Category: Choosing (Page 5 of 12)

In 2021, my sister-in-law and her two teenage children would meet with some brothers and sisters in Christ for evening walks. On one ride, she tried to spark a conversation with her son and asked him, “If you were to die tomorrow, what would you wish you had gotten done today?”

The unexpected answer

April 4, 2026 / Wayne Johnson / 1 Comment

In 2021, my sister-in-law and her two teenage children would meet with some brothers and sisters in Christ for evening walks. On one ride, she tried to spark a conversation with her son and asked him, “If you were to die tomorrow, what would you wish you had gotten done today?”

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

This question led to further discussion of God’s Word and what scripture tells us is necessary for eternal Salvation. That night, my nephew made the best decision we can ever make in life. He chose to be baptized into Christ and follow Christ for the rest of his life.

Michael believed, repented, 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, and was added to the Lord’s Church, as we find in Scripture.

Later, Michael Jr. told me he had been thinking about it for a while. You 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.

Self-Study Scriptures:

God’s Grace: Ephesians 2:8, Romans 3:24, Titus 2:11, Acts 15:11
Hearing the Gospel: Romans 10:17, John 8:32
Belief/Faith: Hebrews 11:1, John 8:24, Romans 10:17, Acts 3:19
Repentance: 2 Corinthians 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 for the forgiveness of sin: 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!

Wow, if only the Apostle Peter knew

April 3, 2026 / 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 (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 that 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 followed the Apostle’s instructions and were immersed in the waters of 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, repenting, 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)

“Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation.” (2 Peter 1:20)

Below are several passages on Grace, belief, repentance, confessing Jesus’ name, and baptism for study.

• 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!

“OVERCOME EVIL WITH GOOD”

April 1, 2026 / Wayne Johnson / 0 Comments

This is not always our first reaction; however, if this were not possible by Christians, God would not have told us to do it.

God knows what’s best for us, and it behooves us to trust Him and keep His commandments.

“To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:20-21 ESV

In God we trust

God First!

SATAN IS THE EVIL ONE

March 28, 2026 / Wayne Johnson / 0 Comments

– If you feel farther away from God today than you have in the past, the question becomes, WHO MOVED? HINT: it was NOT God.

“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

It stands to reason that the opposite is also true if we move away from God.

“And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,” Romans 1:28 NASB

– If there is any evil in it, it is not from 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
“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 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 a tragic loss or have other life-altering events we don’t understand. Crime, Cancer, Alzheimer’s, Dementia, Covid, Heart issues, Blood or Breathing issues, accidents, Lyme disease, to name only a few.

We want an explanation, 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, hope, and prayers answered. There is the possibility of eternal life in heaven for those who 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; take refuge in Jesus. When we move away from Jesus, we are moving closer to Satan; closer to forever tears.

Jesus is our only hope for eternal life, where there are no illnesses, pain, or tears. Where our souls will live with new bodies, and our hopes become reality forever in heaven with pure love.

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

God First!

Overcoming temptation

March 26, 2026 / Wayne Johnson / 0 Comments

Jesus would not be swayed from His purpose, and His purpose was to do the will of His Father! As Jesus fasted 40 days and 40 nights, Satan tried but could not sway Jesus. When Jesus was weak and hungry, Satan pushed to exploit Jesus’s hunger and provoke Him to perform a miracle.

Satan: “Tell these stones to become bread.”

Instead, Jesus quotes Scripture, telling Satan that life comes from “Every Word of God.”

Satan then endeavors to get Jesus to prove He is the Son of God by throwing Himself down from the pinnacle of the temple. However, Jesus instead quotes scripture: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”

Satan then shows Jesus the splendor in all the Kingdoms of the World and offers them to Jesus if He will bow down to him.

Jesus tells him: “BE GONE” and quotes scripture a 3rd time.
“You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.”

This is an excellent example of not allowing Satan to sway us from our purpose, but rather of putting God first, seeking all His righteousness, learning His Word, holding fast to it, and trusting God. The full scripture demonstrates that Satan knows scripture and will use scripture to mislead us.

This Scripture is 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 through study, we can 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!

The Prayer that led to Root-Growing change

March 24, 2026 / Wayne Johnson / 0 Comments

I remember a time when my desire to solve “out-of-my-control” situations was so great that it became all-consuming and overwhelming. I had to realize my inadequacy and humble myself to the one person who could help: God!

I am thankful we don’t have to face life’s difficulties alone, aren’t you?

I am grateful that through Jesus we can humbly pray to God, share our concerns, and lay our burdens at Jesus’ feet, trusting that God will provide.

