Dear Father in Heaven: I love You very, very much. Please forgive me of my sins and help me to walk nearer and closer to You. Thanks for watching over family and friends, dear Lord. Father, please watch over our President and please be with our military wherever they serve. Thanks for them, dear Lord, and thanks for the work they do in protecting the United States. Dear Lord, please help people tell the truth, all of us, including those in Washington, DC. I pray today for peace, world-wide peace. Please, Father, send Jesus back for Your children. Dear Father, please help me now with the message and then to get it dispatched. In the Name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
Wow, the last day of September already, and it is summer-like here at the Southern Location of the North Pole. It is just beautiful. If only the news was as good as the weather. Please pray for our leaders and for our military and also for our police. Please pray for the Pennsylvania State Police as they are still in the manhunt looking for the person who ambushed the troopers about two weeks ago. Brothers and sisters, we need to be talking to our Lord God and working with Jesus and welcoming in the Holy Spirit and we need to be working hard to get the word out. TIME IS WASTING, brothers and sisters!! How long is God going to let all this garbage keep going on? PRAY, WARRIORS, PRAY, and then pray some more. Now to my message.
Tuesday: September 30, 2014: Five Difficult Things (Day Five)
Matthew 7:25 - "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 28 And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will He not much more clothe you O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (NIV)
Out of the "Five Difficult Things" that I have been writing about, I personally think this is the most difficult. I don't know about you, but I think we could make a list of a lot of things that we worry about not counting food and clothes. The examples that our Lord Jesus give are great. His word tells us not to worry about food, clothes and drink. But do we listen? We have had people call us and say they do not have one thing in their house to eat, not one thing. So we tell them to come in on that same day, maybe five hours later. Then they do not show up, we call them and they say "they forgot." How do you forget to get food, free food, when you have kids and say you do not have food? You lied, that started it. I confess I have gone to the fridge, opened the doors, and looked in at the very full fridge, and said, "We don't have anything here to eat." Meaning I was being a snoot!!! But I was not worried about it. However, let me look at a list of things that I think most of us worry about.
Children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, aging parents. Grouped together we will say family and friends.
Money, bills, do we have enough to pay our taxes, pay our electric bill, our gas bill for the house and the car, the fuel oil bill, water and sewer? Let me group them together and call them household bills and the auto bills.
Then the cell phone, the TV cable, and our second cell phone, and the car payment and car repairs. And a whole lot of things we might not really need.
Then there is food, clothes, drinks, etc. Oh, that's right, we need not worry about these things.
Oh, and what about those credit cards that are due? How many do you have? One to use for emergencies? Two, one to pay the bills that you can't pay by heck? Five of them, maybe ten? When you get behind in credit cards, it is hard to catch up. The interest is about 25%.
Now I could go on and on and on, and yes, all these things can cause worries. And while we should not get ourselves into a place where we need to worry, we will always have concerns. I have done this, I have taken all of my worries, all my problems, all my troubles, and I bundled them up, and then I carried them to the altar at the church, I prayed about them and then laid them down, giving them over to our Lord Jesus. Then after being anointed with oil and being prayed over, I got up, reached right back down, picked up my bundles of worries and concerns and took them back to my seat and on home. I am telling you, this one is hard. One thing we must do is trust in God, really trust in God, and even with that said, the worries will still keep coming. So we can call them concerns, but the fact remains we must not just pray about them, we really must "put feet on our prayers." Now how do we put feet on them? Well, I am going to pray about writing messages on this subject starting tomorrow. There are some ways that by faith and using the thing between our ears called our brain, we can tackle some of these worries and concerns. That's it for now.
Remember as you go forth to share your blessings, pray a lot, love on Jesus, and remember Jesus loves you, and I love ya also. And please pass on the love of Jesus and also my love.
Pastor Dan
P.S. Please pray really hard for our President.
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Monday, September 29, 2014
Monday 9/29/14 Five Difficult Things 4
Dear Father in Heaven: I love You. Please forgive me for not showing it very well as I have been slacking in my daily writing. I offer up no excuses, Lord, except that I am a sinner and in need of forgiveness of my sins. Please help me, Lord, to get back into writing and get my head to think about working for You and off my pain level. Dear Lord, please grant traveling protection to Alan, Patty, Pam, Art, Elaine, and others who will be in the air or on the roads. Please watch over John who has had a knee replaced. Please also be with his friends, Tom Kane and Don Coffin, as they all need Your healing hand, Lord. Lord, please be with the Saylor family, the Emig family, the Crockett family, the Lehman family, our family and flock at The Bridges, and our flock on this line. Now, Lord, please help me with the daily message and then to get it dispatched. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
Brothers and sisters, I am sorry I have been messing up and not getting messages out in a timely fashion. I have not been to the computer since last Wednesday. The only excuse I can even come close to offering you is that my pain level has taken over my whole being, including my little brain. Let me bring you up to speed on the messages on Five Difficult Things. Here are the five, and I know there are many more, but these are the five I am writing about now.
1. Forget your past!
2. Don't worry!
3. Love your enemies!
4. Repent!
5. Turn From Sin!
So far I have covered number one, Forget your past, number four, Repent, and number five, Turn from Sin.
Today let me get back to work and go to number three, "Love your enemies."
Monday: September 29, 2014: Five Difficult Things (Day Four)
Matthew 5:43 - "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in Heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." (NIV)
"Love your enemies" is really a very difficult thing to do. Ask any person who has been through a hard divorce. Ask them what they think about their ex. Some hold grudges for a long, long time. I can truthfully say that I love my exes; yes, there are two of them. What is so neat is that Dolores loves them also. Some of loving your enemies goes back to forgetting your past once it has been forgiven by God. I want you to think about this. Our Lord God hates sin, but He really loves us, we who are sinners. That lesson we need to learn when we talk about people who are living in sin or a lifestyle that we do not agree with. We need to be like our Lord God and love the sinners and hate their sin. Sometimes it is difficult. Think about this, a few people will stand up and say they do not believe in God, they might make the statement, there is no God. Then this God-hating person plants a garden and God makes it rain. Does it not rain on the garden of the one who does not believe? God sure does set good examples of how He expects us to live. Our job for our Lord God is to get that non-believer to turn around and be a believer.
We need to first get over the fact that "love is not sex." Making love with someone does not mean you had "sex with them." Making love with someone might be just talking with them when they are down or sharing your love of Jesus with them. What better way is there to make love with someone than to get them to come to Jesus? Think about that one, folks, think really hard about that one.
One of the great commandments is to "Love your neighbor." But what if your neighbor is one really nasty person? It really might make your job as a Christian stronger, God might have planned it this way so as to strengthen our love for Him. After all, if we can love this nasty neighbor, pray for them and do nice things for them, would that not make our love stronger for our Lord Jesus? I want to give you some homework. Do you have anyone in your life that you have been avoiding, someone that you could easily not like or maybe even hate? Someone doing something you disagree with, and it might even be happening at PTA or maybe even where you go to church. Over the years many churches have split because of in-fighting at the church, and it got so bad that even Jesus could not get it straight. But if Jesus did come in, He surely would love everyone. Think about some pastors in these cases, in-fighting gets started and then first one side then the other goes to the pastor to straighten it out. More than likely caused by families who have been going to that church for a long, long time. Think about it, brothers and sisters. For your homework, think about those who you might not like, or you might even hate, and start praying with them, and also at the same time pray for yourself to work things out. Yes, it is Difficult, but our Lord Jesus tells us if we want to get to heaven, we must do these things. Let me know if you need help.
Now go forth and share your love and blessings with others, even your enemies. Love ya. And please pass on my love.
Pastor Dan
Brothers and sisters, I am sorry I have been messing up and not getting messages out in a timely fashion. I have not been to the computer since last Wednesday. The only excuse I can even come close to offering you is that my pain level has taken over my whole being, including my little brain. Let me bring you up to speed on the messages on Five Difficult Things. Here are the five, and I know there are many more, but these are the five I am writing about now.
1. Forget your past!
2. Don't worry!
3. Love your enemies!
4. Repent!
5. Turn From Sin!
So far I have covered number one, Forget your past, number four, Repent, and number five, Turn from Sin.
Today let me get back to work and go to number three, "Love your enemies."
Monday: September 29, 2014: Five Difficult Things (Day Four)
Matthew 5:43 - "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in Heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." (NIV)
"Love your enemies" is really a very difficult thing to do. Ask any person who has been through a hard divorce. Ask them what they think about their ex. Some hold grudges for a long, long time. I can truthfully say that I love my exes; yes, there are two of them. What is so neat is that Dolores loves them also. Some of loving your enemies goes back to forgetting your past once it has been forgiven by God. I want you to think about this. Our Lord God hates sin, but He really loves us, we who are sinners. That lesson we need to learn when we talk about people who are living in sin or a lifestyle that we do not agree with. We need to be like our Lord God and love the sinners and hate their sin. Sometimes it is difficult. Think about this, a few people will stand up and say they do not believe in God, they might make the statement, there is no God. Then this God-hating person plants a garden and God makes it rain. Does it not rain on the garden of the one who does not believe? God sure does set good examples of how He expects us to live. Our job for our Lord God is to get that non-believer to turn around and be a believer.
We need to first get over the fact that "love is not sex." Making love with someone does not mean you had "sex with them." Making love with someone might be just talking with them when they are down or sharing your love of Jesus with them. What better way is there to make love with someone than to get them to come to Jesus? Think about that one, folks, think really hard about that one.
One of the great commandments is to "Love your neighbor." But what if your neighbor is one really nasty person? It really might make your job as a Christian stronger, God might have planned it this way so as to strengthen our love for Him. After all, if we can love this nasty neighbor, pray for them and do nice things for them, would that not make our love stronger for our Lord Jesus? I want to give you some homework. Do you have anyone in your life that you have been avoiding, someone that you could easily not like or maybe even hate? Someone doing something you disagree with, and it might even be happening at PTA or maybe even where you go to church. Over the years many churches have split because of in-fighting at the church, and it got so bad that even Jesus could not get it straight. But if Jesus did come in, He surely would love everyone. Think about some pastors in these cases, in-fighting gets started and then first one side then the other goes to the pastor to straighten it out. More than likely caused by families who have been going to that church for a long, long time. Think about it, brothers and sisters. For your homework, think about those who you might not like, or you might even hate, and start praying with them, and also at the same time pray for yourself to work things out. Yes, it is Difficult, but our Lord Jesus tells us if we want to get to heaven, we must do these things. Let me know if you need help.
Now go forth and share your love and blessings with others, even your enemies. Love ya. And please pass on my love.
Pastor Dan
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Wednesday 9/24/14 Five Difficult Things 3
Dear Father in Heaven: I love You very, very much. Please forgive me of my sins and help me repent and turn from my sins. Lord, I pray for our nation today. I pray for the safety of our warriors and those who have control and supervision over them. I pray for all of them that they are saved. Please protect them on their missions and bring them back safe. Lord, please watch over all those on our prayer list and please also carry some of the pain that has crippled up both Dolores and myself. Lord, please lead the lost to us. Help us seek them and find them and witness to them and try our very best to get them to the feet of Jesus to be saved. Now please help me with the message of this day and help me to dispatch it. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Brothers and sisters, it is Wednesday and that means it is Salvation Wednesday on this line and the day we work extra hard to help bring the lost to the feet of Jesus. First, take a good look in the mirror and address yourself. Now let me ask you this question. Are you saved? Are you really saved? If not, let's tackle that one first. We know of course that we need to come clean of sins and then confess that Jesus died for us and we need to believe that Jesus went to the cross and died for us and we also must believe that He was risen from the dead. By Jesus being risen from the dead, that is how we know we will also be risen from the dead when Jesus comes back to claim us. So let's get clean first. And if you are saved, well, a "good bath" never hurts.
Dear Father in Heaven, please forgive me of my sins and help me to repent and try to walk away from my sins. Thanks, Lord. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Now let me get started with today's message.
Salvation Wednesday: September 24, 2014: Turn From Sin (Day Three)
John 14:6 - Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me." (NIV)
Romans 10:9 - That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord" and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. (NIV)
Brothers and sisters, Salvation through Jesus involves inward belief, which means we believe it in our hearts, and I want to add we must also believe it in our "gut." If you ever were "church shopping" and you went to several churches before you decided which one you like and wanted to go back and find out more, more than likely you got that "gut feeling." As for me, more often I got the "gut feeling" when I would find that something just did not seem right. I think you all know and understand what I am talking about when I talk about a "gut feeling." I have been in churches over the years and wonder why we did not hear messages about Salvation. I watch the pastors on television and have been to many churches where the complete truth about Jesus is preached and the messages from the pastors in the pulpit always lead to salvation. I know my messages always lead to salvation. When we truly want to follow our Lord Jesus and His commands then we will do these difficult things such as repenting of our sins, turning from our sins, walking with Jesus and telling others of our walk. It is very important that we set a good example or try our very best to set that example when we are working to "win one for Jesus." You need to remember that our job is to bring in the crop, harvest the crop as Jesus puts it, and then after we do that, Jesus will do the saving of the soul. Remember, we can only bring in the crop, we cannot put it up. God Our Father in Heaven lined up Salvation through Jesus. Our job is bringing in the lost. So now as I end the message for today, let me close this way.
