Advocate for Christ

The best life is a God First life

Category: Goodness (Page 4 of 4)

Beauty In The Wake of Storms

September 3, 2021 / / 0 Comments

There is great beauty in the wake of the storms; the loss of life is horrible, The destruction of property, livelihoods, and displacement of families is heart-wrenching, yet we find great beauty shining through the masses doing all they can to help. It’s in these troubled times that we get to see what’s really at the hearts of most people. They are not concerned with the color of your skin, your beliefs, or how you live your daily lives, no! They come together performing searches, opening their homes, businesses, church buildings, etc. They come to rebuild; they gather and send supplies for storm victims from all over our nation to help out.

In the Wake of Storms, mankind acts with compassion, concern, and love for one another. This is the America of the masses. The America that cares about people, about the well-being of those hurting and in need.

This is where we see America’s greatness and the love we have for one another that’s truly at our very core.

It’s here we see the love of God in and through the people acting in unity.

God First!

It’s “My Life” I’ll live it like, I want!

September 1, 2021 / / 0 Comments

“It’s “My Life” I’ll live it like, I want!” What teenager hasn’t made a similar statement. What adult has never said a similar statement? Few, I’m sure. Before COVID-19, when entering worship, someone often handed out a list of prayer requests gathered by those working in prison ministry.

Later, when reading the request before praying for them, I noticed a high percentage of those requests from prisoners were for loved ones. Many seemed concerned about how their absence via incarceration had caused hurt, physical stress, pain, and financial burdens, negatively affecting those that love them: their parents, wives, children, grandparents, etc.

While behind bars, the concern for loved ones seems to be at the forefront of their minds. I don’t know what got these people in prison, but I do know; our actions affect those we love, and we should consider that when we start thinking, “it’s my life, I’ll do what I want.”

No matter what time of life we’re experiencing at this moment, young, old, or in-between, we are examples to those around us, and when we make bad choices, those choices can easily create unnecessary burdens on our loved ones.

Jesus knew what He was talking about when He commanded us to love others as He loved us. Jesus is the ultimate example for our lives, and when he walked this earth, he lived accordingly. If we follow this command to “love others as Christ loved us,” then “living our life like we want to” will mean: living our lives understanding that what we do affects those we love. Regret is avoidable!

  • John 13:34
  • Matthew 15:16
  • 1 Timothy 4:12
  • Ephesians 5:1-33
  • Romans 12:1-21

God First!

Reflecting

The Mirror of Reflection and Growth

August 14, 2021 / / 0 Comments

Our dual battle between good and evil starts with the desires of our hearts and minds. (James 1:15) When we act with goodness, we glorify God. When we act on evil desires, we sin against God.

Our actions show our heart so let us not be afraid to better ourselves by embracing the mirror of reflection and growth.

Let us ask ourselves daily:

  • Are my actions demonstrating where I know my heart’s desire, should be?
  • Am I proud of my actions?
  • Would Jesus be proud of my actions?
  • Did I reject temptation?

If the answer is “Yes” then you do well if your answers are “No” remember God forgives, He even forgets, If bad habits have formed it’s not too late to replace them with good habits. Scripture tells us to repent, which means: To change direction. There is never a better time to change direction than the moment you realize you need too and reflection helps us get to that point.

 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Matthew 6:21

God’s word tells us how to focus our minds and hearts, how to overcome the temptation to sin. (Philippians 4:5-9)

  • Hebrews 8:12
  • Matthew 5:44
  • Matthew 5:16
  • Matthew 22:37–39
  • 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 for forgivness 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

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God's Word cannot be shared wit silence

Want to Save America?

August 7, 2021 / / 0 Comments

I would love to see America saved from the direction it’s currently headed. Hope is not lost if we each take action to change direction.

Scripture tells us in James 4:8: “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you…” It stands to reason that the opposite is also true; the further we are from God, the further He is from us.

We must embrace and share the Goodness and Love of God found in Scripture. We must learn to be and teach others to be as Christlike as possible. It sounds too simple to be the answer but putting God First really is The Answer!

A Country without God is a Country lost; a country with God is a Country Blessed!

God First!

God's Word cannot be shared wit silence

It is what it is, but it will be what we make of it!

July 15, 2021 / / 0 Comments

This statement applies to many things, but today I think of social media. Platforms like Facebook turn so many people off because many abuse freedom of speech with disrespectful, attention-grabbing rants, gossip, foul language, crude or distasteful images, etc.; I’ve heard many refer to social media as “the devil’s workshop.” Well, this may all be true, but; “it will be what we make of it!”

Social media can indeed be viewed as a workshop, but it doesn’t have to be just Satan’s.

No, If every Christian turned off by these abuses decided to post, share, like, and love only good things rather than walk away and be quiet, they could help make social media a better place. The simple truth is that Satan is in this world, his actions are all around us, and “we can’t make a difference if we don’t try.”

