Pickle Heaven Press-James R. Johnson

something to help you laugh and think about life with Christ

Tag: guitar

love that will not let me go — July 30, 2025

love that will not let me go

/pickleheavenpress

Why does Sarah cling to that stuffed lamb she was given as a toddler?    Why does Eric guard that ratty T-shirt he earned way back in his little league days?  And why does my wife stick with me?   It’s been almost 49 years, and my bones creak, and my bladder leaks, and my face looks like my great Grandpa’s.

My answer is this, once you have deeply loved someone, or even something, you just don’t want to let go. 

Sarah cuddled with her lambie pie every night.   She wore the fleece off the poor beast.   Eric’s team were the champs that year.  He proudly wore his T-shirt until his biceps burst the seams. 

I purchased a classical guitar when I was a teen.  I strummed it in bars and coffee houses before I came to know Jesus.  When I got redeemed, so did my guitar.  I went right back to those bars and coffee houses and sang about Jesus – ‘til they bounced me.

The guitar was used to influence several hundred souls to come to Christ.  I used it to sing my wedding vows to my wife. 

But the day came when it was so old and cracked and brittle that it was impractical to use – so I sold it to a friend and bought another one.   

Oh my! I was quickly overcome with sellers’ remorse.  I loved that guitar and it sorta loved me back.  I called my friend, and he graciously understood and sold it back to me.

I then hung the guitar on the wall of my home.  Over time all three of my children picked it up and taught themselves how to play it.  Now all three want that guitar bequeathed to them when I die.   To date I have owned that guitar for 57 years and I ain’t gonna let it go again. 

So why should you be interested in all this? 

Well, only because you have been loved, deeply, thoroughly, loved by the Lord Jesus.  God says so.

He spoke through the prophet Jeremiah saying ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love – Jeremiah 31:3.An everlasting love – that’s the best kind. 

And then there is Galatians 2:20 where Paul made God’s love for him very personal.  He wrote, “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 up for me.”   The Son of God loved me and gave himself up for me.    

Now because He has loved us, He refuses to lose us!

Jesus 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. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can snatch them from my Father’s hand – John 10:28-29.

Even when we are at our worst, He holds on.  The Psalmist confessed, “My spirit was bitter, and my insides felt sharp pain. I was ignorant and lacked insight; I was as senseless as an animal before you. But I am continually with you; you hold my right hand” –   Psalm 73:21-23.

because He has loved us, He refuses to lose us!   Our fleece may be wearing thin, but His love persists and sees us in the best light.  Our seams may be bursting but His love covers us.

Matt Redman put it this way, “Oh no, You never let go, through the calm and through the storm. Oh no, You never let go, in every high and every low;

Oh no, You never let go – Lord, You never let go of me.”

How sweet it is to know that God’s love for us will never ever let us go. 

A PRAYER: A Lord, thank you for your relentless love for us.

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

Scripture passages are from the NETBible ®

expectations — August 21, 2024

expectations

/pickleheavenpress

Most of us have expectations.  We are delighted when they are met, disappointed when they are not, and surprised and overjoyed when they are exceeded.

I can relate.  I am 1/3 of a singing trio consisting of my wife, a dear friend and me.  The sum of our ages is 206, and that is not in dog years.

We were invited to sing at a well-attended church service.  The time came for us to do our thing.  I braced myself as I pried my stiff body out of the seat.  As we began to move forward the percussion section did an intro.  Oh wait, that was the sound of popping joints.  The congregation began to wonder. 

We then ascended the five stairs to get up to the platform.  Slow and deliberate were our steps.  I needed to take a breath when I reached the summit.  The congregation experienced some dismay.

We positioned ourselves at the mics.  Facing the congregation were two grey haired women, and one guy crowned with a snow-white mop.  It was like a reunion tour except this time it was the grandmamas and the grandpapas.  Our listeners finally saw what they were getting, and they whimpered.

If I had been sitting out there with them, I would have been thinking, “Oh no, this is going to be a very painful performance.”

