Pickle Heaven Press-James R. Johnson

something to help you laugh and think about life with Christ

Tag: John 15:5

mortarfied — June 1, 2022

mortarfied

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Have you ever taken on more than you can handle?  I sure have! 

I ran into the lumber store to get a small bag of mortar.  They don’t come in small bags, so I grabbed a 60 lb. behemoth.  A shopping cart would have been helpful, but I was in a hurry.

I got in line to check out.  The guy in front of me had two pushcarts full of lumber.  Meanwhile, my load kept trying to find the floor.

8 grueling minutes later I made it to the register.  With one arm, I somehow slipped my wallet and charge card out and signed my name on the device. The arm with the mortar went numb.

The cashier then asked if there would be anything else.  I said, “Well could you put this in one of those plastic bags for me?   She looked at me in disbelief and sadly nodded “no.”

I should have gotten a cart – I know, but I have always been a stubborn do-it-all-yourself kind of guy.  I don’t need a person or a buggy to lighten my load.  I’m all that I need.

This goofiness even slips into my relationship with God at times.  When a tough problem comes, I YouTube it to death and then work harder and longer until it’s resolved. 

I could have cited the apostle Paul as my example.  He admitted in 2 Thessalonians 3:8, “In toil and drudgery we worked night and day in order not to burden any of you.”

He sowed Gospel seeds during the day and sewed tents by night.  His night gig produced income so that he could be financially self-sufficient as a minister.  Paul seems like the poster child for people like me. 

BUT, I did a concordance search on that phrase “night and day” and I found that Paul was also busy doing something else.  He wrote to Timothy, “I remember you in my prayers as I do constantly night and day.”  – 2 Timothy 1:3

It was his habit to pray night and day, reaching out to God, realizing that his strenuous and best efforts in ministry were less than sufficient to get the job done.

After all, it was Jesus who said, “Apart from me, you can accomplish nothing.” – John 15:5

OK, but how does our effort interface with the power of God our behalf?

Consider this.  I was a sophomore in high school trying out for the varsity football team.   The coach had us doing a drill where one blocker, had to fend off one tackler, and do it well enough to let a running back get by. 

It was my turn, and I trembled as I faced an all-city senior.  My 165 lbs. wasn’t going to be enough to block his 260.  

The coach said “go” and I exploded into my opponent – which turned out to be a dud.  He stood me up and stopped me flat. 

The running back, however, did not hesitate.  He got behind me, put his head in my back and added his strength to mine without missing a step.  He blasted us both out of the way and I had succeeded.  The guy had been blocked.

I could not have done it without that auxiliary power that was added to mine.  And yet I was also crucial to the plan.  If I had not been doing my part, the back would have gotten nailed. 

So it is with God.  We have our responsibilities in this life, and we need to give them our very best effort while at the same time we reach out to the Lord.  We seek His infusion of strength and wisdom and at times His direct intervention for success.

The mortar to this story – – I mean – – moral to this story is this.  “Work hard – pray hard.”  Day and night if you must.

A PRAYER: Lord open my eyes to those times when I am straining to do what you want to do for me. 

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com.

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

Scripture references are from the NETBible ®

mortified

Have you ever taken on more than you can handle?  I sure have! 

I ran into the lumber store to get a small bag of mortar.  They don’t come in small bags, so I grabbed a 60 lb. behemoth.  A shopping cart would have been helpful, but I was in a hurry.

I got in line to check out.  The guy in front of me had two pushcarts full of lumber.  Meanwhile, my load kept trying to find the floor.

8 grueling minutes later I made it to the register.  With one arm, I somehow slipped my wallet and charge card out and signed my name on the device. The arm with the mortar went numb.

The cashier then asked if there would be anything else.  I said, “Well could you put this in one of those plastic bags for me?   She looked at me in disbelief and sadly nodded “no.”

I should have gotten a cart – I know, but I have always been a stubborn do-it-all-yourself kind of guy.  I don’t need a person or a buggy to lighten my load.  I’m all that I need.

This goofiness even slips into my relationship with God at times.  When a tough problem comes, I YouTube it to death and then work harder and longer until it’s resolved. 

I could have cited the apostle Paul as my example.  He admitted in 2 Thessalonians 3:8, “In toil and drudgery we worked night and day in order not to burden any of you.”

He sowed Gospel seeds during the day and sewed tents by night.  His night gig produced income so that he could be financially self-sufficient as a minister.  Paul seems like the poster child for people like me. 

BUT, I did a concordance search on that phrase “night and day” and I found that Paul was also busy doing something else.  He wrote to Timothy, “I remember you in my prayers as I do constantly night and day.”  – 2 Timothy 1:3

It was his habit to pray night and day, reaching out to God, realizing that his strenuous and best efforts in ministry were less than sufficient to get the job done.

