Author: Wayne Johnston

The Pit and the Path

Published by

In Nehemiah 2:12-16, there is an interesting story. After arriving at the ruins of Jerusalem, Nehemiah desired to inspect the damage. At one point, he must have got off his sure-footed donkey, because of the rubble “Then, I went on to the Fountain gate, and to the King’s Pool, but was no room for the animal that was under me to pass.” (Nehemiah 2:14 NKJV) Nehemiah wanted to check out the damage to the walls himself. He needed eyes on the problem and did it secretly without others unduly influencing his survey. He soon learned how bad it was. Before you can enjoy the blessings and refreshments of the Fountain’s Pool, you must clear away the rubble. This was an ancient problem, played out many times and in many ways. The word in Hebrew for rubble means, ‘ashes, dust, earth, ground, mortar, rubbish.” The root word literally means ‘to be dust.’ Nehemiah understood that the issue was more than just a physical one, but it was also about people. Sometimes, the path to our call …

Back to basics

Published by

Well, it finally happened, I got COVID. During a heat wave in August, I am well ….. sick! I now understand what the phrase ‘fellowship of His suffering’ means. So on my way to the Futon, I randomly grabbed one of my martial arts books off our bookcase. Just something to read and get my mind off the ugh… I have found it strange, that I have had very few prophetic words concerning direction during this pandemic, but I got a word for the church while reading this ‘random’ martial arts book. The book by Richard Kim, called ‘The Weaponless Warriors,’ is a series of stories about an Okinawan Karate master from the past. Reading a book, while your eyes feel like they are running with what appears to be gorilla glue, is not fun. But I randomly read one chapter and could not see past the goo to read anymore. I initially thought this would be a good story to share with my karate class. Then I felt like God saying, how about sharing …

Weeds in the driveway

Published by

Almost one year ago, my wife and I plus our dog moved to a new home. This once beautiful large lot on the edge of town had become overgrown with bushes, dead trees, and huge wild roses. I have been spending months cleaning out dead trees, garbage, and weeds. Much of this work only requires brawn and not too much thinking. One day, I had the idea to talk to God about my plans for the property; I needed wisdom. One of my winter jobs was to remove a very large raccoon nest; at the same time, I needed to fill a low area on our land. I felt like God was saying, don’t burn it, use it in the low area. Ha, how come I didn’t think of that? Like I said, I’m good at moving the junk, just not thinking about it. Then spring came, and I could not put off the large paved driveway with all the cracks in it any longer. I got several pails of cold patch pothole filler and …

The Day God Ran

Published by

Years ago, while I was doing security work, an off-duty police friend came by for a coffee. He was wearing a funny t-shirt with the logo: “Bomb Squad – if you see me running, try to keep up.” When those in charge run and panic, where does that leave us? Biblical theology makes it clear that God is omniscient and omnipresent – He knows all and is everywhere. God is sovereign. So, it leads me to the question – If you are God, the almighty Creator of the universe, do you ever have to run, or be in a hurry? Christians often say that God is never early and never late, and Jesus, while He walked on the earth, never seemed to either be in a hurry or panic about anything. I don’t remember Jesus ever running to do anything, ever! I have never found a reference to God being in a hurry either in the Old or New Testaments – except in one passage – Luke 15. Luke 15 contains three similar parables, the …

The Deadly Ditch of Gnosticism

Published by

Many years ago, when learning about Gnosticism while at Bible college, I wondered what the big deal was with it in our day – how is it relevant? Much of the New Testament after Acts deals with keeping the church out of two ditches – legalism (the Law) and Gnosticism (special knowledge) Legalism was trying to add the Law on top of grace. Acts 15 reveals one of the pivotal challenges that the early church went through to deal with this problem. We are saved by what Christ did (justified by faith), not by our works. Gnosticism on the other side of the road was the adding of “special knowledge” on top of grace. It is defined as “an early heresy based on knowledge instead of faith” (NKJV dictionary) And “knowledge” is not necessarily truth! When I was at Bible college, it was the late 70s and 80s. Cults and secret societies were very fringe, so it wasn’t really an issue? Yet so much of the New Testament deals with warning the church about both …