But then – I began to pick my guitar and it half sounded like I knew what I was doing.  And then our voices came in – pleasant, strong, skillfully blended and in sync.

And the congregation let out a huge sigh of relief.   In fact, they even enjoyed it.  After the service we received countless encouragements and another potential gig – a seniors group of course.

So yes, I exaggerated my story a little to make you laugh, but you get the picture.  It’s always amazing to have one’s expectations exceeded.    May that always be the case with yours.

But if they aren’t, let me tell you about one that most definitely will.  Heaven!

We have a partial description of heaven given in Revelation 21-22.  It is a place gilded in gold and adorned with walls of precious stones and gates of pearl.  The sun and moon are displaced by the luminous glory of the Lamb of God.

The Biblical description is amply supplemented by Bluegrass music where 9 out of 10 songs seem to be focused on, “glory land.”   The description we have of heaven available to us is already beyond our ability to comprehend and yet it hardly scratches the surface.

I love the honesty of the song, “I Can Only Imagine.”   There the writer admits he doesn’t fully understand what heaven is like, but he enjoys imagining what it might be. 

The apostle Paul was given a unique preview according to 2 Corinthians 12:1-10.  He was caught up to heaven either through a vision, or an in-person visit.   Even after that, he could not adequately describe heaven for us. 

He said, “(I) was caught up into paradise and heard things too sacred to be put into words, things that a person is not permitted to speak (4).  He spoke of his heavenly experience as being “extraordinary” (6) and “surpassing in greatness” (7).

We expect the ordinary, but Paul says what is ahead is extraordinary.  We expect things will be great in heaven, but we are told that they will surpass greatness.

At another place, Paul again described our experience in heaven.  He said, “Things that no eye has seen, or ear heard, or mind imagined, are the things God has prepared for those who love him” – 1 Corinthians 2:9.

Beyond the pale is an unimaginable and yet, magnificent experience.   We know just enough today to wonder.

But this is for sure, when it comes to heaven you can expect your expectations to be exceeded.

A PRAYER: Lord, I’m glad I don’t know fully what to expect, but I’m glad the surprise will last an eternity.

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 ®

the adventures of a guitar pick — November 29, 2023

the adventures of a guitar pick

/pickleheavenpress

I have made a decision about my last will and testament.  When I pass, and my white-haired head is resting on that velvet pillow, I want my wife to make sure there is a guitar pick in the front pocket of my pants. 

Mostly because there has been one there since the summer of 1966 – the year I started strumming.  From then on, I required myself to always have a pick in my pocket. (which is not the same as a pick pocket)

Why?  Well, you never know when you might find yourself in a music store needing to try out a new guitar.  Or you might be visiting a friend who offers to let you play on his.  

There have been times I have been sitting around a campfire and someone puts a guitar in my hand and asks me to play “Michael Row the Boat Ashore.”   Michael could have been swept out to sea if not for my guitar pick.

Sometimes it became a conversation starter.  I have pulled change from my pocket and among the coins would be my pick.  The cashier would see it and probe, “Oh do you play the guitar?”  “And tamping down my ego I would say, “Yes I do.”

In fact, my pick compensated for what I lacked in the good-looks department.  My guitar pick said that I was a guitar player and that was enough to capture a girl’s heart.

Picks can be a nuisance.  They come flying out when I pull my car keys from my pocket.  I buy snow-white picks only so that I can spot them on the ground. 

And they get worn.  I got to where I buy them by the gross – 144 at a time. 

Sometimes they travel with my pants into the wash and my wife finds them flying around the dryer.

And yet during those 57 years, I have always and perpetually had a guitar pick on my person.  Just test me the next time you see me. 

I know it’s silly, but always having a pick in my pocket brings me comfort.

What I find even more comforting is knowing that God has me in His pocket.

What? You ask.  OK let me explain.  Psalm 60 tells of a time of great trouble for Israel. David, the author complained to God in verses 1-6 of the nations that were on a seek and destroy mission regarding the nation.

