Domesticating the Gospel

 

Photo courtesy Chionsu Barclay

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. – Matthew 28:19-20 (NRSVUE)

The Romans were in control, and the Caesar was the king. He was to be adored, venerated and evangelized – there was no one greater, Caesar was lord.

To call someone other than Caesar king or to evangelize someone other than Caesar was unheard of as it was a punishable offense. But that did not deter the apostles from their mission.

When the apostles went out according to Jesus’ command in Matthew 28:19-20, to evangelize Jesus as Lord, they did so with passionate zeal, not thinking of the consequences. They took their assignment to increase the harvest seriously and, without fear, boldly went out to spread the great news of the true King.

Understand that Jesus’ teachings were radical for His time; first century people were not accustomed to this type of teaching, yet the apostles were expected to continue what Jesus had started, share all that they had learned and spread the great news of His Kingship and of His Kingdom.

How dare these men and women be so bold and how dare they spread this kind of news when they knew that good news was assigned to the Caesars alone.

But this wasn’t just good news, this was better than good, the news of Jesus Christ was then and still is now great news.

This assignment has not changed but we seem not to possess the boldness of those first century believers. The harsh reality is that the church universal is rapidly losing ground as church attendance continues to dwindle year after year.

We have tamed the radical message of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection and ascension lest we offend the status quo by spreading the whole truth in all its disruptive glory.

We have watered down the great news to okay news, domesticating the Gospel in an effort to make it palatable for human consumption.

Domesticating the Gospel is compromising Christianity. And frankly too many Christians are content with doing so.

Christians who shy away from letting people know their need of repentance are domesticating the Gospel.

Christians who make God into human image and likeness rather than letting persons know of the God who is sovereign, the Creator of all things, the Alpha and Omega with no beginning and no end are domesticating the Gospel.

Christians who are ashamed to let others know how Jesus has impacted their lives in a wonderful way and that’s why they choose to follow Him are domesticating the Gospel.

Christians who are afraid to defend their faith and stand up for Jesus are domesticating the Gospel.

Beloved, the Christian experience is not one of timidity. You must, with the help of the Holy Spirit, enter the mission field with courage and with steadfast determination to do your part without domesticating the Gospel.

Amen †

Shelley Johnson “Domesticating the Gospel” ©2026 April 7, 2026

 

 

 

 

 

Back to Normal

 

For the Season of Lent, most Christians would have observed 40 days of deep spiritual introspection and reflection. Perhaps you would have travelled this 40-day journey and now that Lent is over, you find that things have gone back to normal.

Life has returned to embracing all the habits, foods, or vices you may have forgone during those 40 long days. Life is back to normal.

But why go back to normal? Why go back to what you’ve always done? Why break the spiritual connection you would have made during your 40 days of surrender?

Beloved, believe it or not, you were in a season of transformation, transitioning from normal to supranormal but 40 days is not enough, the discipline must persist, the journey must continue for a lifetime.

During those 40 days of surrender, you would have seen God’s grace weaving through the mess of your life as you experienced a burgeoning faith and trust in Him.

During those 40 days of sacrifice, you would have shifted your focus from material pursuits by immersing yourself into a greater sense of being and purpose.

During those 40 days of release, you would have started crossing the atomically thin line between the physical and the spiritual.

Now Lent is over and you are determined to go back to normal. You are not alone, sadly, for most of us, as soon as that period is over, we go back to normal – all the things we were accustomed doing before Lent are resumed, bringing the spiritual transformation to a screeching halt as we no longer set our minds on things above but on things on earth (see Colossians 3:2).

So don’t remember what happened in earlier times. Don’t think about what happened a long time ago, because I am doing something new! Now you will grow like a new plant. Surely you know this is true. I will even make a road in the desert, and rivers will flow through that dry land. – Isaiah 43:18-19 (ERV)

During those 40 days of spiritual connection, God began doing something new in you and your new normal was about to be birthed but going back to normal is to miscarry everything with which you had been impregnated on this 40-day journey.

Back to normal will only result in a shift of your new-found spiritual perception.

Back to normal is detrimental to your spiritual upliftment; it’s going back to belief patterns that prevented you from truly connecting in the first place.