Now go forth "bringing in the lost." That is one of the great blessings you can share with others. You share the love of Jesus when you witness to the lost. So go forth, finding the lost, and sharing the love of Jesus with others. Love ya. Now go forth and share my love with others.
Pastor Dan
Brothers and sisters, it is Wednesday and that means it is Salvation Wednesday on this line and the day we work extra hard to help bring the lost to the feet of Jesus. First, take a good look in the mirror and address yourself. Now let me ask you this question. Are you saved? Are you really saved? If not, let's tackle that one first. We know of course that we need to come clean of sins and then confess that Jesus died for us and we need to believe that Jesus went to the cross and died for us and we also must believe that He was risen from the dead. By Jesus being risen from the dead, that is how we know we will also be risen from the dead when Jesus comes back to claim us. So let's get clean first. And if you are saved, well, a "good bath" never hurts.
Dear Father in Heaven, please forgive me of my sins and help me to repent and try to walk away from my sins. Thanks, Lord. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Now let me get started with today's message.
Salvation Wednesday: September 24, 2014: Turn From Sin (Day Three)
John 14:6 - Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me." (NIV)
Romans 10:9 - That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord" and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. (NIV)
Brothers and sisters, Salvation through Jesus involves inward belief, which means we believe it in our hearts, and I want to add we must also believe it in our "gut." If you ever were "church shopping" and you went to several churches before you decided which one you like and wanted to go back and find out more, more than likely you got that "gut feeling." As for me, more often I got the "gut feeling" when I would find that something just did not seem right. I think you all know and understand what I am talking about when I talk about a "gut feeling." I have been in churches over the years and wonder why we did not hear messages about Salvation. I watch the pastors on television and have been to many churches where the complete truth about Jesus is preached and the messages from the pastors in the pulpit always lead to salvation. I know my messages always lead to salvation. When we truly want to follow our Lord Jesus and His commands then we will do these difficult things such as repenting of our sins, turning from our sins, walking with Jesus and telling others of our walk. It is very important that we set a good example or try our very best to set that example when we are working to "win one for Jesus." You need to remember that our job is to bring in the crop, harvest the crop as Jesus puts it, and then after we do that, Jesus will do the saving of the soul. Remember, we can only bring in the crop, we cannot put it up. God Our Father in Heaven lined up Salvation through Jesus. Our job is bringing in the lost. So now as I end the message for today, let me close this way.
Now go forth "bringing in the lost." That is one of the great blessings you can share with others. You share the love of Jesus when you witness to the lost. So go forth, finding the lost, and sharing the love of Jesus with others. Love ya. Now go forth and share my love with others.
Pastor Dan
Tuesday 9/23/14 Five Difficult Things 2
Dear Father in Heaven: I love You very much. Please forgive me of my sins and please, Lord, help me to repent and do my very best not to sin. Please, Lord, be with our military. Be with our pilots flying missions, and please, Lord, above all else, please bring peace to our troubled world. I pray today for our President and I pray first of all for his soul. I do pray he is a Christian and follows and walks with Jesus, and if he does not, I pray he will do that and he will come to you and bring his family with him. Please, dear Lord, be with Tom Kane and Don Coffin, also with Burt and Patsy Emig, and with Eleanor, Dan, Bob, and Sharon Saylor. Please, Lord, have Your healing hand on Glenn and Marie Gamber. Please, Lord, help me with the message of Tuesday and today. And then, Lord, please help me to get them dispatched. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters: Another beautiful day here at the Southern Location of the North Pole. As you know, I am working this week on Five Difficult Things we Christians need to do. There are many more than five, but I just wanted to make a week of it. Sorry that Tuesday is coming out on Wednesday, but Dolores and I had doctors appointments yesterday after which we went to the food store. And I must confess to you that those two things had me in so much pain that once we got home and put things away I came in the house, took Martin Martin Jr., Michael and Marvin and went to bed and did not even answer the phone. Keeping score, that would be I went to bed with two dogs and a cat. (None of us wet the bed!) Anyway, please pray for our nation, our President, and our Navy and Air Force, and those special forces on the ground in those bad areas. Pray also for peace, meaning pray for God the Father to send Jesus back. (The only way we will get peace.)
Tuesday: September 23, 2014: Five Difficult Things (Day Two)
Luke 3:4 - As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him. 5 Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. 6 And all mankind will see God's salvation. (NIV)
Matthew 3:1 - In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2 and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.'" (NIV)
Matthew 4:17 - From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is near." (NIV)
Brothers and sisters, REPENTANCE is one of the "Five Difficult Things" that Jesus wants us to do and what we must do if we are going to walk with Jesus, be a good witness for Him, and then expect Him to stand up for us when we appear at the Throne of God The Father. Jesus will either be our defense attorney or the District Attorney and He will be the one who would say, sorry, I do not know this person. Isaiah the prophet said we would need to repent. Then as Isaiah prophesied, the voice of one appearing in the desert would come and tell people to repent. Then along came Dan the Baptist. No, that would be "John" The Baptist, I only look a tad like John might have looked. Anyway, John left us with the message that Isaiah said he would leave, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." Then after that, Jesus came leaving the same message. "Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is near." Now brothers and sisters, along comes this other old rugged looking man with this same message for everyone. "Repent for Jesus is coming soon." Repent of your sins, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near. So now I am giving the same message to all of you, and yes, even saying it back to me. Repent we must do, all of us, and it is one of those Difficult Things we must do.
I don't know about you, brothers and sisters, but repenting of my sins was and is not easy. Why? I am a sinner by nature, and it is very hard to get rid of old habits. What habits? The habits of sin. I get up in the morning like the rest of you, and I pray that I will walk and follow Jesus and ask to be forgiven of my sins from the day before. Then I think, I did well yesterday, why am I praying for my sins of yesterday to be forgiven? I could say I just want to be sure all my bases are covered. I truly do not remember sinning yesterday, but wait a minute, I was at the food store and I remember thinking, wow, that lady is sure blessed, she is so pretty. And that was not a sin, for I was looking at my wife. (Got ya.) But sometimes at the food store it is hard not to sin. You walk all the way to a place where you just know is the product you want to purchase, only to find out the product has been relocated. Or you find yourself thinking, how can the price be so high? Well, don't you think sometimes that the price of something is a "sin and a shame?" So far I am doing well, and then I bend over the meat freezer in the middle of an aisle and on the other side a lady bends over and, well, she gave me a whole lot to look at, and I sinned and looked. So again I pray that my sins will be forgiven and I know, knowing Jesus the way I do, that He will indeed forgive me of my sins.
So in closing today, I want to say to all of you and also remind myself, that we need to repent, and we should be praying each day not to sin and also for God to help us to repent of any and all sins we do.
Now go forth and repent and also share your blessings. Love ya, and please share my love with others.
Pastor Dan
P.S. Please, please remember to pray for our President and for our military and pray for peace. Also pray that our President might learn to show respect for our military when he salutes them. A token salute while holding a cup of coffee to me shows a LOT OF DISRESPECT for our mighty warriors. And yes, I am sending a copy of this to the White House. Thanks, Pastor Dan
Dear brothers and sisters: Another beautiful day here at the Southern Location of the North Pole. As you know, I am working this week on Five Difficult Things we Christians need to do. There are many more than five, but I just wanted to make a week of it. Sorry that Tuesday is coming out on Wednesday, but Dolores and I had doctors appointments yesterday after which we went to the food store. And I must confess to you that those two things had me in so much pain that once we got home and put things away I came in the house, took Martin Martin Jr., Michael and Marvin and went to bed and did not even answer the phone. Keeping score, that would be I went to bed with two dogs and a cat. (None of us wet the bed!) Anyway, please pray for our nation, our President, and our Navy and Air Force, and those special forces on the ground in those bad areas. Pray also for peace, meaning pray for God the Father to send Jesus back. (The only way we will get peace.)
Tuesday: September 23, 2014: Five Difficult Things (Day Two)
Luke 3:4 - As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him. 5 Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. 6 And all mankind will see God's salvation. (NIV)
Matthew 3:1 - In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2 and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.'" (NIV)
Matthew 4:17 - From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is near." (NIV)
Brothers and sisters, REPENTANCE is one of the "Five Difficult Things" that Jesus wants us to do and what we must do if we are going to walk with Jesus, be a good witness for Him, and then expect Him to stand up for us when we appear at the Throne of God The Father. Jesus will either be our defense attorney or the District Attorney and He will be the one who would say, sorry, I do not know this person. Isaiah the prophet said we would need to repent. Then as Isaiah prophesied, the voice of one appearing in the desert would come and tell people to repent. Then along came Dan the Baptist. No, that would be "John" The Baptist, I only look a tad like John might have looked. Anyway, John left us with the message that Isaiah said he would leave, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." Then after that, Jesus came leaving the same message. "Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is near." Now brothers and sisters, along comes this other old rugged looking man with this same message for everyone. "Repent for Jesus is coming soon." Repent of your sins, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near. So now I am giving the same message to all of you, and yes, even saying it back to me. Repent we must do, all of us, and it is one of those Difficult Things we must do.
I don't know about you, brothers and sisters, but repenting of my sins was and is not easy. Why? I am a sinner by nature, and it is very hard to get rid of old habits. What habits? The habits of sin. I get up in the morning like the rest of you, and I pray that I will walk and follow Jesus and ask to be forgiven of my sins from the day before. Then I think, I did well yesterday, why am I praying for my sins of yesterday to be forgiven? I could say I just want to be sure all my bases are covered. I truly do not remember sinning yesterday, but wait a minute, I was at the food store and I remember thinking, wow, that lady is sure blessed, she is so pretty. And that was not a sin, for I was looking at my wife. (Got ya.) But sometimes at the food store it is hard not to sin. You walk all the way to a place where you just know is the product you want to purchase, only to find out the product has been relocated. Or you find yourself thinking, how can the price be so high? Well, don't you think sometimes that the price of something is a "sin and a shame?" So far I am doing well, and then I bend over the meat freezer in the middle of an aisle and on the other side a lady bends over and, well, she gave me a whole lot to look at, and I sinned and looked. So again I pray that my sins will be forgiven and I know, knowing Jesus the way I do, that He will indeed forgive me of my sins.
So in closing today, I want to say to all of you and also remind myself, that we need to repent, and we should be praying each day not to sin and also for God to help us to repent of any and all sins we do.
Now go forth and repent and also share your blessings. Love ya, and please share my love with others.
Pastor Dan
P.S. Please, please remember to pray for our President and for our military and pray for peace. Also pray that our President might learn to show respect for our military when he salutes them. A token salute while holding a cup of coffee to me shows a LOT OF DISRESPECT for our mighty warriors. And yes, I am sending a copy of this to the White House. Thanks, Pastor Dan
Monday, September 22, 2014
Monday 9/22/14 Five Difficult Things!!!
Dear Father in Heaven: I love You very, very much. Please, dear Lord, forgive me of my sins and help me to repent. Please, Lord, watch over these two bus guys. Lord, please watch over Don Coffin and also Tom Kane. Lord, both of these gentlemen need the Master's touch. Both of them, Lord, love You dearly. Be also with Tom and help him as he leads the bus museum, and please, dear Lord, help get the feud over and done. Please, Lord, help grown men patch things up. Lord, please watch over Glenn and Marie Gamber and keep them safe and healthy. Dear Lord, help me with the messages that I believe You want me to write and then, Lord, help me to get them dispatched. Also, Lord, please help the man who killed the Pennsylvania State Trooper get caught. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Brothers and sisters: This week, I pray God will keep me going on thee messages all week. These I believe are five very hard things that God wants us to do. Oh, and yes, there are more than five. I have just picked five. I will try and bring forth scripture on all five of these. Here they are in no particular order:
1. Forget your past!
2. Don't worry!
3. Love your enemies!
4. Repent!
5. Turn from sin!
Let's get moving on Forgetting your past!
Monday: September 22, 2014: Forget your past!
