Pickle Heaven Press-James R. Johnson

something to help you laugh and think about life with Christ

Tag: resurrection

a fish tower tale — October 8, 2025

a fish tower tale

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Ah, I remember those fun days when we were raising teenagers.  Our daughter knew that I could be a little rigid, while my wife was a pushover. 

So, she would sometimes call our land line to ask permission to do something with her friends.  She hoped to talk with her mom, but if I answered the phone, she would disguise her voice and say, “Hello, is Sharie Johnson there?”   And I would reply “Bethany, I know it’s you, so what do you want?” 

I sometimes felt like a person I know from Scripture – a nobody from a no nothing town. 

The town was called Magdala, situated on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee.   Pisa has its Leaning Tower, while Magdala had its reeking tower – a fish tower.  This tower had many open-aired tiers to it where fishermen would leave the catch of the day to dry. 

Magdala was the hometown of Mary Magdalene.   She may have been a prostitute, but Scripture doesn’t say.  We do know, though, that Jesus passed through the town one day, met Mary, and removed seven demons from her (Luke 8:2).  Seven?  She must have been a mess!

But Jesus reached out to that nobody woman from a nothing town and changed her life. 

She left home to follow Him.  Luke said, “…He (Jesus) went on through towns and villages, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and disabilities: Mary (called Magdalene), from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna the wife of Cuza (Herod’s household manager), Susanna, and many others who provided for them out of their own resources” – Luke 8:1-3.

She traveled with Him and helped to support Him and his disciples financially and perhaps by preparing food.  She joined His behind-the-scenes support team.  This was not a hard transition for a person who was used to being a nobody. 

We don’t read much more about Mary in the Scripture until the cross. 

She was there at the foot of the cross when Jesus was crucified. Mark wrote, “There were also women, watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. When he was in Galilee, they had followed him and given him support. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were there too” – Mark 15:40-41.  Every disciple except John was hiding but Mary was there. Mark made note of the fact that she had served in a supportive role. 

She accompanied Jesus’ lifeless body to His tomb (Mark 15:47).  Mary was also one of the first to return in the morning to finish preparing His body for burial (Mark 16:1).

Fascinating!  Once Jesus had risen from the dead, He made sure that it was to Mary, the former nobody, that He first presented Himself (Mark 16:9).   She was the first, not Peter, James or John – it was a nobody of a woman from a fishy smelling place called Magdala.

And why did Jesus choose to reveal himself to her first?  Maybe because Mary had consistently served Him, even in ways that we might deem as lesser expressions of service.  She continued to do so all the way to His tomb, and was, therefore, rewarded with a Supreme privilege. 

What we sometimes deem little, the Lord deems great.  Nobodies do not exist in the family of God.  And every act of service we might render registers with Jesus – even those we regard as insignificant.

Jesus is aware and appreciates the woman who has worked in the church nursery for the last 13 years, and the man who mows the lawn for the widow down the street.  He is moved by the teenage girl who sits with and cares for her dying neighbor. 

He is aware and appreciates what you do as well!

A PRAYER: Lord, we want to serve You, even in what others deem lesser ways.

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord be with you

Scripture passages are taken from the NETBible.com

livelyville — August 7, 2024

livelyville

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I was cruising the backroads of East Texas when I passed through Livelyville.  Now I thought to myself, “This sounds like a fun place to live!”  Turns out – it isn’t. 

The population is zero.  It is a rural, unincorporated place.  There is not a school, post office or store but they do have a historical marker.  The town was founded by Thomas Lively back in the 1850’s, but even he eventually chose to move away.  I guess even old Thomas was bored.

But the one thing that caught my attention, was the big green sign that pointed the way to the official Livelyville Cemetery (where the population is considerably larger).

Now I decided right then, that when it’s my time to go, well that’s where I want to be buried!”  I want me a plot in that graveyard.  It seems like there might always be a hope for a man buried in the Livelyville Cemetery.

Well, the truth is, many cemeteries will be lively places one of these days, at least that’s what the Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. (NETBible ®)

The people of Thessalonica were expecting Jesus to return at any moment, but He tarried so long that some of them had died.  Those left were inconsolably sad.  They assumed it was all over for those folks whose bodies slept and they grieved without a hope.

But, God through Paul said, “Now we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest who have no hope.”   (vs. 13).

And then, Paul gave them a hope. He wrote, “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so also, we believe that God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep as Christians. For we tell you this by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will surely not go ahead of those who have fallen asleep” (vss 14-15).

Knowing that Christ is scheduled to return to this earth, Paul says that Jesus will, at that time, tend to those who have already died. 

He said, “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first” (vs. 16).

