Calm In The Chaos

How often do we find ourselves swept away by a flash flood of chaos that seems to turn our world upside down? Flash floods can be devastating catastrophes. In 1976, the Big Thompson River flash flood killed 143 people in Colorado when 12 inches of rain fell on just one area, sending a 20 foot wall of water down the canyon destroying lives, homes, cars and businesses. We sometimes say that the rain falls on the good and the bad, but sometimes it falls far away and still devastates those least expecting it.


Others find themselves caught out to sea in a boat when the storm of life strikes. Like the disciples, we all tend to panic. You may have been enjoying a beautiful day on the lake until the wind suddenly changed. The boat starts rocking and destruction seems certain. With Christ in the boat, there’s no need to fear. I like the song that says, “Sometimes He calms the storm, and sometimes He calms His child.” He can bring peace in the middle of any storm. But sometimes the kind of peace we want is not what we get. God has other plans for us. Sometimes life throws us a curve ball. We want it all to go nice and easy, but when the tough times come, we must be spiritually ready to face the storm. How do we do this? How do we find calm in the chaos?

God’s Viewpoint

Remember the bigger picture—God’s view. God sees it all, and he knows how much we can take. He knows all of our tomorrows. He sees into eternity. He knows the lessons we need to learn. He knows our strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes he wants to take our weaknesses and make them strengths. As you face a storm, ask yourself, “God, what do you want me to learn from this?” Perhaps we will suddenly see we have not been in the spiritual place He wants us to be. His desire is that we find our strength in Him, and we do that by feasting on the Word of God. Don’t count on your mate to feed you, or your pastor. Pick up your Bible and begin to feast as the Holy Spirit directs you to just the words you need to nourish your soul. As you read through the stories of the Old Testament historical books, you will discover that over and over again, God allowed challenges to come into the lives of the people of God. It was for one purpose—that they might come to God for help—that they might rely on Him to deliver them. Joseph needed deliverance from slavery and then from prison, and when God taught him to trust, God put Joseph in a place to deliver his own brothers (who had sold him into slavery) from starvation. God saw the bigger picture. It did not end there. In 400 years, the descendents of Joseph and his family became slaves and needed deliverance. God provided once again in Moses. Soon they were facing the Red Sea in one direction, and pharaoh’s army in the other. God used a man who had been forged on the anvil of God to lead them all, not to disaster, but to freedom and victory. God saw through the annals of time that a plan would be needed, a man who would listen to God and follow. It took faith, trust, vision, and blind obedience. From God’s viewpoint, it was all under control. But from Moses viewpoint, and the panicky throng, all they saw was water—then God stepped in and made a path in their chaos.

The Eternal Plan

God always has a plan. Usually we are too busy or too frightened by what is going on around us to seek His eternal plan. It is found in the Book. “Eye has not seen nor ear heard nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” (1 Cor 2:9) In fact God has you on his ‘daytimer’. You are on his eternal schedule. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “Plans to prosper you, and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11) We know that that wonderful plan and future includes eternal life for the righteous. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

God’s plan does not end for man in the grave. It is the beginning of a wonderful new life with Christ. That new life in Christ is eternal. It will never end. The pain and sickness and death will end. The chaos and frustrations we have known in the earthly life will end, but our spiritual end will outlast everything we have known down here. And because we can know for certain that we are a part of His eternal plan, we can go through life here and now with peace and calm in the midst of chaos.

Family Chaos

It’s not easy raising a family today. Demands pound on our doors. Expectations crowd out the ‘normal’ life of a family. What is so necessary is for a family to determine what should take priority. What do you value the most in your family life? In the parsonage, I determined that the needs of my family out-weighed the demands and expectations of those outside our four walls. God had given me a mission-field of four children and a spouse to care for, to see their spiritual needs, physical needs, and more were taken care of. If I chose to take care of everyone else’s needs and neglected the needs of my immediate family, I would have failed both God and my family. I wanted my children to know that God was more important than other people and their expectations, more important than a job or money or pleasure. Too many confuse God’s demands with church demands. When that happens it sends a silent message to our children that they are not important, and that God is an enemy who steals away vital time. In reality, it is not God stealing us away from our family, but our own choices. God wants us to live in a healthy balance, nurturing our family, creating a hunger for God, just as they hunger for food from the kitchen. It is sad to see families disintegrating, out of control, walking in rebellion, refusing to submit to the spiritual guidance needed to restore balance. Too many walk away from church altogether. The children, as they mature, adopt a new set of non-spiritual values and drift off into the attractions of the world around them. The chaos in the home spins them into the chaos of the world.

God’s plan is for a home centered in God and His love. I love what Erma Bombeck wrote in “If I Had My Life to do Over”: I would have talked less and listened more.
I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded. I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace. I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth…..
I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage. I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains. I would have cried and laughed less while watching television -- and more while watching life. I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband. I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day. I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil or was guaranteed to last a lifetime. Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle. When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, "Later. Now go get washed up for dinner."
There would have been more "I love yous", more "I'm sorrys" ... but mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute...look at it and really see it ... live it...and never give it back.

How we choose to respond to the chaos of life makes our life. I am amazed as I read how the apostle Paul faced the chaos of ministry life. In 2 Cor 11:24-28 Paul lists the horrible experiences he faced… shipwreck, beaten five times, stoned with rocks, adrift at sea, dangers of travel, bandits, sleep deprivation, hunger and thirst and all the troubles of the churches as well. Is there chaos in your life? Paul kept it all in proper perspective. He knew strength came from difficulties. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Cor 12:10 NIV)

Is the storm of life tossing your boat? Remember the Master who is with you in the boat. He never leaves us alone in our chaos. He is there.

1.Turn to Him. Mat 11:28  Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

2. Trust God and His Word. God makes no mistakes, and His eternal plan is working for our good.

3.Thank Him in the chaos of life. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.1 Thess 5:18 Faith looks beyond the chaos to the coming calm.

Have you found your calm place in the chaos? Trust Him. Hold on. When peace comes, tell someone and let the glory of God shine hope into their circumstances.
J. Johnson

Praise reports and prayer requests…..


Pray for revival! Pray for those who are the midst of their storm of chaos.

Pray for the Johnsons as they seek a new place of full time ministry...a church that needs strong leadership. Praise the Lord for another great year at South Division High with Straight UP! Pray for grieving families who have lost loved ones...(the Arleen Johnson family 7-5-2010). Pray for Pastors, Evangelists, Missionaries, and Teachers. Pray for US Army Chaplain Steve Maglio

Pray for those needing a healing touch in their bodies: Bernie Dargiewicz (recovery from heart surgery) Dave Barth (cancer), Jim Brandon, (cancer) Diane Sherwin (cancer), L. Gardner (cancer). Pray for those dealing with chaos, anger, abuse, temptations and carnal sinful habits. Pray for the nation, for the President, for our service men and women, for Israel, for the unsaved, and don’t forget to Praise and thank the Lord!

For Such A Time....

Why are you here? What did God have in mind when He made you? What does He have planned for your destiny? These are all questions we often ask ourselves in various times of our life. As a teen, we often have no idea what the future holds, what God has planned for us. We ask, and we seek, and we knock...and when a door opens, we walk through. All too often we find our lives wrapped up in a seemingly endless parade of mundane events that flow from a day to a month to a year. Be fore we know it, life has seemed to pass us by. We wonder has there been a time when we have fulfilled that destiny God has had planned for us?


I remember singing a song at church when I was younger, and perhaps you know it too: “I’ll go where you want me to go dear Lord, O’er mountain or plain or sea. I’ll say what you want me to say dear Lord. I’ll be what you want me to be.” I knew God had a plan for me. I just walked daily in His plan and He unfolded that plan one day at a time.

