FollowingJesusUS.com

Buckle Up!

A Friend of mine sent this, just had to share 🙂

“Once upon a time, a person was driving to visit with their relatives over a holiday weekend. They came upon an electronic interstate highway sign, the kind the state can change the message to alert those on the road of different conditions. But this one particularly caught the attention of the person driving and made them think about it. It read, “State Troopers did NOT take the weekend off. Slow down. Buckle up.”

Perhaps the message also gave others, to be more careful about speeding over the allowable speed limit and to remember to use their seat belts for safety precautions. The person also thought about how God’s Word gives us such similar messages. Our Heavenly Father, Son and Holy Spirit does NOT take the weekend off (i.e. or any time for that matter), for His Children to slow down (i.e. to really absorb His Awesome Mercy and Grace being given freely), and to buckle up (i.e. put on the Whole Armor of God).

Although one would always like to take time to relax and take time off from their busy schedule, it is easy to forget that God does NOT. He IS always watching over each of His Children personally 24/7. It is also easy to rush around and miss the tiny miracles that constantly happen around us and His Messages that our Heavenly Father sends us for His Direction in our life. By slowing down, studying God’s Word with the help and guidance of His Holy Spirit, this gives you the opportunity of really soaking in His Breath in you. Always asking for and buckling up with God’s Protection, keeps you safe from the fiery darts of the evil one (i.e. who, by the way, does not take any time off either).

My thoughts and prayers are that you travel safely on your journey through life, slow down and know God’s Blessings Full. That you ask for God’s Protection and Presence in your life, soaking up His Special Blessings of His Awesome Healing Power and Touch, His Mercy and Grace, His Strength and Courage, His Compassion and Caring for His Children, His Love, Joy, and Peace. That you do not hesitate to share ALL of God with others. In Jesus’ Name. Thy Will be done. Amen. Peace.”

Take A Stand For Christ!

“The scribes and pharisies were watching Him closely to see if He would heal on the Sabbath, so that they could find a charge against Him”-Luke 6:7

“When the man with the shriveled hand stood before Him on the Sabbath, Jesus knew the pharisees and teachers of the law were looking to accuse Him. But He did not allow Himself to be controlled by potential accusations”-Jesus Day by Day

How many times do we refrain from sharing our faith in Jesus because we are afraid of what others will say? Or we refrain from giving Jesus credit for our Blessings, because we are afraid of someone’s reaction?

Courage is not the abscense of fear; it’s the facing of fear. We can’t let the reaction of others control us. It’s normal to be afraid, but we need to speak anyway.

The “world” may seek to keep us silent; but we have more faith than that and we need to share it. And if we need courage, all we have to do is ask God for it. He will give it to us 🙂

Be The Light 🙂

Entertaining Angels :)

^“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”-Hebrews 13:2

One of my very best friends once said to me that “you never know when you are entertaining angels”. What a beautiful image! I asked her what she meant and she explained ?

She said so often as we rush through our days, we forget to take the time to smile at someone who really needs it, or to truly listen to someone. To help that elderly person with their groceries or thank someone for their kindness.

She said not only could angels minister to us; they minister to others and that sometimes while performing their service they can take on the shape of a human being temporarily. So anyone we might meet in the course of our day could be an angel.

I thought about that one for a long time. And I realized she was right. Really, how would I know if any one I met was an angel?

But It also made me think about how I treat others period. How many times had I raced into the grocery store, stood impatiently in line and failed to reach out to anyone? How many times had I seen an elderly person struggle to put their groceries in the car, and felt to busy to help them? How many times had I listened to someone with only half an ear? How many times had I failed to thank someone?

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”-Matthew 6:19-21

And I resolved then and there, with God’s Help, to change.

And “With God All Things Are Possible” 🙂

Walk With God :)

“For we walk by faith, not by sight”-2 Corinthians 5:7

Sometimes it can be hard to keep going. We look at the news, the world, the growth of atheism and witchcraft. It can seem dark indeed.

But we do not “walk” according to what we see in this world; we walk according to what we “see” in God’s world. And what we “see” in God’s world has not changed. Heaven still exists, it always will. And it is still our forever home and always will be. God will still answer our prayers; He always will. And He will still rescue us-even if it is sometimes from ourselves.

There’s no doubt the upcoming election concerns us all. But we also need to remember that God still loves us. God always will. And nothing that occurs in this world can change that!

So walk with God. Be the Light 🙂

Make Every Day Count!

In Psalm 90:12 it says, “So teach us to number our days”

We don’t often think about that, in fact, some of us actively avoid thinking about it, lol. But the truth is each one of us has only so many days on this earth.

So we only have so many days to share God’s Love & Mercy. To share the Good News about Jesus Christ! And to share our knowledge of how to get to Heaven and just how important that is!

Because make no mistake, Jesus is the Hope for our world, today and everyday, and we are all looking for that 🙂

Make Every Day Count!

Be the Light :⁾

God’s Love Will Give Us Courage!

“You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah”-Psalm 32:7

We live in difficult times. Truly difficult times. And fear is a completely understandable emotion when one looks around the world in which we live. But courage is not the absence of fear, it’s the facing of it.

And that’s exactly what God’s love enables us to do. Have great courage in the face of great fear. Because no matter what happens on this earth, because of Jesus, our future is in Heaven. It’s a fact. And nothing can change that. Nothing.

