Tuesday 6/26/12 God and Country 2

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.


Jesus said:  "I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one come to the Father except through me."

Good Tuesday afternoon, my dear brothers and sisters.  It is one perfect day here at the Southern Location of the North Pole.  Reminder:  Coming soon, our annual picnic and your presence is requested.  Base/baritone singer will open our picnic with some great gospel music, that will be at 11:00 AM.  At noon we will eat, and eat we will do, and if you want you can have your desert first.

Saturday July 7th, 11:00 AM, come early and fellowship, and stay awhile into the afternoon.  Enjoy this place we call "Willow Mill Park", just off Route 114 in Silver Spring Township.  Bring your disc golf stuff and play a round or two, bring your fishing pole and take a worm swimming (PA license required).  Bring a canoe and take a spin.  Come and meet our ministry team and lots of our workers, plus our families and our flock from the Bridges.  And it is all FREE!!  Rain or shine, we are under roof.

Prayers today for Helen Coffin who has bone cancer.  Also for Rick Weaver, brain cancer.  For Ron, cancer.  Also, it is Tuesday, so we pray for a cure for this and other diseases.  AMEN.

Psalm 1:1 - Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.

John 14:6 - Jesus said:  "I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me."

Today I started out by stating it is a perfect day here at the Southern Location of the North Pole, meaning here at 16 Dewalt Drive, or at our home.  We are really blessed, as is the good old United States of America.  Why, we even have this song we sing that is a prayer and it is called "God Bless America."  When I look around and see the flowers and trees and the fruit on the vine and all the good food around to eat, I know it is from God and I appreciate it all!  But do I show that appreciation to God for all of this He has provided?  America is truly blessed, yet I see signs today, yes, today, of some of the outrage that God shows us once in awhile.  The flooding in the south being caused by a storm called Debbie, and we all know that Jesus can calm the storms.  And those fire storms in the Southwest, wow, sort of looks like hell to me with all that fire going on.  God could put those storms out in a heartbeat if He wanted to do it.  Why do these things happen?  How pleased can God really be with us in America when we do things like a few of these I want to bring up ...

A few years ago, I was Vice President and also Chaplain of the Museum of Bus Transportation in Hershey, PA.  Before each board meeting we had prayer, before each event we would gather and pray, and before each work session we would pray over that.  Then two new board members were appointed to the board and one of those objected to prayer before the meetings, so out president stopped the praying and instead had a "moment of silence."  I walked away from the board, did not leave the museum but dropped off the board.  Later that same year there was a flood, the water was turned on over the Swatara Creek Basin and the water came up at the Bus museum storage lot.  Biggest flood ever, and many antique buses were lost.  GOD COULD HAVE STOPPED THAT WALL OF WATER ...

Our Lord Jesus has been put out of our schools and also our government offices and right now most of them are GOING BROKE ... Do you think this is all chance or do you think maybe, just maybe, God is sending a few warning shots over our heads?  And even with that we keep singing "God Bless America."

When I look back over my life of 71 years and think of all the things I have done wrong, it is amazing how God still keeps blessing me.  But I know why, He loves me!  And why does God keep blessing America, do you think it is because we now sing the song "God Bless America" at baseball games?  No, it is because He loves us ... Really, with all that we have done, He still loves us.

Brothers and sisters, He has warned us, He really has.  The warnings were in the commandments.

Ask yourself, do you really love your neighbor?  Really?  God gave us other warnings, He sent John the Baptist who said this ... REPENT, FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS NEAR.  Jesus said the same thing, REPENT, FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS NEAR.  We show God our love by throwing Him out of schools and public government buildings and places.  And dare I say this, we have now gone to THROWING OUR LORD JESUS OUT OF SOME CHURCHES.  Well, maybe they don't think so, but when you support the sins of man right in your churches then is that not throwing salt into the open wounds in the nail-scarred hands of our Lord Jesus?

As I write this week on God and Country I want you to really think about how blessed America really is and how we do NOT deserve this ... Yes, by all means please sing out the song "God Bless America" for indeed it is a prayer (a lot of people do not know that).

Sing out the words, "God Bless America, land that I love" as you sit in your car and watch the one in the car in front of you empty his or her ash tray at the intersection or flick his smoke out the window of their car.  When you are sitting at the intersection take a look at all those smokers' trash lying there and then sing "God Bless America, Land that I love."  I shop at our local Giant store, and it is a nice, a really nice store, but right out front is an employee smoking area.  IT LOOKS LIKE A HOG PLACE, OR WORSE.  "God Bless America, Land that I love."  Do you remember the ad a few years back that showed a Native American Indian sitting on a horse dressed in his headdress with a tear running down his cheek from seeing all the trash, the litter?  "God Bless America, Land that I love."

I have had people want to punch me out because when I saw them throw their trash out of the car I told them this is my AMERICA they just trashed up.  "God Bless America, Land that I love."

It is time we don't just sing this song, "God Bless America," but we mean it as a prayer and then maybe add another song, one like "Stand up for Jesus."  Trust me when I say we are not the only blessed country for God made us all equal, all have great blessings and all seem to not heed the warning ... REPENT ... REPENT ... REPENT for the Kingdom of Heaven is near ... It is one day nearer than it was just yesterday ... So sing out today this song, "God Bless America, Land that I love."  AND MEAN IT.  Maybe even say amen at the end ...

Can you tell I am upset today?  Today let us try to live and please God instead of maybe making Him cry ...

Dear Father in Heaven, please Bless America some more and help us who love You above all else and who love our country to stand up for You and America.  Help us to help clean it up.  In the name of Jesus, hear our prayers for healing today.  Bless them and heal them according to Your will.  In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Now go forth loving God and loving America and singing "God Bless America" and of course sharing your blessings that God has LENT to you ... Love ya, Pastor Dan.