Pastor Michael Johnson

Devotional – Colossians 3:1

I will be sharing a new devotional every week. I hope that you will take your Bible and a prayer journal so that you can listen to the Lord and spend time meditating on His Word and sharing with Him your life and your heart.

Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God… (Colossians 3:1)

IF — the offer is made to all people. The invitation is “come follow me” and “humble yourself and I will lift you up.” But it is all contingent upon the “if.” Will you believe? Will you receive? Will you obey? The promise from God is established. The atoning work of Jesus is finished. But you and I have to choose. And if we choose Christ, we know that He has already chosen us and already made a way. Will you let Him save you and raise you up?

You have been raised up with Christ — once the “if” is settled between us and God, the reality is that He absolutely lifts us up. Out of the muck and mire. Out of despondency. Out of darkness and into His wonderful light. And the raising up is from death unto life. The raising up is participating in the resurrection power and victory of Christ. And in addition to that, the raising up is participating in the ascension of Christ, because God has placed us in Christ Jesus who in fact is at the right hand of the majesty in heaven.

Therefore — what’s that word there for? Precisely to remind us that contingent upon believing and receiving and then being raised up with Christ, we have a responsibility for something that we must do. Ours is not a passive receiving or a passive believing or waiting on God. Instead ours is to be an active faith that indicates we have something we must actively do. What is it that we are to be actively engaged in?

Keep seeking the things above where Christ is — we know that Christ is at the right hand of the Father. Once He ascended He resumed His ruling and reigning from heaven on His throne. From that place He is also interceding from us, preparing a place for us, and awaiting the moment of His return to claim His bride. Are we seeking things above? Are we seeking to understand God’s rule and reign over all things? Are we willing to change our focus from the temporal to the eternal?

May you and I receive God’s invitation, allow God to raise us up (in salvation as well as perspective and faith) and then let us keep seeking the heavenly things. May we ask the Lord to help us discern the things we should be thinking about, meditating on and daily pursuing.

Have you received?

Are you seeking the things above?

Life is hard – God is good

Dear friend,

Life is hard.

But I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know.

And yet it can help when we realize that others see what we are going through.

So, may this post help you to know:

You are seen
Your cries are heard
You are not alone!

When God appeared to Moses in the burning bush, He told Moses that He had heard the cries of His people, had seen their struggles and their misery and that He had prepared a plan to deliver them.

Wouldn’t it be awesome if God, or an angelic or prophetic messenger from Him, saw all the hardships you are facing and said to you: “God sees you and hears you and is going to give you all the help you need.”

I hope this blog post serves just such a role in your life.

The Bible tells us over and over again:

The Lord will not leave you or forsake you.
The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love.
Do not be afraid.

So in all of your trials and tribulations, may you be reminded today that God is near, God is more than able to help you and that He in fact delights in giving you mercy and grace for your time of need.

Don’t give up hope. Don’t hang your head in despair.

Just keep trusting the Lord. Lean on Him and find rest in His unfailing love!

What does it mean to love your neighbor?

Let us remember that love is sacrificial action. It is a decision of the will to desire and work for what is best for that person (both for now and for eternity)
It first starts by noticing your neighbor
- “Who is my neighbor?” A question asked of Jesus by one who wanted to excuse his neglect of neighbor
- “Am I my brother’s keeper?” A question asked to God by one who wanted to abdicate himself from personal responsibility regarding the welfare of another
And seeing what they are facing
- What pain
- What heartache
- What disappointment
- What suffering
- What oppression
- What captivity
- What injustice
And then working for their hope, their provision, their redemption, their deliverance, etc.
If they are in pain because of sickness, disease or injury, we pray for their healing, anoint them with oil in the name of Jesus, refer them to doctors and medical science.
If they are in heartache because of the loss of a loved one or a dream or a relationship, we sit and listen to them, we give them a shoulder to lean on, we pray for them.
If they are in disappointment because circumstances haven’t turned out like they thought we pray for and with them and share with them the promises of God and His heart to provide for them and give them hope and a future.
If it is suffering we should seek to discover the source of their suffering. We should seek to comfort them and pray for God’s relief in their life, but if we can offer relief through a blanket or food or water or medicine or companionship we also do that.
If it is oppression because spiritual forces of wickedness are accusing and belittling and condemning them, then we share the hope of Scripture and the promises of freedom in the name and power of Jesus.
If it is captivity that they are in because of addiction or human enslavement we seek to help them to be set free. We pray for their deliverance but we also work for them to be connected with addiction recovery tools, groups, counselors, etc but if it is human captivity we pray for their release and work for their deliverance through diplomacy and appropriate appeals to authority.
If it is injustice we must defend their cause, appeal as necessary to authority figures, pray for God to grant them relief and justice and in the meantime help to make sure that their basic (and spiritual) needs are still met while waiting for some manner of earthly justice and of course God’s perfect justice.