The Lord answered in verses 7-8.  He said, “Gilead belongs to me, as does Manasseh. Ephraim is my helmet, Judah my royal scepter.” NETBible ®

He spoke of the various regions that made up Israel reminding David that He treasured His people who lived there.

Gilead was beyond the Jordan River.  Her people lived on the outer limits of the land.  They were the next-door neighbors to the Ammonites, and Moabites and the other irksome “ites” of the land. 

I’d bet they sometimes felt marginalized and often ignored by their countrymen and maybe even the Lord.  But the Lord said, “Gilead belongs to me.”

Eugene Peterson decided that the translation didn’t fully capture the richness behind the statement, so he rendered it this way in the MESSAGE.  He said, “Gilead’s in my pocket.”

I love it.  How special – how secure – how ever present. God’s people in Gilead were safely tucked away deep down in the pocket of God.  As are we – safely tucked away deep down in the pocket of God.

The metaphor captures much.  It brings to mind words like, “I will never leave you or forsake you.”  (Hebrews 13:5) and “I am with you always even unto the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20) and “The Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)   Like my pick – perpetually there.

So, settle down and get comfortable in God’s pocket.  It is a place of supreme security.  And if you happen to find a guitar pick down there – it’s probably mine.

A PRAYER: Lord we also seem to live beyond the Jordan as well. Watch over us.

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

old strings — October 25, 2023

old strings

/pickleheavenpress

The other day, my grandson said to me, “Papaw, when I am seventy, I hope to be as healthy as you are.”  I said to him, “Sounds like you don’t wanna set the bar too high, do you?”

Old age is tough, but there are a few things that are almost as unpleasant – such as old strings! 

I have a favorite guitar that has fallen out of favor because it is strung with old strings.  They once vibrated with energy but are now dull and listless.

So, what steals the life from a guitar string?   Those on an unplayed guitar will corrode from oxidation and humidity.  

Strings that are played will gather dirt, body oil and dead skin cells.  This gunk works its way into the windings of the string and hardens into a stiff, brittle mass.  This nastiness chokes the vibration out of the string.  And then there is the metal fatigue from all the stretching.

When the strings look dirty, feel rough, sound dull or are out of tune, it’s time to change them.

So, I did.  It’s a tedious task which I have performed maybe a thousand times in my life. 

I put them on, let them stretch and tuned them up – and it was magic.  Pure sweet magic.  They were perfectly intoned, and there was a brightness and a zing that wasn’t there before.  The guitar resonated and reverberated beauteous sound that carried on even as the last chord began to fade.

I played for two hours straight and was in danger of thinking that I was an excellent guitar player – all because of the new strings.

New strings are wonderful, but my life is more like the old ones.

The Lord strums the strings of my heart, and I worship Him.   But my worship can be tainted.  The right words come from my mouth, but my mind is elsewhere. 

I sing of holiness even though I lost my temper 10 minutes before.  I won’t sing loudly because I am concerned about what the guy next to me will think.   I grumble because the song choice isn’t my choice.  I sometimes mouth words that I don’t really mean.  I worship because I am expected to – not because I am compelled by His love.

I am afraid that my worship looks dirty, feels rough, sounds dull and is out of tune.  Time for new strings.

They are coming says the Scripture.  Paul gave us this hope in Ephesians 5:25-27, “…Christ loved the church and gave himself for her to sanctify her by cleansing her with the washing of the water by the word, so that he may present the church to himself as glorious—not having a stain or wrinkle, or any such blemish, but holy and blameless.” NETBible ®

Because of Christ’s love for us, He died on a cross to make us holy so that when we arrive in heaven, we will be glorious – no stain or wrinkle or imperfection of any kind.  There will be in us no impurity to compromise us or shallowness to embarrass us.  There will be nothing to distract us from the Lord. 