During those 40 days of higher spiritual realization, you would have begun connecting with the spiritual and not merely the world that exists around you.

That spiritual connection would have afforded you the ability to hear that guiding voice within saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left (Isaiah 30:21 ESV). Going back to normal will cause a spiritual disconnection, resulting in a distortion of Truth.

Back to normal is to once again settle into a pattern of detachment from Spirit, depending almost entirely on the outside rather than continuing to look within.

Back to normal is allowing the world to dictate your life.

Back to normal is looking to outside influences in order to thrive.

Back to normal is ignoring the inner voice of God and listening to the loud voices coming from all directions.

Back to normal is stepping back into the crucible of your own way of living rather than drawing on God’s provision, leading and guidance.

Back to normal is missing out on your opportunity to transition, to start over or afresh or anew.

Beloved, the Season of Lent was never meant to be a temporary stopgap measure and going back to normal after spending 40 days in the wilderness with Jesus is to fall into a degenerative backslide of a life. That is not progression but regression.

Will you let it all go to waste? 

There can be no such thing as going back to normal.

Amen †

Shelley Johnson “Back to Normal” ©2026 April 6, 2026

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If Jesus had not Risen from the Dead

 

Many of you I’m sure have read the Book of James in the Bible. A virtual manual on the topic of faith, James’ teachings are vital to anyone on the spiritual journey. His instruction on faith is an eye-opener for every believer. But did you know that if Jesus had not risen from the dead, James, Jesus’ own brother, would not have become a believer? 

James would have lived and grown up with Jesus yet did not believe that Jesus was whom He claimed to be, after all John 7:5 clearly states that His brothers did not believe in Him and in Matthew 13:57, Jesus Himself says that He had no honour among His own family. James belonged to the category of persons of whom Jesus asked, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” (ref. Matthew 12:48).

Even Peter, Jesus’ most zealous disciple and one of three in His inner circle, who walked with Jesus throughout His three years of Ministry, was a witness to every miracle that He performed, was atop the mountain at the time of the transfiguration, was himself a walker-on-water, though just for a moment, and, through the divine wisdom declared the truth of Jesus’ identity, did not fully understand Jesus’ earthly assignment until after His death and resurrection. 

This is evident simply because even though Jesus had told the disciples what was about to occur, mere hours later, it was Peter who drew his sword in the Garden of Gethsemane, in an attempt to stop Jesus' arrest.

Simon Peter had a sword, which he pulled out. He struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. – John 18:10 (ERV)

If Jesus had not risen from the dead, Peter may have remained ignorant of Jesus’ purpose for coming to earth.

Where would we have been today if Jesus had not risen from the dead? Can you imagine?

James’ teaching is critical to our understanding the working of our faith, the joy that is found in various trials we face, the importance of controlling our tongues and the tremendous power that is made available to us through our earnest heartfelt prayer. The Book of James, filled with divine wisdom for proper living, would not have been written if Jesus had not risen from the dead.

Peter was instrumental in the establishment of the Church, for it was Peter who, by the power of Divine wisdom acknowledged that Jesus was “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (see Matthew 16:16). To which Jesus, proclaiming “on this rock I will build My church” (see Matthew 16:18), established His congregation upon the truth of Peter’s testimony, yet at the time, Peter himself did not truly grasp the verity of it. 

“Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for our sins in accordance with [what] the Scriptures [foretold], That He was buried, that He arose on the third day as the Scriptures foretold, And [also] that He appeared to Cephas (Peter), then to the Twelve.” (AMPC)

According to 1 Corinthians 15:3-5, Peter was the first disciple to see Jesus alive after the resurrection and was the first to preach the Good News of His resurrection by the power of the Holy Spirit, as recorded in the Book of Acts. 

Beloved, the church would not have been built if Jesus had not risen from the dead, for Christ’s resurrection is essential to Christianity.

Amen†

Shelley Johnson “If Jesus had not Risen from the Dead” © 2017 revisited April 6, 2026

Given for me

 

“This is My body, which is being given for you” – Luke 22:19 (NASB)

Read that verse again. Let it sink in. Jesus is talking to you, beloved.

Now say aloud, Jesus’ body was given for me.

