Dear Father in Heaven, once again I give You honor and glory for answering our prayer requests even before we set them before You. Thanks for the message that You are planting on my heart as I sit before this computer. Thanks for answered prayer and thanks for trusting us to take Your word to the lost. How blessed we are to be fully trusted by our Loving Lord to do Your work. Thanks, Jesus. I love You. In Jesus' name, I give thanks. Amen.
Good Thursday, my dear brothers and sisters. And what a great Thursday it has been. Carry The Light Ministry Team and a few others were packing out food for Easter Distribution. Please pray for our ministry team and all of our outreaches. Once again I ask that you pray for our leaders in Washington, DC. It seems they like scaring folks more than working together. Here are just a few facts. If you furlough people, they do not get their pay, right? But then they get unemployment compensation, so instead of getting paid out of one account and working, you pay them out of another account and they can stay home and get paid. In New York City, instead of firing bad teachers, they report to a room and play cards and get paid!! Instead of trying to save money, our president runs around the country in the big jet, at $175,000 PER HOUR, to tell people there is no money to pay them, yet he can play golf. Please, folks,if the United States is going to be a world leader, we must, listen to me here, WE MUST PUT GOD BACK IN CHARGE. No exceptions!! Let me get to the message, The Beatitudes!!
The Beatitudes 2/28/2013 Day Five!
Matthew 5:1 - Now, when He saw the crowds He went up on a mountainside and sat down. his disciples came to Him 2 and He began to teach them, saying: (NIV)
Matthew 5:9 - Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God. (NIV)
Matthew 5:10 - Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (NIV)
Brothers and sisters, let's take a good look now at Matthew 5:9. This scripture is telling me ... if we want to really please God and even be called sons (small s) of God, we need to keep the peace. No, you do not need to be a police officer to keep the peace. Let me take a look at another scripture, one from Romans.
Romans 12:17 - Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at PEACE with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge." I will repay, says the Lord. (NIV)
There is no better place to be in peace than to be in peace with those neighbors all around you. But even before that, you need peace within families. Folks, we just need to get along. Sometimes that is very hard to do. Your blood can boil up a few degrees just by calling the phone company or the power company, or even more when you contact that TV cable company. And if you think that is bad, try placing a call to a government office. Try your state Department of Transportation. But God wants us to be kind and bring peace and remember, we are to be walking in the shoes of Jesus, we are to be letting our Jesus light shine.
Being a peacemaker sometimes means saying you're sorry even when what you are saying you are sorry about was not your fault at all. Brothers and sisters, if we are truly Christians, meaning followers of Jesus, then we should have no problem being a peacemaker ... Or a peacekeeper. Amen.
Matthew 5:10 - Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Romans 12:14 - Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not cures. (NIV)
If we are persecuted because of Jesus, and brothers and sisters, we have been persecuted. Look around you, no praying in school, no Bible reading in school. I was Chaplain, and still am, of the Museum of Bus Transportation. I was also a board member and one of the Vice Presidents. Before each meeting we had prayer, before each event we had prayer. My Assistant Chaplain was Oliver Ogden. One evening before a meeting, Oliver and I were talking when we were told we could no longer pray before meetings. Prayer was also removed before the annual dinner. One new board member did not think it was right. When brought up at the board meeting by me to keep the prayer, the rest turned away prayer for a moment of silence. MY GOD WILL NOT BE SILENCED ... someone jump in here and say amen ... I am telling you right now, folks, if you deny God here on earth, you just might get denied when you TRY AND GET INTO HEAVEN.
Time to run, folks, I have gone on long enough. I will try and wrap up the Beatitudes tomorrow.
Dear Father in Heaven, please just watch over us as we go forth each day working for Jesus. Help us when people try and persecute us, and Lord, when they do persecute us because of Jesus, I, Lord, will wear it as a badge of honor. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Now go forth sharing your blessings and the Love of Jesus.
I love ya. (Pass it on.)
Pastor Dan.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Wednesday 2/27/13 The Beatitudes 3
Dear Father in Heaven, We give You all honor and glory this day for hearing and answering our prayers that we have not presented to You. We, Father, want our faith in You to grow and grow each day, so we just want to praise You for taking time to hear our prayers and we want to increase our faith daily in our walk with You, knowing You will look after us. Giving You honor and glory for hearing our prayer request for healing of Vicki, Burt, Patsy, Barbara, my buddy Dave, and Dolores. Thanking You in advance for the anointing upon our ministry team as we work tomorrow getting ready for Easter. Giving You honor and glory for the message that You are trusting to me this day. Dear Lord, as I pray in the Name of Jesus, I humbly seek to remain Your servant. Amen.
Good Morning, dear brothers and sisters. It was a wet early out morning for me as I headed to my family doctor. God is good and took me safely to and from his office, and while there waiting to be looked at, I got to sing along with some good worship songs. It sure is better to hear God's music while in a doctor's office than to hear some old elevator music. That elevator music sure has its "ups and downs".
Prayer request for a young man, "Denis Hoke," to be found. Also for healing for Barb, Patsy, Burt, Vicky. Praise report on Dolores as she was much better on Tuesday than Monday. Let me get going on the message on The Beatitudes.
The Beatitudes 2/27/13 Day Three.
Matthew 5:1 - Now, when He saw the crowds He went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to Him 2 and He began to teach them, saying: (NIV)
Matthew 5:7 - Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. (NIV)
Matthew 5:8 - Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God. (NIV)
How much mercy have you shown to others in your life? If you see someone has been arrested, do you say to yourself, "self, throw the book at this person, they robbed the bank."? Or if someone does a crime that might even be against you, do you want to see the "book thrown" at them? I want you to think about this, in the same way you show mercy toward others, is the way God will show mercy to you. Hey, again, I did not make the rules, just telling you about them and backing them up with scripture. Look at this from James ...
James 2:12/13 - 12 - Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom. 13 Because judgment WITHOUT mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment. (NIV)
Brothers and sisters, in all of your dealings with others, please try your best to show mercy to them. Work hard at it. No, it is not always easy, nobody said it would be. Mercy can be spelled with four letters. Did you know that? Here is the way you spell mercy with four letters. Mercy = Love. How about that!!
Matthew 5:7 - Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shownmercy. (NIV)
Blessed are the merciful, for God has sent His One and only Son to show them Love. (DWL)
Matthew 5:8 - Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God.
The heart is at the center of our very being. Just this morning my doctor and I had a talk about my heart. And right now as I am typing about the heart, a cardiologist just called to make an appointment for me.
Psalm 4:7 - You have filed my heart with greater joy. (NIV)
Matthew 5:8 tells us that we will be surely blessed if we are pure in heart. It also tells us that we shall see God if we are pure in heart. Pure in heart means to me among other things is that we need to be truthful. First of all, if a person is not truthful with others, how can they be seen truthful with themselves? And folks, if you are not truthful with yourself and truthful with others, then you surely cannot e truthful with God. The word of God tells us that when we have fed the hungry it was the same as if we fed our Lord Jesus. If we gave clothes to the naked it was the same as if we gave clothes to Jesus. So let me put it this way and see if you agree with me. If you lie to others or even lie to yourself, is that not the same as lying to God?
I have talked to you many, many times about what comes out of a person's mouth. I have also said that before a person talks they should run what they are going to say through their heart and their soul, talk it over with God and then if it passes muster go ahead and say it. (Of course at my age, when I think of something I want to say, run it through my heart, run it through my soul, talk it over with God, I more than likely would by then have forgotten what I was going to say which might be better that way.) Listen to these words coming again from the book of Psalms.
Psalm 5:4 - You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil; with you the wicked cannot dwell. 5 The arrogant cannot stand in your presence; you hate all who do wrong. You destroy those who tell lies. Bloodthirsty and deceitful men the Lord abhors. (NIV)
When I look at thee scriptures of today, I surely want to re-address myself, as I most always do after God sends me searching for scriptures. But with what is going on in a lot of leadership positions, be them in Washington, DC, or at our State Houses, it is also in local government, school governments, and in other places where business is done, be it public, private, in clubs, and even while doing God's very own work. I want to write Beatitude out one more time for today. Think of it now.
Matthew 5:8 - Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God. (NIV)
Let Jesus clean up your heart and then do your very best to keep it pure. Amen.
Dear Father, please, with the Blood of Jesus, flush out my heart and make it pure again, help me to keep it that way, and work with others so that we can bring pure hearts before You to be saved. Thanks in advance for flushing me out today. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Now go forth, my dear brothers and sisters, sharing your blessings and keeping your heart pure.
Love ya (pass it on). Pastor Dan.
Good Morning, dear brothers and sisters. It was a wet early out morning for me as I headed to my family doctor. God is good and took me safely to and from his office, and while there waiting to be looked at, I got to sing along with some good worship songs. It sure is better to hear God's music while in a doctor's office than to hear some old elevator music. That elevator music sure has its "ups and downs".
Prayer request for a young man, "Denis Hoke," to be found. Also for healing for Barb, Patsy, Burt, Vicky. Praise report on Dolores as she was much better on Tuesday than Monday. Let me get going on the message on The Beatitudes.
The Beatitudes 2/27/13 Day Three.
Matthew 5:1 - Now, when He saw the crowds He went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to Him 2 and He began to teach them, saying: (NIV)
Matthew 5:7 - Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. (NIV)
Matthew 5:8 - Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God. (NIV)
How much mercy have you shown to others in your life? If you see someone has been arrested, do you say to yourself, "self, throw the book at this person, they robbed the bank."? Or if someone does a crime that might even be against you, do you want to see the "book thrown" at them? I want you to think about this, in the same way you show mercy toward others, is the way God will show mercy to you. Hey, again, I did not make the rules, just telling you about them and backing them up with scripture. Look at this from James ...
James 2:12/13 - 12 - Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom. 13 Because judgment WITHOUT mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment. (NIV)
Brothers and sisters, in all of your dealings with others, please try your best to show mercy to them. Work hard at it. No, it is not always easy, nobody said it would be. Mercy can be spelled with four letters. Did you know that? Here is the way you spell mercy with four letters. Mercy = Love. How about that!!
Matthew 5:7 - Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shownmercy. (NIV)
Blessed are the merciful, for God has sent His One and only Son to show them Love. (DWL)
Matthew 5:8 - Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God.
The heart is at the center of our very being. Just this morning my doctor and I had a talk about my heart. And right now as I am typing about the heart, a cardiologist just called to make an appointment for me.
Psalm 4:7 - You have filed my heart with greater joy. (NIV)
Matthew 5:8 tells us that we will be surely blessed if we are pure in heart. It also tells us that we shall see God if we are pure in heart. Pure in heart means to me among other things is that we need to be truthful. First of all, if a person is not truthful with others, how can they be seen truthful with themselves? And folks, if you are not truthful with yourself and truthful with others, then you surely cannot e truthful with God. The word of God tells us that when we have fed the hungry it was the same as if we fed our Lord Jesus. If we gave clothes to the naked it was the same as if we gave clothes to Jesus. So let me put it this way and see if you agree with me. If you lie to others or even lie to yourself, is that not the same as lying to God?
I have talked to you many, many times about what comes out of a person's mouth. I have also said that before a person talks they should run what they are going to say through their heart and their soul, talk it over with God and then if it passes muster go ahead and say it. (Of course at my age, when I think of something I want to say, run it through my heart, run it through my soul, talk it over with God, I more than likely would by then have forgotten what I was going to say which might be better that way.) Listen to these words coming again from the book of Psalms.
Psalm 5:4 - You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil; with you the wicked cannot dwell. 5 The arrogant cannot stand in your presence; you hate all who do wrong. You destroy those who tell lies. Bloodthirsty and deceitful men the Lord abhors. (NIV)
When I look at thee scriptures of today, I surely want to re-address myself, as I most always do after God sends me searching for scriptures. But with what is going on in a lot of leadership positions, be them in Washington, DC, or at our State Houses, it is also in local government, school governments, and in other places where business is done, be it public, private, in clubs, and even while doing God's very own work. I want to write Beatitude out one more time for today. Think of it now.
Matthew 5:8 - Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God. (NIV)
Let Jesus clean up your heart and then do your very best to keep it pure. Amen.
Dear Father, please, with the Blood of Jesus, flush out my heart and make it pure again, help me to keep it that way, and work with others so that we can bring pure hearts before You to be saved. Thanks in advance for flushing me out today. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Now go forth, my dear brothers and sisters, sharing your blessings and keeping your heart pure.
Love ya (pass it on). Pastor Dan.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Tuesday 2/26/2013 Beatitudes (2)
Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. Something new starting today. Are you ready for this?
Dear Father, we want to give thanks. Thank You, Jesus, all praise and honor to You, Lord Jesus, for working on and answering the prayers we are about to ask today. Starting today, Jesus, we want to claim the victory before we even ask. We want to give You praise because You have given us Your life. So, Jesus, help me to remember each day to give honor and glory not just for answered prayers from the past, but honor and glory for the answered prayers that we have not even asked yet. And yes, we will do that in the Name of Jesus, as always ... I love You, Jesus. Amen.
Yes, brothers and sisters, so often when we post prayers we never, and I say we for so many who have prayer lines do not hear back from those who requested prayers. So starting today, the praise report goes up first. And brothers and sisters, when requesting prayers, and please do that, if you have something good, a praise report at the same time, please offer it up.
Yesterday Dolores had a very bad day. Praise God, she got up today and seems to be back to "her" normal. Thanks for all who have been praying for her. All honor and glory to God. Amen.
Brothers and sisters, it is beautiful here at the Southern Location of the North Pole. However, the sky was very red. Bad weather later today, be alert for it. Again I want to tell you, do not let the scare tactics scare you. Teachers losing their jobs. NO, let's face it, the schools' budgets are in until the end of June. Do you know that in some schools the football coaches get paid more than the elementary school teachers? Schools say they do not have books or even paper and pencils but the football field has astroturf on it and a paved running track. Time to get back to the basics! Let me get to the message.
Matthew 5:1 - Now, when He saw the crowds He went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to Him 2 and He began to teach them, saying: (NIV)
Matthew 5:5 - Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. (NIV)
Matthew 5:6 - Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (NIV)
Let's look at Matthew 5:5 and talk about the "meek". Please do not confuse this word. Meek means those who are humble and acknowledge that they need God to go forth. And if we are meek and we go forth and we walk with God, we will indeed inherit the goodness of this earth. I can bear witness to this. I have humbled myself before God, and folks, we have a really nice hunk of God's earth. But greater things are yet to come. Let's look at just a few scriptures that tie into this Beatitude.
Psalm 37:11 - But the meek will inherit the Land and enjoy great peace. (NIV)
Revelation 21:1 - Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and there was no longer a sea. (NIV)
Folks, in Revelation you can really see this playing out. The meek, those who humble to our Lord God, our Lord Jesus Christ, shall inherit the earth, and we see a NEW EARTH coming down and a New Heaven coming. Folks, while we who humble ourselves here on Earth will surely inherit some hunk of this great land, inherit does not mean we get it free, we need to work for that. But when it comes to the New Heaven and the New Earth, Christ has paid that price, so indeed we inherit it, and the price is paid, and we will be living with God and yes, there will be great peace. Amen.
Matthew 5:6 - Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (NIV)
Again we look at the word Blessed, and yes, we are blessed, and the blessings, as in all blessings come from God. And the more we hunger and thirst for Him, the more we worship Him, the more we will be filled with Him. Today, let's get filled with some righteousness by closing out with a short worship song. One thing I want to point out to you is as much as I tell you that you need a good church, and you do, you can worship God, you can worship our Lord Jesus right from your computer where you sit. You can ask the Holy Spirit to come over you regardless of where you are. So will you join me, remember this day to share your blessings and tell others you love them.