Like the news strings, the Lord’s hand will pass over our hearts, and beautiful, magnificent untainted worship will sound.   I am thinking that He will relish this worship even more than I enjoy my new strings.

But why should we deny Him that joy and defer it until we get to heaven?

Get alone and grab your phone.  Pull up your favorite worship song – and sing it – to Him.  With no one to impress; with no ulterior motive to derail you; and with the song of your choice – sing with your heart.  Worship Him.      

A PRAYER: Lord I am sorry that my life sounds so sorry.  I want my worship to bring joy to You both now and in heaven.

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.  

*Guitar info from Acoustic Guitar (website), How Guitar Strings Age—and How to Know When to Change Them. 

chasing the dream — September 6, 2023

chasing the dream

/pickleheavenpress

As a kid, I didn’t have an alarm clock in my bedroom, but I was usually aware of the time regardless of the hour of night.  I just picked up my guitar and began to strum, which prompted my mom to yell from downstairs, “Do you know it’s 1 a.m.?”   “No, but thanks mom?”

I learned the guitar in sixth grade. As I taught myself the chords, I enjoyed putting a melody and words to them. 

My music became my voice.  I was able to sing things I was too shy to speak.  I shared my ditties and people enjoyed them.

So, I got serious about it.  When I got my driver’s license, one of the very first places I visited was a music publisher.  I tried to sell them a song.  They didn’t want it. 

This, however, became my obsession – to publish a song, have a bigtime artist sing it, to hear it aired on the radio and to reap the royalties.

Music was my god back then.  It monopolized my time, my money, and my heart.  But the path to publishing was always blocked and it was destroying me.  

When I finally came to Jesus, music was dethroned, and Christ reigned in my life.

I wanted others to experience Jesus, so I centered my songwriting efforts on Him.  People listened.  Many came to faith and others were encouraged in their faith journey. 

However, music still competed with the Lordship of Jesus in my life.  My evolved desire was to make a name for myself in Christian music. 

I put demo tapes of my songs in the hands of several uninterested artists. A studio in Nashville reviewed and rejected my stuff and I have a ream of rejection letters from publishers.  Like the donkey that stood in the path of Balaam, the Lord seemed to stand in my way.

I believed I would be content only when I had made it in the music biz.  But God deliberately withheld that success from me, that I might learn to be content with Him. 

I took to heart his words in Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself in the Lord.”  He wanted me to find my joy and purpose and satisfaction in Him alone.

And over time, I learned. Jesus became all that mattered to me, and my music became a useful tool to serve His purposes – not mine.  I learned to be content using my songs with the youth group that I led.

But then a crazy thing happened.  One of my youth group kids went to college and became a worship leader.  He used some of the songs that I had written.  

One day a no-name Christian band came to his town and heard him sing one of my songs.  They wanted to use it.  He said, “Yes, Jim wouldn’t care.”

So, they did, they sang one of my songs for over two years to college students around the country, over 200,000 of them.

Eventually they were signed to a recording contract with the biggest outfit in Christian music   And, they wanted to include my song on their first album. 

It was recorded and released almost 30 years after my first attempt to sell a song. I remember the thrill of hearing it aired on our local radio station. 

It was then that I experienced the latter half of Psalm 37:4, The Psalmist wrote, “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.”  Once I made the Lord and His will my delight, He then graciously delivered the desire of my heart without any effort on my part.

I bet you are curious as to the title of the song.  I called it “Kumbayah!”  Not really!  The title is “Have Your Way,” which was a perfect song for God to promote for it was not until I was content with His will for me, that I enjoyed such blessing. 

A PRAYER: Having You, Lord, is so much richer than having a song on the radio.

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

Scripture references are from the New International Version.

five-star Savior — October 18, 2022

five-star Savior

/pickleheavenpress

The most elusive endeavor: to find an item on a web retailer’s site, with solid five-star reviews. 

Looking for a guitar?  One person will give it a 5 because it’s pretty while another dings it cause it doesn’t have a cupholder.