Jesus charged us to share the gospel with all the world; we are charged with planting seeds of Truth. So, when we choose to walk away from farmland that is ours to cultivate and plant, we leave only Satan planting seeds of weeds and destruction. So, rather than decide social media is not for me, rather than be quiet, why not be engaging? Simply refrain from negative comments and use your platforms to encourage and share the truths of life with Christ.

You don’t have to post articles, but you can support good ones with likes, Loves, and encouraging comments. You can share articles and memes of truth and good thoughts. Don’t take negative statements personally. They are often spewed from ignorance (hint: the seed lands on all soil types); cast it and let it grow, let God provide the growth. Jesus Himself cast numerous seeds and was rejected by some in much worse ways than a negative or hurtful comment.

Social media can be a tool to teach what scripture says rather than feelings. You can share links to sites that specialize in sharing Truths, Sites like The apologetic Press, Search of the Lord’s Way, among others whose sole purpose is to teach truth according to scripture rather than what they feel Scripture meant. I personally don’t want to gamble my soul’s eternity on what someone feels scripture meant when there is so much understanding to be had by gaining a fuller understanding of God’s Words themselves.

It is what it is, but it will be what you make of it!

God First!

How would you feel?

June 29, 2021 / / 0 Comments

How would you feel? Your daughter’s been a bit of a tomboy most of her life, you love her with all your heart, and she gets engaged to marry. Now, you are a master at sewing and spend months sparing no expense, gathering the perfect materials, designing, preparing, sewing, and tweaking to perfection the most beautiful wedding dress the world has ever seen. With each adjustment, love flows exuberantly from your heart. Your imagination is unstoppable as you visualize your daughter walking down that aisle. You are creating ”A Work of Art,” just for her! And you know in your heart, she’s going to recognize and appreciate all the love you’ve put into creating this gorgeous wedding dress. In this dress, she will be the bride of brides and forever grateful. (talk about precious memories!) When your daughter sees the dress, she exclaims how beautiful it is; she tries it on and is simply stunning. She hugs you, and thank’s you profusely. (You smile!)A few days later, you come home and see your daughter in jeans and a t-shirt doing what she loves working on her pickup truck with tools, parts, dirt, and grease all over the place, which is kind of normal for her, what you don’t expect to see is the wedding dress under feet being used as a drop cloth to protect the driveway.

How would you feel?

Are you disappointed, hurt? I know. This is absurd and would never happen, right? Yet, in a sense, it has happened and does happen. Not, to the creator of a wedding dress, No; It’s much worse. This is how ”Our” creator gets treated by His creation.

God created this beautiful, fascinating universe for us, and after creating each piece, God said: “This is good” BUT, after creating, mankind God called it all “VERY GOOD.” God was pleased with His creation. God also sacrificed tremendously for us. His plan included the life, death, and resurrection of His son through which God extended an offer of grace to everyone that we might all have eternal life in heaven. At some point, many learn of Christ and put on Christ in baptism; we thank God profusely and recognize His love. We put God First in our lives, then often get caught up in skewed self-absorbed priorities and quickly lose sight of what’s really important. We let honoring God trickle down our priority list. This is when we really hurt our Creator. God watches when we treat ”His artwork” as if it was worthless fabric, as we step-on, trample, smudge, dirty, and abuse His perfection, His labor, and Gifts of pure love; God knows our hearts! The Church is the bride of Christ; those who are “In Christ” should always be mindful of God’s precious gifts. God told us how we could demonstrate our thankfulness. Jesus said; if you love me, you will keep My Commandments, and “the greatest command is to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. God gave us freedom of choice; the one thing we can offer God that is ours to give is our choice. Our choice to love God by following Christ and keeping His commandments to the best of our ability. It’s all God really asks of us!

“I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”

Isaiah‬ ‭61:10‬
May we always keep God First in our lives, every second of every day!
  • Genesis 1:31
  • Exodus 20:3
  • Exodus 34:14
  • Psalm 18:31
  • John 5:44
  • 1 Timothy 1:17
  • John 3:16
  • Galatians 2:20
  • Matthew 6:33
  • Romans 12:1-2

God First!

Life,through Boo Boo's Eyes

The glories of life

May 29, 2021 / / 0 Comments

If you saw the glories of life through my eyes; You would go to sleep each night with great anticipation! Looking forward to the next morning’s air, its sunshine, its birds, and playful squirrels in the trees.

Through my eyes; Each morning brings a new opportunity to hear the voice of those I love and do my best to see them smile and hear their laugh. To tease them, hug them, play with them or even; just sit with them and soak the glories in!

Through my eyes; We all miss out when we sleep in late and must rush to start the new day’s race. But even then, I do my best to start their day at its very best! To bring a smile upon their face, they can carry through the day’s race.

~Boo Boo

If only we all lived each day in this way, what a blessing it would be to everyone around us. What Joy we would have in our hearts, what Joy we would bring to others all day long.

Written by: Wayne Johnson

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

March 5, 2021 / / 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

The gift we can give God that God wants?

February 24, 2021 / / 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!

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