Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. What a great weekend. I don't know about where you live, but in our area it was warm, even if we did not see the sun much. I will tell you this, and maybe there is a future message in it. We did not see the sun much this weekend, even though the sun is out each and every day. This weekend it was just covered with clouds and fog. Sort of like the Son is out all the time for us, but on some days we are so covered with fog and clouds, you know, sin and dirt of worldly living, that we cannot see the Son, our dear Jesus. Monday and the day we pray for our leaders and our veterans, our military, our state and local police and firefighters, and all those who work to keep us safe and healthy. Please pray also for all those who have the flu and for God to heal this virus and throw it away.
James 4:7 - Submit yourselves then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double minded.
Revelation 22:14 - Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. (NIV)
Doggie Wash: Some time ago, as I was washing my little dogs, holding them on my shoulder in the shower, I just got to thinking, I am cleaning these little ones up, washing them real good. Wash their heads with baby shampoo so the soap does not burn their eyes. Then oatmeal shampoo to help their skin, then a good people shampoo and conditioner so they brush out nice. I wash and rinse them and dry them off. I place them on the floor and they shake and then after awhile they go outside AND ROLL IN THE DIRT!!! You folks that have dogs know what I am talking about, what is it with dirt that makes these dogs want to roll in it? Then they come in and want to jump back up on the bed or a chair or your lap, and yes, I let them do that. Then I pet them and tell them I am not mad at them, but it would be nice if they stayed clean for a bit. The other morning I took our three dogs, two of which are blind, and even being blind they like to roll in the dirt. WAIT A MINUTE. WAIT A MINUTE. Hold on just a minute.
How often has our loving Lord Jesus picked us up and washed us off, cleaned us of our dirt (sins) and put us back down to find out that we go right out and ROLL IN THE DIRT? How often have we gone to Him asking that our robes be washed whiter than the new-fallen snow and we go in the filth of this worldly earth? I am sure Jesus is not happy to see this happen just like we are not happy to see our dogs roll in the dirt right after a bath. Each day I start by asking God to forgive me of my sins, wash me white as snow and then sometime during the day either my actions are not what Jesus wants and expects from me or my thinking goes astray. How about you folks, how often do you take a roll in the dirt? But we know better or we should, but so often we forget to repent and we go in that old dirt pile. And you know when we come back out of the dirt pile, Jesus does not turn His back on us, no, He will hold us tight, He will work with us, and yes, He will work with us, and yes, He will give us another bath. Just as we do with those pets that Jesus gave to us.
I hope you get the point of this short message today. It is an example that God gave me before and again today. Folks, He gives me the same messages over sometimes, and I would think it is because we did not take the warning seriously the first time. Oh, and like I told my dogs today, I think Jesus is telling us the same thing. STAY OUT OF THE DIRT. KEEP CLEAN. And love your Master. Of course you do not need to tell your dog to love their master, our dogs and cats just love us, but for people, well, we need to be told. So today, remember to tell people to LOVE THEIR MASTER, our Lord Jesus. Amen. Oh, and as you pray today, it is okay to hold your pet. God loves our pets also, and yes, there will be dogs in heaven.
Dear Father in Heaven. Please wash me today, wash me clean of sins with the blood of Jesus. Lord, I confess that I am a sinner and saved only by the dear grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus. Be with those on our prayer lists this day and watch over them. Be with our leaders and also those who keep our country free, safe, and healthy. Please, Lord, heal the flu in our country. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Go forth sharing your blessings and sharing the Love of Jesus to others, and please, "stay out of the dirt."
Love ya, Pastor Dan.
