Pickle Heaven Press-James R. Johnson

something to help you laugh and think about life with Christ

Tag: Jesus

stay clear of the camo! — February 14, 2024

stay clear of the camo!

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I am fairly cheap so I bought the cheapest wallet I could find – one made of nylon and Velcro.  It was inexpensive cause it had a camouflage design to it.  Which is why I can’t find it when I need it. (Although neither can a pickpocket!)

The sight of it is somewhat embarrassing, but so is the sound.  When I go to remove my credit card to pay the waiter – the rip of the Velcro attracts a lot of unwanted attention.

I exaggerate a little, but I really do have such a wallet. (I wish I could find it.)

The point of camouflage is to disguise or to cause something or someone to blend into their surroundings. 

It brings to mind a guy who was a camo Christian.  He is mentioned in all four Gospels, but many don’t know of him because he was camouflaged.

Joseph of Arimathea was a good man who awaited God’s Messiah.  So, when he heard Jesus preach and saw His miracles – he believed.  He counted himself as a genuine disciple of Jesus. (Matthew 27:57)

However, he was also a member of the Sanhedrin, which was the ruling council of Israel.  Jesus was a controversial figure, and to publicly identify with him might jeopardize Joseph’s position.  

So, he said nothing and allowed others to assume he was loyal to the status quo.  The Scripture referred to him as a “secret” disciple. (John 19:38). 

The word secret is translated from the Greek word “krupto” which means to conceal or hide, which is what Joseph did with his faith.  It is the Greek word from where our English word “crypt” comes from.  A crypt is where the dead are placed.  Ironically, Joseph’s faith was a dead and unproductive faith. (James 2:26)

He evidently was absent the day that Jesus said, “You are the light of the world.  A city located on a hill cannot be hidden…let your light shine before people, so that they can see your good deeds and give honor to your Father in heaven.   (Matthew 5:14 & 16)

It was ironic that while I was writing this post, I learned of a very unsecret disciple.  Anthony is the father of a friend of mine and he deeply loves Jesus and enjoys every opportunity to speak of Him. 

He was employed by a car dealer in Wichita Falls, TX.  They had a problem with his faith and therefore told him, “From this moment forward, you are to cease and desist from uttering one word, spoken or in print, which is religious in nature.” 

He did his best to honor his employer while remaining loyal to Jesus.  But after 25 years of distinguished service, management terminated him.  They cited 3 instances where he mentioned the words, “King Solomon, Sunday School, and God.”

Before the meeting concluded he said, “As my last official act as an employee of this company, and as a longtime employee of this dealership, may I pray for you?”  After a couple of seconds of looking bewildered, one of them said, “I would love that.”  And so, I asked God to help them remember that Jesus is the safe harbor to whom they can run and in whom they can trust.”

Such courage – the kind that eventually gripped Joseph. 

Jesus was condemned by Joseph’s peers on the Sanhedrin – but without his consent. (Luke 23:51) Once Jesus had been crucified, Joseph brazenly asked Pilate for His body and had Him buried in his own tomb.  (Matthew 57:57-60)   The crucifixion of His Lord awakened and emboldened him. 

We remember him today not for his camo, but for his courage. 

Our culture wants to put the cuffs on we who believe.  But Jesus is the only way to heaven (John 14:6) and we must courageously proclaim it.  It was difficult for Joseph and costly to Anthony, but they did it anyway.  So shall we!  

A PRAYER: May those around us know that we love Jesus and that You, Lord are the only hope for this world. 

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

Scripture references are from the NETBible ®

honor rolling — January 31, 2024

honor rolling

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General Rommel, also known as the Desert Fox, surrendered his famous German Afrika Corp in WWII.  150,000 men were taken prisoner at that time and transported to the U.S.

The Geneva Convention required that prisoners of war be moved to a climate similar to the one where they were captured.  Somebody figured that the Sahara and Texas have a lot in common – so they shipped them all to the Lone Star State.

There were 200 of them quartered at General Harmon Hospital in Longview, Texas (now the campus of LeTourneau University).  They served there as hospital orderlies.

With only minimal security the prisoners were able to sneak out of camp and wander into the surrounding neighborhood.  Fortunately, the community around the hospital was uncommonly hospitable. 

