Sunday Message - Finding Our Way

In today's message, Sr. Chaplain Jesse Johns discusses our nation and how we have moved away from our the basic foundation of Christian love and finding our way back to God.

Sunday Message - Scripture Reading from Psalms

Psalm 22:25-28 New Living Translation

25 I will praise you in the great assembly.

    I will fulfill my vows in the presence of those who worship you.

26 The poor will eat and be satisfied.

    All who seek the Lord will praise him.

    Their hearts will rejoice with everlasting joy.

27 The whole earth will acknowledge the Lord and return to him.

    All the families of the nations will bow down before him.

28 For royal power belongs to the Lord.

    He rules all the nations.

Sunday Message - Praising Him with Song

O, Lord! We raise up our voices to You and sing Your praises. Holy is the Lord! The earth and heavens are filled with Your glory. As we come into your presence, may our words be beautiful music in Your ears.

Amen.

Answers Inside - New Testament

James 1:19-20 New Living Translation (NLT)

19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. 20 Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.

Sunday and Special Event Messages Now Available Through Google Play Music!

Our podcasts are now available through Google Play Music. As our ministry continues to grow through your prayers and donations, we will continue to offer more venues for getting the Good News to all those who need that amazing grace.

Answers Inside - Paul

Ephesians 6:10 New Living Translation (NLT)

A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

Answers Inside - Old Testament

Isaiah 41:10 New Living Translation (NLT)

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.

    Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you.

    I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

Mid-Week Message - Be Bold in Faith and Your Relationship with God

We have a little dog named after a very dear friend of ours, Jack Graham. Jack is a little bichon frise. If you have seen one you already know that they are little white puffy-haired dogs that are more inclined to be lap dogs. Jack, or as we like to call him, “Jack-Jack”, is anything but a furry pushover. Although he is small in stature, he makes up for it in spirit. He is not a timid dog that hides. Jack-Jack will defend his yard and his space. If you are looking for a dog that will bond with a family and will do what it takes to defend that family, a bichon frise would be a wonderful choice.

You are asking yourself, “Why is he talking about a bichon?” As I had mentioned, Jack-Jack, like his namesake Jack Graham, has a spirit of boldness. Jack was soft-spoken, but a man of integrity and determination. I can safely say that my wife and I love Jack. I often referred to him as the Chairman of the Board. I have had and continue to have great respect and admiration for Jack Graham. Although he passed away a couple of years ago, his spirit of Christian boldness lives on in his beautiful family and certainly in my own heart.

God does not gift us with timid spirits. We are to be bold and ready to defend our faith. Just like Jack-Jack and Jack Graham, we are called from time to time to act with conviction and stand firmly in our faith. When I think about Jack and his wife Dorothy, I think of all of the times both encouraged and supported me during the early days of my ministry at Lakeline Oaks Retirement Community. Both were strong in their faith and both acted with confidence and boldness. They were and continue to be an inspiration to me.

In Acts 4:31, we are given an insight into Peter and John. When filled with the spirit, they both preached with boldness. In our daily lives, we need to have that spirit and be ready to preach the Word to all with boldness and conviction.

Many of us feel that we should not be bold or pushy when it comes to sharing our faith. We are not being pushy if we do things in a loving way. For example, some pastors in Georgia still believe the best way to reach people is through “hellfire and damnation” sermons. Yes, there is a consequence to sin; however, we should also tell people of God’s love for them and why Christ Jesus died for their sins. We can preach the Gospel without being pushy.

Paul, in his second letter to Timothy, tells us, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7 NLT)

Paul goes on in the next verses and reminds us, “So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord.”

There is another aspect of being bold when it comes to our faith. We can boldly go to the throne of God to seek His mercy and grace. Hebrews 4:16 assures us that we can come boldly to God’s throne and find grace when we need it most. We can, with certainty, go before Him because of Christ and our faith in Him.

