Pickle Heaven Press-James R. Johnson

something to help you laugh and think about life with Christ

Author: pickleheavenpress

I have served as a pastor in East Texas for 32 years and it is my delight to continue my ministry online
Cindy Klaus? Could Santa be a female? — December 24, 2019

Cindy Klaus? Could Santa be a female?

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Psst: Be sure to check out the link to CAMEL BELLS at the end of the Blog) 

Some believe that he is really a she.  Why?  If Santa was really a man, the reindeer would not be pulling the sled, they would be field dressed and strapped to it.  And Santa delivers gifts on Christmas Eve, whereas, most men don’t start their shopping until then.  Unlike Santa, most men can’t pack a bag.  Plus, men don’t read or answer their mail.  Maybe the burly – Ho, Ho, Ho is actually a girly – Hee, Hee, Hee!

But who cares about Santa – what I want to know is, “Was Jesus really a man?” 

The answer is yes and no.  Christ is God incarnate – One person with two distinct natures one divine the other very human, forever fused into one awesomely unique individual.   The Scripture clearly portrays Jesus as being fully God and yet also as being fully man. 

Can we explain it?  Not really, but that’s OK!  To try to explain God would be to presume to fully understand Him.  If we were to fully understand Him, He would not be much of a God, certainly not worthy of our worship.

I have shared several good reasons already why the Incarnation of Christ was necessary, but this may be the most important one.

According to God’s reckoning, all of us are sinners, and sin carries the death penalty.   (Romans 3:32)   And “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” (Hebrews 9:22)    Bad news for sure.  But our Lord volunteered Himself to stand in and bear the consequences of our sin.

Excellent because redemption required a perfect sacrifice of eternal value – great enough to cleanse the sins of billions of people who have spanned thousands of years.   And the value of the sacrifice must endure throughout the ages.  Such a sacrifice could only be made by God. 

But here is the catch – eternal God cannot die!

What was needed was a unique God/man – one person – a fusion of perfect humanity with undiminished deity to become a suitable sacrifice for us.  Jesus became a man that He might die.

There is no other person who qualifies to stand in for us except Christ because he was perfect humanity.  He had never compromised or sinned. And because He was and is eternal God, His sacrifice carried eternal merit. 

One theologian put it this way, “Both natures are necessary for redemption.   As a man, Christ could represent man and die for man; as God the death of Christ could have infinite value sufficient to provide redemption for the sins of the world.”  (Paul Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology, pg. 228)

Once He did the job, it was done forever.   Hebrews 1:3a says, “The Son is the radiance of his glory and the representation of his essence, and he sustains all things by his powerful word…”  Clearly, the author speaks of the deity of Christ here and then goes on to say.

“…and so, when he had accomplished cleansing for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”   (Hebrews 1:3b) When Christ had paid the price for sin.  His offering was more than enough.  So much so, He could sit down.  His work was complete. 

How great that Christ became incarnate for us. 

I have a road atlas that aggravates me.  It has one small segment on each page.  When a road runs into the margin on page 19, I must go to page 34 to pick it up again unless I am headed west on the road and then I go to page 3.  Sometimes I get lost and end up on page 81.  What I prefer is one page with the whole map on it.

That’s what we get with Jesus.  Before Him, what we knew of God was segmented and limited.  Jesus, however, gave us a fullest most wonderful picture of God. 

Celebrate Him well this Season

_______________________

How About Some Christmas Fun?   Check out this YouTube that my wife and I put together.  It’s a fun look at the camels of the magi.  A whole bunch of people love this – You will too! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFktK6UpZMM

All Bible references from the NET Bible ®

better than a youtube — December 18, 2019

better than a youtube

/pickleheavenpress

james ray johnson

Do you prefer to learn by reading the instructions or by having someone demonstrate? 

Well it’s that dreaded time of year when naïve men and a few daring women will spend a frantic Christmas eve assembling toys for their kids.   

Diary of a dad: “Kids are down, time to get the Barbie and Friends Deep Space Probe and Spa from the closet.  But wait!  There’s no instruction manual!  What?  I have to download it?  Where are the instructions on how to do that?  2 hours and 1.5 gigabytes later- finally got the digital how to.

But it was written by the Chinese manufacturer in Chinglish.  It says, “The product design is used is succinct and the technique that the line is easy and smooth and possess the beautiful to look at and fine elegant featute.  Prodruct is completely as a result of 2,000 volts of highhanded shocks, no leakage of electricity, and ensure safety.”  Seriously? 

