Friend To Friend Friday

This month is a victorious month for our family, my husband Rob two years ago was diagnosed with a brain tumor.  Which we later found out to be cancer.

I am so thankful to our merciful Lord for sparing his life.  I sometimes get questions like, "why did your husband survive his cancer, and my friend did not?"

I don't have the answers "Why"  I just know Rob is chosen and believes with all his heart, mind & soul that the Lord is his Redeemer.  And the Lord uses Rob for His greater purpose to Glorify His name in what the Lord wants Rob to do.  

I just want to say, I love my husband so much.  He is my hero, lover, best friend & my forever life partner.

Remembering

This is my Rob in the ICU after his surgery.  That is Rob's brother making a funny face in the background.

Lost a little of his hair with the radiation treatment

X marks the spot where the radiation target was intended for his tumor.

I love you sweet heart, our journey hand & hand continues.

Blessings To You

Amanda



Word for the Day Wednesday

In God's Image

Sometimes we can forget that every person on this earth is simply a human being. Despite the cast systems of foreign countries and the social practices of some in our own country, no person is better than another. We all have struggles, difficulties, fears, hopes, and dreams. And we all need Christ.

No one is too great or too small to accept God's gift of salvation. In witnessing, we can run across people who are perhaps a little different than we are. Maybe they aren't dressed how we would dress, are involved in things we wouldn't take part in, or don't possess certain things we do. Simply because someone is different shouldn't keep us from telling them of salvation.

God made so many different types of people. The diversity is testament to His power and wonder. But one thing He did make the same is our need for Him. We are all born with a need for redemption, a hope of peace. God's provided that hope in His Son.
Fear should never keep you from witnessing to another person. The world is full of fears and rejection, but realize that every person wants what you want-a secure future and peace within. Whether they admit it or not, our world is searching for truth. You may see a front of anger, rejection, fear, or dismissal when presenting others with God's gift; but be faithful to spreading the Gospel to even the "unlovable" people of the world.

Blessings To You

Amanda





Friend to Friend Friday

Have you ever had a life altering experience? Did you go to the Lord for direction and meaning while fasting and praying? Too often we direct our energies in painful situations toward something that we think will give us pleasure or entertainment (television, food, alcohol, etc.). What or who do you seek when you are under pressure? Is it the Lord? Have you developed a dependency on the Lord or something else? How do you change?

Blessings To You

Amanda

Word for the Day Wednesday

Justified!

One side of justification is positive and includes what God has done for us and given to us.  A technical definition of the word justification is "to put to one's account."  When God justifies a person, He does so by placing to his or her credit the righteousness of Jesus Christ.  This balances the moral and spiritual budget for us, if you will.  God removed all of your sin.  He forgave all of it.  And then He put the righteousness of Christ into your account for the future, the part of justification that a lot of people don't know about.  Do you?  Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior?  Are you justified?  

Friend to Friend Friday

Blessed are the pure in heart for thay shall see God

Matthew 5:8

The heart is important in Scripture because it is the center of our personality and the center of our will and emotions. God wants us to have pure hearts. It is attainable; otherwise Jesus never would have promised it. What exactly is this purity, as in being "pure of heart"? It is a word that means "without hypocrisy," or "single." 

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, "If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil [or "double-visioned"], thy whole body shall be full of darkness" (Matthew 6:22–23 KJV). To be "single" or pure means to have a single-minded devotion to Jesus. As the Psalmist wrote, "Unite my heart to fear your name" (Psalm 86:11).

To be pure in heart is to seek to live a holy life, and that is the secret to happiness. If you want to be happy, seek to be holy. As Martyn Lloyd Jones said, "Seek for happiness and you will never find it. Seek righteousness and you will discover you are happy. It will be there without your knowing it, without your seeking it." 

Blessings To You

Amanda 

God's Comfort

"Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me. These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe. Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence."

John 14:23-31
God promises to walk beside you through even the darkest days of life.