My friend Jim Armstrong was a child, living in Longview during the war.  This is what he remembers.

A prisoner politely knocked on the door.  The Mrs. appeared and was flabbergasted and intimidated.   The prison garb revealed who the man was and where he belonged. 

He didn’t know English, so he gestured, moving his hand to his mouth several times.  He seemed to be asking for food.   This was puzzling!  He was fed well at the hospital.  In fact, the locals called the place, “The Fritz Ritz.”   

But the man was evidently tired of – all the mess – at the mess hall.  He longed for a tasty, lovingly crafted, homemade meal.  Well, she was a Christian and felt it was her duty to provide it.

So, he was invited in to dine with the family.   After dinner he expressed his appreciation by clicking his heels, bowing, and saying Donke Shoen – and then he left to slip back into camp.

This happened multiple times with a number of Longview families. 

Ironically, most of those families had menfolk who at that very time were risking their lives in Europe to stop the Germans in their world conquest.  Yet the folks back home looked upon those German men with compassion and invited them in. They honored their enemies!  

This reminds me of the words the Lord gave us in 1 Peter 2:17. He said, “Honor all people…”  NET Bible ®

I initially read that, and my mind scrambled to explain it away – because – well, I didn’t like it.    It seemed to say that a Christian is obligated to honor and respect all people.

The problem must be in the translation.  Maybe I should look at the New American Standard.  Hmm it says, “Honor all people.”  What about the NIV, “Show proper respect to everyone.”   Well certainly, the old King James will get it right.  Oops – it says, “Honour all men.”  KJV

Surely this cannot include that guy whose vote cancels out mine on election day!  It must not apply to those whose moral values I question.  I just know it can’t be speaking of those who despise me because of my faith. 

Yes, the Scripture tells me that I am to honor even those.  There is no getting around it.  The believer ought to make every effort to respect and honor every person.

But why? Probably because we are all created in the image of God.  We bear His likeness.  We are interrelated as family – sharing the same divine DNA.

And you know, thinking in terms of family, makes it seem doable. Most of us have learned to tolerate and get along with sullen siblings and combative cousins and such who may challenge us. 

We may disagree on politics, or religion, or schooling philosophy or even our favorite singer on The Voice.  And yet we make a super extra effort to get along and to honor them simply because they are family.

Unfortunately – we dwell in a culture where civility has become a casualty and respect is disrespected!   It hasn’t always been and isn’t fated to always be.  And by God’s grace maybe we can do our part to get the honor rolling!

A PRAYER: Lord this is a tough one.  Help us get tough and do it.

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

manipulated! — January 19, 2024

manipulated!

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Oh Wow! I have been manipulated by a video game. The app is called Royal Match, but it is one of many apps that are similarly designed.

It begins with an enticing drop-down ad featuring lots of happy users.  The download is free and there are no ad interruptions, plus you can play offline.  It’s ideal.  It appears that there are no strings attached. 

So, I download and play. The developer made it so easy that even someone over age 12 can succeed. The gains are lavish. Scores of coins and bonuses are collecting, and the rush of success feels good. No downside, so I play on.

At certain points, they pit me against other players.  Peer pressure pervades.  At other times I’m forced to play against the clock.  The frantic pace keeps me engaged. 

I eventually reach a point where I’m stuck.  I need to spend some actual cash to get that extra boost to beat the next level.  This was not disclosed in the promo.   If I don’t buy, I’m warned that I’ll lose what I already have.  Pressure prompts my purchase. 

When I lose successive times, I’m forced into a 30-minute time-out.  Like a junkie, I keep checking the clock – is it time yet?

When I first picked it up, I could play and set it aside.  But now every unscheduled moment I work the app.  Sometimes I wake up at 3 a.m. and seek my device. 

I have to play – I must.  I’m in too deep to stop.

______________________

Honestly, it’s as if the app developer was the devil himself.  No, there is nothing evil about the game, but the way it manipulates me is so like the devil.

His essential work is to tempt us, by that which draws us away from God.  He is so identified with temptation that Scripture dubs him, “the tempter.”  (Matthew 4:3) 

Those of us that are planted on the rocky soil tend to fall away when tempted.  (Luke 8:13) Those planted in the good soil don’t always fare so well either.

