Pickle Heaven Press-James R. Johnson

something to help you laugh and think about life with Christ

Tag: faith

give it a rest — December 3, 2025

give it a rest

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I love nature, unless it is on my porch and armed with stingers.  A family of yellow jackets decided to move into our home.  To exit or enter said home was a big risk.  So, I decided to tackle the problem. 

I sprayed the raiders with Raid.  They fell one at a time.  But with a nest of approximately 5,000, I would poison myself to death before the insects.   The peppermint oil that was recommended refreshed them instead of repelling them.

The fake wasp nest that was guaranteed to scare them to death just made them laugh.  I even caulked the entrance to the nest, but they tunneled around it.

Finally, I decided to go with green energy.  I took an industrial grade fan, set it up right under the entry to their nest.   The ferocious wind blew, and the jackets couldn’t pass through it to land. 

But oh, how they tried!  They would back up, get a flying start and charge toward the nest, only to be blown away.  It was sort of entertaining to watch.  Really soon the wasps began to drop like flies – completely exhausted, and there they died.

I finally had created a problem that they could not overcome.  Maybe they should have ceded the battle and moved in with a cousin in another nest.  Instead, they tried and tried, and the effort killed them.

Like those wispy wasps, most of us know what it is like to face a problem that cannot be overcome.   We are wired to be problem solvers, and we usually succeed.  But every so often we encounter a windstorm that defies our most valiant effort to tame it.

Now I believe that if we can solve the problem, then we certainly need to try, but what if it can’t be solved?  What if the doc says the cancer is terminal?  What if our spouse runs off and marries another?   What if our hair starts falling out and wrinkles line our faces? 

Some of us carry on!  We strive with all our might to change what can’t be changed.   And like the wasps, we exhaust ourselves – some even endangering our health in the process.

Is there a better way?  God has some good advice.  He said, “Stop your striving and recognize that I am God” – Psalm 46:10.   God has the power to change our circumstances if He should want to.  He also retains the prerogative of leaving things as they are.   The Psalmist urges us to get smart – to stop trying to force the sovereign will of God and rest in Him instead.

Sometimes we just need to trust God and learn to live with a problem. 

Great King David understood this.  He wrote in Psalm 131, “O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor do I have a haughty look” (131:1a).  There are times we strive not out of need, but out of pride.  “I will not accept defeat.”  David, however, humbled himself before his circumstances and his God. 

And then he wrote, “I do not have great aspirations, or concern myself with things that are beyond me” (131:1b).David recognized that there are problems that he could resolve, but there were also those he could not – things that were beyond him and his ability. So, he chose to cease his vain striving.

He continued, “Indeed, I have calmed and quieted myself like a weaned child with its mother; I am content like a young child” (131:2).  He replaced his striving with resting on the breast of God.  He likened himself to an infant that was no longer frantic to nurse but content to relax in his mother’s embrace.

This was what David did, and he encouraged his countrymen and you and me to do the same by ending the Psalm with “O Israel, hope in the Lord now and forevermore!”  (131:3).

Sometimes we just need to trust God and learn to live with a problem. 

A PRAYER: Lord help me to know when to strive, and when to let go

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord be with you always

Scripture passages are from the NETBible ®

thrift store saints — November 25, 2025

thrift store saints

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Our favorite family entertainment takes place at a thrift store.  A grandson decided he would embarrass me at such a store. He would bring to me various absurd items – like a woman’s bra for instance – and then ask in a loud voice in front of witnesses.  Hey Papaw, do you need another one of these?”  I say, “Nah I’ve got plenty.”      

Later he brought me a pair of kid’s underpants – emblazoned with cartoons. The twelve-year old said, “Hey Papaw, do you want these?”  I shook my head no.  He was halfway back to returning them when I yelled out so that all could hear, “OK son, if you really want those underwear, I’ll buy them for you.”

I believe we could have sat him down on the shelf with the other red items. 

