Truth Ministries

05/18/2026

[STICK WITH WHAT WORKS]
Colossians 2:6, "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him"

This is a simple principle that would stop a lot of error in the body of Christ if it were observed. We received Christ totally by putting faith in God’s grace (Ephesians 2:8). We didn’t offer the Lord any holiness on our part, but came, just like the song says, “just as I am, without one plea”. We hadn’t been fasting, paying our tithes, reading the Word, or praying an hour each day, yet we received the greatest miracle of all; the new birth (John 3:3). But amazingly, after receiving Christ by faith, many fall back into the trap of thinking that after salvation, they have to earn God’s blessings by works. That is not walking in the same way that they received Christ. If they started by grace, they should continue by grace. Works will happen because you'll want to, not because you think you have to.

08/21/2025

Praising God!
Most Christians believe that praising God and being thankful is good; however, many think it is optional, something to do after they have served the Lord in other ways. Some Christians only praise God when their circumstances are good and they have a reason to thank Him. The truth is that praising God is not an option. Praise has a powerful effect on the believer, the devil, and on God. It is our highest calling.
In Deuteronomy, God pronounced a curse on the children of Israel: "Because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things" (28:47). Even though we are not under the Law, this verse tells us that God wants us to have joyful and thankful hearts. Jesus was joyful. Hebrews 1:9 tells us that praising God at all times is part of the normal Christian life: "Therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows."
How does praise affect the believer? When we praise God, we are acknowledging that it is not our own efforts that produce blessings and prosperity. In Deuteronomy, chapters 7 and 8, the children of Israel are told to remember to thank God for the abundance they will receive. God, not their own efforts, gave them wealth. Praise makes us humble.
Thanksgiving is also a way to abound in faith. Any time we operate in a high degree of faith, praise is present. Colossians 2:6-7 says, "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving." When you are believing God for something and it is completed, praise is a natural response. What some people often neglect is that they can increase their faith with praise, and their answers will come more quickly.
By focusing on your problems instead of praising God, you become self-centered and prideful. Praise forces you to get your attention on God and off your problems. Some people say that they are praying, but they are so focused on their problems that they are actually complaining. If you focus on the Word of God, faith will come. How do you keep from focusing on the problem when you are in pain or have no money? The most important thing you can do is praise God. A negative, complaining attitude won't change overnight, but beginning to praise God will start the transformation in your attitude. If you have always been negative, you must practice thinking on positive things. Philippians 4:4 tells us to "rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice."
When we pray, we should begin with praise and end with praise. The Lord's prayer gives us this example, and Philippians 4:6-7 tells us, "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." When you pray with thanksgiving, the peace of God will keep your heart and mind.
Praise will build you up spiritually and keep you from crumbling, "for the joy of the LORD is your strength" (Neh. 8:10). The Apostle Paul was persecuted and suffered far more than most of us, yet he put it all in perspective in 2 Corinthians 4:17-18: "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." First, Paul said our affliction is just for a moment in light of eternity. He looked into the spiritual realm. Praise will push you into the spiritual realm to see what God has done for you. Paul and Silas praised God in prison. It was the praise that released the power of God and the earthquake that delivered them from their captivity.
Praising God doesn't just affect us; it is a powerful weapon against the devil as well. Psalm 8:2 says, "Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger." In the book of Matthew (21:16), at the time of the triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday), Jesus quotes from Psalm 8. When he quoted this verse, he interchanged the words "perfected praise" for "ordained strength." This is a tremendous revelation: Praise is strength (Neh. 8:10)!
Some people are so involved in spiritual warfare that their attention is on the devil more than on God. There is a place for fighting and resisting the devil, but focusing too much on the devil is not good. Praise is a powerful weapon against the devil that has no negative fallout. In 2 Chronicles 20, Jehoshaphat appointed singers to lead his army into battle with praise unto the Lord. When they went into battle singing and praising God, the Lord set an ambush, and their enemies were defeated.
Why does praise defeat Satan? Satan's sin was jealousy of God. He is still driven by jealousy today (Is. 14:13-14). Even if he can't get people to worship him, his goal is to keep people from worshiping God. He seeks to draw attention away from God. When we worship God, we thwart Satan's plan.
We have learned the power of starting a service with praise. Praise makes the devil flee and releases the anointing of God. Even the secular world knows the benefits of praise. The medical profession says that a person who is joyful is more healthy than a person who is morbid and depressed. Praise stops a negative attitude.
The most important reason to praise God is that it ministers unto Him. Acts 13 describes a situation at the church in Antioch. Verse 2 says, "As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them." This is an awesome statement. They ministered to the Lord. How do we minister to the Lord? We often think we serve God only by ministering to other people. This happened in Matthew, chapter 8, with Peter's mother-in-law. She waited on them and did household duties. That is a ministry; however, in this instance in Acts, they were fasting, praying, and ministering to the Lord. They were worshiping and glorifying God. That also ministers to the Lord.
The truth is that God desires ministry. God is complete and self-contained, but He needs us to love Him. Any person who loves has a need to show that love and a need to have that love returned. That is the reason for the creation of man in the first place. In Revelation 4, John saw a vision of what is happening in heaven. He saw twenty-four elders and four living creatures that don't cease praising God. In verse 11, the elders said, "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created." This tells us that God's original and current purpose for creation is for His pleasure. God created us to be full of praise, joy, and thanksgiving. He is blessed by His creation.
We are often so service-oriented that we think we have to minister to others or work at the church to bless God. We think our net worth to God is our service. We forget that if it blesses God, it doesn't have to touch anyone else. He longs to know us personally and intimately. There are hundreds of times in Scripture that God solicits our praise. Psalm 100:4 says that we should "enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name."
I married Kristin because I love her and want to share my life with her. Kristin is an excellent homemaker and keeps a clean house, which blesses our family. However, if she cared more for the house than for me, it would cease to minister to me. It is the same way in our relationship with God. Service is not a substitute for a relationship with God.
Our number one priority must be to love God personally. Praise is giving of yourself to God — an intimate communion with Him. If we would praise and seek God first, during our prayer time, other things would be added unto us. (Matt. 6:33)
John 3:16 tells us that God gave His Son that we might have eternal life. Christians often think eternal life begins when you die and go to heaven, but John 17:3 tells us differently. Eternal life is now. Intimately knowing God is eternal life. Praise is a way to begin this love relationship with God.
"By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name"(Heb. 13:15).







