Jackie's Journey "Crawling Babies and Hiding Snakes!"

I have never been a fan of reptiles!

 Panama is the home to some of the biggest and most frightening snakes on the planet.  Our corner of the dense Darien jungle was full of boa constrictors, pit vipers, fer-de-lance (this snake bears 60 live babies at a time!), etc.  We were cautious not to poke under rocks or fallen branches, always scanning for any slithering menaces.  Behind our house there was a massive tree that extended its immense roots out into the river shoreline where the girls and I bathed and swam.  The thick mangrove swamp harbored snakes that would lie in the hollow places of the trunk of that tree.  

More than once I cried out Psalm 16:1

 “Keep me safe, Oh Lord, for in you I take refuge.”

 Fear is no stranger to me.  I am habitually challenged to walk through the door of fear.   I was told during Missionary boot camp that courage was not the absence of fear, but the conquest of it.  Years ago, while reading “Hind’s Feet in High Places” I had no difficulty in identifying with “Little Much Afraid”!  

 “The highway of fear is the shortest route to defeat”.  William L. Brownell

 Ralph had built a screened-in back porch to the house.  It became home for our gasoline-run wringer washing machine.  The Indians thought the machine was the most ridiculous apparatus they had ever seen!  It was noisy, the water had to be carried from the river (or in rainy season, we could utilize the convenience of the roof rain barrels).   The agitator was a mystery (why would you jerk clothes around in dirty cold water when the river is running and clear!) however; the wringer was another story…it worked really well.  Hand wrung clothes could not match that wringer!  I had to agree with them on all other accounts!  While I washed, Kim would play on a blanket or crawl around the porch.  The floor was slightly elevated, lined with wooden planks roughly cut and loosely fit together.  It was not quite finished and as I gave attention to the wringer, I saw Kim crawling toward something moving under the slats.  I turned off the deafening machine, snatched Kim up into my arms and yelled for Ralph!  Right under our feet, only a few inches away, was a 5’ venomous snake! He had quite possibly been a houseguest for “who knows how long” before we noticed him! Let me repeat…I am not a fan and I intensely dislike reptiles! 

 Arturo, our nearest neighbor had heard me scream and came running, He quickly surveyed our predicament, raised his machete and removed the head of that reptile with one swift blow.  He held it up like a prized Marlin…its length was above his head and its tail draped to the muddy ground! 

 This story could have had a much different ending, were it not for our Sovereign God, His plan and the life-lessons He was busy teaching me!  School is always in session if we have eyes to see it. The need to grow and mature will never end on this side of eternity. Fear has been my biggest challenge.  I am to fear the consequence of sin, not snakes.  Easy concept until put to the test!

 “Be strong and of a good courage, Fear not, nor be afraid of them (in this case…snakes); for the Lord your God, He it is that does go with me;  He will not fail me nor forsake me.”  

Deuteronomy 31: 16

 “I sought the Lord and He heard me and delivered me from all my fears.” 

Psalm 34:4  

 What do you fear?

~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 mentoring 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 "Thorns and Thistles!"

“By His wounds we are healed”.  Isa. 53

 This Friday is Good Friday!  The cross is the center of our commemorating the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  His selfless and sinless sacrifice in our place is our reason to celebrate and praise His Name.  We call the holiday Easter and for a moment in time we stop and rehearse His ultimate sacrifice…His life for ours on that thorny and thistled “old rugged cross”.  Not only did he die for us but also on the third day He rose from the dead and gave us the promise of a resurrected life after death!  

 This deliberate and divine act of love was to give our lives promise, plan and purpose.  We are destined and programmed to serve others first, not ourselves.   In our Easter release to the Princess Parable Series, “A Royal Easter Story”, we have introduced our five young knights who present a challenge that draws our young princesses into a chariot race that reveals the truth of what the cross teaches.  

 Do you live a life selflessly and sacrificially serving others?

  We cannot be consumed with a life that seeks its own and find life abundantly.  It is impossibility.  Local churches open their doors on Good Friday to give us the opportunity to take a personal account of our commitment to our first love and renew our loyalty to live as Jesus challenges us to live…Holy!  We are reminded to live serving others, as He did, with eternal values and purpose in view.

 As moms, we are dedicated to living and then, teaching the character of Christ into our little princes and princesses.  We focus on drawing their attention to the importance of serving, helping and caring for others.  That is why we find ourselves saying, “Can you comfort your little brother” or “Will you help mommy?”  Teaching by example, without excuse, is the most powerful tool in our toolbox!  We are “known and read” by these little eyes and ears.  They know if the cross is real in us, or not.  We don’t fool them, but we do confuse them when our life message does not speak the reality of Christ in us!

