Climbing a Tree to See

 

 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. – Luke 19:2-4 (NIV)

Jesus had entered Jericho and His good reputation having far preceded Him, commanded great crowds to gather.

The people yearned to hear Him, to touch Him and to see Him. Zacchaeus was no different, as he too clamoured to see but due to his diminutive stature, was overshadowed by the massive crowd. So, he runs ahead and climbing a tree to see, unknowingly, had positioned himself to have an encounter with Christ.

Now, first-century Jews despised tax collectors, they were seen as betrayers of their own people because they worked for Rome, the enemy of the Jews.

It’s no surprise that Zacchaeus, as a wealthy, very high-ranking tax collector possessed an awful reputation.

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. – Luke 19:5-6 (NIV)

Jesus stopped and called out to Zacchaeus, beckoning the traitor to come down from his perch. Needless to say the Jews were flabbergasted.

All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” – Luke 19:7 (NIV)

Yes, Jesus had gone to be the guest of a sinner.

That right there is the whole crux of the matter.

We, rather than encouraging those deemed sinners to repentance by being welcoming, treat them as outcasts due to our own ingrained bias while proudly displaying a WWJD band on our wrists.

Certainly, Jesus would not do those things we do. He sports no such band on His wrist – What Would Christians Do.

Yes, Jesus still goes to be the guest of sinners.

Sadly we, who claim to be followers of Jesus, are just like those first-century Jews, muttering criticisms under our breath about those persons we see as unworthy. Casting judgment on this sinner and that sinner, conveniently forgetting that we have all sinned and fall short of God’s divine greatness but for His grace, through the blood sacrifice of Jesus, we are made free from sin (see Romans 3:21-31).

I am sure that Zacchaeus wasn’t lost on the reputation he had in his community, but he climbed that tree anyway not knowing that his life was about to be impacted in an unimaginable way.

Beloved, like Zacchaeus, despite what others may think of you, and in spite of your past or present misdeeds, you just have to run ahead, not aimlessly but with purpose, climbing a tree until you’re able to see, and position yourself to encounter Jesus.

Proverbs 4:12 (AMPC) tells us,

When you walk, your steps shall not be hampered [your path will be clear and open]; and when you run, you shall not stumble.

Amen †

 

Shelley Johnson “Climbing a Tree to See” © November 13, 2025

 

 

 

Tiredness

 

Photo courtesy O'Reilly Lewis

But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired.

(Isaiah 40:31 AMPC)

Many times we become so tired that we do not even have the strength to pray but our God can renew our strength.

Beloved, God is the strength of your life.

When you are tired, weak, and weary, seek the Lord for strength, it is He who gives strength to those who grow tired and increases the strength of those who are weak.

 

Declare aloud,

 The Lord God is my strength [my source of courage, my invincible army]; He has made my feet [steady and sure] like hinds’ feet And makes me walk [forward with spiritual confidence] on my high places [of challenge and responsibility].

(Habakkuk 3:19 AMP)

 

Amen †

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shelley Johnson “Tiredness” © 2012 revisited November 13, 2025

Take My Burden

 

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.]

Matthew 11:28 (AMPC)

 

Pray...

 

Father, I understand that it is not Your will for me to worry and carry this burden of (mention the problem, care or burden). Your Word says that I should give You all my worries and cares.

Today Father, I am placing it into Your hands. Help me to leave it with You and not try to take it back.

I thank You for caring for me. I thank You for providing me with all that I need, including relief from this burden. In the Name of Jesus, my burden bearer and yoke destroyer. Amen.

 

 

 

Shelley Johnson “Take My Burden” ©2013 revisited November 12, 2025

From whom are you seeking help?

 

Isaiah 30:7 (KJV), as it is written,

“For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this, Their strength is to sit still.”

In the Bible, Egyptians are symbolic of those who are estranged from God. This estrangement comes about when one is under the bondage of human effort and religious works. Also, when you see Egypt and Egyptians, know that they represent captivity, or any type of enslavement, including enslavement to sin as well as spiritual and physical bondage – any place or state of being from which we need deliverance.

Since the time of Moses and the Exodus, God has been delivering His children out of Egypt and from the Egyptians, yet we continue to go back there seeking help instead of looking to God.

