Heavenly Helpers

 

It was late at night when my phone rang. I knew it was my son, as I assigned a special ringtone to his number. I stirred from sleep and immediately my heart skipped several beats. I answered.

“Mommy,” his voice trembled, “I just got into an accident”

In a steady matter-of-fact tone I asked, “Are you okay?”

“Yes, yes, I’m okay…shaken but okay. I’m not hurt.”

Relieved, I silently thanked God, then I thanked Him aloud.

My son continued, “Someone hit me from behind but didn’t stop.” He paused for a moment then said, “Mom, I heard the impact, I felt the impact but…”

He paused again as if searching for words. I did not speak; I waited for him to formulate whatever it was he wanted to say.

“But then I felt as if the car was lifted and gently placed on the shoulder of the road. Mom, I didn’t pull aside, I did not drive the car off the highway and onto the shoulder and then I noticed a couple other drivers, running towards me asking if I was okay.”

Was he crying? I could almost hear tears in his voice. I did not speak, just listened.

“Mom, they told me that they’d witnessed the accident, that they heard the loud sound of the crash and were convinced that I was terribly hurt and that the car was badly damaged but there’s not even a scratch on the car mommy. Not one scratch.”

Tears rolled down my face as I thanked God for sending His heavenly helpers.

You have made the Lord your defender, the Most High your protector, and so no disaster will strike you, no violence will come near your home. God will put his angels in charge of you to protect you wherever you go. They will hold you up with their hands to keep you from hurting your feet on the stones. – Psalm 91:9-12 (GNT)

The bible records several instances when angels appeared to people in both the Old and New Testaments.

Hagar, when she had fled to the wilderness with Ishmael recorded in Genesis chapter 16.

When the Lord visited Abraham in Genesis chapter 18, He was accompanied by two angels.

Two angels were almost accosted by the men of Sodom when they went to warn Lot of impending disaster in Genesis chapter 19.

In Daniel 6:22, Daniel, still inside the lion’s den said to the king,

My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. 

Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary in Luke chapter 1.

Angels were sent to minister to Jesus in the wilderness in Matthew chapter 4 and again in the Garden of Gethsemane in Luke chapter 22.

And in the Book of Acts, the disciples, the Apostles, Philip, Cornelius, Peter and Paul all had encounters with angels.

David, in Psalm 34:7, gives the assurance that,

The Angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him [who revere and worship Him with awe] and each of them He delivers. (AMPC)

Even though angels are usually invisible they are never inactive. Psalm 91 lets us know that God will put his angels in charge of you to protect you wherever you go when you make Him your defender and your protector. And when you revere and worship Him, the Angel of the Lord sets up an encampment around you.

An encampment speaks of army troops.

There was a very good reason why Jesus cautioned His disciples saying,

Be careful. Don’t think these little children are not important. I tell you that these children have angels in heaven. And those angels are always with my Father in heaven. – Matthew 18:10 (ERV)

Each one of us is assigned a host of angels, heavenly helpers who are spirit-messengers sent out to help and care for those who are to receive his salvation (see Hebrews 1:14 TLB).

Beloved, you may not have ever seen angels but that does not mean they aren’t real, my son can attest to that and furthermore there is biblical proof of their existence.

Heavenly helpers certainly protected my son that night and they are constantly protecting you and me, for God sends an angel before you to guard you on the way (Exodus 3:20).

Thank God for the unseen bodyguards He has sent to keep you safe.

Amen †

Shelley Johnson “Heavenly Helpers” © 2026 June 28, 2026

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cyrene

We are introduced to Cyrene in the New Testament, when it first appears in the Gospel of Mark. This was a Libyan city in North Africa separated from Egypt by a section of the Libyan Desert.

photo Shutterstock

Originally a Greek colony, Cyrene, a veritable oasis in the desert, was a haven for weary travellers as its climate was delightful additionally it was a fertile and productive city.

This city gained its place of importance when one of its citizens was chosen to carry the cross of Jesus.

There was a man from Cyrene named Simon walking into the city from the fields. He was the father of Alexander and Rufus. The soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. (Mark 15:21 ERV)

Though Simon had been impressed by the Roman soldiers into carrying the cross, this act, by its connection to Jesus’ journey to Golgotha, was not by happenstance but was the result of divine design and orchestration.

The soldiers led Jesus away. At that same time there was a man from Cyrene named Simon coming into the city from the fields. The soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross and walk behind him. (Luke 23:26 ERV)

You see, God can and will use anyone to accomplish His purposes here on earth.