Oh wait, I just found some instructions in the box. They were stuffed into the warp drive hot tub (NOTE: instructions needed on where to find the instructions.) 

This English is better, but just can’t seem to get a hold of the Barbie-sized assembly tools that were included.   

Done!  But there’s a pile of parts left over and a pedal whomper that won’t whomp.   Hours wasted over a failure.    

Fortunately, found a youtube done by an attention starved man, who demonstrated with excruciating detail how to assemble it.”  

Putting a toy together is tough but putting a life together is even tougher. 

How do we deal with an angry person or live a moral life in a cesspool world, or persevere when under fire?  Not many step-by-step videos for these.

We have a manual for sure.  The Bible is replete with sound wisdom that speaks to such things.  But sometimes it almost reads like Chinglish to our dull senses. Oh, for a youtube.

God did better.  He sent Jesus to show us how to do life.

When God took on flesh in the person of Jesus, He had to live as a human being according to the same conditions and rules that we are subject to.  He did it successfully and He has left countless examples for us.

Are you proud of your humility?  Maybe you need help.  Watch Jesus!   He took a towel and a wash basin and stooped to wash the filthy dusty feet of at least a dozen disciples.  Then He said, “For I have given you an example—you should do just as I have done for you.”  (John 13:15)

Are you mired in immorality?  Watch Jesus.  “The one who says he resides in God ought himself to walk just as Jesus walked.” (1 John 2:6).  Read the Gospels and learn from the master.   (Note: Walking refers to His manner of life.   Don’t try this on water.)

This is a third (in this series) and surely a significant reason why Jesus became God Incarnate.  It was God’s kind way of showing us how to do life. 

There was a time when I suffered unjustly (at least from my perspective.)   My humanity wanted to lash out and accuse and gather sympathizers who would come to my rescue. 

But I was arrested by the words I found in 1 Peter 2:21-23, “For to this you were called, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving an example for you to follow in his steps. He committed no sin nor was deceit found in his mouth. When he was maligned, he did not answer back; when he suffered, he threatened no retaliation, but committed himself to God who judges justly.”

I let the example of Christ seep into my broken soul and I found a path forward.  Jesus gave me company and His example kept me from destroying my reputation and the well-being of others.

Better than a You tube.

May your Christmas Eve be painless!

Enjoy the guitar Carol below: One of my favorites: What Child Is This?

What Child Is This: Guitar arrangement by Jim Johnson

All Scripture references are from the NET Bible ®

the devil and december 7th — December 10, 2019

the devil and december 7th

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Just last week the U.S. paused to remember Pearl Harbor Day.  On December 7th, 1941 Japan mounted an unprovoked attacked on U.S. naval and air forces in Hawaii.  The nation picked itself up and went to war. 

American forces began to work their way through the South Pacific snapping off each tentacle of Japanese domination, but the battle would not be won.  Japan was a fanatical, formidable and determined foe, willing to sacrifice everything to forestall defeat.

The war would not be won until it was taken to their home, the very island of Japan.  Only then was victory attained.  Only then did the flag of surrender fly over Japan. 

We all have our own war to wage.  The Scripture refers to Satan as our adversary (1 Peter 5:8).   At the beginning of time, he entered our air space, and inflicted a crippling surprise attack on Adam and Eve and the human race they sired.

The battle between man and menace raged for many worn torn years.  But the war would not be won until it was taken to his home.  Earth, the throne of his dominion – his place of power – must be invaded if there was to be victory. 

So, Jesus came. 

The apostle John wrote, “For this purpose the Son of God was revealed: to destroy the works of the devil.”  (1 John 3:8)

Christ was God clothed in flesh.  He chose to don that not so gay apparel, in order to meet the devil on his own turf and bring the battle to his stronghold.

The first skirmish took place in the thirsty Judean wilderness where Jesus resisted the relentless voice of the devil who tried to badger Him to compromise.  From there Jesus rolled through the promised land liberating the demon possessed and alleviating the diseases they inflicted. 

Satan’s simpering minions cowered when Jesus appeared. “They cried out, “Son of God, leave us alone! Have you come here to torment us before the time?”  (Matthew 8:29)

However, Satan dealt a knockout blow when his mole betrayed Christ into the hands of the bloodthirsty leaving Him on a cross until He had bled the last drop.

Three days later, Christ unexpectedly but decisively won the battle and the war when He triumphantly emerged from the dead.   