Satan is relentless in his quest.  Consider his attack on Jesus, “When the devil had completed every temptation, he departed from him until a more opportune time.”  (Luke 4:13)  Satan levied one unsuccessful attempt after another, until he punted and waited for a more opportune time.  

Honestly, it is uncanny how the manipulations of a video game, reflect the devil’s methods.

You have heard of William the Conqueror.  Time to meet William the Loser!   He also responded to a drop-down ad – one featuring an alluring young lady.   It wouldn’t hurt to click the image.  His wife didn’t know the password on his phone.  It’s ideal – no strings attached. 

He clicked and considered. She was lovely. He was stirred.  It made him feel good.   And it was so easy – no downside.   So, he chose to play on. 

But now they want money to see more.  If he doesn’t buy, he will lose the discount offer.  The pressure is on, so he makes his purchase. 

William’s wife enters the den.  He shutters the app.  It seems like an eternity as he waits on her exit.

When he saw that first image, he could look, and then set it aside.  But now every unscheduled moment he craves more.  Even at 3 a.m.  His life is unraveling, but he keeps on playing.  He’s in too deep to quit.

OK – with the gaming app, there really isn’t a terrible dark downside.  But with sin, the consequences are devastating. 

We may not struggle with William’s temptation, but the devil also knows our personal weaknesses and relentlessly seeks to exploit them.   So, here’s what we can do to counter his assaults.

1. “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.”  (Luke 22:40)

2. “Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7)

3. Be careful with gaming apps that train us to give into temptation. 

A PRAYER: Lord it often feels like we are in over our heads.  Deliver us from evil. 

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. Scripture references are from the NETBible

in the nick of time — December 20, 2023

in the nick of time

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The pastor phoned in an order for a special Christmas banner for the sanctuary.  It was to say, “Unto Mary, Jesus was born!”  He also specified the size.  But the salesman evidently misunderstood him, because the finished banner read, “Unto Mary, Jesus was born – five feet long and three feet wide.”

Wow – that’s a big baby!  

Most homes prepare for the birth of a child.  But did you know that the Father in Heaven also prepared our world for the birth of His Son.

Galatians 4:5 says, “But when the fulness of the time came, God sent forth His Son…” * Jesus was sent to us at a precise and perfect time.

It was a time when….

– the world spoke a common language.

Since the tower of Babel, the world had been segmented by a multitude of distinct cultures and languages.  Nations went centuries without being able to talk to each other.   But in the 4th century B.C., Alexander the Great conquered the world and infused the Greek language into it.  By the time of Jesus, Greek was the trade language of every nation.  It became the common bridge through which to speak the Gospel.

– the world was at peace.

 The world had been ruled by rogue empires.  First Egypt, then Assyria, then Babylon and on and on. The constant instability and lawlessness would have made it difficult for the messengers of Christ to do their job.   

But that changed when Rome came into power. For almost 500 years, the Roman legal system protected her people and the Roman Legion kept the peace.  This peace and stability gave the Gospel messengers freedom to journey forth and preach.

– travel was superior.

 Prior to the Romans, roads were narrow dirt paths, often impassable when the weather was bad.  They followed the easiest route – often circuitous paths.  But Rome paved the roads, so well in fact some are still in use today.  Their roads were built with efficiency in mind. 

They went through mountains and over rivers and marshes.  There were 51,000 miles of paved highways in the empire.  People like Paul were enabled to move freely and quickly from place-to-place sharing the gospel – assisted by Roman roads.

– the world was spiritually prepared.

The ancient world was bursting with idols and pagan religions while the truth of the Yahweh was bottled up in Israel.  Several centuries before Christ, Israel was invaded by Assyria and then Babylon.  The Jews were forcibly dispersed throughout the world. 

Consequently, by the first century every major city of the world had a synagogue where faithful Jews would meet for worship on the Sabbath.  These Jewish folks created monotheistic oases in the desert of polytheism.   Through them, the world was finally made aware of the holy God of Israel, and the promise of a Messiah. 

Paul wisely used that network of synagogues across Asia, Europe and the Middle East to proclaim Jesus.

God truly sent His Son in the fullness of time. 