At another time, it was the last day of a rummage sale – whatever you could stuff in a brown paper bag – all for five bucks.  My wife was an eager shopper.  So my older grandson and I would covertly slip bizarre items into her bag.  We laughed and giggled and had the best time. 

When we got home, my wife unpacked the bag and found things like a useless old TV remote, a deluxe Jello cookbook (we don’t eat Jello).  There was even a very large lead weight on a chain.  

She had all that craziness spread out on a bed.  After a good laugh, I went to collect it to ship it off to another thrift store, but she told me “No, no I am keeping all that stuff.”  And she did.  It took her a while, but she ended up finding uses for most of it. (except the Jello cookbook)

This reminds me of Jesus.  He entered this world with the intention of “seeking and saving the lost” (Luke 19:10).  What He found was a musty, thrift-store setting – a random selection of discarded and very used, mostly broken people.

The apostle Paul gave us a sample list of what He found.  He included those who were sexually immoral, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, those who are verbally abusive and even swindlers.  But then he wrote, “Some of you once lived this way. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” – 1 Corinthians 6:11. NETBible ®

One of the first things my wife does with thrift-store purchases is to wash them when we get home.  Exactly what Jesus did. He washed the stink and stigma away.

I know many of these once broken people.  There was the man who faked his way through church every Sunday but was hooked on meth.  He finally met Jesus and said goodbye to his addiction. 

Another man – very successful in business, but a serial offender when it came to infidelity.  He ended up without a family, homeless, addicted and finally incarcerated.  On the way to his cell, he came to Christ.  When he was released, he went back to the streets to reach the hopelessly broken for Jesus.

There was the woman at the well in the Bible.  She went through a parade of men looking for real love.  The parade ended when she met Jesus. 

I had a good friend who had been a raging alcoholic, who was daily destroying his family of three until He met Jesus.  He then began to literally carry a wooden cross around the world to bring attention to the message of Christ.   

I broke so many laws in my teenage years, that they should have sent me to jail for a long time.  But Jesus ended up doing for me what the legal system could have never done. 

Jesus strolled through the aisles of this world finding the used, broken and discarded, redeeming us, and giving us a fresh purpose in his house.  And like my wife, there’s no way He would ever part with His crazy collection of thrift store saints. 

A PRAYER: Lord, thank you for removing the stink and the stigma from us.

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

something to pond-er — November 19, 2025

something to pond-er

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At one time, my daughter taught at a Christian school in South Korea.  My wife went to visit her for a week, and the itinerary included a trip to her local church.   My wife brought me a church bulletin as a souvenir.  Whoopee!

I actually read the bulletin which was written in both Korean and English.  Advertised in it was an upcoming retreat.  Included were three pictures with a compelling caption beneath each one.  Keep in mind, however, that the captions were Korean ideas, translated into English.

There was a picture of a mountain and beneath, it said, “Breathtaking Mountain Scenery.”  There was a second picture of some asphalt.  The caption said, “Basketball Courts NOT made of dirt.”  Hey, that’s exciting. 

The third picture was of a pond.  The caption said, “Pond with real water!”  Hmm, it makes you curious about the ponds filled with fake water.

Pond or not, real water is essential to our lives!

Water lubricates our joints, cushions tissues, and protects organs.   It transports nutrition and flushes out toxins.  It keeps our brains humming and our skin plump and healthy.  It supports our immune system, improves our mood, and reduces the risk of chronic diseases.

I must confess, however, that I prefer soda over water. Soda is mostly water anyway, so why not?

Yes, soda is mostly water, but the additives compromise and even reverse the benefits that pure water brings. 

Soda does not provide the essential minerals and vitamins. Sugar makes us fat and gives us cancer, diabetes and inflammation.  The sweeteners are linked to negative health effects.  Caffeine causes the body to drain off the water already stored in our bodies and so on. 

But here’s the crazy thing.  The experts say that a glass of soda is 90-99% water.  But that remaining 1% turns a soda into a health hazard.