My Prophetic Journey Part 16: From the Hand or the Heart

Published by

You can always spot the fridge of a proud parent or grandparent, covered with photos and artwork of children. My wife and I are no different. The great value in our granddaughter’s art is not that it’s from the hand of a great artist, but that it is 100% from the heart. The heart trumps the hand! Matthew 19:14 says, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Our response to our heavenly Father must be one focused on His heart, not just what comes from His hand. Two brothers in the Bible illustrate this perfectly – Jacob and Esau. Romans 9:13 says, “Jacob I have loved but Esau I have hated.” Without getting into Calvinism vs. Arminianism, I just want to look at what these two very different men focused on. Jacob, for all his grasping for things and other faults, had a heart for God. On the other hand, we see in Genesis 25 that Esau not only sold his birthright …

Great White Pelicans: Credit: Costel Slincu/Flickr/Creative Commons

Inner healing: My story of three pelicans

Published by

In my previous article, I wrote how Jesus wants to bring healing to our inner hurts and when the Lord does this He often takes us back to the point when we were first hurt. Jesus did this for Peter through a charcoal fire and the Lord did it for me through three pelicans. In the summer of 2018 I was at a church senior camp, enjoying all the fun a “senior” can get away with – kayaking, swimming, climbing a climbing wall and practicing karate, as well as tormenting people with a water gun! In the midst of this, I had no idea what God had in mind to complete my healing. Although I had experienced significant healing in the 90’s, there was more to be done. One day at camp the movie “I Can Only Imagine” was going to be shown. It’s a fantastic must-see movie about the life of Bart Miller and what led to his writing the song. I had not seen it yet, so was looking forward to spending the …

Credit: Vincent Maurin/Flickr/Creative Commons

Inner healing: Peter’s ‘charcoal fire’

Published by

Have you ever had a sports injury that put a stop to your active life? Sometimes once the medical treatments have been done and we have a clean bill of health to continue our sport, the fear of not really being healed or of re-injury can cause us to freeze in our tracks. It started with a real physical injury, but the real problem has become an inner one, a fear of moving forward, an “infirmity.” We can look healthy on the outside, but inside be broken with fear, doubts, anger, insecurities, etc. The gospels use similar phrases to describe how Jesus ministered in different communities, phrases like, “healed the sick,” “forgave sins,” “cast out demons,” “preached the good news,” and “healed people of their infirmities.” Most Christians can easily define the first four phrases, but many are not sure exactly what an infirmity is. Matthew 8:17 says, “that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: “He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.” Other references to infirmities can …

Credit: Sasha Tamarin/Flickr/Creative Commons

Your Martha Meltdown Moment Part 2: Broken Glass

Published by

This is my meltdown moment. In the 80s and early 90s I worked in the private security sector. My goal was to be hired with the city police, and I had taken a number of policing/security courses to that end. Being a cop was my dream, not God’s, or my wife’s. I did not hear God say “yes” or “no” to my dream, but He let me scratch my itch for a time. But in December 1990 everything changed. I was working as a loss prevention officer in a large department store. It was a busy Saturday two weeks before Christmas. I watched a tall male pick up a Nintendo unit, put it under his arm and walk out of the store into the attached mall. I started after him, he saw me coming, and dropped the game. I stepped over the Nintendo, still chasing him, and seeing me follow him, he ran full speed out of the back door of the mall. I was starting to catch up to him as he ran out …

