Dear Father in Heaven: I love You very much. Please forgive me of my sins. Lord, please be with Ken McNelis and heal his heart after surgery today. Thank You, dear Lord, for the great reports on Dolores this day at the doctor's. Lord, please be with Beth, Craig, and their children as they get ready for travel to Washington state, and then, Lord, take them safely across the country. Thanks for this day and watching over this line. Lord, please be with pastors, singers, priests, and all others who work in the fields of Harvest for You. Lord, please keep Bob Coburn in Your hands for healing. And Lord, please help me with the message and then, Lord, help me to dispatch it. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters, I had an error on my Spanked by God message yesterday. The date of my accident that I can remember like it was yesterday, I listed as December 24, 2014. It was December 24, 1990. I remembered it like yesterday with a "senior minute." Pam picked up on the error as she was posting to our BlogSpot.
New prayer requests in today.
Ken McNelis had open heart surgery on Thursday afternoon. Ken is a board member of the Museum of Bus Transportation. Beth, Craig, and their family need prayers as they travel. Please pray for them daily, and I will let you know when they arrive in Washington State. Beth is the daughter of Grant and Wanda Crockett and of course the children are their grandkids. Craig is their son-in-law. I try and remember each week, but sometimes I forget. Friday is the day we pray for all those who work for the Lord, be they priests, pastors, gospel singers, etc.
Okay, as you can see I have been writing the evening before. So Friday is Friday the 13th. I do not fear any of those dates or superstitions as I have Jesus and He is with us 24/7/365 plus one extra in four. It was all good news at the doctor's today for Dolores. Happy Fathers' Day this Sunday, all you dads!! Okay, let me get going on the message.
Friday: June 13, 2014, Spanked by God (Day Five)
Proverbs 13:24 - He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him. (NIV)
Yes, brothers and sisters, I used this scripture earlier this week. However, it is worth repeating. One of our problems in our schools right now is that parents today do not follow these rules found in the Bible. When I talk about being "spanked by God" let me tell you that all of us right now are being spanked for things that happened years ago when little by little we left our Lord Jesus be thrown out of our schools. Yesterday I quoted my cousin as she listed things that are being turned around. And I pray this will work out. Back when we were kids growing up, yes, back when the streets were still dirt and the dead sea was still stick, we would stand up in class and read the Bible. As I have told so many people, I have never read a book in my life, but God now opens the Bible to me. I was scared to read in front of people, so my dear mamma helped me with the 23rd and the 100th Psalms which I read over and over and over again to her until I knew them by memory, and then when it was my turn, I opened the Bible and turned to one of those two Psalms in the Bible and recited them by memory. Each kid would bring their own Bible and read from them. We had Jewish kids in our class, and they just read from the Old Testament. I had Catholic friends and they brought their Bible. It gave us a start. Then we pledged our flag, which when I went to school had 13 stars on it. No, no, I am older than that. We had, as I recall back then, 48 stars, and the words "Under God" were just being added and I cannot remember when they came in, but President Eisenhower signed it into law (I think).
Anyway, it is going to be hard to put Jesus back into our schools like He was for if kids would now bring their own Bible I would think a lot of them would be reading from the Koran. So we are being spanked by God and think of it each time you hear of a shooting in a school. To put Jesus and the Gospel, our Bible, back into the schools might be as hard as putting toothpaste back into the tube after you have squeezed it out. The other hard thing to do is put words back in your mouth after they come out. That cannot be done at all. The other day our president said something about more gun control in the schools. NO, WE NEED MORE JESUS IN OUR SCHOOLS. I think as we see all the storms that is God Spanking us more and more. I would think by now He is sick and tired of abortions and gay marriages, and I think we are all going to be spanked. Now do not worry about all the rain and the end coming by that because He made a promise never to destroy this earth again, by rain that is. When I see a rainbow banner hanging at a gay function it makes me sick because the RAINBOW IN THE SKY is a reminder to God, from God, that He will never again destroy the earth by water. When we see those rainbows, please remember that is God sending a message to Himself. Listen, I am really on a roll here, but I do need to tell you about at least one more time I and others were "spanked by God!"
As most of you know, I loved buses and still love them. I spent many years with Central Dauphin School District doing two terms so to speak. I retired from their transportation department. Why, I even had my own school bus, back then it was painted green. After I retired from the school, I placed my school bus, which I painted here at my house to school bus yellow (Nation Chrome Yellow) in the care and custody of the Museum of Bus Transportation. I joined the museum and I loved it, I was one of two Vice Presidents and was assigned by the president to be Chaplain and even had an Assistant Chaplain. We prayed before each board meeting and did that for years, praying for members who were sick. In the meantime, the museum had purchased a property near the Swatara Creek, and we knew that the lot was in the 100-year flood plain but the building was raised above that plain. The board voted to purchase the property and all of the buses in storage were driven from Myerstown to the Union Deposit Road location. It was a really neat place. I along with others spent many hours there taking care of the place. Then there were a few new board members elected to the board and one of them complained about the open prayers before the meeting. Right before a meeting one evening my Assistant and I were informed that there would be no more praying before a meeting, must a "moment of silence." At the end of the "moment of silence," I stood up and left in protest, standing at the door and telling them I resign from the board. I walked out. Then it happened, a storm called "Lee" went past and "stalled" over the Swatara Creek basin. Every bus on that storage lot and also in the building went underwater, lost in the flood. It did not hit the Car and Bus Museum where the buses are on the floor for show, which at the time was where my old 1954 school bus was being shown. When I drove down a back road to look in I could not believe what I saw. To this day, I feel we were "spanked by God." What about the other people in the flood area that went underwater? My answer at the time, are they not all sinners? Maybe God spanked them also. I returned when the water went down and helped the best I could. I cleaned up a building with a power washer, and the Lord worked it out that our ministry purchased that building later and we had it trucked to our location and it stands outside our food pantry restored by Grant and Wanda Crockett and called "Santa's House." While I am no longer on the board, I am still a member of the bus museum, and in fact just today I listed one of the board members for prayer.
Did God spank the members who voted against the prayer? I think so, and friends, like each time God spanks us about something, He comes back around and gives us a hug. Look at the building that God sent our way, Santa's House. I am not saying there are non-Christians on the board, I do not know each heart, but I do feel this way, once you go to work for God, He looks at you expecting more. I think I was spanked by God here also, for maybe I should have stayed on the board and fought the issue instead of just "walking out." I am not sure! I still love each member of that board and pray for them.
Now as I wrap up this series, I want to tell you this was a hard one to write, but I knew God wanted me to write it, for the words came easy. What is in store for next week? I do not have a clue, for God has not planted a message on my heart at this time. And I really never know when I sit down what He will give me. God is good and has been so faithful. Happy Fathers' Day, and Lord, Happy Fathers' Day to God our Father who started all of this we enjoy today.
Now go forth and share your blessings. Love ya. Please pass on my love to others.
Pastor Dan
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