This causes me to wonder about the water Jesus’ offers.

He challenged throngs of worshippers at the temple saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink” – John 7:37-38.  

This is to say that there is water for us to drink that the Lord provides.  He used that figure of speech to let us know that His water does for our spiritual existence what H2O does for our material state. 

Because God is holy, His water is also holy and 100% pure.  And it really and truly does for us what the Lord promised.  It gives and sustains an effervescent spiritual vitality within us. 

But silly me – sometimes I substitute his water for soda. 

I tell myself, “I need Jesus plus “blank” to be happy.”   I need the 99% that Jesus gives but I also need my IRA to grow, or I need to be in charge at work, or I need my kids to adore me, or I need a new bass boat.  

And it’s that added 1% that we strive to have, that steals the joy of knowing and serving Jesus.  It ends up stripping us of any satisfaction.  A little bit of compromise makes a catastrophic difference.

We need to drink deeply and exclusively of the water Jesus gives.

They say we can live only 3-4 days without water intake.  Which is why my daughter carries around a Stanley cup that is big enough to hydrate a camel.  Jesus, however, supplies us with an inexhaustible supply (John 4:13-14). 

Bottled water can be pricey, but Jesus said, “To the one who is thirsty I will give water free of charge” – Revelation 21:6.

When I was a kid, we would run around on a hot summer day.  If we got thirsty, we would pick out a house nearby, grab their garden hose and drink.   It satisfied us even though it had kind of rubbery taste.

There’s no after taste with Jesus.  So, drink deeply!

A PRAYER: Lord, please help me identify that 1% 

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you

Scripture passages are from the NETBible®

toilet troubles — October 29, 2025

toilet troubles

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I had toilet troubles.  No – not that kind!  The water valve that fed my toilet was leaking. 

I have made this kind of repair before, BUT I wasn’t sure I wanted to do it again.   So, I began to debate with myself? 

These were the Cons: I would need to use a propane torch in a confined area.  Not sure I wanted to burn the house down.  Sweat joints make me sweat.  I am less patient and careful than when I was younger and most of all – working with a toilet is icky!!!!

As to the Pros: I would save some money!  But the Cons prevailed so I called a plumber.  Then I told my wife about it, and she replied in the most peculiar way.  She said, “I am proud of you!” 

OK wait – so you’re proud of me because I didn’t fix something and expected somebody else to do it?   Hmm – I used to leave my dirty socks lay on the floor and expected her to pick them up.  She didn’t seem very proud of me then.

But she understands me.  I was raised with a do-it-yourself mindset.  If anyone else can do it, I can do it too.  It may take 4 times as long to get it done and I may get bloody knuckles along the way, but I get it done.  Plus, I hate hiring someone to do something I can do. 

That mindset has generally served me well, but I will admit that it has been an unlikable liability at times.  With every problem that comes along, I find myself saying, “I must do this” as if it’s all up to me.   

But that’s not really true, is it?

– I can call upon the Lord

The Psalmist wrote, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” – Psalm 46:1. – KJV  Our God is not far removed.  He is present with us.  The Psalmist even emphasized the fact that He is, “very present.”  He is with us – to help us.

Jesus also said, “Apart from me you can accomplish nothing” – John 15:5a. This was spoken concerning our ability to bear spiritual fruit, and yet it was phrased as a blanket statement that seems to cover virtually every facet of our existence. 

Without Him we can’t do marriage, or parenting, or succeed at work.  We can’t feed our families or fend off temptation.  Without His enablement I can’t even tweak my toilet.   Without Him, we can do nothing! 

         There is a second resource I have when I face a problem

– I can call a friend.

The apostle Paul strikes me as a fellow “do-it-yourselfer” and yet he wrote, “Carry one another’s burdens” – Galatians 6:2.  The apostle understood that life can overwhelm us, and we therefore may need the help of trustworthy Christian friends to assist.

