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.