What’s Wrong in the World?

“O how terrible for those who confuse good with evil, right with wrong, light with dark, sweet with bitter. O how terrible for those who think they’re so wise, who consider themselves so clever.” – Isaiah 5:20-21 (VOICE)

What’s wrong in the world?

As a people, we’re confused, and in that confusion easily corruptible. Our morality is warped as we have become “swollen with self-importance, and given to loving pleasure more than God” (see 2 Timothy 3)…continually living in a fog of self-induced deception.

What’s wrong in the world?

As a people, we are perverted in our thinking because we have not allowed our minds to be renewed, therefore genuine transformation has not taken place and our spiritual foundation is less than stable, so that even as Christians we come up with our own reasonings, looking at evil but declaring it good, engaging in wrong but convinced that it’s right, walking in darkness yet thinking that it is light, tasting bitterness but believing it to be sweet.

What’s wrong in the world?

As a people our hearts are being drawn away from God, our first love. Rather than delighting ourselves in Him, we continue only to delight ourselves in the pleasures of our senses and that turns into sin.

What’s wrong in the world?

As a people, we do not seek true wisdom, instead we’ve become wise in our own eyes and clever in our own sight. We put our own spin on the meaning of God’s Word, employing our own wisdom and never seeking the interpretation of the Holy Spirit, from whom the Scriptures were inspired. We think we know but we are fools, biblical fools, trusting in our own minds (see Proverbs 28:26).

What’s wrong in the world?

As a people, we are ever so accommodating, quick to compromise and deviate from God’s standards, opting instead to play Russian roulette with our eternal salvation.

What’s wrong in the world?

As a people called Christians, we too often, at the first sign of opposition, step outside of godliness to be in good standing with the world, following its patterns rather than standing strong in the Truth.

What’s wrong in the world?

As a people, we profess our Christian faith but we do not speak out against injustice, corruption, deceit, immorality, wickedness, and the things that God hates and detests (see Proverbs 6) but prefer to remain silent not wanting to stir up the enmity and scorn of the world.

What’s wrong in the world…

 

Shelley Johnson “What’s Wrong in the World?” © 2016 revisited June 30, 2025

 

Spiritual Terrorism

When a crime is committed, the burning question on every tongue is: “Who did it?”

A horrendous crime has been perpetrated against all humanity. A criminal like no other is on the loose. A conman whose main weapon of choice is deception. A snatcher of good seed and a sower of seeds of destruction. A consummate thief who steals away the abundant life that you and I were meant to live. A serial terrorist, terrorizing mankind from time immemorial.

Since the beginning of time, this terrorist concocted a massive scheme of spiritual terrorism – a devious plan to carry out murder on a grand scale. But even though we may not always recognize this master of deception, he is well known to those in authority. When, disguised as an angel of light, he managed to wangle his way into the Throne Room to lay accusation against God’s faithful servant Job, God did not fall prey to his ruse and exposed him on the spot.

“One day the divine beings came to present themselves before the Lord, and the Adversary also came among them. The Lord said to the Adversary, “Where did you come from?” – Job 1:6-7 (CEB)

Jesus also knows the culprit well. He had to deal with this tempter during those 40-days He spent in the wilderness (read Matthew 4:1-11). And Jesus, like God, was not fooled by his shenanigans. Jesus is very clear about who’s trying to choke the spiritual life out of believers and fingers the prime suspect in Matthew 13:38-39.

If for some odd reason, after reading that, you’re still not sure, Apostle Paul left us more than a blatant clue as to the identity of this perpetrator in Ephesians 6:12 (Phillips),

“…you can successfully resist all the devil’s methods of attack. For our fight is not against any physical enemy: it is against organizations and powers that are spiritual. We are up against the unseen power that controls this dark world, and spiritual agents from the very headquarters of evil.” 

And, Apostle Peter cautions us to be on the alert and remain vigilant because this serial terrorist is continuously prowling around looking for prey. It’s all part of the devil’s devious plot against God’s people.