Dear Father in Heaven, help us as we close out today with some singing. j Help us to share Your love with others. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Now put this song on your heart and lips for today ...
Holy Spirit, Thou art welcome in this place.
Holy Spirit, Thou art welcome in this place.
Omnipotent Father of mercy and grace,
Thou at welcome in this place.
Holy Spirit, Thou art welcome in this place.
Holy Spirit, Thou art welcome in this place.
Omnipotent Father of mercy and grace,
Thou at welcome in this place.
Holy Spirit, Thou art welcome in this place.
Holy Spirit, Thou art welcome in this place.
Omnipotent Father of mercy and grace,
Thou at welcome in this place.
I love ya, Pastor Dan ... Hit it again ...
Holy Spirit, Thou art welcome in this place.
Holy Spirit, Thou art welcome in this place.
Omnipotent Father of mercy and grace,
Thou at welcome in this place.
Holy Spirit, Thou art welcome in this place.
Holy Spirit, Thou art welcome in this place.
Omnipotent Father of mercy and grace,
Thou at welcome in this place.
Dear Father, we want to give thanks. Thank You, Jesus, all praise and honor to You, Lord Jesus, for working on and answering the prayers we are about to ask today. Starting today, Jesus, we want to claim the victory before we even ask. We want to give You praise because You have given us Your life. So, Jesus, help me to remember each day to give honor and glory not just for answered prayers from the past, but honor and glory for the answered prayers that we have not even asked yet. And yes, we will do that in the Name of Jesus, as always ... I love You, Jesus. Amen.
Yes, brothers and sisters, so often when we post prayers we never, and I say we for so many who have prayer lines do not hear back from those who requested prayers. So starting today, the praise report goes up first. And brothers and sisters, when requesting prayers, and please do that, if you have something good, a praise report at the same time, please offer it up.
Yesterday Dolores had a very bad day. Praise God, she got up today and seems to be back to "her" normal. Thanks for all who have been praying for her. All honor and glory to God. Amen.
Brothers and sisters, it is beautiful here at the Southern Location of the North Pole. However, the sky was very red. Bad weather later today, be alert for it. Again I want to tell you, do not let the scare tactics scare you. Teachers losing their jobs. NO, let's face it, the schools' budgets are in until the end of June. Do you know that in some schools the football coaches get paid more than the elementary school teachers? Schools say they do not have books or even paper and pencils but the football field has astroturf on it and a paved running track. Time to get back to the basics! Let me get to the message.
Matthew 5:1 - Now, when He saw the crowds He went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to Him 2 and He began to teach them, saying: (NIV)
Matthew 5:5 - Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. (NIV)
Matthew 5:6 - Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (NIV)
Let's look at Matthew 5:5 and talk about the "meek". Please do not confuse this word. Meek means those who are humble and acknowledge that they need God to go forth. And if we are meek and we go forth and we walk with God, we will indeed inherit the goodness of this earth. I can bear witness to this. I have humbled myself before God, and folks, we have a really nice hunk of God's earth. But greater things are yet to come. Let's look at just a few scriptures that tie into this Beatitude.
Psalm 37:11 - But the meek will inherit the Land and enjoy great peace. (NIV)
Revelation 21:1 - Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and there was no longer a sea. (NIV)
Folks, in Revelation you can really see this playing out. The meek, those who humble to our Lord God, our Lord Jesus Christ, shall inherit the earth, and we see a NEW EARTH coming down and a New Heaven coming. Folks, while we who humble ourselves here on Earth will surely inherit some hunk of this great land, inherit does not mean we get it free, we need to work for that. But when it comes to the New Heaven and the New Earth, Christ has paid that price, so indeed we inherit it, and the price is paid, and we will be living with God and yes, there will be great peace. Amen.
Matthew 5:6 - Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (NIV)
Again we look at the word Blessed, and yes, we are blessed, and the blessings, as in all blessings come from God. And the more we hunger and thirst for Him, the more we worship Him, the more we will be filled with Him. Today, let's get filled with some righteousness by closing out with a short worship song. One thing I want to point out to you is as much as I tell you that you need a good church, and you do, you can worship God, you can worship our Lord Jesus right from your computer where you sit. You can ask the Holy Spirit to come over you regardless of where you are. So will you join me, remember this day to share your blessings and tell others you love them.
Dear Father in Heaven, help us as we close out today with some singing. j Help us to share Your love with others. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Now put this song on your heart and lips for today ...
Holy Spirit, Thou art welcome in this place.
Holy Spirit, Thou art welcome in this place.
Omnipotent Father of mercy and grace,
Thou at welcome in this place.
Holy Spirit, Thou art welcome in this place.
Holy Spirit, Thou art welcome in this place.
Omnipotent Father of mercy and grace,
Thou at welcome in this place.
Holy Spirit, Thou art welcome in this place.
Holy Spirit, Thou art welcome in this place.
Omnipotent Father of mercy and grace,
Thou at welcome in this place.
I love ya, Pastor Dan ... Hit it again ...
Holy Spirit, Thou art welcome in this place.
Holy Spirit, Thou art welcome in this place.
Omnipotent Father of mercy and grace,
Thou at welcome in this place.
Holy Spirit, Thou art welcome in this place.
Holy Spirit, Thou art welcome in this place.
Omnipotent Father of mercy and grace,
Thou at welcome in this place.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Monday 2/25/2013 The Beatitudes
Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. It is a beautiful morning here at the Southern Location of the North Pole, where it is just 10 more months until Christmas. What a great weekend, God is good. Thanks for your prayers for the NASCAR fans injured on Saturday when car parts went into the grandstands. Please keep praying for them. Yesterday's race went fine. Please pray for all those who are to be running this country in Washington, DC. Dare I say this, if our President would park the jet and stay off the golf course, if those leaders in the Senate and the House would stay at work, maybe they would get something done. Politicians in Washington, you have got the country in debt, CUT THE SPENDING, stop using scare tactics, and go to work. There was no need for the live feed last night to the Oscars from the White House, it was a waste of money. Mr. President and the rest of you, remember this. "God hates liars." Brothers and sisters, and most of all, you up in age, do not let them scare you, remember this. We have God on our side, He loves us and will take care of us. One day at a time, folks, one day at a time. Remember, God has our backs! I do believe that the only way we are going to save this country, the one and only way, is to PUT GOD BACK IN CHARGE. Anyone up to an amen on that one?
Monday and the day we do pray for all of our leaders, plus our military and our veterans, plus our police and firefighters and all those who work to keep us safe and healthy. Let me get to the message.
The Beatitudes 2/25/2013 Day One.
Matthew 5:1 - Now, when He saw the crowds He went up on a mountainside and sat down. his disciples came to Him 2 and He began to teach them, saying: 3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." (NIV)
Dear Father in Heaven, please open Your word to us this day so that I might understand it better and be better able to teach it to others. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Brothers and sisters, I have been writing messages that the Lord has given me over more than 16 years. Never before do I remember writing about the Beatitudes, and trust me when I say I really need the Lord (as always) to open them to me. Maybe I have steered away from them over the years, but God was clear when He sent me this way.
Matthew 5:1 - Now, when He saw the crowds He went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to Him.
The sermon on the Mount, and the Bible in Matthew does not tell us where on the mountainside He went, but that surely is not the point here, it is the fact that He went up on that mountainside and began to teach His disciples. Now I do want all of you to remember who the disciples are today. You do remember that, right? Yes, it is us, those who are willing to follow Jesus and listen to H is teachings today and work spreading the good, good news. As I said, over the years, well, I guess either I steered away from them or God did not think I could handle them for Him.
Yes, brothers and sisters, God grows us each day as we walk our lives with Him. He knows full well if He gave it to us all at once, we would be overwhelmed. I have looked at some of the scriptures over and over again and again and many times He gives me a different message from them.
Matthew 5:3 - "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
My first thought on this, the first of the Beatitudes, was, how in the world can someone who is poor in spirit be the one who can claim Heaven? That is what the scripture tells us. May I point out that the scripture does not say that they do not have the Spirit in them, but they are blessed if they are poor in it. God is telling me, opening my eyes to this, that we do have a lot of people running around out there who say they are so high on the spirit, so very high on the spirit that it might, just might be bringing out some bragging of sorts. Notice I say they say they are so high. Maybe some of them who are well, getting all gathered up in the moment of praising the Lord that they really forget why they are praising Him.
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. (NIV)
Revelation 1:3 - Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near. (NIV)
Maybe I need to try and understand this as one who goes to church on Sunday, sings and jumps for joy, arms in the air, praising the Lord over and over again, and then, and then on Monday at work is telling all about Jesus and praising Him, but gets caught up in the coffee room gossiping. Or one who jumps and shouts in the Spirit in church and then goes out to a restaurant after church only to cut into line with a friend who left church early to save their place in line. In other words, these folks are "putting on the dog" so to speak, and brothers and sisters, GOD KNOWS THE DIFFERENCE. To be poor in the spirit does not mean in any way that you are weak in the spirit in your love for Jesus.
Matthew 5:4 - "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."
I think this Beatitude speaks volumes. j It is telling me it is okay to mourn the loss of a loved one, folks, even a pet. But for this one I want to back up to when I was a teenager and I lost my mamma. I can remember standing alone at the graveside, tears flowing down my face, I tried to hold it back, I even cried at the viewing. Tough teens don't cry, but, hey, this was my mamma and she was gone. I stood off to the side, my brother was older and he and my daddy were close, but me, well, I was a "mamma's baby" and I was lost, in fact, the way I felt then, I lost my best friend. I did not have Jesus ahead of my mamma back then. Jesus is of course first now. I had aunts and uncles come and put their arms around me, and they comforted me more and more, but the fact remained, until much later in life, when I came back to Jesus, was the first I really knew what it meant when the Bible tells us that we are Blessed to be able to mourn for we will be comforted. It means Jesus will take care of it. Gosh, I love the fact that I came to Jesus!! I wish I had not ever drifted. I also like the fact that each day is a new day and a new day in the life of Jesus and m e. j I am trying to learn to take one day at a time, although we do need to plan ahead for some things. I love the fact that I have Christian brothers and sisters who give me advice, some when I ask for it and some just because I need it. They are spot on right.
Brothers and sisters, don't be afraid to mourn the loss of a dear friend, to shed a few tears, don't be afraid to cry if you have a pet pass away, God knows and understands this love, remember He watched His One and Only Son die on the Cross for us. A death we all need to mourn, and also jump for Joy, because our Jesus is alive. (More on that coming soon.)
Dear Father in Heaven, thanks for hearing our prayers, thanks for Your words and thanks for helping me understand more and more of Your Word each day. Lord, I might not know all of it, not even nearly all of it, but I do know this, I love You, and I pray others do also, for I want my name in that Lamb's Book of Life. I love You, Jesus, and I give thanks and pray in Your name. Amen.
Now go forth, sharing the love of Jesus and His blessings, and remember again as I say I love ya. Pastor Dan. It is not just words, I really do.
Monday and the day we do pray for all of our leaders, plus our military and our veterans, plus our police and firefighters and all those who work to keep us safe and healthy. Let me get to the message.
The Beatitudes 2/25/2013 Day One.
Matthew 5:1 - Now, when He saw the crowds He went up on a mountainside and sat down. his disciples came to Him 2 and He began to teach them, saying: 3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." (NIV)
Dear Father in Heaven, please open Your word to us this day so that I might understand it better and be better able to teach it to others. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Brothers and sisters, I have been writing messages that the Lord has given me over more than 16 years. Never before do I remember writing about the Beatitudes, and trust me when I say I really need the Lord (as always) to open them to me. Maybe I have steered away from them over the years, but God was clear when He sent me this way.
Matthew 5:1 - Now, when He saw the crowds He went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to Him.
The sermon on the Mount, and the Bible in Matthew does not tell us where on the mountainside He went, but that surely is not the point here, it is the fact that He went up on that mountainside and began to teach His disciples. Now I do want all of you to remember who the disciples are today. You do remember that, right? Yes, it is us, those who are willing to follow Jesus and listen to H is teachings today and work spreading the good, good news. As I said, over the years, well, I guess either I steered away from them or God did not think I could handle them for Him.
Yes, brothers and sisters, God grows us each day as we walk our lives with Him. He knows full well if He gave it to us all at once, we would be overwhelmed. I have looked at some of the scriptures over and over again and again and many times He gives me a different message from them.
Matthew 5:3 - "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
My first thought on this, the first of the Beatitudes, was, how in the world can someone who is poor in spirit be the one who can claim Heaven? That is what the scripture tells us. May I point out that the scripture does not say that they do not have the Spirit in them, but they are blessed if they are poor in it. God is telling me, opening my eyes to this, that we do have a lot of people running around out there who say they are so high on the spirit, so very high on the spirit that it might, just might be bringing out some bragging of sorts. Notice I say they say they are so high. Maybe some of them who are well, getting all gathered up in the moment of praising the Lord that they really forget why they are praising Him.
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. (NIV)
Revelation 1:3 - Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near. (NIV)
Maybe I need to try and understand this as one who goes to church on Sunday, sings and jumps for joy, arms in the air, praising the Lord over and over again, and then, and then on Monday at work is telling all about Jesus and praising Him, but gets caught up in the coffee room gossiping. Or one who jumps and shouts in the Spirit in church and then goes out to a restaurant after church only to cut into line with a friend who left church early to save their place in line. In other words, these folks are "putting on the dog" so to speak, and brothers and sisters, GOD KNOWS THE DIFFERENCE. To be poor in the spirit does not mean in any way that you are weak in the spirit in your love for Jesus.
Matthew 5:4 - "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."
I think this Beatitude speaks volumes. j It is telling me it is okay to mourn the loss of a loved one, folks, even a pet. But for this one I want to back up to when I was a teenager and I lost my mamma. I can remember standing alone at the graveside, tears flowing down my face, I tried to hold it back, I even cried at the viewing. Tough teens don't cry, but, hey, this was my mamma and she was gone. I stood off to the side, my brother was older and he and my daddy were close, but me, well, I was a "mamma's baby" and I was lost, in fact, the way I felt then, I lost my best friend. I did not have Jesus ahead of my mamma back then. Jesus is of course first now. I had aunts and uncles come and put their arms around me, and they comforted me more and more, but the fact remained, until much later in life, when I came back to Jesus, was the first I really knew what it meant when the Bible tells us that we are Blessed to be able to mourn for we will be comforted. It means Jesus will take care of it. Gosh, I love the fact that I came to Jesus!! I wish I had not ever drifted. I also like the fact that each day is a new day and a new day in the life of Jesus and m e. j I am trying to learn to take one day at a time, although we do need to plan ahead for some things. I love the fact that I have Christian brothers and sisters who give me advice, some when I ask for it and some just because I need it. They are spot on right.
Brothers and sisters, don't be afraid to mourn the loss of a dear friend, to shed a few tears, don't be afraid to cry if you have a pet pass away, God knows and understands this love, remember He watched His One and Only Son die on the Cross for us. A death we all need to mourn, and also jump for Joy, because our Jesus is alive. (More on that coming soon.)
Dear Father in Heaven, thanks for hearing our prayers, thanks for Your words and thanks for helping me understand more and more of Your Word each day. Lord, I might not know all of it, not even nearly all of it, but I do know this, I love You, and I pray others do also, for I want my name in that Lamb's Book of Life. I love You, Jesus, and I give thanks and pray in Your name. Amen.
Now go forth, sharing the love of Jesus and His blessings, and remember again as I say I love ya. Pastor Dan. It is not just words, I really do.
Friday, February 22, 2013
Friday 2/22/13 Love (5)
Good Morning, dear brothers and sisters. It is a cold morning here at the Southern Location of the North Pole. I am looking out my window as I type and I see one really big, pretty red sky. God's warning, folks, look for bad weather before this day is over in our area.
