Pickle Heaven Press-James R. Johnson

something to help you laugh and think about life with Christ

Tag: prayer

undistracted — September 4, 2024

undistracted

/pickleheavenpress

I was a pastor and regarded by some as a paragon of prayer.  Truth is, I am easily distracted, especially when I pray.  I suspect that I have Attention Deficit Disorder but when I was a kid it wasn’t a thing. 

But I do remember that each year in school, my new teacher would seat me at the head of the row nearest to her desk.  Gee and I thought it was because I was so likeable.

I am bothered that my prayers are distracted.  I feel like I am missing out on the opportunity of a lifetime.  I think of Jesus words in John 14:13, “I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”  I bet that set their heads to spinning.    “Whatever – as in anything?”  They could hardly believe it, which is why Jesus immediately repeated Himself in verse 14, “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”

These privileges are extended to us as His disciples.  But alas, the other day I was praying, but then I thought about how often I get distracted when I pray – and it occurred to me that right then I was distracted from prayer by thoughts on distraction from prayer.  Hopeless!

Sometimes, I imagine my prayers going something like this, “Lord?” “Yes my child!”  “My car won’t start.  Would You help me with….hey was that a Tesla?” “What?”  “Oh, I’m sorry, as I was saying, my car is in the shop – shop – You better shop around.”  “What?”  Oh right – well my car needs help.”  “That’s not all that needs help.” 

Over the years, however, I have learned a couple of things to help me manage my distractions.  Jesus taught me to…

– Pray aloud.   

That is what He did.  John 17 contains Jesus concluding prayer at the last supper.  It is an entire chapter long – nearly 700 words and every word was recorded by John because John heard Jesus pray aloud. 

Jesus prayed aloud at the cross (Luke 23:24); at Gethsemane (Matthew 26:39); and at the resurrection of Lazarus (John 11:41) and when He multiplied the fishes and loaves (John 11:41-42).

         And it appears that it was the custom for all back then.  In Luke 18:13 we read, “The tax collector, however, stood far off and would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, be merciful to me, sinner that I am!’”  It was audible and recorded for us.  There are other instances of verbalized prayer found at Acts 8:15, 16:25, and 20:36.

         OK so why out loud?  When our intangible thoughts are silently slithering through our minds, its takes almost nothing to disrupt them, but when speaking our prayers out loud, we hear what our hearts breathe, and we focus.  Because we hear them, God gets to hear them too. 

But didn’t Jesus warn us against being publicly pious?  He did!  According to the King James we are to go into the closet when we pray (Matthew 6:6).  

OK my closet smells so I may skip that.  But His point was to seek a private place and pray there.  Which brings me to a second Jesus lesson…

– Pray alone

Mark 1:35 says, “Then Jesus got up early in the morning when it was still very dark, departed, and went out to a deserted place, and there He spent time in prayer.”

Jesus chose a place without people – “a deserted place” – a place where it was exclusively Him and His Father. He chose a time of day when He would be the least distracted – in the morning before rush hour. He also chose to do it while it was still, “very dark.”  Darkness hides the visual things that distract us.

It seems that even Jesus worked to eliminate distractions from His prayer. So do what you must do, to be done with distractions – and pray!

Speaking of prayer, this is mine.  “Lord, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.  Help me.” 

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

Scripture passages are from the NETBible.com

a chipmunk prayer — August 28, 2024

a chipmunk prayer

/pickleheavenpress

A pang of alarm swept over a young dad as he groped for his wallet.  It was missing.  As you know, these days it is easier to recover from the shingles than the loss of a wallet or a purse. 

So, he mobilized his family, and they scoured the house high and low.  They found coins in the armchair and balls of fuzzy cat hair – but no wallet. 

It soon became a prayer.  “Lord please help us to find that wallet.”  But a day went by, then another, then a week and 14 days later it was still AWOL.

Then one day their cat stood outside the door to their home.  Through the glass, the family could see that she had brought them a present.  She had a chipmunk clamped in her jaws. 

Mom shouted, “Don’t open that door!” but the kids were already granting admission. The cat bolted in the house, and the chipmunk bounded from her mouth.   

The kids were screaming, and mom was scrambling.   The chipmunk ran for cover in the living room. They tracked him down to an armchair.  The sassy little guy was found sitting underneath, right next to dad’s missing wallet.

