Dear Father in Heaven: I love You and I really appreciate You. Thanks for all the food that has been donated to the food pantry and for the help sorting it out. Lord, thanks for keeping our minds on track. Lord, please be with my dear brother in Christ, Dave Fortney, and heal his beat-up body. Lord, on this Thanksgiving week 2014, help us to remember that You set food before us each day of the year and we need to be just as thankful each day for all we receive from You. Be with President Obama and I pray he would come to You for surely he must not be thinking of You on some things he does. Please protect him and his family and all of our leaders. Please watch over our veterans and watch over our current military and keep them safe. Please, Lord, touch Al Sharpton and I pray he comes to You and that he is saved. I can't believe that a pastor of Your word can lead people to cause trouble. I am trying not to judge him, Lord, but I have never once heard him talk about You. Please be in our cities where he is busing in trouble-makers and keep the peace. Protect our police and firefighters. Thanks for the break from the cold weather, Lord. Lord, help me to get back to writing, help me keep my focus better on You and not the pain in my body. Help me get the work done You want me to do. Help me to stop feeling sorry for myself and get busy for You. Please help me now with the message and then help me to get it dispatched. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Brothers and sisters, it seems like I have been slacking. Please pray that I can push past some pain and get to work for Jesus. After all, He took on so much pain for me as He died on the cross for my sins. And each time I sin it keeps hurting Him to this day. My love for Jesus is growing deeper and deeper each day as is my love for you folks. Please, folks, keep Dave in your prayers. Place him on your prayer lists at your churches. Please also pray for his wife Joanne and his sons Arthur and Sean.
Now let me get started with the message and I am going to work hard to stay on schedule.
Sunday: November 23, 2014: "Above All Else!" (Day Three)
Matthew 22:37 - Jesus replied: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (NIV)
I want you to really think about this. If we would obey, let me say it again, IF WE WOULD OBEY these two great commandments we would not need to worry about the laws and commandments of the first testament. Those original commandments are covered in these two commandments. Also, think about this, if people would really, truly love God above all else and love others next, I mean truly love them, it surely would be a peaceful place to live, work, walk,and talk and do all things.
Before this past election day an atheist complained about voting in a church, yes, we go to a church to vote. This non-believer complained that he had to walk past three pictures of Jesus to get into the polling place. I sure do think it is funny that a person who does not believe in God, does not believe in Jesus, and even tells people they do not exist, are so threatened by His picture. Oh, and even after the complaint the pictures remained. I am so proud of the folks at that church. There is no God, those non-believers say, but take down the picture of Jesus, for I feel threatened. Do they know how silly they sound? For those non-believers I want to tell them something, and listen up. Please tell those who do not believe this. I, Pastor Daniel W. Lehman, am a believer and I truly love Jesus with all my heart. I believe He died for me and was risen from the dead by God The Father and knowing all this I want to tell those non-believer this. Jesus loves you as much as He loves any of us who are "Born Again" and washed in the blood. In the home of the non-believer the water comes through the pipes as it does in our house. God gave us all that free gift of Salvation, the difference is the non-believers have left their gift of salvation lay at the base of the cross and have not gone to pick it up. Now believers, those of you who are washed in the blood, cleansed by the blood, who are "Born Again," it is our job to get the non-believers to pick up that gift. It is up to us, for God gave it His all for us. And "Above All Else" we need to find these folks who are threatened by a picture and introduce them to Jesus.
Maybe it would go like this.
Mr., Mrs., or Miss Non-believer: I have a friend that I would like you to meet. He is closer than a brother and He loves you very much. He loves you unconditionally. He died for you and for me. He gave us a gift, a free gift, and there is no shipping charge, either. Sadly, the free gift will expire when you expire if you do not pick it up. It is not transferable for God through His Son Jesus gave the gift to all of us. Mr. or Mrs. or Miss or even Ms., if that is what you want to hear, your gift is waiting. If it was a new cell phone that would become obsolete in a year or so, you would run to get it, but this gift will never wear out, it will never become obsolete, and it is a great promise.
The next time you see the picture of Jesus hanging in your polling place or see the manger scene in your town square, go to it, get on your knees and look up and pray. Tell the man, not the picture or the scene, to come upon you and ask Him into your heart, invite Him into your life. I will tell you right now, YOU WILL NEVER BE THE SAME. Do you hear me, you will never be the same.
Our scripture for today tells us to Love God and love our neighbors. Non-believers, you are also my neighbors and I do love you. Why? Because that is what God wants us to do. It would be easy, I guess, to turn my back on you. It would be easy for all those working for the Lord to try and forget about you who do not believe, but we are commanded to love you. And I want you to know that I take that commandment seriously. I love you. If you are living in sin, I hate the sin, but I love you. I am a sinner also, the only difference between you as a non-believer and me as a believer is my sins have been washed away because I have laid claim to my free gift. I believe in Jesus.
John 3:16/17 - "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." (NIV)
Non-believers, I want you to notice something. When it rains, God sends you rain also. When the crops come in, you have food on your table also. You have the same air to breathe as we do, and we can all dress the same if we want to. You see, God blesses you even as you might curse Him. Which leads me to this question. How come you curse someone who you say does not exist? Anyway, I would truly love to lead you to God so I could call you my Christian brothers or sisters. Until then, I just want you to know that you will be my friend, but I would feel much better if you let me carry out the command God has given me and bring in the lost.
Now, brothers and sisters, go forth and share your blessings. Readers, I do not ask you to forward things I write, but if you have a non-believing friend, this might be a good one to forward. Jesus loves you and I love ya also. Please share our love.
Pastor Dan
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