John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. 18 Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." (NIV)
I used these scriptures today, first because this is where God directed me to go. I want you to look closely at the scripture. Look beyond John 3:16 and look at verses 17 and 18. God did not send Jesus here to condemn the world, and of course that means God did not send Jesus here to condemn you and me but to save us. So once we are saved, once we come to the Lord, once we give the sins of our past over to our Lord Jesus, He is not going to condemn us, so then why in the world do we want to still condemn ourselves? Yes, all of us, all of us, I SAID ALL OF US, have some things in our past, some things in our closet that we do not want others to know about. But brothers and sisters, we made our past, and God knew we would "have a past" so to speak, so He sent us Jesus who went to the tree for us, He gave His life for us so those things we had in our closet would be forgiven and forgotten. Jesus did not have things in His closet, but we did. But once we come to Him, once we ask Him to forgive us, our closet is cleaned. Our past has been wiped clean. Just please remember the good things and forget the past for surely Jesus is not going to bring them up again. So please stop beating yourself up over your past. Jesus has cleared you of your sins, now forget them yourself. And also that means, do not let others hold things over your head about your past. Remember, all of us "have a past." Remind people if they throw something in your ace, that God gave you a clean slate, and if they can't do that for you, then how can Jesus clean their slate? Do you see where I am coming from? Once you are forgiven and you are washed clean by God, then try your best to "REPENT" and to stay clean. Tomorrow, we will be looking at another one of those Difficult things!! And yes, it more than likely will be "Repent."
Now go forth and share your blessings. Get right with Jesus and then forget those bad things from your past. You will feel better about yourself, from the first time you start walking with Jesus. Now go ahead, get cleaned up by Jesus. Love ya, and please pass on my love.
Pastor Dan
Dear Father in Heaven, please forgive me of the sins of my past and wash me clean. Thanks for doing that for me today. I love You and I pray in Jesus Name. Amen.
Brothers and sisters: This week, I pray God will keep me going on thee messages all week. These I believe are five very hard things that God wants us to do. Oh, and yes, there are more than five. I have just picked five. I will try and bring forth scripture on all five of these. Here they are in no particular order:
1. Forget your past!
2. Don't worry!
3. Love your enemies!
4. Repent!
5. Turn from sin!
Let's get moving on Forgetting your past!
Monday: September 22, 2014: Forget your past!
John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. 18 Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." (NIV)
I used these scriptures today, first because this is where God directed me to go. I want you to look closely at the scripture. Look beyond John 3:16 and look at verses 17 and 18. God did not send Jesus here to condemn the world, and of course that means God did not send Jesus here to condemn you and me but to save us. So once we are saved, once we come to the Lord, once we give the sins of our past over to our Lord Jesus, He is not going to condemn us, so then why in the world do we want to still condemn ourselves? Yes, all of us, all of us, I SAID ALL OF US, have some things in our past, some things in our closet that we do not want others to know about. But brothers and sisters, we made our past, and God knew we would "have a past" so to speak, so He sent us Jesus who went to the tree for us, He gave His life for us so those things we had in our closet would be forgiven and forgotten. Jesus did not have things in His closet, but we did. But once we come to Him, once we ask Him to forgive us, our closet is cleaned. Our past has been wiped clean. Just please remember the good things and forget the past for surely Jesus is not going to bring them up again. So please stop beating yourself up over your past. Jesus has cleared you of your sins, now forget them yourself. And also that means, do not let others hold things over your head about your past. Remember, all of us "have a past." Remind people if they throw something in your ace, that God gave you a clean slate, and if they can't do that for you, then how can Jesus clean their slate? Do you see where I am coming from? Once you are forgiven and you are washed clean by God, then try your best to "REPENT" and to stay clean. Tomorrow, we will be looking at another one of those Difficult things!! And yes, it more than likely will be "Repent."
Now go forth and share your blessings. Get right with Jesus and then forget those bad things from your past. You will feel better about yourself, from the first time you start walking with Jesus. Now go ahead, get cleaned up by Jesus. Love ya, and please pass on my love.
Pastor Dan
Dear Father in Heaven, please forgive me of the sins of my past and wash me clean. Thanks for doing that for me today. I love You and I pray in Jesus Name. Amen.
Friday, September 19, 2014
Friday 9/19/14 Lazarus
Dear Father in Heaven: I love You. Please forgive me of my sins and help me to repent and try my best not to do them again. I confess I am a sinner and I need Your help in repenting. Father, thanks for watching over family and friends, and Father, thanks for sending Jesus to save me. I love You, Father in Heaven. Holy Spirit, come over us this day. You are welcome in our home that our Father has provided for us. Lord, be with all those working in the fields of Harvest this weekend, and keep them healthy and safe. Please, Lord, help me now with the message and then help me dispatch it. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters, after talking with our Lord, I am going to make an attempt at a different look at an old subject, Lazarus. You do remember Lazarus, right? Let me get right to it.
Friday: September 19, 2014: Lazarus!
John 11:38 - Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 "Take away the stone," He said. "But Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days." 40 Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" 41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard me. 42 I knew that You always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that You sent Me." 43 When He had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus come out!" 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go." (NIV)
Jesus said and it is quoted in John 11:25 ...
John 11:25 - Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26 and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" (NIV)
So right now I want to ask all of you this question. Do you believe this statement that Jesus made to Martha? And if you do, how might it apply to you?
Let me take one question at a time. First, do I believe this statement that Jesus made to Martha? Yes, of course I believe, for a few reasons. First of all, our Lord Jesus would not lie about anything. Second, it is recorded in my Bible and I believe everything that is in my Bible without exception.
Next question, how might this apply to me? First of all, I believe that Jesus can raise people from the dead, even today, and I have heard people testify that they had died and Jesus sent them back, that He was not ready for them. I also have a granddaughter named Brittney that had died and was snapped back to life at an accident scene. So I know it is fact and it even happened in our very own family. We also know that Jesus Himself had died and was risen from the dead by our dear Father in Heaven.j But I want to put a personal touch on this. I myself have been risen from the dead!! Hear me out on this one. Once I tell you my story you might say, something like, that has happened to me.
Now remember that when we speak of Lazarus he was very sick and had passed away before Jesus got to his home, so He, Jesus, could not heal Lazarus. So Lazarus passed away and was readied for the grave. He was wrapped in grave clothes and spices put on his body. When I look t this story I like to picture what it might have been like to see Lazarus walking out of the grave. I want you to think about this before I go into my story, and that is think about Lazarus and then think about all the graves that are going to burst open when our Lord returns. There are going to be a lot of people walking out of those graves, some wrapped in clothes and others whose bones might just be like a pile of bones. Old wooden coffins will be broken open and those heavy cement tops of the strong boxes that those coffins were in will be tossed about like a child's toy. Think about this, those who have been cremated, put in a small urn, think about that top coming off and a stream of dust coming out. Might it look like "Major Nelson, watching Genie coming out of her bottle?" Think about it as that cloud of dust takes on the form of the heavenly body. Think about those things while I tell you my story and ask you how many of you might relate to this.
I had died, yes, I was dead, dead, my friends, really dead. I was raised by Christian parents and after mamma passed away, I walked away from Jesus. It does not make a different how I spell this out, I was dead to sin, I really was. Oh, I messed around a few times, I went to church a few times but never really had been "risen" from my dead self and was not walking in tune with God. No, I was walking more in tune with Satan but never considered it like that. In all sense of it, I was a "dead man walking." I surely was not walking with Jesus, I was not, and had my ticket been punched, I would have surely perished. But then Jesus, who had not given up on me, called me out. Dan Lehman, come forth!! I had been through a few things and had some major setbacks and again was dead in sin. I knew this was wrong, I would talk to a nun, one of the sisters from St. Margaret Mary's school and convent in Penbrook, PA. She told me Jesus had something better in store for me. Then Betsy, one of my customers, invited me t church with her then friend Don and I took them up on the offer. I was talking a lot to a black minister who was a customer at our service station. Jesus was calling me. Dan Lehman, come forth, and He was sending in His workers to help get me. He sent a nun, and I am not Catholic. He sent a black pastor, and I had never attended the church he pastored. He sent customers who sent to church in downtown Harrisburg where I never attended. Dan Lehman, come forth out of that sin, do you hear me? Then He sent someone else, He sent Dolores, and she had a team with her. A team, mind you. They were The Couriers, and along with Dolores came Duane, Neil, Phil, Doug, and this very young man named Timothy. Also came Phil and Marie, and a host of other Christians. Jesus said, come forth, Dan Lehman, walk away from being dead in sin and come back to me. Come forth, Dan Lehman, come forth. I was so blessed. It was not easy, my walk back was not always easy, but it has been very rewarding. Jesus not only called me back from the dead, He said to me, come forth, Dan Lehman, I need you to work for me. I need you in the fields of Harvest, Satan is not going to get you, Dan Lehman, because I have you now. Climb aboard that Gospel Train and follow me. Come forth and join the living. PRAISE GOD, FOR HE IS GOOD.
Do you have a Lazarus Story? Have you been called back from the dead? I have, and I am so blessed. Just because you are not Catholic, don't think God might not use a priest or sister to help you. Just because you are not black or white or another color that Jesus will not send you someone of another to work for Him. Remember and think about this, there is only one race, just one, the human race. So if you are walking on the dark side, if you are walking in sin, please do not close off your hearing, for Jesus might be calling you as He did me.
Dan Lehman, come forth, and I did, now He is telling me, Come forth and share your blessings, and I have been. Time to tell you this, go and share your blessings and the love of Jesus. I love ya. Please share that love also.
Pastor Dan
Dear brothers and sisters, after talking with our Lord, I am going to make an attempt at a different look at an old subject, Lazarus. You do remember Lazarus, right? Let me get right to it.
Friday: September 19, 2014: Lazarus!
John 11:38 - Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 "Take away the stone," He said. "But Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days." 40 Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" 41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard me. 42 I knew that You always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that You sent Me." 43 When He had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus come out!" 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go." (NIV)
Jesus said and it is quoted in John 11:25 ...
John 11:25 - Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26 and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" (NIV)
So right now I want to ask all of you this question. Do you believe this statement that Jesus made to Martha? And if you do, how might it apply to you?
Let me take one question at a time. First, do I believe this statement that Jesus made to Martha? Yes, of course I believe, for a few reasons. First of all, our Lord Jesus would not lie about anything. Second, it is recorded in my Bible and I believe everything that is in my Bible without exception.
Next question, how might this apply to me? First of all, I believe that Jesus can raise people from the dead, even today, and I have heard people testify that they had died and Jesus sent them back, that He was not ready for them. I also have a granddaughter named Brittney that had died and was snapped back to life at an accident scene. So I know it is fact and it even happened in our very own family. We also know that Jesus Himself had died and was risen from the dead by our dear Father in Heaven.j But I want to put a personal touch on this. I myself have been risen from the dead!! Hear me out on this one. Once I tell you my story you might say, something like, that has happened to me.
Now remember that when we speak of Lazarus he was very sick and had passed away before Jesus got to his home, so He, Jesus, could not heal Lazarus. So Lazarus passed away and was readied for the grave. He was wrapped in grave clothes and spices put on his body. When I look t this story I like to picture what it might have been like to see Lazarus walking out of the grave. I want you to think about this before I go into my story, and that is think about Lazarus and then think about all the graves that are going to burst open when our Lord returns. There are going to be a lot of people walking out of those graves, some wrapped in clothes and others whose bones might just be like a pile of bones. Old wooden coffins will be broken open and those heavy cement tops of the strong boxes that those coffins were in will be tossed about like a child's toy. Think about this, those who have been cremated, put in a small urn, think about that top coming off and a stream of dust coming out. Might it look like "Major Nelson, watching Genie coming out of her bottle?" Think about it as that cloud of dust takes on the form of the heavenly body. Think about those things while I tell you my story and ask you how many of you might relate to this.
I had died, yes, I was dead, dead, my friends, really dead. I was raised by Christian parents and after mamma passed away, I walked away from Jesus. It does not make a different how I spell this out, I was dead to sin, I really was. Oh, I messed around a few times, I went to church a few times but never really had been "risen" from my dead self and was not walking in tune with God. No, I was walking more in tune with Satan but never considered it like that. In all sense of it, I was a "dead man walking." I surely was not walking with Jesus, I was not, and had my ticket been punched, I would have surely perished. But then Jesus, who had not given up on me, called me out. Dan Lehman, come forth!! I had been through a few things and had some major setbacks and again was dead in sin. I knew this was wrong, I would talk to a nun, one of the sisters from St. Margaret Mary's school and convent in Penbrook, PA. She told me Jesus had something better in store for me. Then Betsy, one of my customers, invited me t church with her then friend Don and I took them up on the offer. I was talking a lot to a black minister who was a customer at our service station. Jesus was calling me. Dan Lehman, come forth, and He was sending in His workers to help get me. He sent a nun, and I am not Catholic. He sent a black pastor, and I had never attended the church he pastored. He sent customers who sent to church in downtown Harrisburg where I never attended. Dan Lehman, come forth out of that sin, do you hear me? Then He sent someone else, He sent Dolores, and she had a team with her. A team, mind you. They were The Couriers, and along with Dolores came Duane, Neil, Phil, Doug, and this very young man named Timothy. Also came Phil and Marie, and a host of other Christians. Jesus said, come forth, Dan Lehman, walk away from being dead in sin and come back to me. Come forth, Dan Lehman, come forth. I was so blessed. It was not easy, my walk back was not always easy, but it has been very rewarding. Jesus not only called me back from the dead, He said to me, come forth, Dan Lehman, I need you to work for me. I need you in the fields of Harvest, Satan is not going to get you, Dan Lehman, because I have you now. Climb aboard that Gospel Train and follow me. Come forth and join the living. PRAISE GOD, FOR HE IS GOOD.
