Today, Let us Pray

 

Pray…

Father, I pray that You would give me a vision of Your sovereignty that will bring me to my knees in worship and in adoration – that will cause me, like David, to dance and prance, rejoicing before You; that a view of Your holiness will bring me to humiliation at my present state, knowing that I have far to go, but in Christ Jesus I will indeed go and bear the fruit of righteousness.

Teach me, through the working of Your Holy Spirit within me, how to properly work out my own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is You Who works in me, both to will and to work for Your good pleasure (Philippians 2:12-13). Work through me O God, as I strive for holiness and to be conformed to the image of Your beloved Son Jesus Christ.

Only You are sovereign O God, controlling all that You do through love for Your people. And it is You, the True and Living God, Who works all things together for my good and Your glory, that I pray, through the matchless name of Jesus Christ with thanksgiving, Amen †.

 

Pray…

Lord Jesus Christ, You have opened the floodgates of grace to me, and so, I now set my heart to experience the more-than-superabundance of Your grace. I declare that from today I see Your grace and favour upon my life each and every moment of every day. Amen †.

 

photo courtesy O'Reilly Lewis

Pray…

You, O LORD, are exalted forever! I thank You for exalting my strength – making me as strong as a wild ox, and for anointing me with Your finest oil; for causing me to flourish like a palm and to grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon; planted in the Lord’s own house, I flourish in the courts of my God. 

I declare even in old age I will still produce fruit, I will remain fresh and green, declaring, the LORD is upright, He is my Rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him! Hallelujah! Praise be to God! Amen †

(Psalm 92:8,10,12,13,14 & 15)

 

photo courtesy O'Reilly Lewis

Pray…

Lord, I thank You that the days are coming when You will fulfill every gracious promise You made to me. Amen †

(Jeremiah 33:14)

 

 

 

Shelley Johnson " Today, Let us Pray" 2015

And We Know It Not

 

God is here. He is omnipresent; that means that God is everywhere that we are.

Wherever we are, God is. He is present observing each of our lives unfold.

The Word assures us that God is not far from each of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being.

It is through him that we are able to live, to do what we do, and to be who we are. As your own poets have said, ‘We all come from him.’ – Acts 17:28 (ERV)

Jacob, in his “aha moment”, exclaimed, Surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not – Genesis 28:16 (KJV)

And therein lies our problem, we know it not. God is with us, He is here, and we know it not.

Do you truly grasp the concept of your omnipresent God?

Do you truly grasp that there is no place He is not?

We cannot conceive of a place where God is not. This truth seems to be above our basic comprehension, too lofty for the limitations of our imaginations.

"Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence?" David asks God in Psalm 139:7 (NRSV read verses 1-12)

We are never outside of the presence of God. We read it, we say it, but we do not truly understand the enormity of such a truth. 

That God’s all-pervading presence is ever before us and around us.

But alas, like Jacob, we know it not. That is our trouble, we do not know it; we do not know that truth. If we did, what a difference it would make.

Knowing and understanding and believing that God is here is an awareness that too many of us do not have. We pray for and seek the manifestation of God’s presence when it is already here.

Beloved, God is with you even when you are utterly unaware of it. But as you open yourself to the work of His Spirit within, the more God will be revealed to you. God will manifest Himself to you, for it is the Spirit Who shows you the Father and the Son and draws you nearer into relationship with God.

 

Amen †

 

 

 

 

Shelley Johnson “And We Know It Not” © 2015 revisited September 15, 2025

Freedom from Anger

 

God knows that there will be times when we will become angry and has given instructions on how we are to deal with it in His Word.

Ephesians 4:26 tells us to not sin when we are angry and not to remain in anger. Apostle Paul continues in verse 27, warning that staying angry opens the door for the devil to gain a foothold in our lives.

Beloved, please understand that if we allow anger to take root in our hearts, we make room for the devil, and he will seize that opportunity to create a stronghold.

