Monday 1/6/14 Lonesome

Dear Father in Heaven. Thanks for another great day.  Thank You for talking with me and speaking to my heart.  Thanks for the job for Craig, all honor and glory to You, Lord.  Thank You for Tom's safety home.  Lord, be with Your people in the cold.  Thanks for changing the weather so we are reminded You are in charge of it.  Please keep watch over Leslie, and please help her with a job.  Please watch over this line and all who use it.  Thanks for watching over our family and friends, and please, dear Lord, continue that blessing for us.  Thanks for the good report on Gretchen.  Please watch over Dan Stoner and his family, and Lord, he needs healed so he can get back in the plane and fly to the back woods for You.  Be with our son Matthew, wherever he is.  Lord, if in Your will, please carry a tad of my pain.  In Jesus' Name, I pray and give thanks.  And now, Lord,  help me with the message and then help me to dispatch it.  Thanks, Jesus, and I pray in Your Name, Jesus.  Amen.

Dear brothers and sisters, when you have been driving in water as in rain or wet snow, and it is going to get really cold, DO NOT USE YOUR PARKING BRAKE!!  Also, if you do not have to, do not lock the car.  If you do and the door locks freeze, you can heat your key with a match.  Also a few tips:  Remember, the first inch of snow is the slippery inch.  Snow is more slippery between 28 and 34 than when on the road and it is 10 degrees.  Watch out for black ice.  It can come from rain, freezing rain, drizzle, and believe it or not, fog can freeze on the road.  Be safe, slow down, increase your following distance.  Go easy, easy on the brakes, easy on the gas, easy on the steering.  And most of all, PRAY BEFORE YOU GO ONTO THE ROADS.  I think it was Elvis who sang the song "Are you lonesome tonight."  Anyway, around the holiday season, a lot of people get lonesome, so I talked to God about me writing about it.  Let's get to it.

Monday, January 6, 2014, Lonesome (Day One).

Psalm 23:1 - The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.  2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside the still waters.  3 He restoreth my soul; He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.  4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.  5 Thou prepares a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over.  6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.  (KJV)

I think all of us have been lonely sometime or other in our lives, and most often when we really get lonely it is near a holiday, Christmas, Easter, birthday, or some other important date in your life.  I know that I have had periods in my life when I was lonely, and if you are like me, you can be lonely even in a crowd.  Now ladies, chances are you are not like me, for I have a beard!  (I just needed to do it once in awhile.)  Many times, not much helps, you can talk to a friend, or a family member, but what I would suggest is you go talk to Jesus and then read some good scriptures.  If you are thinking about hurting yourself, you need to get some professional help, and my suggestion would be your pastor.

One scripture that gives great comfort to me is the 23rd Psalm.  Let's take a look at it starting with verse one.

Psalm 23:1 - The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.

As each of us read it, we can highlight the word MY and then be sure to use that large S on shepherd, which my Bible does not do but when speaking of Jesus, always use that large letter.  Let's look at a few verses today, and get started on getting over our loneliness.

The Lord  is my Shepherd, and I shall not want because I have Him to lean on. Most often we think of our wants, and he really does supply our NEEDS and a lot of our wants.  Most often here we are thinking of our air, water, food, and clothes, and heat in our home and a car for getting to work.  However, He is the great comforter, and He will comfort those of us when we are lonely.  He supplies us with friends and people to talk to; however, if we are still lonely, we can call on Him and HE will comfort us.  His line is never busy, and He is never too busy to listen to You.  Sometimes we need to listen more and stop running at the mouth.  Also, brothers and sisters, if you are lonely, do you have a pet?  One of my blessings from God to help me in times of loneliness over the years is my pets.  Martin Martin Sr. was a great example of a dog that would just always be near when you needed him.  I want for nothing, folks, because I have Jesus, and you can be the same.  When you do get lonely, maybe because you have lost a loved one, maybe a spouse or parent, or heaven forbid, a child, you can always call on God.  Tomorrow we will really dig into this subject.  Lonesome!!

Now go forth and share your blessings.  Love ya.  And pass the love on, please.

Pastor Dan