The best life is a God First life

Tag: Truth

How often must God say something for it to be True?

From the beginning of creation, God’s Word has been Truth and nothing but Truth, and it will continue to be so to the end of time as we know it. God is Unchanging, God is Love, God is Good, God does not Lie! When someone discounts the importance of Scripture or flat-out dismisses it, they dismiss God, effectively deciding they know better than God. According to God’s Word, all of scripture is God-breathed. In other words, all of Scripture is inspired by God, giving us what God wants us to know and follow (see 2 Timothy 3:16-17)

If someone says they don’t believe “ALL” scripture is from God, or that it really means something other than what is stated, are they not calling God a liar or implying God goofed? If scripture tells you something is wrong one time, yet society, someone, or a culture tells you it’s ok or meant differently than what you can read, who’s right? — My answer is God!

When Scripture is pointed out, many respond: “Well, that’s your interpretation.” However, scripture tells us: “knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation.” (2 Peter 1:20) In other words, Scripture is from God.

In 1 Corinthians 14:33, scripture states: “For God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.”

Some try to reinterpret the Greek to force an interpretation that yields their desired result; however, in this effort, the problem is not with God’s Word.  No, the problem is with the individual seeking an answer different from what’s in God’s Word. God’s Word is true, as written for our understanding, not our confusion.

We don’t need to be Greek scholars to understand God’s face value meaning. So, if one believes in God and that the Bible is God’s Word, they should also understand that Scripture has only one correct answer, the one that God intended, and that answer will not contradict any other scriptures.

“The unfolding of the words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple” Psalms 119:30

I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.” Revelation 22:18-19

  • Hebrews 6:17-18
  • Titus 1:1-2
  • 1st John 4:16
  • Psalm 136:1

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“Oops, I almost forgot to take my eyes out.” Or “Got to put my eyes in.”

This type of language is called “hyperbole.” It can engage the listener by bringing more attention to an otherwise dry statement. In today’s culture, especially in our news, hyperbolic language is often distorted and twisted to be” Literal Language,” no matter how obvious the exaggeration. By treating hyperbolic statements literally, one might call someone a liar or twist the intent of their statement to make it sound disrespectful when there was no such intent.

My point is: We would do well to pay more attention to the intent of messages rather than getting caught up and inflamed by spin. Generally, the intent of a hyperbolic statement is obvious; unless you’re looking to change the message to further a different agenda, you should get it.

In my example, which I often use, I’m referring to putting in or taking out my contact lenses. No thought of disrespect or inconsiderate intent is aimed at or considered toward anyone in such a situation where they have literally lost an eye, and it would be wrong to accuse me of such.

I have used hyperbolic language naturally for many, many years. Long before I learned, it had a name and definition.

Jesus taught with hyperbolic language:

“Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?”

Jesus was not lying about a log; He used hyperbole to make a point, yet many in today’s media would call Jesus a liar if his teachings contradict their agenda.

We need to exercise much discernment in what we see and hear today, and then be slow to speak or judge, lest we join in spreading lies rather than be certain of spreading truth. It’s just way too easy to be gullible with all the untruth in media and Artificial Intelligence.

Definition: hy·per·bo·le [hīˈpərbəlē]

NOUN * Exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.

“being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips,” Romans 1:29

“He who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets, Therefore do not associate with a gossip.” Proverbs 20:19

“If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless.” James 1:26

“But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment.” Matthew 12:36-37

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Wow, if only the Apostle Peter knew

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

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Inspiration

Not every moment is as upbeat as I want it to be. Sometimes, sadness and reflection can bring us down. When this happens, holding these verses in our hearts and minds can help lift our spirits.

I hope sharing them here will help lift yours as well.

“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want, I can do all this through Him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:12-13

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God that is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 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. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.” 2nd Corinthians 1:3-5

“What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.” ‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭1‬:‭9‬ ‭ESV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” ‭‭James‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭ESV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matthew‬ ‭6:31-34‬ ‭ESV‬‬‬‬

“Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that He made to us—eternal life.” ‭‭1 John‬ ‭2‬:‭24‬-‭25‬ ‭ESV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” ‭‭Galatians‬ ‭6‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ ESV‬‬‬‬‬

God is Love!

God First!

God’s Accomplishments – should be praised

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

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Jesus seeds

We can plant seeds of evil or seeds of good. Some view social media as a “devil’s playground” because many abuse it. Some air their dirty laundry, some are disrespectful and hateful, some spread gossip, and the list goes on and on. I view Social media as farmland, farmland with equal opportunity to spread good seeds, good thoughts, praise, laughter, accolades, and the message of Christ.

We can just as easily spread seeds that build each other up as we can spread the seeds of Satan. We need to keep in mind that what we like, share, and say on these platforms is an extension of ourselves.

Wouldn’t you love to see social media inundated with uplifting posts, shares, and likes by good people wanting to make positive change? It starts with us.

If we’re not planting good seeds in the farmland, the seeds of weeds Satan plants will take over the land.

God is good; let’s share the goodness in all that we do!

James 3:18 – The seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

  • Matthew 28:19-20
  • Mark 16:15
  • Luke 24:47
  • Ecclesiastes 11:6
  • 1 Corinthians 3:6
  • Galatians 6:9
  • Luke 8:11
  • 2 Corinthians 9:10 – God will supply and multiply your seed for sowing.
  • Hosea 10:12 – Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love.

