Walking In Truth

Sometimes, it’s refreshing when you hear someone just speak the truth! It may be bold and it may be surprising, but it’s at the very least – unexpected, and even appreciated! Are you someone who gets offended by hearing another tell the truth? Well in today’s message, Pastor Johnny explains what’s behind that offense many times, and it may or may not be what you want to hear. But if you keep listening, you’ll have a better understanding of why God’s truths are important, even if they’re offensive.

When you’re lost and you’re looking for directions, sometimes it’s actually helpful to stop and ask where to go, from someone who might know the way. So when it comes to asking for help or directions about your future, you should absolutely stop and ask someone! Pastor Johnny wants you to know today that just because you may not have everything figured out doesn’t disqualify you from accepting the most important direction! Every person on earth is just looking to find answers.

Wouldn’t it be neat to be reading a book while the author was looking on? You could get insight and little tidbits that the author thought about while writing the plotline. Well in today’s teaching, Pastor Johnny states that the Bible is unique, because while you’re reading this unusual book, you have the author of it right there with you, each step of the way! He can help you try to understand and take the things you read, and then apply them in your life! What a great opportunity to know the Author of the Bible!

Isn’t it cute when a daddy calls his little girl, and she comes willingly, knowing she’s safe and secure in the arms of her daddy? But if that same man called another child who didn’t belong to him, that girl wouldn’t respond the same way, because she doesn’t know him. In today’s teaching, Pastor Johnny goes into how people who know and believe in Jesus follow Him because they trust Him. If you’re not a follower of Jesus, He wants you to become one! So be willing to listen, and to follow!

When you feel forced to do something, it’s frustrating, because you feel like you have no choice in the matter. Most of the time, doing something that’s forced on you is unpleasant, and can be traumatic. So why would you think that God would force something on you when it comes to following Him? God wants your heart only if YOU desire that. In Pastor Johnny’s teaching today, he gets to the point that Jesus is the ultimate gentleman. He wants to woo you and pursue you if you’re willing!

When you’re so hungry and you’re not sure if you’ll go on, you’ll eat about anything. But something that can be filling and satisfying is eating bread! It’s no wonder then, that Jesus related Himself to bread, and being like bread for your soul. It’s good and filling and brings you a sense of satisfaction that you might not have otherwise. Today, Pastor Johnny helps you see that Jesus is life, and without Him, you’re famished and hungry, looking for fulfillment in all the wrong places. Let Jesus be what fills you!

For most people across the globe, bread is something that the majority of people love and can fill their stomachs with. But what Pastor Johnny is teaching today is what can fill your soul. It certainly isn’t bread that you eat. Well in today’s passage, Jesus has an answer for you of what will truly satisfy your soul, even more than the way that freshly baked bread can fulfill your appetite for your stomach. It’s even more important for your soul to be well-fed than for your stomach to be gratified!

Most likely, you’re familiar with seeing pictures of malnourished children in third-world countries. It’s sad, and your heart goes out to those kids who are so hungry. But have you ever considered that you might be spiritually malnourished? This is even more damaging to you as a person than being physically without food! In today’s teaching, Pastor Johnny wants you to see the value of being spiritually fed by God’s Word, and that without it, you’re in a place that’s more serious than hunger.

Think of your favorite restaurant and the food you look forward to eating there for dinner. You crave it, and are excited for it all day! But by the time you get to eat it…as enjoyable as it might have been, you’re still going to be hungry tomorrow. That favorite food of yours just doesn’t satisfy in a long-term way. So many things in life are this way too…not just food! You try to satisfy a desire to be thrilled, or surprised, or have pleasure, but it doesn’t last. Pastor Johnny tells you today what does last.

When you see a thunderstorm building in the summer, you know it might bring about a lot of rain, and maybe even some hail. But you also know that this type of storm doesn’t linger or stick around all day. It builds and rolls through, but then it moves on, and eventually settles down. In today’s teaching, Pastor Johnny helps you realize that there are storms that come up in life, but they don’t stay forever. They stir things up, but then they move on or stop eventually. May that bring you hope today!

