Author Archives: Michael D Johnson

What do you do when nothing seems to be going your way? How do you react? What do you feel? How do you handle those feelings? I want to briefly address these things and how we as Christians can approach life when nothing is going our way… Does this sound anything like you: Things startContinue reading “When nothing seems to be going your way”

Dear friend I bless you in the name of the Lord! What does this mean? It means that by the authorization of God Himself, I offer to you the grace and peace that is available in Christ Jesus. I offer it not as a nice sentiment, a “hallmark card” or as heart-warming words or “chicken-soupContinue reading “The Lord bless you”

Dear Pastor, Whatever you are going through on any given day, there is tremendous help, hope and strength in meditating on the nearness and goodness of God. Far too often we entertain unhealthy, accusatory and fear-inducing ideas (such as “Here we go again”, or “I don’t have what it takes”, or “This is so hard”).Continue reading “Practice saying this”

Dear Pastor, One thing I know about life and ministry is that you carry a heavy load. You carry it for yourself, family, friends and for your congregation. Somedays, by the amazing grace of God, it seems like the load is so light that you forget it’s even there and thank God for the joyContinue reading “Heavy Loads”

Dear Pastor,  Life and ministry can be really, really hard. There are expectations, obligations, emergencies, obstacles, opportunities and more!  And as we seek to navigate through all of this and yet remain faithful to God and to our calling, we make mistakes. We make mistakes of judgment, we make mistakes of stewardship, we make mistakesContinue reading “Do you give yourself grace?”

I think Coke is better than Pepsi.  I also prefer Ford to Chevy. Cookies are always better than pie. And I’ve already alienated a bunch of you. But here is the point: we all have opinions. We all have preferences. We all have things we like more or less than other things.  But what areContinue reading “Everyone has an opinion”

Let’s face it, in this world people look down upon or judge people because they are different in age, race or gender. Furthermore it seems that people look down upon others because of the different accomplishments, socio-economic status or skills/talents. I want to write this blog post to encourage you to not let people lookContinue reading “Do not let anyone look down on you”

Dear Pastor, I know you understand what I am talking about.  You reach down deep, you try with all your might and you still just don’t have anything else to give. Whether it is to your congregation, your friends or your family, you just know that no matter how much you want to help themContinue reading “Pastor Encouragement – When you have nothing to give”

Now what? Unless you are living alone on a deserted island or have no feelings or are invincible, something in this life has “happened” to you. You may have been fired, been told off, been in an accident, come down with a sickness, lived during a pandemic, had a fallout in one of your relationshipsContinue reading “Now what?”