Rusty car in Bodie, California Credit: Wolfgang Staudt/Flickr/Creative Commons

Your Martha Meltdown Moment Part 1: Rusty Dreams

Published by

Trusting God at times can be a real challenge, especially when your dreams seem to have turned to rust.   We all go through dark times when we must verbalize two things: God is Lord, and He is good. I will trust Him even when I don’t understand and it seems too late – the rust is too far gone! Psalm 42:10 says, “My enemies reproach me, while they say to me all day long, ‘Where is your God?’” During these dark times the enemy loves to use people to taunt us, questioning, “If God really loves you He would not have allowed these things to happen. Where is God?” To answer, we can leave the Bible open to the book of Job. God is God, and He is good! If my dreams seem to have turned to rust, and I picture the word “rust”, and bring the cross into the picture, right at the beginning, we now have the word, “trust.” It’s always about trust. We walk by faith, full stop. Ask yourself, “Is this …

Credit: Marcin Bajer/Flickr/Creative Commons

La intersección

Published by

English: The Intersection Hace unas semanas, en una reunión de oración semanal, tuve una palabra profética para un joven. Después de compartir la vision que había recibido con el, recorde que tenía que aplicarla a mi propia vida. Comencé a orar por la dirección de su vida e inmediatamente Dios me dio esta “película” – vision- para él. Lo vi en su vehículo parando en una señal de alto en una intersección donde tenía dos o tres opciones para su destino. ¿Qué dirección debería el tomar? Luego ví la decison que Dios quería que el tomara. Lo vi estacionarse al costado del camino, poner algunas canciones de alabanza y comenzar a adorar a Dios. Él debía hacer declaraciones sobre quién y qué es Dios: Él es el Señor, Él lo sabe todo y El es más grande que todas nuestras circunstancias. Él sabe lo que necesitamos y cómo llegar allí. Lo que pasó después no fue lo que esperaba. Cuando la alabanza  y las declaraciones subieron como vapor al cielo, entonces  comenzó a llover. Toda …

Credit: Marcin Bajer/Flickr/Creative Commons

The Intersection

Published by

A few weeks ago at a weekly prayer meeting I had a prophetic word for a young man. After I shared the picture I had received with him, I knew I needed to remember it and apply it to my own life. I began to pray for direction for his life and immediately God gave me this “movie” for him. I saw him in his vehicle pulling up to a stop sign at an intersection where he had two or three options for his destiny. Which direction was he to take? Next I saw the action God wanted him to take. I saw him park at the side of the road, put on some worship tunes, and begin to worship God. He was to make declarations about who and what God is – He is Lord, He knows all, and is greater than all our circumstances. He knows what we need and how to get there. What happened next was not what I would have expected. As the worship and declarations went up like vapor …

Credit: mar is sea Y/Flickr/Creative Commons

Being centered: A personal struggle to belong

Published by

Joseph is one of my favorite Bible characters. After studying his life for the past year, I have developed a love/hate relationship with this Old Testament hero, both for the same reasons. He stood faithful in God, no matter what happened. No matter who lied or betrayed him, no matter how far down in the pit life pushed him, he kept serving and looking to God. He stayed centered on God when most of us would have given up on God and our dreams. But I want to look at one aspect of Joseph’s life that is often not discussed but is both encouraging and challenging. Most people agree that Joseph came from a very dysfunctional home: 9 older jealous brothers, 3 step-moms, and a doting father who was clued-out as to the effect that his favoritism was having on his family. After studying Joseph’s life, what I see is a loner. He was a loner but never alone. He was too Egyptian for his family and too Jewish for the Egyptians. At the end …

Credit: Iamnotunique/Flickr/Creative Commons

Centered Like Clay

Published by

One of the best definitions of intercession I have heard goes something like this: “Intercession is not about defeating the devil in a particular battle; it is about getting into the face of God, with the defeat of the devil as the by-product.” Reading the many accounts of Jesus’ ministry to desperate people reveals something wonderful about God’s character. It seems that the more irreverent and noisy, and the more into Jesus’ face and space someone was, the more Jesus liked it. He even went so far as to touch a leper before He had healed him. Yuck! (Mark 1:40-45) What a wonderful Lord we serve, who beckons society’s “lepers” to come to Him, and get into God’s face and be redeemed! My question is, how centered on God can you get? Centered Like Clay The term “centered” means different things to people of different backgrounds. From doctors setting bones to machinists working on a lathe, being centered and focused is critical to the success of any endeavor. I want to look at two Old …

Called to be a superhero with flaws?

