Category: Choosing (Page 8 of 9)

FAKE NEWS

April 24, 2021 / Wayne Johnson / 0 Comments

Fake news is nothing new to Christians. We have been bombarded with Fake News since the beginning of Christianity. Jesus’s disciples and apostles spread the Good News of our salvation through Christ by telling of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. They established congregations all over, giving us examples of Church actions, worship, and leadership. Many of the letters we find in the New Testament are addressing “Fake News” and it continues today. Our world is full of Fake News in Christianity, but there’s good news. We don’t have to be gullible!

God has given us the means to discern the Truth from the Fake. We have 66 books of inspired words from God to study so that we can discern God’s Will, God’s teachings, through His holy word, comparing them to the desires and teachings of mankind. The answers are not found in what someone says is of God’s Word but in what God’s word actually says.

God First!

Writer: Wayne Johnson

“will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?”

April 23, 2021 / Wayne Johnson / 0 Comments

Some spin God’s word to accommodate their desire rather than God’s plan, and others follow them. There are many reasons people do this, but I personally believe the main reason is not intentional but rather willful ignorance. Willful in the sense that one must have a willingness to study and accept scripture as a whole, and this takes effort and time. When we hear or read something different than what we actually practice, then why? For me, I want to know what Scriptures support that practice. Does it add or take away from God’s Word? Deuteronomy 12:32 and Revelation 22:18

The Lord’s path is straight and is available to us through God’s inspired word. We have no excuse for not exercising due diligence with self-study.

We are always learning, so; we can be mistaken; the real question is: Do we seek to correct ourselves when we realize we are wrong, or do we decide it’s a non-issue and do nothing? The bible is an accumulation of God’s Word and took thousands of years to come about. When we dismiss any of it as a non-issue, are we not effectively telling God His words are not important, we know better? (2 Timothy 3:16)

Paul is addressing the false prophet Bar-Jesus in Acts 13:9-10…

“But Saul (also known as Paul), filled with the Holy Spirit, stared straight at him and said, “You who are full of all deceit and all wrongdoing, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness – will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?”

God First! Every second of every day!

Written by: Wayne Johnson

Worldly Wealth Ends, but Love Transcends

April 22, 2021 / Wayne Johnson / 0 Comments

I read an article about a man who was the founder of many U.S. companies. I read of the great wealth he amassed, the many jobs he created, the respect he had earned. The man died in 1934, and today… Virtually NO ONE knows him or his name.

Jesus tells us:

~ It’s not about this world.
~ to lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven.
~ Where our treasure is, there our heart will be also.
~ if you love me, you’ll keep my commandments.
~ The greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.
~ the second greatest commandment is to love our neighbor as ourselves.
~ there is no greater commandment than these.

When we love as described in these commandments, we love as one who is “poor in spirit” as we recognize the power of God’s Love and know we are unworthy, yet we are grateful for God’s Grace. We embrace the need for God’s help rather than thinking we can do it on our own.

While there’s nothing wrong with amassing great wealth, The real challenge is to keep our hearts focused on the treasures of heaven, keeping God First in our hearts, keeping his commandments, doing his will through actions of love for Him and Others.

Earthly treasures are but a mist in time while love transcends for eternity

Thank you, Lord, for loving us!

John 18:36
Matthew 6:19-21
John 14:15
Mark 12: 30-31
Matthew 5: 3-12
Mark 16:16

God First!

written by: Wayne Johnson

I use to carry the equivalent of these 4 bowling balls everywhere I went

April 5, 2021 / Wayne Johnson / 0 Comments

On January 6, 2019, blood clots were found in my lungs and legs, and my blood sugar was 465 with an A1C of 11.6, which crash-landed me in the ICU.

It feels more prolonged, but tomorrow is two years and three months since I experienced this life-changing moment. I was sent home taking 4 insulin shots and 2 blood thinner shots daily. 2 months later, I originally posted the following on FB…

”I have stopped joking around about my health and began working on it. I have begun replacing bad eating habits with new ones.

I gave myself goals for the year.

1. Be 25 again by year’s end (

)

2. Lose weight

3. get off insulin

4. Get off the blood thinner

I had previously joked about my obesity. It was easier than serious effort. I enjoyed my gluttony of foods, and though I wanted to change, I wanted it without real effort. I actually think I had settled into and accepted the idea that losing 45 lbs would never happen, so why try?

However; As of 4/5/2019, I had lost 45 lbs, which put me at about the weight I was when I was 25 yrs of age.

I have been off the insulin since March of 2019, but they did put me on metformin. I have now cut that dosage of metformin in half. I feel great and have energy again.” It’s amazing what you can do with God’s help when you put both your mind and heart into it.

I am so thankful that I had this wake-up call two years ago tomorrow – It was a life-changing moment indeed!”

Update to this update:

I went on to lose a total of 60 lbs by June 2019 (4 bowling balls), putting me right at 200lbs. I am still on a blood thinner and 1/2 the metformin dosage.

