Category: Heaven (Page 3 of 3)

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

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!

When the pangs of life seem overwhelming

February 23, 2021 / Wayne Johnson / 0 Comments

The pangs of life can seem overwhelming at times, if only for a few minutes. Our hearts may hurt and feel squeezed and empty, leaving us emotionally consumed and gasping for breath. Our shield of faith may grow heavy in our arms and, during our human weakness, be carelessly lowered, allowing the darts of evil to strike and drift us into shadows of bleak despair; however, Even in these darkest of moments, with Christ; we can overcome. We must reach out! Reach out in prayer, reach out to our Brothers and Sisters in Christ, spend time in God’s Word and reflect on all the countless reasons we trust in the lord. Scripture tells us the closer we draw to God, the closer he draws to us. If we keep God First in our lives, we have what we need to overcome even in our weakest moments.

Ephesians 6:16 (shield of faith)
1st Peter 5:7 (cast your burden on the Lord)
Galatians 6:2 (share with one another)
James 4:8 (as we draw closer to God, he draws closer to us)
Matthew 11:28-30 (I will give you rest)
Matthew 6:33 (Seek First)

God First!

Why every week?

February 9, 2021 / Wayne Johnson / 0 Comments

The first day of the week comes every week, and it’s called Sunday. On this day, because we love God and are grateful for the love we have received, we set aside time to communion with fellow Christians and Christ. (Matthew 18:20)

We partake of unleavened bread and the fruit of the vine as a remembrance of Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection, His body, and His blood, which was shed that we might have eternal life in heaven.

We do so because of the example we find in Acts 20:7, here we see his disciples gathered on the first day of the week to remember Jesus’s sacrifice the way Jesus instituted it.

Before His death and resurrection, Jesus taught the concept of eternal life through His body and blood in John 6:22-71. Jesus also set forth this remembrance in the accounts we find in: Matthew 26:26-30 and Luke 22:14-21

After Jesus’s resurrection, Paul addresses the Church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians 11: 17-34 They were guilty of abusing this time of communion.

It’s fair to surmise from Scripture that this should be a solemn time when we seriously examine ourselves, judge ourselves, and reflect on the cross. A time when we reflect on the love and sacrifice Jesus extended to us. Making it possible for us to have eternal life in Heaven. 1 Corinthians 11:26-29

God First!

Clarity is found in Jesus.

February 2, 2021 / Wayne Johnson / 0 Comments

Doing what’s right is not always the easiest thing to do, but it’s always the best thing to do. If you’re not certain if something is right or wrong, you have your answer!

Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and your neighbor as yourself!

Choose wisely to avoids regrets.

God First!

Loving God

January 31, 2021 / Wayne Johnson / 0 Comments

No wonder Jesus was sweating blood; I would imagine, to Jesus, the separation from His Father may have been worse than the betrayal, beatings, and torture He knew was coming His way; after all, He was with God from the beginning of time as we understand it. (John 1)

In preparation, Jesus prayed, “Not mine, but your will, be done!”

At every moment, Christ had the power to say: Enough! Nope, not doing this, but instead, Christ adhered to His Father’s plan.

Obviously, God’s plan was the only way all people could be saved. Only through Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection could we be graced with the opportunity to follow Jesus, keep His commands, and receive the promise of eternal life with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Jesus’s sacrifice revealed His immeasurable love for God, for God’s will, and His love for us.

I can’t phantom the emptiness, loneliness, and pain Christ must’ve felt when He cried out, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani,” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

A Hymn says: “I gave, I gave My life for thee, what hast thou giv’n for Me?”

Rhetorically, What do we give of ourselves to God?

Do we set aside time daily for prayer, thanking God for all the continuous blessings seen and unseen? How about the hardships that help us learn to be better disciples of Christ?

Do we respect God’s love enough to do as Christ commanded and remember Him on the first day of every week by reflecting on the Cross, partaking in the bread and fruit of the vine, which represents the body and blood of Christ that was shed for us?

Do we look forward to gathering and worshiping with fellow believers as often as possible, to being with our brothers and sisters in Christ, and being lifted up by their presence as we study and grow together in our understanding of God’s will and plan for us?

Scripture tells us that baptized believers are those who are “In Christ,” and when we are “In Christ,” God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit work in and through us.

Christ told us if we love Him, we will keep His commandments, and He gives us a New Commandment. ‘That we love others as He loved us.’

I love the love that surrounds us all in the Lord.

God First!

Related Scriptures:

Galatians 3:23-29, Philippians 2:13, John 13:34–35, John 17:23, 2nd Corinthians 13:5, Romans 8:10-11, Galatians 5:22-26, Acts 2:38, John 1:1, Matthew 27:46, Acts 20:7, Luke 22:17-20

God and Country

January 28, 2021 / Wayne Johnson / 0 Comments

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

When we say the pledge of allegiance, we promise loyalty and support to each other.

The Merriam dictionary defines “Republic” as:

“a government in which supreme power resides in a body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by elected officers and representatives responsible to them and governing according to the law.”

So we, the people of the United States of America, are “the republic,” and our flag represents our unity of power. In 1954, the pledge of allegiance was modified one last time with the most important words of all added: “One Nation under God.” These four words acknowledge our nation as being under God. In other words, God First!

These words demonstrate that the majority of “We the People” recognize our nation’s strength is beholden to God, and we are thankful to God for his incredible blessings.

The pledge also states: “indivisible with liberty and justice for all.”

The concept here is that we will not allow ourselves to be divided and that the power of the people is to be used to pursue liberty and justice for all.

Some believe Christians should abstain from politics and set the example of not voting because they don’t like the choices, pointing out that heaven is the only true Christian nation.

I understand and agree that God should be first in all our lives. And for true Christians, Heaven is their final home.

However, I don’t believe that speaking up for the values and principles of Christianity in our country or against destructive policies in this worldly government somehow, someway, means we have pledged our loyalty to the Country instead of to Christ and His Kingdom.

To me, Such statements encourage silence and apathy and discourage speaking up and taking a stand for good. When we stand for good, we stand for God and promote the message of Christ as God is Good.

Our example and words in and out of politics should encourage others to want to know the reason for the hope that is in us. 1 Peter 3:15

I appreciate that our “Pledge of Allegiance” includes: “One Nation Under God.”

I am both an Advocate for Christ and part of “We The People”; I speak with my vote and voice.

When I speak against evil and against unjust actions, and when I speak for liberty, I am NOT excluding God. I am taking a stand for God. I am doing my part to ensure that “We, the people,” continue to acknowledge God at the Helm. I vote with those I believe best align with God’s Word.

“A Country without God is a Country lost; a Country with God is a Country Blessed.”

In my opinion, WRJ

Category: Heaven (Page 3 of 3)