Too often today, we plan our lives, we make our schedules, we choose our path. We fail to consult the One who opens and closes doors. I sometimes wondered if Hadassah had done that, what would the world be like today? Who is Hadassah? You will recognize her other adopted name in the Bible, Esther. Young Esther found herself living in a foreign land, experiencing the first anti-Semitic persecution in history. She was an Jewish orphan, living with her cousin when the king called for all the most beautiful women in the land to be gathered for his selection of a new queen. She became a candidate. Her poise and beauty would carry her into the position of becoming the new queen of Susa, wife of Artaxerxes also known as Xerxes. Esther’s wise relative, Mordecai reminded her, that perhaps God had called her to this position “for such a time as this”. In that moment of crisis which demanded she risk her very life to save the Jewish people, she chose to stand by faith in the presence of the King, unsummoned, ready to die if he rejected her. Had she chosen anything else, not only would she have died, since she was Jewish—-but all the Jewish people would have been annihilated from Ethiopia to India. Today, there would be no Israel. A huge part of the population of New York, Florida, and California would not exist. You would not be wearing blue jeans which were invented by Levi Strauss in 1873. Ladies would not be able to carry lipstick which Maurice Levy invented in 1915. We would not have contraceptives, or the laser, or even a remote control, all of which were invented by Jewish people.

We’ve all seen the famous Christmas tale entitled” It’s a Wonderful Life” where George Bailey discovered what life would have been like if he were never born. He learned to rejoice over the little things in his life that made a huge difference. When you look at your life, you may wonder, “How have I made a difference?” Instead, I challenge you to think of someone who made a huge difference in your life. Write them a note and thank them! If God is the One who made a huge difference in your life, then take some time to thank Him for all He has done in your life. Tell someone about it. Give God glory! Perhaps your testimony now is —for such a time as this!

We live in trying days, to be sure. Oil is pouring into the gulf destroying the beautiful shoreline, and the livelihood of many who rely on the gulf waters for their income. Volcanoes are pouring out chocking ash, hindering air traffic. Mexico is drowning in the blood of drug trafficking wars. People all around us are in despair over the national economy, the immoral state of the nation, and the declining spirituality in the church. What are we as the people of God to do about it all? May I suggest we look again at Esther? How did she handle her crisis? Did she throw up her queenly hands in despair? Did she go hide in her royal palace? What does the Bible tell us? "Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish." Esther 4: 16. So we see that her first response was to mobilize God’s people to prayer and fasting. She made sure that those in her ‘household’—her maids, also fasted and prayed. This was her destiny. She was called into the palace for such a time as this! She risked death to save herself and her people. For three days, prayers went up to God. God listened. Like any miracle God performs, it is filled with incredible timing. There was the building of a gallows on which Haman intended to kill Mordecai. There was a sleepless night in the bedroom of the king, and the discovery of the unrewarded Mordecai who had saved the Kings life. Then the banquet and the request...and for such a time as this Esther was there.

What is God calling you to do for Him today? Is it to call your family to prayer, or to lead your church into a time of preparation for revival? The enemy is out there, ready to kill, steal and destroy the people of God. The church is gasping for a fresh breath of heavenly revival. The community and the world is looking for a hero. Who will be Esther to them? Everyday you have an incredible influence on the people whose lives you touch daily. Your spouse looks to you for encouragement and spiritual guidance. Your children look up to you for an example and a reason to learn. Your neighbors are watching how you respond to life’s crises. Your co-workers will follow a leader who emulates the love of God. No matter what horrible experiences you are facing today, God has called you to the place where you are “for such a time as this…” If you are facing marital strife, face it with God at your side. If you are financially overwhelmed, remember that God is the source of all that we need. See Him for a solution. If your children are wandering from God, lay them at the foot of the cross in prayer and let God go to work on them. If you are overcome with fear, rest in the gentle arms of the Good Shepherd, who loves His sheep. You are not alone. Elijah the prophet thought he was all alone, but God has preserved a remnant of Godly people who, when the time was right, would once again stand strong for God. Elijah was chosen, for such a time as this.

You may feel too young, unable to accomplish much, or so old, that there’s not much left you can do. God still has a plan for you. He uses Daniel’s to stand strong in the lions den and David’s to stand before the giant. Old or young, it means nothing to God. God uses empty vessels who are willing to be used for His glory. Unemployed? God always has a job opening for those willing to be His servants. Look around you! What needs to be done? Who can you help today? What has been neglected for too long? Take on a new task, a new responsibility and serve the King. Esther did. She may have been afraid, but as she realized that her own life was also in the balance, she stepped up to the plate and risked it all. What are you willing to risk today?

Missionaries on the field are risking their lives to tell the story. In some countries Christians are being expelled and sometimes killed for their faith. Here in the comfort and ease of living in a democracy, we complain about the littlest things while others are risking it all to serve the Lord. What bothers you today? Is it the lost who do not know the Savior? Is it the church that has lost is focus and vision? Is it a family that has become so engrossed in carnal pleasures that they have forgot about God and eternity? Is it a neighbor who is filling his or her life with drugs and alcohol? These things bother me...and I want to serve my King for such a time as this!

J. Johnson

Lost and Found!

Everyday we lose things we value—the keys, a credit card, a cell phone, and we spend all kinds of time and effort searching all over the place, retracing our steps to where we last had the thing, hoping we will discover it tucked between the sofa cushions, or in a coat pocket. Sometimes we get to rejoice, for like the woman in the Bible who lost her coin, she was ecstatic to discover her lost coin was found. Likewise, the shepherd who noticed that one of his sheep had strayed and was missing—he left the 99 safe sheep and looked high and low until he found that one lost sheep. Then he came rejoicing. But do you know that everyday, horrible things happen because some of us lose a very valuable thing...our tempers.
The Bible warns us about the dangers of anger. A quick-tempered man does foolish things (Prov 14:17) A hot-tempered man stirs up dissension (Prov 15:18) We are even advised not to make friends with a person with a hot temper. Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man, do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn his ways and get yourself ensnared. (Prov 22:24-25) Our jails are filled with people who chose such a friend, and who soon found themselves involved in a violent crime. But there are times we simply cannot avoid being around someone who has a trigger temper...they may be your parents or your children. Often if the child has a trigger temper, they learned it by watching how a parent, grandparent, or teacher, responded to a moment of stress. In that moment a horrible lesson was imprinted on their mind.

What is ‘temper’?
The Miriam Webster Online dictionary defines this noun to mean: “a high quality of mind or spirit” So in reality, we are saying that when we lose our temper, we are losing something very valuable—our minds...and not just any state of mind, but a high quality of our mind or spirit. Have you lost your mind lately? If we were to ask someone where we lost it...they would take us back in time to a moment where a wrong word, or a thoughtless act was responded to in the wrong way. Junior may have spilled his drink for the third time or a spouse may have cracked what they thought was a joke, only to have it taken wrong. Sometimes it is a sassy remark or a racial slur. Sometimes it is a genuine attempt by someone to push your buttons, and it worked! If you go back to that place in time in your mind, you know it cannot be undone, changed, or deleted. Let’s stop losing our minds so we can stop going back and regretfully reminiscing over something we can not change. Instead, let’s learn from our mistakes and move forward.

Living in Peace
The world around us is not a very peace filled place. Turmoil and chaos abound on every front. Each evening as you watch the news, or read the paper, or check the stories on the internet, there is one event after another that tells us we live in a tumultuous world. But God provides a haven for the believer. You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You. (Isaiah 26:3AMP) When our mind is fixed on God, when we commit ourselves completely to God, and lean on Him, we can live the promise in this verse. God will keep us in perfect and constant peace. But if we lose our mind in a fit of anger, we nullify the promise. We put ourselves in charge instead of God. When we made God the one in charge, not only of our hearts, but of our minds, we yield to His Spirit. Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses (Rom 8:26) He helps us to pray. He helps us to understand the truth. He helps us to focus on the Lord. He helps us be more like Jesus. He reminds when we forget the Word of God. He speaks to us daily, teaching us—but we must be willing to listen to Him. Our minds belong on God, in full attention mode. And when we are in the right mind-set, our tempers will also be in control—under His control. But are you listening? Listen to the tone of your voice? Listen to the volume of your voice. Can you hear His voice above the roar? Calm your tone and volume and start to listen once again.
Too often we make excuses for our lost tempers. We tell ourselves, “It’s just an ethnic thing—I’m Irish—or Italian.” Or we blame it on our temperament… I’m sanguine or choleric or some other modern terminology. But in reality, each one of us does not wear those labels. We are children of God. We take after Him. We have the indwelling Holy Spirit to empower us to boldly take on new temperaments because in Christ, we are “new creations”. We need to die to those carnal and fleshly ways and come alive in the Spirit of God. He wants to speak through us, and He can’t unless He is in charge. “ for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” (Matthew 10:20) Just as the chains of abuse must be broken in our lives, so must the chains of anger, hatred and bitterness.

