Dear Father in Heaven: I love You and I appreciate all You do for all of us. On this our Salvation Wednesday, please help us all to reach out to the lost and help lead them in to be saved. Please, Lord, place Your healing hand on Don Coffin and a few others from the bus museum who are having some health issues. Please, Lord, be with Vicki, Patsy, Burt, Barbara, Dolores, Grant, and others who have health issues. Please help me with the message and then to get it dispatched. 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 bring in the lost. It was a great day to take a nap. I laid down after lunch with Angel, Bentley, Michael, Martin Martin Jr., Marvin, and Missy. That count would be one human, four Yorkshires, and two really big cats. Martin Martin Jr. thinks he is a human. Okay, time to get to the message.
Salvation Wednesday: January 28, 2015: White As Snow (Day Three)
Isaiah 1:16 - Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, 17 learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the suppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow. 18 "Come now, let us reason together," says the Lord. "Though our sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wood. 19 If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land: But if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword." For the mouth of the Lord has spoken. (NIV)
Psalm 51:7 - Cleanse me with hyssop and I will be clean: wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. (NIV)
I just love the scripture that God has pointed out to me today.
"Take our evil deeds out of my sight." That is from the prophet Isaiah, but to me straight out of what God feels about us. God does not want us to do evil deeds and by not doing them is the only way He will not see them. You see, our good Lord sees all that we do, good and evil, and I am sure He loves to watch us doing good. But we are to get the evil out of His sight. In other words, STOP DOING EVIL THINGS. Then we see a list of what we should do. We are to stop doing wrong, we are to learn to do what is right. We are to seek justice and we are to encourage others. We are to defend the cause of the fatherless. Let me pause there a tad. Back then most of the fatherless would have been because the mothers were widowed. Now it seems we have a lot of sperm donors running around. Recently in Harrisburg a young man of just 18 was murdered. A young girl who had a son to him said he was such a wonderful father. Turns out that this man at 18 already had 4 children to 4 different women. Why was he murdered? A drug deal gone wrong. Yesterday they cut a ribbon to a new apartment in Harrisburg, and it was for a single mother. She looked very young and she had five children. Brothers and sisters, the word of God has not changed, we are to take care of the fatherless children.
The scripture goes on and tells us that God will cover our sins and we will be white as snow if we are obedient. In our second scripture, it again talks about us being clean and if God will wash us we will be whiter than snow. And if we really want God to wash us as white as snow, we need to just ask and then of course repent and be obedient to His Word. Let's get clean.
Dear Father in Heaven, please clean me of my sins and wash me white as snow. All glory and honor to You, dear Lord. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Now go forth and share your blessings. Love ya. Please share my love with others.
Pastor Dan
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Tuesday 1/27/15 White As Snow 2
Dear Father in Heaven: I love You very, very much. Please forgive me of my sins, and thanks for dying for me on the cross. Lord, I am thrilled that I serve a risen Savior, a Savior that is alive and well. Thanks for hearing and answering my prayers, even, Lord, when the answer is not what I wanted to hear. I have come to respect You and to listen for Your answers. Thanks for watching over families and friends, and thanks for watching over this line. Please help me today with the message and then to get it dispatched. I do love You. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Brothers and sisters, according to the weather services, we were to get a lot of snow. I just love it when God makes it very clear that He is in control and still calls the shots even on the snow storms. Some weather reporters make a statement like "I am calling for 6 to 12 inches of snow." His statement should say, I am predicting 6 to 12 inches of snow. Let's take a lesson from this. God does the calling for and we do the predicting. We can pray asking for nice weather or snow or whatever, but God will send what we need. Yes, God will send what we need. It may or may not be what we want, but in the end if we love Him, He will bring it together for the good, according to His will, not ours. Now let me get to the message.
Tuesday: January 27, 2015: White As Snow (Day Two)
1 John 2:3 - We know that we have come to know Him if we obey His commands. 4 The man who says, "I know Him," but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But if anyone obeys His Word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in Him: 6 Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did. (NIV)
You might wonder what "White As Snow" has to do with the scripture of today. First of all, if we pray to be cleaned of sin, we will be white as snow. The scripture tells us that if we want to be in Jesus and Jesus in us, we must follow His commands. If we say that we are in Him "Born Again" and we do not obey His commands, we are a liar and of course if we are a liar, we surely cannot be "White As Snow." Now I just love this part, if we really do know Him, if we truly are "Born Again," then we must obey His commands, and brothers and sisters, obeying His commands does not mean not breaking the Ten Original Commands as in Exodus 20, or the Two Great Commands that Jesus gave us, "Love God and Love your Neighbors." We must obey all commands given to us, which includes walking in The Light, or walking in and with Jesus.
I must really point this out and the best way to point it out is to show it in scripture. So here it is again.
1 John 2:5 - But if anyone obeys His Word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in Him: 6 Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.
Now if we truly obey God's Word, and I mean truly obey it, then God's love will be made complete in us. To do this we just must walk with Him. Now brothers and sisters, I never once said this would be easy, not once, for it is not. Jesus was tempted along the way and we get tempted also. There are also a lot of temptations out there today and I could tell you a lot of them but I am sure most of you know them and have been tempted by them. So just how do we get past the temptations? First of course is to keep near to Jesus and we do that by reading our Bibles and pray and pray. Some folks will say I don't know how to pray, and to that I just say just talk to Him. After all, He is our Savior, He died for us, and brothers and sisters, the biggest thing is that He loves us very, very much. The more we love Him, the more we stay in touch with Him, the easier it is to walk with Him. We need to do planning and try to map out our daily walk. Yes, I said we need to map out our daily walk. We need to stay away from things we know will tempt us and stay away from people who do not walk with Him. We need to have friends who are Christians and that way we will have some strength in numbers. And if we do mess up, we need to ask for forgiveness right away. Do not put it off, do it right away. Sometimes people get in a sinful way when they have too much free time on their hands. Try doing things daily to help others and to serve Jesus that way. Now let's get clean.
Dear Father, forgive me of my sins and help me repent and walk with You. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Now go forth and share your blessings. Love ya. Please pass on my love.
Pastor Dan
Brothers and sisters, according to the weather services, we were to get a lot of snow. I just love it when God makes it very clear that He is in control and still calls the shots even on the snow storms. Some weather reporters make a statement like "I am calling for 6 to 12 inches of snow." His statement should say, I am predicting 6 to 12 inches of snow. Let's take a lesson from this. God does the calling for and we do the predicting. We can pray asking for nice weather or snow or whatever, but God will send what we need. Yes, God will send what we need. It may or may not be what we want, but in the end if we love Him, He will bring it together for the good, according to His will, not ours. Now let me get to the message.
Tuesday: January 27, 2015: White As Snow (Day Two)
1 John 2:3 - We know that we have come to know Him if we obey His commands. 4 The man who says, "I know Him," but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But if anyone obeys His Word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in Him: 6 Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did. (NIV)
You might wonder what "White As Snow" has to do with the scripture of today. First of all, if we pray to be cleaned of sin, we will be white as snow. The scripture tells us that if we want to be in Jesus and Jesus in us, we must follow His commands. If we say that we are in Him "Born Again" and we do not obey His commands, we are a liar and of course if we are a liar, we surely cannot be "White As Snow." Now I just love this part, if we really do know Him, if we truly are "Born Again," then we must obey His commands, and brothers and sisters, obeying His commands does not mean not breaking the Ten Original Commands as in Exodus 20, or the Two Great Commands that Jesus gave us, "Love God and Love your Neighbors." We must obey all commands given to us, which includes walking in The Light, or walking in and with Jesus.
I must really point this out and the best way to point it out is to show it in scripture. So here it is again.
1 John 2:5 - But if anyone obeys His Word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in Him: 6 Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.
Now if we truly obey God's Word, and I mean truly obey it, then God's love will be made complete in us. To do this we just must walk with Him. Now brothers and sisters, I never once said this would be easy, not once, for it is not. Jesus was tempted along the way and we get tempted also. There are also a lot of temptations out there today and I could tell you a lot of them but I am sure most of you know them and have been tempted by them. So just how do we get past the temptations? First of course is to keep near to Jesus and we do that by reading our Bibles and pray and pray. Some folks will say I don't know how to pray, and to that I just say just talk to Him. After all, He is our Savior, He died for us, and brothers and sisters, the biggest thing is that He loves us very, very much. The more we love Him, the more we stay in touch with Him, the easier it is to walk with Him. We need to do planning and try to map out our daily walk. Yes, I said we need to map out our daily walk. We need to stay away from things we know will tempt us and stay away from people who do not walk with Him. We need to have friends who are Christians and that way we will have some strength in numbers. And if we do mess up, we need to ask for forgiveness right away. Do not put it off, do it right away. Sometimes people get in a sinful way when they have too much free time on their hands. Try doing things daily to help others and to serve Jesus that way. Now let's get clean.
Dear Father, forgive me of my sins and help me repent and walk with You. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Now go forth and share your blessings. Love ya. Please pass on my love.
Pastor Dan
Monday, January 26, 2015
Monday 1/26/15 White As Snow!!
Dear Father in Heaven: I love You very much. Please forgive me of my sins and help me to repent of them. Please, dear Lord, help me get back on track with my daily writings. Thanks for all You do for us and for watching over families and friends. Thanks also for watching over this line. Please, Lord, watch over Your children in these stormy days of snow and ice. Protect them, dear Lord, please protect them. Please, Lord, watch over President Obama and Vice President Biden and keep them safe. Take care of our veterans and our current military and also our police and firefighters and all first responders. Protect those missionaries that are out working in those dangerous fields of harvest for You, dear Lord. Help me now, please, with the daily message and then to get it dispatched. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
Brothers and sisters, it was and still is a beautiful day. Each day is a day nearer to spring. When I had my service station at 38th and Walnut Streets, I would put a sign out that said, "SPRING IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER. GO TO THE THIRD LIGHT AND TURN RIGHT." Now if people would do that, they would find "Spring Street." You folks do know that I am sort of nuts, right? I am sorry I have been off and on with the daily message, God and I are working on that. I have a lot of pain and I believe God set me down for a rest for awhile. As I have told you, I wait upon the Lord for the messages. I believe He has me rested up and we will be back writing some. Let me get started with the message. Oh, please keep praying for Matthew. We still have not heard from him. It has been over three years now.
Monday: January 26, 2015: White As Snow (Day One)
1 John 1:5 - This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is Light; in Him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7 But if we walk in the Light, as He is the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the Blood of Jesus, the Son, purifies us from all sin. (NIV)
Mark 16:15 - He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation." (NIV)
Did you ever wonder where the name "Carry The Light Ministries" came from? We were doing a Bible study with the late Pastor Karen Layman covering the Gospel of Mark at the time when Carry The Light was just forming. If we take Mark 16:15 and then we find that Jesus is The Light, we were following what we thought Jesus wanted. We were carrying the Good News into our section of the world.
1 John 1:7 - But if we walk in the Light, as He is the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the Blood of Jesus, the Son, purifies us from all sin.
Those of you who know me know that I just love to plow snow, and yes, I have been doing a lot of that lately. On Saturday I hit the road about 5:00 AM and it was just beautiful, all the slop and the dirt of the roads and the litter along the roads was covered with new fallen snow. Trees were covered, the evergreens looked so pretty. It sort of reminded me of how we have that dirt all over us and then Jesus went to the cross for us and we got covered with the Blood of Jesus which made us as white as that new fallen snow. We were cleared of all of our sins. Well, my home looked so pretty and then I did it, I put the plow down and turned that new white snow over and put those dirty leaves and dirt that was covered on the top. The plow trucks went up the street turning that new snow over showing the dirt from under it. It reminded me of how Jesus washes us white as snow and how great we must look, and then we go out and sin again and put that dirt and filth back on top of us.
