Jackie's Journey "What Time is It?"

We just finished another tax year. If God were to audit our account with Him, what would He find?  Let’s take a moment of spiritual inventory this morning, want to?

(Just the tone of the question has failure written all over it, doesn’t it?!)

 If God were to ask us for an explanation of how we use our time,

 how would we respond?

“The term “busy” comes instantly to mind.  It’s the generic term for “Mom”.  Time is the devourer of all things.” Ovid. 43 BC   There is never enough of it!  “We are eternity’s hostage; a captive of time”. Pasternak   We know procrastination is the thief of time. And we poetically talk about the “footprints on the sands of time”. 

It must be important because… think of all the times “time” is referred to.  Time eases all things…Time heals all wounds…Time is the subtle thief of youth …Time lost can’t be recovered…Time is money...Time is the least thing we have…Time is the school in which we learn…

“The time that we have at our disposal every day is elastic; the passions that we feel expand it; those that we inspire contract it and habit fills what remains”!  Marcel Proust   As we walk through the corridor of time we realize that it does not relinquish it rights.  Misuse of our time is self-suicide! 

Time is the wisest of counselors.  There is a time for peace and war; a time for singing of birds (spring!); a time to love and to hate…a time to be born and to marry… to dance and to die…a time to heal…a time to keep silent…to speak… to laugh…to weep…to plant…to forget…  Ecc.9   Time is the most valuable entity a woman can spend.   Jesus acknowledged time, when He said,  “My time is at hand”.

“Do you love life? 

Then do not squander time because

that is what life is made of.” Ben Franklin

What are you doing with your time?

Our time is in HIS hand…Psa. 31:15

And He will hold us accountable one day!

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is discipling and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Jackie's Journey "Arachnids...Scared But Not Defeated!"

Washday in the jungle was an event, not just a necessity!  It required a trip to the river with two little ones in tow, a washtub (like great-grandma used) full of clothes, diapers, sheets, etc., soap and a washboard.  Finding a rock that wasn’t already being used was the next challenge after descending the 12’ bank!  The swirling river was the agitator and the most difficult part of the whole exercise was wringing the clothes tight enough so they would dry after being hung.

The Kuna women would laugh at me, while their little ones entertained mine by chasing, splashing and diving around us..  Those were the “good ‘ole days”.  One blessing, and their were many, was that my girls learned to swim like little fish very early, against the current!

If it was dry season, the wash would dry in 2 hours.  During rainy season we might hang the clothes two times or more in one day.  Most garments were mildewed and never really dried completely until dry season returned!

One spring day my clothes carried an unwanted visitor inside the house. We had open wooden shelves and as I lifted the last clean sheet, I caught something moving in my peripheral vision.  Now…let me be clearly understood…I will take a snake, any size, over a spider any day! 

 This particular spider was a creature of undeniable presence!  I screamed so loud that half the village came streaming through my front door.  One look at the intruder and my husband and Arturo, our closest neighbor, told us all to get out!  Apparently, this venomous arachnid was dangerous!  I could not understand their hesitation in just eliminating it.  I wanted that spider dead…I did not want him alive for an encore another day…

 Earlier that month our cat had found a huge, and I mean huge, scorpion under our bed.  I picked up my husbands size 14 army boot and squashed its 12” body dead, in one fell swoop, as our 8 month old daughter came crawling into the room!

Now, “hear me roar”…I’m not kidding…I REALLY wanted that spider dead!

Fear is our friend…it is an emotion induced by a threat, which causes a change in brain and organ function and ultimately a change in behavior.  “Courage is being scared to death…and walking through the door of fear to victory”.  (R. J., my husband)  In the book “Hind’s Feet in High Places” I would clearly be little “Much Afraid”. 

Shortly after being challenged to carry the name of Christ to unreached tribal people, I read in Luke 10:19 where Jesus sent out the seventy-two with the promise, “I have given you authority to trample snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you”!! 

That verse immediately came pounding into my consciousness and I claimed that promise, given to those who take the gospel into uncharted territories.  As jungle living became my daily experience, I would often return to those precious words that brought peace that day.  Over and over again during those years of the unexpected until today, I continue to claim its truth when I am tempted to yield to panic.