Japan surrendered September 2nd, 1945.  Soon after they released their prisoners of war. Among them were 14,473 emaciated but grateful Americans.  

Paul spoke of the devil as holding people captive to do his will. (2 Tim 2:26) and when Jesus invaded his domain, Jesus also set the captives free. (Ephesians 4:8)

Jesus has defanged the devil and one day will return to this earth to put him away forever. 

So a second and most important purpose in the Incarnation of Christ was to defeat the devil. 

Now you may be thinking, “Christmas is about the incarnation, and this devil stuff is out of place.  If it were part of the Christmas story, we would be singing about it – right?”  

Well maybe we should.  Forget “Ding Dong Merrily on High” and let’s sing (with Munchkin like voices) “Ding Dong the devil’s dead.”  

Or maybe we could amend a few carols to include the theme.  For instance “Away in the manger no crib for a bed, but He died on a cross now the devil is dead.”  Or how about “Silent night, Holy night, the devil ran away in fright.”

Too much? 

I hear you.  But the theme actually is implicit in a few our Christmas Carols like O Come, O Come Emmanuel.   The verse goes, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel and ransom captive Israel; that mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear.” 

The song captures the pathos of our situation with a haunting melody and minor dissonant chords.  It colors the human condition with sadness, thanks to the evil one who once held us captive.

Fortunately, we also have carols like Come Thou Long Expected Jesus.  The verse goes, “Come thou long expected Jesus, born to set Thy people free.”   Jesus – God who chose to be born as man in order to invade and defeat the devil on his own turf – He has set us free.

Hey why settle for a verse when you can hear the whole song!   Relish His victory as you listen to the link below: Come Thou Long Expected Jesus by Fernando Ortega https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dmO8UPlWoo

PS: What did the sheep in the manger scene say?

“Fleece Navidad.” 

All Bible references from the NET Bible ®

life can squeeze the thanks from our tanks. — November 27, 2019

life can squeeze the thanks from our tanks.

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when your egg scoots

Tis the season to be thankful.  However, one wise guy said, “It seems like the only place you find gratitude today is in the dictionary.”   Life can squeeze the thanks from our tanks.  Better, however, to meet the challenge with a grateful heart than a great complaint.

Jesus addressed a crowd of eight thousand who had feasted on His words but were famished for a piece of bread.   They were hungry and far from home. 

Out of concern, He asked His disciples, “How many loaves do you have?” They replied, “Seven.”  (Mark 8:5)Seven loaves for 8,000?  Each small loaf would need to feed 1,142 people.  Enough for a crumb a piece!  Nice if you are on a low-carb diet, but ridiculously little for the crowd.

Jesus could have said, “whatever” or blamed His congressman.  He might have shaken His fist at the Father and said, “This is another fine mess you’ve gotten me into.” 

Instead, “He took the seven loaves and gave thanks.”  (v. 6).  He somehow juggled the small loaves in His hands and prayed a sincere thanksgiving prayer

It was a meager and insufficient amount, but it’s what the Father had decided to supply at that moment.  So, He gave thanks for it, trusted the Father to make it all work, and then saw that it was distributed to the crowd. 

And then, He took a few small fish and unexpectedly gave thanks a second time. (vs. 7)   Sort of odd really.   What would your family say if you should interrupt your turkey feast to say grace – again?   Evidently Jesus had a lesson to teach about gratitude.

Of course, we know what happened next.  In His hands the meagerness exploded into more than enough to feed the multitude – with 7 good sized baskets full of leftovers.

He made it clear that a grateful heart is a great asset.

But I guess my wife and I are not spiritually perceptive enough to learn it from Him.  He needed to use a three-year-old instead.

I was in college at the time. My wife, our 3 year-old daughter and me – all squeezed into a very used up, 12 by 60 mobile home.  It was quite the place.

The support beams underneath had sagged over time, so the floor of the trailer was high in the middle and sloped toward the walls. 

If you cracked an egg into a frying pan, it would race to the side and try to climb out of the skillet.

The drain from the washing machine often overflowed the sewer line.  So, I had to drain the washer into our bathtub to accommodate the excess.  Not a problem unless you were taking a bath. (as if my naval didn’t already have enough lint) 

She and I were asleep one night when we were awakened by a jolt to our bed.  There was a new slope in the house.  A bed leg had had poked right through the rotted trailer floor!

