How to Make It in Hard Times

 by Gregory A. Johnson

I hear from many in the United States and around the world every day. They are going through fiery trials, and seemingly their prayers are going unanswered. Their faith is wavering under the burden of helplessness and hopelessness. Their trials consume them day and night, stealing the peace that Jesus gives to His faithful followers.

If this is you, I have a word for you today. Don't think that your trial, however long it has been going on, is unusual. Contrary to what some false preachers, teachers, and prophets say today, it is not uncommon for Christ's followers to go through the fiery furnace of despair and suffering.

The Apostle Peter experienced this truth and wrote, "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed (1 Peter 4:12-13 ESV)." 

Refuse to believe the lies of the devil and his helpers — all those fake and false folk — questioning your faith as you are suffering amid a fiery trial. It has nothing to do with your faith. It has everything to do with Jesus developing His glory in you, and you will rejoice and be glad in the work He does.  Keep trusting Jesus, casting all your cares on Him.

How to Keep Faith During Perilous Times

 by Gregory A. Johnson

We are living in perilous times. Inflation is on the rise, making it harder on those already financially challenged. The frequency and severity of natural disasters are increasing rapidly. Years into the Covid pandemic, hundreds of people still die of the disease every day. 

We are at the brink of World War III with Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Maybe the invasion of Ukraine and the killings of innocent civilians, including children, indicate WW III has already started. It is hard to see how this ruthless attack on innocent people ends well. Our prayers are with the people of Ukraine. 

Adding all this to the struggles you are going through can make it hard to keep the faith that brings supernatural life and hope.

Jesus said it would be like this in the last days, which began at his crucifixion and has escalated to our day. Jesus warned that in these days, some faithful followers — “if possible, even the elect” (Matthew 24:24 ESV) — will fall away.

How do we keep the faith that brings us supernatural life and hope in these perilous times? Consider Jesus. God’s word to us today is “…consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession.” (Hebrews 3:1 ESV).

Christian or Christ-Follower?

by Gregory A. Johnson

I feel compelled to bring clarity to the confusion existing that is hindering Jesus' purpose for the church and its witness in our day. In the post-Christian culture we now live in, many are confused about being a Christian and being a  Christ-follower. There is a vast difference between the two.

There are Christians who do not follow Christ, and there are Christians who choose to follow Christ. Sadly, non-Christ-following Christians can do much damage to people inside and outside the church through their words and actions. 

In all my years of ministry, it has always been a joy to pastor Christ-following Christians. Still, I have discovered non-Christ-following Christians to be abusive in their words and actions, making it difficult, if not impossible, for the church to reach and make a difference in its community. 

How to Receive Endurance, Encouragement, and Hope

by Gregory A. Johnson

Amid this worldwide pandemic, please know that God’s promises given to you in Scripture are true and everlasting. Trusting His Word will get us through every day. You can count on it!

Please allow me to share a short devotion with you that I have written and feel led to share with you:

HOW TO RECEIVE ENDURANCE, ENCOURAGEMENT, AND HOPE 

We live at a time when many exist in a seemingly endless state of hopelessness. The news is filled with stories of wars and rumors of wars, terrorism, anarchy, famine, drought, unemployment, economic recession, depression, disease, sickness, and an epidemic of both financial and spiritual bankruptcy. Uncertainty abounds.

In over the thirty years I have served in the ministry, I have noticed a rapid decline in the hunger for Scripture. Many go to church, but few read, study, and memorize the Bible. Some only receive bless-me-and-make-me-feel-good sermons on Sundays that may encourage them for a brief season, but such light teaching does not build endurance. When a crisis hits, they lose hope.

How to Live Free From Fear

by Gregory A. Johnson

Many in our day live in total control of their lives but when something is shaken, their confidence quickly turns to fear. Jesus describes the day in which we live. He says, "And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken” (Luke 21:25-26 ESV).

What are we to do? We are to look to Jesus. The night before Christ died on the cross for our sins, he showed us how to live free from fear. He was facing a horrendous death by crucifixion. The next day he would be tortured to death. What does he do? He goes to a garden to pray. Jesus prays, "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done" (Luke 22:42 ESV).

In the last hours before the cross, Jesus prays, releasing his will over to the Father. Christ faced the cross without fear, placing his life in God’s care, trusting God for the resurrection to come.

The next day, tortured and hanging nailed to the cross, Jesus gives his life for the sins of the world. “Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last” (Luke 23:46 ESV).

What Kingdom Love Looks Like

by Gregory A. Johnson

In Jesus' day, a scribe was a lawyer who specialized in the Mosaic Law. One day one of these scribes came to Jesus with a question: "'Which commandment is the most important of all?' Jesus answered, 'The most important is, "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." The second is this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." There is no other commandment greater than these.' And the scribe said to him, 'You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.' And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, 'You are not far from the kingdom of God.' And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions" (Mark 12:28-34).

