FollowingJesusUS.com

The Intercessor

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

Later in Chapter 59, God does save them, but God asks an important question:

“And he saw that there was no man and wondered that there was no intercessor”-Isaiah 59:16

The Intercessor between God and man is Jesus 🙂

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

Those Who Do Not Truly Know Me…

We have been told so many times that Jesus did not condemn anyone, He didn’t even talk about sin. But that is just not true!

Jesus talked quite a bit about sin and about the need for repentance! And about the consequences if we don’t repent! And there are consequences:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²²On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ ²³And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”-Mathew :21-23

There are many who claim to know and accept Jesus, but the truth is those who truly know Jesus-Follow Jesus. And isn’t that the least we can do?

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

Our Hope Is In God :)

“Violence shall no longer be heard in your land, Neither wasting nor destruction within your borders; But you shall call your walls Salvation,
And your gates Praise. The sun shall no longer be your light by day,
Nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you; But the Lord will be to you an everlasting light, And your God your glory.”-Isaiah 60: 18-19

We look around the world, indeed our own country, and we see violence and destruction in it daily. And it all weighs on our hearts. We can’t help but wonder just what kind of world our children will inherit.

But then we turn to the pages of God’s Word and we are reminded that our Hope is in God, not in this world. And one day, we will return home and worry no more. And our children will have that same path way open to them! 🙂

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

We All Sin – But God Forgives Us :)

“Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, ²“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” ³But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord” – Jonah 1:1-3

Jonah did his best to flee from God. He knew it was wrong, but he did it anyway. But God forgave him and Jonah went on to become the prophet he was meant to be and to help the people of Nineveh.

We all make mistakes. Sometimes we even sin just outright and on purpose; we are disobedient. But God forgives us anyway, that’s why Jesus came 🙂

We need not fear to turn back to God when we have sinned; God loves us and He is waiting for us. And God will be filled with joy when we turn back to Him 🙂

Prepare, Pray and Be Ready!

We Can Share Our Faith Right Where We Are :)

“How each of us can identify with Jonah! We have been told to “go ” also and speak to the world about the great wickedness that that has come before God. We may identify with the prophet, but God forbid that we sh0uld imitate him. He fled “from the presence of the Lord”. A fish would do better to try and flee from the presence of the ocean…God is omnipresent.”- Author Unknown

Less than two percent of believers in this country ever share their faith in Christ with others.” – Dr. Bill Bright, Founder of Campus Crusade

To “go” for God does not necessarily mean we have to go somewhere as missionaries do. We can also be a “missionary” right where we are. We can “bloom where we are planted” and we can share our faith in Jesus right where we are. Just as we can warn those around us of the “great wickedness that has come before God.” And if we haven’t done that, we can start today 🙂

Prepare, Pray and Be Ready!

The Blind Guides

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgement, mercy and faith: these ought you to have done, and not leave the others undone. You blind guides which strain at a gnat and swallow a camel.”- Daniel 23:23-24

Often, we pray that God opens the eyes of the unbeliever and this is good, but we also need to pray that God opens our own!

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

We May Be The Only “Jesus” Someone Ever Meets :)

“You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. ³You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” – 2 Corinthians 3:2

A great friend of mine remined me that we may be the only “Jesus” someone ever meets!

It isn’t just what we tell them about Jesus that matters; it’s how we act. Are we kind? Are we smiling? Are we honest? Do we clearly care about them? All of these things really matter!

After all, isn’t that why we love God so much, He loved us first, and so well 🙂

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready 🙂

Introduce Someone To Jesus Today!

“Less than two percent of believers in this country ever share their faith in Christ with others.”
Dr. Bill Bright, Founder of Campus Crusade For Christ, Born in 1921

Can you imagine? Less than two percent? The consequences of not having faith in Jesus Christ are so severe and they last forever. Don’t we owe it to those who do not believe to at least tell them about Jesus?

And it isn’t just about Heaven, although showing others the way to Heaven is really important! It’s about every single day, because that is how often Jesus helps us 🙂

He helps us get up in the morning-every day; Jesus answers our prayers; He listens to all of our worries and cheers us on when times are good… Jesus is our Savior & Best Friend!

But if we don’t even know Jesus, He can’t be.

Time is short! Introduce someone to Jesus today 🙂

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

God’s Warning!

“Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.”

“Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live?”

¹“Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?” – Ezekiel 9-11

Jesus did not replace the Old Testament with the New, He continued it. There’s a difference.

Need more be said?

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

Warning: We Must Not Become Complacent!

“At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are complacent, those who say in their hearts, ‘The Lord will not do good, nor will he do ill.’”-Zephaniah 1:12

Complacency, we are all guilty of it at some point in our lives. It’s an easy trap to fall into, especially when life is going well.

When we are facing life’s challenges such as an illness, job loss or death in the family, we immediately turn to God and plead with Him to help us. We call upon Jesus and the Holy Spirit for it is easy for us to see our great need of their help!

But it is when things are going well that we tend to “feel” to busy for God. We say less prayers; we go to church less often and we spend less time with our Lord. We become complacent.

And if we are not careful, this complacency can lead to a lack of faith.

We should not wait until we “need” God’s Help! We can and should call upon the Lord and spend time with Him now! Pray now! Obey Him now!

For there will come a time when we need our Lord’s Help desperately!

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!