Pickle Heaven Press-James R. Johnson

something to help you laugh and think about life with Christ

how do we know there is a heaven? — January 15, 2025

how do we know there is a heaven?

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I am sometimes asked about the crazy name of my blog, pickleheavenpress!   So what is pickle heaven!  

It is a figment of my imagination!  I was once a poor college student with a lovely wife and 2 darling preschoolers.  Money was tight, but we made it a once-a-week treat to go for some fast food.

The kids would ask, “Daddy, can we go to McDonald’s?”  I would tease them and say, “Well I was thinking I might like to go to that new place called Pickle Heaven.”  Of course it didn’t exist, but they didn’t know that. 

They whined.  They didn’t want a pickle!  “OK McDonald’s it is then.”  Each week for nearly a year, I would suggest Pickle Heaven, but I was always out voted. Then one day I asked, “Where do you all want to eat tonight?”  My 4-year replied, “Daddy, maybe we should try Pickle Heaven.”  Oops. 

My sweet, naïve, children trusted me and assumed that a restaurant called Pickle Heaven actually existed. But what about the heaven we cherish? 

Could it also be a figment of our collective imagination? 

Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was the first man to fly in outer space in 1961.  When he arrived, he looked around the heavens for God.  He didn’t see Him, so he declared, ‘Boga Nyet!’, which translates, ‘There is no God!’

And yet, I certainly believe heaven exists and here’s why. 

The Scripture speaks of it

Scripture is our primary and utterly reliable source of truthful information.  It clearly affirms the existence of heaven.  There is the OT assertion in Psalm 23

 “And I will dwell I the house of the Lord forever.”  And there is the NT corroboration where heaven in mentioned 228 times.  Jesus promised the thief on the cross that the two of them would be together in Paradise that very day they died (Luke 23:43).  If heaven is a piece of fiction, then Jesus misled us.

Belief in heaven is a universal phenomenon

The university of Oxford sanctioned a study involving 57 researchers who conducted over 40 separate studies in 20 countries that represented a diverse range of cultures. Their goal was to find if concepts such as God and an afterlife are taught generation to generation or are they imprinted at birth.  The studies found that belief in an afterlife is a universal and innate part of being a human being.  Throughout time, in every culture and place, people have possessed a belief in the afterlife.   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110714103828.htm

This is no surprise!  Solomon described this phenomenon in Ecclesiastes 3:11 saying, “He (God) has set eternity in the hearts of men.”

There have been eyewitnesses to heaven

As a hospice chaplain I have been privileged to hear stories and sometimes even witness the transition of people into the afterlife.  Just recently one of my patients, an elderly Christian woman, was unconscious for a couple of days.  Then she unexpectedly sat up and fixed her gaze on something beyond the walls.  She reached out her hand and said, “Jesus” and then soon passed.  

Just recently my friend lost his daughter to a terminal disease.   According to him, her very last thrill-filled words were, Wow! Wow! Wow! 

Most hospice workers have witnessed similar stories.  

But where is heaven?  We don’t know.  Author Randy Alcorn says, “It’s referred to as “up” in location in the Bible (Luke 9:51) It could be a place in the universe beyond the earth or it may exist entirely outside of our space-time continuum.  (In Light of Eternity, pg. 28)

God hasn’t revealed the exact address of heaven, maybe to avoid the scads of folks who would try to locate it and barge their way in.  Yet, we have proof that there is a heaven, and that Jesus is the way to get there. He said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” John 14:6.

I sure hope to see you there!

A PRAYER: Lord, thank You for making room for me and all those I love.

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

Scripture passages are from the NIV

hair apparent — January 8, 2025

hair apparent

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My son-in-law went to get his hair cut from his regular stylist.  She is a sassy girl – not shy about what she thinks.  He had sprouted somewhat of a beard since his last visit.  She saw it and said, “I don’t like it!” 

