What does it mean to follow Jesus? Many people who say they are Christians don’t understand that following Him, means choosing to conform their lives to His. Jesus doesn’t promise that life will be easy if you follow Him. But many people expect an easy ride once they profess Christ asSavior. When things get tough they revert to old ways and rejoin the world.

“But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire” (2 Peter 2:22).

Were they ever truly saved? That’s for God to sort out, but it’s up to every Christian to follow Jesus away from the vomit and the mire of this world. There’s only one way,one path that will allow us to obtain true life,and that’s by dying to ourselves and taking up our cross to follow Jesus. Jesus never hid the truth from anyone and told His followers what the price of following Him would be

“And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, ‘Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me’” (Mark 8:34).

Taking up your cross doesn’t mean putting up with some irritation in life. It means at whatever the cost, a Christian will not deny Christ in word or deed.

Jesus wants all of us to follow Him, but we have many excuses. Are you too busy? Are you having too much fun in your sin to be bothered right now? Maybe you’re putting it off for a more convenient time in your life. When Jesus called His disciples they dropped what they were doing and followed Him.

“And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: and he saith unto them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ And they straightway left their nets, and followed him” (Matthew 4:18-20).

Jesus called and they responded. Peter and Andrew weren’t perfect men, but they chose to follow Jesus and He changed them.

“And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him” (Matthew 4:21-22).

These men left their father and the fishing business to follow Jesus.

“And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, ‘Follow me.’ And he arose, and followed him” (Matthew 9:9).

First the fishermen were called, now a publican. Matthew wasn’t in a very honorable profession, but it paid well. When Jesus said “Follow Me,” Matthew left it all behind.

“The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, ‘Follow me’” (John 1:43).

One by one they were called to follow Him and they obeyed. They were ordinary men called to do extraordinary things, but to accomplish those things they had to follow Jesus.

When you accept Christ for your salvation, a process of sanctification begins. That’s when you learn to deny your humanistic desires and completely submit to Jesus’ will. When you deny yourself and surrender to Jesus, you resolve to obey Him.

Too many people today are of the mindset of “It’s all about me” and miss out on His blessings.

Do you want to follow Jesus but still listen to music by Lady Gaga, Beyonce, or any other “artist” who embraces Satan? Do you want to follow Jesus but still have sexual activity outside of a one man/one woman marriage?

“If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour” (John 12:26).

Instead of living with one foot in the world you should be living as Jesus commanded. Everything you do or say should point to Him and glorify God. How do you know what glorifies God? It’s all in the Bible. Yet how many Christians read their Bibles? They can tell you all the baseball and football statistics, but cannot name more than two of the Ten Commandments.

Here’s one: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3).

That means Jesus comes first in everything. Before baseball, football, cars, parties, lifestyles, etc. Anything that is placed ahead of God Almighty is an idol.

“Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24).

We can’t gain resurrection life without dying first, and that starts with dying to “self.” Many will not give up the riches and pleasures of this life—as fleeting as they are—to even think about following Jesus. The way of the world may look enticing, but eternity is a long time to be in the lake of fire knowing that Christ should have been more important to you than worldly pleasures.

“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36).

All who follow Jesus, and I mean truly follow Him, will experience persecution and be tempted by the ways of the world. If you claim to be born-again but are sitting on the sidelines just enjoying life without a desire to follow Jesus, then maybe you aren’t really born again. You may gain worldly wealth and human admiration, but if you haven’t followed Jesus then you have eternally lost everything.

Jesus will not force you to follow Him, but He will lead you in the path of righteousness if you allow Him to. Jesus is called the Good Shepherd and He will never lead you astray.

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” (John 10:27-28).

Sheep tend to wander, but when they hear the voice of their own shepherd they follow him. Christians need to learn to follow our Shepherd’s voice. Dig into God’s Word. Study your Bible, and examine your life. That’s how you will learn to recognize the voice of the Good Shepherd and follow Him. If there are things in your way of life that do not conform to biblical teachings, then you need to change them.

“And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers”(John 10:4-5).

Know your Shepherd’s voice and you won’t be tempted to listen to the stranger’s (Satan’s) voice and follow him. If you follow Satan, then you are in eternal trouble.

As Jesus led His little flock of followers, He made it clear that by following Him they would be putting themselves in harm’s way. It was a certainty that they had to resolve in their own minds before stepping out to follow Him, and that is also true today. There is a sacrifice to be made in order to follow Jesus. The sad truth is many people who hear the gospel will reject it because they value the wrong things.

They prefer the “pleasures” of this world and just don’t understand that if they reject Jesus they sign their own eternal death certificate. What if you claim to have accepted Christ for your salvation but don’t follow Him? Only God knows if you truly have accepted Him. But if your life bears no evidence of Christ living in you, then there is a problem.

“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).

Many people who hear the gospel turn away and reject it because they cannot stop following Satan’s lies and they won’t give up their sin. Paul wrote this to those in Corinth who professed to be Christians. Corinth was a very pagan city that worshipped false gods, embraced homosexuality, accepted adultery, and many other sins that God abhors. Is that any different than our culture today? Paul went on to say:

“And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11).