We can’t turn a blind eye

There are so many truly difficult, painful and troubling things in this world.

And so often we would prefer not to see those things or let those things bring anxiousness or chaos into our own lives.

You might even say to yourself “Not my problem” or “Not gonna let that crazy in here.”

But we can’t turn a blind eye to people in need. We can’t bury our head in the sand and ignore the problems in the world around us.

As Christians, we have tasted of the peace and joy of the Lord in our own hearts and in the church, and we are looking forward to the perfect paradise in heaven that God is preparing for us. But in the meantime, we are in a broken and fallen world, and we need to ask the Lord to open our eyes to the heartache around us. We need to ask the Lord to help us to know the difference between right and wrong and that He would instruct us about what is truly right and just.

There is much injustice, unfairness and selfishness exhibited in many relationships and homes. Similarly, in corporations, Hollywood and Washington, there is much that is wrong. And we need the Lord to help us to see clearly when things that are said and done are against His holy and loving ways.

And when our eyes are opened we need the Lord to then help us know what to do.

Sometimes we just pray. Other times we seek to help others know the truth. Sometimes we may have to warn people. May we ask the Lord to open our eyes to what is wrong in the world around us so that we can pray, graciously point people to the truth in Christ and so that we can offer a helping hand to those who are in pain, abused, exploited, enslaved or all alone.

May we as Christians never seek the peace and solace of heaven so much that we ignore or disregard the people here on earth who are hurting or being mistreated by others.

God’s judgment is coming

What are the sins of America for which judgment will come unless we repent?

The same sins condemned in the Bible

The sins of extortion and greed
Coercion, abuse and exploitation of people
Injustice, cheating, lying and stealing
Murder and torture
Sacrificing of children and babies
Sexual immorality
Pastors and politicians who lead immorally
Calling evil good and good evil (celebrating evil)
Shaking a fist at God and His righteous revelations
A fierce assertion of self-care and independent autonomy from God

What kind of judgment will come?

The same kind as has always been prophesied in the Bible

Plague
Famine
Sword
Calamity
Exile and/or Captivity

When will it come?

The same time it has always come

When God says the time has come
When He has given sufficient time for us to repent
When He has sent true prophets and they have been ignored or even persecuted or killed
When the surrounding pagan nations are more righteous than a supposedly Christian or God-fearing nation

Might any people survive the judgement?

In the same way they always have:

If we are obedient to the Lord, the Lord will deliver us through (or in spite of) the judgment on the land
God sometimes has mercy on segments of people/areas of the land
He leaves for Himself a remnant
The judgment (on earth) is for a demonstration of His power and for a call to repentance (it is temporary in its punishment and ultimately is for redemption and formation))
The judgment (in heaven) will be punitive and everlasting

How can we know if a prophet is true or false when they warn us?