Today is Salvation Friday on this line, the day we pray for those who might not be saved, and in those prayers, please include our President. Also pray that God will call on we who are saved and ut us to work bringing in the lost for Jesus to save. Also pray that when He calls upon us that WE ANSWER THE CALL!!
Prayers today for the family of Brian Jacobs, 46, of Dillsburg, PA, who was killed in a traffic accident yesterday on Route 83. Also the family of Carl Fetter who was called home.
Praise God for a great day for Carry The Light Ministries yesterday. It started out early in the morning when we picked up bread at our local Giant Food Store. We are on a rotation list to get this bread, pies, cakes, etc. Then we went to the Bridges and had a hymn sing-along with our flock. After that we came back to our food pantry and sat down together to a wonderful meal prepared by ministry team member Wanda Crockett. After that a young lady came who rescues dogs and we were able to supply her rescue with lots of canned dog food. Then a family came for food, their first time here, and these folks were born-again, washed-in-the-blood believers. After praying with them, our ministry team, along with this husband and wife who came for food, went out and anointed our new food pantry trailer with oil and prayed for it as we put it into service for our Lord. After that we started to pack up food for our Easter food distribution which will be held on Wednesday, March 20th, in the afternoon (we are looking for a few helpers), and we will need to purchase 30 hams. (We have one, me.) Then we had a visit from two very dear friends of mine, so we sat down and chatted (as the ministry team kept on packing). We were also blessed, as Dolores had a very, very bad fall, she just lost her balance, and she is fine. The ladies of our ministry team helped her up into the house and she laid down. Pray, please, for her back.
Even with Dolores falling, it was a great day, she was blessed not to be hurt seriously, and then all those other things happened. GOD IS GOOD ... (PASS IT ON.) Time for me to get to the message.
John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. 18 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. (NIV)
John 14:6 - Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (NIV)
Brothers and sisters, there is no greater love, none, zip, zero, than this. God sent His Son Jesus who gave His life for us. Our Lord Jesus loves us so much that He died for us. His blood was spilled out for us on Calvary that day that we call "Good Friday." That was a really great day for all of us who believe and have taken Jesus as our personal Savior. It was not a great day for Jesus as He bled an died for us. God gave us a gift, a gift of life, we get a gift of life, but Jesus died for that Gift. That is love, my dear brothers and sisters. John 3:16 - For God so LOVED the world. (NIV)
I want you to to think here about a couple of things. First of all, a gift needs at least two things, it needs a giver and a receiver. Jesus gave His life for us, and some people do not receive that gift. Have you ever received a gift, maybe for Christmas or your birthday that you just looked at and put in the trash? I have, and all on our ministry team have accepted this free gift of Love that Jesus gave us, this Gift of Salvation, this gift of a free passage to heaven, a gift that tells us we do not need to die, just move from this world. My question today, have you accepted this gift, really accepted this gift of love? Or have you, well, played with the gift?
Over the years, mostly when I was a child, I received gifts of toys which I played around with, then lost interest in. You know, I went through some of that same thing with this gift of Love from God through Jesus. I received it, then played around with it, so to speak, then even trashed it, well,not really trashed it, maybe just packed it up and put it in the closet like it was a Christmas toy. I have since taken this gift of Jesus out and really have come to terms that I need Jesus to get into Heaven, and I need to be talking to others about this gift and even sharing it with others. Brothers and sisters, we have heard before of people getting a gift, then wrapping it up and giving it to someone else. Regifting, I think people call it. (Better not send it back to the one who gave it to you.) But wait a minute, here is a gift, this gift of Love, this gift of Salvation that we can keep and also gift it over to someone else, so to speak. This gift of Love, of Salvation, is also a gift that keeps growing as we grow in Jesus. How many other gifts have you received that keep growing? Dolores and I over the years have gifted each other with a tree or shrubs. Those gifts grew for the most part, but after awhile they died off. The gifts, and I said gifts that we have received from God through Jesus,never stop growing unless we stop growing, they never fail, and even if we did not take the gift, or others did not take the gift, THE GIFT IS STILL THERE TO BE PICKED UP. This is whee we need to get off of our backsides and get out and work for Jesus. Come on, brothers and sisters. This is one gift that we need to do what I said to do yesterday, we need to tell others of the Love of Jesus, and then tell those folks to PASS IT ON.
In our lives we have passed on a cold, the flu, chicken pox, poison ivy or oak, and lots of other things, we have passed on things like our old clothes to others, etc. This Love, this Love of Jesus, is the gift of Love we really need to pass on. So again this day I say to you, Jesus Loves you, and I love you ... Please pass it on. THE GREATEST GIFT EVER GIVEN, LOVE ... Given through the blood of Jesus ... please pass it on ... No special blessings if you forward this, God decides on those blessings, I don't, but I do know we need to share this love of Jesus with others. Yes, you may forward this or copy out parts, but you can just put it in your words and send something, but the best thing, the very best thing is take up Jesus and go into His fields of Harvest for Him, because He has commanded us to do just that. AMEN.
Dear Father in Heaven, Thanks for the gift of love and salvation through Your Son Jesus, whom I love. Teach us to share our blessings, and teach us that the number one blessing You have given us was and still is Jesus. Thanks, and please look over our prayer requests and act on them according to Your will and not mine. Love You, Father, and I Love You, Jesus and pray in Your name. Amen.
Nor go forth, share this gift of Love and your other blessings.
I love ya, Pastor Dan. (Pass it on.)
Please pray also this prayer for a fresh start today.
Father, in the Name of Jesus, I ask that You forgive me of my sins and that You save me from the gates of Hell. I am unworthy of this gift of love of Jesus but request this cleaning in Jesus' name, and according to His word that is recorded in my Bible. Save me, Lord, save me. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Today is Salvation Friday on this line, the day we pray for those who might not be saved, and in those prayers, please include our President. Also pray that God will call on we who are saved and ut us to work bringing in the lost for Jesus to save. Also pray that when He calls upon us that WE ANSWER THE CALL!!
Prayers today for the family of Brian Jacobs, 46, of Dillsburg, PA, who was killed in a traffic accident yesterday on Route 83. Also the family of Carl Fetter who was called home.
Praise God for a great day for Carry The Light Ministries yesterday. It started out early in the morning when we picked up bread at our local Giant Food Store. We are on a rotation list to get this bread, pies, cakes, etc. Then we went to the Bridges and had a hymn sing-along with our flock. After that we came back to our food pantry and sat down together to a wonderful meal prepared by ministry team member Wanda Crockett. After that a young lady came who rescues dogs and we were able to supply her rescue with lots of canned dog food. Then a family came for food, their first time here, and these folks were born-again, washed-in-the-blood believers. After praying with them, our ministry team, along with this husband and wife who came for food, went out and anointed our new food pantry trailer with oil and prayed for it as we put it into service for our Lord. After that we started to pack up food for our Easter food distribution which will be held on Wednesday, March 20th, in the afternoon (we are looking for a few helpers), and we will need to purchase 30 hams. (We have one, me.) Then we had a visit from two very dear friends of mine, so we sat down and chatted (as the ministry team kept on packing). We were also blessed, as Dolores had a very, very bad fall, she just lost her balance, and she is fine. The ladies of our ministry team helped her up into the house and she laid down. Pray, please, for her back.
Even with Dolores falling, it was a great day, she was blessed not to be hurt seriously, and then all those other things happened. GOD IS GOOD ... (PASS IT ON.) Time for me to get to the message.
John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. 18 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. (NIV)
John 14:6 - Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (NIV)
Brothers and sisters, there is no greater love, none, zip, zero, than this. God sent His Son Jesus who gave His life for us. Our Lord Jesus loves us so much that He died for us. His blood was spilled out for us on Calvary that day that we call "Good Friday." That was a really great day for all of us who believe and have taken Jesus as our personal Savior. It was not a great day for Jesus as He bled an died for us. God gave us a gift, a gift of life, we get a gift of life, but Jesus died for that Gift. That is love, my dear brothers and sisters. John 3:16 - For God so LOVED the world. (NIV)
I want you to to think here about a couple of things. First of all, a gift needs at least two things, it needs a giver and a receiver. Jesus gave His life for us, and some people do not receive that gift. Have you ever received a gift, maybe for Christmas or your birthday that you just looked at and put in the trash? I have, and all on our ministry team have accepted this free gift of Love that Jesus gave us, this Gift of Salvation, this gift of a free passage to heaven, a gift that tells us we do not need to die, just move from this world. My question today, have you accepted this gift, really accepted this gift of love? Or have you, well, played with the gift?
Over the years, mostly when I was a child, I received gifts of toys which I played around with, then lost interest in. You know, I went through some of that same thing with this gift of Love from God through Jesus. I received it, then played around with it, so to speak, then even trashed it, well,not really trashed it, maybe just packed it up and put it in the closet like it was a Christmas toy. I have since taken this gift of Jesus out and really have come to terms that I need Jesus to get into Heaven, and I need to be talking to others about this gift and even sharing it with others. Brothers and sisters, we have heard before of people getting a gift, then wrapping it up and giving it to someone else. Regifting, I think people call it. (Better not send it back to the one who gave it to you.) But wait a minute, here is a gift, this gift of Love, this gift of Salvation that we can keep and also gift it over to someone else, so to speak. This gift of Love, of Salvation, is also a gift that keeps growing as we grow in Jesus. How many other gifts have you received that keep growing? Dolores and I over the years have gifted each other with a tree or shrubs. Those gifts grew for the most part, but after awhile they died off. The gifts, and I said gifts that we have received from God through Jesus,never stop growing unless we stop growing, they never fail, and even if we did not take the gift, or others did not take the gift, THE GIFT IS STILL THERE TO BE PICKED UP. This is whee we need to get off of our backsides and get out and work for Jesus. Come on, brothers and sisters. This is one gift that we need to do what I said to do yesterday, we need to tell others of the Love of Jesus, and then tell those folks to PASS IT ON.
In our lives we have passed on a cold, the flu, chicken pox, poison ivy or oak, and lots of other things, we have passed on things like our old clothes to others, etc. This Love, this Love of Jesus, is the gift of Love we really need to pass on. So again this day I say to you, Jesus Loves you, and I love you ... Please pass it on. THE GREATEST GIFT EVER GIVEN, LOVE ... Given through the blood of Jesus ... please pass it on ... No special blessings if you forward this, God decides on those blessings, I don't, but I do know we need to share this love of Jesus with others. Yes, you may forward this or copy out parts, but you can just put it in your words and send something, but the best thing, the very best thing is take up Jesus and go into His fields of Harvest for Him, because He has commanded us to do just that. AMEN.
Dear Father in Heaven, Thanks for the gift of love and salvation through Your Son Jesus, whom I love. Teach us to share our blessings, and teach us that the number one blessing You have given us was and still is Jesus. Thanks, and please look over our prayer requests and act on them according to Your will and not mine. Love You, Father, and I Love You, Jesus and pray in Your name. Amen.
Nor go forth, share this gift of Love and your other blessings.
I love ya, Pastor Dan. (Pass it on.)
Please pray also this prayer for a fresh start today.
Father, in the Name of Jesus, I ask that You forgive me of my sins and that You save me from the gates of Hell. I am unworthy of this gift of love of Jesus but request this cleaning in Jesus' name, and according to His word that is recorded in my Bible. Save me, Lord, save me. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Thursday 2/21/13 Love (4)
Dear brothers and sisters. It is a cold evening here at the Southern Location of the North Pole, and yes, I am getting a jump on the Thursday message as we have a very busy day Thursday with an early morning out. Prayers today for our schools and all those involved with them and as always, please do not forget those school bus drivers. As you know, we are working on messages about love this week. So let me get right to the message.
Matthew 22:36 - "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37 Jesus replied: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself." (NIV)
Have you ever played a game called "Pass it on?" Once in awhile in school teachers would tell someone something and then we were to keep telling it to others until it got back to you. The teacher was showing how the wording would change as it passed by a lot of people. That was a nice little game, but it has a bigger meaning. Passing it on is not always a game, it is a way to spread gossip and as we all know, gossip is a sin. But wait a minute, I am talking about love today, so why am I talking to you about passing it on? I want to challenge you to do something. Three little words is all I want you to pass on. However, you do not just need to tell it to one person, you can start this with many people. No, I am not asking you to pass on the message, as always that is up to you. Your blessings come from God,not from just passing on something someone wrote or said. But this is okay, so here we go.
When you see someone, now I would not expect you to do this with a perfect stranger, you might find out the stranger is not perfect. Okay, are you ready;, here goes. When you see someone you know, walk up to them, hug them if you like, and say thee three words, "I love you," and then say, "pass it on." The Bible does tell us that we should love our neighbor, and your neighbors are everywhere. And besides showing your love for everyone by the way you act, why not tell them?
Maybe it would be best to get your feet wet doing this online. I have closed my messages like this for years ... "Go forth and share your blessings. Love ya." And then I sign my name. So use three words, I love you, or I love ya. Most all who respond to me say it back. Guys, do not be afraid to tell another you love them, just say "love ya, brother." Love is throughout the Bible.
Of course our scripture tells us to "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." And at no time should your love for anyone be greater than your love for Jesus. In fact, Jesus is always number one. Hey, you want to have some fun? If you are at a ball game or someplace where the crowd is yelling "we're number one", just yell out "we're number two" and watch the look you get.
There is so much hate in the world today, so much, and sometimes you do not even need to leave your own household to see or feel the hate. It sure would be nice if we could help turn that around. Email someone, phone someone, or when you see them, tell them, "I love you," and remember to say, "pass it on." Our Lord Jesus has commanded us to take the good news into all the corners of the world, and the good news is, "Jesus loves you," and that is another way you could say those words, say Jesus loves you, and I love you, "pass it on." Hey, it needs to start somewhere, so I am going to start it right here for the email ...
Jesus loves you, and I love you also. (Pass it on.)
Dear Father in Heaven, thanks for loving us and for teaching us how to love others and share with others. Please anoint the message as it goes out today and may it help spread the word of just how much You do love us. Lord, you have sure passed on Your love over the years and so often we have not appreciated it. Here I am, Lord. Please keep sending Your love our way. In Jesus' name, I pray. And Lord, all honor and about our love goes to You. In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen.
Now go forth sharing your blessings and loving, loving all others with Jesus first.
I love ya, Pastor Dan.
Matthew 22:36 - "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37 Jesus replied: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself." (NIV)
Have you ever played a game called "Pass it on?" Once in awhile in school teachers would tell someone something and then we were to keep telling it to others until it got back to you. The teacher was showing how the wording would change as it passed by a lot of people. That was a nice little game, but it has a bigger meaning. Passing it on is not always a game, it is a way to spread gossip and as we all know, gossip is a sin. But wait a minute, I am talking about love today, so why am I talking to you about passing it on? I want to challenge you to do something. Three little words is all I want you to pass on. However, you do not just need to tell it to one person, you can start this with many people. No, I am not asking you to pass on the message, as always that is up to you. Your blessings come from God,not from just passing on something someone wrote or said. But this is okay, so here we go.
When you see someone, now I would not expect you to do this with a perfect stranger, you might find out the stranger is not perfect. Okay, are you ready;, here goes. When you see someone you know, walk up to them, hug them if you like, and say thee three words, "I love you," and then say, "pass it on." The Bible does tell us that we should love our neighbor, and your neighbors are everywhere. And besides showing your love for everyone by the way you act, why not tell them?
Maybe it would be best to get your feet wet doing this online. I have closed my messages like this for years ... "Go forth and share your blessings. Love ya." And then I sign my name. So use three words, I love you, or I love ya. Most all who respond to me say it back. Guys, do not be afraid to tell another you love them, just say "love ya, brother." Love is throughout the Bible.