Simon of Cyrene was minding his own business when he was placed in direct contact with Jesus. But isn’t that like God? It is when we are about our own business that God seizes us and puts us in position to have a divine encounter. He takes us from the desert to the cross of Jesus.

That’s exactly what happened to Saul, Jesus’ most avid persecutor. While on his way to Damascus to arrest any followers of Jesus he may have found there (see Acts 9:3-20), and still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord (v 1), God had His way with Saul and, after this divine encounter, this one-time persecutor became Paul of whom God said was an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel (v 15 NRSVUE).

We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps. (Proverbs 16:9 NLT)

When Simon left Cyrene, he could never have imagined that he would be deliberately chosen to be of use to the Lord; God may have used the soldiers’ grasp, but it was definitely God’s hand at play.

Beloved, I hope you understand that God can use you too, even if you believe that you are unusable (see 1 Corinthians 1:27-29).

Mark and Luke’s similar accounts are all we know about Simon of Cyrene but that is no indication that his story ended after he carried the cross. No one’s story comes to an end after encountering the cross, for that is where your real story begins.

Amen †

Shelley Johnson “Cyrene” © 2026 June 27, 2026

 

 

 

 

 

Your inner Room is in your Brain?

 

Our brain is the most fascinating part of our body, yet we take it for granted. I’m not a doctor, I’m not a biologist but I do like to read and to learn and to discover so, I enjoy digging deep and making interesting connections.

One such connection is the link between the inner room, inner chamber, closet or simply room in some translations, that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 6:6 and the brain. This, it turns out, is an exhaustive topic which I hope to condense. I encourage you to research for yourself.

But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. – Matthew 6:6 (NASB 1995)

From the signals it receives from our bodies and the outside world, our brain is capable of producing an array of responses that provide us with rich and oftentimes complex experiences.

These responses can range from basic everyday movements, that we do by rote, to abstract reasoning.  The human brain is an amazing creation, made up of a collection of specialized systems that interact; no single area of the brain works in isolation.

The human brain comprises two hemispheres with each containing four different regions called lobes. These lobes are distinct yet work together magnificently. Our brain functions multidimensionally.

And it is this multidimensional functionality that Jesus appears to use as a template for prayer in Matthew chapter six. Though this chapter forms part of Jesus’ sermon on the mount, here He was speaking directly to His devoted followers, His disciples (see Luke 11:1-4), the ones who would have to be well-equipped to carry out the Great Commission (see Matthew 28:16-20).

You see, when Jesus instructed His disciples, in Matthew 6:6, when you pray, go into your inner room, He wasn’t only sending them to a physical location but was directing them on how to properly connect to God the Father just as He connected internally.

Those whom Jesus called to be His disciples would have grown accustomed to a certain way of praying and must have recognized that Jesus’ way was far different from other Rabbis and priests. They would have noticed that even if they were nearby, Jesus would go off alone to pray in solitude.

Jesus gave them three protocols to follow if they were to make that ultimate connection:

Do not be hypocritical – in other words their intentions must be honest, real. (v 5)

Do not stand and pray in public to be seen by men. (v 5)

Do not use meaningless repetition. (v 7)

So, where exactly is this inner room? In last week Thursday’s blog post, “Your Inner Room”, I shared with you that I discovered that there’s a part of our brain called the thalamus which is located at the centre of each of our brains and that the word is derived from ancient Greek thalamos, meaning the inner room or chamber, the most private room in a Greek home and carries the same meaning as tameion.

From this, we can conclude that Jesus was introducing His disciples to a much more profound concept of prayer. He was directing the disciples to an internal space or place – somewhere within themselves. What did Jesus say to the Pharisees in Luke 17:20-21?

The kingdom of God does not come with signs to be observed or with visible display, Nor will people say, Look! Here [it is]! or, See, [it is] there! For behold, the kingdom of God is within you [in your hearts] and among you [surrounding you]. (AMPC)

This speaks of Presence deep inside your regenerated self, at the control centre of your being. Your brain is the control centre of your body and has a very powerful influence on your stress levels, your mood and your overall health.

Your inner room is in your brain, at the very centre of your brain. The thalamus is not the only structure at the very centre of your brain, just under it is the hypothalamus which monitors the body’s vital functions, the amygdala, two almond-shaped clusters in the middle of your brain that are central to processing emotions, then embedded deep in the centre of the thalamus, there’s the pineal gland, which governs sleep patterns by secreting the hormone melatonin in response to darkness, it’s your nightly biological reset.

