Occasionally we hear someone referencing, “The meat of the word” as if the meat were some deep, ponderous revelation. If you have thought this way I’d like to give you a friendly correction. Now it is true in our culture that we use expressions like, “That’s a thought I’ll have to chew on” but that is not what is going on when we talk of spiritual meat.

In Hebrews 5 there is a rebuke that the saints have not advanced beyond infancy. They were told that they needed milk not solid food. The meat does not refer to cognitive advancement but practical applications, doing the word, – the practices of: 

Turning from sin to God

Actively putting faith in Him

The exercise of baptisms

Actually putting hands on people to pray for them

Truly living lives preparing for the resurrection and eternal judgment

The word, “meat “used in the KJV is typically translated as “solid food.”  “Trophe” means nourishment. We get solid nourishment by actually doing what God wishes, not by being able to recite biblical concepts. 

Messiah shows this to be true in John 4:34, “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” Meat = doing the Father’s will.

Our Lord went on to say, “For every one that uses milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.” Babies are inactive. They lie in the lap and suck milk. They are not doers, simply receivers. Adults eat solid food and do things. 

You see, babes are not skilled in living out righteousness. They are receivers only. Our goal is to grow up and become doers of the will of God. As we do, we find the beef.

Steven C Johnson 

https://landingstripenterprises.com/

 

 

 

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You have circuit breakers on your power panel. They are safety measures. Without them overloaded or crossed wires might glow like your stove element and start a fire. So, bless your electrician.

There are things in life that throw my personal circuit breakers, because they are just too big to tolerate, enjoy or understand. “Eternity” always flips my breaker. It is too big to comprehend! I can grasp 50 years. I can imagine 100 years but then my breaker starts tripping.

Recently I was telling Pam, “Imagine if we had this property for 1000 years.” By the grace of God we could turn our few acres into something truly fruitful and lovely. I’ve read of Methuselah living pretty close to 1000 years. He topped off at 969.

The notion of endless, everlasting, eternal, limitless, continual, progressive, constant, boundless, infinite, interminable, ceaseless, uninterrupted, perpetual, undying, inexhaustible, incessant, boundless life – fries my wires unless the breaker in my imagination goes off.

No wonder we have expressions in Scripture like, “immeasurably more”, “mystery” and “no mind has imagined”.

How long can you ponder eternity before your circuit breaker snaps? Go ahead and try. But be careful, you may start a fire!

“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word

and believes him who sent me

has eternal life

and will not be condemned;

he has crossed over from death to life (John 5:24).”

Steven C Johnson

https://landingstripenterprises.com/

 

 

Pam and I decided to give the proceeds from our garage sale to Voice of the Martyrs. We frequently lift up a prayer for the persecuted church. We have followed Voice of the Martyrs http://www.persecution.com for about 15 years. They have a credible ministry helping those who suffer harassment, prison and death for the Lord Jesus.

Governments in Columbia, Ethiopia, Turkey and Indonesia may try to provide protection of believers but Christians are victims of violence because of their witness.

Governments like Libya, Saudi Arabia, Laos and Malaysia have anti-Christian laws restricting believer’s access to Bibles or assembly together. A member of Afghanistan’s parliament has suggested that anyone who converts from Islam to Christianity should be executed in order to stop the rapid growth of Christianity among Afghans.

Perhaps you have read of Christian homes and businesses being burned and saints harassed and killed in Nigeria and Egypt. Recently 72 churches have been destroyed in Egypt. Although I prefer to write about things light and cheery both Pam and I recall Hebrews 13:3; “Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.”

There are things we can do for our persecuted brothers and sisters! You may pray, contribute to ministries that serve these saints, write letters to persecuted prisoners and even to governments that incarcerate them. Who knows, someday you may be on location helping our dear brothers and sisters personally!

Steven C Johnson

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Do you love or hate them or beg neutrality? We are having a garage sale this weekend.

Our unique value systems determine our responses to yard, estate, rummage or antique sales. Some because of their values about sanitation, social mixing, guaranteed merchandize, etc. don’t break for garage sales but accelerate past them to a predictable merchant.