Prayer answered!  Evidently the little guy was dispatched from God’s lost and found department.  But what a crazy way to answer a prayer.  What was God thinking? 

Well let me say, that prayer is utterly unnecessary.   I mean God is God, He is omniscient – knowing all things.   He knows what we need even before we need it.  And He is utterly capable and very willing to provide for those needs. 

And yet He expects us to ask for what we need.   In fact, His message to us in James 4:2 is, “You do not have because you do not ask.”

But why must we pray?

He created man in the beginning to enjoy a relationship with us.   Prayer is one of the few ways that we find ourselves frequently refreshing that relationship. 

Jesus gave His disciples some instructions on prayer.   He said, “I tell you the solemn truth, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.  Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive it, so that your joy may be complete – (John 16:23-24)

It’s all about relationship. We are to pray to the Father, and to do it in Jesus’ name.  When this takes place, He promises that it will be done.  And a partial motivation on the Lord’s part is to give His children complete joy. 

He cares about us.  He wants to interact with us.  He wants to give us joy!  He wants to do what we ask of Him – but we must go through Him first. 

I don’t see my doctor very often because I have a prescription that is automatically filled each month.  If God were to meet our needs in that way – we might take Him for granted – even forget that He is there.  There would be no relationship.

I remember being a young dad, and having my children come to me for help – to fix a broken toy, or bandage a wound, or to grab something beyond their reach.  It was a privilege and even a joy.  It was clear that they needed and appreciated me.   

I suppose God may feel the same way when we seek Him in prayer. 

OK but why a chipmunk?

Well maybe because sometimes we pray, and God faithfully answers.  But He does so through the gift of a friend, or the healing hand of a doctor, or maybe a promotion at work.

And we attribute our good fortune to luck or circumstance or the result of our hard work.   

So sometimes God wants to remind us in unmistakable if not a crazy way, that it is He who hears and specifically tends to our needs. 

So, look for the chipmunks in your life and thank the Father who sent them.

A PRAYER: Thank you Lord, for your blessings on us.

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

Scripture passages are from the NET Bible ®

Graphic by Rhododendrites- Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=117125635

does God answer football prayers? — September 27, 2023

does God answer football prayers?

/pickleheavenpress

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 ®

the cast away castle — June 29, 2023

the cast away castle

/pickleheavenpress

We were stranded 2 hours east of El Paso and were baking in the searing Texas sun.  The day started well.  We had 2 vans and a trailer full of gear, that belonged to our mission team. 

Our group was scheduled to rendezvous with the rest of the team at the San Diego airport, with the final destination being Rosarita, Mexico.  We were excited and ready to serve Jesus there by building a church, and by reaching kids through VBS and their mothers through a Bible study. 

Chuck was behind the wheel of the van pulling the trailer.   The scenery was brown and boring, but then there was something of interest.   The van was being passed by a lone tire.  And it was a fast tire – speedier than our 75 mph – and it was OUR tire.

We pulled over to check it out.  A cotter pin had broken on the trailer and the castle nut that secured the wheel had spun off.  The hub was mangled and so was our mission trip.

Our team was completely dependent on the materials we carried such as the camping gear for lodging, and the building and educational materials we planned to use.

Should we fail to show, all the training, money and prayers that had been invested would be wasted and the potential blessing to the folks of Rosarita lost. 

First task – find that essential castle nut.  Four of us backtracked our way down I-10 scouring the overgrown grass for a piece of metal smaller than a child’s fist.  A needle in a haystack would have been an easier quest.

We needed help!   Fortunately, Scripture says, “Therefore let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace whenever we need help.” – Hebrews 4:16 – NETBible ®

Mark remembered and suggested that we pray.  The four of us circled up and bowed our heads there in the median of the interstate.   We prayed with an intensity that even the roar of the passing semis could not deter. 

At the sound of Amen, Jordan, one of our teens, opened his eyes and there at his feet was the castle nut.  Four parched mouths dropped open in amazement and in awe of our gracious God.

Did God find the nut and move it there while we prayed?  Or were our eyes blinded to it until we prayed?   Don’t know about all that, but we were sure grateful.    

