Update

     I am sorry about not getting the review posted yesterday. It has been so cold where I live here in the Midwest part of the United States that it is dangerous to go out. It is warmer today, so I plan to post the sermon tomorrow as planned. Hopefully, I will be able to get a review posted next week. Please pray for all of those dealing with the brutal cold temperatures.

Verses For the Week

Romans 15:13 -- "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Isaiah 12:6 -- "Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you."

Weekend Sermon -- Luke 9:51-56

     Welcome to this week's edition of the Weekend Sermon. I am glad that you have taken the time to read the sermon. I hope that you all are having a very good week.
      This week I've been dealing with very bad weather and cold temperatures. I hope that the weather will get better in the days to come. Work is going well, and writing has picked up after a down period. I thank the Lord for the work that He has allowed to come my way.
      I am still having problems with arthritis in my hands and fingers. Please pray that this will begin to get a little better. Thank you for your prayers.
      I want to thank the Lord that a friend of mine who had the flu has recovered. She was in the hospital, but she is home now and doing better.
      In prayer this week, please remember to pray for those in Congo who are experiencing the Ebola outbreak. Pray that those who are sick will recover, and pray that this outbreak will be contained and put to an end.
     Please continue to pray for peace in the troubled areas of this world. Pray for peace in Libya, Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan. Pray for peace wherever you know there is conflict.
     For our prayer focus countries of the week, let us all pray for those in the nations of Albania and Oman. Pray that many will hear about the grace and love of Jesus.
     Today, we are continuing with our series of messages dealing with the Lord Jesus' ministry while on this earth. Our passage of Scripture today is found in the Gospel of Luke.
      In this passage, Jesus is preparing to leave Galilee and head to Jerusalem. On his trip, He is going to pass through the region where the Samaritans live. He is planning to stay in a certain Samaritan village, so He sends two of His disciples on ahead to make preparation for His arrival.
     When the Samaritans learn the Jesus is planning to go through to Jerusalem, they don't want Jesus to stay in the village. This refusal makes Jesus' disciples James and John very angry. They ask Jesus if He wants them to call down fire from Heaven to destroy the village and its people.
      Jesus rebukes them and states in Luke 9:55-56, "You do not know what kind of spirit you are of.; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them."  Jesus and His disciples then went on to another village.  Let  us exam what is going on in this passage and how it applies to us living in the world today.
     In order to understand this passage, we have to understand the relationship between the Jews and the Samaritans. The Samaritans were a groups of people who had their own religious beliefs and their own temple. The Jewish people regarded them as being of mixed race, and they despised the Samaritans.
     Jesus demonstrated His love and compassion for all people when He spoke to a Samaritan woman as recorded in John 4. Jesus stayed in the woman's village for a few days, and many Samaritans came to believe that Jesus was the Messiah.
     Jesus also told the well-known story of the Good Samaritan. A Samaritan was the only one among ten lepers who were cleansed that came back to thank the Lord Jesus that he had been healed from his disease.
     Both the Samaritans and the Jews were caught up in their hatred towards one another. Unfortunately, we see this same kind of hatred, racism and prejudice in our world today. People of one race or ethnic group feel that they are superior to those of another race or ethnic group. This type of behavior has no place among Christians.
     Jesus clearly never demonstrated any type of prejudice while He was here on this earth. He said that whosoever could come to Him. Jesus extended His offer of love and forgiveness to people of every race, ethnic group and socio-economic class.
      It makes me very sad when I hear those who claim to be followers of Jesus calling people of other races vile names. We are all brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ no matter what are race, gender, ethnicity or income level. Jesus loves everyone in this world, and those of us who follow the Lord Jesus should do the same.
      John and James were offended when the people in the village didn't want Jesus to come. They wanted to call fire down from Heaven and kill all of the people. Jesus sternly rebuked them for this behavior. He let them know that He had come to save people not to destroy them.
      When I was growing up in a very conservative type of church, I often heard pastors and evangelists speak with almost glee about how God was going to bring down judgment upon all the people that they considered to be evil.
      Today, I still hear preachers and others speak about God bringing judgment and punishment on sinners. They act like they just can't wait to see it happen.
      This isn't the spirit of Jesus Christ. Jesus made it quite clear that He came to preach a message of love and forgiveness. When the people in the village rejected Him, He moved on to the next village.
      Jesus wants to have a relationship with all people. He wants everyone in this world to come to faith in Him. He is not seeking to condemn anyone. He is seeking to bring spiritual healing and hope to everyone.
      With this in mind, let each of us be the kind of person who shows love and compassion to everyone. This includes those who we don't think are doing the right thing. By being hateful to others, we are driving them away from Jesus. We must show everyone the love of Jesus in order that they might come to Him and realize how much He cares about them.
     Jesus loves you and He cares about you no matter who you are. He wants you to come to Him and believe in Him. I hope that you will turn your life over to the Lordship of Jesus today if you have never done so.
     I hope that if you know Jesus, that you will seek to imitate His way of love in this world. This world is so filled with hate and prejudice. The world needs Christians to spread the love and hope of Jesus in order to make this world a better place.
     Next week, we will continue with our messages about the Lord Jesus. I plan to post the sermon on Friday. I will post the verses of the week on Monday. I will be posting a review on Wednesday. May God bless you all. Amen.
   