Others have eager hope to find great deals. Perhaps a new couple with modest income is looking to outfit their home economically. Sometimes a monied investor is looking for a rare find and a gullible seller.

Jesus told stories of masters who gave servants wealth to manage and grow while the bosses were away on extended journeys. There is the parable of the minis (Luke 19:11-27) and the talents (Matthew 25:14-30). These were big chunks of change. For example, if you were given a talent of gold you would have a 75 pound block of the stuff. At today’s price of gold ($1313/ounce) that block would be worth $1,575,600. The day’s wage in that time was about 10 cents of silver. For even numbers, place today’s wage at $100. We may add tree more zeros to the number above to show purchasing power! Do you think they tried to multiply their wealth at garage sales?

For us, a garage sale means lightening the ship. We have too much ballast! Of course, getting a bit of pocket change in the process is also a benefit. Pam and I decided that all income from this sale is going to help the persecuted church. For this garage sale I am intentionally seeking to let my light shine for Jesus Christ. Want to come and shine with me?

Steven C Johnson

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“Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma …” (Gen 8:20-21).

Many find it easy to believe God gets angry. Scripture tells of His burning wrath. You may take this truth and get into error by thinking, “Since God has wrath He must be easily offended and ticked off?” If so, you have seriously missed the character of God.

God takes no delight in the death of the wicked. (Eze 33:11)

The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger. (Ps 103:8)

God is patient not wanting any to perish. (2 Peter 3:9)

Try on this thought: Our heavenly Father is pleaseable! It is fantastically stimulating to me to think that God is easy to please!

We take delight in our children’s tiny progresses. When our babies coordinate their mush to their mouths and speak their first words we are pleased. When they balance on their chubby little legs and take their first steps from the couch to the coffee table we are pleased. Is God the Father less loving of His children than we are of ours?

Our Heavenly Father is easily pleased when we:

Share a cup of water with a thirsty soul

Give a lost stranger directions

Tell someone of God’s love story

Yes, God does get angry, justly and reasonably. We should tremble and be in awe. But unlike human beings it takes a lot to get God angry! As we see the wrath of God poured out on sin and great calamities on earth don’t forget the true character of God. He is slow to anger and easily pleased! Don’t let your heart slander Him by believing otherwise.

“.find out what pleases the Lord ” (Ephesians 5:10).

Steven C Johnson

https://landingstripenterprises.com/

Job wanted his story chiseled onto lead sheets or into stone. Posterity would be amazed to hear about it! The story is excruciatingly in its grief. It is also buoyant with hope and vindication. There is no book like it for wrestling with the questions of the sovereignty of God and human suffering.

I would love to interview Job to learn how he got his surge of prophetic hope. It is so polar to the rest of the story’s pain and loss!

“I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth;

And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God;

I myself will see him with my own eyes–I, and not another.

How my heart yearns within me! (Job 19:25-27)

Job was caught into a realm of inspiration that is still pulsing for us today. To read this passage is to be eradiated with hope!

A living Redeemer! Who could that be?

Standing on the earth at the end of days!

God visible to the human eye!

Job confesses that even after all his skin is destroyed, that is in death – in spite of that, from the vantage place of his own flesh he would see God with his own eyes! Here we find the first picture of resurrection, perhaps 2000 years before Jesus’ advent! How powerful! After the flesh has all rotted in the grave, after death, Job would once again have flesh and see his redeemer with his very own eyes! A proxy was not going to see God for him. Job himself would see the redeemer with his own peepers – after resurrection!

Then comes the verse that generates spiritual goose bumps: “How my heart yearns within me!”

The man who had lost everything, that was just then suffering physical torment, is overcome with craving for the future – to drink in the face of his Redeemer, with his own eyes. How do you spell “ecstasy?”

“How my heart years within me!”

Steven C Johnson

Landingstripenterprises

One of the greatest questions ever posed is found in Job 14:14. “If a man dies will he live again?” It is more than an idle question! Job was in an appalling crash and burn scenario. Chances are he didn’t know that Satan was forbidden to take his life. Death had to be the next abysmal trial.