The Tongue...
James specializes in the tongue. He gives us some great advise.  19My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. (James 1:19-20) and he continues in v 26— 26If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. Just being religious does not make you a good Christian. The fruit of your mouth tells the real story. We destroy our testimonies when we lose our tempers. Even worse, we use what God created for blessing to curse. 9With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. 10Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. (James 3:9,10) We must be teachable. We must have listening ears. How dare we abuse the God who made us and who wants to help us. The Holy Spirit is waiting and longing for us to listen to His voice so He can teach us the things we need to develop the patience we need when those stress filled moments come our way.
Those moments have a valuable purpose in our lives. God designed them to make us more mature—the Bible calls it ‘perfect’. And James teaches us how it works. 2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. (James 1:2-4) Now we rarely think of those tough times as an opportunity for great joy! But when we look at the purpose for which God allows them in our life—to test our faith and grow our endurance—we can rejoice knowing that He is working on every area of our lives, making us both perfectly mature, and absolutely complete. When we reach that state of spiritual maturity, we will discover that we truly do not need all those things we were fighting so hard for. We already have all we need in God. He is our supply. He is our source. He is our peace.
Tomorrow, if you think you lost your temper, and you feel like you have lost your mind, remember the One who specializes in finding lost things—Jesus, the Good Shepherd!
J. Johnson
TEMPER
When I have lost my temper,
I have lost my reason too.
I'm never proud of anything,
which angrily I do.
When I have talked in anger
and my cheeks are flaming red,
I have always uttered something
that I wish I had not said.
In anger I have never done
a kindly deed or wise,
But many things for which I felt
I should apologize.
In looking back across my life,
and all I've lost or made,
I can't recall a single time
when fury ever paid.
So I struggle to be patient,
for I've reached a wiser age;
I do not want to do a thing
or speak a word in rage.
I have learned by sad experience
that when my temper flies
I never do a worthy deed,
a decent deed or wise.
(Author unknown)

Hand to the Plow......

It is spring time, and time for preparing the gardens for sowing the seed. I’m not much of a farmer, but my father grew up on the farm as did his father and his grandfather. It was their dream that he also be a farmer. Although he wanted to try his hand at other things, he ultimately continued to farm at least enough ground to feed his family. Many of our ancestors did the same. Each spring they would go into the barn and dig out the plow, sharpen the blade and take it out to the field. Some had a push plow which one man could push through the soil. Others had plows that were pulled by oxen, horses or mules. The original measurement of an acre was the amount of ground a farmer and his oxen could plow in one day. The knack of plowing a field had to be learned.
First of all, it was necessary to till up the compacted soil before planting seed so the soil could ‘breathe’ and the seed could germinate. It was hard work, not for the feeble. Hands would become blistered and calloused as they guided the plow and the animal across the field. It was not a one day job. It took days and sometimes weeks to plow the acreage. Sometimes it meant removing boulders and stumps. We don’t appreciate what our forefathers did to prepare this country for the harvests we have had in the past. When someone has prepared the way before us, we tend to take it for granted.
In the early years of the church, there were plows and planters too. They took on virgin ground, battling persecution from the religious critics of their day, but they persisted because of the words of Jesus Christ found in Luke 9:62 "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." We read these words but often fail to understand them. A good farmer would learn to plow a straight line by fixing his vision on a point straight ahead of him—a tree, a rock, or a fencepost. He would use that point of reference until he had crossed the field at least once. It would keep the row straight and make it easier for the animals to plow succeeding rows. If he spent all his time looking backwards to see how he was doing, the row would end up crooked and the job would be much more difficult to finish well.

When Jesus spoke these words to his disciples, they were walking along side Him making their boasts… “I’ll follow you anywhere!” (Lk 9:57) Early they were even arguing about which of them would be the greatest. (Lk 9:46)It was time for a valuable lesson. Following Jesus meant becoming like a little child. It meant not having a place to lay your head...no 5-star hotels for followers of Jesus. (Lk 9:58) It meant making sacrifices, and realignment of priorities. Following Jesus meant more than saying “goodbye’ to family and friends, to burying loved ones. Jesus had set the example. Jesus knew that His time of sacrifice was almost upon Him. “ 51 As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.” (Lk 9:51) Jesus was focused on the task at hand. He was plowing a field. He had told them already about the field of the world...and the farmer who went out to sow seed in the field ( Luke 8:5-8) and he explained to them the importance of sowing seed in good ground. But some seed would fall by the wayside in hard ground, and other in stony ground and still other in the thorny ground with weeds. But it was the seed of the Word of God that was sown in good ground that would produce a harvest. So plowing that ground and making it good ground was very important.
But there are a lot of folks who say they want to follow the Lord and put their hand to the plow until they discover the cost—the hard work, the sacrifices required of farmers. Some are lazy at heart. Others are drawn away by riches and comforts and family ties. They often struggle with indecision and focus. They often do not want to sever the old ties from the past, and choose the lonely walk behind the plow. But Jesus was very clear here. Where we turn our face is important. What we choose to face will determine our future. If the farmer is looking back, then his eyes are not on the goal, and though he may be plowing, he is plowing without focus and purpose. It brings disaster. How many have taken their eyes off the road for just a moment, only to discover that in that instant you had drifted dangerously into a wrong lane or even off the road. Texters today are learning this the hard way. The efficient servant of God will aim his plow and his vision in the same unswerving direction with the purpose of preparing a field for a great harvest.
There is one little word that often causes us to swerve… “but”. “I will follow you but…” not until the time is right, not until the finances are secure, not until I’m older. Not today, but perhaps tomorrow. Other tasks are demanding our full attention today. We tell ourselves, we need to take care of business. We look back much like Lot’s wife. Redemption was ahead of her but she chose to look back at the judgment falling. She was tied emotionally to the things behind her in the doomed city of Sodom. She disobeyed and paid a price. There is a price to pay for looking back. The verse tells us that those who do are not “fit for the Kingdom of God.” To be ‘fit’ means more than just being physically strong. It means to be ripened, prepared, and competent, ready for service. Paul the Apostle learned this lesson for he says, “One thing I do, forgetting the things which are behind and stretching forward to the things which are before, I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3: 13). He had it right, with not one backward look, Paul pressed forward, knowing the goal. His high calling took him to a martyrs death. He was plowing ground with a great harvest of souls in mind. Did it work? Can we learn from his example?
How many today want to be followers of Jesus, but they just have a few issues they need to deal with. Jesus is calling us all to follow Him. But some delay because of procrastination. “Not yet...someday I’ll take care of that”. How often do we procrastinate just once and it suddenly becomes a pattern. We intend to write that letter to someone, but we put it off. Soon the opportunity to write is gone forever. We sometimes procrastinate in forgiving too. We hope time will deal with it and emotions will heal. In reality, we have just swept the dirt under the rug. When God calls, we must respond and do so immediately and decisively. There is no room for hesitancy. We are either admirers or followers. Admirers look on from a distance and say, “One day, I’ll follow too.” But followers get up on their feet and position themselves behind the plow, set their eyes on the goal, grip the plow firmly and follow the Master. They are not distracted by the past, the pain, or the people to call their name. They, like Jesus, have a purpose.
Jesus was determined to go to Jerusalem, knowing the cost. He was looking to Calvary, to the cross and to dying there for mankind. The purpose was clear. He could not just half die. It required total commitment. Death was the desired end. Why? Because He loved us! It was not a half-hearted love. It was complete, the love of a hero for someone who needed rescuing. How do you love someone half way? It’s impossible. Love means 100% commitment. It is unconditional. The only acceptable response is to love back completely and fully. We are either admirers, or followers. If we are followers, we must put our hand to the plow and follow Him without a backward glance.
I always admired the tenacity and faithfulness of Anne Sullivan who taught Hellen Keller. Anne was born into a home of Irish immigrants, and she suffered from abuse at the hands of her alcoholic father and was forced to tend to the needs of her crippled brother. They both became orphans. She became blind herself at the age of 5 and went through many surgeries to correct the problem. In spite of her past, she demanded an education and graduated as valedictorian. She knew her life had purpose and she set her hand to the plow. Helen Keller was the harvest.
As believers, we have a higher calling. Lost souls all around us are seeking guidance, wondering about life and death, heaven and hell. Angels cannot preach the gospel. Only man has the commission. But all too often we link ourselves with the stuff of the world. The Bible tells us that the plowman was forbidden to mix an oxen with a mule while plowing. They would be unequally yoked. (Deut. 22:10, 2 Corinth. 6:14) We must keep our lives pure and focused on the mission, the call, the purpose God has for us all. The plowman’s call is exclusive. There is no room for variation or experimentation. The seed must be sown in the field on time, or there will be no harvest, no time of reaping. There is already famine in the land? What will the people of God do? "No procrastination. No backward looks. You can't put God's kingdom off till tomorrow. Seize the day." Luke 9:62 TMB
J. Johnson

