“Celebrating God’s Faithfulness; Claiming God’s Future”

When you think of someone who is faithful, what kind of person do you imagine? Well, I think of someone I can trust; rely on; depend on…someone who does what she says she’s going to do, a person who always keeps his promises. We are to think the same of God when we read of His faithfulness, but, with God there is still so much more because being faithful is not something He does, it’s Who He is; it is His character, it is His nature. 

Do you realize that Love is the driving force of faithfulness? If you think about it for just a moment you’d see that without love no-one can be faithful. It is the great love that God has for you and me, and for His Son, Jesus Christ, that allows Him to remain faithful.

In Apostle Paul’s second letter to Timothy, he let him know that God remains faithful because He cannot disown Himself. 

This means that God cannot deny Himself, is bound by who He is, cannot contradict Himself, and therefore must be true to every facet of His character. In other words, God, who is Love, is also abounding in Faithfulness. Understand also, that contained within the very Fruit of God’s Spirit is the attribute of Faithfulness, therefore Faithfulness, like Love, is an inherent part of God, so, when it comes to God, you cannot divorce one from the other.

God doesn’t suddenly decide that He doesn’t love something or someone. He doesn’t change His mind about His faithfulness based on trends or fashions or how He may feel from one minute to the next. God is steady, steadfast and unchanging.

Unlike people who will disappoint you or change their minds, God will always be there for you. His love for you will always be constant and His faithfulness toward you is far reaching. Psalm 57 tells us that God’s faithfulness reaches to the roof of heaven. That’s incredible! Too often, we only look for God’s demonstration of faithfulness in certain ways and don’t recognize that God’s faithfulness is all around us, after all, it is His faithfulness that’s holding all of creation together. 

Now that’s cause for celebration!

Believe me when I tell you that the moment you begin to truly realize how trustworthy God is, your perspective of life will change. As you realize that He will always be there for you, that He’ll never let you go or let you down, you’ll find comfort in even the worst situations because you’ll know for sure that God really loves you in an amazing way and that will never change. God thinks you’re amazing and has planned out your destiny, and not any old destiny but God has taken His time to design a good plan; He hasn’t left it up to you since He wants to ensure that your future turns out great. 

In Jeremiah 29, verse 11(MSG), God Himself says, “I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.”

What’s the future you hope for? Nobody hopes for a lousy messed up future. I know I’m not and I’m quite sure you’re not. 

Imagine you’re reading a book. Now, you don’t go helter skelter, from one page to another, you’d read one page then move on to the next. Not so? And when you’re on the page you’re reading, that’s the page you’re seeing, right? Well that’s how your life is; you can only see one page at a time, but God, the Author of your book, your life, knows every word He’s written on every page of your life, even those things that haven’t yet happened in your sight, He is fully aware of.

Everything that God has planned for your future is for your eternal benefit. He intends for you to have a flourishing finish. And the awesome thing about God is that He watches over His word to perform it, so that you can confidently claim it. Yes, it is that simple…remember God’s faithfulness, He is not like man, He does not lie…He won’t say something and not follow through, He will never make a promise and not act on it…all you have to do is take God at His word, believe Him, trust that, even if it doesn’t seem that way right now, He has already designed a brilliant future for you, and all you have to do now is claim God’s future.

Today, I urge you to be authentic in your commitment to God. My brothers and sisters, God loves you immeasurably more than you can ever think or imagine, and it is out of this unspeakable passion that God is faithful to you and has lovingly created you with a complete plan for your best life ever. So I encourage you to celebrate God’s faithfulness and boldly claim God’s future, for they are both yours, an inheritance through Jesus Christ, your Lord and your Saviour. 

Amen†

“Celebrating God’s Faithfulness; Claiming God’s Future”

Shelley Johnson 27-May-2017

The Devil’s Fool

The Fool by Nadiezda

I believe that most Christians haven’t the reverential fear of God that we ought to have. That acceptable worship with reverence and awe spoken of in Hebrews 12:28 is no longer offered to God and we don’t seem to grasp that that fear of God is the beginning of authentic knowledge (Proverbs 1:7) because, if we truly understood that, we’d know that we should hate sin utterly and not tolerate it, make excuses for it, and even participate in sinful activities (Proverbs 8:13). Rather, we are but arrogant fools who despise skillful and godly wisdom and instruction and self-discipline – not my words but those of the wisest man that ever lived, Solomon in the Book of Wisdom, Proverbs 1:7.