Of course our scripture tells us to "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." And at no time should your love for anyone be greater than your love for Jesus. In fact, Jesus is always number one. Hey, you want to have some fun? If you are at a ball game or someplace where the crowd is yelling "we're number one", just yell out "we're number two" and watch the look you get.
There is so much hate in the world today, so much, and sometimes you do not even need to leave your own household to see or feel the hate. It sure would be nice if we could help turn that around. Email someone, phone someone, or when you see them, tell them, "I love you," and remember to say, "pass it on." Our Lord Jesus has commanded us to take the good news into all the corners of the world, and the good news is, "Jesus loves you," and that is another way you could say those words, say Jesus loves you, and I love you, "pass it on." Hey, it needs to start somewhere, so I am going to start it right here for the email ...
Jesus loves you, and I love you also. (Pass it on.)
Dear Father in Heaven, thanks for loving us and for teaching us how to love others and share with others. Please anoint the message as it goes out today and may it help spread the word of just how much You do love us. Lord, you have sure passed on Your love over the years and so often we have not appreciated it. Here I am, Lord. Please keep sending Your love our way. In Jesus' name, I pray. And Lord, all honor and about our love goes to You. In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen.
Now go forth sharing your blessings and loving, loving all others with Jesus first.
I love ya, Pastor Dan.
Wednesday 2/20/13 Love (3)
Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. It is a cold and windy morning here at the Southern Location of the North Pole. When driving, be alert for flying trash cans! Thanks for all who responded about the picture of our new food pantry trailer. All glory and honor goes to God. Tomorrow bout noon it will be anointed with oil and dedicated to do the Lord's work. It sort of reminds me of a day back in the mid eighties when Dolores and I mounted our Honda Goldwing and followed a tour bus down to Nashville. On board the bus was Duane Nicholson and a group called The Brotherhood. That is where we met Doug Boyer and Tim Beitzel. Yes, all on the bus were together, Dolores and I purchased seats for the touro but left them sell those seats again as we chose to follow on our bike. What a trip. On the way home, the charter bus stopped at a truck stop for a food and potty break (always a welcome thing on a bike) and when we came out of the truck stop all gathered around the motorcycle and hands were laid all over the bike and trailer as it was dedicated to do the Lord's work and anointed with oil. You should have seen people looking. Brothers and sisters, please do not be afraid to dedicate things to the Lord, and a really good place to start is, are you ready for this? Start with yourself, and then start dedicating your family and your stuff to the Lord. I remember one time when we purchased a new motorcycle getting out the anointing oil and putting a cross over the windshield. When the saleslady walked out and saw it, she said, "wait, something happened on that windshield, I will get someone to clean it." I stopped her and told her what we had done as we had already dedicated the bike (a Harley) to the Lord. We don't ride anymore, but the first bike we had is in the garage. More than likely we will give it to a museum! Like us, it is an antique!!
Please pray again today for our firefighters, also pray for Bob Everhard as he readies for heart surgery, Cindy Barr who has had lots of problems since a botched operation at a local hospital. A simple test gone bad. Pray also today for Dolores as she found out yesterday that she needs cataract surgery in both eyes. I was told I did not need a guide dog yet. Let me get to my message on Love.
Psalm 118:1 - Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His love endures forever. (NIV)
Psalm 118:4 - Let those who fear the Lord say; His love endures forever. (NIV)
1 John 3:11 - This is the message you heard from the beginning; We should love one another. (NIV)
And they call it puppy love. The words from a song, my dear brothers and sisters, the words from a song. When I was but a child, back when the dead sea was still sick, I had this thing called puppy love. I can remember even back in elementary school where I had this puppy love thing on girls. Yes, I walked some home and once in awhile my mind goes back to one or two of them. Puppy love, it was called. But guess what, folks? My real puppy love was, are you ready for this? Puppies, yes, dogs, and you know, I still love puppies and older dogs also. Maybe because I am an older dog!! Thinking of being with my eye care professionals yesterday it got me thinking of one thing I would like to do in life. Yes, I want to borrow a "seeing eye dog" and a "white tipped cane", or is it a white cane with a red tip? I want to borrow those, walk up a street using the cane and dog, then coming to my car, open the door, put the dog in, and get in behind the wheel and drive away. I just love to joke and have fun. I really do and always did. But one thing over the years, after I came back to my Lord Jesus Christ and took Him into my heart I do not joke about is my love for Him. Now I really do think we can have fun in all we do after we fall in love with Jesus, as long as we do not hurt others doing so. As you all know I am ready to hear good (clean jokes and love to tell them.
To this day, I love animals, all kinds of animals. Dolores and I h ave dogs and cats, goats, and even a pet chicken. Our goats are as spoiled as our dogs and cats. Even our chicken is spoiled as right now she is in the house so she does not get cold (no, she is not running loose). Now I brought up this love of animals for a real reason. Have you noticed how your animals love you? Unless you train them to be mean or someone teased them, their love is unconditional. You can scold them for doing something wrong, put them in a cage for awhile and scold them some more. Then you go out for a few hours and when you come home they welcome you back home and jump up and down. Wow, this sounds like I need to get out another scripture other than the ones above. But first, let's work on them.
Psalm 118:1 - Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His love endures forever.
The Bible tells us that God's love for us endures forever. Forever, folks, and that's a long, long time. It means He loves us from the time we were but a twinkle in our parents' eyes, yes, before we entered the womb, and He loves us until the day He welcomes us home. Even if we have wandered away, He welcomes us back. We do need to come to Him with our love for Him, if we want to be with Him in Heaven. Yes, there are some rules. We will talk about them on another day. The Bible also tells us this ...
Psalm 118:4 - Let those who fear the Lord say; His love endures forever.
Take a look at this, folks, we need to "fear the Lord." I have told some people that and they have said we should not fear the Lord. Folks, it is reverent fear, and we should fear the Lord for we should be fearing what might happen to us, if we do not take on Jesus as our Savior. We will also talk about rearing the Lord in the future.
Luke 15:20 - "So he got up and went to his father. 'But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.'" (NIV)
I talked above about how our dogs and other animals have this deep love for us and while we are gone, they wait for us to return. They jump up on us and kiss us. Do you notice the scripture above about the "lost or prodigal son?" This is one of the great parables of Jesus. This is Jesus telling us how He welcomes back those of us, and yes, I was one of them, those of us who were lost.
Were you ever lost and had to find your way home? They say men will not stop and ask for directions. Let me tell you, when you are lost, don't get out that thing, what is it, a GPS? Don't get out the old road map. GET OUT THE BIBLE. In this wonderful book you can find out how to get home, and brothers and sisters, it is all about LOVE. let's pray.
Dear Father in Heaven, I give thanks that over the years I have found my way back home to You, I thank all the helpers along the way, Lord, too many to name. Lord, I do remember a lot of them, so many. Now, Lord, I pray that You use us, not just me, but us, those in our ministry team, those on this line, those in churches, or ever those working at their office, use us all to show people the way back to You, or how to get to You in the first place. Help us do this this day and not put it off. Lord, look over our prayer requests and honor them according to Your will for us. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
Now go forth and share your blessings.
Love ya, Pastor Dan.
Please pray again today for our firefighters, also pray for Bob Everhard as he readies for heart surgery, Cindy Barr who has had lots of problems since a botched operation at a local hospital. A simple test gone bad. Pray also today for Dolores as she found out yesterday that she needs cataract surgery in both eyes. I was told I did not need a guide dog yet. Let me get to my message on Love.
Psalm 118:1 - Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His love endures forever. (NIV)
Psalm 118:4 - Let those who fear the Lord say; His love endures forever. (NIV)
1 John 3:11 - This is the message you heard from the beginning; We should love one another. (NIV)
And they call it puppy love. The words from a song, my dear brothers and sisters, the words from a song. When I was but a child, back when the dead sea was still sick, I had this thing called puppy love. I can remember even back in elementary school where I had this puppy love thing on girls. Yes, I walked some home and once in awhile my mind goes back to one or two of them. Puppy love, it was called. But guess what, folks? My real puppy love was, are you ready for this? Puppies, yes, dogs, and you know, I still love puppies and older dogs also. Maybe because I am an older dog!! Thinking of being with my eye care professionals yesterday it got me thinking of one thing I would like to do in life. Yes, I want to borrow a "seeing eye dog" and a "white tipped cane", or is it a white cane with a red tip? I want to borrow those, walk up a street using the cane and dog, then coming to my car, open the door, put the dog in, and get in behind the wheel and drive away. I just love to joke and have fun. I really do and always did. But one thing over the years, after I came back to my Lord Jesus Christ and took Him into my heart I do not joke about is my love for Him. Now I really do think we can have fun in all we do after we fall in love with Jesus, as long as we do not hurt others doing so. As you all know I am ready to hear good (clean jokes and love to tell them.
To this day, I love animals, all kinds of animals. Dolores and I h ave dogs and cats, goats, and even a pet chicken. Our goats are as spoiled as our dogs and cats. Even our chicken is spoiled as right now she is in the house so she does not get cold (no, she is not running loose). Now I brought up this love of animals for a real reason. Have you noticed how your animals love you? Unless you train them to be mean or someone teased them, their love is unconditional. You can scold them for doing something wrong, put them in a cage for awhile and scold them some more. Then you go out for a few hours and when you come home they welcome you back home and jump up and down. Wow, this sounds like I need to get out another scripture other than the ones above. But first, let's work on them.
Psalm 118:1 - Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His love endures forever.
The Bible tells us that God's love for us endures forever. Forever, folks, and that's a long, long time. It means He loves us from the time we were but a twinkle in our parents' eyes, yes, before we entered the womb, and He loves us until the day He welcomes us home. Even if we have wandered away, He welcomes us back. We do need to come to Him with our love for Him, if we want to be with Him in Heaven. Yes, there are some rules. We will talk about them on another day. The Bible also tells us this ...
Psalm 118:4 - Let those who fear the Lord say; His love endures forever.
Take a look at this, folks, we need to "fear the Lord." I have told some people that and they have said we should not fear the Lord. Folks, it is reverent fear, and we should fear the Lord for we should be fearing what might happen to us, if we do not take on Jesus as our Savior. We will also talk about rearing the Lord in the future.
Luke 15:20 - "So he got up and went to his father. 'But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.'" (NIV)
I talked above about how our dogs and other animals have this deep love for us and while we are gone, they wait for us to return. They jump up on us and kiss us. Do you notice the scripture above about the "lost or prodigal son?" This is one of the great parables of Jesus. This is Jesus telling us how He welcomes back those of us, and yes, I was one of them, those of us who were lost.
Were you ever lost and had to find your way home? They say men will not stop and ask for directions. Let me tell you, when you are lost, don't get out that thing, what is it, a GPS? Don't get out the old road map. GET OUT THE BIBLE. In this wonderful book you can find out how to get home, and brothers and sisters, it is all about LOVE. let's pray.
Dear Father in Heaven, I give thanks that over the years I have found my way back home to You, I thank all the helpers along the way, Lord, too many to name. Lord, I do remember a lot of them, so many. Now, Lord, I pray that You use us, not just me, but us, those in our ministry team, those on this line, those in churches, or ever those working at their office, use us all to show people the way back to You, or how to get to You in the first place. Help us do this this day and not put it off. Lord, look over our prayer requests and honor them according to Your will for us. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
Now go forth and share your blessings.
Love ya, Pastor Dan.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Tuesday 2/19/13 Love (2)
Good Morning, dear brothers and sisters. As I look out my window as I type this morning, I see a beautiful sunrise. No red sky here, so as we might get a tad or rain or a little snow, but no stormy weather today. To those who responded that they got the picture of the trailer, thank you. Others, please let me know what you think. We want to do it right for God and He said take the good news to the masses. The trailer should bring out some questions and we can talk to them about Jesus.
Prayers today for Lt. Kelly, who is a Lancaster firefighter. Please pray for this brave firefighter who was burned badly yesterday in a fire in Lancaster as he was inside the building looking for people trapped in the building. Sadly, two were killed in the fire. Please pray for their families. Pray also for the other brave firefighters who entered the burning building to rescue their brother in the fire service. Pray for all firefighters across the world, here in our area, most all do the work for FREE. May God richly bless the ladies and gentlemen that we call firefighters. And while I am writing about love, how about the love of service these people have? Amen. Let me get moving to the message.
Love 2/19/13 Day Two.
Psalm 69:34 - Let heaven and earth praise Him, the seas and all that move in them, 35 for God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah. Then people will settle there and possess it: 36 The children of His servants will inherit it, and those who LOVE His Name will dwell there. (NIV)
God speaks to us in many different ways. This morning while praying for the firefighters God brought this scripture forward in my mind:
John 15:13 - Greater Love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. (NIV)
It reminds me so much of these firefighters and also our military men and women who show their love for all others that they are willing to lay their lives on the line each day in all they do. Police officers do the same thing also. Day after day after day we have people in our country that show their love for us, and so often we do not thank them. We might think that the police are out to get us because they stopped you, and I did not say us on this one, but they might e out to get you for stopping you for running a red traffic signal. We make smart remarks to police about "donuts" and donut shops. I get tired of hearing those jokes. Want to find a "cop"? Check the donut shop. Another thing I think is when a person loves us enough to be willing to lay down his life for us, then we should have enough respect for them not to call them "cops" and refer to them as "police officers" or in the case of our State Police "Trooper". Back years ago, during the hippie years, police were often referred to as "pigs". Some referred to Troopers on motorcycles as "pigs on a hog". A name I think used in love by some truckers is "Smokey". That is sort of a CB type thing I guess.
Our military people also got a lot of bad names over the years. I am not even going to get into all that was fired at them back during the Viet Nam war. Some of our military were even spit on when they came home. They were in good company as our Lord Jesus was spit on also.
I want to ask you to do this, when you see a veteran wearing a military cap, and you will know them, go up to them and say, "thanks for your service to our country," and tell them you love them. When you see a person today in the uniform of our country, take time to tell them, "thanks for helping to keep us free," and then say this and don't hold it back ... say, "I love you," and if in a group, say, "I love all of you." If you are sort of afraid to say it like that, then say, "I love you for keeping us safe." Do the same thing for police, thank them and tell them you love them for keeping you safe.
As for those firefighters, those who get no pay for what they do, if you can afford it, send a check, it need not be big, but send a check to your local fire company with a note. Say, here is a small check towards your operating costs. I love all of you, thanks for always being ready to respond.
God gave us His One and Only Son to die for our personal freedom, but so many more, so many, many more over the years have given their lives, or their limbs, or even part of their minds in wars, and why? So we could be free ... So we can talk about God.
Brothers and sisters, the more I am writing today the more upset I can get. So many have given of themselves so we could have Jesus and our freedom with Him, just to see others, those few haters and non-believers get their way and Jesus put out of places. Brothers and sisters, love one another, love each other, show it, even to those who h ate us, love them. Let's take this country back by loving others ... SOMEONE SAY AMEN.
Dear Father in Heaven, bless these words as they go forth, help us learn to love one another as You have first loved us. Be with those firefighters and all others who give of themselves to keep us safe. Please heal Lt. Kelly. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Now go forth and share your blessings.
Love ya, Pastor Dan.
Prayers today for Lt. Kelly, who is a Lancaster firefighter. Please pray for this brave firefighter who was burned badly yesterday in a fire in Lancaster as he was inside the building looking for people trapped in the building. Sadly, two were killed in the fire. Please pray for their families. Pray also for the other brave firefighters who entered the burning building to rescue their brother in the fire service. Pray for all firefighters across the world, here in our area, most all do the work for FREE. May God richly bless the ladies and gentlemen that we call firefighters. And while I am writing about love, how about the love of service these people have? Amen. Let me get moving to the message.
