FollowingJesusUS.com

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 🙂

How Do We Receive The Holy Spirit?

“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” – Luke 11:13 KJV

Ask our Father in Jesus’ Name and…

Be The Light 🙂

If Our Nation Becomes Covered In Darkness, Be The Light :)

In Daniel 12:3 it says, “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the fimament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.”

Recently, millions of Christians participated in The Return. Some in person, even more through the telecast. During The Return, Jonathan Cahn talked about God’s Judgment, and the fact that it could be occuring soon.

Is this the Last Days we often read about, or is it the Judgement of our nation for the many sins we have commited? Only God knows.

Millions of babies have been murdered and gay marriage has become the law of the land. Netflix’s “cuties” has pushed the boudaries of all that is decent and right. Our inner cities’ are poverty sticken and violent. The list is endless…

Make no mistake, forgiveness for all of those who have sinned is available to all through Jesus Christ. And let’s face it, we have all sinned. We have all fallen short. That’s why this Bible verse is such a comfort to so many:

“as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”=Psalm 103:12

But a nation that does not repent and seek forgiveness is not forgiven.

We really don’t know if our country will turn back to God in time-or not

But one thing we do know, is that -should our country and it’s people be covered in darkness: God will shine a light. And the Holy Spirit will shine a light through us to reach out to others. If we let Him.

Let Him. Be the Light 🙂

Putting God First :)

What does that really mean? What does that look like in a person’s life? When we see a pastor or a missionary it’s easy to see that they are putting God first. But what about for us regular folk? For we are not all called to be Pastors or Missionaries.

It’s easier than it looks. We can reach out to our neighbor. Talk to the person at the grocery. Hug someone. Be nice even when someone is crabby. Reign in the desire to be right and let someone else be right. Be quiet. Give to the Homeless. Go to work on time. work hard and be nice. Read the Bible and share it with others. The list is endless.

Stand up for Father, for Christ and the Holy Spirit. Pray both privately and publicly. So often we hear that we should only pray in private. But the world needs us to pray in public too. Because there are those in the world that need the encouragement right now of seeing others turn to God :).

And don’t be afraid to share your short-comings. We all have them and knowing we have a few and are still following Christ might encourage another to keep going.

We live in a time where many are falling away from faith. The most important thing we can do right now, is encourage others to keep going. To hold to their faith in Jesus.

Time grows short. we need to help each other as much as we can now!

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 🙂

Pray Without Ceasing :)

Sometimes, we just don’t feel like praying. Especially if we feel our prayers have not been answered “Yes”. But the truth is, sometimes God’s answer is “not yet” or even “no”. Why is that? Why doesn’t God just give us what we want?

Sometimes it’s simply because what we “want”, is not what we “need”. We only know yesterday and today, but God knows all of these, but in addition God knows all our tomorrows too!

Never give up on Praying! As a very wise Pastor, Pastor Richburg, says, “Prayer changes things”.

Although God may not always gives us what we want; He will always give us what we need 🙂

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 ?

How To Change The World :)

A friend sent me this, just had to share 🙂

“It was the ninth week of SEAL training, which is referred to as Hell Week. It is six days of no sleep, constant physical and mental harassment and one special day at the Mud Flats. The Mud Flats is in an area between San Diego and Tijuana, where the water runs off and creates the Tijuana slues – a swampy patch of terrain where the mud will engulf you. It is on Wednesday of Hell Week that you paddle down to the mud flats and spend the next 15 hours trying to survive the freezing cold mud, the howling wind and the on going pressure from the instructors to quit. As the sun begins to set that Wednesday evening, their training class was ordered into the mud. The mud consumed each person till there was nothing visible but their heads. The instructors told them they could leave the mud if only five of them would quit – just five – and all could get out of the bitter cold.

Looking around the mud flat, one individual noticed that it was apparent that some students were about to give up. It was still over eight hours until the sun came up – eight more hours of bone-chilling cold. The chattering teeth and shivering moans of the trainees were so loud it was hard to hear anything. And then, one voice began to echo through the night – one voice raised in song! The song was terribly out of tune, but sung with great enthusiasm. One voice became two, and two became three, and before long everyone in the class was singing! They knew that if one person could rise above the misery then others could as well. The instructors threatened them with more time in the mud if they kept up the singing – but the singing persisted. And somehow, the mud seemed a little warmer, the wind a little tamer and the dawn NOT so far away!

If you learn anything in your moments granted on earth, it IS the Power of Hope! The power of one person – Washington, Lincoln, King, Mandela, a young girl from Pakistan named Malala – and YES, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior! When you are up to your neck in mud – tired and shivering from the cold of the world, attempting its best to try to make you quit – start singing Praises to your Heavenly Father – thanking Him to give you Hope, that no matter how tough it gets – He IS ALWAYS there to help your life have Joy and Peace. Know that He IS your Hope, your Comfort, your Light in the darkness – your Son come up! Be His Example – change the world! In Jesus’ Name. Thy Will be done. Amen. “

“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 ?