“Be self-controlled and vigilant always, for your enemy the devil is always about, prowling like a lion roaring for its prey.” – 1 Peter 5:8 (Phillips) 

For ages the devil has been engaged in spiritual terrorism. For thousands of years he has been honing his craft. Jesus Himself testifies,

“He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a falsehood, he speaks what is natural to him, for he is a liar [himself] and the father of lies and of all that is false.” – John 8:44 (AMPC)

A thief, a killer, a destroyer, a liar, the devil has been all these and more, from his first appearance in the Garden until now, his game plan of trickery and deceit has not changed, his methods to lure and entice have not changed; he continues to present his fabricated stories as real and we fall for them more often than we ought. Jesus, Apostles Paul and Peter, and James have all told us how to handle the devil…

Jesus, subjected to the devil’s temptations, did not yield but quoted the Word of God instead: “It is written…” and “It has been said…” (see Luke 4:1-13).

Beloved, Apostle Paul said that we must “be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” (Ephesians 6:10-11 NIV).

And Apostle Peter tells us to resist the devil and stand firm in the faith (see 1 Peter 5:9).

And James says, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you.” (James 4:7-8 NIV).

Amen†

 

Shelley Johnson “Spiritual Terrorism”© 2016 revisited June 29, 2025

 

 

Our Resting Place

 

“By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so, on the seventh day He rested from all His work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done.” – Genesis 2:2-3 (NIV)

These verses tell us that after six days of work God rested on the seventh day. Resting on the seventh day is a good practice for each of us to adopt, as this relates to God’s own resting after He had finished His work. However, reading Hebrews chapters 3 and 4, we see that there is indeed a deeper meaning to this rest, one that is not physical in nature but carries a more profound spiritual meaning.

We see, in these chapters, that God wants His people to stop their religious works and striving of the flesh and believe in and be obedient to His Living Word, so that they may enter into His Rest – a Divine rest, apprehended only by faith.

What is this rest then? It is the Sabbath Rest to which Hebrews 3 and 4 refer.

It is Jesus Himself who is the very embodiment of the Sabbath. Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath.

The rest, spoken of in the Old Testament, was merely a shadow of what was to come; a symbol which pointed to a higher form of rest.

Colossians 2:16, 17(GNT) tells us,

“So let no one make rules about…the Sabbath. All such things are only a shadow of things to come in the future; the reality is Christ.”

This wonderful Sabbath was secured for us by Jesus at Calvary. So, now, we can trust in the finished work of Christ and find continual rest in Him.

Unlike the people of the Old Testament, our Sabbath is not limited to one day of rest per week but is to be observed each and every day of our lives. This Rest is so much more than we realize. The Sabbath speaks of a healing rest, a time of rejuvenation, refreshing and renewal.

Beloved, Jesus Christ has redeemed us from the curse of toiling and sweating for our own provision. He has made provision for us to rest. He is the true Sabbath Rest that God wants for us.

Knowing and believing that Jesus is our resting place, will equip us for amazing lives of eternal rest in Christ.

Amen †

 

 

 Shelley Johnson “Our Resting Place” © 2013 revisited June 28, 2025

The Donkey

Over the years of writing Bethel at Balata, I’ve come to realize that when God wants to hammer home a lesson, He continues the topic, back-to-back. So, here I am today still "talking" about the donkey.

There’ a poem by G.K. Chesterton entitled The Donkey…

When fishes flew and forests walked
   And figs grew upon thorn,
Some moment when the moon was blood
   Then surely I was born.

 With monstrous head and sickening cry
   And ears like errant wings,
The devil’s walking parody
   On all four-footed things.

 The tattered outlaw of the earth,
   Of ancient crooked will;
Starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb,
   I keep my secret still.

 Fools! For I also had my hour;
   One far fierce hour and sweet:
There was a shout about my ears,
   And palms before my feet.