My Prophetic Journey Part 15: The Last Word

Published by

[This is part of a series of articles on the ministry of the prophet and gift of prophecy.] God desires an army of broken and weak supermen and women to change the world. In II Corinthians 12:7-10 we read about Paul’s thorn in the flesh. Verse 9 says, “And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” In many ways – pedigree, education and position – Paul was a heavy-weight, a “superman” if you will. But it was Paul’s thorn, his weakness, that drove him closer to God. Being used by God in the prophetic, or in any gift, is not about our greatness, but His grace. Several years ago God gave me a disturbing vision of myself. He showed me a before and after picture of me as a vessel. The first picture was what looked like an empty tin can with a number of nails and nasty looking screws sticking into it from the outside. God told me, this was you. The next …

Michael the Arch Angel battling Satan by Luca Giordano (1632-1705): Wikipedia

My Prophetic Journey Part 14: The Angel and the demon

Published by

[This is part of a series of articles on the ministry of the prophet and gift of prophecy.] As we journey in the prophetic, we are involved in the supernatural realm, and our perceptions can help or hinder us. Fear is something that can definitely hinder. Even as a young Christian I was oppressed with fear, including a fear of the devil.   Somewhere in my family’s past there was a very dark shadow.   As I got older I still had an unhealthy fear of the enemy. Several years ago my wife and I prayed for a friend who had a number of issues in her life. I got a vision while praying for her. I saw a demon sitting on top of a well. God revealed that she had a Christian inheritance in her family, but the enemy was doing all he could to keep her from accessing that godly well. I have only ever had one vision of a demon and this was it. This demon was a small stupid looking imp, and my …

Credit: Mazda Hewitt/Flickr/Creative Commons

My Prophetic Journey Part 13: Prophetic props

Published by

For several years I helped to teach introductory level classes dealing with the prophetic. These classes were divided into two parts – a teaching session, and a practical application. We often had people come who had little to no prophetic experience, who just felt they should be there. One of my greatest joys was seeing these people come alive in God, realizing that they could hear from God! When I attended Bible college our classes always had opportunity for budding preachers to practice preaching and teaching in a safe environment. Why should it not be the same for those stepping out in the prophetic? In teaching the introductory prophetic classes I enjoyed coming up with practical exercises using props. One of these props was an empty chair. I remember putting our prime minister’s name on a slip of paper, putting it into an envelope, and putting the envelope on the chair. The group gathered around the chair. They were told that the name of a real person was in the envelope, but weren’t told who …

Antique baggage lock Credit: Michael Kappel/Flickr/Creative Commons

My Prophetic Journey Part 12: Using your keys

Published by

[This is the twelfth in a series of articles on the ministry of the prophet and gift of prophecy.] Years ago I worked doing security in a large corporate hotel. When I came on duty I would sign out the large set of keys that I would carry with me during my shift. I had keys for every part of the hotel except the manager’s office. I had authority from the manager to open or close any door I needed to at any time I chose. With so many keys it took some time to learn which key fit into which locked door, especially in the dark. And, I needed to be sure to never lose the keys – guarding their safe keeping was a huge responsibility. My journey in God has been very much like being given spiritual keys and learning how to use them. In an emergency in the darkness you have to know which key fits which door in order to “save the day.” Over the years God has taught me kingdom …