She muttered her dislike for the first half of the haircut, and then impulsively

took her razor and drew it down the side of his head, past his ear and onto his face, plowing a clean swath all the way down to the bottom of his chin.  

It was a novel look!  One he didn’t like, so he bowed to her will and she shaved the whole thing away.  

Isn’t it amazing how other people find it so easy to impose their wills upon us?  We live in a world where we are told what pronouns we are allowed to use, what kind of energy will power our cars, and what we must believe about issues of sexuality.  For that matter, my wife frequently tells me to tuck in my shirt.

As far as I know there is only one person who gives us complete freedom of choice. And that would be the Lord.

This was apparent to Adam in the garden.  “The Lord God took the man and placed him in the orchard in Eden to care for it and to maintain it. Then the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat fruit from every tree of the orchard, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will surely die” – Genesis 2:15-17. 

Adam was forewarned, but certainly not forced.  The Lord allowed him to choose. He could ignore the forbidden fruit and live, or eat of it and die.  I wish elections in this country offered such clear choices. 

Adam and Eve chose poorly, leaving themselves and every child of Eden ever since, to bear the burden of sin and its consequences. 

But in the fullness of time Jesus came to earth, to bear that burden for us.   Peter wrote, “…Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, to bring you to God…”  – 1 Peter 3:18.

Despite the enormous cost to Jesus, we are given complete freedom to receive or reject His gift.

Jesus put it this way in Revelation 3:20, “Listen! I am standing at the door and knocking! If anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come into his home.”

This was an invitation to those who had believed, and yet it captures the heartfelt invitation that He extends to all of us.  Jesus freely offers everything we need and could ever want, but He politely refuses to barge into our lives and force it upon us.

He stands outside, patiently hoping and waiting that we will turn the deadbolt and push open the door.   He wants an invitation to be an intimate part of our lives, and for us to be a part of His.  He wants to enter our world that we might enjoy an abundant life now and eternal life forever.  

However, as with Adam, there are consequences that come with our choices.  John 3:16 is a sober reminder, “For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

If you have not done so already, I wonder if you might take some time today to think on this, and if you wish, you too can choose to open the door of your life to Jesus. 

Whisper to Him words like these, “Lord be merciful to me, for I too am a sinner. I am trusting Jesus, the Son of God, to wash me of my sin and give me the gift of eternal life. From this point forward – I am yours.”   

It’s your choice!

A PRAYER: I pray Lord, that each of us would have the wisdom to choose Jesus.

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord be with you always.

Passages are from the NETBible®

smackdown — January 1, 2025

smackdown

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I entered the room of a friend in nursing care.  Blaring on the TV was the program Smackdown from World Wrestling Entertainment.  The wrestlers were doing all their legendary moves: the tombstone; the piledriver; the powerbomb and the stone-cold stunner.

But what was truly stunning was that the person watching the program was an elderly, Great-grandmother who was missing most of her teeth.

I was amazed and amused.  It caused me, however, to consider my viewing habits.  My wife and I were recently watching a military drama on TV.  We finished the last season but found that we could purchase two more seasons from another provider. 

So, I spent $19.99 and began to stream it but we were quickly disgusted.  There was a barrage of vulgar profanity.  I had forgotten that the nasty stuff had been bleeped out of the seasons that we had previously watched.

This got me to thinking.  About that same time, I was reading through the Gospel of Mark, and I found some applicable words from Jesus. He addressed His disciples saying, “Take care what you listen to” – Mark 4:24.

His concern was the teaching of the Pharisees.  He wanted His disciples to be aware of the sinister way that evil teaching can penetrate and destroy.  

But I am thinking Jesus might look at my TV screen and also say to me “Take care what you listen to.” 

You see, as a teenager I cussed like a sailor.  But at age 19 I was crucified with Christ and raised again in the newness of life.  My life changed in every way, including my vocabulary.  I learned a new way to think, and to express myself when I hit my thumb with a hammer. 