The same way in the Bible anyone could know if a prophet was sent by God

Their words came to pass
Their lifestyle reflected a counter-cultural bent and a desire to honor God
- They didn’t quite fit it in
They were hated and misunderstood by many
Often they did not have a large following of disciples/adherents because the largest group was being led astray by false prophets and teachers
Their words were always in agreement with the character and behavior of God

Aren’t you being a little harsh on America? After all there are so many Christians and churches here, surely it’s not as bad as you are making it out to be

America is as evil as as Egypt, Babylon, Rome, Israel or Judah ever were

Sexual perversion, deviancy, promiscuity and immorality
Idolatry
Blasphemy
Murder
Slavery, oppression, abuse, exploitation
Calling evil good and good evil
Celebrating evil

The fact that there is rampant evil in America, does not negate the fact that there are also God-fearing, obedient people. But the path and the gate are narrow and few are on it (although many know but are not obedient)

Some people like to equate America with a new Israel but the reality is that if we are a new Israel it is only an apostate one (one that has known the truth but has fallen away). So whether America is the new Israel or the new Babylon, the call is the same: repent and believe and be obedient and be faithful to God and His good commands.

What is the purpose of God’s judgment?

The same it as always been

That people will know that God is the Lord
That people will know the utter sinfulness, repugnancy and devastation of sin (and the utter abomination that it is not only to God but to all who are holy and see/hear with His eyes/ears)
That He will purify people of their sins
That He will cleanse the land of its idolatry
That people will be made holy

God’s judgment always comes with

Advance warning
An invitation to repent
A clear explanation of the consequences for obedience or disobedience
God’s expression of His love and willingness to forgive and redeem
A call to remorse (Godly sorrow) that leads to confession (declaration with our mouths of our sinfulness and God’s holiness) and repentance (actively turning away from our sinful deeds and actively engaging in holy and loving deeds by the conviction and empowerment of the Holy Spirit)

God will cause us to know that He is the Lord!

Please receive this warning!
God’s judgment is coming quicker than we know
It will be a swifter judgment than we realize
The severity of it may surprise us
God’s mercy is available now, but we have to believe and repent
A day of judgment is coming and unless we the people, the shepherds (pastors/prophets) and the leaders (politicians, influencers, etc) repent, judgment is coming to America.
May we not look first/only to the people around us who need to repent, may it begin with us! And then may we fast and pray for our nation and the people around us. And may we have gracious spiritual conversations about God’s truth so that others may be warned. And many of us don’t know our nation’s leaders, by may we weep and pray for them and for those who can influence them to call upon the Lord before God’s judgment comes!

Intimacy over efficiency and productivity

For some reason we often find ourselves pulled to be ultra-productive. We may feel this inner push to be efficient with our time and energy. Not that this is a bad thing at all, in its proper place.

Of course we should make the most of our time by efficiently handling email and productively organizing our time to check things off of our “to do” list, however when it comes to relationships, intimacy must be priority.

We can’t “streamline” things like relationships.

We can’t speed the process along and we absolutely shouldn’t be angling to help the conversation go faster or for the bonds to forge more quickly. These are things that ought to take time. These are things that cannot and should not be hurried.

Can you imagine someone saying “I love you” or even offering a marriage proposal and the person to whom they direct their love and affection simply responds with “Can’t we move this along?”

In the middle of my day today, the Lord reminded me that I need to yearn for intimacy over efficiency.

Furthermore He told me that when I am intimate with Him, He will direct my path and show me the way I should live and the things I should be spending my time on. In other words, when we are intimate with the Father, He will help to make us efficient and productive.

So the next time, you sense the urge to go faster and be more productive, make sure that it does not spill into your relationships because those just take time to grow healthy and to be fully enjoyed as God intended.

Listen to the instruction of the Lord

Dear friend

Listen to the voice of your Father.

Listen to the voice of wisdom.

Heed the instructions of Truth and Holiness.

There are so many people who are going through hardships in their life of their own doing.

Of course, we know that there is trouble in this world simply because it is a fallen world. We know that there is heartache simply because of the presence of free will. We know that the devil is on the prowl and causes a lot of grief and suffering.

But if we were honest with ourselves, we would also recognize that a lot of the trouble in our lives is of our own doing.

And God has given us an answer for this.

Listen to his voice. Heed his instruction.

Proverbs 5:12 says “how I have hated instruction and my heart spurned reproof.”

And how true this has been in your life and mine when we have gone on in our own understanding and disregarded the godly instruction that God provided to us.

