FollowingJesusUS.com

Some think Fasting is an old fashioned concept.  Some think Fasting is important and still do it today.  But one important reminder: even Jesus Fasted!  So it must be important?

Isaiah 58 tells us both why fasting is important and what is required.  Some people Fast thinking it will persuade God to answer their prayers  And it may,  but only if our prayer is truly unselfish.  In Isaiah 58, it tells of some who fasted hoping God would help them “win a debate” (popular in that time) or some other equally self-centered prayer.

But it goes on to show us that Fasting must be done alongside a life lived for the Love of God and the Love of others.

Fasting is important, but it is only helpful when it is done by one who prays unselfishly, shares their food with those who are hungry and treats others with love.

For example, it is not enough to refrain from treating others badly; we must treat them with love and kindness. 

Can fasting help us grow closer to God.  Absolutely!  In fact, here are just some of God’s Promises and God Always Keeps His Promises 🙂

⁸ Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy reward.

⁹ Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;

¹⁰ And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day” – Isaiah 58 8-10

In order to have real meaning, Fasting must be accompanied by sincerely loving God and loving others 🙂

It’s so hard to share by words God’s Grace & Mercy, and His Love, because there is nothing like it on this earth to compare it to.

After all, who forgives no matter how many times they are wronged.  Who counts our efforts, rather than our failures?

Who never leaves? Not just physically, but emotionally, no matter where we are in life?

Who loves us, even when we are completely unloveable?

God does 🙂 

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”-Jesus (Matthew 11:28)

Life is hard right now, and the future on this earth can appear discouraging.  But God is always there for those who love and follow Him, because God always keeps His Promises 🙂

If you call on our Father in Jesus’ Name, He will answer, because He loves us. Always 🙂

Hope: “Our hope, indeed our help comes from the Lord”

Faith: “now Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”

Love: Our Lord’s Greatest Commandment 🙂

“You shall love your Lord God with all of your heart, and with all of your soul and with all your mind and with all of your strength. The second is this, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself'”

“With God, all things are possible” 🙂

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few-Matthew 7:13-14

It’s seems to have become a popular, politically correct notion, that “everyone goes to Heaven”.  But that is not what Jesus said in God’s Word.

Jesus’ message is clear, the way to Heaven is “hard” and “those who find it are few”.

Clearly these verses do not support the politically correct life style of today which appears to be doing whatever you feel like, whenever you feel like it! 

This is a lie.  We don’t get to do whatever we want and still go to Heaven.

If we want to go to Heaven, we need to choose the path that goes there and follow it.  It’s true that if we stray, we can ask God to forgive us through His Son Jesus Christ and repent, and get back on the path.  But we do need to be on that path and we don’t get to do whatever we like, when we like.  It is God’s Will that matters, not ours’ ?

So what do we do?  Put God FIRST.  Accept and follow Jesus.  Keep our eyes fixed on Heaven.  Ask forgiveness for our sins through Jesus Christ and repent (change).  Stay on the path.  And love God and each other ?

And remember-“our hope and our help” comes from the Lord.  God will always answer our cries for help, especially in this, because He loves us.  ?

It’s not enough to say we accept Jesus; we must live it ?

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” – Matthew 7:14-14

“ And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.”-Daniel 12:2

What’s interesting in the above verse is that it doesn’t say All. Instead it says Many. And while there are many who suggest a variety of interpretations, I think it is safe to say that if God said Many, He meant Many.

But one thing we can be sure of, whatever the answer, He will use it to our good because He loves us 🙂

Mark of the Beast

“It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads,”- Revelation 13:16

 “so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.”-Revelation 13:17

Some members of the American government appear to be working towards a “cashless” society, as are a number of other countries.  CNBC wrote an article in which it said, “Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell hinted this week that a digital dollar is a high-priority project for the U.S.” (https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/27/op-ed-a-digital-dollar-would-help-the-us-and-its-allies-keep-china-in-check.html)

This is a very dangerous step for all Americans as it would be the end of Freedom as we know it.

Imagine, if you will, a future in which only those with debit or credit cards can purchase food.  Imagine a future where ALL expenditures, including food, are monitored by the government.  A future where you need the government’s permission to purchase anything.  Want to eat that Pizza-sorry you weigh to much. Want to purchase head phones, sorry they are too loud. And the list goes on.

A future where you need to be a member of the politically correct political party or church to purchase anything…

Now imagine that in order to make any purchase of any kind, you need an RFIC chip implanted, perhaps in your right hand?

Once the government removes all cash from our monetary system, it’s only a few steps to a complete loss of freedom.  And perhaps the Mark of the Beast  We can’t let that happen.

In Daniel 12:4 it says, “even to the time of the end many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased”. We do not need to do this! Call or email someone today.  Tell them no!

And Pray!  We need more time.  There are too many who have not accepted Jesus!

May our Lord be merciful and give us the time we need to bring as many as possible to Heaven with us. In Jesus’s Name. Amen. ?

Many ask, “how can we pray that God’s Will be done, when His Will may not match our own”?

A good example of this is when we are praying for someone who is very ill.  We want so badly for that person to get well.  For their suffering to end!  Because we love them so.  But we need to trust that God loves them too.  And His solution may not be ours, but it is the better solution.

Sometimes the person that we love and want so badly to get better-goes to Heaven.  And we cry out in anger, because we want them to be here!  And that is a natural part of grieving.  God understands that.  But at some point, we must realize that they may be far better off in Heaven than on earth.  The person that we love so much, will no longer suffer, no longer cry.  They will be filled with a joy that we can only imagine.  It’s not the person we love who is suffering, it’s us.   Because we miss them.  And that is where we need to put our trust in God’s Love for all of us.  And perhaps we also need to have a little faith in ourselves and in our future.  For one day we will be with the people we love forever ?

Another example is, sometimes a person that we love seems to be trapped in a life style that only brings them pain and destruction.  We pray constantly that they will make better choices, but our prayers seem to go unanswered.  But are they?  Perhaps that person needs those struggles to make that final turn to Jesus.  Perhaps they need those struggles so that in the future they can help others.  “God uses all things to the good of those who love Him”.

We should never stop praying for the people we care about.  God hears our prayers and loves them too.  But we need to understand also, that God will act in their best interest.  He loves them even more than we do and He knows more than we do…

Because God knows not just yesterday and today, but all of our Tomorrows.  Trust Him.

So, should we pray for those we love?  Absolutely!  But pray for them and pray for God’s Will to be done in their life as well.  We can trust God, for He loves us all ?