Thursday 2/28/13 The Beatitudes 4

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.