Dear Father in Heaven: I love You and I pray that You will forgive me of my sins, those I know of and those I don't even remember doing. Thanks again for waking us this day and for granting us another day here one earth. Please keep watch over this line and all who use it. Please comfort and bless Matthew and his son Noah. Please also carry some pain for both Dolores and myself. Please help me with the message and to get caught up in my work for You. Please help me with the daily message this day and then to get it dispatched. In the Name of Jesus I ask, give thanks and pray. Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters, I have been doing a lot of missing when it comes to my daily work for the Lord. Mostly my fault, but there are days I just cannot keep up with the pain. Please pray for me that I will be able to handle the pain better than I have been doing. Today I am writing on repentance, for I believe that is where our Good Lord wants me to go. I have noticed lately that I have had some sinful thoughts and I am thinking I am not doing a good job of turning them over to our Lord Jesus. So for all of you who might be like me today, let us repent of our sins before we slip over the edge and get lost. Please hang in with Jesus and if this subject is something you think you need, please let me know. I love all of you. I want to write for the Lord and also write what He tells me is needed for all who follow this line. Amen.
Salvation Wednesday: February 24, 2016: The Big Trip (Day Forty-four)
Repentance: Day One
Luke 15:7-10 King James Version (KJV)
7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.
8 Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she finds it?
9 And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.
10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
Today I want to go to Luke 15:10 to get started. And let me put it out like this. Let us all get together, those of us who have been sinning and let us make some angels of God, also God The Father, God The Son and God The Holy Ghost. Rejoice in Heaven if we get ourselves back on track by walking each day stronger with Jesus there will be rejoicing. Amen.
I love this scripture, Luke 15:/10, and we find out that Jesus really does care about us. He does not want to lose any of us, not one, not one. According to God's Word, there will be a lot of rejoicing in Heaven when just one lost sinner has come home.
On this our Salvation Wednesday (okay, it was yesterday) we look forward to guiding a lost son or daughter home to Jesus.
A little over two weeks ago, we had a record-breaking snow storm go through our area and it dumped nearly three feet of snow in our backyard. And then God turned on the heavenly fan and stacked it up. Well, so you know Dolores and I feed outdoor cats. We call them our wildcats. They were turned loose by others and sort of just started hanging out here and eating the scraps of bread left over from our feeding of our goats. Well, the goats are long gone, doing well at a goat farm in Perry County, but the cats are all still here. Last summer all were trapped and taken out and "fixed." Well, after the big snow, their feeding station buried, I put some food right outside our garage doors. One by one, one by one the cats came back. We did not lose any of them, thanks to God and also Barbara Rice from nobody's cats. Be it one of your animals or one of your family members who has slipped a tad, we all need to be praying for them, and when one comes home, when one comes back to Jesus, we rejoice.
I have been talking to God lately telling Him I am not too happy with myself. I am letting Him down, not getting messages out on schedule. So we talked and now I am listening to Him. Some days I might want to blame it on intense pain, but other days maybe I am just being lazy. Do you know where I am coming from? Anyway, please today, read the scripture about repenting and pray for God to use me to write on that subject for the next few days. I want to obey God and I want to walk arm in arm with Jesus, so please rejoice with me, and I hope with others as I pray others will join with us as WE RETURN HOME BEFORE WE GET TOO LOST IN SIN. Please someone shout Amen and join me.
Just a Little Talk with Jesus
I once was lost in sin, but Jesus took me in.
And then a little light from Heaven filled my soul.
It bathed my heart in love and wrote my name above,
And just a little talk with Jesus made me whole.
Now let us have a little talk with Jesus,
Let us tell Him all about our troubles.
He will hear our faintest cry
And He will answer by and by.
Now when you feel a little prayer wheel turning
And you know a little fire is burning,
You will find a little talk with Jesus makes it right.
I may have doubts and fears, my eyes be filled witch tears,
But Jesus is a friend who watches day and night.
I go to Him in prayer, He knows my every care.
And just a little talk with Jesus makes it right.
Now let us have a little talk with Jesus,
Let us tell Him all about our troubles.
He will hear our faintest cry
And He will answer by and by.
Now when you feel a little prayer wheel turning
And you know a little fire is burning,
You will find a little talk with Jesus makes it right.
Dear Father in Heaven, help me to repent and come back to Jesus and walk solidly with Him each and every minute of my life. Please, Father, I love You, and I love Jesus very much. Please help us all down here on earth, and I pray there will be rejoicing in Heaven right now. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Please go forth now and love Jesus and share His love with others that you meet along the way. Jesus loves You and we must love Him. I love ya also.
Pastor Dan
Now let us have a little talk with Jesus,
Let us tell Him all about our troubles.
He will hear our faintest cry
And He will answer by and by.
Now when you feel a little prayer wheel turning
And you know a little fire is burning,
You will find a little talk with Jesus makes it right.
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Sunday, February 21, 2016
Sunday 2/21/16 The Big Trip (43)
A very, very important notice at the end of the message. Buck Rambo has gone to be with Jesus.
Dear Father in Heaven: I love You. Thanks for going to the Cross, Jesus, to save me from self-destruction. Please keep watch over Your flock, dear Jesus, my Savior and Shepherd. I am so happy to be able to say, Lord, that I am part of Your Flock and will be with You forever and ever. Thanks for watching over this line and thanks in advance for watching over all who use it and write or take part in it in any way. Please, Lord, know that I am sorry when I fail You and I ask You to forgive me when that happens. Please help me with the message as I wrap up on the 23rd Psalm. Then, Lord, please help me to get it dispatched. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters, it has been a wonderful day here at the Southern Location of the North Pole. Started out this morning with breakfast and then with singing and worshiping our Lord Jesus right here in our home. Then we put on Jimmy Swaggart Ministries and sang along with them and watched as Gabriel Swaggart preached and he was on fire this morning. Today I want to finish up on the 23rd Psalm as we keep going on our big trip. The Big Trip will end after Easter, after we talk about the death of Jesus on the Cross, then Him being risen from the grave and also His great promise, which I call now the greatest promise ever made. Let me get going.
Sunday: February 21, 2016: The Big Trip (Day Forty-three)
The 23rd Psalm (Day Five)
Psalm 23 King James Version (KJV)
1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
Brothers and sisters, it has been pure joy to be writing on the 23rd Psalm. And it is also exciting for I never know until I really get started where God is going to send me on the writing or with the writing. As any good pastor will tell you, there are many sermons in each and every scripture in our wonderful book we call the Bible. As I talk about this last verse, I want to be sure to tell you that to have this verse be true to you, you must be saved. You must have given yourself over to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In other words, and to use a couple of really scary words, you must be "Born Again" and once you are indeed "Born Again" this will for sure happen to you.
Psalm 23:6 - Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
Yes, you will be able to jump and shout that Goodness and Mercy will be with you for the rest of your life here on earth and then you will go into the loving arms of Jesus Himself and be there forever and ever. Right now someone should be shouting out as loud as you can PRAISE THE LORD!
Let me set it out like this. I am "Born Again," washed in the Blood of our Lord Jesus and for sure His goodness, the goodness of Jesus or the good news of Jesus will follow me, and not just that His mercy, YES, His mercy, what Jesus did on the cross, His mercy for us will be with us forever and ever. And with that said I do want to share with You a couple of my favorite scriptures. Let me start with this one from Hebrews.
Hebrews 13:8 - Jesus is the same yesterday and today and forever. (NIV)
Now that scripture tells you just like it is. Jesus does not change. The Word in our Bibles does not change, although some people will pull it out of context and try and use it against you when you claim Jesus as your Savior. Here is another one I love.
Romans 8:28 - And we know that in all things God works for the good, of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. (NIV)
Here is another one that I love and it just tells me that we need Jesus to get into Heaven and we also need Jesus to intercede for us when we pray. In other words when we pray to our Father in Heaven, we need to place our prayers through Jesus. No one else will get us to the Father in Heaven but Jesus. No one, prayers offered up in the name of The Blessed Virgin Mary to our Father do not get there. Sorry, as wonderful as the Mother of Jesus really is, she cannot intercede to the Father for us. Here is the proof of what I am saying, backed up and supported by scripture.
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)
John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." (NIV)
John 3:3 - In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is "Born Again." (NIV)
Let me have one last look at Psalm 23, verse 6.
Psalm 23:6 - Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
John 14:1 - "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in Me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms; If it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I WILL COME BACK AND TAKE YOU TO BE WITH ME, THAT YOU ALSO MAY BE WHERE I AM." (NIV)
So my dear brothers and sisters, if you know and love Jesus, if you are indeed born again, then you can say, shout and sing out. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. AMEN.
Dear Father in Heaven, I love You and someday I want to live with You in our Mansion in Heaven. Please help me to repent and walk daily with You. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Now please go forth sharing and loving Jesus above everything else in your life. Jesus loves you, and yes, I love ya also.
Pastor Dan
Now sing this one with me.
Mansion Over the Hilltop
I'm satisfied with just a cottage below;
A little silver and a little gold.
But in that city where the ransomed will shine
I want a gold one that's silver lined.
I've got a mansion just over the hilltop
In that bright land where we'll never grow old.
And someday yonder we will nevermore wander,
But walk on streets that are purest gold.
Don't think me poor or deserted or lonely.
I'm not discouraged, I'm heaven bound.
I'm just a pilgrim in search of that city;
I want a mansion, a harp and a crown.
I've got a mansion just over the hilltop
In that bright land where we'll never grow old.
And someday yonder we will nevermore wander,
But walk on streets that are purest gold.
I've got a mansion just over the hilltop
In that bright land where we'll never grow old.
And someday yonder we will nevermore wander,
But walk on streets that are purest gold.
SPECIAL NOTICE. This word just in. Gospel singer Buck Rambo went home to the Lord at 6:00 PM this evening. Please pray for his wife Mae and their family. Another singer in Heaven.
Dear Father in Heaven: I love You. Thanks for going to the Cross, Jesus, to save me from self-destruction. Please keep watch over Your flock, dear Jesus, my Savior and Shepherd. I am so happy to be able to say, Lord, that I am part of Your Flock and will be with You forever and ever. Thanks for watching over this line and thanks in advance for watching over all who use it and write or take part in it in any way. Please, Lord, know that I am sorry when I fail You and I ask You to forgive me when that happens. Please help me with the message as I wrap up on the 23rd Psalm. Then, Lord, please help me to get it dispatched. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters, it has been a wonderful day here at the Southern Location of the North Pole. Started out this morning with breakfast and then with singing and worshiping our Lord Jesus right here in our home. Then we put on Jimmy Swaggart Ministries and sang along with them and watched as Gabriel Swaggart preached and he was on fire this morning. Today I want to finish up on the 23rd Psalm as we keep going on our big trip. The Big Trip will end after Easter, after we talk about the death of Jesus on the Cross, then Him being risen from the grave and also His great promise, which I call now the greatest promise ever made. Let me get going.
Sunday: February 21, 2016: The Big Trip (Day Forty-three)
The 23rd Psalm (Day Five)
Psalm 23 King James Version (KJV)
1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
Brothers and sisters, it has been pure joy to be writing on the 23rd Psalm. And it is also exciting for I never know until I really get started where God is going to send me on the writing or with the writing. As any good pastor will tell you, there are many sermons in each and every scripture in our wonderful book we call the Bible. As I talk about this last verse, I want to be sure to tell you that to have this verse be true to you, you must be saved. You must have given yourself over to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In other words, and to use a couple of really scary words, you must be "Born Again" and once you are indeed "Born Again" this will for sure happen to you.
Psalm 23:6 - Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
Yes, you will be able to jump and shout that Goodness and Mercy will be with you for the rest of your life here on earth and then you will go into the loving arms of Jesus Himself and be there forever and ever. Right now someone should be shouting out as loud as you can PRAISE THE LORD!
Let me set it out like this. I am "Born Again," washed in the Blood of our Lord Jesus and for sure His goodness, the goodness of Jesus or the good news of Jesus will follow me, and not just that His mercy, YES, His mercy, what Jesus did on the cross, His mercy for us will be with us forever and ever. And with that said I do want to share with You a couple of my favorite scriptures. Let me start with this one from Hebrews.
Hebrews 13:8 - Jesus is the same yesterday and today and forever. (NIV)
Now that scripture tells you just like it is. Jesus does not change. The Word in our Bibles does not change, although some people will pull it out of context and try and use it against you when you claim Jesus as your Savior. Here is another one I love.
Romans 8:28 - And we know that in all things God works for the good, of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. (NIV)
Here is another one that I love and it just tells me that we need Jesus to get into Heaven and we also need Jesus to intercede for us when we pray. In other words when we pray to our Father in Heaven, we need to place our prayers through Jesus. No one else will get us to the Father in Heaven but Jesus. No one, prayers offered up in the name of The Blessed Virgin Mary to our Father do not get there. Sorry, as wonderful as the Mother of Jesus really is, she cannot intercede to the Father for us. Here is the proof of what I am saying, backed up and supported by scripture.