Oftentimes we see the donkey not just as a beast of burden but as a symbol of humiliation and low status, after all we would much rather be astride a regal horse than atop a lowly donkey. But as the poet points out, the donkey had its hour on that wonderful day, which is on every Christian calendar, Palm Sunday. 

When our Lord Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, it was a symbol of His humility.

Some kings were known to ride on donkeys as a declaration of peace to another king since to approach riding a horse would have indicated that his intention was to attack. In that case, the donkey is seen as a symbol of peace.

photo courtesy O'Reilly Lewis

Unlike the majestic horse, the donkey is considered not much to look at and that is exactly how Jesus is described in Isaiah 53:2,

“He had no dignity or beauty to make us take notice of him. There was nothing attractive about him, nothing that would draw us to him.” (GNT)

Nowadays, some people see absolutely no attractiveness in Jesus or His Church. For that matter there are those who describe believers as donkeys. And just like CK Chesterton’s donkey, believers are scourged, derided and considered dumb because of Whom and what we believe.  

1 Corinthians 1:27 (ESV) reads,

“But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong”

Yes, to the worldly, we are considered foolish and weak, that’s because they think themselves wise but they simply do not understand.

“But the natural [unbelieving] man does not accept the things [the teachings and revelations] of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness [absurd and illogical] to him; and he is incapable of understanding them, because they are spiritually discerned and appreciated, [and he is unqualified to judge spiritual matters].” – 1 Corinthians 2:14 (AMP)

In Luke 13:15, responding to the Pharisees’ rebuke of healing on the Sabbath, Jesus compares mankind's sickness of sin to the bondage of beasts of burden.

The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Any one of you would untie your ox or your donkey from the stall and take it out to give it water on the Sabbath. (GNT)

Jesus takes our burdens to deliver us from the bondage of sin and gives us life-saving water (see John 4:14; 7:37-38)

“Praise the Lord, who carries our burdens day after day; he is the God who saves us.” – Psalm 68:2 (GNT)

Beloved, Jesus Christ, like Balaam’s donkey, prevents you and me from making a terrible choice. He can loose you from “the stall” you’re in and give you the freedom that resting in Him provides – a deep spiritual rest, a higher form of rest...a Sabbath rest.

Amen †

 

Shelley Johnson “The Donkey” © 2025 June 26, 2025

 

If God can use a Donkey

When was the last time you saw a donkey? It’s been a while since I saw one but as a child, donkeys were everywhere. They were often used by farmers in the countryside to carry carts loaded with produce. Being a city dweller at that time, for me, seeing a donkey was quite the novelty.

In biblical times, donkeys were not uncommon. As a matter of fact, donkeys are mentioned in many Scripture readings in both the Old and New Testaments.

In Genesis 22:3, Abraham “saddled his donkey” early in the morning in preparation to make his way to sacrifice Isaac.

Seeking to “find grace and kindness” in Esau’s sight, Jacob sent a message to his brother listing all his possessions of value which included donkeys in Genesis 32:5

During the famine, when Jacob sent his sons to Egypt to buy grain, those same sons who had sold their brother Joseph into slavery, “Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, to put back each man’s silver into his own sack, and to give them provisions for their trip, and it was done. They loaded their grain onto their donkeys, and they set out.” – Genesis 42:25-26 (CEB)

In Exodus 4:20 we read, ^“So Moses took his wife and his children, put them on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt.” (CEB)

Once a fundamental part of the economy, donkeys were a sign of wealth. A donkey loaded up with “two hundred loaves of bread, two jugs of wine, five sheep already prepared [for roasting], five measures of roasted grain, a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs” was used by Abigail to appease David’s anger against her husband Nabal as recorded in1 Samuel 25.

God talks of the wild donkey when He challenged Job’s understanding in Job 39:5-8.

So yes, donkeys are mentioned several times in the bible, as burden carriers, as a common mode of transportation, as a measurement of wealth and much more. Surely, in that regard, they were an important asset but within the pages of Scripture, we find certain donkeys that hold a pride of place in God’s plan; donkeys playing a significant role in fulfilling God’s specific purpose.  

“Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion. Sing aloud, Daughter Jerusalem. Look, your king will come to you. He is righteous and victorious. He is humble and riding on an ass, on a colt, the offspring of a donkey.” – Zechariah 9:9

Zecharia’s prophecy was fulfilled in Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem riding on a donkey (read Matthew 21:1-11). “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” Clearly that donkey was a befitting choice for such an important procession.

Numbers 22:21-39 tells of an amazing event where God gave a donkey, albeit temporary, the ability to first see into the supernatural realm and then to speak! Yes, God used this Angel-of-the-Lord-seeing-donkey to rebuke its owner, Balaam.  

Beloved, all this is to say that if God can use a donkey, He can certainly use you.

Please do not count yourself out. Don’t feel that your past or present circumstances are a hindrance to your usefulness to God.

God transforms us into vessels for honourable use.

If God can use a donkey, He can certainly use you. Don’t figure that you’re too young or too old to be used by God.

Donkeys should never be seen as insignificant as they were created to carry the weight of what’s required. 

Let me remind you that you were created for purpose! God can empower you to operate in the supernatural just as He did with Balaam’s donkey.

If God can use a donkey, He can certainly use you!

Amen †

 

Shelley Johnson “If God can use a Donkey” © 2025 June 25, 2025

 

True Unity

Still exploring the complexities of unity, we see from Scripture that there is unity of the believer with Jesus Christ and within the body of Christ, the Church. But within the Church, is there true unity? Or is there uniformity? What does this supposed unity within the body of Christ look like these days? Sadly, very similar to what it looked like in Paul’s days.

Apostle Paul cautioned the Corinthian church by writing,

“…brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed.” – 1 Corinthians 12:1 (NIV) 

Uniformity is not unity. True unity is not about sameness. When Jesus spoke of unity, oneness, He was never intending for believers to be clones of each other. In verse 20 Paul says,

“…there are many parts, but one body”

Paul recognized that true unity within the body of believers is characterized by diversity. It’s about working together even though there are differences between us. God uses our strengths and weaknesses for His benefit, the benefit of others and the building up of His Church.

True unity is rooted in grace and in lovingkindness. True unity is about commitment and sacrifice. It’s about washing each other’s feet and choosing to turn the other cheek when you would really prefer to respond with a fitting comeback. True unity is about loving the seemingly unlovable and quietly “doing” when nobody’s looking.

Beloved, when you dare to love as Jesus loved, as God loves, you are displaying true unity. True unity is in action, it’s not passive but bold and tangible. True unity is never pretentious or pompous.

Without true unity, we as followers of Christ can “do nothing” because true unity is embedded in the life of Christ, in the actions of Christ and in the cross of Christ.

“I am the Vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him bears much fruit, for [otherwise] apart from Me [that is, cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing.” – John 15:5 (AMP)

The Church will accomplish nothing if it isn’t in true unity – “vital union” – with Jesus.

In Romans 12:4-5 (GNT) Paul explains,

“We have many parts in the one body, and all these parts have different functions. In the same way, though we are many, we are one body in union with Christ, and we are all joined to each other as different parts of one body.”

Apostle Paul was keenly interested in true unity within the Church, not as some sort of indiscernible connection but as a very visible oneness that could be easily seen throughout the body of believers, in order that every believer may come to spiritual maturity.

