Dear Pastor,

Thank you so much for doing what matters. In this life, there are things that are fun, annoying, distracting, temporary, difficult, rewarding and much more, but you and I both know that what you are doing really matters. You are investing in eternity. You are keeping your eyes on the unseen rather than the seen because what is unseen is eternal.

Week in and week out when you pray with people and teach them about the eternal, all-powerful, holy and only-wise God, you are inviting people to focus on what matters most. We know that this day will come to a close, the building we are currently worshiping in will one day cease to be, the books we are reading will one day be burned up, but the souls we are pointing to the Father are eternal souls who have an eternal destination in store for them after this life is over.

Let us remember (when the tediousness of church administration or the frustration of church politics or the hurt of church gossip and backbiting and complaining seems too much to take anymore) that the reason we are shepherding God’s flock is so that in the end, their souls may be holy and blameless before God. If they know Jesus and have received His salvation, the other stuff won’t matter.

This week, make sure to work on what matters most (the eternal!), and when the minutia or trouble of ministry seems overwhelming, hold to the fact that when it’s all said and done ministry done in the name of Jesus, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls, really does matter most!

Christ is with us, Christ is in us!

Mike Johnson

Dear Pastor,

You may not have thought about this recently or even in these precise terms, but may I take a moment to remind you that you represent the Holy? Indeed you do. 

In part, because you are a Christian: a “little Christ”. As a child of God, you carry around inside of you the Father’s Spiritual DNA and you show off the “genetic” characteristics you have inherited. As a child of God Most High, you should look like Him and when people encounter and engage you, they often times will be struck by the fact that you represent a Holy God. 

Furthermore, you represent the Holy because you are a pastor and an undershepherd to the great Shepherd. When people see you, whether consciously or sub-consciously they consider that your calling, role, and activity are all about representing a Holy God to a un-holy and un-godly world. Pastor, when people see you, whether they see God’s characteristics in you, when they become aware that you are a pastor, they expect that you will represent God accurately. Thank you for taking the time to pray that God’s holiness would be in you and shine through you. Thank you for making it a priority to honor the Holy Presence of God in you and at work in His church. Thank you for seeking to represent the Holy, faithfully in word, attitude, and deed.

When your heart is pure and your mind is set on things above and your will is determined to be a holy representative of God’s holiness, then you can be assured that God will make sure to shine through you. Let’s you and I be ever so careful to honor the amazing call of God to represent Him. And with our own wonder, awe and amazement, let us seek to honor His holiness even as we let His holiness flow through us.

Christ is with us, Christ is in us

Mike Johnson

What happens in life when there is a keen awareness of and reverence for the abiding presence of the Lord?

Victory! Power! Joy! Peace!

What happens when we forget who we belong to and whose Spirit is in us?

Precisely this: we stumble, we falter, we wander, we fall and we fail.

The Word of God reminds us that God’s ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. As such when we diligently pursue the tasks at hand without His thoughts and His ways guiding us, we will certainly find ourselves at our wit’s end. When Christians live ever aware that God is with us and God is in us, it humbles us and gives us pause to consider that what we do, we don’t do alone, nor do we do it only for our own pleasure or purposes.

Continue reading “Faltering, falling and failing apart from the presence of God”

Dear Pastor,

Do you remember when you were ordained? Or perhaps you haven’t been ordained yet but you have been present at an ordination service and heard the charge given from the denominational leader to the ordinands. The words “Take thou authority” are sacred words full of the calling of God, a mantle of responsibility and a covering of promise, protection, and power. The authority which is being referred to is the very power of God that you and I have been authorized to walk in as children of the King and as undershepherds of Jesus the great and good shepherd.

The authority we are to take up is the authorization from God to speak out His light and truth and to push back the darkness. The authority we have is over powers and principalities, temptations and fears and everything that would come against the name of the Lord our God. Authority can only be utilized according to the one calling the shots. That means that the authority we have from God must be lived out according to His grace and mercy, His humility and gentleness and His holiness and love. The authority we have is only to build up the body of Christ and not to tear down God’s beloved. The authority we have is to call out sin and darkness seeping into God’s church but always with an eye to the redemption of people and the glory of God.

Please, this week take the authority God has given you. Know that this authority is activated on our knees, by His Word and by agreement with His Spirit. God’s power and authority work through us as we know and stand on His Word, not our own feelings, thoughts or desires. His power and authority are activated as we lay down our life for Him and for our fellow man. Please be encouraged to know that all that you need surely is now available to you by the Spirit of God who abides in you and please let the nearness of His power strengthen you in your inner being.

Christ is with us, Christ is in us!

Mike Johnson

The Lord is your shield and your very great reward (Genesis 15:1)

Dear Pastor,

How many times does it seem like you personally take the brunt of the difficulties, complaints, criticism, and negativity from your people? I know for sure that you have been misunderstood, talked about and most likely maligned, simply because you represented the Holy. I want to remind you today that when the fiery darts of the enemy come at you, God is your shield. Please be reminded that when the painful words from hurting and broken people are launched at you, God is your shield. What this means is that God will shield and guard your heart. He will watch over the life of His Beloved. That doesn’t mean that you won’t go through hard times. It doesn’t mean that the battle isn’t real and isn’t really raging around you, but it means that the One who does all things perfectly well is able to protect Your heart and mind in Christ Jesus. God is able to preserve your life from the pit and from those who would seek to attack and destroy His Anointed. Furthermore, please remember that not only is God able to keep you (and all that you have committed to Him) but He is also able to preserve you (holy and blameless in His sight) and He Himself will be your reward. When it seems like no one really knows the price you have paid, or the sacrifices made and the reward for the righteous seems inequitable to the profits of the wicked, please remember: God is your reward! There is no greater treasure than this! As God has declared in His Word that He is your shield and your reward, would you today, let Him be this to you? Today, ask and allow the Lord to watch over you and richly reward you with His sweet presence!

Christ is with us, Christ is in us!

Mike Johnson

Dear Pastor,

Thank you for giving your life for the souls of people.

We know that Jesus, the Savior gave His all for the souls of people. He came to seek and save the lost. He was sent by His Father full of grace and truth. Jesus was anointed with the Spirit of God to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and to set the captive free.

And as a pastor, shepherd of God’s flock, you and I get to lay our lives down for the glory of the Father and for the souls of the flock. We feed the sheep, we tend the lambs, we take care of the flock because God has called us to and because their eternity lies in the balance.

Thank you for taking the long view. Thank you for caring more about the eternal destiny of the people before you than you do about the criticisms, complaints or difficulties. People are drowning in sin, shame, guilt, pain, hurt, rejection and all of the attacks of the lying and accusing Enemy. But because you press on in Jesus’ name to proclaim His glory, goodness, and gospel, the lost can be saved, the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the dead rise and the orphans have a home.

Please don’t give up. Please don’t give in. The eternal destiny of people is in your hands. Don’t let this weigh you down, but let it spur you on towards love and good deeds and the promise that in due time you will reap a harvest if you do not give up.

Jesus is praying for you

Christ is with us, Christ is in us,

Mike Johnson