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)
John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." (NIV)
John 3:3 - In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is "Born Again." (NIV)
Let me have one last look at Psalm 23, verse 6.
Psalm 23:6 - Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
John 14:1 - "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in Me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms; If it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I WILL COME BACK AND TAKE YOU TO BE WITH ME, THAT YOU ALSO MAY BE WHERE I AM." (NIV)
So my dear brothers and sisters, if you know and love Jesus, if you are indeed born again, then you can say, shout and sing out. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. AMEN.
Dear Father in Heaven, I love You and someday I want to live with You in our Mansion in Heaven. Please help me to repent and walk daily with You. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Now please go forth sharing and loving Jesus above everything else in your life. Jesus loves you, and yes, I love ya also.
Pastor Dan
Now sing this one with me.
Mansion Over the Hilltop
I'm satisfied with just a cottage below;
A little silver and a little gold.
But in that city where the ransomed will shine
I want a gold one that's silver lined.
I've got a mansion just over the hilltop
In that bright land where we'll never grow old.
And someday yonder we will nevermore wander,
But walk on streets that are purest gold.
Don't think me poor or deserted or lonely.
I'm not discouraged, I'm heaven bound.
I'm just a pilgrim in search of that city;
I want a mansion, a harp and a crown.
I've got a mansion just over the hilltop
In that bright land where we'll never grow old.
And someday yonder we will nevermore wander,
But walk on streets that are purest gold.
I've got a mansion just over the hilltop
In that bright land where we'll never grow old.
And someday yonder we will nevermore wander,
But walk on streets that are purest gold.
SPECIAL NOTICE. This word just in. Gospel singer Buck Rambo went home to the Lord at 6:00 PM this evening. Please pray for his wife Mae and their family. Another singer in Heaven.
Friday, February 19, 2016
Friday 2/19/16 The Big Trip (42)
Dear Father in Heaven: I love You. Thanks for watching over us. Thanks for watching over me. Please, Lord, keep watch over Matthew and also Noah. Please, Lord, be with President Obama and watch over him. Also please be with all of our veterans, our current military, our police and firefighters, and all the first responders. Please, Lord, be with the family of the lady who lost her life in a fire last evening. Also, Lord, please be with all those who were displaced by the different fires last evening in Lower Paxton Township and also Penbrook. Please, Lord, help me with the message and then please, Lord, help me to get it dispatched. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters. Please enjoy your weekend. Spend time with God and enjoy the nice weather he is sending our way. I want to get working on the 23rd Psalm, so let me get started.
Friday: February 19, 2016: The Big Trip (Day Forty-two)
Psalm 23 (Day Four)
1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waterrs.
3 He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
Brothers an sisters, each day as I read through Psalm 23 while doing this writing on the Psalm, God keeps laying more and more on my heart about it. It is so much fun working for Jesus and I am so blessed over the years that God trusts me to work for Him. Today we are going to look at verse five.
Psalm 23:5 - Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
In this verse God starts out telling me that He is going to provide me with food, maybe not always what I would like but always something that I can eat and it will help my body and soul. If you talk to people that have been in our military you will find out they did not always like the food sent them, but when out in a foxhole some of those quick meals were pretty tasty. A few years back we were given a lot of cases of military meals to hand out to those who were hungry and calling on Carry The Light Ministries for food. Before we gave an of them away, Grant and Wanda and Dolores and I sat down to lunch and had some of these military meals. And to all of us, we thought they were, well, really good. However, when we went to give them out, we had a lot of "so called" hungry and needy people who just turned their nose up at them. Would not even take them. We gave a lot of them to a scout troop who used them on a weekend campout and they loved them. Here is what I personally think about people who come for food, saying they have nothing and then refusing to take and eat what our military men and women get to eat while protecting America. I think they need to go hungry, really go hungry for a few weeks. We also had a few people who said they would take all we would give them. They tried them and really liked them.
I bring this up for these ready-to-eat military meals are prepared by those working for God and oftentimes those tables are set right in front of the enemies. I wonder sometimes how often did our men and women invite the enemies to their table to share this food.
Now as far as God anointing my head with oil, that was done many times to me and I also, working for God as a pastor, anointed others for God. In the Bible it tells us we should anoint with oil and pray for the sick to be healed. Let us look at that scripture. This from the book of James.
James 5:13-16 King James Version (KJV)
13 Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any merry? Let him sing psalms.
14 Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
Psalm 23:5 - Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
As for the last line of this verse, "My cup runneth over." Yes, my cup runneth over, meaning since I have been walking with Jesus, although I do slip and fall, my cup is never really empty, never even half empty, it is either half full, completely full, or just running over. How about yours? If your cup is not running over, maybe you are not giving to God, for He has made a promise and said we can even test Him on this. If you give to me in faith, I will bless you so much you will not have a place to store it. And yes, not a place to store it can mean my "cup is running over." Someone please say Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters, please go forth now sharing the love of Jesus and telling others about the Good News and how your cup is running over. PRAISE THE LORD. Love ya.
Pastor Dan
What a Day That Will Be (Jim Hill)
What a day that will be
When my Jesus I shall see
And I look upon His face,
The one who saved me by His grace!
When He takes me by the hand
And leads me through the promised land;
What a day, glorious day, that will be!
What a day that will be
When my Jesus I shall see
And I look upon His face,
The one who saved me by His grace!
When He takes me by the hand
And leads me through the promised land;
What a day, glorious day, that will be!
Dear brothers and sisters. Please enjoy your weekend. Spend time with God and enjoy the nice weather he is sending our way. I want to get working on the 23rd Psalm, so let me get started.
Friday: February 19, 2016: The Big Trip (Day Forty-two)
Psalm 23 (Day Four)
1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waterrs.
3 He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
Brothers an sisters, each day as I read through Psalm 23 while doing this writing on the Psalm, God keeps laying more and more on my heart about it. It is so much fun working for Jesus and I am so blessed over the years that God trusts me to work for Him. Today we are going to look at verse five.
Psalm 23:5 - Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
In this verse God starts out telling me that He is going to provide me with food, maybe not always what I would like but always something that I can eat and it will help my body and soul. If you talk to people that have been in our military you will find out they did not always like the food sent them, but when out in a foxhole some of those quick meals were pretty tasty. A few years back we were given a lot of cases of military meals to hand out to those who were hungry and calling on Carry The Light Ministries for food. Before we gave an of them away, Grant and Wanda and Dolores and I sat down to lunch and had some of these military meals. And to all of us, we thought they were, well, really good. However, when we went to give them out, we had a lot of "so called" hungry and needy people who just turned their nose up at them. Would not even take them. We gave a lot of them to a scout troop who used them on a weekend campout and they loved them. Here is what I personally think about people who come for food, saying they have nothing and then refusing to take and eat what our military men and women get to eat while protecting America. I think they need to go hungry, really go hungry for a few weeks. We also had a few people who said they would take all we would give them. They tried them and really liked them.
I bring this up for these ready-to-eat military meals are prepared by those working for God and oftentimes those tables are set right in front of the enemies. I wonder sometimes how often did our men and women invite the enemies to their table to share this food.
Now as far as God anointing my head with oil, that was done many times to me and I also, working for God as a pastor, anointed others for God. In the Bible it tells us we should anoint with oil and pray for the sick to be healed. Let us look at that scripture. This from the book of James.
James 5:13-16 King James Version (KJV)
13 Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any merry? Let him sing psalms.
14 Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
Psalm 23:5 - Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
As for the last line of this verse, "My cup runneth over." Yes, my cup runneth over, meaning since I have been walking with Jesus, although I do slip and fall, my cup is never really empty, never even half empty, it is either half full, completely full, or just running over. How about yours? If your cup is not running over, maybe you are not giving to God, for He has made a promise and said we can even test Him on this. If you give to me in faith, I will bless you so much you will not have a place to store it. And yes, not a place to store it can mean my "cup is running over." Someone please say Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters, please go forth now sharing the love of Jesus and telling others about the Good News and how your cup is running over. PRAISE THE LORD. Love ya.
Pastor Dan
What a Day That Will Be (Jim Hill)
What a day that will be
When my Jesus I shall see
And I look upon His face,
The one who saved me by His grace!
When He takes me by the hand
And leads me through the promised land;
What a day, glorious day, that will be!
What a day that will be
When my Jesus I shall see
And I look upon His face,
The one who saved me by His grace!
When He takes me by the hand
And leads me through the promised land;
What a day, glorious day, that will be!
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Salvation Wednesday 2/17/16 The Big Trip (41)
Dear Father in Heaven: I love You and I appreciate that You sent Jesus to die on the Cross to save me from my sins. I pray today according to Your Word in Psalms 143:10 to teach me to do Thy will for Thou art my God. And Father, I want to follow Jesus and Your Word and Your will for me. Please help me walk this day for You. I pray today for Grant and Wanda and I ask that You help them. I pray also this day for Noah and for You to cover him and heal him. I pray also today for Dolores and ask Your touch on her. Also, Lord, please heal Linda's cold and throat and also please be with and heal and comfort Buck Rambo, and also give strength to his wife Mae. Please help me now with the daily message and then, please, Lord, help me to get it dispatched. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters, please pray today for our grandson Noah, and also new today please pray for Gospel singer Buck Rambo as hospice has now been called in. Buck has cancer. Please also lift his wife Mae in prayers. Years ago when Carry The Light Ministries was on the road singing we had the honor of opening a few concerts for Buck when he was in the area. Buck's first wife Dotty was killed in a bus crash when her tour bus went out of control in bad weather heading to a concert.
If you have prayer requests, please be sure to send them and I will post them. Also, if you have praise reports, as we need to post them also. My dear friend and brother in Christ sent me one of his favorite scriptures which I used today in my opening prayer and will try and work into the message. What a great verse and I just love how God gives different scriptures to each of us to comfort us and get us also in line with His will for us. Thanks to Tom Sansoni for sharing one of his favorite scriptures with us. Now to the message, and please remember it is Salvation Wednesday on this line.
Salvation Wednesday: February 17, 2016: The Big Trip (Day Forty-one)
Psalm 23 King James Version (KJV)
1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
Dear brothers and sisters: Today as we look at the 23rd Psalm we are going to dig into verse 4, so let me set that out for us.
Psalm 23:4 - Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.
If you recall years ago Dolores and I rode motorcycle and we rode a lot. We traveled most every place we went on a big Honda Goldwing and pulled a trailer behind us. On the tank of one of the cycles there was a Bible painted there by an artist and it was the 23rd Psalm verse 4 and it read like this:
"Yea, though we ride through the valley of the shadow of death, we will fear no evil; for Thou art riding with us."
Over the years we got into some places that I was not sure we would get out of and without Jesus with us, more than likely we would not have made it. Coming out of Washington, DC, one night well after dark I made a wrong turn and we were in a neighborhood where I think everyone would have loved to take our ride from us, but God was faithful and the wheels kept turning and we got out safe. Another time we rode to church and after church we went for lunch. While there someone lifted the hitch pin leaving it open. We traveled out onto Highway 83 North and were running in the Harrisburg area when the trailer came loose from the cycle and was hanging on the safety chains. I told Dolores to pray and hang on as I tried to control the trailer. The cars behind us saw we were in trouble and believe it or not were holding the traffic back. I would slow down some until the trailer was ready to drag and then gas it to lift it, and I did this until I got the speed down to where I was ready to dump it onto the shoulder. I again told Dolores to pray and hold on and I put it on the shoulder and grabbed a handful of brakes and held onto the cycle. We stopped and not one scratch. All honor and glory to God. We put the stand down on the cycle and got off, went to the guard rail, and got on our knees and thanked our Good Lord. Then we hitched up and went on with our ride. The following week I got locks for those hitches.
Psalm 23:4 - Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.
So to me, it does not make a difference if you are walking, riding a cycle, driving a car, driving a big rig, or a bus, or even up in the front of a big airliner as a pilot as my friend Charles Wotring did for many years, if you are walking, riding, driving, or flying and doing it with Jesus you do not need to "fear any evil" for indeed God is with you and with us. Then it talks about His rod and His staff being a comfort to us. The rod and staff were to a shepherd tools to help him watch over his sheep, maybe hook in one that would be wandering away or even use it to chase away a wolf. To me, I like to think of His Rod and His Staff as tools to protect us. Think of this, our Father in Heaven has some great tools to protect us, and His staff includes but is not limited to God The Son, our beloved Jesus and also God The Holy Ghost, our comforter. So brothers and sisters, please look the verse over again and maybe you will see this verse as a comforter to you in times of trouble. And maybe as we take a look at one of Tom's most loved scriptures, we can include it as one of ours. Here that is in full:
Psalm 143:10 King James Version (KJV)
10 - Teach me to do Thy will; for Thou art my God: Thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.
Dear Father in Heaven, thanks for being a comforter to and for us and thanks for watching over us each day. Teach us to try and follow Your will for us daily in all we do. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen
Now go forth loving Jesus and sharing the comforting Good News as found throughout our Bibles. Love ya.
