You’re Included

“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit” – Ephesians 1:13 (NIV)

It’s only through the Word of God that you can learn who you are in Christ because, not only does the Word reveal Christ but it reveals your true identity. Your destiny is to be like Jesus, to partake of His nature, to have the mind of Christ, but this can never be accomplished by your own human effort, only the work of His Holy Spirit can complete this transformation in you (see Galatians 3:3).

Before He entered Gethsemane, Jesus’ prayer was,

“Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” – John 17:17 (NIV)

Christ, at the threshold of His crucifixion, was thinking of you, desiring that you be made holy. He was very aware that “without holiness no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14 NIV). He knew the importance of living in accordance with the truth of the Word since it is that truth alone that will make you free to conform to His image and participate in His divine nature (see Romans 8:29 and 2 Peter 1:4).

God gave you everything at the cross. Even while you were a deliberate sinner (Romans 5:8), He lavished His love on you through the sacrifice of His “only begotten Son” and gave you the opportunity to become His own – a child of God and co-heir with Christ. He longs for you to partake of everything He has, and is willing to do all things in you, through you, and for you.

According to Ephesians 1:13, if you have already “heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation” then you’re included in Christ, and if you have also believed and accepted God’s Gift of Salvation, then know that you are destined to receive every blessing that flows from Jesus. As a child of God, He positions you in Christ and places His stamp of ownership on you with His Spirit. When you’re included, you have a spiritual union with Christ.

Beloved, you’re included and it’s time you start to see yourself as such since the truth is “whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in the Spirit” (1 Corinthians 6:17 NIV).

Amen†

You’re Included

Shelley Johnson April 24, 2017

“What to do now?”

What do you do when all your dreams, hopes, and expectations have failed? The “sure thing” that you’ve spent the past few years working on has fallen apart, nothing is working out anymore, and the main component that brought it all together, the glue so to speak, has lost its adhesion and all you’re able to mutter is, “What to do now?” 

Easter is over, yes, but I’d like to revisit the day after Jesus’ crucifixion, when perhaps the disciples and ardent followers would have been mired in a “What to do now?” frame of mind. They had given up everything to follow this Man – careers, livelihoods, family life, lifestyles…everything. 

For three years they’d dedicated their lives to a new radical movement; a change so great that it upturned the long established theological traditions of the day. But now, Jesus, their beloved Teacher, Rabbi, Leader, Deliverer, Messiah, was dead and buried. They’d been told about this before it actually happened, and were made ready for the day, however they weren’t really prepared for the reality of it. They’d heard what Jesus was telling them all along but somehow now that the One who had called them to action was gone, they were lost and confused and very afraid. What was there to do? Where were they to go?

Despite having received a bombardment of very specific instructions and a host of invaluable advice from Jesus, leading up to His crucifixion, the disciples hold up in the locked upper room in a state of utter and fearful disbelief and “What to do now?” was the question that pervaded the atmosphere of that room. 

Isn’t that just like us though? When everything we’ve worked towards appears to have failed and crumbled to pieces, don’t we clasp our heads in despair and ask ourselves that same question? But if God has given you specific instructions and has made certain promises, then even when all seems lost, you must remember what God has said to you, and in the face of uncertainty, muster up the courage to hold on to what you know...

Know that all that you’ve been told, and all the promises God has planted in your heart still stand – He hasn’t changed His mind, He will never tell you something and then not fulfill it. Yes, things are crumbling; yes, the deal fell through at the last moment; yes, the project you were working on has come to a screeching halt; yes, the “sure thing” doesn’t look so sure anymore; yes, yes, yes, yes, but know that whatever God has told you, whatever God has promised you, He will do…He will certainly do His part and you ought to do your part, which is to Believe, Trust, and Obey.

Believe God…Stop being afraid! Just keep on believing. (Mark 5:36) 

Trust God…Do not fear bad news; confidently trust God to care for you. (Psalm 112:7) 

Obey God…Do what God tells you. Walk in the paths He shows you: Follow the life-map absolutely, keep an eye out for the signposts, then you’ll prosper in whatever you do and wherever you go. (1 Kings 2:3)

The ball is always in your court after you receive God’s instructions and His promises. You see, God will be faithful; no matter what, He remains committed to perform His Word in your life, after all, Psalm 138:2 says of God, "...You have magnified Your Word above all Your name". 

