Dear Father in Heaven: I love You very, very much. Please forgive me of my sins and help me keep my attention. My mind seems to drift. Thanks for watching over this line and all who use it. I pray today, Lord, for our leaders, our nation's leaders. Bless and protect our troops, and Lord, please also bless and protect all those who are working with Ebola, and heal those who have contracted this disease. Please be with families, all families, and help them. Please stop the violence on our streets between gangs, family members, and all who want to harm and kill others. Lord, help our troops stop the terrorists. Lord, please help me with the message and then help me to dispatch it. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Happy Friday from the Southern Location of the North Pole. I ask that all of you might cover both Dolores and me in prayer. The pain level for both of us is very high, and in my case I am sure it is taking away from my writing. We trust God will take care of us and we shall keep pressing forward working for Him. Please remember to get out and vote. In Pennsylvania, please consider Governor Tom Corbett. He truly is a good CHRISTIAN man, and I know this because I have asked him and I have anointed him with oil more than once and had prayer with him and for him and his family. This was done on the State Capitol steps in Harrisburg, PA.
Also, dear brothers and sisters, please keep pressing forward for our Lord God and getting His Word about Salvation out into the fields of harvest. Keep looking up as you press forward for God, for we know not when He will return. Soon, I pray. Now let me get to the message.
Friday, October 17, 2014: Follow The Leader (Day Three).
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)
This scripture tells us about when Jesus called His very first disciples, Peter and Andrew. One thing that jumps right out at me is that they did not question Jesus, they just left the nets, their jobs, and followed Jesus. How many times has Jesus had to call us before we answered the call, or have we answered the call at all? I mentioned in my last writings about Follow The Leader and how we could follow the wrong leader because there is only one really just and perfect leader and that is Jesus Christ.
I am not sure in all cases Jesus wants us to leave our current job and just follow Him, but I am sure when He calls if we would answer that call, He would/will provide for our needs. Hey, He does that anyway.
Do you remember when you were called? I mean, when you really picked up the cross of Jesus and started to follow Him? Before you answer, listen to these words.
Luke 9:23 - Then He said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, He must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." (NIV)
So what does it mean to take up your cross and follow Jesus? Simple, it means to follow Jesus we will need to have self-denial, and complete dedication and obedience to Jesus. And we must do that every day. Now when I said simple, I meant it was simple to tell you, for it surely is not a simple thing to do. Most of you know I was a "lost son," meaning I was raised a Christian and drifted. I came back little by little, like a child climbing the slide of the sliding board. I would go up some, slide back down, run back up further the next time and slip again, and over and over until I did reach the top. "Saved, Born Again, Washed in His Blood." However, that is really just the start of knowing Jesus, then after you are saved, you need to get out and work for Him. And after you get started working for Him, it is great, it is wonderful, but simple, no, not at all.
Self-denial? I am not sure I practiced that a lot in my life. Oh, I worked for Jesus, and still do, and I am dedicated to Him, for I never want to go back to my old self. Willing obedience is one I must work on hard daily. I will never forget when I was called to go full-time, to lay down my net and follow Jesus. It was more like have my motorcycle laid down in traffic to get my "full-time" attention. After that I knew I was "called into His service." But even then it took awhile until I was ready. I did not just walk off my job at the school and close down my service station, I had to make plans, or so I thought. I mean after all, I had bills to pay, etc., so on and so forth. So it took some time and then I started working harder and harder for Him. Now it is cut back time, but that is hard also for I do want to keep working for Him, and so does Dolores. So we press on.
I have found out over the years that "your assignment from God" will change often and you need to be willing to pray about it and then make some changes. Sometimes it will even require you to pick up some new nets that you have laid down and relocate. In some cases pastors get shifted from one church to another. Priests are transferred, gospel singers are traveling all the time. People work full-time and part-time for the Lord. There are many jobs other than working for Jesus full-time where you can witness for Him, which is working for Him. Sometimes your full-time work might call for a need to transfer. I have a dear friend, Tom Sansoni, who loves working for the Lord, and He is called toward working the prisons. Over the years his work has relocated him, and after he would settle in at the new place he would find a way to get back on that witness trail working for Jesus.
Back when Jesus walked the earth, He would walk up and call His disciples. The difference today is He is not walking up to us, but He is still calling on us to work, pray about it, then listen for His answers, and be careful, and be sure it is our Lord God calling on you and not a voice of evil. Remember both sides want us. In ending this day I want to ask you this simple question. HAVE YOU ANSWERED THE CALL?
Let us end this day with a salvation prayer.
Dear Lord: Forgive me of my sins. Wash me white as snow and come into my heart and stay. Help me repent of my sins and follow you. I love You. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Now go forth and share your blessings. Love ya. Please pass on my love to others.
Pastor Dan
Do you know what we feed our cats for breakfast?
Mice-krispies
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