But I find that when I watch a program with profanity or I’m around people who use it, it tends to energize and resurrect my old vocabulary.   Then when my thumb gets mashed, I may not spout profanity, but I think it.  And I don’t even want to think it!

The patriarch Job was concerned about the things that he saw.  He said, “I have made a covenant with my eyes. How then could I gaze at a virgin?”  Job 31:1.

Evidently, Job had decided to never lustfully gaze upon a woman who was not his wife.  That was how he protected the sanctity of his mind and his marriage.  This would be hard to do, however, if his flat screen were streaming smut.

Did you know that you are 6 times more likely to yawn after seeing someone else yawn?  Our course you know that.  You may be yawning now just because it was mentioned. What we see and hear influences the way we think and act.

I learned that the first recorded use of a firearm was in 1364 A.D. So, we have a history of almost a thousand years of guns.  But what we do not find in history are people going into schools and malls and randomly shooting the innocent. 

Yet it happens today with a sickening frequency.   Could it be because we are not so careful about what we see and hear?  Could this be what happens when a kid fills his hours with violent movies and video games?

All I know is that what I hear and see affects what I think and do.  I have always treasured the words of David who wrote in the Psalms.  “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer” – Psalm 19:14.  I have even put the verse to music. 

But how can the meditations of my heart be acceptable to the Lord, when I am hearing and seeing things that poison my soul? 

I flipped the TV off and decided to count the $19.99 spent as lost.  But what I’ve kept is of far greater value. 

A PRAYER: Lord this is a constant battle for me and many others.  Help us please!

This has been Jim Johnson with pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord be with you

Scripture passages are from the New American Standard Updated edition

pass the potato — December 25, 2024

pass the potato

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My dad was a simple hardworking truck driver.  He could whip that bobtail through rush hour traffic, but he found it a little harder to navigate social circles.

He was once elected as the president of a local chapter of a fraternal organization and was honored at their annual banquet.  There were several 8 ft. tables, set end-to-end, on an elevated platform at the front, where all the big wigs were seated.  My dad and mom were proudly placed at the center.

Dinner was served which included a big baked potato.  Dad went to forcefully stab it with his fork – but launched the potato instead.   It rolled down the length of the table, end-over-end, past the other surprised diners and then off the edge.

The shepherds of ancient Israel were a lot like my dad except without the potato. 

They were simple unpretentious folk. While the folks in the city wore their stylish clothes, the shepherd was dressed in a drab tunic, topped off with an outer garment which was his coat during the day, his raincoat during a storm, and his blanket during the night.   He was on call 24 hours a day, committed to leading, feeding, protecting and healing his sheep.

He didn’t have much of a life.  He could seldom worship at the temple because his profession put him in a state of perpetual uncleanness.  He was excluded from family life, missing birthday parties and such because he had to be in the field.  His job stunk and often so did he.  It was a very monotonous way of life

Which is why the shepherds of Bethlehem were astounded when an angel sought them out and made them the first to hear of the Savior’s birth.

Luke wrote, “Now there were shepherds nearby living out in the field, keeping guard over their flock at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were absolutely terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid! Listen carefully, for I proclaim to you good news that brings great joy to all the people: Today your Savior is born in the city of David. He is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger” – Luke 2:8-12.  NETBible ®

The monotony of the meadow was shattered with the appearance of this angel.   He told them that the Savior which all Israel had for so long awaited– that very Savior had just been born in nearby Bethlehem, and they were to go and greet Him.  Then to make his point a multitude of angels appeared and swirled above the bewildered shepherds singing the praises of God (2:13-14).

Those smelly servants of sheep were no longer standing outside the ballpark peeking through a knot hole.  They were on the main stage.

The shepherds followed directions.  “So they hurried off and located Mary and Joseph, and found the baby lying in a manger (2:16).

Unlike the magi, they had no expensive gifts to present.  It was only the gift of their attention that they offered to Jesus.

