Following Jesus

I found this great quote in my Bible:

“The way to stimulate and provoke others unto good works is to strive to outrun them in the race.”

It was in the Record of Christian Work from May 1909. Funny how really good advice never changes 🙂

…for all the past is left behind 🙂

“I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you. Isaiah 44:22”-from 40 days in the Word “

Charles Spurgeon once said, “In many ministries, there is not enough probing the heart and arousing the conscience by the revelation of man’s alienation from God, and by the declaration of the selfishness and the wickedness of such a state”

Who really likes self examination? Definitely, not me! After all, who wants to look at the areas we may have failed, or at least not done as well as we might. But it is important.

All sin, both those actions we commit and those actions we don’t take – but should have, create a barrier between us and God. And when you think about it, the root of all sin is selfishness. We human beings are selfish by nature and it takes work on our part to change that. To become the selfless, loving human beings that God created us to be.

Fortunately for us, our journey is not yet over! And if we ask the Holy Spirit to help us examine our lives and learn where any selfish behaviors lurk, if we ask the Holy Spirit to help us be less selfish, He will be happy to help us!

The Holy Spirit is good like that 🙂

“So teach us to number our days, so that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom”

Psalm 90:12

Teach us to number our days?  It sounds just like, make every day count!  The Bible teaches us so many things and this one is really important.  If we were to think of today as our very last day on earth, what would we do with it?  Spend more time with our loved ones?  Share the gospel with others?  Hug more?  Smile more?  Judge less?  Reach out to strangers?  Listen to those who are homeless, for they all have a story to tell?  Help others more? The list is endless…

What if everyone treated today as if it were their last day on earth?  Would the world be a better place?

Let’s make today count!  Amen 😊

If we are honest, we all struggle with a bit of anxiety these days.  The world is changing, and we are not sure if, or when, it will change back.  At this point, I’m not sure we really have a choice in the matter.  I am not even sure Washington has a choice.

But I am sure that we do have a choice in what we choose to focus on.  And what we choose to focus on will be our reality.  So we can focus on and think about all of our worries.  Or we can choose to spend our time and our focus on what we are grateful for. It’s our choice, but it’s hard to be anxious and grateful at the same time😊

It’s hard not to look at our lives and be grateful for something  But here are a few of the things I am grateful for:

My Father, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, Mary & Joseph, Peter and all of the Apostles who shared the Gospel with so many, all of those who sacrificed so much to get the Bible written so we could read it…my husband, my children, that I am alive, friends that love me, work, the doctors and nurses that work so bravely to take care of us, our home, grocery store workers who so bravely go to work, soldiers who defend our freedom, chocolate, flowers, the seas and the mountains, music, prayer, hugs (which I still enjoy and consider an “essential part of life), holding hands, guardian angels, pizza, sleeping, snuggling in bed when just slightly awake, the sunshine, the rain..And that we have a God who loves us!

There are so many things to be grateful for, even in the midst of Covid 19.  Make a list.  And on difficult days, read it 😊

Want a Thank You Jesus sign for your yard, visit: https://www.thankyoujesussigns.com/

Oswald Smith (a famous Evangelical Preacher & Missionary) once said: 

“Oh, to realize that souls, precious, never dying souls, are perishing all around us…”

He continues on from there.  But what he is speaking of is that some of us lack genuine, heart-wrenching, compassion for those who reject Jesus Christ.  Too many human beings are lost to an eternity in Hell simply because we don’t take the time to share the Good News of Salvation through Jesus Christ.

Whether it’s peer pressure, or busyness or fear, we (and I include myself in this) hesitate just a second too long sometimes, and the moment in which we could share the Good News is gone!  And that person is lost, perhaps forever.

However, if we truly love our Lord and love our “neighbor”, our hearts should break for those who are lost and for the suffering they will endure.  So for today and for all of the tomorrows, let’s not miss our chance to share the Good News of Salvation through Jesus Christ.  Let’s help as many as we can spend eternity in Heaven.

Curtis Zachary who wrote Converge Bible Studies had something really helpful to say about sharing the Gospel: “We don’t make choices for other individuals. We share the Joy & Hope we have found in the God of the Gospel”

Remember, it’s not our responsibility to convince another-that’s the Holy Spirit’s job.  It’s just our job to plant the seed 😊

There are many who seem to feel that Christianity does not treat all people fairly. But this is simply not true! Jesus loves us all, each and everyone. His Salvation is a free Gift, offered to all.

In Ezekiel, it says: “Ezekiel, your people accuse me of being unfair. But they are the ones who are unfair. If good people start doing evil, they will be put to death, because they have sinned. And if wicked people stop sinning and start doing right, they will save themselves from punishment (Ezekiel 33:17-19, Contemporary English Version)

In Ephesians, it says: “God saved you by His Grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this, it is a Gift from God.” (Ephesians 2:8, New Living Translation)

Salvation is a free gift offered to us all. It’s our choice if we choose to accept it-or not…A choice God gave to each one of us because He loves us so 🙂

In Isaiah 59:2, it says:

“But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear”.

A frightening verse!  But what is it that we need to learn from it?  Does it mean that God will not hear our prayers?  No, God always hears our prayers.  Does it mean God will not answer our prayers?  Not necessarily. 

What I believe it’s referring to, although it’s just my belief, is that we will not feel God’s Nearness as clearly.  When we sin repeatedly, faith becomes difficult.  The guilt we feel for our sins creates a wall between us and our Lord.  It’s like a vicious circle.  The more we think of God, the more we think of our sins, the guiltier we feel and then the farther we feel from God…

But fortunately for us, our Father loves us very much.  Just as there is no wrong our own children can do that would stop us from loving them, we can do no wrong that will stop our Father from loving us.  In fact, our Father loves us even more than we could ever love our own child!  I know that is hard to imagine, but it’s true.

So if there is a “sin”, or indeed anything waying on our hearts that’s been keeping us from reaching out to our Father, don’t let it.  Reach out.  Pray.  But don’t wait, for none of us is guaranteed tomorrow.

After all, what’s that saying, “if you feel far from God, who moved?”