The bodies of those Christians who had gone on before, will rise up from the grave.  They will become reconstituted and transformed and joined to their eternal souls.  At that time any graveyard containing the remains of the faithful will become a Livelyville Cemetery. 

And what about the rest of us?  Paul says, “Then we who are alive, who are left, will be suddenly caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so, we will always be with the Lord.” (vs 17)

So, at the same time, believers who are still alive will also be transformed – in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).   We will join those who have been raised from the dead and also the Lord Jesus Himself and we will forevermore be by His side.

In Texas, it is common to find a picnic pavilion in the middle of a cemetery.  It is the gathering place for the annual family reunion.  It will be a wondrous time when those beneath the sod join those beneath the shelter. 

I’m telling you there is going to be some liveliness in the Livelyville Cemetery one of these days.  A joy filled reunion of generations of faithful family members reveling in God’s almighty power, the richness of His grace and the taste of eternity.

And when Jesus comes, I might be a pile of dust, or I might be eating a chicken leg at the picnic.  Either way I will be with Jesus.   I hope you’ll be there too!

A PRAYER: God, remind us to share this with those who have no hope.

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. 

no skin off his feet — May 22, 2024

no skin off his feet

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I have a friend who has three passions: basketball, the guitar and frugality.  One day they all came together.  It was in his college days when he played a lot of hoops.  So much in fact, that he often developed large blisters on the soles of his feet.

He would meticulously cut away the dead skin and apply ointment to his wounds.  But one day he looked at an excised patch of skin and wondered. 

He placed it between some books for a few days, where it dried out and became perfectly hard and flat.  He then trimmed it into the shape of a guitar pick. 

Pleased with his new economical creation, he began to strum his guitar.  Unfortunately, his organic guitar pick, quickly disintegrated into a puff.  The skin of his foot turned to dust in his hands. 

What a great reminder of the truth in Genesis 3:19. Adam and Eve had forfeited everlasting life in the garden when they chose to snub the will of God.   God detailed their consequences in this way, “By the sweat of your brow you will eat food, until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you will return.”    

Dust from whence we came, and dust to where we’ll all go.   From Adam to the present day, the number crunchers believe that about 109 billion people have lived and died.  That’s a pretty big dust heap, isn’t it? 

The fine folks of the funeral industry tell us that “dust to dust” is not just a poetic expression.  It takes considerable time, but the final remains of a person are eventually reduced to a handful of dust. 

This stark reality prompted Job, the Old Testament Patriarch to ask the question, “If a man dies, will he live again?” – Job 14:14

Good question!  Will he?  Will a person who dies ever live again? 

Jesus must have thinking of Job when He spoke these words in John 11:25. He said, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live even if he dies…”

Yes, a person can overcome death and live again IF they have believed in Jesus. 

This life comes to us in at least two installments. In John 10:10 the Savior said, “I have come so that they may have life and may have it abundantly.”

He assumes what many of us experience.  We wander through life like zombies.  There is a deadness that grips our emotions and strangles our hopes and dreams.  It is a shallowness that cheats our relationships with others and with God.  We often feel like a soda that’s lost its fizz! 

But Jesus promised to resurrect us from this soul death with new life – abundant life.  A life worth living and wonderfully rewarding. 

The second installment comes later.  In 1 Cor 15:51-52 Paul wrote, “Listen, I will tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a moment, in the blinking of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.” 

A time will come when the dust of those 109 billion will be stirred and the saved will be raised to everlasting life. 

But how can we be sure?  There are other isms that hold to some form of resurrection.  They may believe it, but only one faith leader has died and has been raised to life again – and that would be Jesus.

On the third day He arose again according to the Scripture and there were over 500 skeptics who saw Him, spoke with Him and were convinced.  (1 Corinthians 15:6)  We shall be raised by that same almighty power.

It’s good to know that no dust cloth will be needed in heaven.

A Prayer: Lord what a wonderful hope you have given us.   Help us be generous enough to share the news of it with others.

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord be with you always.

Scripture passages are from the NET Bible ®

egg hunt? why? — April 5, 2023

egg hunt? why?

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I recently realized that the Easter Egg hunts of my youth, were truly about finding eggs – hard boiled chicken eggs. 

We were excited about the hunt, but I can’t remember why?  There were no plastic eggs filled with cheezy arcade quality toys or mini-Reese cups.  In fact, the gaily adorned Easter baskets looked more appetizing.

And what did I do with a basket full of 12 hardboiled eggs?  Add them to my sibling’s haul and we had 5 dozen.  That is a lot of egg salad, which I happen to despise.    

I was recently surprised to find that they had been doing hunts like that for a long time.

Early Christians connected with the idea of an egg.  The shell spoke of Christ’s tomb, and broken, it became a picture of the resurrection and new life.    