If it had been earlier, the message would have been bottled up and lost.  There would be no common language with which to communicate it, no peace and protection for those who carried the message, no superhighways to facilitate the travel of its messengers, and the spiritual soil would not have been plowed and made ready for the seeds of the Gospel,

On the other hand – had the Father sent His Son much later – the advantages of the first century would have been lost, for after the Fall of the Roman Empire the world reverted into chaos until the modern era.

God’s timing was impeccable – He sent the Lord Jesus in the fullness of time.

Makes me wonder – Since God did such a great job with the timing of the birth of Christ, why we don’t trust Him with the everyday issues of time that affect us? 

A PRAYER: Lord of time, help us to trust you with our schedules.

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

*Scripture reference is from the New American Stand Version

from omelets to hair dye — December 8, 2023

from omelets to hair dye

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We were seated at a diner as we looked over the breakfast menu. The Grecian Omelet caught my dad’s eye – only – when he ordered, he absentmindedly asked for a hair product – Grecian Formula. My mom almost fell out of her seat laughing. Fortunately, the waitress brought him an omelet instead of a bowl of hair dye.

Ah, but I am my father’s son, subject to the same silliness.  When I send my order up to God, in prayer, I don’t always know what I am truly asking for.  I may think I do, but maybe I don’t. 

“Is what I seek the best for me?   Is it the right time to have it?  Am I mature enough to receive it? Am I even asking for the right thing?”  So many questions that befuddle me.

Fortunately, God knows me well and Romans 8:26, tells me He provided some help.  It says, “…the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how we should pray, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings.” NETBible ®

That’s encouraging!  The third blessed member of the Trinity is aware of how weak we are when it comes to our prayers.  He understands that we may not know how we should specifically pray.  So, He helps us! 

He intercedes so that the need is clearly made known in heaven and is correctly met on earth.  The verbs are in the present tense reminding us that this intercession happens on a 24/7 basis. 

The Holy Spirit is the one who says, “Father, he is asking for hair dye, but what he really wants and needs is some eggs.”

So maybe we should just say, “Well Holy Spirit why don’t you just order for me?”  I suppose He could, but prayer is one of those exercises that draws us near to God who treasures our prayers.

Consider Luke 11:9 where Jesus urges us to pray. He said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.”  NETBible ®

It’s like so many other issues in our walk with God.  We are often expected to take the first steps by faith, and then the Lord steps in and helps us accomplish what we could never complete without Him. 

Prayer is actually an underappreciated privilege.

With the Hindus, only the Brahmins, the highest class, are permitted to pray to their god.   A person could be a billionaire, or a high-powered political leader, but if not a Brahmin, they are forbidden to pray. They must seek a Brahmin, even a boy Brahmin to pray their prayers for them.

Can you imagine that?  Suppose it is the middle of the night, and your infant son has a raging fever, and you desperately want to reach out to heaven for help – but you are not allowed because you are not of the Brahmin caste.

How blessed is the Christian.  Every one of us has full access to the throne of grace.  We have freedom at any time or place to personally approach God in prayer. 

The Muslim may not pray until he learns how to do it in Arabic, for his god hears only prayers offered in what Muslims believe to be the holy language.”    

Can you imagine a new convert to Islam from Latin America.  He won’t be able to pray until he learns Arabic.  He may need to pray for help in order to learn Arabic – so that he can pray in Arabic – but he is stuck.   

How wondrous it is, that all over the world at this very moment, people of every race and culture are praying in their own tongue and our omniscient and gracious God is gathering those prayers in and answering them accordingly. 

God has made praying easy and as rewarding as possible.  So why not pray? 

A Prayer:  Lord I pray that I might pray. Help me to sweep away the self-imposed obstacles that keep me from it.

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

does God answer football prayers? — September 27, 2023

does God answer football prayers?

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Football and prayer go together like queso and chips from a concession stand.
Prayer happens in the locker room, on the field, pre and postgame, on one knee and sometimes from beneath a dogpile.   There are pleas for victory and penitential prayers for the defeated.

The Supreme Court has even made prayer at a football game a constitutional right.   But the question is this – Does God answer football prayers? 

I know of a situation that makes me wonder. 