There were, yet other obstacles to breach.  The studs had broken off the hub.  It would be impossible to find a new hub and nearly as impossible to repair the old one. 

Plus, it was late Friday afternoon – time for businesses to close for the weekend.  But we made some calls, found a service station that was within sight of us at the very next highway exit.    You had to have traveled west Texas to appreciate the magnitude of this miracle. 

The mechanic there agreed to stay late and help.  He called a parts store in another town.  They also remained opened late to sell him the new lugs and studs.  The mechanic welded and machined our poor hub that night until it was road worthy again and we were on our way. 

Thanks to God and the mechanic we made it to San Diego in time to pick up the rest of the team and launch our mission. 

But it took 4 helpless, hapless, highway vagabonds to stop and approach the throne of grace to see it happen.  The Lord was so generously faithful to provide mercy and grace in our time of need. 

He is still on the throne and available to you – anxious, in fact, to hear your voice and to provide that which you need.  Pray, whether it be in the middle of highway, or as you kneel by your bed.  He is ready to respond with a surplus of mercy and grace.     

A PRAYER: Lord, forgive us for searching for the castle nut first and You second.

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you!

P.O.W.s & Prayer — March 29, 2023

P.O.W.s & Prayer

/pickleheavenpress

Obligatory prayers!  That’s what they were – so I prayed them each night with frightening speed. There was the Our Father and so on followed by, “God bless Mommy, Daddy, Jimmy, Sandy, Dougie, Carol, Mark, Grandmas and Grandpas and everyone I love.”  Oh, and then the grand finale, “and God make me a good boy – Amen.”  

OK – He is still working on that last request.

I’m not sure I really understood the practice of prayer back then, but I recently read a story from the book, “The Greatest Generation” by Tom Brokaw, that has helped me out.

At the height of WWII, American P.O.W.s were loaded into boxcars in northern Germany.  American fighter planes unexpectedly pierced the sky and began to strafe what they believed to be a German supply train.

One courageous G.I. pried open the doors of the boxcars.  The soldiers scrambled out looking for cover but found none.  One ingenious soldier rapidly organized and positioned the men to form a large human billboard that could be read from above.  It said, “USA POWS.” The pilots broke off the attack and then waggled their wings to indicate that they got the message.

Perfect! They banded together in their crisis to send a message to the heavens.  Message received.  Sounds like prayer to me!

It was Jesus who said, “Again, I tell you the truth, if two of you on earth agree about whatever you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you.” – Matthew 18:19

The context for this is laid out in Matthew 18:15-18 where Jesus instructed the church on how to deal with congregants who choose sin.  A church needs wisdom from above for such matters for sure.  But then Jesus went on to broaden the context when He used the words, “whatever you ask.”    

He prefaced His message by saying, “Hey I am speaking truth here.”  And the truth is this, when two or more gather for the purpose of prayer, and are in agreement as to what they pray, then the Father in heaven obligates Himself to answer that prayer. 

So, does this mean that the prayers of an individual are not as important to God?  Not at all.    But there are benefits in praying together that help to conform our prayers so that they better reflect the will of God.

The key is in “agreeing” on what is prayed.  When I pray alone, I can be shortsighted or ignorant of necessary information.  I may even be selfish or blinded by a personal agenda.  Such things compromise my prayer.

But when my wife prays with me it tends to expose the imperfections in my prayer and brings a sound balance.  When my friends join in, the refining is even greater.

When I pray with others in unity, we collectively end up with a plea having the characteristics of true and effective prayer – a prayer marked by humility, sincerity and submitted to the will of God.  The very kind of prayer God is eager to answer. 

Elsewhere Jesus said, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you. – Matthew 7:7

Each verb – ask, seek, knock – all are plural.  These are activities that the group was to do. The word “you” is also plural in the Greek.  Jesus had a group in mind when He gave these instructions on prayer.

Certainly, personal prayer is important, but banding together for prayer is essential. Like the POWs together we spell out the message, “God help us.”  

Famous evangelist C. H. Spurgeon was taking visitors through the meeting hall where tens of thousands had been converted.  He said, “Come, and I’ll show you the heating apparatus.” They were quite surprised when he opened the door to a room where four hundred were gathered to pray. 

We need a full-fledged revival in this land.  Agreed?  Let’s band together and lift our message to heaven.