In the days of the knights, egg consumption was forbidden during Lent but they egg-citedly ate them on Easter Sunday in celebration. 

In 1290 A.D. King Edward of England, had 450 eggs colored and trimmed with gold and then distributed to his household

But what about the hunt?  It is believed that the fun dates to the 16th century when Martin Luther organized egg hunts for his congregation.  This was his way of honoring the resurrection story.

The practice was picked up by the German born- Duchess of Kent who put on a hunt for her little girl – the future Queen Victoria.   The succession of royals continued the tradition which eventually filtered down to the humble folk, which then crossed the ocean with the English colonists, until it reached my house in the 1950’s   

Its’ 65 years too late, but now I understand.  And now I wonder if the kid with the Ikea bag, scooping up plastic goodie filled eggs has any idea of the connection to Jesus. 

Much like Christmas, our culture has done a lobotomy with Easter.  The significance was surgically removed leaving only the fun.

So maybe we need a reminder.  Paul wrote, “For I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received—that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures.”  1 Cor 15:3-4 NETBible.com ®

Paul believed in the resurrection and so do I.  Here’s why.

-The Scripture is peerless.  

There is no written record that is more trustworthy, has been better authenticated or has greater level of integrity than the Scripture.   

Scores of Old Testament prophecies concerning Christ have been precisely fulfilled (Isaiah 53) And the unity of the Gospel accounts gives us confidence in the Bible.

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John gave great detail about the resurrection.  If it were a hoax, then you would expect to find huge discrepancies.  Yet, each Gospel account agrees on the fine details.

– The disciples were fearless

If the resurrection was a hoax, it would have been a very, very big lie – in a very tiny part of the world.  To perpetrate a lie of that sort – would have required a coordinated conspiracy by Christ’s disciples.   

But people will not die for something that they know is a lie.  What we find instead are the disciples moving out to every corner of the inhabited earth and all but John were martyred for their message. 

– I experience His nearness.

Those who question the resurrection, question the existence of someone I personally know.   I met Him when I was 19.   He is as real to me as is my wife.  If I were to doubt her existence, she might slap me.   Answered prayers remind me that my Jesus lives

Our current Easter celebration is not all that it’s cracked up to be.  So this year make sure to include a genuine grade A egg in your hunt, and before the kids unwrap the candy, use it to explain the resurrection. 

A PRAYER: Jesus in the words of Thomas we are compelled to say to you, “My Lord and my God.” 

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you

*Egg hunt background is from https://www.english-heritage.org.uk

Cut Off — April 18, 2020

Cut Off

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A special Post-Easter message in song from Jim Johnson and PickleHeavenSongs

death where is thy fang — April 8, 2020

death where is thy fang

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It was Vacation Bible School.  Our theme for the week was Bible Barnyard.  We took animals that were referenced in the Bible, brought them to the church and then used them as object lessons. 

We cast our pearls before a guest swine who had the manners of a pig.  There was a sheep that strayed by to teach us how to follow our shepherd.  Then there was the snow-white dove that dropped in to remind us to be gentle as we make our way through this world. 

The wolves were already booked elsewhere – a wedding I think – but we did have a serpent make a guest appearance.  It belonged to a member of the church.  He did a great job of teaching us to be shrewd as we interact with our world. 

The kids loved the him. They reached their hands into his glass enclosure and let him thread himself through their fingers.  We became a snake handling church for the day!  He seemed safe enough.

As the session came to an end, the snake’s owner told me that the serpent was due to be fed.  She asked if the kids might like to see it.  I said “Sure.” 

So, she dropped a little grey mouse into the cage.  The kids crowded around.  They connected with the cute little fuzz ball that was skittering about.  They oohed and giggled until – with lightning speed – the snake inhaled the mouse. 

Half the kids were awed by it.  The other half – not so much.  There was a scream explosion.  Not just one kid – at least a half a dozen – and it was catching.  They whimpered and blubbered and sobbed and they were loud. I was ready to line up some grief counselors. 

The cute, fuzzy, innocent, little mouse was swallowed whole by the cold-blooded, villainous reptile. I wanted to cry too.

The drama prompts me to think back to Calvary.  Jesus was not as cute, but many were deeply attached to Him.  He had healed the broken and ambulated the lame.  He brought the sparkle back into blinded eyes and the sound of laughter to empty ears. 

He touched the diseased, welcomed the outcast and courageously defended the downtrodden.  He was admired, esteemed and cherished. 

And then He was abruptly inhaled by death – and all creation screamed. 

The sun was obscured by a sheer veil of darkness.  The earth trembled and shook with sorrow as her rocks shattered.  The cavernous temple was filled with the harsh sound of tearing as the massive partition curtain was rent.  A river of tears flowed down the hill of Calvary from the faithful that were huddled there.