Some of you must be protesting by now and eager to click close, before you do read Romans 1:18-31 and see for yourself if you haven’t indulged in any of the activities Paul has listed there. Be totally honest with yourself, and, even if your answer is “No!” to any or all of those things, then read verse 32.

Romans 1:32, as it is written,

“Though they are fully aware of God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve to die, they not only do them themselves but approve and applaud others who practice them.” (AMPC)

And this is not Old Testament but New Testament – Jesus Christ has already been crucified and resurrected by the time Paul is writing this letter to Christian people. Have you never approved and applauded others who practiced these godless behaviours? Think about it and read from verse 18 to verse 32 again and from several versions before you answer that question.

The truth is, our response to sin has mostly been one of indifference. We Christian people have diluted the Word of God to appease the masses and our apathetic reaction to ungodliness is certainly not pleasing to God. We live in a world of corruption and polluted ideas, ideals, images, and influences but the Word of God says, “Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things…” (Psalm 119:37 NKJV); one translation refers to the worthless things as “toys and trinkets” for good reason.

Yes it is difficult to avoid those toys and trinkets but you don’t have to pay attention to them or allow them to distract you or enter into your mind to become a part of your psyche. Remember James’ warning, “You’re cheating on God. If all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and his way.” (James 4:4 MSG).

One of the devil’s subtle ploys is to make sin so pleasurable, attractive, entertaining and even humorous, that you don’t realize it is sin; he covers sin under a cloak and makes it unrecognizable and when we respond the way he intended, he has accomplished exactly what he set out to do. Responding in that way to sin, demonstrates that we have been properly duped into approving and applauding practices that go against God’s righteous decree and we become the devil’s fool.

The devil will do everything he possibly can to make sin appealing and not look like sin, and how easily we fall into his trap.

Beloved, God has provided ways for us to escape the traps that the devil sets, as a matter of fact, God has graciously and lovingly given us everything we need to overcome this world and live godly lives outside of this world’s system. It is up to us to find out for ourselves by drawing nearer to God, read, listen to, and meditate on His Word and plant it in our hearts. If we are to lead Spirit-filled lives and avoid the devil’s trip wires we must sow to the Spirit (see Galatians 6:8). 

None of us, I’m sure, wants to be labelled a fool and by no means the devil’s fool, so let us pray…

God, teach me lessons for living so I can stay the course. Give me insight so I can do what You tell me – 

my whole life one long, obedient response. Guide me down the road of Your commandments; I love traveling this freeway! Give me a bent for Your words of wisdom, and not for piling up loot. Divert my eyes from toys and trinkets, invigorate me on the pilgrim way. Affirm Your promises to me – promises made to all who fear You. Deflect the harsh words of my critics – but what You say is always so good.

See how hungry I am for Your counsel; preserve my life through Your righteous ways! In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

(prayer taken from Psalm 119:33-40 MSG)

The Devil’s Fool

Shelley Johnson May 16, 2017

Food for thought: The one that’s fed wins

I recently heard of a notorious gambler who, desperate for revenue, would organize dogfights. He owned two dogs himself, 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 the Doberman would win while on other weekends the 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 in the story of the dogs, 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 5:16-17 (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.”

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. 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 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†

Food for thought: The one that’s fed wins

Shelley Johnson May 12, 2017

For Lack of Knowledge

Here’s the scenario:

A man, because of the recession, has lost his job. He’s experiencing very hard times and can’t pay his bills, including his mortgage which is now way overdue. He is in a quandary, perplexed by the certain ruin that looms before him. In the meanwhile, he gets news that his great uncle, with whom he was acquainted and rarely visited, has died. However, he’s so caught up with his own dire circumstances he casually brushes that news aside. He alleviates any modicum of guilt he feels with the fact that he didn’t know his relative that well anyway, and decides not to attend his great uncle’s funeral. Furthermore, the man rejects repeated phone calls from a particular number, thinking that it may be calls from the bank or some other debt collector. But what he doesn’t know is that it is the old man's attorney calling since he has left his great nephew, of all people, a fortune. Yep, the nephew lacks that knowledge, so he continues to eke out a paltry existence, trying to get by on morsels, when the truth is, he possess an abundant inheritance.