Rev. Ace Johnson

Truth Ministries

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09/30/2023

"Thou Shalt Not", powerful words that cause reverse effect. Small children are curious. Tell them "no, don't do that", and they will do the very thing they were told not to do. God gave the 10 commandments knowing that we couldn't keep them. It was a perfect plan from a perfect God. "Why?", you might say, because He knew that by giving the law we would break them. And because of the penalties (James 2:10), we would beg for mercy. He showed that mercy through Jesus Christ. Jesus kept the entire law flawlessly and yet died under it's penalties. 3 days later He awakened from death. Hell was shaken and satan lost. When we put our faith in what Jesus did for us, we will be saved. Now that's Good News! That's the Gospel!

07/11/2023

A LITTLE CAN GO A LONG WAY
John 6:9, "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?"

There must be a daily attitude of thankfulness for every bit of progress in our spiritual lives. Every journey begins with the first step. God can multiply one seed into a crop. Become grateful for the progress you have made instead of the distance yet to go. When Jesus asked the disciples how much food they had for feeding the multitude, they responded with a description of the five loaves and two fishes. Then they asked Jesus, “What are they among so many?” Jesus’ response was different. He took the loaves and fishes and blessed them and multiplied them! The disciples looked at the size of the need. Jesus looked at the provisions in His hand. We need to learn from Jesus’ example to bless what we have, even if it looks small. Only by blessing what we have can it ever be multiplied. Your small amount of talent, teaching ability, or money can be much when you bless it and give it to the Lord.

Rev. Ace Johnson
www.truthministries-SC.com
EPH. 1:3

06/29/2023

SATAN TRIES TO TRAP
John 8:3, "And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst"

If this woman was taken in the act of adultery, then there had to be a man involved too. But they didn’t bring the man to Jesus. This is because they weren’t really interested in justice. They were trying to trap Jesus. Jesus had been preaching mercy and forgiveness. If He condemned this woman as the Law required (Leviticus 20:10), then He would lose His followers. If He didn’t condemn the woman, then they would have a right under the Law to stone Him. They thought they had Jesus whichever way He went. Therefore, they only brought the woman because a woman would evoke more sympathy than a man. Women are honored more than men, and it would be more grievous to stone a woman than a man. They thought this would strengthen their trap. But, as always, the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of man. Jesus didn’t approve of the woman’s sin nor condemn her. He reminded them that they were all sinners, too, and told the one who had no sin to cast the first stone. Jesus didn’t change the standard but disqualified all the accusers from sitting on the jury. Here is another possible reason they didn’t bring the man: It’s possible he was one of them, and they set this whole thing up just to trap Jesus. Otherwise, how would they have known this was taking place? Adultery usually happens in secret. But they could have had one of their number go in to one of their usual prostitutes, and the others could have been lying in wait to take them “in the very act” as they described here. I don’t know how this happened, but I’m very suspicious of these religious people. I don’t put anything past them.
Rev. Ace Johnson
Truth Ministries
TRUTHMINISTRIES-SC.COM

06/08/2023

New teaching - NOT UNDER LAW BUT UNDER GRACE
www.truthministries-sc.com

Last night I dreamed about a woman who kept being punished for all the things she did wrong (her sins). A man followed her around, and whenever she would make a mistake, he would shake his head in disgust, take off his belt, and beat her. If she said a wrong word or did something wrong, he’d punis...