Life is full of ups and downs. One day things can be going well then the next your world seems to be caving in on you. God tells us in His Word that life will have struggles and hardships, but He gives us a promise shown in John 14.

In some of His last words to the disciples before ascending to Heaven, Jesus addressed their fear of being alone to do His work. Think about it. Before they had been seen at Jesus' side, assisting Him in His teachings and ministry. Now Jesus told them He would be gone and they would be responsible for His work to continue.

After dealing with the death then resurrection of Christ, one can only imagine the fear and emotion these men felt at the news of Jesus' leaving. How could they do this on their own? Yet even before His crucifixion, Jesus promised them, "These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

In the midst of their fear, Jesus gave them peace. In the midst of your fear today, God offers peace. No matter what you're facing or what fear you feel, God has extended His arm and said, "My peace I given unto you. Don't be afraid."

What fear or uncertainty are you facing today? What has you afraid about the future? God promises to be right beside you the whole way. He promises to hold your hand and guide your steps. With God next to you, you have no reason to be afraid for He is in control of everything. Trust Him with your future.

Blessings To You

Amanda

Friend to Friend Friday

One of the greatest gifts we can give the people in our lives is the gift of a guarded tongue. The Psalmist writes, “Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD: keep watch over the door of my lips.” Someone once said, “Lord, please bridle my tongue, so that on Judgment Day, I will not be guilty of assault with a deadly weapon.”


The power of the spoken word is great in that words are like seeds. What we plant will grow. If we plant negative words, destructive and critical words, we will reap relationships that are negative, destructive and critical. On the other hand, if we consistently plant words of encouragement, our relationships will flourish.  Look for the good in your family and friends – and then speak it. Be a cheerleader for the people God sends your way. Everyone needs a cheerleader!

Blessings To You

Amanda

"He" is my ROCK

I have to tell you, I have been really dealing with spiritual warfare for the past several months.  Who am I kidding, the past several years.  Really, since I became a "follower of Christ"  and I have been OK with it,  I love our Savior with every ounce of myself and that is what we are called to do. (Mark 13:10)
. 
I pray & walk out of our home every morning with my full "Armour of God" on & fight off those flaming arrows that are shot my way.  No problem, right?  Well, me and my family have been fighting one particular battle for sometime now.  Pushing forward everyday, warding off the minions who wake me up with fearful thoughts of our situation.  Praying, Praying and trusting our Savior for guidance.

Well, and I have to tell you, I am exhausted, I just don't want to deal with this any more.  And I have to admit,  I have been praying, "Lord!  make this go away."  I so want to avoid this situation.

Avoidance really is my broken way of "dealing" with things I prefer to ignore. To my "mountaintops  taking an honest look at my situation can be challenging, put me in uncomfortable situations, and cause me to look at the situation through the eyes of Jesus.

 But ultimately, as a loving Father does for His children.  He made me realize today, I don't have to be afraid, I know the Creator, isn't that amazing! I have a relationship with "Him!" He made  realize fear is the root cause of my avoidance -- fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of pain, or fear of the uncertain. Sometimes, it is fear of the action the Lord will call me to take and what discomfort or inconvenience that action might cause for me.

I know how real my fear is,  and I know it is not consistent with Scripture. 1 John 4:18 says, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear . . . ."

I know yesterday, today & tomorrow I don't have to fear as a child of God for He is "Love" and fear is the adversary pulling me down.  Praise Him for my burdens, and Lord thank you for your written Word and for being my ROCK.  And know I will LOVE through Jesus in the trial or trial's I may (will) face.

"All men will hate you because of Me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved."
Matthew 10:22 

Blessings To You
Amanda



Friend to Friend Friday

Fruitful

“He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful” (John 1:2, NIV).

On a family visit to the mountians, our condo had a balcony that overlooked the forrest.  Rob & I sat on the balcony one morning and watched as a tree cutting service approached a pine tree and began to trim the huge branches.  We noticed that the tree looked fresh and vibrant. Healthy. The pruning made such a difference!