Are your little ones confused?

“Then said Jesus to his disciples, IF any man will come after me,

 let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”

Matt. 16: 24

 The cross holds the hope of humanity.  Denying self-life (our pride and selfishness in all its ugly forms)…and taking up His cross (His desires and His perfect Will for us)…  authenticates His life in us.  Living life consistently with no unconfessed sin and nothing between another person and myself enables us to follow Him.  “His crucifixion is the key; His resurrection the door…it is only by His death that we have the mandate to enter into the gates of eternal life.  His door is open always.  Christ is King.”  Isrealmore Ayivor

  “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless, I live; 

yet not I, but Christ lives in me: 

and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, 

who loved me, and gave himself for me?” 

Galatians  2: 20

“There are no crown-bearers in heaven who were not cross-bearers here below.”

Charles H. Spurgeon

~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 mentoring 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 "Lock-Down... Again!"

Lest it be forgotten…not a chance in my life-time…I started noting on paper a few of the lessons I’m learning.  I don’t know about you, but “lockdown” was a very profitable journey of slowing my pace and listening more fervently.  I have had the opportunity to read a few books that I have wanted to pull off the shelf for years!  Time seems to turn to liquid when I am not scheduled by the hour by the day.  I do miss the personal contact with others, but He has pulled me under his wing and decided I would listen and learn better “locked-down”. 

 One lesson that I treasure has been understanding how important it is to declaring God’s Word.  Speaking in agreement with God’s will prompts our renewal “thinking” process so we can think more like God thinks.  This will cause us to talk more like God talks. Then talking like God talks will produce our walking like God walks…without fear, without anxiety, in peace and victory, instead of defeat.

 The week before last Easter a good friend from Nebraska (Connie Weinman) shared a precious thought with me regarding the choice Christ made to go to the cross.  She said, “He would rather go to hell for me than go to heaven without me”!  As we look to Good Friday next week and the privilege, we have to set aside time to rehearse all that He is and did on our behalf and accomplished by His sacrifice, we can exercise the mystery of faith, which is a pure conscience and receive the grace to walk with Him in gratefulness and harmony. 

 Paraphrased…”It shall come to pass, IF you hear it intelligently, be obedient to, declare wholly, completely, far, fast, louder and louder what God has said, to observe and to do all His commandments, THEN all these blessings will come upon you and overtake you”.(Deut. 28: 1-6)

 Let’s think, talk and walk reflecting glory back to God this week…

~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 mentoring 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 "Untold Future!"

Life had become routine in the Darien jungles of Panama. The sounds of Howler monkeys, the screeching of magnificent multicolored parrots and the beauty of the bright colored Toucan had become commonplace.  One morning we woke up to find two little spider monkeys on the front porch crawling on the girl’s bikes! 

I still could not reconcile with: the colossal spiders, the over-sized scorpions, the copious species of snakes, the blood-sucking vampire bats or the jungle army ants!  Nor would I ever find harmony with the dripping humidity and the ever-present roaches, chiggers and mosquitos!  However, I did learn to appreciate the large Iguanas for their tasty eggs.

 Daily, the Kuna’s would greet us, early, looking for sugar or oil and a morning visit.  We had become part of the community and they had begun to accept us.  We had brought healing medicine, oil, and sugar after all! 

 The Indians had, somewhere along the line, become part of our family and we had become attached to them and their way of life.  We had learned so much from them and were amazed at their physical strength compared to their small stature.  Their ability to take one bullet and return with a deer or two bullets and return with two deer was uncanny.  We, also, learned much from their survival skills in the dense jungle.  But their openness to listen to the truth of God’s Word after a year and a half of total mistrust and resistance was the most astounding of all!  

 Watching the young mothers with their babies and the respect and trust these women had for the older women in the village was heart-warming.  We had grown to love these very special people and had developed a mutually fulfilling relationship.  As they came to know Christ, our hearts were full of gratitude for the privilege of serving the King in such a rugged border region.

 The women swept the village once a week during dry season and it was an opportunity for Sue Gunsteens, my partner, and I to listen to the women chatter and hear the community gossip.  You didn’t want to miss the sweeping because you would then become the object of their conversation that day!   

However, I was consistently on guard because of something my Uncle, an orthopedic surgeon, had told me while he was visiting us at Language School.  He spoke quietly: “Jackie, you carry the TB germ from birth; it lays dormant now but could activate in the right environment or as you get older”.  I was 25 at the time, so I only had to focus on the environmental issue, I thought to myself!  Then, a year or so later, during a “Congreso” meeting, we knew we had reached a level of tribal acceptance when they offered us a gourd filled with “Chicha” and everyone drank from that one rustic cup!  Needless to say, I did not want to offend by NOT drinking from it!  