06/08/2023

FINISH WHAT YOU START
Revelation 1:8, 21:6, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End…"

At both the opening and closing of the book of Revelation, Jesus said, “I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end” In Hebrews 12:2, Jesus is called the “Author and Finisher of our faith…” Jesus never starts something He cannot finish. Neither does He start something He will not finish. Jesus is not a quitter. He told His disciples early in His ministry, “My food (mission in life) is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work” (John 4:34). At the end of His ministry, Jesus could gladly tell His Father, “I have finished the work which You have given Me” (John 17:4). We sometimes think Jesus didn’t face the same difficulties and discouragements we do, but this simply isn’t true. Jesus had many opportunities to quit, but He chose not to. In Matthew 26:39 Jesus prayed, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will (Matthew 26:39). The Holy Spirit was not given to Jesus to shield Him from temptations but to empower Him to fulfill the will of God, to finish what He began. All Jesus had to do was make up His mind not to give up, and the Holy Spirit empowered Him to complete God’s plan. The same is true of us.

01/13/2022

[THANK YOU GOD!]
Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."

Grace and faith work hand in hand. Grace is God moving toward man and faith is man moving toward God, but grace always comes first. Grace is God making the first move. Faith is our response; we simply reach out and accept what God has done. Without grace, faith would be of no value. The faith we have is a gift of God’s grace; it isn’t our faith, it’s the faith God has given to us. In other words, God not only gave us the provisions, He gave us the ability to receive those provisions. The same is true of healing. Both God’s healing power and the faith to receive it are from God. That is the reason we give God thanks in everything. We thank Him for our faith, we thank Him for His grace, we thank Him for all of the spiritual and natural provisions of life. Everything comes from Him!

12/05/2021

[Put God First in Everything]
Matthew 6:33, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."

What are the “things” Jesus is speaking about? They are the things listed in the previous verses. Specifically, the Lord said what we need to eat, where we sleep, and what we are clothed with will all be taken care of by God if we will seek first and foremost the Lord and His righteousness. If we put God first in our lives, God will supernaturally take care of our needs.

When God starts supplying our needs, He will do it better than we ever could. God is El Shaddai, not El Cheapo. He paves His streets with pure gold, and He makes His gates out of pearls (Revelation 21:21). God is extravagant. When He starts being our provider, His supply will be extravagant. If we aren’t tempted to be embarrassed at God’s abundant provision, then we haven’t fully tapped into His supply. Notice the use of the word “first.” This is speaking of priorities. We have to focus some attention on earthly things, but they should never be our priority. God and His kingdom should always come first in our priorities, and when they are, He supernaturally takes care of all the natural things we need.

Rev. Ace Johnson
Eph. 1:3

08/11/2021

[PROCLAIMING THE GOSPEL]
1 Thessalonians 2:4, "But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts."

What an amazing thing that the Lord has entrusted His Gospel to us. The word “entrust” means “1. To give over (something) to another for care, protection, or performance. 2. To give as a trust to (someone)”. The Lord doesn’t have a plan B or C. We are it. If we don’t preach His true Gospel, He won’t write the truth in the clouds or speak through a dog. The Lord is depending on us. What an awesome responsibility! Lord, help me to accurately represent You. Amen! Ministers are often guilty of holding back some truth because they don’t think the people they are speaking to can handle it. But unless we are led of the Holy Spirit in this manner, it is wrong for us to make that judgment for others. We should allow people the right of accepting or rejecting the truth for themselves. How do we accurately represent the Lord’s Gospel? He gives us a list of things. First, we seek to please God and not people. Any compromise in this area will dilute the true Gospel. It’s the truth that sets people free (John 8:32). God’s Word is truth (John 17:17).

09/13/2020

Our Nature In Christ
Matthew 24:13 'But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.'

MATTHEW 24:13
Here, Jesus teaches that the believer must persevere to receive complete salvation. Salvation is a gift that cannot be earned or maintained by our own works. It has to be received by faith. However, there is effort on our part to maintain that faith. This is where holiness comes in.

Holiness will not produce relationship with God, nor will a lack of holiness make God turn away from us. He deals with us according to our faith in Jesus, not our performance. Holiness will keep Satan from stealing our faith, while a lack of holiness is an open invitation for the devil to do his worst. A person who wants to endure to the end cannot live a lifestyle that permits Satan free access to him.

Although God is not imputing our sins unto us, we cannot afford the luxury of sin because it allows Satan to have access to us. When a Christian does sin, and allows the devil an opportunity to produce death in his life, the way to stop this is to confess the sin. God is faithful and just to take the forgiveness that is already present in our born-again spirit and release it in our flesh, thereby removing Satan and his strongholds.

Holiness is a fruit and not a root of salvation. That is to say that holiness is a by-product of relationship with God; it does not produce relationship with God. It is the nature of a Christian to walk in the light, not in the dark. When we are rightly informed of who we are and what we have in Christ, then holiness will naturally flow out of us because it is our nature.