Follow Him, That's What it is All About

"As you have therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord,so walk in Him,rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith,as you have been taught,abounding in it with thanksgiving.(from Colossians 2:6,7).
To walk in Christ is to live a life patterned after His.
What we read in Scripture should permeate every aspect of our lives and control every thought,word and deed.This is where a true and lasting peace can be found, a "peace that passes all understanding...a peace that the world cannot give."

It isn't about belonging to this faith or attending that Church, it's about emulating Jesus in everything you do. 

Four Quotes to Think About

1."God often giveth in one short moment what He hath a long time denied."
2. “Jesus has now many lovers of the heavenly kingdom but few bearers of His cross.”

3.“Sometimes my sin is not what I do; it also describes what I don’t do when I know I should.”
4.“On the day of judgment, it will be demanded of us not what we have read, but what we have done.”
Quotes by Thomas Kempis


Brothers and sisters--tomorrow is promised to no one. Do not forget that.

Slow Me Down Lord

Something a little different today. A reminder to appreciate the little things that we too often take for granted.


Slow Me Down Lord


Slow me down, Lord!
 Ease the pounding of my heart
By the quieting of my mind.
Steady my harried pace
With a vision of the eternal reach of time.
Give me, admidst the confusions of my day,
The calmness of the everlasting hills.

Break the tensions of my nerves
With the soothing music of the sighing streams
That live in my memory.
Help me to know
The magical restoring power of sleep.
Teach me the art
Of taking minute vacations of slowing down to look at a flower;
To chat with an old friend or to make a new one;
To pat a stray dog,
To watch a spider build a web;
To smile at a child;
Or to read a few lines from a good book.
Remind me each day
That the race is not always to the swift;
That there is more to life than increasing its speed.
Let me look upward
Into the branches of the towering oak
And know that it grew slowly and well.
Slow me down, Lord,
And inspire me to send my roots deep
Into the soil of life’s enduring values
That I may grow toward the stars
Of my great destiny.
Author--W. A. Peterson

In These Latter Days, pt.2. So what Do You Make of This?

"Because narrow is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads unto life, and few there be that find it." A quote from Matthew 7:14.
I am sure that most of us recognize that the quote above is the words of Our Lord. I am also sure that most of us understand the meaning of these words. I'll be honest, until I read this recently I had forgotten them. I recall thinking after reading this passage, wow,Jesus is actually saying that the way to eternal life is not all that broad and open. It is actually anything but.
This certainly contradicts what I call the "Big Tent" theory of Christianity. You know, the you can cherry pick what you choose to believe in the New Testament and you'll still be OK with God. Sadly there are many Christian faiths and denominations that do this, and worse yet, there are many that have watered down their beliefs as the culure has changed.
Jesus repeatedly said that following Him would be difficult.
Consider His words from Matthew Chapter 16: "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up His cross, and follow Me." He is saying that to truly follow Him it takes total committment and devotion.
Part of this effort involves following all His words and dictates. It appears to me that far too many Christians have come to believe the lie that being "saved by Grace" allows you to pretty much live as you think a Christian should live. But, does your perception match up with what Jesus said? I know at one time I fell victim to that lie.
So how do I know if I am living under my perception of what Jesus wants or His? His words from John 15 will give you an indication: "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." A verse or two down Jesus declares:
"If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you."
You may not have been persecuted for your Christian faith in this country(yet) and be thankful for that, but, people in certain cities of America have as well as far too many Christians around this world.
A few questions to ask in closing:
Do your friends and acquaintances know you are a committed Christian?
Are you in this world but not of this world?
Remember--"narrow is the gate."

