Bone of my Bones

 

And Adam said:

“This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.”  Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

(Genesis 2:23-24 NKJV)

God had created Adam in His image and likeness. Adam, therefore, not only bore a resemblance to his Creator but shared in His nature, so he knew love and had the ability to love.

Adam was in perfect harmony with God and the rest of creation, but God, knowing that He was not alone in His existence, recognized that Adam, made in His image and likeness, would soon feel the lingering emptiness of his lonely existence in the Garden, since he was alone in terms of compatibility.

Not one of God’s other creations was like Adam, so God observed that “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” (Genesis 2:18 NKJV).

And Eve was created from one of Adam’s own bones, a rib, a side breast so to speak, as a “helper opposite him”, a suitable companion who would stand face to face with Adam, a fitting partner, well-suited and well-matched.

A comparable helper made of the same flesh, and having the same “essence”. This is the same “essence” we share with Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, who became a flesh and bone human being. This “essence” is indeed the Holy Spirit. Incidentally, the word for bone in Hebrew, “etzem” signifies “essence” and is symbolic of your innermost self, which provides stability and strength. Isn’t that what the indwelling Holy Spirit does?

God had created many things for Adam but only Eve was created from the deepest part of Adam himself. Eve was his innermost desire. She was that creation with whom he could become truly united in love. And together they could “be fruitful and multiply”, in other words, get on with the business of producing children (see Genesis 1:28). The concept of family radiated from there.

A man leaving his mother and father to join to his wife, is a unique coupling, for even though in the Garden of Eden it was Adam’s physical bone that was used to create his marriage to Eve, today when male and female marry, a spiritual “bone of my bones” is bonded. And when they come together in sexual intercourse a “flesh of my flesh” or “flesh from my flesh” results, and the two become one flesh. However, both conditions must be present for this incredible spiritual union of man and wife to occur.

Natural marriage is supposed to be a reflection of this spiritual principle, where such a strong bonding of the bones or framework of marriage is created that it cannot be broken. It is supposed to echo the qualities that this first marriage possessed – two becoming one in perfect harmony, fellowship and love with God, and with each other.

Man and wife, two separate persons journeying as one but still with their distinct personalities and functions, walking together in mutual agreement, properly aligned and in Divine order. What a lovely picture of marriage, yet that is not the picture that we see nowadays.

What gets in the way?

Ah yes, selfishness again rears its ugly head.

There can be no selfishness in this spiritual union, that pattern of marriage that God, from the beginning, intended to exist.

Selfishness was never part of His design but then the fall from grace and the simultaneous separation from God of the perfect couple occurred in the Garden, and that wonderful chemistry was lost. But the redemptive work of Jesus Christ at Calvary has restored the reverential expression of unselfish love that is supposed to be the hallmark of genuine marriage.

Now a man and his wife have the opportunity to experience this wonderful inner union by giving God His rightful place in their marriage. It begins with their love for God and then for one another and it is this deep love upon which the foundation of their relationship must be built.

Too often married couples allow selfishness to supplant that love as they seek to control and possess their spouse, but this spells unhappiness in marriage.

Marriage is a fusion of two and not about one and one. When we only have regard for the welfare of “I” the most intimate facet of the divine tenet of marriage is prostituted and domestic misery ensues.

Married couples cannot be so engrossed in their outward flesh lives that they fail to experience the inward bone life; there must exist a marriage of the two. The “bone of my bones” and “flesh of my flesh” cannot be divorced one from the other. Even persons who may be enjoying married life from a natural perspective, how much greater a life of marriage they would have if they built it upon that spiritual foundation.

Whether you are already married or ever plan to, the questions that follow must be answered.

Are you fit for marriage?

Are you more physically bonded than spiritually united?

Is your marriage only “flesh of my flesh” without “bone of my bones”?

Is your marriage neither?

Tradition dictates that we commit to vows of marriage and attempt to keep those vows, but we must be mature enough to be faithful even if those vows did not exist.

Beloved, it takes three to journey this road – you, your spouse, and God, and the more you both truly love God, the more His love will flow into you creating in you a deep authentic love for each other. This liquid love precipitates the merging of the two into one flesh – bone of my bones.

Amen†

 

Shelley Johnson “Bone of my Bones” © 2017 revisited July 9, 2025

 

A Little Leaven

 “You were running superbly! Who cut in on you, deflecting you from the true course of obedience? This detour doesn’t come from the One who called you into the race in the first place. And please don’t toss this off as insignificant. It only takes a minute amount of yeast, you know, to permeate an entire loaf of bread.” – Galatians 5:7-9 (MSG)

Think about this for a moment: 99% of food containing 1% of poison can kill a grown man.

