home health care person coming to show us, how to put the medication into this port. If it were a "Port a Potty" I would know how to work it, but it is a medical port. (I hope you are laughing a tad.) This will go on for about 5 weeks, with the nurses coming about 2 times a week to draw blood. (I know how to draw a bath.) (Cut it out, Dan.) We go back to the surgeon this Thursday, and find out how they are going to fix the knee. Yes. it will need to have surgery again. Pray hard for God to heal it for her. I have cancelled my knee replacement surgery, and I am going to walk it out in faith. Thanks for your cards, notes, phone calls. Please give her a couple of days of rest at home, and then call her if you wish.

Tuesday, the day we pray for cures for cancer, heart problems, liver and kidney diseases, etc. Please keep praying for Allison who is walking in faith that God will cure her cancer. Also please pray for Pastor Larry and the Glenvale Church of God as pastor heals from open heart surgery. Please pray for others on our prayer list. Pray for the family of Valerie Ben-Skater. Val was to have surgery for breast cancer, but over the weekend God just called her home. Nothing to do with the surgery, she died of a blood clot. VAL WAS READY FOR JESUS.

April 10, 2012: The Road to Emmaus Day 2. Luke 24:17 - He asked them, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?" They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked Him "Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?" 19 "What things?" He asked. "About Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20 The chief priests and our rulers handed Him over to be sentenced to death and they crucified Him; 21 but we had hoped that He was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. 22 In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23 but didn't find His body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said He was alive. 24 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but Him they did not see."  (NIV)

Now let's take a look at our scriptures today. Ok, put your feet into the sandals of these two men as you are walking along and talking and as you remember yesterday, I told you that Jesus walked up and was walking with them, only they did not know Jesus, He kept that from them. (They should have checked His hands.) When Jesus asked them what they were talking about, they asked Him, are you are visitor in the area? Then they, the two men, told Jesus about all the things that had happened leading up to those last days for Jesus. Yesterday we talked about all the things that we thought about, but not the last days. These men told of the arrest of Jesus, and how he was handed over by the chief priests and rulers to be sentenced to death. These men told Jesus how Jesus was a prophet and powerful in word and deed before God and all His people. BROTHERS AND SISTERS. If we follow the examples of Jesus when He walked this earth, we should be powerful in His Word and we should also be powerful in deeds and it also should be before God and all of God's people, meaning everyone. In other words to make that brief, work and witness for Jesus, these things must be done once you are saved. Works alone will not get you into heaven so no one can brag about what they have done, but without the deeds to prove your love for Jesus, "Faith without works is dead."

Tomorrow we are going to review this a tad and then see what Jesus told them. Let's pray.

Dear Father in Heaven, Thanks for all Your blessings of this day, and they have been many, please look over our prayer requests and honor them according to Your will and not ours. Thanks for taking care of Dolores. Thanks for this line and keeping it open for me, and may I ask Lord, I am having printer problems, please help me get it figured out. Thanks Jesus, and I love You Jesus and pray in Your name... Amen.

Go forth now brothers and sisters, and walk in the light of Jesus, working for Him, living for Him, and sharing your blessings. Love ya, Pastor Dan.  

Monday April 9, 2012 Road to Emmaus

Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem.  They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus Himself came up and walked along with them, but they were kept from recognizing Him. He asked them, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?" They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, name Cleopas, asked Him, "Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?" "What things?" He asked.

Good Monday Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. Monday and the day we pray for our leaders of our country, our states, and of course those local folks. We also take time to honor our veterans and our current military by praying for them. Also, we pray for police, firefighters, and those on the ambulance crews be they on the road or in the air. Also others who work to keep you healthy and strong.

Please keep praying for Dolores, she is still in the hospital, and today, Monday, a pick line was put in as she will need daily meds direct into her blood. I have cancelled my knee replacement surgery, and I am going to step out in faith that God will heal it, while I assist Dolores with her problems... Besides the infection, that knee has failed again. My thinking is not too good right now, I started this message in the wee hours of the morning and I am still working on it, I try and keep a schedule working for the Lord, but health issues of Dolores have altered that a tad. Please forgive me. Thanks.