The cross was not the way His story should have ended.  But that’s the way it was – and all creation screamed in protest. 

Unlike our little mouse, however, it was His choice! -a decision that was all about us. 

“Christ also loved us and gave himself for us.”  – Ephesians 5:2

“Christ loved the church and gave himself for her.”  – Ephesians 5:25

“the Son of God…loved me and gave himself for me.” –  Galatians 2:20

Oh, how amazing it would have been, if that little fuzz ball of a mouse could have backed out of the jaws of the serpent.  The bitter would have become better for our distraught kids. 

Jesus, on the other hand, backed out of His tomb – having been truly and fully dead for 3 days.  His glorious resurrection was also all about us.  Paul wrote, “Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may live a new life.”  – Romans 6:4

Do you believe it?  It is important that you do says Paul, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” – Romans 10:9

What does that mean “You will be saved?” It means, little mouse, that the python of death will never be able to swallow the one who belongs to Jesus. 

It is the Easter season – a perfect time to confess Jesus with your mouth and believe in Jesus in your heart.

All biblical references from the NET Bible ®

the muttonmen — April 17, 2019

the muttonmen

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James Ray Johnson – 713 words

He was sitting at the table working on his history homework.  The 10-year-old began to recite the facts to his mom about the renown muttonmen.  She wasn’t a history buff, but even she knew there was something about the muttonmen that just didn’t smell right.   

Muttonmen?  Was this a collective term for shepherds?  Was King David a muttonman?   Or was it an order of monks from the middle ages who swore off beef for Lent.   Maybe they lived on Drury Lane?  (Oh do you know the muttonman, the muttonman, the muttonman?)

She checked his book and found that he had misread the word “minutemen.”  He felt quite sheepish but it could have been worse.  He might have read it as mulletmen – which is an assembly of Billy Ray Cyrus imitators. 

It’s not unusual to misread something.   It happens with the crucifixion of Christ.  Many consider it an accident – not what was intended.  The betrayal, the mock trial, the spineless Pontius Pilate – all sad happenstance that unfortunately resulted in a great man dying in a gruesome way. 

I was rereading the story recently and was fascinated with the details.  “Then Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and gave up his spirit. Just then the temple curtain was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks were split apart. And tombs were opened, and the bodies of many saints who had died were raised. (They came out of the tombs after his resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.)  – Matthew 27:50-53 NET Bible®   

There were three spectacular things that happened the moment Christ died. 

There was a curtain in the temple that kept the people from the presence of God.  It was 30’ by 60’ and as thick as the palm of a hand.  It took 300 priests to hang it.  Yet, the Father reached down from heaven and ripped that massive thing from the top to the bottom.  Because of Christ, there was no more separation.

There was a colossal quake as well.  The Father had used earthquakes in the past and will use them again in the last days to focus the wandering eyes of humanity on what He is doing.  The experts tell us not to run during an earthquake – because – well – the ground is moving.  An earthquake was God’s way of getting people to stop and to think. 

And then there was the mass resurrection.  Tombs were opened and the dead who had believed were raised and then visited Jerusalem before they departed for heaven.  

Think of it!   The family sits down to eat, when grandpa, (who had been dead for 6 months) walks in and takes his place at the table.  He says grace and then says, “pass the hummus.”

There were miracles that also accompanied the resurrection of Christ, but not as many, and certainly not as physically grand and public. 

So why, then, why did the Father bother?  Why the dramatic signs at Christ’s death?  

Maybe because it seemed to most everyone – disciple and disparager alike, that the Father had simply abandoned His Son.  After three years of breathtaking, heaven-empowered miracles – Jesus appeared to have died a helpless pathetic death.

I suspect that the Father agonized in heaven as it happened to His boy. 

But the second Jesus gave up His spirit, the Father sent His spectacular signs as if to say, “Not true what you think.  Jesus has not been abandoned.  He was never helpless and this was certainly not an unfortunate accident, but rather our essential plan all along.  (Acts 2:23)

The old hymn asks, “What can take away my sin?”  The answer “nothing but the blood of Jesus.”   Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin.  Christ was compelled by His love for us to go to the cross. 

Easter is coming.  Your spot in the pew is still warm from last year.  But on the way to Sunday, don’t let Good Friday pass without breathing a prayer of thanks for the way in which Christ has loved us. 

Hey, you might even want to attend a Good Friday service at the church of your choice.  And if the preacher asks who sent you.  Tell him “the muttonman!”

______Take a moment to share this good news with a friend______

A hymn to brighten your day: Nothing but the Blood of Jesus. Guitar: Jim Johnson