The biggest challenge was the cramped space.  We had a tiny house before they were hot.  With only 820 sq. ft., we had furniture stacked on top of furniture with a growing theological library crammed into every nook and cranny.  

My daughter needed a bed.  I had to create a miniature version to fit in the teensy bedroom of our tiny house.

We endured.  We knew it was for just for 3 years, but eventually my wife reached the breaking point. The egg scooted just once too often, and she was overwhelmed with the cluttered chaos.

That evening we grumpily readied our 3-year-old daughter for bed who wasn’t aware of our frustration and yet she prayed the sweetest most sincere prayer ever.  She said, “Dear God, thank you for this nice day and for our big, big house.” 

Nuff said!   Take a good look at your house, and your family – your job, your car, your health, and whatever else needs a look – and thank the Father.

PS: You could even thank Him that your eggs don’t scoot (or do they?)

————

*Scripture references from the NET Bible®

why won’t God send a Christmas card? —

why won’t God send a Christmas card?

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james ray johnson

It’s the holiday season and the Christmas cards are already coming.  Many are glossy flat cards with pictures of happy families on the beach in Cozumel.   Just what I need as I suffer the murky, bone chilling winter weather.   Oh well, its great to see the faces of family and friends, though they be tanned.

Maybe God ought to send a glossy of Himself.  He has always had an image problem!   He can’t be seen and has seldom been heard which has, therefore, generated a lot of conjecture about what He might be like.

An ad agency in ancient Philistia came up with the Dagon campaign which presented God as a statue – half fish / half man.   (think like mermaid except merman.) The Philistines were big into fishing and probably thought they needed a fish god to get their limit, but their lame attempt did God a disservice.

Other cultures have miscommunicated His character. There was the god who teased men with lightning bolts, and another who chased the skirts of earth-bound babes.  And then there was the bizarre many-breasted god of fertility.  (no comment)

The Jews of Jesus day contributed to the chaos by putting forth a God of stifling legalism.

There have been a tiny few who got a passing glance at God – and they regretted it.  He appeared at the burning bush and, “Then Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.”  (Exodus 3:6) I had a blind date back in high school who reacted the same way when she first saw me.

The prophet Isaiah got a glimpse of God and said, “Woe to me! I am destroyed, for my lips are contaminated by sin, and I live among people whose lips are contaminated by sin. My eyes have seen the king…”  (Isaiah 6:5)  

God was too great, too mighty, too holy, too scary – just too much God for an ordinary human being to take in.

Somehow God needed to bridge the gap and show up in a way that we could perceive and appreciate.

One Christmas season He did exactly that.  He sent us a Christmas card with His picture on the front.  But, instead of sunny Cozumel, the background was a dimly lit, drafty, stable surrounded by livestock. 

On that day, God took upon Himself human flesh in the person of Jesus.  There are multiple reasons why, the first of which was to help us understand what God is like.   

The apostle John wrote, “No one has ever seen God. The only one, himself God, who is in closest fellowship with the Father, has made God known.” (John 1:18) This is to say, that when a person looked upon Jesus, He saw God. 

To listen to Jesus was to hear the voice of God and to sense His heart was to feel the pulse of God. To understand God, one only needed to understand Jesus.

I met someone for the first time who said to me, “Oh you must be Jordan’s father.”   I said, “I am.  How did you know?”   She said, “I hear him in your voice, and see him in your face and your mannerisms.”  Wow!  I felt like I needed to call and apologize to my son.  My point, however, is that a son can communicate his father. 

Jesus communicated both the power and the compassion of God when He fed the 5,000.   He sobered us with the wrath of God when He overturned the tables in the temple, and He made God approachable when He gathered the little children to Himself.

Knowing God through Jesus makes a difference.  When He attended the wedding at Cana and catered it with wine, He gave us the freedom to enjoy our lives.  He gave us a taste of His mercy when He said to the woman caught in adultery, “Go and sin no more.” 

But keep in mind.  Jesus was more than just a Son.  Jesus was, “God with us.”   He was and is God – a God who is comfortable with us – so that we might be comfortable with Him.   

Jesus chose 12 disciples.  Why?  Mark wrote, “He appointed twelve so that they would be with him…”   (Mark 3:14)   I love that.  Jesus was God with us, so that we could be with Him – comfortable with God.   

You are sure to get a Christmas card this season with a manger scene on the cover.  Just for fun, take a marker and write on top of it, “From God with Love” and hang it with the rest of your cards – and be ready to explain it to your visitors.