These structures at the centre of your brain are essential for its proper functioning; they work together to create a harmonious performance and contribute to the complexity of your behaviour and your cognitive abilities.

By now you may be thinking, “Your inner Room is in your Brain? Okay, all this information is great but how does it relate to what Jesus said in Matthew chapter six?”

We’re getting there but it will be a too-long post so, let’s leave that for another day. Amen?

Amen †

Shelley Johnson “Your inner Room is in your Brain?” © 2026 June 26, 2026

 

I Never Knew You

 

Matthew 7:23 records the words of Jesus no believer wants to hear; it’s a most unsettling sentence.

Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you who behave lawlessly.’ (NRSVUE)

Understand that this was not an indictment against unbelievers, as Jesus Himself said, these will be persons who had prophesied in His name, cast out demons in His name and would have done many mighty works in His name (see v 22). Jesus was referring to followers, people who claimed to belong; people who performed in His name.

His words were addressed to those who believed they belonged to the household of God.

For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God. If it begins first with us, what will happen to those who don’t obey the Good News of God? (1 Peter 4:17 NRSVUE)

But Jesus said that not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven (Matthew 7:21 NRSVUE) so that merely believing you belong is not an automatic access pass.

You see, knowing Jesus is one thing but Jesus knowing you is another. This knowing has nothing to do with facts, this has to do with intimacy, covenant knowing in the way that Adam knew Eve his wife (Genesis 4:1). It’s actually the same word found in Jeremiah 1:5 (NRSVUE).

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you…

When Jesus said, I never knew you, He brought together two Greek words, oudepote (never) and ginōskō (knew), which in effect say, “not even at any time did I have an intimate relationship”.

This was not fear mongering on Jesus’ part, He was exposing something that had already taken root among believers and sadly it’s still happening today. It’s so dangerous in its subtlety that Jesus had to shine a light on it; it’s when churchgoers replace relationship with performance. Where doing in Jesus’ name is substituted for an intimate relationship with Jesus – relationship replaced by activity.

Too many of us are so busy doing ministry that we have completely ignored relationship. We seek recognition for church involvement, we stand to make public testimonies of our faith, we show visible results for the things we’ve done, we’re fluent in religious language, yet none of these activities, though commendable, address the issue Jesus has exposed.

It’s not about what you do, it’s about who you are to Him. Salvation is not transactional but relational, it is abiding, it is union, it is connection, it is adoption, it is knowing – you knowing Jesus and more importantly Jesus knowing you. It’s not outward activity done solely for man’s approval but inward reality that bears good fruit (see Matthew 7:15-20) to the Father’s glory, as a result of your intimate relationship with Jesus (see John 15:5-8).

Matthew 7:23 is a statement purely about relationship, the ultimate spiritual connection – not yours to Jesus but His to you.

Beloved, the question at the final judgment won’t be what you accomplished in Jesus’ name. The question will be if He ever knew you.

Does Jesus know you now? You can be working for Jesus but not walking with Jesus; talking about Him but not with Him; know of Him but not known by Him because you have not established an authentic, mutual relationship with Jesus.

You can do something about it today so that you’ll never have to hear Jesus say I never knew you.

Amen †

Shelley Johnson “I Never Knew You” © 2026 June 25, 2026

Worship the Lord

 

Revelation 15:2-4 (ERV)

I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire. All those who had won the victory over the beast and his idol and over the number of its name were standing by the sea. These people had harps that God had given them. They sang the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb:

“Great and wonderful are the things you do,
Lord God All-Powerful.
Right and true are your ways,
Ruler of the nations.
All people will fear you, O Lord.
All people will praise your name.
Only you are holy.
All people will come and worship before you,
because it is clear that you do what is right.”

Several years ago, I suffered the heartbreaking loss of a very dear friend; it was unexpected, I was crushed, and my trust, like glass that has fallen onto a tiled floor, shattered into tiny shards.

Grieving the loss, I was at sea, then one day God laid a song on my heart, and I sang and every day thereafter I would worship the Lord singing songs of praise.

And as I continued to worship the Lord, a sense of peace invaded my heart and little by little those tiny shards of broken trust were fitted back together until my trust in God was restored.