Victim or Victor?

As a child, I could have easily become a victim of abuse. One day while riding my bike home alone from swimming lessons, I was approached on the side of the road by a man in a car who asked me about swimming in the nearby lake down the street from my house. I noticed he was sitting in his car naked. I quickly answered his question then rode my bike home in the opposite direction. I never did tell my parents until I was an adult.



Statistics have shown us all that sexual abuse is a major problem in our sin filled culture. One out of every 4 women have at some time been sexually abused, often as children. Sexual abuse has increased 350% since 1980. When we speak of sexual abuse, sometimes the church tends to stick its head in the sand in hope that the problem will go away and we won’t have to deal with it. But my experiences in ministry has taught me that as believers, we need to not only be aware of this sin problem that is so prevalent—we also need to be prepared to help those who have been victims of it. Men have also been sexually abused. The rapid rise of homosexuality in the last century in this country is often the result of sexual abuse.


All too often, there have been myths that have developed about this subject. If we as a church are going to help this hurting group of people in our churches we need to look at some of the myths, as well as how we as a church can help them through the resulting pain. I tend to see them all, abused and abusers as victims. They have all fallen prey to Satan’s attack. We know the Bible teaches us that our enemy, Satan, is like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. His goal is to kill, steal and destroy. The result of abuse causes people to be angry at God, because they think He allowed an abuser to steal their sacred sexuality and destroy their self-worth, their relationships, their sexual identities, and their very relationship to God. In many ways, you can see how Satan loves this area. It has devastated not only the Catholic church, but spiritual people across all denominational lines. I believe there are frustrated victims of sexual abuse who suffer in silence from post traumatic stress disorder, sexual identity confusion, and who spend time on the internet, involved in pornography, chat-rooms, and other questionable activities. If the church does not raise the standard from the pulpit, and learn to deal with all this in appropriate ways to help with prevention, we will all stand before God one day to give an accounting. So lets begin by debunking some of the myths many believe.


Myth #1. Normal appearing, well-educated, middle class people don’t abuse children. The Bible tells me that all have sinned and come short of God’s glory. Because we are all sinners, the potential to sin and be tempted by the enemy is in every human being, no matter how nice or educated they are. It is all the more important that we as transformed believers become protectors of the innocent, educators of the ignorant, and healers to the wounded.


Myth # 2 Children cannot be believed. Most stories are ‘planted’ by another adult with a motive of revenge or the child is just seeking attention. Most child victims of sexual abuse have little or no knowledge of what sexual abuse is or how it will affect them. It is extremely rare for children to invent such stories. Sometimes when children ‘recant’ their stories, it is out of pure fear, fearing they will loose those they love, or because the pain of their confession begins to cause so much hurt in their family. They fear abandonment, further abuse, rage of siblings, and they fear being blamed as the cause rather than accepted as the victim. Remember Jesus came to heal the broken hearted and set the captives free.


Myth #3 Good parents can always protect their children from abuse through education. In reality, even though we teach our children carefully, they can still be victims. Too often we trust those who are closest to us...our friends, our extended family members. Abusers take advantage of that trust. They are excellent manipulators. It’s important to teach our children the difference between good touches and bad ones. It’s important they learn to say “No!” and run or scream if they feel threatened in any way. Abusers will seek occasions when they are alone with their victim and have control over them. Keeping your kids in groups helps prevent this kind of abuse. But even though we teach them, they are still children, pushing the boundaries, discovering, and learning. They will learn some things they never wanted to learn—the hard way. Even when they make mistakes, Christ is always there with open arms to love and forgive them, and will heal the broken heart.


Myth # 4 The majority of children are abused by strangers. We hear of pedophiles and sexual deviants on the prowl in the community, but we should be even more cautious about friends and family. It is people the children and parents know and trust (80%) who often do the majority of all abuse. If a child tells you of abuse, listen carefully to them. If you have any doubts, trust your child first before you believe the adult. Teach your child that any area covered by a bathing suit is out of bounds for others to touch.


Myth #5 It is not abuse unless rape occurs. Wrong! We know the Bible teaches that it is even sinful to look upon a woman and lust. So touching in any inappropriate way is far beyond just looking. It damages the child. Sometimes they suffer from unresolved guilt feelings, post traumatic stress, eating disorders, flash-backs and feelings that cripple relationships with others. Jesus said in Matthew 8:16 But if you give them a hard time, bullying them or taking advantage of their simple trust, you’ll soon wish you hadn’t. You’d be better off dropped in the middle of the lake, with a millstone around your neck. Doom to the world for giving these God-believing children a hard time. Hard times are inevitable, but you don’t have to make it worse. Dooms day for you! (The Message Bible)


Myth #6 They wanted or asked for it. The abuser often subdues his guilt with this thought. Sexual abuse is about power. We must always remember that children are children, not understanding the power of adults or of sexuality. It is always the responsibility of an adult to say “no” to his own temptations...never the child’s. Children who appear seductive may already have been abused. If you are now an adult, and you failed to say “NO” as a child, you may feel like it is your fault. It is not your fault. You were a victim of the abuser and of Satan.


Myth #7 Children can stop the abuse by just saying “no.” We must remember—these are children and there is a huge difference in this power ratio. Abusers will often fail to listen to or obey the ‘NO” of a child. They often pick on a child that is weak and vulnerable. They use fear and intimidation tactics to control their victim. Maintain a healthy relationship with your kids so they can tell you anything without feeling rejection!


Myth # 8 The abused will always become abusers as well. No! There is One who wants to break the chains of sin and violence. His name is Jesus. He heals the broken in both abused and abusers. He is in the business of life transformation. He conquered sin, Satan, death, disease and fear when he rose from the dead. He desires to make all things new again. Oh, there may be scars. Even Jesus has scars. But those scars will be testimonies of the healing power of God. They will help Satan’s victims discover hope as they see you victorious in Christ Jesus. He makes victims into victors!


Solutions:


The real solution to the problem of sin is the blood of Jesus Christ. His blood cleanses us from all sin. Because of the cleansing power, we can become new creations...made just as if we had never sinned. When we fall into the trap of abuse, we often tend to feel all alone. We feel confused and traumatized.


