Ever increasing faith

The Verse of the Day for February 9, 2019, comes from 2 Thessalonians 1:3 in the Amplified Bible:

3 We ought and indeed are obligated [as those in debt] to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, as is fitting because your faith is growing exceedingly and the love of every one of you each toward the others is increasing and abounds.

This verse reminds us that faith is not static, but God wants our faith to grow, increase and abound. When the apostles said unto the Lord, “Increase our faith,” he responded:

6 And the Lord answered, If you had faith (trust and confidence in God) even [so small] like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, be pulled up by the roots, and be planted in the sea, and it would obey you. (Luke 17:6 Amplified Bible)

As we plant and water the Word of faith in our lives, God will give the increase, as we grow from those of “little faith” to those who demonstrate “great faith.” That particular expression along with the Verse of the Day brings to mind my recently released book, Embracing Life Sentence: How to Turn Life’s Greatest Tragedies into Your Greatest Triumphs. Indeed, faith continues to be an essential component of my life, and I discuss its importance in Chapter 6: “The Faith Factor: Without faith it is impossible. . .” This excerpt serves as an appetizer to the full course meal offered in the book.

Throughout my encounter with prostate cancer, I was well aware of the importance of faith because the diagnosis challenged me to go to God and seek His guidance and direction as never before. During this time, I was asked to write an article sharing what faith means to me. This task helped me to articulate the importance of faith which I describe as the “bedrock of my life.” Defined as confident assurance, trust and conviction in God that I will prevail, faith–“the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”– operates beyond what we see, for we walk by faith, not by sight.

I recognized that the topic has been of interest to me since high school when I first taught a Bible study on faith at a youth camp. Focusing on Hebrews 11, verses 1 and 6, I shared what little I knew at the time, but I have since expanded my knowledge of the subject and personal application of the principles of learning to live by faith. Those two verses have contributed to the foundation upon which I have built my life as a teacher and minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

In the years following my diagnosis, I expanded my knowledge of the subject of faith, examining the Word of God and pointing to essential illustrations of faith in Hebrews 11 and elsewhere in the Scriptures and in life. . . . The Gospels offer an account of an individual who impressed Jesus Christ with his “great faith.” The centurion in Matthew 8 comes to Jesus Christ with a request that he heal the man’s servant. In response, the Lord says that he will come and do as he asks. The centurion counters by saying that Jesus does not have to come to his house, but he has“. . . only say the word, and my servant will be healed.” In response, the Lord says, “I tell you truthfully, I have not found such great faith [as this] with
anyone in Israel. The centurion demonstrated “such great faith” and profoundly impressed the Lord.

A contemporary term corresponding to “great faith” is “crazy faith.” When believers encounter circumstances that seem utterly impossible and respond that they know the situation will turn out favorably, despite what appears to be a hopeless case. The world might respond to their positive expectations with, “That’s crazy!” We know, however, that we walk by faith and not by sight, and we counter with “That’s not crazy. . . That just means we have ‘crazy faith.’” Larry King says, “Crazy faith is when you simply refuse to let what you perceive –that is, your circumstances, your situations, your trials, tests, and obstacles – interfere with what you believe.”

Here is a poetic description:

Such Great Faith—Crazy Faith

When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed,
Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith,
not even in Israel!

Matthew 8:10 (KJV)

As servants of a king assess his vast treasure,
When the Lord returns, will he find faith on the earth?
When He appraises our faith, what will it be worth?
When all is said and done, may we add our measure,
Though small as the grain of a tiny mustard seed.
Should the Lord come during the Age of the Gentiles,
May our faith be found so pure that nothing defiles.
May we be living by faith in word and in deed,
For God is ever faithful and His Word is true.
May such great faith descend from the centurion
To the faithful ones who bear this criterion:
Whatever God shall speak, this shall He also do.
We will still be walking by faith, not by what we see,
While pressing toward the mark, reaching toward our destiny.

Here is John Waller offering a musical expression of “Crazy Faith”:

Embracing Your Life Sentence: How to Turn Life’s Greatest Tragedies into Your Greatest Triumphs is available wherever books are sold and online. For more details check out https://lonnelledwardjohnson.com.

Renewing the mind: Have you lost your mind?

