Afraid?

Are you always afraid or fearful for one reason or another? Do you know that the Word of God says that a person is a slave to whatever he gives into? Yes it does in 2 Peter 2:19, check it out for yourself. When you are a self-professed worrier, as some like to profess to be; anxious for everything, a literal worryguts, endlessly fixated on your challenges and difficulties – some warranted, others contrived – and afraid of the outcome, then you are enslaved by your fears. 

All over the Old and New Testaments are instances where individuals and groups of people are told to not be afraid. 

Moses told the people, "Don't be afraid. Just stand still and watch the LORD rescue you today…” – Exodus 13:14 NLT

"Do not be afraid of them," the LORD said to Joshua – Joshua 10:8 NLT

“Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” – John 14:27 NIV

In his letter to Timothy, Paul wrote,

“The Spirit God gave us does not make us afraid. His Spirit is a source of power and love and self-control.” – 2 Timothy 1:7 ERV

God never meant for us to be a people afraid but people who would trust the intent of His heart and believe that He desires nothing but our benefit. God has promised you and me that the plan He Himself has designed for each and every one of our lives is great (Jeremiah 29:11-14) but we have to cooperate with God by believing what He says. Instead we believe that it’s natural to be afraid, even of our own shadows, not realizing that to constantly think this way only keeps us rooted in fear.

Isaiah 26:3 assures us that if we keep our minds fixed on God, He will keep us in perfect peace. However, this cannot be properly done by means of our own power, we have to rely on the Holy Spirit’s power. God gave to us a powerful, loving, and disciplined Spirit, upon whose power we must draw if we are to truly overcome the fear to which we have given dominion over our lives.

Being continuously afraid gives fear a stranglehold on your mind and in turn your heart, and this chokes the life out of what you believe concerning God’s promises toward you. This fearfulness wreaks havoc in every area of your life; your general sense of perception is wrought askew, causing you to fall into a state of unbelief and making you unable to accept God’s testimony about you as a new creation in Christ Jesus. Consequently, you are not able to exercise even your mustard seed sized faith. 

Beloved, the sincere faith you had when you first believed in the Saviour, is that same faith you must keep ablaze even in the worst of circumstances. You must come to the realization that it is the same God who lovingly sent His only Son to die for you who is working all things together for your well-being. So, there is no reason to be afraid, is there? He knows what’s coming and it’s never for your harm but always for your ultimate good. If you continue to fear for your life and of what’s to come, you haven’t yet recognized your loving Father and the abundant blessings He has in store for you. 

We tend to give too much significance to our fears. Please, don’t let fear steal your reward (see Matthew 25:24-29). Surrender, as you once did yourself, whatever you are afraid of to God and allow Him to redeem it for something that is worthy. Let the transforming power of His Spirit transform your life. Be anxious for nothing (see Philippians 4:6).

Amen†

Afraid?

Shelley Johnson August 15, 2017

Love Yourself

You are God’s unique creation, wonderfully complex, an example of His marvelous workmanship and an imprint of His own image and likeness. There’s not another person in this world that’s like you, even if you’re an identical twin, you are still one of a kind. (see Psalm 139:13-18)

Jesus let us know in Matthew 22:39 that we are to love our neighbour as we love ourselves. Now the question is, do you love yourself? For how can you fulfill this great commandment to love, if you do not love yourself? Please do not confuse loving yourself with the kind self-love that is mired in vanity, self-centeredness, pride and arrogance – that’s a whole other topic. No this is about a love for self which promotes inner peace and contentment, love and compassion for others and most importantly love of God.

Sadly though, you look at yourself and you see only brokenness but that is not how God sees you. Beloved, God sees you as His unique and wonderful creation; He looks at you and He sees His marvelous workmanship. God looks at you and sees someone precious. Everything God created is good (1 Timothy 4:4) and that includes you.

I believe that the only way that you and I can properly love, self and others, is through a heart transformed by God’s Love. As you know, God is Love, that’s who He is, and His love bears no condemnation. But we have a tendency to engage in self-condemnation, to indulge in self-criticism and a depreciation of self. You see, when all you do is seek out the faults in yourself it makes it very easy for you to find fault in others too and this, in no way, honours God’s creation.

Whatever your reason for your lack of self-appreciation, it’s time for you to have a confrontation with Love, God’s love and to abide in that love, a love that enables you to see, in yourself, the beauty of God’s creation. The truth is, God loves you just as you are right now. He loved you first (1 John 4:19). 

