Holy Spirit

Change Me

/ Gail Johnson / 2 Comments

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Proverbs 4:23

dying squash-1The leaves were slowly losing color. Green was fading to a sickly yellow. No matter how much I watered or didn’t water, how much I fertilized or didn’t fertilize, nothing seemed to work. If something didn’t change, I was going to lose every squash and zucchini plant in the garden.

After a Google search, I found a gardening site with the information I needed. The owner told me to check the bottom of the plants. If I saw a substance, that looked like sawdust I had vine borers. But, what the article said to do next was unheard of, or at least to my ears. But I had no choice.

And you know everything you read on the internet is true. 🙂

I strode back to the garden where hubby was weeding and told him what I had found. We went in search of the plant murderer. Sure enough, we found the evidence explained on the site. I asked hubby to give me his pocket knife. I located the spot I thought the vine borer was lodged and slit the vine in the direction of the capillaries. Chewing away the life of my plant was a fat white grubby worm.

Warning: If you are sympathetic to pests then you may want to stop reading. The gardening expert suggested I take a toothpick and impale them. I didn’t worry with the toothpick, I used the knife to cut them apart. Yes, I am a mean woman when it comes to a pest eating my hard work.

dying squash2-1Then, I pieced the vine back together the best I could. Unfortunately, a couple of plants died. But the rest lived and produced delicious squash. You can see the new growth in the picture.

I couldn’t help but compare that to a heart in need of spiritual surgery. A heart filled with unhealthy, life-draining pests is sick. It doesn’t matter how much we read the Word or how much we pray, until we allow the Holy Spirit to remove the  problem we are fighting a losing battle.

Too many times, we avoid spiritual surgery because we don’t want to let go of the hurts or go through the pain. Yet, without the operation, we are doomed. We can’t allow unhealthy things to stay inside us. Anything that isn’t of God needs to go, or it will eventually kill us.

…for out of it are the issues of life.

Bitterness in the heart will leak into every area of life. It rears its ugly head in our tones and actions. The sad part is that we can’t see that we are the infected one while the other person isn’t affected at all. The vine borer didn’t disturb the tomatoes, cucumbers, or peas. Only the squash—the infected plant itself.

Create in me a clean heart David prayed. That is my prayer too.

 

 

Keep Pressing On

/ Gail Johnson

I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:14 KJV).

In the Bible, we read of ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

A few of my favorites are Joshua and Caleb, Gideon, Elijah, and Paul.

I have others, but when “pressing time” comes, I look to certain ones who stood against the odds and overcame the obstacles.

Keep Pressing On

In the Old Testament, they fought against flesh and blood enemies. But, in the New Testament, our weapons and enemies are not of this world.

Paul fought the enemy of his soul and was victorious. He told Timothy, I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.

Through His death and resurrection, to those who believe, Jesus gives the power to become sons and daughters, power over the enemy, and the armor of God. He did not leave us defenseless. We can be victorious!

Faith:

Fervent—we must be passionate in our pursuit of God

Aggressive—we must be bold and active

Insistent—declare the promises of God, never back down from the devil

Thrust—moving forward is necessary if we are to gain new ground

Heavenward—every action should move us toward Heaven

 

Scripture References

Luke 10:19; 2 Corinthians 10:3-5; John 1:12; Ephesians 6:10-18; Revelation 3:16

 

Someone Is Praying

/ Gail Johnson / 4 Comments

I awoke at 3 a.m. Monday morning, the face of a friend before me. I heard, “Fear not. Be strong. Take courage. You’re not alone. Someone is praying.” Wanting to reach out to this one without invading their space, I decided to share an encouraging word in a picture.

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver (Proverbs 25:11 KJV).

Someone is Praying

Someone is Praying

There are hurting people in this world. They need to know someone cares, even if, they’re not sharing their problems with the world.

Sadly, the first thing we do when we’re in need is circle the wagons and wait it out, especially if we’re in a ministry of helping others. We slap a mask on our face, afraid to let others see our fears, depression, and anything else that isn’t associated with an overcomer.

However, we must be truthful with ourselves and each other. Life isn’t easy. Jesus promised we would have troubles in this life. He also said, “Cheer up, He had overcome the world.” He promised we’re not alone. He’s with us and He gave us a wonderful gift called friendship.

Friends allow us to be ourselves. They see our faults and failures and still love us. Friends keep our secrets. Friends do not “share” our secrets as prayer requests. Friends lovingly correct us when we’re wrong. I’m happy to say I have such friends, who stand by me and pray for me.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13

We can do no greater thing than to lay aside part of our day to pray for one another. We may not always know what to pray for, but, the Holy Spirit does (Romans 8:26-27). So will you stand with me—join hands with me—and pray for those in need.

I’ve started my list below. Please feel free to add your request to it. I may not hear your requests, but I promise the One Who answers prayers will, and that’s what matters.

My Prayer List

The leaders of this world
Battle weary soldiers
Military families who wait for loved ones
Caregivers
The child who lives in fear
The people held in human trafficking
The missionary
The hungry (For that child who has eaten nothing but cereal for three days)
The lost
Those dealing with job loss
Those suffering from a debilitating disease
The loss of a loved one

After you have prayed, I urge you to put legs to this prayer and find someone in need and “be” the hands and feet of Christ. Let’s love one another enough to make a difference.

Remember, you are not alone. Someone is praying!