A PRAYER: Lord Jesus I pray – I mean – we pray for such a revival.

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

Scripture passages from the NETBible ®

say no to prayer? — January 18, 2023

say no to prayer?

/pickleheavenpress

Andrew was preparing to serve as a missionary to Latin America.  His kids picked up Spanish pretty quickly – but not Andrew.

He was walking through town one day with his family, when a local man recognized him to be a missionary and he approached him with an urgent request.  Andrew heard him out, but he perceived that the guy was looking for a handout.

So, Andrew tried out his Spanish.  He said, “No.” (which in English means “No!”)    The man persisted and Andrew told him no again.  They went back and forth until the guy finally walked away in frustration.

When Andrew returned to his family, his son asked, “Dad why did you do that?”  “What do you mean?” he replied.  “That man was asking you to pray for him, and you told him no!”   Oops!

Hey – it’s tough to learn a new language!

It reminds me of an episode from the book of Job about prayer. Job had three friends who came to sit with him and then counsel him when the bottom had fallen out of his life.  Their names: Eliphaz the Temanite, Zophar the Naamathite and Bildad the Shuhite – pronounced “shoe height.”  (He must have been short.)

These guys had gravely misrepresented God by arguing that Job’s troubles came because he had sinned, and God was therefore punishing him.  But this was not true so at the end of the story God confronted them with the consequences for their lies.

The Lord told them to offer an atoning sacrifice for themselves and then ask Job to pray for them.  The Lord said, “and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly.” Job 42:8. – KJV   

This is some amazing stuff.  God intended to punish them for their sin, but the prayers of Job for them were necessary for them to escape the wrath of God.    

My, My! I think of the many people in my realm who have yet to trust Christ as their Savior.  They too will someday face the wrath of God.  The Scripture tells us that the wages of sin is death. (Romans 6:23)

So, to what degree might their fate rest on my prayers for them?   Does God expect me to intercede and pray that they might come to Christ and be forgiven?

I’m reminded that Jesus prayed in that way, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do?” –  Luke 23:34.

I don’t really know what to think about such things – except that God sure put stock in the prayers of Job for his flaky friends.  I guess I should pray too, and I do. 

My wife and I keep and pray from our prayer journal 4-5 times a week.   And the names of many who are yet without Christ are recorded there and are lifted in prayer.  We have been interceding for some for over 50 years.

The Lord forgave Job’s friends, and then He did something special for Job.  Job 42:10 says, “So the Lord restored what Job had lost after he prayed for his friends, and the Lord doubled all that had belonged to Job.” – NETBible.com

Once Job had prayed, the Lord decided to restore what he had lost before and then double it.  Wow!   Now I would not suggest that the Lord will do exactly that for us when we pray – but I am certain that He does shed his manifold blessings on the one who prays. 

The world of the lost is seeking our prayers- they just may not know it.  Let’s pray anyway. 

A PRAYER: Lord I am fairly certain that many prayed for me to come to know you, may I do the same for others.

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. 

Unless otherwise noted, the Scripture passages are from the NETBible.com

an IV insertion  — October 19, 2022

an IV insertion 

/pickleheavenpress

For Jackie the IV was worse than the surgery! 

She gripped my hand, her pastor’s hand, while the beads of sweat rolled off her brow.  For nearly ten minutes the sweet nurse had tried to puncture Jackie’s rolling veins, hoping to insert the IV. 

But it wasn’t happening.  Now Jackie could stand up to an angry bear, but she cowered before the needle and the bag.  She was in pain, and her arm was starting to look like Swiss Cheese.

The nurse eventually excused herself and went to find some help.  At least that’s what we hoped. 

Jackie and I decided to convene a prayer meeting. Together we passionately pounded on the door of heaven asking God to guide the nurse’s needle.

Eight minutes later she returned and geared up for another stab at it. (oops that may be a pun).  Praise be to God – she found her target on the first try and all three of us breathed a huge sigh of relief. 

I thought I should tell the nurse that while she was away, Jackie and I prayed for her.  She replied, “Well I just came from the bathroom where I was also desperately praying!”

She fumbled with failure until she sought the Lord for success. 

