Wednesday 1/16/13 Don't Hide Jesus!

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters.  It sure looks  pretty this morning after our little  touch of winter last evening.  God is so good.  Our ministry plow truck was down, as the last time I plowed snow a brake line broke.  I took it to our son's garage in Penbrook, PA, and they finished up the work last evening.  I had removed the plow to take it to the shop, so this morning I wanted to put it back on.  While this is an easy one-man job, it does require one really heavy piece of work to hook it up.  So I got it lined up, set the pins and got my back up against the plow lights to push back on that part so the pins would "snap in."  I just know I cannot do this myself anymore, so I stopped and called on my best friend in the world.  I said, Father in Heaven, I need Jesus to come and help me push this back.  Then I said, Thank You, Father, and I gave a mighty push while saying, "help me, Jesus," and then I heard the snap of the pins dropping in.  Then I yelled out at the top of my voice, "THANK YOU, JESUS!"

Once again it showed me there is nothing that I cannot do when I call on Jesus "according to His will for me."  The same would go for you, as Jesus loves us ll, all we need to do is ask and remember it is up to God and His will for us.

Prayer requests in today for Vicki, and also for Burt Emig.  Burt has pneumonia and is in the hospital.  Pray today for a "lady stuck in a wall."  Sounds dumb, but the news is on in the background as it often is for this news junky, and there is a lady stuck between two walls.  Firefighters are on location.  Also a good day to pray for firefighters and first responders.  Let's get to the message.

DON'T HIDE JESUS:

Luke 8:16 - "No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed.  Instead, He puts it on a stand so that those who come in can see the light."  (NIV)

While we might not put our lamp under the bed, we do some really dumb stuff with it.  Let's see, we buy a 100-watt light bulb, we buy one that is frosted so the light is not so hard on your eyes, then you put it in a lamp and put a shade over it.  Our wagon wheel lights, and we have four of them in our great room, each one has four lights on it, and each at one time used a frosted 100-watt bulb and then had a frosted glass over that and then a shade.  Now they do not look as nice, but they have bare bright 60-watt bulbs in them, making more usable light.  Looks bad, but works better.

HOWEVER, the lamp on the stand, the light on the table, is not what Jesus was teaching us in this lesson.  In fact, there are several lessons in this scripture.  Let's look at them over the next couple of days.

First let's look at our personal light, the light we put out just as we live.  Now this is really not mentioned in this scripture, but I think it fits well.  Jesus is the light of the world, and we are to take the "GOOD NEWS" of our Lord Jesus into all the world.  When we invite Jesus into our lives, when we become born again, when we have the personal relationship with our Lord Jesus, we, believe it or not, are going to glow a lot brighter than we did before.  A half-empty glass should become half-full.  A little bit of food, clothes, even your money will grow if you invest it in God and His work.  When you invite Jesus, the light of the world, into your heart to live, that's great, but please remember that it is okay to let the light of Jesus be in your smile and in your walk and your talk.  In other words, wear Jesus on your sleeve.

Now I have run across people who say they are saved but yet they are so negative about most everything you start to wonder, not judge, but wonder, are they saved?  How could someone know and trust Jesus and be so down on most everything?  I know people like that, are they saved?  I am not really sure.  If they are, they for sure are putting the lamp under the bed, or under the rug, putting it out of sight.  I have said this before and I will say it again.  If you are going to work for Jesus and we all have been ORDERED, or COMMANDED, to do just that, why are you hiding His light?  If He is in you, shine, baby, shine, let Jesus shine in your personality.  If you are a grump, if you are a downer type person, and you go up to someone and tell them about Jesus, what do you think they are thinking?  Might it be this?  "Gosh, if that is how you are when you know Jesus, I don't want anything to do with it."  Think about that!!  Also, there are people who are able to go to work and just refuse to do that, and more and more are getting in that cart each day.  I know people who sit at a computer all day at home.  They answer email after email and say they cannot sit in an office.  Most everyone can do something, even the older and retired.  Do you know you can work for Jesus, after all He is the one who is feeding you, putting clothes on your back, and giving you air and water.  You can work for Him just by the way you live.  Yes, you can!!  Jesus set examples as He walked this earth about how to live and we can also set examples.  You can let the Jesus light shine forth for all to see.  Don't  hide Jesus under your bed, let Him come through you.  Don't put Him in the trunk of your car and drive like a nut, drive safe and let His light shine.  IN ALL YOU DO, DO IT LIKE YOU ARE SAVED AND ARE DOING IT FOR JESUS.  For the bottom line is Jesus does know all we do, and we must someday own up to all of it.  One thing that I see once in awhile is a bumper sticker that reads, "I love Jesus," and I noticed it as the person driving the car cut me off in traffic.  Really speaks volumes about their love of Jesus.  Be a good witness for Jesus.  Why?  He gave His life for us!!

Dear Father in Heaven, Dear Light of the World, Dear Light of mine.  I love You, Lord.  Help me work hard each day so as to let Your light shine through me in all that I do.  Please forgive me of my sins of yesterday and today.  Please touch and heal Vicki, and please, Lord, touch and heal Burt.  And please, Lord, protect our leaders, and Lord, please free the lady stuck in the wall, and bless those firefighters and first responders.  In Jesus' name, teach us to share Your light with others.  In Jesus' name, Amen.

Now brothers and sisters, go forth, letting your light shine and sharing those blessings that God has lent you.  You can say you cannot do anything anymore, I refuse to believe that, for all of us, all of us, all of us, and I will say it again and again, all of us can share the love of Jesus.  You just never know who you might touch and lead to the Lord.  You and I cannot save anyone, but we can work the fields of harvest for Jesus.  Someone please say AMEN.

Love ya, Pastor Dan.