Verses For the Week and an Update

     The weather has been terrible this week where I live. We had an ice storm last night. I did not get a chance to post the verses for the week, so I am going to do that today. I won't be posting the review this week, but I hope to get back to that next week if this weather will straighten up. I plan to post the sermon on Friday, but I may have to wait until Saturday depending on the weather.

Verses For The Week:

John 10:10 -- "The thief comes only to kill and steal and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."

Romans 8:11 -- "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you."

Weekend Sermon -- Luke 9:1-9 and Luke 10:1-23

     Thanks be to God for another opportunity to post the Weekend Sermon. I hope that all of you are having a good week, and I thank you for taking the time to read the sermon.
     This has been a difficult week. We had a major winter storm in my area. We are recovering from that. There is supposed to be another winter storm this evening into tomorrow. Please pray that the weather will not be too bad. Also, please pray that my hands will stop hurting. They were doing better, but now they are doing poorly again.  This morning, I could not fully close my right hand for almost one hour after I woke up. Thank you for your prayers.
     Please pray for those in my area who are still without power due to the winter storm. Some have had no power for five days now.
     Continue to pray for peace in the many troubled areas of this world. Pray for peace in Syria, Afghanistan, Libya and Yemen. Please pray that there will be an end to terrorist attacks as well.
     Someone who I know online is very sick, and I would ask that you pray for her recovery. I also know someone online whose dog has passed away. Please pray for him as he is very sad.
     For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Algeria and Mongolia. Pray that many will hear the message of the love of Jesus.
     For the past couple of weeks, we have been in a series of messages about the ministry of Jesus. Today, I want us to focus our attention on the time that Jesus sent out His 12 disciples and later a group of 72 disciples to tell people about the good news.
      Luke 9 tells us that one day, Jesus called the Twelve and sent them out from village to village to proclaim the good news that He had come. Jesus gave the Twelve power and authority to cast out demons and to perform works of healing. They were told not to take any extra provisions for their journey. The Twelve went out preaching the message of the good news of Jesus, and they performed miracles as a sign to the people.
     According to Luke 10, Jesus sent His disciples out again. This time, He sent out 72 disciples in pairs. Their mission was to go from town to town to the places that Jesus was going to come and preach. Once again, those going on the mission were given the power to cast out demons and perform miracles. The 72 did as Jesus commanded, and returned and reported to Jesus that even the demons submitted at the name of Jesus.
      I would like us to focus our attention on what Jesus said to the 72 that He sent out. Luke 10:2-3 states, "He told them, ' The  harvest in plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among the wolves.'"
      While He was on this earth, Jesus recognized the great spiritual need of the people. At one time, Jesus said that the people were like sheep without a shepherd. He wanted to make sure that as many people as possible were reached with the good news that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand.
     Today, we have a situation where there are still so many people who need to hear the good news that Jesus loves them, and they can receive forgiveness of their sins. It is up to us to make sure that the message of the Lord Jesus is taken to as many people as possible.
      If you count all of the people in the world that claim to be Christians, only about 30 percent of the people in the world are Christians. That means that about 70 percent of the people in this world do not have a relationship with Jesus. Many have never heard in a clear way who Jesus is and why He came to this earth.
      If people are going to hear about the love of Jesus, it is up to all of us to be committed to sharing the love of Jesus. I believe that each of us knows someone who is not a believer in Jesus. We have the obligation to share the good news of Jesus' love with those who we know need to hear the message.
       I want to try this year to tell more people about Jesus and His love than I have in the past. I hope that you will try to do the same thing.
       Some may feel called to become a missionary and take the message of the Gospel to areas where there are not very many Christians. If the Lord Jesus is placing that call on your life, I pray that you will respond to what the Lord is calling you to do.
       All of us can pray that the message of Jesus' love will reach others. Each week here on the blog I post the names of two countries where fewer than 50 percent of the people claim to be Christians. We can all pray that many in these nations will here the good news of the love of Jesus.
      Each of us can find some way to tell others about what Jesus has done for us. I know that it can be intimidating to talk to people about Jesus. When I first started working in evangelistic ministry many years ago, I was very nervous. However, I have always felt the empowerment of the Holy Spirit whenever I start to tell someone about Jesus. I believe that if we make the effort to obey the Great Commission, the Lord will strengthen us as we endeavor to serve Him. I also believe that if the Lord is calling us to a specific ministry, He will provide the resources needed to accomplish the task.
      So many people need to know who Jesus is and how He can change their lives. I hope that you will join with me in committing to tell more people about the love of Jesus this year.
      Next week, I will post another message about Jesus. I am not sure yet if the sermon will be on Friday or Saturday as my work schedule is changing all the time. I will post the verses on Tuesday as the library is closed for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday. I hope to have a review on Wednesday. May God bless you all. Amen.