Monday, January 14, 2013
Friday, January 11, 2013
Thur/Fri 1/10-11/13 Working Together 4
Good Afternoon, my dear brothers and sisters. It is really another nice day here at the Southern Location of the North Pole. We are expecting rain, and praise the Lord, it is January, and we do not need to shovel the rain. (Come on, Spring!) I promise Jesus each winter that if He gets me through the winter I will never complain about the heat of summer. The real truth is I just love spring. I love to see the new birth that spring brings. Each spring as I watch the new growth I wonder in my little mind how anyone can not believe in God. Today, Salvation Friday, is the day we pray for all those working the fields of harvest for our Lord, and also pray for Salvation for the unsaved, those who have been born only once. Also pray for all who are saved, are born again, to be used by God to help lead in the lost. We are awaiting our animal veterinarian to come to the house. One of our senior dogs, Angie, our Yorkie with a tail, we call her, will be going to doggie heaven before the day is out. This is always a hard job for us to do as we take in senior dogs so they can live out their lives here with us, and so often we need to make this final choice for them. So pray for us this afternoon as we go through this hard part of the walk with senior dogs. The love we get from this old dog is just so loving. It is so nice when I, and I don't do it often, but I go into my room to take a nap and four or five dogs and a cat or two come with me. It is the same at night. Later today or tomorrow I am going to send out an email update on Carry The Light Ministries. It is a copy of the letter we send out after our big Christmas push. Some of you will get the hard copy. We want you to know that we appreciate your support, and praying for us is one of the best kinds of support you can do for us. Writing the daily message is the second longest running part of Carry The Light Ministries. Our singing outreach to senior homes is the longest. Look for the ministry update coming later. Now let me get to the message.
Romans 12:9 - Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written, "It is mine to avenge, I will repay," says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (NIV)
Yes, brothers and sisters, it is the same scripture as I used on Wednesday. I really only got through Romans 12:10.
Romans 12:11 - Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. (NIV)
Brothers and sisters, the Bible tells us when working for God, never be lacking in zeal. Let me put it this way, when working for anyone, never be a slacker, in fact, so many people are slackers in life, some don't even try and get jobs, others get jobs and do not give the people they work for a full day of work for the full day of pay. God knows if you are a slacker, and He surely does not want people going out half-heartedly with the Good News Message we are to be taking out. When you are out working for the Lord, or anyone else as far as that goes, work hard, work with a smile on your face, enjoy what you are doing, and stop complaining. I am sure that if God wanted to complain about us, He could find a lot of things that did not please Him in the way we live. When you are telling the good news about Jesus, tell it like you believe it, have faith in it and live it. Tell people that Jesus died on the cross for you as He also did for me. Walk in His light daily. I know of folks who have a lot of Bibles, lots of different versions of the Bible, but do not read any of them, or they read them and don't follow them. I know of people who pray for things but do not do one thing to help God along, and as I have said before, all can do something when it comes to working for God.
The Bible tells us to be joyful in our hope and patient in affliction. We are also to be faithful in prayer. If I were to ask all of you right now this question, and okay, I am asking it ... DID YOU PRAY YET TODAY? Think about it, folks, you do not need to tell me the answer, for I know there are some days I have started the day and did not pray, or started a concert and did not pray. Brothers and sisters, we need to ask Jesus to be involved in all things we do. If it is not worthy of asking for His help, then it is not worthy of our doing it. SOMEONE SHOUT AMEN!! Let me move on ...
Romans 12:13 - Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. (NIV)
We are to share with God's people who are in need!! Who are God's people? Do you need to be saved, or born again to be one of God's people? NO!! We are all God's people, all born in the image of God and given free will. How are you using your free will today? For good? Or for not so good?
Each day I close I ask you to share your blessings. Everyone can do just that, there is no one on this line who is not blessed in some way and that means all on this line can share those blessings. The Bible tells us to rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn. Let me tell you that it is much easier to rejoice with the happy than to sit and mourn or talk to people about problems. God knows all of this, and if we truly love Him and have faith in Him, we can do this, you can do this. I have done it.