Whatever you are facing today…

let’s hear you roar…

take courage!

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is discipling and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Jackie's Journey "Bad Things Happen to Good People?"

Why do bad things happen to good people????

My compassionate mother is 99 years old and she has asked this question on more than one occasion.  I always answer her the same way…

It only happened once and He volunteered!

“There is none good…no, not one.” Rom 3: 23

“The real problem is not why some pious, humble,

believing people suffer, but why some do not”!    C.S. Lewis

“We are not at our best perched at the summit; we are climbers at our best when the way is steep”.  John W. Gardner   Stretching, growing, struggling, striving, writhing, to become mature and to be equipped to be a benefit to others is at the core of trials and suffering.  After all, it is only as we develop others that we permanently succeed.  John Calvin said, “We must submit to supreme suffering in order to discover the completion of joy”.

“He who fears to suffer cannot be His who suffered.”  Tertullian  Wanting to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his suffering… Phil. 3:10 and entering into the insulated growth cocoon in good times…and bad (the difficult “saint perfecting” times) is the key to walking in His strength and the fullness of understanding true gratefulness.  Victory over whatever this life brings and seeing through His life-changing perspective makes suffering bearable and profitable, not depressing, disarming and debilitating.

Before this last Thanksgiving I fell coming out of the market and tore a ligament in my knee.  I was relieved to learn that it would not require surgery.  I used a walker and wore a brace for weeks; graduating to a cane and then after three months I was able to take off the brace.  Every step was painful and I began to think maybe the limp was permanent.  God saw fit to touch that knee.   I certainly do not consider myself a good person, however; most of my youth, the entire time spent in the humid jungles of Panama and the many years up to this date in 2018, I have had severe migraine headaches. 

Early in my Christian life, while in Bible School, I was exposed to the truth of welcoming trials and pain as a friend.  James 1: 2   It is God’s fastest road to patience, perseverance, joy, hope, gratefulness, faith and love… MATURITY!  Given with divine purpose suffering is a valuable tool for my personal growth and the success of others. 

“I do not believe that just sheer suffering teaches.  If suffering alone taught, then the entire world would be wise, since everyone suffers.  To suffering must be added mourning, gratefulness, understanding, patience, love, openness and willingness to remain vulnerable.”  Anne Morrow Lindbergh  

“In spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with joy given by the Holy Spirit.  And so you became a model to all the believers…”  Here we have the formula for growth and it includes trials and suffering.

Trials + acceptance with joy = Growth

What to others are disappointments are to believers intimations of the way and will of God.  Nothing demonstrates what we are more accurately than the way we meet trials and difficulties.

Are you struggling today?

“Afflictions are but the shadow of God’s wings”…George MacDonald

“When God wants to bring more power into your life,

 He brings more pressure.”

A. B. Simpson

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is discipling and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights.~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is discipling and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights.

Jackie's Journey "How Observant are You?

I have always loved the promise of Proverbs 14: 33.

“Wisdom reposes (rests) in the heart of the discerning woman”…

The word that stands out to me in this verse is “discerning”.   I want to be a wise, godly woman…a worthy disciple of the cross, don’t you?

Recently I had the opportunity to open my home to a young lady from out of state for a week or so.  Wanting her to be comfortable and open to talk to me I engaged her in multiple conversations regarding her spiritual condition and the condition of her marriage.  When the time came for her to leave I had grown to love her and I was encouraged.

My encouragement was short lived; however, when a few weeks later I received news that she had left her husband and had returned to her life in the world.  Had I missed her bottom line need or was she just bent on her own way and had no ears to hear?  “The doorstep to the temple of wisdom is the knowledge of our own ignorance”!  Charles Spurgeon

 I can hear you busy moms out there saying, “This is the problem.  Discernment is a word that is ethereal in my understanding and wrapped in what looks like a lot of time and work.  Don’t get me wrong.  I want the wisdom that comes from it.  I need the wisdom…I’m a MOM!“ 

 What is a discerning woman, anyway?