Update

There will not be a review today as there if very bad weather predicted in my area. Please pray that the weather will not be too bad tonight. The Weekend Sermon may be delayed because of weather. I will have to see what happens. Thank you for your prayers.

A Post About A Friend

     January 13 was the anniversary of the day that my friend Toby came into my life all those years ago. I am thankful to the Lord that I was able to have Toby as a friend. On days like today when things seem very hard, I think about the fact that I had one great friend in this world. His memory keeps me going on the really hard days like today.
     If Toby were still here with me today, life would be very different. I know that we would have traveled around a lot, because that is something that we really enjoyed. Neither of us liked the cold temperatures here in the Midwest. We would have tried to find a place that wasn't too hot in the summer and wasn't too cold in the winter. We probably would have had to travel around seasonally to find just the right place.
     I would have liked to find a place, stay there a little while and find some type of seasonal job, and then move on to the next place. I can imagine all of it now.
     The two of us had some really great times. Hopefully, it won't be too much longer until we are together again.
     I've posted some of the chapters I've written about my friend Toby here on the blog. I invite you to find those posts and read them if you are interested in knowing more about him.
   

Verses For the Week and an Update

      The winter storm this weekend was really bad. We had a lot of tree damage and heavy, heavy snow. Please continue to pray that the situation will improve. Many are without power. Please pray for them. Thank you for your prayers.

Verses:

Colossians 3:14 -- "And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."

John 15:12 -- "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you."

Weekend Sermon -- Luke 8:19-21

     Thank you for taking the time to read the Weekend Sermon this week. I am thankful that the snow hasn't started falling, so I was able to get to the library and post the message. As always, I thank the Lord for the opportunity to post these messages. I hope that all of you are having a good day.
     Yesterday, I posted a couple of prayer requests. My hands are not as painful today as they were yesterday. Please continue to pray about this situation. Also, please pray that the winter storm that is expected in my area won't be too bad. I want to be able to get to work tomorrow. Please pray that the snow won't be so heavy that it harms my old house. I worry about that as the house is so old and not in the greatest shape.
     Sunday is an important day for me. It is the date that my friend Toby came to live with me so many years ago. I just wanted to say thank you to the Lord for the wonderful blessing that he gave me.
     We all need to continue to pray for peace in the troubled areas of this world. Pray for peace in Syria. Someone who I follow online has an animal shelter in Syria. Their shelter was hit by some type of armaments last week. The war is still going on in Syria, so we must continue to pray for peace. Also remember to pray for peace in Yemen where war has brought disease and famine.
     Each week, I post two countries to pray for as our prayer focus countries of the week. The countries that I choose are nations that officially have fewer than 50 percent of the population that identify as Christians. For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those who live in Western Sahara and Saudi Arabia. Pray that many will hear about the love of Jesus.
     Last week, we began a series of messages looking at some of the events in the life and ministry of Jesus that we haven't covered on the blog. At least we didn't cover them so far as I remember. Today, I want us to focus our attention on the account found in Luke 8:19-21.
     In this passage of Scripture, we see that Jesus has been actively teaching and performing miracles. Everywhere that Jesus goes, the people are following Him. They want to hear the words that He has to say, and they want to be healed of their diseases and afflictions.
     One day, Jesus' mother and His brothers come to see Him. Someone tells Jesus that His mother and brothers are outside wanting to speak with Him. Jesus then says, "My mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice."
     Mark 3:20-21 tells us that some in Jesus' family thought that He was out of His mind. We know from John 7:5 that Jesus' own brothers did not believe in Him at one point.
     In this passage, Jesus is making an important spiritual point. He is saying that whoever comes to Him and does what is taught in the word of God is His true family.  Romans 8:16-17 says it like this, "The Spirit himself testifies with our Spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs -- heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory."
     Jesus is telling people that they can be part of God's family. Those who have God as their Father are joint heirs with Jesus. Those who believe in the redeeming work of Jesus on the cross and in His resurrection are children of the Most High God. Those who believe are granted forgiveness of sins and eternal life with the Lord Jesus forever.
     To me, this is a glorious thing to contemplate. Someone like me who is just an average person is loved by the God who made the universe. This God sent His Son to this earth so that I might be redeemed. God loves me and wants me to be part of His family.
      All who are willing to put their faith and trust in Jesus can be children of the Heavenly Father. It doesn't matter who you are or where you come from. In Revelation 7:9 we see a vision of the redeemed around the throne of God. The writer of Revelation says that those who are redeemed come from every nation and and tribe. All kinds of people with all different languages are worshipping the Lord. God's family includes people of every race and every ethnic group. We are all one in Him.
     I hope that you have turned to Jesus. You can trust in Him today and become part of God's great family who worships Him around the world.
     Next week, I will be posting the sermon on Saturday due to my work schedule. On Monday, I will post the verses for the week. The book review will be on Thursday this week due to my work schedule. May God bless you all. Amen.