Hosea 4:6 tells us that our quality of life is destroyed for lack of knowledge, and the rejection of that knowledge. Like the man, we are limping through life ignorant of all that we truly possess. It’s so easy to fall into the lap of meagreness when we don’t understand what Christ’s death has wrought and aren’t aware of what we have inherited in Him. 

The reasons for this is not knowing and knowing but rejecting. Some of us simply do not know of God’s plan for our lives, while some of us know but we choose not to accept His plan. God’s plan for our life is told in the Bible. God’s Word is written there for you and for me. It lets us know who we are and what our inheritance is but if we do not read it or study it how will we know and understand…? The biblical know is an intimate knowledge, a “knowing” that’s securely lodged in your heart.

As Christians, we love to declare “knowing the truth will set you free!” but it is always taken out of context. Jesus said that if we would abide in His Word, then we would be His disciples [disciplined followers] and then we would know the truth, and the truth would set us free (see John 8:31-32). 

This verse clearly shows that being simply acquainted with His Word is not enough, anybody can do that. The blessing of inheritance comes from the knowledge we gain by living in His Word. Apostle James says that we must do the Word – comply with and adhere to the Word of God (see James 1:22). If we aren’t doing that then we're just fooling ourselves; according to the familiar phrase, we’re “playing church”.

So, if you want to access this inheritance, you must be in genuine relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ. God’s love is unconditional but His promised inheritance is not. There’s nothing you can do to warrant your salvation, that’s a gift but you cannot want the gift and not the Giver. You can’t keep rejecting His call and expect to reap the benefits of His abundance. It’s important for us to abide in God’s truth daily because that’s the only way you’d become a co-heir, and once you’re in, through faith in Christ, you’ll receive the power to walk in His footsteps along the pathway of a life of blessing.

Too few of us walk in the abundant life because of our own ignorance, not knowing that the inheritance of God is ushered into our lives by faith, when we live in absolute dependence on God and His Word. Beloved, Christ died and left you a vast fortune and you have no idea what you’ve inherited. 

You need to pray that the eyes of your heart would be enlightened, so that you will know what the hope of His calling is, receive a full revelation of your potential in Christ and have knowledge of what the riches of the glory of His inheritance are in you. Amen†

For Lack of Knowledge

Shelley Johnson May 10, 2017

The Prayer of a Righteous Man

“The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” – James 5:16 (KJV)

First of all, you must understand that “man”, in this verse, and throughout most of the Bible, is not gender specific but refers to both male and female. Remember, when God created man, He created man male and female. 

“So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.” – Genesis 1:27 (KJV)

Okay, now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s continue. Many of us love to quote this verse, James 5:16, with the expectation that our own prayers will “availeth much” but we often omit one very important truth…the prayer must not only be “effectual” and “fervent” but uttered by “a righteous man”.

Who is a righteous man; do you know? This is what Saint Paul wrote to the church in Rome, 

"Not even one person is righteous.” – Romans 3:10 (ISV)

Do you sense a problem here, or is it just me? Not one person is righteous, not even one? So how will our effectual and fervent prayers have any power to produce results if none of us is righteous, then what’s the point and what’s the problem and how do we become this righteous person? I don’t know about you but I want my prayers to “availeth much”.

The problem with this, and with everything else for that matter, is sin-contamination. It is so chronic that we’re told in Isaiah 64:6 that all our right efforts are like filthy rags. Whoa! Yes, sin is a chronic condition of man, we are all afflicted by it and because of it, we all fall short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). Each of us have a choice to make, we can choose to continue to live in sin, conforming to the world’s standards of living, or we can choose to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2). And this kind of mind-renewing transformation can only occur when we choose to do life God’s way, the right way.

Jesus Christ died so that you and I could do life right. When Adam and Eve allowed sin to separate them from God, the right standing they had with God was lost, but God had already planned a comeback. By His gracious and loving design, God, anticipating the fallout, predetermined that He would give man the opportunity to get back into right standing with Him, to make man righteous again. God would have to born a Man to restore His right relationship with man. So, Jesus, God incarnate, blameless and unblemished by sin, chose to give His right life to atone for the sin of every sin-stained human being, and God credited Jesus’ righteousness to the sin-debt of every person who’d believe.

Yes, God has imputed Jesus’ righteousness to all who will confess with their mouths, and believe in their hearts that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died and God raised Him up from death (see Romans 10:9-10). The Holy Spirit then takes up residence in you to develop the nature of Christ within you, so that every time God looks at you He sees the righteousness of Christ in you. Peter lets us know that it is Christ Jesus who is righteous (see 1 Peter 3:18), and this is the righteousness you receive through faith in Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:24-25).