He practiced what he preached. His burden was to spread the Gospel, but he couldn’t do it alone.  So, he invited others to assist like Timothy, Titus, Silas and many others.

Check out his memo to the Philippian church, “But for now I have considered it necessary to send Epaphroditus to you. For he is my brother, coworker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to me in my need” – Philippians 2:25.

Are there struggles in your marriage?  Pray, and talk to your pastor or a reliable counselor.  Did your furnace quit?  Pray, read the manual, call an AC person.  Does your toilet leak?  I’m sorry but don’t call me!

We do not have to do life alone!   When faced with a prickly problem, always call upon the Lord and feel free to call upon one of the handy human beings God has given to help us.

I called a plumber, and my wife was proud of me.  I suspect the Lord was too.

A PRAYER: Lord, we need you to crucify our do-it-alone mindset.  Would You?

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavrenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

Scripture citations are from the NETBible® unless otherwise noted.    

no fueling — September 17, 2025

no fueling

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Somewhere in the state of Kansas I pulled in to get some gas.  But the options on the pump baffled me.  There was regular, mid-grade, premium, diesel, E10, E15, E85, ethanol free and biodiesel.  I wasn’t sure which to get so I tried, “Eeny, meeny, miny, moe; Catch a tiger by the toe.”  

I remembered the story of a friend who borrowed a diesel van and unknowingly put unleaded in it.  The engine struggled to start and then sputtered when it did.  His trip was canceled, and the van’s fuel system got a costly and thorough cleanse.

The kind of fuel we put in our tank makes a difference.   The very same is true of our spiritual lives.  We who know the Lord need to make sure that we fuel our minds with the right stuff. 

The apostle Paul told us to think about that which is true, worthy of respect, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8).   Too often we put the wrong kind of fuel in our spiritual tanks and foul up the system.

We need the right kind of fuel, and it needs to go into the right place.  Suppose a teen driver jumped in her car for the first time and found the gas gauge on empty.  Would she be silly enough to remove the cap and gas up the radiator, or maybe top off the cup holder? 

Obviously not!  The fuel needs to go into the fuel tank.  Spiritually speaking, however, the fuel doesn’t always make it there.  Some of us read our Bibles and fill our minds with the right fuel, but we still lack spiritual get up and go.   

That’s probably because the ultimate destination for that fuel is not the mind, but the heart.  The Psalmist wrote, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” – Ps 119:11 (KJV).  So how does the Scripture make it to our heart? 

Psalm 119 is centered around the Scripture.  The concept of meditation is mentioned there at least 5 times.  For instance, verse 48 says, “I will lift my hands to your commands, which I love, and I will meditate on your statutes” (NIV)

To meditate is to think deeply and carefully about something.  If the Psalm were written today, the Psalmist might have used the word “marinate.”  When we read the Scripture, we need to marinate our minds with it. 

We need to pause and soak our minds with what we are reading – deliberately think about the verse, each word.  What does it mean? How does it apply to you right now? 

Let me use Romans 8:28 as an example on how to marinate, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” NIV.  Let’s consider it word by word. 

“And we know” – This is a truth that we are certain of.

“That in all things” -All things: not some things, or a few things, not just the pleasant but even the painful.

“God” -Not a fictional person but a very real, powerful person in my life

“Works” -Not once worked or will work but is working at this moment.

“For the good” – The pleasant and the painful things interact with each other in God’s plan, but it results in something very good for me

“For those who love Him” –I do love Him, but how much?

“Who have been called” -He called me out of the darkness into the light

“According to His purpose” – His wise purpose shapes His plan for me.  

Marinate!  Chew on smaller portions.  Take some time and soak your mind. It’s about quality time spent not quantity.   The goal is not necessarily to memorize but to marinate your mind with the truth. 

The next time you go for a fill up – choose the premium option – the Word of God; and marinate the truth all the way into your tank.