Like that 1% of poison, a minute amount of yeast – a little leaven – is deadly! Leaven, in Scripture, is used in most instances to symbolize the effects of sin, and even though some verses speak of a little leaven or yeast, that does not mean that there are varying degrees of sin. No, sin is sin and must never be quantified.

Apostle Paul was trying to get an important point across to the Galatians at that time, and also to us today. It was important for them then and equally important for us now, to understand that just as a little leaven causes all the dough to rise, so too a mere speck of sin is enough to permeate an entire person, household, community, nation and church.

When sinful behaviour, even in “small” amounts, is permitted, disregarded, or ignored, its results will be the same as leaven’s effect on dough.

Jesus, in Matthew 13:33, helps us to further understand this effect that leaven has,

“The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.”

Beloved, the effects of a little leaven cannot be stressed enough, and we must not discount its power.

Satan, and his advocates, have a way of convincing people that it’s just a little sin so there’s nothing wrong with that. But Galatians 5:9 uses the word “permeate” to describe the consequences of a little leaven, a little sin. Do you truly understand what that means?

Permeate is to spread or flow throughout, to penetrate through the pores, to get into every part, to saturate, infiltrate, seep into. Are you getting the picture?

Left to do its thing, sin, like leaven, spreads and spreads quickly throughout its host; seeping into every crevice, nook and cranny; hastily getting out of control like flood water or a raging wildfire. And all this happens unseen.

According to Paul, all it takes is a simple deflection from the true course of obedience – a minor detour from your spiritual path, a casual stumble out of the will of God – it’s as “simple” as that.

But the news isn’t all bad because we serve a God who never leaves His people without hope. His Word assures us that He has already made a way for us to get back on course (see 1 Corinthians 10:13).

Beloved, God has provided a solution to our little leaven problem – Repentance! Repenting is the very first step towards removing the leaven.

You’re probably saying, “But we all sin and fall short of God’s glory though”, and that’s the Truth, but you have a choice – continue to run along in sin, or turn in the opposite direction, so that you can get back in the race mapped out for you by God Himself, running superbly with Spirit as your running mate and this time, side-stepping anyone who tries to cut in on you.

Amen†

 

Shelley Johnson “A Little Leaven” © 2017 revisited July 8, 2025

“Worthless Religion”

 Worthless religion, that’s what James calls the practice of someone who is careful to observe all the duties of his faith and at the same time talks at will, saying whatever he wants to, and even distorts the truth by taking Scripture out of context, changing God’s eternal Word. James says that that person is delusional.

“You might think you are a very religious person. But if your tongue is out of control, you are fooling yourself. Your careless talk makes your offerings to God worthless.” – James 1:26 (ERV)

It is quite possible to regularly attend church, teach Sunday School, be the choir master, the organist, a steward, or even the preacher, and yet practice worthless religion – saved but still walking in error.

Beloved, if you consider yourself a genuine Christian, then you need to be mindful of your words.

In Matthew 15:11 Jesus Himself warns, “Listen, and take this to heart. It’s not what you swallow that pollutes your life, but what you vomit up.” (MSG)

Your words can be your downfall; they are the expressions of your heart, which is that place deep inside you beyond your conscious thoughts. Jesus, quoting from Isaiah said,

“This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me...” – Mark 7:6,7 (NKJV)

Heed the Word of God and keep a tight rein on your tongue.

You’re not obliged to let every single thing come out of your mouth.

You are responsible for guarding your tongue. Solomon, the wisest man that ever lived said that there’s “A right time to shut up and another to speak up” – Ecclesiastes 3:7 (MSG)

Until you bring your words under submission to God, your service will be useless, and you will continue to walk in error.

Beloved, as a Christian, if you believe that it’s okay to say whatever you want because “That’s just who I am, a direct person…I don’t hold back, I speak my mind.” you are self-deceived and practicing lawlessness (read Matthew 7:20-23).

God’s law, His Word, tells us what to do, how to behave – and we do not “do” to keep up appearances but out of a love which motivates us to please God.

Only by sincerely searching God’s Word, developing your relationship with Him through Jesus Christ, and allowing His Spirit to truly teach and guide you, will you be able to come out of worthless religion and into God’s “perfect law of liberty” (read James 1:22-25).

Amen†

 

Shelley Johnson “Worthless Religion” © 2016 revisited July 7, 2025

Hiding your story

 

Every person on this earth has a story. Our lives relate our story. Your story, even though it is your own personal tale, is not meant to be hidden. Stories are for telling. 

What has God done in your life? How has Jesus rescued you? 

Your story has tremendous potential to expand the Kingdom of God but you’re hiding your story.

“I will sing the wondrous story Of the Christ Who died for me. How He left His home in glory For the cross of Calvary.”

God has given you this new life through Jesus Christ and that story must be told, after all, your story is a unique life message that He has given to you. 