There may be 69,000 great reviews but there is always a couple of 1- bombs that stops you from hitting the “add to your cart” button.

Where does one find consistent 5-stars?  Jesus!  He made that clear at Cana where He was a wedding guest.  Back then, wedding festivities lasted a week, so it was no surprise that they ran short of wine.

He spied 6 stone waterpots that would have held about 25 gallons each.  He asked that they be filled with water and then a sample taken to the boss.  The headwaiter was dumbfounded. 

He said to the bridegroom, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the cheaper wine when the guests are drunk. You have kept the good wine until now!” – John 2:10 NETBible.com

So typical!  The host of the party wants to impress so they serve the high dollar wine first.  When the senses of the guests had been dulled, he would dilute the wine to make it last for the duration of the feast. 

But the bridegroom, was praised for hiding the deluxe $200 a bottle stuff until the last.  Of course, they didn’t know that Jesus was responsible.

Please note that the emphasis here is that Jesus turned water into 5-star wine.  He had miraculously created about 2,400 servings of fresh and vibrant wine of the highest quality.

Jesus does not do average work.  He produces the highest quality.  But today He does it in the lives of those who trust Him. 

For instance, Jesus produces quality politicians.  Alabama Governor George Wallace was known as a bigoted, narrow-minded politician.  In 1963 he proclaimed, “Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.”   In 1983 Billy Graham shared a verse with the man. “What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his soul.”  Wallace gave his life to Christ shortly thereafter.  And in 1994 Mr. Wallace said to the world, “I was wrong.  I’m sorry!”

Jesus produces quality parents: Pastor Warren Wiersbe told the story of a drunken coal miner who was converted and began to share his new-found faith. A friend tried to trap him by asking, “Do you really believe that Jesus turned the water into wine?”  He said, “Yes I do.”  But He has done even greater miracles than that.  In my home he has turned the wine into furniture and decent clothes and food for my children.” 

Jesus produces quality professionals.  A friend told me, that when he began his law practice, he was not a pleasant person.  But he later allowed Jesus to take control of that part of his life, and he became one of the most sought after and well-loved people in his profession.

Jesus produces quality entertainers.  Comedian Jeff Foxworthy had his TV show canceled.  It caused him to rediscover his faith in Christ.  He said, “Money and success did not make me happy, but since I have decided to walk with God, it has changed my entire life.” 

Jesus produces quality athletes.  Mike Vinatieri was a kicker for the Patriots.  Ask him what he has on his mind when there’s six seconds in a tied game, and it’s up to him to make the winning field goal.  He says, “Trusting the Lord gives me a sound state of mind in those types of situations.” 

When water was offered, it was returned as wine.  When our lives are offered to Him, He infuses them with quality from heaven. 

His work has been reviewed by hundreds of millions of people for over 2,000 years.  He still gets 5-stars.

A PRAYER: God thanks for taking the water of my life and making it something special.

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

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

broken cisterns — December 29, 2021

broken cisterns

/pickleheavenpress

When I was a kid, I didn’t have a clock in my bedroom, so if I wanted to know what time it was, I would play my guitar.  This provoked my dad to yell, “Son, do you know that it is 3 o’clock in the morning?”  “Oh, thanks dad!”

So what time is it? Well, it’s New Years – time for a drink.  I’m not talking about Champagne.  I have something way better in mind. 

The prophet Jeremiah tells us about it. He was speaking for the Lord when he said, “For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.”   KJV (Jeremiah 2:13)

Living was a term used to describe water that was fresh and moving.  Like the snow melt from Mount Hermon in Israel.  The waters descend from above and produces cool, sweet, refreshing streams of pure water.   The Lord above compared Himself to such water. 

He also spoke of cistern water.  A cistern is a subterranean cavern built to capture and store rainwater.  It does not produce fresh water but simply captures the runoff. 

It was carved from the soft limestone that underlies much of Israel.  Because limestone is porous, the walls of the cistern were typically plastered to help them retain the water.