A PRAYER: Lord, stir up a hunger in me for your Word

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord be with you

when helping hurts — August 27, 2025

when helping hurts

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His daddy was a pastor.  The little guy had to sit through church to hear his dad preach on subjects like justification and sanctification.   One day his Sunday School teacher asked if anyone knew what “procrastination” was.  The little boy, wanting to be helpful, said, “I don’t know what it means, but I know my dad believes in it.” 

Sometimes we want to help but we unintentionally hurt the cause instead.  The leper of Mark 1 is a case in point. 

He came to Jesus pleading for healing.  Jesus touched the untouchable.  (1:40-42).  Completely cleansed of the disease, the man was ready to tell the world what Jesus had done for him.   

But “Immediately Jesus sent the man away with a very strong warning. He told him, “See that you do not say anything to anyone, but go, show yourself to a priest, and bring the offering that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them” – NETBible.com® (1:44).  

He gave the man three directives. 1) Say nothing to anyone 2) “Show yourself to the priest” 3) And offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded.

Jesus wanted him to keep the miracle to himself, at least until he reported to the priests and offered the appropriate sacrifice to the Lord (Leviticus 14:1-32).  Doing this would help the priests understand that Jesus was the Messiah sent from God.

But the man (previously known as the leper) had a better idea.  He wanted to help the cause of Christ by spreading the Word, but to do so meant that He had to ignore the 3 directives Jesus gave him (1:45a).   Instead of helping the cause, he hurt it.

1. He limited Jesus’ ministry: Verse 45 says, “Jesus was no longer able to enter any town openly but stayed outside in remote places.”  The multitude that heard, wanted to be healed as well.  So, Jesus, couldn’t go to the cities to seek out the lost.  The lost had to go to the desert to seek Him.

2. He misdirected Jesus’ ministry:  Yes, throngs of people still sought Jesus but for their physical healthcare, not spiritual welfare.  The message of the Kingdom of God was obscured.

3. He embarrassed Jesus’ ministry: If he had he gone to the priest, he would have been ceremonially washed and freshly dressed.  Instead, this evangelist was dirty and smelly, with tattered clothes.

4. He discredited Jesus’ ministry: Jesus told him to do what the law required.  Not only did he disobey Jesus but the OT law as well.  So, Jesus became associated with a lawbreaker and rebel.

5. He destroyed Jesus’ ministry to some:  The law required a leper who had been helped to subject himself to the inspection of the priests.  To see the man and hear his story may have inclined the priests to believe in Jesus.  In fact, this was likely the beginning of the offense that the religious leaders felt towards Jesus.  Some of those priests may be in hell today partly because of the man’s disobedience.

Though the guy had good intentions, his decision was very harmful to the cause of Christ.  

So, when does helping hurt?  When we disregard the Word of God to do it. 

Sarah wants her husband to become more of a spiritual man, so she pesters him about church and family devotions and ignores 1 Peter 3:1-2 and the need to win him without a word.   

Andrew’s parents require him to pass English if he wants to go on the youth mission trip.  But Andrew wants to serve God, so he used ChatGPT on his essay.

Ed spends 20 hours a week helping at church but ignores his responsibilities at home. 

Resist the temptation to improve on our Lord’s commands.  Make sure you know what the Word of God says.  If in doubt, consult someone who knows the Bible well.  Submit your plan of action, and your motives to the Word of God and act accordingly.   Because, if we don’t, then our helping might hurt.

A PRAYER: Lord, forgive us for thinking we have a better way.

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord be with you`

changing table — August 13, 2025

changing table

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I suspect that the only people who really enjoy change are infants.  And yet we who are angry, depressed, lustful, abusive, addicted and lazy need to change. But it feels so hopeless.  Is it possible?

Consider a man who is being considered for a pastoral position. The search committee interviewed his references.  There were several significant comments that caused them concern. 

“The candidate does not like to assume a leadership role.”   This is a red flag.  A pastor needs to lead the church, manage the staff and represent the church to the community. 