At the start of my recent Covid19/pneumonia experience, which started 3/3/21, I had slacked up during the winter and gained about 12 lbs but recently saw 198lbs. (The only plus from covid)

As with most of my other shares, my intent for sharing this story is not to brag but somewhat out of hope. I hope to inspire those in similar situations. To help them realize they can also accomplish similar goals.

If doing it for yourself is not enough, think about how negatively the impact of your absence would affect those you love, Those who need you. Ask yourself a couple of questions.

Do you really want to take a chance of leaving them without you?

Would you be happy to take several shots a day or tons of meds when you can avoid it by changing habits instead?

I did not want my wife or family to have to live without me; We are all needed by those that love us, those whom we love. So, Wheresoever it’s within our power to do so, let’s do what we can by replacing bad habits with healthy habits.

If you were to die tomorrow, what would you wish you had gotten done today?

March 31, 2021 / Wayne Johnson / 0 Comments

Several days each week, my sister-in-law Julie and her two teenage children meet to go on evening walks with some other brothers and sisters in Christ. Yesterday, on the ride there, in an attempt to spark conversation with her teenage son, she asked him this question: “If you were to die tomorrow, what would you wish you had gotten done today?”

She expected a secular answer, but his response: “Be Baptized.”

This lead to further discussion, and my nephew Michael Jr. Johnson (affectionately known as Mikey) made the absolute best decision any of us ever make in this life. Mikey decided he wanted to have eternal life in heaven by being baptized and following Christ for the rest of his life.

So, last night, Michael Jr. confessed Jesus as the Son of God and was baptized into Christ in the name of The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of his sins. Later, Mikey told me he had been thinking about it for a while. You just never know what’s on someone’s mind.

The timing of his mother’s question and a follow-up question of “why wait?” Seemingly perfect.

Welcome to the Lord’s Church, Michael Jr. Johnson

God First?

written by: Wayne Johnson

Wow, If only the Apostle Peter knew

March 30, 2021 / Wayne Johnson / 0 Comments

On the day of Pentecost when Peter preached the first gospel sermon, Do you wonder Why?

Why is it that when Peter and the other Apostles (in Acts 2) were asked by the crowd whose hearts had just been pierced by the message of Christ: ”Brothers, What do we do?” Why did Peter NOT answer the crowd’s question with: “accept Jesus into your heart and recite with me these words in a prayer and you will be forgiven, you will be saved.”

WOW, if only the Apostle Peter, who was; filled with the Holy Spirit, had known what many people claim today. That they could “just” accept Jesus into their hearts and recite a prayer to be saved; however, that’s “NOT” how Peter answered.

Peter never said: “baptism is an outward sign of an inward decision.” In fact, No such prayer is found in God’s Word. INSTEAD, Peter, who was filled with the Holy Spirit, tells them exactly what God wanted them to do… “And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” _{^{(Acts‬ ‭2:38‬ ‭ESV)}} ‬‬None of Peter’s responses indicates any of God’s instructions were mutually exclusive.

In _{^{verse 41,}} God’s Holy Word says: “So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.”‭‭_{^{(Acts‬ ‭2:41‬ ‭ESV)‬‬}}

So, right after they received the message of Christ, they immediately went to all the trouble of following the Apostle’s instructions, and were immersed in baptism.

They could have set appointments, they could have done so in small groups over weeks, but instead, we find urgency is implied, “So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.” _{^{(Acts 2:41)}}

That day, about 3000 souls were added to the Church! (Don’t you know that took a while? )

These scriptures show us that; hearing, believing, repentance, and being baptized in the name of Jesus Christ is how we obtain the Holy Spirit.

Who did the adding? Who was being saved? _{^{Verse 47}} “praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” _{^{(Acts‬ ‭2:47‬ ‭ESV)}}

Please, Don’t take my word for it. Take God’s word for it. “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15

‬‬Below are several passages on Grace, belief, repentance, confession, and baptism to consider. God First!

• Grace: – Ephesians 2:8, Romans 3:24, Titus 2:11, Acts 15:11

• Belief/Faith: – Hebrews 11:1, John 8:24, Romans 10:17, Acts 3:19

• Repentance: – 2 Cor. 7:9-10, Luke 13:3-5, Acts 17:30

• Confess: – Romans 10:9-10, Matthew 10:32-33, Luke 12:8-9

• Baptism by immersion: – Matthew 16:15-16 1 Peter 3:21, Acts 2:38, Mark 16:16, John 3:5, Matt 28:18-20, Ephesians 4:5, Romans 6:3-4, Colossians 2:12, Acts 8:36-39, Mark 1:9-10, John 3:23

God First!

written by: Wayne Johnson

Satan is the evil one.

March 27, 2021 / Wayne Johnson / 0 Comments

God’s Word tells his disciples…

“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”
James‬ ‭4:8‬ ‭ESV

‬If you feel farther away from God today than you have in the past, the question becomes… WHO MOVED?

Hint: it wasn’t God.

“Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.”
James‬ ‭1:13‬ ‭NASB‬‬”

If there is any evil in it, it is not from God

“This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him, there is no darkness at all.”‭‭
1 John‬ ‭1:5‬ ‭NASB“

God is Love

“The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”
1 John‬ ‭4:8‬ ‭NASB

God is Good

“For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭100:5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

All the Time

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!”
Isaiah 5:20

Sometimes we are tempted to blame God when our hearts are torn in anguish and pain; We struggle to reason why such tragic things happen to good people, innocent children, loved ones, or maybe to ourselves. We might ask, why me? Why us? Why them? We may experience the tragic loss of life or have life-altering events we simply don’t understand. We want an explanation, and we want to assign blame but blaming God is misplaced.

As we see from the scriptures above, there is NO evil in God. There is, however, refuge; there is hope, there is help, answered prayer. There is the possibility of eternal life in heaven for those to choose to become In Christ and keep his commandments according to God’s will, Not our own.

“For he makes the sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.” Matthew 5:45

Satan is the evil one.

God First!

Acts 2:38-41, 1 Peter 3:20-21, Colossians 2:11-13, Romans 6:4-5, John 3:5, Mark 16:16, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Titus 3:5, Matthew 28:19–20, Acts 10:48

Examples of Jesus and how We can overcome!

March 14, 2021 / Wayne Johnson / 0 Comments

Jesus would not be swayed from his purpose. His purpose was to do the will of His Father!

Even after fasting 40 days and nights. When Satan tried he could not sway Jesus.

When Jesus was weak and hungry Satan tried to exploit that hunger and provoke Jesus to perform a miracle “tell these stones to become bread”

Instead, Jesus quotes scripture to Satan telling him that life comes from “Every Word of God” (The Holy Bible is the word of God for us today)

Satan then tries to get Jesus to prove; He is, the Son of God, by throwing himself down from the pinnacle of the temple in the holy city, SATAN EVEN USES SCRIPTURE in his temptation.

Jesus quotes scripture again,

” ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”

Satan tries yet again, and shows Jesus the splendor in all the Kingdoms of the World and offers them to Jesus If, he will just bow down to him.

Jesus tells him to “BE GONE” and quotes scripture a 3rd time.

“‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”

This is a great example to Christians to not allow Satan to sway us from our purpose, to put God first, to seek all his righteousness, to hold fast and to trust God.

It shows us that Satan, knows scripture, Satan will try to use scripture to mislead us. It’s also a great example of how knowing scripture can help ”us” overcome temptations and discern the truth. It points out that we are NOT to test God and ARE to Worship and Serve God Only

God knows what’s best for us, if we love him we will keep His commandments and when we study we shew ourselves approved unto God.

If God is for us who can be against us!

May God be with us all!

Matthew 4:1-11
2 Timothy 2:15
Romans 8:31
John 14:15

God First!

I love this Biblical story! What do you take from it?

March 5, 2021 / Wayne Johnson / 0 Comments

“There was a little city with few men in it; and a great king came against it, besieged it, and built great snares around it. Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that same poor man. Then I said: “Wisdom is better than strength. Nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, And his words are not heard. Words of the wise, spoken quietly, should be heard Rather than the shout of a ruler of fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war; But one sinner destroys much good.” (Ecclesiastes‬ ‭9:14-18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬)

The gift we can give God that God wants?

February 24, 2021 / Wayne Johnson / 1 Comment

God gave mankind a unique opportunity. He created us in His image and gave us the ability to give to Him the one thing He really wants from his Creation. “Our Love by Our choice” I can think of nothing else we can offer God that He simply could not create for himself. In Matthew 22:37-40, Jesus points out that all the law of the prophets is dependent on Loving God with every ounce of our being and loving our neighbors as ourselves. In John 14:15, Jesus tells us, If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And in John 13:34-35, A New commandment to love others as Christ loved us.

How can we know God’s commandments if we don’t study? Someone said to me, “it does not matter what we believe; we are all headed to the same place.” Why would God document thousands of years of interactions between Himself and mankind, that we may know him and provided us a pathway through the sacrifice of His Son on the Cross if it doesn’t matter what we believe?

We have been given the opportunity to accept God’s Grace through our loving obedience, which we strive earnestly to give because we love God. It’s that love that creates in us the desire to do God’s Will, according to God. While it might be comforting to say, it doesn’t matter what we believe, teach and practice, it’s not what we find in the words, examples, and precepts of Scripture.

The Bible is the most available book on the planet, and according to God’s word, all scripture is “God-breathed.” (2nd Timothy 3:16). I never want to hear Jesus say to me the words He mentions in Matthew 7:21–23. According to Scripture, it matters to God what we believe, what we teach, and the example we set.

I never want to take God’s love for granted; Instead, I want to give God, The one gift he values from you and me. “Our Love” We can do this by studying and sharing the message of Christ, keeping his commandment, pursuing righteousness. Doing all that we can to follow the commands, examples, and precepts of God according to God’s Word, not ours.

God First!

Category: Choosing (Page 8 of 9)

“will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?”

Worldly Wealth Ends, but Love Transcends