 As a mom and a Pastor’s wife I have had the opportunity of listening to a multitude of problems and needs.  Being objective is easier when it is not an unresolved issue in my own home.  Hearing the words spoken to me and knowing from whence the complaint is originating is often a conundrum that leaves me stammered at times.  Discerning between what has been superficially stated and recognizing the root cause to find a solution is the challenge!  Discernment is a God-given ability to understand why things happen.  I Samuel 16:7

“God never gives us discernment in order to criticize,

but that we would intercede.”  Oswald Chambers

“Discernment incorporates four important factors:

1)   Learning to operate within my aptitudes (abilities, skills, talents, gifts…) to look beneath the surface of a problem.  It takes time to find the underlying problem, as opposed to making a judgment on surface words and manifestations.

2)    Learning to detect the true wishes and feelings of others (and be brave enough to speak truth when rejection is on the other side of the door!).

3)    Knowing what to look for in assessing the needs of people, problems and things. The addict on the corner that thinks his need is money for a fix is blind to his real need.

4)    Knowing if God wants me to reach out and then, harmonizing with His timing to meet the need.  It is nearly impossible these days to engage in any conversation without sensing someone’s need.  It is important to listen for His leading.” (Institute of Basic Youth Conflicts with added emphasis)

We are known and read by almost everyone we talk to. (II Cor. 3:3)  We are reading facial expressions, attitudes and actions of others continually.  We are aware of the way people respond to us.  We are exceptionally self-sensitive.  We, women, are the observers in life…on the playground, in the park, in the grocery store, post office, Bank, Church, Bible Study, Child Care facility, school…. everywhere we go… we can’t help ourselves…

We moms are forever being called upon to discriminate between right and wrong, settling family issues with our husband or with fussing children.  We are particular with whom we trust our children when we are not present.  We know the safe places to walk our little ones and we are alert to dangers inside and out of every environment.  Need I go on…?

Discernment is not new to us.  What is new is taking what is God-given intentionally purposing to use it for the benefit of another person and the glory of God!  He says, “If we lack wisdom to ask of Him…

Will you pray this prayer with me?

Lord, I want to pray this promise of your Word into my life.  To be wise I must be discerning and your spirit must teach me how to use all my God-given abilities to become that woman of discernment for the benefit of others and for your glory.  Teach my heart, Lord…Phil. 1: 9-10

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is discipling and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Jackie's Journey "Be Careful What You Wish For"?

Another school shooting!  Numerous fatalities!  Can you believe that we live in a day when the world and our tumultuous culture are totally backward and upside down?  What was once considered foolish behavior is now considered acceptable conduct?  That acceptable behavior has produced overt rebellion, which has become the preferred response to life’s situations, over humility.  Bombings, bullies, road rage, militant marches, legalized drugs… need I go on…?

If you could make a difference and have whatever you wanted, which one of these would you choose?

Peace                                           Wealth                                        Knowledge

Friends                                       Long Life                                     Power

Honor                                          Fame                                           Happiness

Prestige                                      Popularity                                  Health

Security                                      Influence                                    Wisdom

Love                                            Achievement

Be careful what you wish for when you’re 20…you’ll have its fruit when you are 40!

One day God told a young man that he could have whatever he wanted. (I Kings 3: 5-15)  This young man “loved the Lord”.  He answered, “Give me, your servant, an understanding heart…that I may discern between good and bad.”  God was pleased with his request and not only gave him wisdom and understanding, but also, riches and honor!

While living in the jungles of Panama, we taught our two little girls to sing a great definition of wisdom.  It went like this: “Wisdom is seeing life’s situations from God’s point of view and learning to act in harmony with Him.  So be wise my son, heed my instructions, leave that road that leads to destruction, hollow my name, don’t walk in shame….” (IBYC)  Our good friends and fellow missionaries, John and Ruth Jenkins, put the words to music.   

Our two little songsters in typical Kuna Mola dresses!

We are such opinionated women…we must think we are wise!!  In a world that gives no credence to being wise, why is it important?  How do we know if we are wise women? Mothers?  Grandmothers?  I certainly don’t feel wise!

