Pickle Heaven Press-James R. Johnson

something to help you laugh and think about life with Christ

Tag: Psalm 23

feeling useless — March 18, 2026

feeling useless

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I had a procedure done recently – a cyst was removed from the back of my head.  The doctor sewed it up and it seemed to be healing fairly well.  But a week later I felt around the wound and found that I had a hole in my scalp about the diameter of a pencil.   

That’s when I told my wife, “I need this like a hole in the head.”   For those of you who were born in this century, that is an idiom – an expression describing something that is useless and unwanted – like that hole.   

Oddly enough, there are times that I feel like I am an idiom (which is not to be confused with idiot.)  I worry about how useful I am. 

Like many of you, I have had a job since I was in my mid-teens.  I enjoy work.  I like to look back on what I have accomplished at the end of the day.   I especially enjoyed my ministry years as a pastor.  People were saved, marriages were mended, the church grew and I was sure that God was happy about it. 

I was never the type to define myself by what I did, but I confess that I tended to justify my existence based on how useful I was.   Especially with God.  I was once such a sinner, that I sorta feel like God takes care of me as long as I am useful to Him. 

When things become useless to us, we take them to a thrift store.  Some of us do that with people.  When they no longer serve our purposes, we drop em like a dirty sock.

I am semi-retired now and I find myself feeling like a mess because I am doing less.  So, does this matter to God?  Is His care for me diminished because my body is decrepit?  Does He overlook me because I can only do 10% of the work, I once did for Him? 

Is God less concerned about me because I am less useful to Him?

Not according to Psalm 23.  I was grazing on it one evening when it occurred to me that I am a sheep.  So, I did some research on how sheep were used in the Biblical era. 

Their primary value to the ancient Hebrews was in their fleece.  They produced some milk but not much of it, and they eventually might become lamb chops, but for the most part, it was the wool they produced that gave them value.

But here’s the thing, the sheep were sheared in the early spring – just that one time a year.

It took a whole year’s worth of shepherding to obtain an average of 7 lbs. of wool per sheep.  The bleating beast proved useful only on that one day of shearing.  And yet, the faithful shepherd provided comprehensive oversight and care for his flock 365 days a year.

So, as I age and become less useful, the 23rd Psalm becomes more precious to me.  David wrote…

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.  He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.  Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.”  – KJV

Regardless of the level of service we might offer, our shepherd feeds us, waters us and provides rest and healing for us.  He leads and protects us, honors us and plans a wonderful future for us. 

Why does He do this? Because that’s just who He is! 

A PRAYER: Thank you Shepherd for removing the pressure of performance

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. 

how do we know there is a heaven? — January 15, 2025

how do we know there is a heaven?

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I am sometimes asked about the crazy name of my blog, pickleheavenpress!   So what is pickle heaven!  

It is a figment of my imagination!  I was once a poor college student with a lovely wife and 2 darling preschoolers.  Money was tight, but we made it a once-a-week treat to go for some fast food.

The kids would ask, “Daddy, can we go to McDonald’s?”  I would tease them and say, “Well I was thinking I might like to go to that new place called Pickle Heaven.”  Of course it didn’t exist, but they didn’t know that. 

They whined.  They didn’t want a pickle!  “OK McDonald’s it is then.”  Each week for nearly a year, I would suggest Pickle Heaven, but I was always out voted. Then one day I asked, “Where do you all want to eat tonight?”  My 4-year replied, “Daddy, maybe we should try Pickle Heaven.”  Oops. 

My sweet, naïve, children trusted me and assumed that a restaurant called Pickle Heaven actually existed. But what about the heaven we cherish? 

Could it also be a figment of our collective imagination? 

Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was the first man to fly in outer space in 1961.  When he arrived, he looked around the heavens for God.  He didn’t see Him, so he declared, ‘Boga Nyet!’, which translates, ‘There is no God!’

And yet, I certainly believe heaven exists and here’s why. 

The Scripture speaks of it

Scripture is our primary and utterly reliable source of truthful information.  It clearly affirms the existence of heaven.  There is the OT assertion in Psalm 23

 “And I will dwell I the house of the Lord forever.”  And there is the NT corroboration where heaven in mentioned 228 times.  Jesus promised the thief on the cross that the two of them would be together in Paradise that very day they died (Luke 23:43).  If heaven is a piece of fiction, then Jesus misled us.

Belief in heaven is a universal phenomenon

The university of Oxford sanctioned a study involving 57 researchers who conducted over 40 separate studies in 20 countries that represented a diverse range of cultures. Their goal was to find if concepts such as God and an afterlife are taught generation to generation or are they imprinted at birth.  The studies found that belief in an afterlife is a universal and innate part of being a human being.  Throughout time, in every culture and place, people have possessed a belief in the afterlife.   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110714103828.htm

This is no surprise!  Solomon described this phenomenon in Ecclesiastes 3:11 saying, “He (God) has set eternity in the hearts of men.”