The Road to Emmaus: Luke 24:13 - Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus Himself came up and walked along with them, 16 but they were kept from recognizing Him. 17 He asked them, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?" They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them, name Cleopas, asked Him, "Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?" 19 "What things?" He asked. (NIV)

Now let's take a look at the scripture. Ok, you and I are walking down the road, we had seen the events leading up to the death of Jesus on the cross, and we had heard all about His ministry of healing and feeding the hungry, etc., and we are just sort of talking back and forth as we make this long walk from Jerusalem to Emmaus, a distance of about 7 miles. We are talking about all the events, about Jesus being on the cross, about Jesus being arrested, and of course all the good things we had heard and even seen with our own eyes. We had heard of healings and we saw how he fed thousands with only two fish and five loaves. Then while we are walking and talking another man comes to join us, it was Jesus but we could not see that. So we are talking with Jesus, and He is asking us what we are talking about... We will find that out tomorrow. What about you, what events of the life of Jesus stick out most in your mind? I would love to hear from you.

Dear Father in Heaven, I love all the events in your life, and if I had to pick one or two that stand out in my mind, Jesus, I don't know what I would want to leave out for each event in Your life teaches us something. Help us learn from Your lessons and the examples You set. Please, please, dear Lord,  look after those on our prayer list. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.

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

Easter Sunday 2012

He’s Alive, Jesus is Alive!!

Where was Jesus? Where did He go during those three days? I have heard many stories on this. I have seen plays where it showed Jesus going into Hell and working over Satan. Yes, it showed Jesus in a fist fight with the master of evil... But what do I think? I have never heard this from anyone else, but here is one place I think He went and the way I figured it out...

If you read Luke 23: 26 through 43 you will find what I am talking about today.

I believe that one of the places Jesus went right after He died, on that very first day, was Heaven. Yes, I think He went to His Father in Paradise. Here is why I think this. Starting with Luke verse 39 - One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at Him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!" 40 But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "Since you are under the same sentence?" 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong." 42 Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." 43 Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in Paradise." (NIV)

Now let me repeat that last verse, Luke 23: 43 Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in Paradise." Now we know that Jesus did/does not lie, and here He tells this one "bad guy" "today you will be with me in Paradise." He did not say next week you will be with me, or in 40 days you will be with me, or the day I am risen you will be with me... He said today, and that to me means that Jesus took this man, the one that stood up for Him, and went to the Father. Sounds to me like Jesus was this criminal’s ride straight to Heaven. Oh, and Jesus is our ride into Heaven also, don't forget that... So, my brothers and sisters, there is one of the places I think Jesus went during the three days, and I think it just might have been the first place. According to the Bible, and I believe what is in the Bible, Jesus went there the same day. "TODAY YOU WILL BE WITH ME IN PARADISE."

Now let’s go to the Tomb of Jesus. Let us just go along with the women who were going there to put perfume on the body of Jesus. Now when they arrived they found the stone that had been placed in front of the tomb and even sealed was rolled away. They also found the guards that were watching over the tomb standing like stone. Let’s see, the men were like stone and the stone was like a wheel and rolled away… Then we go with the ladies and look into the tomb. Jesus is gone and two men appear, looking like angels of the Lord, asking us, why are you looking for Jesus among the dead, for Jesus is alive, He has been risen from the dead. He has been brought back to life as He said He would be.

Today we sing praises to our Lord Jesus for He did die for us, all of us, and on the third day He was risen from the dead.

JESUS IS ALIVE!!!! Happy Easter my dear brothers and sisters, and it is a beautiful day here in Central Pennsylvania and all over the world because of Jesus. And did I say: JESUS IS ALIVE!!!

Up from the grave He arose, with a mighty triumph o'er His foes. He arose a Victor from the dark domain, And He lives forever with His saints to reign. HE AROSE! HE AROSE! Hallelujah! Christ arose!

Alive, Alive, Alive forever more, my Jesus is alive, alive forever more. Alive, alive, alive forever more, my Jesus is alive. Sing hallelujah, sing hallelujah, my Jesus is alive forever more, sing hallelujah, sing hallelujah, my Jesus is alive.

Alive, Alive, Alive forever more, my Jesus is alive, alive forever more. Alive, alive, alive forever more, my Jesus is alive. Sing hallelujah, sing hallelujah, my Jesus is alive forever more, sing hallelujah, sing hallelujah, my Jesus is alive.

JESUS IS ALIVE!!!! My dear friends, as we sing praises and lift our Lord Jesus remember this, that Jesus was risen from the dead so that someday we also might be risen from the grave.

Now I want you to place yourself in the shoes of those who went to the tomb of Jesus on the first day, in the shoes of Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James who found that the "Stone" that was not just placed in front of the tomb, but also sealed and then guarded was rolled away. Angels of the Lord rolled away that stone and our Lord Jesus was risen.

