Advocate for Christ

The best life is a God First life

Tag: Christ

May we always be thirsty for the water of life found in God's Word

Let us not be cowards

April 13, 2026 / / 0 Comments

Let us always thirst and seek to drink from the water of life, conquering temptation, speaking boldly yet lovingly, sharing and standing for Christ, and never being cowards, that our heritage is with God as our Father. May we always seek to show Jesus that we love Him by keeping his commandments.

“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” John 14:15 ESV

“On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of His heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this He said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” John 7:37-39 (ESV)

“And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” Revelation 21:6-8 ESV

“Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. 9 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. 10 For

“Whoever desires to love life
    and see good days,
let him keep his tongue from evil
    and his lips from speaking deceit;
11 let him turn away from evil and do good;
    let him seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
    and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, 19 in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, 20 because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.” 1 Peter 3:8-22

  • Acts 4:29
  • Acts 13:26
  • Proverbs 28:1
  • Matthew 10:28

God First!

The 20-year battle within – Part 2

February 6, 2026 / / 0 Comments

We have now been together for 41 years, not long after we married on Feb 14th 2003, I told Virginia I wanted to go back to Church. This literally scared her, and she bawled. In her mind, my desire equated to me not thinking she was good enough. I assured her this was not the case. When I attended, I would arrive late for Worship and leave immediately. I thought that if people got to know too much about my life, they would try to change it, so I stayed very private at first. However, I remained consistent in my efforts to attend and learn, and eventually began attending all the Bible classes and evening services.
I was also a friend of Jimmy Miller, the minister at the time, whom I had known when I was a faithful teenager, so at that time, I mostly only talked with Jimmy.

Though we had corrected the marital part of our lives, there were other parts of my life that, in light of God’s Word, I thought conflicted with a selfless pursuit of following Christ; however, as my faith and understanding grew through study and application, so did my desire and efforts to address or replace those issues with better choices and habits as well.

Although few knew of my past at the time, I decided to repent publicly and move forward, asking the Church for forgiveness for those wayward years. As I attended, I would invite my wife, but only occasionally, as doing so constantly would irritate her. One Sunday morning, Virginia said yes and went with me. She then began attending with me sporadically, but over time, she came with me to every service and Bible study. Jimmy had some one-on-one Bible studies with us, and Virginia concluded she needed to be baptized into Christ.

My wife had been raised Catholic; she had adopted atheism from her previous husband, who was killed in a motorcycle accident, and on March 23, 2010, about 7 years after our marriage, she was immersed in the waters of baptism for the forgiveness of her sins and became a disciple of Christ, a Christian. During her immersion, it was noticed that her elbow did not go underwater, so they baptized her twice. I then teased her that her sins were so bad she had to be double dunked. 🙂 There is nothing that could make me waver again!

I pray that anyone reading this who may be in a similar situation will begin now, set it right, and never waver again. It’s comforting to have certainty in our souls’ condition, knowing we will spend eternity with Jesus. 1 John 5:13

  • 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 of sin: – 2 Cor. 7:9-10, Luke 13:3-5, Acts 17:30
  • Confess Christ: – Romans 10:9-10, Matthew 10:32-33, Luke 12:8-9
  • Baptism by immersion for forgiveness of sin: – Matthew 16:15-16, 1 Peter 3:21, Acts 2:38, Mark 16:16, John 3:5, Matthew 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!

700 years before Christ

January 25, 2026 / / 0 Comments

Think about this prophecy, read it slowly, and take it into your heart and mind; Isaiah 53 was written about 700 years before Christ’s death and resurrection.

“He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. And they made His grave with the wicked— But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.”

Isaiah 53:3-12 ESV

God First!

Mike the Baker

January 15, 2021 / / 0 Comments

by: Wayne R Johnson

Mike is your new friend who happens to be a baker; you tell Mike in conversation that you love carrot cake and have the perfect recipe. Mike finds out your birthday is coming up and offers to bake your cake, so you give Mike the recipe; however, you write in large letters across the top of the paper:

“IMPORTANT! Follow the recipe as written. Don’t add or leave anything out of it.”

The recipe specifies the types of ingredients, the order in which they are mixed, and even what brands to use. You reiterate the importance of following the directions, and Mike agrees! While at the store, Mike decides that some of the specified ingredients aren’t the best, so he chooses what he believes is better. When Mike arrives home, he mixes all the ingredients according to your directions—well, almost. The directions say to mix the ingredients in a specific order, but that doesn’t fit Mike’s baking ideas, and it will take longer. Mike also decided the recipe could use one more ingredient, so he added it. Mike then invites your family over to enjoy the cake. Mike is so pleased with his efforts, grinning ear to ear, and he is confident you’ll love it.

The moment has arrived. The cake looks fantastic, and you and your family are digging in.

Hmm, the cake is not moist; in fact, it’s dry. It’s bland and not at all what you expected. You have no idea why. When suddenly you notice the cake has nuts, you immediately look at your daughter, who is gasping for air, and call 911 for help.

Sound familiar?

In this scenario, you have knowledge that Mike does not have, yet you give him a detailed recipe with precise instructions, stressing, “DON’T ADD OR TAKE AWAY FROM THIS RECIPE.”

You had specific reasons!

  • 1) Were you pleased with Mike’s efforts on the cake?
  • 2) Mike exercised his free will and did things his way, even though he had your instructions and agreed to do them your way. Was that the right decision?
  • 3) By not following your instructions. Mike changed and added things to your recipe. His choices ruined your afternoon and could have killed your loved one. His intentions were good; does that matter?
  • 4) Should Mike blame you for not giving him more information? Rather than being sorrowful and humble for not following your recipe as He agreed,

God also has specific reasons for every word written in Scripture!

  • God has knowledge that we do not have and has emphasized the importance of following His Word according to His Word. (Rev. 22: 18-19)
  • God knows what’s best for us. He cares! He wants us all to take advantage of the ultimate sacrifice made for all of us, all of mankind.

In God’s recipe for our salvation, God gives us examples and commandments on how to live our lives best. He tells us how to “put on Christ,” to be “in Christ,” and to be heaven-bound. Christ both shows and tells us how to show God we love Him.

Shouldn’t we strive to follow God’s recipe as He wrote it? His will not ours be done. (Luke 22:42)

Unlike Mike doing his will, doing God’s will really does give us a valid reason to grin ear to ear; it brings us absolute joy and the promise of eternal life.

“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” John 14:15

  • 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 of sin: – 2 Cor. 7:9-10, Luke 13:3-5, Acts 17:30
  • Confess Christ: – Romans 10:9-10, Matthew 10:32-33, Luke 12:8-9
  • Baptism by immersion for 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!

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