Category: Love (Page 9 of 10)

If you love me, you will keep my commandments ~ Jesus

I use to carry the equivalent of these 4 bowling balls everywhere I went

April 5, 2021 / Wayne Johnson / 0 Comments

On January 6, 2019, blood clots were found in my lungs and legs, and my blood sugar was 465 with an A1C of 11.6, which crash-landed me in the ICU.

It feels more prolonged, but tomorrow is two years and three months since I experienced this life-changing moment. I was sent home taking 4 insulin shots and 2 blood thinner shots daily. 2 months later, I originally posted the following on FB…

”I have stopped joking around about my health and began working on it. I have begun replacing bad eating habits with new ones.

I gave myself goals for the year.

1. Be 25 again by year’s end (

)

2. Lose weight

3. get off insulin

4. Get off the blood thinner

I had previously joked about my obesity. It was easier than serious effort. I enjoyed my gluttony of foods, and though I wanted to change, I wanted it without real effort. I actually think I had settled into and accepted the idea that losing 45 lbs would never happen, so why try?

However; As of 4/5/2019, I had lost 45 lbs, which put me at about the weight I was when I was 25 yrs of age.

I have been off the insulin since March of 2019, but they did put me on metformin. I have now cut that dosage of metformin in half. I feel great and have energy again.” It’s amazing what you can do with God’s help when you put both your mind and heart into it.

I am so thankful that I had this wake-up call two years ago tomorrow – It was a life-changing moment indeed!”

Update to this update:

I went on to lose a total of 60 lbs by June 2019 (4 bowling balls), putting me right at 200lbs. I am still on a blood thinner and 1/2 the metformin dosage.

At the start of my recent Covid19/pneumonia experience, which started 3/3/21, I had slacked up during the winter and gained about 12 lbs but recently saw 198lbs. (The only plus from covid)

As with most of my other shares, my intent for sharing this story is not to brag but somewhat out of hope. I hope to inspire those in similar situations. To help them realize they can also accomplish similar goals.

If doing it for yourself is not enough, think about how negatively the impact of your absence would affect those you love, Those who need you. Ask yourself a couple of questions.

Do you really want to take a chance of leaving them without you?

Would you be happy to take several shots a day or tons of meds when you can avoid it by changing habits instead?

I did not want my wife or family to have to live without me; We are all needed by those that love us, those whom we love. So, Wheresoever it’s within our power to do so, let’s do what we can by replacing bad habits with healthy habits.

What can we give to God?

April 1, 2021 / Wayne Johnson / 0 Comments

We are God’s creation; We are the focus of God’s love! During the steps of creation, we find this phrase stated several times “And God saw that it was good” However, it was after God created man in His image that scripture tells us, “God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. (Genesis 1:31)

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

Jesus died that we might have eternal life with Him, That our souls could have never-ending life in heaven in a new heavenly body. (2 Corinthians 5:1-10)

What can we give to God?

God wants us to love Him; He’s given us every reason to love Him. Our love is the only thing we can give God because it’s all we have to offer.

What does God want from us?

God wants us to recognize that He is, our God, the only God. He created us and everything we know and understand. He has made us a home beyond this world if; we chose to accept His grace and keep His commandments.

May we all seek God First in our lives, Love each other as Christ has loved us, and show Jesus that we love him by keeping his commandments.

Genesis 1:1-31
John 3:16
Mark 12:30-31
John 14:15
John 13:34

God First!
written by: Wayne Johnson

If you were to die tomorrow, what would you wish you had gotten done today?

March 31, 2021 / Wayne Johnson / 0 Comments

Several days each week, my sister-in-law Julie and her two teenage children meet to go on evening walks with some other brothers and sisters in Christ. Yesterday, on the ride there, in an attempt to spark conversation with her teenage son, she asked him this question: “If you were to die tomorrow, what would you wish you had gotten done today?”

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

This lead to further discussion, and my nephew Michael Jr. Johnson (affectionately known as Mikey) made the absolute best decision any of us ever make in this life. Mikey decided he wanted to have eternal life in heaven by being baptized and following Christ for the rest of his life.

So, last night, Michael Jr. 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. Later, Mikey told me he had been thinking about it for a while. You just 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.

Welcome to the Lord’s Church, Michael Jr. Johnson

God First?

written by: Wayne Johnson

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

Examples of Jesus and how We can overcome!

March 14, 2021 / Wayne Johnson / 0 Comments

Jesus would not be swayed from his purpose. His purpose was to do the will of His Father!

Even after fasting 40 days and nights. When Satan tried he could not sway Jesus.

When Jesus was weak and hungry Satan tried to exploit that hunger and provoke Jesus to perform a miracle “tell these stones to become bread”

Instead, Jesus quotes scripture to Satan telling him that life comes from “Every Word of God” (The Holy Bible is the word of God for us today)

Satan then tries to get Jesus to prove; He is, the Son of God, by throwing himself down from the pinnacle of the temple in the holy city, SATAN EVEN USES SCRIPTURE in his temptation.

Jesus quotes scripture again,

” ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”

Satan tries yet again, and shows Jesus the splendor in all the Kingdoms of the World and offers them to Jesus If, he will just bow down to him.

Jesus tells him to “BE GONE” and quotes scripture a 3rd time.

“‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”

This is a great example to Christians to not allow Satan to sway us from our purpose, to put God first, to seek all his righteousness, to hold fast and to trust God.

It shows us that Satan, knows scripture, Satan will try to use scripture to mislead us. It’s also 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 when we study we 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 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!

Focus on the good

February 21, 2021 / Wayne Johnson / 0 Comments

With so much evil in this world to distract our hearts and minds, let us NOT lose focus of all the good that surrounds us (often in humble quietness).

Let us work to keep our hearts and minds open and focus on the good; let us think and practice the words we find in Philippians.

“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” ~ Philippians 4:8

Let us be a light to others and recognize the shining lights in our lives; let us give thanks and say Thank-you today to those whose quest to live righteously inspires us to do the same.

Matthew 5:16 (let your light shine)
Galatians 6:9 (Never give up on doing good)

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!

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

Category: Love (Page 9 of 10)