Walking In Truth

Cancer is a horrible disease that at first, goes unnoticed. But as time goes on, its effects multiply in a person’s body and it becomes very difficult to fight off. In most cases, something must be done to kill the disease or the disease is likely to kill its host. Today, Pastor Johnny wants you to know that when you’re living a life of sin, you’re allowing this sickness to take over your life and the effects will spread a numbness into your heart. But your obedience to God is the first step in being healed for good!

A weed starts out very small. It’s not really in the way and even if you see it, it’s not that noticeable. So you leave it there, choosing to not deal with it. Then a week or two later, it’s all- of-a-sudden grown twice as big as it was before. You might avoid it for a bit more, but by the time you decide to actually pull it out, there’s a thick root that’s extremely difficult to pull out. Today, Pastor Johnny relates this idea of having a root of bitterness toward someone and refusing to forgive. Holding a grudge is damaging!

The age-old cartoon of Wylie Coyote and the Roadrunner might come to mind as you listen to Pastor Johnny’s message today. He talks about how you’ll repeatedly encounter stumbling blocks in your life and what you should do when you approach those situations. If you’re familiar with the cartoon, you know that the coyote is persistent in trying to trap or entangle the roadrunner, but he never succeeds and in the process, he ends up being the target of the trap. So be like the roadrunner, un-phased by the traps.

If you’re traveling on a nicely paved road, you appreciate that there’s little resistance and few speed bumps along the way. But sometimes, the most hidden treasures end up being along the windy and narrow road that less people take. It can be rough and bumpy along the way, but you find that it was worth it when you get to the hidden gem that was there all along. Pastor Johnny speaks today on how God is asking you to take concern for others and their awareness of that narrow, but intriguing road ahead.

When you get in an elevator, you know which direction you’re intending to go. You purposefully go up to a higher level where you have a room or a unique vantage point. Otherwise, you press the down button to get to the lobby or the parking garage. Either way, you’re fully prepared to go the direction you’re heading. In your spiritual life, which way are you looking? Pastor Johnny makes it clear today that there are two places a person will go…either heaven or hell. Which route are you taking?

What if you watched a movie and at the end, there was an amazing sequel that outshined the original movie? This is how it can be for you too in your decision to follow Jesus. If you choose to live a life for Him, there’s much to look forward to! But if you choose against what Jesus offers, there’s a horror movie awaiting that you’ll experience first-person. Don’t let that be the case for you or anyone else you know. Today, Pastor Johnny wants you to live in light of eternity, not the darkness of hell.

You have this old, beat up car and it doesn’t even work anymore. You need a reliable car to drive, but you don’t have any money. Wouldn’t it be unreal if the car dealer took your dysfunctional car and gave you a new one for free?! That would be unheard of when it comes to cars, but when it comes to your spiritual life, this is the very thing that God is offering to you. Today, Pastor Johnny encourages you to make good use of this offer and make your life an investment in the future for you and for others!!

There was a popular bumper sticker that said, “He who dies with the most toys wins.” Do you buy in to this mentality? Maybe you struggle with comparison and want to try to compete with your neighbor or your co-worker in how many things they have -getting the next best phone or seeing what they buy and then trying to “one-up” them. The truth is, none of these things will have any effect on eternity, but how you live your life and the way you pursue others will! Today, Pastor Johnny explains how.

What is something that captures your attention or shows the true intention of your heart? It’s easy to get wrapped up in wanting to accumulate money so you can do more things. Buy that boat, upgrade to a bigger house, all the things that money can afford. But what if you were asked to invest in eternal things that aren’t so immediately within your grasp? That takes a bit more motivation that could pull on your heart strings in a way you don’t want. Today, Pastor Johnny helps you see the benefit!

It’s called a domino effect. You might not even notice it at first. It starts as a subtle thought in your mind. But then you notice a growing hardness in your attitude, which affects where you spend your time and who you hang out with. Before you know it, you’re a completely different person than you once were and you’ve embraced something else that seemed more comfortable. Today, Pastor Johnny gives some words of caution in being aware of your heart veering away from God slowly and steadily.

