Author Archives: Michael D Johnson

Comfort my people, says the Lord (Isaiah 40:1) He desires to comfort usHe longs and yearns and reaches out to comfort us His name is “Comforter” He knows we are hurtingHe knows we are wind and wave tossed His comfort is perfectHis comfort can sootheHis comfort can heal and make whole We want all painContinue reading “Comfort”

So many things to doBut not for glory and not for gain So many opportunitiesSo many demands But may I work for Your glory LordMay I serve for Your honor May what I do be an offering What do I have to offer? Certainly, You don’t need my ‘wisdom’I have no riches that you doContinue reading “An offering of work”

Far too often I worry about what I can do for God or what I need Him to do for me. Far too often I think about how hard life is or how unfair that Christian should have to endure so much. Far too often I try to demonstrate my worth thru work and ‘takeContinue reading “Striving”

“Choose you this day whom you will serve” Many Christians are familiar with this Scripture verse. But we may not spend as much time here as we need to. In choosing whom we will serve (The Lord or something/someone else) we are choosing how we are going to spend our time, money and energy. WeContinue reading “Everybody gets to choose”

God has given to us the gift of life. He created us and offers to us so many wonderful and beautiful gifts. Here is just a partial list of the truly countless gifts God has given: And on top of this, we were created in His likeness and image, which means we have been givenContinue reading “The gift of life”

Dear pastor, Will anything ever get better at your church? Will you ever see more attendees, more volunteers and sufficient income? Is the church always going to face declining numbers, passion and interest? I know, these questions seem blunt and perhaps a bit pessimistic, but reality is that many pastors have considered these questions (maybeContinue reading “Is my church stuck? Am I?”

Dear Christian, I want to invite you to prayerfully and humbly consider the ways in which God is calling you to participate in His church, His kingdom and His mission. First of all, God has invited all to come to Him, believe in Him, receive Him into their lives and receive the inheritance of theContinue reading “Serving God and participating in His mission”

I have a few tough questions for pastors.  Are you present in the lives of your people? Do they have to go looking for you or do you just show up in their lives? Are you kind of like the “out of sight, out of mind” part of their life? You know: do they seeContinue reading “Alone? Forgotten?”

Have you ever felt alone? I know the better question is: when was the most recent time you felt all alone? Was it last week? Yesterday? This morning? It is miserable to feel all alone. And maybe it hurts just as much or even more to be with and around people and still feel unheard,Continue reading “All alone”

There is a temptation to ties one’s worth into what one can produce. As if somehow what one does with their hands or with their time/gifting/energy etc defines them and their value. Indeed, for many of us, this is a temptation to consider that a person does not have quality of life unless they areContinue reading “What is my value?”