I’m not saying that believing, trusting and obeying God will be easy, especially when things are unraveling around you but you just have to hold on to what you know and cling to Who you know being absolutely convinced that God is truly able and truly willing.

Amen†

“What to do now?”

Shelley Johnson April 19, 2017

On the Cross

Today Christians commemorate the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Jesus was nailed to the cross at 9:00a.m., after an arduous trial, horrendous scourging, and foot-numbing-load-bearing trek to Golgotha – He took all our falling down even before He was hung upon that tree. 

By 12noon, the time when the heat of the day is most intense, complete and utter darkness fell upon the whole earth for 3 hours, and, at the end of the darkness, Jesus, looking up, cried out “It is finished!” – the Lamb was dead. 

Jesus hung there nailed through hands and feet for 6 excruciating hours.

Too many of us do not really understand the work that was finished on the cross. Jesus died on the Jewish Feast of Passover. He was the Passover Lamb, and what He finished on the cross enables our spiritual Passover from darkness into light. 

On the cross, God took everything back to Adam to effect the Passover of every single human being, just as He did in the time of Joshua, when the whole nation was given the opportunity to pass over as the flow of the Dead Sea was completely cut off.

“Then the waters which came down from above stood and rose up in a heap far off, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan; and those flowing down toward the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt [Dead] Sea, were wholly cut off. And the people passed over opposite Jericho.” – Joshua 3:16 (AMPC)

Jesus’ crucifixion stopped the flow of death; He removed the barrier of death. Everything happened on the cross for a spiritual reason. Jesus suffered the physical so that we can enjoy the benefits of the spiritual. There’s knowlegde beyond what you can see.

On the cross, Jesus was fulfilling our death sentence. As you know, a sentence comes after judgment – Jesus was judged in place of you and me and every guilty sentence was laid upon Him so that we could be acquitted. He was the innocent paying for the crimes of the guilty.

“When He was hung on the cross, He took upon Himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." – Galatians 3:13 (NLT)

Jesus became sin, He took all our diseases, all our pain, all our anguish – He became a curse for us so that we may become right with God. On the cross, even as Jesus took on all of our sinfulness, we remained the object of His love and care. God poured our sin-dead lives into His beloved Son and made us alive in Christ. He nailed our guilty verdict to the cross. The One who brought grace was nailed in grace so that we might experience the mercy of God, the antidote to the curse.

On the cross, Jesus showed the full extent of His love for us. His death provided salvation for “whosoever will”. It was the completion of His assignment on earth, and the glorification of His Father in Heaven. Isn’t it time that we truly honour what Jesus did for us on the cross?

Amen†

On the Cross

Shelley Johnson April 14, 2017

That Day Before

It was the day before Jesus’ crucifixion; the day He had spent His entire life preparing for, was finally on the horizon. Thirty three years on earth of Spiritual guidance, learning, teaching, wine making, healing, preaching, instructions, persecutions, mountain climbing, water-walking and storm stopping, mental strengthening, praying, city to city travelling, disciple creating, miracle working, storytelling, and doing only what He saw His Father doing, was coming to an end. He was on the verge of finishing the work which the Father gave Him to do. And on that day before facing the cross, what was Jesus doing?

Have you ever spent, what seemed like a lifetime, preparing for an event? An event so impactful that it was guaranteed to change your life? Perhaps you’ve never had an experience so drastic but I’m almost sure that most of you have had episodes of intense anticipation waiting for some big occasion or occurrence to happen. What did you do the day before that? 

What was coming up for Jesus was like nothing any human being will ever experience. Not one of us can truly imagine the series of varying emotions, Jesus as Man, would have been going through as the time of death drew closer. I for one would have been inconsolable, but unlike me and I dare say most, if not all of you, Jesus did not spend that day before certain death bawling and wailing, instead Jesus spent that day before with His disciples, first in the Upper Room then in the Garden of Gethsemane, ensuring that they’d be well equipped to move on after His death by giving them final instructions. 