So let me ask you…

What is God telling you to stop doing?

You know the thing… Every time you engage in it, you feel guilty. Every time. Each time the pastor mentions repentance your mind goes to that thing. Every time you feel pangs of guilt and shame, you know it’s because you have been ignoring the voice of the Lord and what he has told you to stop.

It could be lying, or cheating. Or stealing. (Remember poor or lazy work for your employer is lying and stealing. Remember spending time on your phone and your own projects while at work is also stealing.)

It could be lust or jealousy or greed. Always wanting what others have and not being thankful for what we have been given is a surefire way to become bitter and even self-justifying in our selfishness.

God may have told you to stop abusing your body with gluttony or drunkenness or markings on your body for the dead or for the soul or with intoxicants/stimulants.

God may have told you to stop trying to look like the world in beauty and vanity.

The Lord may have convicted you about your speech, whether cursing or gossiping or being negative.

You may have had a deep conviction about sexual immorality. And what you look at, what you fantasize about or the sexual encounters you have outside of marriage.

God may be talking to you about idolatry and placing other things before God. Or worshiping money and success. Or making yourself the center of your own universe.

Whatever it is that God has told you to stop. Please heed his voice. Hear his warning. Receive his wisdom and his instruction. What He warns us about, He is willing and able to deliver us from. What He commands us to, He empowers us to do.

Proverbs 5 warns about what happens when we ignore the voice of the Lord. We bring ourselves to utter ruin.

My desire for you is that you will be delivered and set free and have victory in Jesus Christ. And as such, I know that means listening to the wisdom of the Lord and obeying his command.

The promise of the Lord is that when we repent (turn away) of our sins and confess them before him, He will abundantly pardon and freely forgive. He will cleanse us of unrighteousness and empower us to walk in his holy ways.

But we have to heed his instruction. We have to listen to the voice of our Father.

Will you?

Before it’s too late?

An exceptional life of peace, contentment and a calm inner assurance

Dear friend,

Are you living an exceptional life?

Are you living a life of peace and contentment?

Do you have a calm inner assurance at all times?

If you cannot answer yes to each of these questions, I hope you will take the time to read this blog post and discover what God has for you.

If you already can say yes to each of these questions, praise the Lord! But I also encourage you to read this blog post for further edification and a deepening of your roots in Christ.

I’m going to ask a series of questions that I hope helps to search your mind and heart to discover any anxiousness there:

Do you find yourself on edge whenever the phone rings or a text alert appears?
Do you have a sense of impending doom? An inner sense that something bad is coming?
Do you try to avoid certain people or places because it seems they put you immediately on edge?
Are you constantly battling the thought that nothing is going to get better and that the world and your own life are going to continue to spiral out of control?

All of these are evidences of an unsettled spirit.

We might think that these reveal the crazy, chaotic nature of our current environment and culture and that it is because everything has broken down so much in society. We might be tempted to blame the people around us, or a toxic environment, or even the devil.

But the reality is that each and every generation has faced its own share of overwhelming circumstances. And God offers His beautiful and centering peace and presence for all people, no matter the circumstances.

The promise of God is that we CAN live abundant lives overflowing with peace, love, joy and hope. The promise of God is that we CAN have victory over meaninglessness, stress, anxiety, fear, selfishness, and worldliness.

God offers to us the possibility of a life that has a settled mind, a calm spirit, a peaceable temperament, gentle reactions, and a joy-filled attitude.

Furthermore, these are things that we do not have to “put on” (like a mask) or work up in ourselves, by frenzied effort.

These are things that God gives to us as a free gift of his grace. We are invited to receive them. And let them minister to us and bless us in supernatural ways.

Let me give you three practical tips on how to receive these from the Lord:

1. These are gifts that accompany salvation. If you call on the name of the Lord for salvation confessing your sins and turning away from your sins and bad habits/choices, God will grant you forgiveness and give you his Holy Spirit. And when you have the Holy Spirit inside of you, you also get all of these beautiful gifts that accompany His Spirit (but sometimes we don’t realize this because we don’t tune in to the Holy Spirit).

