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Following Jesus is a Path, and a “Narrow” one at that.  It’s important to remember that while many of us may be on the Path, we may be in different Places on it.  And that’s okay as long as we keep Following Jesus.

Our lives have many seasons.  And I myself would hate to be judged by my worst day.  And let’s face it, we all have them ?.  So just because we meet someone on their worst day-today, does not mean they won’t be our Best Brother or Sister in Christ tomorrow ?.

Ultimately, we want every single person to reach Heaven and they can only do that through Jesus Christ. 

How can we best help each other reach Heaven?  By encouraging each other to keep Following Jesus and Loving and Forgiving  each other every day. And having the courage to be Honest with one another and Sharing God’s Word. 🙂

There is no doubt that in the times in which we live, the choices we face will get harder. Do we tell others the truth? Do we tell them that they must accept Jesus as their Savior if they wish to go to Heaven? Do we share with others the Truths found in God’s Word? Do we share with others that the Bible is the only real source of God’s Word and Plan for our Lives?

It can be difficult, especially these days. And fear also plays a role. Sometimes for ourselves, but also sometimes for others. We fear God’s Truths may make others run away. “Too much too soon” , has often been said by those who care.

But True Compassion also knows that Jesus may arrive tomorrow. What then? What happens to the person that we failed to be honest with? God’s Word says, “But if you do warn the wicked person to turn from their ways and they do not do so, they will die for their sin, though you yourself will be saved.”

Notice it says, that “if we warn the wicked…we will be saved”. So as Christians, we do have a responsibility to do so.

But here is the comforting part, the effort may belong to us and is our gift to God, but the outcome itself belongs to God :). We can share the Truth with others, but whether they choose to hear it or follow it is not up to us and is not our responsibility.

We need to Trust God to do the “heavy lifting”; we just need to find the courage to share God’s Truth with love.

The American Armed Forces have given us a country that millions wish to come to and millions more are grateful to live in.

Their courage and sacrifice will long be remembered both now and in the future.

Memorial Day is also a great time to remember all that this country has been. Blessed by God, a Shining City on a Hill, Hope for all Nations…America was built as a Christian nation and was God’s Blessing to the world. It’s values and traditions made it what it was. But it could never have become all it was without the courage and selfless-sacrifice of so many men and women serving in our Military.

It’s hard to find the words to show the appreciation our Military deserves, but Thank You!

We Thank God for YOU!

And know that our Prayers are with you, always!

I’ve heard often that if you have enough Faith you will never Fear.  Good thing that’s not exactly true, because I have a lot of faith, but I have my struggles with fear and worry too.

I think it might be said better if it was said, if we Focus completely on our Faith, we will not be able to Focus on our Fears. ?

All moms worry for their children.  And I can share with you that I am no exception, especially as they grow older and live their own lives.  When they are little, it’s easy to feel that we can fix every hurt, but we can’t always do that as they grow older.  And that is when we really need to Focus on our Faith.

So what does that mean?

On more than one occasion, I have woken up in the middle of night and known that one of my children was facing a potentially life changing choice or a situation that was unsafe.  And I felt the call to kneel and pray for them, and I did.  And after I did, I felt only Peace.  I knew that, whatever the issue, God had taken care of it ?.

But my battle was not completely over. I had to hold onto the Peace that God had so generously given to me.   First we give our behavior to our Lord, and then we give our thoughts to the Lord.  Reigning in our thoughts can be particularly difficult, but with perseverance it can be done.  And that means that once the Lord has so generously dealt with our fears or worries, we need to leave them with God.  And if they return, we just need to shift our Focus back to Him ?

We all fear and worry at times, but God did not create us to live in Fear.

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”-Isaiah 41:10

There are times when we are going to be afraid, and we are going to worry.  Will I find a job?   Where is the next meal coming from?  How are our children really doing? What kind of world will they grow up in?  Will we face war?  How do I help someone I love who is sick?  When I am in pain or sick, how do I learn to live with it?

But we can’t let our fears and suffering rule our hearts.  Nor can we make our decisions based on our fears or suffering.  We need to make our choices based on God and God alone.

Having had my share of fears and suffering in this world, the one thing I have most helpful is to Focus on Jesus’ Face.  It really is difficult to truly focus on two things at the same time.

To “seek Christ’s Face”, is to seek His Prescence.  That is a completely difference thing than seeking God’s Hand (seeking His Power and Blessings).  When we seek Christ’s Face with all of our heart and soul, He is with us and all else fades away.  The question then becomes, how do we stay there?

And the answer is-we practice.  Sometimes when we first begin to seek Christ’s Face, we can only truly stay in His Presence a few seconds.  But as we practice, the time we can stay in Christ’s Presence lengthens.  And the more we stay in Christ’s Presence, the less our fears and suffering can claim our attention ?

Difficult times lay ahead.  We need to Practice now, so we will be ready to face them with Jesus. Watch, Pray and Prepare-Be Ready!

“For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”-Matthew 24:24

How many times has someone claimed more power than they actually have?  Didn’t some refer to Obama as their “savior”.  As the world hurls towards tougher, more difficult times, many will crave someone who can “fix” everything on earth. As Christians, we must guard against these emotions.

Because that that was never in the Plan. 

Jesus came to make a way for us to go to His Kingdom-Heaven.  And He did!  Jesus did not come to “fix” things here.  That idea was the road block to faith that many in Israel faced over 2,000 years ago.  Many thought that when their Savior came, He would “fix” things in this world.  And that all the injustices and hurts that they faced on earth would be ended.  But that was just not true.  Not then and not now.