Jesus spoke to His disciples and said, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, thatyou bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” John 15:1-8, NIV

The tree cutting men didn’t pull the branch's off to hurt the tree. He pruned it to increase its beauty, health and vibrancy. God does the same for us. He prunes His children to increase our beauty, health and vibrancy for our good and for His glory - to make us more useful to Him and more fruitful.

Blessings To You

Amanda

Nuturing Our Children Through God

"Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."
Ephesians 6:1-4

God desires for us to raise our children for Him. It can be difficult to instill godly morals in our children in the world in which we live. But God has given us certain steps we can take in helping to nurture our children.

We must first express our love to our children both verbally and personally. If our children do not know that we love them, how will they know that God loves them? Many times a child's perception of God is based on their relationship with their earthly father. We must be active in showing them our love. We have also seen that we must nurture our children by spending time with them in God's Word each day. We must teach them of God at an early age so their hearts will be grounded in Him.  We will see that godly discipline is a vital part in raising our children for God.

Our verses today point out two ways we are to raise our children. Ephesians 6:4 says, "And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."

We are to bring up our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

The word nurture in that verse has to do with teaching and training our children. It is the process of education in which our children learn. It deals with both head knowledge and heart knowledge. It deals with teaching them arithmetic, science, history, and also of teaching them the Bible and God's principles for life.

The other part of Ephesians 6:4 says we are to bring them up in the admonition of the Lord. The word admonition has to do with encouragement and warning. It is a combination of exhortation and rebuke. We are to encourage them to do right and exercise godly discipline when they do wrong.
There is an idea in our society today that many forms of discipline are harmful and abusive to children. Yet

God commanded us in Proverbs 22:15, "Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him." God desires that we would raise godly children through proper discipline.
Evangelist D.L. Moody was once asked, "How may converts did you have last night?" "Two and one-half." "You mean two adults and one child?" "No. I mean two children and one adult. The children still have their entire lives to live."

Children are special to God and raising them is a great privilege and responsibility! We must seek God's help in nurturing our children and we must follow His instructions. He desires that we would instill godly morals in them by correcting them through godly discipline when they are wrong.

Are you following God's guide to raising your children for the Lord? Are you properly admonishing them when it is necessary? Make sure you are applying both discipline and encouragement when necessary. Your children should know that you fear God and that sin will not go unpunished, but they should also know that you are doing it out of love.

Take time now and ask God to help you correctly apply both exhortation and rebuke in your children's lives. Seek God's help each day as you strive to raise your children for Him.

Blessings to You

Amanda

Happy Annivesary Sweetheart Sixteen Years And Counting!

He will bless those who fear the Lord, Both small and great. May the Lord give you increase more and more, You and your children.

Psalm 115: 13,14

Loving Lord!We thank and praise You for this wonderful gift of life. Lord, our hearts are filled with gratitude when we count all the blessings which you have bestowed on us.Lord, you have been leading our lives in a wonderful manner, meeting all our needs. We thank You and praise and we commit this special day in to thy loving hands. O Lord! You have been faithful in leading and guarding our lives. Shower your blessings from this day onwards, Lord, so that we learn to love each other more. Let there be no misunderstanding between us, but let only joy and peace prevail in our family. We also commit our relatives and dear ones into your mighty hands. Meet all their needs also. Enable us to help all of them in whatever way possible. We commit our lives into your hands. In Jesus Name I pray.Amen.

Blessings To You

Amanda

Vacation Time

I have been MIA (missing in action) with this blog thing.  I blog at work to make my day go by.  That is another story for another day.  I had two glorious weeks off to spend time with my family and sweet friends.  And of course we took a little vacation to Mammoth, Ca. and went to a Harvest Crusade!  Take a looky at the pics!



We went to the first ever Harvest Crusade with Greg Laurie at Dodger Stadium.  Approx 50,000 people praising the Lord. 