Today’s Scripture verse clearly tells us that the help of those who are estranged from God is “vain and to no purpose”. In other words, their help is completely useless – as useless as having a pile of tyres but no car. They can do and will do nothing for you, they are incapable of delivering you out of any sort of trouble, it’s to absolutely no avail.

These kinds of people are worthless to you, they will only bring you shame, disgrace, and utter embarrassment in the end. They’re prideful, full of themselves and their only strength is inaction.

I’m sure you know at least one person like that. Someone you cannot depend on, who only makes a show of help – a real busy body but nothing to show for it (hopefully it’s not you).

“Egyptians” are bearers of humiliation and confusion. They are sorely lacking in faith and trust in God but full of faith and trust in themselves. They present themselves as hardworking go-getters, and are eager to volunteer, but they produce nothing of any substance whatsoever.

You know who these people are – they’re in church, at work, at school, they’re your neighbours, and even show up in your own family – and you need to stop seeking their assistance.

Stop depending on these boastful talkers who turn out to be all words and no action. Go to God in prayer and allow Him to provide the help you require. Depend on God.

Stop placing your hope in man, instead, put your hope in God (see Psalm 42:5, 11).

And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. – Romans 5:5 (NLT)

Beloved, God is earnestly waiting for you to turn to Him in confident trust. He is longing to be gracious to you. He is longing to be your salvation in times of trouble. He is longing to bring you stability in every area of your life.

Amen †

 

 

 

Shelley Johnson “From whom are you seeking help?” © 2016 revisited November 11, 2025

The one that’s fed wins

I once heard of a notorious gambler who, desperate for revenue, would organize dogfights. He owned two dogs, a ferocious Doberman Pincer and a docile German Shepherd and every weekend this man, would pit one dog against the other, establish the odds, and collect money from persons who bet on their favoured dog. Most weekends, not surprisingly, the ferocious Doberman would win while on other weekends the docile Shepherd would pin down the Doberman rendering him helpless.

A regular loser of money at these fights became curious and asked the gambler the reason for this seemingly inexplicable change in each dog’s nature. The notorious one chuckled and revealed his secret, “During the week, I feed one dog and starve the other, the one that’s fed wins. It’s that simple.”

We, human beings, all have two natures within us, one has to do with our flesh and the other, our spirit. And just like the dogs in that story, the one that’s fed wins. It is indeed that simple.

This built-in duality represents the fight between our flesh (selfish desires, sinful nature) and the Spirit (Divine nature, spiritual nature). In his letter to the church at Galatia, Paul wrote, 

“…everything the flesh desires goes against the Spirit, and everything the Spirit desires goes against the flesh. There is a constant battle raging between them that prevents you from doing the good you want to do.” – Galatians 5:17 (VOICE)

So as a solution, Paul gave these instructions, “walk in the Spirit, and let the Spirit bring order to your life. If you do, you will never give in to your selfish and sinful cravings.” – Galatians 5:16 (VOICE)

The prodigal son was one who gave into his “selfish and sinful cravings”, he reached to a point of actually desiring to eat the food of the pigs he was feeding. It was at this lowest point of need that he “came to himself” and chose to return to his father, who had an abundance of food that would be beneficial to him. He realized that at his father’s he would be well-fed and receive proper nourishment (see Luke 15:11-17).

Proper food that will sustain and nourish your spiritual nature comes only from your Father in heaven through His Word – spoken, written, and of course Jesus, Himself the Living Word of God (see John 1:1, 14; 1 John 1:1-2). When you feed on the Word your spirit is fed and you partake of the Divine nature but when you feed on the world the flesh is fed and you are actually feeding the sinful nature. 

When in John 6:32-59, Jesus told the multitude about the heavenly manna, they were only mindful of their physical gratification, their next meal, but Jesus was pointing to Himself as the real food that was necessary.

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. (v 35 NIV)

When they caught on to what Jesus was really saying, they began to walk away, something a lot of us do even today. Will you also walk away when what you’re hearing seems too ridiculous to be true?

The things of the flesh do not comprehend spiritual things (1 Corinthians 2:14), they’re in constant opposition and therefore are not bedfellows. One must defeat the other; one must die, one must be starved while the other is fed. The choice is yours; which one will you feed? 

Before you decide, know that in order to remain in God’s presence you must allow the flesh to die. If however, you choose to feed the flesh and “enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:25), know that it is short-lived and you will experience spiritual death, separation from God and eventually, physical decay (see Romans 8:12-13).