Love 2/19/13 Day Two.
Psalm 69:34 - Let heaven and earth praise Him, the seas and all that move in them, 35 for God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah. Then people will settle there and possess it: 36 The children of His servants will inherit it, and those who LOVE His Name will dwell there. (NIV)
God speaks to us in many different ways. This morning while praying for the firefighters God brought this scripture forward in my mind:
John 15:13 - Greater Love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. (NIV)
It reminds me so much of these firefighters and also our military men and women who show their love for all others that they are willing to lay their lives on the line each day in all they do. Police officers do the same thing also. Day after day after day we have people in our country that show their love for us, and so often we do not thank them. We might think that the police are out to get us because they stopped you, and I did not say us on this one, but they might e out to get you for stopping you for running a red traffic signal. We make smart remarks to police about "donuts" and donut shops. I get tired of hearing those jokes. Want to find a "cop"? Check the donut shop. Another thing I think is when a person loves us enough to be willing to lay down his life for us, then we should have enough respect for them not to call them "cops" and refer to them as "police officers" or in the case of our State Police "Trooper". Back years ago, during the hippie years, police were often referred to as "pigs". Some referred to Troopers on motorcycles as "pigs on a hog". A name I think used in love by some truckers is "Smokey". That is sort of a CB type thing I guess.
Our military people also got a lot of bad names over the years. I am not even going to get into all that was fired at them back during the Viet Nam war. Some of our military were even spit on when they came home. They were in good company as our Lord Jesus was spit on also.
I want to ask you to do this, when you see a veteran wearing a military cap, and you will know them, go up to them and say, "thanks for your service to our country," and tell them you love them. When you see a person today in the uniform of our country, take time to tell them, "thanks for helping to keep us free," and then say this and don't hold it back ... say, "I love you," and if in a group, say, "I love all of you." If you are sort of afraid to say it like that, then say, "I love you for keeping us safe." Do the same thing for police, thank them and tell them you love them for keeping you safe.
As for those firefighters, those who get no pay for what they do, if you can afford it, send a check, it need not be big, but send a check to your local fire company with a note. Say, here is a small check towards your operating costs. I love all of you, thanks for always being ready to respond.
God gave us His One and Only Son to die for our personal freedom, but so many more, so many, many more over the years have given their lives, or their limbs, or even part of their minds in wars, and why? So we could be free ... So we can talk about God.
Brothers and sisters, the more I am writing today the more upset I can get. So many have given of themselves so we could have Jesus and our freedom with Him, just to see others, those few haters and non-believers get their way and Jesus put out of places. Brothers and sisters, love one another, love each other, show it, even to those who h ate us, love them. Let's take this country back by loving others ... SOMEONE SAY AMEN.
Dear Father in Heaven, bless these words as they go forth, help us learn to love one another as You have first loved us. Be with those firefighters and all others who give of themselves to keep us safe. Please heal Lt. Kelly. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Now go forth and share your blessings.
Love ya, Pastor Dan.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Presidents Day 2013 "Love"
Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters, and happy Presidents Day 2013. Please do take some time today to remember the presidents that did so much good for this country. Most of our presidents were pretty good, some were weak, and one seems to want to be trashing the constitution! Think about it, pray about it. Here is a question for you. We have past presidents who are not buried in the United States. Do you know who they are?
Today, being Monday, is the day we pray for our leaders and be sue to lift our president in your prayers and pray for him and his family, please always pray for their soul first and also that they might take the work they do to God before bringing it to the public. Please also pray today for veterans, for our current military, for police and firefighters, and right now the firefighters in Lancaster, PA, as they are out in the freezing weather fighting a big fire in row houses. Pray for those who keep us safe and healthy.
Please pray for Joanne Fortney as she turns a year older. you know me, I will never post the age of a woman so I cannot tell you that Joanne is 50. I just cannot do that. Love you, Joanne --
Speaking of love, that is the message that God is giving me, so I need to get started on it.
Love 2/18/2013 Day One.
Genesis 22:1 - Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. 2 Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, who you LOVE, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about." 3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there, we will worship and then we will come back to you." (NIV)
Now I typed out a lot of scripture, but this you need to do, get out your Bible and read for yourselves these scriptures ... Genesis 22:1/19
How far would you go to show your love of God? In this scripture we see that God is testing Abraham's love for Him. He has told Abraham to take his only son Isaac to a place and then build an altar to the Lord and sacrifice his very own son, his one and only son Isaac. So Abraham followed the Lord's wishes as he loved the Lord very much, he loved him even more than his flesh and blood and one and only son. Abraham had his son laying on the altar tied up and ready to cut him and sacrifice him when the angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven. "Abraham, Abraham." "Here I am," he replied. "Do not lay a hand on the boy," He said.
Yes, brothers and sisters, you really need to read the scriptures, but the short of it is, Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son, his only son, to show his love for God. God, through an Angel of the Lord, stopped him and showed him where a lamb was in the bushes for Abraham to sacrifice.
Now let me take a look at what God is giving me on this. He has tested Abraham, and brothers and sisters, there are times that God will test us, He will call on us to work for Him and do things for Him like, well, feeding the hungry and taking the word of the Lord out and telling the good news. God is not going ot ask any of us today to sacrifice one of our children for Him. The reason is, God sent His one and Only Son who was sacrificed for us. Think about it. Abraham had one son and God wanted Abraham to sacrifice that son. God as we know sent His One and only Son to die for us. This sacrifice, my dear brothers and sisters, ended all those other sacrifices that were done.
Now God placed a lamb in the bushes for Abraham to sacrifice for God, which Abraham carried out. And our Lord Jesus is called, yes, "The Lamb of God."
John 1:29 - "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." (NIV)
How much do you love the Lord, and what would you sacrifice for Him? During this Lenten season, do you give up one thing for God? Maybe one thing that we could all give up for our Lord who has saved us for our sins might be some of our time. Spend more time in the word and spend more time in prayer. It seems we always think of giving up things like food or something like that. Well, in these busy times, maybe it is just some time, some added time we could spend with God. Turn the TV off and just give up one extra half hour and spend it with God. What do you think?
Dear Father in Heaven, thanks for the message of love this day. Please, Lord, help us this day, and help us all answer the call when You call on us. Please answer our prayers today according to Your will. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
Now go forth in peace and let the God of peace in your life so He can travel with you, and please share your blessings.
Love ya, Pastor Dan.
Today, being Monday, is the day we pray for our leaders and be sue to lift our president in your prayers and pray for him and his family, please always pray for their soul first and also that they might take the work they do to God before bringing it to the public. Please also pray today for veterans, for our current military, for police and firefighters, and right now the firefighters in Lancaster, PA, as they are out in the freezing weather fighting a big fire in row houses. Pray for those who keep us safe and healthy.
Please pray for Joanne Fortney as she turns a year older. you know me, I will never post the age of a woman so I cannot tell you that Joanne is 50. I just cannot do that. Love you, Joanne --
Speaking of love, that is the message that God is giving me, so I need to get started on it.
Love 2/18/2013 Day One.
Genesis 22:1 - Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. 2 Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, who you LOVE, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about." 3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there, we will worship and then we will come back to you." (NIV)
Now I typed out a lot of scripture, but this you need to do, get out your Bible and read for yourselves these scriptures ... Genesis 22:1/19
How far would you go to show your love of God? In this scripture we see that God is testing Abraham's love for Him. He has told Abraham to take his only son Isaac to a place and then build an altar to the Lord and sacrifice his very own son, his one and only son Isaac. So Abraham followed the Lord's wishes as he loved the Lord very much, he loved him even more than his flesh and blood and one and only son. Abraham had his son laying on the altar tied up and ready to cut him and sacrifice him when the angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven. "Abraham, Abraham." "Here I am," he replied. "Do not lay a hand on the boy," He said.
Yes, brothers and sisters, you really need to read the scriptures, but the short of it is, Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son, his only son, to show his love for God. God, through an Angel of the Lord, stopped him and showed him where a lamb was in the bushes for Abraham to sacrifice.
Now let me take a look at what God is giving me on this. He has tested Abraham, and brothers and sisters, there are times that God will test us, He will call on us to work for Him and do things for Him like, well, feeding the hungry and taking the word of the Lord out and telling the good news. God is not going ot ask any of us today to sacrifice one of our children for Him. The reason is, God sent His one and Only Son who was sacrificed for us. Think about it. Abraham had one son and God wanted Abraham to sacrifice that son. God as we know sent His One and only Son to die for us. This sacrifice, my dear brothers and sisters, ended all those other sacrifices that were done.
Now God placed a lamb in the bushes for Abraham to sacrifice for God, which Abraham carried out. And our Lord Jesus is called, yes, "The Lamb of God."
John 1:29 - "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." (NIV)
How much do you love the Lord, and what would you sacrifice for Him? During this Lenten season, do you give up one thing for God? Maybe one thing that we could all give up for our Lord who has saved us for our sins might be some of our time. Spend more time in the word and spend more time in prayer. It seems we always think of giving up things like food or something like that. Well, in these busy times, maybe it is just some time, some added time we could spend with God. Turn the TV off and just give up one extra half hour and spend it with God. What do you think?
Dear Father in Heaven, thanks for the message of love this day. Please, Lord, help us this day, and help us all answer the call when You call on us. Please answer our prayers today according to Your will. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
Now go forth in peace and let the God of peace in your life so He can travel with you, and please share your blessings.
Love ya, Pastor Dan.
Friday, February 15, 2013
Salvation Friday 2/15/13 Getting Dressed 5
Good Salvation Friday morning, my dear brothers and sisters. It is a beautiful morning here at the Southern Location of the North Pole. What a great day we had yesterday, and it was so beautiful.
God gave us the strength to get out of here for awhile yesterday, so we did some things that needed done. We went to the office of State Farm Agent Tim Peiffer where our daughter Danelle handles all of our insurance needs. We needed to finalize our insurance o our new food pantry trailer. As we did this we had a nice visit with all the staff and got to share God's love. God is good how He works out ways to share His love. In the near future we will be posting a picture of the trailer online. I need to get it out where we can get the picture. The trailer will not just transport food, we will also be rigging it so we can use it for our concerts. This trailer is a "billboard for our Lord Jesus." And brothers and sisters, it is all paid for. Dolores and I sold another one of our antique buses and what we received covered the cost of the trailer and the lettering. Not one cent, not one cent was used from our food pantry funds to purchase this. ALL HONOR AND GLORY TO GOD, PRAISE HIM. We are now watching for the hams to go on sale so we can pick some up for our Easter distribution. This will be held on Wednesday, March 20th, the first day of spring. Different from Christmas, we will not have as many families in on one day so we decided to go mid-week and also have it in the afternoon. We will need some helpers but not nearly as many as Christmas. Our ministry team will get together a few times and get the packing done. All the food is already sorted and all out-dated food has been removed. Folks, please, and this is not just for us, but if you are giving food to a food drive, do not clean out your own shelves to get rid of your food. When we have food drives we get in food, some outdated as long as 10 or more years. Other than canned veggies which can go well beyond their dates, we are doing our best to have all food to be within dates. All of God's people need that good food. We do use bread that comes out of date on the day we get it, but we freeze it the same day so it is fresh when we hand it out. I went on very long in the opening, but it needed to be done.
Prayer requests today for Church of God pastors Judy Bork and Al Hayden and lay person Louise Lyle. Praise report from Pastor Larry Hale. Pastor and his wife Luella took a short trip south for a couple of days, they are back home safe. Praise God.
Salvation Friday and the day we pray for the lost and pray that God uses we who are saved to bring in the lost to His feet to be saved. We are the farmers, folks, and the "harvest is ripe" and the "workers are few." Be a worker for God in all you do. Let me get to the message, Getting Dressed.
Ephesians 6:10 - Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggles are not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand then with the belt of truth buckled around your waist. With your breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the Gospel of Peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the Shield of Faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take up the Helmet of Salvation and the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. (NIV)
Once again I have posted the complete scripture for our studies this week. This gives you a chance to review it. So as I get started today, let me sest out the final scripture for this series.
Ephesians 6:17 - Take up the Helmet of Salvation and the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. (NIV)
Always amazing to me how God works out the messages He gives me. Today we are on Salvation Friday, you recall that we at one time not long ago had Salvation Wednesdays. Check out this first verse ... "Take up the Helmet of Salvation."
The Helmet of Salvation, just what does that mean to me, folks, as I look at it and pray about it? The Helmet of Salvation, that crown of thorns that was placed around the head of our Jesus. As in all things, God has opened this series more and more as I go into it. Those thorns around His head caused blood to come out.
Matthew 27:29 - And then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on His head. (NIV)
As I look at this Helmet of Salvation, I think of how sports players in many sports use helmets to protect their heads, how race car drivers use these big helmets to protect them. The Helmet of Salvation that we place on our heads as we pray is to protect us, protect us from all the evil that folks want to put on us because we love our Lord Jesus. The crown of thorns caused our Lord Jesus to bleed. Most of us get our hands into those thorns when cleaning out the weeds in our gardens, these weeds, some with thorns caused by sin of man to start with! (Thanks Adam!) So we put on that Helmet of Salvation not just to protect us, but to me, also to remind us of the work we need to do for our Lord Jesus, that work of getting into the fields of harvest for the Lord. And folks, that field of harvest which is going out to bring in the lost, is also full of thorns, but not the kind found in the weeds, these thorns are going to be some of those i the fields of harvest who work for the evil one and who will try all they an do to hurt us and also the one you are working on to bring in to Jesus to be saved. The Helmet of Salvation, please put it on daily.
The Sword of the Spirit. We carry that Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. Let's look again at that verse in the Bible.
Ephesians 6:17 - The Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. (NIV)
So today as we think of that Sword, picture it as your Bible. You can get a Bible and read it and even carry it with you as you talk to people about Salvation. BUT PLEASE, please, you must earn the respect of the unsaved by showing them love, not by JAMMING the Bible under their nose and pointing to scripture, for you may drive them away. After you have shown love to the lost by helping them in some way and hold onto them and pray for them, then after you can get to talking to them, then the Word of God can be shown in the Bible. This, brothers and sisters, is why I tell you all the time that once people start coming to Christ, we need to get them into a GOOD church, one where the word of God is taught, preached, and practiced. Again I will tell you that if you need to find a good church, I will help you. There are many good churches in our area, many, but we must be careful for some support abortion, they support gay marriages or unions. You need one where the pastors and leaders use the Bible and believe ALL that is in it.
This brings me back to the mouth being more powerful even than the sword. Be sure what comes out of your mouth will help you win one for the Lord, and yes, one on one is to my thinking still the best way to win folks to the Lord. When the pastors in a church pray for Salvation and ask those who want to be and come to the Lord to raise their hands, someone should be watching so those people could be contacted later. Years ago when I was attending a small church I was seeking the Lord, I raised my hand wanting to come nearer to the Lord. The next day, the very next day, that preacher was at my door. However, at this time, he jammed a Bible under my nose, and I was not ready for that. So it slowed down my coming back to Christ, it really did. The pastor must win the love of the one he is trying to reach, and he did not do that with me.
I know I am going long, but I want to finish this today.