All biblical references are from the NET Bible ®

___________

Bonus: Check out the guitar Carol below

O Come All Ye Faithful: guitar arrangement: Jim Johnson

___________

an encounter with the Holy Spirit — November 20, 2019

an encounter with the Holy Spirit

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I officiated at a wedding that took place in a spacious homey log cabin.  The place was packed including the huge loft area that overlooked the ceremony.  The decor included festive votive candles that were artfully placed throughout the house. 

During my biblical charge to the couple, someone in the loft accidentally kicked one of the candles.  It plummeted to the ground floor and landed squarely on a man’s head – burning wick, hot wax and all.  He survived it with a small bump.  

I felt badly for him, but I was encouraged about my preaching.  I mean how many other pastors can say that while they preached, tongues of fire descended from above and rested on each head.

Not only that, I think I heard the man grumbling in an unknown tongue just after he got hit!

Maybe I shouldn’t be so glib about one of the most earth-shaking sensational happenings in human history.  The day that the Holy Spirit descended from heaven to indwell His people was a watershed event.

In the Old Testament era, the Spirit was given on a temporary basis, to special people that they might perform a certain God ordained task.  

It was the Spirit of God that enabled Joseph to interpret Pharaoh’s dream (Genesis 41:38).  He infused creative ability into those who crafted the tabernacle (Exodus 31:3). The Spirit made wise Moses and the 70 Elders of Israel (Numbers 11:17). 

He breathed courage into whimpering Gideon (Judges 6:34) and fortified the spent muscles of Samson (Judges 14:6) and He imparted a host of savvy skills to young King David. (1 Samuel 16:13) I could use power like that. 

In some cases, God withdrew His Spirit as with king Saul because of his sin. (1 Samuel 16:14) Saul became like a deflated balloon, which may be why his successor David prayed, “Do not take your Holy Spirit away from me.” (Psalm 51:11)

When the Spirit came upon an Old Testament personality, it was front page news.  It rarely happened but when it did, there was always spectacular, God honoring events that followed.   Everyone else would watch and wonder and wish for just a small taste of that power in their own lives.

But then God changed the rules at Pentecost.  “Suddenly a sound like a violent wind blowing came from heaven and filled the entire house where they were sitting. And tongues spreading out like a fire appeared to them and came to rest on each one of them.  All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them.”  – Acts 2:2-4 NET Bible ®

At Pentecost, every believer – man and woman – received the gift of the Holy Spirit, and they were immediately filled with courage, power and new supernatural abilities.  Since then, every person that enters the Kingdom of God, has had the Spirit come to dwell.  (Romans 8:9) 

And He comes to stay for good.  We may impede His work in and through us (Ephesians 4:30) but He will never leave or forsake us. 

The Spirit was given, not simply as a badge of belonging, but as an energy source for service.  Like the men of old, the Spirit empowers us to serve God’s purposes.  Paul said, “To each person the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the benefit of all.”  (1 Corinthians 12:7)

So, what difference does the Spirit make?  It’s mostly about quality.  When we allow ourselves to be filled and controlled by His Spirit, it is manifested in the way we live and relate to others.  We will bear the fruits of the Spirit which are, “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”  – Galatians 5:22-23, NET Bible ®

Unfortunately, some of us have more in common with a porcupine.  If that’s you, take a moment to transfer control of your life to the Holy Spirit – once again. 

When you said “I do” to your spouse, you surrendered a lot.  Implicit in your vows was a commitment to honor and listen to the person that you wed.   Yield to the Spirit of God in that way, and He will fill you and use you and bless you. 

And I promise it won’t be as painful as getting clobbered with a votive candle.

fair game — November 13, 2019

fair game

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james ray johnson

Is winning and owning really living?

My childhood home was about a mile away from the Ohio State Fairgrounds.  I have some crazy memories.  I could sit in my back yard on a pleasant summer evening and hear the relentless, ferocious crashing of cars.  The fairgrounds hosted an annual demolition derby. 

During the fair season, my friends and I would pool our money and buy one ticket.  One of us would enter and get his hand stamped. He then exited, spit on the stamp and rubbed it onto the rest of us.  We then trickled in through the gate by showing our reentry stamp.  We did this every day – until they caught us and made us muck the horse stables.    

We learned how to feed ourselves at the fair by deliberately walking into the low hanging vendor signs and then moaning and holding our heads.  It was always good for a sympathy hot dog from a worried vendor. 