Recently while reflecting on the early days of my journey of faith as a Christian believer, I thought of an expression associated with renewing the mind, the ongoing process that every Christian must understand since we apply these principles of renewal every moment of every day. Whether spoken of as “putting off the old and putting on the new” or “putting on the mind of Christ,” the Word of God commands us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, according to Romans 12:1-2. Literally, we are to transform ourselves, as we prove “what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

In thinking about this vital process, I recall a previous blog post where I examined a Phrase of the Day related to the state mind of someone whose behavior we are attempting to understand:

“Have you lost your mind?”

Individuals sometime may ask this rhetorical question in a state of utter disbelief, as they attempt to understand the seemingly bizarre behavior of the person to whom the question is addressed. To lose your mind” generally means to “to become mentally ill” or “to start behaving in an utterly foolish or strange way.”

In thinking about the expression, I also recall a specific occasion when someone warned me about the possibility of “losing my mind.” After being drafted into the Army during the late 1960s, I experienced salvation through a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. During this time an Army buddy noticed that I was always reading the Bible and talking about God and spiritual matters to the degree that seemed too much for a person with a sound mind. In all seriousness, he pulled me aside and said, “Johnson, if you keeping studying the Bible so much, you’re going to ‘lose your mind.’”

Immediately, I went on the defensive and explained when I was in college, I devoted much more time and exerted much more effort in studying to earn my degree in pharmacy, and I didn’t lose my mind then. “Why should I lose my mind from studying the Bible?” I asked.

After a period of time, however, something strange began to happen. I started to “lose my mind,” but I began replacing it with a new mind. In studying the Scriptures, I discovered the concept of “renewing the mind.”

In nature we note the process of metamorphosis that butterflies and other organisms undergo, reminding us that, similarly, Romans 12:1-2 instructs believers not to be conformed but to be transformed by the renewing of their minds. The New Testament phrase is translated from the Greek word metamorphoo, the root of the English word metamorphosis. The phrase also expresses that as believers strive to manifest more of Christ in their lives, they are “changed into the same image.”

Butterflies as they undergo metamorphosis are transformed from egg to larva or caterpillar to chrysalis (cocoon) to butterfly (adult). Christian believers also continually undergo a similar spiritual transformation as they mature in Christ. The essence of this amazing process we express in this poem:

As We Renew our Mind

Do not lie to one another, for you have stripped
off the old self with its evil practices, 10 and have put on the new [spiritual] self who is being continually renewed in true knowledgein the image of Him who created the new self—

Colossians 3:9-10 (AMP)

We know that the key to power is renewing the mind,
But to find the key to release this power help us to see,
For we seek to walk in power and excel and not be left behind,
As we strive to know deeper levels of intimacy.
With laser precision we now target our old nature
And put to death and mortify our members once for all.
We respond in obedience in answer to God’s call;
Not conformed, we transform ourselves, to become new, mature.
In the secret place of the Lord who ever inhabits
The praises of His people, here we desire to abide,
To put off the old man, vile, corrupt, wrapped in sinful pride
And put on the new man, as one changes garments, habits.
Above all we put on compassionate love from the start
And abide in our hiding place, filled with a grateful heart.

Integrity Music offers this Scripture Memory Song “Do not be conformed Romans 12:1-2 and Ephesians 4:23.”

One more time: Spring is coming

 

This year February 2, Groundhog Day, slipped past without much recognition of the famous day that offers a prediction of the coming spring. According to tradition, if the furry critter sees his shadow and emerges from his burrow, we are in store for six more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t and retreats into his dwelling, the weather forecast is for milder weather in the interim. Since 1886 the celebration of Groundhog Day on a grand scale has been associated with western Pennsylvania, home of the legendary Punxsutawney Phil, the famed rodent. As it turned out, Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow this year, indicating a forecast of six more weeks of cold weather although other groundhogs around the world provided opposing predictions of a long winter. Whether our furry friend sees his shadow or not, we are assured that after winter still comes the spring. Indeed, if winter comes, can spring be far behind?

Another traditional sign of the coming of spring is the sighting of robins on the Northern landscape. On January 31, 2019, I noted a gathering four robins on my way to work. This welcome committee provided a sure sign that spring is on the way. When I see robins returning after a brief absence, I recall that I made my acting debut in the second or third grade when I played “Robin Redbreast,” with my red sweater and brown paper wings that I flapped vigorously as I ran across the stage proclaiming, “Spring is coming! . . . Spring is coming! . . . Spring is coming!”