Romans 12:14 - Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. (NIV)
Live in harmony with each other. Folks, in some families the family members cannot even do this, let alone strangers. Folks, we who are Christians need to be the go-getter in this. But let me point out here, in many churches, and I touched on this the other day, in many churches they do not have harmony in the church itself. Even the disciples of Jesus, one of those went against Jesus, think about it. Again, we who love Jesus need to extend to others that we want to live in harmony with them. This scripture should have been used years ago when the big city churches would not open their doors and welcome in the new neighbors of changing neighborhoods. In other words, those big churches with "white" congregations did not swing open wide the doors of the church and welcome in their new "black" or "Spanish" neighbors. Think about that and tell me I am not right on it. I know, I was raised in Harrisburg, and I saw it happen. Maybe it was those folks that were funding the big churches were too proud to ask in those that did not have money! The next part of that scripture is be willing to associate with people in low positions. Have you ever been to a party in a nice big house where lots of people came? Maybe you noticed that no one invited their "trash folks." I have been there, brothers and sisters. But I have changed, have you? How we treat the least of those among us is how we treat Jesus!! The Bible also tell us not to be conceited. Please address yourself on that one. We had nicknames for folks that were conceited, we call them "goody two shoes." Don't know why, but we did.
Romans 12:17 - Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written, "It is mine to avenge, I will repay," says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (NIV)
As we finish up the scripture for today, please take a good look at it and digest it really well. As Christians it is not always easy to do just what our good Lord wants us to do. But as Christians if we want to stay in good standing with our Lord Jesus we must do our very best carrying out His Commandments and rules for us. Hey, sorry, I am just the messenger, God made the rules. I know they are hard to follow sometimes, and these are some tough ones. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Think about that when someone cuts you off in traffic, would you not just like to pass them and cut them off or even give them the (no, I am not saying it)? The Bible tells us to do what is right in the eyes of everybody, and that is true, do what is right in front of everybody. Now if we would want to make it sound better, let us just do what is right in the eyes of Jesus and that should be good enough for everyone, and that is what I mean when we talk about following in the footsteps of Jesus and walking in His light. Jesus is the Light of the World. The Bible also tells us not to take revenge but let God handle the wrath. Let God do what He is to do, and let us follow His commands and do what He wants us to do. The Bible tells us if our enemy is hungry we are to feed him. If he is thirsty, we are to give them something to drink. In short, the Bible tells us that the only way to overcome evil is by doing good. Overcome evil with Good ... Sounds like a plan to me, how be we put it into our daily practice?
Dear Father, sometimes in this world Your commands for us sound very hard to do, and Father, it is very hard to follow in Your footsteps. Lord, I love You and I want to walk in Your light. Lord, the farther we get off the path You light for us, the deeper we get into the darkness of evil. Help us to stay on Your light path. Forgive us when we sin and help us, dear Lord, with our walk with You. Help us also, Lord, to live for God, and forgive those who commit evil against us, help us to bless them with Good, Your Goodness, Lord. Help those who are not saved to come to You and use we who are saved to help bring in the lost to You. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Now go forth and share your blessings.
Love ya, Pastor Dan.
Romans 12:9 - Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written, "It is mine to avenge, I will repay," says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (NIV)
Yes, brothers and sisters, it is the same scripture as I used on Wednesday. I really only got through Romans 12:10.
Romans 12:11 - Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. (NIV)
Brothers and sisters, the Bible tells us when working for God, never be lacking in zeal. Let me put it this way, when working for anyone, never be a slacker, in fact, so many people are slackers in life, some don't even try and get jobs, others get jobs and do not give the people they work for a full day of work for the full day of pay. God knows if you are a slacker, and He surely does not want people going out half-heartedly with the Good News Message we are to be taking out. When you are out working for the Lord, or anyone else as far as that goes, work hard, work with a smile on your face, enjoy what you are doing, and stop complaining. I am sure that if God wanted to complain about us, He could find a lot of things that did not please Him in the way we live. When you are telling the good news about Jesus, tell it like you believe it, have faith in it and live it. Tell people that Jesus died on the cross for you as He also did for me. Walk in His light daily. I know of folks who have a lot of Bibles, lots of different versions of the Bible, but do not read any of them, or they read them and don't follow them. I know of people who pray for things but do not do one thing to help God along, and as I have said before, all can do something when it comes to working for God.
The Bible tells us to be joyful in our hope and patient in affliction. We are also to be faithful in prayer. If I were to ask all of you right now this question, and okay, I am asking it ... DID YOU PRAY YET TODAY? Think about it, folks, you do not need to tell me the answer, for I know there are some days I have started the day and did not pray, or started a concert and did not pray. Brothers and sisters, we need to ask Jesus to be involved in all things we do. If it is not worthy of asking for His help, then it is not worthy of our doing it. SOMEONE SHOUT AMEN!! Let me move on ...
