Author: mary

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5:24-25

Following the Lord Devotional

Following Jesus requires a 180-degree turn. We turn away from the life we once knew and walk in the direction the Holy Spirit leads. While the Holy Spirit is constantly leading and guiding us, we must actively work to make sure we are walking in the way of the Lord. He never leaves us, but if we are not following Him, we will wander away from Him.

What are some ways you can make sure you are following Him? Stay in the Word. The Word is full of accounts of real-life people who walked through this life, made mistakes, returned to the Lord, served Him, and pleased Him. Reading the words of people just like you and me will bring encouragement and a desire to follow Him. Allow the Holy Spirit to speak through those words, straight to your heart. Be active in your prayer life. The Holy Spirit is constantly interceding on behalf of the believer as an advocate. So pray and ask God to draw you and keep you in His will. Finally, surround yourself with other believers who will help center you in your relationship with God. Being around other believers will provide the accountability and encouragement that you need to walk with Him daily.

A Prayer to Remember

Dear God,
Help me follow the leading of your Holy Spirit in every area of my life. May I stay in your will and follow after your heart. Walk with me throughout this life, Oh Lord. Amen!

If you say, “The LORD is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.

Psalm 91:9-10

Where do you go when you’re upset? Do you have a place you like? When I was a little kid, I loved going into my closet where it was dark to hide when I was upset. It helped me calm down and it was nice to just have a place where I felt no one could find me.

In this Bible verse, we are encouraged to think of God as a refuge. We are to think of Him as a safe place, where we can get away from our problems and find peace. Its interesting though how often we forget about God’s ability to be our shelter in tough times. We often turn to friends, our room, a TV show, or even over eat when we’re upset. The best place we can turn in tough times is to God.

God is willing to be your refuge from the troubles of life. Will you make Him your safe place? The next time you experience trouble, take a moment to think about God. Give Him a chance to be your safe place, your refuge from your trouble.

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

Hebrews 11:1

There are so many promises in God’s word. Maybe there’s one that you’ve been standing on, but you just haven’t seen the results yet. And in your stand, you’ve found that it’s been easy to want to get tired and give up.

Waiting is one of the hardest things about faith. We want God’s promises to happen automatically in our lives. But sometimes, that isn’t the case. And so how do we keep faith when things seem to be so far from what we’d like to see in our lives?

One of the best ways to encourage yourself is to remember the things that God has done for you. Maybe there was the time when you discovered a Bible verse that really encouraged you. Or the prayer for more friends that God answered for you last year. Whatever it is, take some time to remember what God has done for you and thank Him. As you do that, it will cause your confidence in God’s ability to grow. It will cause faith to rise up in your heart and you’ll realize that you do have the courage to stand strong.

So if you’re in one of those times when your faith feels shaky, begin reminding yourself of the things God has done. Read Bible stories about how God came through for others and you’ll find yourself growing stronger in faith. Even if you don’t see the results yet, know that God will come through for you!

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

Proverbs 3:5

We often get wrapped up in the pursuit of happiness. It’s easy to think that if you could just do or be better that you’d have it made. So we work and work, trying to get more friends, or improve our grades to get into a better college. We do things like getting a job after school so we can get a car. And we think that if we can do enough, be enough or have enough, we will be happy.

The problem with doing more, being more, or having more is that these things are empty. There’s no amount of good grades that will truly make you happy in the long run. No amount of friends, or money will complete you. You can try and work to fill your life with stuff, and still feel empty.

Today’s Bible verse addresses these issues. The last part of the verse talks about not depending on your own understanding. What that means is don’t depend on what you think seems good. Don’t depend on what you see on TV or what you hear in the halls at school from your friends to tell you what will make you happy.

True happiness comes from a relationship with Jesus Christ. When you let Jesus into your life, He will show you how He sees you. Its when you get to know and trust Jesus that you’ll find true happiness. If you want to be happy and live your life to the fullest, you need to choose to do what this verse says. You need to trust the Lord with all your heart. This isn’t always easy, but if you’ll spend some time getting to know God you’ll see that trusting Him brings you true happiness.

So choose today to trust in the Lord. Don’t get caught up in all the things of life and let them steal your happiness. Trust in God and look to Him for answers.

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.

1 Timothy 4:12

Often, people assume maturity is an age thing. They think that if you’re older that automatically means that you’re more mature. And while that can be true, maturity isn’t always an age thing. You can be young and still be mature.

To see how mature you are you can start by examining yourself. When you have conversations, what are you talking about? Are you asking others about themselves? Or are you always “me” centered? When you focus on others you are displaying maturity.

Are you living in a way that displays maturity? Do your actions show that you are thinking of others and living Christ-like?

These are great questions to ask yourself. You don’t have to be old to be mature. True maturity is found in what you say and do. That’s what today’s Bible verse is stressing. It tells you to set an example in these areas. You don’t have to wait until you’re older, you can start now. Let your speech, action, and love reflect Jesus and maturity. Be an example to those around you of what the love of Jesus really looks like!

For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.

Isaiah 41:13

Have you ever been guilty of making decisions based on fear? Maybe you’re concerned what your friends will think of you, so you give into peer pressure just so you don’t lose face with them. Maybe you want to try out for the basketball team, but the fear of not making the cut keeps you from trying.

Fear is something we all face at times in our lives. And so you might wonder, is it possible to live a life that is free from fear? Today’s Bible verse seems to indicate that it is. God tells us not to fear. God wouldn’t tell us not to do something if it was impossible to do.

Many times, fear is based in the unknown. We might not know what will happen so we act differently, hold back or stop in our tracks. This is the enemy’s ploy. He knows that if he can get us afraid we won’t do the things God is calling us to do. We will be afraid to tell others about Jesus, we won’t pray for the person going through a struggle or go on the missions trip God is calling us to go on.

So if you’ve be bound by fear, choose today to face your fear head-on. Confront the fears and lies that have held you back. Determine that you will live courageously and boldly for God. Choose today to live fearless!

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

2 Timothy 1:7

What are you afraid of? Is it doing something God has called you to do? Is it letting your grandma down? Is it the future? Maybe you have no idea what you want to do when you leave home and it’s frightening. Fear is so real. And often, if we spend a lot of time dwelling on our fears, they will cripple us.

The more we focus on fear, the bigger fear gets in our life. So if you spend lots of time dwelling on your fear, you’ll never get to where God wants you to be. That’s why the Bible spends time speaking about fear. God knows that we all face fears. However, He gives us lots of verses on where our focus should be when we’re afraid.

The Bible tells us time and time again that we are to fear not. We’re not to dwell on fearful thoughts. Instead, we’re to focus on God. The more we focus on God and His love for us, it makes fear disappear in our lives.

Today, take some time to think about where your thoughts are focused on. If most of your thoughts are focused on your fear, you’ll be fearful. If instead, you choose to think about God and how much He loves you, you’ll find that fear has to go. So today be encouraged, God isn’t the source of fear. He wants to provide you freedom from fear.

One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.

Proverbs 11:24

There’s a lie in our society today that tells us that if we get more we will be happier. If we had more friends we would be happier. If we had a better car we’d be happier. If we got those new shoes we’d be happier. We see it all around us. So many people are wearing themselves out pursuing things in an effort to make themselves happier.

God gives us a different perspective here in this verse. Basically, He’s saying that if we are primarily focused on ourselves and keeping us happy and getting more things for ourselves that our world will be small.

When your focus is your self, your world will be small. And the reality is, the more you focus on yourself the unhappier you’ll be. God wants to use you. He wants to do big things through you and use you to bless the people around you.