   

Prayer Requests

     I have two prayer requests. Please pray that my hands will stop hurting so bad. I am developing arthritis in my hands, and they are really hurting. Also, the weather people are expecting a big snow storm in my area for tomorrow night into Saturday. Please pray that it won't be bad.
     I will try my best to post the sermon tomorrow. I have to work in the morning at my job. If it is not snowing when I am finished, I will go to the library and post the sermon. Thank you for your prayers.

Book Review

     The book that I am reviewing today is "Voyage of the Dogs" written by Greg van Eekhout. This book is intended for children in grades three through seven. However, as those of you who read the blog know, I like to read all dog and cat books.
     "Voyage of the Dogs" tells the story of a spaceship named Laika and its crew. When the book begins, a crew of humans and dogs are travelling from earth to a new world. The dogs are placed in sleep chambers and will awaken when the ship gets closer to its destination.
     Something goes wrong on the journey. The dogs awaken to find that the ship is damaged and the human crew is nowhere to be found. It is up to them to get the ship to the new colony safely.
      There are four dogs on the Laika. Lopside is a dog with one ear the flops over. Bug is a corgi. Daisy is a Great Dane and Champion is a golden retriever. She is the commander of the dogs. All of the dog crew must work together to overcome many obstacles.
      I really enjoyed reading this work. There was a corgi in the book, so that was a big plus as they are my favorite dogs.
     I believe that children will especially love this book. There is a lot of action, and the book moves along well and is well written. The characters are all interesting. You can tell that the author is a dog lover because he really captures the distinct essence of each of the canine characters taking into consideration their breed qualities.
     I recommend this book. Dog lovers of all ages will like it.

Verses For The Week

Psalm 112:6 -- "Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever."

James 3:18 -- "Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness."