Robins are generally thought to be a sign that “Spring is coming!”

A few years ago my daughter, Melissa, sent me a card with the “Easter Legend of the Robin” on the cover:

A little grey robin, as he was flying to the Holy Land, saw Christ hanging on the cross. His heart filled with sadness. He noticed the crown of thorns the soldiers placed on the crucified Savior. The small bird, forgetting his timidity, flew down to remove a thorn from the brow of Christ. As he did so, a drop of Christ’s blood stained the little bird’s breast. The robin, through his act of love, earned the red badge of courage. From this time forth, all robins have had red breasts as a reminder that one of them was kind to the Lord. Thus, the robin is truly the harbinger of spring. He welcomes Easter with his cheerful note of hope, reminding us that from death comes life.

In reflecting upon my acting debut, I composed a new song that I sing when I see a robin returning in winter:

Red Robin, Red Robin—Harbinger of spring,
Rear back with your red breast
And sing, sing, sing.

Here is a poem originally written in light of the Challenger Spacecraft disaster expresses anticipation of one of my favorite seasons:

Until Spring

So when this corruptible has put on incorruption,
and this mortal has put on immortality,
then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written,
“Death is swallowed up in victory. O Death,
where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?

I Corinthians 15:54-55

Whether on earth or shuttled in the sky,
Death snuffs out our candles in devious ways,
For each man must learn to number his days,
Although the soul still probes to fathom why.
The mind made numb with pain can only try
To make sense of the immense ache that stays
The answer sounds since Adam but still dismays:
It is appointed unto man once to die.
Though grief surrounds us, comfort can be shown.
The sun melts frost with new life as surely
As blossoms will flourish from seeds once sown.
Until spring, on tip-toe I yearn to see
The day when I shall know as I am known,
When death is swallowed up in victory.

Despite predictions for more harsh winter weather or when we are blessed with unseasonably mild temperatures, we remember the words of Robin Redbreast, and enjoy this magnificent rendering of Steven Curtis Chapman’s excellent musical composition, a reminder that, indeed, “Spring is coming!”

 

 

Psalm 59: To succor and to strengthen

The Verse of the Day for February 3, 2019, comes from Psalm 59:16 (AMP):

But as for me, I will sing of Your mighty strength and power; Yes, I will sing joyfully of Your lovingkindness in the morning; For You have been my stronghold and a refuge in the day of my distress.

The closing verse of Psalm 59 reiterates the same message:

To You, O [God] my strength, I will sing praises; for God is my stronghold [my refuge, my protector, my high tower], the God who shows me [steadfast] lovingkindness.

The Psalmist expresses this watchful attitude toward God who will come to his rescue in other related verses.
Psalm 5:3

Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.

Psalm 59:9:

You are my strength; I wait for you to rescue me, for you, O God, are my fortress.

Psalm 88:13 |

O LORD, I cry out to you. I will keep on pleading day by day.

Psalm 101:1

I will sing of your love and justice, LORD. I will praise you with songs.

2 Samuel 22:3 summarizes a similar expression of looking to God as a source of safety, a refuge and savior:

My God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. He is my refuge, my savior, the one who saves me from violence.

This passage provides great comfort and strength to believers, and brings to mind a term “succor,” used as a noun or verb in the King James Version, Webster’s 1828 Dictionary offers this definition:

As a verb, the term literally means to run to, or run to support; hence, to help or relieve when in difficulty, want or distress; to assist and deliver from suffering; as, to succor a besieged city; to succor prisoners.”

As a noun “succor” means aid; help; assistance; particularly, assistance that relieves and delivers from difficulty, want or distress. “Gardening that Gives You Wings” refers to the noun: “The garden was to provide succor and sanctuary for butterflies, giving nectar almost all year round.”

Hebrews 2:18 in the King James Version offers this translation using the verb:

18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.The Amplified Bible puts it this way:

Hebrews 2:18:

Because He Himself [in His humanity] has suffered in being tempted, He is able to help and provide immediate assistance to those who are being tempted and exposed to suffering.