Pastor Dan
One of the best comforters we have is the Holy Spirit, and I know we have used this song before, but it is a good one for today:
Holy Spirit, Thou Art Welcome (Dottie Rambo and David Huntsinger)
Holy Spirit, Thou art welcome in this place.
Holy Spirit, Thou art welcome in this place.
Omnipotent Father of mercy and grace:
Thou art welcome in this place.
Holy Spirit, Thou art welcome in this place.
Holy Spirit, Thou art welcome in this place.
Omnipotent Father of mercy and grace:
Thou art welcome in this place.
Dear brothers and sisters, please pray today for our grandson Noah, and also new today please pray for Gospel singer Buck Rambo as hospice has now been called in. Buck has cancer. Please also lift his wife Mae in prayers. Years ago when Carry The Light Ministries was on the road singing we had the honor of opening a few concerts for Buck when he was in the area. Buck's first wife Dotty was killed in a bus crash when her tour bus went out of control in bad weather heading to a concert.
If you have prayer requests, please be sure to send them and I will post them. Also, if you have praise reports, as we need to post them also. My dear friend and brother in Christ sent me one of his favorite scriptures which I used today in my opening prayer and will try and work into the message. What a great verse and I just love how God gives different scriptures to each of us to comfort us and get us also in line with His will for us. Thanks to Tom Sansoni for sharing one of his favorite scriptures with us. Now to the message, and please remember it is Salvation Wednesday on this line.
Salvation Wednesday: February 17, 2016: The Big Trip (Day Forty-one)
Psalm 23 King James Version (KJV)
1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
Dear brothers and sisters: Today as we look at the 23rd Psalm we are going to dig into verse 4, so let me set that out for us.
Psalm 23:4 - Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.
If you recall years ago Dolores and I rode motorcycle and we rode a lot. We traveled most every place we went on a big Honda Goldwing and pulled a trailer behind us. On the tank of one of the cycles there was a Bible painted there by an artist and it was the 23rd Psalm verse 4 and it read like this:
"Yea, though we ride through the valley of the shadow of death, we will fear no evil; for Thou art riding with us."
Over the years we got into some places that I was not sure we would get out of and without Jesus with us, more than likely we would not have made it. Coming out of Washington, DC, one night well after dark I made a wrong turn and we were in a neighborhood where I think everyone would have loved to take our ride from us, but God was faithful and the wheels kept turning and we got out safe. Another time we rode to church and after church we went for lunch. While there someone lifted the hitch pin leaving it open. We traveled out onto Highway 83 North and were running in the Harrisburg area when the trailer came loose from the cycle and was hanging on the safety chains. I told Dolores to pray and hang on as I tried to control the trailer. The cars behind us saw we were in trouble and believe it or not were holding the traffic back. I would slow down some until the trailer was ready to drag and then gas it to lift it, and I did this until I got the speed down to where I was ready to dump it onto the shoulder. I again told Dolores to pray and hold on and I put it on the shoulder and grabbed a handful of brakes and held onto the cycle. We stopped and not one scratch. All honor and glory to God. We put the stand down on the cycle and got off, went to the guard rail, and got on our knees and thanked our Good Lord. Then we hitched up and went on with our ride. The following week I got locks for those hitches.
Psalm 23:4 - Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.
So to me, it does not make a difference if you are walking, riding a cycle, driving a car, driving a big rig, or a bus, or even up in the front of a big airliner as a pilot as my friend Charles Wotring did for many years, if you are walking, riding, driving, or flying and doing it with Jesus you do not need to "fear any evil" for indeed God is with you and with us. Then it talks about His rod and His staff being a comfort to us. The rod and staff were to a shepherd tools to help him watch over his sheep, maybe hook in one that would be wandering away or even use it to chase away a wolf. To me, I like to think of His Rod and His Staff as tools to protect us. Think of this, our Father in Heaven has some great tools to protect us, and His staff includes but is not limited to God The Son, our beloved Jesus and also God The Holy Ghost, our comforter. So brothers and sisters, please look the verse over again and maybe you will see this verse as a comforter to you in times of trouble. And maybe as we take a look at one of Tom's most loved scriptures, we can include it as one of ours. Here that is in full:
Psalm 143:10 King James Version (KJV)
10 - Teach me to do Thy will; for Thou art my God: Thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.
Dear Father in Heaven, thanks for being a comforter to and for us and thanks for watching over us each day. Teach us to try and follow Your will for us daily in all we do. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen
Now go forth loving Jesus and sharing the comforting Good News as found throughout our Bibles. Love ya.
Pastor Dan
One of the best comforters we have is the Holy Spirit, and I know we have used this song before, but it is a good one for today:
Holy Spirit, Thou Art Welcome (Dottie Rambo and David Huntsinger)
Holy Spirit, Thou art welcome in this place.
Holy Spirit, Thou art welcome in this place.
Omnipotent Father of mercy and grace:
Thou art welcome in this place.
Holy Spirit, Thou art welcome in this place.
Holy Spirit, Thou art welcome in this place.
Omnipotent Father of mercy and grace:
Thou art welcome in this place.
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Tuesday 2/16/16 The Big Trip (40)
Dear Father in Heaven: I love You, even though some days I might not be showing it like I should. Please forgive me of my sins this day and help me to live this day and all others for You. Please, Lord, help me with the daily message and then, dear Lord, please help me to dispatch it where it needs to go. Please protect this line and all who use it. Again, Lord Jesus, I want to tell You I love You and I want to try harder to show it. Please, Lord, help me to repent of my sins and work even harder for You. In Jesus' Name, I pray and give thanks to You. Jesus, thank You for dying on the Cross for me. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Good afternoon, brothers and sisters. It is a really beautiful afternoon here at the Southern Location of the North Pole. It would be nice if it would stay like this until spring. I want to get right to the message today. I am excited about writing on the 23rd Psalm once again. And yes, it is all new. I do not go back to the archives to see what God gave me before. Anyway, today we pick it up on verse 3.
Tuesday: February 16, 2016: The Big Trip (Day Forty)
Psalm 23 (Day Two)
Psalm 23 King James Version (KJV)
1 The LORD is my Shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
Brothers and sisters, there is one thing for sure that you just cannot do on your own, and that is to restore our soul. Taking care of our soul is between Jesus and us as an individual. And your soul will not be restored until you come to Jesus and you confess your sins and more so confess your complete self over to Jesus. I think we should stop right now and confess our sins over to Jesus. Right now before we go one step further.
Psalm 23:3a - He restoreth my soul
Dear Father in Heaven: I confess today that I am a sinner and I want to repent of my sins, so today I ask You in the name of Jesus to forgive me, clear my soul of sin and help me repent from sinning again. I want to tell You that I do believe in Jesus and that He was born of a virgin mother, walked this earth, went to the Cross and died on the Cross just to save us from our sins. Included in the us is me, Lord. I also believe that You, Father, raised Jesus from the dead and today He has returned to Heaven, but someday He will return to get His bride. I want to be part of the Bride of Jesus. Please save me this day. Please place my name in the Lamb's Book of Life. In the Name of Jesus, I ask this. Amen.
Now brothers and sisters, if you indeed prayed that with me in faith, then when we look at the second part of Psalm 23, verse 3, it will make more sense.
Psalm 23:3b - He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
Brothers and sisters, now that we have confessed ourselves over to Jesus, and if we repent and we really work on following Jesus, He will indeed lead us in paths of righteousness. And while He does this for us and for all who ask regardless of their past sins, He also does it for His Name's sake. Why would it be for His Name's sake? Because this is why He was sent to earth in the first place. While He did many things while here on earth, like healing the sick, raising up the dead, driving out demons, teaching and preaching and spreading the Good News of why He came and trying to make people understand it. Well, brothers and sisters, His dying on the cross to save us, to really save the world so that all who ask will live forever. Brothers and sisters, please, please have faith and keep that faith, for even if we depart this earth before Jesus returns we have a promise that when He does return we will also be risen from the grave just as Jesus was risen from that grave. So again I say to all of you, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm in your faith, stand firm in your love of Jesus, put Him ahead of all others and all else and try your best to live for Him each day. I can tell you it will be worth it all in the end. Believe, brothers and sisters, believe in Him. If for no other reason, do it because He loves you. Amen.
Now go forth loving on Jesus and telling others about this Good News of a man who died so you might live. Love ya.
Pastor Dan
Oh, How He loves You and Me (Kurt Kaiser)
Oh, how He loves you and me.
Oh, how He loves you and me.
He gave His life -- what more could He give?
Oh, how He loves you;
Oh, how He loves me;
Oh, how He loves you and me.
Jesus to Calvary did go;
His love for sinners to show.
What He did there brought hope from despair.
Oh, how He loves you;
Oh, how He loves me;
Oh, how He loves you and me.
Oh, how He loves you and me.
Oh, how He loves you and me.
He gave His life -- what more could He give?
Oh, how He loves you;
Oh, how He loves me;
Oh, how He loves you and me.
Monday, February 15, 2016
Monday 2/15/16 The Big Trip (39)
Dear Father in Heaven: I love You and I give thanks to You for all things that are good. Thanks for a good roof over our heads and good heat on these cold winter days and nights. Please help us through the daily storms of life that come upon us each day. Please protect us from evil. Please help Jimmy Swaggart Ministries reach their goals so to keep Your Word flowing into more and more areas of the world and please help each of us spread that Good News throughout our own neighborhoods to those living right near us who might not be saved. Please help me now with the daily message and please help me to get it dispatched to those who will use it and also spread that Good News. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters, today is Presidents' Day. Over the years we have had good presidents and we have had some really bad ones. Please pray that God will have a good one in the White House the next time around. Oh, and the biggest joke out there is Donald Trump trying to sell himself off as a Christian. I am not judging his soul, that is up to Jesus, but one who tells me he is a follower of Christ, and that is what a Christian is to be, and curses like he does, makes one wonder. We need to be in constant prayer for a good Christian leader to step forward. Anyway, brothers and sisters, God is telling me to take another look at one very good scripture that most everyone knows, Psalm 23. Maybe we can take a few days to look at this and not try and jam it in one day.
Monday: February 15, 2016: The Big Trip (Day Thirty-nine)
Psalm 23 (Day One)
Psalm 23 King James Version (KJV)
1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
Brothers and sisters, today I just want to look at verses one and two of this wonderful scripture. But first, a quick look back to my days growing up in Harrisburg, PA, where I attended Melrose and then D. A. Marshall Elementary Schools. As I have told many of you, I struggled to read, I just did not understand it, and back in those days we took turns reading the Bible. When it was my turn, I would just open my Bible and recite the 23rd Psalm or the 100th Psalm. So this Psalm has special meaning to me, and I pray it does to you. We often see it used at funerals, but to me, this Psalm is great for the living for it is really full of promises.
Let us start out by looking at verse one. And for our scripture today I am using the King James Version (KJV).
Psalm 23:1 - The LORD is my Shepherd; I shall not want.
The very first thing this scripture tells us is, "Our Lord God will take care of us." If we truly let our Lord Jesus Christ be our Shepherd and we indeed live for Him, we will never be in want of anything that is needed to sustain our lives. Let us take a look in the book of John and there we find that indeed Jesus is our Shepherd.
John 10:11 - "I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the Good Shepherd; I know My sheep and My sheep know me." (NIV)
Here we can see Jesus being quoted and He is telling all of us, He, Jesus, is indeed our Shepherd and He also tells us in verse 14 that he knows His sheep and indeed His sheep know Him. So I must ask you this today. Do you know The Good Shepherd and love Him so that indeed He will know and remember you when you finish out your term here on earth? If you cannot answer that with a big YES, right now, we need to go back to the Cross and start over with you.
Now looking at that same verse, verse one, I want to take you to the back of our Bible where in Revelation 7:17 it tells us this.
Revelation 7:17 - For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their Shepherd; He will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. (NIV)
Brothers and sisters, I wanted to go to the back of the Bible for it is there we find out that if we truly believe in God The Father, God The Son, and God The Holy Ghost, and that Jesus (God The Son) died for us on the Cross, then we will be saved. Amen.
Psalm 23:2 - He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters.
As we take a look at this verse, I ask you, where are your green pastures? When you are tired, when you are troubled, do you go seek out the Lord in prayer? To me, our Lord Jesus is indeed our Green Pasture. Oh, yes, some days I might think it is my bed or a nice easy chair, but indeed to be really revived and to have your troubles lifted you need to just place yourself in the Loving Arms of our Good Shepherd, our Lord Jesus for this rest.
As for the still waters, please just hand over to Jesus what is troubling you and get refreshed by those still waters. Back when I was growing up once in awhile my daddy would take me fishing. Oh, we never caught much, but pop would help me bait my hook and he would lay back beside that old stream and take a good nap. And yes, we were in a green pasture and the water was still. Lots of times those green pastures were made so green because Jesus would send the water over the banks to water the pasture.
I want you to look back over your life and tell me if there was ever a time, even when you were not walking with Jesus, that He did not supply your basic needs. A roof over your head, food in your belly, and clothes on your body. Maybe it was not done like you might want, but our God said He will supply our needs, not all of our crazy wants in life. However, if you think about it, God does supply a lot of our wants.