So, the people of Judah rejected living water for cistern water.  So what?   Of course, God was speaking of something more than H20.  He had spiritual/emotional cisterns in mind. 

This kind of cistern has to do with happiness.  It is that thing that we believe we must have if we are to be happy.   The people of Judah sought happiness from sculptures of stone and metal – satisfaction from pagan gods.

We are not as brazen, but just as foolish.  We tell ourselves, “I won’t be happy until I make the honor roll, or get rich, or I’m popular with the right crowd.  Maybe its success in sports or in the music industry, or maybe dating a particular person or owning that dream car.  These foolish beliefs are cisterns. 

The water from a cistern could be quite foul.  It was stored down deep until it was needed.  To drink of it, one would have to clear away a disgusting film of dirt and then draw water that was tainted with animal droppings, bugs and vermin.  It would cause illness and even death if not first boiled. 

Why would anyone ever choose cistern water over a mountain stream?   It probably has to do with control.  A person could dig a cistern on their own property and control it on their terms.  He can’t however own a stream.   Nor can we manipulate or control our God.  

So many of us choose the foul cistern water and just learn to tolerate it.

But the prophet also tells us that the cisterns are broken.  Israel rests on a significant geological fault and is prone to earthquakes.  So, it was not unusual to go to one’s cistern to find that the rock had shifted, the plaster had cracked, and the water had escaped leaving the pit dusty and dry. 

And so it is with our cisterns. Sooner or later, we will discover that they are broken and there’s nothing there for us. 

So how do I identify a cistern in my life?  Look inside.  What or who drives your decisions, dominates your conversations, absorbs your faith and is your financial priority?   If it is anyone or anything other than the Lord – then you may be trying to sustain yourself with cistern water.

We drink because we are thirsty.  The water of a cistern does not satisfy.  It poisons us and never delivers what we think it will. 

Not so with the Lord.  Jesus told us “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink.”  – John 7:37-38

Cheers!

A PRAYER:  Lord, through the years, I have filled in several of my own cisterns, and I occasionally dig another.  Forgive me and help us all be more discerning.

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com  

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

dis-concert-ed — March 24, 2021

dis-concert-ed

/pickleheavenpress

I was in the home of a friend who was approaching the end of his life.  It was my privilege to be with him, and to encourage, and read Scripture, and pray and sing for him. 

So, we were sitting in the kitchen facing each other, while I serenaded him with my voice and guitar.  

As I sang, I happened to spy a Texas sized roach as he scrambled forth.  This guy was brazenly bold.   It was a brightly lit inhabited room.  No scampering in the dark for this guy.

He stopped under the chair of my friend.  He then cocked his head upward and focused his attention on me as if he was listening to the concert. 

I didn’t know whether he was flattering me or needed to be flattened by me

As I launched my second song, he scampered off.  Simon Cowell could not have been more cruel.

____________

Music has always been a blessing to me, so I have tried to use it to bless others. 

And the Lord has given me a few ego inflating opportunities.  I have sung before a couple thousand at one time, had a song that I wrote recorded in Nashville, and I preached and sang in Haiti and had it broadcast by radio to the whole nation.  Those were the kind of opportunities I lived for – until I met Christ. 

Once I met Jesus, I took my guitar and laid it at His feet and told Him it was His to do with as He pleased.  He seemed to say “Go ahead and pick it up and use it for me.  Tell folks what I have done for you and what I can do for them.  And when it is all said and done, I won’t be interested in the far-flung places that you sang, or the large crowds at your concerts.  I will only want to know if you had been faithful – faithful with every opportunity – big or small.” 

At least that’s what I heard when I read Luke 16:10, “The one who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much.’”  NET Bible®

I, therefore, have tried to ever be faithful especially with the little.  These days I do several concerts each week for crowds of one – individuals who are facing their last days and need encouragement from sweet old hymns like “His Eye Is On the Sparrow” and “When We All Get to Heaven” 

My friend in the kitchen lost the use of his eyes long ago.  And he didn’t get started with Jesus till, as he says, “It was too late.”  So, he doesn’t have a storehouse of truth to rely on.  But he savors the truth filled hymns.  He ponders the words after each is sung. 