Romans 12:13 - Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. (NIV)
We are to share with God's people who are in need!! Who are God's people? Do you need to be saved, or born again to be one of God's people? NO!! We are all God's people, all born in the image of God and given free will. How are you using your free will today? For good? Or for not so good?
Each day I close I ask you to share your blessings. Everyone can do just that, there is no one on this line who is not blessed in some way and that means all on this line can share those blessings. The Bible tells us to rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn. Let me tell you that it is much easier to rejoice with the happy than to sit and mourn or talk to people about problems. God knows all of this, and if we truly love Him and have faith in Him, we can do this, you can do this. I have done it.
Romans 12:14 - Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. (NIV)
Live in harmony with each other. Folks, in some families the family members cannot even do this, let alone strangers. Folks, we who are Christians need to be the go-getter in this. But let me point out here, in many churches, and I touched on this the other day, in many churches they do not have harmony in the church itself. Even the disciples of Jesus, one of those went against Jesus, think about it. Again, we who love Jesus need to extend to others that we want to live in harmony with them. This scripture should have been used years ago when the big city churches would not open their doors and welcome in the new neighbors of changing neighborhoods. In other words, those big churches with "white" congregations did not swing open wide the doors of the church and welcome in their new "black" or "Spanish" neighbors. Think about that and tell me I am not right on it. I know, I was raised in Harrisburg, and I saw it happen. Maybe it was those folks that were funding the big churches were too proud to ask in those that did not have money! The next part of that scripture is be willing to associate with people in low positions. Have you ever been to a party in a nice big house where lots of people came? Maybe you noticed that no one invited their "trash folks." I have been there, brothers and sisters. But I have changed, have you? How we treat the least of those among us is how we treat Jesus!! The Bible also tell us not to be conceited. Please address yourself on that one. We had nicknames for folks that were conceited, we call them "goody two shoes." Don't know why, but we did.
Romans 12:17 - Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written, "It is mine to avenge, I will repay," says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (NIV)
As we finish up the scripture for today, please take a good look at it and digest it really well. As Christians it is not always easy to do just what our good Lord wants us to do. But as Christians if we want to stay in good standing with our Lord Jesus we must do our very best carrying out His Commandments and rules for us. Hey, sorry, I am just the messenger, God made the rules. I know they are hard to follow sometimes, and these are some tough ones. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Think about that when someone cuts you off in traffic, would you not just like to pass them and cut them off or even give them the (no, I am not saying it)? The Bible tells us to do what is right in the eyes of everybody, and that is true, do what is right in front of everybody. Now if we would want to make it sound better, let us just do what is right in the eyes of Jesus and that should be good enough for everyone, and that is what I mean when we talk about following in the footsteps of Jesus and walking in His light. Jesus is the Light of the World. The Bible also tells us not to take revenge but let God handle the wrath. Let God do what He is to do, and let us follow His commands and do what He wants us to do. The Bible tells us if our enemy is hungry we are to feed him. If he is thirsty, we are to give them something to drink. In short, the Bible tells us that the only way to overcome evil is by doing good. Overcome evil with Good ... Sounds like a plan to me, how be we put it into our daily practice?
Dear Father, sometimes in this world Your commands for us sound very hard to do, and Father, it is very hard to follow in Your footsteps. Lord, I love You and I want to walk in Your light. Lord, the farther we get off the path You light for us, the deeper we get into the darkness of evil. Help us to stay on Your light path. Forgive us when we sin and help us, dear Lord, with our walk with You. Help us also, Lord, to live for God, and forgive those who commit evil against us, help us to bless them with Good, Your Goodness, Lord. Help those who are not saved to come to You and use we who are saved to help bring in the lost to You. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Now go forth and share your blessings.
