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).

Dream Car

by Macy Johnson

“If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”  Matthew 7:11 NIV

Picture a brand new blue bicycle secretly stored in an attic. Imagine the father suggesting his son ask for a new blue bicycle for his birthday. The gift is already given, waiting to be received…described perfectly by the giver so the receiver is prepared to accept it. 

My daughter’s dream car was a secret. She told me only that it was a Honda. So, I began my search for the perfect car for Libby.

One morning, while walking through the parking deck at work, I noticed a co-worker getting out of a pretty, white, sports car. As we walked together to our offices I asked about her car. I had never seen one like it before. She had special-ordered it two years before but unfortunately would have to sell it. Expecting her first child, she needed a family car.

Silver Cross

by Macy Johnson

“The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.”  Psalm 119:72 NIV

Christmas 1995 had come and gone. Tax season was in full swing in the little CPA firm in Birmingham, Alabama, where I worked. New tax preparation software was stealing family time, but I diligently continued to lead a weekly Bible Study at my church.

A handful of women faithfully attended the class, usually with small children underfoot. My own offspring played with their school assignments in back of the classroom.  It was a study I led for over 3 years, and interest was dwindling. “Why should I continue to lead this study?” I asked myself. 

That Christmas I wanted a silver cross on a long, silver chain. Everyone I saw wore one – friends at church, co-workers, strangers on the street. Every time I got the urge to buy one for myself, I sensed God hold me back.