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Finding Truth

It’s been said,” Believe none of what you hear and only half of what you see.” With AI, editing and narrative pushing, this saying is obsolete. We cannot believe anything we see or hear in the media without extensive investigation.

Our media is inundated by ego-driven, biased commentators who call themselves reporters. In their “Reports,” they give us partial information and tell us what to believe in what we saw and heard from them. Purposely attempting to sway and distort our thinking. And they do this under the false label of ”NEWS.”

AI has many good purposes, yet it is also being abused to create fake media, distort the truth, and even spread lies through video, pictures, and sound. Lies that seem credible. With all this bad information, the most astute become gullible. As viewers and listeners, we are truly out of the loop when it comes to firsthand knowledge and should be very careful in forming and stating opinions, as without direct knowledge, we speak from a foundation of sand. This sandy foundation is full of countless weeds amongst elements of truth—a large puzzle with many pieces. When we take positions and voice opinions without in-depth research, we become part of the problem, unwittingly spreading lies.

Misinformation is nothing new; it has been with us since Adam and Eve. It’s just light-years faster to spread with today’s fingertip technology.

In Genesis 3:4-5, God’s own words were distorted by Satan when he told Eve, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Adam’s knowledge was direct from God in Gen 2:16-17, he was told “…You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” It’s unspoken whether Eve’s knowledge was directly from God or Adam, but her response to Satan showed she knew it was forbidden.

Satan could be considered the first “Reporter” with his agenda-driven distortion of truth.

Since Adam and Eve, Satan has not given up; he is relentless in trying to distort God’s Word. However, if one really wants to know the truth, God’s Word is where we find it; Jesus is the Firm Foundation we need that leads us to eternal life.

This world is full of lowercase churches, but Scripture speaks of Only One Church, the Church Christ built, the one His life, death, and resurrection founded. The more we know of Christ and all Scripture, the more equipped we are to discern the truth and the more capable we become to spread the seeds of absolute truth.

Let us not be gullible but rather pursue the truth of Scripture, doing our best to serve God according to God’s intent, His purpose, His word.

Otherwise, Satan is the only one planting seed and cultivating the land. We need the truth exposed in our lives—people need to understand why we turn to Jesus, why we believe the truth of Scripture, and how the Truth of God’s Word equips us to discern the truth amid lies.

We need to share what we have learned, as WE CANNOT SPREAD TRUTH WITH SILENCE!

  • Matthew 16:18
  • Ephesians 4:4-6
  • John 14:6
  • Acts 4:12
  • 1 Timothy 2:5
  • Deuteronomy 4:2
  • Revelation 22:18-19
  • Revelation 12:9

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NOT EVEN 10, Maybe toleration led to apathy

Not even 10 Righteous were found in Sodom and Gomorrah.

“Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten.”(Genesis‬ ‭18:32‬)

I wonder how many righteous originally built Sodom and Gomorrah; what happened?

Maybe, in the name of love, they began tolerating sinful actions, leading them to exclude and distance themselves from God, calling good evil and evil good.

Maybe as tolerance grew in popularity, fear of standing with God equated to fear of ridicule and fear of physical harm. Maybe, over time, the righteous became silent, and when the righteous are silent, so is their example.

Anything familiar here?

To tolerate everything is to stand for nothing. We cannot spread the truth with silence.

  • James 4:8 (close or away)
  • Matthew 12:30 (with or against)
  • Revelation 3:15–17 (Luke warm)
  • Matthew 24:10-14 (warning)

God First!

A lie called spin is still a lie.

How many of us speak using the best choice of words every time? Or, write the perfect sentence, paragraph, statement, or blog? I would say none. Yet today, people are constantly attacking words or phrases being used, ignoring obvious intent.

This makes me think of the parable where Jesus said:” Let anyone of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” How many of us imperfect people are casting stones at someone right now, NOT because of their intent, but rather because we did not like the words they used or how they presented them?

In politics and media, attacks are consistently made on purpose. Unfortunately, instead of calling these misleading efforts” deceit” or” lies,” we are Arrogantly told this is ok; it’s called” SPIN.” Phrases like” that’s their spin” or” what’s your spin?” are now commonplace. Today,” spin” comes with new meaning: distort the truth, change the focus of the original intent, weaken its impact, and confuse the listener or reader no matter how sound the original intent was.

Well, if it looks and sounds like a duck, it’s a duck! A lie called spin is still a lie.

To counter spin, we must have the truth; while this is almost impossible to get in politics and media, it’s not impossible when it comes to God and our salvation. Why? Because we have absolute truth! The Complete Word of God. God’s word can and should be our standard on all things. The answers are in scripture for all of us to follow and mimic. God is NOT a God of confusion.

  • Matthew 5:37
  • Proverbs 12:22
  • 2 Timothy 3:16
  • Galatians 5:22
  • 1 Corinthians 14:33

God First!

FAKE NEWS

Fake news is nothing new to Christians. We have been bombarded with Fake News since the beginning of Christianity. Jesus’s disciples and apostles spread the Good News of our salvation through Christ by telling of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. They established congregations all over, giving us examples of Church actions, worship, and leadership. Many of the letters we find in the New Testament are addressing “Fake News” and it continues today. Our world is full of Fake News in Christianity, but there’s good news. We don’t have to be gullible!

God has given us the means to discern the Truth from the Fake. We have 66 books of inspired words from God to study so that we can discern God’s Will, God’s teachings, through His holy word, comparing them to the desires and teachings of mankind. The answers are not found in what someone says is of God’s Word but in what God’s word actually says.

God First!

Writer: Wayne Johnson

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