After all, it was Jesus who said, “Apart from me, you can accomplish nothing.” – John 15:5

OK, but how does our effort interface with the power of God our behalf?

Consider this.  I was a sophomore in high school trying out for the varsity football team.   The coach had us doing a drill where one blocker, had to fend off one tackler, and do it well enough to let a running back get by. 

It was my turn, and I trembled as I faced an all-city senior.  My 165 lbs. wasn’t going to be enough to block his 260.  

The coach said “go” and I exploded into my opponent – which turned out to be a dud.  He stood me up and stopped me flat. 

The running back, however, did not hesitate.  He got behind me, put his head in my back and added his strength to mine without missing a step.  He blasted us both out of the way and I had succeeded.  The guy had been blocked.

I could not have done it without that auxiliary power that was added to mine.  And yet I was also crucial to the plan.  If I had not been doing my part, the back would have gotten nailed. 

So it is with God.  We have our responsibilities in this life, and we need to give them our very best effort while at the same time we reach out to the Lord.  We seek His infusion of strength and wisdom and at times His direct intervention for success.

The mortar to this story – – I mean – – moral to this story is this.  “Work hard – pray hard.”  Day and night if you must.

A PRAYER: Lord open my eyes to those times when I am straining to do what you want to do for me. 

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com.

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

Scripture references are from the NETBible ®

fik it daddy — June 2, 2021

fik it daddy

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audio version

My boy learned that I was a handy man.   The toddler would run in the room and hold up a Lego car that had crumbled in his hand and say, “Fik it daddy!”   So, I did.  At other times the fix would require a screw or some glue, but I always managed to “fik it” for him.

All of my kids looked to me to be a fixer.  The third-grade class shunned my daughter – the new kid.  I sent her to school the next day with treats to share with her class.  Crisis averted. 

My son K.C. acquired a car that required lots of attention.  I believe that he and I replaced twice as many parts as the car actually had.  But dad was there to “fik it” for him.

I was famous for fixing with my kids, but the challenges became more complicated as they grew older.   

K.C. has a darling little 6-year-old girl who is facing open heart surgery.  They will break the sternum of my granddaughter which breaks my heart.  It was a horribly tough decision for mom and dad to make, but the surgeon says it’s necessary to seal and heal the hole in her heart.  They are stressed but intent on trusting God. 

As for me, I just want to “fik it.”  I want to fix it more than anything I have ever fixed.  I want to find a way around it – a way to address the problem without doing the surgery.  But, it’s just not possible says the doc. 

It’s a helpless feeling to be a fixer, who is unable to fix.

And yet it is not a new experience for me.

Many years ago, I worked as a maintenance man in an apartment complex.  I was tasked with installing a new dish washer.  I pulled the old one out and slipped the new one into place. 

I still needed to connect the machine to the water supply.  I lay on the floor and reached underneath it with my crescent wrench to the very back of the unit.  It was an awkward stretch.

I labored and I sweat over it for a good ten minutes.  I paused to rest and then gave it several more frustrating minutes.  It didn’t happen.  I wanted to swear but I didn’t.  (OK I might have thought a word or two) 

I stopped and lay flat on the floor in exasperation really close to tears. 

I prayed – sort of.  I reminded God that I had a job to do.  There was no one else to do it.  But it wasn’t happening

And right then He brought to my mind something I had read in my devotional time the night before.   Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me—and I in him—bears much fruit because apart from me you can accomplish nothing.” – John 15:5

It was that last part that parted my skull, “apart from me you can accomplish nothing.”

I thought, “Nothing?  Not even making a water connection?”  He whispered, “Not even that.” 

So, I asked the Lord to help this humbled helpless fixer.

With a new attitude and my divine plumber’s helper, I picked up the crescent wrench (which I had previously thrown across the room) and went back to work.  

And I, or should I say we – succeeded on the very first attempt. 

Well this situation with my granddaughter is far more beyond my control than was the dishwasher.  It is not beyond His, however. 

So, my wife and I have been praying for months now in preparation for the surgery.  It is proper that we do.  John the apostle wrote this in his third epistle, “I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, just as it is well with your soul.”  (vrs. 2)

So, encouraging!  John prayed for the health of those he loved – and so do we.

In fact, tonight, when my wife and I pray together again, we will say to our all-powerful and incredibly gracious Father in heaven, “Fik it Daddy!”

A PRAYER: “Daddy, you are always there when life breaks down.  Remind us to pray when we think we can fix it without you.”

All Scripture References from the NET Bible ®

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