That is enough for this day. Please think about it, maybe re-read it and think about how good God has been to you and what all in your life He really has supplied.
Dear Father in Heaven: We love You and give You all honor and glory for supplying our needs and then also resting our body and soul. Please, dear Lord, keep watch over Your children and keep watch over those who use this line. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Now go forth and love Jesus and share His love with others and also rest in His Loving Arms. Love ya.
Pastor Dan
Fill My Cup, Lord
Fill my cup, Lord; I lift it up, Lord!
Come and quench this thirsting of my soul.
Bread of heaven, feed me 'til I want no more.
Fill my cup, fill it up and make it whole!
Fill my cup, Lord; I lift it up, Lord!
Come and quench this thirsting of my soul.
Bread of heaven, feed me 'til I want no more.
Fill my cup, fill it up and make it whole!
Fill my cup, Lord; I lift it up, Lord!
Come and quench this thirsting of my soul.
Bread of heaven, feed me 'til I want no more.
Fill my cup, fill it up and make it whole!
Dear brothers and sisters, today is Presidents' Day. Over the years we have had good presidents and we have had some really bad ones. Please pray that God will have a good one in the White House the next time around. Oh, and the biggest joke out there is Donald Trump trying to sell himself off as a Christian. I am not judging his soul, that is up to Jesus, but one who tells me he is a follower of Christ, and that is what a Christian is to be, and curses like he does, makes one wonder. We need to be in constant prayer for a good Christian leader to step forward. Anyway, brothers and sisters, God is telling me to take another look at one very good scripture that most everyone knows, Psalm 23. Maybe we can take a few days to look at this and not try and jam it in one day.
Monday: February 15, 2016: The Big Trip (Day Thirty-nine)
Psalm 23 (Day One)
Psalm 23 King James Version (KJV)
1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
Brothers and sisters, today I just want to look at verses one and two of this wonderful scripture. But first, a quick look back to my days growing up in Harrisburg, PA, where I attended Melrose and then D. A. Marshall Elementary Schools. As I have told many of you, I struggled to read, I just did not understand it, and back in those days we took turns reading the Bible. When it was my turn, I would just open my Bible and recite the 23rd Psalm or the 100th Psalm. So this Psalm has special meaning to me, and I pray it does to you. We often see it used at funerals, but to me, this Psalm is great for the living for it is really full of promises.
Let us start out by looking at verse one. And for our scripture today I am using the King James Version (KJV).
Psalm 23:1 - The LORD is my Shepherd; I shall not want.
The very first thing this scripture tells us is, "Our Lord God will take care of us." If we truly let our Lord Jesus Christ be our Shepherd and we indeed live for Him, we will never be in want of anything that is needed to sustain our lives. Let us take a look in the book of John and there we find that indeed Jesus is our Shepherd.
John 10:11 - "I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the Good Shepherd; I know My sheep and My sheep know me." (NIV)
Here we can see Jesus being quoted and He is telling all of us, He, Jesus, is indeed our Shepherd and He also tells us in verse 14 that he knows His sheep and indeed His sheep know Him. So I must ask you this today. Do you know The Good Shepherd and love Him so that indeed He will know and remember you when you finish out your term here on earth? If you cannot answer that with a big YES, right now, we need to go back to the Cross and start over with you.
Now looking at that same verse, verse one, I want to take you to the back of our Bible where in Revelation 7:17 it tells us this.
Revelation 7:17 - For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their Shepherd; He will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. (NIV)
Brothers and sisters, I wanted to go to the back of the Bible for it is there we find out that if we truly believe in God The Father, God The Son, and God The Holy Ghost, and that Jesus (God The Son) died for us on the Cross, then we will be saved. Amen.
Psalm 23:2 - He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters.
As we take a look at this verse, I ask you, where are your green pastures? When you are tired, when you are troubled, do you go seek out the Lord in prayer? To me, our Lord Jesus is indeed our Green Pasture. Oh, yes, some days I might think it is my bed or a nice easy chair, but indeed to be really revived and to have your troubles lifted you need to just place yourself in the Loving Arms of our Good Shepherd, our Lord Jesus for this rest.
As for the still waters, please just hand over to Jesus what is troubling you and get refreshed by those still waters. Back when I was growing up once in awhile my daddy would take me fishing. Oh, we never caught much, but pop would help me bait my hook and he would lay back beside that old stream and take a good nap. And yes, we were in a green pasture and the water was still. Lots of times those green pastures were made so green because Jesus would send the water over the banks to water the pasture.
I want you to look back over your life and tell me if there was ever a time, even when you were not walking with Jesus, that He did not supply your basic needs. A roof over your head, food in your belly, and clothes on your body. Maybe it was not done like you might want, but our God said He will supply our needs, not all of our crazy wants in life. However, if you think about it, God does supply a lot of our wants.
That is enough for this day. Please think about it, maybe re-read it and think about how good God has been to you and what all in your life He really has supplied.
Dear Father in Heaven: We love You and give You all honor and glory for supplying our needs and then also resting our body and soul. Please, dear Lord, keep watch over Your children and keep watch over those who use this line. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Now go forth and love Jesus and share His love with others and also rest in His Loving Arms. Love ya.
Pastor Dan
Fill My Cup, Lord
Fill my cup, Lord; I lift it up, Lord!
Come and quench this thirsting of my soul.
Bread of heaven, feed me 'til I want no more.
Fill my cup, fill it up and make it whole!
Fill my cup, Lord; I lift it up, Lord!
Come and quench this thirsting of my soul.
Bread of heaven, feed me 'til I want no more.
Fill my cup, fill it up and make it whole!
Fill my cup, Lord; I lift it up, Lord!
Come and quench this thirsting of my soul.
Bread of heaven, feed me 'til I want no more.
Fill my cup, fill it up and make it whole!
Friday, February 12, 2016
Friday 2/12/16 The Big Trip (38)
Dear Father in Heaven: I love you very, very much. Thanks for sending Jesus to the Cross to die to save us from our own self-destruction. Please forgive me of my sins and help me each day to repent from sinning and to live each day, each minute of each day, for You. Thanks for providing all of our needs and thanks for answering our prayers according to Your will for us. Dear Father in Heaven, please be with our president, our veterans, our military, our police and firefighters and all of the first responders and all others who work hard to keep us safe. Thanks, Jesus, for dying for us. You are indeed wonderful. Please, Lord, be with Jimmy Swaggart Ministries as they raise money this week to keep Your Word going out to the world. Please, Lord, protect this line and all who use it. Please, Lord, help me with the message and then please help me to get it dispatched. In Jesus' Wonderful Name, I pray and give praise. Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters, it is going to be cold this weekend, so please do your best to stay warm. Just think, spring is not far away. Soon we will see the flowers coming up through the ground and we will be planting our tomatoes and other garden things. Then the weeds will grow, the groundhogs will come out and eat at your garden, and you will need to get out the lawn mower and mow the lawn. You will need to pull weeds and do all those outdoor jobs in the heat. So, please enjoy this weather. See, when you really think about it, it just ain't all that bad. That is because God sent it!! And He loves us!! So enjoy each season of the year for each one is very special. And remember Daytona is here, and since Jeff Gordon retired, I need to find someone else to cheer on. Maybe I will keep cheering for the 24 car.
Brothers and sisters, it is time to start thinking about working outdoors, and some people might be going to build a new house. Regardless of what you are going to do, let us all build it on The Rock!
Friday: February 12, 2016: The Big Trip (Day Thirty-eight) Happy Birthday, Mr. Lincoln!
Building on The Rock!!!
Luke 6:46-49 New International Version (NIV)
The Wise and Foolish Builders
46 - "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? 47 As for everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. 48 They are like a man building a house, who dug deep down and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 49 But the one who hears My words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete."
Brothers and sisters, years ago when I was attending Hope United Methodist Church in Mechanicsburg, PA, it was decided to build an addition on the Sunday School building. The old Church chapel was and still is beautiful, however, it did not have restrooms. After making up all the plans and having them approved, it was time to get started. What comes first in taking on a building such as a church or church addition is not a lot different than starting to build a new house. First you need to find out how you are going to pay for it. One way or another it needs to be paid for and you must have a lot for a down payment so the additional weight of a mortgage will not be too much extra weight that it would bring down the church. Yes, the weight of a mortgage might be harder on the church than not making the roof strong enough. You also need to remember "The Church" is really the body of believers and what most people think of as a church is just the building. Someone say Amen please. You also must be sure you are building it for the right reasons. And what are those reasons? To spread the GOOD NEWS about Jesus and what He did when He went to the Cross for all of us.
Well, when you talk about a good example of building a building on rocks, you should have seen what had to be blasted away to get down to where that foundation was to be set. It was rock the whole way down. I have one very large rock that came from that basement in our front yard. We fondly call it "The Rock of Hope" as it came from Hope Church. We also rounded up all the old Bibles that had been around forever. And we carefully placed them right in the corners of the of the foundation as the cement was poured for the walls. Yes, it was at the time a way of saying, this church will be built on the Word of God. Some people put in old family Bibles, others were old pew Bibles that had been replaced years before that. In the Scriptures that God gave to me today it talks about being a wise or foolish builder. Now if that addition would have been built on the natural rock that God already had in the ground and then The Word of God in the Bibles was all that got down, that truly would not have been building that church building on The Rock, and we would have been just as foolish as a builder who just would have built it on a sand foundation. For it is not what was in that Foundation, it is what is going to go on after that church addition was built. The Word of God truly had to be taught and preached, and today I understand that is happening. Pastor Laura and her staff is reaching out to neighbors and bringing them in to feed both the body and the soul.
So as you sit in your house this weekend and it is cold outside, I want to ask you this. Is your house built on The Rock? Have you invited Jesus in to make it a home? Does He head up Your household or do you only call on Him when it seems your foundation is taking on water? If you really want to make your house into a fortress, you need God The Father, God The Son, and God The Holy Ghost on board to protect you. Sometimes you will need to make repairs to the foundation because it has slipped some, and I am not talking about the foundation of your house as in building here, I am talking about you slipping away from Jesus who must always be the foundation of your faith and life. Sometimes when I am praying I run out of words to pray and I just keep calling on Jesus by saying this. "Help me, Jesus, Help me, Jesus, please help me, Jesus." And I go on and on. We have all been there, when it seems like we are at the bottom and there is no help, so then we turn to the Lord. Please do not wait until you are at the bottom to turn to the Lord. Fall in love with Him now. It is Valentines weekend and a good time to tell the ones you love that you really love them. How about starting out with Jesus? Start out with the one who will never leave You nor forsake You.
Start out by telling Your personal foundation that He is just that, your personal foundation and you want to build the rest of your life on Him. Be a wise builder, my dear brothers and sisters, and build ALL YOU DO ON A STRONG FOUNDATION, and it just can't get any stronger than JESUS. Think about it, when He was on The Cross He had the weight of all the sin of the world on Him, and as you and I know, sometimes we have to struggle to carry our own sin weight. So as we build on the strong foundation, please turn all your sins over to Him. Can we just say this to Jesus right now? I love you, Jesus. Amen.
WHEN YOU BUILD YOUR LIFE ON, AROUND JESUS AND LIVE IT FOR HIM, YOU WILL NOT FAIL. You just will not fail.
Dear Father in Heaven: Please be the Rock of our foundation and The Builder of our faith in Jesus. Help us each day to draw nearer to The Rock. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Please go now and serve Jesus and spread that Good News that He is The Rock of your foundation. Love ya.
Pastor Dan
And let us sing this.
Blessed Assurance!
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of Salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His Blood.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.
Perfect submission, perfect delight;
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels descending bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.
Perfect submission, all is at rest.
I in my Savior am happy and blest.
Watching and waiting, looking above;
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.
Hit it again and again.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.
Dear brothers and sisters, it is going to be cold this weekend, so please do your best to stay warm. Just think, spring is not far away. Soon we will see the flowers coming up through the ground and we will be planting our tomatoes and other garden things. Then the weeds will grow, the groundhogs will come out and eat at your garden, and you will need to get out the lawn mower and mow the lawn. You will need to pull weeds and do all those outdoor jobs in the heat. So, please enjoy this weather. See, when you really think about it, it just ain't all that bad. That is because God sent it!! And He loves us!! So enjoy each season of the year for each one is very special. And remember Daytona is here, and since Jeff Gordon retired, I need to find someone else to cheer on. Maybe I will keep cheering for the 24 car.
Brothers and sisters, it is time to start thinking about working outdoors, and some people might be going to build a new house. Regardless of what you are going to do, let us all build it on The Rock!
Friday: February 12, 2016: The Big Trip (Day Thirty-eight) Happy Birthday, Mr. Lincoln!
Building on The Rock!!!
Luke 6:46-49 New International Version (NIV)
The Wise and Foolish Builders
46 - "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? 47 As for everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. 48 They are like a man building a house, who dug deep down and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 49 But the one who hears My words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete."