Do you have a Lazarus Story? Have you been called back from the dead? I have, and I am so blessed. Just because you are not Catholic, don't think God might not use a priest or sister to help you. Just because you are not black or white or another color that Jesus will not send you someone of another to work for Him. Remember and think about this, there is only one race, just one, the human race. So if you are walking on the dark side, if you are walking in sin, please do not close off your hearing, for Jesus might be calling you as He did me.
Dan Lehman, come forth, and I did, now He is telling me, Come forth and share your blessings, and I have been. Time to tell you this, go and share your blessings and the love of Jesus. I love ya. Please share that love also.
Pastor Dan
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Wednesday 9/17/14 Salvation
Dear Father in Heaven: I love You very, very much. Please, dear Father, forgive me of my sins and help me to repent. Please, Lord, be with families, and Lord, please watch over our flock at The Bridges and our flock on this line. Lord, please watch over the Saylor family, the Emig family, the Crockett family, the Lehman family, and all other families that use this line. Lord, please help us on this day we call Salvation Wednesday to seek out the lost and try our very best to get them to Your feet to be saved. Lord, please help me with the message today and help me then to get it dispatched. In the Name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
Brothers and sisters, what a beautiful Salvation Wednesday here at the Southern Location of the North Pole. This being Salvation Wednesday I talked to our Good Lord seeking to talk to you folks about salvation, and of course the only way we have salvation is salvation through Jesus Christ. Please keep praying daily for our country and that our great country would return to God. It seems every day you hear about someone giving in to someone to remove Jesus. Just this past week after Robert Griffin III was hurt in the football game, he showed up on the sidelines wearing a t-shirt that had KnoW Jesus KnoW peace on it. He was told to remove it or cover it because it was not made by Nike so RG3 turned the shirt inside out to avoid a fine. I would pray that if it was me, I would have stood firm and paid the fine. Come on, RG3, God lent you the talent, remember He can take it back. Quoting Rush Limbaugh, "Talent on loan from GOD." So let us get to the message, "Salvation."
Salvation Wednesday: September 17, 2014: Salvation
Jesus Comforts His Disciples
John 14:1 - "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father's house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going."
Jesus the Way to the Father
John 14:5 - Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" 6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (NIV)
To show you that Salvation today is the same as when Jesus was comforting His disciples, I want to write out for you one of my favorite scriptures.
Hebrews 13:8 - Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today and forever." (NIV)
Now picture yourself, as I am also going to picture myself, sitting at the feet of Jesus as He comforts us and tells us the way to get to Heaven. We have an advantage over His disciples of those days as we have seen how Jesus went on ahead of us after giving His life for us on the cross and then being risen from the dead. It now becomes our job first of all to be sure, to be really sure that we are saved, and I mean saved as in being filled with the Holy Ghost and bubbling all over because of your excitement in going out working for Christ. We need to BE ON FIRE FOR JESUS when we walk into the fields of Harvest for our Lord Jesus. We need to be excited about it, and most of all we of course must believe in what is in the Bible, we should not e questioning things. We need to shout it out, we need to wear Jesus on our sleeves, we need to be confident in our love for Him and of course His love for us. If you have on that t-shirt that talks about Jesus, let it talk, do not turn it inside out. Let people see that you walk in step with Jesus, that you live for Jesus, that you want to work for Jesus every day, not just an hour on Sunday. Witnessing for Jesus is a daily thing, 24 hours per day. At any given time someone might walk up to you and want to know about Jesus. Be ready to stand up for Jesus. I have heard people who claim to be Christians who say they do not want to discuss religion or politics. Knowing Jesus and loving Jesus is not a religion. When we get to heaven we will find that there will be people there who worshiped with the Jehovah's Witnesses or the Mormons. You remember the song, and we sang it a lot. It is not what is over the door of the church you attend that gets you into heaven, it is what is in your very own heart. When you stand at the gate, are you going to say, excuse me a minute, I need to turn my shirt right side out?
With the changes we have been making with Carry The Light Ministries, I have prayed over and over again we are doing the right thing. God keeps me on track and keeps telling me just keep living for Him and other doors will be opened. Are you ready to stand and fight for Jesus? I can remember how I had to fight with PennDot because I had crosses painted on our cars and they did not want to issue the license plates for the cars. By the way, we won that one for the Lord! Stand up for Jesus is not just a song, stand up for Jesus is what we need to do. Leaning on Jesus is not just a song, we need to learn to lean on Jesus. I love to tell the story is not just a song, we need to really love to tell the story and we need to tell it over and over again. In The Garden is not jut a song, Jesus went to The Garden and prayed. We need to do the same thing. The Old Rugged Cross is not just a song, it really happened, Jesus died on the Cross for you and for me. We need to sing those songs and then tell people why we stand and sing those songs.
Brothers and sisters, we need to talk, walk, eat, live, sleep, and share our love and life with Jesus and tell others how we feel. Again I tell you first you need to be sure of your own salvation through Jesus. If you still think going to a certain church or working for that church is going to get you into heaven, think again! Get on your knees and invite Jesus into your heart, really invite Him in and live for Him. It is exciting and I am here to tell you, once you do that, you will never ever be the same. After you have the Holy Ghost in you, then go out and share that love and the Love of Jesus with the world. Start with your family and then in your own neighborhood. Carry Jesus with you when you go to the beauty shop, the barber shop, the food store, carry Jesus wherever you go and show others how much you love Him. Do not turn your shirt inside out, for I am here to tell you if you turn your shirt inside out, then you will also turn your heart inside out. Amen.
Now go forth and share the love of Jesus which is your best blessing and then share the other blessings that come along when you love Jesus. Love ya. Please pass on my love to others.
Pastor Dan
Brothers and sisters, what a beautiful Salvation Wednesday here at the Southern Location of the North Pole. This being Salvation Wednesday I talked to our Good Lord seeking to talk to you folks about salvation, and of course the only way we have salvation is salvation through Jesus Christ. Please keep praying daily for our country and that our great country would return to God. It seems every day you hear about someone giving in to someone to remove Jesus. Just this past week after Robert Griffin III was hurt in the football game, he showed up on the sidelines wearing a t-shirt that had KnoW Jesus KnoW peace on it. He was told to remove it or cover it because it was not made by Nike so RG3 turned the shirt inside out to avoid a fine. I would pray that if it was me, I would have stood firm and paid the fine. Come on, RG3, God lent you the talent, remember He can take it back. Quoting Rush Limbaugh, "Talent on loan from GOD." So let us get to the message, "Salvation."
Salvation Wednesday: September 17, 2014: Salvation
Jesus Comforts His Disciples
John 14:1 - "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father's house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going."
Jesus the Way to the Father
John 14:5 - Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" 6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (NIV)
To show you that Salvation today is the same as when Jesus was comforting His disciples, I want to write out for you one of my favorite scriptures.
Hebrews 13:8 - Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today and forever." (NIV)
Now picture yourself, as I am also going to picture myself, sitting at the feet of Jesus as He comforts us and tells us the way to get to Heaven. We have an advantage over His disciples of those days as we have seen how Jesus went on ahead of us after giving His life for us on the cross and then being risen from the dead. It now becomes our job first of all to be sure, to be really sure that we are saved, and I mean saved as in being filled with the Holy Ghost and bubbling all over because of your excitement in going out working for Christ. We need to BE ON FIRE FOR JESUS when we walk into the fields of Harvest for our Lord Jesus. We need to be excited about it, and most of all we of course must believe in what is in the Bible, we should not e questioning things. We need to shout it out, we need to wear Jesus on our sleeves, we need to be confident in our love for Him and of course His love for us. If you have on that t-shirt that talks about Jesus, let it talk, do not turn it inside out. Let people see that you walk in step with Jesus, that you live for Jesus, that you want to work for Jesus every day, not just an hour on Sunday. Witnessing for Jesus is a daily thing, 24 hours per day. At any given time someone might walk up to you and want to know about Jesus. Be ready to stand up for Jesus. I have heard people who claim to be Christians who say they do not want to discuss religion or politics. Knowing Jesus and loving Jesus is not a religion. When we get to heaven we will find that there will be people there who worshiped with the Jehovah's Witnesses or the Mormons. You remember the song, and we sang it a lot. It is not what is over the door of the church you attend that gets you into heaven, it is what is in your very own heart. When you stand at the gate, are you going to say, excuse me a minute, I need to turn my shirt right side out?
With the changes we have been making with Carry The Light Ministries, I have prayed over and over again we are doing the right thing. God keeps me on track and keeps telling me just keep living for Him and other doors will be opened. Are you ready to stand and fight for Jesus? I can remember how I had to fight with PennDot because I had crosses painted on our cars and they did not want to issue the license plates for the cars. By the way, we won that one for the Lord! Stand up for Jesus is not just a song, stand up for Jesus is what we need to do. Leaning on Jesus is not just a song, we need to learn to lean on Jesus. I love to tell the story is not just a song, we need to really love to tell the story and we need to tell it over and over again. In The Garden is not jut a song, Jesus went to The Garden and prayed. We need to do the same thing. The Old Rugged Cross is not just a song, it really happened, Jesus died on the Cross for you and for me. We need to sing those songs and then tell people why we stand and sing those songs.
Brothers and sisters, we need to talk, walk, eat, live, sleep, and share our love and life with Jesus and tell others how we feel. Again I tell you first you need to be sure of your own salvation through Jesus. If you still think going to a certain church or working for that church is going to get you into heaven, think again! Get on your knees and invite Jesus into your heart, really invite Him in and live for Him. It is exciting and I am here to tell you, once you do that, you will never ever be the same. After you have the Holy Ghost in you, then go out and share that love and the Love of Jesus with the world. Start with your family and then in your own neighborhood. Carry Jesus with you when you go to the beauty shop, the barber shop, the food store, carry Jesus wherever you go and show others how much you love Him. Do not turn your shirt inside out, for I am here to tell you if you turn your shirt inside out, then you will also turn your heart inside out. Amen.
Now go forth and share the love of Jesus which is your best blessing and then share the other blessings that come along when you love Jesus. Love ya. Please pass on my love to others.
Pastor Dan
Monday, September 15, 2014
Monday 9/15/14 The Good Samaritan
Dear Father in Heaven: I love You very, very much. Please forgive me of my sins and help me repent this day. Please walk with me and help me walk with You each day of my life. Thanks for granting us another day on this earth in our land we call America. Thanks for our family and friends and thanks for watching over them. Please, Lord, continue that blessing. Please keep watch over our online flock and our flock at The Bridges. Please, Lord, be with Burt and Patsy, and also with Dolores and take away their pain. Be with our neighbor JJ who fell and fractured her back. Lord, please watch over our nation. Please be with President Obama and all his staff. Please be with our veterans and our current military. Please be with the governors of all of our states, and Lord, please bring peace to the world. Again, Lord, I want to tell You that I love You dearly. Now please help me with the message and then please help me to dispatch it In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Brothers and sisters, I am going to be talking to you this day about the story of the Good Samaritan, as I relate to you a true story that happened just outside of Carlisle, PA, on Sunday, September 7, 2014. I am even going to use names as they appeared in the story that I have followed in "The Sentinel" which is listed as Cumberland County's only daily newspaper. As we get started let us look over the "Parable of The Good Samaritan."
The Parable of the Good Samaritan, Luke Chapter 11
25 One occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
26 "What is written in the Law?" He replied. "How do you read it?"
27 He answered, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
28 "You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
30 In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took our two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'
36 "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
37 The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise." (NIV)
The complete account of my Good Samaritan story can be found in The Sentinel on Tuesday, September 9, 2014, and on Thursday, September 11, 2014. Here is the base of the story.