Golly we were bad! 

My best fair memory, however, took place in the Lone Star state.  I took our youth group to the State Fair of Texas.   Soon after we arrived, Mike (the athlete) got fixated on winning a stuffed animal from one of the carnival games. 

He threw darts, pitched baseballs at milk bottles, and tried to ring a soda bottle.  He spent it all trying to win a prize. 

He finally did it.  He won a sad looking overstuffed green alligator, which he tucked under his arm and proudly carried around for the rest of the day.

Don’t be so quick to judge.  There may be something tucked under your arm as well – something that you competed for and sacrificed to get – maybe it was an academic award, or a passport filled with stamps.  Maybe it was a fixer upper showcase, or a bass boat or perhaps a manicured yard that was the envy of the neighborhood -not necessarily bad things.    

But we thought that winning and having and owning was the stuff that made life worthwhile.

Solomon sure believed it, until he got older. Then he wrote, “When I reflected on everything I had accomplished and on all the effort that I had expended to accomplish it, I concluded: “All these achievements and possessions are ultimately profitless— like chasing the wind! There is nothing gained from them on earth.”   Ecclesiastes 2:11 – NET Bible ®

Solomon amassed more wealth and accomplished more on the world stage than 99.9% of the rest of us.   Yet, the somber thoughts of this aged man tell us that most of it was meaningless in the end. 

About 10 p.m. we made our way back to the church van.  Mike was walking just in front of me when he happened to notice something bulging from the top of a big trashcan.   He went over and pulled it out.  It was a gaudy looking stuffed green alligator – exactly like his. 

The street light illuminated the shock on his face.  “Who would throw this away and why?” 

He reflected for a moment and then caught up with the rest of the youth group.  However, instead of instead one alligator, he then had – none.  He had laid his cherished prize right on the garbage heap along with the other.

Mike had come to understand that he had wasted his time and energy and money on something that belonged in a trashcan. 

He eventually aligned his heart with Solomon’s who concluded his book by saying, “So remember your Creator in the days of your youth.”  Ecclesiastes 12:1 – NET Bible ®

Mike began to pursue Jesus.  He married a fine Christian woman, raised his kids to love the Lord, and he has served Jesus for many years by leading worship and as an Elder in his church.  He and his wife have recently planted and are leading a church to reach the unchurched.   

He is happy and fulfilled and the satisfaction he has found in Jesus has never faded.

So, what do you have tucked under your arm? 

As for me – I still have those 2 gators I plucked from the trashcan!     They must be worth at least $1.19 by now. (just kiddin!)

access — November 6, 2019

access

/pickleheavenpress

james ray johnson

I had my eyes set on the White House.  Just for a visit.  The country could never endure me as President. 

So, my family made plans.  The travel guide advised me to contact my Senators and Representative in advance to request passes for V.I.P.s, (which evidently meant Very Inconsequential Persons, because anyone could get them.) 

One Senator sent us passes to the FBI building and the Mint.  (where I got in trouble for picking up samples)  Another got us a backstage tour of the Capitol building which was sort of like watching politicians on HDTV.  Their blemishes were extra apparent.

But the office of our Representative didn’t respond.  (He lost my vote.) And no one provided passes to the White House.  I was sad.

But while we were in D.C., I received a call from the office of our Congressman.  (Oh man, someone told him I was changing my vote.)

The lady said, “If you would still like to tour the Whitehouse, then go to the east gate tomorrow at 10 a.m. and look for a Blue Lincoln.”  “As in Abraham Lincoln?” I asked.  (she didn’t laugh. Oh well – neither did you).

And that’s all she said.  So mysterious and creepy.  Was an FBI agent going to smuggle us in? 

The next day we arrived, the Lincoln pulled up, and out popped a C-Span celebrity – our Congressman Ralph Hall – in person.  He knew my name and that I was a pastor.   He was literally there for me.  I was speechless. 

He asked if I brought a bag?  I asked, “For what?”  He said, “You need to put Clinton’s cat in a bag and keep it until the president gives us what we want.”    “OK,” I said. (I think he was kidding.)

We followed him, past a long line of tourists and through a heavily guarded, special access gate, and into the headquarters of the most powerful and influential nation on earth.

It was so cool to have that kind of access!  

But listen, mine was a paltry experience compared to the kind of access that Jesus gives us. 