Well, with the back to back snows coming through, I once again pulled out on my driveway to see that God had placed another layer of clean new fallen snow over that dirt I had plowed over. I stopped and prayed for awhile asking Jesus to once again forgive me of my sins and to wash me white as snow with the Blood of our Lord Jesus. And yes, Jesus did just that, He forgave me and cleaned me new again. Then I dropped the plow and turned the snow over again and put the filth back on top. I am sure before the end of the day that my thinking or even doings some of which might be sinful.
Tonight it is to snow again, maybe just an inch or two, but it will cover that dirt again. As you can see by my prayer at the beginning of the message, I again asked God to forgive me of my sins. And as sure as we are going to have snow each winter, God will forgive us of our sins. And when we mess up and get dirty again and we ask again to be forgiven, with the Blood of Jesus we will be cleaned again and again.
How long has it been since you have been to Jesus to be washed in the blood? Right now do you look like the new fallen snow or do you look like the side of the highway after those big state plow trucks have gone past turning the snow? We call them a snow plow train, and it just takes all that clean snow and throws it over. I do not want to compare those trucks to Satan, but for just this minute think of it that way. A group of evil trying to get to you, to get you all dirty after Jesus cleans you up. Like on the highway we are to stay clear of those plow trucks, I am telling you that is great, but take time to look at it this way also. Stay away from the evil people and those evil places you might want to go. Do you think we might end up this message by going to Jesus asking for Him to forgive us and give us a fresh coat of Blood to make us all clean again? Let's do that now.
Dear Father in Heaven: I confess that I am a sinner and have sinned against You. Please forgive me this day, help me to repent and stay clean and help me to share Your love with others this day. I love You, Lord. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Now go forth sharing your blessings and loving on Jesus and each other. Love ya. Please pass on my love to others also.
Pastor Dan
Brothers and sisters, it was and still is a beautiful day. Each day is a day nearer to spring. When I had my service station at 38th and Walnut Streets, I would put a sign out that said, "SPRING IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER. GO TO THE THIRD LIGHT AND TURN RIGHT." Now if people would do that, they would find "Spring Street." You folks do know that I am sort of nuts, right? I am sorry I have been off and on with the daily message, God and I are working on that. I have a lot of pain and I believe God set me down for a rest for awhile. As I have told you, I wait upon the Lord for the messages. I believe He has me rested up and we will be back writing some. Let me get started with the message. Oh, please keep praying for Matthew. We still have not heard from him. It has been over three years now.
Monday: January 26, 2015: White As Snow (Day One)
1 John 1:5 - This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is Light; in Him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7 But if we walk in the Light, as He is the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the Blood of Jesus, the Son, purifies us from all sin. (NIV)
Mark 16:15 - He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation." (NIV)
Did you ever wonder where the name "Carry The Light Ministries" came from? We were doing a Bible study with the late Pastor Karen Layman covering the Gospel of Mark at the time when Carry The Light was just forming. If we take Mark 16:15 and then we find that Jesus is The Light, we were following what we thought Jesus wanted. We were carrying the Good News into our section of the world.
1 John 1:7 - But if we walk in the Light, as He is the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the Blood of Jesus, the Son, purifies us from all sin.
Those of you who know me know that I just love to plow snow, and yes, I have been doing a lot of that lately. On Saturday I hit the road about 5:00 AM and it was just beautiful, all the slop and the dirt of the roads and the litter along the roads was covered with new fallen snow. Trees were covered, the evergreens looked so pretty. It sort of reminded me of how we have that dirt all over us and then Jesus went to the cross for us and we got covered with the Blood of Jesus which made us as white as that new fallen snow. We were cleared of all of our sins. Well, my home looked so pretty and then I did it, I put the plow down and turned that new white snow over and put those dirty leaves and dirt that was covered on the top. The plow trucks went up the street turning that new snow over showing the dirt from under it. It reminded me of how Jesus washes us white as snow and how great we must look, and then we go out and sin again and put that dirt and filth back on top of us.
Well, with the back to back snows coming through, I once again pulled out on my driveway to see that God had placed another layer of clean new fallen snow over that dirt I had plowed over. I stopped and prayed for awhile asking Jesus to once again forgive me of my sins and to wash me white as snow with the Blood of our Lord Jesus. And yes, Jesus did just that, He forgave me and cleaned me new again. Then I dropped the plow and turned the snow over again and put the filth back on top. I am sure before the end of the day that my thinking or even doings some of which might be sinful.
Tonight it is to snow again, maybe just an inch or two, but it will cover that dirt again. As you can see by my prayer at the beginning of the message, I again asked God to forgive me of my sins. And as sure as we are going to have snow each winter, God will forgive us of our sins. And when we mess up and get dirty again and we ask again to be forgiven, with the Blood of Jesus we will be cleaned again and again.
How long has it been since you have been to Jesus to be washed in the blood? Right now do you look like the new fallen snow or do you look like the side of the highway after those big state plow trucks have gone past turning the snow? We call them a snow plow train, and it just takes all that clean snow and throws it over. I do not want to compare those trucks to Satan, but for just this minute think of it that way. A group of evil trying to get to you, to get you all dirty after Jesus cleans you up. Like on the highway we are to stay clear of those plow trucks, I am telling you that is great, but take time to look at it this way also. Stay away from the evil people and those evil places you might want to go. Do you think we might end up this message by going to Jesus asking for Him to forgive us and give us a fresh coat of Blood to make us all clean again? Let's do that now.
Dear Father in Heaven: I confess that I am a sinner and have sinned against You. Please forgive me this day, help me to repent and stay clean and help me to share Your love with others this day. I love You, Lord. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Now go forth sharing your blessings and loving on Jesus and each other. Love ya. Please pass on my love to others also.
Pastor Dan
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Wednesday 1/21/15 Temptation 2
Dear Father in Heaven: Thank You so much for another day of life here on earth. I love You, Jesus, and I appreciate all that You do for us. Please, dear Lord, be with Vicki and with the problem she is having at her apartment. Please place Your healing hand on Dolores, Barbara, Patsy, Burt, Patricia, Danelle, and if You will please carry a little bit of my pain so I can think better, I would appreciate it. Please, Lord, watch over our son Matthew, for we do not know where he is or how he is. Please, Lord, be with all those driving school buses today, as once again the schools in our area have dismissed early and put the kids in harm's way by sending them out onto that first inch of snow. Lord, please help educators stay in their fields and let the transportation people get the kids home. Watch over those big yellow buses this day. Please help me now with the message and then to get it dispatched. And Lord, it is Salvation Wednesday on our line, so please help us to bring in the lost for You. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.
Brothers and sisters, have you ever heard the statement that "the first inch is the slippery inch," when people are talking about snow? I hated it when the district thought we should send kids home early when a snow storm would come in during the day. You know, if schools would learn that it is best to let the salt trucks get out first and let it get worked in, then it would be safer for the buses. Now you have all heard about delayed starts and early dismissals, but I tried one time to have the schools set up a plan for a delayed dismissal. Wow, who wanted that and why? Gosh, we could have put the snow chains on the buses, it is law that they are carried in the bus, but they only work if they are installed. Also, why not let those salt trucks get on the roads first? And if worst comes to worst, so what if the kids were stuck in school for the night? Gosh, they have plenty of food and bathrooms and the kids could have played games and even get their homework finished. Novel idea? It is sort of like telling the schools to build their schedule around taking January off and going to school in June. Seems to me it is time to take another look at things. Oh, and if you early dismiss and send a five year-old home to an empty house, whose fault is that one? Anyway, I thanked God every day when that last bus got home and when the weather was bad, I would not leave my office until the drivers were safe home with the kids and the drivers had the bus back to the lot. Hey, if I would have needed to spend a night at the transportation building with a group of THE WORLD'S BEST SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS, SO BE IT. Oh, and so all of you know at Central Dauphin School District years ago, the bus fleet was TURNED OVER TO GOD!! Someone should shout amen on that one.
Okay, please be careful o the roads, and remember this, that the locked wheels point the way and you cannot steer your car if you have the brakes locked up. Take your time and drive your car. Now let me get to the message about temptation.
Salvation Wednesday: January 21, 2015: Temptation (Day Two)
Matthew 4:5 - Then the devil took Him to the Holy City and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 "If You are the Son of God," he said, "Throw Yourself down, for it is written: 'He will command His angels concerning You, and they will lift You up in their hands, so that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.'" 7 Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" (NIV)
This happened a few years back when President William Clinton was in office. The Clintons were in a private passenger jet going on a short hop as both of them were speaking and honoring an Eagle Scout. The Eagle Scout was on board along with the Clintons and also the pilot of the private jet. The jet developed engine problems and it was for sure going down. There were only three parachutes on board the plane. President Clinton said, since I am the leader of the free world, I will take one of the chutes and jump. Mrs. Clinton said that since she is the smartest woman in America and maybe even the world she would be needed, so she also took a chute and jumped. The pilot then said to the Eagle Scout to take that last parachute and jump and he would try hard to land the plane. The scout said to the pilot that would not be needed as there were still two parachutes remaining. How is that, the pilot asked the young lad. Well, sir, it seems the world's smartest woman just jumped out of the plane with my backpack on her back. Why did I bring this up? I just wanted to lighten you up a minute or two.
As you can see in the scripture, our Lord Jesus was protected by angels all around Him, but still He was not going to test His Father, and neither should we test Him. There is only one time in scripture where we are told we can test the Lord on something, might you know what it is? It is in there, do you know where? Now, I do believe in praying, and I pray hard or I should say we pray hard every time we leave home and go on the road. I pray for God to watch over our home and our animals and to give us a safe out and safe back. I have faith God will do that if I do my part when it comes to that prayer. What is my part? Well, let me say this, when I get to a traffic signal and it is red or turning red, I stop. I am not going to run the light while asking God to protect me. There is an example in the Bible about just that. Do you know where that might be? Hint, you already read it today. I am also going to go on a tad farther and even check the traffic that might be coming the other way and might indeed run the red light. When you place yourself solid in the Lord's hands, that is good, but still do not tempt God and work as hard as You can at putting feet on those prayers.
How else do you get tempted each day and how do you respond to those temptations? Did you ever notice all the junk that is setting right by the checkout lines as you leave the food store? There are all those "trash newspapers." There are also candy bars and potato chips and cookies and all those things we are not to have.
The best way for you to handle temptation everyday is by staying in touch with Jesus, from the time you get up until the time you go to bed, stay online with Jesus.
How else did Satan try and tempt Jesus? How about answering the questions and we will talk about more temptations tomorrow.
Are you saved today? If Jesus were to return today, would you make it to heaven? In the house next door to ours, same street, right next door, this has happened twice. First case, the senior couple went out, don't know where they were going, but on the way home, within a mile of their home, they were killed in a traffic accident. Mr. was taken right away, Mrs. died several days later in the hospital. I was blessed to be able to go bedside with her and talk about salvation with her. Then my dear buddy Bob O'Brien purchased the home. Bob was born again, I had asked him many times. One day he was out working one of his "Blood Runs." He picked up blood, etc., at doctors' offices and took it to be tested, etc. A big pickup truck went out of control, crossed the highway and hit him head on. He went straight to Jesus. Are you ready if something like this would happen to You?
