Salvation Wednesday 7/31/13 Trials & Temptations 3

Brothers and sisters, it is Salvation Wednesday and it is the last day of July.  Can you believe that?

Prayers today for Bob Coburn, Jendi Sansoni, Eleanor Sansoni, Eleanor Saylor, Patsy & Burt Emig, Barbar and Barbara.  Also for Beverly and her son David, for little Curtis and his parents and for my dear wife Dolores.  And yes, you may lift me also.  Salvation Wednesday and the day we pray for those who are lost, and we pray for God to lead we who are saved, so we might tell them the Good News of Jesus so they might also come to Christ.  Let's go to prayer.

Dear Father in Heaven, thanks so much for another night's rest and for waking us this morning.  Please, dear Lord, forgive me, forgive us who ask, of our sins and start us off clean today.  Thanking you again for watching over this line and all who use it, for watching over our families, and for going to the cross for us.  Jesus, thanks for all the examples You have set for us to follow, and I pray today that we, and that I will indeed walk in Your light.  Look over our prayer list and Lord, handle  our requests according to Your will for all of us.  Yes, Thy will be done.  Now, Lord, if You would, please plant the message on my mind and heart and help me with my grammar and spelling.  Then, Lord, dispatch it for me.  In Jesus' Name, I pray.  Amen.

Brothers and sisters, I am back now.  Yes, I have changed the layout again, listing those in need of prayer first, then going to the Lord, then the introduction, the scriptures, the message, and if I have one, a safety tip.

As I sit here in my computer room, with big windows and I am facing east, I see this really bright red sky starting to appear and that means we are to take warning for some heavy weather is heading our way.  We sure do need the rain, and while some areas have had big downpours of rain, other areas did not get much if any.  What we need is an all-day rain, a steady rain, for it is really dry.

Work session at Carry The Light Ministries.  Saturday August 10th starting by 9:00 AM and we will stop at noon, but we should be done before that.  The main object will be to move more of our personal things out of our basement so as to expand the food pantry.  Work day will be held rain or shine and we will have things lined up for people to do.  Coffee, soda, water, snacks will be furnished, along with a light lunch when done.  Most likely hot dogs and cold cuts.  A prayer table will be set up for those wanting to have prayer.  Call and let me know if you are coming.  Home number 691 8200; if not answered, you can leave a message or you can cut through the cheese and call my cell at 991 0754.  Now let's get to the message.

Salvation Wednesday, July 31, 2013, Trials and Temptations, Day Three.

James 1:12 - Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.  13 When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me."  For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone; 14 but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.  (NIV)

Let's dig right into the scripture.  "Blessed is the man."  Now let me stop right away and say this.  Man means man and woman!  Okay, in James 1:12 it tells us "Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial."  To start with, we all are blessed, and blessed each day, so we are talking about extra blessings for going forward, for walking with Jesus and not giving up when we are under trials of all types.  Some of these trials might include, but are not limited to, health issues, health issues of our spouse, our parents or our children, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren.  For some they might come nearer to God when under trial, while others under stress might turn away.  For me, well, when at a very low point in my life, I came crawling back to Jesus, asking his forgiveness and working with me.  Now when we "stand the test" of those trials, we will receive more or special blessings, and a lot of them will be given to us here on earth, but a lot will be given to us in heaven.  The tests were not set up by God for He will  not tempt us, Satan will, but most of these tests were brought upon ourselves.  Our Lord Jesus has told us and it is recorded in our Bibles what we must do to get into heaven.  Now while Jesus was a great teacher, and taught us a lot, there will be no surprise testing when we get to heaven's gate.  It will not go like this.  You arrive at the gate, and you are greeted by Saint Peter who hands you a clipboard and tells you to have a seat. Again this will not happen, but picture it, there you are with a whole group of other saints who are sitting with clipboards and you are trying to remember what good you did on earth.  Yo put your name on the top, and your former address, and instead of it being like in a doctor's office where you try and remember what meds you take, you are sitting there trying to remember what good you did.  Today I ask that you take a pad and pencil and you sit down and write down what good you do.  What have you done to help your cause when you get to the gate?  I know I will make  heaven, but I pray it will not be by the "skin of my teeth", for I might die at night when my teeth are in the jar.  Just kidding, folks.  We do get into heaven because of our love for Jesus, but we are to be working for Him also.  We cannot work our way into heaven, so that no one can boast, but once saved we are to work for Him.  So sit down and list what you have done for Jesus, what you have done to help spread the good news.  Now while it is very private and I DO NOT SUGGEST that you write down all of your past sins because you already gave them up, I want you to think about which line on the paper is longer the things you did for Jesus or the things you did against Jesus, meaning sins.  Think about it really hard, if you multiply your good stuff by a hundred, would it equal your sins?  Again, no test on paper will be done at the gate.  However, your name will be written in the Lamb's Book of Life.

Tomorrow we will be talking more about who does tempt us, and the Bible tells us that it was and is not God, so who is it?  Might it be Satan?  The answer might surprise you.  Now go forth and share those many blessings that God has given you.  Love ya.  Pass it on.  Pastor Dan

Pastor Dan's Safety Tip:  Think safety in all things, not just driving.  When you climb ladders, don't be wearing "flip flops" because flip flops might make you take a "flip and a flop."  Open healed shoes do not always stay on your feet; you should never wear them when driving.  Yesterday I talked about common sense in my message.  It is really needed when it comes to safety.

Remember our new ministry.  We will check your oil, tires, and other things on your car and do it for free.  Please call for an appointment ... 991 0754.  We will put air in your tires, top off the fluids, and show you how to do it.  Another outreach of Carry The Light Ministries and it will be ready to go in a week or two.