Advocate for Christ

The best life is a God First life

Category: Doing God’s Will (Page 1 of 8)

Guard the Soil of your Soul

January 7, 2023 / / 1 Comment

We live in the midst of numerous blessings; Those we recognize and many more we don’t. Thank you, God, for All! Satan knows we always want more, so; he relentlessly seeks to prepare the soil of our souls with selfish desires.

Today, I found myself questioning whether a small thing we do to bring others joy is worth the effort. I know it will someday be meaningful to them, yet the effort often goes unacknowledged. Yesterday I began to think, why don’t we just quit; our efforts won’t even be missed. Nobody cares. It was at this point I realized Satan was tilling the soil of my mind trying to make me feel like we were wasting our time. He was attempting to plant seeds of self-pity and discontentment in order to have me waller in sadness and disappointment so I would give up.

Maybe this, in part, is why God’s Word says:

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9)

Well, hear this, Satan; if it is good, I will try to do it!

Doing good is not about me; acknowledgment and appreciation are Not My Goals. Doing good is my goal, even if or when the recipients don’t recognize it!

As Jesus said to Peter: “Go away, Satan!”

When I chose to follow Jesus, I did what we find in Luke 11:24-26 in the story of the demons; I swept my house and put it in order. My mind is my house, and Satan and his friends are not welcome here.

“…But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).”

Each of us is engulfed in blessings even if we don’t recognize them. I am thankful for all those blessings. If we pay attention, we can catch satan in the act of tilling our minds and planting seeds of destruction in our souls and say: Get away from me, Satan. However big or small, Never give up on doing good!

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow du” to change.” James‬ ‭1‬:‭17‬ ‭

Thank you, Father God, for loving us!

God First!

The Power is in the Gospel - Not in those telling it

The Power is in the Gospel

January 3, 2023 / / 0 Comments

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭16‬ NKJV

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” ‭2 Timothy 2:15 KJV

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.”

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭1‬:‭6‬-‭8‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Preachers and Teachers are needed to share the gospel. The point here is, don’t put your faith in what you are told or in who shared it with you. We must each study God’s Word for ourselves as, ultimately, we are each responsible for our own salvation. When we each stand before judgment, it won’t matter what someone tells us. We have God’s word at our fingertips.

“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,”

Philippians‬ ‭2‬:‭12‬ ‭ESV‬‬

God First!

Love of Sports, Love of God

April 4, 2022 / / 2 Comments

A lot of people get very excited about sports. It’s a topic of numerous conversations. Seldom am I with a group of men where sports is not immediately part of the conversation or dominates it.

Many parents rightfully recognize the benefits of raising their children to grasp the positive principles of sports and start them playing very early in life. Lifelong friendships build as parents help each other with rides and mutually encourage their children and each other.

As a result, Money, Time, and Schedules are eagerly manipulated so that parents can be supportive of events, practice meets, or games by their presence, and the value of teamwork is fortified. Families unite in sports talk, laughs, jokes, etc., discuss sports greats, sportsmanship, teamwork, missed opportunities, and often spend countless hours watching professional sports together.

These bonding moments are excellent training and contribute to building solid friendships and good character in our young adults to help them navigate life.

Isn’t this precisely how we should prioritize, teach, and share Christ in our lives?

Shouldn’t our conversations and social media posts include glorifying and sharing the blessings of Christ and showing concern for others?

If we showed our love for God the way we show our love for sports, how would our lives change?

What would it look like if our interest in God took priority over our interest in sports?

  • Would we start our children attending bible classes early in life?
  • Would we prioritize our schedules to ensure committed involvement in Church activities?
  • Would we prioritize teaching our children the love of Christ?
  • Would we encourage their understanding and development of leadership skills?

Imagine how excellent this world would be if the same effort we put into sports were put into following and sharing the message of Christ?

We would excel at learning everything we could about our creator. Jesus would be prominent in daily conversations and taking His name in vain, absent.

Instead, we would seek to be as Christ-like as possible, making every effort to do God’s Will according to what God tells us in scripture and our time would be arranged so that we could be involved in as many good works as possible.

If the world were to embrace God the way many embrace sports, we would put our service to God above all else, and our children would take notice. Just as they will notice, if we make exceptions, making exceptions sends the message that we believe it’s ok to deprioritize God from Time to Time, and that’s never ok!

Sports may bring a lifetime of happy moments but should never take priority over God, where blessings go far beyond this lifetime and lead us to our eternal home, a glorious place without tears, pain, or woes.

God First!

  • Acts 20:32
  • Jude 1:25
  • 2 Timothy 3:15-17
  • 1 Corinthians 14:26
  • Philippians 3:21
  • 1 Thessalonians 5:11
  • Romans 1:12
  • Ephesians 4:15-16
  • John 3:16-17
  • John 17:3
  • Matthew 6:23-24
  • 1 Timothy 1:17
  • 1 Corinthians 2:9
  • 1 Corinthians 8:6
  • Luke 15:7
  • Matthew 7:21-23
  • Matthew 25:46
  • Philippians 3:20-21
  • Revelation 21:9-12
  • Revelation 12:4

Rainbows and Promises

March 3, 2022 / / 1 Comment

Yesterday, The Morning light gifted us with the rainbow-colored patch seen in this picture. As I pointed it out to Virginia (my wife), I thought, how cool! Its presence then sent me down a pathway of thoughts I needed for the day.