Love ya, Pastor Dan.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Wednesday 1/9/13 Working Together 3
Good evening, my dear sisters and brothers. What a great day we had today here at the Southern Location of the North Pole. Please pray for the residents and staff at the Church of God Home in Carlisle. I understand they are hard hit by the flu. We need to be asking God to get rid of the flu across the world. Please pray today for all, and I am serious about this, please pray for all those folks that you dislike. It does not make a difference why you dislike them, today I am asking you to hold them up in prayer. Today I am going to talk about the greatest gift God gives us and that is the gift of LOVE. Now sisters and brothers, our Lord Jesus tells us that we must love God and love all others. While we need to love all people, we do not need to like or love their sins, in fact we should hate the sins. So today, and maybe tomorrow, we will be talking about the gift of love.
Romans 12:9 - Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 14 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written, "It is mine to avenge, I will repay," says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (NIV)
Dear sisters and brothers, that is a lot of scripture to digest today, and I pray you take time to read through it a few times and really look at it. This scripture tells us how we must love and how we must hate evil while we love. I would guess by now you have all heard the news that in our National Cathedral they are going to be doing gay marriages. Gay marriages are now legal in the eyes of the law in Washington, DC, so they are going to permit them to take place at the National Cathedral. The person making the announcement in Washington, DC, said: "That is the way Jesus would want it!" They also said that according to the Bible gay marriage is permitted. I would like anyone, anyone, to show me where in the Bible it is written that Jesus endorses marriage between two men or two women. This brings me to a point about love. We must all who are Christians love those who are gay, but we do not need to love that sin, and indeed it is a sin. Once so called pastors start doing gay marriages in the National Cathedral, watch for a storm or something like that to hit the Cathedral. If you do not think these things are upsetting God, you need to go back and read the account of Noah.
Now with that off my chest, let's go back and start looking at the scripture of today. I am sure I will not get through this complete scripture today. Let's start with ...
Romans 12:9 - Love must be sincere, hate what is evil and cling to what is good. (NIV)
Love must be sincere. First of all, my dear, dear friends, let's get this meaning of the word love. The word love does not mean sex. I hear so many people saying something like "they were making love." So I ask you today, is your love for Jesus sincere? I am sure you are going to say "YES". So now I ask this, is your love for others, all others, sincere? Come on, address it, folks, think about it, someone who might have "done you dirty" in the past. Have you forgiven them? If you have not forgiven someone, how in the world can you really love them? First of all, folks, we must forgive those who have "done us dirty" or we will not be forgiven for our sins. Again, folks, I do not make the rules, I am just telling you what they are. Please, if you do not agree with this, just go and pray the Lord's prayer and then look at what you just prayed. The Bible tells us we must hate evil, or hate sin, and we should cling to good. And yes, God is good and we need to cling to Him. The Bible also tells us ...
Romans 12:10 - Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. (NIV)
We must love one another. The other week I was talking about love and telling the folks at the Bridges in our greet your neighbor part of church that they should tell their neighbor they love them. We have several people who took that very seriously, and I hear them each week without being reminded telling those sitting next to them that they love them. I also have many now leaving church telling me as they leave that they love me. I try and tell each one, each week that I love them. Some people have trouble telling others they love them. It seems those words might scare them a little. The Bible tells us that besides loving each other we must be, listen to this now, we must be devoted to them. How does that work? It means you must be sincere. The other week, one of the flock sitting in the first row in church for the first time, said very loud, THE PASTOR JUST KISSED THE PIANO PLAYER. It got a big laugh, as this man did not know I guess that Dolores is my wife.
I think I have covered enough for one day. So your homework for today besides reading over the scripture and really studying it ... I want you to think about who you are upset with, I want you to really pray about it, and if you need to be forgiving that person, then ask God to help you with it so it is sincere. Also if they need to be asking for your forgiveness then make it easy for them. In other words, patch up the problem, letting God help you. And please remember that Love must be sincere ...
Dear Father in Heaven, I love You and that I know, but there are days when it seems I did not show it. I also feel that I love all others, but if there is someone out there that I need to clear the air with, please point it out to me. Also, may all my love for others be sincere and may I put my full heart and faith into it. Lord, be with those on our prayer lists, and please, dear Lord, keep blessing this line. Thanks for the message of today, and thanks for walking me through a hard subject. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
Now, brothers and sisters, I find that so far we have at least three gifts. We have the gift to serve, the gift of sharing, or helping others, and the gift of love. How do I know that, well, it is like this, you can serve God, while you love Him and others, and your love for others can show as you share your blessings with them.
