Monday 7/15/13 Love!!

Dear Father in Heaven, thanks for another night and thanks for waking us another day.  Please forgive our sins this day.  Again we ask for peace this day, peace across this land, peace between races, peace between everyone.  Please intervene, dear Father.  Dear Lord, please help me with a message and then please dispatch it for me.  In Jesus' Name, we pray.  Amen.

Pastor Dan's Safety Tip:  It is summer and it is hot.  Please drink lots of water or a sports drink. Sorry, no booze, it does not help in the heat.  (I am even cutting back on diet cherry Pepsi to six a day.)

Dear brothers and sisters, again today I ask you to keep praying for peace in this nation, in fact, make it world-wide. Pray for our police and firefighters, for all they do and for our military also.  Let me get right to the message.

Love:

Matthew 5:43 - "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'  44 But I tell you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in Heaven.  He causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."  (NIV)

Brothers and sisters, we need to take our lead from the Lord, and we need to love everyone, everyone, regardless of their gender, their race, their religion or lack of it.  We need to be praying for all people, not babbling as we talked about last week in the Lord's Prayer, but honest, heartfelt prayer.  As Christians we should not be "trouble makers" but peaceful people who want to spread peace.

Our Father in Heaven is hated by many people across this world, yet when He supplies air to breathe, believers and non-believers get the same air, same with water, and as the Bible tells us in the scriptures, the sun comes up over all of us, and so does the rain.  So, brothers and sisters, if we truly are Christians, or Followers of Jesus, as I along with many others like to refer to those who really walk with Jesus, we need to really follow Him in all things, and NOT PICK AND CHOOSE to just please ourselves.  Going to church does not make you a Christian, following Jesus does.

I mentioned the other day, in this court case that just ended, that only one knows the complete truth, and that is God and that is not just in this case.  God knows all things, because He sees all things and He hears all things, and He made all things.  Tonight, Glenvale Church of God has their Vacation Bible School, not just tonight but all week.  Other churches are doing that also.  Maybe this is already done, but I would suggest bringing back this old Vacation Bible School song that I learned years ago.

"Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world.  RED AND YELLOW, BLACK AND WHITE, they are precious in His sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world."  Yes, do it again.

"Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world.  RED AND YELLOW, BLACK AND WHITE, they are precious in His sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world."  One more time.

"Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world.  RED AND YELLOW, BLACK AND WHITE, they are precious in His sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world."

Brothers and sisters, if you are true believers, then you also believe that we are still children of God regardless of our age.  But folks, as you pray, pray for cities, cities like Chicago where just this weekend they had ten murders.  Pray for cities in your own area.  You read the papers, you see the news, we have to pray and pray and pray and have faith in God, for our Lord will take care of things, for GOD IS IN CONTROL, and soon and very soon, we are going to see the King.  Be ready, brothers and sisters.  Also pray for our president.

And yes, by all means, go forth sharing your blessings, and know that I love ya.  Pass it on.  Pastor Dan.

P.S.  Pray for Red/Cedar Patriots football camp this week.  I go tonight to open the camp in prayer and then on Wednesday and Thursday Grant and I will be at the football camp gathering canned and boxed food brought to the camp for Carry The Light Ministries Food Pantry.  GOD IS GOOD.