Many thanks for taking the time to read my posts. Scroll down from here and you will see 50+ articles and other posts. If you know anyone who might enjoy this page please let them know about us.
My one Blog just below here is from eight years ago: www.worksfromfaith.blogspot.com
The next one is this Facebook page, it was designed for those who don't use Facebook www.ofwhatoursaviorspoke.blogspot.com

A Prayer For the Beginning of Your Day

"We implore Thy grace and protection for the ensuing day. Keep us temperate in all things, and diligent in our several callings. Grant us patience under our afflictions. Give us grace to be just and upright in all our dealings; quiet and peaceable; full of compassion; and ready to do good to all men, according to our abilities and opportunities. Direct us in all our ways. Defend us from all dangers and adversities; and be graciously pleased to take us, and all who are dear to us, under Thy fatherly care and protection. These things, and whatever else Thou shalt see to be necessary and convenient to us, we humbly beg, through the merits and mediation of Thy Son Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. Amen."
Never be too busy to say a prayer upon arising.

In These Latter Days, pt.1--Temptation

In this age of what I call Big Tent Christianity, you know, the all inclusive, there really aren't any rules as long as it is done in love Christianity, temptation and the devil aren't spoken of in churches like they used to be.Heaven forbid! I guess this is because they want to keep the message "positive and edifying."
If you are a thinking,feeling person you realize that you encounter temptation many times during your day. What follows are a few thoughts on temptation taken from the book, My Imitation of Christ by Thomas Kempis. Let me start by saying two things about this book: #1.I realize that it is very common to say that this book or that book is THE book other than the Bible to read,but, My Imitation of Christ is that book. No book, except the Bible, comes close to the Godly truth, insights and wisdom found in My Imitation of Christ. Using countless Bible verses as well as comments and observations by Kempis, this book is a treasure. This little book is also an incredible encouragement.
#2. Written long ago, Thomas Kempis obviously is a Roman Catholic. To my fundamentalist and evangelical friends I'll say this, what traditionally offends many of you of that persuasion about the R.C.faith is held to a minimum in this book.
I'll leave you with this, I've read countless faith based books over the decades, this is the only book that I believe is worthy of being a companion to the Holy Bible.
Now to temptation, consider these thoughts:
"As long as we live in this world we cannot be without tribulation and temptation."
"Yet temptations are often very profitable to a man although they may be troublesome and grievous: for in them a man is humbled, purified and instructed."
"Inconsistency of mind and small confidence in God is the beginning of all evil temptations."
"Fire tries iron, and temptation tries a just man. We often know not what we can do; but temptation discovers what we are."

In closing: "Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil."


Many thanks for taking the time to read my posts, if you scroll down a little you will see some brief instructions under the picture (EOD) about posts on this page and on two Blogs that I have. If you know anyone who might enjoy this page please let them know about us.
My one Blog is from about eight years ago: www.worksfromfaith.blogspot.com
This one is my Facebook page here, designed for those who don't use Facebook www.ofwhatoursaviorspoke.blogspot.com

Real Transformation, What it Takes

The following is written by a philosopher from India who has studied the Gospels,Jesus and Christianity. What he has to say is most insightful. I believe it is an accurate portrayal of what has become of much of Christianity and Christians in recent years. The last sentence in this quote says it all.
"Whatsoever you have been hearing about Jesus is not about Jesus, the real man: it is about the Jesus that Christians have invented, decorated to be sold in the market. The Christian Jesus is a commodity to be sold: Christ himself is a revolution. You will have to be transformed through Him. You can be a Christian conveniently...but you can never be a REAL Christian conveniently. If you are REALLY following Jesus, there is bound to be trouble.
If you adjust yourself to Christ, there will be a transformation: if you adjust Christ to yourself, there can be none."

Many thanks for taking the time to read my posts, if you scroll down a little you will see some brief instructions under the picture (EOD) about posts on this page and on two Blogs that I have. If you know anyone who might enjoy this page please let them know about us.
My one Blog is from about eight years ago: www.worksfromfaith.blogspot.com
This one is my Facebook page here, designed for those who don't use Facebook www.ofwhatoursaviorspoke.blogspot.com