Jesus said in John 14:6 that He was/is the way and the truth and the life and no one would see the Father without knowing the Son. Yes, that is in my words, but that is the fact, folks. In Romans 10:9/10 it tells us that if we confess with our mouth and believe in our hearts that Jesus is Lord and that He died on the cross for us and on the third day He was risen from the dead, we would be saved. Do you believe those things? Will you pray with me this sinners' prayer?
Lord, please forgive me of my sins, I do believe in Jesus and I love Him. I believe He died for me and was risen from the dead. Please save me, dear Lord. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Now go forth and share your blessings. Love ya. Please share my love also.
Pastor Dan
Brothers and sisters, have you ever heard the statement that "the first inch is the slippery inch," when people are talking about snow? I hated it when the district thought we should send kids home early when a snow storm would come in during the day. You know, if schools would learn that it is best to let the salt trucks get out first and let it get worked in, then it would be safer for the buses. Now you have all heard about delayed starts and early dismissals, but I tried one time to have the schools set up a plan for a delayed dismissal. Wow, who wanted that and why? Gosh, we could have put the snow chains on the buses, it is law that they are carried in the bus, but they only work if they are installed. Also, why not let those salt trucks get on the roads first? And if worst comes to worst, so what if the kids were stuck in school for the night? Gosh, they have plenty of food and bathrooms and the kids could have played games and even get their homework finished. Novel idea? It is sort of like telling the schools to build their schedule around taking January off and going to school in June. Seems to me it is time to take another look at things. Oh, and if you early dismiss and send a five year-old home to an empty house, whose fault is that one? Anyway, I thanked God every day when that last bus got home and when the weather was bad, I would not leave my office until the drivers were safe home with the kids and the drivers had the bus back to the lot. Hey, if I would have needed to spend a night at the transportation building with a group of THE WORLD'S BEST SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS, SO BE IT. Oh, and so all of you know at Central Dauphin School District years ago, the bus fleet was TURNED OVER TO GOD!! Someone should shout amen on that one.
Okay, please be careful o the roads, and remember this, that the locked wheels point the way and you cannot steer your car if you have the brakes locked up. Take your time and drive your car. Now let me get to the message about temptation.
Salvation Wednesday: January 21, 2015: Temptation (Day Two)
Matthew 4:5 - Then the devil took Him to the Holy City and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 "If You are the Son of God," he said, "Throw Yourself down, for it is written: 'He will command His angels concerning You, and they will lift You up in their hands, so that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.'" 7 Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" (NIV)
This happened a few years back when President William Clinton was in office. The Clintons were in a private passenger jet going on a short hop as both of them were speaking and honoring an Eagle Scout. The Eagle Scout was on board along with the Clintons and also the pilot of the private jet. The jet developed engine problems and it was for sure going down. There were only three parachutes on board the plane. President Clinton said, since I am the leader of the free world, I will take one of the chutes and jump. Mrs. Clinton said that since she is the smartest woman in America and maybe even the world she would be needed, so she also took a chute and jumped. The pilot then said to the Eagle Scout to take that last parachute and jump and he would try hard to land the plane. The scout said to the pilot that would not be needed as there were still two parachutes remaining. How is that, the pilot asked the young lad. Well, sir, it seems the world's smartest woman just jumped out of the plane with my backpack on her back. Why did I bring this up? I just wanted to lighten you up a minute or two.
As you can see in the scripture, our Lord Jesus was protected by angels all around Him, but still He was not going to test His Father, and neither should we test Him. There is only one time in scripture where we are told we can test the Lord on something, might you know what it is? It is in there, do you know where? Now, I do believe in praying, and I pray hard or I should say we pray hard every time we leave home and go on the road. I pray for God to watch over our home and our animals and to give us a safe out and safe back. I have faith God will do that if I do my part when it comes to that prayer. What is my part? Well, let me say this, when I get to a traffic signal and it is red or turning red, I stop. I am not going to run the light while asking God to protect me. There is an example in the Bible about just that. Do you know where that might be? Hint, you already read it today. I am also going to go on a tad farther and even check the traffic that might be coming the other way and might indeed run the red light. When you place yourself solid in the Lord's hands, that is good, but still do not tempt God and work as hard as You can at putting feet on those prayers.
How else do you get tempted each day and how do you respond to those temptations? Did you ever notice all the junk that is setting right by the checkout lines as you leave the food store? There are all those "trash newspapers." There are also candy bars and potato chips and cookies and all those things we are not to have.
The best way for you to handle temptation everyday is by staying in touch with Jesus, from the time you get up until the time you go to bed, stay online with Jesus.
How else did Satan try and tempt Jesus? How about answering the questions and we will talk about more temptations tomorrow.
Are you saved today? If Jesus were to return today, would you make it to heaven? In the house next door to ours, same street, right next door, this has happened twice. First case, the senior couple went out, don't know where they were going, but on the way home, within a mile of their home, they were killed in a traffic accident. Mr. was taken right away, Mrs. died several days later in the hospital. I was blessed to be able to go bedside with her and talk about salvation with her. Then my dear buddy Bob O'Brien purchased the home. Bob was born again, I had asked him many times. One day he was out working one of his "Blood Runs." He picked up blood, etc., at doctors' offices and took it to be tested, etc. A big pickup truck went out of control, crossed the highway and hit him head on. He went straight to Jesus. Are you ready if something like this would happen to You?
Jesus said in John 14:6 that He was/is the way and the truth and the life and no one would see the Father without knowing the Son. Yes, that is in my words, but that is the fact, folks. In Romans 10:9/10 it tells us that if we confess with our mouth and believe in our hearts that Jesus is Lord and that He died on the cross for us and on the third day He was risen from the dead, we would be saved. Do you believe those things? Will you pray with me this sinners' prayer?
Lord, please forgive me of my sins, I do believe in Jesus and I love Him. I believe He died for me and was risen from the dead. Please save me, dear Lord. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Now go forth and share your blessings. Love ya. Please share my love also.
Pastor Dan
Monday, January 19, 2015
Monday 1/19/15 Temptation
Dear Father in Heaven: I love You very much. Please forgive me of my sins, and thanks for dying to clear me of my sins. Thanks for hearing our prayers and acting on them according to Your will for us. Please, Lord, help me with the daily messages. I have been struggling to receive messages from You. Please help me with them and help me with my concentration. I would really appreciate it as I want to get back to writing a daily message for You and what You want me to write. Please, Lord, lower my pain level as this might help. So please now help me with the message and to get it dispatched. In the Name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to know that I love all of you. Please keep praying that some pain would let up. It seems to be working on my mind somewhat. I want to get back to writing daily and being more regular than I have been doing. I want to get started with the message right now. A new series: TEMPTATION.
Matthew 4:1 - Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry. 3 The tempter came to Him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." 4 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" (NIV)
I want to ask all of you this. Have you ever been tempted? In the scripture above we see that even Jesus was tempted and He was tempted by Satan, by the leader of evil, the old devil himself. And I know I have been tempted over the years, and while I would love to blame the temptations on the devil, I just can't do all that.
In the scripture above, we see that Jesus had fasted for forty days and night, He was hungry and Satan was tempting Him with food. I know that over the years I have been tempted by food. I love to eat and there was a time I really needed to lose weight. Well, it was not the devil that would tempt me, it was that one king, you know the one, The Burger King. Most of us handle temptation well, for if we really look at things, we can get tempted often in the course of a day. Those wanting to lose weight get tempted by all the commercials that are on television each day. Some of us have other habits and that temptation gets great also and it is not Satan, unless you spell Satan "Caddy." And then there are those other temptations, like low cut tops on ladies, and short skirts on ladies, and yes, ladies, those muscle shirts that some men wear.
We can read about Jesus being tempted and how He handled that temptation, and we need to call on Jesus to help us when we are being tempted. One thing you will find out is that Jesus will not tempt you, and He will help you if you just go to Him in prayer and ask Him to help you. Over the next couple of days we are going to take a look at some things that tempt us and how we can get Jesus to help us handle those temptations. For now, let's talk a tad about Salvation. Today, this Monday is Martin Luther King, Jr., day. I want to thank him for all that he did working for our Lord Jesus. I am sure that if he was walking this earth today he would tell all of us that we need to all get along and also that there would be no one in Heaven that did not love our Lord Jesus. I think if all of us, if all people really loved Jesus, not just said they did, if everyone loved Jesus, there would not be race issues. I have mentioned this before, there really is only one race, the human race. Let us take a look at Salvation this day.
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)
Please, dear Father in Heaven: Please forgive me of my sins, and please save me this day, for when You call me, I want to come to Heaven. I believe You died for me and were risen from the dead. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Now go forth and share your blessings. Love ya. Please share my love with others.
Pastor Dan
Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to know that I love all of you. Please keep praying that some pain would let up. It seems to be working on my mind somewhat. I want to get back to writing daily and being more regular than I have been doing. I want to get started with the message right now. A new series: TEMPTATION.
Matthew 4:1 - Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry. 3 The tempter came to Him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." 4 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" (NIV)
I want to ask all of you this. Have you ever been tempted? In the scripture above we see that even Jesus was tempted and He was tempted by Satan, by the leader of evil, the old devil himself. And I know I have been tempted over the years, and while I would love to blame the temptations on the devil, I just can't do all that.
In the scripture above, we see that Jesus had fasted for forty days and night, He was hungry and Satan was tempting Him with food. I know that over the years I have been tempted by food. I love to eat and there was a time I really needed to lose weight. Well, it was not the devil that would tempt me, it was that one king, you know the one, The Burger King. Most of us handle temptation well, for if we really look at things, we can get tempted often in the course of a day. Those wanting to lose weight get tempted by all the commercials that are on television each day. Some of us have other habits and that temptation gets great also and it is not Satan, unless you spell Satan "Caddy." And then there are those other temptations, like low cut tops on ladies, and short skirts on ladies, and yes, ladies, those muscle shirts that some men wear.
We can read about Jesus being tempted and how He handled that temptation, and we need to call on Jesus to help us when we are being tempted. One thing you will find out is that Jesus will not tempt you, and He will help you if you just go to Him in prayer and ask Him to help you. Over the next couple of days we are going to take a look at some things that tempt us and how we can get Jesus to help us handle those temptations. For now, let's talk a tad about Salvation. Today, this Monday is Martin Luther King, Jr., day. I want to thank him for all that he did working for our Lord Jesus. I am sure that if he was walking this earth today he would tell all of us that we need to all get along and also that there would be no one in Heaven that did not love our Lord Jesus. I think if all of us, if all people really loved Jesus, not just said they did, if everyone loved Jesus, there would not be race issues. I have mentioned this before, there really is only one race, the human race. Let us take a look at Salvation this day.
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)
Please, dear Father in Heaven: Please forgive me of my sins, and please save me this day, for when You call me, I want to come to Heaven. I believe You died for me and were risen from the dead. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Now go forth and share your blessings. Love ya. Please share my love with others.
Pastor Dan
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Wednesday 1/14/15 He's Coming Back 2
Dear Father in Heaven: I love You very, very much. Please forgive me of my sins, and thank You for watching over this line, over families, and also all of our friends. Thanks for being with those we have been praying for, Lord. Please, Lord, help us to repent, help me to repent of my sinful ways and walk stronger and stronger in You each day. Dear Lord, on this day we call Salvation Wednesday on this line, help us to reach out to others and help them to get to your feet to be saved. Help me to teach them the way, help me to follow Your commands and go to the fields of harvest and help bring in the harvest. Dear Lord, help me now with the message and then to get it in the hands of those who need that message. In Jesus' Name, I pray and give thanks. Amen.