I was reminded of the words that Paul penned in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Paul was relating to the church how he was able to get along financially.  Whether his account had plenty or was a pittance – he was able to manage because Christ strengthened him.

But he did use the word “all.”  My Seminary professor taught me that, “All means all, and that’s all that all means.”   So, Paul took that strengthening concept and applied it broadly to all of life – even to the insertion of an IV needle. 

The word “strengthen” is worth exploring.  The New Testament was written in Greek, and the word for strengthen is, “endunamao.” 

It is a compound word.   “En” is much like our English word “in.”   This tells us that the power that we get is poured “into” us from outside of us.

“Dunamao,” of course means, “to strengthen.”  Look closely and you can see the root of our English word “dyna-mite.” 

So, this is kind of like God inserting into us a spiritual IV line to empower us to do what we cannot do on our own. 

That’s good because there are so many things that we cannot adequately do. 

An essential part of my job as a hospice chaplain is to help a person prepare to die.  Oh, how I need the wisdom and strength of God as I sit with them and have those conversations. 

I watch my daughter as she juggles her duties as a wife and mother and co-manager of a thriving startup business.  She makes it a point to go to the Lord often seeking sanity and strength to help her cope. 

I pray often for my son who is a minister to teens.  He daily faces the adversity of the devil and the apathy of the culture.  He needs more than his natural gifting to reach those kids.   

Then there is my son the CEO.  He regularly faces tremendous challenges.  But the job has caused him to see that he can’t succeed without the Lord. 

As for my wife – she has to put up with me.  What more can I say?

As I have aged, I have come to realize that I must have misplaced my physical strength.  Maybe I left it with my bell bottoms!  I now need Him to put power in my muscles and bones.   He does that every time I mow the lawn.  

Well, there is a point to my IV story.  (oops another pun) 

We need God’s strength for success

A PRAYER: Lord, please fill our weakness with Your strength.

This has been Jim Johnson with pickleheavenpress.com

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

coco — June 9, 2021

coco

/pickleheavenpress
audio version

Their pride and joy was about 2 years old at the time and learning to speak.  His dad was from Massachusetts and his mom from Brazil, but they were living in East Texas.  The poor little guy didn’t know what accent to choose. 

His mother was determined, however, to make sure that he learned the language of her heart.  So, she taught him Portuguese potty-training vocabulary which included “coco” the word used for bowel movement. 

One fine day she went to the gym and left her little guy in childcare.   He had to go – so he found the girl in charge and frantically repeated, “coco, coco!”

She got him a cup of hot chocolate.  (and you know the rest of the story)

_____________

It is frustrating to ask for something but get something else.   “I ordered a cheeseburger, but this looks like a sneezeburger.”  “Their web site pictured a scarf of aqua blue.  They sent me awkward blue instead.” 

Some suspect that God is as careless with our requests.  Jesus discussed the problem in

Matthew 7.  “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you.“ (7)

He used three words – all synonyms for prayer:  Each is a command with the force of a continuing experience. See prayer is something that you do repeatedly – continually.  The sequence of the verbs increases in their intensity

Picture a girl standing before heaven speaking through the door, “Lord, I am just not able to love my enemy.  The guy is horrible.  Will You help me?”

Her asking becomes seeking – looking for a key.  She looks under the rock and above the door frame.  There is determination in her manner. 

She finally pounds on the door, “Please, please God.  I desperately need your help to succeed.  Won’t you open up and help me?”

Now – as to why we must approach God like this – Jesus doesn’t say.  He just says that we are to pray in this way – persistently, deliberately, and passionately – like we really mean it.

He knows that we tend to lose heart in our prayers.  (Luke 18:1)

Then the good news.  “For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”  (8)  When we pray with persistence, the answer comes into existence. 

But then Jesus gets a little silly.  He asks, “Is there anyone among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?  (9-10)

In Jesus’ day, bread was rolled thin and then baked on a flat hot stone.  The finished product didn’t look much different from the stone on which it was baked.   But what kind of dad would hand the stone to his trusting toddler to watch him grind his teeth on the rock?

And how could a dad offer his boy a bite of fish, and then watch as the alleged fish took a bite out of him?   The answer was, “No one would do that!”

He continued, “If you then, although you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”  (11)

So much for tact!  Jesus called us evil!  Well OK, my thought processes are not always wholly righteous – this is true, BUT I am going to do the right thing by my kids.