I was feeling overwhelmed by concerns beyond my control when, one night, I decided to turn them all over to Jesus in an in-depth, on-my-knees prayer. It turned into a prayer full of tears and begging. A prayer of repentance for not having already trusted and turned these concerns over to Jesus and God’s loving hands. At the end of that prayer, an unexplained weight lifted from my shoulders. I got up from that prayer, trusting and believing God would help, and He did.

It was NOT a click-of-a-switch change, but rather a ROOT-GROWING change that took time and my trust. From that moment onward, my attitude changed, and I began a lifelong shift that helped me focus on what I could control and pray for what I couldn’t. I came to trust that God’s hands were on my concerns. While I’ve had moments of despair since then, it doesn’t take long to remember and realize I must turn it over to God and Trust God.

There is no better solution!

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him because He cares for you.”

1 Peter 5:6-7 ESV

No need to be Anxious

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

God of All Comfort

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 Who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ, we share abundantly in comfort too.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-5

God First!

God’s Accomplishments – should be praised

March 20, 2026 / Wayne Johnson / 2 Comments

Have you ever had someone take credit for your accomplishments? If so, how did you feel about it?

God is treated this way repeatedly as “Scientists” seek, and people believe everything was created by accident rather than by God.

God’s proof is all around us, in Science, Math, and History, which support what we find in Scripture, and that God is the most logical explanation as the Creator of everything we know.

Many actively work to give credit elsewhere. Sadly, the gullible then fall prey to praising the “creations of God” rather than God Himself.

History shows that people inherently desire to worship something; they want to put faith in something they deem greater than themselves. Worship and praise have been given to such things as the moon, the sun, stars, mountains, water, fire, and animals. Innumerable statues have been made, erected, and worshiped, and theories invented, taught, and believed.

Today, many give the credit that belongs to God to those touting disbelief under the disguise of science. Technical-sounding words are coined and used to construct hypothetical theories, then presented as sound science and taught to our children.

Think about it: Theories are being taught to the most gullible, our children, and told it is science.

Our children are taught to believe our creation was a fluke accident where nothing exploded into something, rather than God created everything, that a spec of absolutely nothing, too small for our eyes to see, exploded into something that created planets in a perfect universal placement to provide life on Earth. Then, over billions of years, this accidental mass developed into the perfectly designed world of nature and life we live in today, where animal and human life are natural phenomena, and our human ancestry is monkeys.

– Were you taught this?

– Do you currently lend credence to any of these theories?

– If not from God, where did our intelligence come from?

God gave us free will and said, “Look at the evidence around you.” God would not have given us so much proof if He expected blind faith; nope, God gave us brains, the ability to question, weigh, comprehend, and conclude that the only logical answer is that Design Requires a Designer.

Every woven and intricate detail of this world requires design; thus, the most logical conclusion, supported by science and math, is not an accident but rather that Everything created is God’s accomplishment, and the proof is all around us; any other explanation is fabrication.

TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

Genesis 1:1
Romans 1:20-25
Revelation 4:11
John 1:3
Colossians 1:16
1 Corinthians 8:6
Nehemiah 9:6
Psalm 33:6
Genesis 1:1-37

Genesis 1:27
Psalm 19:1
Hebrews 11:1-3
John 1:1-3
Exodus 34:14
Deuteronomy 5:9
Exodus 20:1-26
Jeremiah 10:12
Isaiah 45:18

Romans 10:17
Proverbs 3:13
James 1:5
1 Peter 3:15-16
Isaiah 1:18
John 20:31
2 Timothy 2:15

God First!

What does God want from us?

March 19, 2026 / Wayne Johnson / 0 Comments

God gave mankind a unique opportunity. He created us in His image and gave us the ability to give back to Him, the one thing God really wants from His Creation.

“Our Love, by our choice.”

Think about it: Other than your love, what can you offer God?

God is the Creator of everything we know and understand. Everything!

With great and painful sacrifice beyond our understanding, we have been given the opportunity for eternal life with the Godhead: with the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, in a new heavenly home Jesus created for us.

God consistently provides for us, and all He really asks is that we truly love Him as He has first loved us.

Why would we not want to show our gratitude with our every breath?

In His Holy Word, Jesus told us how to show our love by keeping His commandments. Scripture shows us how. There is nothing tricky or confusing about it. Jesus created only one Church, His Church, the One He established, the One He died for, and He told us how to be a part of His Church by becoming in Christ.

Giving of ourselves, showing our love with effort

Jesus said, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” ‭‭(Matthew‬ ‭22‬:‭37‬-‭40‬)‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

Jesus also gave us a New Commandment in John 13:34-35. We are to “love others as Christ loved us.”

Scripture demonstrates that what we believe, teach, and set as our example matters to God. Let us never take God’s love for granted, but rather give God the one gift God values most from His creation.

“Our Love” by Our Choice.