Amazing!

Went to Mammoth for a few days.

It was cold!

Did a little mtn biking!

A

On our way home we went through Yosemite.

So as my vacation came to an end, I began to get anxious!  I didn't want to go back to work!  I wanted to be a house mom!  A mom who is there for her children.  A mom who was there for her friends!  And God blessed me everyday on my vacation with friends loving me the only way Christ could and would!

I prayed harder everyday that He would show me the way to not work!  And, He made me realize that I need to make the first steps towards that goal and be patient and know, He sees my heart and is faithful.

Psalm 55:22~Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you...

  He also reminded me of my devotion to Him and being His servant.  A servant to be the light for Him.  Especially  at my  place of employment.  See I am a Los Angeles Police Officer.  In my line of work, where He placed me, there are a lot of things that are not of God.  He reminded me that in

 2 Cor 4:2,6~We have renounced secret and shameful ways...For God who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness," made His light shine in our hearts to give us the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

I AM THAT LIGHT AT WORK! I AM HIS VOICE!

Father forgive me, for having selfish thoughts and thinking of myself only, I trust you and know you have plans for me.

Jeremiah 29:11~"For I know the plans I have for you." declares the Lord.

I am a slave to our Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.


Blessings to You,

Amanda

Name Above All Names

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God."
John 1:1-2

I love the above verse, it is deeply effected my walk with the Lord.  I once heard an interview with the talk show host Larry King. He was asked, "If you could select any one person across all of history to interview, who would it be?" Mr. King's answer was that he would like to interview Jesus Christ. When the questioner followed with, "And what would you like to ask Him?" King replied, "I would like to ask Him if He was indeed virgin-born. The answer to that question would define history for me."

We do not need to travel back in time to see if God was who He claimed to be. We can see through Scriptures who He was and still is! John the Baptist referred to Jesus in John 1:29 as "The Lamb of God." "The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."

There are 256 names given in the Bible for the Lord Jesus Christ. This was probably because He was infinitely beyond all that any one name could express! Our God truly is an awesome God! He can still the troubled seas of life, raise a person from the dead, heal the sick, cause the blind to see, and most of all, only He has the power to forgive our sins!

From all the names given to Christ in Scripture, we can see His majesty, His eternality, His love, His strength, His omniscience, His omnipotence, His mercy, His grace, and also His power. We can know that Jesus is the Living God and that He has power to help us, but what good is that if we do not use His power! He makes His power available to us if we only ask Him.

What would you do if the President of the United States let you have full control of all of our nation's armies to help you catch someone who was stalking you? What person would say, "No thanks, Mr. President, I think I can handle it on my own."? I think we would all take advantage of that power and use it to its fullest potential.

God has given us an even greater power! This is a power to which nothing on earth can compare. Do you realize God's power is at your disposal? God has made it available for you! Just His name alone is powerful! If the Holy Spirit-inspired writers of the Bible had to use 256 names to describe our Lord, then He truly has a name that is above all names.

Are you taking advantage of the power that God has made available for you today? Or, are you continuing down life's difficult road, relying on your own strength? Why do it alone when you can rely upon God's power to help us live successful Christian lives? Take time today to ask God for His power to help you in your life. Only when we turn to God for help can we expect to have victory over the devil! Our Lord's name is truly above all names!

Blessings To All

Amanda

Labor Day Weekend

As my family looked forward to an end of summer weekend, I was looking forward to hanging out with my wonderful family, friends, good eats and worshiping our Amazing Lord

Of course Saturday morning we had to hit the local skatepark before anything happened this weekend 



Saturday night we went to a minor league baseball game, Go JetHawks!



Our wonderful church on Sunday morning, NorthPark Community

After our 10:30 service.  Iron sharpened Iron

My sweet, making our home beautiful before our Sunday Life Group meets for a ymmy BBQ

The ladies of our  Life Group. Some wonderful Godly women. We are so blessed!