 But for me the sweeping and the common drinking gourd became an act of faith because the sweeping stirred up the tuberculosis germs and of course, the tubercular women would contaminate that cup! 

 The Lord had given me a promise while we were in missionary training.

 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord,

plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and future”.   Jer.29: 11

 The Lord used these powerful words of promise to banish my fear and sustain me as we swept the village, drank the “sugar-cane-sweetened platano (cooking banana) drink” and treated the TB patients in their homes and the clinic.  

 He knew my future and had it planned. There was, therefore, no reason to be troubled.  My focus was not on my fear but the need to keep in harmony with Him, His assignment and His will.

 Are you ever preoccupied with the future 

and what it holds for your life?

 In a world full of uncertainties, it is easy to “roll into” the pattern of helping God design your future, rather than simply submitting to Him and His plan that comes with assurance and hope!

~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 mentoring 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 Am Woman!"

Do you know how you were designed?

Ah, yes…woman…programmed and empowered with destiny and purpose!

What did God have in mind in I Peter 3: 7, when He wrote

“Husbands live with your wives in an understanding way…

as with SOMEONE WEAKER, SINCE SHE IS A WOMAN”!

I have no doubt, at this point, I have your full attention…

 We know that marriage is the proving ground for development of our loyalty to God. 

I Cor. 7:11   Understanding His purpose frees us to live within our God-given design and to fulfill the beauty of His intention.

God’s design for Women is to use sensitivity and the truest sense of loyalty to her husband:

  (1) To equip and give her tools to fulfill her role on earth, as a giver, not a taker!

(2)   To give her direction and purpose in her life

(3) To give her a sense of success and an opportunity to reflect glory back to God

(4) To know fulfillment in her calling and service

(5) To sense acceptance and appreciation for her distinction from man and to man. 

(6)   To allow her to be the completer and helpmate to her husband 

 Satan’s evil design for Women is to use sensitivity, and disloyalty to cause in man:

(1)   Suspicion in place of trust

(2)   Competition in place of unity and oneness

(3)   Insecurity in place of giving refuge and comfort

(4)   Self-protection in place of exercising protectiveness

(5)   Pride of self (man’s ideas and concepts are the same as God’s!) instead of servanthood

(6)   Defensiveness and blaming wife in place of brokenness and genuine love.

 Our Goal is to fulfill God’s design:  To learn to use Satan for God’s Glory

 Interested? 

 HOW DO WE DO THIS?

 The purpose and goal being to continually reflect glory back to God by using Satan and his co-horts and their evil, divisive thought patterns, as “springboards”, to remind us to step outside our little world of self-sensitiveness and offenses and pick a needy unsaved person to pray for. 

 In doing this, we reflect glory back to God, as we pour out our heart for a lost person and resist our self-life!  Of course, Satan runs when he realizes God’s power to answer that prayer! The more we are reminded to pray by our needless and petty offenses…the more God is glorified and our loyalty to Him is developed.  It’s a win…win.

 Our attitudes must reflect HIS grace in life’s situations

and not reflect our self-love…Psa. 119: 1-6

We make the choice…

 OK…how are we using our God-given sensitivity… for others, not ourselves? 

Who are you loyal to?

~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 mentoring 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 "Do You Hear Voices?"

We, women, are drowning with voices in this day of social media. There is continual distraction from real life and the suffocating perplexities that we are forced to face daily.  The continual changing and re-defining the rules of engagement in this swirling complex current life is enough to demand a shut off of all voices!  

 “Therefore, (in the light of our frustration!) we ought to give more earnest heed to the things which we have heard from God, lest at any time we should let them slip.” (Heb. 2: 1)  My husband always asks unsuspecting groups, “How many of you talk to the devil? The answer, of course, is that we all do! Discerning which voice we are hearing and responding to has to be an imperative recurring consideration.

 Hearing the still, quiet voice of God (my husband calls them “thought bombs”) should be our daily experience because this is the preparation needed to be alert and attentive in the midst of life’s situations. “…failing to prepare is to prepare to fail.” One of the most important aspects of womanhood is learning to hear and respond to that still, quiet voice in instant obedience and teaching our children to do the same!  