Perhaps you’re thinking that this is easier said than done but know that you have this promise, 

“whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13 NLT)

This word, “whoever” means anyone and everyone – you, me, and everybody. You do not have to do this on your own, you are not expected to. God knows that the only way that you can cultivate the kind of love that’s needed is by the transforming power of His Holy Spirit working in you and with you. So, today, right where you are, call on Him, cry out to Him and allow His love to move you to love.

Amen†

Love Yourself

Shelley Johnson August 2, 2017

An Act of Love

To love your neighbour is not an act of obedience, as some tend to believe, but rather, is an act of love free of condemnation. To genuinely love another who is your polar opposite in culture, values, up-bringing, sexual orientation, creed and perception of God, is not easy, however that’s exactly what this great commandment urges us to do. Following directly after the first and greatest, which is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind” indicates to us that it is indeed a consequence of the first. It shows that it is only when we allow the love of God to transform our hearts that we can then move towards acts of sacrificial, non-judgmental love. 

A heart transformed by God’s love can do nothing else but act out of love. In order for us to understand what neighbourly love is, Jesus left us with the parable of The Good Samaritan (see Matthew 22:34-40). Separated by centuries of animosity and divergent religious practices, beliefs and values, Samaritans were despised by Jews, yet Jesus’ cleverly woven tale of the innate goodness of man borne from godly love, has as its hero, a man of Samaria, a perceived enemy. 

An act of love demonstrated to us by that person who we have always considered to be an unworthy, un-lovable social outcast may prove awkward, even insulting, but God wants us to cast off our pride and our prejudices and see every aspect of His beautiful, praise worthy creation in every human being. He wants us to see others as He sees each one of us, not as the broken reflections of His divine nature that we are, but as reflections of His perfect Son, through an amazing transforming love which He alone can manifest in us. 

God’s love for us in Christ Jesus, His beloved Son, is a deep, wide, all-forgiving love that brings a grace that is greater than all our sin. To love our neighbour, is an act of love that refuses to allow us to love based on our judgments of them and their judgments of us. 

Amen†

An Act of Love

Shelley Johnson August 1, 2017

What’s up with your BS?

So, you’ve read the title of today’s blog post and, some of you, if not all, have come up with an interpretation of the acronym “BS”. Some eyebrows might be raised, some brows furrowed, some may frown and others may chuckle, but each one of you would have made a decision about its meaning according to what you believe. Those of you who may have gone into the gutter for its meaning can climb out now…

”BS” here doesn’t stand for that, even though at times your BS can be BS, it’s an acronym for “Belief System”. We all believe in something – we all have our own BS and when it comes to what we believe as Christians, unlike acronyms, it cannot be shorthand, however, like acronyms, your Belief System has to stand for something of substance and value. Beliefs are personal and who or what you believe in is also personal – it is a matter of choice – a choice that no-one but you can and must make. It is up to you to decide.

Joshua and his household made their choice when he publicly proclaimed,

“But maybe you don’t want to serve the Lord. You must choose for yourselves today. Today you must decide who you will serve…You must choose for yourselves. But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.” – Joshua 24:15 (ERV)

If you consider yourself a Christian, what you believe is essential for the Christian life and plays an important role in your walk or journey. Your beliefs are rooted in where your faith rests and is fundamental in determining what your return will be. The Word of God tells us what to believe and lets us know the outcome, for instance, Jesus said to Martha,

“Remember what I told you? I said that if you believed, you would see God’s divine greatness.” – John 11:40 (ERV)

But many times we choose either not to believe or we believe some things and ignore the rest. Listen, if God says something “is” then that’s what you believe because whatever He says, He will bring to pass (Isaiah 46:11). You call yourself a Believer but what are you actually believing, and where is it taking you? 

The truth is, we have not been conditioned to completely believe God. We do not take Him at His word, yet we want others to believe that our word is our bond, even in our fickle state where we change our minds from one moment to the next. There’s a lack of persistent fidelity in our Belief System which causes the vacillation.

Your BS will drive your behavior and influence your life experiences. As passionate as your desires may be, you’ll never experience what you desire to be, only what you believe to be – change your BS, transform your life. Some BS, rather than lead you toward Christ is leading you away from Him and sadly, you are so resolute in your own BS that you do not recognize that you’re headed in the wrong direction.