On Sunday morning, September 7, 2014, at about 8:30 AM, the Eberly family was on their way to church when they came across a person lying on the ground surrounded by luggage near the end of the family's driveway in the 1100 block of South Spring Garden Street. According to Carol Eberly, the family believed the man, who was later identified as Joseph Mahoney, of Carlisle, was intoxicated and unconscious. Her husband, Wendell, returned to their home to call police. "We thought it was just a pile of garbage until we got closer and the foot was sticking out," Carol Eberly said. "That's when my husband called police." The county police dispatcher said she was told it was a non-emergency and the man was intoxicated and sleeping on the side of the road. The county dispatcher determined that the call should have gone to the Pennsylvania State Police and gave Mr. Eberly the correct phone number to notify our very fine Pennsylvania State Police. This time the husband, Wendell Eberly, told the State Police that a man "was asleep on the side of the road." Carol Eberly said she and her children left for church when Wendell went back to the home to make the call, and Wendell followed shortly after calling State Police. Carol Eberly said "the family did not think there was anything they could do for the man and they wanted police to handle the response." According to the paper, more than four hours later, the Eberly family returned home from church and found Mahoney's body still lying in the driveway. A family member called State Police again around 12:30 PM and told police they believed the man was intoxicated.
The police then responded and found the man to be deceased. Beside that, according to the paper Mr. Mahoney was tied up, his hands and his feet bound and he had been beaten to death. Now that is the story, shortened a tad, but the names are correct as far as I have gone.
According to The Sentinel, three have been charged with Mahoney's murder. Stephanie Scott, her 17-year old son Duane Fason, Jr., and Kaysean Smith. So why am I writing about this story? I think we all need to take another look at The Parable of The Good Samaritan, and also maybe, just maybe, what might be being taught in the church. By the way, I have no idea what church the Eberly family was heading to.
So what happened? The family "on their way to church" see a man lying at the end of their driveway and passed by without taking a good look." Passed by without checking the man out, just thinking because he was lying along the road he was sleeping off a drunk. I pray that pastors all around might pick up on this story and ask what people might do. My gosh, I pray first that no body is dumped at the end of our driveway, but I do pray that if a person would be found lying at the end of our driveway that if I was leaving the house for any reason I would stop and check on the person. My gosh, at the end of my driveway, well, that could be me or Dolores, the way we get around, I feel that our neighbors would stop and check. Here was a man who fell victim to murderers and then to "Christians?" Who without really checking just determined that the man was sleeping off a drunk. Did they profile the deceased? Think about it and please answer this. How would you have handled it if you were on your way to church? And Pastors on this line, the facts are true, you can check them out. Is it time for a review at the church you pastor? Christians, please wake up, I am sure this one did not please God. Amen.
Dear Father, please comfort the family of Mr. Mahoney and take care of them. Have mercy on the folks who murdered this man, and Lord, also the Eberly family. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Now go forth and share your blessings, and if you see a person lying alongside the road, be a GOOD SAMARITAN. Love ya. Please pass on my love to others.
Pastor Dan
Brothers and sisters, I am going to be talking to you this day about the story of the Good Samaritan, as I relate to you a true story that happened just outside of Carlisle, PA, on Sunday, September 7, 2014. I am even going to use names as they appeared in the story that I have followed in "The Sentinel" which is listed as Cumberland County's only daily newspaper. As we get started let us look over the "Parable of The Good Samaritan."
The Parable of the Good Samaritan, Luke Chapter 11
25 One occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
26 "What is written in the Law?" He replied. "How do you read it?"
27 He answered, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
28 "You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
30 In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took our two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'
36 "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
37 The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise." (NIV)
The complete account of my Good Samaritan story can be found in The Sentinel on Tuesday, September 9, 2014, and on Thursday, September 11, 2014. Here is the base of the story.
On Sunday morning, September 7, 2014, at about 8:30 AM, the Eberly family was on their way to church when they came across a person lying on the ground surrounded by luggage near the end of the family's driveway in the 1100 block of South Spring Garden Street. According to Carol Eberly, the family believed the man, who was later identified as Joseph Mahoney, of Carlisle, was intoxicated and unconscious. Her husband, Wendell, returned to their home to call police. "We thought it was just a pile of garbage until we got closer and the foot was sticking out," Carol Eberly said. "That's when my husband called police." The county police dispatcher said she was told it was a non-emergency and the man was intoxicated and sleeping on the side of the road. The county dispatcher determined that the call should have gone to the Pennsylvania State Police and gave Mr. Eberly the correct phone number to notify our very fine Pennsylvania State Police. This time the husband, Wendell Eberly, told the State Police that a man "was asleep on the side of the road." Carol Eberly said she and her children left for church when Wendell went back to the home to make the call, and Wendell followed shortly after calling State Police. Carol Eberly said "the family did not think there was anything they could do for the man and they wanted police to handle the response." According to the paper, more than four hours later, the Eberly family returned home from church and found Mahoney's body still lying in the driveway. A family member called State Police again around 12:30 PM and told police they believed the man was intoxicated.
The police then responded and found the man to be deceased. Beside that, according to the paper Mr. Mahoney was tied up, his hands and his feet bound and he had been beaten to death. Now that is the story, shortened a tad, but the names are correct as far as I have gone.
According to The Sentinel, three have been charged with Mahoney's murder. Stephanie Scott, her 17-year old son Duane Fason, Jr., and Kaysean Smith. So why am I writing about this story? I think we all need to take another look at The Parable of The Good Samaritan, and also maybe, just maybe, what might be being taught in the church. By the way, I have no idea what church the Eberly family was heading to.
So what happened? The family "on their way to church" see a man lying at the end of their driveway and passed by without taking a good look." Passed by without checking the man out, just thinking because he was lying along the road he was sleeping off a drunk. I pray that pastors all around might pick up on this story and ask what people might do. My gosh, I pray first that no body is dumped at the end of our driveway, but I do pray that if a person would be found lying at the end of our driveway that if I was leaving the house for any reason I would stop and check on the person. My gosh, at the end of my driveway, well, that could be me or Dolores, the way we get around, I feel that our neighbors would stop and check. Here was a man who fell victim to murderers and then to "Christians?" Who without really checking just determined that the man was sleeping off a drunk. Did they profile the deceased? Think about it and please answer this. How would you have handled it if you were on your way to church? And Pastors on this line, the facts are true, you can check them out. Is it time for a review at the church you pastor? Christians, please wake up, I am sure this one did not please God. Amen.
Dear Father, please comfort the family of Mr. Mahoney and take care of them. Have mercy on the folks who murdered this man, and Lord, also the Eberly family. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Now go forth and share your blessings, and if you see a person lying alongside the road, be a GOOD SAMARITAN. Love ya. Please pass on my love to others.
Pastor Dan
Friday, September 12, 2014
Friday 9/12/14 The Shepherd 6
Dear Father in Heaven: I love You very much. Thanks for keeping watch over us when we are wake and when we sleep. Thanks for walking near us even when we walk far from You. Help me this day repent and walk nearer and nearer to You each day. Please be with our flock on this line and our flock at The Bridges. Father, watch over our nation, and Lord, watch over our pilots in our Navy and Air Force as they fly missions. Now, Lord, help me with the message and then to dispatch it. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Brothers and sisters, I am going to try and wrap up the messages on the 23rd Psalm today. I pray going over this Psalm and relating it to Jesus, The Shepherd, has helped comfort you. Next week, a local story of a "good Samaritan." You will not want to miss this. Now to the message.
Friday: September 12, 2014: The Shepherd (Day Six)
Psalm 23:1 - The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He restores my soul, He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me. Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (NIV)
Psalm 23:6 - 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)
Psalm 23:6 - Your goodness and unfailing kindness shall be with me all of my life, and afterwards I will live with You forever in Your home. (TLB)
Once again I wrote out the complete Psalm so we could take a good look at it again. Then I wrote out our verse for today from two additional versions of the Bible. The Great Comforter is not the 23rd Psalm but about The Lord who is The Great Shepherd who is featured in the Psalm.
Today put yourself in the shoes of the Psalmist and you are the one talking to God or in deep prayer with God for you need that comfort that only our Lord Jesus can provide. You pray, "Your goodness, and your kindness shall never leave me now that I have come to You. You comfort me and help me for the rest of my life. Then You are going to invite me to Your house to spend 'forever and ever'." And then I add this. I love You, Lord.
Brothers and sisters, I really want you to think about this. While we are here on earth, our Lord Jesus watches over us, but some sweet day we are going to meet Him face to face and we are going to sit with Him to eat. The biggest thing is, we must be saved to enjoy all of this, we must be "BORN AGAIN." Someone once asked me, are you one of those "Born Again Christians"? I boldly told them, if you ain't "Born Again," you ain't a Christian. And if you ain't "Born Again," you ain't getting into Heaven. So today, it is only fitting that I close by praying a sinners' prayer with all of you. I cannot pray this one for you, I can only lead you.
Dear Father in Heaven, please forgive me of my sins. Help me repent and then, Lord, come into my heart and stay. I love You and I want to follow You all the days of my life. Please forgive me. Asking the Father in the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Now go forth and share your blessings. Love ya. Please pass on my love.
Pastor Dan
Brothers and sisters, I am going to try and wrap up the messages on the 23rd Psalm today. I pray going over this Psalm and relating it to Jesus, The Shepherd, has helped comfort you. Next week, a local story of a "good Samaritan." You will not want to miss this. Now to the message.
Friday: September 12, 2014: The Shepherd (Day Six)
Psalm 23:1 - The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He restores my soul, He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me. Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (NIV)
Psalm 23:6 - 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)
Psalm 23:6 - Your goodness and unfailing kindness shall be with me all of my life, and afterwards I will live with You forever in Your home. (TLB)
Once again I wrote out the complete Psalm so we could take a good look at it again. Then I wrote out our verse for today from two additional versions of the Bible. The Great Comforter is not the 23rd Psalm but about The Lord who is The Great Shepherd who is featured in the Psalm.
Today put yourself in the shoes of the Psalmist and you are the one talking to God or in deep prayer with God for you need that comfort that only our Lord Jesus can provide. You pray, "Your goodness, and your kindness shall never leave me now that I have come to You. You comfort me and help me for the rest of my life. Then You are going to invite me to Your house to spend 'forever and ever'." And then I add this. I love You, Lord.
Brothers and sisters, I really want you to think about this. While we are here on earth, our Lord Jesus watches over us, but some sweet day we are going to meet Him face to face and we are going to sit with Him to eat. The biggest thing is, we must be saved to enjoy all of this, we must be "BORN AGAIN." Someone once asked me, are you one of those "Born Again Christians"? I boldly told them, if you ain't "Born Again," you ain't a Christian. And if you ain't "Born Again," you ain't getting into Heaven. So today, it is only fitting that I close by praying a sinners' prayer with all of you. I cannot pray this one for you, I can only lead you.
Dear Father in Heaven, please forgive me of my sins. Help me repent and then, Lord, come into my heart and stay. I love You and I want to follow You all the days of my life. Please forgive me. Asking the Father in the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Now go forth and share your blessings. Love ya. Please pass on my love.
Pastor Dan
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Thursday 9/11/14 The Shepherd 5
Dear brothers and sisters, please join me in prayer for our nation on this 9/11/2014, remembering the events of 9/11/2001 and also the event of 9/11/2012. Let's pray first for our sins to be covered by the blood of Jesus.
Dear Father in Heaven: Please forgive us, forgive me of my sins and cover them this day with the Blood of Jesus shed for us. Lord, I pray for our nation today and for the families of all those murdered in the events of 9/11/2001 in New York, Washington, and Shenksville. Lord, this should have awakened America, but I am not sure we are remembering. Please watch over our warriors who have been at war because of the events. Heal those who have been wounded and be with the loved ones of those who gave all for this nation. Bless them please, and please, Lord, bless America. Now, Lord, please help me with the daily message and then help me to dispatch it. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Brothers and sisters, please be alert today, and again, please pray for our Nation. I want to get to the message right now. Get some of it done before the President's speech. (Yes, I am writing this on Salvation Wednesday evening.) Let me get moving on The Shepherd.
Thursday, September 11, 2014: The Shepherd (Day Five)
Psalm 23:1 - The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He restores my soul, He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me. Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (NIV)
Psalm 23:5 - Thou prepares a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over. (KJV)
Psalm 23:5 - You provide delicious food for me in the presence of my enemies. You have welcomed me as your guest, blessings overflow! (TLB)
Once again I have written out the 23rd Psalm so we could read it as a complete comforting scripture, and then I am breaking out the verse for today and how it is helping me as we move forward with the Ministry that God has trusted unto us.
In the first part of the scripture, it says that God has prepared a table for me and that He provided delicious food. This is a fact and God has done this for me EVEN BEFORE I came to Him. He has looked after me, and I have had food. But what does it really mean? He has invited me to His table. His arms have been open and He has fed not just my body with real food, but He has provided me with a way to have my sins forgiven. In other words, He has been "feeding my soul."
In the next part it talks about Him anointing my head with oil. Although He did not reach down and do it on His own, I have been anointed in His name by pastors and even my dear friend Wanda who when they stand in for our Lord are doing the work that God has directed them to do. Again this also means we have been invited to His table.