Brothers and sisters, it is Wednesday and that means it is Salvation Wednesday on this line and the day we work even harder to lead people to the Lord to be saved. How about I get right to the message today? Let's go.
Salvation Wednesday: January 14, 2015: He's Coming Back (Day Two)
Matthew 3:13 - Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?" 15 Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented. 16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. At that moment Heaven was opened, and He saw the Spirit of God, descending like a dove and lighting on Him. 17 And a voice from Heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased." (NIV)
I love these scriptures where Jesus is baptized by John, and this again is an example to us about being baptized. One thing I do want to bring out right here and now is that one does not need to be baptized to get into Heaven. Being baptized is an outward expression of an inward feeling. I love what happened after Jesus was baptized by John. The Heavens opened up and He saw the Spirit of God descending down on Jesus like a Dove and lighting on Him. Then God tells His Son Jesus, "This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased." Dads, and moms also, if we would take time once in awhile to put our arms around our kids and tell them, THIS IS MY SON, OR THIS IS MY DAUGHTER, WHOM I LOVE and with them I am well pleased, I think it would go a long way in showing our children just how much we love them. What do you think about that?
On this Wednesday, Salvation Wednesday on this line, I think it would be great if we would just spend some time telling others that are in our lives that we love them. In this scripture we find that God, who sent His One and Only Son to die for us, was telling Him just how much He was loved, and that He was also very pleased with Him. How long has it been since you have told your children that you loved them? I think it is something we can't do often enough. But more so other than just telling them that we love them, we need to express it in other ways. Growing up in Harrisburg, PA, I was never good enough to make the Little League baseball team, I never made it once. My dad never put me down for that, he told me that I was doing okay, for I had paper routes and would not have been able to make team practice anyway. Also, I played the trombone and baritone in the school band. I played third trombone, meaning I was not very good at it, but mom and dad cheered me on anyway. When I would play in church, I was so bad that God said it did not even sound like a joyful noise, yet my parents were still proud of me. All of us need to take a lesson from Matthew 3:17, we need to take a lesson from God, well, we should take lots of lessons from God. We should show our love to our children and also to others as God showed His love for His One and Only Son and others also, others like you and me.
There are many times we need to discipline our children, but that should not stop us from putting our arms around them and telling them, regardless of what you have done, I still love you. Think about it, brothers and sisters, it does not make a difference what our sins have been, our Lord Jesus still loved us, loves us, and will love us enough to forgive us, and He died to do that. So as we learn from our scriptures each day, let us take a lesson from today's and tell those we love that we really do love them.
Now, as promised, each day we go out giving each person a time to come to the Lord to be saved or to just renew in Him. Now is that time. So I ask you this day, do you love Jesus with all your heart? Let's go to Him and ask Him to give us a blood bath.
Dear Father in Heaven. Please forgive me of my sins. Please wash me in the blood of Jesus that was shed for me on Calvary's Hill. Please wash me clean, and Jesus, I do believe that You died for me on the cross and that on the third day You were risen from the dead. I believe that in my heart and confess it with my mouth according to the scriptures in Romans 10:9/10. Please place my name in the Lamb's Book of Life. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Now go forth and share your blessings. Love ya. Please pass on my love to others.
Pastor Dan
Brothers and sisters, it is Wednesday and that means it is Salvation Wednesday on this line and the day we work even harder to lead people to the Lord to be saved. How about I get right to the message today? Let's go.
Salvation Wednesday: January 14, 2015: He's Coming Back (Day Two)
Matthew 3:13 - Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?" 15 Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented. 16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. At that moment Heaven was opened, and He saw the Spirit of God, descending like a dove and lighting on Him. 17 And a voice from Heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased." (NIV)
I love these scriptures where Jesus is baptized by John, and this again is an example to us about being baptized. One thing I do want to bring out right here and now is that one does not need to be baptized to get into Heaven. Being baptized is an outward expression of an inward feeling. I love what happened after Jesus was baptized by John. The Heavens opened up and He saw the Spirit of God descending down on Jesus like a Dove and lighting on Him. Then God tells His Son Jesus, "This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased." Dads, and moms also, if we would take time once in awhile to put our arms around our kids and tell them, THIS IS MY SON, OR THIS IS MY DAUGHTER, WHOM I LOVE and with them I am well pleased, I think it would go a long way in showing our children just how much we love them. What do you think about that?
On this Wednesday, Salvation Wednesday on this line, I think it would be great if we would just spend some time telling others that are in our lives that we love them. In this scripture we find that God, who sent His One and Only Son to die for us, was telling Him just how much He was loved, and that He was also very pleased with Him. How long has it been since you have told your children that you loved them? I think it is something we can't do often enough. But more so other than just telling them that we love them, we need to express it in other ways. Growing up in Harrisburg, PA, I was never good enough to make the Little League baseball team, I never made it once. My dad never put me down for that, he told me that I was doing okay, for I had paper routes and would not have been able to make team practice anyway. Also, I played the trombone and baritone in the school band. I played third trombone, meaning I was not very good at it, but mom and dad cheered me on anyway. When I would play in church, I was so bad that God said it did not even sound like a joyful noise, yet my parents were still proud of me. All of us need to take a lesson from Matthew 3:17, we need to take a lesson from God, well, we should take lots of lessons from God. We should show our love to our children and also to others as God showed His love for His One and Only Son and others also, others like you and me.
There are many times we need to discipline our children, but that should not stop us from putting our arms around them and telling them, regardless of what you have done, I still love you. Think about it, brothers and sisters, it does not make a difference what our sins have been, our Lord Jesus still loved us, loves us, and will love us enough to forgive us, and He died to do that. So as we learn from our scriptures each day, let us take a lesson from today's and tell those we love that we really do love them.
Now, as promised, each day we go out giving each person a time to come to the Lord to be saved or to just renew in Him. Now is that time. So I ask you this day, do you love Jesus with all your heart? Let's go to Him and ask Him to give us a blood bath.
Dear Father in Heaven. Please forgive me of my sins. Please wash me in the blood of Jesus that was shed for me on Calvary's Hill. Please wash me clean, and Jesus, I do believe that You died for me on the cross and that on the third day You were risen from the dead. I believe that in my heart and confess it with my mouth according to the scriptures in Romans 10:9/10. Please place my name in the Lamb's Book of Life. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Now go forth and share your blessings. Love ya. Please pass on my love to others.
Pastor Dan
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Tuesday 1/13/15 He's Coming Back 1
Dear Father in Heaven: I love You. Please forgive me of my sins and please help me to repent of them and to keep moving forward helping others get ready for Your return. Dear Lord, please be with Janet Wotring as she has surgery tomorrow. Please watch over Patsy, Burt, Barbara, Vicki, Dolores, and others who need Your healing hand. Please, Lord, help me with messages, for my mind has been drawing blanks lately. I need You, dear Lord, I need You. Please help me to recover from our lunch today where I got really bad food. Lord, please help me now with the message and to get it dispatched. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Brothers and sisters, I have not put out a message for a week. It is cold in the computer room, and my brain is dead. Maybe God just wanted me to rest down a bit, I don't know. Dolores and I were both at the doctor's today and on the way home we stopped at Evergreen Chinese Restaurant. The food was really bad, I mean really bad. So bad I almost gave it back to them on the parking lot. The food on their steam table was not cooked first and they were depending on the steam table to heat it. Well, it was all cold and not cooked through. Anyway, please pray for God to put me back writing messages again. I did listen to the doctors yesterday. I had both of my knees injected and the doctor said to go home and rest them for 24 hours, and I listened. Wow, that is different for me. Anyway, I need to get writing and I do want to write about Jesus coming back. We just went through Christmas and lived out His birth. Now let's get ready for His return.
Tuesday: January 13, 2015: He's Coming Back (Day One)
Matthew 3:1 - In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and 2 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)
"Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is Near." Just one way, my dear brothers and sisters, of saying it this way. "Repent for He's Coming Back." Let us take a look at what it means to "REPENT."
"Repent," according to the dictionary, means to "feel remorse," or self-reproach for what one did, or in some cases did not get done. However, I want to tell you what I think the Bible means when talking about "repenting." It is relating to sin, and it means we are to, yes, feel remorse, however, we are to TURN AND WALK AWAY FROM THAT SIN OR THOSE SINS. If you are one who is going to the Lord and asking to be forgiven and not turning away from sin, then you for sure are NOT REPENTING. John the Baptist told us that we need to repent. Listen also to these words spoken through the Prophet Isaiah.
Isaiah 30:15 - This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you have none of it." (NIV)
The Prophet Isaiah said that the Lord said we are to repent and rest in our Salvation. Again, it is about repenting.
Each year at the turn of the calendar, folks make all these New Year's resolutions, and the two biggies are to lose weight and exercise. Now if we really want to lose weight, we must in most cases change our eating habits. We must really repent of how we would eat and turn and walk away from it. At one time I went to Weight Watchers, and their program really works if indeed you "repent" from those old eating habits. One thing I learned fast was since I weighted in on Thursday evenings and had not had supper yet, I could go out and eat what I wanted. So very often I would leave from Weight Watchers and go to the Burger King and get three Whoppers and eat all three of them. I did not repent from my old ways of eating. Well, sin is no different. In fact, it is worse.
We go to God each day and ask Him to forgive us of our sins, but do we repent? Not all of the time, sometimes maybe, but not all the time. And even like Weight Watchers where I was ready to run out after my weigh-in and "woof" down three big Whoppers, some can hardly wait to get out of church on Sunday morning to go out while not really trying, they went right back to their sinful ways, and why? Because they did not repent. One Sunday I watched as one couple left church (second service) early. They then went to the local food buffet and got in line. After a bit a group of about 20 people from the same church came and cheated in line ahead of everyone else. The two that left early could have got a table, but to jump in line ahead of others to me was not showing what they just learned in church, and yes, right there in front of God and all others, I called them out on it. Did you learn how to cheat the line in church today?
Brothers and sisters, John The Baptist, who by description might look almost as wild as I do, came along and told everyone to REPENT, so today in the words of my Christian Brother, John The Baptist, I want to tell you to REPENT, FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS NEAR. I want to say it this way. HE'S COMING BACK, HE'S COMING BACK. Well, Glory, Praise God, praise God, praise God. While the prophet Isaiah told us what God was telling him, and John The Baptist is preaching and teaching on repentance, who according to the Bible came next to tell everyone that they needed to repent? And who should be telling folks today about needing to repent? Do you have any idea? Tomorrow we will find these things out.
Now go forth and share your blessings. Please Repent of your sins, and know that I love ya. Please share my love with others.
Pastor Dan
Dear Lord, please forgive me of my sins. I truly believe that You died on the cross for me and that You were risen from the dead. Please save me, Lord, please get me ready for Heaven. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Brothers and sisters, I have not put out a message for a week. It is cold in the computer room, and my brain is dead. Maybe God just wanted me to rest down a bit, I don't know. Dolores and I were both at the doctor's today and on the way home we stopped at Evergreen Chinese Restaurant. The food was really bad, I mean really bad. So bad I almost gave it back to them on the parking lot. The food on their steam table was not cooked first and they were depending on the steam table to heat it. Well, it was all cold and not cooked through. Anyway, please pray for God to put me back writing messages again. I did listen to the doctors yesterday. I had both of my knees injected and the doctor said to go home and rest them for 24 hours, and I listened. Wow, that is different for me. Anyway, I need to get writing and I do want to write about Jesus coming back. We just went through Christmas and lived out His birth. Now let's get ready for His return.