One of the greatest signs of humility is when you realize you’ve done something wrong and you actually face the people you’ve hurt. You might think it would be so much easier if you stayed away, because of shame and guilt. But the truth is, the best way to restore any relationship is to admit wrong-doing. Today, Pastor Johnny looks into an example of someone who took action by changing his direction and going back to where he came from, knowing it was better than where he was going.

When you were in your late teens and finishing up high school, it’s likely you craved the freedom of getting out from under your parents’ thumb. You looked at the world and what it could offer you and everything pointing to independence was appealing and drew you in. As Pastor Johnny talks about today, not everything in the world is as it seems and there are plenty of things looking to take your money, your integrity, and your dignity away. But with God, there’s always a way back home after you mess up.

Say you have an item that’s near and dear to your heart. But that item turns up missing. It’s irreplaceable and so going out and buying another one just won’t do. So you look and look and look until you find it. This is Jesus’ heart for you. Today, Pastor Johnny goes into a few examples of things that were lost and were looked for relentlessly until they were found. Every one of us was lost at one point and the heart of God is to look for you and to find you and bring you into His family forever!

If you were rescuing someone who’d been kidnapped, you’d go into dangerous territory in order to find and retrieve the one who’d been taken. Your intent would to never be anything like the kidnapper. Your whole motive would be to go in, rescue the child, and get out. Pastor Johnny teaches today on how to effectively reach out to people. Are you looking to draw them closer to Jesus or are you trying to relate so closely to that person that there’s no difference in your lifestyle?

Imagine having a famous king come join you for dinner. You might feel unworthy or all of a sudden very self-conscious about how “picked-up” your house was. How remarkably refreshing it would be to realize that this king doesn’t care about appearances. He just cares about being with you and eating a meal with you. In today’s teaching, Pastor Johnny talks about how Jesus was this way with people who were considered outcasts. He just wanted to be with them and care for them.

How weird would it be if you were invited to a celebration and then there wasn’t a place for you to sit at the table? You would feel unwelcome and awkward and would be looking to exit out the back door before anyone noticed. Today, Pastor Johnny pleads with you to know there’s always room for you if you’ll accept Jesus’ invitation to a place in heaven! God’s given ample time and opportunity, but at some point, the party God is inviting you to will begin and He wants you there more than anything.

When you don’t feel like doing something, it’s easy to come up with excuses so you don’t have to do it. But when it’s something you really want to do, you jump at the opportunity…you even might fight for it! But being forced into something is a different kind of animal that can make you resentful of the whole thing. Today, Pastor Johnny explains how patient and loving God is. He won’t force you into choosing Him, but He desperately wants you to come to Him willingly and choose Him for life!

Say you get a basic subscription to something. It’s nothing fancy, but you’re ok with what it offers and are working at being content with its limitations. But then, the company offers you an upgrade, which opens up a variety of offers. You feel like you’ve hit the jackpot! Now think about if you’d started at the upgrade level. Would you appreciate it as much? Today, Pastor Johnny wants you to know that it’s better to start from humble means so God can promote you and others can see your journey.

Whenever you hear of some miraculous healing of someone who couldn’t walk or of someone recovering from a sever stroke, it causes you to be amazed in wonder. When it comes to a healing of your heart, it’s no different. You and others around you can be in awe of God’s healing and work in your heart. Today, Pastor Johnny gets into the fact that God can refresh and heal your mind and heart. God is able to unwind the twists and turns your heart has taken and can guide you in a straight path.

Do you recognize when there’s a negative influence in the room? Sometimes it’s pretty obvious, but other times, someone can sneak through the cracks and be a mole, pretending to be something he isn’t. In today’s passage, Pastor Johnny touches on the different types of people Jesus interacted with and how some of them were easily a poor example of focusing on the things that didn’t matter rather than living out what does matter. Is your influence to those around you one that reflects Jesus?