The last part of Psalm 23:5, My cup runneth over. Here He is telling us and showing all of us, and I really appreciate it, that we have many blessings, so many, and He has also shown me over the years if I really share my blessings I will receive more. People talk about how you look at a cup, is it half full or half empty? Brothers and sisters, when you truly follow Jesus, your cup will overflow. None of the half full or half empty thing, it is overflowing. We are so blessed and this is comforting to me as we shift gears in our work for Him. THANK YOU, JESUS. Amen.
Now go forth and share your blessings, and when done in faith, stand back and watch them grow. Love ya, and please share my love with others.
Pastor Dan
Dear Father in Heaven: Please forgive us, forgive me of my sins and cover them this day with the Blood of Jesus shed for us. Lord, I pray for our nation today and for the families of all those murdered in the events of 9/11/2001 in New York, Washington, and Shenksville. Lord, this should have awakened America, but I am not sure we are remembering. Please watch over our warriors who have been at war because of the events. Heal those who have been wounded and be with the loved ones of those who gave all for this nation. Bless them please, and please, Lord, bless America. Now, Lord, please help me with the daily message and then help me to dispatch it. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Brothers and sisters, please be alert today, and again, please pray for our Nation. I want to get to the message right now. Get some of it done before the President's speech. (Yes, I am writing this on Salvation Wednesday evening.) Let me get moving on The Shepherd.
Thursday, September 11, 2014: The Shepherd (Day Five)
Psalm 23:1 - The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He restores my soul, He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me. Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (NIV)
Psalm 23:5 - Thou prepares a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over. (KJV)
Psalm 23:5 - You provide delicious food for me in the presence of my enemies. You have welcomed me as your guest, blessings overflow! (TLB)
Once again I have written out the 23rd Psalm so we could read it as a complete comforting scripture, and then I am breaking out the verse for today and how it is helping me as we move forward with the Ministry that God has trusted unto us.
In the first part of the scripture, it says that God has prepared a table for me and that He provided delicious food. This is a fact and God has done this for me EVEN BEFORE I came to Him. He has looked after me, and I have had food. But what does it really mean? He has invited me to His table. His arms have been open and He has fed not just my body with real food, but He has provided me with a way to have my sins forgiven. In other words, He has been "feeding my soul."
In the next part it talks about Him anointing my head with oil. Although He did not reach down and do it on His own, I have been anointed in His name by pastors and even my dear friend Wanda who when they stand in for our Lord are doing the work that God has directed them to do. Again this also means we have been invited to His table.
The last part of Psalm 23:5, My cup runneth over. Here He is telling us and showing all of us, and I really appreciate it, that we have many blessings, so many, and He has also shown me over the years if I really share my blessings I will receive more. People talk about how you look at a cup, is it half full or half empty? Brothers and sisters, when you truly follow Jesus, your cup will overflow. None of the half full or half empty thing, it is overflowing. We are so blessed and this is comforting to me as we shift gears in our work for Him. THANK YOU, JESUS. Amen.
Now go forth and share your blessings, and when done in faith, stand back and watch them grow. Love ya, and please share my love with others.
Pastor Dan
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Wednesday 9/10/14 The Shepherd 4
Dear Father in Heaven: Thank You, yes, Father, thank You for all You do for all of us, including me. I am so unworthy of Jesus dying for me, Father, but I do appreciate what He has done and I love You, Father, and Your Only Son. Thanks for sending The Holy Spirit to comfort me. Lord, how I have appreciated it ore and more as I age. Dear Lord, please put those who love You on fire to spread The Word. Lord, on what we call Salvation Wednesday, help us to lead the lost in to be saved. Use us, use me, Lord, may I be a servant for You all the days You give me on this earth. Please, Lord, help and heal "Little Joseph" and take care of his parents also. Lord, I pray for our President, our Congress, our military and all those involved in keeping us safe here in America and even across the world. Lord, I love You, please forgive me of my sins. Lord, please help me now with the daily message and then please help me to dispatch it. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Brothers and sisters, it is Salvation Wednesday (or it will be in a couple of hours). It is the day on this line when we pray first for our sins to be forgiven and then we go to work for Jesus in the fields of Harvest as commanded by Jesus. Also, brothers and sisters, as we make changes with Carry The Light Ministries, my mind is in full go mode in what will be next. Please keep us in your prayers. Please pray for our nation, remembering that this Thursday is September 11 and pray for the safety of all concerned. As we pray for our leaders, please pray first that they are saved. Also, please lift Dolores in prayer. She is a real trooper, but she is hurting really bad. Now let me get to The Shepherd.
Salvation Wednesday: September 10, 2014: The Shepherd (Day Four)
Psalm 23:1 - The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He restores my soul, He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me. Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (NIV)
Psalm 23:4 - 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. (KJV)
Psalm 23:4 - Even when walking through the dark valley of death I will not be afraid, for You are close beside me, guarding, guiding all the way. (TLB)
Once again, brothers and sisters, I have written out the complete Psalm 23 and then have shown two other versions for verse 4 to get a better read on this wonderful comforting Psalm. The main thing that I pull out of this is that our Lord will comfort us. When I look back to the days when Dolores and I were "bikers" I can remember how we had painted on the tank of one of the bikes an open Bible and the verse read - Psalm 23:4 "Yea, though we ride through the valley of the shadow of death." In our younger days we put a lot of miles on those big Honda Goldwings (sorry, Harley folks, while we love Harleys, those Goldwings rode smooth). The bikes were dedicated to the Lord and they were painted to be a witness for Jesus wherever we traveled. I can remember times we traveled into some places that the only way we got out was with the help of God. I am afraid of heights very badly. We had been to the shore, just going down one day to have seafood. On the way back we hit a rain storm, and it was on the top of the Delaware Memorial Bridge. It was so windy that to make the bike go straight I had it leaned over really far. I got in the center lane and prayed and prayed. God comforted us, and we made it across.
The term Rod and Staff are used in this verse. These tools of a shepherd were instruments of comfort for the shepherd's flock. So, folks, we all need to take a lesson from The Psalm and from this verse. If we let our Lord Jesus come into our lives, He indeed will comfort and guide us. What must we do for this? We really just need to "Trust and Obey."
Can we sing a verse of this song, "Trust and Obey"?
When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.
Trust and obey, for there's no other way
to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.
While working on this message, a news flash came in on Fox. Three Italian nuns were raped and then murdered, and at least one was decapitated. I missed the country they were in, but let's take time to pray right now for the families of these nuns. Pray for our Catholic brothers and sisters and all those working in the mission fields.
Dear Father in Heaven: So sad that news is to us, yet still, these "sisters" have given service unto You. Please comfort their families, please comfort the Catholic Church and all those who worship Jesus in that religion. I pray today, Lord, for all those working in the mission fields for You, dear Lord. Please, Lord, may we all stand firm in our missions for You. In the Name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
Now please go forth sharing your blessings and sharing the love of Jesus with others. And brothers and sisters, PLEASE, PLEASE PRAY. Love ya. And yes, please pass on my love also.
Pastor Dan
Let's sing again! Hit it.
Trust and obey, for there's no other way
to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.
Oh, Trust and obey, for there's no other way
to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.
Brothers and sisters, it is Salvation Wednesday (or it will be in a couple of hours). It is the day on this line when we pray first for our sins to be forgiven and then we go to work for Jesus in the fields of Harvest as commanded by Jesus. Also, brothers and sisters, as we make changes with Carry The Light Ministries, my mind is in full go mode in what will be next. Please keep us in your prayers. Please pray for our nation, remembering that this Thursday is September 11 and pray for the safety of all concerned. As we pray for our leaders, please pray first that they are saved. Also, please lift Dolores in prayer. She is a real trooper, but she is hurting really bad. Now let me get to The Shepherd.
Salvation Wednesday: September 10, 2014: The Shepherd (Day Four)
Psalm 23:1 - The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He restores my soul, He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me. Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (NIV)
Psalm 23:4 - 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. (KJV)
Psalm 23:4 - Even when walking through the dark valley of death I will not be afraid, for You are close beside me, guarding, guiding all the way. (TLB)
Once again, brothers and sisters, I have written out the complete Psalm 23 and then have shown two other versions for verse 4 to get a better read on this wonderful comforting Psalm. The main thing that I pull out of this is that our Lord will comfort us. When I look back to the days when Dolores and I were "bikers" I can remember how we had painted on the tank of one of the bikes an open Bible and the verse read - Psalm 23:4 "Yea, though we ride through the valley of the shadow of death." In our younger days we put a lot of miles on those big Honda Goldwings (sorry, Harley folks, while we love Harleys, those Goldwings rode smooth). The bikes were dedicated to the Lord and they were painted to be a witness for Jesus wherever we traveled. I can remember times we traveled into some places that the only way we got out was with the help of God. I am afraid of heights very badly. We had been to the shore, just going down one day to have seafood. On the way back we hit a rain storm, and it was on the top of the Delaware Memorial Bridge. It was so windy that to make the bike go straight I had it leaned over really far. I got in the center lane and prayed and prayed. God comforted us, and we made it across.
The term Rod and Staff are used in this verse. These tools of a shepherd were instruments of comfort for the shepherd's flock. So, folks, we all need to take a lesson from The Psalm and from this verse. If we let our Lord Jesus come into our lives, He indeed will comfort and guide us. What must we do for this? We really just need to "Trust and Obey."
Can we sing a verse of this song, "Trust and Obey"?
When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.
Trust and obey, for there's no other way
to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.
While working on this message, a news flash came in on Fox. Three Italian nuns were raped and then murdered, and at least one was decapitated. I missed the country they were in, but let's take time to pray right now for the families of these nuns. Pray for our Catholic brothers and sisters and all those working in the mission fields.
Dear Father in Heaven: So sad that news is to us, yet still, these "sisters" have given service unto You. Please comfort their families, please comfort the Catholic Church and all those who worship Jesus in that religion. I pray today, Lord, for all those working in the mission fields for You, dear Lord. Please, Lord, may we all stand firm in our missions for You. In the Name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
Now please go forth sharing your blessings and sharing the love of Jesus with others. And brothers and sisters, PLEASE, PLEASE PRAY. Love ya. And yes, please pass on my love also.
Pastor Dan
Let's sing again! Hit it.
Trust and obey, for there's no other way
to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.
Oh, Trust and obey, for there's no other way
to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.
Monday, September 8, 2014
Tuesday 9/9/14 The Shepherd 3
Dear Father in Heaven: I love You very much! Thanks for sending Jesus to die for me and others so we might live. I appreciate it, Lord, and I pray today that I might walk nearer and nearer to You each day. Thanks for watching over families, Lord, not just mine but others also. Please, Lord, protect families from attacks from the devil. Please, Lord, be with Patsy and Burt and their family. Thanks, Lord, for taking Chief Coburn and his wife safely across the United States. Please bring them back safely. Lord, I pray today for President Obama as he leads our military. First, Lord, I pray for his soul, and Lord, if he is not already saved, I pray he will come to Jesus above all else. Please, Lord, protect our homeland in Israel and all those who reside there. Please, Lord, protect the United States as we look back to 9/11/2001 and remember what happened that day. Lord, please help America wake up and think about what we are doing. We have concern, Lord, about all the loss of life on 9/11 but seem to think nothing of killing those unborn children of Yours. Lord, please help me now with a message for today and then help me to get it dispatched. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters, as I am using Psalm 23 this week to sort of calm me down some and look at the fast moving events that are changing Carry The Light Ministries, I am looking ahead at the calendar and seeing that this is the week of 9/11 and remembering the events of 2001. Please pray for peace in all countries, and please pray for America to be safe. Also please pray that Roe v. Wade would be reversed and that Planned Parenthood would be shuttered, meaning closed. Please pray also that we all grow nearer and nearer to Jesus each day of life and we will be a witness for Him. Thanks. Now to the message of today, The Shepherd.
Tuesday: September 9, 2014, The Shepherd (Day Three)
Psalm 23:1 - The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He restores my soul, He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me. Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (NIV)
Psalm 23:3 - He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. (KJV)
Psalm 23:3 - He gives me new strength. He helps me do what honors Him the most. (TLB)
Again today I am looking at just one verse and today the verse is three. I also have the complete Psalm written so we can refresh our minds on this great Psalm that brings so much comfort to us in times of trouble and turmoil in our lives. Then I pulled two different translations so that we might understand better what the Psalm is really about.
When we are worn and tired and hurt and ache maybe because of aging bodies as in Dolores and myself, or maybe our minds are just so pulled at because of, well, current events ... I myself am a news junkie, you might say, and with all that is going on in the world today, it gives me great cause for concern. I am running things through my mind such as "time is running short and we have work to do to get the word out about Jesus." And yes, it seems like when time is running short to get the word out, we are cutting back. So again I am telling you, we are going to get refreshed and keep going for the Lord. Quitting is not an option for us.
