Thursday 8/8/2013 Loving Each Other 3

Dear Father in Heaven, thanks for another great day and thanks for the blessing of bread, cakes, and pies for the food pantry.  You are so wonderful, Lord, thanks for watching over us and over this line.  Thanks for watching over Eleanor and Patsy and please, Lord, keep Your healing hand upon them.  Lord, thanks for the love You show us each day when You provide our needs and even more.  Thanks for answering prayers according to Your will, and Lord, we would not want it any other way.  Now, Lord, if You would honor me once again with a message about love and then dispatch it for me, please.  I sure would appreciate it.  In Jesus' Name, I pray.  Amen.

Dear brothers and sisters, I am going to get straight to the message tonight, but first let me ask you computer people, would one of you try to find me a place where I can purchase a silver/blond Yorkshire Terrier?  Yes, I miss Martin that much that I want to get another puppy and bring him up as I did Martin.  While we still have other nice dogs, I want another puppy.  Am I nuts?  You need not answer that question.  Those of you who knew Martin and he and I bonded, you understand this.  Now to the message, Loving Each Other.

Thursday, August 8, 2013, Loving Each Other, Day 3.

Romans 5:6 - You see at just the right time when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.  7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.  8 But God demonstrates His own love for us in this:  While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  (NIV)

John 21:15 - When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you truly love me more than these?"  "Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love You."  Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."  16 Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?"  He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love You."  Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep."  17 The third time He said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"  Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?"  He said, "Lord, you know all things, you know that I love you."  Jesus said, "Feed my sheep." (NIV)

Today God led me to a couple of scriptures where He is telling us about His love for us, and folks, we all know that He loved us and still does love us.  After all, He died for us.  While we were still sinners, God demonstrated His love for us by dying for us, and folks, we were not even a tinkle in our parents' eyes at that time.  He, our Lord Jesus, knew of us before we were in the womb and knew we would be sinners.  So He put His life on the line for us, and His blood still flows to clean us today.  And it will tomorrow also.  That is love.  Then I take a look at the scripture in John 21 where Jesus is questioning Simon about his love for Him.  So Jesus said, "Simon, do you love me?"  And of course Simon said yes, and Jesus told him to feed His lambs.  Over and over Jesus asked Simon, do you love me?  And when Simon would say yes, Jesus said to feed His sheep.  What am I getting out of this?

We, folks, are the sheep of His pasture, and we who love Jesus need to feed His lambs and sheep.  This does not mean throw them some hay and some grain, it means we are to feed them THE WORD OF THE LORD, THE GOOD NEWS.  So let me ask the question to you, and please insert your own name on here, where I have mine.

Pastor Dan, do you love me?  Yes, Jesus, I love You.  Then feed my lambs.  Pastor Dan, do you love me?  Yes, Lord, of course I love You.  Then feed my sheep.  Pastor Dan, are you sure you love me?  Yes, Lord, I am sure I love You!  Then feed my sheep and also STOP SINNING!!

Wow, I sort of changed that last one, but I want you to think about that.  I do love the Lord, and I am trying to feed the lambs (children) and the sheep (adults), and yes, I try hard to not sin, but folks, I confess that I am a sinner and I need Jesus to keep me in line daily.  So put yourself in that question that Jesus asked Simon, and then say to yourself, how am I really feeding the lambs and sheep, or am I doing that at all?  To me it is another way of asking if we are following the command about going into the fields of Harvest for Jesus and spreading the good news.  So where do you stand on this?  I would love to hear from some of you on this subject.  Tomorrow we are going to look more at loving each other and seeing just how we might do that!

But for now, and maybe this is how you are feeding God's lambs and sheep, by going out and sharing your blessings and telling others as I tell you.  I love ya.  Pass it on.  Pastor Dan.

Coming Saturday to help with some light work?  Please let me know.  771 991 0754