Out of all the imperatives given to us in the Bible, including the Ten Commandments found in Exodus 20, Jesus wraps it all up into one commandment referred to as The Great Commandment—to love God with everything we have. That's it! That's the bottom line. Loving God is what it is all about. Loving God is what separates Christ-followers from mere church attendees. Loving God is what separates Christ-followers from the religionists of our day who are bound by denomination and church rules, regulations, and traditions.

How to Guard Your Mouth Even on Social Media

By Gregory A. Johnson

#GuardYourMouthEvenOnSocialMedia

We are living in strange times. People not only say terrible things, but they also post awful things on social media, attacking others. Attacking others is not Christ-following.

Cursing has become commonplace in the post-Christian culture that we live in, even with people in the Christian faith. I’m shocked at what people say and post on social media.

Under the unction of the Spirit, I feel led to remind you that there is a day coming when each person will give account for every word.

Don’t take my word for it; take Jesus’ word. Jesus said, “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak (Matthew 12:36 ESV).”

This should be sobering to us all.

When Tempted to Give up on Prayer

by Gregory A. Johnson

I think one of the most heartbreaking things I have experienced as a pastor and as a Christ-follower is when a person tells me that they have given up on prayer. It seems to be happening more frequently as we get closer to the return of Christ. Hardly a week goes by now that I’m not made aware of a person giving up. I’m concerned about it and I feel led under the unction of the Holy Spirit to address it.

Friend, the devil is the one who will tempt you to give up on prayer. He does this because he knows that prayer is powerful. He also knows that the less you pray, the more casual you will be with sin and that sin will destroy you and those around you. Satan is in the business of destruction. Do not give him a foothold by giving up on prayer. You will not like the results.

Those giving up on prayer tell me it is because they pray, and God does not give them what they want or do what they need him to do. I will tell you why God does not always give us what we want or do what we ask him to do in prayer.

Racism and Hate Are Antichrist

by Gregory A. Johnson

Racism and hatred are alive and well, but not for those who are citizens of the Kingdom. No, you see, the citizens of the Kingdom love God with everything they have, and they love other people as they love themselves. They are willing to give their life for others as Christ did. They are willing to go to jail protesting unjust laws that do not treat people equally, as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. did.

What would Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. say to us today? I think that he would say to us the same things he said in his day. Listen to what he had to say:

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction....The chain reaction of evil—hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars—must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation (King 1963).

Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. Hate destroys a man's sense of values and his objectivity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true (King 1963).

There Is Hope in a Famine of Truth

by Gregory A. Johnson

We are living in a famine of truth today. Many in our day are looking to social media and the Internet for advice, information, and even direction in life. As you know, we cannot always trust the information found online. Yes, we are living in a famine of truth today, but I have good news for you — there is hope.

Listen to these words of Jesus found in the Gospel of John. Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me" (John 14:6).

Friend, please know that Jesus is relevant to your life and to your daily living. He is the way you need to go. He is the direction in life that you need to take. As you keep your focus on Jesus and you follow him, you will make the right decisions and you will end up in the right places. Follow Jesus.

Many today, including those in leadership, are deceptive and some never tell the truth, being habitual liars. Friend, Jesus never deceives. Look to him for truth. Make the life and teachings of Jesus the absolute truth for all your beliefs and actions. When you do, you can measure everything you hear, everything you read, and everything you see with the life and teachings of Jesus. As you line everything up with Jesus, you will know what the truth is and what it is not.

Love Wins!

by Gregory A. Johnson



We live in a day when hate fueled by hate-filled speech is threatening to destroy peace and civility. Hate-driven violence is abusing and taking precious lives of people who are made in the image and likeness of God himself.

Fear that is bread by hate and its evilness threatens to paralyze and hold people's thoughts and actions hostage in a day when all thoughts and actions need to be attentive to the needs of others—those who are vulnerable and trapped in the vicious cycle of poverty and all the ills that it produces, regardless of age, race, gender, and religion.

Forgiven Sin and What Jesus Expects

by Gregory A. Johnson


When the religionists of Jesus’ day brought a woman to him caught in adultery, they expected he would uphold the Jewish law and condemn her to death by stoning. Instead of meeting their expectations, he used the opportunity to shift their focus from judging others to self-examination when he said, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her [the woman caught in adultery]." — John 8:7

At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her,

“Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

“No one, sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” — John 8:9-11

Jesus did not judge this woman like the religionists did. He did not condemn her to death. His actions demonstrate his forgiveness. He communicates to her his expectation moving forward. He tells her, “go now and leave your life of sin.”

True Leadership from the Greatest Leader

by Gregory A. Johnson

Books abound on the subject of leadership. Volumes have been written. Seminars, lectures, and course studies are everywhere, including the church.

Everyone wants to be a great leader, whether it is in the home, workplace, schoolhouse, marketplace, or church house. People look for success in current leaders and in leaders throughout history, yet there seems to be a huge vacuum of true leadership today. Where in the world are all the true leaders?