So, in the coming days of this brand new year, be bold when talking about your faith and, when you need that wonderful amazing grace to get you through your problems, boldly go to the Father and rest assured that He will provide all that you need and more.

Lord I Lift Your Name On High

Lord, I lift Your name on high

Lord, I love to sing Your praises

I'm so glad You're in my life

I'm so glad You came to save us

You came from Heaven to earth to show the way

From the earth to the cross my debt to pay

From the cross to the grave

From the grave to the sky

Lord, I lift Your name on high

Answers Inside - Gospels

John 3:16 New Living Translation (NLT)

For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

Why the Name?

Over the past couple of years, Karla and I have been praying and asking the Lord for guidance. We loved our ministry at Lakeline Oaks Retirement Community in Cedar Park, Texas, and missed our faith family there so very much. We did not know why we were leaving our faith family and moving to a place where we had no family or friends.

Just as God commanded Abram (later Abraham) to pack up everything and move from Haran to Canaan, God commanded us to move from our comfort zone in Cedar Park, Texas, to Newnan, Georgia. Although we did not understand the why part of the command, we knew that God had plans for prosperity and that no harm would come to us. We trusted Him daily and knew that He would meet our daily needs just like He had done for the children was they wandered in the wilderness. Manna to eat, water to drink and pillars of cloud and fire to guide us.

The one thing that we always remembered is that God's grace would see us through whatever we faced. No matter what the challenge was we knew with unwavering certainty that God's grace, although undeserved, would see us through.

My father's favorite hymn was "Amazing Grace". The words are so beautiful and they illustrate what God continues to do in our lives. God revealed that wonderful and amazing grace to me in a very short passage in 1 Peter.

As I was reading 1 Peter 5, God spoke to me and gave me the name of our ministry. Here is the verse that God placed on my heart.

I have written and sent this short letter to you with the help of Silas, whom I commend to you as a faithful brother. My purpose in writing is to encourage you and assure you that what you are experiencing is truly part of God's grace for you. Stand firm in this grace. 1 Peter 5:12 (NLT)

The very last sentence struck that chord in my heart. We need to stand firm in His grace each day and know beyond a shadow of doubt that He will provide, guide, protect, heal and love us.

That is how this ministry received not only its name but also its call to serve. We stand firm in His Grace.

Answers Inside - Proverbs

Proverbs 14:12 New Living Translation (NLT)

There is a path before each person that seems right,

    but it ends in death.

Sunday Message - Happy New Year

In the New Year's Message, Sr. Chaplain Jesse Johns will reflect on 2016 and discuss why we should be excited about 2017.

Answers Inside - Psalms

Psalm 139:13 New Living Translation (NLT)

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
    and knit me together in my mother’s womb.

He is Exalted

As we launch our new website, we celebrate and exalt the name of God Almighty. Please join us in celebrating our new ministry website. We dedicate ourselves to spreading the Word of God to all and to comfort those who need comfort.

Happy New Year and Welcome!

Happy New Year! We welcome our Faith Family and Prayer Partners to our new website. 

As we begin a new year, we continue to follow God where He leads us.

12 Hours from Now

Within the next 12 hours, we will be closing down this website and moving to our new one. We are very excited to launch our new ministry website in the next few hours.

All of the postings from this website will be moved to our new domain. This includes all comments made to any of our postings.

As the New Year rings in, our new site will be launched. On behalf of our ministry and IT teams, we would like to thank all of you for your prayers, help and financial support. Without you, we would not be able to launch our new web-based ministry.

Thank you. 

Jesse and Karla Johns

Answers Inside - New Testament

Hebrews 11:1 New Living Translation (NLT)

Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.

Answers Inside - Paul

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 New Living Translation (NLT)

4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

Answers Inside - Psalms

Psalm 19:1 New Living Translation (NLT)

For the choir director: A psalm of David.

The heavens proclaim the glory of God.

    The skies display his craftsmanship.