Ephesians 6:18 - And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. (NIV)
Praying in the Spirit I understand would be praying in tongues or that language understood by the Lord and others praying in that same style. Brothers and sisters, I do not understand all of this, and brothers and sisters, if you cannot speak in tongues or pray in tongues or in the Spirit, it will NOT keep you out of heaven. I was told once long ago if you did not have that gift you will not go to heaven. NOT TRUE. You need Jesus in your heart and you need to love Him and share your blessings about Him, work for Him in other words. With that in mind, we do need to be praying on all occasions, with all kinds of prayers and requests. In other words, do not be afraid to ask God to help you or others. A lot of people have lots of problems, one who comes to mind, and we pray for her often as she has a full plate, we need to be praying a lot for our sister in Christ "Vicki". Do not be afraid to talk to our Father in Heaven, talk to Him through Jesus. (John 14:6)
And last, pray for all the saints. Brothers and sisters, if you ARE NOT A SAINT, you do not get into heaven. You become a saint when you get saved. So pray also for the saved, not just the unsaved, pray for all those who have come to Christ. And to wind out with the words of this one song ...
"Oh when the Saints go marching in, oh when the Saints go marching in ..."
I love that number, it is one of those that gets played at football games and many other places by bands and people get singing it and it is spreading the word of God and it is falling on the ears of the unsaved. Don't you love it when we can still keep getting the word to the masses and some will come to the Lord through the words of a song? "Oh when the Saints go marching in, oh when the Saints go marching in ..." Keep that tune on your mind and lips today.
Dear Father in Heaven, I think I wrote a book today, and I thank you and give You the glory. Please, Lord, be with those on our prayer lists, and please, Lord, point out the lost to us so today all of us might get to talk to at lease one person and share the Love of You with them. And Lord, protect us from evil as we put on the full armor of Yours and head into battle for You. In Jesus' Name, please be with Vicki, and we pray today and sing praises to You in the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Late breaking news. A massive meteor has broken apart over Russia, please pray for all those hurt in this. Again, God has control over all things,. We never know when things will happen, so that is a good example of why we need to be ready to go home. In other words, we need to be saved NOW and tell others, and you can do that by SHARING YOUR BLESSINGS. Please pray for me as I go to God for a subject for this coming week. Yes, I need your daily prayers to keep this line going.
Love ya, Pastor Dan.
God gave us the strength to get out of here for awhile yesterday, so we did some things that needed done. We went to the office of State Farm Agent Tim Peiffer where our daughter Danelle handles all of our insurance needs. We needed to finalize our insurance o our new food pantry trailer. As we did this we had a nice visit with all the staff and got to share God's love. God is good how He works out ways to share His love. In the near future we will be posting a picture of the trailer online. I need to get it out where we can get the picture. The trailer will not just transport food, we will also be rigging it so we can use it for our concerts. This trailer is a "billboard for our Lord Jesus." And brothers and sisters, it is all paid for. Dolores and I sold another one of our antique buses and what we received covered the cost of the trailer and the lettering. Not one cent, not one cent was used from our food pantry funds to purchase this. ALL HONOR AND GLORY TO GOD, PRAISE HIM. We are now watching for the hams to go on sale so we can pick some up for our Easter distribution. This will be held on Wednesday, March 20th, the first day of spring. Different from Christmas, we will not have as many families in on one day so we decided to go mid-week and also have it in the afternoon. We will need some helpers but not nearly as many as Christmas. Our ministry team will get together a few times and get the packing done. All the food is already sorted and all out-dated food has been removed. Folks, please, and this is not just for us, but if you are giving food to a food drive, do not clean out your own shelves to get rid of your food. When we have food drives we get in food, some outdated as long as 10 or more years. Other than canned veggies which can go well beyond their dates, we are doing our best to have all food to be within dates. All of God's people need that good food. We do use bread that comes out of date on the day we get it, but we freeze it the same day so it is fresh when we hand it out. I went on very long in the opening, but it needed to be done.
Prayer requests today for Church of God pastors Judy Bork and Al Hayden and lay person Louise Lyle. Praise report from Pastor Larry Hale. Pastor and his wife Luella took a short trip south for a couple of days, they are back home safe. Praise God.
Salvation Friday and the day we pray for the lost and pray that God uses we who are saved to bring in the lost to His feet to be saved. We are the farmers, folks, and the "harvest is ripe" and the "workers are few." Be a worker for God in all you do. Let me get to the message, Getting Dressed.
Ephesians 6:10 - Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggles are not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand then with the belt of truth buckled around your waist. With your breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the Gospel of Peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the Shield of Faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take up the Helmet of Salvation and the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. (NIV)
Once again I have posted the complete scripture for our studies this week. This gives you a chance to review it. So as I get started today, let me sest out the final scripture for this series.
Ephesians 6:17 - Take up the Helmet of Salvation and the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. (NIV)
Always amazing to me how God works out the messages He gives me. Today we are on Salvation Friday, you recall that we at one time not long ago had Salvation Wednesdays. Check out this first verse ... "Take up the Helmet of Salvation."
The Helmet of Salvation, just what does that mean to me, folks, as I look at it and pray about it? The Helmet of Salvation, that crown of thorns that was placed around the head of our Jesus. As in all things, God has opened this series more and more as I go into it. Those thorns around His head caused blood to come out.
Matthew 27:29 - And then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on His head. (NIV)
As I look at this Helmet of Salvation, I think of how sports players in many sports use helmets to protect their heads, how race car drivers use these big helmets to protect them. The Helmet of Salvation that we place on our heads as we pray is to protect us, protect us from all the evil that folks want to put on us because we love our Lord Jesus. The crown of thorns caused our Lord Jesus to bleed. Most of us get our hands into those thorns when cleaning out the weeds in our gardens, these weeds, some with thorns caused by sin of man to start with! (Thanks Adam!) So we put on that Helmet of Salvation not just to protect us, but to me, also to remind us of the work we need to do for our Lord Jesus, that work of getting into the fields of harvest for the Lord. And folks, that field of harvest which is going out to bring in the lost, is also full of thorns, but not the kind found in the weeds, these thorns are going to be some of those i the fields of harvest who work for the evil one and who will try all they an do to hurt us and also the one you are working on to bring in to Jesus to be saved. The Helmet of Salvation, please put it on daily.
The Sword of the Spirit. We carry that Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. Let's look again at that verse in the Bible.
Ephesians 6:17 - The Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. (NIV)
So today as we think of that Sword, picture it as your Bible. You can get a Bible and read it and even carry it with you as you talk to people about Salvation. BUT PLEASE, please, you must earn the respect of the unsaved by showing them love, not by JAMMING the Bible under their nose and pointing to scripture, for you may drive them away. After you have shown love to the lost by helping them in some way and hold onto them and pray for them, then after you can get to talking to them, then the Word of God can be shown in the Bible. This, brothers and sisters, is why I tell you all the time that once people start coming to Christ, we need to get them into a GOOD church, one where the word of God is taught, preached, and practiced. Again I will tell you that if you need to find a good church, I will help you. There are many good churches in our area, many, but we must be careful for some support abortion, they support gay marriages or unions. You need one where the pastors and leaders use the Bible and believe ALL that is in it.
This brings me back to the mouth being more powerful even than the sword. Be sure what comes out of your mouth will help you win one for the Lord, and yes, one on one is to my thinking still the best way to win folks to the Lord. When the pastors in a church pray for Salvation and ask those who want to be and come to the Lord to raise their hands, someone should be watching so those people could be contacted later. Years ago when I was attending a small church I was seeking the Lord, I raised my hand wanting to come nearer to the Lord. The next day, the very next day, that preacher was at my door. However, at this time, he jammed a Bible under my nose, and I was not ready for that. So it slowed down my coming back to Christ, it really did. The pastor must win the love of the one he is trying to reach, and he did not do that with me.
I know I am going long, but I want to finish this today.
Ephesians 6:18 - And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. (NIV)
Praying in the Spirit I understand would be praying in tongues or that language understood by the Lord and others praying in that same style. Brothers and sisters, I do not understand all of this, and brothers and sisters, if you cannot speak in tongues or pray in tongues or in the Spirit, it will NOT keep you out of heaven. I was told once long ago if you did not have that gift you will not go to heaven. NOT TRUE. You need Jesus in your heart and you need to love Him and share your blessings about Him, work for Him in other words. With that in mind, we do need to be praying on all occasions, with all kinds of prayers and requests. In other words, do not be afraid to ask God to help you or others. A lot of people have lots of problems, one who comes to mind, and we pray for her often as she has a full plate, we need to be praying a lot for our sister in Christ "Vicki". Do not be afraid to talk to our Father in Heaven, talk to Him through Jesus. (John 14:6)
And last, pray for all the saints. Brothers and sisters, if you ARE NOT A SAINT, you do not get into heaven. You become a saint when you get saved. So pray also for the saved, not just the unsaved, pray for all those who have come to Christ. And to wind out with the words of this one song ...
"Oh when the Saints go marching in, oh when the Saints go marching in ..."
I love that number, it is one of those that gets played at football games and many other places by bands and people get singing it and it is spreading the word of God and it is falling on the ears of the unsaved. Don't you love it when we can still keep getting the word to the masses and some will come to the Lord through the words of a song? "Oh when the Saints go marching in, oh when the Saints go marching in ..." Keep that tune on your mind and lips today.
Dear Father in Heaven, I think I wrote a book today, and I thank you and give You the glory. Please, Lord, be with those on our prayer lists, and please, Lord, point out the lost to us so today all of us might get to talk to at lease one person and share the Love of You with them. And Lord, protect us from evil as we put on the full armor of Yours and head into battle for You. In Jesus' Name, please be with Vicki, and we pray today and sing praises to You in the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Late breaking news. A massive meteor has broken apart over Russia, please pray for all those hurt in this. Again, God has control over all things,. We never know when things will happen, so that is a good example of why we need to be ready to go home. In other words, we need to be saved NOW and tell others, and you can do that by SHARING YOUR BLESSINGS. Please pray for me as I go to God for a subject for this coming week. Yes, I need your daily prayers to keep this line going.
Love ya, Pastor Dan.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Thur. 2/14/13 Getting Dressed 4
Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters, and Happy Saint Valentine's Day. Since I am talking about getting dressed, I guess you are to dress in red today. So I got up and laid out my clothes for today, for when done with the message I will get my shower and get dressed putting on my undies with those little red hearts on them. (Before that gets out, I made that up.) Look, little Santas on my socks is about as far as I go that way. I do, however, have a beautiful tie that works so well for Saint Valentine's Day where we show love. Yes, my tie shows Jesus on the cross, and brothers and sisters, that was and still is the best, the very best of all the love we will ever receive. No flowers, no candy, nothing in red, not even those beloved long-stemmed red roses, can come near to the red blood of our Lord Jesus. No diamonds, nor rubies, not even the band of gold as in a wedding band can get near to that band of thorns that have been placed on the head of our Lord Jesus. Nothing in love can replace or come near to the Love of Jesus as shown to us when He died for us on the cross. So dare I say it this way ...
Happy Saint Valentine's Day, my Dear Jesus, I love You very much. To the rest of you, my dear family and my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Happy Saint Valentine's Day. You are all number two on my list. I love you also.
Please pray on this day that people do remember that real meaning of love that is the very, very best gift one can have and it comes from our Lord Jesus. Pray that they will always keep Jesus above all else. Try this today, give your spouse a big hug and say, I love you, you are second in my life. And please do not be afraid to hug others and tell them also you love them, just remember who is number one ... JESUS FIRST ... Now let me get to my message ... Getting Dressed.
Getting Dressed 2/14/2013 Day Four.
Ephesians 6:10 - Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggles are not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand then with the belt of truth buckled around your waist. With your breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the Gospel of Peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the Shield of Faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. (NIV)
In this series I have been repeating the scripture as we go so that you can review the steps in this armor of God. Today we are going to take a look at ...
Ephesians 6:16 - In addition to all this, take up the Shield of Faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. (NIV)
The large Roman shields were covered with leather. This could be soaked in water and when flaming arrow would come at them, the wet leather would put out the fire. As I think of the Lord's Armor and of course as we think of it, we must remember as we put it on, we are really not going to carry that big shield as we go into battle each day. We pray each day and then with God we place this armor in our minds and hearts. Now as we place this shield again it is like the breastplate protection from the devil and his crew. We know that Satan does not work alone, there are forces of evil all around us daily. The shield locked in your arm can be moved around, it can protect many parts of your body. Of course those who want to attack us are those who do not want us to get out that good, good news. That Love of Jesus that we want to share to all the corners of the world.
Again I want to go back to the mouth, and in today's world, the words that come out of a mouth can be sharper than any arrow being shot at us ... so we can take this shield and just move it around and block those words and not let them hurt us.
My mamma told me once, sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never harm us. Mamma taught us this, but my dear late mamma in some ways was wrong on this. The truth is, those names, the sharp cutting things others say did harm us some. Kids are cruel to each other, calling some fat or ugly, or pimple faced did cause harm and still does. But my mamma taught me about Jesus and that He was called many more names than us. So we take up Jesus, and with His help, with that Shield that He gives us, we can block these things out and keep moving for Him. As we do this we need to remember how our Lord Jesus was called names and spat upon and He stood and took these things and He took them for us. So, brothers and sisters, today if someone calls you a name or something nasty because you follow Jesus, remember, He took many names for us. And remember this also, those names we get called today as an adult, if we truly take our Shield of Armor which is our Lord Jesus, we can fend these things of ... Amen.
Dear Father in Heaven. Thanks for another day, thanks for this line, that for a day where love is featured, and I pray that people remember where love comes from. Lord, I love You so much and love how You share Your love to all of Your children, even for those who say they hate You, or that You never were. You are wonderful, and thanks for loving all of us, even when some of us took a walk-about. Your Love never ends, so help us to get the word of Love out, and today is just a great day to do just that. Be with those on our prayer list, and please be with Vicki, as she has a full plate. Lord, may we walk with You this day and always. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
Now go forth and share your blessings, and brothers and sisters, the greatest gift that God gives us is Love, it is the gift above all gifts, please work at sharing it, not just today but each day.
Love ya, Pastor Dan.
Happy Saint Valentine's Day, my Dear Jesus, I love You very much. To the rest of you, my dear family and my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Happy Saint Valentine's Day. You are all number two on my list. I love you also.
Please pray on this day that people do remember that real meaning of love that is the very, very best gift one can have and it comes from our Lord Jesus. Pray that they will always keep Jesus above all else. Try this today, give your spouse a big hug and say, I love you, you are second in my life. And please do not be afraid to hug others and tell them also you love them, just remember who is number one ... JESUS FIRST ... Now let me get to my message ... Getting Dressed.
Getting Dressed 2/14/2013 Day Four.
Ephesians 6:10 - Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggles are not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand then with the belt of truth buckled around your waist. With your breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the Gospel of Peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the Shield of Faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. (NIV)
In this series I have been repeating the scripture as we go so that you can review the steps in this armor of God. Today we are going to take a look at ...
Ephesians 6:16 - In addition to all this, take up the Shield of Faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. (NIV)
The large Roman shields were covered with leather. This could be soaked in water and when flaming arrow would come at them, the wet leather would put out the fire. As I think of the Lord's Armor and of course as we think of it, we must remember as we put it on, we are really not going to carry that big shield as we go into battle each day. We pray each day and then with God we place this armor in our minds and hearts. Now as we place this shield again it is like the breastplate protection from the devil and his crew. We know that Satan does not work alone, there are forces of evil all around us daily. The shield locked in your arm can be moved around, it can protect many parts of your body. Of course those who want to attack us are those who do not want us to get out that good, good news. That Love of Jesus that we want to share to all the corners of the world.
Again I want to go back to the mouth, and in today's world, the words that come out of a mouth can be sharper than any arrow being shot at us ... so we can take this shield and just move it around and block those words and not let them hurt us.