Time is short and people are dying to hear the story you have to tell, they’re dying to hear of the victory that Jesus has given to you over sin and death. 

Won’t you tell your story?

“I was lost, but Jesus found me, Found the sheep that went astray, Threw His loving arms around me,
Drew me back into His way.”

Yes, it’s true that your story may contain some things that you’d prefer to remain hidden, especially those things you never want to remember or speak about but people need to hear. 

People need to know of how wonderful it is to be in relationship with Jesus. 

Sharing your story with others gives glory to God.

“I was bruised, but Jesus healed me, Faint was I from many a fall, Sight was gone, and fears possessed me, But He freed me from them all.”

When you tell your story, as difficult as it may be, Jesus will bring to you and to others, through you, great healing, and renewal. 

Jesus made your life new and He wants to do the same for someone else too, if you’d only stop hiding your story. 

Beloved, people are longing for a new life and if you continue hiding your story, it never gets told and you rob them of the greatest gift – a relationship with God through Jesus Christ our Saviour. 

Won’t you tell your story?

“Yes, I’ll sing the wondrous story Of the Christ Who died for me, Sing it with the saints in glory, Gathered by the crystal sea.”

Amen†

 

 

Hymn: “I Will Sing the Wondrous Story” – words by Francis H. Pritchard (1886) & Ira Sankey (1887); music by Peter P. Bilhorn (1886)

Shelley Johnson “Hiding your story”  © 2016 revisited July 6, 2025

 

Freely Give, Freely Given, Freely Receive

 

St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church
Maracas Valley Trinidad

“All to Jesus I surrender,
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.”

The opening lines of today’s post make up the first verse of the hymn written by Judson W. Van De Venter, All to Jesus I Surrender. Some of you may know it and have sung it, and for those of you who have, how many of you really owned it by taking it to heart, truly meaning every word you’ve sung.

“All to Him I freely give” – what a line. Have you freely given all to Jesus? It’s difficult, I know, but do not be afraid to do so. 

When you freely give Jesus everything, you will be freely given everything for God Himself will bless you and when He does you must freely receive them with thanksgiving.

“Since everything God created is good, we should not reject any of it but receive it with thanks.” – 1 Timothy 4:4 (NLT)

“All to Jesus I surrender” – complete surrender, if you’re honest, is pretty daunting, but do not be afraid to do so. 

Let us look at Joseph and Potiphar (see Genesis 39). Potiphar, a wealthy officer of Pharaoh, was Joseph’s master therefore Joseph was Potiphar’s slave, to serve and to help him. But Potiphar saw something very special in Joseph and completely surrendered everything to him, making Joseph master over his entire household and over his field. Joseph, like Jesus, had two distinct characters, Servant and Master.

Looking at Joseph as a type for Jesus, like Potiphar, you must give everything to Jesus. Come to the complete surrender of everything to Him – all that you are, think you are, and all that you have. 

Too often we see Jesus as Servant only, there to serve our every need; we say that we love Him and trust Him yet we do not see Him as Master but He is Master also and we are to treat Him as such – placing Him over every area of our lives.

“He put him in charge of all his personal affairs, turning everything over to him. From that moment on, God blessed the home of the Egyptian—all because of Joseph. The blessing of God spread over everything he owned, at home and in the fields, and all Potiphar had to concern himself with was eating three meals a day.” – Genesis 39:4, 5, 6 (MSG)

If God blessed Potiphar in such an incredible way, how much more would He bless you if you put your entire life into Jesus’ hands? God will surely cause blessings to spread over everything that concerns you, inside and outside.

Say:

Today, I make Jesus Master over everything that concerns me. I surrender all to You Jesus – my inner life and my outer life; my soul, body, intellect, relationships, money, time, marriage, home, household, children, business, career, job. Every single thing, Jesus, I give to You, all that I am or think I am; all that I possess and all of my cares. Take complete control and cause me to live in Your presence daily. As I empty myself, I rest in the blessed assurance that as I freely give to You, I will be freely given, and I am now open to freely receive. Amen†

Shelley Johnson “Freely Give, Freely Given, Freely Receive” © 2016 revisited July 5, 2025

 

Two Fishing Trips: Something to think about

 Scripture tells us of two fishing trips; one can be found in Luke 5:4-7 and the other in John 21:3-11.

On the first fishing trip, Peter and the other disciples, after having been on the water all night had caught nothing. Now tired and despondent, Jesus tells them to try again but this time launch out into deep water and let down the nets everywhere to catch “a great multitude of fishes”.

The narrative goes on to tell us that the haul was so great that “nets were breaking” and boats “began to sink”. As you know, Peter and the others were career fishermen, they knew how to fish, so what was Jesus doing?