Here are some of the men of our Life Group playing life guard

We had the greatest gifts in the pool & spa 

My sweetie made Carolina BBQ chicken! Yum 

As you come & go from our home, you are welcomed with this, "As for me and this house, we will serve the Lord."


I hope you had a wonderful Labor Day weekend, full of Love, family & friendship!


Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's  purpose that prevails~Proverbs 19:21


Blessings To You

Community



Yesterday, my wonderful sister in Christ, Jami, did not hesitate in my time of need.  I needed someone to pick up my kids from school and without hesitation she said, "Yes."   I love you girl.

I just want to say we have such a great sense of community at our church & school, NorthPark Community & Trinity Classical Academy.

  The love, and support we have for each other is amazing. 



My sweet friend baby "C"



Our kids!   And yes those are pine cones. Weapons for the day!



While watching the kids she still managed to cook a great meal for her family.


And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.  Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching~Hebrews 10:24-25


Blessings to you

Amanda





Everything I am

This is me! and my son Jenson.  Yes, I am the police. 

                                           

My handsome husband, which by the way is a fireman

These are my gifts from above! Oh they make me melt!

This is just what makes my world go around!

For by Him all things were created: things in heaven an on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities, all things were created by Him and for Him~Colossians 1:16

Blessings

Amanda

A Call to Persevere

As I struggle to write these blogs, I have to tell you, I find it a little narcissistic. "No?"  Why does anyone care who I am, or what I think!  But, then I think, "wow!" I am being convinced by the enemy that  no one wants to hear me talk about the Lord (Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men~Matthew 16:23).

So with the above said and the Lord as my pilot, I am reminded by one of my favorite verses; Galatians 1:10, "Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God?  Or an I trying to please men?  If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ."  I love this verse!  It is powerful, alot of Truth!  I love Truth!  Christ is Truth!  There is only "One" truth!

Now, since the Lord chose me as His servant several years ago, with a gentle nudge in the form of a car accident (another story for another blog) I have been on a journey of self-control (grace).  I have to be reminded daily by the Spirit that not everybody is at the same place with Christ as I am.  Let me give you an example;  When the Lord gives me an opportunity to talk about Him,  either at small group setting or at work.  I cant believe people either refuse Him or cant believe through the trails & burdens in my life, or circumstances in my families life, I am closest to our Father.  People look at me like I'm crazy!  A freak!  Even other Christians don't understand.it!

I get frustrated, "How can you not realize we can have a intimate relationship with the all mighty creator!"  Think about it!  A relationship, released from sin because what happened on the cross!  I'm so amazed that He would do that for me and you!

Then it happens again, the Spirit, Comforter speaks to my heart and reminds me that I was once a non-believer, I lived fully in the secular world and I  once called "Christians" freaks! Hahahaha! Yes, I was like that!

I can look back on my old life with no regrets and know now I'm reborn because of His blood.  I can declare I am a new creation in Him.  My life and the journey I am on, with all the trails and burdens placed upon me only to glorify our Lord and Savior always.

Jude 1:22 Be merciful to those who doubt.



Grace & Truth
John 1:17

Relying on the Lord

If you know our family, you know that my husband Rob had eye surgery last Thursday to correct muscle damage from his brain tumor.

This surgery was scheduled at the last minute while Rob was on vacation.  So with much dismay on my part, because we had a scheduled vacation to Mammoth,  I rolled with it with kinda a sour attitude.  I didnt want "my" time interrupted by taking care of him.

With this horrible attitude I had, I truly was not happy with Rob's decision to have his surgery.  With this said and being a child of the Lord, He began to work on my heart through the Holy Spirit.  And I always know when I'm wrong cause I hear the Lord speak to me.  "Amanda, really! is it all about you!  The so called (big shot) Amanda who wants the world to revolve around her, you are my child and you are my light.  I LOVE YOU!"  I had to sit down, I was so ashamed of myself and my motives.