People have a tendency to get so caught up in the church’s stated set of beliefs, they start believing the right things the wrong way and instead of establishing an intimate, personal relationship with Jesus, they become deeply involved with church and its activities. Jesus is not a doctrine or an accumulation of rules, He is a real Person, with whom you must be involved by way of a personal encounter (see Revelation 3:20). Bare knowledge of the content of the message of Christianity does not a Christian make, your Belief System cannot be built upon a shifting-sand foundation or based upon outward behavior. 

The Word of God distorted by misinterpretation, incorrect teaching, and abuse and misuse of Scripture can only result in an unclear, ambiguous presentation of the Truth. We are warned, 

“My dear friends, many false prophets are in the world now. So don’t believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are from God.” – 1 John 4:1 (ERV)

Understand that beliefs are very powerful, and you can be deluded not only by others but by yourself as well. So it is crucial for you to also examine your BS in the light of the Word of God, not on your own but through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Author of the Word. 

Now, I am not attempting to foist my own BS on you, I cannot tell you what you should or shouldn’t believe, that my dear friend is entirely up to you. We are all varied in our beliefs, however, as it pertains to our walk with God, we can all agree on the basic belief that apart from Christ we are separated from God (John 14:6). This is a necessary starting point despite our certain theological differences. 

Amen†

What’s up with your BS?

Shelley Johnson July 31, 2017

Rest in God

When Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah and Jerusalem were faced with what to them seemed an impossible situation, a portion of what God said to them was,

“You won’t have to lift a hand in this battle; just stand firm…and watch God’s saving work for you take shape. Don’t be afraid, don’t waver. March out boldly tomorrow—God is with you.” – 2 Chronicles 20:17 (MSG)

This message is still relevant for us today but is deeper in its meaning and significance now than it was then, because of what Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection effected in the earth and for every individual. Most people, even Christians, don’t truly grasp the wonderment of Jesus’ miraculous, supernatural life, death and resurrection. Our vision is limited to our too shallow thoughts, but we must be willing to see beyond the obvious, delve into the deep and look far afield if we are to progress spiritually.

Jehoshaphat and his people were to “stand firm” in their confidence in God’s character and word but with Jesus we can do more than that, we have the ability to rest in God through the power of His own Spirit who lives inside our regenerated hearts. So ours is not just an attitude of quiet confidence in God but such a complete and utter dependence on Him that we can sleep soundly, undisturbed and unperturbed in every situation. 

“A huge storm came up. Waves poured into the boat, threatening to sink it. And Jesus was in the stern, head on a pillow, sleeping!” – Mark 4:37-38 (MSG)

Rest in God gives us the ability, like Jesus, to sleep during the storms of life and stay afloat in the worst floods that may threaten to take us under but we are seated with Jesus in the Throne Room of heaven above the futility of this world, above the din and the noise, above the struggles and the challenges, above the ceaseless religious works and striving of the flesh – this is rest in God.

Rest in God is to be totally dependent on His saving work, the Divine work that only God can accomplish; it’s where the impossible is possible. Rest in God is to experience “Thy Kingdom come here on earth as it is in heaven” – a taste of eternity. Rest in God is where the unsearchable things of God become searchable; it is to live in God’s reality and revelation. Rest in God sets us free from wrestling with issues and offers us in exchange for our weariness and heavy loads, easy yokes and light burdens. 

Rest in God is not a physical rest done through our efforts, but a spiritual rest apprehended only by faith through the power of the Holy Spirit; it’s where God is the centre and fills everything. Rest in God is a place of no fear, and no limitations; it brings us out on the other side of destruction, unscathed.

Rest in God is an active rest but it’s not our activity, for God does not require our help in solving our problems, because, as His children, our problems are His problems and He is pleased to save us. 

The work at Calvary has already secured a wonderful rest for us and has redeemed us from the endless fighting to obtain and maintain. Rest in God is a higher form of rest whose concept seems ridiculous to the world’s thinking because it goes against everything that we’ve been brought up to believe. “Rest in God” creates discomfort and discombobulation for the religious mind because such a mind cannot relate to such things; it’s incomprehensible to the one who believes that he must labour to dig a well then labour to draw from it rather than receive the water freely from a natural spring. 