Brothers and sisters, years ago when I was attending Hope United Methodist Church in Mechanicsburg, PA, it was decided to build an addition on the Sunday School building. The old Church chapel was and still is beautiful, however, it did not have restrooms. After making up all the plans and having them approved, it was time to get started. What comes first in taking on a building such as a church or church addition is not a lot different than starting to build a new house. First you need to find out how you are going to pay for it. One way or another it needs to be paid for and you must have a lot for a down payment so the additional weight of a mortgage will not be too much extra weight that it would bring down the church. Yes, the weight of a mortgage might be harder on the church than not making the roof strong enough. You also need to remember "The Church" is really the body of believers and what most people think of as a church is just the building. Someone say Amen please. You also must be sure you are building it for the right reasons. And what are those reasons? To spread the GOOD NEWS about Jesus and what He did when He went to the Cross for all of us.
Well, when you talk about a good example of building a building on rocks, you should have seen what had to be blasted away to get down to where that foundation was to be set. It was rock the whole way down. I have one very large rock that came from that basement in our front yard. We fondly call it "The Rock of Hope" as it came from Hope Church. We also rounded up all the old Bibles that had been around forever. And we carefully placed them right in the corners of the of the foundation as the cement was poured for the walls. Yes, it was at the time a way of saying, this church will be built on the Word of God. Some people put in old family Bibles, others were old pew Bibles that had been replaced years before that. In the Scriptures that God gave to me today it talks about being a wise or foolish builder. Now if that addition would have been built on the natural rock that God already had in the ground and then The Word of God in the Bibles was all that got down, that truly would not have been building that church building on The Rock, and we would have been just as foolish as a builder who just would have built it on a sand foundation. For it is not what was in that Foundation, it is what is going to go on after that church addition was built. The Word of God truly had to be taught and preached, and today I understand that is happening. Pastor Laura and her staff is reaching out to neighbors and bringing them in to feed both the body and the soul.
So as you sit in your house this weekend and it is cold outside, I want to ask you this. Is your house built on The Rock? Have you invited Jesus in to make it a home? Does He head up Your household or do you only call on Him when it seems your foundation is taking on water? If you really want to make your house into a fortress, you need God The Father, God The Son, and God The Holy Ghost on board to protect you. Sometimes you will need to make repairs to the foundation because it has slipped some, and I am not talking about the foundation of your house as in building here, I am talking about you slipping away from Jesus who must always be the foundation of your faith and life. Sometimes when I am praying I run out of words to pray and I just keep calling on Jesus by saying this. "Help me, Jesus, Help me, Jesus, please help me, Jesus." And I go on and on. We have all been there, when it seems like we are at the bottom and there is no help, so then we turn to the Lord. Please do not wait until you are at the bottom to turn to the Lord. Fall in love with Him now. It is Valentines weekend and a good time to tell the ones you love that you really love them. How about starting out with Jesus? Start out with the one who will never leave You nor forsake You.
Start out by telling Your personal foundation that He is just that, your personal foundation and you want to build the rest of your life on Him. Be a wise builder, my dear brothers and sisters, and build ALL YOU DO ON A STRONG FOUNDATION, and it just can't get any stronger than JESUS. Think about it, when He was on The Cross He had the weight of all the sin of the world on Him, and as you and I know, sometimes we have to struggle to carry our own sin weight. So as we build on the strong foundation, please turn all your sins over to Him. Can we just say this to Jesus right now? I love you, Jesus. Amen.
WHEN YOU BUILD YOUR LIFE ON, AROUND JESUS AND LIVE IT FOR HIM, YOU WILL NOT FAIL. You just will not fail.
Dear Father in Heaven: Please be the Rock of our foundation and The Builder of our faith in Jesus. Help us each day to draw nearer to The Rock. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Please go now and serve Jesus and spread that Good News that He is The Rock of your foundation. Love ya.
Pastor Dan
And let us sing this.
Blessed Assurance!
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of Salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His Blood.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.
Perfect submission, perfect delight;
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels descending bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.
Perfect submission, all is at rest.
I in my Savior am happy and blest.
Watching and waiting, looking above;
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.
Hit it again and again.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Salvation Wednesday 2/10/16 The Big Trip (37)
Dear Father in Heaven: I love You. Please forgive me of my sins and help me to repent of them this day. Thank You for a beautiful day and on this day we call Salvation Wednesday help my message written for You and under Your hand and guidance reach out to others and help bring the lost in to You to be saved. I know, dear Lord, that I am just a sinner saved by Grace and The Blood of Jesus shed for me and others on the Cross at Calvary. Please be with the family of the one killed in the school bus crash yesterday in our area, and please be with those who were injured. Thank You, Father, for giving to us Your one and only Son Jesus. Please help me now with a message and to then forward it to those who will read and use it to further Your Kingdom. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters, yesterday morning I was watching out the window and saw the school bus picking up the neighbor kids to go to school. The roads were very slick and school should have been delayed so the weather could have been watched. York County had school buses stuck all over the place. After the kids got to school the powers to be decided to dismiss early. On the way home a Cumberland Valley School bus was involved in a fatal accident. I do not know the details but a 20-year old passenger in a car lost her life. Please pray for her family and also for those injured in that bus crash. Today, brothers and sisters, is Salvation Wednesday on this line, so please pray for the lost so that they might come to Jesus to be saved. I missed writing yesterday, as son Keith called on this old man to do some snow plowing. And I love to plow snow. In fact, I must go out and re-do our driveway as we had some more snow overnight. It looks like a winter wonderland in our backyard this morning as the deer are out searching for food. God is so good!
Salvation Wednesday: February 10, 2016: The Big Trip (Day Thirty-seven)
We are sinners!
1 John 1:7-10 New International Version (NIV)
7 - But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.
8 - If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His word is not in us.
When I look back on the days of my childhood, back when the streets were still dirt and the Dead Sea was still sick, my dear late mamma would try and teach me things. She often called what I did wrong sins. One thing she tried her best to instill in my brother Leonard and me was that we should always tell the truth. She was big on us telling the truth. I can remember her on more than one occasion asking me this. Daniel Webster, are you lying to me? First, you need to know that I was mamma's boy and she always called me Danny, well, except when I was in trouble. Then it was Daniel! But when she would call out "Daniel Webster," I knew she caught me at something big. "Daniel Webster Lehman," wow, I really did it this time. Did you lie to me, are you lying to me? Mamma, you told me to tell the truth so I have learned to never lie. Now that is the biggest one you have ever told. Gosh, what is a kid to do? If I tell the truth I am in trouble and if I lie I am in trouble, and it seems she would already know what I did.
Brothers and sisters, my mamma loved God with all her heart, and I believe gave her the gift of vision to know when her little Danny messed up. Mamma was also like our Lord Jesus because when it was all said and done, she would forgive me, although sometimes it came after me eating a lot of soap or getting my little butt tanned. One time I asked mamma if on days when she caught me lying and I had to eat soap, did I need to brush my teeth? I was sent to bed early for that question. In our scripture of today I want you to notice a few things. At the end of verse 7 it states this, "the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin." The key words for me here are Blood, Jesus, Purifies, All, and Sin.
Our Savior Jesus in all His Grace and Mercy on us Purifies us with His Blood from ALL OF OUR SINS. It is hard for some people to understand that Jesus died on the Cross to do just that, regardless of what that sin or those sins might have been. If I broke the neighbor's window with a snowball and then lied about it, mamma would forgive me of both of those things, although I still had to pay to fix the window. Our Lord Jesus is the same. He will forgive us of all of our sins if we ask and repent, but we still must pay our earthly debt for those sins. In other words, if you rob the bank and you get caught, and you will, God will forgive you for doing it, but Johnny law is going to put you in jail. Oh, and just because you are not caught doing what you do wrong here on earth, our Lord God still knows. And even more scary, He knows what we are thinking. Yes, guys, if we are in the food store in the summer and some young lady in a short skirt is bent over the meat counter and we are watching, we are sinning and God knows it. (Did I just confess to something?)
Now let us look at some more of this scripture.
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His word is not in us."
If we confess our sins to Jesus, and we do not need to confess them to anyone else, He will forgive us of our sins and purify us of ALL, YES, ALL, unrighteousness. Now if we claim we have not sinned, and to me that means if we are not willing to confess to Him, we are making Him out to be a liar. To me, not confess your sins over to Jesus is the same as saying to Him, I did not sin. I can remember years and years ago there was a doctor who worked in the emergency room at the Community General Hospital. He was sort of a "Ben Casey" look-alike. I heard many a woman say he can park his shoes under my bed anytime. Although those women did not do that, thinking it was still a sin.
Brothers and sisters, with the new snow covering the dirt of the old snow, I think this would be a perfect day to go to Jesus and just ask Him to forgive us of all of our sins and get a clean blood bath. Will you join me in this prayer of confession and faith?
Dear Father in Heaven, I am asking today for You to cover us with the Blood of Jesus and remove all of our sins from our records. Yes, Lord, I am a sinner saved only by the fact You sent Jesus to die for me, for us, on The Cross. I need forgiven for my wrongdoings, my sinful thinking, for my actions and things I have done that You might know about and I have forgotten. Please, Lord, forgive us, forgive me. I have faith that You will do this, I have faith, dear Lord, and believe that Jesus Christ is our only way to Heaven and I pray that all who are praying this prayer will confess and then, Lord, help us all to repent of sinning and try our best to do better each day. Lord, according to Your Word, I ask that my name be placed in the Lamb's Book of Life and I am lined up and ready for Heaven. I pray to You, Father, in the Name of Jesus, Your Son and my Savior, and I give thanks also. Amen.
If you prayed that in faith, brothers and sisters, you are once again clean. How long will it last? That is up to each one of us. Let us do our best to walk with Jesus today and each day. Now go forth and serve Him, serve Jesus in some way or another today. And know this, Jesus loves you enough He died for You. I love You also.
Pastor Dan
Just a Closer Walk with Thee
I am weak but Thou art strong;
Jesus, keep me from all wrong.
I'll be satisfied as long
As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.
Just a loser walk with Thee;
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea.
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.
Just a loser walk with Thee;
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea.
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.
Dear brothers and sisters, yesterday morning I was watching out the window and saw the school bus picking up the neighbor kids to go to school. The roads were very slick and school should have been delayed so the weather could have been watched. York County had school buses stuck all over the place. After the kids got to school the powers to be decided to dismiss early. On the way home a Cumberland Valley School bus was involved in a fatal accident. I do not know the details but a 20-year old passenger in a car lost her life. Please pray for her family and also for those injured in that bus crash. Today, brothers and sisters, is Salvation Wednesday on this line, so please pray for the lost so that they might come to Jesus to be saved. I missed writing yesterday, as son Keith called on this old man to do some snow plowing. And I love to plow snow. In fact, I must go out and re-do our driveway as we had some more snow overnight. It looks like a winter wonderland in our backyard this morning as the deer are out searching for food. God is so good!
Salvation Wednesday: February 10, 2016: The Big Trip (Day Thirty-seven)
We are sinners!
1 John 1:7-10 New International Version (NIV)
7 - But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.
8 - If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His word is not in us.
When I look back on the days of my childhood, back when the streets were still dirt and the Dead Sea was still sick, my dear late mamma would try and teach me things. She often called what I did wrong sins. One thing she tried her best to instill in my brother Leonard and me was that we should always tell the truth. She was big on us telling the truth. I can remember her on more than one occasion asking me this. Daniel Webster, are you lying to me? First, you need to know that I was mamma's boy and she always called me Danny, well, except when I was in trouble. Then it was Daniel! But when she would call out "Daniel Webster," I knew she caught me at something big. "Daniel Webster Lehman," wow, I really did it this time. Did you lie to me, are you lying to me? Mamma, you told me to tell the truth so I have learned to never lie. Now that is the biggest one you have ever told. Gosh, what is a kid to do? If I tell the truth I am in trouble and if I lie I am in trouble, and it seems she would already know what I did.
Brothers and sisters, my mamma loved God with all her heart, and I believe gave her the gift of vision to know when her little Danny messed up. Mamma was also like our Lord Jesus because when it was all said and done, she would forgive me, although sometimes it came after me eating a lot of soap or getting my little butt tanned. One time I asked mamma if on days when she caught me lying and I had to eat soap, did I need to brush my teeth? I was sent to bed early for that question. In our scripture of today I want you to notice a few things. At the end of verse 7 it states this, "the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin." The key words for me here are Blood, Jesus, Purifies, All, and Sin.
Our Savior Jesus in all His Grace and Mercy on us Purifies us with His Blood from ALL OF OUR SINS. It is hard for some people to understand that Jesus died on the Cross to do just that, regardless of what that sin or those sins might have been. If I broke the neighbor's window with a snowball and then lied about it, mamma would forgive me of both of those things, although I still had to pay to fix the window. Our Lord Jesus is the same. He will forgive us of all of our sins if we ask and repent, but we still must pay our earthly debt for those sins. In other words, if you rob the bank and you get caught, and you will, God will forgive you for doing it, but Johnny law is going to put you in jail. Oh, and just because you are not caught doing what you do wrong here on earth, our Lord God still knows. And even more scary, He knows what we are thinking. Yes, guys, if we are in the food store in the summer and some young lady in a short skirt is bent over the meat counter and we are watching, we are sinning and God knows it. (Did I just confess to something?)