So let's look at the first part of verse three, "He restoreth my soul." Or "He gives me new strength." This is our Lord Jesus, The Great Shepherd, taking care of His sheep. And yes, we indeed are His sheep. I do not feel He is done with Carry The Light Ministries as a ministry or Dolores and me here on earth and is going to use us in other ways. I really do feel that although I could not see it at first, I really did need to be restored, my soul needs refreshed, and I feel He will give us new strength. I really have faith that is going to happen. Neither of us intend on sleeping in until noon and doing nothing. As I have told all of you before, I have a growing passion to get The Word out about Salvation and love to the masses. Let me now look at the second part of Psalm 23, verse 3.
"He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake." "He helps me do what honors Him the most." Look really close at this, He is restoring us so that we will be able to do "what honors Him the most." You see, brothers and sisters, this is not about us going to retire from working for Him, this is about shifting gears and Him guiding us into the next step of a ministry that will honor Him the most. So right now I want to say this. Maybe over the years we did not always give God all the glory He had due Him. I can only pray that while we were doing these things for Him we were not taking the glory. As we go forward in whatever assignment He might have in store for us, I want to be really sure we give Him the glory in all things. I know some things that I would like to do is write more and maybe even write a book, but is that what Jesus wants? We keep praying. Okay, enough for today, and remember to be alert this week and never miss a chance to tell people about Jesus. It is not good enough just to be a "good person." You must have that personal relationship with Jesus to get into heaven. Amen.
Now go forth and share your blessings and share the love of Jesus. Love ya. And please share my love with others also.
Pastor Dan
Dear brothers and sisters, as I am using Psalm 23 this week to sort of calm me down some and look at the fast moving events that are changing Carry The Light Ministries, I am looking ahead at the calendar and seeing that this is the week of 9/11 and remembering the events of 2001. Please pray for peace in all countries, and please pray for America to be safe. Also please pray that Roe v. Wade would be reversed and that Planned Parenthood would be shuttered, meaning closed. Please pray also that we all grow nearer and nearer to Jesus each day of life and we will be a witness for Him. Thanks. Now to the message of today, The Shepherd.
Tuesday: September 9, 2014, The Shepherd (Day Three)
Psalm 23:1 - The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He restores my soul, He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me. Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (NIV)
Psalm 23:3 - He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. (KJV)
Psalm 23:3 - He gives me new strength. He helps me do what honors Him the most. (TLB)
Again today I am looking at just one verse and today the verse is three. I also have the complete Psalm written so we can refresh our minds on this great Psalm that brings so much comfort to us in times of trouble and turmoil in our lives. Then I pulled two different translations so that we might understand better what the Psalm is really about.
When we are worn and tired and hurt and ache maybe because of aging bodies as in Dolores and myself, or maybe our minds are just so pulled at because of, well, current events ... I myself am a news junkie, you might say, and with all that is going on in the world today, it gives me great cause for concern. I am running things through my mind such as "time is running short and we have work to do to get the word out about Jesus." And yes, it seems like when time is running short to get the word out, we are cutting back. So again I am telling you, we are going to get refreshed and keep going for the Lord. Quitting is not an option for us.
So let's look at the first part of verse three, "He restoreth my soul." Or "He gives me new strength." This is our Lord Jesus, The Great Shepherd, taking care of His sheep. And yes, we indeed are His sheep. I do not feel He is done with Carry The Light Ministries as a ministry or Dolores and me here on earth and is going to use us in other ways. I really do feel that although I could not see it at first, I really did need to be restored, my soul needs refreshed, and I feel He will give us new strength. I really have faith that is going to happen. Neither of us intend on sleeping in until noon and doing nothing. As I have told all of you before, I have a growing passion to get The Word out about Salvation and love to the masses. Let me now look at the second part of Psalm 23, verse 3.
"He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake." "He helps me do what honors Him the most." Look really close at this, He is restoring us so that we will be able to do "what honors Him the most." You see, brothers and sisters, this is not about us going to retire from working for Him, this is about shifting gears and Him guiding us into the next step of a ministry that will honor Him the most. So right now I want to say this. Maybe over the years we did not always give God all the glory He had due Him. I can only pray that while we were doing these things for Him we were not taking the glory. As we go forward in whatever assignment He might have in store for us, I want to be really sure we give Him the glory in all things. I know some things that I would like to do is write more and maybe even write a book, but is that what Jesus wants? We keep praying. Okay, enough for today, and remember to be alert this week and never miss a chance to tell people about Jesus. It is not good enough just to be a "good person." You must have that personal relationship with Jesus to get into heaven. Amen.
Now go forth and share your blessings and share the love of Jesus. Love ya. And please share my love with others also.
Pastor Dan
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Monday 9/8/14 The Shepherd 2
Dear Father in Heaven: I love You. Thank You for watching over me and thank You for taking care of us. Please, Lord, teach me how to rest. Please help me to keep working for You but to build in rest. Lord, watch over our flock on this line, and yes, keep watch over our flock at The Bridges. Lord, this past week was hard, it really was, so Lord, help me lean more and more on You and draw more comfort from You. In other words, dear Lord, help me to practice what I have been preaching. Lord, be with Patsy and Burt, with Eleanor, Bob and Sharon. Lord, be with Baby Joseph and take care of him. Lord, help my passion to lead people to You never end but to grow as we shift gears. Now, Lord, please help me with the message and then to get it dispatched. In Jesus' wonderful Name, I pray. Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters, it surely was different here at the Southern Location of the North Pole this morning. We did not need to get up and rush and rush to get out of the house to go to The Bridges. But we sure missed going. I did not need to go out and feed our goats, for they are gone. For years they waited each day for me to come out of the house, toss them some hay and feed them some bread. Please pray that I learn how to relax a tad. I have never been good at it. We are excited about the changes that God has planned for us, but change is not easy. I do feel that after we listen to God and do what He has planned for us, He will heal my knees and legs. I have great faith in the healing power of our Lord Jesus. Please keep praying for our son Matthew. Since he will not contact us, we really do not know where he is. We know he was posting on Facebook that he became a Muslim. Thanks for your prayers. Now let me get to the message, The Shepherd.
Monday: September 8, 2014: The Shepherd (Day Two)
Psalm 23:1 - The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He restores my soul, He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me. Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (NIV)
With all that has been going on in our lives and knowing we needed to have our Lord comfort us and so many others that also need comfort, God guided me to Psalm 23. Today I want to cover verse two.
Psalm 23:2 - He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, He leadeth me beside the still waters. (KJV)
Psalm 23:2 - He lets me rest in the meadow grass and leads me beside the quiet streams. (The Living Bible)
Sometimes when you look up a Bible verse and you see it in more than one version of the Bible it will help you understand it better. As I look at verse two of this great and comforting scripture, I really like the King James Version (KJV). As a shepherd that has a flock of sheep, the shepherd will find a nice quiet place, a place where it is safe, and a place where the sheep can rest, eat and drink and the shepherd can stand watch.
When I look at our Lord as The Great Shepherd, which He is, and I look at myself as one of His sheep, which I am, and look at what I am going through right now, I can say and believe with all my heart that "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures." I believe He was telling me, it is time I take care of Dolores who has some health issues and it is time I take care of myself, so He made me lay down. And I have faith that these new pastures that He will lead us to will be green and we will bounce back after resting and be even stronger in working for Him. I can see in the future and have been praying about it, that Santa's House with just a little work could become a small chapel or a place to hold Bible study and maybe work more on what we have long called Salvation Wednesday.
For now, I feel God wants us both to just lay down and rest some as we work through our plans for Carry The Light Ministries and how this great ministry that God has given us can go forth even more for Him. As I have said before, quitting is not an option when we talk about working for the Lord. I have a growing passion that grows more and more to tell people about Salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. In the near future I want to tell you about some places that God has already sent us, some you might believe and others you will shake your head about. One that I want to tell you about is the time we sang in a bar, with people drinking at the bar, and yes, I even did a call for Salvation. God is good, just have faith and walk with Him, and talk to Him a lot. When He tells you to rest, then rest, and while resting, pray and talk to Him even more.
Now go forth and share your blessings. Love ya. And please pass on my love to others.
Pastor Dan
Dear brothers and sisters, it surely was different here at the Southern Location of the North Pole this morning. We did not need to get up and rush and rush to get out of the house to go to The Bridges. But we sure missed going. I did not need to go out and feed our goats, for they are gone. For years they waited each day for me to come out of the house, toss them some hay and feed them some bread. Please pray that I learn how to relax a tad. I have never been good at it. We are excited about the changes that God has planned for us, but change is not easy. I do feel that after we listen to God and do what He has planned for us, He will heal my knees and legs. I have great faith in the healing power of our Lord Jesus. Please keep praying for our son Matthew. Since he will not contact us, we really do not know where he is. We know he was posting on Facebook that he became a Muslim. Thanks for your prayers. Now let me get to the message, The Shepherd.
Monday: September 8, 2014: The Shepherd (Day Two)
Psalm 23:1 - The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He restores my soul, He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me. Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (NIV)
With all that has been going on in our lives and knowing we needed to have our Lord comfort us and so many others that also need comfort, God guided me to Psalm 23. Today I want to cover verse two.
Psalm 23:2 - He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, He leadeth me beside the still waters. (KJV)
Psalm 23:2 - He lets me rest in the meadow grass and leads me beside the quiet streams. (The Living Bible)
Sometimes when you look up a Bible verse and you see it in more than one version of the Bible it will help you understand it better. As I look at verse two of this great and comforting scripture, I really like the King James Version (KJV). As a shepherd that has a flock of sheep, the shepherd will find a nice quiet place, a place where it is safe, and a place where the sheep can rest, eat and drink and the shepherd can stand watch.
When I look at our Lord as The Great Shepherd, which He is, and I look at myself as one of His sheep, which I am, and look at what I am going through right now, I can say and believe with all my heart that "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures." I believe He was telling me, it is time I take care of Dolores who has some health issues and it is time I take care of myself, so He made me lay down. And I have faith that these new pastures that He will lead us to will be green and we will bounce back after resting and be even stronger in working for Him. I can see in the future and have been praying about it, that Santa's House with just a little work could become a small chapel or a place to hold Bible study and maybe work more on what we have long called Salvation Wednesday.
For now, I feel God wants us both to just lay down and rest some as we work through our plans for Carry The Light Ministries and how this great ministry that God has given us can go forth even more for Him. As I have said before, quitting is not an option when we talk about working for the Lord. I have a growing passion that grows more and more to tell people about Salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. In the near future I want to tell you about some places that God has already sent us, some you might believe and others you will shake your head about. One that I want to tell you about is the time we sang in a bar, with people drinking at the bar, and yes, I even did a call for Salvation. God is good, just have faith and walk with Him, and talk to Him a lot. When He tells you to rest, then rest, and while resting, pray and talk to Him even more.
Now go forth and share your blessings. Love ya. And please pass on my love to others.
Pastor Dan
Sunday 9/7/14 The Shepherd
Dear Father in Heaven: I love You very much. Father, I confess to You this day that this has been a very hard week here at our earthly home. Still, Lord, I know we are so blessed, so please forgive me when I complain. Please watch over our flock at The Bridges and see they have someone to carry on Your work from the Bible. Please, Lord, watch over the part of our family that yesterday left for a farm. Please, Lord, as we go through these changes in life and our work for You, remind me that I need to just come nearer and nearer to You. Lord, be with our military this day and watch over them. From the commander-in-chief to the grunt who carries out the battle plans, be with them and protect them. Thanks for watching over our family and our ministry team, dear Lord, and thanks for watching over us. Lord, if it is Your will, please help me with this rare Sunday Morning message, and help me to get back into the groove of writing for You each day. Remind me, dear Lord, that we are not going to stop working for You, just shifting gears a tad. Thanks for standing by this old sinner and forgiving me. Now, Lord, help me get to work for You and then help the message go out to the masses. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Brothers and sisters, all of you by now know we are changing things in our lives, mostly because of some health issues that involve a lot of pain. This has been a very hard week. Last Sunday we pastored our last service at The Bridges. It was hard, very hard. Yesterday after handing out food to folks who have come here month after month for food, i saw this truck pull up our driveway pulling a small horse trailer. I knew what it was here for. With the help of our dear friends Grant and Wanda, we had located a good home for our "goat family." Each morning for years and years we would hear our "kids" calling for us. Each morning for years I would go out and throw them some hay and sit beside the pen and pet their cute noses. Now they are gone, to a farm home in Perry County, to live out their lives on a "goat farm." I cried a lot this week. Yes, I shed tears, big ones, and I wear pink shirts. This morning after another sleepless night I came out thinking the only way to get over these changes is to come nearer and nearer to God and go to scriptures that bring some comfort. The place in the Bible that our Father took me is:
Sunday: September 7, 2014: The Shepherd
Psalm 23:1 - The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He restores my soul, He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me. Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (NIV)
Brothers and sisters, I have written on the 23rd Psalm before, and I have preached on it a few times in our twelve and a half years at The Bridges. There are six verses in this lovely Psalm so I am going to try and cover one verse each day this week. I also want to try and get the message out in the mornings. So let me get started.
