Author: Faith

Many years ago, journalism was sometimes referred to as the “fourth estate”. This term referrenced the idea that journalism played a very large and influential role in supporting democracy. After all, how could Americans vote if they were not truly well informed on the issues of the day?

Sadly, while journalism used to to about reporting the truth, and only the truth. It has become, for many in the media, more about persuading Americans to believe and enact their agenda! Even when that agenda is morally bankrupt.

It’s not even just about the news that many in the media report; it’s also about what many in the media refuse to report. For example, how many Christians were murdered or imprisoned today?

The real truth is that many in the media have forgotten that God Himself will hold them accountable for all that they have reported (or refused to report). And God will hold them accountable for their many efforts to persuade Americans that faith in God and in the Bible is unimporant. That God does not belong in our public square!

But many of us Americans have also forgotten something. We are responsible for the amount of effort we put into finding out the real facts-the truth-regarding the issues of our day. And our first loyalty is to God!

God will hold us all accountable, for God is Just as well as Merciful. We need to remember that. Each and everyone.

Follow Jesus & Keep Praying; Prayer Changes Things!

In Indonesia, a Christian risks his life to help build a Christian place of worship. In many countries, all over the world, worshiping Jesus is extremely dangerous. Christians are imprisoned, tortured and killed. Reading the Bible is a crime. Sharing the Bible punishable by death. It is hard for us to even imagine how horrific life can be as a Follower of Christ, but it it true! A Christian dies every day for their faith in Jesus.

In America, there is no danger, no fear. But there is peer pressure. A lot of it. We have become so used to the freedom of worship that we have, that we often forget just how much our brothers and sisters in Christ are suffering!

And just how much we could suffer, if we are not careful!

There is a tendancy in this country to think that everyone wants to be like us. That our nation can never be defeated. But this is not true.

President Reagan once said, “Freedom is a fragile thing and it’s never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people.  And those in world history who have known freedom and then lost it have never known it again.”

If we want to continue to freely worship Jesus without fear, than we need to pay attention to the events in our world. We need to secure this nation and…

We need to pray-a lot.

 If ye love me, keep my commandments.”-John 14:15

Obedience seems like such an old-fashioned word, and yet it is so important. And yet not only was obedience so very important in the Old Testament, Jesus told us in the New Testament, “If ye love me, keep my commandments”

Although Saul became the first king of the Jewish People, his disobedience cost him greatly and he lost everything! And although God had done much for Moses, Moses disobeyed him and because of his disobedience, Moses was not allowed to enter the Promised Land.

In the New Testament, Jesus calls on us to obey His commandments. And we know that there are grave consequences if we do not. Revelations tells us that!

But perhaps most of all, we need to meditate on why God wants us to obey Him. God made us. And because God made us, He knows what will truly bring us happiness, and He wants that for us.

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”-Jeremiah 29:11

So if we want “peace”, if we want a “a future and a hope”, both for ourselves and those we love, than we need to obey God!

Follow Jesus & Keep Praying; Prayer Changes Things!

So often, we think that if we just follow Jesus and accept Him as our Savior, there will be no “troubles” in our life. But that is not what Jesus said. Jesus said, “in this world, you will have trouble” (John 16:33)

And we do. Someone we love is sick. Or someone we love is lost to us. Perhaps a war is being fought in our country. Perhaps our family is hungary and we can’t feed them. Whatever our sorrows, whatever our hurts, they are very, very real.

Since we are Following our Savior Jesus, why are we sometimes overwelmed with such suffering?

The answer is really quite simple. This is NOT Heaven yet. And it is in Heaven that all of our tears will be wiped away!

“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”-Revelation 21:4

Truth by its very nature has only one version. There is no “your truth” and “my truth. There is only one truth: God’s. And while there is Mercy, there is also Justice.

And Justice will be decided by God’s Truth. And only God’s Truth!

We see who we are. With all of our shortcomings and failings and with all of our own unwillingness to truly take the steps needed to follow Jesus. We know that on our own, we are far to self-centered to truly follow Christ.

But God doesn’t just see us as we are; God sees all that we could become.

And Jesus is will help us, if we let Him 🙂

On the House of David, Samuel, the Great Prophet who annointed King Saul, said the question is not “is God with us”.

The real question, the truly important question, is are “we with God”.

This is truly the right question!

And if we want to walk with Jesus, it’s the question we need to ask ourselves!

Follow Jesus & Keep Praying; Prayer Changes Things…

Jesus is Risen and we are Saved! There will be no more death, only Heaven for those who Follow Jesus. But Christ’s Gift is not just Heaven, He has created a Bridge between us and our Father. Because Jesus was willing to suffer for us, not only will we be able to go to Heaven, but we will be able to have a relationship with God right here and right now!

The Bridge that Christ created allows us to become God’s children once again. Because Jesus opened the door (so to speak), we can now not only talk with Him, we can talk with our Father and the Holy Spirit. The world will never be completely dark again, for the light has come 🙂

To be able to approach Heaven’s Throne, what an incredible privilege that is. To be able to ask God for help, to share our day, our successes and our worries. To know how much God loves us! Wow! It’s hard to even find the words to describe how wonderful that is!

And to know that we WILL be going to Heaven for all eternity. There is no more death. No more fear. Only light. Because Heaven will be our Home soon.

In the blink of an eye, those who Follow Jesus will join Him in Heaven Forever!

We are so grateful that Jesus came and that we can go to Home to Heaven. But what is Heaven really like? We don’t talk about Heaven nearly enough in church, or anywhere else for that matter. But we should. We need too!

First of all, Heaven is much closer than we think :). If we could see those who went to Heaven before us; we could reach out and touch them. For those who are still on earth, we can talk to those in Heaven. You see when God said not to talk to the dead, He meant the dead in spirit. Those in Heaven are very much ALIVE!

And when we go to Heaven, we don’t stop loving those we love. And even better, we can keep praying for them!

But what is Heaven like for those who are there? Do you remember the Garden of Eden. We may have first learned of it as children. The Garden was filled with all kind of trees. These trees grew many types of food that were good for eating. Heaven has this same Garden, plus many other things.

Flowers so fragrant that they create great happiness for all those who walk among them. A great river, so long and wide that there is plenty of room for all of us. And a river so clean, we can drink right from it! Mountains, animals, beautiful fields and flowers…There will be great adventures, deep friendships and hugs beyond belief…

And most of all, we will live with God. His Light will shine on us, lighting our days , for there will be no more night. There will be no more fear or worry. Only Happiness and Peace for all eternity.

So when the going gets tough, just remember that your place in Heaven is assured. For all those who accept Jesus and Follow Him will spend eternity in Heaven. God’s Great Gift to us 🙂

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!