FollowingJesusUS.com

The world’s largest population is said to be Chinese.  China and India have the largest populations in the world.  Both Africa and South America have larger populations than America.

And while Following Jesus can be more difficult in some of these countries, many people will and many of them will be in Heaven.  For Jesus loves us all!  ?

How Blessed are we that we get to meet them all and spend eternity together! 🙂

At Jesus’ request, God sent the Holy Spirit to help us

“There are different kinds of gifts. But they are all given to believers by the same Spirit.  There are different ways to serve. But they all come from the same Lord.  There are different ways the Spirit works. But the same God is working in all these ways and in all people.”

“The Holy Spirit is given to each of us in a special way. That is for the good of all.   To some people the Spirit gives a message of wisdom. To others the same Spirit gives a message of knowledge.  To others the same Spirit gives faith. To others that one Spirit gives gifts of healing.  To others he gives the power to do miracles. To others he gives the ability to prophesy. To others he gives the ability to tell the spirits apart. To others he gives the ability to speak in different kinds of languages they had not known before. And to still others he gives the ability to explain what was said in those languages. All the gifts are produced by one and the same Spirit. He gives gifts to each person, just as he decides.” – 1 Corinthians 14: 4-11

There are also Fruits of the Holy Spirit, which are also Gifts: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” – Galatians 5:22-2

We were never meant to walk alone.  We were meant to walk with the Holy Spirit ?

God gives us great Gift! Gifts such as life, the world we live in, love, faith, courage…The list is endless.  People have asked me before, “Where do I get my Faith?”  It comes from God.  It’s nothing I did, I asked Him for faith and God gave it to me.    Ask Him, and He will give it to you too. For Faith is a Gift?. 

Jesus Himself knew that it would be hard to put our Faith in something we can’t see, which is why He understood Thomas’ struggle so well and was so patient with Him.  Jesus will be patient with us too, because He loves us. 

Jesus gave us many Gifts.  One of His very best gifts is that He gave us a path back to God and a way to Heaven ?.  And He taught us how to live ?

One note, if we are given the Gift of Faith, or indeed any Gift, we need to remember to say Thank You ?  And we need to use the Gifts that God give us.  For like any Gift, if we do not use it-we will loose it.

At Jesus’ request, God also sent the Holy Spirit to help us. More on that tomorrow 🙂

“Strong people don’t put others down.  They lift them up.”-Michael P Watson

A friend sent me this quote this morning.  What a great reminder ?

Jesus lifts us up.  And reading the Bible, it’s clear that Jesus not only Loves us-He likes us too.  When He was on earth, Jesus enjoyed His time with us!  And remember, we are made in God’s Holy Image ?

There are some great Bible verses about lifting others up and not putting them down:

“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:11

“Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.”- Romans 12:10

“Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.” – Romans 15:2

“Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” – Phillippias 2:4

“What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.” – 1 Corinthians 14: 26

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”–1 Corinthians 13: 4-7

Clearly, God wanted us to “build each other up”.  And one of Christ’s greatest commandments was to love one another ? So loving each other and building each other up are good choices 🙂

And there is someone else we need to learn to build up and love-ourselves!

There is an old saying, “God does not make junk”.  Trite, but true ?.  As human beings, we have a tendency to run through a list in our minds of all the things that we have done wrong or failed to do. But how often do we run through a list of what we did right or what we actually did for others?

God wants us to love each other, but He also loves us!  Maybe we should too ?

“I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.  Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.  He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you” John 6:12–14

Ever notice how many ways people seems to interpret what God says?

Sometimes that is a good thing. It’s simply God’s way of telling us what we need to know-when we need it to know.

But sometimes it is not a good thing. Sometimes its our way of holding on to pet sins or beliefs that are simply wrong.

And that is why it is so very important to ask the Holy Spirit to read the Bible with us. Because the Holy Spirit can show us the very real, and only, truth of God’s Word.

“Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God. For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head.  They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones.  They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.  For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee”  Psalm 83: 1-5

According to some, Psalm 83 is “is generally seen as a national lament provoked by the threat of an invasion of Israel by its neighbors.”  But it can also be prayed against all threats by those who “hate” God.  And sadly, there are those who do.  And they “hate” all those who truly follow Jesus. 

And there are different types of war. A war to protect our nation from invaders. To protect our souls from any who would lead us away from God. A war against sin and temptation. A war within ourselves as we struggle to choose God over all things :).

Many wars are led by the evil one, for evil has always hated good; just as darkness has always hated the light.  It always will. 

The picture attached is from Auschwitz, need more be said? That evil will stop at nothing and stoop to any level is a lesson we should have learned during WWII, but we didn’t.  And we know what they say about those who “fail to learn from the lessons of history”, they are “doomed to repeat them.”

But we DO have a choice, given to us by God Himself.  That is what freedom is, a choice.  We can choose the slippery slope away from God and all that is good or we can choose to follow Jesus to Heaven itself 🙂

We can choose to protect our souls and hearts from those who would mislead us and put our entire focus on Jesus 🙂

And always remember, we can ask God for Help, in all circumstances!  We are His children and He loves us.  He will answer our prayers, if we pray in the Name of Jesus.

And if we are unwilling to pray in the Name of Jesus, then we have only ourselves to blame for the end result. 

For no power on this earth can stop prayer ?