And so, we as Christians must be very careful that we are not deceived.  And it’s easier to be deceived than one thinks.  When times are really tough and we just want them to get better-a part of us may subconsciously wish to be deceived just so the difficulties will end.  But they won’t end!  Sure, temporarily it might feel like they ended, but that is only temporary.  They will get much, much worse! And they will last forever!

So what are we to do.  One thing we can do is Pray.  Pray NOW not to be deceived in the future.  We can ask God to “hold on to us, in Jesus Name”, no matter what!

And we can study God’s Word so that we know what Jesus’ Return will look like.  For example, in Revelation 1:7-9, it says:

“Watch! He will come in the clouds. Every one will see him. Those who stuck a spear in him will also see him. All the tribes on earth will cry when they see him. That is the way it will be. Yes it will!”

“For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night”-1 Thessalonians 5:2

These are just two verses about Jesus’ Return. Find them all and hide them in your heart, for you may not have access to a written Bible when He Returns!

God’s Word tells us how we will know that it is Jesus Returning, we just have to listen ?

We all suffer in this world.  Life is not fair and we are not IN Heaven.  And that is the simple, short and true answer as to why “bad things happen to good people”.  It’s not Heaven-not yet.  Our earth is a fallen world and bad things do happen to good people.  They just do.

And don’t forget, Jesus warned us, “that in this world, we will have trouble”.

Perhaps the hardest is when we suffer unjustly or see someone we love suffer unjustly, but that is when we need to remember and focus on that: no one suffered more unjustly than Jesus! And He did so with such Grace and Forgiveness. So perhaps we just need to focus on His example :). And although it can be hard, with God, Nothing is impossible!

And we need to reach out with Love and Kindness because so many people suffer on this earth:

Perhaps it’s a father with a family depending on him, who through no fault of his own, lost his job.

Perhaps it’s a really good person who just seems to suffer illness after illness.

Perhaps it’s a person wrongfully convicted of crime they did not commit.

Perhaps someone we love very much left for Heaven before we were ready!

There are so many ways that people suffer, many of them unjust.  And while it is easy to tell ourselves that it’s “just not Heaven yet”, we can still feel sorry for ourselves sometimes.  I know I do!

But that is when we need to think  not only about how Jesus suffered, but how all those who loved Him did.

His Father, who sacrificed His only Son for our sake, must have suffered greatly to see His Son in so much pain. To know that pain was coming. I can’t even imagine!

His Mother Mary must have suffered so to see Him crucified, but stood at His feet anyway.  How she must have worried when He was gone Preaching and Sharing the Good News, and yet supported Him and loved Him so. I know I couldn’t have done it! It just would have hurt too much!

Jesus, who not only suffered so on the Cross, but must have also suffered hurt when He was betrayed, when so many called for His death, even though all He had ever done was love and serve them! How it must have hurt when He thought of the pain that His Father and Mother, and all those who love Him felt. How it must have hurt when He left Heaven to come to earth to save us!

His Apostles, who loved Jesus so much, how they must have hurt to see Him suffer so! How frustrated and scared they must have been!

Mary Magdeline, who Jesus saved, how much she must have hurt to see Jesus hurt so. It had to have torn her heart.

The list of people who suffered, and especially Jesus, is endless.  And it puts our own suffering into perspective, if we let it.  Whatever we are suffering, it’s temporary.  Heaven IS Real and we WILL go HOME one day 🙂

But while we are here and because life on earth is indeed imperfect, there is no better example to follow than Christ’s and those who Loved Him 🙂

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. “-Isaiah 41:10

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”-President Ronald Reagan

Freedom, whether we are talking about freedom in this country, or in our spiritual life, can not exist with fear.  Only one can ultimately triumph.

Fear is a sneaky emotion.  It wells up in us before we even realize it.  We worry about our children, about our finances, about the health of those we love.  And although it can help to realize there is a limit to what we can do on our own and bring the rest, in Jesus’ Name, to our Father God, we still worry…

But fear can only triumph if we act upon it or let it consume us.  When we give up our freedom to Follow Jesus.  When we give in to behaviors that are of this world-but not of God.  When we give up our faith in Jesus for a more “comfortable” life.  That is when fear triumphs!

Instead, we need to let the Holy Spirit triumph in us ?

We are “in this world”, but “we are not of it”.  When we feel afraid, we need to call upon the Holy Spirit.  As the movie says, “don’t give in and don’t give up”!

“But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.”-Matthew 18:6

Protecting the right of parents to Homeschool their children has always been important, but never more so than now!  From ensuring our children receive the best education possible to ensuring they are taught the values and traditions that their parents support-Homeschooling gives parents a choice. A choice that they desperately need!  And a choice they should have.

With Christianity under attack as never before, Homeschooling allows parents to raise their children freely in their faith.  Sadly, with public schools pushing such topics as gay marriage and support for transgenderism, public schools are no longer a good place for Christian children.

And with private school tuition rising, Home schooling remains the most affordable option!

One might ask why Homeschooling would be a topic on this particular site.  And the answer is that protecting the right of parents to homeschool their children is a top priority for all parents, but especially for Christian parents.

And evil is coming for it.

So please, pray.  Pray in Jesus’ Name that our Father God will protect the rights of parents to homeschool their children.  Pray for our elected representatives, that they will have the courage and ability to fight for this important issue.