 There are three intercommunications that we hear.  The first is the human level which is our conscience (which can be trained and untrained, can’t it?). When God walks into our life, we become re-educated in line with Biblical truths and begin to form new convictions. The second is the demonic level (comes in temptation which we have to argue with to defend our position).  This voice purposes to destroy the moral value system that God has written on our hearts, and keeps us from becoming what God has pre-determined for us. The third, and most important, is the Holy Spirit’s communication to us. He never violates His word or our conscience; He tells us what to do, when to do it, and with whom it is to be done; He rewards us with joy and a sense of peace.

Whose voice do you hear?

 Can you discern those voices?

Be alert and take earnest heed to the one voice 

that will never steer you wrong!?

~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 mentoring 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 "Who Rocks the Cradle!"

Where have all the real mothers gone? Dr. Brenda Hunter wrote, “It’s difficult to be a mother today. At every turn, we are3 told how to exercise, diet, dress-for success, find fulfillment in a career, and share tasks equally with our husbands. Additio0nally, we are encouraged to rear good children on minimal time! The ideal mother by today’s standards is one “who can do it all. As family demands and responsibilities are changing, it is becoming increasingly more difficult for mother’s to keep proper balance between what is priority and what is not!

Are we convinced that she who rocks the cradle, rules the world?” Mothers are “the first book read and the blast book set aside in every child’s library.” There is no more influential or powerful role on earth than a mother. As significant as political, military, educational or religious public figures may be…none can compare to the impact made by mothers on their children. “Their words are never fully forgotten. Their touch leaves an indelible impression. The memory of their presence lasts a lifetime.”

I ask you…who else is anywhere near that influential?

How do we become this kind of godly mother?

“We have been given everything we ne3ed to live a godly life…” (2 Pet. 1: 3) Godly mothers walk in truth. They are attentive to their walk and keep short accounts. They practice His presence by yielding to His voice,n leading and control. They are not an excuse for other mothers, but an example. They do not claim personal “rights” or live in expectations. How do I know if I am claiming a right God never intended me to have? My anger ratio!

Albert Schweitzer said, “An example is not the main thing in influencing others, it is the ONLY thing! We teach what we know, but we reproduce what we are. We should never underestimate the power of our influence…both for good and evil! Let’s purpose to do two things: Create in your prince or princess, the assurance that you yourself are what you want them to become and practice daily the same unselfish love and righteousness you ask of them.

The Goal: God’s life unhindered, through your life and mine.

Have a great week, Mom…loving those He has untrusted to you.

~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 mentoring 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 "Where is Your Heart Today?"

Today is Valentine’s Day!

Women all over America look forward to this day

that is set aside to receive and to share 

our devotion by gift-giving and celebratio0n.

 A child is the most undeniable magical gift given to us…and “to him who is given much, much is required”. This verse from Luke 12 is a call to action and we, women, are being given the unending challenge of our lives!

 My first child, Christina, was born during our missionary training in Boot Camp. I sat on an imaginary precipice with a volume of great practical and biblical preparation and instruction, facing a world of unknowns and in my arms…the unbelievable responsibility of a new, beautiful, precious child that was pure magic…

 That tiny loving and compliant daughter brought such joy into my life.  I was sure my heart would burst!  She also brought a fear of failure, because I know me…the real me…and I knew I could not do this job right.  God gave me a wonderful promise verse during this time that I claimed for my own.  “Faithful is He who called me, who will also do it (ifI get out of His way!).”

 Over the years, I have drawn strength from God’s promise in that verse and I have journaled these truths… both my failures and God’s faithfulness.  The only part of us that goes on and carries us into the future when we are gone is found in our heritage.  They “will pass the baton” of our beliefs, our character, our philosophies, our ideologies, etc., into the next generations.

 Motherhood is the most significant investment we will make in our lifetime!

 “Without a vision, the people perish.”  What is your vision for your child?  Do you believe that God laid out a plan for your child’s life, taking into consideration his personality, engiftment, talents and abilities?  Are you convinced that God knows best?  

 What goals and priorities have you set in order to see that vision fulfilled?  Does your husband share that vision? “We have been created in Christ Jesus for a life of good works that HE has already prepared for us to do.” Can you hear the intention and resolve in that verse?

 Each child God has entrusted to us has a personal destiny and designed purpose.

 What is your commitment?

 Our investment today will determine the fulfillment of tomorrow.

“…to whom much is given, much is required.” (Luke 12)

 Have a great week!

~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 mentoring 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 "Plans Made...Plans Shattered!"

Ever have your plans disrupted and all your expectations blown to smithereens?  I don’t know about you, but when someone says… “Life is but a Vapor”, I get a bit antsy.  Since the New Year is looking at time and re-accessing how to use it best for another year…I don’t want to hear…” life is just “a puff of smoke”! 