Old well in France Credit: Jean Guillaume Coutard/Flickr

My Prophetic Journey Part 11: You Can’t Draw Water from an Empty Well

Published by

[This is the eleventh in a series of articles on the ministry of the prophet and gift of prophecy.] When I was first called to the prophetic ministry I remember the admonition to not only know the Word, but to live it, and have it as a great well to draw out living water to refresh others. In the past number of years, at the beginning of the year I often have gotten “marching orders” for that year for an area to study, a book of the Bible, like Amos, or a person’s life, like Joseph. As examples, here are a few of the lessons that I learned from these studies. Amos was a farmer, and spoke the language of a farmer. God used his rural background to speak repentance to the northern capital of Bethel. God does not always send us to our “own” people. The book of Isaiah is almost like the whole Bible in one book. Isaiah is in some ways the opposite of Amos – he was an educated blue-blooded prophet …

View from the pulpit. Credit: Tyrone Warner/Flickr/Creative Commons

My Prophetic Journey Part 10: Prophetic Protocol

Published by

[This is the tenth in a series of articles on the ministry of the prophet and gift of prophecy.] The title of this next article in this series could be, “The Means Must Justify the Ends,” or, sometimes it is more important how you do something than just getting it done. One pitfall in the prophetic is when those who are idealistic or insecure look with criticism on a person or group who does not respond to the word they give in the way they think they should (“if they don’t do as I say, they are rejecting God’s word”). Fortunately, a prophet’s pride is no match for God’s grace. Another situation that can challenge our attitude and response is when you feel you have a hot word from God, but are not given a platform to share it. Moses is a great example of what our attitude and response should be. He was a deliverer, Law giver, and also prophet, and Numbers 12:3 says, “(Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all …

Stave Church in Scandinavian Heritage Park, Minot, North Dakota. Credit: Bobak Ha'Eri

My Prophetic Journey Part 9: How to minister in North Dakota and not even be there!

Published by

[This is the ninth in a series of articles on the ministry of the prophet and gift of prophecy.] Years ago, while a member of a senior prophetic team in a large church, I ran into a continual problem. The team would be invited to minister out-of-town on weekends, and I rarely could go. I ran a small retail business, and it was almost impossible to get Saturdays off, even for God’s work! It drove me crazy. It came to a head one time when our team was invited to minister at a church in Minot, North Dakota. I really, really wanted to go, but my boss said no, and I decided I would spend the weekend in a major pity party. A few days before the trip our team leader had a planning/prayer meeting regarding the weekend. She came to me, expressing how badly she felt that I was unable to go. She shared that she felt under attack from the enemy, and knowing how I felt, asked if I could keep her in …

Credit: Neil Howard/Flickr/Creative Commons

My Prophetic Journey Part 8: The Challenge of the Roller Coaster

Published by

[This is the eighth in a series of articles on the ministry of the prophet and gift of prophecy.] In the last few articles in this series we looked at four lessons God taught me in my journey in the prophetic. This one is also an unavoidable lesson. Lesson 5 – The Challenge of the Roller Coaster At times having a prophetic gift can be like living on a roller coaster. When your word hits the mark and saves the day, you’re a super hero – on top of the world! But when you get it wrong or it’s a challenging word that just gets strange stares, and the worship leader is encouraged to sing something, anything – then what? The roller coaster descends full speed to the bottom! But you are not alone, and there is hope! I have heard from a number of prophets that God often chooses the weak to show His strength, and that many who are called to the prophetic struggle with insecurity. His plan is to change us, to …

Radar Valley, Goldstone, California Credit: Jason Major/Flickr/Creative Commons

My Prophetic Journey Part 7: Learning the Radar

Published by

[This is the seventh in a series of articles on the ministry of the prophet and gift of prophecy.] As described in the previous article, God continues to teach us as we move into the deep end.   He stretches us, and is always faithful to give us what we need. Lesson 4 – Learning the Radar At times I have gotten a vague word just walking into a situation. I learned the hard way that not every prophetic impression was to be shared publicly. Sometimes it was a matter of being within radar range – that many who are within radar range will be hearing the same thing. On these occasions, if God’s Spirit is saying, “John 3:16,” before a meeting even starts, then “all who have an ear to hear” will pick up on that. If someone speaks that verse out, it may be the role of another who sensed the same thing to affirm it with an “Amen!” or to affirm it with that person to encourage them. As I have shared before, …