So why would God choose to invite only the dregs of society to the celebration of His Son’s birth? 

It could be any number of reasons.  David was a shepherd, and Jesus was the Son of David.  Or maybe it was because Jesus would one day identify Himself as the Good Shepherd.  Or perhaps it was because the shepherds of Bethlehem tended the sheep destined for sacrifice in the temple nearby and Jesus of course would become the sacrificial Lamb of God. 

Or maybe it was just because God wanted everyone to know that the simple, marginalized, disdained people of this world are most welcome to be with Jesus –  which includes people like you and me – and my dad. 

A PRAYER: Lord, may I be a faithful herald of the Gospel to the marginalized people in my community

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord be with you always. 

O little town of Nazareth — December 18, 2024

O little town of Nazareth

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John Glenn, the first man to orbit the earth was from Ohio.  Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon is also from Ohio.   Someone asked, “If Ohio is such a great place, why does everyone try to get as far away from it as possible?”

God took me from Ohio to Texas where He opened the doors to 32 years of pastoral ministry.   Did God intend for me to become a Texan?

Yes! Paul taught that God sovereignly determines such matters (Acts 17:26).  So, let’s consider Nazareth.  Jesus spent about 30 years of His incarnate existence in that town.  Why did God place Him there?

– It was the fulfillment of prophecy.

Matthew wrote of Joseph, “He came to a town called Nazareth and lived there. Then what had been spoken by the prophets was fulfilled, that Jesus would be called a Nazarene” – Matthew 2:23.   It was obviously important to God’s plan that Jesus be raised there.

– Jesus and Nazareth shared a similar character

Nazareth was an insignificant place.  To get there you would leave the bustling Jezreel Valley, climb a precipitous path to get to an overlook about 350 feet above the valley floor.  This was Nazareth, except you wouldn’t see it because it lay in a basin.

Scholars believe that Nazareth numbered only 100-150. If Jesus’ family was an average size (Mark 6:3) Then the village would have had somewhere between 11-15 families. 

Other towns in the region were known for their industry, academia, or their historical significance, but Nazareth had little to distinguish it – much like Jesus of whom Isaiah said, “He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him – Isaiah 53:2.

– Jesus shared a similar reputation as Nazareth

In John 1:46 Nathanel asked, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?”  He gave voice to the opinion of many in those days.  People of Galilee were considered to be the equivalent of hillbillies. 

But nearby was a city with a worse reputation. Sepphoris was a wealthy secularized trade center. It was a town full of sinners  

Now here’s the thing, Joseph and Jesus were carpenters who lived in a tiny town.  To make a living it is almost certain that they used their skills to furnish the homes of Sepphoris. 

Some historians believe that this was the very reason that Nazareth existed – as a service town to Sepphoris.  So, it could be said that Nazareth was a town friendly to sinners as was Jesus.  Ironically, His critics called Him, “a friend of tax collectors and sinners!”  – Matthew 11:19.

– Nazareth provided a review of the past

From the overlook in Nazareth, you can see for 30 miles in 3 different directions.   The boy Jesus likely spent a lot of time there taking in the scenery. 

He would have been able to see places associated with Moses, Deborah, Barak, Joshua, David, Elijah and Elisha, Saul, Gideon, Josiah, and the Maccabees.  The view is said to be the most extensive available in Palestine.

God placed Jesus in a village with a panoramic view of the past to remind Him that He had been sent to complete God’s plan of redemption.

– Nazareth provided a preview of the future

At the end of the valley is the place known as Armageddon where the forces of evil will gather in the last days.  God will overthrow them, and Jesus will then return to the earth and bring history to its conclusion.   In Nazareth God planted in Jesus the vision of what lay ahead.

We are deeply imprinted by the culture in which we were raised. So how providential that Jesus was raised in a humble, common-sense place like Nazareth – a place where He would develop a profound appreciation for redemption history and anticipate its future culmination.

So why does God have you where you presently are?

