Sunday 8/28/16 "Living Stones"

Dear Father in Heaven: Please forgive me of my sins. Thanks for dying on the Cross for me and all others who seek You. I have been a long time away from the computer and am seeking Your help for a comeback. Please help me now with a message and then to get it dispatched. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.

Dear brothers and sisters: Please keep me in your prayers as I try to get back to daily writing again. It has been very hot in our computer room plus I have not been receiving messages from our Lord Jesus as I once did. More than likely because I have not been listening like I should, for I am 100% sure God is still watching over me.

Last Saturday I preached at a funeral and it was the first time I was in the pulpit since leaving The Bridges years ago. It went wonderfully and it really felt great to be out stomping for Jesus. Today the title of the message God gave to me is "Living Stones."

Sunday: August 28, 2016: "Living Stones"

The term "Living Stones" I first heard of in a message from the late Pastor Karen Engle Layman. Pastor Karen was pastor at Hope United Methodist Church when I attended there years ago.

Psalm 118:22 - The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone, 23 the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes: (NIV)

I am sure over the years you have seen many buildings built of stone. A lot of old farmhouses had stone foundations, different than the smooth block that we see laid today in construction. Still today you will see some homes being built out of mountain stone. The old Salem meeting house at Hope United Methodist Church was built of stone. I don't know today if there are many stone masons in that trade. It is very time-consuming and requires men or women of great passions for their work and very strong to lift the stones. If you take a good look at stones, they come in many shapes and sizes, some small and some large, some with lots of rough edges and others with fewer rough edges, but know that all have  some rough edges. If you have ever watched a stone mason you will find they sort the stones first and lay them in some sort of order and then mix their mud (cement) in small amounts at a time as they lay up those stones. They also have chip hammers so as to chip away at the edges to fit together as they need to be to build up the building. The Bible in our scripture tells us that "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone." A capstone is the final stone on the top and must be near perfect on one side as it is placed in that place and the roof is placed on top of it. Today not man stone walls become load-bearing as wood studding is placed up to support a roof.

All of us have those edges and our Master Builder, Jesus Christ, chips away at us to get us to come to Him. You will not find that the Master Builder will toss any of the stones aside, and if one becomes in a pile of those stones it is by their own choice as they did not accept Jesus Christ, The Master Builder, as their Savior. I am telling you right now that Jesus Christ has never tossed me aside but has had to pick me up and work on me to smooth out the rough edges over and over again in my life. As much as I keep trying I don't know if I will ever fall into the class of a capstone, but I surely want to keep working at it until I get the call to go to Jesus.

Please, brothers and sisters, don't ever stop letting Jesus work on you. Each day we need to try harder to live and walk like Jesus walked, and that is not easy. Satan has so many traps set for us to fall into. What we need to do is think like this: If Satan is trying to get to you, smash him with a rough-edged rock.  I know it is not easy out there and it is getting harder and harder. Remember this, look up, now down. If you are at a low point, look up even more. Try to help others the best you can, and try and do something to promote Jesus each and every day in some way, shape or form. While God did build in a day of rest for us, that does not mean we stop working for Him.

Again, the title of my message, "Living Stones," was inspired by the late Pastor Karen Engle Layman, but the message was given to me from God. Today I need to tell you, like it or not, you are indeed a "Living Stone."

Now go forth sharing the love of Jesus. Love ya.

Pastor Dan