He spoke of, “the Father’s house” which is considerably bigger than the Whitehouse and represents an infinitely greater power.  It is an eternal dwelling.  The British can’t burn it to ground as they did the Whitehouse in 1814.

According to Jesus, it’s the place to be. He said, “There are many dwelling places in my Father’s house. Otherwise, I would have told you, because I am going away to make ready a place for you.”  – John 14:2

He offers us special access to the Father’s House – to see it and roam the vastness of it and even to dwell in it – forever.

Paul wrote in Romans 5:1-2.  “Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have also obtained access…“

Because of our faith in Jesus and His finished work for us on the cross, we obtain access not only to the house, but to the occupant of that house.  We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.    

And we don’t have to kidnap his cat to have it.

My congressman knew who I was, but Jesus knows us even better and He calls us by name (John 10:3).  He invites us to follow Him as He leads us home.

A friend was telling me that his dad had lived the life of an alcoholic.  He hurt a lot of people and he was a committed Christ critic.  But then he was diagnosed with a slow-moving, but terminal form of pancreatic cancer.   

His son regarded the cancer as a blessing from God, because it caused his dad to consider his mortality and eternity.  At age 75 He confessed His sin and fell upon the grace and mercy of God.  Not long after, the Lincoln pulled up, and he entered the pearly gates.

Trust Him today, if you haven’t already and pickup your pass to the Father’s House.  

PS: Congressman Hall made his trip to the Father’s House in March of 2019.  Such a great guy!   Can I still use him as a write-in candidate the next time I vote? 

 _______________________________

All references from the NET Bible ®

Picture by Rob Young from United Kingdom – The White House, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21831742

an Aggie’s revenge! — October 30, 2019

an Aggie’s revenge!

/pickleheavenpress

james ray johnson

I have been known to tell an Aggie joke or two. For instance: A young man walked into a store and said, “I would like a maroon hat, white sweatshirt, maroon pants and white shoes.”  The clerk said, “You must be an Aggie.”  He replied, “Well yes sir – how did you know?  Was it the school colors I ordered?”  The clerk said, “No, this is a hardware store.”

For you non-Texans, an Aggie is a student or graduate of Texas A&M University. (Whoop!)   The school was originally named The Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas – hence the nickname Aggies.

How can you not tease a graduate of an agricultural school?  They are actually pretty sharp people except that they tend to tell more Aggie jokes than anyone else.

When I would preach, I sometimes used an Aggie joke to cheer up my congregation of East Texans (many of whom were grads) 

By the way, did you hear about the big game?  Longtime rivals – Texas A&M and the University of Texas were playing.  Late in the game, a train passed through town and blew its whistle. The UT players thought it signaled the end of the game, so they left the field. The Aggies scored three plays later.

Fun stuff, BUT I don’t tell Aggie jokes much anymore for two reasons: First: They may have been outlawed by the Hate Crimes Act and Second: because it turns out that the joke was on me. 

I shared a joke at church one Sunday and a couple of weeks after, I received something in the mail from the Alumni Association of Texas A&M.  It was a fund-raising pitch.  They wanted to build a new building (or maybe fix a corral). 

I didn’t think much about it, except that every other day I would find something else in the mailbox from the school.  It became an avalanche.  It was a mystery to me until I eventually got an official letter from their office thanking me for my contribution to the alumni fund. 

One of my Aggie church members sent in that contribution – IN MY NAME.  What a low-down dirty trick!

The wisdom of the ages has been vindicated once again.  In 1757 Benjamin Franklin wrote, “He that spits against the wind, spits in his own face.”  (been there, done that)

In 1962, death row inmate, Paul Crump nervously coined the phrase, “What goes around comes around.”

But long before those guys, the apostle Paul weighed in on the idea. “Do not be deceived. God will not be made a fool. For a person will reap what he sows.”   (Galatians 6:7)

The context for this passage has to do with money and the way we use it.  But the principle is fairly comprehensive.  We could state it like this: “The things that we do, either good or bad, have consequences that come back to either bless us or bite us.”  Sometimes it comes as a God ordained natural consequence, and at other times through his direct intervention.

Proverb 26:27 states it in the negative, “The one who digs a pit will fall into it; the one who rolls a stone—it will come back on him.”  Sounds like my Aggie fiasco.

OK, what about the grace and the mercy of God?  Doesn’t God promise to forgive our sins?  Absolutely! And He does (which is great news for me.)   But hey, if I hit my thumb with a hammer, God can forgive me for being so dumb, but my thumb is still gonna bleed.  Right!