Jesus gave critical advice to the ones He had journeyed with for the last three years of His life, the inner circle of disciples who by now had become close friends. After speaking with them for hours, Jesus, recognizing that the hour had come shifted His focus and turned to His Father in prayer. Jesus must have been conscious of His imminent arrest, and engaged in a period of powerful prayer for Himself, His disciples, all believers, and even for the world. 

Read John 17:1-5 and you will see that Jesus’ prayer for Himself was really an exaltation of the Father – His focus was on His Father. Who do you magnify and glorify when you pray? Is your focus on God, or is it all about you, your needs, desires, and wants?

Read John 17:6-19 and you will notice that Jesus was quite specific as He prayed for His friends, the disciples. Notice that the beauty here is that Jesus did not pray only for the eleven, but that His prayer was for ALL disciples everywhere and in every age. Wow!!! It’s good to pray for your friends, look at what happened to Job (Job 42:10). 

Then Jesus prayed for all believers and even for those of the world (read John 17:20-25). 

Every category of person was actually considered in Jesus’ prayer to His Father, and Jesus even now, is still praying. Apostle Paul in Romans 8:34 assures, “Who is there to condemn us? For Christ Jesus, who died, and more than that was raised to life, is at the right hand of God--and He is interceding for us.” (BSB)

Dear friends, it’s really not that complicated, provided that your relationship with Jesus is right, you can be certain that you were covered under the prayers of John chapter 17. And if it is, then simple logic dictates that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, mere moments before the greatest event in Christianity, prayed that you and I are protected from the evil one, are sanctified by the Word of Truth, are one with the Father, have received the love and knowledge of God, and the gift of Eternal Life. What more can we ask for?

Please do not let this powerful example of prayer that Jesus left for us in John Chapter 17 go unnoticed. Just as Jesus, that day before, steadied every step to the cross with prayer, you too can face every single day with confidence through prayer. So be encouraged.

Amen†

That Day Before

Shelley Johnson April 13, 2017

The Gift of the Cross

We are in the midst of the week of Passion, the week leading up to Christ’s Resurrection and of course, the week which includes the day of His crucifixion. This time is a reminder of the sheer passion the Father and the Son had for man, and still have…a time when Father gave up His one and only Son to an insufferable death on a cruel cross, so that you and I don’t have to experience such punishment, even though it is exactly what we deserve.

“He was handed over to die because of our sins…” – Romans 4:25 (NLT)

Jesus Christ did not deserve this punishment because, unlike us, He was innocent, but “God put the wrong on Him who never did anything wrong…” (2 Corinthians 5:21 MSG). Jesus became sin for us and when He died, sin was put to death once and for all.

That fateful day in Eden, when Adam and Eve fell from grace through sin and were subsequently banished, we all suffered the same fate, however our loving Father had already designed a plan for our restoration through His beloved Son, Jesus, who opened the way (John 14:6). Jesus fulfilled the reversal of the curse of the Fall and the banishment, making a way for each of us to return to Paradise. Our Lord has done what seemed impossible but, as Scripture assures us, “Nothing is impossible for God!” (Luke 1:37). 

God can take a hopeless situation and bring complete restoration! By that cross, God gave us back everything that was lost. That cross was His gift to us. Sadly, the truth is that most people, even most Christians, don’t see it as a gift but instead, refer to the cross as a burden that they’re forced to bear. 

Today, I’d like for you to see the cross as a gift of incredible value that cannot be overestimated. The cross is indeed the gift that has never stopped giving. When Jesus Christ hung on that cross over 2,000 years ago, it was an amazing event that effected a great deliverance (2 Corinthians 1:10), for with this single death, the worldwide plague of sin and death was completely destroyed (1 Corinthians 15:55).

The gift of the cross achieved what no moral laws or religious striving could ever achieve. It saved mankind from eternal damnation and gave us eternal life. We do not have to work effortlessly to obtain eternal life, it has been freely given. Our works are of no effect, only His works matter – perfect work by perfect Man (2 Timothy 1:9). All we need do is accept the gift of the cross. 

When we receive a beautiful and expensive gift from a loved one, we tend to cherish it. We hold the giver and the gift close to our hearts, yet for some reason, this indescribable gift that Jesus has so lovingly given, we seem not to hold in such high esteem. Perhaps it’s because we do not really understand its worth. As expensive as the perfume in the alabaster jar was (Matthew 26:7), it still cannot compare to the price Jesus paid for the gift of the cross. The cost is more than you and I will ever be willing to pay. 