The apostle Paul knew all about abuse. What was his solution to the pain? As he traveled the world telling about Jesus, he tells us We've been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we're not demoralized; we're not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we've been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn't left our side; we've been thrown down, but we haven't broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us—trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us—he lives! 2 Corinthians 4:8-10 The Message Bible) Persecution was the daily norm for early church saints. Paul never denied the pain. He just refused to be defined by the pain. He was more than ‘persecuted’—-he was God’s masterpiece! “10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” Eph 2:10 (NLV) When you know Christ and his forgiving power, you become His temple (2 Cor 6:16) and you become part of His family—sons and daughters (2 Cor 6:18). So just think of it, no matter what you have done, no matter what others have done to you, you are still His ‘masterpiece’ His ‘temple’, his ‘sons and daughters’. Let His identity define who you are! If you have repented of your sin, you are not damaged goods, but you are a blessed Child of the Almighty God, a masterpiece of His grace— a victor—that’s who you are!          J. Johnson

Is SATAN Real???

When you think of the devil, what do you think about? The shadowy dark figure with a pitchfork and tail often in red? Perhaps you think of him as a very large beautiful angel. So often we develop ideas about spiritual concepts from movies Hollywood has produced. As a result some think of Clarence the angel in It’s a wonderful Life, or of John Travolta as an angel with a trench coat. If Satan was an angel like that, perhaps that is what he looks like. However, nothing could be further from the truth. The bible describes him this way—"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” 1 Peter 5:8. He is not a lion...but he is like one in nature...a stalker. His ultimate goal is to kill, steal and destroy what God has perfected.

Did you know that only 1% of today’s younger generation believe in a literal devil? Barna Group tells us: Four out of ten Christians (40%) strongly agreed that Satan “is not a living being but is a symbol of evil.” As a result, the church has a major problem on its hands. If folks think Satan is not literal, then they also believe that hell is also not literal. That belief causes them to think that there are no eternal consequences for sin and rebellion against God and His rules. Yet the Bible teaches us so much differently. If we reject what the Bible teaches us in just one area, how does that affect the rest of the Word of God? Some take these non-Biblical stances simply because of ignorance. In this age of Biblical ignorance, when we don’t take the time to read and study what God has to say about angels, demons and devils, all too many form false doctrines and then doubt the reality of Satan and who he really is.

The bible teaches us that Satan is a real individual. His original name was Lucifer, before his fall. In his pre-fall state, he was a beautiful cherub, one of many cherubim. These were angelic creatures whose role kept them around the throne of God. Lucifer’s particular role involved music and the harp. We read about it in two places in scripture, Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28. There we learn the mistakes he made. He allowed pride in his heart and the moment God saw that pride, He cast him down from heaven to the earth( Ez 28:17). From it we also learn that angels have a free will to choose, much like we do (Jude 6). Satan chose to want something he could not have...to be like God (Is 14:14). In Ezekiel we also learn that they are created beings (28:15), that God had appointed Lucifer as an ‘anointed guardian cherub’ (28:14)and that he was in the garden of Eden (28:13). But there are also many qualities we give to Satan that he does not possess.

Too often we think Satan is as powerful as God. That’s what Satan wants us to think. But in reality, Satan has far less power than God. God is all knowing (omniscient). Satan has limited knowledge. He knows the past, but he does not know the future. He can only guess about the future. So he has his psychics and false prophets do just that. Sometimes they get it right and sometimes they are way off. God is also all powerful (omnipotent). Satan, however has limited powers. He cannot make you do anything you choose not to do. He can influence your will but he cannot control it unless you give him that freedom. (People who are demon possessed have done just that!) His power is limited to the same power that all angels were given. God is present everywhere (omnipresent). Satan is limited and can only be in one place at one time. Because he has others serving him, other fallen angels of lesser rank, we now call demons—they are found everywhere and make it appear as if Satan were everywhere. God is truth. He cannot lie. Satan on the other hand is a liar and cannot be trusted to tell the truth. Jesus called him the Father of lies. (John 8:44) He is also called a murder, not because he kills people, but because he influences people to kill just as Cain killed Abel. His plan to murder the Messiah backfired when Jesus rose from the dead. God is eternal. He has no beginning and no ending. He always was and is and will be. Satan, on the other hand, did not exist until God created him (Col 1:16). Now he is an angelic spirit being which will live on, facing God’s judgment. His end is written. He will be bound in the ‘bottomless pit’ for 1000 years, then loosed for a short period of time (Rev 20:2,3) then he will eventually be thrown in to the ‘lake of fire’ a place of eternal torment where he will spend the rest of eternity. (Rev 20:10)

So what is Satan/Lucifer really like? He was a cherub. He was not the cutsie little valentines cherub that shoots arrows through your heart causing you to fall in love. No—far from it. A cherub’s job in heaven was to guard the throne of God. (Psalm 99:1) It is thought that because Lucifer had a part with harps, timbrels (tambourines or drums) and pipes. (Ez 28:13) He dwelt in a place of absolute beauty and was dressed in gems to reflect the glory of God. So we know his part around the throne of God involved music. Cherubim around the throne are described as saying words of praise and worship “"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come." (Rev 4:8) It is quite likely then that Lucifer had a leadership role is this worship before the fall. Apparently he desired that same worship for himself because the Bible says that he wanted to be like God.

There are also fables about how Satan is like mankind. Yet the Bible teaches us some very different things. He is a spirit being, not a physical body. Psalm 104:4 Who makes His angels spirits, His ministers a flame of fire. Angels do have the ability to appear in a human-like form and this does happen in the Bible such as the angels that visited with Abraham and Daniel (Dan 9:21-22), or the angel which led Peter out of jail. But unlike people, angels do not procreate. Matthew 22:30 At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. Therefore the notion that Satan or angels can have sex with humans is a notion stemming from movies such as Rosemary’s Baby, as well as error regarding giants called nephalim in Genesis. As spirit beings, they do not have the physical characteristics to be able to procreate. Another way Satan and fallen angels are not like man is in redemption from sin. God provided salvation for man through the blood of Christ’s sacrifice. However, fallen angels will never experience salvation. They are doomed to eternity without redemption (Matt 25:41). God designed hell just for them. They are asexual—that is—neither male nor female. God told mankind to be fruitful and multiply but he never told angels to multiply. He created all he needed. There are as many now as when He created them.

Yes, Satan is real. He is as real as God. For that reason, the apostle Paul reminded believers...“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”- Ephesians 6:12-13 We are in a battleground. Satan is at work full time to destroy what God wants to do in the lives of believers. He wants to destroy your relationship with Christ. He uses every temptation he can against you. He listens to what you say and aggravates your weaknesses. He also wants to destroy your marriage and your family. He causes believers to get their eyes on themselves and what they want instead of keeping their eyes on the Lord and what He wants. Soon selfishness overtakes the marriage and splits the family. Satan also wants to destroy the church. After all, it is the ‘bride of Christ’. He works on the church through division causing a church to split. God’s goal for the bride is unity in the Holy Spirit. A church that is filled with the Spirit, walking in the gifts, and listening to the voice of God is a strong church. But the moment people get their eyes on man, the church fails. Satan often does this through pastoral failures. One moment of seduction and sin can destroy the church.

How do we overcome Satan’s efforts? Revelations gives us a clue. It tells us… “"Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 11. "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. (Revelations 12:10-11) Two methods are given here. First, using the blood of Jesus, the blood which cleanses us from sin, applied to our lives and hearts. Secondly, our testimony conquers Satan. We can tell what Christ has done for us. What you say is important. You are a first-hand witness of the power of Christ over sin, sickness and death. So take your stand against the enemy of our souls, Satan, and put on the whole armor of God. That armor is the Word of God, the gospel of salvation, the Holy Spirit’s power at work in our daily lives and so much more. A well equipped believer who knows who he is in Christ Jesus has nothing to fear from our enemy, Satan. You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He [Christ] who is in you is greater than he [Satan] who is in the world. 1 John 4:4
J. Johnson

Spiritually Fit for Service....