Love ya, Pastor Dan.
Romans 12:9 - Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 14 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written, "It is mine to avenge, I will repay," says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (NIV)
Dear sisters and brothers, that is a lot of scripture to digest today, and I pray you take time to read through it a few times and really look at it. This scripture tells us how we must love and how we must hate evil while we love. I would guess by now you have all heard the news that in our National Cathedral they are going to be doing gay marriages. Gay marriages are now legal in the eyes of the law in Washington, DC, so they are going to permit them to take place at the National Cathedral. The person making the announcement in Washington, DC, said: "That is the way Jesus would want it!" They also said that according to the Bible gay marriage is permitted. I would like anyone, anyone, to show me where in the Bible it is written that Jesus endorses marriage between two men or two women. This brings me to a point about love. We must all who are Christians love those who are gay, but we do not need to love that sin, and indeed it is a sin. Once so called pastors start doing gay marriages in the National Cathedral, watch for a storm or something like that to hit the Cathedral. If you do not think these things are upsetting God, you need to go back and read the account of Noah.
Now with that off my chest, let's go back and start looking at the scripture of today. I am sure I will not get through this complete scripture today. Let's start with ...
Romans 12:9 - Love must be sincere, hate what is evil and cling to what is good. (NIV)
Love must be sincere. First of all, my dear, dear friends, let's get this meaning of the word love. The word love does not mean sex. I hear so many people saying something like "they were making love." So I ask you today, is your love for Jesus sincere? I am sure you are going to say "YES". So now I ask this, is your love for others, all others, sincere? Come on, address it, folks, think about it, someone who might have "done you dirty" in the past. Have you forgiven them? If you have not forgiven someone, how in the world can you really love them? First of all, folks, we must forgive those who have "done us dirty" or we will not be forgiven for our sins. Again, folks, I do not make the rules, I am just telling you what they are. Please, if you do not agree with this, just go and pray the Lord's prayer and then look at what you just prayed. The Bible tells us we must hate evil, or hate sin, and we should cling to good. And yes, God is good and we need to cling to Him. The Bible also tells us ...
Romans 12:10 - Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. (NIV)
We must love one another. The other week I was talking about love and telling the folks at the Bridges in our greet your neighbor part of church that they should tell their neighbor they love them. We have several people who took that very seriously, and I hear them each week without being reminded telling those sitting next to them that they love them. I also have many now leaving church telling me as they leave that they love me. I try and tell each one, each week that I love them. Some people have trouble telling others they love them. It seems those words might scare them a little. The Bible tells us that besides loving each other we must be, listen to this now, we must be devoted to them. How does that work? It means you must be sincere. The other week, one of the flock sitting in the first row in church for the first time, said very loud, THE PASTOR JUST KISSED THE PIANO PLAYER. It got a big laugh, as this man did not know I guess that Dolores is my wife.
I think I have covered enough for one day. So your homework for today besides reading over the scripture and really studying it ... I want you to think about who you are upset with, I want you to really pray about it, and if you need to be forgiving that person, then ask God to help you with it so it is sincere. Also if they need to be asking for your forgiveness then make it easy for them. In other words, patch up the problem, letting God help you. And please remember that Love must be sincere ...
Dear Father in Heaven, I love You and that I know, but there are days when it seems I did not show it. I also feel that I love all others, but if there is someone out there that I need to clear the air with, please point it out to me. Also, may all my love for others be sincere and may I put my full heart and faith into it. Lord, be with those on our prayer lists, and please, dear Lord, keep blessing this line. Thanks for the message of today, and thanks for walking me through a hard subject. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
Now, brothers and sisters, I find that so far we have at least three gifts. We have the gift to serve, the gift of sharing, or helping others, and the gift of love. How do I know that, well, it is like this, you can serve God, while you love Him and others, and your love for others can show as you share your blessings with them.
Love ya, Pastor Dan.
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