“Wisdom is the ability to see life from God’s perspective.  This means that we are able to take surface problems that we experience in life to their root cause and take the necessary steps to correct them.  Those lacking wisdom don’t see any connection between cause and effect of their problems and therefore don’t understand what they are stumbling over, or if they avoid problems…why they avoid them.

It takes wisdom to collect facts and knowledge to come to correct conclusions.  Never before have there been so many conflicting philosophies on how to live! Wisdom is seeing how God’s truths are universal and non-optional.  Every civilization and every individual will succeed or fail in direct relationship to how they follow those principles. 

Wisdom understands human nature and how it is opposed to God’s nature.  It is the ability to see how our natural inclinations are the direct opposite to the principles of life taught in His Word.

We think the way to greatness is by becoming a leader.  But God’s teaching is that, ‘He that will be greatest among you shall be your servant.’  Matt. 23: 11

We think that the way to gain independence and “be free” is to rebel and get out from under authority.  But God knows that true independence and honor come by getting under the protection of our authority.  ‘…Before honor is humility,’ Pro. 15:33

We think to get ahead it is wise to hide and cover our mistakes.  But God knows that ‘He that covers his sins will not prosper; but whoever confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy.’  Pro. 28: 13

We think that by dedicating our life to God we will lose it, when in reality we are losing our life if we try to keep it for ourselves.” (IBYC...emphasis added)     “For whosoever will save his life will lose it (in others!).  Matt. 16: 25

Would you consider yourself to be a wise woman?

What would your husband say?

Would your children call you a “wise” mom?

 Maybe you’re asking what Old Testament Job did.  “Where can wisdom be found? Where does it come from?  Where does understanding dwell?  Man does not comprehend its worth”!  Job 28:12    God said,  “He looked at wisdom and appraised it; He confirmed it and tested it” and then He gave to man in verse 28… the definition of wisdom! 

The fear of the Lord (the fear of the consequence of sin)…that is wisdom…

and shunning of evil is understanding (discerning between good and bad and making consistent right choices!)”  Job 28: 28

The world could use a little wisdom.

Just saying…

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is discipling and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Jackie's Journey "Wise in Your Own Eyes?"

As moms we have the ultimate privilege of having little innocent ones look up to us, think us wise, copy our every move and watch our pattern of responses to life’s situations. 

Our youngest, Kim and I in the Darien jungle in Panama

We nurture them and delight in the fact that we are so needed and well thought of at our young age.  To our little ones everything is new and learning about the world outside is an adventure we readily take with them, carefully exposing tiny hands to the beauty of flower petals, cautiously moving furry caterpillars and catching the wind blowing leaves.  We experience the joy of living through the eyes of these that see only the splendor…then reality hits!

We don’t live in that world anymore.  We are fraught with the truth of our own reflection in their innocent eyes.  We are in the adult theater of war with the manifestations of our self-importance!  The enemy has blinded us with a pursuit of self-recognition and self-exaltation and a desire to control.  We have become complainers; mothers who pass judgment on God (by judging others!); women of bad attitudes and angry looks; contentious; perfectionists; chatterboxes about ourselves; women consumed with what others think; unteachable; sarcastic; devastated by criticism; defensive; disrespectful to our husbands; self-sufficient; irritable; jealous; envious; full of self-pity…you know you best…you fill in the blank! 

All of these and more are marks of arrogance in the life!  Being wise in your own eyes!  Don’t give approval to your child with a lower standard than God gave us in His Word regarding pride.

Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord;

assuredly, he will not be unpunished.”  Proverbs 16: 5

 "There is one character quality that will enable us (to be the moms we are called to be) and all Christ wants us to be.  We cannot come to God without it.  We cannot love God supremely without it.  We cannot be an effective witness for Christ without it.  We cannot love our children or husband and serve others without it.  We cannot (be that model or) lead in a godly way without it.  We cannot resolve conflict without it.  We cannot deal with the sin of others without it.” 

"HUMILITY IS NOTHING ELSE BUT A RIGHT JUDGMENT OF OURSELVES."