We tend to simply go through the motions without truly grasping the enormity of Jesus’ words…

“This is My body, which is being given for you…”

Today marks the culmination of everything that Jesus suffered for you – the teaching, the condemnation, the accusations, the persecution, the betrayals, the agony, the bloody sweat, the cat-o-nine tails, the denials, the pierced side, the abandonment, the crushed lungs, the inability to breathe, the impaired blood flow, the physical trauma, the excruciating pain…

His body, given for us, given for you, given for me.

Jesus suffered to the extreme so that you can have a life worth living in Him.

and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. – Galatians 2:20 (NASB)

Jesus gave Himself up for you so stop treating Him as an afterthought.

Given for me…

And now Jesus is risen from the dead and seated at the right hand of God in the heavenly places, over all rulers, authorities, powers, and kings. God put everything under His power and made Him head over everything and He makes everything complete in every way (ref. Ephesians 1:19-23).

Beloved, Jesus gave Himself for you, so that you may be made complete in Him in every way.

Amen †

 

Shelley Johnson “Given for me” ©2026 April 4, 2026

 

 

 

 

The Silence of the Tomb

 

Scripture: Matthew 27:59–60 (NIV)

Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb.

Reflection

Holy Saturday rests in stillness. The work of burial has been completed. The body of Jesus lies hidden from sight. No proclamation interrupts the quiet. The future remains unknown.

Lent culminates in this space of waiting. Faith stays with grief, honouring the reality of loss and the depth of silence. Communities learn to remain present when answers are absent.

Even in the tomb, God’s purposes continue unseen. Hope is carried quietly, sustained by memory and promise. The story has not ended, though it has reached its deepest silence.

Prayer

God of hidden faithfulness,

Stay with us in silence.

Hold us when words fail.

Strengthen trust in your unseen work.

Keep vigil with us

Through the night ~ Amen.

Invitation

Sit in silence for a few moments.

Release the need to resolve everything.

Say quietly:

“I wait with you.”

 

Daily Lent Devotions Revd Mark Robinson | Revd Dr Tessa Henry-Robinson Lent Day 40 | Saturday 4 April | The Silence of the Tomb

 

The Cross

 

Scripture: Luke 23:44–46 (NIV)

It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land… Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”

Reflection

The crucifixion confronts the full force of human violence and injustice. An innocent life is extinguished through public execution. Yet even here, Jesus entrusts himself to God. Trust remains when all visible hope appears extinguished.

Good Friday refuses easy interpretation. It calls the church to witness suffering honestly and to stand in solidarity with all who endure oppression and loss. The cross reveals both the depth of human cruelty and the depth of divine compassion.

In this surrender, love remains steadfast. God receives the life offered and holds it beyond the reach of death. The story pauses here, suspended between grief and promise.

Prayer

God of suffering love,

Hold the pain of the world in your mercy.

Strengthen those who mourn.

Give courage to all who suffer injustice.

Receive our grief

And keep us in hope ~ Amen.

Invitation

Observe a moment of silence today.

Remember those who suffer.

Say quietly:

“God, hold us.”

 

Daily Lent Devotions Revd Mark Robinson | Revd Dr Tessa Henry-Robinson Lent Day 39 | Friday 3 April | The Cross

 

The Way of Service

 

Scripture: John 13:35 (NIV)

By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

Reflection

Love becomes the defining mark of discipleship, taking shape in service, forgiveness, and mutual care that restore dignity and strengthen community. Through such practices, God’s presence is made visible in the life of the people.

Holy Week places this command within the shadow of the cross. Love continues even when fear intensifies and outcomes remain uncertain. It becomes an act of resistance against division and despair.

Communities that practice such love become signs of the kingdom already unfolding. They embody a future where reconciliation replaces hostility and dignity is restored.

Prayer

God of enduring love,

Teach us to care for one another deeply.

Heal divisions within your people.

Strengthen bonds of compassion.

Let our life together reflect

Your presence among us ~ Amen.

Invitation

Reach out to someone within your community.

Offer encouragement or support.

Say quietly:

“Love binds us together.”

 

Daily Lent Devotions Revd Mark Robinson | Revd Dr Tessa Henry-Robinson Lent Day 38 | Thursday 2 April | The Way of Service