Jesus was showing them, in a very meaningful way, what they were to become, “fishers of men”, in other words, instead of catching fish they would be catching people.

Jesus told Simon. "From now on you will be catching people!" – Luke 5:10 (HCSB)

What happened on this first fishing trip caused such an impact that immediately thereafter, the disciples left what they were doing and followed Jesus (see verse 11).

We too are being told to venture into the deep to fish for people everywhere. No specific location has been given, rather we are to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15-16) so long as time exists.

Notice that Luke, in his account of this first trip, has given us something to think about – he was very careful to let us know that this gathering of an untold endless number of “fish” from everywhere will cause nets to break and boats to sink. Luke is telling us that adverse consequences come with catching so many fish, but Jesus tells us, “Don’t be afraid” (verse 10).

photographed by O'Reilly Lewis

The second fishing trip occurs between Jesus’ resurrection and His ascension. Yet again, after an all-night-no-fish session, Jesus, standing on the beach at daybreak unrecognizable, tells Peter and the disciples to cast their nets on the right side of the boat, and yet again a multitude of fish were caught.

In this account we are told that the number of fish was 153, and there was neither breaking of nets nor sinking of boats.

Jesus was very specific with His directions to the disciples this time round, instead of casting their nets everywhere, they were told to cast their nets on the right. This is reminiscent of Matthew 25:33.

“He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on the left.” (HCSB)

We’re told that when Jesus returns for the redeemed, those on the right side would inherit the Kingdom (see Matthew 25:32-34).

Notice that John, in his account of this second trip, has given us something to think about – he was very careful to let us know that there is a specific number of fish on a specific side of the boat, the right side.

 Jesus wants us to be specifically identified as being on the right side, in fellowship with Him and other believers. He wants us to not be afraid to launch out into deeper waters.

Beloved, today, you’ve been given something to think about.

 

(see also the Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds Matthew 13:24-30 & the Parable of the Net Matthew 13:47-50)

 

Amen †

 

Shelley Johnson “Two Fishing Trips: Something to think about” © 2016 revisited July 4, 2025

Mitzraim

 

I came across a new word recently – Mitzraim. Mitzraim is the Hebrew word for Egypt, the place where the Hebrews lived in bondage and oppression for over 400 years. But Mitzraim is more than just a place name or geographical location, Mitzraim typifies spiritual bondage and enslavement to sin.

Mitzraim is the plural form of the word matzor, whose root word is tzar, and this root word speaks of something that causes pain and suffering and relates to a place of narrowness, limitation, pressure and constraint. In biblical texts, matzor is associated with double difficulty or difficulty that is most extreme.

When we simply skim over Scripture, we tend to miss its layers of meaning and that entire recounting of the Jews captivity in Egypt, in Mitzraim, is just one of those instances.  

We see that many of the bible’s heroes, at some point, all descended into Egypt – Abraham, Joseph, then Jacob’s entire family – then came the 430 years of both physical and spiritual bondage.

Today we also descend into states of mitzraim where we’re stagnant, stuck, unable to move forward in life, not progressing; we can feel trapped, caged, being held captive by guilt and shame, by our past, by mistakes we’ve made, things we have said or done that we believe cannot be erased.

Beloved, Mitzraim, Egypt is not just a place taking up space on a map, it is a place taking up space in your heart. And the very good news is that, like those biblical Jews, you too can be delivered out of that place, out of that space.

God took them out of that state of spiritual bondage, narrowness, oppression, and everything else that Mitzraim represents, and He will also take you out – you can experience your own exodus.

“Tonight I will go through Egypt and kill every firstborn man and animal in Egypt. In this way I will judge all the gods of Egypt and show that I am the Lord. But the blood on your houses will be a special sign. When I see the blood, I will pass over your house. I will cause bad things to happen to the people of Egypt. But none of these bad diseases will hurt you.” – Exodus 12:12-13 (ERV)

The Blood delivers you out of your spiritual bondage – into a place of spiritual liberation, freedom.

“So if the Son makes you free, then you are unquestionably free.” – John 8:36 (AMP)

When God takes you out of Mitzraim it is an expression of His love for you. God has provided a way out of your bondage, beloved. It is through His only begotten Son, Jesus.

Jesus is our Deliverer, yours and mine. He suffered on the cross giving you an opportunity to gain freedom from mitzraim; to liberate you from anything that keeps you from living fully.

The Blood that Jesus shed makes us “free from the power of darkness” and brings us “into the kingdom of his dear Son. The Son paid the price to make us free. In him we have forgiveness of our sins.” (Colossians 1:12-14)

Beloved, God is willing to bring you out of Egypt, out of Mitzraim but it is still up to you to accept His offer to place the Blood on your house. Will you?

Amen †

 

Shelley Johnson “Mitzraim” © 2025 July 3, 2025