FollowingJesusUS.com

Keep Praying!

“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get. ’But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner !’I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”-Jesus (Luke 18:10-14)

Keep Praying and pray humbly and with gratitude!

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready

The Bible & Praying

“Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.” – Isaiah 60:1

There is no doubt that darker times are ahead. And the world will desperately need the light of Christ shining through us to lead the way home. But in order to “shine” for Jesus, we will need God’s Help and so we will need to pray and ask Him for it!

The Holy Spirit is in us! We need to call upon the Holy Spirit and ask Him to pour out His Spirit as never before.

We need to pray for another Great Awakening!

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

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!

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 🙂

If God Says No or Not Yet!

God always answers all prayers. But sometimes the answer is “No” or “Not yet”. God doesn’t say no or not yet because He doesn’t love us enough. God does love us enough 🙂

But we have to trust in God’s love too. We have to trust that God knows the whole story, where we only know part of it. We know yesterday and today, but God knows all of that-and tomorrow.

For example, sometimes taking someone to Heaven is the most Merciful thing to do, whether we like it or not. Sometimes a bit of “rain” has to fall for us to grow closer to God. It’s hard to build faith when it’s not used often enough. Tough times force us to use it. (Just like a muscle) 🙂

So if we have been praying with a certain end in mind and it’s not happening. If God seems to be saying, “No” or “Not yet”. Perhaps what we need to do is,

Pray “In Jesus Name, Let thy Will be done”. And find a way to trust in that ?

Don’t Let Satan Steal Your Joy-Or Your Faith!

“22 So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.”-John 16:22

Sometimes during difficult times, people turn to God for strength and comfort. But sometimes, people turn away from God. The heart break, the job loss, the virus, the race riots …are just too much. Sometimes it is as simple, as to much has changed. For example, in many cases, there is no school. Eating out in many cases is a thing of the past. Going shopping, going to the beach or movies-all on the no-no list. But God has NOT changed! He is the SAME as He has always been and He loves you!

But it is when we feel the worst, when we don’t want to pray, when we feel that God is not listening-that we need to pray the most and keep praying. Don’t rely on how you feel in this type of situation, instead rely on God Himself. For He is ever faithful-no matter what!

And if we do, we will come out the other side. We will re-find the joy we once had. We just have to keep praying, even when we don’t feel like it!

Racism

There has been a lot of talk about the growth of racism in the media lately. But I can’t help but think that the media has actually caused most of it. And I can’t help but wonder if what is really growing is not racism, but fear.

And the most important question is not “Why”, but “How”. How do we change it?

Personally, I think we change it one heart at a time. We need to meet under the Cross. For Christ knows no colors and neither does Heaven. For regardless of color, political beliefs or any of the many other ways by which we divide ourselves, Jesus Loves Us All, Each and Everyone! God always has and God always will!

And if we can’t actually meet, than let us pray for one another. For as my Pastor says, “Prayer Changes Things” 🙂

Laugh Out Loud, Love Completely, Live As If This Were Your Last Day…

Which of God’s commandments is the most important one? Jesus answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength: this is the first commandment”. And the second is “You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these”. -Jesus

It’s been another week of bad headlines; sometimes it almost seems that it might be easier iStock_000005162197Small just “not to know”. And yet as Moms, we need to know; Because keeping our children safe and providing them with all that they will need to grow up in to caring, compassionate and faithful adults who will one day be able to go in pursuit of their dreams is -our job.

On the other hand, once we know all of the bad news-what do we do with it. How do we “fix it”. The answer is-we don’t. “Fixing it” is up to God. For us, as Christians, we simply need to do what we have always done: Love God, and love each other. For that is all that God requires and it is all that Christ commanded. So this week, no matter the news, pledge to find the time to laugh out loud, to love completely and to live at least one day-as it if were the last day before Jesus comes back. Take one day-and be completely happy. No matter what. For with God, “all things are possible”.

In God We Trust: The Best Job Of All :)

Like any one, I can get caught up in worrying about the economy, the job market, or any one of a number of the challenges we are all facing. But there is something our Lord said that not only brings me great comfort, but also brings me down to earth-where I belong.

Our Lord said, “Thus says the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glories glory in this, that he understands and knows me…”-Jeremiah 9, Verses 23 & 24

Now there’s a job-for all of us. After that, what more can be said…

May God Bless each of you and your families, now, and always.

Becoming Friends With Jesus Christ

It’s when Jesus seems far away that we need to pray the most. Because although Jesus never leaves us, sometimes we leave Him

We convince ourselves we are too busy to talk with Jesus, or if we are being honest, perhaps too lazy. But if we want to have a real friendship with Jesus, we need to do what we would do with any other friend, we need to spend time with Him; we need to share with Him, and we need to be honest and open with Jesus. Because that is the only way we are going to become “real friends”.

So share the happiness and worries of your day. Pray for those in need and those you love. Ask Jesus what His Will is for you, because Jesus loves you and knows best what will bring you the most happiness. Ask Jesus every day to forgive your sins, grant you faith and be your Savior and Friend.

For if we do so every day, our trust in Jesus will grow and our faith will flourish.

And before we know it, Jesus who once seemed so very far away, will be our closest, most trusted, best friend, and Savior 🙂

May Jesus Bless Us All,

Following Jesus