Tuesday: January 13, 2015: He's Coming Back (Day One)
Matthew 3:1 - In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and 2 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)
"Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is Near." Just one way, my dear brothers and sisters, of saying it this way. "Repent for He's Coming Back." Let us take a look at what it means to "REPENT."
"Repent," according to the dictionary, means to "feel remorse," or self-reproach for what one did, or in some cases did not get done. However, I want to tell you what I think the Bible means when talking about "repenting." It is relating to sin, and it means we are to, yes, feel remorse, however, we are to TURN AND WALK AWAY FROM THAT SIN OR THOSE SINS. If you are one who is going to the Lord and asking to be forgiven and not turning away from sin, then you for sure are NOT REPENTING. John the Baptist told us that we need to repent. Listen also to these words spoken through the Prophet Isaiah.
Isaiah 30:15 - This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you have none of it." (NIV)
The Prophet Isaiah said that the Lord said we are to repent and rest in our Salvation. Again, it is about repenting.
Each year at the turn of the calendar, folks make all these New Year's resolutions, and the two biggies are to lose weight and exercise. Now if we really want to lose weight, we must in most cases change our eating habits. We must really repent of how we would eat and turn and walk away from it. At one time I went to Weight Watchers, and their program really works if indeed you "repent" from those old eating habits. One thing I learned fast was since I weighted in on Thursday evenings and had not had supper yet, I could go out and eat what I wanted. So very often I would leave from Weight Watchers and go to the Burger King and get three Whoppers and eat all three of them. I did not repent from my old ways of eating. Well, sin is no different. In fact, it is worse.
We go to God each day and ask Him to forgive us of our sins, but do we repent? Not all of the time, sometimes maybe, but not all the time. And even like Weight Watchers where I was ready to run out after my weigh-in and "woof" down three big Whoppers, some can hardly wait to get out of church on Sunday morning to go out while not really trying, they went right back to their sinful ways, and why? Because they did not repent. One Sunday I watched as one couple left church (second service) early. They then went to the local food buffet and got in line. After a bit a group of about 20 people from the same church came and cheated in line ahead of everyone else. The two that left early could have got a table, but to jump in line ahead of others to me was not showing what they just learned in church, and yes, right there in front of God and all others, I called them out on it. Did you learn how to cheat the line in church today?
Brothers and sisters, John The Baptist, who by description might look almost as wild as I do, came along and told everyone to REPENT, so today in the words of my Christian Brother, John The Baptist, I want to tell you to REPENT, FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS NEAR. I want to say it this way. HE'S COMING BACK, HE'S COMING BACK. Well, Glory, Praise God, praise God, praise God. While the prophet Isaiah told us what God was telling him, and John The Baptist is preaching and teaching on repentance, who according to the Bible came next to tell everyone that they needed to repent? And who should be telling folks today about needing to repent? Do you have any idea? Tomorrow we will find these things out.
Now go forth and share your blessings. Please Repent of your sins, and know that I love ya. Please share my love with others.
Pastor Dan
Dear Lord, please forgive me of my sins. I truly believe that You died on the cross for me and that You were risen from the dead. Please save me, Lord, please get me ready for Heaven. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Wednesday 1/7/15 Showers 2
Dear Father in Heaven: I love You. I love You very much. I really appreciate all that You do for us. Please be with Josephine as she starts chemo and please be with Martha Campbell as she takes care of her aging mother. Please also be with Beverly as she is in a great deal of pain. Lord, please be with the families of those who were gunned down in Paris today, and also be across this country protecting our police officers. Lord, please also be with Your people in this very cold weather. Lord, thanks for taking us out today and bringing us back home safe. Now Lord, please help me with the message of today and to get it dispatched. I really do love You and I want to work harder for You each day. Help us daily to be a good witness for You. In Jesus' Name, I pray and give thanks. Amen.
Brothers and sisters, it is cold, really cold. Please pray for those who have lost their heat, have frozen pipes, etc. Pray for those who must be out in the weather. This morning I watched as the trash men were riding the back of that big truck. You see pictures of firefighters with ice on them from fighting fires out in the cold. It really makes me want to get to the message on Showers. Pray for the families of the ones shot to death, not just in Paris, but at our military hospital in El Paso, Texas. Also there was a shooting at an airport in Ohio. Come back and get Your bride, Jesus, please come back for Your bride. Let's get to Showers.
Salvation Wednesday: January 7, 2015: Showers (Day Two)
Psalm 1:1 - Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord and on His law he meditates day and night. (NIV)
Today as we traveled from our home, we were bundled up in our car that has seat heaters. We drove out past the Conodoguinet Creek and there the ducks and geese were splashing around in the water taking, well, a shower. It just never ceases to amaze me how God has taken care of his critters. If you really take time to think about it, there is not a day that goes by that our Good Lord does not shower us with blessings of some type or another. I want you to really think about it. Not counting those basic needs that God blesses us with daily, how long has it been since God laid a blessing on you? A month? A day? What about an hour? When God led me to the scriptures today, I really want to point out that God really wants to bless us, and sometimes when we think we are not being blessed, maybe we should look at what we are doing wrong. In Psalm 1:1, it tells us we will be blessed if we do NOT WALK with the wicked, meaning evil. We are not to be standing with those who are sinners, meaning those who do not want to change their ways. Yes, will people who do those things be blessed in some ways? Sure they will, but we will be blessed so much more if we indeed walk with our Lord and talk to Him and meditate day and night.
I confess that I do not spend nearly enough time talking with Jesus, and I can tell when I get that way, things do not go as well as when I am really talking with Him. Still, we are so blessed. Now I said that God will send blessings to all of us, but your blessing might be more if indeed we are living according to His will for us. If I talk about those showers of blessings and the showers being rain showers in the spring, God sends those showers of blessings even on those who hate Him. Also, the greatest blessing of all that we receive from God is His love for us. He died for us, and I want you to think about this. Today those mass killers, those terrorists who did all that harm, God truly loves them and even died for them. He will indeed forgive them if they would come to Him and ask Him.
Psalm 94:12 - Blessed is the man You discipline, O Lord, the man You teach from Your law. (NIV)
Look at what this scripture tells us. Blessed is the man that God disciplines. When we are disciplined by God, we learn to love Him even more. God tries to teach us His laws. This is why we need to be digging into His Word, the Bible, and we need to be going to a GOOD church where the Pastor preaches THE TRUTH and does not water it down. I think there are times when God "spanks us" and then picks us up and hugs us. And yes, this is the way we need to raise our children. Did you or do you ever stop and think about it that sometimes some of our best blessings come from God when He tells us NO?! Yes, brothers and sisters, sometimes NO is an answer. Sometimes when we pray, we think the blessings are instant. Sometimes God uses us to answer our prayer for others and even answer our own prayers. Let me take a minute and explain that one.
I know of people who will say, I have been praying for a job, and we had a lot of those who came for food at the food pantry. "I have been praying for a job." Then I would ask them, did you go and put in some applications? Well, no, they did not even put in an application for the job. I mean, how do we expect God to answer a prayer if we do not want to even help God when we are praying to Him? Another one is, and it is in the Bible ... You know of someone who needs something, maybe they really need some food. You pray about it, and then you, well, you have heard me use this term -- you put "feet on your prayers." Maybe you just purchase them a ten-pound sack of potatoes and put them on their porch. When we learn to "work for and with God," and we lay blessings on others in the name of our Lord, our very own blessings will increase. God will shower us with even more blessings. I want to sing another verse of that old hymn, "There Shall Be Showers of Blessing." This is the fourth verse.
There shall be showers of blessings.
O that today they might fall.
Now as to God we're confessing.
Now as on Jesus we call!
(Refrain)
Showers of blessing, showers of blessing we need.
Mercy-drops round us are falling, but for the showers we plead.
You can see in this verse we get those showers of blessings when we are confessing and also as we call on Jesus. So with that said, let us get to the confessing. Remember, we are closing daily with a call for Salvation.
Dear Father in Heaven, I confess I am a sinner, and I am calling on You this day to save me from myself. Renew me today, bless me with being able to get into heaven when it is my time. Save me, I love You, Jesus. I ask for the blessing of Salvation above all other blessings, Lord. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Now go forth and share your blessings. Love ya. Please share my love with others.
Pastor Dan
Brothers and sisters, it is cold, really cold. Please pray for those who have lost their heat, have frozen pipes, etc. Pray for those who must be out in the weather. This morning I watched as the trash men were riding the back of that big truck. You see pictures of firefighters with ice on them from fighting fires out in the cold. It really makes me want to get to the message on Showers. Pray for the families of the ones shot to death, not just in Paris, but at our military hospital in El Paso, Texas. Also there was a shooting at an airport in Ohio. Come back and get Your bride, Jesus, please come back for Your bride. Let's get to Showers.
Salvation Wednesday: January 7, 2015: Showers (Day Two)
Psalm 1:1 - Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord and on His law he meditates day and night. (NIV)
Today as we traveled from our home, we were bundled up in our car that has seat heaters. We drove out past the Conodoguinet Creek and there the ducks and geese were splashing around in the water taking, well, a shower. It just never ceases to amaze me how God has taken care of his critters. If you really take time to think about it, there is not a day that goes by that our Good Lord does not shower us with blessings of some type or another. I want you to really think about it. Not counting those basic needs that God blesses us with daily, how long has it been since God laid a blessing on you? A month? A day? What about an hour? When God led me to the scriptures today, I really want to point out that God really wants to bless us, and sometimes when we think we are not being blessed, maybe we should look at what we are doing wrong. In Psalm 1:1, it tells us we will be blessed if we do NOT WALK with the wicked, meaning evil. We are not to be standing with those who are sinners, meaning those who do not want to change their ways. Yes, will people who do those things be blessed in some ways? Sure they will, but we will be blessed so much more if we indeed walk with our Lord and talk to Him and meditate day and night.
I confess that I do not spend nearly enough time talking with Jesus, and I can tell when I get that way, things do not go as well as when I am really talking with Him. Still, we are so blessed. Now I said that God will send blessings to all of us, but your blessing might be more if indeed we are living according to His will for us. If I talk about those showers of blessings and the showers being rain showers in the spring, God sends those showers of blessings even on those who hate Him. Also, the greatest blessing of all that we receive from God is His love for us. He died for us, and I want you to think about this. Today those mass killers, those terrorists who did all that harm, God truly loves them and even died for them. He will indeed forgive them if they would come to Him and ask Him.
Psalm 94:12 - Blessed is the man You discipline, O Lord, the man You teach from Your law. (NIV)
Look at what this scripture tells us. Blessed is the man that God disciplines. When we are disciplined by God, we learn to love Him even more. God tries to teach us His laws. This is why we need to be digging into His Word, the Bible, and we need to be going to a GOOD church where the Pastor preaches THE TRUTH and does not water it down. I think there are times when God "spanks us" and then picks us up and hugs us. And yes, this is the way we need to raise our children. Did you or do you ever stop and think about it that sometimes some of our best blessings come from God when He tells us NO?! Yes, brothers and sisters, sometimes NO is an answer. Sometimes when we pray, we think the blessings are instant. Sometimes God uses us to answer our prayer for others and even answer our own prayers. Let me take a minute and explain that one.