Psalm 23, verse one: The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. (KJV)
When I look back over my life, and I am talking all the way back to as far as I can remember, I was never in want of things. God surely has provided my needs over the years, and yes, a lot of my wants also. Listen to these words from Isaiah.
Isaiah 58:11 - The Lord will guide you always: He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. (NIV)
Look at this, and again I tell you that as I write the messages most often they are for me along with you. Today for sure is one of those days. Making these changes to Carry The Light Ministries and to Dolores and my personal life, we did a lot of praying. We prayed together and we each prayed about what we needed to do. We also knew and know that quitting is not an option here at our home. The 23rd Psalm is used a lot at funeral services. I have heard many pastors use this scripture to comfort those who are suffering life without the person who is, well, in the casket.
From the Words, The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want, to The Lord will guide you always and so many other scriptures in the Bible, I know in times of our troubles, our Lord Jesus is not going to "Run From Us." When I look back in my life, I mean way back, back at a time when the Dead Sea was still sick, I had a caring mother and father, yes, my mamma loved everyone and you could see Jesus on her face and see it in her walk. Dad loved Jesus also, but he was not as outspoken as mamma. Mamma laid the groundwork for me. She taught me about Jesus and His love for me, and then one day she was just gone. Back in those days, my mamma was really my shepherd, along with help from daddy, and they looked to Jesus as The Shepherd or their Shepherd. Yes, I was so blessed, so very blessed. We did not have a lot of money, no TV for a long time in our house. Mamma read the Bible a lot, for that was the way she was raised. When my mamma died after a long time in the hospital following a car accident where I was driving and we were hit by a drunk driver, I lost my earthly shepherd. Daddy could not fill that void. But as the Bible tells us and points it out this day, the Lord will guide you always. And He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land. Wow, I think I need to send that verse to Hillary Clinton who was just talking about global warming. Here Isaiah talks about global warming, or so to speak.
So at a very early age I found out that the Lord will guide you always, if we just really do this one thing. Open up our hearts and let Him in to do it. No one can guide someone who does not want to be guided. An example of that is when my mamma was called home, I did a walk-about from the Lord. I thought I could handle things without God,I thought I could do it alone, alone meaning with earthly friends but without being tight with the Lord. So now at my age, I am seeing more and more the need to come nearer and nearer to God. To remind myself of the term I used, I am not going to stop working for God, just shifting gears, and for sure God is not going to stop loving me. He will be there for me as He always has been. He has walked the high spots with me and carried me in those low spots. He will not stop loving me, and today I want to be sure and tell you HE WILL NOT STOP LOVING YOU EITHER. If you let Him, He will walk each step with you, and He will supply your needs and a lot of your wants.
Now please go forth and share those blessings He has laid upon you, and just remember when you share them in faith, He will reward you with even more. It sure is exciting to see what is around the next corner. Love ya. And please pass on my love to others.
Pastor Dan
Brothers and sisters, all of you by now know we are changing things in our lives, mostly because of some health issues that involve a lot of pain. This has been a very hard week. Last Sunday we pastored our last service at The Bridges. It was hard, very hard. Yesterday after handing out food to folks who have come here month after month for food, i saw this truck pull up our driveway pulling a small horse trailer. I knew what it was here for. With the help of our dear friends Grant and Wanda, we had located a good home for our "goat family." Each morning for years and years we would hear our "kids" calling for us. Each morning for years I would go out and throw them some hay and sit beside the pen and pet their cute noses. Now they are gone, to a farm home in Perry County, to live out their lives on a "goat farm." I cried a lot this week. Yes, I shed tears, big ones, and I wear pink shirts. This morning after another sleepless night I came out thinking the only way to get over these changes is to come nearer and nearer to God and go to scriptures that bring some comfort. The place in the Bible that our Father took me is:
Sunday: September 7, 2014: The Shepherd
Psalm 23:1 - The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He restores my soul, He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me. Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (NIV)
Brothers and sisters, I have written on the 23rd Psalm before, and I have preached on it a few times in our twelve and a half years at The Bridges. There are six verses in this lovely Psalm so I am going to try and cover one verse each day this week. I also want to try and get the message out in the mornings. So let me get started.
Psalm 23, verse one: The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. (KJV)
When I look back over my life, and I am talking all the way back to as far as I can remember, I was never in want of things. God surely has provided my needs over the years, and yes, a lot of my wants also. Listen to these words from Isaiah.
Isaiah 58:11 - The Lord will guide you always: He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. (NIV)
Look at this, and again I tell you that as I write the messages most often they are for me along with you. Today for sure is one of those days. Making these changes to Carry The Light Ministries and to Dolores and my personal life, we did a lot of praying. We prayed together and we each prayed about what we needed to do. We also knew and know that quitting is not an option here at our home. The 23rd Psalm is used a lot at funeral services. I have heard many pastors use this scripture to comfort those who are suffering life without the person who is, well, in the casket.
From the Words, The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want, to The Lord will guide you always and so many other scriptures in the Bible, I know in times of our troubles, our Lord Jesus is not going to "Run From Us." When I look back in my life, I mean way back, back at a time when the Dead Sea was still sick, I had a caring mother and father, yes, my mamma loved everyone and you could see Jesus on her face and see it in her walk. Dad loved Jesus also, but he was not as outspoken as mamma. Mamma laid the groundwork for me. She taught me about Jesus and His love for me, and then one day she was just gone. Back in those days, my mamma was really my shepherd, along with help from daddy, and they looked to Jesus as The Shepherd or their Shepherd. Yes, I was so blessed, so very blessed. We did not have a lot of money, no TV for a long time in our house. Mamma read the Bible a lot, for that was the way she was raised. When my mamma died after a long time in the hospital following a car accident where I was driving and we were hit by a drunk driver, I lost my earthly shepherd. Daddy could not fill that void. But as the Bible tells us and points it out this day, the Lord will guide you always. And He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land. Wow, I think I need to send that verse to Hillary Clinton who was just talking about global warming. Here Isaiah talks about global warming, or so to speak.
So at a very early age I found out that the Lord will guide you always, if we just really do this one thing. Open up our hearts and let Him in to do it. No one can guide someone who does not want to be guided. An example of that is when my mamma was called home, I did a walk-about from the Lord. I thought I could handle things without God,I thought I could do it alone, alone meaning with earthly friends but without being tight with the Lord. So now at my age, I am seeing more and more the need to come nearer and nearer to God. To remind myself of the term I used, I am not going to stop working for God, just shifting gears, and for sure God is not going to stop loving me. He will be there for me as He always has been. He has walked the high spots with me and carried me in those low spots. He will not stop loving me, and today I want to be sure and tell you HE WILL NOT STOP LOVING YOU EITHER. If you let Him, He will walk each step with you, and He will supply your needs and a lot of your wants.
Now please go forth and share those blessings He has laid upon you, and just remember when you share them in faith, He will reward you with even more. It sure is exciting to see what is around the next corner. Love ya. And please pass on my love to others.
Pastor Dan
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Wednesday 9/3/14 Surrendering
Dear Father in Heaven: Thanks for another day. I love You. Please forgive me of my sins. Please, Father, help me with the messages and help me to dispatch them. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters, welcome to fall. As I travel forth with what we call new beginnings, for awhile I want to relate a few things that happened along the way.
Salvation Wednesday: September 3, 2014, Surrendering to Jesus
Matthew 4:18 - As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 20 At once they left their nets and followed Him. (NIV)
Brothers and sisters, it is Salvation Wednesday and the day that we try our very best to lead others to Jesus. But before we go into the Fields of Harvest for Jesus we need to surrender ourselves completely to Jesus. We see in our scripture for this day that when Jesus called Peter and Andrew they at once gave up their nets and surrendered to Jesus. What did they surrender? They surrendered themselves to Jesus. What have you surrendered unto Him, who died for us?
Let me tell you a story of something that happened along the way to us.
We, Carry The Light Ministries, were singing in Lebanon, PA, at Cedar Haven Retirement Home. At the end of all concerts I would give a call for Salvation, a chance for those in front of us to come to Jesus. On this day, after talking to them about what is in the Bible about Salvation, and told them about John 3:16, John 14:6 and Romans 10:9/10, then we started singing the old hymn "I Surrender All." As we were singing the chorus, Dolores was at the piano, which was off to my right and down on the floor. Pam and I were up on the stage and we were singing our hearts out. Pam had her eyes shut, hands raised to the Lord as she was singing and surrendering to Jesus even more than before. I had my eyes open and was singing when this dear lady in the front row was singing all she could sing, "I surrender all, I surrender all, All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all," when her teeth came out and slid up toward the stage. My dog, Martin Martin Sr., who was with us, looked at those teeth like, here comes lunch. I watched as I went on singing. Then it hit me, I tried to hold back the laugh, for I was thinking, "This dear sweet lady just surrendered her teeth unto the Lord." I had tears in my eyes from laughing under my breath. An RA came and got the teeth, before Martin Martin could get them. Sometimes things happen that are great to share and I could also use it over and over again to witness for our Lord Jesus.
This lady surrendered her teeth to the Lord!! What have you surrendered to Him? Your whole self, I pray. Anyway, let me end today by singing that chorus together. I surrender all, I surrender all. All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all. Oh, yes, I surrender all, I surrender all. All to Thee,my blessed Savior, I surrender all. Come on folks, surrender to the Lord. Pray with me, please.
Dear Lord, again I surrender to You my thoughts and sins and come to You fully whole. Please forgive me and place my name into the Lamb's Book of Life. I love You, Lord. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
The story is true, folks, and it happened to us along the way. Now go forth and share your blessings (not your teeth). I love ya.
Pastor Dan
Dear brothers and sisters, welcome to fall. As I travel forth with what we call new beginnings, for awhile I want to relate a few things that happened along the way.
Salvation Wednesday: September 3, 2014, Surrendering to Jesus
Matthew 4:18 - As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 20 At once they left their nets and followed Him. (NIV)
Brothers and sisters, it is Salvation Wednesday and the day that we try our very best to lead others to Jesus. But before we go into the Fields of Harvest for Jesus we need to surrender ourselves completely to Jesus. We see in our scripture for this day that when Jesus called Peter and Andrew they at once gave up their nets and surrendered to Jesus. What did they surrender? They surrendered themselves to Jesus. What have you surrendered unto Him, who died for us?
Let me tell you a story of something that happened along the way to us.
We, Carry The Light Ministries, were singing in Lebanon, PA, at Cedar Haven Retirement Home. At the end of all concerts I would give a call for Salvation, a chance for those in front of us to come to Jesus. On this day, after talking to them about what is in the Bible about Salvation, and told them about John 3:16, John 14:6 and Romans 10:9/10, then we started singing the old hymn "I Surrender All." As we were singing the chorus, Dolores was at the piano, which was off to my right and down on the floor. Pam and I were up on the stage and we were singing our hearts out. Pam had her eyes shut, hands raised to the Lord as she was singing and surrendering to Jesus even more than before. I had my eyes open and was singing when this dear lady in the front row was singing all she could sing, "I surrender all, I surrender all, All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all," when her teeth came out and slid up toward the stage. My dog, Martin Martin Sr., who was with us, looked at those teeth like, here comes lunch. I watched as I went on singing. Then it hit me, I tried to hold back the laugh, for I was thinking, "This dear sweet lady just surrendered her teeth unto the Lord." I had tears in my eyes from laughing under my breath. An RA came and got the teeth, before Martin Martin could get them. Sometimes things happen that are great to share and I could also use it over and over again to witness for our Lord Jesus.
This lady surrendered her teeth to the Lord!! What have you surrendered to Him? Your whole self, I pray. Anyway, let me end today by singing that chorus together. I surrender all, I surrender all. All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all. Oh, yes, I surrender all, I surrender all. All to Thee,my blessed Savior, I surrender all. Come on folks, surrender to the Lord. Pray with me, please.
Dear Lord, again I surrender to You my thoughts and sins and come to You fully whole. Please forgive me and place my name into the Lamb's Book of Life. I love You, Lord. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
The story is true, folks, and it happened to us along the way. Now go forth and share your blessings (not your teeth). I love ya.
Pastor Dan
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