It’s critical for each one of us to comprehend that the gift of the cross is the centre of it all…

Jesus’ crucifixion not only removed all our sin – past, present, and future – it healed all our diseases (Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24), made us righteous in God’s eyes (2 Corinthians 5:21), accomplished the total defeat of our unseen spiritual adversary (Hebrews 2:14), gave us access to relationship with God, so that we may become One with Him (John 14:6, 17:20-21), birthed a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), effected the New Covenant by the shedding of His blood (Luke 22:20), and has made possible “Thy Kingdom come…on earth as it is in Heaven” to every individual (Matthew 6:10; John 3:3).

Understand, Christ finished the job, He restored all that Adam and Eve lost – every single thing, eternal life itself, He gained it all back for us by the gift of the cross.

Amen†

The Gift of the Cross

Shelley Johnson April 11, 2017

From “Hosanna!” to “Crucify Him!”

Yesterday, Christians celebrated Palm Sunday – a commemoration of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem the week of Passover.

That day, as Jesus rode in on a colt, “many people...spread branches they had cut in the fields” (see Mark 11:8 NIV) onto His path, shouting “Hosanna!” but mere days later, those same people would change their tune and shout “Crucify Him!”.

What is it with us human beings that causes us to be so easily swayed? We shift from this way to that way in a breath; from one opinion to an opposing opinion in seconds; crossing the proverbial fine line from love to hate in the wink of an eye. And not one of us is immune from this malaise – we all do it, perhaps some more than others but all of us flip flop from time to time.

Seriously, what moves a person from “Hosanna!” on Sunday to “Crucify Him!” by Friday? Could it be that when Jesus rides into your life, looks “around at everything” (see Mark 11:11 NIV) and sees you like a leaf-full, fruit-less fig tree, offering nothing useful to your fellowman and pulls you up on it, that you’re offended and turn against Him? 

Could it be that when Jesus enters your temple and begins a thorough clean up, getting rid of the things that you have allowed to rob you of a proper relationship with Him that you get so angry that you turn against Him? 

And, rather than taking an honest look at yourself, you question Jesus’ authority in your life. Do you prefer to go along your Christian walk bearing nothing but leaves, instead of allowing Jesus to cut away all those branches that aren’t bearing fruit, so that He may enlarge and beautify you?

Or, rather than honestly examining your life, you prefer to maintain a den-of-thieves temple, where any and everybody has free reign to do whatever they want to do in your temple court?

Is it that you want to do Christianity on your own terms rather than follow the teachings of Jesus Christ? Is it that you want to indulge in a “cover-up” of religious acts like a modern-day Pharisee rather than let the Holy Spirit guide you into all Truth?

Everyone who shouted “Hosanna!” on Sunday, recognized Jesus as the One who saves and received Him as Saviour. However, sometime after Sunday, they allow themselves to be “tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching”, becoming influenced by clever people whose tricks and lies sound like the truth (see Ephesians 4:14 NLT). This happens when people choose to remain in a state of spiritual infancy, content with only bearing leaves, reluctant to Spirit’s pruning and cultivation by the Word of God, and don’t truly understand that because Spirit dwells in them they are now Temples of honour. 

As spiritually immature Christians, it is very easy to shout “Crucify Him!” by Friday because immature Christians attempt to build their own foundations, spending their time up keeping centuries-old church traditions and performing religious routines that resemble Christianity while all the while don’t realise that they are not building upon the foundation that has already been laid – Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:10).

What have you been shouting lately? If you’ve strayed away from Sunday and are heading towards Friday, check yourself and start shouting “Hosanna!” once more.

Amen†

From “Hosanna!” to “Crucify Him!”

Shelley Johnson April 10, 2017

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.

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.

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 (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 (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. Today, 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†

The Unity of One

Shelley Johnson April 4, 2017

Upper Room Talk

When men get together they can sometimes engage in what’s called “locker-room talk” but when Jesus and His disciples got together for one last supper, their conversation was far removed from the crude, banal, base or crass nature that pervades locker room banter. Jesus and His disciples engaged in conversation that was of a much higher and significantly greater level of consciousness. There was nothing vacuous, lewd, vulgar or rude in the things discussed and certainly their behavior was by no means rowdy. Theirs was “upper room talk”.