January is the month many folks try to get fit. They go on healthy diets, start an exercise routine and determine to loose those extra pounds they put on over the holidays. Some think fitness involves the spiritual man, looking to the new age gurus for answers. They fail to seek the guidance found in the Bible, instead seeking the advice of holistic advisors who teach their followers to think about their bodies as a home for spiritual unity… “The paradigm of duality is no longer working for our planet.  More and more of us are coming to the realization that we are indeed all One and that there is no separation.  The "parts" we see are literally a figment of our imagination.  Now is the time to embrace and begin practicing this concept of Oneness.  What is it that you would like to change? ….. ” These new age peddlers focus on things such as, “fitness training and weight loss, pilates, core work outs, therapeutic massage, rising star healing systems, prema birthing, quantum touch, spiritual counseling, energy clearing for the home, spiritual fitness workshops and so much more…” but they forget about God! Spiritual fitness for a new decade is more than just exercising the physical body and looking within for answers to life’s stresses. For the Christian believer it is allowing the spiritual core to be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Unity by the Holy Spirit
John 17 gives us the wonderful prayer of Jesus in the garden, before he went to Calvary. There Jesus prayed that His followers would be one, as He and the Father were one. That unifying power never linked us to this carnal sinful earth with all it’s problems. We were designed to be like Christ, who was in perfect union with the Father. That union came by the power of the Spirit. But few really are intimate with the power of the Spirit of God. They fail to live and walk daily in the Spirit. Instead, they fall into the intellectual trap of trying to do the best they can with what they have in themselves...and when they fail to conquer their problems, they blame God. Yet in reality, they never really came to trust God enough to give Him their problems in the first place. Walking in the power of the Spirit begins with yielding ourselves to Him, letting Him take the lead. Our independent spirits fight at that idea. We want to try to do it all by ourselves. Some gravitate to the world’s ideas of ’making it’ and think perhaps they are right and we need to change and focus on who we are. Christ asks us instead to focus on who He is!

You are What You Eat!
We all know that if we eat nothing but junk food, our bodies will suffer incredibly. Back in 2004 Morgan Stanley produced the award winning film “Supersize Me” proving the dangers of eating junk food for a month. (http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/super_size_me/ ) Take some time to see it if you have not already. We are clearly affected by all the media hype around us and it is affecting not only how we eat, but how we think. We tend to go with the flow. We become lazy, taking the easy way instead of working. We are truly sheep, but we are often following the wrong shepherd, mostly because we are not listening to the voice of the Good Shepherd. “And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” John 10:4,5 So how do we listen to His voice? First of all, we must get to really know Him. Most people who attend church regularly know the voice of their pastor. If they hear him speaking in a store to someone, they recognize his voice, even if they cannot see him. Yet many do not know God well enough to know His voice. He is continually speaking to His children, asking for their love and obedience, yet we wander off like stray sheep. Getting to know His voice means spending time with Him, reading the Bible, praying and listening. God’s voice will never contradict His Word, and so you can recognize it by it’s unity with the Word of God. For example, God will never ask you to tell a lie. His Word teaches us that lying is a sin. How much time you spend dining in the Word of God will determine your intimacy with God and your spiritual health.
How is your spiritual diet? What are you daily feeding your soul with? Everyday, you take time to eat. Some have three or more meals a day. They just won’t miss that opportunity to eat. It is satisfying and comforting. Yet spiritually, most Americans are starving to death. We have all seen photos of third–world children suffering from malnutrition with bloated stomachs or skeletons with skin stretched over them. Yet we don’t think of ourselves that way. Although some 70%+ say they believe in God, this nation is one that is Biblically illiterate. At one time, the Bible was used in public education as a text book. Today, it is a forbidden entity. Those who decided to strip America of its faith in God and of all religion, have succeeded in creating a generation without Biblical knowledge, values and wisdom. As a result, many are starving spiritually. Added to the problem is the lack of church support in the education of children. Sunday Schools have become ‘old-fashioned’, replaced with ‘superchurch’ featuring fun and games, puppets and magic tricks, crafts and music. Yet most kids never learn basic Bible truths or experience the presence of God in a church service. Few know what the 10 commandments are. We must be cautious that we are not feeding our kids ‘spiritual junk food’! Parents, what are you feeding your kids at home? Don’t leave it up to the church. Once a week meals are not enough for spiritual health. Take every opportunity to teach your children as they go through life, with lessons to match each days experiences. Is there a problem with anger...teach them what the Bible says about anger. If you as a parent do not know, look it up (Prov. 15:1)! If it’s a problem with sexuality, read the Book (Romans 1)! Obedience? Look at the Old Testament lessons for Israel. Love? Read Romans 13:9. Do you want spiritual health? "You don't get wormy apples off a healthy tree, nor good apples off a diseased tree. The health of the apple tells the health of the tree. You must begin with your own life-giving lives. It's who you are, not what you say and do, that counts. Your true being brims over into true words and deeds. (Luke 6:43TMB) Health comes from within and you are what you eat. How healthy is your tree? This last year, I watched a good friend dramatically loose weight after gastric bypass surgery. She suffered intense pain in her knees from being over weight. Health problems were on the increase. She risked heart problems, diabetes and arthritis. A wrong diet and a lack of dietary discipline over a period of many years had done a lot of damage. Now, after being forced to eat healthy choices she has lost half her body weight. But it was at a price. It demanded a new way of life. Spiritually we are no different. If we are spiritually obese or malnourished, we must experience a new way of life. It takes yielding all that we are into the hands of the Master surgeon who will strip us of what we no longer need. By the Spirit’s power Our spiritual dietician) we will learn new truths to lead us into healthy spiritual living. New ways of spiritually thinking and living must become a part of our lives. God wants the body of Christ to be lean and mean… ready to face the enemy of our souls with spiritual power and confidence.
When I look at the world around us today, I fear for the church. It is no longer lean and healthy. It is overindulged, complacent and malnourished. What should be an army of soldiers, is, for the most part, sick. It demands a lifestyle that does not prepare it for battle, and the battle is coming. Spiritual fitness demands spiritual health. I am often reminded of Eli the high priest in the Bible who two sons Hophni and Phinehas, who were to take over as high priests one day. But Eli had failed to teach his sons well. They abused their positions, living to please themselves. Eli had gotten fat and sloppy, and the attitudes had passed on to the next generation. The price was death. Eli fell over dead, his sons died in battle, and his grandson Ichabod was born without a father...Ichabod meaning “the glory is departed.” Each of the three generations paid a price.
It’s too easy to point fingers at others and see all their faults. It takes honesty to look within and see what God sees. Ask yourself these questions: Am I spiritually fit for battle? Am I spiritually strong? How do I face spiritual opposition? If I were to face a spiritual battle tomorrow, would I be ready? What can I do now to alter my spiritual life style? How does the next generation look at me? What kind of example am I to them? What do I value most in life? Am I ready for eternity?
My friend who had surgery now is returning to health, has new energy, less pain, will not have diabetes, and heart problems are much less likely with her new exercise routine. A new lifestyle has dramatically changed her health and stamina. If only the church would discover its need for spiritual health and change. What kinds of change would it make?
You've been raised on the Message of the faith and have followed sound teaching. Now pass on this counsel to the followers of Jesus there, and you'll be a good servant of Jesus. Stay clear of silly stories that get dressed up as religion. Exercise daily in God—no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever. You can count on this. Take it to heart. (1 Tim 4:6-9 TMB)
J. Johnson

Christmas Greetings 2009

Dear Friends and family….
We want to wish you a wonderful Christmas filled with joy and blessings from the Lord. It has been a year of transition for us and we are not done yet. First of all, we gained two more beautiful grandchildren, Luke Johnson (9 mos)Son of Heath and Theresa Johnson, and Rainey Mae Johnson (6 Mos.)Daughter of Jarred and Jenny Johnson. They fill our lives with joy! Also in May, we transitioned from life in Milwaukee to Waupaca WI, closing The Ministry Center and graduating our final class(see picture of some of the graduates) of ‘ministers’ who are now busy fulfilling their ministries, leading Bible studies, doing prison ministry, running an after school program and ministering to veterans. We rejoice in what God has done through them all. We also transitioned back into the Assemblies of God. Now we are awaiting God’s repositioning of our own ministry. We have already waited for 6 months and we are getting anxious to serve Him more. We love serving the Lord in ministry and we are praying for whatever God has for us.