Credit: Boris Hajdukovic/Flickr/Creative Commons

My Prophetic Journey Part 6: Confirmation

Published by

[This is the sixth in a series of articles on the ministry of the prophet and gift of prophecy.] In the last article on learning in the prophetic, I discussed the importance of timing. This is the next lesson the Lord made real to me. Lesson 4 – Confirmation Whenever you book a flight, a car rental, a hotel, or order a major appliance, it’s normal to get a confirmation number. When the person at the desk confirms your number, then you know that your booking or purchase is as good as in your hand – it’s done. It seems that it’s harder to trust our Heavenly Father to confirm what He’s given us than it is to trust someone we don’t know behind a desk! How many times have I missed God’s timing because I have wanted seventy times seven confirmations! It seems common to a lot of people being used in the prophetic that there is a definite learning curve in this. In my previous post, I described the pounding heart, dry mouth, …

Prophet Ezekiel on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo (1476-1564) Credit: Wikipedia

My Prophetic Journey Part 5: When to share or not to share

Published by

[This is the fifth in a series of articles on the ministry of the prophet and gift of prophecy.] In previous installments of My Prophetic Journey I recounted how God answered my prayer to teach me lessons in the prophetic, starting with the first two lessons. The learning continues! Lesson 3 – When to share or not to share Even on a lighter note, timing is no joke – ask a comedian! But, seriously – timing is vital. When I first started to prophesy, God would give me a verse or short word at the beginning of a meeting. My blood pressure would go up, my heart would go into warp drive and I felt that if I did not share this word right now I would die. I’m sure many can relate. I had to learn patience! One time in particular God gave me a clear word, but I didn’t feel free to share it for several months. I felt like I was pregnant with a word and could not deliver it. Finally I …

The Prophet Elijah in the wilderness being fed by crows after fleeing Jezebel by Washington Allston (1779 - 1845) Credit: Wikipedia

My Prophetic Journey Part 4: Motives

Published by

[This is the fourth in a series of articles on the ministry of the prophet and gift of prophecy.] In my previous article, I shared how God showed me that His love should be the foundation for my life and ministry, as “Lesson 1.” As I continued to look to Him for His lessons in the prophetic, the lessons impacting my life just kept getting better. When we leave it up to God to decide what we need to learn, it will be bound to be not what we want, but just what we need. Lesson 2 My next lesson was all about my motives. It started with me asking God for the next lesson, so I could prophesy better, and for an answer I got silence – nothing! I said to God, “Here I am,” and for quite some time I did not hear from God – not one word for anyone. It was embarrassing – it seemed everyone and their cousin’s dog were prophesying, but not me. I started to worry about what …

Off to prophetic school Credit: Michael Fawcett/Flickr/Creative Commons

My Prophetic Journey Part 3: School Starts

Published by

[This is the third in a series of articles on the ministry of the prophet and gift of prophecy.] Having wrestled with God’s call, and worked through some things involving God’s grace and work in my life as discussed in my last article, I was finally on board with God’s call into the prophetic. I read all the books and study notes that I could, and attended seminars on the prophetic. One day, either in a stroke of rare brilliance, or naivety, I came up with a plan. I bought myself a large hardcover blank notebook and said to God, Why don’t You teach me some prophetic lessons? A by-product of that would be learning to hear from God more, so that sounded great to me. God answered that prayer, and I began to fill the book with some tough lessons – be careful what you ask for! For a period of time God would deal with one thing (usually involving character and attitudes), and then would let that lesson become part of me. After …