He amplifies this in his letter to the Ephesians,

“…to build up the body of Christ [the church]; until we all reach oneness in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, [growing spiritually] to become a mature believer, reaching to the measure of the fullness of Christ [manifesting His spiritual completeness and exercising our spiritual gifts in unity].” – 4:12, 13 (AMP)

Beloved, true unity already exists, for Christ Jesus accomplished it, however, it is yet to be attained and manifested within the members of Christ’s body, the Church. So, let us eagerly work towards this reality “with all humility [forsaking self-righteousness], and gentleness [maintaining self-control], with patience, bearing with one another in [unselfish] love.” making “every effort to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the bond of peace [each individual working together to make the whole successful].” – Ephesians 4:2 & 3 (AMP)

Amen †

 

Shelley Johnson “True Unity” © June 25, 2025

 

The Unity of One

 

“Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad”

With these words Moses affirmed the mystery of the unity of One:

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One!” – Deuteronomy 6:4 (NKJV)

This topic of oneness is vast in complexity and, as a matter of fact, extends way beyond the scope of this Blog, but as is my habit, I endeavor to whet your curiosity enough so as to birth in you an inclination to investigate for yourself.

"The Creation of Adam" 
 a portion of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel fresco

Scripture is rife with the concept of “oneness” which can be seen from early on when God said, in Genesis 3:22, 

“Behold, the man has become like one of Us…” (NKJV). 

Here is a great example of the mysterious concept of unity and plurality occurring at the same time in this one verse, because “man” refers to both Adam and Eve, while “Us”, seen also in Genesis 1:26, is translated from the Hebrew word “Elohim”, a plural word for God. We are introduced to Elohim, an expression of the all-encompassing powerful nature of God, from the very beginning of the Word in Genesis 1:1.

God is by far our best example of the unity of One, in that, He is Three distinct Persons in One: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – the Trinity or Tri-Unity. And even though the Bible does not specifically use the word Trinity, God Himself gave us a clue to His triune nature, when He said,

“Come near to Me, hear this: I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; From the time that it was, I was there. And now the Lord God and His Spirit Have sent Me.” – Isaiah 48:16 (NKJV)

The Lord our God is indeed One, and Adam and Eve were One with Him before the introduction of sin in the Garden. Man became divided from each other, separated from God, and scattered abroad through sin. But our loving God already had in place a solution to restore the unity of one – man to man and man to God.

“…Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one.” – John 11:51, 52 (NIV)

Yes, Jesus, the Son, gave up the privileges of Heaven, a realm of no limitations, took the form of a limited body of flesh here on earth, and willingly sacrificed His life to redeem all mankind – both Jew and Gentile – from sin and make possible our reconciliation to God. How’s that for a gift of love? Jesus was one in His purpose to reunify everyone with each other and with God.

“…His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.” – Ephesians 2:15, 16 (NIV)

Without Jesus, you and I have no hope of restoring the oneness that was lost.

 Without Jesus, you and I will remain separated from one another and from God. 

Without Jesus, there’s no coming “together as one in mind and spirit and purpose, sharing in the same love.” that Apostle Paul talks about in Philippians 2:2; there’ll be no standing united, singular in vision and purpose as if one person, that he speaks of in Philippians 1:27. 

Without Jesus we’ll remain two, or three, or more, each man for himself, a divided house against itself destined to fall (see Matthew 12:22-28).

Jesus is our bond of unity. He has broken down the barrier, the dividing wall. The unity of One is so important to God, that on the night before Jesus went to the cross, He prayed for us to return to One.

“…I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one…” – John 17:23 (NKJV)

God’s people must strive for unity because when two truly become one through Christ Jesus and joined by God, there’s no stronger bond, nothing and no-one can separate that union (see Matthew 19:5-6). 

When we come into agreement with each other and with God, the unity of One is created and God can use us to crush the enemy (see Romans 16:20 & Matthew 18:19).

Man, through sin, created the division, God sent His Son Jesus to bring man back to the unity of One. Beloved, you and I have a choice: we can remain separated from God by sin or become united to God through Jesus – we can either reject or accept the unity of One.

If we accept, then we’ll “travel on the same road and in the same direction, staying together, both outwardly and inwardly, having one Master, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who rules over all, works through all, and is present in all, and everything we are and think and do will be permeated with Oneness.” – Ephesians 4:4-6 (MSG).

Amen†

 

Shelley Johnson “The Unity of One” © 2017 revisited June 24, 2025