The best life is a God First life

Month: July 2026 (Page 3 of 3)

Be closed-minded to Mankind, not God

Are we willing to unlearn to learn more? Sometimes, this is precisely what we need to do because sometimes, we derive conclusions without realizing we don’t have all the facts. Those very conclusions can keep us from accepting and recognizing that there is more to consider. We may think of ourselves as open-minded, but are we really?

When it comes to God’s Word, we owe it to ourselves and those we influence to always seek the truth in our studies and be willing to unlearn and let go when we find evidence in scripture (not our feelings) that shows us there’s more.

Are we able to embrace and replace incomplete thinking at the expense of admitting we were wrong? We need to be.

Is it not crucial that we stand firm on the evidence of scripture, not be swayed by our own wisdom or the ideas of others, but instead rely on God’s Word as our standard for discernment? (Philip 1:9-11, Matt 10:22) God and” God’s Word” are unchanging. The destiny of souls is at stake, not to mention the power of our influence, which can lead others to truth or misinformed, dangerous ideas.

  • Romans 16:17-20
  • Isaiah 40:8
  • 2 Timothy 2:15
  • James 1
  • Psalms 119:89
  • Malachi 3:15
  • Genesis 13:15
  • Hebrews 12:7-8

God First!

Praying and drawing closer to God

Pretty much every night before I go to sleep. I thank God for our blessings, both seen and unseen; I humbly pray for family, friends, and any specific needs I’m aware of; I often pray for forgiveness and mercy and ask for help with my understanding and faith. I pray for those who don’t know God and the dangers many face, especially children in harm’s way. I pray for fellow Christians and God’s help in their struggles and sicknesses. I pray for the Eldership, Deacons, Teachers, and Preachers in our congregation and worldwide that the truth is taught according to God’s Word.

I pray for my wife and God’s help with our situation. I often pray for help in my efforts to bring Glory to God through what I write and share in hopes of planting the seeds of eternal salvation.

As a child, I learned memorized prayers to help me learn to pray. Today’s Prayers are not memorized or rattled off as if I’m in a hurry because I truly relish this time with God and want to demonstrate respect for His Holiness.

Admittedly, there are times when my eyes are extra heavy so that I may shorten my prayers. But prayers are not about their length or eloquent words but about our hearts, and for those who are in Christ, we have the Holy Spirit to intercede for us. (Romans 8:26–27)

When possible, I like to pray on my knees, as this practice helps me stay focused in the moment. Once my prayer is over, I may do other things before sleep, but it’s not uncommon for me to say, “Goodnight, Heavenly Father,” just before sleep or “Good morning, Father,” when I awake. To improve my prayer life, I have also worked on the practice of morning prayer with coffee. It’s a great way to start the day.

Prayer life is truly something that brings us closer to God, and Scripture tells us the closer we draw to God, the closer God draws to us. I LOVE THE IDEA OF BEING CLOSER TO GOD

  • James 4:7-10
  • John 15:7
  • 1 John 5:14
  • James 5:13-16
  • John 14:13-14
  • Matthew 7:7
  • Ephesians 2:18

God First!

Broken hearts and pain, for what?

Our hearts and the hearts of family and friends can be broken, torn apart with sadness and pain by the actions of one alcoholic drinker. One drinker behind the wheel can take a life. One drinker with loose lips can destroy relationships; one drinker not exercising self-control can start a fight that ends or maims a life.

To many, drinking is harmless and often associated with socializing, fun times, relaxation, romance, and parties (I used to think this way). Sip by sip, one loses their ability to react swiftly in emergencies. Many who drink will never admit they’ve been affected negatively. Instead, they tout, “It’s only one beer or one glass of wine.” They may exclaim, “I don’t get drunk,” or “I function fine on just one or two drinks,” etc.

Maybe, just maybe, that’s because they’ve never faced a real emergency when drinking; never faced a situation where their best was required, and they didn’t have it. When their reaction was slightly slower, their words were unwise and led to devastating results. Heartache, pain, and lives turned upside down in avoidable and unnecessary turmoil.

It’s been a while since the van of a niece was hit by a drunk driver and flipped: her husband and one of her children were with her. At that time, my niece went through much pain, and the rest of her family was seemingly OK. It’s scary to realize that we could’ve lost them all; they could’ve been horribly injured, maimed for life in some manner, all because of a social drinker. One person who thought they were in control, who drank just enough to impair their ability and cause an accident, an accident that now labels them “a drunk driver.”

I quit drinking alcohol several years ago because I came to this conclusion: “If there are more reasons not to do something than to do it, then why do it?”

There are many logical, biblical, and common-sense reasons not to drink. I started asking myself, why do I need to drink alcohol? I found no good reason! I still have a good time; I still enjoy my friends; I can still be silly and do all of this without alcohol; plus, as a great big bonus, I get to remember more about the fun I had.

Philippians 1:27 ESV

God First!

Alcohol Will Never

  • Alcohol will never: Slow your responses.
  • Give you loose lips.
  • Impair your driving.
  • Be the reason you hurt someone.
  • Impair your ability to respond quickly in an emergency.
  • Make you depressed, add to depression.
  • Make you drunk.
  • Land you in jail
  • Be your excuse

You never drink Alcohol or STOP and NEVER start again!

If there are more reasons not to do something than to do it.

Why do it? ~ Wayne Johnson

  • Philippians 2:3-4
  • Matthew 22:39
  • John 13:34-35

God First!

250 years later

Our forefathers (for many, these are distant relatives) suffered, fought, and gave their lives in battles for independence, and for “Liberty and justice for all,” and in 1776, America was born. “We the People” celebrate America’s independence on the 4th of July each year.

Fast forward 250 years, and it seems almost half the nation wants to give away the independence our forefathers fought and died for; half the nation appears “Ok” with the idea of socialism, even communism, and would rather whine and have government be our babysitter than take personal responsibility for their role in Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

Our country did not become great from our ancestors sitting on their tushes and wallowing in self-pity, expecting a government to provide for them.

NO, our country became great as our ancestors met overwhelming struggles head-on. Dreaming and working to make those dreams a reality. Legal immigrants became Americans, and those Americans came together, working and striving to better their lives through hard work and big ideas. Americans of all shapes, sizes, colors, and beliefs made the seemingly impossible possible. They forged wilderness into this country of vast convenience that our families enjoy today.

Our American ancestors worked hard to give us freedom, and we must work hard to maintain it. It’s hard to understand, knowing freedom and wanting to be chained to Socialism.

Sitting on our tush and expecting others to provide for us will destroy our nation. Let’s honor the lives of those who fought and died to give us freedom; let’s take pride in the work we each do as One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Our constitution is under attack, our freedom of speech is under attack, our voting system is under attack, and our freedom of religion is under attack; the list keeps mounting.

While it’s true that the Christian’s ultimate home is not of this world, those of us who live in America have been blessed to live in the land of the free, allowing us to share God’s Word according to God’s Word.  Let us pray, study, learn, and spread the seeds of Christ that God may provide the increase before our children suffer the consequences of only having Satan seed the land. We are so blessed to live in today.

A country with God is a country blessed; A country without God is a country lost.

God First!

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