William Law

In short, we must embrace and live out humility in order to truly live and be who God means for us to be.” (Stuart Scott…emphasis added) It is for this reason that God exhorts us through Paul:

Therefore, I the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner

worthy of the calling with which you have been called,

with all HUMILITY and gentleness…Eph. 4:1-2

 “We can have no power from Christ unless we live in the persuasion that we have none of our own.” John Owen We cannot be humble without realization of our areas of sinful pride; calling it by name, repenting in brokenness and reflecting glory back to God. As difficult as the battle between pride and humility seems, the provision to live triumphantly is possible only by His promise and delivery of grace made available to the humble.  “Humility creates the vacuum that divine grace fills.” (John McArthur)  Moment by moment decisively walking a life absent of self opens the door to all the grace needed for humility to grow.

God’s most powerful illustrations have been in the lives of men and women who knew their weakness, but who learned how to draw on God’s strength!

Charles Spurgeon taught, “Every Christian has a choice between

being humble or being humbled”!

Which will it be?

-Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is discipling and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Jackie's Journey "I WIN...What's the Prize??"

The 2018 Super Bowl is history. Only one team could win.  The prize is enormous.  Monday nights are game nights on T.V in many homes across America. We put our children in team sports almost before they can walk, let alone kick a soccer ball!  We hear the competitive nature of the game as parents stand and shout encouragement at players and periodically yell at the officials.   We say, “Do your best and win!”  The philosophy of how a game should be played is wrapped in “the most important thing is winning”.

Sacrificing whatever it takes… integrity, tripping the kid in front of you…breaking the rules…winning is the objective.  Reaching the goal…first!  Teaching our children true fulfillment is by-passed on the altar of “me first” winners!  Losing is not an option.

Don’t misunderstand me.  Team sports are a part of our American heritage.  Just don’t miss the real goal…   “…Straining toward what is ahead.  I press toward the goal to win the prize…” (Phil.3: 13)  And how we get there is the key.

What’s the prize?

Do you want to be a winner in life?

Do you want your children to be real winners?

“A man’s steps are directed by the Lord.  How then can anyone understand his own way?  (Pro. 20:24)   God has a plan for our success.  How can we think apart from His purpose??

God has called us “heavenward in Christ Jesus.  All of us who are mature should take such a view of things.  And if, on some point you think differently, that too, God will make clear to you.”  (Phil. 3:14)   Competitive sports show us the importance of focusing and reaching for a goal!  Binding ourselves to His eternal goal and plan and continually pushing forward toward Christ for His equipping as parents, mothers, grandparents, teachers and examples makes us winners.  His empowerment is the prize.  We are not programmed to get the job done apart from Him.

God doesn’t want our best. Paul said, “I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet, not I, but Christ lives in me”.  I repeat…God doesn’t want our best…He wants us!   Us…yielded to Him, so He can do HIS best in us and through us.

What is God’s goal?

What does He require of us?

“To act justly

To love mercy

To walk humbly with your God”.

Micah 6: 8

Humility necessitates complete yieldedness to Him, His plan and His Will.

“…Not I, anymore, but Christ who lives in me…”

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is discipling and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Jackie's Journey "It's My Party...I'll Cry if I Want To...!"

“Age is an issue of mind over matter.

If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” Mark Twain

It's my birthday this week…and it's a BIG ONE!  Fear of old age is the false assumption that I still have many years of life ahead of me!   We are to number our days correctly that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (Psa. 90: 10-12)   I’m not too far from being an antique or a legend.  However, my mother, who turned 99 January 2nd is even closer to claiming those titles!  My “young at heart” Mom gives new meaning to …“It’s not how old you are; but how you are old!”  Marie Dressler

Have I mentioned how grateful I am for my partner in life who is growing old with me?  For the last 53 years this journey has never had a dull moment!  For those of you who know us, you know that I was looking forward to growing older…not old!...with this wonderful man, thinking he would mellow with age…I’m still waiting! 

I was reminded of the advantages of aging.  You know, like…Leviticus 19: 32 that says my time has come that when I enter a room others will “stand (to show honor and respect) when (I, now qualifying as one of) your elders, enter…” and “Is not wisdom found among the aged?”(Job 12: 12)  Since I quoted Job…his three friends were trying to sympathize and comfort him with the thought, “Age should speak; advanced years should teach wisdom.”  Quite an expectation…no pressure there!

