Tag: put God first

Ask Jesus to Restart Your Life – Receiving the Gift of Spiritual Restoration

“And this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:22-23).

Jesus tells us that every human being has sinned by disobeying God. Peter messed up and denied Jesus three times, still Jesus did not condemn him, Jesus restored him by asking Peter three times, “Do you love Me?”

We give Praises to God, the Father and God, Jesus the Son Jesus, who completed the Plan of Redemption on Calvary’s Cross, which includes confession, repentance, and God’s forgiveness for our sins.

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9).

Do not hold onto and grieve over your past experiences and mistakes. Refusing to forgive, nurturing anger, sadness, and despair over the past reveal unbelief [not using our faith to actively believe] in God’s Gift: “…the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

“Through Christ’s atoning sacrifice, we are adopted into the family of God, and we proclaim, ‘Abba, Father!'”

Even God cannot change our past, but if we are willing to use our faith and believe in His promise of “making something new,” He will reset our lives and make beauty from the ashes of our past.

“For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.” (Isaiah 43:19, NLT).

The Gift: Through faith in Jesus Christ, we are declared righteous. The Apostle Paul tells us that from accepting Christ as our personal Savior, we become “new creations,” who are covered by Christ’s Righteousness, and as Sons and Daughters of God, we can expect to receive God’s greatest blessings.

Spiritual Restoration is a gift from God that requires us to live holy: “Be holy, for I Am Holy.” (1 Peter 1:16).

We connect to Christ and stay anchored in Him through daily surrender, faithful obedience, and personal worship [Prayer and Bible Study].

Yes, we use our faith to love, honor, and revere God by implicitly trusting and obeying Him. To receive God’s promises of Spiritual Renewal and Restoration, we cannot have a divided heart.

“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46).

Our inherited Hearts naturally gravitate toward fulfilling our desires, but Self-Reliance is willful disobedience against God. The heart filled with love for God easily embraces and practices a “God First” mindset and lifestyle.

The Lifestyle of Daily Surrender: We let go of our thoughts and strategies by always praying for God’s Guidance before making decisions. “Do not be wise in your own eyes.” (Proverbs 3:7).

Even when we fall, with Agape Love and Mercy, Jesus extends His hand, which is an invitation for us to get up and try again. But this time, we use our faith to trust and obey our Shepherd by relying on His Divine Guidance and Strength. Yes and Amen!

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” (John 10:27).

Lord God, we confess that by living to fulfill our desires, we have redirected our faith and focus to ourselves. Our decisions are based on our thoughts and emotions, and for these sins of disobedience, we ask You for forgiveness. Our past experiences and mistakes have produced many consequences, but most importantly, we have forgotten that loving You requires us to put You First and to obey Your Will. In faith, we ask You to teach us how to love, to heal us from our past, and to restore our relationship with You. With gratitude and joy, we look forward to receiving Your promise of doing something new in our lives. With humility, we ask for these spiritual blessings in the Loving and Righteous Name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Bible Study: 1 Corinthians 13

© 2026 STEPS 2 Success With Spiritual Solutions Ministry

“Real Impact Comes When We Shift From My Plans to God’s Purpose”

Sanctification is the lifelong spiritual process of Spiritual Growth and Character Transformation necessary to receive our reward of Eternal Life.

The difference between unbelievers and believers is that we love God. And we demonstrate it by surrendering ourselves every day in prayer, asking for His Divine Plans to be revealed, and for the spiritual strength to obey and fulfill His plans.

Peace and Blessings

https://youtube.com/shorts/HND9IEWQuSU?si=qlbpK85_M6w752US

Trading In the Old Me

Imagine that you received an even-trade offer to receive a new vehicle for turning in your current vehicle. The only condition is that you would not see the new vehicle prior to the trade. Some would hesitate and need time to think about it, while others would give a definite answer of no. Still, there is the enthusiastic group that would be elated, readily agreeing to participate in the blind trade.

When we accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior we agreed to surrender and to become His disciples. Changing us from our inherited tendencies, eliminating our self-reliance, taking away the desire for worldly habits, and giving us a character makeover is a lifetime spiritual process known as Sanctification. The Apostle Paul tells us in 2nd Corinthians 5:17, “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ have become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun.” NLT. Yes, Sanctification is to become holy as Jesus is holy.

Where do you stand as far as trading off the old you in exchange for the new person in Christ Jesus? Which group of individuals represent your decision to become like Christ?

Prayer: God, we thank you for the opportunity to become holy and to live righteously. We have made the decision to be faithful disciples in preparation for eternal life. Thank you, for giving your life that we may be redeemed from our sins. We ask this prayer in Jesus’ name. Amen. © 2021 Sonya Johnson, Faithful Fishers Ministry

Think About It First

They say what the world needs is love, sweet love. Although I wholeheartedly agree, I would like to add another character trait that is in short supply and that is patience. Most of us are victims to the “hurry up with it, I have other things to do” mindset. Even so, I came across some profound advice, “Unless it is an emergency, think about it for at least 24 hours and the possible consequences that may follow from you making that decision.”

For the believer in God, every decision that we make is either for God or against God. Within that 24 hours, we must go to God in prayer and ask for His will. There are few absolutes in life. We can know this for sure that we can never hurry God. And there is one more absolute truth, every mistake that we have made in our lives is because we did not ask God or we did not wait for God’s answer.

And for those like myself who lack the virtue of patience, God has no problem letting us make the mistake. He knows that when we are drowning in the Sea of Consequences, we will pray the SMS–Save My Soul prayer. Thankfully, He forgives us with loving grace and mercies. Still, we may suffer the full impact from our disobedience.

Last night during worship, it was the Holy Spirit who taught me this profound fact of life. Every decision that you make is either for God or against God. The imagery was the train crossing with the flashing red lights with the barrier coming down warning of the pending train traveling at an unknown speed. I am thankful that our Heavenly Father’s love is overprotective.

And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourself this day whom you will serve. Joshua 24:15

Prayer: God, we ask for forgiveness for excluding you from our lives. We are suffering the consequences of misguided decisions based on impatience. Please come to our rescue. We ask this prayer in Jesus’ name. Amen. © 2021 Sonya Johnson, Faithful Fishers Ministry