As for me, I get more pleasure from that, than from singing to a sea of unknown faces. 

In conclusion…If my friend had gotten up and exited the kitchen, leaving the roach behind to listen, I suppose I would have continued to sing.  Maybe he needed the encouragement too. 

On the other hand, I hope there aren’t any roaches in heaven. 

So, what is your “little” and what are you doing with it? 

A PRAYER: Lord I really desire to hear you say to me, “Well done Thou good and faithful servant.”  May it be so.

a song in the haze — March 25, 2020

a song in the haze

/pickleheavenpress

Her dementia was pronounced.  Most of the day she wore a blank stare, and seldom broke the silence with a word.  Her body was atrophied as well.

As a Hospice Chaplain, my job was to bring her spiritual encouragement.  (Anna, by the way, is a fictitious name but she was a very real person)

I had been a pastor for 32 years and had learned to care for the sick and dying.  I thought I knew the ropes, but then I met her and wondered, “What could I possibly do to make a difference?”

I made my first visit just as the aide was finishing with Anna.   She got her looking good and smelling sweet as a rose – but Anna didn’t like the primping.  She was hotter than a tamale. 

Nor did she appreciate my intrusion.  She said the first and only word to me I would ever hear her say – a four letter word.  OK, not the best time. I got that. 

On my second visit, she was on her bed, thrashing and groaning, obviously tormented by something in her hazy mental world. I spoke but she ignored me.  I tried again but she would not be interrupted.

I sat with my Bible in hand, perplexed as to what to do.  She wouldn’t or couldn’t listen.  I had my guitar with me.  Maybe I could at least compete with the din she was making.

As I began to croon Jesus Loves Me, her groaning started to ebb.  She even paused at times.  Wow!  I played another song and another and she seemed to take it all in.

After the concert I held her hand and prayed and I told Anna I loved her.  I left the room feeling good – like maybe I got through.

Next visit:  She was alert and peacefully laying under a sheet.  Her pretzel of a leg was propped up on the other with her foot dangling in the air. 

Once again, I grabbed the guitar and sang to her.  There was no response, but I guess it was appreciated because she didn’t groan or cuss me out. 

But during the second song, I noticed that her suspended foot was moving.  I couldn’t believe it!  It was bobbing – up and down – to the tempo of the music – in perfect time.  A metronome could not have been more accurate. 

She was really listening, even participating in the experience. I really was getting through.  Excellent.  It made me glad that I didn’t give up.  

The apostle Paul had a message for people like me.  “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”  1 Corinthians 15:58-(New American Standard Updated Version)

Paul knew of the discouragement that comes with what appears to be a futile effort – preaching to the hard hearted, or teaching the apathetic, or trusting and untrustworthy coworker.

He passed on what he had learned when he said, “be steadfast (stick in there) immovable (like a rock) always (not sometimes) abounding (with complete commitment) in the work of the Lord.” 

He gave us an incentive when he promised that our toil (extremely hard and sometimes disappointing work) would never be in vain (useless or fruitless) in the Lord. 

When we persevere in doing that which God wants us to do, good things eventually come of it. 

So, Mom: When your 2-year-old throws a tantrum, stay the course.  He needs you to be firm.

Student: You may have blown the test, but you haven’t blown the course.  The Lord got you into that school and He will get you through it.  So, work smarter and harder.  It will be worth it.

Husband: The marriage seems to be hopeless, but you can do wonders by consistently loving and serving your wife – no matter what.  It will take time, but it will not be in vain.  

Teacher: Your class seems to be incorrigible.  Give them your best, every day.  It’s what the Lord would have you to do.   Your persevering love and devotion will change them. 