I have a young friend who is an all-round athlete – a sophomore playing on the Varsity team.   Friday night rolled around, and he was a starter.  He played the first quarter like a seasoned pro – a stand-out for sure. 

His daddy was in the stands, and like his son, he is deeply devoted to the Lord.  He says he was burdened to pray from kickoff to the final whistle.

But he was confused.  The team suffered an embarrassing defeat.  Maybe it was because his son didn’t play the second, or third or even the fourth quarter.

Did the boy aggravate the coach?  Was he injured? Why didn’t the coach send him back in?

There was murmuring in stands.  Dad cornered the coach post-game and asked.   “Why did my boy sit out the last three quarters?  The coach was stunned.  He seemed to just realize what he had done.  He said, “I don’t know. I don’t know why I didn’t play him.”

He was genuinely upset over his oversight.  He called the boy that night at mid-night to apologize.  Wow a coach with an apology – unheard of!

But shortly after the call, the boy began running a fever of 103.  He was really sick.  The doctor eventually diagnosed him with mono.

Mono is a disease that enlarges your spleen, and you don’t want to be playing football when your spleen is enlarged.  A good bump would cause it to rupture resulting in internal hemorrhaging.  10% of people die when that happens.

That daddy prayed.  He expected God to use the boy to save the game.  But God took the boy out of the game to save his life.

Our God is omniscient.  He knows what was, what is, what will be and even what could be.  He has promised to answer our prayers, most often by giving us exactly what we pray for. 

But sometimes He says no, because it is wiser and better for us to do so.

Moses had been chosen by God to confront Pharaoh.  But Moses was content to be a nobody shepherd in the desert.  So, He prayed, “O my Lord, please send anyone else whom you wish to send!”  – Exodus 4:13. In other words, “I don’t wanna go to Egypt.  Would you please send someone else?”


 The Lord said no, and Moses said, “OK if I have to.”  So, what if God had given Moses exactly what he had asked.  The Hebrew people may still be in Egypt cranking out bricks for pyramids.

The prophet Elijah was afraid, exhausted, and hungry when he prayed, “I’ve had enough! Now, O Lord, take my life.” –  1 Kings 19:4. The Lord brushed aside his pitiful plea and instead provided food, rest and encouragement.  And the prophet was restored.  But what if God had given the man exactly what he had asked for?

Jesus was in great anguish when He prayed at Gethsemane, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me. Yet not my will but yours be done.” – Luke 22:42. The Father said “No, Jesus. the cross is the only way forward.”  Where would we be if God had allowed that cup to pass from the Savior?

Keep praying.  God still answers.  But be comforted when He does not answer exactly as you have prayed.  It indicates that His love for you is bigger than your prayers.

A PRAYER: Lord help us to trust Your wisdom when our prayers aren’t answered in the way we expect.

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

Scripture passages are from the NETBible ®

logging into heaven — October 26, 2022

logging into heaven

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I was present to see the birth of the digital password.  It was so easy back then.  The password I created for my first PC was, “password.” 

Not so easy now.  To log on I need to supply a username and a password with at least 8 characters, using upper and lower case letters, a number, a symbol and maybe a rude exclamation or two!

They are so complicated that I type in my password from my cheat sheet and still get it wrong.   I pretty much hate cusswords, I mean passwords.

So, I had a terrible thought the other day – What if heaven is password protected?

Suppose I am out mowing the lawn when the big one hits.  (I should have listened to my wife and gotten a riding lawnmower.)  Instantaneously I find myself standing outside the gate of heaven at a kiosk with a digital device. 

I was in a cloud needing to access the cloud.

“Oh, OK I guess I need to log in.  Let’s see um: User name?  Jimj worked for me on earth, but wait.  Revelation 2:17 says that we will get a new name in heaven.   Oh no!  Well – what is it?  I guess I’ll just try Jimj@paradise.com.

Password?   What? – I need a password to get in?  Wow – Maybe it’s that special word the soldiers of Ephraim used to cross the Jordan in Judges 12.  What was it?  ‘Shibboleth.'” or “Sibboleth?

Oh no – what if this is one of those deals where the password has got to be changed every 3 months – for eternity?  How many is that?