In other words, for your prayers to avail much you first have to be born again, and then you must be living right because it’s not enough to confess and believe but you must also genuinely receive Jesus Christ and make it your practice to live in Him and allow Him to truly live in you – that’s the bottom line. You can’t be considered a righteous man without being a new creation. Righteousness cannot come by your “good” works, it is a gift from God through Jesus Christ (see Romans 5:17). The moment we understand this and refrain from sin, not out of craven fear of God but out of reverential fear and great love for God, He makes us right in Christ.

But, even though you’re born-again, please be weary of and “Stay clear of silly stories that get dressed up as religion.” Instead, “exercise daily in God—no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever.” – 1 Timothy 4:7-8 (MSG)

The truth is, you cannot remain intimate with the world and expect to be a righteous man (James 4:4), it just doesn’t work that way. To become that righteous man you must participate in the divine nature and then and only then will your prayers “availeth much”. 

Amen†

The Prayer of a Righteous Man

Shelley Johnson May 8, 2017

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 – unmoved by the raging storm because you know that Jesus, in whom you trust, has authority over every storm? 

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? What 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), or declaring that God is working all things together for good because you love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28), or 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 though. 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 – a treasured and prized creation, fearfully and wonderfully made (see Psalm 139). Let them know that absolutely nothing can separate them from the love He 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’d 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 children’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 in 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 children 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.

My friends, 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. 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. 

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). 

Pray that you will 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 (1 Peter 3:15).

Amen†

Faith is Caught and Taught

Shelley Johnson May 8, 2017

Bone of my Bones

And Adam said:

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

(Genesis 2:23-24 NKJV)

God had created Adam in His image and likeness. Adam therefore, not only bore a resemblance to his Creator but shared in His nature, so he knew love and had the ability to love. Adam was in perfect harmony with God and the rest of creation, but God, knowing that He was not alone in His existence, recognized that Adam, made in His image and likeness, would soon feel the lingering emptiness of his lonely existence in the Garden, since he was alone in terms of compatibility. Not one of God’s other creations was like Adam, so God observed that “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” (Genesis 2:18 NKJV).

And Eve was created from one of Adam’s own bones, a rib, a side breast so to speak, as a “helper opposite him”, a suitable companion who would stand face to face with Adam, a fitting partner, well-suited and well-matched. A comparable helper made of the same flesh, and having the same “essence”. This is the same “essence” we share with Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, who became a flesh and bone human being. This “essence” is indeed the Holy Spirit. Incidentally, the word for bone in Hebrew means “essence” and is symbolic of your innermost self, which provides stability and strength. Isn’t that what the indwelling Holy Spirit does? 

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

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

Natural marriage is supposed to be a reflection of this spiritual principle, where such a strong bonding of the bones or framework of marriage is created that it cannot be broken. It is supposed to echo the qualities that this first marriage possessed – two becoming one in perfect harmony, fellowship and love with God, and with each other. Man and wife, two separate persons journeying as one but still with their distinct personalities and functions, walking together in mutual agreement, properly aligned and in Divine order. What a lovely picture of marriage…yet that is not the picture that we see nowadays. What gets in the way?

Ah yes, selfishness again rears its ugly head. There can be no selfishness in this spiritual union, that pattern of marriage that God, from the beginning, intended to exist. Selfishness was never part of His design but then the fall from grace and the simultaneous separation from God of the perfect couple occurred in the Garden, and that wonderful chemistry was lost. But the redemptive work of Jesus Christ at Calvary has restored the reverential expression of unselfish love that is supposed to be the hallmark of genuine marriage.

Now a man and his wife have the opportunity to experience this wonderful inner union by giving God His rightful place in their marriage. It begins with their love for God and then for one another and it’s this deep love upon which the foundation of their relationship must be built. Too often married couples allow selfishness to supplant that love as they seek to control and possess their spouse, but this spells unhappiness in marriage. 

Marriage is a fusion of two and not about one and one. When we only have regard for the welfare of “I” the most intimate facet of the divine tenet of marriage is prostituted and domestic misery ensues. Married couples cannot be so engrossed in their outward flesh lives that they fail to experience the inward bone life – there must exist a marriage of the two. The “bone of my bones” and “flesh of my flesh” cannot be divorced one from the other. Even persons who may be enjoying married life from a natural perspective, how much greater a life of marriage they would have if they built it upon that spiritual foundation. 