There have been eyewitnesses to heaven

As a hospice chaplain I have been privileged to hear stories and sometimes even witness the transition of people into the afterlife.  Just recently one of my patients, an elderly Christian woman, was unconscious for a couple of days.  Then she unexpectedly sat up and fixed her gaze on something beyond the walls.  She reached out her hand and said, “Jesus” and then soon passed.  

Just recently my friend lost his daughter to a terminal disease.   According to him, her very last thrill-filled words were, Wow! Wow! Wow! 

Most hospice workers have witnessed similar stories.  

But where is heaven?  We don’t know.  Author Randy Alcorn says, “It’s referred to as “up” in location in the Bible (Luke 9:51) It could be a place in the universe beyond the earth or it may exist entirely outside of our space-time continuum.  (In Light of Eternity, pg. 28)

God hasn’t revealed the exact address of heaven, maybe to avoid the scads of folks who would try to locate it and barge their way in.  Yet, we have proof that there is a heaven, and that Jesus is the way to get there. He said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” John 14:6.

I sure hope to see you there!

A PRAYER: Lord, thank You for making room for me and all those I love.

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

Scripture passages are from the NIV

tilt — March 21, 2020

tilt

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Some of us grew up as latch-key kids.  Not me – I was more of a ten-pin tot.  My mom and dad were bowling enthusiasts and played in a league several times a week. 

They had five kids and dad didn’t make enough on a truck-drivers wage to pay for child-care (nor could they find a sitter foolish enough to take on we five). So, we spent a lot of unsupervised time wandering the bowling alley.  The clatter of falling pins and the smell of musty shoes is indelibly etched in my mind.

I had a routine.  I sifted through and tried out the loaner balls on the rack (until the day I dropped a 16 pounder).  I reached up into the soda machine looking for that one bottle that might have gotten hung up.  And I flipped open the cover of the candy dispenser checking for stray M&M’s.  I was often rewarded for my efforts.

I reached the age of 9 or so, (which felt like 90 in bowling alley years).  I had run all the traps and was bored.  Over on the far wall, were three teenage boys who were playing at a pin ball machine and going at it intensely.

I wanted to watch, so I sidled up to the game, stood on my tiptoes, lost my balance and bumped into the table.  This caused all manner of bells and buzzers to go off along with a flashing sign that said “tilt”  

For you non-pinballers, this was a safeguard built into a pinball machine to keep hotheads from abusing it.  Well I accidently triggered it and the moment I did, the game swallowed the ball and terminated the game.

The machine went silent and the boys – ballistic.  There was rage on their faces and viciousness in their words.  They called me names I had never heard before.

I can’t begin to describe the sense of fear that gripped me at that point.  We were in an out of the way place and my health and general welfare were obviously in danger.  I didn’t cry, but I wanted to.  I was too paralyzed with dread. 

One of the boys began to make a move toward me.  My little heart leapt out of my chest.  At the same time, I sensed some movement in my periphery.  Oh, my goodness, it was my dad.  He was headed from the bathroom back to the lane.   

He wasn’t aware of my crisis, but it didn’t matter.  I quickly slipped away from the boys and went over to walk with him.   Once by his side, the crisis was gone, and the comfort was great.  I didn’t even look back.  Didn’t need to.  My dad was way bigger than those boys and I knew he loved me.  I was safe with him.

I often think back to that experience.  I really do – especially these days. 

It seems that the world has gone tilt.  But the glares that threaten me now, come in the form a virulent virus and financial mayhem.

And though my daddy is in heaven, I still have a heavenly daddy.  I have a powerful, wonderful, all sovereign Father.  I am reminded that He encourages me to come walk beside Him through the chaos. 

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. – Psalm 46:1-3

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. – Psalm 23:4:

Jesus said, “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.” – Hebrews 13:5

Paul reminds us “The Lord is at hand.” – Philippians 4:5

Our God does not practice social distancing. These are His promises to those of us that know Him and love Him.   If He should feel distant to you…

PRAY: Immediately after Paul said, “The Lord is near,” he followed it up by saying, “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  – Phil 4:6-7

READ: Marinate over the words of Psalm 23.  Read it as often as you need it. 

LISTEN:  You must open this link and listen to Sara Hart who sings, Be with Me Lord.”   I have honestly listened to and even performed this song maybe a hundred times and yet every time it grips my heart and give me courage.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7f_L0bz_wRY

ALSO: Check out Hidden in My Heart, Vol 1, 2, 3.  This is comforting Scripture put to quality orchestrated backgrounds.  My wife and I frequently play it in our home during seasons of stress.  You can buy it through a music service – OR you can listen to many tracks on Youtube.  Here is a sweet sample.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edfwnITsqT0

God Be with You!