Rest in God is a cessation of all our work in amassing material things, it is to leave the wilderness and enter the Promised Land, it is having a heart for God to believe, trust and obey Him and to cling to His truth which states,

“…he who has once entered [God’s] rest also has ceased from [the weariness and pain] of human labors, just as God rested from those labors peculiarly His own. Let us therefore be zealous and exert ourselves and strive diligently to enter that rest [of God, to know and experience it for ourselves], that no one may fall or perish by the same kind of unbelief and disobedience [into which those in the wilderness fell].” – Hebrews 4:10-11 (AMPC).

Amen†

Rest in God

Shelley Johnson July 28, 2017

Jesus goes missing!

The Festival was over, and the caravan was on its way back home. For eleven years they’d done this journey without incident, so why would it be any different this twelfth year? But it was – Jesus goes missing!

After travelling an entire day, Jesus’ parents, expecting that He was somewhere among family and friends in the caravan, were unaware that He was missing. Retracing their steps, they went in search of their little boy, and found Him after three days of separation. He was in the Temple, and He was different, changed – no longer the same. (read Luke 2:41-52)

Three days completely immersed in the will of God can do that to a person. How can you remain the same after that? You too will be found different and changed. Even your closest relatives are ignorant of where you are and what is transpiring with you spiritually, and they fail to recognize that the “you” they’ve always known is missing.

Within you, as His temple, a unique sense of identity is manifested. Your usual worship gives place to extraordinary fellowship with the Father. Just as it is in pregnancy, something begins to grow inside you, an enlarging that you can feel though it’s not yet obvious to anyone else. It is the work of the Holy Spirit stirring deep within, restoring that connectivity to God that was lost…a cementing of your relationship with the Father.

During those days of separation, your spiritual awareness is piqued and that’s when you know that your life is about to change in ways unimaginable, a life that will follow a path you’ve never before tread. And, like Jesus, you also go “missing” as your metamorphosis begins to unfold – the person you once knew is fading away. Changes, some subtle, almost undetectable, while others are drastic. A complete 180⁰ turn, a transition from the “old man” to the new creature (see 2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV).

Searching for the old you, expecting to find you familiar, but instead a re-born unfamiliar you who’s growing in spiritual wisdom emerges – you've found Jesus.

Amen†

Jesus goes missing!

Shelley Johnson July 27, 2017

Leaves are not Green

“So we do not set our sights on the things we can see with our eyes. All of that is fleeting; it will eventually fade away. Instead, we focus on the things we cannot see, which live on and on.” – 2 Corinthians 4:18 (VOICE)

Just because we cannot hear the sound of a dog whistle doesn’t mean that it’s not being blown, it’s merely above the range of human hearing. This is similar to the spiritual, in that, some things are out of our range of awareness, or to put it another way, what we are currently aware of is not all there is to be aware of.

In 2 Corinthians 4:18, Apostle Paul is exhorting us to trust in what is and not in what is seen because there’s far more than meets the eye. We have been raised to place our trust and confidence in only what we can hear or see but that is a fallacy rooted in the world’s system of belief, for the world says that seeing is believing, but our Lord Jesus says, “…better blessings are in store for those who believe without seeing.” (John 20:29 MSG)

To look up and not see a single star in the night sky surely does not diminish our belief in the existence of the stars. Living by only what we can see, and acting purely upon the things we hear or overhear, is not the way God wants His children to operate. We have been inculcated with many of the world’s misconceptions from childhood, so it is too easy for us to accept illusion as reality but we must resolve to understand that what we see or think we see may not be a true reflection of what is.

For instance, leaves are not green, but appear green because of the light they reflect. 

Everything we can see with our eyes is simply a matter of our perception, our perspective, our view and our interpretation of the symbols and signals that we receive; it’s what determines the way we see things, situations and circumstances. We allow our eyes and our ears to affect our beliefs, and our beliefs contribute to our experiences. If we change what we believe, we can change our circumstances.

“The path we walk is charted by faith, not by what we see with our eyes.” – 2 Corinthians 5:7 (VOICE)

The inherent truth of existence lies, not in our own ability to see, but in our trust in an omniscient God. Trusting in Him, in absolute conviction of faith that recognizes that there are realities that are unseen and unknown. When we can put aside our own reality and give ourselves over to the One who resides beyond this reality, the One who truly knows (see Psalm 139), only then will we experience the better blessings of which Jesus spoke. 

Amen†

Leaves are not Green

Shelley Johnson July 25, 2017