Wayne's redemption box

My Prophetic Journey Part 2: The Redemption Box

Published by

[This is the second in a series of articles on the ministry of the prophet and gift of prophecy.] After discussing “The Call” in Part 1, I must mention the story of the redemption box, because the story of this journey would not be complete without it. Often in Scripture God teaches us deep spiritual lessons about His kingdom by comparing them to natural mundane things around us, as in Jesus’ parables. Another example would be when Moses stood before the burning bush, and God asked him, “What is that in your hand?” and used the shepherd’s staff to show Moses His power. One day God spoke to me and asked me, “What’s that box in your hand?” As a metal artist I love spending time in junkyards, looking for scrap metal to turn into art. I seem to have a particular penchant for old metal boxes, for no other reason than the challenge of restoring them and making them useful again. One day at one of my favorite junkyards I saw a future treasure, …

The Prophetic call Credit: DraconianRain/Flickr/Creative Commons

My Prophetic Journey: The Call

Published by

[This is the first in a series of articles on the ministry of the prophet and gift of prophecy.] I would like to share the story of my call and journey in the prophetic ministry. This is not a teaching on the Five W’s of the prophetic ministry (whatever that would be) – this is a very personal journey of God healing brokenness, not so I could prophesy, but so I could walk whole in Him! I grew up with very low self-esteem, thinking I was stupid, school was a nightmare, and I never seemed to fit anywhere. I remember as an 11 or 12-year old contemplating killing myself because I hated everything about myself – I was damaged goods and I just wanted the pain to stop. I was extremely shy and afraid to stand in front of anyone for any reason. As a young believer there was a person in my life who had a “prophetic ministry.” I watched this person “minister” out of their unresolved issues. Their ministry was dark and almost …

Photo: WELS net/Flickr/Creative Commons

All Shook Up!

Published by

We have a nice apple tree in our front yard, and I just love apple crisp during the cold months. But, if you want nice apples, you have to do some work. When my wife and I moved to our present home we were thrilled that we had an apple tree, but what it produced were tons of small “crabapples.” We were told that at one time the tree had produced larger apples, and a friendly expert told us that as soon as the apples started to grow, to remove many of them and what remained would be larger apples. The other day I was doing my apple thinning, but even after using my six-foot ladder I could not reach the high branches. I had a great idea. It seemed to me that there were a number of really small apples with weak stems, barely attached to the branches, that would easily fall off if I reached up and gave the high branches a good shake. That’s when God spoke to me about John 15:1-11. …

Do everything to the glory of God. Photo: Welder/Sorenslim/Flickr/Creative Commons

Secular or Sacred?

Published by

If I were to ask average believers what percent of their day would fall under the heading of secular activities vs. sacred, would the answer be 50/50, or 60/40, or even 80/20? If you were a full time pastor, we might expect your sacred time would be higher that if you were, say, a welder. Christian musicians sometimes comment that on Sundays they play sacred music, but on Friday and Saturday they play secular. Although we all understand what they mean, I believe that this division is arbitrary and non-biblical. This topic was brought to my attention while I was reading a book called Know The Truth by Bruce Milne. The author was discussing the modern friction between the natural and the supernatural. I was surprised to learn that the Hebrew vocabulary and thinking from the Old Testament has no equivalent for our word “nature” or “natural”. God is responsible for all; the “natural” world was created by the spiritual. The Old Testament followers saw rain from clouds and water from a rock as both …

What is pure religion? Photo: josulivan-59/Flickr

Pure Religion?

Published by

Even a cultural neophyte can spot major world religions by their outward forms, ceremonies and liturgies. A group of Buddhist monks in yellow robes and shaved heads or a yogi with a long beard sitting cross-legged on a cushion while meditating are easily identifiable. Even within the Christian faith one can easily spot the difference between Roman Catholics and Protestants. The style of cross used will indicate whether it is Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox. So what’s my point? First, as a disclaimer, I am not making a judgment on any particular religion, the point I am making is that the world’s main religions are easily identifiable by their external forms and ceremonies. Within Christianity this is also true, whether Catholic or Protestant. But as followers of Christ, what should our public liturgy and forms look like? Should they be similar to any other world religion? Is it the shape of our cross or our robes that are important?  Old hymns, no hymns, or rock and roll for Jesus – does it matter that much? …