Dear Father in Heaven: I love You. Please forgive me of my sins and sinful thinking. Thank You, Lord, for watching over this line. Please keep Your protection upon it. Please be with families and friends and watch over them. Lord, please have Your hand upon Grant and Wanda and help them with their very full plate. Lord, thank You so much for the Bibles that were dropped off t the food pantry today. Lord, thank You for allowing me to work for You. Now if You would please help me with the message and then help me dispatch it, I would surely appreciate it. Oh, and Lord, thanks for the wonderful note I received this day from Martha. All glory and honor is Yours, dear Lord. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters, it was indeed another beautiful day here at the Southern Location of the North Pole. God is so good, our little Morgan is out and walking around the house again today. He is blind, and he is so neat to watch as he walks circles finding his way around things. I also received this note from my dear cousin Martha. You will notice she calls me Danny, which of course is what my dear late mamma called me, unless I messed up, then it started like this, "DANIEL."
"Danny,
I think some things may be changing:
The Supreme Court ruled that prayer can precede public meeting.
South Middleton School District allows announcements and the use of the gym for church sponsored activities for the students. At Boiling Springs baccalaureate Sunday, there were messages or prayers from Lutheran, Methodist, Church of God and Catholic church leaders. At Boiling Springs graduation last night, there was prayer and references to God from student speakers. Mechanicsburg School District changed its policy to allow church related materials to be distributed in the schools. (The article is in today's Sentinel.) They previously would not allow Boy Scouts materials to be distributed. Thank God, the people have spoken. Have a great Week. Marty."
Thanks, cousin, for sending me this, I love you. All honor and glory to God for the start of a turn-around. My cousin triggered my memory a tad and looking back Carry The Light Ministries had an outreach a number of years ago where we paid for a "school bus" to transport kids from Newport Schools to the Assembly of God church for an activity period. Back then they could not have "church related" things in the school. Would you believe that now that same church is renting space in the high school to have church?
Now let me get to the message.
Thursday: June 12, 2014, Spanked by God (Day Four)
2 Corinthians 11:17 - In this self-confident boasting I am not talking as the Lord would, but as a fool. 18 Since many are boasting in the way the world does, I too will boast. (NIV)
2 Corinthians 11:25 - Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked. I spent a night and a day in the open sea. (NIV)
Jesus led me to these scriptures today to help point out how Paul boasted about his sufferings, even though he should not. He said he was acting like a fool. (I have done a lot of that in my life!) I also skipped ahead to verse 25 to show you just how Paul was beaten. Was Paul being "spanked by God"? I don't know, but I do know this, Paul took a lot for our Lord Jesus, and I ask you this today. Would you be a Paul if this were to happen to you? If someone held a gun to your head and asked you, do you love Jesus? What would your answer be? This has already happened here in the United States. It was a schoolgirl and I forget where but she was asked to deny God and she would not and she was killed, shot dead!! I believe this happened in Denver. Dolores and I have discussed this at length, and we both agreed that we would stand firm with Jesus and if being shot is what it takes, then shot we will get.
Okay, as promised I want to tell you of a couple of times I have been "spanked by God." I will also tell you about the "rod" of His choice at the time. (As I write, a really bad storm is moving in. Someplace in this area, people are getting "spanked.")
On December 24, 1990, I had taken the men who worked for me at my service station out to lunch. School was closed for that Christmas Eve day. After lunch was over I returned to my service station, put on my Santa suit and headed for Dauphin Deposit Bank on Route 22 in Colonial Park. Some of you will know right where that is. I was first in line on Route 22 heading east at the corner of South Houcks Road. I as riding a motorcycle and it was very cold. (Okay, so I am a little nuts.) After stopping at the bank, my plan was to go to the K-mart and hand out candy canes to the kids. Behind my motorcycle was a little trailer that looked like a horse trailer. I pulled out from my stopped position, went about on really good size city block and had to stop in a line of traffic. I stopped and I heard the tires screaming behind me. From there things went into slow motion. I was nailed by Grandpa, and God's rod of choice was an Oldsmobile. over the years since that I have been asked "where was your Jesus and why did He not protect you?" Joking, I would tell people that He was on the bike with me, but in traffic He got off to get a soda. Yes, I was joking, but He did ride with me, and He was onboard that day also, for if not, I surely would would have been killed. So why do I think God spanked me that day? Well, folks, over the years He had carried me through so many, many things, and still I was not doing what He really had in mind for me. You see, God has our lives lined up. One thing it seemed I never knew when to go home from work. Well, that sort of ended that day in a hurry. While on the street, I could hear the sirens coming, I must have been out cold for awhile, for I do remember flying through the air, and next those sirens. I could hear kids in a car that hit me yelling "Pap just killed Santa Claus." I remember telling someone to let those kids know Santa would be fine for his rounds that night.
God laid me down that day beside moving lanes of traffic and I was not hit by a car, my right arm was wrapped around the rear tire of a truck ahead of me, and that truck did not move or surely I would have had a crushed right arm. Yes, God spanked me that day and he made a better person out of me. My assistant at my school job, "Chief" Robert Lee Coburn, was on the one fire truck, and he took care of my motorcycle and trailer, then he went to the hospital and stayed with my wife after he called her and told her what had happened. I could hear God speak to my heart that day. "Now you are mine full time." I learned that day to respect firefighters a lot more than I did. Chief Coburn was running into buildings while others were running out. I was one who was running out.
While laying on the street that day, after being spanked by God who used an Oldsmobile, I, a grown man, grew up a little more. My walk to be with God full time started right there on the street that day. Have I sinned since then? Well, yes, I am indeed a sinner just saved by grace and "spanked by an Oldsmobile." I must tell you this. It was about 10:00 PM that Christmas Eve when I was released from the hospital after a lot of testing. I hurt really badly, my Santa jacket was my coat of choice that day. My helmet had been taken off of me at the hospital or on the way in, I forget, but when released from the hospital I asked Dolores to drive me to the fire station as I wanted to see my bike. A couple of young guys were spending time there (they could have been home with family, but they were waiting for calls). I went in, looked at my wrecked bike sitting there with the key in it. I reached over and started it. I went out to the car and there I said to Dolores, hand me my helmet! She said you are not! I said yes I am. I did not put the trailer on, but I got on the bike. Now it was down to about 24 and I started for home. About 15 miles ... I confess that it was one of the dumbest things that this man has ever done. At the first corner I found out the brakes did not work with the foot pedal, but I had a small bit of brakes with the hand brake. No turning back. Well, I arrived home, hit the opener on the garage door and rode in. Dolores parked the car and came in behind me where I confessed that it was the dumbest thing I had done in my life. But that day God spanked me. I did not turn from Him, I turned to Him.
If you think God is not spanking us because we took Him out of the schools, open your eyes and look at all those shootings in our schools. President Obama wants to do something more about guns. Mr. President, sign an order to put "God back in our schools." Yes, folks, as my cousin said, things are turning around. Just think how it could get sped up if President Obama would sign an order.
Enough for today, but tomorrow you will not want to miss. Would you believe it if I told you how God might spank a group of people when they turned against Him? How high is that water, mamma?
Now go forth and share your blessings. Love ya. And please pass on that love.
Pastor Dan
P.S. You will notice every time I mention our President I send him a copy.
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