“The candidate tends to avoid responsibility and obligations.”  This guy would likely do as little as possible to get by.  Could he manage the plethora of details that a pastor encounters or even follow through with a task?  

“The candidate likes to make his own decisions.”   In other words, he does not play well with others.  Board meetings would be a nightmare.

“The candidate is very timid and shy in a group nor does not like to have a large group of friends.”  We don’t need a hermit as the pastor.

If you were on that committee – how would you vote regarding this candidate?  Well, I would definitely cast a no vote.  I would not want to hire – ME.

This is a fictitious scenario, but the comments were taken verbatim from the notes of counselor, based on a battery of vocational tests that I took in January of 1972. 

And yet, in June of 1986, I was unexpectedly hired as a pastor and successfully served that same church for 32 years.  Were the tests wrong?  No – that was truly me in early 1972.  What happened?

I stopped in at the “changing table.” I met Jesus 10 months after I had taken those tests.  At that time, I was “born again” (John 3:3) and I became a “new man” in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).  The old passed away, and new things began to emerge. 

God was doing a great work in me, but I did my part too.  Paul wrote, “present your bodies as a sacrifice—alive, holy, and pleasing to God—which is your reasonable service” – Romans 12:1.

A sacrificial lamb in ancient Israel had no say in the matter, but we do.  We can choose to give ourselves wholly to the Lord – a living sacrifice not consumed by fire, but by a passion to serve the Lord.     

He went on to say, “Do not be conformed to this present world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” –12:2. 

We are to be “transformed” says Paul.  This word is derived from the Greek word, “metamorphose” as in metamorphosis.   The dictionary captures the word this way, “a change of the form or nature of a thing or person into a completely different one, by natural or supernatural means.”

Paul tells us that change is very possible.  In fact, we are expected to change and grow.  Anger can be tamed, depression lifted, lust extinguished, abusers repentant, addictions canceled, and laziness turned into productivity. 

It happens as we experience the renewing of our minds.  So how is the mind renewed?  It happens when we read and marinate our minds with the Word of God.  Hebrews 4:12-13 tells us that Scripture is alive – meaning that the Holy Spirit actively uses it to help transform us.

Renewal also takes place when we take what we read and let it shape the way we pray.  It also happens when we spend meaningful time with other Christian people whose thinking begins to impact our own.

The things we read and media we watch also tend to either conform us to this world or transform our minds. 

Change is tough.  Don’t give up on yourself.  Take time today to say to the Lord,  “I really want to be different and better.  I am laying my life on the altar and asking You Lord, to make it happen.”  

A PRAYER: Lord I am ready to change.  Would You change me – gently please?

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you

Scripture passages are from the NETBible ®

sanctified swamp people — July 16, 2025

sanctified swamp people

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I thought about auditioning for Swamp People.  You see, whenever it rains, there is a section of my backyard that floods with water.  It doesn’t run off as it should because the ground level is lower than the rest of the yard. 

Water pools there and sticks around for as much as 5 days.   The lawn underneath gasps for breath until it finally gives up the grass ghost.   It is a swampy, unsightly mess.

What should I do about it?   I could order a dump truck load of topsoil and bring the whole area up to grade.  Then spend some serious bucks on some centipede sod and carpet the area.  Nah!

Instead, I decided to raise the level of the soil gradually!  I took bags of topsoil and lightly spread the soil throughout the area.  I then raked and watered it in.  Soon, the grass underneath began to poke through. 

I did this every couple of weeks, a little at a time, and the level of the soil gradually rose.  The water now runs off, and I have a healthy green lawn.

Gradual is also the way the Lord raises the level of holiness in us. 

The process of being processed is called sanctification.   It began the very moment we came to faith in Christ.  The Lord took a spiritual swamp person, removed his sin, placed the Holy Spirit in him and good things began to happen.   Paul wrote, “But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” – 1 Corinthians 6:11.

At that point the believer is liberated from the dominating power of sin.  This is known as positional sanctification, and it is all God’s doing.    