I know of people who will say, I have been praying for a job, and we had a lot of those who came for food at the food pantry. "I have been praying for a job." Then I would ask them, did you go and put in some applications? Well, no, they did not even put in an application for the job. I mean, how do we expect God to answer a prayer if we do not want to even help God when we are praying to Him? Another one is, and it is in the Bible ... You know of someone who needs something, maybe they really need some food. You pray about it, and then you, well, you have heard me use this term -- you put "feet on your prayers." Maybe you just purchase them a ten-pound sack of potatoes and put them on their porch. When we learn to "work for and with God," and we lay blessings on others in the name of our Lord, our very own blessings will increase. God will shower us with even more blessings. I want to sing another verse of that old hymn, "There Shall Be Showers of Blessing." This is the fourth verse.
There shall be showers of blessings.
O that today they might fall.
Now as to God we're confessing.
Now as on Jesus we call!
(Refrain)
Showers of blessing, showers of blessing we need.
Mercy-drops round us are falling, but for the showers we plead.
You can see in this verse we get those showers of blessings when we are confessing and also as we call on Jesus. So with that said, let us get to the confessing. Remember, we are closing daily with a call for Salvation.
Dear Father in Heaven, I confess I am a sinner, and I am calling on You this day to save me from myself. Renew me today, bless me with being able to get into heaven when it is my time. Save me, I love You, Jesus. I ask for the blessing of Salvation above all other blessings, Lord. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Now go forth and share your blessings. Love ya. Please share my love with others.
Pastor Dan
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Tuesday 1/6/15 Showers 1
Dear Father in Heaven: I love You, and I give You all honor and glory for a great day. Please, Lord, clean my slate and forgive my sins and shortcomings. Thanks for the snow that has covered the ground. Please, Lord, be with Your people during the cold snap that is coming across America. Lord, more police officers have been shot. Please, Lord, protect them, protect our President and all of our leaders, and Lord, please protect and bless all of our veterans and all of our current military. Also, Lord, please protect Your Christian Army as we who are in that Army want to move forward in getting out the Good News. Help us with that and help me do just that in the daily messages. Please help me now with that and then to get it dispatched. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters, please pray for our police and all other first responders. Please also pray that these sit-ins stop, and please pray our President would step forward and talk to our nation about this. And we need to pray that Reverend Al Sharpton would come to Jesus. Did I just judge him? I just can't understand why he who is to be a leader for the Lord can do what he does. Pray, warriors, pray. Let me get started with this message. More than likely this will go on for more than one day.
Tuesday: January 6, 2015: Showers (Day One)
Ezekiel 34:25 - I will make a covenant of peace with them and rid the land of wild beasts so that they may live in the desert and sleep in the forests in safety. 26 I will bless them and the places surrounding my hill. I will send down showers of blessings. (NIV)
Showers, how many different kinds of showers are there? Each morning for years and years and years I would get up and take a shower, and I still do that in retirement. Well, most every day since I retired. I really love that indoor plumbing, don't you? Today we had snow and some snow showers. In the month of December we had many days where we had rain and rain showers. And we know often, often we receive rain showers and even have a saying about "April showers bring May flowers." All those showers can be grouped with the showers I want to talk to you about for a few days.
Showers of Blessings. There is an old revival hymn called "There Shall Be Showers of Blessings," and it is taken right out of Ezekiel 34:26, our scripture for today. Let's sing a verse or two today. Will you join me?
There shall be showers of blessings.
This is the promise of love.
There shall be seasons refreshing
sent from the Savior above.
(Refrain)
Showers of blessing, showers of blessing we need.
Mercy-drops round us are falling, but for the showers we plead.
Now let's sing and look at the third verse of this great revival and renewal hymn:
There shall be showers of blessing.
Send them upon us, O Lord.
Grant to us now a refreshing,
Come and now honor Your Word.
(Refrain)
Showers of blessing, showers of blessing we need.
Mercy-drops round us are falling, but for the showers we plead.
In the first verse of the hymn it tells us that this is a promise of love and that it is sent from the Savior above. I want to bring out the word promise and also the word Love. If we really dig into the Bible, it is full of promises and it is full of love, all these things God wants to give us, and they are part of the Love God gave us when He gave Jesus to us,and of course Jesus loved us so much He gave His life for us. That is love! Real Love.
Now we look at the third verse, and it is really a prayer. When we are singing this, we are asking in song, Showers of Blessings, "Send them upon us, O Lord." And we sing the prayer even more when we sing, "Grant to us now a refreshing." Even calling on the Lord to "Honor His Word." That is a prayer, my dear brothers and sisters. A Prayer.
Today I ask all of you, besides those basic blessings we receive each day, like the air we breathe, the food we eat, the clothes we wear, and the water we drink, how has God showered you with blessings? Starting tomorrow we are going to be looking in the Bible for some of the blessings that God has already given to us and those we have yet to receive.
Now, as promised, each day I want to close with the sinner's prayer or a renewal prayer. A good day to have your brand-new birthday.
Dear Father in Heaven: Please forgive me of my sins and wash me white as the new fallen snow. Help me to repent and turn away from sin. I do believe that Jesus was born of a virgin mother and that He was put to death to save us from our sins. I believe also that God raised Jesus from the dead on that third day. Renew me today, save me today. In the Name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
Now go forth and share your blessings. Love ya, and please, please, share my love with others.
Pastor Dan
See you tomorrow, and remember, it will be SALVATION WEDNESDAY.
Dear brothers and sisters, please pray for our police and all other first responders. Please also pray that these sit-ins stop, and please pray our President would step forward and talk to our nation about this. And we need to pray that Reverend Al Sharpton would come to Jesus. Did I just judge him? I just can't understand why he who is to be a leader for the Lord can do what he does. Pray, warriors, pray. Let me get started with this message. More than likely this will go on for more than one day.
Tuesday: January 6, 2015: Showers (Day One)
Ezekiel 34:25 - I will make a covenant of peace with them and rid the land of wild beasts so that they may live in the desert and sleep in the forests in safety. 26 I will bless them and the places surrounding my hill. I will send down showers of blessings. (NIV)
Showers, how many different kinds of showers are there? Each morning for years and years and years I would get up and take a shower, and I still do that in retirement. Well, most every day since I retired. I really love that indoor plumbing, don't you? Today we had snow and some snow showers. In the month of December we had many days where we had rain and rain showers. And we know often, often we receive rain showers and even have a saying about "April showers bring May flowers." All those showers can be grouped with the showers I want to talk to you about for a few days.
Showers of Blessings. There is an old revival hymn called "There Shall Be Showers of Blessings," and it is taken right out of Ezekiel 34:26, our scripture for today. Let's sing a verse or two today. Will you join me?
There shall be showers of blessings.
This is the promise of love.
There shall be seasons refreshing
sent from the Savior above.
(Refrain)
Showers of blessing, showers of blessing we need.
Mercy-drops round us are falling, but for the showers we plead.
Now let's sing and look at the third verse of this great revival and renewal hymn:
There shall be showers of blessing.
Send them upon us, O Lord.
Grant to us now a refreshing,
Come and now honor Your Word.
(Refrain)
Showers of blessing, showers of blessing we need.
Mercy-drops round us are falling, but for the showers we plead.
In the first verse of the hymn it tells us that this is a promise of love and that it is sent from the Savior above. I want to bring out the word promise and also the word Love. If we really dig into the Bible, it is full of promises and it is full of love, all these things God wants to give us, and they are part of the Love God gave us when He gave Jesus to us,and of course Jesus loved us so much He gave His life for us. That is love! Real Love.
Now we look at the third verse, and it is really a prayer. When we are singing this, we are asking in song, Showers of Blessings, "Send them upon us, O Lord." And we sing the prayer even more when we sing, "Grant to us now a refreshing." Even calling on the Lord to "Honor His Word." That is a prayer, my dear brothers and sisters. A Prayer.
Today I ask all of you, besides those basic blessings we receive each day, like the air we breathe, the food we eat, the clothes we wear, and the water we drink, how has God showered you with blessings? Starting tomorrow we are going to be looking in the Bible for some of the blessings that God has already given to us and those we have yet to receive.
Now, as promised, each day I want to close with the sinner's prayer or a renewal prayer. A good day to have your brand-new birthday.
Dear Father in Heaven: Please forgive me of my sins and wash me white as the new fallen snow. Help me to repent and turn away from sin. I do believe that Jesus was born of a virgin mother and that He was put to death to save us from our sins. I believe also that God raised Jesus from the dead on that third day. Renew me today, save me today. In the Name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
Now go forth and share your blessings. Love ya, and please, please, share my love with others.
Pastor Dan
See you tomorrow, and remember, it will be SALVATION WEDNESDAY.
Monday, January 5, 2015
Monday 1/5/15 Picking Up Trash!!
Dear Father in Heaven: I love You, and I really appreciate You. Please forgive me of my sins. Thanks for watching over family and friends, and thanks for keeping Your healing hand upon David and on Dolores and others we have been praying for. Please, Lord, help me with a message this day and then to get it dispatched. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters: It is off and running here at Carry The Light Ministries as we enter the first full week of January. (Come on, spring.) I was at my family doctor today, and I believe I was the only person in the waiting room who was not sick. Yes, I have a lot of pain, but doc gave me a clean bill of health today, all honor and glory to God, all honor and glory to God, please shout with me, Praise the Lord. I also had a call from Dave Fortney, the first I had heard his voice since his bad, bad fall. He is coming along well, and on the phone we prayed and gave all glory to God for His healing hand. Dave thanks all of you who have prayed for him and asks you to keep praying as he does have a rough road to travel. Today is our son Matthew's birthday; he is 47 today. We do not have a clue where he is or what he is up to. We have not heard from him for over two years. He did post on Facebook that he was now a Muslim sometime ago. Please keep praying, warriors.
I don't know where this message might head today, for God just now gave it to me. With that said, let me get started.
Monday: January 5, 2015: Picking Up Trash!!
Matthew 11:28 - "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (NIV)
Psalm 68:14 - Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. (NIV)
Exodus 33:14 - The Lord replied, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." (NIV)
Brothers and sisters, do you like to pick up trash? Brothers and sisters, I watch our trash collectors going out and collecting our trash week after week in all kinds of weather. What great men and women they are to serve us so well. Yes, we recycle things today. Year ago while growing up in the city, we also recycled. We had garbage trucks and trash trucks, which we called the ash men as they would get the ashes from those who burned coal. One of my first jobs was on the garbage truck, where I was paid $50 a week and all I could eat. (Okay, I made that one up to see if you are awake.) However, we did have a garbage truck, and they took that to a hog farm and fed it to the pigs for food. Now you cannot do that, even though the pigs were well fed. Now they stuff them full of hormones to make them grow. But let me get back to the message.
It seems to me that a lot of us, and yes, I said us, for I am guilty of this also ... we take our burdens, our trash, our sins, and we bundle them up and we give them to the Lord, and we say something like this.
Dear Father in Heaven, here are my sins, Lord, it is the trash from my past, and some of the worries and burdens that are even working on me this day, and Lord, I want to cast them over to You right now in the Name of Jesus who went to the cross to clear me of my sins of the past, my trash, Lord, and I ask You to wash me white of them. In Jesus' Name, I give thanks. Amen.
Now did you just read that, or did you take time to pray it? How about it? How about I bring that down and we pray it together right now and give our trash to the Lord? Will you do that with me? Here it is again. Same prayer, only this time, pray it in faith.
Dear Father in Heaven, here are my sins, Lord, it is the trash from my past, and some of the worries and burdens that are even working on me this day, and Lord, I want to cast them over to You right now in the Name of Jesus who went to the cross to clear me of my sins of the past, my trash, Lord, and I ask You to wash me white of them. In Jesus' Name, I give thanks. Amen.