A PRAYER: Why Lord do you have me where I am?

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord be with you

Scripture references from the NETBible®

moving day — December 11, 2024

moving day

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Soon after I moved to Texas, I learned to use a lasso. I was preparing in case there was a citizenship test.  I mastered putting the noose around a fence post, so it was time to try it on a calf.

There he was in the pasture, munching on some grass, when I whipped that rope past my head and over his.  He began mooing for his momma and she quickly showed up with several of her irate bovine buddies and I ran for cover.

It took nearly an hour and a barrage of cow pies to get my rope back. 

I didn’t think I could rope a real calf.  I guess I had more potential than I thought.

It reminds me of the story in Mark 11. “In the morning as they passed by, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered.” Jesus said to them, “Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, if someone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.”  – Mark 11:20-23 – NETBible ®

Jesus cursed a tree the day before, and it withered in response.  He told Peter, however, that even greater things could be done by those who believe.  A mountain could be moved by faith. 

Now to my knowledge the faithful through the ages have not moved any mountains – at least not yet. 

On the other hand, maybe the failure has to do with our flawed faith, rather than His dependable promises.   No mountains have been moved yet, but God has moved other great things in response to the faith of His people. 

Way back in the eighteen hundreds, there was a small group of Methodists living in Swan Quarter, North Carolina.  They believed they needed their own building to grow the church.   The need was bathed in faith-filled prayer. 

They identified the perfect lot for the church location.  It was owned by Mr. Samuel Sadler.  But Sadler sadly refused to do business with them.  He would not give, lease or sell the property to the church.

So, they settled on a lot that was on the banks of Oyster Creek.  It was low lying property and far from ideal, but they made do.  They completed their one room white frame building on Sept. 16th, 1876. 

Then three days later the town was lashed by a hurricane that left it under 5 feet of water.  The water lifted the wooden church building off its brick foundation and it began to float.  It moved northward up Oyster Creek St.

The townsfolk saw it and sloshed through the water trying to lasso it but to no avail.  The church building floated to the center of the town and then for no apparent reason took a right turn on Main St. as if it had a mind of its own. 

It drifted for two more blocks and then again veered without explanation off to the left side of the road to a vacant lot – and there it stopped.  And that lot – was Samuel Sadler’s lot – the one they had tried to buy

The next day Sadler knocked on the door of the Methodist minister’s home and with trembling hands, presented him with the deed to the lot. 

The brick building in the attached picture is the newer building, the white one is the original building moved by the hand of God.  Both are still in use.   Oh, and by the way, they appropriately named the church – Providence Methodist Church. 

The mountain you need to have moved, may be even greater: a child with an addiction; a spouse with cancer; downsizing at work; or maybe an insufficient income.  

Pray – believing that God is for you and will be there for you.  He still moves mountains and church buildings.  

A PRAYER: Lord, we believe.  Help our unbelief (Mark 9:24).

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord be with you

angels abounding — December 4, 2024

angels abounding

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Did you know that angels have health issues?   I learned this at a worship team rehearsal one night.  We were singing All Hail the Power of Jesus Name, let angels prostrate fall” – only the tenor was singing, “Let angel’s prostate fall.”      

The rest of us laughed and he didn’t understand why.  I explained that the word “prostrate” means to stretch out on the ground, face down, as an act of worship.  Whereas the prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system.

The angels had falling prostates!  What a difference a letter makes!

They must have been feeling better when they gathered to celebrate the birth of Jesus.  First came the herald who told the shepherds of the birth and then the reinforcements appeared.  Luke wrote, “Suddenly a vast, heavenly army appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among people with whom he is pleased!” – Luke 2:13-14.

Luke used the words vast and army to emphasize how massive this gathering was.  They stretched from horizon to horizon.  This unique army proclaimed peace instead of war. 

How impressive – a colossal congregation of angels appeared and reverberated with joy.  But a vast army seems a bit much.  I mean it took only one angel to conquer the 185,000 Assyrian troops that surrounded Jerusalem (Isaiah 37:36)   Why so many? 

