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There is no doubt that getting involved a Bible-believing church helps. And helps a lot. Especially now, when there are many churches which no longer truly follow the entire Word of God. Choosing intead to select only those parts of the Bible that support the life-style they have chosen.

So attending and supporting a truly Bible-Believing church can really help reinforce all that we have learned from the Word of God ourselves. And surrounding ourselves with people who truly love God and really follow God’s Word can really help us to stay on the path Home.

Ensuring that the church we are attending truly lifts us up and readies us for the week ahead is important, but so is giving too and supporting the church we attend. Hugging others and listening patiently, smiling at others and shaking hands can help to make church a place we all want to be.

A place we love God and love each other 🙂

Reading the Bible can give us hope when we need it most. Some people like to just let the Bible fall open and read some of the verses they see. Some people like to read a Book in the Bible. And some people read certain pages…

It really doesn’t matter what part of the Bible a person chooses to read. What matters is that we read each verse with the Holy Spirit. That we ask the Holy Spirit which verses we should read and then ask the Holy Spirit to read them with us. To ask the Holy Spirit to help us to learn from the verses we are reading whatever God would want us to learn.

And to know, that God gave us the Holy Bible so that we could know Him and so that we would learn not only how to live here on earth, but so that we would find the road Home to Heaven.

I remember that one of the things my Dad told me before He died was “Never stop talking to God”. He said that when things seem at their darkest, God can seem like the last one we want to talk too. For many reasons. Not the least of which is, we may not know what to say. For example, we may not be able to think of anything nice to say.

But that doesn’t matter. What matters is that God is a big God. We can say, shout, or cry anything. God can take it. He wants us to share all that we feel, no matter how hard or difficult. And if we have doubts, God wants us to share them too. God’s got us.

And it’s okay to collapse and just tell God we don’t have anything left. And if we feel broken, we just need to break with God. Because the only thing that really matters is that we never, ever loose touch with God. We need to, somehow, someway, keep that connection.

Because God loves us in a way beyond anything we can imagine and we never want to lose that love, no matter how difficult the times:)

With everyone’s lives so busy, it’s easy to see why so many think adding one more time-taking-thing is one thing to many.

But Daily Devotions actually do make a very real difference. In a world so busy, a world in which “getting everything done” seems to be the top goal, taking time to read a Daily Devotion really before the day starts really matters. Because it plants really valuable seeds in our hearts.

Seeds of faith that grow deep roots and flower in surprising ways and often in crucial times. We learn so much about Jesus, our Father and the Holy Spirit without even really thinking about it.

The lessons of our Daily Devotions just sink into our hearts without our even realizing it, and yet they are there when we need them.

Habits can be like muscle memory. They can carry us through difficult and dark times. If we have built strong faith habits, we tend to continue them even when our suffering is great. Because they are habits.

As we look at the world around us, we can see that difficult times are coming. Perhaps some of us are even facing them today. It’s then that we need our faith in Jesus in an extraordinary way. Like a ship afloat, we desparately need to be able to hold onto the one thing that can truly help and comfort us: Jesus.

So developing strong habits to help ensure that our faith in Jesus continues to grow and strengthen when times are tough is really important. Faith habits can be so simple to practice. Daily prayer, Daily devotions, Reading the Bible, getting involved in a Church, spending time with fellow believers…

They can all help us when times are tough. And there is one more thing, a prayer really. We can ask God to hold onto us even if we let go. In other words, we can pray in advance of the really dark day that may come.

And we can tell Jesus, in advance, that no matter what happens, no matter how dark the day, we want to belong to Him.

These all help to develop a faith in Jesus that will not fail in the face of suffering. Even great suffering.

And don’t ever stop talking with God, He loves us:)

“And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”-Matthew 24 1-2

We know that all of the things Jesus said would happen-did. And so we can believe in the warning signs for the End Times will as well.

We need to Be Ready!

“ It may be that, when the house of Judah hears of all the disasters that I intend to do to them, all of them may turn from their evil ways, so that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin…Baruch wrote on a scroll at Jeremiah’s dictation all the words that the Lord had spoken to him.” – Jeremiah 36:3

The Lord has warned us over and over that if we do not “turn from our wicked ways”; we will face the consequences.

Jehoiakim burned the scroll and ignored God’s warning and suffered the consequences. Will we?

We all like to dwell on the Mercy of the Lord, but we also like to forget that God is as Just as He is Merciful.

We need to make all of our choices wisely and we need to get ready!

“if My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” – 2 Chronicles 7:14

What was the scene before WWII really like? The economy was in tatters. Hyperinflation ruled many countries. Countries were invading each other and fighting. The League of Nations was weak and rather useless (Somewhat like the United Nations is today).

Some countries sought to avoid the coming world war by appeasing their enemies. Some, like the United States, sought to avoid war by isolating itself.

But in the end, a World War inevitably came.

And if we are honest and we look around at the world in which we live, today looks alot like the days that preceded World War II.

Can we avoid World War III?

Stopping our current path to World War III is our choice. But only our faith in Jesus Christ and our love for one another can save us now.

“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.”

“For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,”

“Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,”

“Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;”

“Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”

“For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,”

“Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

“Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.”

“But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as their’s also was.”

^” But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,”

“Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.”

^” Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”

“But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.”

“But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;”

– 2 Timothy 3: 1-17

Do we not see some of these warning signs?

The short answer is: No! The love of others may grow cold, but ours does not have too. Jesus’s Great Command was “to love God with our whole heart and soul, and others as ourself”. But to keep that love truly alive and burning brightly takes focusing on doing just that.

Loving God with our whole heart and soul takes putting God first. So as we take inventory of our lives, here are a few questions to ask. Are we doing something everyday to keep that love alive? For example, daily prayer or a daily devotional. Reading the Bible each day… Are we going to church or meeting with fellow believers each week? Are we keeping a prayer journal so that we can see all of God’s answers? All of these steps will encourage and strengthen our faith in and love for God.

Loving our neighbor as ourself has got to be more than a sentence too. Are we bringing groceries to a neighbor, giving someone a ride to church, reaching out to someone who is homeless…All of these acts not only benefit our neighbor, they benefit us as well. There is a certain joy that comes from treating others well.

An artcle the other day spoke of a “God-sized whole” in each persons soul and heart that can only be filled with God. God created us this way. But along with this, God created us in such a way that it is by truly loving our neighbor that we receive so much joy 🙂

If we follow Jesus, we will find our way, no matter how narrow the road becomes...