Like the rainbow in the sky, this simple patch of colors reminded me of God’s promises. That God cannot lie and will always be with those, who love Him. How Jesus said: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

While sipping my morning coffee, my mind kept highlighting snippets of God’s Word, “God is the God of All Comfort,” “the closer we draw to God, the closer God will draw towards us,” “Ask, and it will be given, Seek and you will find, Knock and the door will open,” “Pray without Ceasing!”

It is comforting to remember how much Jesus cares for us and tells us to be humble and cast all our anxieties on Him. This little patch of light reminded me that Faith includes Trust. “Never give up on doing good” Lean on Jesus, especially in times of trial when the challenges of life are heavy, and things don’t make any sense.

So much brought to mind in this little patch of rainbow light.

Jesus has prepared for those who love Him a place with many rooms where tears, death, mourning, crying, and pain will be no more. It gives me peace to remember this world is but a temporary home; our forever home is, as a song states: “Beyond the azure blue.” Scripture tells us, “Do not love the world or the things in the world,” All this world and its desires are passing away but, “whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

  • Hebrews 6:18
  • Titus 1:2
  • Proverbs 8:17
  • John 14:15
  • James 4:8
  • Romans 8:28
  • Galatians 6:9
  • 1 Peter 5:7
  • Galatians 6:2
  • 1 John 2:15-17
  • John 14:1-3
  • Revelation 21:4

To God be the Glory!

February 27, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Ever had someone take credit for your accomplishments? How did you or would you feel feel about it? Maybe it was a trivial matter, so you just let it go. I’ve done this too; it still rubbed me the wrong way, even if just a little. Now, let’s magnify the situation.

Suppose you developed a single cure for all cancers and shared it. Yet, instead of being appreciated, praised, and given credit for all your work, credit is taken or given elsewhere. Would you be upset?

I would probably do all I could to Let the world know; THIS IS MY DOING, AND I CAN PROVE IT. Stop giving credit elsewhere; I created this cure! I would assemble all my proof, witnesses’ testimonies, etc., and present them to the world as best I could. But, what if, rather than admit their deception, the unscrupulous attack the Truth with false information and lies to take or give credit elsewhere. How would you like this? How would you respond?

Unfortunately, This is how God is treated repeatedly.

Despite the fact that God’s proof is all around us. That Science, Math, and History truly 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 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, animals. Numerous statues have been made and erected to worship, and numerous theories have been invented and taught.

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

Think about it, Theories are taught to our 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 All. 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 developed into the perfectly designed world of nature and life, we live in today. That Animal and Human life were some natural phenomena and that our human ancestry is monkeys. If not from God, Where did our intelligence come from?

Were you taught this? Did you or do you currently lend “ANY” credence to these theories today? God gave us free will that we may choose to look at the evidence. God would not have given us so much proof if expected blind faith only.

EVERYTHING CREATED IS GOD’S DOING, AND HE PROVES IT –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!

Flaxseed and Scripture

February 8, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Some friends recently set a family goal to read one thousand books by the year’s end. As I am a slow reader, this goal is truly impressive. In fact, When I ordered the book in this picture, “The Utterance of God,” I ordered based on a friend’s recommendation and my interest in the topic. The book identifies and demonstrates numerous biblical proofs (many of which I was unaware) 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 also solidifies 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 was not yet published when I placed my order, it does have a nice size font, but still, I did not realize the book was over 500 pgs. Likewise, the Bible has over a thousand pages and three-quarters of a million words. Large books seem daunting to me. However, I have learned to take the Flaxseed approach to my reading.

Like the books above, Flaxseed was also recommended to me as having several health benefits for our bodies. 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 the first container and am starting this new one; and am healthier for it.

Today, I am proud to report that I have read every word in “The Utterance of God.” Although parts of it were challenging to comprehend, much was very easy and extremely interesting. Moreover, I have gained considerably by being persistent in periodically consuming just a few pages at a time over months.

The result: Studying this information strengthened my understanding of God’s Word, increased my confidence when I thought I lacked none, and helped to embolden my faith.

Reading good books can provide several benefits for the health of our minds, and Reading God’s Holy Word provides nourishment for 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, take time to read the Bible, don’t decide in advance it’s too hard to understand, be persistent with yourself instead and commit yourself to at least a spoonful of reading per day. Before you know it, just like with the Flaxseed or the book I read, you will have consumed the whole book. It’s a blessing!

God First!