After a bit of study, I found that the advent of Jesus was the first time in history that such a gathering of angels took place on earth.  And why not?

The arrival of Jesus had been anticipated since the garden when the cursed couple learned that a child would be born who would strike the serpent on the head – ending his reign of terror (Genesis 3:14-15).

Abraham was promised a descendent through whom all the nations on earth would be blessed (Genesis 22:18).

King David was promised a son who would rule for eternity. The Lord told him, “When the time comes for you to die, I will raise up your descendant, one of your own sons, to succeed you, and I will establish his kingdom. He will build a house for my name, and I will make his dynasty permanent – 2 Samuel 7: 12-13.

Then there was the prophet Micah who foretold where Jesus would be birthed (Micah 5:2), and Isaiah who told us that He would be born of a virgin and be known as “God with us” – Isaiah 7:14.

Jesus came to end the reign of terror of Satan and redeem the people that the angels were tasked to protect.  So, when He finally made His entrance, God pulled out all the stops and dispatched a multitude of angels to mark the day.   The archangel Michael passed the word around and said, “Party’s on!”   

The party eventually ended, and they returned to their angelic duties – but I discovered one other time when all the angels come together again.  It will be triggered by the second advent of Christ.   Jesus said, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne” – Matt 25:31.   

All the angels will be present and accounted for when Jesus returns and is finally seated on His throne. 

His advent is still an occasion to celebrate!   I challenge you to think and to do, just one unique thing this year to honor the birth of the King.  Help your family and community to think on Jesus. 

As for me, I created a piece of yard art – a big white star, bordered with lights, with an illuminated crown of gold set in the middle of it.  In union with the angels, this Christmas Season I will proclaim to my community that I celebrate the historical birth of the Lord Jesus Christ and that I look forward to His glorious return to rule this earth.  Come Lord Jesus!

A PRAYER: Lord, help us to creatively communicate the joy of your birth.

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord be with you

Scripture references are from the NETBible ®

how fortunate — November 27, 2024

how fortunate

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I picked up my meal and tucked the complimentary Chinese fortune cookie into my shirt pocket.   I don’t put much stock in a fortune cookie.  If it truly brought good fortune, it would be a whole lot thicker and have chocolate icing on it. 

But what if I really could get a peek into my future – to know what is down the road?  That would be amazing.  And yet most of the fortunes in those cookies are goofy.  One read, “You love Chinese food.”  Wow how did the cookie know that?  

Knowing the future is desirable but the Lord warned us against those who try to predict it.   He said, through Moses, “There must never be found among you anyone…. who practices divination, an omen reader, (or) a soothsayer….”  – Deuteronomy 18:10.    These were people who could allegedly predict the future by employing questionable techniques.

Some purveyors were charlatans who offered vague sweeping predictions, that the one promised could interpret in a thousand different ways.

Other purveyors consorted with demons and predicted circumstances which those dark devious powers could manipulate and help to bring about.

Either path led people into confusion and away from the Lord.

But what about the fortune cookie?  Where does its power lie?

Most historians say that the cookie originated in San Francisco during the 19th century by a person of Asian descent.  The largest manufacturer today is Wonton Food, Inc., which is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York. They make over 4.5 million cookies per day.

Their head fortune teller was a man named Donald Lau.  For over 30 years, Lau, who is also the Chief Financial Officer of Wonton foods, wrote and published the fortunes.  He drew inspiration from varied cultures and life settings including from the graffiti on the New York subway walls. He claimed to be the “most read author in the United States.”

What extra sensory ability qualified him for this job?  At the time he spoke the best English of anyone in the Chinese American Company.  So much for the mystic power of a fortune cookie!

And yet, I made a stop to the restroom before I left the restaurant, and as I walked in, I remembered the fortune cookie in my pocket.  And then it hit me, “Hey I’m in the bathroom, no one will see me if I read this silly thing.” 

