"Are You A Follower?"

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." John 10:27

So many people have their opinion and interpretation of what it means to be a "Christian". Most think that if they repeat some sort of "sinner's prayer", or join a church membership roll, or do some other religious work that it automatically makes them a Christian and now they are "saved" Many talk about being saved, but what Jesus talked about was- following. If we are truly saved, if we are His sheep, if we have salvation and eternal life, if we have been born again, then we are to "follow" Him.

I often wonder how people- I am talking about those who say they are "saved"- have such a hard time understanding what the word "follow" means. It seems pretty plain and elementary. But should you be having a hard time defining what it means, I thought I would help you out this morning.

It means: if you are living the "party life"- going to the bars and getting drunk- you are not following Jesus. If you are having sex with someone who you are not married to, you are not following Jesus. If you never go to church, you are not following Jesus (He always went to His Father's house) (Unless you have some inability that keeps you out). If you are sitting at your computer looking at pornography, you are not following Jesus. If you are abusive to your spouse or children, then you are not following Jesus. If you are quick tempered and continually curse people out, you are not following Jesus. If you are selfish, self-centered, covetous, greedy, love your money, cheat and lie, and are full of hate... then you are not following Jesus.

When you are following someone, it means two things: you are in that person's presence and you are doing the same things they are doing. That's what it means when we say we are saved... or at least it should. That is what Jesus meant when He said, "Follow Me".

Have a great day. Can you really be saved and not follow Jesus?

For further reading:
Matthew 4:19; 8:22; 16:24;19:21
John 12:26

"God Given Ability"

"Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." Zechariah 4:6

The Lord has truly blessed mankind with the ability to do so much. Look at the world around us. We have the ability to plant and harvest our food sources. We have invented devices that have made life easier. We know how to drill oil from out of the ground to produce energy. We know how to build enormous boats that can stay afloat on water and not sink. We have learned how to fly, and even stepped foot on the moon. When you think about all that we have accomplished, it is truly amazing. Yet, in all our accomplishments, we must never forget that we did not do it on our own.

We can never take full credit for anything that we accomplish. It wasn't our own might that has created anything, it was the blessing and goodness of the Lord that allowed it. He is the One who gave us the wisdom, the skill, the ability, the understanding, the strength and creativity. If we accomplish anything the credit and glory must go to God.

I am reminded of the tabernacle in the wilderness. I am sure it was a sight to behold. The vessels were ornamental gold and silver, the tapestries were of fine linen, there was carved woodwork, and so forth. The part that I am reminded of was the fact that the Lord had given the men who built it wisdom and understanding in how to do the work.

We have been blessed with the ability to do so much. Whatever you have the ability to do- whether it is the ability to paint, to write, to invent gadgets, to sing, to carve wood, computer programming, teaching, etc.- that ability comes from the Lord. And we must always remember to use it for His purposes and never forget to give Him the glory through it.

Have a great day. Any ability we have has been graciously given to us by the Lord and we should always use it in a way that will honor and glorify Him.

For further reading:
Exodus 36:1,2
1 Corinthians 10:31
Colossians 3:23

"Run To Him"

"When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God..." Deuteronomy 4:30a

What do you do when you are facing difficulties? Do you stand and fight with the weapons the Lord has made available to you? Do you sit down and feel sorry for yourself? Do you try to hide from the situation? Do you look for some form of escape? Do you pretend that it isn't happening? Do you run? Perhaps you try to run from it? Or perhaps you run to some sort of pill, or other substance, to ease the way you are feeling in the situation?

When facing trials, problems and difficulties, you actually should run. You should run straight into the arms of Jesus. You should run to that place of prayer where you will meet with Him. Often that is the last place that we run to. Usually we wait to run to Him after we have exhausted everywhere else. He should be the first place.

If, and when, you are going through these times, your answer lies in the Lord. He should be the first place you turn. Why? Because He loves you, He cares about you, He has the answer and solution, and He alone can give you everything you need to make it through what you are facing. So don't run here and there and everywhere else... run straight into His loving arms.

Have a great day. Where will you run when you are facing difficulties?

For further reading:
James 4:8
Psalm 120:1
2 Samuel 22:7
1 Peter 5:7

"Where He Leads"

"And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest." Luke 9:57

There is an old familiar hymn that says- "Where He leads me I will follow... I'll go with Him, with Him all the way". The plan of Jesus for all Christians is that they "follow Him". When we come to Jesus for salvation it means we not only acknowledge our sins and need for a Savior, and that He alone is that Savior, but that we will follow Him the rest of our lives. We all talk about the "call of God" on our lives and wonder what He has called us to do. It is simple, the call of God is, "follow Me". This was the grounds on which He called, and still calls, His disciples.

When He calls us to follow Him, we don't always know what that looks like. We have our own ideas and opinions of what we think "following" means. We often think that it means blessings, blessings and more blessings. We think it means no more pain, no more sorrow, no more suffering or trials. We tend to think that following Jesus is an "escape" from the cares and problems of this life. On the contrary!

Jesus never promised those who followed Him that they would have a life of ease and be problem-free. He said that following Him involved taking up a "cross" (and we all know what the cross represents- a place of death; death to self and self-will). He said we would have tribulation, be hated by all men for His sake and be counted like sheep headed to the slaughter.

Jesus' call to follow Him is two-fold. It is an invitation to put your trust and faith in Him as Savior, and after you do it then becomes a command. The twelve disciples accepted His invitation and it placed them in a boat in the middle of a storm, in the desert, on a mountaintop, among demons, in the midst of angry religious leaders and beside the seashore. When we accept His invitation to follow Him, it may place us in many of the same places as well. But if we follow Him on earth, even if it is through places of pain and suffering, we will have a reward in heaven that far out weighs the difficulties of following Him here. And we will get to "follow" Him in heaven throughout all eternity.

Have a great day. Following Jesus will often lead you into some difficult places, but it will also lead you to heaven where you will enjoy eternal life.

For further reading:
Mark 8:34
Matthew 5:10,11
Romans 8:36
Luke 9:57-65
2 Timothy 3:12
John 16:33

"Thirst Quencher"

"Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price." Isaiah 55:1

When you are hot and thirsty, you want something to drink. There is an assortment of drinks to choose from- coffee, soda, tea, lemonade, juice, sports drinks, etc. But none of these quench your thirst, they still leave you thirsty and needing something else. When you are really hot and thirsty, the only true thirst quencher is water.

Our souls are thirsty too and we look for something to quench that thirst. We will take a "drink" of a variety of things- drugs, alcohol, relationships, entertainment, etc.- to try to find something that will satisfy that thirst that is within us. Like in the natural, all the things that look promising, that look like they will quench the thirst don't. Like in the natural again, there is only one thing that can truly quench the deep thirst that is within our souls.... water!

There is "water" that only the Lord can give and it will quench the thirsty soul once and for all. Jesus offered it to a woman one day that He met at a well. She had a deep thirst. She was trying to satisfy it through relationships but to no avail. He told her that if she would drink of the water that He has to give she would never thirst again. Nothing else and no one else can make that claim. Everything else leaves us unsatisfied and continuing our search for something else that will.

Are you thirsty this morning? Are you trying to find something that will quench that longing in your soul? Are you drinking from sources that are not satisfying? Then come and drink of the water that the Lord has to give. It will quench your thirst and you will never thirst again.

Have a great day. Only the water of life that Jesus has to give can quench your thirst once and for all.

For further reading:
John 4:1-29