I’m busy lining up my plans, my priorities and my important, meaningful goals! I can remember my 101-year-old mother, sitting on the side of the bed saying, “How did I get here…it’s impossible…it went so fast!”

“Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.  Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.  What is your life?  You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.’” (James 4: 13-17)

 Why did God call life a “vapor”? Does that mean I should not be making my own plans? Just relax and go with the proverbial “whatever will be, will be”!  What should be my attitude regarding my plans?  If I ask God’s blessing on MYplans, MY ways and MY will, I could be called a “practical atheist”!

Job lost his whole family. He loved them dearly. He sacrificed for them (to cover for any sin that they may have committed. (1:1-21).  Job’s reply to God when all was lost: "The Lord gives and takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord.  Job had other plans for his life and his family, I am sure, yet he responded with and lived in gratefulness.

 Joseph was his father's heart. He was sold into slavery, then placed in jail on false pretenses for 13-17 years. Then he was placed second in command to the King in Egypt.  There are no records of his complaining…ever!  Joseph’s plans were altered when his brothers’ jealousy sold him into slavery, yet he lived content with God’s plan in gratefulness. (Gen 37-50)

 Ruth was married and loved her husband and extended family. She lost all of them accept Naomi, her mother-in-law.  They were left in utter poverty.  With plans other than she envisioned and a grateful heart, Ruth became the great-grandmother of Jesus Christ. (Ruth 1-4)

OUR carnal planning, asking God to bless OUR will, is presumption on God. 

 Plans made without a real and genuine "Lord-willing".

 Peter’s plan was clear when he swore his unyielding faithfulness to the Lord Jesus.  Then denied knowing Him three times! We need to take note…have we denied Him in our silence?

Our calling is to live for HIS pleasure in HIS Plan in HIS will…not our own!

 King David’s plan ordered his general to get a count of the army.  His general said, “No”, but did it.  That self-reliant plan cost the lives of 70,000 people in three days.   David’s plan failed because he had HIS plan apart from God’s will.  C. S. Lewis wrote, “There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, “All right, then, have it your way!’”

Life is just a Vapor…

What is done in HIS plan, HIS will and HIS purpose has eternal value. 

 Any plan apart from harmony with HIS will …will burn as wood, hay and stubble!

~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 mentoring 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? ...Why Not?"

“Worry is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. 

 If encouraged, it cuts a channel 

into which all other thoughts are drained.” Arthur Somers Roche

I’m a mom and when someone says, “Don’t worry”, I instantly balk!  I know worry is sin.  I know God is in control of all the current chaos.  The command in this portion of Scripture is “do not worry” about life, our future (current chaos included!), food, our bodies, or clothing.  God feeds all the birds in the air and the animals in the world. (Luke 12:22-31) His question to us is, “how much more valuable are people, believers, than the birds?”  

 For us women worry has a purpose that gives it value!  Do you know what it is?   Worry is purposed to place needs on our hearts to be converted into prayer.  We are to cast our cares or worries on Him who can do something about it.  The question is, then, “why do we worry?”  Why do we feel we have an ounce of control? Being responsible is not the issue here.  Being negligent in our relationship to Him is.  Our only real concern should be how we are linked to God in this existing growth process.  Is He really first in my life?  Is my primary concern in life pleasing Him?  Am I a light to those in darkness?  Do I prepare daily for the task or desires that He places on my heart?

 “…Oh you of little faith.”  

God is asking us…why we doubt Him?

 What has He done that is not believable?  “Do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink: do not worry about it.”(Lu. 12:28,29)   Why Not?  That is not our goal.  Lost people worry about such things because they are their own and only hope.

 What is the promise?

 “Seek the King and His kingdom, and all these things will be given to you”. (Luke 12:31)

 Place your future (regardless of present circumstances), wealth, talents, time and pleasure in His hands, so He can convert it into souls.  Aim for treasures that will last forever. (Lu.12:32-34)

 All the above is to prepare our lives for service to the King and to be at His service for the benefit of others.  The exchanged life is our hearts and lives alert to His commands, while He is concerned about our needs…future (regardless of chaos all around), food, clothing, housing, health, family, education relationships etc.  (Lu.12:35-38)   He will return to get His people… when? (Lu. 12: 40)

Will we be ready?

 In verses Luke 12:45-46, God finds the unfaithful doing his own thing.  His life is a fraud.  Hell is his final destination.  He enjoyed his sin for a season and had his time of pleasure. (Luke 12:45-46)  We are held accountable for our relationship to Him and how we have spent our lives. 

 “Worry is Prayer Inside-Out…” Ralph Johnson

~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 mentoring 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.