Pickle Heaven Press-James R. Johnson

something to help you laugh and think about life with Christ

Tag: grace

what are the odds? — February 5, 2025

what are the odds?

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Sometimes I wonder if I might have IBS – Irritable Brain Syndrome – but then I have found that there are people who may have even less on the ball than I do. 

There exists today a religious sect of zealous subscribers.  They correctly believe that heaven is the last and best stop of our journey.  However, they teach that only 144,000 of their followers will qualify. 

As of 2024 they number about 8.6 million.  Which means that only 1 out of 60 of the faithful will make it through the pearly gates.  Hmm?  The typical local congregation is no more than 200, which means that an average of 2 people from each gathering will make it to glory land.  How disheartening!

To qualify they must adhere to the teaching and be active in their preaching.  The more people they persuade to be baptized and become followers, the better their chances of going to heaven. 

BUT – let’s suppose each follower was able to enlist just one person.  That would double the membership to 17.2 million followers, which lowers the odds of admission. Only 1 out of 120 of the membership would walk the streets of gold. 

The sect is now over 154 years old which means there is a century and a half of competitors who want to be one of the 144,000.  Oh, and their ecclesiastical authorities refuse to disclose the number of baptisms from the inception of their movement to the present.  I wonder why?

Though they say their teaching is Biblically based, I think they missed a verse or two or maybe two hundred.  Let’s look at just one for now. The apostle Paul wrote, “For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so that no one can boast” – Ephesians 2:8-9.

Paul said it is by grace that we are saved.  Grace is that undeserved intervention of God – who, out of His goodness, does something for us that we cannot do for ourselves.  He takes spiritually bankrupt people and puts a hefty deposit into our accounts. 

To be saved is to have God redirect our paths from the pit of hell to the pinnacle of heaven. 

Grace is His response to our faith in the divine Lord Jesus, who was crucified for our sins, and then rose again to prove that what He did for us was more than enough. 

Very important is the idea that this salvation is not something that we can earn – it is not of ourselves.  It is the gift of God – not a wage for our work.  If I should attempt to work for something that has been given as a gift – I would insult the giver and steal the generous spirit that prompted it.   But God is the giver of grace, and we, therefore, have no reason to boast. 

And yet the folks in that sect work tirelessly to proselytize.  Just the other day I removed one of their sneaky tracts which was slapped on a gas pump.  They labor to earn a spot in heaven. 

Ironically, they have an aggressive disfellowshipping program, which means they regularly kick people out, which helps to increase the possibility of heaven for those who are left.

And yet Jesus said that once we are in, we can’t be out. 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.

It’s hard to undeserve something that we never deserved in the first place.  We are saved by God’s grace as a response to our faith in Jesus.

Take a moment today and pray.  Tell Him, “Save me Lord for I am a sinner.  I need and I want Jesus and the gift of forgiveness that He died to provide for me.”

A Prayer: Lord help those who misunderstand your gracious liberating truth

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you always

Scripture passages are from the NETBible ®

does God use a clicker? — May 27, 2020

does God use a clicker?

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So, what is a clicker?  I shall explain. I was schooled by nuns – the sisters of Notre Dame.

They wore long sleeved, black, ankle length robes and a black veil with a broad white band across the forehead.  They were girded at the waist with a rosary bead belt, big enough for Andre the Giant.

To this day I don’t know how sister Mary Cletus played such excellent kickball in that outfit.     

Their favorite disciplinary tool was the clicker.  At least that’s what we, the clicked, called it.   

It was about 6 inches long – a spindly piece of oak – a short knobby table leg. Attached to it, with a thick rubber band, was another piece of oak – a slender dowel rod.  Depress and then quickly release the dowel rod and a loud resonant click is produced.

The clicker was for control.   Click: the class lined up; Click: the line moved forward; Click: we stopped; Click: we genuflected; Click: we filed into the pew for mass; Click: we sat down.   

Seldom was a word spoken.  We were programmed to respond to the click.  Which may be why I am confused today by the sound of a click beetle.

It was a versatile tool.  When a child failed to heed the clicker, the click became a clunk.  A kid would feel its knobby wrath on their head. 

It was standard nun equipment.  Each school morn, they reported to the armory and were issued their clickers.

It was the time in the mass, to receive communion.  I was taught that communion without prerequisite confession was a big no no.  But this 10-year-old was absent on the day the class confessed.

What to do?  Skip communion and displease my teacher or do communion and anger God.  Would it be better to be struck with the clicker or a bolt of lightning? 

God was nowhere to be seen, but the nun sat next to me, so I stepped into the aisle with the rest of the class.  As we inched forward, I began to sweat, and my folded hands began to shake because – I really was afraid of God.

He had His own clicker.  Click: go to church; Click: say your prayers; Click: stop hitting your sister; Click: go to confession before you take communion.  Get out of line and expect to get clunked with God’s clicker.   

It was only reasonable for a kid to project onto God the character and ways of the religious folk that represented Him.   

I trembled as I opened my mouth to receive communion – but – there was no divine retribution.  I returned to the pew asking myself why?

Years later I learned that God looks at me with a smile on His face rather than a frown. 

I waited for Him to demonstrate His wrath, but Scripture says, “God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  – Romans 5:8

Sure, He has His standards, but He Himself lived them out on my behalf. “God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness of God.”  – 2 Corinthians 5:21. 

Now He empowers me to live His truth.  “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So, the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”  – Galatians 2:20. 

When I fail, He responds to me with patience, mercy and grace. “For we do not have a high priest incapable of sympathizing with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sin. Therefore, let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace whenever we need help.”  – Hebrews 4:15-16

He motivates me not by threat of hell but by His love for me.  “For the love of Christ controls us…”  – 2 Corinthians 5:14 

Such a radically different but wonderfully accurate picture of God.

If there is a lesson in the story; I guess it’s this: A kid really does project onto God, the character and ways of the religious folk that represent God.  

So, how do you represent God to your children or your grandchildren?   What of God does your 3rd grade Sunday School class see in you?  Are you quick with a clicker – or full of patience, mercy and grace?    

– All Scripture references taken from the NET Bible ®