And the Father, who is all together righteous is going to do fabulously better by His.

He gives good gifts to those who ask Him.  Not inferior or harmful gifts or gifts from the clearance shelf or gleaned from the overstock store.  He gives good gifts – the best gifts – the very things that we seek.

He makes sure that there are no teeth shattering stones or toxic serpents among them.

Yes, at times, He may use His discretion because sometimes we ask for stones and serpents and don’t know it.  And we can be sure that what He gives, we will eventually treasure.

So, go ahead and “Ask and it will be given to you.”  Whether you do it in English or Portuguese!

A PRAYER: Lord forgive my prayer tweets and help me to pray with purpose!

The Scripture references from the NET Bible ®   

fik it daddy — June 2, 2021

fik it daddy

/pickleheavenpress
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 ®

hydrated and thankful — November 24, 2020

hydrated and thankful

/pickleheavenpress

I recently wrote about my son who spent time in the prayer closet.  He was an antsy preschooler and it showed up during our prayer time.  I had to corral him between me and the sofa as we knelt and prayed. 

How ironic is it then, that he sired a sweet and passionate prayer warrior?   When her daddy asks, “Who wants to…?”  She has her hand up before he can say, “pray.” 

From three years old and on Lainey has led our family in the saying of grace.   And I would wish that my whole family could pray as she does; even the whole world would pray as she does.  Dang – if only I could pray as she does. 

She sweetly and personally speaks to the Lord.  When she prays, it’s as if she’s sitting on His lap – with their eyes meeting.  Multiple times she will say in the sincerest of voices, “and Jesus, I, I just love you.” 

But what is most striking is the profuse amount of thanksgiving that permeates her prayers.   While my mine are full of platitudes, hers overflow with gratitude and for the most unusual things.  

Her mother was a science major and filters life through that lens.   She once explained to her little Lainey the importance of drinking water throughout the day.  Since then, Lainey regularly thanks the Lord for keeping her hydwated.  

Her mother also explained the amazing law of gravity and Lainey now thanks the Lord that we don’t fly away up in the sky. 

Lainey is profoundly cute. She has an uncanny ability to look at everything that you and I take for granted and recognize it all as gifts from God. 

It’s as if God somehow impressed 1 Thessalonians 5:18 on her little heart, “In everything give thanks, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”  In every circumstance and for every circumstance we ought to be grateful. 

So tomorrow we give thanks!  Psalm 92:1 tells us that it is a, “good thing to give thanks to the Lord.”   

This is true according to the experts.  Gratitude activates the reward center of our brains so that we emotionally feel better.  A great way, by the way, to combat anxiety and depression.  Gratitude also has been proven to lower blood pressure and give us better sleep.*

Saying thanks is also a wonderful way to refresh and strengthen our relationships with others. 

It really is good to give thanks, not only because it does good things to and for us, but because God is a good God. (Psalm 107:1)

I am with Lainey – thankful for God’s good gifts of health and food and people that love me and a God who gave His life on a cross for me and a job that challenges me and for photosynthesis.  (Hey why can’t I be thankful for a scientific principle too?)  

Tomorrow our mouths will work hard at taking in Thanksgiving.  They also need to work hard at giving out thanksgiving.   Scripture says, “With my mouth I will give thanks abundantly to the Lord.”  – Ps 109:30

After dinner we’ll turn on the game and scream ‘til we’re hoarse.  David said that we ought to give thanks in the same way, “with all our hearts.”  – Psalm 86:12

Some of us will get up and raid the refrigerator for a midnight snack.  Also, a good time to give thanks says the Psalmist, “At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee…”  — Ps 119:62   KJV

2020 has been a tremendously tough year!   Amen?  All the more reason to gather the family on turkey day and have each person write out 5 things for which they were thankful this year.  Compare your answers.  Make note of the duplicates and the diversity and then offer a group prayer of Thanksgiving!

A PRAYER: Lord give me the eyes to perceive every blessing and the words to return proper thanks.

– All scripture references from the NET Bible ®

– * The Health Benefits of Giving Thanks; Community Health Network November 20, 2019; www.ecommunity.com/healthminute/2019/health-benefits-giving-thanks.