Now let us look at some more of this scripture.
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His word is not in us."
If we confess our sins to Jesus, and we do not need to confess them to anyone else, He will forgive us of our sins and purify us of ALL, YES, ALL, unrighteousness. Now if we claim we have not sinned, and to me that means if we are not willing to confess to Him, we are making Him out to be a liar. To me, not confess your sins over to Jesus is the same as saying to Him, I did not sin. I can remember years and years ago there was a doctor who worked in the emergency room at the Community General Hospital. He was sort of a "Ben Casey" look-alike. I heard many a woman say he can park his shoes under my bed anytime. Although those women did not do that, thinking it was still a sin.
Brothers and sisters, with the new snow covering the dirt of the old snow, I think this would be a perfect day to go to Jesus and just ask Him to forgive us of all of our sins and get a clean blood bath. Will you join me in this prayer of confession and faith?
Dear Father in Heaven, I am asking today for You to cover us with the Blood of Jesus and remove all of our sins from our records. Yes, Lord, I am a sinner saved only by the fact You sent Jesus to die for me, for us, on The Cross. I need forgiven for my wrongdoings, my sinful thinking, for my actions and things I have done that You might know about and I have forgotten. Please, Lord, forgive us, forgive me. I have faith that You will do this, I have faith, dear Lord, and believe that Jesus Christ is our only way to Heaven and I pray that all who are praying this prayer will confess and then, Lord, help us all to repent of sinning and try our best to do better each day. Lord, according to Your Word, I ask that my name be placed in the Lamb's Book of Life and I am lined up and ready for Heaven. I pray to You, Father, in the Name of Jesus, Your Son and my Savior, and I give thanks also. Amen.
If you prayed that in faith, brothers and sisters, you are once again clean. How long will it last? That is up to each one of us. Let us do our best to walk with Jesus today and each day. Now go forth and serve Him, serve Jesus in some way or another today. And know this, Jesus loves you enough He died for You. I love You also.
Pastor Dan
Just a Closer Walk with Thee
I am weak but Thou art strong;
Jesus, keep me from all wrong.
I'll be satisfied as long
As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.
Just a loser walk with Thee;
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea.
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.
Just a loser walk with Thee;
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea.
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.
Sunday, February 7, 2016
Sunday 2/7/16 The Big Trip (36)
Dear Father in Heaven: I love You, and I give thanks to You for forgiving us, forgiving me of my sins, even right down to my sinful thinking. Thanks for another beautiful day here in central Pennsylvania. I really appreciate all You do for me and I pray others think about all You do for them. Father, after watching more debates last evening by those wanting to be president of the United States of America, I come up with this. Lord, we sure do need Your touch. Lord, I appreciate You trusting me to work for You and Lord, I really need Your help getting the job done. Help me with the message today and please, Lord, help me to get it dispatched. Please watch over all those who use this line and please, Lord, heal our son Matthew. Lord, he really needs Your touch. Thanking You for all You do and giving all honor and glory to You in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters: Another bonus winter day here at the Southern Location of the North Pole. It is just beautiful!!
I don't know how many of you might have watched the Republican debates last evening on ABC. What a disgrace. Donald Trump was booed, and as far as I am concerned I don't know why anyone would vote for him. The people asking questions started it off trying to get them to fight with each other. I guess it is about ratings. Former first lady, and what a lady she was and still is, Barbara Bush was there. Trump made a comment this week that Jeb Bush had to "bring out his mommy." Dear brothers and sisters, dear followers of Jesus, we need to be praying hard each day about this election.
Please also pray for me for some pain to let up, so that I might get to the computer and hold to a better schedule working for Jesus.
We just received some more Read and Grow Children's Bibles. They are just beautiful. Each month our mission is to purchase at least four outreach Bibles which are sent to other countries and at least four of the Children's Bibles for Carry The Light Ministries to hand out. We also have some "Gideon's Bibles" in stock. These are wonderful Bibles. These Bibles will be furnished to you "free" so if you want one, just let me know. Today I want to subtitle the Big Trip message "Walking the Talk."
Sunday: February 7, 2016: The Big Trip (Day Thirty-six)
Walking the Talk
John 1:1-5 New International Version (NIV)
The Word Became Flesh
1 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In Him was life, and that life as the Light of all mankind. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
In the scripture above it is very plain to see that God, The Father and God The Son are indeed one God and for some this is hard to understand. However, to me these scriptures help clear all of this up. I also want to tie it together with another scripture that shows us that we who are "Born Again" and walk with Jesus are encouraged to be like Jesus. In John 1 it tells us that in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. This is God the Father and God His Son working together as the earth is made. And how was the world made? It was spoken!!! Please take time to curl up with your Bible and read the creation story. Brothers and sisters, The Word is very, very powerful when God used it to make the world, and your word is also a very powerful tool, yes, a tool that belongs to you. A lot of people can be taken at their word most of the time. Others, their word does not mean a hoot in the hot place. How is your word?
Now we are talking about THE WORD OF GOD, AND THE BIBLE TELLS US THAT THROUGH HIS WORD ALL THINGS WERE MADE. It also goes deeper and tells us that without Him, without His Word nothing was made that has been made. You are going to question that some, I would guess. Maybe saying well God's Word did not make television or that darn old cell phone. Well, God gave knowledge to people to put together things that God put here for all to use. Think about that.
That scripture also tells us that in Him,our God was life and not one of us who are indeed Christians will tell you different on that. God was also The Light of ALL MANKIND. And His Light shines in the darkness. And those who are non-believers who are still walking in the darkness still do not understand it. They do not understand The Word and The Power of The Word, and they will not understand it until they accept The Word and believe it and have a personal relationship with The Word, The Word being our Lord Jesus. Amen. Now let us look at another scripture where we can see clearly that Jesus is The Light, Jesus is The Word. Indeed, Jesus is our Lord God.
John 1:14 New International Version (NIV)
14 - The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Yes, Jesus was born to a Virgin and walked this earth, and He set examples for us to follow. While Jesus is the Light of the world, He wants us to Carry His Light. Look at this.
Matthew 5:14-16 New International Version (NIV)
14 - "You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." (NIV)
Here we can see that we are to become the light, the light working for our Lord Jesus. What does this really mean? If you are trying to spread the Good News as commanded to do, and we are not acting like Jesus, we are not Carrying His Light. This not only shows poorly on us, but some people might think, if we must live like that person, why would I want to follow Jesus? And where are we to Carry This Light?
Mark 16:15 New International Version (NIV)
15 - He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation."
Dear Father in Heaven. Please help us to work for You in all we do and help to lead others to Jesus to be saved. Oh, Lord, I am but a sinner and am trying hard to repent. I know You have forgiven me, and I now want to work harder and harder for You each day. Help us, through Jesus, to be a Lamp unto the feet of the lost so we can lead them home. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Now go forth loving and serving Jesus, for it is by His Grace and only His Grace you can be saved. Love ya.
Pastor Dan
This Little Light of Mine
This little light of mine, I'm goin'-a let it shine.
This little light of mine, I'm goin'-a let it shine.
This little light of mine, I'm goin'-a let it shine.
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
Everywhere I go, I'm goin'-a let it shine.
Everywhere I go, I'm goin'-a let it shine.
Everywhere I go, I'm goin'-a let it shine.
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
This little light of mine, I'm goin'-a let it shine.
This little light of mine, I'm goin'-a let it shine.
This little light of mine, I'm goin'-a let it shine.
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
Dear brothers and sisters: Another bonus winter day here at the Southern Location of the North Pole. It is just beautiful!!
I don't know how many of you might have watched the Republican debates last evening on ABC. What a disgrace. Donald Trump was booed, and as far as I am concerned I don't know why anyone would vote for him. The people asking questions started it off trying to get them to fight with each other. I guess it is about ratings. Former first lady, and what a lady she was and still is, Barbara Bush was there. Trump made a comment this week that Jeb Bush had to "bring out his mommy." Dear brothers and sisters, dear followers of Jesus, we need to be praying hard each day about this election.
Please also pray for me for some pain to let up, so that I might get to the computer and hold to a better schedule working for Jesus.
We just received some more Read and Grow Children's Bibles. They are just beautiful. Each month our mission is to purchase at least four outreach Bibles which are sent to other countries and at least four of the Children's Bibles for Carry The Light Ministries to hand out. We also have some "Gideon's Bibles" in stock. These are wonderful Bibles. These Bibles will be furnished to you "free" so if you want one, just let me know. Today I want to subtitle the Big Trip message "Walking the Talk."
Sunday: February 7, 2016: The Big Trip (Day Thirty-six)
Walking the Talk
John 1:1-5 New International Version (NIV)
The Word Became Flesh
1 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In Him was life, and that life as the Light of all mankind. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
In the scripture above it is very plain to see that God, The Father and God The Son are indeed one God and for some this is hard to understand. However, to me these scriptures help clear all of this up. I also want to tie it together with another scripture that shows us that we who are "Born Again" and walk with Jesus are encouraged to be like Jesus. In John 1 it tells us that in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. This is God the Father and God His Son working together as the earth is made. And how was the world made? It was spoken!!! Please take time to curl up with your Bible and read the creation story. Brothers and sisters, The Word is very, very powerful when God used it to make the world, and your word is also a very powerful tool, yes, a tool that belongs to you. A lot of people can be taken at their word most of the time. Others, their word does not mean a hoot in the hot place. How is your word?
Now we are talking about THE WORD OF GOD, AND THE BIBLE TELLS US THAT THROUGH HIS WORD ALL THINGS WERE MADE. It also goes deeper and tells us that without Him, without His Word nothing was made that has been made. You are going to question that some, I would guess. Maybe saying well God's Word did not make television or that darn old cell phone. Well, God gave knowledge to people to put together things that God put here for all to use. Think about that.
That scripture also tells us that in Him,our God was life and not one of us who are indeed Christians will tell you different on that. God was also The Light of ALL MANKIND. And His Light shines in the darkness. And those who are non-believers who are still walking in the darkness still do not understand it. They do not understand The Word and The Power of The Word, and they will not understand it until they accept The Word and believe it and have a personal relationship with The Word, The Word being our Lord Jesus. Amen. Now let us look at another scripture where we can see clearly that Jesus is The Light, Jesus is The Word. Indeed, Jesus is our Lord God.
John 1:14 New International Version (NIV)
14 - The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Yes, Jesus was born to a Virgin and walked this earth, and He set examples for us to follow. While Jesus is the Light of the world, He wants us to Carry His Light. Look at this.
Matthew 5:14-16 New International Version (NIV)
14 - "You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." (NIV)
Here we can see that we are to become the light, the light working for our Lord Jesus. What does this really mean? If you are trying to spread the Good News as commanded to do, and we are not acting like Jesus, we are not Carrying His Light. This not only shows poorly on us, but some people might think, if we must live like that person, why would I want to follow Jesus? And where are we to Carry This Light?
Mark 16:15 New International Version (NIV)
15 - He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation."
Dear Father in Heaven. Please help us to work for You in all we do and help to lead others to Jesus to be saved. Oh, Lord, I am but a sinner and am trying hard to repent. I know You have forgiven me, and I now want to work harder and harder for You each day. Help us, through Jesus, to be a Lamp unto the feet of the lost so we can lead them home. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Now go forth loving and serving Jesus, for it is by His Grace and only His Grace you can be saved. Love ya.
Pastor Dan
This Little Light of Mine
This little light of mine, I'm goin'-a let it shine.
This little light of mine, I'm goin'-a let it shine.
This little light of mine, I'm goin'-a let it shine.
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
Everywhere I go, I'm goin'-a let it shine.
Everywhere I go, I'm goin'-a let it shine.
Everywhere I go, I'm goin'-a let it shine.
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
This little light of mine, I'm goin'-a let it shine.
This little light of mine, I'm goin'-a let it shine.
This little light of mine, I'm goin'-a let it shine.
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
Thursday, February 4, 2016
Salvation Wednesday/Thursday 2/3-4/16 The Big Trip (35)
Dear Father in Heaven: I love You. Please forgive me of my sins, and I give You praise and honor for cleaning my slate. Thanks for Your healing power and thanks for watching over us and healing us in some way this day. Please, Lord, help us to reach the lost in Your name and tell them about Salvation through Jesus and the Blood of Jesus still flowing from the Cross. Lord, protect this line today and all who use it. Please help me with a message this day and then please help me to get it dispatched. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters, as you can see I am writing a two-day message as I did not get to write yesterday. Today, I prayed that our Lord God might help me with a message that might lift you, help you if you are hurting or struggling or just plain need encouraged in your day-to-day walk in life. Let me start by saying this. It was a beautiful day here at the Southern Location of the North Pole. The snow of ten days ago is melting away (praise God for that), all of the cats that hang out here made it through the bad weather, and Dolores and I are both on the GREEN SIDE OF THE GRASS!! (Praise God for that also.) I want to keep the title of The Big Trip until after Easter and then I pray God will point me in another direction. For those of you who are NASCAR fans, only a couple of weeks and we will see those drivers making left turns again. A sure sign of spring. Okay, let me get to that message, but before that I do want to make this statement. I make this every once in awhile just so you know.