Ignore them or get to know them

January 24, 2022 / / 0 Comments

If you want to become close to someone, do you reach out by ignoring them? Do you talk to others, or do you talk with them? Many people say they believe in Jesus; some will even shout it from the rooftops, yet few truly spend time getting to know our savior. Jesus is the Word and has been with us since before creation.

When I speak of knowing Jesus, I’m not talking about feelings, like listening to music, watching a movie, or something that makes us emotional. No, I’m talking about getting to know Jesus through His Father, His life, His Words, His message and, His example. I’m talking about getting to know God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit through the God-breathed words of Scripture.

Ever had a best friend? (I hope you have) How did they become your best friend? Was it because other people kept telling you about them, or was it because you personally spent time with them and got to know them?

Personally, spending time with someone is when we truly get to know them rather than just what others think of them. So, likewise, God’s living Word is how we get to know God. As we spend time in those inspired God-breathed words, we draw closer to God, and He Draws closer to us.

8 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

If we are in His word daily, it’s only natural to reflect in our daily conversations and how we conduct our lives. Is He?

What an opportunity we have to have Jesus as our best friend!

  • 1 John 4:8-19 (Love Love Love)
  • Romans 5:8 (showed His Loves for us)
  • 1 John 3:16 (Laid down his life for us)
  • James 4:8 (Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you)
  • John 1:1-17 (Jesus was with God in the beginning)
  • 2 Timothy 2:15 (Do your best and study)

God First!

Does God love some more than others?

January 18, 2022 / / 0 Comments

As I contemplated this question, I believe the answer is that God loves the “response” of some more than others.

Like parents and children, one child might do as directed most of the time while the other doesn’t. It’s not that parents love the obedient child more than the other; however, they love the obedient child’s response more than the disobedient response. The obedient response shows a desire to please the parents by doing as told. (love)

In Scripture, we learn Jesus died for all the world and that God shows no partiality. Scripture also tells us to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and we find Jesus said; if we love Him, we will keep His commandments.

David was considered a man after God’s heart; why? God tells us: “He will do my will” Saul, on the other hand, lost his kingdom for doing “his own” will, not God’s.

King David made many huge mistakes and was far from perfect, yet he constantly turned to and relied on God; David pursued righteousness. (doing God’s will mattered to David)

We all have the same choice!

Follow God’s will to the best of our ability by studying and following the commands and examples of Scripture or following our feelings, our ideas, or those of others.

When we choose to follow God according to His will, we spend our lives pursuing righteousness. In James chapter 5, we find the effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. This should be one of our goals, to have our prayers accomplish much because our hearts are where King David’s was, pursuing righteousness.

God First!

John 3:16 tells us: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

“So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation, anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.” Act 10:34-35

“And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’” Acts 13:22 ESV

But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought out a man after his own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be prince over his people because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.” Samuel 13:14

“Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” James 5:16 NASB

Boo Boo the Encourager

Encourage and build-up

January 12, 2022 / / 0 Comments

“Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing. But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another. We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone. See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people. Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.”

‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5:11-22‬ (‭NASb)

God First!

Why Rules Daddy?

December 24, 2021 / / 0 Comments

As loving parents, why do we create rules? Is it for the fun of it? No, we initiate rules to help keep our children safe while teaching them to discern what’s right and wrong, safe or dangerous. However, if we don’t hold our children accountable for their actions, are we truly showing them, love? Are we really demonstrating love if there is no consequence for disobedience? Love is much more than hugs, kisses, smiles, jokes, and fun times.

Since the beginning, God has shown love and exhibited what love truly is. In Scripture, we find many examples that although God’s Love includes all kinds of blessings and kindness, punishment and expectation are not mutually exclusive of that love.

Meeting expectations helps build confidence, and punishment helps us make better choices on our lifelong paths. Godly punishment is not done out of meanness but out of love. Righteous punishment helps us learn and understand that we are accountable for our choices and, thus, deserve their consequences, whether good or bad.

Our Heavenly Father gave us free will that we might follow His instructions found in God’s Word (The Bible). His Son (Jesus) became flesh and demonstrated that love to the point of extreme pain and anguish when He was sacrificed for us. Jesus is the only sacrifice that could give us eternal life in heaven if we follow Him.

We may be adults in this world, but we should remember we are God’s children as Christians. I recently heard the point made that God has no Grandchildren. We are all his children, and he wants the best for us, similar to how we want the best for our children.

Since God created mankind, He has blessed, punished, and sacrificed that we might live eternally with Him. Therefore, God gave us every word of the bible, The God-breathed absolute truth for our benefit. God is Love, His precepts show that love, and in my humble opinion, our gratitude should make us want to excel in adhering to God’s Will by truly doing our best to put God First!

  • Proverbs 22:6
  • Ephesians 6:4
  • Hebrews 12:5-17
  • 1st John 4:16
  • John 14:6
  • Romans 8:12-17
  • Galatians 4:1-8‭‭
  • 1 Thessalonians‬ ‭4:8‬ ‭
  • 2 Timothy 3:16

God First!

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