Pickle Heaven Press-James R. Johnson

something to help you laugh and think about life with Christ

Tag: shepherd

the secret of Chick-fil-A — November 6, 2024

the secret of Chick-fil-A

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I passed by the Chick-fil-A today.  As usual the drive-through was jam-packed with fowl-hungry feeders. 

I sometimes wonder why the chain is so successful.  True, the food is tasty, and the employees are friendly. But I suspect the most important factor has to do with their practice of closing on Sundays.

Obviously, the Lord has blessed their commitment to honor the Lord’s Day, but I think there is more.  You see, when we drive by a Chick-fil-A store, we experience a subconscious urge – a thought that goes something like this: “I can’t always get this when I want it, so I’m gonna get me some right now.”

Let’s face it – we are chicken hoarders.

But seriously, the fear of going without, tends to fuel a stockpile syndrome within us.  That pallet of post-Covid toilet paper in your garage is proof enough.

The prices these days only seem to exaggerate this tendency.  The cost of the basics jump up every week. We want to buy 3 of an item at the current price because we know it will be more expensive the next time.  

I was shocked recently to find that my car insurance went down by a couple dollars.  .05% to be exact. I nearly cried tears of joy.

OK, but what if we had an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-caring, greater than life God, who would intervene and actively care for us?  Would that be enough to quiet that fear?

According to Mark’s Gospel, Jesus’ and His disciples were well overdue for some R&R time.   So, they took a cruise on the sea of Galilee to a lonely place to be by themselves (6:31) But the ambitious mob that followed Him, took off on foot, and intercepted them on the other side.    

Jesus saw them and understood their desperate need.  Mark says, “He had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd” (6:34).  Because of that compassion, He reengaged and began to feed them with His life-giving teaching.

It turned out to be an all-day session.  The sun began to dip beneath the sea and His disciples wanted to wrap things up because it was dinner time.  They were in a desolate place, and they told Jesus that the people were hungry. Or maybe it’s because the disciples were hungry. 

There wasn’t enough money to feed the multitude and even if there was, the nearest bodega was many miles away.  Of course, that’s when Jesus decided that He would literally take things into His own hands, by miraculously multiplying the 5 loaves and 2 fish.

But what I find curious is that the event started with some instructions, “Then He directed them all to sit down in groups on the green grass” Mark 6:39.

How peculiar!  Why specify that they needed to be seated on “green grass?”  Why was this minor detail so important to Jesus? 

Well maybe because green grass is not necessarily common there.   The land is brimming with rocks and dirt.  There is green for a short part of the year until the heat quickly turns the grass brown.   But evidently there was some green grass nearby, and Jesus insisted that they get off the rocks and dirt and sit upon the grass.

Why? Well, where else would you expect sheep to be when it was dinner time?  Those sheep without a shepherd were led to graze in green pastures by the Good Shepherd who deeply loved them and made sure they had what they needed.

I believe Jesus wanted them to connect their experience with Psalm 23 where David wrote, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.” (Psalm 23:1-2) KJV

What a wonderful picture of Jesus our Good Shepherd!

Hey, maybe it’s time for us to lose the hoarding mentality.  Let’s leave the rocks and dirt behind and trust Him to provide the green grass.

A PRAYER: Lord, we want to trust You and your provision.  Please strengthen our faith!

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

Scripture passages are from the NETBible ® unless otherwise noted.

leaning — March 17, 2022

leaning

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We approached the place to dismount, unnerved because this was our first ride on a ski lift.   We pushed ourselves off.  My skis skittered a little, but I stayed upright.  But – my wife began to fall, and she tried to catch herself by latching onto wobbly old me. 

We ended up in a pile, looking like a weird appetizer with 4 toothpicks popping out.   Of course, they stopped the ski lift and every rider gawked to see what happened.  Where to hide?

Even more embarrassing – she did it to me two more times that trip.

_____

When you grab onto the wrong person – these kinds of things happen.  Take King Hezekiah, for instance. 

His kingdom was in big trouble.  The borders had been breached by the brutal Assyrian army.  They had obliterated every defense in Judah until they came to Jerusalem. 

Once the capital was surrounded, an Assyrian spokesman by the name of Rabshakeh confronted Hezekiah. 

He said, “This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: “What is your source of confidence?  Your claim to have a strategy and military strength is just empty talk. In whom are you trusting that you would dare to rebel against me? “Look, you must be trusting in Egypt that splintered reed staff.…”  Isaiah 36:4-6

It was true!  Hezekiah was depending on his neighbor to the south, to come to his defense.  Egypt needed Israel to be a buffer state between them and Assyria – a good reason to join the fight. 

Rabshakeh wanted to undermine the king’s confidence, so he described Egypt as a “splintered staff.” 

A staff was a shepherd’s tool. It was about 5 ft. long and used for stability.  It was made of seasoned bamboo, strong and light and perfect for the job. 

But once it was dried, it became brittle.  Constant use would cause the ends to splinter and become sharp.

So, imagine a shepherd.  As he descends a steep hill, he stables himself by putting his hand on the top of his staff.  But he forgot that it was broken.  Screams of pain follow as the splintered ends pierce the meat of his hand.

That’s how Rabshakeh described Egypt. He said, “If someone leans on it for support, it punctures his hand and wounds him.”  (Isaiah 36:6)

The point (no pun intended) – Egypt may seem trustworthy, but she is incapable of defending Judah.  Lean on her and you will destroy yourselves.” 

He was right!  When we lean on someone or something that is unreliable, we end up getting hurt.

And yet that’s what we often do.  We lean on our investments to provide financial security and the medical establishment to protect our heath.  We trust our schools to always put the best interests of our kids first.  

We rely on our government to provide law and order.  We trust our employer to always do the right thing by us and our families to always be there for us.  We just assume our friends will always have our backs. 

Sometimes they deliver – sometimes they don’t.  And when they don’t – we end up with bloody hands.

Hezekiah decided that his enemy was right – so he forgot Egypt and turned to the Lord.  He prayed, “Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power, so all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the Lord.”  – Isaiah 37:20  

Like my wife, Hezekiah and his nation were helplessly falling, but He reached out and grabbed for God.

And this is how God answered, “The angel of the Lord went out and killed 185,000 troops in the Assyrian camp.”  – Isaiah 37:36

The threat was completely eliminated, and Judah was secured. 

Do you feel like you are falling these days?  Leave your lean-to and grab onto God.  He is here for you.

A PRAYER: Lord I am so glad that you will never, ever let me down.  Thank You!

This has been Jim Johnson with pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you

Scripture references are from the NETBible ®