Follow Yeshua!

By Nathan Mancini

So many people seem to focus only on the death of Messiah, and are all about Him saving us from our sin. He did save us, and He did die for us, and I don’t minimize that at all; but He also LIVED for us. He set a perfect example for us, and He showed us much more than we might realize.

The deal isn’t that He dies for us to save us from our sins so that we can just go off sinning all we want, His sacrifice does not give us a license to sin, at all. We need to give our lives to Him as He gave His life for us. We need to love Him with all of our heart, with all of our soul, with all of our mind, and with all of our strength.

Luke 9:23

“And He said to them all, ‘If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.’”

Yeshua is saying that we need to be a living sacrifice to Him and The Father by living each day following His word and being devoted to Him forever. Love Him above everything in your life!

Romans 12:1-2

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of YHVH, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable unto Elohim, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of YHVH.”

John 15:13-14

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, is ye do whatsoever I command you.”

Yeshua is our friend if we do what He commands, and if we lay down our lives for Him, then we fulfill the love that we need to have towards Him.

He has laid down His life for us, He loves us with a love so huge that there is no greater! He deserves our obedience, and all the glory that we can give Him!

So take up your cross daily by keeping everything that He commands, and present yourself a living sacrifice, laying down your life for Him each day for your entire life. You will be rewarded so greatly, with things so awesome that we can’t even imagine, with eternal life! That’s not a thousand years, it’s not a million, not a billion, and not even close to a trillion… It’s forever and ever! Hard to even imagine that, isn’t it? His promise is awesome! Yeshua is the way, the truth, and the life. Follow Him.

“Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!”

Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:

“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!”

Revelation 5:11-13

Hallelujah!!!

LIFE in Him

“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make profit”;
Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” James 4:13

What is your life worth? Is your life so awesome, so important, that you would rather have your life more than God? Some people do. I mean, life isn’t bad! And loving your life isn’t bad either. But putting anything before God is definitely not okay.

Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity.
John 12:25

I mean for real, what in this world that you hold on to is more valuable than the King of Kings? My answer is NOTHING. What’s your answer?

So we are going to talk about life.
What is your day to day life like?
For me, I get up every day at about 9:00am. (Except for Shabbats and Sundays) I come down stairs, have breakfast, and sometimes I have to clean a little, and then I have school until 2-2:30pm. Then I will either, use my iPod, play guitar, write, or do whatever.
I also try to have a time in my day that I go in my room and spend some time listening to worship music and I pray, or listen to a teaching or read the Word.
That is the best thing I do in my day! Yes, school is important, but I absolutely LOVE spending time with my King!
Spending time with Him will strengthen you, mold you, sharpen you, and make you an all in all better person!
He is an important part of our day to day schedule.
So what is the one thing that we all stress about the most? Whether you are a teenager, a young adult, or a adult?
The answer is, MONEY.
Money is the number one cause of stress. Well, mostly stressful if you’re in debt, or just don’t have a lot of income, or you’re not getting any income. I know money stresses me out! Also driving stresses me out! I just recently got my license and it’s hard because I still don’t like driving alone, and of course when I got it the weather is bad! I have never driven in the winter with an adult, so how can I safely drive on my own? I know I don’t feel safe enough yet for myself, or others.
So life as a teenager transitioning into adulthood is hard, and causes anxiety, worry, and doubt about your ability to make it in society. I know that’s the case for me, I don’t know about you?
So how do we overcome this fear?
To be honest, I’m still working through it! But I will share with you some steps I have taken to make me feel more at peace about this.
#1. Pray, pray, PRAY!
This is what gets me through my day! I am constantly just talking to Him, asking Him for peace, demanding the worry to leave in the Name of Yeshua, and thanking Him for His plans for my life! Excepting that I have to grow up, I have to overcome my fear, I have to TRUST HIM!

#2. Write down your plans!

“ Then the Lord answered me and said:
Write the vision and make it plain on tablets,
That he may run who reads it.” Habakkuk 2:3

He wants us to make it plain! Plan out your life in steps! Maybe make a 5 year plan, or maybe your plan for the week or this year! Just get organized! Pray about what you would like to do and where you would like to see yourself in a few years or in 20 years. The Lord will guide your steps and make you successful! Just trust in His Will for your life.

#3. Accept who you are! Your identity is not in the world. Your identity is in Him! You have to know who you are! Be confident in yourself. I know this is hard for me. I’m not a very out-going, or confident person! In fact I’m a bit insecure. But I can’t let that state of mind rule my life! I have to find who I am in Him, just like in step one! Pray! Get to know the Father! Recognize what Yeshua did for you on the cross. He paid it all, and all to Him you owe. So give Him your time, your life! Your everything belongs to Him!

So by following these steps you are stepping closer and closer to living a spirit filled, truth leading life! A life with less worry, a life with complete and absolute trust in God!

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