But I told myself, “No it’s just a goofy slip of meaningless paper.”   And yet I still felt compelled to read it.  Was that a Yin/Yang thing or what? 

I broke it in half, gobbled up the cookie then scanned my fortune.  I think it said, “You need new glasses” because it was hard to read. 

Fortunately, the print in my Bible is much larger and it does a way better job of predicting my future.

The Lord through Jeremiah wrote, “For I know what I have planned for you,’ says the Lord. ‘I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you. I have plans to give you a future filled with hope” – Jeremiah 29:11.  

The future is wonderful for those who belong to the Lord.  He promised to prosper us and to keep us from harm.  His plan is a stable future brimming with hope. 

Though this was written to Jews in the Old Testament, Jesus promises us even better.  He said, “I have come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly” – John 10:10.

And that abundant life on earth will eventually ease into a blissful eternal life in heaven.  Again, He said, “My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; no one will snatch them from my hand” – John 10:27-28.

Ironically, Chinese fortune cookies are unknown in China. But the promises of Jesus are embraced worldwide.   

We have a happy present and future in Jesus, so the next time – let’s just eat the cookie!

A PRAYER: How blessed we are Lord to know who holds the future.

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you

Scripture passages are from the NETBible ®

safer than an alley — November 20, 2024

safer than an alley

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I live toward the end of an alley in Texas – a Tornado Alley.  The term was coined in 1952 to describe the region of the U.S. where tornadoes are most frequent.

My son lives in Kansas in the middle of Tornado Alley.  When we make the drive to visit him, we sometimes play, “I spy” and count the number of homes we pass that still have Wizard of Oz styled storm shelters. 

Earlier this year we were on the road in north central Oklahoma.  We heard a report on the car radio of twisters in the neighborhood.  Shortly after, we saw a storm chaser vehicle, which was when we turned back making our car a storm eluder vehicle.

Tornados can be terrifying, but great stories can come out of gruesome storms. 

Several years ago, a tornado was headed toward Marshall, Texas.  As it approached, an employee of the Domino’s Pizza store happened to see it coming. 

Customers and employees were gripped by a wave of terror.  Some wanted to jump in their cars or run to a bigger more substantial building, but the quick-thinking manager rounded everyone up and led them into the walk-in cooler. 

Seconds later, the storm whipped its way over them.   They could feel the cooler tremble from the ferocious winds.  Urgent silent prayers were offered.

Once it passed, they emerged.  The building that had once housed the cooler was entirely leveled – reduced to a pile of rubble.  The only survivors – the walk-in cooler and the people who had sheltered there.

How wise!   Instead of trying to outrun the storm, they ran into a safe place.

I imagine we all could use a safe place. David wrote of such a place in Psalm 91, 

“As for you, the one who lives in the shelter of the Most High and resides in the protective shadow of the Sovereign One. I say this about the Lord, my shelter and my stronghold my God in whom I trust” (vrs. 1-2).

David tells us that the Lord Himself is this place of safety. It is in knowing Him and doing life with Him that security is found.  And this security is comprehensive.  Those folks in Marshall, found a temporary shelter in the storm, but David speaks of living in and residing in the protective shadow of the Lord. 

He went on to say, “He will certainly rescue you from the snare of the hunter and from the destructive plague.  He will shelter you with his wings; you will find safety under his wings.  His faithfulness is like a shield or a protective wall (vrs. 3-4).

Like baby chicks, we gather under the wings of the Lord, and find protection from predator and plague.  He is as immovable and stout in His defense as a wall made of massive stone blocks.

David also said, “You need not fear the terrors of the night, the arrow that flies by day, the plague that stalks in the darkness, or the disease that ravages at noon.   Though a thousand may fall beside you, and a multitude on your right side, it will not reach you” (vrs. 5-7).  NETBible ®

He made a point of mentioning night-terrors.  I am over 70 and yet it still seems that whatever fears I may have, seem to be exaggerated in the dark. Daylight tends to put the things that scare us into proper focus, while there is no limit to them at night.  Our foes seem to be far more terrible and our troubles more troublesome when the lights go out.    