There is also practical sanctification.  In Philippians 2:12-13 Paul wrote, “Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose” – NIV.   It is interesting if not a little baffling to find that both God and man are responsible for this aspect of sanctification. 

On one hand we are to take what God has given us in salvation and work it all out.  This is to take the potential for holiness we were given the day we were saved and roll it out and implement it so that it becomes an essential part of who we are.

So much of the New Testament targets this process.  I think of Hebrews 12:1, “…let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”

On the other hand, Paul tells us that it is God who is at work in us.  “…He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus – NIV.” – Philippians 1:6

Practical sanctification is a lifelong process.  It is facilitated through our prayers and digesting and obeying the Word of God.  It involves finding fellowship with others at church and offering heartfelt worship. 

These are the efforts that we make to facilitate sanctification.  God does His part by empowering us, teaching us and using divinely appointed experiences to shape us.   He gradually raises the quality of holiness in us.

There are times that slow, and steady are needed to get the job done.  This is certainly true of sanctification

Paul said it would culminate on the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6).  This third aspect we might call perpetual sanctification.  

When Jesus reappears, or if we should die before then, the process will be completed forever.  The apostle John wrote, “We know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” – 1 John 3:2 NIV.

Hey, it’s good to know that we won’t be swamp people forever.

A PRAYER: Lord, we sure need it, sanctify away

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you

Scripture passages are from the New International Version

a note from a bass player — July 9, 2025

a note from a bass player

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Our band had just finished an evening of music ministry at a summer camp on the shores of Lake Erie.  It was a phenomenal time with several kids having given their lives to Jesus that night. 

We happily tore down our equipment and packed it into the trailer.  As we pulled away, there was a disturbing crunch that was heard.

Our bass player cried, “Oh no!”  He jumped out of the car and found his bass guitar beneath the wheel of the car.  He had leaned it against the car while we were loading and had forgotten about it.

We backed up the car and surveyed the damage.  The old wooden case was completely annihilated – nothing left but splinters.  No doubt, the guitar, within was wrecked as well. 

But our bassist picked at the splinters and found that the solid body Silvertone guitar was in excellent condition.  It was a miracle of sorts.  He even played a tune for us, but it wasn’t in one of the flat keys. 

The case was pulverized but the guitar was preserved.

That sorta sounds like my life these days.  My case is degrading.  Three years ago, I was on zero medications.  Two years ago, I started my first two.  Last year I added two more.  

At a rate of addition of two per year, I am going to be a mess if I make it to my 80‘s.  Plus, I’ll have to take out a loan to pay for it all. 

All this because my body is wasting away. 

In fact, here is my personal lament to aging – to the tune of These Are a Few of My Favorite Things. 

– Dropping my phone but I can’t bend to get it; Needing to buy my prescriptions on credit; Searching the house, cause I misplaced my teeth; These are a few of my least favorite things.

– Sweeping the floor and pulling a muscle; Missing one piece from the whole jigsaw puzzle; Growing a gut while my hairline recedes; These are a few of my least favorite things.

– Making a list of all my prescriptions; Finding a spot that defies a description;  Getting my news from the AARP magazine; These are a few of my least favorite things.

– Gigantic toenails, I can’t reach to trim them; Trying to dance but losing the rhythm; Sneezing and finding that I sprung a leak; These are a few of my least favorite things.

– Trying to say diverticulu-titus; 3 crooked fingers from raging arthritis; Learning to walk on my transplanted knee; These are a few of my least favorite things.

– Finding a town where there’s no Cracker Barrel; Shopping and finding no modest apparel; A grandkid who tells me my car’s an antique; These are a few of my least favorite things.

– Calling and talking to another computer; Sharing a bed with a spouse who’s a tooter; Getting new glasses but still I can’t see; These are a few of my least favorite things.

– Wrinkles that rival my beloved Shar Pei; Using a map app, to help find my way; Trying to learn how to work my TV; These are a few of my least favorite things.