It has been a wonderful time of refreshing and rest. We took full advantage of it to visit with our families and friends in Ohio, Michigan, Tennessee, and Missouri and just celebrated Thanksgiving at our home, with three of our four sons, one of them surprising us at the last minute….What fun! Our four grandsons got to meet their first girl cousin….our granddaughter . It was almost like Christmas. We will be spending Christmas in Madison with them and loving every minute. David has kept busy with home maintenance that had long been neglected. Joyce has kept busy down sizing our possessions, writing a book, doing the newsletter as well as helping David cut and split our winter wood supply….at least 3 cords of firewood.
We want to wish each of you a wonderful year of blessings in 2010. We do not know what each new years holds, but it is all in God’s hands. Pray that God will help us discover a place of full time service. We pray that you are loving God with all of your heart for there is no other reason to celebrate than to live for Him daily and let Him lead and guide our lives. God bless you and may you have a wonderful Christmas and New Year filled with His love and presence!

Rev. David and Joyce Johnson
PO Box 655
(E2619 Lindee Lane)
Waupaca WI 54981
(715-258-5543)
wordofthelordministries@gmail.com

I Don't Need A Thing!

I have a wonderful little grandson, who, at the age of 3 going on 4 discovered that he could express his wants and desires. When it came time for his birthday, grandpa asked him, “So what do you want for your birthday?” The list began…”Do you know what I want for my birthday...I want a ….and do you know what I want for my birthday? I want a …….And do you know what I want for my birthday? I want a…..” and the list went on and on. Sometimes our wants simply get out of hand when we start acting like a three year old. We focus on ourselves and our desires and our lusts, instead of on the Lord.
When we look at the secular world around us, we are quick to point out the greed in the financial world as bonuses are handed out like candy to children. To them, greed is good—-motivation to make more and climb higher on the ladder of success. It is the ‘American Way’. More is better. But where do we draw the line? Where does blessing and plenty become too much and greed? We are reminded in the Charles Dickens's classic “Ebenezer Scrooge” that when our desire for more becomes strictly selfish, we loose touch with the real world around us and fail to see the needs.
Christmas is a perfect time to examine our problem of greed and want. Even if we don’t verbally list our desires, we still have them. We go shopping and we see this new electronic gadget or that new style, or a handy tool. Soon we start adding to our mental list of wants. We drop hints, and point out how nice that is to someone who might catch the hint and we hope they will give it to us otherwise we plan to get it for ourselves one day...perhaps in the clearance sales.
I recall the children of Israel, wandering in the Sinai desert longing for all the things they used to enjoy in Egypt...onions and leeks, fish and garlic. So soon they began to complain to their leader, Moses. They wanted more. (Numbers 11:4-6) 4 The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, "If only we had meat to eat! 5 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. 6 But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!" When we are not satisfied with the provisions that God gives us, we tend to get grumpy and complain. God hears us. And he will sometimes give us what we want rather than what we need. Selfish ‘wants’ can get us all into trouble. The story is told of a little boy cared for by a nanny in a wealthy home. The boy was spoiled, demanded everything he wanted and when he failed to get it, he cried. Soon the mother was disturbed from her rest by the child’s constant crying. She yelled out to the nanny…. “Give him what he wants!” The nanny did….and soon the child shrieked in pain. He had wanted to touch a wasp and the nanny had kept him from the danger for his own good until the Mother interfered and ignorantly gave bad advice. Sometimes our wants sting us!
Sometimes we desire things we do not need, and should not have. Our desires must be shaped by God’s desires for us. I am always taken back to the well known 23rd Psalm. GOD, my shepherd!
I don't need a thing.
   You have bedded me down in lush meadows, you find me quiet pools to drink from.
   True to your word,
      you let me catch my breath
      and send me in the right direction.
When the Lord is our shepherd, we don’t need anything but what He provides for us. All sheep need is green grass, water, and safety. It is the job of the shepherd to see to it that the basic sheep’s needs are met in full. The Lord is my shepherd. He knows my needs. He knows my wants. He knows the dangers around me. Just as a mother anticipates the needs of a child, God does the same for His children. He allows us to go our own way at times so that we will learn that we need Him more than we think we do.
As we move into the Christmas season, our ears are tuned to the blaring ads on the TV, the lure of the jingle that plays over and over in our heads, reminding us to spend, spend, spend. We tell ourselves we are not good parents if we don’t give our kids more each year. Yet, if we look in the closets of America, we will see them stuffed to overflowing. I challenge you to search around you for a need. We have a choice. We can feed the greed, or feed the need. Give as the Lord directs you to give. Ask Him… “What should I do about this need Lord?” Then walk in obedience and do what He tells you to do. Balance comes into our lives when we do things God’s way. Put the shepherd in charge. Let Him show you needs around you...a family out of work….a family with sickness and medical bills—overwhelmed by needs….a neighbor who doesn‘t know your name or that you even care…a veteran who suffers as he remembers the past…a senior who just needs a listening ear...a teen who thinks nobody cares…. Look around you! Needs are everywhere! . Look for a family out of work. Bless them this year. Is there someone who has no family to spend the holidays with? Invite them into your celebrations. Remember the lonely folk in senior centers, and spend some extra time with them. Ask your kids about their friends and the families they come from. Visit a food pantry and see how you can help. Do you know someone in jail, or hospital….plan a visit. Tired of eating alone? Invite someone over for dinner. Teach your children to be givers instead of getters. Give them some coins or bills to drop into the red kettle this year. Teach them to make a sacrifice to give to someone else. Teach them to watch for needs around them. Children will do what is modeled before them by their parents. Let your children catch you in the act of giving without restraint. Christmas is not the only time of year you should be giving. Make a habit each month to go out of your way to give above and beyond the call to someone in need. Perhaps a serviceman or woman needs a card in the mail, or perhaps an elderly neighbor needs a helping hand with snow shoveling or raking leaves, or running an errand. Giving has no season. God designed tithing to meet the needs of the priesthood and the tabernacle. But offerings go beyond that. Even more than offerings, there are tasks that need to be done that God wants each of us to do. When we do them, we practice being servants like Christ was to His disciples...washing their feet, meeting their need.
Giving restores balance in our lives. There is a new series called “Hoarders” that shows a kind of compulsive sickness that a few folks suffer from in our culture. They collect all kinds of stuff and just can’t bear to part with it because somebody might need it. However, in every case, the stuff never finds its way to needs, but instead accumulates until the interior of what once was a home becomes a garbage can filled with wall to wall trash. Their life is out of balance. When we take in and fail to take out, we trash our dwelling place. But when we learn to get rid of the kind of stuff that is no longer usable, when we learn to distinguish between valuables and trash, we can evaluate and organize our stuff and get rid of the garbage in our lives. Sometimes we let our hearts get trashed with all the stuff our greedy hearts have demanded. The shepherd has given us all we need, but we, in our childish demanding ways have chosen to want more and more. We spend all our days wading through the trash when we could be relaxing in the lush green meadows of His divine provision.
There is a unique blessing for those who learn to give without reserve, expecting nothing in return...God opens the windows of heaven and pours out a blessing so that you cannot contain it.( Malachi 3:10) Of course He does that, not so that we can keep it all, but so we can have more fun giving it away. Have you discovered the joy of giving?
Remember the children of Israel who wanted more than manna? God satisfied their lusts with all the quail they could eat...bushels of them….and while they satisfied their lusts, God stuck them with a plague and they died with the meat in their teeth. There is a price for greed….for desiring stuff more than God. We must guard our attitudes, our desires, our wants and be cautious lest we become hoarders in the desert. Their price was death. The price is the same today. We die spiritually, the moment we place things and wants ahead of what God wants for us. The thing I have determined that I want is more of God….more of his presence, more of his will, more of his plans for me. When I become satisfied with nothing but Him in my life, I will discover that I am where He wants me to be, in green pastures, by still waters, with a table of blessing prepared before me, protected from my enemies, and I shall not be in want, for I will have everything I need.
Perhaps this year, you are the one in need, and you think you have nothing left to give. Your cupboards are empty. When you get to that place, attitude is everything! Learn to give what you have….a smile! Let the joy of the Lord shine through you to a hurting world around you. Give someone a word of encouragement...a kind word of thanks….a pat on the back, a little note of appreciation. This costs you nothing and means everything to a world who sadly lack kindness and love. Be Jesus to someone! You can pray for their needs. You can share His love! Everyone has something to give! And when God opens the windows of heaven for you, don’t forget to say thanks….to God….and to the vessel God used to bless you. Appreciation is the seed for future blessing. God loves a thankful heart because it acknowledges the source. Those who neglect little things like saying “Thanks” reflect their lack of appreciation, and the divine source from which it came. All we have comes from God, who shares it with those who know how to give and say thanks.
When you get heavenly blessings this year...thank God….and His servants who delivered it. And remember, you can give because you don’t need a thing….you shall not be in want! J. Johnson

God Calls It.....SIN!