When you think of a storm on the sea, it’s easy to assume that it will always lead to disaster. But what if you were tossed to-and-fro and there was somehow, a good outcome from it all? You didn’t drown or become destitute from being out in the middle of the ocean, without food or water. Well today, Pastor Johnny wants you to see that there are reasons why you might be going through a hard time. The outcome may turn out for good, but it might require you to go through some trial to learn or grow.

Talking on the phone has become a bit of a lost art, as texting becomes more popular. But there’s still something about speaking with a friend over the phone that helps you know them so much better than just texting. You hear their voice inflection, or if you’re FaceTiming, you can actually see their expressions, as they’re talking. You get to know them better, the more time you spend interacting. Well, it’s no different with God! Today, Pastor Johnny wants you to spend time talking to God.

There’s a well-known term when you’re irritable and hungry…it’s hangry! Most people try to avoid being around someone for too long who’s in this state, or they try to find the nearest place with food! Today, Pastor Johnny teaches on being hungry for something more than physical food. He wants you to be hungry for God and His Word. What’s your appetite like when it comes to the things of God? Are you taking in junk food or are you wanting a food of substance, satisfying you and keeping you fed?

When you take a piece of pottery and drop it on the ground, it shatters into tiny pieces that could never be put back together. Today, Pastor Johnny talks about how - many times, people’s lives feel like those shattered pieces of pottery, unable to be glued back together and to feel whole. But the good news is, Jesus is the One who can gather all the pieces of your life and somehow make it whole again. He can bring your life of broken experiences and make it into a complete piece of art to be displayed!

When you take a test in school, it’s because your teacher wants you to be able to prove that you’ve learned what they’ve taught you. It’s evidence of your ability to retain the lessons that you’ve understood. Well in today’s passage, Pastor Johnny discusses how Jesus did this with His disciples. He would teach them something and then test them in situations, to see if they’d learned anything He’d taught. Today’s message is a perfect example of the ways that Jesus can help you never forget!

Sometimes a mixture of fruit juices can combine to make a really tasty and refreshing drink on a hot day. Each juice by itself is fine, but it’s the combination of all of them that makes the flavor most memorable. In today’s teaching, Pastor Johnny talks about there being a need for the laws from the Old Testament, but mixing that with a very real faith is what makes your spiritual life genuine. Be the perfect mixture of knowing God’s standards, but then also living out your faith in a way that’s…refreshing!

When something’s so hot, it can be dangerous. Some examples might be a fire, a curling iron, an oven…if you touch one of these, your body reacts in a way that forces you to move away from the heat source quickly. But what if there was a type of fire that drew people in? What if the fire was so hot that it sparked action in people that would help spread that fire, but it wouldn’t be destructive? Today, Pastor Johnny talks about a fire in your heart, and what your mindset should be when it comes to the things of God.

When someone presents a college thesis, they have to prove that what they’re talking about actually has validity. You might explain your evidence or your clinical work that’s been demonstrated in order to further support your case. Well in today’s teaching, Pastor Johnny says that in a sense, Jesus was on trial, defending or proving that He really was who He said He was. He gave people, and even God the Father, credit for being examples of those who testify to who Jesus was and is.

You can hear someone tell you how much they love chocolate, but if they never eat chocolate, then it’s hard to believe their affection for that sweet treat is real. However, if you watch someone eat chocolate every day because they love it so much, there’s no question in your mind that person can’t live without it! Well in a similar light, today, Pastor Johnny says that knowing or hearing about Jesus is one thing, but it’s obvious to everyone around you if you really believe in Jesus as your Savior.

Songs make mention of it, plenty of movies enter into a dark spiritual realm. They make it out to be a joke, a make-believe place that’s a figment of your imagination. But today, Pastor Johnny urges you to not make light of the truth that there’s a real hell with a real devil, who’s out to get you! It’s not just fodder for a good storyline in a book. You have an active enemy who wants to take you down with him and there’s no joking around when it comes to your eternal soul. Where do you stand today?