Then, in Colossians 3:8, the Apostle says, to “put away and rid yourselves [completely] of…anger, rage, bad feelings toward others, curses and slander, and foulmouthed abuse and shameful utterances from your lips!”

Anger is a very negative emotion which can easily promote sin, so today let us pray in earnest for God to teach us how to take control of anger.

 

Pray...

Almighty God, I realize that anger creates an atmosphere of bondage in my life. My desire is to be free from outbursts of anger and the energy that creates hostility.

Lord at those times when anger wants to get the better of me, let me hear Your small still voice above the din of life, reminding me that I have no control of another’s behaviour, but I do have control over my own.

I am aware that I can influence the reaction of others by the way I act. I confess that the way I react or act is always a choice.

Forgive me Lord for my ungodly behaviour.

Forgive me for using anger as an excuse for sin.

Forgive me for returning evil for evil.

Forgive me for my display of prideful anger.

Lord, help me to forgive anyone who has offended me who I need to forgive, bring that person to mind and cause me to be quick to forgive them.

Teach me how to live above the level of temptation and deliver me from evil.

All this I pray in the Name of Jesus. Amen.

 

 

 

Shelley Johnson “Freedom from Anger” ©2013 revisited September 14, 2025

Generous Giving

 

In Luke 16:9 (NIV), it is written, “I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.”

More often than not, when people read the parable of the shrewd manager in Luke 16:1- 15, it is misunderstood.

They become perplexed that Jesus should tell His disciples, and us, to “use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves”. What exactly is our Lord really saying to us here?

Let us take a look at the verse that comes before, where Jesus says, “the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light”

The word shrewd, immediately conjures up a picture of utter trickery and scheming, which aptly describes the manager’s behaviour in the preceding verses, and so it should, but shrewd also portrays a sense of having sound judgment, sharp intelligence, keen awareness, being resourceful, prudent, clever, and astute. 

And, it is in this regard that Jesus was encouraging His disciples, and is exhorting us, to act.

Jehovah Jir-eh Ministries Outreach

Jesus, in this parable, impresses upon us, as His followers, the value of being wise in the use of worldly resources, specifically money. 

Jesus is saying that we are to use money, not for our selfish enrichment but as a tool to serve others, to bless others, and to give generously to those in need.

Beloved, this parable is a lesson in financial stewardship and responsibility. 

Jesus is teaching us how to be shrewd managers of money, how to be wise in financial matters, how to make prudent decisions regarding our worldly wealth, and how to be genuine and generous in our giving, all to enhance the work of His Kingdom here on earth.

 

Amen †

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shelley Johnson “Generous Giving” ©2013 revisited September 13, 2025

Sing and Shout for Joy

 

Sing, O barren one who did not bear; burst into song and shout, you who have not been in labour! (Isaiah 54:1 NRSV)

In obedience, you have done all that God has told you to do but all your efforts have borne no fruit, and you’re falling into despair because you just don’t understand what God is doing.

Nothing seems to be working out for you.

Everything He has told you to put your hands to has resulted in a dead end.

There’s an emptiness that you feel inside you.

You’ve been mocked, chastised, and ridiculed for continuing on without seeing the results that you expected.

You are so sure that the voice you heard was God’s voice; you know that what you have been following are His instructions, yet the promised birth has not happened and you’re about to doubt.

But God wants you to make a joyful noise to the Lord (Psalm 100:1 NRSV).

God wants you to sing in the midst of your barrenness.

God wants you to break into joyful shouting.

God knows that you can’t hear the voice of doubt if you’re singing and shouting in joyful triumph, all you will hear is your own voice, singing and shouting His praises.

God wants you and all those around you to hear the sound of victory.

God is on the verge of turning everything around. He is about to effect a miraculous change in your life; a change that will reveal His glory to a skeptical, unbelieving world.