Now I want you to think about your being to a service for a family member or loved one at a cemetery. You watch as the casket is placed in position over the grave site and you go through the service, and then walk away. Now if you are like me, when my mamma and daddy and also my brother were buried, I went back to the cemetery a few days later to see if they did a good job of finishing off the site. Was the grave closed neatly, was the headstone in place. And of course just to visit the gravesite of my just departed loved one. Now think about this. What if you would have found the grave site open, the lid off the vault, the casket open and the body gone... Oh my gosh, how would we react? Like the women did that morning at the Tomb of Jesus? Think about it, and place yourself back in time to the day Jesus was risen from the dead.

Now not only was Jesus not in the tomb when the ladies looked, and they were told by the angels of the Lord that He has risen.

While they were heading out to tell others this happened. In Matthew 28: 8/9 it tells of this, and while the ladies were heading out to tell the others “Suddenly Jesus met them. Greetings, He said.”

Oh, my gosh, what if you had just buried your son and had gone to the grave, he was gone and now he was standing talking to you? What would your thoughts be?

Just really think about that, and then my friends also think why Jesus did this. Why be killed, put to death on the cross, and then risen three days later? Why did God The Father put His Son Jesus through this? This is a real easy question my brothers and sisters. God The Father put His Son Jesus through this for this reason. For you and for me... That's it. It was done for us, God The Father, I am sure felt every hit, every spit, every nail that was used on Jesus that day. He watched as this was done, even knowing He could stop it. It had to hurt God The Father as much as it did Jesus. As parents we know how we tell the kids, this is going to hurt me more than you! And it really did. God had to feel the same way about His Son. However Jesus died on the cross, He suffered and died so that we might live. He was risen from the dead, so that we also might be risen from the dead if we just believe in Jesus... All this was done for us, for you and for me... Please, please don't ever take this lightly. Jesus went through a lot of pain to give us a way to get to Heaven when we leave this earth. All the hard work is done, we just must confess our love to Jesus (see Romans 10: 9 & 10).

So now I want you to picture going to the cemetery one day to visit the grave of a loved one and you find a lot of graves, maybe half of them open, and the bodies gone. What is going on? What is going on is, if you are seeing this, you missed out when Jesus came back... You were "left behind." You are in big trouble.

Up from the grave He arose!!! With a mighty triumph o'er His foes!! And just by taking Jesus as your Savior, You also will be doing that same thing some day. Up from the grave we will rise!! To meet our Savior in the sky!!! And yes, we will have that mighty triumph o'er our foes. “Free, free at last, thank God, we are free at last.” Those words of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Will ring real clear that day. Don't be left behind. If today you are not real sure where you stand with Jesus, will you pray with me in faith and give yourself over to Jesus right now? This is an "I" prayer, I can not pray this one for you, only lead you. Have faith now, ask Jesus into Your life, or ask Him to renew you today, to clean you if you are already saved. Let's start this day together with Jesus, clean, clean, clean... Please, in faith.

Dear Father in Heaven, Thanks for going to the cross, thanks for taking the punishment that I should have had. Thanks for taking my place, thanks for giving me a way to be risen from the dead and to be able to join with You in Heaven. Now Jesus, hear my confession of faith, and come into my heart and stay... Lord, forgive me of my sins, I do love You, Jesus, and I believe that You died for me on the cross, so I might be set free from my sins, from evil. Lord, I believe also that You did not just die on the cross but You were taken down and buried and on that third day, the first day of the week You were risen up from the dead, so that we might also be risen if we just believe in You... I believe in You, Jesus, and ask that You right now save me. Teach me to repent from my sins, and walk the other way when it comes to evil. Lord, place my name on the list of those to be left into Heaven... Save me Jesus, save me. I ask this in the name of the one who went to the cross for me, my Savior, my Lord, my dear sweet Jesus. Amen.

The Bible tells us in John 3: 16/18 ... "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. For God did not send His Son into the World to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." (New International Version)

My dear brothers and sisters, there will be a day when folks will see graves opened at the cemetery and it will not be grave robbers, for when our Jesus returns those who loved Him will be brought up from the graves, those buried at sea will also rise up to meet our Lord in the clouds, then those believers who are alive will go next. I pray today that you are not one standing looking at the open graves for it could only mean one thing... You missed the call. The others who did not believe and have died, will also be risen to be condemned. Listen to these words from the book of John 5: 24/29 - "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. I tell you the truth a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself. And He has given Him authority to judge because He is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice and come out. Those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned." NIV

In short, those who love Jesus and have confessed themselves over to Him will be saved... Please read Romans 10: 9/10 for this...

So as I say to you Happy Easter, Now go forth and share those blessings. Love ya,  Pastor Dan.

PS, Please keep praying for Dolores who is still in the hospital...