I immediately got on my knees and prayed!  And at this point my boys where in the living room with me and saw what I was doing.  My little Jenson, who is always asking questions said to me, "Mom, what are you doing?  Why are you on your knees crying?"  I got up and hugged both of our boys and told them that my heart was not in the right place and I was convicted by the Holy Spirit on my attitude.  I hugged them little tighter and cryed a little more and said, "Mommy is not perfect, and because of what Christ did on the Cross, my actions & attitudes are forgiven.  So when mommy is wrong, I go before our Savior and ask for forgiveness and ask for guidance on whatever situation I'm struggling with."

Aiden & Jenson hugged me and said, "We know Mom your not perfect, we are just glad Jesus loves you."  I giggled a little and wiped the tears from my eyes.  I just realized in the midst of my sin I showed our boys the need of a Savior and without Him we are not capable of living this life the way He wants us too.

If wake up in the morning without prayer and the need for Him, my day is pretty empty.  I need constant reminders from the 'Comforter" who works in so many forms, my husband, my kids, a friend, the radio, a devotional.  I need to completely open my heart and rely on Him everyday.  I didn't that day and I payed for it by my nasty attitude.

Rob's surgery went great and we prayed together, cryed together and laughed together while at the hospital . We  had a great mini vacation in Mammoth that brought us closer to the Lord and closer as a family.

Thank you Jesus! For gently disciplining me and directing me on the the right path to serve you better.

     

Fan or Follower?

This summer I have been reading some amazing books,  such as "Weird" by Craig Groeshcel and "Radical" by David Platt.  But I am currently reading a book called "not a fan" by Kyle Idleman, this book has totally convicted me as far as my commitment to Christ and  my walk with Him.

Let me explain what I'm talking about.  Pastor Idleman explains the difference between the Christian fan and the Christian follower.  Let's define a fan;  Websters ditinary defines fan as "an enthusiastic admirer"  you know the guy at the football game with no shirt and a painted face and chest.  This fan who sits in the stands and cheers for his favorite team.  He has a signed jersey and multiple bumper stickers on the back of his car.  But he is never in the game, never breaks a sweat or takes a hard hit in the open field.  He knows all about the players and can rattle off their latest stats, but he doesn't know the players.  He yells and cheers, but nothing is required of him.  There is no sacrifice he has to make.  And the truth is, as excited as he seems, if the team he's cheering for starts to let him down and has a few off seasons, his passion will wane pretty quickly.  If the team continues to have a bad season, expect him to jump off the band wagon and begin cheering for another team.  He is an enthusiastic admirer, a fan.

Pastor Idleman continues to say that Jesus has a lot of fans these day.  Fans who cheer for Him when things are going well, but who walk away when it's a difficult season.  Fans who sit safely in the stands cheering, but they know nothing of the sacrifice and pain of the field.  Fans of Jesus who know all about Him, but don't know Him.

A follower is described as this; "The person who accepts the leadership of another" a disciple.  We tend to define belief as the acceptance of something as real or true.  But biblical belief is more than just an intellectual acceptance or heartfelt acknowledgment; it is a commitment to follow.  Following by definition requires more than mental assent, it calls for movement.  If you read through the four Gospels that tell of Christ's life you'll find that Jesus says "Believe in me" about five times.  But care to guess how many times Jesus said "Follow me"?  About  twenty nine times. 

Pastor Idleman is not saying that following is more important than believing.  What he is saying is that they are firmly connected.

A follower is a person who listens to what the Lord says whether it is all so quiet or very loud, and acts on it.  A follower puts himself or herself out of the comfort zone to do the work of the Lord.  A follower gives up everything he/she has for the Lord.  A follower forsakes his/her relationship with family or friends for Christ.  A follower puts Christ 1st in everything.

So I put this in front of you, as it was put in front of me.  Are you a fan of Jesus or a follower?

Blessings to You