Hershey Kisses

by Macy Johnson

“Man does not live on bread alone

but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”

(Deuteronomy 8:3 NIV)

I struggle to learn obedience in the area of eating. Addicted to food, I shove aside the spiritual for the physical.

God blessed me with this weakness to teach me that nothing He creates is ever meant to satisfy my desires. Everything looks delicious, but the taste… disappointment, again.

Teaching Opportunity

by Macy Johnson

“During the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. “Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, 

“and tell the people all about this new life.”

(Acts 5:19-20 NIV)

The director of a local university called me two weeks before I was scheduled to teach a class. He said, “Unfortunately, you don’t have the qualifications for the upcoming class you agreed to teach.”

Car Trouble

by Macy Johnson

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28 NIV)

Click-click, click-click. My car wouldn’t start after Bible study one morning.

Navigating the mega-church halls, I asked a passing school teacher where was the nearest phone. She directed me to the school office. But, when I arrived something in my heart told me to turn around and go to the church office at the other end of the complex. Quite a hike.

Housekeeping

by Macy Johnson

“Remember me for this, O my God, and do not blot out what I have so faithfully done for the house of my God and its services.”

(Nehemiah 13:14 NIV)

I’ve been a sloppy heart/house keeper lately. Neither my heart nor my house will clean themselves.

Do I ignore the stench of rotting desires in my heart as piles of dust and clutter multiply inside my home? There is a connection, the physical with the spiritual, just as in Nehemiah’s account of cleansing the temple and tackling personal reform.

Cleansing Blood

by Macy Johnson

“How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts

that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!”

(Hebrews 9:14 NIV)

I was hooked up to a machine for apheresis (platelets donation) at the local Red Cross center. 

Not long before, I didn’t know what a platelet was, much less that someone would want mine. Platelets are defined as “numerous small disk-shaped bodies found in the blood of vertebrates and associated with clotting.”    

Perfect Timing

by Macy Johnson

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1 NIV)

One morning following a Bible Study, I spoke with a group of women on the importance of disciplined, daily, personal devotions. Suddenly I realized I was late for a meeting on the other side of town.

The Voice

by Macy Johnson

^“Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

(Isaiah 30:20-21 NIV)

A friend told me about her daily devotions. She allows her Bible to fall open to the place where God wants to speak to her that day. I thought I’d give it a try. My Bible fell open to Isaiah 30. My eyes rested on verses 20 and 21.

I read them over and over, scraping crusty scum off gold… I learn through pain, and the Holy Spirit, my teacher, reveals himself to me minute by minute. He guides me - with a tap on the shoulder (or a whack across my back).