Yes, aging can be agonizing.  The case in which we are enclosed is falling apart at an alarming rate.  BUT the essence of who we, like that bass guitar, is still in perfect shape. 

The apostle Paul said, “For we know that if our earthly house, the tent we live in, is dismantled, we have a building from God, a house not built by human hands, that is eternal in the heavens” – 2 Corinthians 5:1. NETBible ®

Our temporal earthly house is crumbling but we are not – and one day we will be housed in a body fit for eternity. 

Hey, I left out the chorus to my song parody.  It goes like this: 

No sense raging, that I’m aging, cause it’s not the end; Cause Jesus awaits me, in heaven up there, and things will be better then

A PRAYER: Lord, help me hang on, as my case falls apart.

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

sword play — June 25, 2025

sword play

/pickleheavenpress

One of my heroes was a klutz. 

During the Middle Ages it was common for a university graduate to carry a sword.  No one is completely sure why, but the best guess is that it was an honored symbol of the value of education and the sharpening of the intellect. 

And yet, a sword would have been mighty handy to have in my High School days. 

Ironically swords were inexpensive back then, but leather sheaths were usually beyond the means of a student. 

So, the story goes… In 1504 the collegian, Martin Luther traveled to his home to celebrate Easter with his family.  Along the way, his unsheathed sword accidentally cut his leg, severing a main artery. 

Hmm – maybe the scholar wasn’t so smart after all!   Luther was bleeding to death when a local doctor finally showed up with a sewing kit. 

He survived, but the accident caused a change in the course of his life. He switched his major from law to theology and began to prepare for the priesthood.  For the next decade he filled himself with the musings of musty theologians who described God but who never knew Him. 

And the knowledge that he accumulated became more lethal to Luther than the sword he carried.  Academia obscured the truth. 

The prevailing teaching at that time required a person to fast and pray and receive the Sacraments, do penance and good works in order to get to heaven.  Luther was fanatical his efforts to do this.

But the more he strived to know God, the farther away he moved from Him. 

Paul spoke of this kind of phenomena in 1Timothy 3:7 – people who were, “always seeking instruction, yet never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.”

Elsewhere he wrote, “Knowledge puffs up” – 1 Corinthians 8:1.  In other words, the more we learn, the more our ego tends to blind us from truth.

Like the sword that pieced his leg and nearly took his life, the sword of knowledge threatened his chance to live eternally.

But then he sought God through the only true and reliable source – the Scripture.  He wrote, “I greatly longed to understand Paul’s Epistle to the Romans and nothing stood in the way but that one expression, “The justice of God”… Night and day I pondered until I saw the connection between the justice of God and the statement that “the just shall live by faith.” Then I grasped that the justice of God is that righteousness by which through grace and sheer mercy God justifies us through faith. Thereupon I felt myself to be reborn and to have gone through open doors into paradise.”

He came to understand that we cannot save ourselves – it is by faith in Christ and Him alone that we are justified before God and made righteous through Him.

And with that very critical, but basic slice of understanding, Luther was saved.  Isn’t it curious that Luther was stabbed by the sword of the academy but saved by the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17).  

Thanks to the internet, knowledge is streaming today at a breakneck speed.  AI is astounding in its ability to glean the entire internet and summarize its findings on any given subject. 

Good stuff, but always we need to use Scripture, as the informational referee to either affirm or correct what we learn.  

Galileo is known as the Father of Science.  He is credited with developing the scientific method, which governs the sciences to this day.  He was a significant force in the development of astronomy, mathematics and physics.  And yet he candidly wrote, “Holy Scripture could never lie or err, but its decrees are of absolute and inviolable truth.”

Learning is great!  Learn all you can, but make sure that you judge it properly.  The absolute guide to truth is tucked away in that leatherbound book there on your desk. 

A PRAYER: Thank you for Your Word Lord.  Help me to better understand it.

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

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

Scripture references are from the NETBible.com ®