Weekend Sermon -- Luke 5:1-11

     Welcome to this week's posting of the sermon. I hope that everyone is having a good start to 2019. As always, I am thankful to the Lord for the opportunity to post this sermon.
     This week has been going fairly well. I had to get my car repaired, but it wasn't expensive, so I thank the Lord for that. I am still working at my job, and I am writing. There has been a lot of writing work over the holiday season.
     As you pray this week, please remember those in Indonesia who are recovering from the effects of the tsunami. Also, pray for those in the Philippines who were affected by the mudslides.
     Please pray for those in the Congo who are dealing with the Ebola outbreak. Pray that those who are sick will recover, and pray for those who are working to help those with the disease.
     Continue to pray for peace in the world. There is still fighting in Syria, and that country needs our prayers for peace. Remember to pray for peace in Afghanistan, Yemen and Libya as well.
     For our prayer focus countries this week, please pray for those in Suriname and Myanmar. Pray that many will come to know the love of Jesus.
     I would ask that you pray for me about a matter. I have started to develop arthritis in my hands. Please pray that I can get relief from the pain that I am experiencing. Thank you.
     This week, we are going to begin with a series of messages about Jesus. Over the course of the last few years here on the blog, we've studied the miracles of Jesus, the parables of Jesus and the "I Am" sayings of Jesus in the Gospel of John. We have also gone through the Sermon on the Mount and Jesus' teachings on prayer.
     There is so much more in the Gospels that Jesus did and said. For the next few weeks, I want to post some messages about the ministry of Jesus and see what we can learn from the life and ministry of Jesus.
     Today, I would like us to focus our attention on Luke 5:1-11. In this passage of Scripture, Jesus is just beginning His public ministry. At the beginning of His ministry, Jesus focused His teaching and ministry in the towns that surrounded the Sea of Galilee. The people were amazed at Jesus' teachings and His miracles. Jesus was beginning to attract large crowds that wanted to hear what He had to say.
     One day, Jesus was preaching along the shore. There were many people crowding around Him, so Jesus asked a man named Simon if he could get in his boat and go a little off shore to preach to the crowd. Simon let Jesus come into his boat, and Jesus sat down and taught the people.
     When Jesus had finished His teaching, He told Simon to go out into the deep water and let down his nets. Simon told Jesus that he and his partners had toiled all night and caught nothing. However, Simon said that he would do it because Jesus had asked him to.
     When Simon let down the nets, he caught so many fish that he couldn't get them all in the boat. He had to call for his fishing partners James and John to come and help him. Together, the three fisherman and Jesus brought the fish to shore.
     Upon reaching the shore, Simon Peter fell at Jesus' feet and said, "Go away from me, Lord; for I am a sinful man."
     Jesus said, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will fish for people."
     Simon Peter, James and John then left their nets, and they followed Jesus.
     What can we learn from this story? What does it have to teach us?
     There are three things that I want to point out from this passage of Scripture. First of all, I want us to see the obedience of Simon. He was an experienced fisherman. He had fished all night, and I'm sure that he was convinced that the fish just weren't going to be caught that day. However, because Jesus asked him to go out and let down his nets, Simon did it.
     There may be times in life when we feel like the Lord Jesus is directing us to do something that we don't necessarily feel like doing. We may feel like Jesus is calling us to be a witness to someone who has rejected the message of Jesus many times over. We don't want to go and share about Jesus and be rejected again.
     At times like this, we need to take Simon as our example. He followed what Jesus said in spite of his own feelings. He was ready to do it just because Jesus said so.
     When we ask Jesus to be the Lord of our lives, that means that we are saying to Him that we are willing to do whatever it is that He asks of us. It may not be what we would do on our own, but we must be willing to do what the Lord asks because we want to be faithful to Him.
     The second point that I want us to see from this passage is that Simon, James and John were so committed to following Jesus that they were willing to leave everything behind in order to follow Him.
     Often, being committed to Jesus will lead us to have to leave behind things that are in our past. We have to be willing to do this in order to please the Lord. An example of this is my Dad. Before He became a Christian, he used to drink heavily. When he gave his heart to the Lord Jesus, my Dad decided to give up drinking and going to bars and nightclubs. He had two good friends who kept tempting him to drink and go out on the town. My Dad finally had to make the decision to not associate with his two friends as long as they were going to try to tempt him into going back to his old lifestyle. He didn't want to do that, but more than anything else, he was committed to honoring Jesus in his life. He believed that he was a new creation in Christ, and my Dad wanted to follow the Lord.
     The most important thing in our life should be to follow and honor Jesus. We must be willing to leave all the sin that so easily besets us for the sake of following Him and honoring Him.
     The final thing that I would like to point out in this passage is that Jesus told Simon that he would be fishing for people. Later, the Lord Jesus would give the Great Commission to all of us telling us to go into the whole world and preach the Gospel to every creature.
     We have the duty to fish for people. This means that we are to tell people about the love and grace of Jesus. We are to tell others that Jesus has come. They can have new life in Jesus Christ.
     I hope that in this new year, each of us can take up the challenge to share the love of Jesus with those that we know. Let us tell others about how Jesus has changed our lives.
     Next week, I will post another message about the Lord Jesus. On Monday, I will post the verses. I will have a review of a dog book on Wednesday. May God bless you all. Amen.



   

Cat Book of the Year

     Last week, I announced my Dog Book of the Year Award. Today, I am announcing my Cat Book of the Year Award. This year, I read some really good cat books. One of the cat books stands out above the others.
     The winner of my Cat Book of the Year Award is "The Travelling Cat Chronicles."  I reviewed this book a couple of weeks ago here on the blog, so I won't go into what it is all about. I really liked this book, and I believe that you will too if you read it.

     I am looking forward to more dog and cat book reviews in the year ahead. I hope that everyone has a great 2019. Thank you for reading the blog.