Pickle Heaven Press-James R. Johnson

something to help you laugh and think about life with Christ

Tag: Revelation 1:5

the longest bridge — January 17, 2024

the longest bridge

/pickleheavenpress

The strait between New Brunswick Canada and Prince Edward Island is enormous and it was a big problem to folks in the Great White North.  The strait would freeze in the winter rendering travel by ferry impossible.  So, the Confederation Bridge was built.   

The span is more than 8 miles long and is the longest in the world.  It even has its own zone for the weather forecast.  The bridge is convenient to use but it’s costly.  In 2023 the toll was $50 Canadian per car.   

When it was first opened, they found that 1 out of every 10 drivers would seize up in fear when they tried to cross it because they couldn’t see the end of it.  It disappeared into the horizon.  

It was such a problem that the toll plaza had to provide bridge escorts who took the wheel for jittery motorists.   The driver would just scooch over and relax and let an expert take the wheel.

John Denver led us to believe that West Virginia is almost heaven, but I am thinking Prince Edward Island may be a better comparison.

The strait freezes in the winter and makes passage to the island by boat impossible.  The way to heaven, however, is more than impossible.  Forget trying to earn your way.  Jesus set a very high standard for us.  He said, “So then, be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” – Matthew 5:48

A perfect balloon will hold air, but one teeny pinhole will explode it and make it useless.  Likewise, one single sin makes one less than perfect.  

But God gave us a bridge.  Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.” – John 14:6   Jesus claimed to be the way, the only way to heaven.   

The fare for the Confederation Bridge is hefty, but the fare to heaven is far greater.   Paul told us that the wages of sin is death. (Romans 3:23)   This is to say that anyone and everyone who has gotten crossways with the ways of God is a sinner and has chosen by default to spend an eternity in hell – to suffer a death that never ends. 

But the apostle John opened the book of Revelation with this tribute to Jesus.  He said, “To the one who loves us and has set us free from our sins at the cost of his own blood.” – Revelation 1:5

What wonderful news.  Jesus, motivated by His love for us, set us free from our sins.  It cost Him His lifeblood, shed on the cross of Calvary.  He died for us and by faith we receive His gift.

But we still need to cross that bridge.  Like the island, we are just not able to see heaven from where we stand.  Though we trust the Lord, some of us still get the jitters as we think about the journey.   

Fortunately, for people like us, an escort has been provided. Again, it is Jesus to the rescue.  He spoke these words of comfort, “I am going away to make ready a place for you. And if I go and make ready a place for you, I will come again and take you to be with me, so that where I am you may be too.” John 14:2-3

He promised to return, and to join us.  He will be right there with us when it’s time to make that journey home.  We won’t go it alone.

It is quite amazing!  Jesus became our bridge, paid the toll, and plans to be with us to escort us across. 

It is not an optional journey by the way.  They say 100 out of every 100 people

die.  We either cross that bridge or perish in our sins.  The journey begins with a prayer like this…

A PRAYER: I want to cross over to the other side.  Jesus, please forgive me for my sins, cleanse me and give to me the priceless gift of eternal life.

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you!

Scripture references are from the NETBible ®

taxi — March 22, 2023

taxi

/pickleheavenpress

In the beginning – there was just the taxi until Uber and Lyft came along.   The taxi took its name from an invention by Wilhelm Bruhn in 1891.  He called his device a taximeter and it was designed to measure and record the distance traveled.

In my youth, I aspired to be a taxi driver.  I got my license and a job and was ready to go.  I assumed I would be paid by the hour, so I was surprised to find that I had to lease the cab each day, and pay a per mile fee, and cover tolls and airport fees and then purchase the gasoline from the overpriced company pump. 

On Monday and Tuesday, I took home about $20 each day.  Wednesday, I barely broke even.  Thursday, I owed the company money after working a 12-hour shift.  Friday, I quit!  I am not the brightest, but I believe a person is supposed to earn money when they work. 

But my week was not a total waste.  The people I met were amazing.  I transported a brainy nuclear physicist with a Ph.D. to his workplace.  Then there was the lady who would not get out of my cab until she got me to trust Jesus (even though I was already saved). 

I picked up a fare at 6 a.m. – a man in an expensive business suit.  He was headed to a downtown office tower, but not until I dropped him off at a downtown bar where he sipped his liquid courage.  And then there was the prostitute who wanted to trade her services for the ride.  No deal!  

I transported about 40 surprisingly different people in those four days – and yet they all had one thing in common.  They all needed a ride.  The rich, the poor, the pious and the reprobate.  Some were highly educated, others just barely. Men and women of every color, speaking multiple tongues and they all needed me to give them a ride. 

That so much reminds me of the Gospel. 

Wasn’t it Paul who wrote, “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   Our desired destination is to be with the saved in heaven.

To get there we need to hitch a ride with Jesus.  His words are more obvious than a yellow cab.  He said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”  – John 14:6

To “confess,” is to agree with God concerning the person and the work of Jesus and to take your stand there.  To “believe in your heart” is to fully embrace the jarring truth that Jesus was crucified, died, was buried and then rose again.   

And who is welcome to come aboard?  Any and everyone according to Paul.  Later in that Romans passage he wrote, “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”  – Romans 10:13.   The door is open to all – the physicist, the moral soulwinner, the imbibing businessman, the prostitute and even you and me.  

We enter as broken sinners and emerge as new people with powerful spiritual potential.  But the best part about this deal is that Jesus pays the fare. 

Revelation 1:5 says, He “has set us free from our sins at the cost of his own blood.”   “At the cost of His own blood!”  Jesus shed His blood on a cross so that we would not have to.

So, keep your cash, put away that debit card, and don’t even try to barter or trade your services for His gift.  Because Jesus paid it all!  Confess Him as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead and you too will be saved.

A PRAYER: Lord this is a very old message, but it blows like a fresh breeze on my soul every time I hear it. 

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you

Scripture references are from the NETBible ®

*Taxi Picture by Peter Milosevic from Wikipedia.com