Paul reminded them that Christ had changed them and they couldn’t return to their sin. When a woman who was caught in the act of adultery was brought before Jesus for condemnation, Jesus forgave her. That forgiveness was not a license for her to continue in sin.

“Jesus said unto her, ‘Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more’” (John 8:11).

She was forgiven but had to turn away from her sin.

Those first men who were called by Jesus to follow Him had a lot to learn. John and his brother James must have been a couple of wild guys! Their pride caused them to want to sit on each side of Jesus’ throne; when a Samaritan village rejected Jesus they wanted to call down fire from heaven, and Jesus nicknamed them the son’s of thunder.

Yet, as they continued following Jesus they were changed. The Gospel of John is filled with gentle words and God’s love that shows a change from the “son of thunder” he started out as. James was a leader of those early Christians and followed Christ to death. He was killed by Herod.

“And he killed James the brother of John with the sword” (Acts 12:2).

Peter was rash and spoke whatever came into his mind, yet he hid on the night of Jesus’ trial. Jesus knew that Peter would become a steadfast leader and urged him to “Feed My sheep.” Peter made mistakes, but his life shows that he truly followed Jesus. When he stumbled he learned from his mistakes and changed to conform to Jesus rather than trying to justify hisown faults and sin.

The letters Peter wrote are filled with wisdom that only comes from the Holy Spirit. Eventually Peter was killed—crucified. Like all true followers of Christ, at death he stepped into eternal life with Jesus. Christians stumble sometimes and fall back into sin, but when our sin is pointed out we change.

Another Christian might point out your sin (Paul confronted Peter) or the Holy Spirit might bring your sin to your attention when you study your Bible. But to follow Jesus means to conform to Him. Once you have truly accepted Christ then you cannot lose your salvation if you stumble into sin. If we follow Jesus, though, sin becomes as ugly to us as the dog who returns to his vomit.

You may face persecution because you follow Jesus. This shouldn’t surprise us because Satan is the ruler of this world.

“If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you” (John 15:1).

If the world hates you it’s because they hate Jesus Christ and reject Him. If the world loves you then you must be of the world and not of Christ. Christians are being persecuted daily. Some are murdered because of their faith and some are rejected by family and friends. If you face torture and death because you follow Jesus, I pray that you will never deny Him. He will see you through.

Jesus suffered torture and an agonizing death on the cross to purchase your salvation. If the persecution you face is rejection by the world, then rejoice. It’s not easy to lose friends because you choose to follow Jesus and reject the lifestyle of sinners, and it hurts to be rejected by family.

If you face this type of persecution, remember that Christian friends will not reject you for following Christ nor will the family of God reject you. By choosing to follow Christ rather than Satan you just might be the one that brings a loved one to salvation.

Following Christ is a choice, and it has to be your own choice. Nobody can make it for you. The faith of a parent will not purchase your salvation. Reject worldly ways, take up your cross, and follow Him.

“Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God” (3 John 1:11).

It’s your choice where you will spend eternity, and if you choose to follow Jesus you will have no regrets. If you choose to follow Satan and the ways of the world, your eternity will be miserable.

Eternity never ends and there is no second chance. Choose to follow Jesus today.

God bless you all,

Ron and Nathele Graham

 

 

People like to sing. We sing songs of joy, songs of love, folk songs, gospel songs, protest songs, and much more. There are also some very dark and evil songs that Christians shouldn’t listen to at all. Music can calm anxiety and has the power to soothe a troubled soul.

“And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him” ( 1 Samuel 16:23).

Some people believe that when plants are exposed to classical music they thrive, but when exposed to Rock and Roll they don’t do so good! If you want to remember something, put it to music and you just might remember what you don’t want to forget.

Can you sing the alphabet? Many Bible teachers believe that Lucifer was the song leader in heaven before his pride got in the way and caused him to rebel against God. Moses sang, Miriam sang, David sang, Paul encouraged singing, and so did James.

“Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms” (James 5:13).

In our modern day worship services we sing majestic hymns and inspiring songs of worship. Somewhere along the way some very simple and basic songs filled with God’s truth seem to be forgotten when we reach adulthood. Sunday school songs that we teach our children.

The first song many Christian parents teach their children is “Jesus Loves Me.”Oh, our hearts swell with joy as our little ones warble, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong. They are weak but He is strong.”

We want our children to know beyond any doubt that they are loved by Jesus, yet adults need to remember this too.

“This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:12-13).

“Jesus loves me! He who died, heaven’s gate to open wide; He will wash away my sin, let His little child come in.”

Jesus died so you can live; only His blood can wash away your sin. “Jesus loves me! He will stay, close beside me all the way; Thou has bled and died for me, I will henceforth live for Thee.”