But David said, “You need not fear the terrors of the night.” We need not fear those imaginations of terrible things that could potentially happen.  We need not – if we know the Lord and are doing life with Him.

What anxieties visit you when you close your eyes at night?  Tame them! Read Psalm 91 before bed and thank your protector in prayer for keeping you secure.

A PRAYER: So glad that we have You our Lord!

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you!

Scripture references are from the NETBible®

skip church — November 13, 2024

skip church

/pickleheavenpress

Jesus had every reason to skip church!  

OK technically Jesus did not go to church, but He was actively involved in His local synagogue (Luke 4:16).  That was how Jews in the first century kept the Sabbath day holy. 

Each Saturday He would join the congregation to sing Psalms, read Scripture, listen to a message and pray (and maybe go out to eat at the Golden Corral afterwards).  In fact, He was often invited to speak Himself. 

During His ministry years, Jesus made His home in Capernaum (Matt 4:13).  The Biblical record finds Him in the local synagogue very often. 

But here’s what puzzles me. Jesus had lots of reasons not to go.

For instance:  The building there had no heat or AC and it was crowded and full of smelly people that rarely bathed (Mark 2:1-2) and there was a gaping big hole in the roof (Mark 2:4).  And the seating was horrendous.  The pews in every synagogue back then were flat blocks of cold stone (Oh my hemorrhoids). 

As for the people, well, there was a crazy guy in the congregation who was demon possessed and when he spoke, it sent icy shivers down one’s spine (Luke 4:33-34).  But then that guy got serious with God and became what you might call a holy roller (Luke 4:35).

And then there were also two long-time members in the congregation who were serious hotheads.  They were nicknamed the Sons of Thunder (Mark 3:17).  You didn’t want to sit next to one of them.    

The culture of the congregation was toxic.  It was all about do’s and dont’s – what you could eat and when you could work.  And – if you were a woman, you were required to sit in the back while all the men sat up front. 

The folks in general, were shameless takers.  The congregation drained Jesus for everything they could get out of Him (Mark 1:32-37) and then deserted Him when He needed them (John 6:59-66). 

As for the leaders – they were the worst.  They were all about the money (Matthew 17:24-27).  Most were hypocritical, heartless nitpickers that focused on the rules and neglected compassion (Mark 2:5-7).

And sadly, Jesus didn’t have a best friend in the congregation and in fact was personally disliked by many there and sometimes even laughed at (Mark 5:40). 

Now these issues feel familiar to us, don’t they?  Because we have experienced one or more of them at our local churches – and some of us are maybe wrestling with them now. 

So why didn’t Jesus quit going?  If I were Him, I might have stayed at home and watched a tele-rabbi on TV.  Or maybe I would gather others who were disenchanted and do a home synagogue (with padded stone benches).

But not Jesus!  He was ever faithful to be there.  He loved the Father and He demonstrated that through His obedience.  He was there for His Father, not the congregation.   He kept holy the Lord’s Day even at the famously flawed synagogue of Capernaum!  I bet he even dropped some cash in the basket.

This doesn’t mean He approved of everything that happened in that place.  He did not in fact.  Yet He was faithful to attend there, or when traveling, at some other synagogue.  

God expects His people today to be in relationship with a local church.  He expects us to be regularly involved. His word to us is Hebrews 10:24-25, “And let us take thought of how to spur one another on to love and good works, not abandoning our own meetings, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and even more so because you see the day drawing near.” – NETBible®

We may have a thousand legitimate reasons to stay home, but we have one supreme reason to go – to honor the will of the one who saved us.

I’ll see you at church!

A PRAYER: Lord, help me keep my eyes on you and not on the congregation.

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.