Author: Faith

This video came out in the nineties. And they are right-Hope always endures!

September 11th ushered one of the largest revivals that this country has ever seen. And with it, we placed our Hope in Christ, but sadly that Hope faded.

Now we see many revivals springing up on college campuses and among the young. And many in other countries. They may not show these revivals on TV, but they ARE happening. Once again, Hope lives!

It is easy to become overwhelmed by the events of our world. By the sheer evil that exists.

But Jesus said: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33

I know that many of my friends have wondered at times how I have had such a deep and abiding faith? The answer is much simpler than it may appear. I asked God to give me a deep and abiding Faith, every single day.

I asked Him on days when I truly had a lot of Faith. I asked Him on days that I did not. I even asked Him for a deep and abiding Faith on the days I wasn’t even sure that He existed. It takes some discipline to ask God for Faith on days you don’t even know if you believe in Him, lol. But not much :). Remember the mustard seed 🙂

Deep and abiding Faith is a Gift from God. We don’t earn it; we Pray for it. And God is so happy to give it to us!

And Faith might be the only thing that gets stronger each year we are alive. And God can give it to you too 🙂

When we take an inventory of our sins so that we can repent, most of them were rooted in selfishness. Think of it, even the “white” lies we tell, are to spare ourselves the guilt of hurting another’s feelings. But we know that God told us to always tell the truth. What about when we walk past a homeless person? Isn’t it our own fear of selfishness that keeps us walking? What about when we turn on a movie we really know we shouldn’t watch, but we want to, so we do. What about when we don’t spend enough time with our spouse, when we don’t put them first? Is that not a type of selfishness.

We live in a world where words and actions such as “self-fullfilment”, self-realization, self love are popular. In fact, you could say our current society is based upon them. But read God’s Word, and you will not find them. When Jesus came His command was:

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” – John 13:34-35

“The Answer Is Love. It’s always been love! The answer from God has always been love!”

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” – Psalm 107:1

Being grateful leads to such complete happiness. This is one thing I know well. I have led a really hard life. I have been diagnosed with a terminal illness and suffer from its sypmptoms daily, but I am one of the happiest people I know. And those who know me well, would say the same 🙂

Sometimes, I am just happy. Sometimes life is hard, and I am still happy. One of the things that helps me to be happy when life is hard is to count my Blessings. I belong to Jesus. I get to pray. I get to do penance for my sins here, instead of later. I have visions and the love of my spiritual family. I am so Blessed.

But there are earthly Blessings too. I have enough to eat. I am warm at night and lay in a comfy bed with a great blanket. I can enjoy the beauty of nature. I can see and hear. I have a husband and children who love me! I can leave the house. I can sit in the garden. I can listen to music. I can read. I have friends who love me! Even though I am sick, I am well enough to do what God wants me to do and much of what I want to do :).

We all have God’s Blessings, but sometimes we have to look for them and count them to remind ourselves of just how much God has Blessed us with 🙂

So often, we find ourselves wishing that we could be closer to Jesus. Closer to God. And although we don’t realize it, somehow we are thinking that somehow we should be doing something to be closer to God.

But the truth is, being drawn closer to God is a Gift. And all we need to do is ask God to bring us closer. He will be so very happy that we did 🙂

Follow Jesus & Keep Praying; Prayer Changes Things!

Because leading a “righteous” life will help us to live a happy life 🙂 You see, God made us and so He knows which choices will make us happy. We need to remember that God is helping us by teaching us how to live 🙂

The Bible really is our guideline, our roadmap, God’s Gift to us. All the pages are really good for us to read and follow. But there are three verses in the Bible that especially tell us how to live:

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;”

“to grant to those who mourn in Zion—to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness” – Isaiah 61 :1-3

Please Father, in Jesus’s Name, help each one of us to be the Oaks 🙂

Following Jesus includes Love. It includes Worship. It includes Prayer & it includes Gratitude.

Following Jesus includes so very many things. And it includes Following Jesus on every single day, not just the Sabbath or Sundays.

And Following Jesus also includes “Works”. Because “Faith without works is dead”. Because if we truly have faith in Jesus, we will want to do “works”.

We get to go to Heaven by accepting Jesus as our Savior. But a Gift can not be received, if it is not accepted.

And if we truly accept Jesus’s Great Gift Of Salvation, we will truly Follow Him. And that means that we will Follow God’s Word, we will live as God has taught us, and there will be “works”.

We won’t be perfect at any of this, but we will give it our all and we will repent when we do not. But if we live a life of loving and worshiping Jesus, we will find that the works come easily.

“What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?  If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?  Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

“But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.  You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! -James 2:14-19

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” – Ephesians 2: 8-9

Heaven is a Free Gift, given to us by Jesus. And because of that great gift and His great sacrifice, we worship Jesus. And our worship of Jesus is about Jesus’s great love for us and our great love for Him.

It’s about the love that we have for Jesus that comes from the very depths of our being and our gratitude for all that He has done for us. And if we truly believe in Jesus, if we truly accept Him as our Savior, we will love and worship Him and we will want to truly Follow Him and do all that Following Jesus includes.

We get to Heaven by accepting Jesus as our Savior. For after all, if a Gift is not received, it is not accepted.

Follow Jesus & Keep Praying; Prayer Changes Things!

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.  Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” – Matthew 7:13-14

God’s Mercy: Heaven is God’s Final Mercy. No matter how hard we try, we can’t earn Heaven. It’s a Gift. Unearned, but Accepted. The Garden of Eden will now always be our Home. A Home so glorious, so filled with light and joy, and everything we could possibly want or need. A place of rest and peace. A Home where we are loved, and filled with peace and joy for all eternity! A Home where we will be with God for all eternity.

God’s Justice: Hell is God’s Final Justice: A place of torment and punishment. A place filled with fire and demons. A place where there is never any rest. It is a place of horrific suffering. There is no escape. Those who exist here, and there are many millions, will exist here for all eternity.

Heaven & Hell are as real as the earth we stand upon. And it is while we are on earth that we make our choice for all eternity: Heaven or Hell.

It’s our choice. Given to us by God Himself!

Follow Jesus & Keep Praying; Prayer Changes Things!

“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” – Psalm 121:1-2

There can be no doubt that we all face our own challenges. For some they are health related. For others they may be their job. And for others, feeding their families may be the challenge. And for still others, war and overwhelming poverty may be the challenges they face.

But irregardless as to which challenge we are faced with, the answer is still the same: Jesus Christ.

Follow Jesus & Keep Praying; Prayer Changes Things!