So, sing and shout for joy,

He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what He has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the LORD. (Psalm 40:3 NLT)

Amen †

 

 

Shelley Johnson “Sing and Shout for Joy” ©2014 revisited September 12, 2025

A Familiar Verse from a New Perspective

 

Jesus said to him, “If you want to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” – Matthew 19:21 (NASB)

This verse is extracted from Jesus’ parable of the rich young ruler who had, just moments before, professed his strict adherence to the Commandments, which, in his estimation made him complete. But here, Jesus is telling this young man what it would take for him to be truly complete; not in him but in Him.

First the rich young ruler was instructed to “…go and sell your possessions”

He was required to part with all of his earthly possessions, all that he considered of great value in his life.

Jesus was telling him to empty himself of everything he felt he was and had, everything that he defined himself by, his self-exalted identity.

Next, he was required to “…give to the poor”

To give himself, in cheerful service, to those who were in lack; not just in need of the material but who were spiritually impoverished.

Jesus, considering this young man’s vast knowledge of the Scriptures, was exhorting him not to claim ownership of such but to use this knowledge to enrich the lives of others.

Jesus went on to explain that, by taking these two steps, these acts of selfless love, he would be, in fact, depositing the value of the knowledge of God into the hearts of others, and in so doing he will have treasure in heaven, the Kingdom of heaven within [see Matthew 13:44].

Finally, through these acts of compliance, the young man would reveal his intention to become Christ’s true disciple and it’s then Jesus will say, “come, follow Me.”

Beloved, are you willing to empty yourself, giving up all your possessions and give to the poor in genuine discipleship?

When we are willing to give up all that we value most – our independence, our material possessions, our self-reliance, our own efforts, our ‘success’, our friends, our lifestyles, our hard-worked-for positions, our best-Christian perception of ourselves, our “let my light so shine before men, that they may see my good works, and glorify me here on earth” attitudes, and every other ‘valuable’ – only then will we find ourselves complete.

Only then can we firmly declare, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I lack nothing, because, I am complete in Him” [Psalm 23:1; Colossians 2:9-10].

Amen †

 

 

Shelley Johnson “A Familiar Verse from a New Perspective” © 2014 revisited September 11, 2025

Quenching Your Spiritual Dehydration

 

Are you so dehydrated that even your bones feel dried up?

This is no normal dry spell where a drink of cold water quenches your thirst. You’ve tried everything but nothing you do is satisfying this dryness that you’re feeling.

That’s because your thirst is not physical but spiritual. You’re in a spiritual drought, in the middle of a dry-bones valley with no hope of quenching your spiritual dehydration.

“…the middle of a valley; it was full of bones…and they were very dry.” (Ezekiel 37:1, 2 NIV)

Right now, even though all you see around you is desert, know that there is hope, for God has provided a source of full and everlasting satisfaction for your spiritual dehydration.

Only God can make springs gush forth in the valleys (Psalm 104:10).

water reservoir Chile

Only God can change deserts into springs of water (Psalm 107:35).

And, to anyone who is thirsty, it is only God who gives water as a gift from the spring of the water of life (Revelation 21:6).

This God-given Spring is a spring that never runs dry.

This never-ending flow of rehydration is available to whosoever believes in His Son Jesus Christ.

Jesus Himself tells us of this wonderful thirst-quenching spring of water when He said, “…those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” (John 4:14).

Also, in John 7:37-39 we read, “…Jesus…cried out, Let anyone who is thirsty come to Me, and let the one who believes in Me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’ Now He said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive…”

Beloved, this precious water is the Holy Spirit promised to anyone who believes. The indwelling Spirit of God is the source of this spring of everlasting satisfaction. Only He can quench your spiritual dehydration. How wonderful it is to have this bubbling spring of water within you that completely satisfies even to the bone.

Amen†

 

 

Shelley Johnson “Quenching Your Spiritual Dehydration” ©2014 revisited September 10, 2025