"I believe in God The Father, God His Son, and God The Holy Ghost. I believe in everything that is in my Bible, from the very first words to the very last words and all that is in between. I believe that the only way to Heaven is to be 'Born Again,' and that being done when you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior." And I also love Jesus above all else, and then comes all others and of course I love all of you.
Pastor Dan Lehman, February 4, 2016
Salvation Wednesday/Thursday: February 3/4, 2016: The Big Trip (Day Thirty-five)
Luke 6:17-19 New International Version (NIV)
17 - He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of His disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, 18 who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, 19 and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from Him and healing them all.
Brothers and sisters, as we start this scripture I want you to know that He is Jesus, and He was standing on a level place. The scripture in Matthew 5:1 talks about Him going up on a mountain side, so I am thinking they would have found a flat spot on that mountain side so they could sit and Jesus could talk to His disciples and others who have gathered. I also want to point out that we, we who follow Jesus and truly are working to spread the Good News are the disciples of today. You are a Disciple of Jesus, right?
In verse 17 above it tells us His disciples were there and a GREAT number from all over. A great number, and we know by other scriptures that Jesus drew large crowds. People who have heard about Him wanted to come and hear Him speak. Let me start the encouragement right here. Some sweet day, I said some sweet day we will be able to sit with Jesus, look at Him face to face and hear Him speak. PRAISE THE LORD!!! Then it talks about the great number of people by saying this. They came to be healed of their diseases, some needed to be cured of impure spirits. So let each of you address yourself on this. Some of us have diseases, such as but not limited to heart, kidney, liver, lung problems, and they could be mild or maybe in different states of trouble, some of us might have cancer, or severe pain, some might have depression, or mental problems. Some might have family issues, money problems, car problems, or so many different issues. I want to tell you this. JESUS CAN HEAL ALL OF THEM!!! JESUS STILL HEALS!!! JESUS LOVES YOU!!! HE WANTS YOU!!! HE WANTS TO SAVE YOU!!! HE WANTS TO HUG YOUR NECK!!! HE WANTS TO STOP YOUR CANCER, HE WANTS TO TOUCH YOUR BREATHING,YES, HE IS ONE GREAT AND MIGHTY GOD. There is nothing, nothing that Jesus cannot do, except force You to accept Him as your Savior. You are not a puppet, you are not on string, you have freedom, free will. This is your choice. You can live for Jesus or walk away from Him. Let me tell you that living for Him is the best. I know because I ONCE WAS LOST!! But no more, baby, I have found Jesus (years ago) and live for Him more and more each day. And the longer I do this the better it gets. Jesus already knows you, and He is waiting to hear from You.
Brothers and sisters, you can do this, you can make it. It might seem like you are up against a brick wall, but trust me, with Jesus you can knock it down. You do not need a beer, you do not need to get drunk. You can stand up and walk with Jesus, and if you do you will feel so much better about yourself. Brothers and sisters, in our scripture today it tells us power was coming from Him and He was healing them. And while we are different today, JESUS IS NOT. Look at these scriptures, and they are some of my favorites.
Hebrews 13:8 - Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (NIV)
Romans 8:28 - And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. (NIV)
John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." (NIV)
Come on, brothers and sisters, COME ALIVE!! Step out for Jesus, step out with Jesus. Put a smile on your face and a tune on your lips and after praying, start believing that EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL, and it is, it really is when you are walking with Jesus.
He lives, He lives. Christ Jesus lives today;
He walks with me and talks with me
Along life's narrow way.
He lives, He lives, Salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives --
He lives within my heart!
He lives, He lives. Christ Jesus lives today;
He walks with me and talks with me
Along life's narrow way.
He lives, He lives, Salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives --
He lives within my heart!
Dear Father in Heaven: Come and live in me and heal me of all my sin and I would appreciate Your touch on all of those other things that are wrong with me, known and unknown. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Now go forth and keep smiling, singing, and loving Jesus and each other. Love ya.
Pastor Dan
He lives, He lives. Christ Jesus lives today;
He walks with me and talks with me
Along life's narrow way.
He lives, He lives, Salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives --
He lives within my heart!
Dear brothers and sisters, as you can see I am writing a two-day message as I did not get to write yesterday. Today, I prayed that our Lord God might help me with a message that might lift you, help you if you are hurting or struggling or just plain need encouraged in your day-to-day walk in life. Let me start by saying this. It was a beautiful day here at the Southern Location of the North Pole. The snow of ten days ago is melting away (praise God for that), all of the cats that hang out here made it through the bad weather, and Dolores and I are both on the GREEN SIDE OF THE GRASS!! (Praise God for that also.) I want to keep the title of The Big Trip until after Easter and then I pray God will point me in another direction. For those of you who are NASCAR fans, only a couple of weeks and we will see those drivers making left turns again. A sure sign of spring. Okay, let me get to that message, but before that I do want to make this statement. I make this every once in awhile just so you know.
"I believe in God The Father, God His Son, and God The Holy Ghost. I believe in everything that is in my Bible, from the very first words to the very last words and all that is in between. I believe that the only way to Heaven is to be 'Born Again,' and that being done when you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior." And I also love Jesus above all else, and then comes all others and of course I love all of you.
Pastor Dan Lehman, February 4, 2016
Salvation Wednesday/Thursday: February 3/4, 2016: The Big Trip (Day Thirty-five)
Luke 6:17-19 New International Version (NIV)
17 - He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of His disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, 18 who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, 19 and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from Him and healing them all.
Brothers and sisters, as we start this scripture I want you to know that He is Jesus, and He was standing on a level place. The scripture in Matthew 5:1 talks about Him going up on a mountain side, so I am thinking they would have found a flat spot on that mountain side so they could sit and Jesus could talk to His disciples and others who have gathered. I also want to point out that we, we who follow Jesus and truly are working to spread the Good News are the disciples of today. You are a Disciple of Jesus, right?
In verse 17 above it tells us His disciples were there and a GREAT number from all over. A great number, and we know by other scriptures that Jesus drew large crowds. People who have heard about Him wanted to come and hear Him speak. Let me start the encouragement right here. Some sweet day, I said some sweet day we will be able to sit with Jesus, look at Him face to face and hear Him speak. PRAISE THE LORD!!! Then it talks about the great number of people by saying this. They came to be healed of their diseases, some needed to be cured of impure spirits. So let each of you address yourself on this. Some of us have diseases, such as but not limited to heart, kidney, liver, lung problems, and they could be mild or maybe in different states of trouble, some of us might have cancer, or severe pain, some might have depression, or mental problems. Some might have family issues, money problems, car problems, or so many different issues. I want to tell you this. JESUS CAN HEAL ALL OF THEM!!! JESUS STILL HEALS!!! JESUS LOVES YOU!!! HE WANTS YOU!!! HE WANTS TO SAVE YOU!!! HE WANTS TO HUG YOUR NECK!!! HE WANTS TO STOP YOUR CANCER, HE WANTS TO TOUCH YOUR BREATHING,YES, HE IS ONE GREAT AND MIGHTY GOD. There is nothing, nothing that Jesus cannot do, except force You to accept Him as your Savior. You are not a puppet, you are not on string, you have freedom, free will. This is your choice. You can live for Jesus or walk away from Him. Let me tell you that living for Him is the best. I know because I ONCE WAS LOST!! But no more, baby, I have found Jesus (years ago) and live for Him more and more each day. And the longer I do this the better it gets. Jesus already knows you, and He is waiting to hear from You.
Brothers and sisters, you can do this, you can make it. It might seem like you are up against a brick wall, but trust me, with Jesus you can knock it down. You do not need a beer, you do not need to get drunk. You can stand up and walk with Jesus, and if you do you will feel so much better about yourself. Brothers and sisters, in our scripture today it tells us power was coming from Him and He was healing them. And while we are different today, JESUS IS NOT. Look at these scriptures, and they are some of my favorites.
Hebrews 13:8 - Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (NIV)
Romans 8:28 - And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. (NIV)
John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." (NIV)
Come on, brothers and sisters, COME ALIVE!! Step out for Jesus, step out with Jesus. Put a smile on your face and a tune on your lips and after praying, start believing that EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL, and it is, it really is when you are walking with Jesus.
He lives, He lives. Christ Jesus lives today;
He walks with me and talks with me
Along life's narrow way.
He lives, He lives, Salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives --
He lives within my heart!
He lives, He lives. Christ Jesus lives today;
He walks with me and talks with me
Along life's narrow way.
He lives, He lives, Salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives --
He lives within my heart!
Dear Father in Heaven: Come and live in me and heal me of all my sin and I would appreciate Your touch on all of those other things that are wrong with me, known and unknown. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Now go forth and keep smiling, singing, and loving Jesus and each other. Love ya.
Pastor Dan
He lives, He lives. Christ Jesus lives today;
He walks with me and talks with me
Along life's narrow way.
He lives, He lives, Salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives --
He lives within my heart!
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
Tuesday 2/2/16 The Big Trip (34)
Dear Father in Heaven: I love You. Please forgive me of my sins this day and teach me to serve You and also to serve others. When reading Your Word I am once again humbled as to how You served even me by going to the Cross to have my sins washed away. Please, Lord, help me to serve You better by being obedient to You. Help me to try my very best to repent and follow Your commands each and everyday of my life. Please help me now with the daily message and then please help me to get it dispatched. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters, today once again like every February 2nd, you find people bowing down to the "groundhog." I think sometimes Americans will go to any length to have a drinking party and shoot fireworks into the air. What I saw this morning was a bunch of men, holding up "dinner!" Think about that, brothers and sisters, if you had nothing to eat, would you eat groundhog? By the way, here is a tip for those of you who might have a groundhog or two in your garden in the spring. If you have cats, empty the dirty litter down the groundhog hole. I will say this, often in the fall we watch those weather forecasters sit under an old apple tree in our yard and eat applies and enjoy watching another of God's critters.
Anyway, brothers and sisters, I do want to get to the message and I want to talk to you a tad today about serving others, and of course more than that, talk to you about serving our Lord Jesus Christ.
Tuesday: February 2, 2016: The Big Trip (Day Thirty-Four)
Service!!
Mark 10:45 - "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many." (NIV)
Over the years many, many of the "rich people" have had servants or slaves. While some servants like personal butlers or personal maids might have made good money, the slaves did not and sometimes were even bought and sold. Looking back, I often had jobs that served others, and I must say the job I loved a lot all through my life was serving people at full-service gasoline service stations. I just loved waiting on gas customers at service stations, and cleaning windshields and really giving people what is now a lost art, "Full Service," at those service stations. Starting early in life I wore the Texaco Star, then the Gulf Orange Disc. I also wore Cities Service uniforms, Exxon uniforms, and then back to that Texaco Star. I found out real fast in the service station business that one thing we had to learn also was to "clean the restrooms." How many people who have others work for them would not even clean their own work place if their cleaning folks would not be able to get in?
Today there are many, many jobs that serve others, and some people do them for free, while others get paid for doing the jobs. Let me ask all of you these questions. Have you ever had a job, paid or unpaid, where you served others? Have you ever had a job where people served you? More than likely in life you had both, and if that is a fact, looking back, which ones did you like the best? And which one made you feel the best? The ones I enjoyed the most seem to be the ones that paid the least; however, to me they were and still are the ones that are most rewarding, and yes, those rewards, if not paid here, will be paid in heaven, if you become "Born Again." I do know some people who think that everything should be handed to them and they should not need to lift a finger to help, to help even themselves. This, my dear brothers and sisters, is wrong, and Jesus Himself set the example on this. In our scripture for today it is pointed out very clearly that:
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.
And our dear Lord and Savior Jesus Christ even laid down His life to pay off what most of us are a slave to. SIN!!! Brothers and sisters, we can serve others in many ways. I might have served people at the gas pumps over the years, thousands and thousands of them, however, if I do not serve this one Man, this Man called Jesus Christ, all that service I did for others will all be for "NOT" and I will not get to heaven at all. Let me say that again, we must serve Him above all others to get into Heaven. We must bow down to Him and Him alone and we must have a personal relationship with Him so that He will forgive us and He will provide that step into heaven. This, my dear brothers and sisters, must become a labor of love for us. Don't get all caught up in being served or even serving others until you first serve Jesus. THEN after you have your meeting with Jesus and invite Him into your arms and confess and tell Him you love Him, then go out and serve others and then always do it in Jesus' Name. And please make it a "Labor of Love!"
Dear Father in Heaven. I want to serve You, and I want to serve Jesus, and I want to serve the Holy Ghost and obey all the commands. Forgive me when I fail and wash me clean again. After that help me serve others as Jesus would serve. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters, go forth now serving Jesus, not because you have to but because you love Him. And we can go out singing this song. Love ya.
