Walking In Truth

It would be very strange to jump into the middle of a book and try to make sense of it. You’d have no idea who the characters are, where the setting is, or how the plot develops. This is how it is when people attempt to decide on their own what parts of the Bible are true and which ones aren’t. Their way of thinking and making sense of things starts to crumble. Instead, Pastor Johnny wants you to realize today that everything God spoke into being - has a purpose….including you! Don’t lose sight of that.

When there’s a battle that’s to be fought, at times, there are terms of agreement, or rules to follow in waging war. By following these terms, you can honestly say that you won or lost the battle without cheating. But in today’s teaching, Pastor Johnny is talking about a different war….a battle for your heart. The terms are clearly laid out by God and He wants you to genuinely be able to come away from the battle-winning. With Him there with you, you can’t go wrong. He’s on the winning side!

When you see a dancer who’s passionate about dancing, it’s clear how she moves and the expression on her face. When you observe a scientist describing some complex experiment, you can’t help but notice their enthusiasm. Today, Pastor Johnny wants to know if your faith and your belief in God have that same kind of passion and exuberance that can so easily be seen in other things. Do you talk about faith? Are you willing to have those kinds of conversations that bring up what matters?

If you’ve ever had a pet, you know there are certain things that your animal just has no clue about. They don’t have the mental capacity or intelligence to comprehend higher-level thinking that humans are capable of. Well today, Pastor Johnny makes a great point that what you believe about God and where He comes from will affect your interpretation of where you think you came from and where you will or won’t go when you die. Do you believe this all just happened by chance or is there more behind it?

When you’re given a really special gift, your natural reaction is to want to show your gratitude and to even do or give something back to the person who gave you such a generous gift. This is how it should be with God too! Pastor Johnny expresses this kind of heart today in what Jesus has done for you. Shouldn’t it be a natural response to be so indebted - that you want to do anything and everything for Jesus, because He went above and beyond for you? Hear from the book of John how this works.

When concrete is initially poured, it’s soft and pliable, willing to be moved and manipulated to the shape it needs to be. But as time goes on, that concrete starts to set and becomes so hardened that you’d have to break it with a sledgehammer for it to come apart. Do you want to be like that hardened concrete, unable to move - in the way you might need to? Today, Pastor Johnny wants you to be willing to hear and believe all the various ways that Jesus proves Himself as being God!

If you ever go to a fancy art gallery, one of the expectations with that type of art is that you sit, and even study that art for a while. You take your time analyzing it and discovering the detail that wouldn’t be obvious at first. As Pastor Johnny begins a series in the book of John today, he describes this book like a masterpiece of art. You look at the whole picture of who Jesus is, rather than just glimpses that pass you by. So as you listen today and in the coming days, feel free to sit and take it in!

It brings peace of mind when you’ve misplaced something and then find it. You go to the lost-and-found and are relieved to be reunited with that item that you had missed. In today’s teaching, Pastor Johnny talks about heaven and the things within heaven. He talks about a new earth that will be like discovering something that had been lost and now is found. But in this case, the thing that’s found will be new and so much better than the original that had gone away. What an exciting experience this will be!

You know what it’s like to get a brand new pair of jeans. You might be familiar with the smell of a new car! There’s just something about enjoying the freshness of unused shoes. Now think about the earth being brand new! That has a nice ring to it, right? But there are some things that have to happen before that. Today, Pastor Johnny touches on what God must bring about, in order for you to experience that “brand new” feeling again. Thinking of the world hitting a “reset button” sounds good!

If you put a stalk of celery into colored water, over time, the leaves of the celery will become the color of the water. Try it sometime! It can be an at-home science experiment! How this relates to today’s teaching is that you can be like that colored water that’s having an influence on the world around you. The impact you have can slowly, over time, change the people and settings that you’re a part of. Pastor Johnny wants you to be willing to enter into that rather than running away from it.

Some of the best movies or books are ones that have an unexpected twist at the end that you couldn’t have anticipated. It’s so gratifying when the good guy reveals the villain and his trickery that had deceived so many. Why does this resonate with your soul so deeply? It’s because God ingrained this concept into humanity…that there’s good and evil, and that goodwill overcomes the extremely evil forces that are at work. Today, Pastor Johnny speaks the truth of what things will happen.

Going through childbirth can be a very grueling, yet memorable life experience. As the labor pangs intensify, you have to breathe a certain way to make it through that contraction and prepare for the next one. There comes a point where it’s so painful, you don’t know how you’ll go on living. Is this how you want your life as a whole to feel as things in this world get worse? Today, Pastor Johnny strongly urges you to be aware of the days you’re living in and to avoid the world’s labor pains.

With mythology, you learn about how the Greeks believed in all of these gods and goddesses who had power over certain attributes or qualities. Most people know that these things are myths…they’re made up. But what would happen if the whole world believed in Zeus or Ares or Aphrodite? In today’s message, Pastor Johnny talks about the reality of someone coming to power who will claim to be god and will be very effective in convincing the whole world that this is true.

If you believe something that’s contrary to the rest of the world, they think you’re crazy. So what would it take for you to take a stand and still claim with all your heart that you believe it? Today, Pastor Johnny gives an example of someone who went against the flow. He was a fish swimming upstream when everyone else was mocking and ridiculing him along the way. But what will it take for you to become one of those fish that’s willing to swim upstream against the strong current of ideas?

What would be the point of going through something really challenging only to be punished for it in the end? This is not the heart of God. When it comes to talks of the end times, Pastor Johnny wants you to know today that God’s looking out for you. If you claim to be someone who’s following Jesus wholeheartedly, have the confidence in knowing that He’s going to take care of you before all hell breaks loose on earth. God loves you and would never want you to have to go through that.

Isn’t it neat when God gives you a dream or a glimpse of something that might happen in the years ahead? You don’t have all the details, but maybe it gives you something to look forward to. Well today, Pastor Johnny expands this idea to life as a whole and how God gives us some clues of the great things He has in mind for us, but the details are a little fuzzy in between now and then. But that’s ok because God’s the One in control. Are you confident in your standing with God or are you undecided?

It’s important when you’re learning about a subject to think about it for yourself and decide whether you agree with it or not. This can be the case with abortion, evolution, all the hot topics that you can educate your mind in. But what Pastor Johnny wants you to take away from today’s teaching is that what God says about the things to come is what matters and if you look to Him for what’s true, He’ll never let you down. Look into the Bible to find the answers to all that’s weighing on your mind today.

Sometimes, you might read something and you just know it isn’t true. Based on your life experience or the things you know about the situation, you’re able to come to the conclusion that what you read is false. But what do you do when the whole world around you seems to be claiming truths that are actually false? Well today, Pastor Johnny urges you to look to the real truth, which is the Bible, for the answers. The things written in that book will never let you down and they always end up happening.

Everyone seems to want to get on a bandwagon these days for some cause or for some initiative that’s being set out. But how about getting on a bandwagon that has a lasting value beyond this life? In today’s teaching, Pastor Johnny gives a heads-up that you don’t have all the time in the world. The time left to make a difference is running out, like an hourglass with the sand quickly running to the bottom. Are you prepared and ready for what’s coming next? Pastor Johnny reminds you that this world is near its end.

There are certain board games where it’s a complete guess as to what the answers are. You might have some clues, but ultimately, you’re left to speculate what the right answer is. Similarly, Pastor Johnny teaches today how some things in the future aren’t obvious. Not everything is laid out in detail and so that’s why it’s so important to be ready for what God has in mind. He’s left it a mystery on purpose so that your heart will be in the right place at the right time. Are you prepared for what’s to come?