Salvation Wednesday 12/23/15 The Big Trip (14)

Dear Father in Heaven: I love You and I give praise and honor to You for loving me and loving all others. Sometimes during a holiday season we feel left alone, lost from others and thinking back on those who have departed from earth or maybe just for one reason or another have departed from our lives. I pray that people will remember Your promise that You will never leave us nor forsake us and that You comfort all who are feeling lonely during this time of year. Lord, please wrap Your loving arms around all of us and bring us the warmth that only true love can bring. Please help me with the message and then, Lord, please help me to get it dispatched. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.

Dear brothers and sisters, I want to take time and thank all of you for the nice notes you have sent via the computer and also by U.S. Mail. I want to thank all of you who rode out the hard/low time I walked through this past June and July. Trust me when I tell all of you they were and are appreciated. Some of you I know and have never met face to face. Someday that will happen. "When we all get to heaven," oh what a joyful time we will  have. AMEN. Can you believe it is December 23rd already? And of course it is Wednesday so that makes it "Salvation Wednesday" on this line. Please go to prayer for the souls of the unsaved. Let me get to the message.

Salvation Wednesday: December 23, 2015: The Big Trip by Donkey Dan (Day Fourteen)

Luke 2:4 - So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem, the town of David, because he belonged to the home and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there the time came for the Baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a Son. She wrapped Him in cloths and placed Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. (NIV)

Brothers and sisters, I am going back to a scripture that I have used already on this big trip, and I will be using the same scripture tomorrow. The main verses I want to use from this scripture are:

Luke 2:6 - While they were there the time came for the Baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a Son. She wrapped Him in cloths and placed Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. (NIV)

My Subtitle for the message is "No Room."

Looking back to my days of childhood and my days at the 29th Street United Brethren Church in Harrisburg, PA (now 29th Street United Methodist Church) and remembering the Christmas season, what I remember being told the most was Jesus was born and He was born in a barn and placed in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. Yes, we talked about the Virgin Birth and Mary, the earthly mother of Jesus, but at that age I am not sure I even knew what a virgin was. On this Christmas day, Christmas day 2015, I would think there will be a lot of children born in the open or in camps because there was no room in a hospital or they could not afford to be in a hospital. So even with everything that we have, babies are still being born where there is no room. Or even worse, how many might be aborted because the mother might think she has no room in her life for a baby. But for a few short minutes I want to look at the "No Room" part about Jesus. On that first Christmas that was the first time there was no room for Jesus.How many times has it happened since that date?

The first place I want to bring up that I can think about is our public schools. Starting a lot of years back and pretty much put upon us by Madeline Murray O'Hara who pushed and pushed to have the Bible reading taken out of schools and also the daily prayers that were said after the Bible reading. So we look back and think that was a start and each year after that more and more schools had "No Room" for Jesus. Back about nine or ten years ago Dolores, looking like Mrs. Claus, and me, looking like old Santa, pulled our big Eagle Bus up to Lawnton Elementary School to go in for a Santa visit. The new principal came out to greet us at the bus door and told me, "This year you cannot say anything about Jesus." The children could be seen heading to the assembly for this meeting with Santa. So the Pastor in me came forth and said, "If I can't talk to the kids about Jesus, we are not going in." And then I added, "You can tell the kids why." Now this lady I think feared for her job, but I am not sure about that. Anyway, we went in and in closing I talked about Jesus. On the way out the principal greeted me again and said you will NOT be invited back next year. You see, Lawnton Elementary School, part of the big Central Dauphin School District, had now made the statement that there was "NO ROOM." Yes, no room for Jesus. Room for "Holiday Trees" but do not call them Christmas Trees. Room for Santa and candy canes and reindeer, but NO ROOM FOR JESUS.

More and more we are seeing this happen. The Ten Commandments being removed from our Courthouse walls. Why? Because it might offend someone. NO ROOM FOR JESUS. WELL, THAT OFFENDS ME!!! AMEN. Over the years on a lot of town squares there have been Nativity displays set up. One by one they are not being put up. Why? "NO ROOM" FOR JESUS!!! Brothers and sisters, even in some churches you hear less and less about Jesus, and why? Because it seems that there is NO ROOM FOR HIM!!!

Here are but a few places that since that very first Christmas there has been NO ROOM for Jesus.

The First Inn. Public Schools. Public Hospitals. (Praise God for the Holy Spirit Hospital.) Government, National, State and Local. Some stores are saying NO ROOM FOR JESUS by not letting the Salvation Army ring bells in front of their stores. Others, the employees are told not to say "MERRY CHRISTMAS" but to say Happy Holidays instead. Tomorrow, on Christmas Eve, we will be talking about some of the same things and one of the biggest places worldwide who have the sign out NO ROOM HERE FOR JESUS!!! Do you know where that might be? Let me know.

Dear Father in Heaven: There is room on this line and in this home for You. Come on in, the welcome mat is out. I pray all who read this will pray the same thing. Welcome, Jesus, and Father, I do that in the wonderful Name of Jesus. Amen.

Now go forth and love and serve Jesus. Love ya.

Pastor Dan

Away in a manger, no crib for a bed.
The little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head.
The stars in the sky looked down where He lay.
The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.