So when the going gets tough, and it will, remember that and hold on to it. We will not struggle forever. We will dance with joy forever 🙂

Heaven awaits us. God loves us. And nothing can hurt us-not really. For because of Jesus, our joyful triumph is already assured 🙂

The Joy Of The Lord :)

“¹²Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” Psalm 51:12, NIV

A friend of mine told me that she was praying this verse, and it got me thinking. What is the joy of our salvation?

And I realized, it’s the way God loves us. It’s different than any earthly love we experience. It’s always there for us, surrounding us, no matter what.

On earth, we’d like to think that love is unconditional-but it’s really not. Imagine cheating on our spouse multiple times? Think they will still love and stay with us? Perhaps not…But when we mess up, God still loves us. And He stays no matter what 🙂 There is no mistake we can make, no amount of failure, no length of time in which we do not honor and love Him as we should that will stop God from loving us. For God is faithful to us, even when we are not.

And there is no time that we can not turn back to Him. Because He loves us and He’s waiting for us with open arms.

So close your eyes for just a moment and imagine this, God lifts you up and twirls you around. And both you and God are laughing with joy. The kind of joy that fills every part of you. Because you are finally home, safe and sound, in God’s arms as you were born to be.

Pray. Don’t wait. Be with God today 🙂

Isaiah 59: Does Our Father Forgive Us?

Of course He does, He loves us ?

Often we read of forgiveness in the New Testament, but it also speaks of forgiveness in the Old Testament (Isaiah 59).

Isaiah 59 starts with a reminder that God is all powerful and can save and hear us. But because of our sins He could not. So clearly our sins do separate us from God. Good thing for us that we have a Savior that forgives us and wipes our slate clean. Because of His Great Sacrifice, God can hear us and we are saved ?

And in fact, towards the end of Isaiah 59, God clearly wishes to save His people, even if it is from themselves. And so He looks to find one good person who truly stands up for truth and justice, who seeks to turn the people back to God, but sadly, He can’t even find one.

So at the end of Isaiah 59, our Father promised to send a “Redeemer” to save us Himself-Jesus Christ. God could have given up on us. He could have stopped loving us. But He didn’t. God Loved Us Always. And because He loves us so, He sent Jesus to Save us.

And because Jesus came and we accepted Him as our Savior (Redeemer), we are completely forgiven. For God not only forgives our sins, He erases them.

And we should do the same for others ?

Hope In God’s Word :)

We all need hope sometimes, something to hold onto when the going gets tough. There’s a reason God said that we should hide His Word in our heart (Psalm 119:11). Just as there is a good reason that God said His Word would light our path (Psalm 115:105 KJV)

So here are some of God’s Words to hold onto ?

¹¹For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”-Jeremiah 29:11 (God has a great plan for you)

“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” – 1 Peter 5:10 (Suffering is temporary)

“And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children, because she considered Him faithful who had made the Promise” -Hebrew 11:11 (Miracles still happen)

“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint.” – Isaiah 40:31 (God will help us)

“If you can? said Jesus. Everything is possible for him who believes”-Mark 9:23 (With God, All Things Are Possible)

“But God will never forget the needy; the hope of the afflicted will never perish.” -Psalm 9:18 (With God, there is always Hope. He will provide for us)

^“16So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self^[a is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, ¹⁸as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”-2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (No matter how much we are suffering, it’s temporary. Heaven is real and we are going home one day)

“But the eyes of the Lord are on him who fears Him; on those whose hope is in His unfailing love”-Psalm 33:18 (God is always watching after us, because He loves us)

“Cast all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you” – 1 Peter 5:7 (Stay in God’s Will and your anxieties will fade)

^“58Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”- 1 Corintheans 15;58 (Don’t give up! Jesus is Coming)

So my friends, hold on to these verses in your heart. Jesus IS Coming Back, God DOES Keep His Promises, and Heaven IS Real ?

“Faith Without Works IS Dead” -The Last Days

“And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many will wax cold.”-Matthew 24:12 KJV

First of all, what exactly is iniquity? Webster’s dictionary defines it as “gross injustice” or as a “wicked act (sin)”. One thing we can all agree upon is that iniquity has grown. And sadly, Matthew 24:12 is right, the love of many has grown cold.

To see that, one has only to turn on the news or go outside.

In Portland and Seattle they are killing people, beating them in a manner so cruel and wicked, it’s impossible to watch. The looting and rioting scares us all, and that makes many of us angry.

Then there’s the Homeless. How many times do we see people walk or drive by them as if they don’t exist? And yet, great is their suffering! Who cares how they got there, they are hurting human beings! When did we become a nation that really doesn’t seem to care about their plight?

And then there is abortion. The murder of a child. Let’s put aside for a moment all of those who truly regret that choice, because our Lord forgives them! And let’s focus on those who advocate for it. Those who take advantage of so many women who are in desperate situations. When did we as a nation stop caring not only about the babies, but the women involved?

And how often are people afraid to simply voice their own point of view? And people are afraid right now. They are afraid of being beaten or killed simply for voicing what they feel. When did that happen? When did we become a nation that allowed such evil?

And when did we become less kind? Kindness and generosity used to be the American way. And it can be again, but we have to choose it every single day!

And yet these are just a few examples, there are many more…

There can be no doubt that our natural love for one another in this country has grown cold. As a nation, we simply don’t “love our neighbor” the way we used to, the way God commands us too!

But we can change that. Today! Now!

Because there are still millions of Americans who love our Lord and do truly care about each other! But we need to ask God for the courage to act, for “Faith without works is dead”- James 2:14-26

God can and will help us to love more, just ask Him ?

Be the Light :)

Be the Light :⁾