The decaying world says, “After death you’re fertilizer.” Job had a holy premonition that God might say, “Yes, you will live again!” Job is thought to be the oldest book in the Bible. This then is the first twinkle of hope in Scripture that the grave doesn’t have the last word.

Job was reeling in questions. It seemed to him that God was fuming with anger towards him. The grave might be a hiding place. Job could wait there while God’s anger cooled.

In the sweetest of notions Job imagines God missing him and calling to the dust in the grave. “You will call and I will answer you; you will long for the creature your hands have made.” The Creator in effect says, “Job, I’ve been longing for your company. Arise from the dead!”

“If a man dies will he live again?” In his trials Job had a reason to hope!

After five more chapters of dialogue Job will have a burst of progressive revelation about the resurrection of the dead. More tomorrow.

Steven C. Johnson

Landingstripenterprises

“If only you would hide me in the grave

and conceal me till your anger has passed!

If only you would set me a time

and then remember me!

If a man dies, will he live again?

All the days of my hard service

I will wait for my renewal to come.

You will call and I will answer you;

you will long for the creature your hands have made.

Surely then you will count my steps

but not keep track of my sin.

My offenses will be sealed up in a bag;

you will cover over my sin. Job 14:13-17 (NIV)

“Mommy, what happened to the kitty?” From early childhood we were introduced to death as we saw a dead animal by the road or the dead fly on the window sill.

I remember in my childhood going to my Grandpa’s funeral. I didn’t like it. Everyone was sad and when I was escorted to the open box grandpa looked very bad, scary bad. They were going to put him in the ground forever. It was creepy and I didn’t like it. I didn’t like death!

A neighbor kid told me how to beat death. All you had to do was hold your breath while you drove by a cemetery and you would live another year. You know what? It worked! I kept living. Of course it was challenging to hold my breath past the long ones. This may explain my good lung capacity.

My senior year of high school I learned a better “trick” for escaping the queasy fear of death. Just as I had shared the hold-your-breath trick with playmates I began sharing this new solution with friends and strangers.

When a child stands by the casket of a sibling, parent or loved one there is a feeling – “This is not right. This feels icky. We shouldn’t die. This is wrong.” The reason for this is found in Solomon’s words, “He has set eternity in the hearts of men”. (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

Adults have been seduced into the idea of “accepting” death while children still know it is terribly wrong. Why? Because God has put in our hearts a longing for eternity as inwardly fixed as the urge for birds to migrate. We can imagine life before we were born and life after. We sense that our grandparents and friends should be alive forever and pine for something called eternity.

This might be the prayer for the day;

“Dear Father God, help me know what it means that you have placed eternity in my heart. Reveal to me your solution to the death quandary and the way to everlasting Life.” Help me to communicate the Hope of eternity with children who need Your comfort today.”

For your encouragement and the glory of God,

 

Steven C Johnson

Note: We are starting up our blog again at https://landingstripenterprises.com/ . You can see past posts there.

 

 

 

Today was a national holiday, although you may have missed it. We sold our two apartment buildings. A big event for us! No we didn’t make a profit, but we did get most of our money back out of our 21 units. We left our sweat equity in the wiring, plumbing and paint. They say, “The greater the tuition the better the education.” In that case we have had a splendid education the past 7 years!

I have honed my business, management and remodeling skills. I have had the opportunity to meet and interact with a number of people and in the process bring a little salt into situations.

While we may not have come out of the sale with financial wealth it is my hope that somehow our labors may have a heavenly return. In my faulty way I have sought to share the light of Jesus with our renters. I know some have been touched.

Pam and I and our daughter Anna celebrated by going to The Island in Pigeon Forge, riding the 200 feet high Ferris wheel, eating spaghetti ice, visiting a jewelry shop and listening to some outdoor music.

As a “by the way” – August 10th is Pam’s 60th BD! I asked Pam If I could put on a party for her but she said, “No.” However if you would like to send her a card I’m sure she would like that. Please no jokes about getting older.

Our address is

2154 Little Valley Rd

Sevierville, TN 37862

Pam’s email is [email protected]

Have you heard that God is good?

Steve Johnson