Even the very atmosphere in the upper room that night was of utmost importance in order to set the stage for what Jesus was about to reveal. There had to exist a degree of intimacy that would promote deep spiritual bonding, a certain kind of vulnerability that would open hearts to receive, soberness of minds, and trust between Jesus and His faithful disciples. Perhaps that is the reason Jesus waited until Judas Iscariot had left before divulging more profound and significant details, for Judas’ heart, I imagine, had no room to receive such divine discourse since it was occupied only with evil intent. But for the remaining eleven, their hearts were occupied with Jesus. 

The conversation in the upper room was long and detailed, with Jesus offering His disciples solid advice for the spiritual journey. It was sound teachings that would keep the disciples standing in good stead after His departure; this advice came on the eve of Jesus’ impending crucifixion.

Every word Jesus spoke was important to the disciples in that upper room, and indeed is important to each one of us today. Jesus’ counsel “thoroughly equipped them for every good work” (see 2 Timothy 3:16-17), and suited the lifestyle of a true believer and follower of Christ. In the upper room, Jesus spoke of love, relationship, friendship, trust, prayer, the connection between Father, Son, and Spirit and the amazing in-dwelling, the glorification of God, and of the peace that only He can give (read John 13:31-14:31). 

The upper room talk covered the gamut of living as a disciplined follower of Christ Jesus. The upper room talk was no locker-room talk, it embodied what Apostle Paul described, in Ephesians 4:29, as “…what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.” (NKJV). So, as believers and followers of Jesus, always strive to emulate Him by engaging, not in locker-room talk but upper room talk.

Today, I encourage you to read for yourselves, in the Gospel of John chapters 13 to 17, all that Jesus said to His disciples that night, not just in the upper room but while on their way to the garden too. And I pray that as you read, the word of Christ, in all its richness, will fill your lives.

Amen†

Upper Room Talk

Shelley Johnson April 3, 2017

Anything you ask in Jesus’ Name

In John 14:14 Jesus said, “If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.”

Jesus said it so you can be sure that it is a legitimate promise, ask anything in His Name and He will do it but that’s providing that the “anything” is for your good, appropriate, and in agreement with God’s will. 

Jesus was actually having a private conversation with His disciples – His disciplined followers – in the upper room when He said this. He was making a promise to them, it was not meant for everybody and that is still the case today. However, many people proclaim this Scripture verse without understanding to whom it refers and that it’s conditional.

Too often we want to reap the benefits of God’s promises without doing our part. And, for some, it’s not that they don’t believe that God exists but they’re apathetic toward Jesus and basically ignore the Holy Spirit altogether – Father, Son and Spirit cannot be divorced from each other. 

So, if you want to claim this particular promise, there are certain requirements to be met, things that you must do.

• You must be born again (see John 3:7) through the experience of a spiritual re-birth in Jesus
  
  
• You must become a disciplined follower of Jesus Christ, by getting into a genuine, meaningful relationship with Him
  
  
• You must not let your heart be troubled but instead, trust and believe in God and also in Jesus
  
  
• You must truly understand that Jesus is the only Way, the Truth and the Life; no-one comes to the Father except by Him
  
  
• You must strive to know God – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

After you’ve done your part, you then must understand further that, “anything” is limited in its scope, it is not a carte blanche license. Even as a born-again Christian, both your motives and your intentions play a pivotal role in what you ask and in the way you ask – there are ways that are right and proper. 

Listen, what Jesus said is true, however, Jesus will not do anything that is to your detriment or the detriment of others. If the “anything” you’re asking is rooted in selfishness, in contravention to the Word of God, harmful to your spiritual well-being, or will cause undue hurt and distress, Jesus will not do it. 

Remember, anything you ask in Jesus’ name must result in the Son bringing glory to the Father (John 14:13) – if what you’re asking will not bring God glory, Jesus will not do it.

Amen†

Anything you ask in Jesus’ Name

Shelley Johnson April 2, 2017