When I get to heaven, I hope that Jesus will remember my attempt to be a steadfast man for Him.  I long to hear Him say, “Well done thou good and faithful servant.”   If I should hear sweet Anna chime in with an, “Amen.”  Even better!

Jesus not cheeses — October 16, 2019

Jesus not cheeses

/pickleheavenpress

james ray johnson

After years in the delicacy doldrums, I buried my teeth in the most savory, sensational pizza ever to grace a plate. And I was invited to take home a load of leftovers.  Ah, but with what?

Let me backtrack.  My roots are Irish, but I went to a school where most were of Italian heritage.  I became enculturated.  I learned a few Italian phrases (some of which I was disciplined for repeating) and I was enamored with the cuisine. 

Italian mothers staffed the cafeteria, thereby filling the halls with daily, heavenly, Roma aromas.  Friday was the exception – that was stinky fish stick day.

But I, was made to take my lunch – always and forever.  I could expect one of 3 sandwiches in my Howdy Doody lunch box: peanut butter and pickle, bologna, or Braunschweiger.  The last one I could not pronounce or digest.   

But I got a break in 8th grade.  Our little garage band was invited to perform at the school banquet.  The cafeteria ladies served up the finest, spiciest, most wonderful pizza.  Heavenly stuff!

The band followed dinner and dinner followed the band – or at least this member.  I had a tough time singing I was so stuffed. 

I learned there was a mountain of leftovers.  They offered it to me, and I wanted it – all of it, every beautiful old-world pepperoni disc and stringy piece of mozzarella – BUT – I had nothing to carry it in. 

SO, I did what I had to do.  I removed my guitar and lined the empty case with pizza.  I carefully layered in each piece with the skill of a stone mason so that no space went to waste and then I latched it shut. 

It was a solid pizza guitar – 5” thick – and really heavy to carry.  I would have assigned it to a groupie except we didn’t have any. 

I got it home, gathered my family, put the case on the kitchen table and then dramatically opened my treasure chest to the astonished crowd.  They dug in and I had a couple more myself.   

Now you may be wondering one of two things: “Why do I bother reading a blog written by such a doofus?” or “What could the point of this story possibly be?”

In answer to the second question – it’s all about Jesus. (not cheeses)

May I compare my Jesus to pizza?  Why not?  He compared Himself to bread in John 6.

there is an enticing aroma to Jesus.  

Paul wrote, “Christ also loved us and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.”  (Eph. 5:2)   He compared Jesus’ work on the cross to the sweet incense offerings of the Old Testament.   The news that someone died so that others could live – that’s unsettling – its humbling – its enticing.

An aroma directs our noses to the source of joy.   This aroma may be wafting around your work place.  That girl at the other desk is different.  She is patient when challenged and she helps others when she could be advancing herself.  She endured her chemo treatments with courage from above.  She has been changed by the grace of the Lord.  She smells a lot like Jesus.

But how miserable to smell, and yet not be permitted to partake.  Not a problem.

we are invited to taste

The Psalmist wrote, “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”  (Psalm 34:8). David invites us all to experience the Lord – to feast on His mercy and grace – to personally know and enjoy Him.  Not a simple sample, but a banquet of His goodness. 

Last night my wife and I went to say our evening prayers.  I asked how I might pray for her.  She thought about it and said, “I really don’t have any concerns at the moment”.  Neither did I.  The Lord has been so ridiculously good to us.  We could think of nothing but to use our prayer to thank Him.  We have tasted and found the Lord to be extremely good.

And while Jesus completely satisfies, we will nevertheless long for more.  As the author of the hymn wrote, “More, more about Jesus; More of His saving fullness see, More of His love who died for me.”  When we have truly connected with Jesus, we never tire of Him.  

So, dig in and enjoy!

But remember, others are still suffering from the Braunschweiger blahs while Jesus offers so much more.  He said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come so that they may have life and may have it abundantly.”  John 10:10

If you are fortunate enough to know Jesus, open that guitar case to your friends and family.

Bible citations from NET Bible ®