Friday 4/5/13 Pants on Fire!

Dear Father in Heaven, thank You for this beautiful day and thanks for traveling with us in all we did today.  Dear Father in Heaven, thanks for our veterans and our current military and I ask Your hand upon them as they serve our country.  I do pray that they are all saved, and if not, let all of us on this line work to bring them to Your feet.  Be with our President who leads our military.  And Lord, please prevent a war in Korea.  Lord, You and You alone are in control of all things and we love You, I love You.  Lord, may we always act upon Your will and not our own.  Thanks for keeping this line open all these years, and now, Lord, please help me with the message of today.  Anoint me to work for You.  In Jesus' name, Amen.

Dear brothers and sisters, what a beautiful day we had here at the Southern Location of the North Pole.  Please pray this day for our leaders, our veterans, our current military, our police, firefighters, and all who keep us safe and healthy.  Please remember your family doctor, and pray also for those who work on your eyesight.  Sometimes we forget to pray for those who work for God helping us to keep our sight.  Remember how Jesus touched the blind eyes and the people could see.  He can do that directly today, and He also gave knowledge to those working with your vision to open your eyes here on earth today.  Now brothers and sisters, let me get to the  message ... Pants on Fire!!

Friday 4/5/13 - Pants on Fire!

1 John 4:19 - We love because He first loved us. 20 If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar.  For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.  21 And He has given us this command:  Whoever loves God must also love his brother.  (NIV)

John 13:34 - "A new command I give you:  Love one another as I have loved you, so you must love one another."  (NIV)

The Bible is very clear here, we can love because He first loved us.  You see it above in 1 John 4:19 and also in John 13:34.  He loved us so much He died for us, but even beyond that, He knew us before we were even in the womb.  In 1 John 4:20 it tells us if we say we love God, and we must say that if we say we are saved, "born again," as we must confess our love for Him.  But God is telling us that if we hate our brother, and folks, brother here means also we must love ALL of our brothers and it means sisters also.  And not just our blood relations.  I have told you over and over again that while we might hate the sin we must love the sinner.  I have heard people say, "I hate that" and then name the person.  They also claimed they love Jesus.  Indeed the Bible tells us we just cannot do that, and if we really hate people we are lying when we say we love God.

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire!  Do you remember that statement as you were growing up?  You would tell a lie and someone would say "liar, liar, pants on fire."  I confess that I heard it from my mamma and she was saying it to me.  I would tell  her, "mamma, I never tell a lie," and she would say, "that is the biggest lie you ever told."  To all of us, growing up, I am sure we have told some lies, but the biggest lie you have told is telling God you love Him if you still are hating someone.

Don't get me wrong here, this message is not about lies you might have told to others, although you should stop that.  This message today is about "hating" others and we just cannot do it, and God is telling us that we cannot truly love Him and hate others.  So I ask all of us, that means you and me also, do we really address our hearts and make sure there is no one in your past we really hate?  If you do hate someone, you must get over it, you really must, for God tells us we cannot hate and still love Him.  Hey, don't blame me, I did not make the rules, God did!!

Listen tome on this, over the years we have all made mistakes, please do not go back and open things that will hurt others.  Just pray God forgives you, do not make the mistake again, and don't hate anyone.  If I would hate anyone it would be those who perform abortions, and while I hate what they do, I must still love them.  Again, love the sinner and hate the sin ...

Dear Lord, forgive us of our mistakes in the past and help us not to hate anyone, regardless of what they did, for You indeed love us, and I for one, Lord, have made many, many mistakes and sins.  Father in Heaven, thanks for not hating me.  In Jesus' name, Amen.

Now go forth and share your blessings, and share your love, and if you hate someone, GET OVER IT!  And know this, I love ya.  Pass it on.

Pastor Dan