God has been showing me recently that He uses three tools over and over in order to shape and form us into His likeness and image. Those three tools are suffering, lack and delay. And yet perhaps God would call these things training, discipline and appropriate timing. But nonetheless God allows things to come intoContinue reading “God’s greatest tools for shaping and forming us”
Author Archives: Michael D Johnson
No one else can do it for you
No one else can choose for you. No one else can think, feel or act for you. We each must choose for ourselves who we will serve (Joshua challenged the people of Israel with this choice). We each must choose for ourselves how we will live. When circumstances are especially difficult and we ask theContinue reading “No one else can do it for you”
A prayer for God’s presence and His people
Oh Lord, we need You now. We need You to guide us. To instruct us. Oh Lord we need Your Spirit, Your Presence and Your Glory to be on us, with us and in us! Lord, break our hearts for lost people, dying churches, hopelessness, hurting, sorrow, grief, sin-laden and imprisoned people. May we careContinue reading “A prayer for God’s presence and His people”
What shall we receive from God?
“Shall we accept good from God and not trouble?” – Job 2:10 There seem to be four things in our lives that are complex in how they are intertwined together and yet collectively they seem to account for much of the stress, fear, anxiety, doubt and discouragement in our lives. These four things are: *Continue reading “What shall we receive from God?”
Wandering, seeking
So often in life we find ourselves wandering. Wondering. Seeking. Questioning. “What is next?” “What went wrong?” “What should I do now?” These are legitimate questions. And they come from a place of brokenness and desperation. This might feel like a dark and depressed place to be, but it actually might be the most perfectContinue reading “Wandering, seeking”
Our desperate state
We are so completely dependent. Though we think we are autonomous, self-governing, independent beings, when we boil it all down: we are desperately needy for … God. We are not merely in need of a few blessings or provisions from His hand. No, we are desperate for His glory, His face, His Spirit, His presence! Joy isContinue reading “Our desperate state”
I don’t have a clue
A post about ministry, His presence, and knowing what to do. I write this blog post with a dose of fear that I may be misunderstood or even maligned as a result. And yet I write this article in the hope that it will help someone walk closer to the Lord. Do youContinue reading “I don’t have a clue”
Life and the Presence of God
What is this life really about? Have we forgotten? Have we ever really known? Is this life about feelings and experiences? Is it about love and friendship? Is this life about making something of it? These are all small parts of the much bigger whole. Each of these things are snippets of the full lifeContinue reading “Life and the Presence of God”
A resolution of consecration, surrender, waiting and obeying
So it’s that time again. The time when we make resolutions: we resolve to do something we have not done before (or at least not recently or well). And yet I myself am curious and wary about these resolutions. Why do we want to do certain things now? Why haven’t we been doing them before?Continue reading “A resolution of consecration, surrender, waiting and obeying”
“So what do you do for your real job?”
So I have been thinking about what pastors do with their time and energy. I can’t tell you the number of times that I have been asked what I do when it is not Wednesday or Sunday. People love to joke that pastors only work two days a week and golf every other day exceptContinue reading ““So what do you do for your real job?””
Pastor Michael Johnson 