My mamma told me once, sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never harm us. Mamma taught us this, but my dear late mamma in some ways was wrong on this. The truth is, those names, the sharp cutting things others say did harm us some. Kids are cruel to each other, calling some fat or ugly, or pimple faced did cause harm and still does. But my mamma taught me about Jesus and that He was called many more names than us. So we take up Jesus, and with His help, with that Shield that He gives us, we can block these things out and keep moving for Him. As we do this we need to remember how our Lord Jesus was called names and spat upon and He stood and took these things and He took them for us. So, brothers and sisters, today if someone calls you a name or something nasty because you follow Jesus, remember, He took many names for us. And remember this also, those names we get called today as an adult, if we truly take our Shield of Armor which is our Lord Jesus, we can fend these things of ... Amen.
Dear Father in Heaven. Thanks for another day, thanks for this line, that for a day where love is featured, and I pray that people remember where love comes from. Lord, I love You so much and love how You share Your love to all of Your children, even for those who say they hate You, or that You never were. You are wonderful, and thanks for loving all of us, even when some of us took a walk-about. Your Love never ends, so help us to get the word of Love out, and today is just a great day to do just that. Be with those on our prayer list, and please be with Vicki, as she has a full plate. Lord, may we walk with You this day and always. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
Now go forth and share your blessings, and brothers and sisters, the greatest gift that God gives us is Love, it is the gift above all gifts, please work at sharing it, not just today but each day.
Love ya, Pastor Dan.
Ash Wednesday 2013 Getting Dressed 3
Good Evening, my dear brothers and sisters. I pray all went well for those going to Ash Wednesday services. Remember, ladies, tomorrow is Valentine's Day, please remember to get your husband that new car! Men, remember those ladies, a Hershey bar would be nice. (Just kidding, folks.) Just remember, a kind word and most spouses would be really happy. Please keep praying for those on our prayer list, and please remember to pray for our leaders. Please pray for Dolores for health issues.
I am sorry I am running late today. I started out early enough, but as you know, we have over the years adopted senior dogs with handicaps. Today our beloved Princess Madeline went home to be with the Lord (yes, there are pets in heaven). We rescued Madeline seven years ago. She had hip problems and walked cross-legged in the rear. She had a long life with us, but today was her day. Because of our age, I don't think we will take in any more. We now have just nine. Let me get to the message.
Ephesians 6:10 - Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggles are not against flesh and blood but against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand then with the belt of truth buckled around your waist. With your breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the Gospel of Peace. (NIV)
Today let me take a good look at that breastplate of Righteousness.
Isaiah 59:17 - He put on the righteouosness as His breastplate. (NIV)
"The Lord's armor is compared to the believer's armor in the battle against Satan." (Footnote NIV)
Each day we should get up and after we pray then put on this armor of the Lord. No, you are not going to wear the breastplate, but you should be putting it on so as to protect you from the evil of the world. Yesterday I talked about the belt of truth and that people need to not just have that around the waist but maybe around their mouth. This to help us to not say things we should not be saying. This breastplate should protect you from the evil coming at you, and as we know today a lot of evil is coming our way. WE Christians are under attack and if you have not noticed, you better take a look around you. Sadly, some of the attacks are coming from others who call themselves Christians.
One reason we need this breastplate of righteousness is so that we do not fall or fail when others throw things at us. I want you to think about this. When you come to Christ and you confess your sins, all that in your past is gone and should not be brought up, however, there will be people out there that will say, I remember when he or she did this and they did that. Brothers and sisters, once you confess your sins to Christ, they are gone, but for sure you will need to pick up that breastplate to protect you, for surely along the way some people will bring up that past. Wear the Breastplate and look them in the eye and tell them that was the old you and you are now a BRAND NEW PERSON.
Now let's look at -
Ephesians 6:15 - and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the Gospel of Peace. (NIV)
Years ago, a lot of people would run barefooted. Today most of us wear shoes (except in Perry County). Just kidding, folks. What this scripture means to me is that we need to be ready to go into battle telling folks this good news. However, there are times when we might need to have our readiness to leave. There is a time to "dust off our shoes." This does not mean we need to be able to run fast, in fact, a lot of times it just means we need to have our feet ready to move and it could be moving slowly. The fact is our feet must be fitted to be ready always to work for Jesus and be telling the folks the good news, which is of course love and peace and more.
Now we have covered the Belt of Truth, which I suggested that some, or most, need it around the mouth. The Breastplate of Righteousness, which is placed right where it belongs and is for your protection from evil. And now our footwear, which of course goes on our feet, and it is to have our feet ready to go into action for Jesus, and of course as told to us there is a time to move on.
Dear Father in Heaven, please keep helping me with this message as I move forward with Your word, some days, Lord, You know I struggle to read, today has been one of those, thanks, dear Lord, for Your constant help. Be with those on our prayers lists, Lord. Thanks for getting us through this day. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Now go forth sharing your blessings.
Love ya, Pastor Dan.
I am sorry I am running late today. I started out early enough, but as you know, we have over the years adopted senior dogs with handicaps. Today our beloved Princess Madeline went home to be with the Lord (yes, there are pets in heaven). We rescued Madeline seven years ago. She had hip problems and walked cross-legged in the rear. She had a long life with us, but today was her day. Because of our age, I don't think we will take in any more. We now have just nine. Let me get to the message.
Ephesians 6:10 - Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggles are not against flesh and blood but against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand then with the belt of truth buckled around your waist. With your breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the Gospel of Peace. (NIV)
Today let me take a good look at that breastplate of Righteousness.
Isaiah 59:17 - He put on the righteouosness as His breastplate. (NIV)
"The Lord's armor is compared to the believer's armor in the battle against Satan." (Footnote NIV)
Each day we should get up and after we pray then put on this armor of the Lord. No, you are not going to wear the breastplate, but you should be putting it on so as to protect you from the evil of the world. Yesterday I talked about the belt of truth and that people need to not just have that around the waist but maybe around their mouth. This to help us to not say things we should not be saying. This breastplate should protect you from the evil coming at you, and as we know today a lot of evil is coming our way. WE Christians are under attack and if you have not noticed, you better take a look around you. Sadly, some of the attacks are coming from others who call themselves Christians.
One reason we need this breastplate of righteousness is so that we do not fall or fail when others throw things at us. I want you to think about this. When you come to Christ and you confess your sins, all that in your past is gone and should not be brought up, however, there will be people out there that will say, I remember when he or she did this and they did that. Brothers and sisters, once you confess your sins to Christ, they are gone, but for sure you will need to pick up that breastplate to protect you, for surely along the way some people will bring up that past. Wear the Breastplate and look them in the eye and tell them that was the old you and you are now a BRAND NEW PERSON.
Now let's look at -
Ephesians 6:15 - and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the Gospel of Peace. (NIV)
Years ago, a lot of people would run barefooted. Today most of us wear shoes (except in Perry County). Just kidding, folks. What this scripture means to me is that we need to be ready to go into battle telling folks this good news. However, there are times when we might need to have our readiness to leave. There is a time to "dust off our shoes." This does not mean we need to be able to run fast, in fact, a lot of times it just means we need to have our feet ready to move and it could be moving slowly. The fact is our feet must be fitted to be ready always to work for Jesus and be telling the folks the good news, which is of course love and peace and more.
Now we have covered the Belt of Truth, which I suggested that some, or most, need it around the mouth. The Breastplate of Righteousness, which is placed right where it belongs and is for your protection from evil. And now our footwear, which of course goes on our feet, and it is to have our feet ready to go into action for Jesus, and of course as told to us there is a time to move on.
Dear Father in Heaven, please keep helping me with this message as I move forward with Your word, some days, Lord, You know I struggle to read, today has been one of those, thanks, dear Lord, for Your constant help. Be with those on our prayers lists, Lord. Thanks for getting us through this day. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Now go forth sharing your blessings.
Love ya, Pastor Dan.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Tuesday 2/12/13 Getting Dressed
Good Tuesday Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. It is the birthday anniversary of former President Abraham Lincoln. (I love it when a president is named after a car.) I did not hear reminded it is "Fat Tuesday", Fasnacht Day, or Doughnut (Donut) Day. Well, it is a good excuse to get that lard in your system. That doughnut is even better if you have it along with a plate of home fries, bacon, eggs, and a few sausage links, two pancakes and some fried bread. Hey, if you are going to eat some fat, do it right. Tomorrow starts the Lenten season, and when giving up something or things for Lent, don't give up something you never did or never ate. It would be like me saying I am giving up going to the movies when I never go in the first place. No, give up something you enjoy. Back in my days of childhood my mamma asked me what I wanted to give up for Lent. I told her SCHOOL! Please pray today for our nation. Tonight is the President's annual state of the union address. Let me see, how do you eat all those doughnuts and then stay awake for the speech? ZZZZZZZZZZZ Okay, time to be "Getting Dressed."
Getting Dressed 2/12/13 Day Two.
Ephesians 6:10 - Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggles are not against the flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes you may be able to stand your ground and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand then with the belt of truth buckled around your waist. (NIV)
I have brought the scripture from yesterday so as you can refresh your mind on it, and today we are going to look at the Belt of Truth that we buckle around our waist.
Isaiah 11:5 - Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around His waist. (NIV)
Brothers and sisters, I think sometimes that when we talk about the Belt of Truth buckled around the waist, maybe it should have to be relocated. How about this, The Belt of Truth buckled around one's mouth! How dare I say that. I am just relating it to today, my dear brothers and sisters. I know that this Armor of God is to protect us, but sometimes our protection that we need comes from some of our own trash talk, lies, untruths, etc., that come forth out of our own mouth. I have over the years talked many a time about how we must watch what we say. I am sure that there is not a one of us that would not like to have some words back that you spoke. I am sure I have said many things that I wish I could take back. It seems we say things and then we want to take them back, well, folks, you can say, I am sorry," all you want, but the fact is once the words are out of your mouth, they are out there to stay. I am sure you are all aware of that.
Tomorrow we will press forward with more of the armor of God.
Dear Father, thanks for a great and wonderful day. Lord, You sure are tops, and Lord, we want to always keep You on top. Please be with our President as he makes his big speech tonight, and Lord, please protect that room full of leaders as they gather in Washington, DC. Watch over all those on this prayer line, and also be with families this day, as it seems that in each family there are problems. Thanks for all that You do for us each day. In Jesus' name I give thanks and pray. Amen.
Now go forth, my dear brothers and sisters, and gosh, maybe I should try and get about a thousand of the belts of truth and ship them to Washington, DC, tonight along with a copy of this message that maybe the belt needs installed around the mouth where I talked about. Share those blessings, my dear brothers and sisters.
Love ya, Pastor Dan.
Getting Dressed 2/12/13 Day Two.
Ephesians 6:10 - Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggles are not against the flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes you may be able to stand your ground and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand then with the belt of truth buckled around your waist. (NIV)
I have brought the scripture from yesterday so as you can refresh your mind on it, and today we are going to look at the Belt of Truth that we buckle around our waist.
Isaiah 11:5 - Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around His waist. (NIV)
Brothers and sisters, I think sometimes that when we talk about the Belt of Truth buckled around the waist, maybe it should have to be relocated. How about this, The Belt of Truth buckled around one's mouth! How dare I say that. I am just relating it to today, my dear brothers and sisters. I know that this Armor of God is to protect us, but sometimes our protection that we need comes from some of our own trash talk, lies, untruths, etc., that come forth out of our own mouth. I have over the years talked many a time about how we must watch what we say. I am sure that there is not a one of us that would not like to have some words back that you spoke. I am sure I have said many things that I wish I could take back. It seems we say things and then we want to take them back, well, folks, you can say, I am sorry," all you want, but the fact is once the words are out of your mouth, they are out there to stay. I am sure you are all aware of that.
Tomorrow we will press forward with more of the armor of God.
Dear Father, thanks for a great and wonderful day. Lord, You sure are tops, and Lord, we want to always keep You on top. Please be with our President as he makes his big speech tonight, and Lord, please protect that room full of leaders as they gather in Washington, DC. Watch over all those on this prayer line, and also be with families this day, as it seems that in each family there are problems. Thanks for all that You do for us each day. In Jesus' name I give thanks and pray. Amen.
Now go forth, my dear brothers and sisters, and gosh, maybe I should try and get about a thousand of the belts of truth and ship them to Washington, DC, tonight along with a copy of this message that maybe the belt needs installed around the mouth where I talked about. Share those blessings, my dear brothers and sisters.
Love ya, Pastor Dan.
Monday, February 11, 2013
Monday 2/11/13 Getting Dressed
Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. Let me start this day asking all of you to pray for Pope Benedict XVI for his health. Pope Benedict is stepping down from being The Pope by the end of February according to Fox News. Please also pray for the Catholic Church and all of our Catholic brothers and sisters as they follow their religion and elect a new Pope. We have many folks from all religions on this line, many church affiliations are represented on this line. I welcome them all, and indeed will stand beside all those who confess their love for Jesus and support them with our prayers and I ask that you do the same regardless of your church standing. As we all know, it is Jesus who gets us to Heaven and not a church. Working with schools long ago, I also knew and still know that the Catholic schools are some of the very best, and the neat thing about those schools over the public schools is Jesus still heads up the school while the public schools have thrown Jesus out. So please join me as we pray for them this day.
Other prayers for this Monday, for our President and all of our leaders, for our veterans and all of our military, for our police, firefighters and all who work hard to keep us safe and well. Now let me move forward with the message, getting dressed.
Getting Dressed 2/11/13 Day One.
This morning while I was praying, I asked God for a message. It was slow coming this morning. After devotions and those prayers I was doing my morning taking care of our animals when God spoke to me telling me it was time to get dressed. Yes, I did not have my shower then, and I had on my, well, never mind what I had on, but I was covered. But clearly I heard Him tell me it was time to get dressed and I knew right away what He was talking about. He was telling me it was time to put on the Armor of God and to tell others to do the same. So for this Armor of god we are going to go to ...
Ephesians 6:10 - Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggles are not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground. (NIV)
One of the very first things we learned to do as a child was to get dressed ourselves. I would like to tell you that I remember all those things from back in the days of my childhood, but I really don't. However, I am proud to say that as of now, about to turn 72 in May, I can say I have mastered the art of getting dressed the way we think of it, although like many men I have to be told once in awhile that my fly is open. I don't know if I still know how to tie my shoes and like many guys my age, I get shoes with that Velcro stuff or just wear loafers. Before that, I wore cowboy boots, so it truly has been a long, long time since I tied my shoes. Years ago, I could not see my feet, and now that I lost the weight and can see my feet, I can't bend over that far to tie shoes without falling on my face.
I do remember some of the basic things that I was taught growing up. My mamma was a good teacher, and she taught me my underwear went on first! And so far I have remembered that. She also taught me that the tag goes to the back, and I did go on that one until someone started to make undershorts and tee shirts with no tags. Now I need to figure it out all over again. Let me see, the fly goes to the front. (Did I really say that?) Let me see, socks go on before your shoes. Some people forgot that one and don't wear socks at all. Let me get serious now, I have been having way too much fun with this today.
The apostle Paul is telling us that we need to be strong in the Lord and we need to put on the full armor of God. He is telling us that we need to take a stand against the devil's schemes. But I want you to take a look at what the apostle Paul is telling us about where these devil's schemes are coming from. And I want to quote it right from the Bible.