An Almighty God who holds my journey in His hands has blessed me beyond measure.  “This life therefore is not righteousness, but growth in righteousness.  Not health, but healing.  Not being, but becoming.  Not rest, but exercise.  We are not yet what we will be, but we are growing toward it.  The process is not yet finished, but it is going on.  This is not the end, but it is the road.  All does not yet gleam in glory, but all is being purified.”   Martin Luther

I look forward to the future with this promise that comes with age, “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am He, I am He who will sustain you, I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” (Isa. 46:4)  

Sooo…

 Happy Birthday

To me and to all of you

 who are embracing this year as a…BIG ONE!

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is discipling and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Jackie's Journey "What Would We Do Without HOPE?"

Sometimes we moms and grand-moms have the sense that our life is full of empty endeavors and the monotony of it all seems meaningless…we are tired…we are just missing the point of it all.  Endurance is the inward strength to withstand stress to accomplish God’s best. (Gothard)  With all our demanding enterprises, we neglect the time it takes to get in the Word to nourish and energize ourselves and then, to open the Bible with our little prince and princesses.  We find time for activities of every kind imaginable…many of them worthy efforts, yet missing the point of building eternal purpose and destiny into our little ones.

If this speaks to you, this morning let me encourage you with these biblical facts!

“God does amazing things through people who are yielded to Him.  Throughout the Word, we see portrayals of God doing mighty works through ordinary individuals, imperfect people like you and me.  Consider this list from an e-mail message that came to one of our missionaries:

Moses stuttered.

Paul rejected John Mark.

Jacob was a liar.

David had an affair.

Solomon was too rich.

Abraham was too old.

David was too young.

Peter was afraid of death.

Lazarus was dead.

Naomi was a widow.

Jonah ran from God.

Gideon and Thomas doubted.

Elijah was burned out.

Samson had long hair.

Noah got drunk.

Did I mention that Moses had a short fuse?  So did Peter, Paul…well lots of folks did”. 

This is no excuse for us, but a challenge to be the example His provision has called us to be!  Let’s think this through for a moment.  Being God, He does not have to rely on people (He could use a stick!).  If God does not need you or me, why then does He give us opportunities to serve Him?  It is certainly not because we are such model servants.  Nor were any of those heroes of the Bible.   No, He puts ministries before us because He loves us.  These opportunities offer rewards from our Heavenly Father, and challenges to help us grow to be more like Christ.  That is the promise of Romans 8: 28-29. (Note the two qualifiers: those who love Him and walk in His will...requires obedience)

God continues to encourage us to be a part of the great works He is doing.  He takes ordinary people serving in extraordinary circumstances to demonstrate His Almightiness! 

Take heart

We can’t; but God can!

“Let us not become weary in doing good,

for at a proper time we will reap a harvest

 if we do not give up.” Galatians 6: 9

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is discipling and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Jackie's Journey "Images from the Past"

An image of my nearest Pucuro neighbors, Luis and Micheala Tovar

"When you experience tribal life, you get a glimpse of an authentic New Testament community.  There are no booming high-tech worship bands, there are no coffee stations with donuts piled high and there are no folks sitting at round tables who only see each other once a week.

These tribal folks are born into this community, rarely venture outside the area,they grow old and pass away in the same community. This way of life is difficult and there are more lows than highs and yet, leaning on each other, they walk this difficult path together”. Our friend and fellow missionary, Macon Hare, shared these words this past week and it brought to mind a flood of memories from a huge part of my past.

When faced with leaving our village, because of my failing health, I realized that after living with the Kunas for years, I would possibly never see these dear people in this life-time.  However, I have permanent images captured in my memory and my heart. I remain hopeful that one day I will see these folks again, and that we will be worshipping together at the feet of Jesus.

Thank you, Macon, for the reminder of the “brown gold” still tucked away in the hidden places of the earth that remain untouched, waiting for the message committed to us 2,000 years ago!

“And He committed to us the message of reconciliation.  We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us.  We implore you on Christ’s behalf:

Be reconciled to God.  God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God”.   II Corinthians 5: 20-21

       "Kuna Congreso"...a village church service