Now you are clean, STOP, DO NOT PICK THAT TRASH UP, you just gave it to God. It is gone. The Scripture in the Words of Jesus says this: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." So we gave it over, why do we, and I said we, want to pick it up again? Brothers and sisters, you do not throw the same trash out to the curb each week, it is just more junk and trash. So why then do we want to take back that old trash, that old garbage that we have carried around over the years? I mean, if you want to pick up trash, get a group together and pick up along the edge of a road, but stop picking up that old crap, and yes, I called it crap, that you gave over to God. HE TOOK IT TO THE CROSS FOR YOU.
In the book of Psalms, and I wrote this one down for you, it tells us that we should "Praise the Lord, our God and Savior, who DAILY BEARS OUR BURDENS." Yes, I put it in my words some, you can go back up and read it as it appears in the Bible. Not only did He, our Lord Jesus, clean us of our trash, He picks it up daily if we mess up. Our trash collectors come once a week, but Jesus is there for us day after day, after day after day.
Now I also want to leave you with this. Everyone, except for Jesus, has a closet, yes, everyone, and no one wants that closet opened. ONCE YOU GIVE IT TO JESUS, IT IS GONE. Do not let anyone cast it up to you. If someone tries to cast it up to you, take them aside and tell them how they can get rid of their past sins by going to Jesus. You remember that scripture about throwing stones? Let me help you.
John 8:7 - When they kept on questioning Him, He straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." (NIV)
I, brothers and sisters, get sick and tired of hearing people say, "I remember him or I remember her." Stop it, brothers and sisters, for when you were "Born Again," your past was taken away. And if you never were "Born Again," then let's take care of that right now. From the scriptures, Romans 10:9/10, and you can look this one up. Let's confess those sins to the Lord.
Dear Father in Heaven, today is the day. I want to be "Born Again." I want to be washed in the Blood of Jesus, and Jesus, right now, according to the scriptures, I confess my love and faith in You. I believe You died on the cross and on the third day were risen from the dead. I have faith in that. Save me right now, please, Jesus. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Brothers and sisters, please get used to seeing a prayer of salvation at the end of the message each day. Those of you who are born again know why I must do this. If you have questions about your salvation, please call us. If no one answers the number 717 691 8200, please leave your name and phone number and say you want to talk to someone about salvation. You will be called back.
Now go forth and share your blessings. Love ya. Please share my love with others.
Pastor Dan
Dear brothers and sisters: It is off and running here at Carry The Light Ministries as we enter the first full week of January. (Come on, spring.) I was at my family doctor today, and I believe I was the only person in the waiting room who was not sick. Yes, I have a lot of pain, but doc gave me a clean bill of health today, all honor and glory to God, all honor and glory to God, please shout with me, Praise the Lord. I also had a call from Dave Fortney, the first I had heard his voice since his bad, bad fall. He is coming along well, and on the phone we prayed and gave all glory to God for His healing hand. Dave thanks all of you who have prayed for him and asks you to keep praying as he does have a rough road to travel. Today is our son Matthew's birthday; he is 47 today. We do not have a clue where he is or what he is up to. We have not heard from him for over two years. He did post on Facebook that he was now a Muslim sometime ago. Please keep praying, warriors.
I don't know where this message might head today, for God just now gave it to me. With that said, let me get started.
Monday: January 5, 2015: Picking Up Trash!!
Matthew 11:28 - "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (NIV)
Psalm 68:14 - Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. (NIV)
Exodus 33:14 - The Lord replied, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." (NIV)
Brothers and sisters, do you like to pick up trash? Brothers and sisters, I watch our trash collectors going out and collecting our trash week after week in all kinds of weather. What great men and women they are to serve us so well. Yes, we recycle things today. Year ago while growing up in the city, we also recycled. We had garbage trucks and trash trucks, which we called the ash men as they would get the ashes from those who burned coal. One of my first jobs was on the garbage truck, where I was paid $50 a week and all I could eat. (Okay, I made that one up to see if you are awake.) However, we did have a garbage truck, and they took that to a hog farm and fed it to the pigs for food. Now you cannot do that, even though the pigs were well fed. Now they stuff them full of hormones to make them grow. But let me get back to the message.
It seems to me that a lot of us, and yes, I said us, for I am guilty of this also ... we take our burdens, our trash, our sins, and we bundle them up and we give them to the Lord, and we say something like this.
Dear Father in Heaven, here are my sins, Lord, it is the trash from my past, and some of the worries and burdens that are even working on me this day, and Lord, I want to cast them over to You right now in the Name of Jesus who went to the cross to clear me of my sins of the past, my trash, Lord, and I ask You to wash me white of them. In Jesus' Name, I give thanks. Amen.
Now did you just read that, or did you take time to pray it? How about it? How about I bring that down and we pray it together right now and give our trash to the Lord? Will you do that with me? Here it is again. Same prayer, only this time, pray it in faith.
Dear Father in Heaven, here are my sins, Lord, it is the trash from my past, and some of the worries and burdens that are even working on me this day, and Lord, I want to cast them over to You right now in the Name of Jesus who went to the cross to clear me of my sins of the past, my trash, Lord, and I ask You to wash me white of them. In Jesus' Name, I give thanks. Amen.
Now you are clean, STOP, DO NOT PICK THAT TRASH UP, you just gave it to God. It is gone. The Scripture in the Words of Jesus says this: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." So we gave it over, why do we, and I said we, want to pick it up again? Brothers and sisters, you do not throw the same trash out to the curb each week, it is just more junk and trash. So why then do we want to take back that old trash, that old garbage that we have carried around over the years? I mean, if you want to pick up trash, get a group together and pick up along the edge of a road, but stop picking up that old crap, and yes, I called it crap, that you gave over to God. HE TOOK IT TO THE CROSS FOR YOU.
In the book of Psalms, and I wrote this one down for you, it tells us that we should "Praise the Lord, our God and Savior, who DAILY BEARS OUR BURDENS." Yes, I put it in my words some, you can go back up and read it as it appears in the Bible. Not only did He, our Lord Jesus, clean us of our trash, He picks it up daily if we mess up. Our trash collectors come once a week, but Jesus is there for us day after day, after day after day.
Now I also want to leave you with this. Everyone, except for Jesus, has a closet, yes, everyone, and no one wants that closet opened. ONCE YOU GIVE IT TO JESUS, IT IS GONE. Do not let anyone cast it up to you. If someone tries to cast it up to you, take them aside and tell them how they can get rid of their past sins by going to Jesus. You remember that scripture about throwing stones? Let me help you.
John 8:7 - When they kept on questioning Him, He straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." (NIV)
I, brothers and sisters, get sick and tired of hearing people say, "I remember him or I remember her." Stop it, brothers and sisters, for when you were "Born Again," your past was taken away. And if you never were "Born Again," then let's take care of that right now. From the scriptures, Romans 10:9/10, and you can look this one up. Let's confess those sins to the Lord.
Dear Father in Heaven, today is the day. I want to be "Born Again." I want to be washed in the Blood of Jesus, and Jesus, right now, according to the scriptures, I confess my love and faith in You. I believe You died on the cross and on the third day were risen from the dead. I have faith in that. Save me right now, please, Jesus. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Brothers and sisters, please get used to seeing a prayer of salvation at the end of the message each day. Those of you who are born again know why I must do this. If you have questions about your salvation, please call us. If no one answers the number 717 691 8200, please leave your name and phone number and say you want to talk to someone about salvation. You will be called back.
Now go forth and share your blessings. Love ya. Please share my love with others.
Pastor Dan
Saturday, January 3, 2015
Saturday 1/3/15 The Blame Game
Dear Father in Heaven: I love You. I love You very much. Please forgive me of my sins. Thanks for watching over families and watching over friends. Thanks for the rain we are receiving. Please, Lord, be with Patsy and touch her as she witnesses for You in a nursing home. Lord, please help us in this new year, not just me but all of us, to keep working for You and spreading Your Word, the Good News of Jesus. Please help me with the message and to get it dispatched. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Hi, sisters and brothers. I do not usually write on a weekend day, but I wanted to get the year started. I must tell you that last evening most of our family gathered in a room in the West Main Diner in Mechanicsburg, where Dolores celebrated her 80th birthday. I treated her to one of her favorite meals, LIVER AND ONIONS. With Dolores being sick and in the hospital, this also served as our Christmas get-together. Four of our six kids were there, eleven grandchildren, and six of our great-grandchildren. It truly was a great evening, with all the glory going to God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Praise God for the improvement we see in David Fortney, Glory to God. Today we will travel back and look at man's first sin, what it was and who started that sin. I want to look at a few things a little differently. Let's get that started.
Saturday: January 3, 2015: The Blame Game
After God had created the Heavens and the Earth, He made man (Adam), and since Adam was lonely God created a woman (Eve). Now let's take a look at what happened.
Genesis 3:1 - Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" 2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'" 4 "You will not certainly die," the serpent said to the woman. 5"For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,knowing good and evil." (NIV)
As we look at the scripture we see that there was something different here. Now we watch TV today and know that we had a talking mule (Francis). We have had a talking horse (Ed). And in those cartoons we have talking cats, dogs, mice, just about all the animals talk in our movies and clips. But if you go all the way back in the Bible, we see that the serpent talked, and it was for real. If you truly believe in all things recorded in the Bible as I DO, then you must believe that the snake talked. Now the serpent was trying to get Eve to sin, for you see man, Adam, was COMMANDED not to eat from that certain tree in the middle of the Garden. Here it is in scripture.
Genesis 2:16 - And the Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden," 17 "but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." (NIV)
This I believe would be the very, very first commandment given to man. How long would it be before man broke that commandment? Let's take a look.
Genesis 3:6 - When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. (NIV)
Even with all the other food in the Garden, and that would be the "Garden of Eden," Eve took some of the fruit and ate it and she gave some to Adam, who was right there with her and could have stopped her, but he did not, and then it went on and Eve gave some of that fruit to Adam and he ate it also. So who really committed the first sin? I think it would have been Adam, for man is to head up the household, under Jesus, of course, but Adam left Eve pick from that tree so Adam could have said to Eve something like this. "Hey, sweetie, we are not to eat from that tree, please do not do it." But no, Adam did not do that, and they both ate from the tree. What did they tell God? Let's see who gets in trouble for this original sin. And up to now they were also naked, so I guess it was the very first nudist camp. Did I say that? Here comes God, let's see what happens!
Genesis 3:8 - Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the Garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man,, "Where are you?" 10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid." 11 And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?" 12 The man said, "The woman you put here with me -- she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it." 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." 14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." 16 To the woman he said, "I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you." 17 To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat from it,' "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return." (NIV)
Brothers and sisters, when God came and found Adam and Eve hiding in the Garden, He already knew that they had sinned, for God knows everything. Yes, He can see all of our sins. We cannot hide from God. Have you ever done something you knew was wrong, and you knew it was a sin, and you did it anyway? I confess I have done that! But did you ever try and blame that sin or that wrongdoing on someone else? Do you see what happened in the scriptures above? God asked Adam about eating the fruit from the tree, and Adam said, well, Eve gave it to me. And when Eve was talked to by God, she blamed the serpent, the snake, so right then and there God handed out some punishment, and that punishment is still going on this day. What is that punishment?
The serpent crawls on the ground. Women have hard pains at childbirth. And man, well, he has weeds in his garden. Think about this while I ask you this, have you ever blamed your spouse for something you did? If so, go and hug them and tell them you are sorry. And have you ever blamed the dog for something because you did not want to take the blame? I think the best way to wrap up this one day writing is not to blame others, but to confess to God our sins. Are you with me? Let's get clean!