Proverbs 11:25 puts it in the positive, “He that watereth shall be watered also himself.” (KJV)

The sage pictured a person who goes around his community watering thirsty people as if they were desert plants.  Such kindness will be rewarded because those desert plants will be there for him when he is parched.

We reap what we sow. 

If only the Aggies could learn that.  One student threw a grenade at an LSU Tiger.  The Tiger pulled the pin and threw it back.  

Friend, before you click on that questionable web site, or spew some venomous words, or skew the spread sheet at work – hesitate – and remember my Aggie story and the Scripture.  We reap what we sow. 

______________________

Unless otherwise noted Bible references are from the NET Bible ®

my pastor kept me from my Bible — October 24, 2019

my pastor kept me from my Bible

/pickleheavenpress

james ray johnson

My wife left her Bible at a church we had visited.  I sent my friend, the pastor, an email letting him know we would get it the next Sunday.  He replied, I’ll watch for the Bible, and make sure no one reads it till she gets it back.” 

That earned a belly laugh.  BUT he wasn’t far off the mark.  Sometimes we pastors truly discourage a person from reading the Bible. 

Sometimes it’s extreme.  I was raised in a church that frowned upon personal Bible reading.  I guess they didn’t think we could get the truth right.  So, I never even saw a personal Bible until I was a student at Ohio State University. 

The Gideons distributed free copies of Good News for Modern Man to any student who would have one.  It even had pictures, which helped this biblically illiterate guy

In most cases the discouragement is subtle.  As a now retired pastor I plead guilty.   I bet there were times when I unintentionally communicated something like, “You people can’t understand the Bible as well as I do, because I have a cemetery (I mean Seminary) degree.” 

When I preached, I presented the highly synthesized fruit of my study.  I left very few specific bread crumbs that might help my flock track and probe the truth for themselves.

And then there were times, when someone would get excited about some truth he discovered.  “Pastor, look what I found in my Bible.”  I wonder how often I gave that person a positive, but underwhelming response.  “That’s nice,” while I was thinking, “Oh big deal I saw that 20 years ago.” 

My response to him should have been over the top, frothing at the mouth, full of excitement.  He was reading his Bible. -That’s pretty great!  And the Spirit of God was giving Him insight. –   Incredible.  And He was excited about what he was finding.  – He should be!  Shame on me.    

My greatest regret was that I stood by and watched various small group ministries trade in participation-based first-hand Bible study, to passively sit in front of a flat screen and watch a megachurch pastor teach. 

By the way, do you know what the difference is between a pastor and a congregant?  The pastor is paid to be good.  The rest of us are good for nothing! 

Because of pastors like me, you have a right to be bored with your Bible.  But, its so sad, because the Word of God is an incredibly exciting book.  And the greatest joy is in discovery.  There is nothing, nothing like the experience of poring over a verse, when suddenly the Lord breaks through the heavens to personally tutor you on its meaning. 

The disciples on the road to Emmaus put it this way, “They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us while he was speaking with us on the road, while he was explaining the scriptures to us?”- Luke 24:32 NET Bible ®

May I attempt restore what I may have taken away? 

Pick up your Bible this evening.  Start with the Gospel of Mark. Read only one paragraph – just one – but really read it.    As you read it, answer these three questions:  (I’ll use Mark 1:35-39 as an example.)

1) What do I see?   (Write down anything, big or small, that you observe. Look hard!)

Example: (based on Mark 1:35-39) It was early morning, Jesus got out of bed in the dark.  He left to go to a place of solitude. He was there to pray, and he was missed. Simon and the others looked for him. He wasn’t where they expected him to be.  They wanted him to go back to town to do more healing.  He politely refused in order to pursue his mission to preach.   Then ask…

2) What does it mean?

Example: Pursuing the mission that God gave Jesus was very important.  When His mission was threatened by pressure, He reset His priorities by spending time in prayer.  Then ask…

3) What should I do with it? 

Example:  I need to follow Jesus’ example and spend regular time in prayer.  I need to figure out God mission for me and pursue it. 

If you were to read the Scripture in this way you would get more benefit than having sat through a dozen of my sermons.  (I am serious).  You will be cutting out the middle man and going right to the source – the fountain of truth.  

OK so there won’t be as many jokes – but the experience of having a two-way conversation with God is better – way better.

___________

Bonus:  If you want to probe deeper, check out www.Biblehub.com to access an enormous and free online library.