Pastor Dan
I Will Serve Thee (William J. and Gloria Gaither)
I will serve Thee because I love Thee;
You have given life to me.
I was nothing before You found me;
You have given life to me.
Heartaches, broken pieces;
Ruined lives are why You died on Calvary.
Your touch was what I longed for;
You have given life to me.
I will serve Thee because I love Thee;
You have given life to me.
I was nothing before You found me;
You have given life to me.
Heartaches, broken pieces;
Ruined lives are why You died on Calvary.
Your touch was what I longed for;
You have given life to me.
Dear brothers and sisters, today once again like every February 2nd, you find people bowing down to the "groundhog." I think sometimes Americans will go to any length to have a drinking party and shoot fireworks into the air. What I saw this morning was a bunch of men, holding up "dinner!" Think about that, brothers and sisters, if you had nothing to eat, would you eat groundhog? By the way, here is a tip for those of you who might have a groundhog or two in your garden in the spring. If you have cats, empty the dirty litter down the groundhog hole. I will say this, often in the fall we watch those weather forecasters sit under an old apple tree in our yard and eat applies and enjoy watching another of God's critters.
Anyway, brothers and sisters, I do want to get to the message and I want to talk to you a tad today about serving others, and of course more than that, talk to you about serving our Lord Jesus Christ.
Tuesday: February 2, 2016: The Big Trip (Day Thirty-Four)
Service!!
Mark 10:45 - "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many." (NIV)
Over the years many, many of the "rich people" have had servants or slaves. While some servants like personal butlers or personal maids might have made good money, the slaves did not and sometimes were even bought and sold. Looking back, I often had jobs that served others, and I must say the job I loved a lot all through my life was serving people at full-service gasoline service stations. I just loved waiting on gas customers at service stations, and cleaning windshields and really giving people what is now a lost art, "Full Service," at those service stations. Starting early in life I wore the Texaco Star, then the Gulf Orange Disc. I also wore Cities Service uniforms, Exxon uniforms, and then back to that Texaco Star. I found out real fast in the service station business that one thing we had to learn also was to "clean the restrooms." How many people who have others work for them would not even clean their own work place if their cleaning folks would not be able to get in?
Today there are many, many jobs that serve others, and some people do them for free, while others get paid for doing the jobs. Let me ask all of you these questions. Have you ever had a job, paid or unpaid, where you served others? Have you ever had a job where people served you? More than likely in life you had both, and if that is a fact, looking back, which ones did you like the best? And which one made you feel the best? The ones I enjoyed the most seem to be the ones that paid the least; however, to me they were and still are the ones that are most rewarding, and yes, those rewards, if not paid here, will be paid in heaven, if you become "Born Again." I do know some people who think that everything should be handed to them and they should not need to lift a finger to help, to help even themselves. This, my dear brothers and sisters, is wrong, and Jesus Himself set the example on this. In our scripture for today it is pointed out very clearly that:
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.
And our dear Lord and Savior Jesus Christ even laid down His life to pay off what most of us are a slave to. SIN!!! Brothers and sisters, we can serve others in many ways. I might have served people at the gas pumps over the years, thousands and thousands of them, however, if I do not serve this one Man, this Man called Jesus Christ, all that service I did for others will all be for "NOT" and I will not get to heaven at all. Let me say that again, we must serve Him above all others to get into Heaven. We must bow down to Him and Him alone and we must have a personal relationship with Him so that He will forgive us and He will provide that step into heaven. This, my dear brothers and sisters, must become a labor of love for us. Don't get all caught up in being served or even serving others until you first serve Jesus. THEN after you have your meeting with Jesus and invite Him into your arms and confess and tell Him you love Him, then go out and serve others and then always do it in Jesus' Name. And please make it a "Labor of Love!"
Dear Father in Heaven. I want to serve You, and I want to serve Jesus, and I want to serve the Holy Ghost and obey all the commands. Forgive me when I fail and wash me clean again. After that help me serve others as Jesus would serve. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters, go forth now serving Jesus, not because you have to but because you love Him. And we can go out singing this song. Love ya.
Pastor Dan
I Will Serve Thee (William J. and Gloria Gaither)
I will serve Thee because I love Thee;
You have given life to me.
I was nothing before You found me;
You have given life to me.
Heartaches, broken pieces;
Ruined lives are why You died on Calvary.
Your touch was what I longed for;
You have given life to me.
I will serve Thee because I love Thee;
You have given life to me.
I was nothing before You found me;
You have given life to me.
Heartaches, broken pieces;
Ruined lives are why You died on Calvary.
Your touch was what I longed for;
You have given life to me.
Monday, February 1, 2016
Monday 2/1/16 The Big Trip (33)
Dear Father in Heaven: I love You and I really appreciate that You have covered my sins with the Blood of Your Son Jesus who died on the Cross for me. Father, thank You for waking us this morning and thanks for watching over us throughout the night. Please, Father, help Jimmy Swaggart raise the Bibles they need to hand out in Your Name this month. Please, Lord, help our son Matthew turn back to You again. As for the election this year, Thy will be done. Lord, please be with all those who are working to keep this country safe. Lord, please help me concentrate, as it seems my mind hops all over the place lately. Please, Lord, help me with the daily message and then to get it dispatched. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters, last week I wrote on The Lord's Prayer. I also mentioned that our son Matthew needs prayer, and he also told us "he cannot pray anymore." If you have ever been to the point you for one reason or another can't seem to pray, here is a suggestion that was sent to me from one of our long-time readers, "Big John Henry," as I respectfully call him. As we know, there is Power in the Name of Jesus, and John suggests that you just keep on repeating the name of Jesus. What a great suggestion. So if you are struggling to pray, your prayer might go like this. "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus." I also have done this when Satan seems to be hitting on me. I pray these four words. "I love You, Jesus, I love You, Jesus, I love You, Jesus." One thing for sure, brothers an sisters, when you call out the the name of Jesus, old Satan will run and hide. Amen. (Thanks again, John.)
Let us look at prayer for another day or so.
Monday: February 1, 2016: The Big Trip (Day Thirty-three)
Prayer Two
Brothers and sisters, what is prayer? It is just talking to Jesus and while He knows all that you need, please still remember to ask. Oh, and when you hear back, please remember to say thanks.
Psalm 5:1 - Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my sighing. 2 Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to You I pray. 3 In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; In the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation." (NIV)
Here we can get some great advice from David on a way to talk to God. If we follow this example we will nicely ask God to hear our words and consider our pain or problem. Again nicely we ask God to listen to our cries for help and we are telling God we are reaching out to Him, no one else. Also, and here is a great suggestion, start your day with prayer, start your day by talking with God, and then go throughout the day just knowing He will be of help to you along the way. And if while doing those daily things you need more help, ask Him some more. Amen.
Psalm 122:6 - Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; May those who love you be secure. (NIV)
Yes, brothers and sisters, when praying remember to pray for peace, worldwide peace and "peace in the Holy Lands," or Jerusalem. Please also remember as Christians we need to be praying for everyone, including our Jewish brothers and sisters.
1 Thessalonians 5:16 - Be joyful always. 17 Pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. (NIV)
There are things in the Bible that we are to do that seem very hard. One is this. "Be joyful always." I love it. My mamma would tell me you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Pray continually, or maybe it could be said like this. Pray until something happens. Then give thanks. And then we are to give thanks in all circumstances. I can remember years ago, Mr. Phillip Neff (now with the Lord) came to the altar of Hope Church and thanked God for his wife who just had a major stroke. He was praying and giving thanks that his wife had a stroke and also because she lived. That, at the time was hard for me to understand; however, by my friend Phil doing this, he not only obeyed God but in doing so witnessed to me.
What I am saying here, brothers and sisters, is just this. Pray, talk to God, and have faith for we know this, or at least I know this. GOD IS ON THE THRONE, His Son Jesus died for me. And the Holy Ghost now lives in me. I want to get it right. Amen.
One prayer I use a lot now is this. "Help me, Jesus, Help me, Jesus. Please help me, Jesus." I do this if I am putting a part on my car, or lifting something that is now a tad more than I can lift and most often when I am trying to get my tired old body up out of the chair.
Brothers and sisters, when the weak need help they have no place to turn, but when the saved, the tough need help, the tough call out for Jesus. Amen. It does not matter how you slice it, without Jesus you are weak.
Jesus, I Love You (Otis Skillings)
Jesus, I love You, love You, love You.
Jesus, I love You; Jesus, my Lord.
Jesus, I serve You, serve You, serve You.
Jesus, I serve You; Jesus, my Lord.
Jesus, I praise You, praise You, praise You.
Jesus, I praise You; Jesus, my Lord.
Those words you might sing as a prayer. Now please go forth serving Jesus and giving thanks and praying all the time. Love ya.
Pastor Dan
Jesus, I love You, love You, love You.
Jesus, I love You; Jesus, my Lord.
Jesus, I serve You, serve You, serve You.
Jesus, I serve You; Jesus, my Lord.
Jesus, I praise You, praise You, praise You.
Jesus, I praise You; Jesus, my Lord.
Dear brothers and sisters, last week I wrote on The Lord's Prayer. I also mentioned that our son Matthew needs prayer, and he also told us "he cannot pray anymore." If you have ever been to the point you for one reason or another can't seem to pray, here is a suggestion that was sent to me from one of our long-time readers, "Big John Henry," as I respectfully call him. As we know, there is Power in the Name of Jesus, and John suggests that you just keep on repeating the name of Jesus. What a great suggestion. So if you are struggling to pray, your prayer might go like this. "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus." I also have done this when Satan seems to be hitting on me. I pray these four words. "I love You, Jesus, I love You, Jesus, I love You, Jesus." One thing for sure, brothers an sisters, when you call out the the name of Jesus, old Satan will run and hide. Amen. (Thanks again, John.)
Let us look at prayer for another day or so.
Monday: February 1, 2016: The Big Trip (Day Thirty-three)
Prayer Two
Brothers and sisters, what is prayer? It is just talking to Jesus and while He knows all that you need, please still remember to ask. Oh, and when you hear back, please remember to say thanks.
Psalm 5:1 - Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my sighing. 2 Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to You I pray. 3 In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; In the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation." (NIV)
Here we can get some great advice from David on a way to talk to God. If we follow this example we will nicely ask God to hear our words and consider our pain or problem. Again nicely we ask God to listen to our cries for help and we are telling God we are reaching out to Him, no one else. Also, and here is a great suggestion, start your day with prayer, start your day by talking with God, and then go throughout the day just knowing He will be of help to you along the way. And if while doing those daily things you need more help, ask Him some more. Amen.
Psalm 122:6 - Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; May those who love you be secure. (NIV)
Yes, brothers and sisters, when praying remember to pray for peace, worldwide peace and "peace in the Holy Lands," or Jerusalem. Please also remember as Christians we need to be praying for everyone, including our Jewish brothers and sisters.
1 Thessalonians 5:16 - Be joyful always. 17 Pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. (NIV)
There are things in the Bible that we are to do that seem very hard. One is this. "Be joyful always." I love it. My mamma would tell me you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Pray continually, or maybe it could be said like this. Pray until something happens. Then give thanks. And then we are to give thanks in all circumstances. I can remember years ago, Mr. Phillip Neff (now with the Lord) came to the altar of Hope Church and thanked God for his wife who just had a major stroke. He was praying and giving thanks that his wife had a stroke and also because she lived. That, at the time was hard for me to understand; however, by my friend Phil doing this, he not only obeyed God but in doing so witnessed to me.
What I am saying here, brothers and sisters, is just this. Pray, talk to God, and have faith for we know this, or at least I know this. GOD IS ON THE THRONE, His Son Jesus died for me. And the Holy Ghost now lives in me. I want to get it right. Amen.
One prayer I use a lot now is this. "Help me, Jesus, Help me, Jesus. Please help me, Jesus." I do this if I am putting a part on my car, or lifting something that is now a tad more than I can lift and most often when I am trying to get my tired old body up out of the chair.
Brothers and sisters, when the weak need help they have no place to turn, but when the saved, the tough need help, the tough call out for Jesus. Amen. It does not matter how you slice it, without Jesus you are weak.
Jesus, I Love You (Otis Skillings)
Jesus, I love You, love You, love You.
Jesus, I love You; Jesus, my Lord.
Jesus, I serve You, serve You, serve You.
Jesus, I serve You; Jesus, my Lord.
Jesus, I praise You, praise You, praise You.
Jesus, I praise You; Jesus, my Lord.
Those words you might sing as a prayer. Now please go forth serving Jesus and giving thanks and praying all the time. Love ya.
Pastor Dan
Jesus, I love You, love You, love You.
Jesus, I love You; Jesus, my Lord.
Jesus, I serve You, serve You, serve You.
Jesus, I serve You; Jesus, my Lord.
Jesus, I praise You, praise You, praise You.
Jesus, I praise You; Jesus, my Lord.
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