OK let me hit enter.  Click: ACCESS DENIED.  I’ll change the lower to an upper case: ACCESS DENIED.  Let me add the chapter and verse reference from Judges: ACCESS DENIED.  What if I throw in a pound sign?  ACCESS DENIED.” 

After 4 attempts, a terrifying, heart stopping, message flashes across the screen.  ‘Account is locked.’  And I begin to uncontrollably sob until I am told that there is no crying in heaven.”

Back to reality:  There actually is a password that we need to get into heaven.  It isn’t Baptist or Catholic or Methodist and it can’t be Presbyterian cause it has more than 8 characters.  It isn’t goodguy or churchman, or altarboy or piouspal.

It’s Jesus.  Just Jesus with a capital J and Jesus alone.   Nothing added – nothing taken away. 

Peter understood this.  He had been involved in the healing of a lame man and was therefore called on the carpet by the same crew that had crucified Jesus a couple of months earlier.  They demanded, “By what name did you do this?”

Peter answered,  “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today for a good deed done to a sick man—by what means this man was healed—  let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, this man stands before you healthy.”  Oh, Jesus is responsible you say!

Peter went on, “This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, that has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among people by which we must be saved.”   – Acts 4:7-12 NETBible.com

His name is Jesus and there is no other by which we can be saved.

Jesus is the name that opens the doors of heaven for we who have placed our faith in Him.  We acknowledge Him as the Son of God whose death on the cross, covered our debt of sin and gave us peace with God. 

It is Jesus, and it’s OK to share this password with others!

A PRAYER: Thank you Father for making the entry to heaven so simple – just Jesus. 

This has been Jim Johnson with pickleheavenpress.com

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

the proposal — April 28, 2021

the proposal

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We had been married less than a month but were serious about succeeding so we went to away to a weekend seminar.  We lodged in the basement of some friends, on the floor, in sleeping bags.  

In the middle of the night I began to stir.  I was laying on my back at the time.  So, I opened my eyes, and was startled to find my new bride’s face a ½ inch away from mine – nose to nose. 

I jumped up with my heart hammering away.  I asked, “What in the world are you doing?” She said “I was afraid that you died, and I was checking to see if you were still breathing.   

___________

I guess she didn’t want to lose a good thing!   And marriage is a good thing.  It provides mutual blessing for a couple, and a wondrous pathway towards understanding God.

Did you know that Jesus presented Himself as a bridegroom multiple times in the Scripture?  (Matthew 9:14-17, 22:1-14; 25:1-12; John 3:29)

The collective church is even referred to as His bride and our future with Him in heaven is described as a marriage.  For instance, “Let us rejoice and exult and give him glory, because the wedding celebration of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.” – Revelation 19:7

Thinking of our relationship with the Lord in this way has helped me work through some difficult theological issues such as, “What does it mean to receive Christ as Savior?”

John 1:12 says, “But to all who have received him—those who believe in his name—he has given the right to become God’s children.”  These two words “believe” and “receive” tell us how to become God’s child.  They are synonymous and yet distinctly different. 

To believe in His name is to accept as fact that Jesus is the divine Son of God who ably bore the penalty on the cross for our sin, and then rose again.  

OK but what does it mean, “to receive Him?”  It seems like it should read, “to receive the gift He offered” but it is focused on receiving “Him” instead. 

Let’s process that question through a proposal grid.

When I decided to invite Sharie to be my wife.   I took her on an outing to a local park.   She thought me weird because I was wearing a big overcoat on a warm spring day.  This was to conceal the box that held a beautiful engagement ring – the most expensive gift I had ever purchased.  

I was excited and had every intention of giving it to her that day.  I did not expect her to pay me for it or make a pledge to never hurt me in the future, or to commit herself to at least 30 years of marriage to merit it. 

But I did have expectations.  I hoped she would say, “Yes I will marry you!”   And in that yes, would be an implied commitment to be with me, and to dwell with me and to do life together.  Basically, I wanted her to receive me – to accept and embrace and commit herself to me. 

But what if I should offer the ring, only for her to say, “Thanks!  I’ll take the ring but forget about a mushy commitment.  See ya!”

Fortunately, she wanted my ring and the me that went along with it! 