I recently read an article by comedian Bill Cosby in which he, without apology, addressed the shortcomings of the Americans who share his same cultural background. He minced no words. He chose to tell it just like it was….refusing to soft-soap his peers. You can find it on the internet here: http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/cosby.asp
In the media, another person who often says it like he sees it is the senior commentator, Andy Rooney. While I may not always agree with his viewpoints, I appreciate his honest candor. In our internet/media generation, we hear, see and read all kinds of information. Some of it is valid, and some of it is not. It is so important that we be discerning. It is even more important that Christians be spiritually discerning and learn to face the world in honest terms. We need a firm guide by which we can measure truth from error and deception from reality. We have that guide with us but how often do we choose to use Him? He will not soft-soap the truth. He will tell it to us just as it is.
The Promise
Jesus taught His disciples that after He was gone, He would send to them One who would guide them into all truth. (John 14:16-17) He would remind them of all that Jesus had taught them. He would not bring glory to Himself, but to Christ. Who is this? It is the person of the Holy Spirit. Read the whole chapter of John 14. It is the work of the Spirit to do so many valuable things for us as believers. Yet how often do we stumble along trying to figure it all out our own way. We read what this one and that one says. We listen to our friends and voices that seem confident on the TV or radio. Yet many of those voices do not speak the truth but instead promote their own ideas for their own agendas. Some seek financial gain. (That’s an automatic red flag.) Others seek fame and recognition. Others just like to gain followers. We are to only follow others as they follow Christ. What is worst of all, is a failure, even in the church, to call sin— “SIN.”
But how do we determine whether or not they are really following Christ? The Bible tells us we are to be fruit inspectors. If they fail to bear the fruit of the Spirit of God, they are not what they appear to be. What do they value most? Money, or lost souls? While many ministries do require finances in order to do the work of the Lord, it is important that finances don’t overshadow the ultimate goal...winning the lost. Personal comforts should be secondary to the divine directive to win the lost. So often it seems to come down to a problem of sin. It is sin that separates us from God. It is sin that causes spiritual leaders and Christians to fall.
The Sin
In today’s world, sin is a word no one wants to talk about. We call it everything except what it is. We call it a lapse in judgment, a mistake, a moral failure, a problem, a weakness, but we do not call it sin. In the Bible, the Lord does talk about it. Look again at John 14:15 “If you love me keep my commandments” These are the words of Jesus. He instructs his disciples to obey the law. In the Old Testament, those who disobeyed the law were considered ‘sinners’, and in rebellion against God. God warned Cain in Genesis 4:7 about sin waiting at his door, wanting to control him. "If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.'' Sin is a problem we must face and deal with.
Today, the law is written on our hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit who convicts us of our sin. It is the Spirit who draws us to Christ and as we are confronted by His awesome holiness, we see such a stark contrast that we are compelled to do something about it…. repent. Yet how many who have renamed sin by other terms, think they are not sinners, just people that make mistakes. We are all sinners. The Bible tells us this...If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.1 John 1:8 (KJV) But there is One who Jesus sent to help us with the sin problem. “for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:” John 16:7-8 So you may feel the weight of that sin in your everyday life. You are continually attacked by the enemy of your soul, Satan, to give in to the power of sin. What is sin? It is anything that displeases and comes between you and a holy God. The Holy Spirit is continually prodding you to not do certain things. In your heart you know the difference between right and wrong and when you sin, you choose to deliberately disobey and do what you know is wrong. It may be as small as an unkind word, or thought. It may be watching something on TV or a DVD that you know God hates….but you do it anyhow. It may be a problem with sex—adultery or fornication. It may be using chemicals to help you forget the sin in the past….alcohol, drugs, etc. But the moment their affect wears off, the problem is still there.
Freedom
There is only one way to be free. We are slaves to sin. But Jesus came to set us free. You don’t have to continually live a guilt filled life. If God chooses to forgive you when you come to Him and repent, then you can also forgive yourself. Jesus came to change the sin problem forever. “But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 5:20-21 In other words...where there was lots of sin, God’s favor and blessings were even more abundant, all because of the holiness that comes to us through Jesus Christ when we make Him Lord—in charge of it all. It does not just happen because Jesus died. It is up to each individual to accept the blessing for himself or herself. It means we must first repent of our sin, then put Christ in charge of our lives in everything we do. If we love Him, we will do what He says. A key chapter to read in the Bible is Romans 6. Here we learn to be slaves to a new taskmaster. Once we were slaves to sin and death. Now we can be love slaves to God who frees us from the sin that bound us. I love the way the Message Bible puts it here. That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don't give it the time of day. Don't even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life. Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time—remember, you've been raised from the dead!—into God's way of doing things. Sin can't tell you how to live. After all, you're not living under that old tyranny any longer. You're living in the freedom of God. (Rom 6:12-14) This gives us something to be truly thankful for. It means you can do whatever GOD wants...instead of what YOU want. You may be thinking, “well, I’m a nice person, and I don’t have a huge sin problem. I’m not addicted to drugs and I don’t steal or hurt people.” Yet the Bible tells us we are all born in sin and the wages sin earns us is death, not just physical death, but spiritual death. Unless we all tell God we are sorry, we will die! “the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Ezekiel 18:4 Sin looks enticing for a moment, but sin has consequences. We must not die in our sin. God provided a way for every person to escape eternal death. “He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9
The Choice
It is easy to follow the crowd, and do as they do. But inevitably, we all will come personally face to face with eternity. One hundred percent of us will die. What will you do? Is sin in control of your life? You and you alone can change things. You must choose life! Don’t wait until you cannot choose. Choose now to make it right with your Creator. You may say…” Well, I don’t know for sure if there is a God...or I don’t care about God…” But all the while, there is One who cares about YOU! He sent His only Son to die to free you from sin. You could struggle all your life trying to be good and never be good enough. Only God can make you truly ‘good’! But you must choose Him. Life is filled with choices. This is one choice that will truly transform your life and your eternity.
Many are living fear filled lives today, not knowing if they will get the H1N1 flu, or some other pandemic down the road. Some are facing death daily, as they serve their country in Iraq and Afghanistan. Others do not know if they will meet their Maker on the highways of life. We do not know what our tomorrow holds. That is why we must make plans now for the future. How many plan for their life here and now—a wedding, a baby, a home, a job—but fail to plan for their life eternal? We get the best education, save our money, try to make good decisions and plan for a happy retirement, but all we do does nothing to prepare us for our eternity. It’s not the nice things we do that will get us into heaven. Its only by His love and grace, and our acceptance of it, that will defeat death and open life eternal to us all.
The thing God calls sin can keep you from heaven! But God has made a way...and you can take full advantage of His free gift! It is available to all! With it comes guilt free living, peace of mine, a certainty about tomorrow and a happiness that overflows into everyday living. You don’t have to be a sinner. Forgiven sinners are saints!
As we face our eternity, let’s get serious about life! Pray this prayer and mean it from your heart today: “God, I know that I have sinned and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me. I believe that Jesus Christ died for my sins, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.”
J. Johnson