Ephesians 6:12 - For our struggles are not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world. (NIV)
Brothers and sisters, the words of this Bible are as good and true today as back when Jesus walked this earth. Brothers and sisters, if you are going to believe one part of the Bible, you need to believe it all, for how can we pick and choose? I am saying this because some folks are going to get upset when I make this statement ... Look what is going on around us today. I mean really look, what is going on with our rulers? Our freedoms are getting less and less each day, and I want you to think about that really well. Take a look at it, now some is good and some not but look at the authorities today. Police some places pull you over because you look out of place. (Have you seen me? I look out of place all the time.) I have had some black folks tell me that they get pulled over for "driving while black". I want you all to check this out, go to one of those programs and pull up an earth map, put in your address, and you can see what is in your backyard. Not only that, they can if they want to, see what is going on inside your house. I mean this equipment is nice if used right, like the Drone Aircraft, which took pictures of inside the bunker last week to see what was going on inside and they got that little boy out safe from the bad man who kidnapped him. Now I don't want to frighten you but we need to keep good people on board in Washington and in our State houses so this knowledge is used properly. Think about it, folks, we have had the dog wardens come into our home to check on our dog records, and we had it happen more than once. Yes, we have the records! Now when they came, I could have asked them for a search warrant and they would have gotten one and torn the house apart, so I just said, come on in, and showed them what they wanted. I ask that you really look over this section, and tomorrow we will start to get dressed in the armor of God and talk about what each piece does according to the Bible. See you tomorrow.
Dear Father in Heaven. Thanks for this line, and thanks for the message of this day. Please help me with this all week as I know it will be a really hard one to write and talk about. Dear Lord, I pray today for Pope Benedict and ask that you would restore his health to as new. And be with the Catholic Church officials as they elect a new leader of their church. Please comfort all of our Catholic brothers and sisters as they stand with their leaders. Dear Lord, I want to take this time to pray for all churches that they would put You ahead of all else. So many seem to have forgotten who is in charge of the Church. Please help me to remember always that You are indeed in control and in charge of Carry The Light Ministries and help us to never forget it, not even for a second. Please be with our president and other leaders this day and keep them safe. Please, Lord, I pray that they would always run the peoples' business before You, before it goes before the people. Lord, be with our veterans and our current military and our police, state and local, please help them flush out the officer on the West coast who is shooting other police. Please, Lord, please bring peace on this earth, please, Lord, please consider returning soon, and until that time, Lord, help us to keep working for You in all we do. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
Now go forth this day and share your blessings, and walk with God, as I am sure He wants you walking with Him.
Love ya, Pastor Dan.
Other prayers for this Monday, for our President and all of our leaders, for our veterans and all of our military, for our police, firefighters and all who work hard to keep us safe and well. Now let me move forward with the message, getting dressed.
Getting Dressed 2/11/13 Day One.
This morning while I was praying, I asked God for a message. It was slow coming this morning. After devotions and those prayers I was doing my morning taking care of our animals when God spoke to me telling me it was time to get dressed. Yes, I did not have my shower then, and I had on my, well, never mind what I had on, but I was covered. But clearly I heard Him tell me it was time to get dressed and I knew right away what He was talking about. He was telling me it was time to put on the Armor of God and to tell others to do the same. So for this Armor of god we are going to go to ...
Ephesians 6:10 - Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggles are not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground. (NIV)
One of the very first things we learned to do as a child was to get dressed ourselves. I would like to tell you that I remember all those things from back in the days of my childhood, but I really don't. However, I am proud to say that as of now, about to turn 72 in May, I can say I have mastered the art of getting dressed the way we think of it, although like many men I have to be told once in awhile that my fly is open. I don't know if I still know how to tie my shoes and like many guys my age, I get shoes with that Velcro stuff or just wear loafers. Before that, I wore cowboy boots, so it truly has been a long, long time since I tied my shoes. Years ago, I could not see my feet, and now that I lost the weight and can see my feet, I can't bend over that far to tie shoes without falling on my face.
I do remember some of the basic things that I was taught growing up. My mamma was a good teacher, and she taught me my underwear went on first! And so far I have remembered that. She also taught me that the tag goes to the back, and I did go on that one until someone started to make undershorts and tee shirts with no tags. Now I need to figure it out all over again. Let me see, the fly goes to the front. (Did I really say that?) Let me see, socks go on before your shoes. Some people forgot that one and don't wear socks at all. Let me get serious now, I have been having way too much fun with this today.
The apostle Paul is telling us that we need to be strong in the Lord and we need to put on the full armor of God. He is telling us that we need to take a stand against the devil's schemes. But I want you to take a look at what the apostle Paul is telling us about where these devil's schemes are coming from. And I want to quote it right from the Bible.
Ephesians 6:12 - For our struggles are not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world. (NIV)
Brothers and sisters, the words of this Bible are as good and true today as back when Jesus walked this earth. Brothers and sisters, if you are going to believe one part of the Bible, you need to believe it all, for how can we pick and choose? I am saying this because some folks are going to get upset when I make this statement ... Look what is going on around us today. I mean really look, what is going on with our rulers? Our freedoms are getting less and less each day, and I want you to think about that really well. Take a look at it, now some is good and some not but look at the authorities today. Police some places pull you over because you look out of place. (Have you seen me? I look out of place all the time.) I have had some black folks tell me that they get pulled over for "driving while black". I want you all to check this out, go to one of those programs and pull up an earth map, put in your address, and you can see what is in your backyard. Not only that, they can if they want to, see what is going on inside your house. I mean this equipment is nice if used right, like the Drone Aircraft, which took pictures of inside the bunker last week to see what was going on inside and they got that little boy out safe from the bad man who kidnapped him. Now I don't want to frighten you but we need to keep good people on board in Washington and in our State houses so this knowledge is used properly. Think about it, folks, we have had the dog wardens come into our home to check on our dog records, and we had it happen more than once. Yes, we have the records! Now when they came, I could have asked them for a search warrant and they would have gotten one and torn the house apart, so I just said, come on in, and showed them what they wanted. I ask that you really look over this section, and tomorrow we will start to get dressed in the armor of God and talk about what each piece does according to the Bible. See you tomorrow.
Dear Father in Heaven. Thanks for this line, and thanks for the message of this day. Please help me with this all week as I know it will be a really hard one to write and talk about. Dear Lord, I pray today for Pope Benedict and ask that you would restore his health to as new. And be with the Catholic Church officials as they elect a new leader of their church. Please comfort all of our Catholic brothers and sisters as they stand with their leaders. Dear Lord, I want to take this time to pray for all churches that they would put You ahead of all else. So many seem to have forgotten who is in charge of the Church. Please help me to remember always that You are indeed in control and in charge of Carry The Light Ministries and help us to never forget it, not even for a second. Please be with our president and other leaders this day and keep them safe. Please, Lord, I pray that they would always run the peoples' business before You, before it goes before the people. Lord, be with our veterans and our current military and our police, state and local, please help them flush out the officer on the West coast who is shooting other police. Please, Lord, please bring peace on this earth, please, Lord, please consider returning soon, and until that time, Lord, help us to keep working for You in all we do. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
Now go forth this day and share your blessings, and walk with God, as I am sure He wants you walking with Him.
Love ya, Pastor Dan.
Friday, February 8, 2013
Friday 2/8/13 Heroes 5
Good Salvation Friday afternoon, my dear brothers and sisters. It is snowing here at the Southern location of the North Pole. It is very pretty. If you must be on the roads, remember to SLOW DOWN, HANG UP AND DRIVE. Please pray for those folks up north of us as this storm is expected to be a biggie. You can get a big snow storm in New York City, but not a big soda!! All kidding aside, some of the folks up there are still in tents from Sandy. Pray, warriors, pray. Salvation Friday and the day we pray for salvation for the unsaved and pray that God will use all of us who are saved to reach out to others. Let me change that last part, pray that we will answer God's call to reach out to the unsaved.
Also gone missing, 14 year-old Timothy from Perry County, PA. Please pray.
I want to try and wrap up the messages on heroes today. Let me get to it.
Heroes 2/8/13 Day Five:
Back in the days of my early childhood, when I was but a child, I remember most one of my uncles and their families. My mamma and pop both came from big families, so I had lots of aunts and uncles. One family, however, sticks out in my mind as I would go to their farm for a few days in the summer. I do confess that I did not like the "outhouse" or the "wash tub" that was used for a bath. Also, even back then, I would get homesick and my parents would come and pick me up early. My dear Uncle Les and Aunt Romaine watched over me well, and I had a good time with my cousins John and Martha. My Aunt Romaine is my only remaining Aunt and all my Uncles have gone to be with the Lord. As I have told you before, I was raised by a mother and father who loved the Lord, as did all of the aunts and uncles I remember. Now let me get to a few of my heroes of today.
These five men have a lot to do with my standing with the Lord today. I am not going into a lot of detail about them, but do know that they love the Lord and they helped me a lot when I came fully back to our Lord Jesus. Doug Boyer, Dave Kyllonen, Neil Enloe, Duane Nicholson, and Pastor Larry Hale. Doug Boyer, I met years ago when I first met Timothy Beitzel, they sang with the Brotherhood, now known as Brotherhood Native American Outreach. Doug is a funeral director from New Bloomfield, PA.
Dave Kyllonen, Neil Enloe, and Duane Nicholson were singers for many, many years with The Couriers and now sing under the name of Dave, Duane, and Neil. I do not know a time when these men did not follow God. Time and time again thee men, either by themselves or as a group have set standards for me to look up to. By the way, Timothy Beitzel was also a singer with the Couriers, in fact the last group that sang under the name of The Couriers. My dear wife Dolores worked for the Couriers for twelve years.
Pastor Larry Hale and his wife Luella I met years ago when they would sing at gospel concerts in Harrisburg. They are dear friends of mine. Pastor Larry is presently pastor at the Glenvale Church of God, Marysville, PA.
All of these Christian men, all of them, receive the daily emails, and when I have a question I can email any one of them for help and they respond. Years ago, Neil wrote a song called "The Statue of Liberty." It is about the "Cross" being my Statue of Liberty. If you can get to hear this song, please do so. In the near future you will be seeing our food pantry trailer on the road, with crosses set on the front and the Statue of Liberty set at a distance behind. This is one song over the years that has stuck in my mind, along with so many of the old hymns. By the way, I am honoring Jesus with the crosses, not Neil. All glory and honor always goes to God.
Okay, now to close out with my hero from the Bible.
He was born to die, He was born in a barn, and died on a cross. He was raised from the dead. He rose to the Heavens.
John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that He gave His One and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. (NIV)
John 5:16 - So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted Him. 17 Jesus said: "My Father is always at His work to this very day, and I too, am working." (NIV)
John 14:6 - Jesus answered: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (NIV)
Revelation 22:13 - "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done." (NIV)
My Hero, Hero written with that large "H" is Jesus Christ, My Hero from the Bible is Jesus Christ. He is above all others, all others who I have named this week from the Bible and above all my earthly heroes and helpers. You can see just a few of the scriptures that I have picked out and I could have written out many, many more.
I made this statement ... "He was born to die, He was born in a barn, and died on a cross. He was raised from the dead. He rose to the Heavens." These things are all done, each one of them, and recorded in the Bible. However, a promise has been made, and that promise is this. He is coming back. I want to say that again and make it louder. HE IS COMING BACK. The proof is in the scripture that I will repeat right now.
Revelation 22:13 - "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done." (NIV)
My question as I close up on heroes with my Jesus, my Hero from the Bible, is this ... If He comes back tonight, will you make the cut at the gate? If He returns tonight, will you be one that goes or one that remains? What if He just calls you home by yourself, are you ready?
Dear Father in Heaven, forgive us of our sins, forgive me of my sins,, and Lord, write my name in the Lamb's Book of Life. And Lord, please, please, bring Timothy home. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
Now go forth and share your blessings, and please keep praying for 14 year-old Timothy. If I hear anything, I will get it right out. And let me close today like this ...
He is coming back, HE IS COMING BACK. HE IS COMING BACK.
HE IS COMING BACK. HE IS COMING BACK.
Love ya, Pastor Dan.
Also gone missing, 14 year-old Timothy from Perry County, PA. Please pray.
I want to try and wrap up the messages on heroes today. Let me get to it.
Heroes 2/8/13 Day Five:
Back in the days of my early childhood, when I was but a child, I remember most one of my uncles and their families. My mamma and pop both came from big families, so I had lots of aunts and uncles. One family, however, sticks out in my mind as I would go to their farm for a few days in the summer. I do confess that I did not like the "outhouse" or the "wash tub" that was used for a bath. Also, even back then, I would get homesick and my parents would come and pick me up early. My dear Uncle Les and Aunt Romaine watched over me well, and I had a good time with my cousins John and Martha. My Aunt Romaine is my only remaining Aunt and all my Uncles have gone to be with the Lord. As I have told you before, I was raised by a mother and father who loved the Lord, as did all of the aunts and uncles I remember. Now let me get to a few of my heroes of today.
These five men have a lot to do with my standing with the Lord today. I am not going into a lot of detail about them, but do know that they love the Lord and they helped me a lot when I came fully back to our Lord Jesus. Doug Boyer, Dave Kyllonen, Neil Enloe, Duane Nicholson, and Pastor Larry Hale. Doug Boyer, I met years ago when I first met Timothy Beitzel, they sang with the Brotherhood, now known as Brotherhood Native American Outreach. Doug is a funeral director from New Bloomfield, PA.
Dave Kyllonen, Neil Enloe, and Duane Nicholson were singers for many, many years with The Couriers and now sing under the name of Dave, Duane, and Neil. I do not know a time when these men did not follow God. Time and time again thee men, either by themselves or as a group have set standards for me to look up to. By the way, Timothy Beitzel was also a singer with the Couriers, in fact the last group that sang under the name of The Couriers. My dear wife Dolores worked for the Couriers for twelve years.
Pastor Larry Hale and his wife Luella I met years ago when they would sing at gospel concerts in Harrisburg. They are dear friends of mine. Pastor Larry is presently pastor at the Glenvale Church of God, Marysville, PA.
All of these Christian men, all of them, receive the daily emails, and when I have a question I can email any one of them for help and they respond. Years ago, Neil wrote a song called "The Statue of Liberty." It is about the "Cross" being my Statue of Liberty. If you can get to hear this song, please do so. In the near future you will be seeing our food pantry trailer on the road, with crosses set on the front and the Statue of Liberty set at a distance behind. This is one song over the years that has stuck in my mind, along with so many of the old hymns. By the way, I am honoring Jesus with the crosses, not Neil. All glory and honor always goes to God.
Okay, now to close out with my hero from the Bible.
He was born to die, He was born in a barn, and died on a cross. He was raised from the dead. He rose to the Heavens.
John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that He gave His One and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. (NIV)
John 5:16 - So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted Him. 17 Jesus said: "My Father is always at His work to this very day, and I too, am working." (NIV)
John 14:6 - Jesus answered: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (NIV)
Revelation 22:13 - "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done." (NIV)
My Hero, Hero written with that large "H" is Jesus Christ, My Hero from the Bible is Jesus Christ. He is above all others, all others who I have named this week from the Bible and above all my earthly heroes and helpers. You can see just a few of the scriptures that I have picked out and I could have written out many, many more.
I made this statement ... "He was born to die, He was born in a barn, and died on a cross. He was raised from the dead. He rose to the Heavens." These things are all done, each one of them, and recorded in the Bible. However, a promise has been made, and that promise is this. He is coming back. I want to say that again and make it louder. HE IS COMING BACK. The proof is in the scripture that I will repeat right now.
Revelation 22:13 - "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done." (NIV)
My question as I close up on heroes with my Jesus, my Hero from the Bible, is this ... If He comes back tonight, will you make the cut at the gate? If He returns tonight, will you be one that goes or one that remains? What if He just calls you home by yourself, are you ready?
Dear Father in Heaven, forgive us of our sins, forgive me of my sins,, and Lord, write my name in the Lamb's Book of Life. And Lord, please, please, bring Timothy home. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
Now go forth and share your blessings, and please keep praying for 14 year-old Timothy. If I hear anything, I will get it right out. And let me close today like this ...
He is coming back, HE IS COMING BACK. HE IS COMING BACK.
HE IS COMING BACK. HE IS COMING BACK.
Love ya, Pastor Dan.
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