We want our children to live for Jesus, but teaching them a song is only part of what they need. They need you to be an example of Christian living so they can follow in your footsteps. Whether you’re a newborn baby or a senior citizen, Jesus loves you. Jesus is God and He stepped into His creation to purchase our redemption by the shedding of His own blood.

“Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me, the Bible tells me so.”

The Bible tells me so? Yes it does. “The B-I-B-L-E. Yes that’s the book for me! I stand upon the word of God, the B-I-B-L-E.”

That’s another Sunday school song we teach our children. Libraries and bookstores are full of science books filled with evolutionary lies, history books, biographies of famous people, classic literature, books that teach meditation, and even some about satanic worship. There’s only one book that holds the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. That is the Bible. B (Basic) I (Instructions ) B (Before) L (Leaving) E (Earth).

It tells where all things began, where sickness and death came from and how sin separates us from God. There are true stories of wars, intrigue, and love as well as psalms of praise and prayers for God’s help. Prophecy gives us clues about these last days we live in and the whole Bible reveals God’s love. When Adam sinned mankind was separated from God, and only God could heal that separation.

Because of His great love for us, God entered His creation and shed His pure blood for our redemption. Jesus paid the entire price for our salvation and all we have to do is accept it. The Bible also tells what will happen if you reject the free gift of salvation.

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

God’s love and truth is found within the pages of the Bible. Yes, the B-I-B-L-E is the book for me, and for you.

“O be careful little eyes what you see. O be careful little eyes what you see. The Father up above is looking down in tender love, so be careful little eyes what you see.”

We want our children to grow up to please God. They need to learn to be careful about the things they see so that sin won’t take over their life. Adults need to be careful, too. Do you look at pornography? Do you watch television shows that are filled with violence, hate, and lifestyles that dishonor God? The Sunday school song goes on to warn our children to be careful what their ears hear, what their hands do, where their feet go, and what their mouth says.

Are you careful that your ears don’t listen to satanic lies? Secular music is filled with things a Christian should not hear and false teachers abound. What do you do with your hands? Do you fold them in prayer or reach out in love to comfort a friend? Or do you use your hands for making a fist or for obscene hand gestures? (Be careful. God’s watching and so are your children.)

Your feet can take you on a missionary trip right in your own neighborhood, or they can take you to a movie theater to watch an R rated movie. Which of those activities do you think pleases God? You need to be careful about the words your mouth speaks. You can use your mouth to praise God, speak encouraging words to others, and sing songs of praise. It can also be used to spew foul language, shout angry words, or gossip.

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct they paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

If you honor God in all you do, as he looks down upon you in tender love He will be well pleased.

“This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.”

The words are simple but true.

“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid” (Matthew 5:14).

Jesus said that so pay attention. God lives in you and His light needs to shine through you. The world is filled with Satan’s darkness, but God’s light within us will shine bright if we let it. The next verse of the song says, “All around the neighborhood, I’m gonna let it shine.”

It’s nice to go to some foreign land to do mission work, but you have a mission field in your own neighborhood. Christians represent Christ and we need to let His light shine in all we do. Non-Christians watch to see how we behave and they like to bring our failures out in the open. If you aren’t careful, His light in you will dim. “Hide it under a bushel? No! I’m gonna let it shine.”

Do you try to hide the fact that you’re a Christian from your family, friends, and co-workers? Don’t be ashamed of Christ. He gave His life so you can live eternally with Him.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16).

Don’t just read that Scripture, but live it. Don’t be ashamed of Him. Don’t hide your light under a bushel or under a load of sin. Let it shine! If you continue to hide your light you give Satan a foothold. He will try to take away your joy in the Lord.

“Don’t let Satan blow it out! I’m gonna let it shine.”

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).

Let the light of God shine bright in you! It will if you are careful what you see, hear, and do.

Do you have the joy of the Lord within you? Joy is a fruit of the Spirit, so if you don’t have joy, maybe your way of doing things is out of order. This children’s song is sung to the tune of “Jingle Bells” and holds a clue to having joy.

“J-O-Y, J-O-Y, this must surely mean, J-esus first, Y-ourself last, and O-thers in between.”

“If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full” (John 15:11).

Jesus spoke those words, and as always He spoke only truth. If He is first in your life, then you will keep His commandments and true joy will live in you. J-esus, O-thers, Y-ourself. Joy.

As children we learn these simple songs that tell of God’s truth. Why do adults stop singing them? On Sunday mornings we sing majestic hymns, such as “Holy, Holy, Holy” and “How Great Thou Art.”

We sing songs that urge us to serve Christ better, such as, “Have Thine Own Way Lord,” songs that encourage us in revival such as, “Are You Washed In the Blood?” And ones that talk of God’s grace, such as, “Just As I Am” and “Amazing Grace.”

These songs inspire, encourage, and comfort us. While we sing these inspiring hymns, let’s not forget to go back to the Sunday school songs we learned as children and pay attention to the simple truth they teach.

Yes, Jesus loves me, the B-I-B-L-E tells me so!

God bless you all,

Nathele Graham