In (John 14:15), Jesus explains, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matt. 11:28-30)

1 Corinthians 14:33-40 (not confusion)
Matthew 7:21 (Not everyone)
Matthew 16:18, Ephesians 1:4 (One Church)
1 Corinthians 13:1-13 (Love)
John 14:2-3 (many mansions)
1 John 4:19 (He first loved us)

God First!

Unlimited Time Awaits us in heaven if we choose to follow Christ

Spiritual Edification

March 8, 2026 / Wayne Johnson / 0 Comments

Before my wife’s illness interfered, the following was my typical schedule for planned edification each month in Bible classes and worship with the Church.

1 hour – Sunday bible class
1 hour – Sunday Worship
1 hour – Sunday eve worship
1 hour – Wednesday bible study
1 hour – 1st and 3rd Thursday for a men’s bible study.

The time adds up to around 22 hrs. per month, yet this is only about 6% of my awake hours in a year. Does this number surprise you? It surprised me. I thought it would be much more than 6%.

Is God getting our best effort or a minimum effort? In the story of the rich young ruler, the ruler asked Jesus, “What must I do to receive eternal life?”

When Jesus heard this, He said to him, “One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when he had heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.” Luke 18:22-23 Apparently, he was unwilling to give up all he had to follow Jesus.

Jesus doesn’t ask us to give our life savings, but; Would we be willing to if He did?

(Especially if we think giving Him a few hours each week is inconvenient.)

It’s a matter of our hearts!

You and I, every person on earth, are so important to God that He gave us His only son as our pathway to eternal life. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

Jesus, “who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,” Galatians 1:4

How much are we willing to give to Him?

Rhetorically:

What example are you giving to those you love by your effort?
Is God getting your best or your minimum?

God First!

Flaxseed and Scripture

March 5, 2026 / Wayne Johnson / 2 Comments

I have friends who set family goals to read 1,000 books in a year. Personally, I’m a slow reader, so this goal is truly impressive to me. In fact, when I ordered the book in this picture, “The Utterance of God,”

I ordered it based on my interest in the topic and a friend’s recommendation. This book identifies and demonstrates numerous biblical proofs (many of which I was unaware of); which prove that what we read in the Bible is indeed the actual Words of God.

The Bible claims this fact in 2 Timothy 3:16, where God tells us, “All Scripture is God-breathed…”.

Recognizing, understanding, and comprehending these many proofs found in Scripture proves God as the creator of everything we know and understand; therefore, we should do all within our power to follow Christ according to what we find in God’s Word.

This book of proofs has a nice-sized font, but when I bought it, I did not realize it was over 500 pages. Likewise, the Bible has over 1,000 pages and 750,000 words. Although large books seem daunting to me, I have learned to take the Flaxseed approach to my reading.

Flaxseed was recommended to me for its several health benefits. When I ordered the Flaxseed, and it arrived, I thought, wow, that’s a lot of Flaxseed; how will I ever get through all this? Yet by using just a teaspoon at a time, I have now consumed several containers and am healthier for it.

I am proud to report that I have read every word in this book, “The Utterance of God.” Parts of it were challenging for me to comprehend, but the largest percentage was very easy and extremely informative and interesting. Moreover, I gained considerably by persistently consuming just a few pages at a time over months.

The result: Studying this information strengthened my understanding of God’s Word, highlighted several passages I was unaware of, increased my confidence, and encouraged and emboldened my faith.

Reading good books can provide several benefits for the health of our minds, and reading God’s Holy Word nourishes both mind & soul; it is life’s best guide!

Following God’s Word according to God’s Word is to follow Jesus, and Jesus is our only way to spend eternity with God. (John 14:6, Acts 4:2, 1 Timothy 2:5, John 10:9, John 1:14)

I encourage anyone reading this writing to set aside time to read the Bible.

Don’t predetermine it’s too hard to understand; instead, be persistent with yourself and commit yourself to at least a spoonful of reading per day. Before you know it, just like with the Flaxseed or this book I now recommend, you will have consumed the whole book. It’s a blessing!

Grace: – Ephesians 2:8, Romans 3:24, Titus 2:11, Acts 15:11
Hearing the Gospel:- Romans 10:17, John 8:32
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
Confession: – Romans 10:9-10, Matthew 10:32-33, Luke 12:8-9
Baptism by immersion for the forgiveness of sin: – 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
Live Faithfully: Revelation 2:10, Philippians 2:12

God First!

Category: Choosing (Page 5 of 12)

The unexpected answer

Wow, if only the Apostle Peter knew

“OVERCOME EVIL WITH GOOD”

SATAN IS THE EVIL ONE

The Prayer that led to Root-Growing change

God’s Accomplishments – should be praised

What does God want from us?

Spiritual Edification

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