Thursday 5/15/14 Weak & Strong 3

Dear Father in Heaven:  I love You.  Please, Lord, forgive me of my sins and start me again fresh.  Lord, thanks for watching over family and friends and for watching over our flock at The Bridges.  Lord, please watch over Dino and Leann and those they are with as they travel this weekend on their motorcycles.  Please be with Andy and be with his family and help him get them together under Jesus.  Lord, be with those coming for food this Saturday and watch over them.  Lord, watch over Your people as the rains are coming.  Be with our president and his family and Lord, I pray first for his soul and then for his leadership.  Lord, be with our flock and be with all those on this line and touch them.  Heal their hurts and pains.  Watch over families and block Satan from getting to them.  Now Lord, if you would please help me with the message of today and then help me to get it dispatched, I sure would appreciate it.  In Jesus' Name, I pray.  Amen.

Hi, brothers and sisters.  Please pray today for families, for so many families have Satan coming after them.  Please pray for Andy and his family.  Pray for our family and for Grant and Wanda and their family.  Pray for the Saylor family, for the Emig family, and President Obama and his family.  Most of all, please pray for the family of God, that we hang in strong with Jesus.  Now let me get to the message, Weak and Strong.

Thursday:  May 15, 2014, Weak and Strong (Day Four)

Psalm 119:28 - My soul is weary with sorrow, strengthen me according to Your Word.  (NIV)

Today I would like to use several scriptures and I want to talk about them one at a time.  Have you ever been tired?  Of course you have!  Have you ever been weary?  Of course you have!  But has your soul ever been tired and weary to the point where you needed that touch right from God to keep you on track?  Maybe Satan is coming after you and while you can control that with the help of God of course, harder still is when Satan goes after your family.  And you pray and pray for your family and it is hard, for sometimes we do not see that light at the end of the tunnel.  I am here to tell you today, just keep praying, for when we indeed walk with our Jesus and we really walk with Him, we indeed can see the light at the end of the tunnel and that light is Jesus.  So pray daily, but when your soul gets weary, pray even harder, sing some good old hymns, put some good gospel music on, and keep your eyes on Jesus.  Now here is one place where this is pointed out to us:

Isaiah 41:10 - So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.  (NIV)

Brothers and sisters, when we get tired and our soul is weary, pray more, but also turn to scriptures and read just how Jesus will take care of us.  Here in Isaiah we are being told "Do not fear."  Why?  He tells us, "I am with you."  He tells us also, "I will strengthen you and help you."  Now can it get better than this?  Let's look some more!  And I need this one right now.  Look at this:

Hebrews 12:10 - Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness.  11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful.  Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace, for those who have been trained by it.  12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.  (NIV)

When we were children, our parents would discipline us.  My brother and I would get into trouble and mamma and dad did not spare the rod.  That made us stronger in life.  It made us honest people.  God disciplines us also.  None of it is pleasant, be it by our parents or be it by the Lord.  But after reading these verses, maybe, just maybe, I understand it a tad better as to why I have so much pain in my legs and knees.  Remember, God sees deeply into us.  He can see what we are thinking and knows our sins before we can even commit them.  Maybe I earned my aching knees.  I need to address myself harder.  Pray harder and even be more aware of what I am thinking about.  Amen.

1 Peter 5:10 - And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.  (NIV)

Here is a great promise and a great way to end the message today. After we have suffered a little while, He, Himself, will restore us and make us strong.  Praise God, Praise God, Praise God.  Amen.

Now go forth in strength and glory, walking with Jesus and sharing your blessings.  Love ya.  And please share my love with others.

Pastor Dan