2. There is an abundance of peace and contentment present and overflowing in moments of silence, solitude and waiting. Find a prayer closet, a place to kneel and turn off all distractions and notifications. Just listen to the Lord. Perhaps read one Bible verse and then meditate on it. Or pick one attribute of God and think on it over and over again and let it bring joy and gratitude and peace to your heart

3. Let go of the things of this world. Recognize that everything around us is going to burn up. Mainstream media, social media, the things in our lives that break down and have to be insured and repaired or replaced. Let go of all of these things. Recognize that the spiritual and the eternal things are the things that will last. Invest your time and energy thinking about the eternal and spiritual things. Spend time speaking about these things with others and discovering how truly present and available they are. Take the time to rejoice in song or to give verbal acknowledgement of the goodness of God.

The point here I’m trying to make is that God wants you to have a deep inner assurance of His nearness together with a calm spirit, a peace-filled heart and mind, and an unshakableness that comes from his abiding presence in you. Do whatever you can to be with the Lord and His people and meditate on His goodness and His promises. Cast your cares upon the Lord. Reject the principles of the world and wait and see how the Lord will center and anchor you in the middle of the chaos that surrounds.

The mystery of ministry

The mysteriousness of ministry

Is what we’re doing making a difference? How?

How will we ever know if what we have said or done has truly accomplished anything?

Will we always just have to rely on the promise of the Lord that he will make something happen with our meager contributions?

These are questions that we as pastors probably wrestle with (or try not to think about because we can’t come up with the answer).

But there is something profound about the mystery of ministry

We keep praying, keep preaching, keep reaching out to people. We press on to invite another person and share the gospel with new people and in new ways. We prepare another program, another lesson, another event.

All in the hopes that someone will hear the gospel truth and the voice of God and that they will believe and be truly set free.

We hope and pray that almost like osmosis, these people will come in contact with us and will sense the power of the Holy Spirit flowing from us to them.

The mystery of ministry is that we can’t ultimately analyze every individual effort and see whether it is effective or not.

Of course we ought to review our efforts and ask the Lord to give us wisdom and insight and that He would guide our steps.

But in a very different way than commerce and industry, ministry is not about clear and concise tracking of ROI (return on investment). Instead ministry is about pouring out what we have received from the Lord and trusting that he will bring fruit from our intimacy and fruit from our obedient labor, done in His name.

So Pastor, I encourage you. Continue to pray. Continue to preach. Continue to have conversations and plan programs and ministries and events. But above all, make sure that what you are doing is rooted and grounded in the gospel and bathed in prayer. May our ministries be for the glory of God and the salvation of the those who hear.

Recognize that ministry is messy and mysterious. And we may not know the fullness of our efforts this side of glory. But we continue to plant seeds and water them, trusting that God will indeed bring the growth.

Seen. Heard. Valued. Loved.

I DON’T want to be seen because people will see my flaws and weaknesses, mistakes and sins and perhaps will decide that it’s not worth knowing me or loving me.

I DO want to be seen because I want people to see my value and the gifts God has given me and invite me to be a part of community with them.

I DON’T want to be heard because I might say something wrong, or foolish, might trip over my words, or reveal something that shows my own depravity and sin apart from God. I don’t want to be judged or ridiculed.

I DO want to be heard because I want people to see my worth and my value and know that I have something to offer. I want to be shown value and worth in how people listen to me.

I fear that if I am fully seen and fully heard then I will not also be fully loved. I have discovered that many times when I disclose things then I am judged for them and perhaps even mocked or ostracized or otherwise mistreated

I do want to be fully seen and fully heard because I want people to value me and show me love. I know that God is able to fully see me and fully hear me and treasure me. He cherishes me. He values me. He honors me in his love.

I fear that humans are not able to do this.

I know that they are with Christ at work within them.

And yet, I also know that many Christians choose not to allow Christ to live through them and therefore, although they believe in Him, they do not act like Him.

I want to be seen and heard valued and loved.

And I want to see and hear, value and love others.

Lord help us!