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

Are you fit for marriage?

Are you more physically bonded than spiritually united?

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

Tradition dictates that we commit to vows of marriage and attempt to keep those vows, but we must be mature enough to be faithful even if those vows did not exist. It takes three to journey this road – you, your spouse, and God, and the more you both truly love God, the more His love will flow into you and your love into each other. This liquid love precipitates the merging of the two into one flesh – bone of my bones. 

Amen†

Bone of my Bones

Shelley Johnson May 2, 2017

Family

In my church, the month of May is designated “Family Month”. I’ve never asked why May and not another month, or even why not every month, perhaps one day I might. For me, however, family ought to be celebrated every day since I believe that family is that important. I know of some families where members are not on speaking terms – the family has fractured for one reason or another – and there is no relationship. What a tragedy! Related but unable to relate.

In the dictionary, these two words, relate and related, come one after the other but are utterly contrasted in their definitions. Relate is defined as “getting along well together, or understand each other”, while related means “belonging to the same family, group, or type; connected by blood or marriage”. Being related, therefore, does not automatically translate to being able to relate. It’s a pity when persons, related to each other cannot relate to each other. Clearly this indicates that family must be much more than sharing a name or the same blood, family must be about establishing healthy relationships, identifying with and being sympathetic to one another. Families must seek to get along well together, and strive to understand each other.

The concept of family was first instituted by God in the Garden of Eden through His relationship with Adam and then with Adam and Eve. Throughout the book of Genesis we see how the family evolved from a single unit to an extensive household to an entire nation. In those days, the family was not just bound together by blood but by community where everyone looked out for each other, offered assistance, protection, and co-operation, showed loyalty, shared in the work load, and in the well-being of the family. It involved the acceptance of communal responsibility. 

Family is about relationship, fellowship and agreement. Our greatest example of family is in the Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – three distinct Persons in One body. Each Person with different roles but working in tandem. They work together in love, fellowship, and agreement. What an illustration of family life and living in community. God wants us to have that type of relationship with Him and each other but something’s in the way, and it’s called selfishness. 

One thing’s for sure, you cannot be a family by yourself, there’s no such thing. The Bible refers to family as a household, and a household always includes other people. Jesus and His disciples were in a family relationship where they prayed together, ate together, recognized each other’s burdens and supported each other. They weren’t stingy but acted out of a genuine love one for another. Judas Iscariot was selfish and that selfishness got in the way of his relationship with the rest of the family. 

Family is also about love and acceptance. There’s no place for hate and envy in family. There’s no place for grudges and holding on to “things” that happened or having something against someone else. That’s not family. Family is all about accepting each other with our perceived faults, flaws, problems, and failures. God brings us into His family just as we are because He loves us just as we are – nothing we do could make Him love us more or less and that’s what we ought to be doing as well but instead we’re constantly looking for a reason to cast out the condemned – there’s but one accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:10), stop applying for the job.

Family is about coming together united in a common bond. It’s about supporting each other to the point where if one is in trouble or pain, we all share in that burden in genuine care and not feigned concern. Family is about seeing each other’s value and worth, not on the basis of achievements, position, education, circumstances, or wealth but as a masterpiece of Almighty God. The basis of our unity as a family must be God and our love for Him and each other through Him.

Today I encourage you to find ways to stay connected as family. Emulate Jesus and His disciples, pray together, eat together, have fun as a family, do activities as a unit, even simple things done together make a big impact. Understand that there’s a power within a family united which must never be underestimated. That’s why the devil is attacking families the world over; he truly understands what Jesus meant by, “Take this most seriously: A yes on earth is yes in heaven; a no on earth is no in heaven. What you say to one another is eternal. I mean this. When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action. And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I’ll be there.” (Matthew 18:18-20 MSG)

There are many layers of meaning and significance when it comes to family which are essential to a proper understanding of what family truly is, and which far exceed the capacity of this blog. But what I aim to do here at Bethel at Balata is whet your curiosity and interest so that you are encouraged to delve deeper for yourself. 

May God continue to bless you and your family, unite you as one – one heart, one mind (see Acts 4:32) in healthy relationship, true community, genuine fellowship and faithful love. 

Amen†

Family

Shelley Johnson May 1, 2017