Faith, Author at FollowingJesusUS.com

Be Not Afraid In Times Of Darkness

Elijah Proclaims a Drought

” And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.” Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.””-1 Kings 1-4

For just a moment, picture what this was like. Everywhere one looked, there was a drought. And a drought back then had a much greater effect than it does now. Back then, a drought could easily mean no food and no water! (now, in the United States we often just get it somewhere else). But can you imagine, looking all around, with hungry children to feed, and there was no where to get food or water! It must have been quite frightening.

Today, we look around and often feel surrounded by darkness. We look to our Lord and see the light, but the darkness that appears to surround us, does worry us, but there is Hope for us. It is written in God’s Word:

“‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”-Matthew 4:4

God’s got us! We need not fear! And these passages remind us that God does take care of His people. Who are His people? Those who accept His Son Jesus as their Savior 🙂

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

“Prophecy Against The Shepherds Of Israel”

“The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord God: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? ³You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. Theweak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. ⁵So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered; ⁶they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them.”

“Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ⁸As I live, declares the Lord God, surely because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts, since there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep, ⁹therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ¹⁰Thus says the Lord God, Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require my sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the sheep. No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them.”-Ezekiel 34:1-10

Today, many Pastors and Priests teach their “flock” not what the Bible says, but what the people wish it said:

“For there will come a time when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, because they have itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in line with their own desires.”=2 Timothy 4:3

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

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“Preach The Word”

” I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” – 2 Timothy 1-5

Need more be said?

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

Warn The Wicked & Save Your Soul!

“Nevertheless if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul. Therefore you, O son of man, say to the house of Israel: ‘Thus you say, “If our transgressions and our sins lie upon us, and we pine away in them, how can we then live?” ’Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’”-Ezekiel 33: 9-11

It’s always difficult to tell someone, anyone, that they are heading in the wrong direction. But the truth is, if we truly love them as God has commanded-we will.

“Love Thy Neighbor” means being Honest with them!

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

God Is Always Fair!

“Yet the children of your people say, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ But it is their way which is not fair! ¹⁸When the righteous turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he shall die because of it. ¹⁹But when the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is lawful and right, he shall live because of it. ²⁰Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ O house of Israel, I will judge every one of you according to his own ways.”- Ezekiel 33:17-20

God is always Fair. There are many who will cry out against God’s Justice, but we each had a chance to make our own choices, and we made them. Some made Godly choices and some did not. But we have each been free to make our own choices. And the consequences for those choices will be Fair, for God is always Fair!

The Bible clearly tells us what our “Roadmap” should be for this life. And the Bible clearly defines which behaviors are righteous and which are not. And as if that were not enough, the Holy Spirit is with us and tells us as well!

And not only does the Holy Spirit tell us; the Holy Spirit Helps us! 🙂

So please, ask Jesus to be your Savior today! Let the Holy Spirit Help you. And start your walk on the Bridge Jesus Built Home 🙂

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

Accept Jesus As Savior & Repent While There Is Still Time!

“But Omri wrought evil in the eyes of the Lord, and did worse than all that were before him. For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin, to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger with their vanities.” – 1 Kings 16: 25-26

There is no doubt there there are some who are “provoking” God’s people to sin. While Jesus made a bridge for us to be reunited with God, a path if you will, that doesn’t mean that we can sin with impunity!

“For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them;”-Isaiah 59:12

It is true that with accepting Jesus as our Savior and true repentance, we are forgiven for our sins. In fact, they are as far as the “east is from the west”. However, notice that forgiveness requires that we accept Jesus as our Savior and that true forgiveness also requires true repentance.

So please, accept Jesus as your Savior today and truly repent while there is still time!

For we know not ” the day or the hour” of Jesus’ Return!

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

Although Sin May Appear To Be Rewarded, This Is Only Temporary!

“If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire.” –Matthew 18:8

A time is coming when sin will appear to be greatly rewarded and service to God will be greatly persecuted. In some ways, this is already here. But the persecution of those who truly follow Jesus will get much, much worse!

“Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.” – John 15:20

The time that is coming is not like anything we have ever seen in our lifetime. Even in World War II, as much suffering as there was, Faith was praised and doing right was rewarded.

However, the time that is coming will not be like that. Christians will be greatly persecuted and sinners will appear temporarily rewarded.

However, the sinner’s reward IS temporary!

For when our Lord rewards His people, His reward will last for for all eternity.

During these difficult days, we will need to keep our eyes focused on the Lord, and only the Lord, for God will still answer the prayers of His people 🙂

And no matter what happens. No matter how we feel! We need to Keep Praying!

Jesus IS coming 🙂

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

Don’t Limit God In What He Can Do For His Will And Purpose For You :)

A great friend of mine sent this, just had to share 🙂

“In the piece of our Creator’s infinite universe we can see at this time, there are something like 2 trillion galaxies. Each galaxy is around the size of the Milky Way, some larger or smaller, which has 400 billion stars. It takes light over 100,000 years to cross a galaxy.”

“Don’t limit God in what He can do for His Will and Purpose for you. Amen. “

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

Shine Your Light – Especially Today!

“Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the Lord will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you.” Isaiah 60:1-2

In Isaiah, God is simply letting us know to arise and shine. He’s simply telling us that God is will shine on us 🙂

And while it is true that “darkness shall cover the earth”. “Deep darkness”. It is also true that God’s Glory will be seen on us 🙂

So let’s share God’s Glory with all we meet! And help to lead people home 🙂

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

Warning: Sin Does Separate Us From God

“Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.”Isaiah 59:1-2

Our Father can always save us! There is nothing on this earth that is as powerful as God and He loves us. We can trust in that 🙂

But sin does separate us from God and that is why repentance is so important. When we ask our Father to forgive us in Jesus’ Name and change our behavior, than God is no longer separated from us 🙂

More difficult days are coming. During them, the last thing we will want is to be separated from God in any way! Fortunately, we can repent every single day:).

God loves us and no matter what occurs in our world, God will hear the prayers of His people 🙂

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!