The notorious gambler gambled with his poor dogs’ nature; are you willing to gamble with yours? Which nature will you feed, keep in mind that the one that’s fed wins.

Amen †

 

Shelley Johnson “The one that’s fed wins” © 2017 revisited November 10, 2025

 

 

 

Sneaky Sin

 

Sin is designed to lure and entrap you in the most surreptitious of ways. The devil is a master of disguise who veils his schemes in things that appear to be innocuous.  He wraps sin up in a variety of packaging, often under the guise of fun and entertainment. A television show, a theatrical play, a game, a movie, even a song, are not exempt from his methods of deceit.

The evil one will place his mark on them all as he seeks to entangle and destroy you. It is his sneaky way of distracting the unsuspecting believer away from the Lord and getting you mired in sin.

Sin can begin as the smallest and simplest of distractions. Something that seems to be just innocent fun turns out to be innocent fun with a side order of sin and sadly, many times, you’ve placed that order yourself. The devil’s expertise is sneakiness, and you cannot afford to be deceived.

Satan has had thousands of years to perfect his trade, so he is crafty and adept at it and it’s easy to be outwitted by him, but you cannot allow folly to outweigh wisdom.

Without becoming fanatical, you need to get into the habit of carefully examining the things that you’re getting involved in; those seemingly “innocent fun” things that are demanding all your attention and taking you into the idol worship zone, are traps that anyone can fall into without even realizing it.

Apostle Paul warns us in 1 Corinthians 10 to stay away from idol worship. He reminds us about what happened to the Israelites who indulged in idol worship and subsequently other sinful behavior while they were on their sojourn to the Promised Land. When your focus has shifted to constantly engaging in everything other than the things of God, you’re going to encounter the problem of yielding to temptation. 

Forever prowling (1 Peter 5:8), the devil is counting on your willingness to compromise but Christians must set an example of restraint.

It is not an easy road to walk but if you are sincere and serious, walk you must, always keeping in mind that you are not alone on your journey, you have an aid, a helper, a guide, advocate and counselor – the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will give you a heads-up if you’ll be sensitive to His nudging and attentive to His leading.

The Israelites, throughout their journey to the Promised Land, had the presence of God with them constantly, night and day, hovering and covering, yet still they chose to be wayward. They committed sexual sins, had wild drunkard parties, complained bitterly and tested the Lord. Please know that you can’t have it both ways; you cannot expect to have the Holy Spirit and deliberately partake in sin at the same time as if it's par for the course. 

The Apostle wrote,

“They all ate the same spiritual food, and they all drank the same spiritual drink. They drank from that spiritual rock that was with them, and that rock was Christ. But God was not pleased with most of those people…So anyone who thinks they are standing strong should be careful that they don’t fall. The only temptations that you have are the same temptations that all people have. But you can trust God…when you are tempted, God will also give you a way to escape that temptation…So, my dear friends, stay away from worshiping idols. You are intelligent people.”

(1 Corinthians 10:3-5, 12, 13, 14, 15 ERV)

Beloved, you are intelligent, trust God, He is your escape, ask Him for wisdom to quickly recognize that sneaky sin that can so easily entrap you and hinder your spiritual walk.

Amen †

 

Shelley Johnson “Sneaky Sin” © 2017 revisited November 9, 2025

Faith is Caught and Taught

 

“Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.” – 1 Timothy 4:12 (NLT)

In the above verse Paul told the young Timothy that he must be an example to other believers and from this same verse we can garner that, as believers, we too must be examples for others to follow, especially in our own families.

In our households, we ought to lead by example. It’s the people at home that witness our true characters. Even our level of faith is revealed by how we respond to everyday life situations. Our behavior at home, godly and ungodly, exposes the fruit we’re cultivating within our hearts, whether spiritual or otherwise. In Matthew 7:16 Jesus says that people can be identified by the fruit they produce, in other words, by the way they act.

How have you been behaving?

Are you one way in public but completely different in private? When your family looks at you what are they seeing? Are they seeing a person who exercises authentic faith? A person who, in spite of the challenges of life, stands firm in faith that is steadfast? A person unmoved by the raging storm because you know that Jesus, in whom you trust, has authority over every storm?

What are they seeing?

Does your family see divine inner strength in you? Do they see a person who boldly goes to the Lord in prayer about everything with thanksgiving, seeking His direction?