When you worship the Lord, not only does the atmosphere around you change but the atmosphere everywhere is affected. Worship at work is invisible to the naked eye but its effects in you are unmistakably visible.

And whenever the tormenting spirit from God troubled Saul, David would play the harp. Then Saul would feel better, and the tormenting spirit would go away. – 1 Samuel 16:23 (NLT)

When you engage in authentic, intentional worship, with your mind focused on God, something incredible happens – the Presence of the Lord is manifested as He inhabits your praises (ref. Psalm 22:3).

Beloved, your worship may not compare to that of the celestial choir in Revelation 15, with their heavenly voices and unworldly melodies but nothing is stopping you from using their beautiful words of adoration to worship the Lord.

Amen †

Shelley Johnson “Worship the Lord” © 2026 June 24, 2026

 

 

Lost in Translation

 

I think that we forget that the bible was not originally written in English. I think that we forget that the bible was written about real people living real experiences at a real time in history. I think we forget that these real people spoke a language that wasn’t English.

In the English language we have one word to describe a thing while in other languages there are several different words to describe the different types of the single word we use in English.

For instance, our English word “love”, no matter what type of love we want to express, there is only this one word, while in Greek, there are several words to describe the different kinds of love, agape, eros, philía, philautía, storge, and xenia, so there’s no ambiguity.

And in some instances, certain words in one language simply do not exist in English, so the very essence of the word gets lost in translation. Take the Danish word “hygge”, it can’t be properly expressed in English because it’s more of a feeling, a mood or an experience; in an effort to explain its meaning, it’s translated as “coziness” but that doesn’t do it justice since it is so much more than that.

“Hygge”, like some Hebrew and Greek words, is cultural and relational, so the translation is more of an interpretation than a true reflection of the word itself and inevitably the word’s essential meaning is lost in translation.

I imagine that when translating from any language into another, translators have to decide the best word-meaning choice, wondering, “will it fit the context?”, “will it carry the cultural meaning?”, “will it convey the genuine essence of the original language?”

Whatever the choice, it will have an effect on how we understand the word and in the case of God’s Word which was translated from Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek to English.

Those who translated the bible years ago did not have the same life experiences as the people of the first century.

Their culture, their idea of community, how they viewed honour, saw shame, carried out justice, their familial relationships, their entire way of life, and even their communion with God, were vastly different so, it’s no wonder that context got lost in translation. Meanings got lost in translation. Understanding got lost in translation. Expressions got lost in translation. The intensity and the true impact of a whole verse or even a chapter got lost in translation because of the interpretation of a single word.

Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth. (2 Timothy 2:15 AMPC)

Beloved, every time you read the bible, you’re reading someone’s interpretation so that’s more reason for you to dig deep, go beneath the words on the pages, and always seek Spirit’s guidance because the words that have been lost in translation hold much more meaning than you realize.

Amen †

Shelley Johnson “Lost in Translation” ©2026 June 23, 2026

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the depths of despair

 

From the depths of despair, O Lord, I call for your help. Hear my cry, O Lord. Pay attention to my prayer. – Psalm 130:1-2 (NLT)

There’s so much chaos going on in the wider world today and closer to home, where you might be one of those persons who has lost their job or their livelihood. Life seems an endless spiral of doom and gloom and it feels as if you’re in the depths of despair with no apparent way out.

When bills are mounting and everything seems to be going wrong, don’t be afraid to call on the Lord for help. That’s what the psalmist did, he cried out to the Lord, from the depths of despair, asking Him to pay attention to his prayer.

Despair makes hope distant, but you must hang onto the belief that the Lord is hearing your voice and is listening to your prayers.

You can confidently echo Jesus’ words, I know You always hear and listen to Me (John 11:42 AMPC) because the Lord does, as a matter of fact, your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him (Matthew 6:8 NLT).

Trust that He knows your predicament and He will act, however, you must patiently await His response. The Lord acts in His timeframe, not yours. The period of waiting may be longer than you would want it to be and the anguish that waiting in the depths of despair brings is real, but the Lord is not slow as you understand slowness.

Beloved, even though you have been redeemed by Christ, you are not immune from the depths of despair that arise during difficult times, it’s par for the course but remember always that the Lord is aware of all that you’re going through and He is with you every step of the way.

So, as you wait for the joy that is sure to come in the morning, continue to trust that the Lord is working all things together for your good. Now, rest in His love for you.

Amen †

Shelley Johnson “From the depths of despair” ©2026 June 22, 2026