I think of Jesus’ invitation in a similar way.  When it comes to salvation, He doesn’t expect us to merit it or to earn it or to qualify through a commitment to be perfect.  He knows how feeble we are.

But He does expect to hear us say, “Yes, Jesus I will be yours.  I will go with you and dwell with you and be with you.”   In other words, “I want the ring and I am committing myself to the mushy relationship that goes with it.” 

There most certainly is a commitment involved – not to an ideal, or a moral code or an organized religious body but to the marvelous person of Jesus. 

So, think of Jesus as being on one knee before you, cradling in his hands a jewelry box containing the gift of heaven, while on His lips are the words, “Will you receive Me?”  

So – will you? 

A PRAYER: Lord I long for more than dry religion.  Give me a relationship with You. 

Scripture references are from the NET Bible®

Jesus, Shepherd of Sheep — October 24, 2020

Jesus, Shepherd of Sheep

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A song exploring the threefold shepherding ministry Christ has to His church. Written and recorded by Jim Johnson. Vocals by Bethany Bergman

a wacky wedding — May 6, 2020

a wacky wedding

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I have some dear friends who think they were married to each other – but they weren’t totally sure.

They met with their minister well in advance to plan out the wedding service.   It was decided that they would compose their own wedding vows.  Then with doe-eyed affection, they would recite them by memory to each other during the ceremony. 

That was the plan, but wedding prep can be hectic, and the vows didn’t get written.  So, they punted and opted for the minister to do the traditional, “Billy Bob, dost thou take Sally Jean as thine wedded wife?…” 

Well….they are not sure who dropped the ball.  They didn’t realize it until they were cutting the cake, that they had gone through the entire ceremony without exchanging vows of any kind.

Being in a church, at the altar, amid the flowers, amid maidens in pastel, does not make a couple married.  It’s the commitment they make to each other that seals it.   

The same can be said of being a Christian.  I sometimes encounter folks who identify as Christians.  Perhaps someone was raised in church.   But as an adult, he has no association with a church, he knows little about the Bible, and he prays only when the Cowboys are down in the fourth quarter.

He identifies as a Christian because that’s what he knows best, but having been associated with a church does not necessarily make him a Christian.  In fact, his limited association may even work against him. 

Researchers are looking for a vaccine at this time that will protect us against Covid-19.  This vaccine will be made of a small bit of the virus which they will inoculate us with.  The vaccine will essentially trick our immune systems into perceiving that we have had the disease already, so that we will not get the full-blown package. 

I meet people all the time who have been inoculated by their past church experiences.  They got just enough of Christianity to keep them from getting the whole thing.  This was certainly true of me at one time.

What is lacking is the commitment.

Now you may argue that the Bible says salvation is a gift.  And it does.  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.  NET Bible ®   

The Gospel is about receiving God’s gift of salvation. There is nothing we can do to earn or deserve it.   But what does the word “receive” imply?

Suppose a guy gets down on one knee before his girl and opens a jewelry box with a beautiful diamond engagement ring.  Then he says, “It’s yours for 3 easy payments of $29.99 and if you act now, I’ll double the offer and pitch in a wedding band – just pay for shipping.”  

Ridiculous.  An engagement ring is a gift – a priceless, pure and simple gift with no obligation -except for one.  He expects to hear her say, “I love you and I will change the course of my life to merge with yours.  I want to be with you.  Yes, I will marry you.”   

And in a similar way, when we “receive” the gift that Christ offers, He expects to have our hearts.  He expects that we will want to be with Him. 

Suppose that girl said to her suitor, “The ring is beautiful. I think I’ll keep it.  But no, your nose is crooked, I don’t want be with you.” 

The ring box is snapped shut and into his pocket it goes.   He dusts himself off and moves on. 

Yeah, I don’t imagine a girl would ever do that, but it is a frequent occurrence with Jesus.  “Yes Jesus, I’ll take your gift of salvation, but I don’t really want to do life with you.” 

When that happens, I am pretty sure that the box goes back in His pocket and He dusts himself off and moves on. 

This is your opportunity now to do it right – to say to Jesus, “Yes I will receive the gift you offer.  I will change the course of my life to merge with yours because I want to be with you.”

Please don’t wait until you are cutting the cake to realize that this was a commitment that was never made.