Who do they see?

Do they see a person so convinced of the ability and willingness of Jesus Christ to provide an abundant life, that you do not hesitate to share with them the faith that you have in Him, so that they too may experience a wonderful faith-filled life?

Are you living by faith?

Faith is caught and if you are unwilling to show your family that you are living by faith in Jesus, then you are not leaving an example of authentic faith for your family to see and follow.

If your family never observes you giving thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18), then you are not leaving an example of authentic faith for your family to see and follow.

 If your family never hears you declaring that God is working all things together for good because you love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28), then you are not leaving an example of authentic faith for your family to see and follow.

If you have not demonstrated that you recognize that every good and perfect gift comes from above (James 1:17), then you are denying your family an opportunity to see genuine faith at work right in their own home.

Giving your family a practical example is just part of the legacy of faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. You must also teach your family about Jesus and their need for Him in their lives. I’m not talking here about brow-beating anyone into believing or hitting them over the head with your Bible and condemning anybody of just how much of a sinner they are, no that’s not the way.

If you are genuinely concerned about leading your family to Jesus, then talk about Him. Just as you’d talk about anyone else that you love a lot, simply let them know, from your heart, about Him. Make Jesus the object of your desire, explain how He makes you feel, without turning the conversation into a monologue about yourself.

People need to know what Jesus can effect in their lives. Speak in terms of how God is able to do immeasurably more than they could ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).

Sit together and delve into the Word, not as a chore but read and discuss the Word, for faith comes by hearing God’s Word. 

Love your family enough to let them in on the Good News of Jesus and the unconditional love the Father has for them.

Let them know that God loves them so much that He allowed His one and only Son to die on their behalf for every sin that they have committed, are committing, and will ever commit; dying such an awful and cruel death so that they could inherit eternal life (John 3:16).

Help your family understand the manner of love God has for them and just how much He values them – His treasured and prized creation, fearfully and wonderfully made (see Psalm 139).

Let them know that absolutely nothing can separate them from the love God has for them (Romans 8:38-39).

However, nothing you say to your family will hold any weight if your relationship with them is not the best, you’ll just come across as disingenuous. If you’re not showing love to your own family, then every time you attempt to speak to them, all they will hear is the sound of clanging cymbals (1 Corinthians 13). You cannot be talking about the love of God and your love for God when you’re not demonstrating love, especially to your children.

Providing your child’s basic needs is one thing, getting involved in their lives through genuine interest and concern and care is another. Too often as a parent, you tend to be constantly critical every time you set eyes on your child, letting loose a barrage of negative speech geared towards everything that child does.

What type of relationship are you breeding?

Cultivate a relationship that would allow you to have a positive influence on your child’s life. When he knows that you care, he’d be inclined to listen to you. Jesus related to individuals in love and then He was able to meet their spiritual needs because He had established a loving connection with them.

The way you treat your child will determine the way they respond to you. And the way they respond to their earthly parent is the way they’ll respond to their heavenly Father. So it is very important to lay a secure foundation upon which they could successfully build; a groundwork for how they will perceive God.

For instance, if you are a parent that keeps his word then they will trust that God will be true to His word. Spend time with your child, enjoy his company, and no matter the age, find ways to stay connected in love.

Beloved, seize those teachable moments in practical ways and teach through love and gentleness. Do all you can to point your family toward Jesus, by the way you live and by what you teach; be a pattern for them in your love, your faith, and your purity.

Beloved, pray without ceasing for your loved ones. Realize that it is not your responsibility to make a person accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour, but it is your responsibility to share the gospel, the good news, of Jesus. Be faithful in doing your part but keep in mind that each of us has been given free will to choose or not to choose Jesus.

Beloved, do not be harsh on your family if they are not responding to Jesus in the way you think they should. Do not give up on them; remember, your family members will receive Jesus only when they recognize that they need Him. Just continue to lift Jesus up and He will draw all people to Himself (John 12:32).

keep the Lord Christ holy in your hearts. Always be ready to answer everyone who asks you to explain about the hope you have. – 1 Peter 3:15 (ERV)

Beloved, pray to be a godly example to others, setting apart Christ as Lord, always prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have and to always do so with gentleness and respect.

Amen †

 

Shelley Johnson “Faith is Caught and Taught” © 2017 revisited November 8, 2025