Pickle Heaven Press-James R. Johnson

something to help you laugh and think about life with Christ

Tag: eternal life

chip heaven — July 8, 2026

chip heaven

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There is one chip that is much better without the dip – that would be the one in my credit card. 

It is called an EMV chip and it is essentially a minicomputer.  Unlike the magnetic stripe – it is alive.   It generates a brand new unique cryptographic code for every single purchase and will do so for 10-12 years.   

However, I tried to use my card recently and it was rejected.  I happened to notice that there was a bright red box on it where my chip once lived.  The chip had somehow fallen out. 

But though my credit card was dead, the lost chip was still very much alive, and the finder could now tap it at the cash register at Wal-Mart to buy a bag of chips (of the Lays variety). 

We might think of our souls as EMV chips.  Though the body of a Christian should die, their soul lives on.  Jesus said to His friend Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live even if he dies, and the one who lives and believes in me will never die” – John 11:25-26.  That’s as clear as it gets. 

There is a curious story of life after death that took place in 1 Samuel.  King Saul and his nation were facing a Philistine invasion and Saul desperately needed the wisdom of God.  God’s mouthpiece to Saul had been the prophet Samuel but he had died. 

So, Saul did what was forbidden in the Word of God and covertly sought out a medium who could purportedly communicate with the dead (1 Samuel 28:7). 

He asked her to contact Samuel that they might talk.  She called for Samuel but was shocked when he actually appeared.  She expected a typical demonic counterfeit.  This was an extraordinary event over which she had no control. This was not her typical pretend ruse.  For an extremely unusual reason, God caused this meeting to take place.

And there he was.  2 Samuel says, “Then Saul realized it was Samuel, and he bowed his face toward the ground and kneeled down” (28:14).Though he had died, Samuel continued to exist.

“Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up” (28:15)? The prophet still had the ability to speak.

Samuel said, “The Lord has done exactly as I prophesied! The Lord has torn the kingdom from your hand and has given it to your neighbor David (28:17). Samuel had memories of what was spoken when he walked the earth, and he was quite aware of what was happening with Saul at that time. 

And then Samuel looked beyond the present and said, “Tomorrow both you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will also hand the army of Israel over to the Philistines!” (28:19). The future is known only to God and to those He chooses to reveal it to.  Samuel was with God and in communication with God.  And it all came true just as Samuel predicted. 

Obviously, this was a unique situation that involved the anointed King of God’s chosen people.   Saul was wrong in what he did, but the Lord gave him an audience with Samuel to shut him up.   

So, don’t bother trying to contact your loved one who has moved on. You’ll hear nothing but crickets. 

But there is one thing we can draw from this quirky story: physical death is not the end for the people of God. This privilege is guaranteed to we who trust in Jesus.  Again, He said, “The one who believes in me will live even if he dies.” 

So, listen, if you get to heaven and you happen to find the chip from my credit card – just pitch it out.  I won’t need it because my entry fee has been prepaid by Jesus.

A PRAYER: Lord eternal life will be amazing as we spend it with You

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you always.

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Scripture is quoted from the NETBible ®

green stamp hope — August 7, 2019

green stamp hope

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james ray johnson

Mom had her hope set on a plastic plant that was rooted in Styrofoam, surrounded by 8 cedar planks and bound by brass bands.  Back in the 50’s this was considered to be attractive! 

My dad worked awfully hard, often 2 jobs, but money always seemed to be tight.  We were not poor, but we were the next thing to it.  We couldn’t afford such an item, but mom had a plan. 

Each week, the grocer gave her S&H Green Stamps in proportion to what she spent on groceries.  With 5 kids to feed, that was a lot of brown paper bags full.  One day she gathered her stamps and drafted us kids to fill her redemption books.  We licked ourselves silly.

Then all 7 of us jumped into our 56 Chevy wagon and headed to the redemption center where mom traded her green stamps for her heart’s desire – one cedar planter. 

She was happy!  She finally had some “nice” in the midst of the drab.  She proudly placed it in the living room for all to see and she really enjoyed it – for most of one day.  

See we were a wrestling bunch.  We kids liked to mix it up with dad on the floor.   Well he flipped one of us the wrong direction and crash went the planter.  It was flatter than mom’s expression when she saw it.   

She held her tongue while dad got out the tool box, with which he was known to do wondrous things.  He once took a bicycle kickstand and refashioned it into a car gear shifter.  So he used his screws and glues and the planter was restored.  Sure, there was a chipped board and a dangling leaf, but it was still sorta nice.

Days later, another kid planted themselves on the planter.   Dad worked his magic again, but it looked – well – it was looking more like the décor of the Frankenstein household.   Mom was a saint.  She said nothing. 

The cataclysmic cycle was repeated yet again.  Mom was living the sequel to the movie Groundhog Day.

And then – a fourth crash.  But this time, mom got to the wreckage before dad and she stomped it into cedar splinters and plastic plant pulp.  She wasn’t going to leave anything that dad could possibly resurrect. 

Her hope of having something nice died with that last crash.  She could hope no more.

Hope sometimes dies!

He hoped to get promoted at work.  He gave it his best, but 5 years later he was still lodged in the same cramped cubicle.  He quit trying and settled into 8 hours a day of apathy.

She was a writer who hoped to get her novel published.  It wasn’t!  After 56 letters of rejection, she threw her manuscript in the burn pile.

A young man hoped for years that his inattentive wife might change.  She wouldn’t!  He eventually stomped on that hope when he left her for another. 

Oh, for a hope that will not disappoint!   

Oh, but there is such a hope!

Titus 1:2 speaks of the “hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before time began.”   NET Bible®   Eternal life is a never ending, blissfully, sweet existence in the company of Jesus and all our friends and family who have ever loved Him. 

According to the verse, God promised this eternal life before time began.  And since God is all knowing and all powerful and because He cannot lie, then we can count on it.

This hope will never disappoint. It is possessed only by those who have trusted Christ to remove their sins.

It’s ironic that the cedar wood in mom’s planter is valued for its ability to resist rot and insect damage.  Yet, it can’t begin to compare to the durability of our eternal hope.

Mom gave up on her prized planter, but she has held fast to the hope of eternal life.  She has passed on and is now enjoying that hope that will never be broken or even lamely patched.

My dad is trying his best to join her.  Any day now, he too will enter that place of sweet eternal hope.  But for mom’s sake, I hope he leaves his tool box behind.