Dear Father in Heaven: I confess I am a sinner and yes, in the past I blamed others for what I did wrong. Please forgive me, Lord, please forgive me. Please, Lord, hear the prayers of others on the line who are praying this prayer. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
Now let's all go forth sharing our blessings. Love ya. Please pass on my love to others.
Pastor Dan
Hi, sisters and brothers. I do not usually write on a weekend day, but I wanted to get the year started. I must tell you that last evening most of our family gathered in a room in the West Main Diner in Mechanicsburg, where Dolores celebrated her 80th birthday. I treated her to one of her favorite meals, LIVER AND ONIONS. With Dolores being sick and in the hospital, this also served as our Christmas get-together. Four of our six kids were there, eleven grandchildren, and six of our great-grandchildren. It truly was a great evening, with all the glory going to God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Praise God for the improvement we see in David Fortney, Glory to God. Today we will travel back and look at man's first sin, what it was and who started that sin. I want to look at a few things a little differently. Let's get that started.
Saturday: January 3, 2015: The Blame Game
After God had created the Heavens and the Earth, He made man (Adam), and since Adam was lonely God created a woman (Eve). Now let's take a look at what happened.
Genesis 3:1 - Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" 2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'" 4 "You will not certainly die," the serpent said to the woman. 5"For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,knowing good and evil." (NIV)
As we look at the scripture we see that there was something different here. Now we watch TV today and know that we had a talking mule (Francis). We have had a talking horse (Ed). And in those cartoons we have talking cats, dogs, mice, just about all the animals talk in our movies and clips. But if you go all the way back in the Bible, we see that the serpent talked, and it was for real. If you truly believe in all things recorded in the Bible as I DO, then you must believe that the snake talked. Now the serpent was trying to get Eve to sin, for you see man, Adam, was COMMANDED not to eat from that certain tree in the middle of the Garden. Here it is in scripture.
Genesis 2:16 - And the Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden," 17 "but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." (NIV)
This I believe would be the very, very first commandment given to man. How long would it be before man broke that commandment? Let's take a look.
Genesis 3:6 - When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. (NIV)
Even with all the other food in the Garden, and that would be the "Garden of Eden," Eve took some of the fruit and ate it and she gave some to Adam, who was right there with her and could have stopped her, but he did not, and then it went on and Eve gave some of that fruit to Adam and he ate it also. So who really committed the first sin? I think it would have been Adam, for man is to head up the household, under Jesus, of course, but Adam left Eve pick from that tree so Adam could have said to Eve something like this. "Hey, sweetie, we are not to eat from that tree, please do not do it." But no, Adam did not do that, and they both ate from the tree. What did they tell God? Let's see who gets in trouble for this original sin. And up to now they were also naked, so I guess it was the very first nudist camp. Did I say that? Here comes God, let's see what happens!
Genesis 3:8 - Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the Garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man,, "Where are you?" 10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid." 11 And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?" 12 The man said, "The woman you put here with me -- she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it." 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." 14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." 16 To the woman he said, "I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you." 17 To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat from it,' "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return." (NIV)
Brothers and sisters, when God came and found Adam and Eve hiding in the Garden, He already knew that they had sinned, for God knows everything. Yes, He can see all of our sins. We cannot hide from God. Have you ever done something you knew was wrong, and you knew it was a sin, and you did it anyway? I confess I have done that! But did you ever try and blame that sin or that wrongdoing on someone else? Do you see what happened in the scriptures above? God asked Adam about eating the fruit from the tree, and Adam said, well, Eve gave it to me. And when Eve was talked to by God, she blamed the serpent, the snake, so right then and there God handed out some punishment, and that punishment is still going on this day. What is that punishment?
The serpent crawls on the ground. Women have hard pains at childbirth. And man, well, he has weeds in his garden. Think about this while I ask you this, have you ever blamed your spouse for something you did? If so, go and hug them and tell them you are sorry. And have you ever blamed the dog for something because you did not want to take the blame? I think the best way to wrap up this one day writing is not to blame others, but to confess to God our sins. Are you with me? Let's get clean!
Dear Father in Heaven: I confess I am a sinner and yes, in the past I blamed others for what I did wrong. Please forgive me, Lord, please forgive me. Please, Lord, hear the prayers of others on the line who are praying this prayer. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
Now let's all go forth sharing our blessings. Love ya. Please pass on my love to others.
Pastor Dan
Thursday, January 1, 2015
Thursday 1/1/15 The Big Trip 17
Dear Father in Heaven: I love You very, very much. Thanks for another day here on earth, and thanks for watching over us. Thanks for watching over families and friends, and thanks for dying so we might live. I pray today, Lord, that during this coming year I will fall deeper and deeper in love with You and work even harder for You each day in some way. Lord, speak to my heart and give me direction. Please be with all those who work to keep us safe. Lord, it seems that some people seem to hate those who work to keep us safe. It seems that people also hated and still hate You and You just want to save us. I sometimes find it hard to understand why people want to kill someone who loves them so much. I am so glad that I am saved, Lord, and I believe in a risen Savior who is alive. Thanks, Lord, for all You do for all of us. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters, let me start by praying for you to have a blessed and happy New Year.
Dear Father in Heaven, please watch over all those who read and follow the Ministries of Carry The Light, and please bless them in all they do, not just for 2015 but until You call them home. Bless their every move, bless their families, bless them with a bounty that only You can provide. You see, Jesus, I love You and I love all those who support Carry The Light Ministries, regardless of which mission. Lord, please open doors for them so that they also might find great joy this year and more so as they reach out for You. May they all draw nearer to You in 2015. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Brothers and sisters, this will be the last message that comes under the name of The Big Trip. What subject is next? I do not know at this time. I am praying about it. Tomorrow Dolores will be 80 years old. She robbed the cradle when she got me. I tell people that when we went to her senior prom, I picked her up on my tricycle. The truth is we met in 1981. As you set forth in the New Year, please draw nearer to Jesus and work hard to bring others to Him. Each day we are one day nearer to His return. Are you ready for that? Okay, let me get to the message.
Thursday: January 1, 2015: The Big Trip (Day Seventeen)
Wise Men from the East
Matthew 2:1 - Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him."
3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 So they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:
6 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;
For out of you shall come a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.'"
7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also."
9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way. (NKJV, New King James Version)
King Herod really wanted to see Jesus dead. He was a murderer who had already murdered his wife, three sons, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, uncle, and many others. So we know he was a murderer and now he wanted to murder our Lord Jesus. I wanted to bring that out for two reasons.
First, to show you that right from the start, for Jesus, people wanted to kill him, and it seems so strange to me that people wanted to kill someone who loved them as much as Jesus did. King Herod hated Jesus and did not know anything about Him.
Second, it shows when we look forward to now, people who hate Jesus really know nothing about Him. People who do not believe in Jesus are intimidated by words on a wall, words like "In God We Trust," or "The Commandments." Some who hate Him do not even want to see a picture of Jesus. They do not want to see a manger on government property. And in some cases when they go to vote in churches they want the pictures of Christ removed. And believe it or not, some churches remove them.
Our scriptures tell us that Jesus is the same today as He was yesterday and He will be the same in the future. (Hebrews 13:8)
I also wanted to point out this special star that rose up over Jesus when He was born. We can see in the scripture that the Magi followed the star, which led them to Jesus. Look at this scripture of ours today.
Matthew 2:9 - When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.
One thing that King Herod did not figure on was that those kings, or magi, also called wise men, who took the gifts to Jesus, bowed down and worshiped Him. They were some of the very first to come to Jesus, along with the shepherds from the fields nearby. And we can see in the scriptures that the magi who delivered gifts to Jesus and bowed down and worshiped Him were warned in a dream to go back home by another route. Check it out:
Matthew 2:12 - Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.
I want to bring all this out for it is still the same. We who love and worship Jesus are threatened and many of our missionaries have been murdered by those who are afraid of Jesus. Speaking of missionaries, please keep Dan Stoner and his family in your prayers. The Stoners were home for awhile as Dan was very ill. But they are back on the mission trail and are now in West Africa.
This will wrap up the series on The Big Trip which was about the birth of Jesus, a man, the Son of God who was "Born to Die So We Might Live." I pray you enjoyed the trip but more so came nearer to Jesus by following it.
Now go forth and share your blessings. Love ya. Please pass on my love to others.
Pastor Dan
Dear brothers and sisters, let me start by praying for you to have a blessed and happy New Year.
Dear Father in Heaven, please watch over all those who read and follow the Ministries of Carry The Light, and please bless them in all they do, not just for 2015 but until You call them home. Bless their every move, bless their families, bless them with a bounty that only You can provide. You see, Jesus, I love You and I love all those who support Carry The Light Ministries, regardless of which mission. Lord, please open doors for them so that they also might find great joy this year and more so as they reach out for You. May they all draw nearer to You in 2015. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Brothers and sisters, this will be the last message that comes under the name of The Big Trip. What subject is next? I do not know at this time. I am praying about it. Tomorrow Dolores will be 80 years old. She robbed the cradle when she got me. I tell people that when we went to her senior prom, I picked her up on my tricycle. The truth is we met in 1981. As you set forth in the New Year, please draw nearer to Jesus and work hard to bring others to Him. Each day we are one day nearer to His return. Are you ready for that? Okay, let me get to the message.
Thursday: January 1, 2015: The Big Trip (Day Seventeen)
Wise Men from the East
Matthew 2:1 - Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him."
3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 So they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:
6 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;
For out of you shall come a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.'"
7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also."
9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way. (NKJV, New King James Version)
King Herod really wanted to see Jesus dead. He was a murderer who had already murdered his wife, three sons, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, uncle, and many others. So we know he was a murderer and now he wanted to murder our Lord Jesus. I wanted to bring that out for two reasons.
First, to show you that right from the start, for Jesus, people wanted to kill him, and it seems so strange to me that people wanted to kill someone who loved them as much as Jesus did. King Herod hated Jesus and did not know anything about Him.
Second, it shows when we look forward to now, people who hate Jesus really know nothing about Him. People who do not believe in Jesus are intimidated by words on a wall, words like "In God We Trust," or "The Commandments." Some who hate Him do not even want to see a picture of Jesus. They do not want to see a manger on government property. And in some cases when they go to vote in churches they want the pictures of Christ removed. And believe it or not, some churches remove them.
Our scriptures tell us that Jesus is the same today as He was yesterday and He will be the same in the future. (Hebrews 13:8)
I also wanted to point out this special star that rose up over Jesus when He was born. We can see in the scripture that the Magi followed the star, which led them to Jesus. Look at this scripture of ours today.
Matthew 2:9 - When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.
One thing that King Herod did not figure on was that those kings, or magi, also called wise men, who took the gifts to Jesus, bowed down and worshiped Him. They were some of the very first to come to Jesus, along with the shepherds from the fields nearby. And we can see in the scriptures that the magi who delivered gifts to Jesus and bowed down and worshiped Him were warned in a dream to go back home by another route. Check it out:
Matthew 2:12 - Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.
I want to bring all this out for it is still the same. We who love and worship Jesus are threatened and many of our missionaries have been murdered by those who are afraid of Jesus. Speaking of missionaries, please keep Dan Stoner and his family in your prayers. The Stoners were home for awhile as Dan was very ill. But they are back on the mission trail and are now in West Africa.
This will wrap up the series on The Big Trip which was about the birth of Jesus, a man, the Son of God who was "Born to Die So We Might Live." I pray you enjoyed the trip but more so came nearer to Jesus by following it.
Now go forth and share your blessings. Love ya. Please pass on my love to others.
Pastor Dan
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