We find the verb form used to describe God, our Father who watches over His own and promises to come to their rescue in 2 Corinthians 6:2 used as introduction to this original psalm:

To Succor and to Strengthen

(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation

have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)

2 Corinthians 6:2 (KJV)

In straight and narrow places You provide relief.
In times of loss, You comfort and assuage our grief
In this dry season You water our soul once more
And run to succor and to strengthen us as before.
Again You prop us up on every leaning side.
Rooted and grounded in Your love we will abide.
You are our light, our salvation; we will not fear.
Although we feel estranged from loved ones, You are near.
Though intense suffering may abound on every hand,
You confirm, establish, settle, that we might stand.
Though oceans roar and mountains shake, we remain still.
In times of distress we are centered in Your will.
We stand firm, like a tree planted by the river,
Assured that in Your perfect time You will deliver.

Esther Mui offers a musical rendition of selected verses from Psalm 59 as a Christian Scripture Worship song “God is My Defense.”

Psalm 59:1-2, 9-10a, 16-17:

1 Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
Defend me from those who rise up against me.

2 Deliver me from the workers of iniquity,
And save me from bloodthirsty men.

9 I will wait for You, O You his Strength;
For God is my defense.

10a My God of mercy shall come to meet me;

16 But I will sing of Your power;
Yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning;
For You have been my defense
And refuge in the day of my trouble.

17 To You, O my Strength, I will sing praises;
For God is my defense,
My God of mercy.

No eyes have seen, but it has been revealed

The Verse of the Day for February 2, 2019 comes from 1 Corinthians 2:9.To complete the context” of the passage, however, we must also look at the preceding verses and the verse that follows to further clarify the promise that God is unfolding.

7 but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the wisdom once hidden [from man, but now revealed to us by God, that wisdom] which God predestined before the ages to our glory [to lift us into the glory of His presence]. 8 None of the rulers of this age recognized and understood this wisdom; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; 9 but just as it is written [in Scripture],

“THINGS WHICH THE EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND THE EAR HAS NOT HEARD,
AND WHICH HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN,
ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM [who hold Him in affectionate reverence, who obey Him, and who gratefully recognize the benefits that He has bestowed].”

10 For God has unveiled them and revealed them to us through the [Holy] Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things [diligently], even [sounding and measuring] the [profound] depths of God [the divine counsels and things far beyond human understanding].

Deuteronomy 29:29 in the Amplified Bible also reinforces the message that some things, spiritual matters, only God knows, and some secrets God continues to reveal to believers today:

The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things which are revealed and disclosed belong to us and to our children forever, so that we may do all of the words of this law.

The Word of God reminds that we walk by faith, and not by sight. Indeed, what we see with our eyes is temporal, but what we do not see is eternal.

In the words of Fanny J. Crosby, one of the most prolific and popular hymn writers of all time, we have a “blessed assurance” not based on what we see. Ironically, Mrs. Crosby lost her sight as an infant, but this tragic situation gave birth to these unforgettable lyrics:

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood

Chorus:
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.

Perfect submission, perfect delight,
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels, descending, bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

Perfect submission, all is at rest,
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

This discussion also brings to mind a previous blog entry from which this excerpt comes where I share:

Some things I know. . .

One thing I know for sure is that that God loves me. I know that I love God and that’s really all that matters. Not only do I know that God loves me and that I love God, but these lyrics express what I really know:

I know that I know that I know that I know.
I know that I know You still love me.
I know that I know that I know that I know.
I know that I know You still love me.

No matter how many times I go astray
And leave Your side and choose to disobey.
When I’m overwhelmed and can’t even pray,
No matter what I do or do not say.

No one else knows my heart: You are the one
To call me home when I have no place to run.
When I look all around at all that I’ve done,
Despite all my failures, You still call me Son.

I know that I know that I know that I know.
I know that I know You still love me.
I know that I know that I know that I know.
I know that I know You still love me.

Romans 8:28, my favorite verse in the Bible, and it offers this reminder that because God is good, “We know that all things work together for the good, to them that love God, to them that are the called according to His purpose.” So no matter how bad any situation may appear to be, we know that it will work together for the good.

The life and legacy of Fanny J. Crosby  provide another illustration of the goodness of God that transcends even the most devastating circumstances.

We conclude with 1 Corinthians 2:9 as a Scripture Memory Song: