Jackie's Journey "Personal Preparation!"

While living in the Panamanian jungle I clung to a promise in II Peter that encouraged me to keep on regardless of my sense of failure.  It says, “His power has given me everything I need for life and godliness through my knowledge of Him who called me.”  Running the medical clinic, delivering babies at night, learning to clean and cook strange rodents, fish and meat, washing in the river, dozens of diapers and no dryer, learning a new language, meeting the needs of my husband and two little girls and acclimating to 90-degree heat with 99% humidity, etc., I found my level of spirituality severely challenged.  Exhausted daily I found the verses in II Peter to be a fresh breath of air on my dripping, overheated soul and with it came a promise I intended to claim!

 I wanted to implement that promise He gave.  The provision was there to lead a godly life!  I needed to tap into “His power” and as I kept reading, I realized His very great and precious promises were attached to verse 5.  They were given with clear and present instruction IF I was to participate in His divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires…like giving in to my anger, impatience, frustration, and believing the lies regarding my inability to accomplish the task He had called me to. 

 “For this very reason, I had to make every effort to add to my faith, goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.  For if I possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep me from being ineffective and unproductive in the knowledge of my Lord Jesus Christ.” 11 Pet. 1: 5-9 (Personalized)

Always looking for a functional definition to put the “rubber on the road”, I found these marks of Virtue:

   “Virtue is the moral excellence and purity of spirit that radiate from my life as I obey God’s Word”.  II Peter 1: 5   It is learning to build personal moral standards that will cause others to desire a godlier life.  It is reproducing Christ’s character in my life first and then in others.

  Virtue is the fruit of grace as we are given light.  There is no excuse not to exemplify God’s character in my life.  I am to be an example, not an excuse!

Virtue is the Godly influence my life has on others regardless of past failures.

 The opposite of virtue is hypocrisy.

·      Hypocrisy is the practice of a person who is willfully living in conflict with their soul (their mind, will, emotions)”.

 Virtue is not made in crisis; it is only exhibited.  Crisis reflects our virtue.

Proverbs 24:10 says that we demonstrate what we really are spiritually in time of adversity, not when things are going smoothly!

 I was teaching a group of college girls in our home and one of the girls asked my daughter if she considered me to be a virtuous woman.  She hesitated…way to long, and I became acutely aware of my need to take another look at the qualities that comprise the virtuous woman in Scripture!

 Do I consider myself a woman of virtue…of Godly character?

 DO 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 "Broken...What!?"

Throughout the Word, we see God doing mighty works through ordinary people.  Imperfect people…weak individuals…slow to action…reticent to respond initially, because there is always someone more qualified, eloquent or skilled than you or me.  Then, too, there is always the battle to walk through that door of fear that often stymies us.

 While on the mission field, Sue Gunsteens (pictured below) and I ran a medical clinic.  Sue was qualified and skilled and did the job well.  On the other hand, I was just a simple “bush nurse” with basic training and understanding of the human body.  Yet, on every occasion that Jay and Sue and their family were NOT in the village, there would be some catastrophic event that I was called upon to “fill in”.

For example, the 8-year-old girl that fell out of the mango tree and the entire village came screaming through my front door holding her arm with the sharp bone protruding through the skin!!  In my panic, I could hear my husband, Ralph, saying behind me, “God could use a stick, Jackie, but He’s chosen you!” Taking a quick glance, I realized no X-rays were needed to see if it was broken!  And in the jungle, of course, none was available! 

 Setting that arm and casting it was excruciating for both this little girl and myself!  Stepping up to the plate …because there was no one else, and I guessed that I was one step up from no help at all…I proceeded to cry out to God, first, with all my inadequacies… and then, through my fear, took the arm in my hand and pulled it quickly toward me to set the broken bone.  To my amazement the bone snapped right back into place!  That was God!  The astonishment could be read on both of our faces!  Together that little girl and I, repaired the damage and fashioned a cast that would keep that arm immobile for it to heal.

 Years ago, I was given a list of simple people called to do extraordinary things.  It was sent my way to encourage me to “keep on keeping on”.   Consider these:

 Moses stuttered!

Jacob was a liar.

Noah got drunk.

Abraham was too old.

David had an affair.

David was too young.

Solomon was too rich.

Jonah ran from God.

Sampson had long hair.

Elijah was burned out.

Naomi was a widow.

Esther was a hiding Jew.

Gideon and Thomas doubted.

Moses, Peter and Paul had short-tempers.

Lazarus was dead!

Peter was fearful of death.

John Mark was rejected by Paul.

 Because God is God, He does not need to rely on you or me.  Actually, we have nothing to offer God!  His power made perfect in our yieldedness to Him is all we have. I was reading the book of II Corinthians this morning.  In Chapter 12, I read, “My grace is sufficient for you, Jackie, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  I certainly qualify! 

 SOOO, then, “I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power can rest on me.  That is why for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.  For when I am weak, then I am strong”!

 Are you encouraged? I am…

~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 "Harried and Hectic Holidays!"

Did you enjoy your Thanksgiving week-end?

 These are busy days, are they not?  Friends and family gathered recently for Thanksgiving  and Christmas is just around the corner, lapping at our heels!  Preparation time, decorating, planning… is all-consuming and there is a thief that is also busy and focuses on robbing us of the best.

 Time in the Word can be lost to the immediate demands of responsibility and the whirlwind of activity around us. Finding a “War Room” where we can read and pray, uninterrupted, is imperative to maintaining our walk.  Little things can begin to bother us and when people “bump” us, we react selfishly.

 Sound familiar?

 One day away from the Word and I am aware of my desperate need and its crucial impact in my life.  Two days of skipping a time of allowing the Word to dwell richly in me and my husband, girls and grandkids are intensely mindful of my desperate need!

 The test:

What is my response when:

·      I am evil spoken of

·      My loyalty has been betrayed

·      My will is crossed

·      I am forgotten or neglected

·      My friends forsake me

·      I find compromise more inviting than maintaining claimed convictions

 My reaction reveals the REAL me:

  Am I a virtuous woman or a woman of hypocrisy?

                   (Hypocrisy is the practice of a person who is willfully living

                      in conflict with their soul (their mind, will, emotions).

 Which are you?

 We choose...

~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 "Thanksgiving is this Week!!"

“Think about the events of your day  today or maybe yesterday.  Consider all the disruptions, disappointments, delays, delights,  diversions, dangers, and more.  No doubt you were thankful for some events and not so thankful for others.  What may surprise you is that  the Bible says you should have been thankful for all those events.

 To be more accurate, Scripture says to be thankful IN everything, not FOR everything!  That means to be thankful IN the midst of a circumstance,  whether pleasant or unpleasant, not necessarily FOR the experience itself.

 God doesn’t expect us to be thankful for an illness, a car accident, or losing a job, BUT it is ‘the will of God in Christ Jesus for you’ to be thankful in the midst of those circumstances.”  (David Jerimiah)  REJOICE ALWAYS, pray continually, give thanks in ALL CIRCUMSTANCES…” I Thessalonians 5: 18. We have been a most favored people.  “We ought to be a most grateful people.  We have been a most blessed people.  We ought to be a most thankful people.”  (This was the Thanksgiving Proclamation of Calvin Coolidge).

 Are these same thoughts not ours today?

~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 "Looking for Answers??"

We are in crisis on every level!  We face unknowns and turmoil of every kind imaginable.  Our homes, families, culture, cities, states, and country are in a state of total confusion and chaos. Our streets are unsafe. Our children are unprotected.  Everyone has a solution and nothing gets better.  We are imbalanced and leaning over a cliff with no return…unless, we look to the “Author and Finisher” for help!

 “The widely accepted concept that we can choose to accept Christ only because we need Him as Savior and that we have the right to postpone our obedience to Him as  Lord, as long as we want to…is  heresy!  The truth is that salvation apart from obedience is unknown in the sacred scriptures.  To urge men and women to believe in a divided Christ is bad teaching. 

 How can we teach  that we can be saved without any thought of obedience to our Sovereign Lord?  It is wrong to look upon Jesus as a divine nurse to whom we can go when sin has made us sick, and after he has helped us, to say good-bye and go our own way. 

Christ will either be Lord of all or He will not be Lord at all!!

  In our time we have overemphasized the psychology of the sinner’s condition.  We  spend  much time describing the woe  of the sinner, the grief of the sinner, and the great burden he carries.  He does have all those, but we forget the principal fact-that the sinner is a rebel against properly constituted authority.   That is what makes sin…sin.  We are rebels, or an independent spirit disloyal to all precepts of a Sovereign God.  The root of sin is rebellion against God…the Lord will not save those whom He cannot command.

 Do we really think that we do not owe Jesus Christ our obedience?  We have owed Him our obedience since the moment we cried out to Him for salvation, and if we do not give Him that obedience, I have reason to wonder if we are really converted.” A. W. Tozer “Why do you call me Lord and not do as I say”. Luke 6:46

 What’s the plan?”

 There is only one place to find answers…

Are we really looking for answers or an excuse?

“It is sin not to pursue Him with all our heart!” II Cor. 12:14

~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 "Truth Don't Lie!"

Truth is a universal topic.  Today, we hear much about each person having “his own truth”.  There is an ideological warfare confronting us, as we face the issues of knowing truth and speaking truth in our day.  Truth has been confused with lies camouflaged in opinions.

 Lions don’t lie! They clearly speak their intentions with their ears, the posture of their tails, the shape of their mouth, the sounds of their roars. Their very presence is intimidating.  There is no doubt what their next move will be.  Lions clearly reveal their objectives. Truth of his target and goal is not hidden or disguised.  This massive predator is coming after me, if given a chance!

 “ Does a lion roar  in  the thicket when it has no prey?

Does it growl in its den when it has caught nothing?”

Amos, the  prophet who carried the burden on God’s heart

and the plight of God’s people states these words

in the first Chapter, verse 2 …”The Lord roars…Amos 3:4

 Telling  a lie is like pounding a nail in the wall of one’s character.  Telling the truth removes the nail, but leaves the mark.  No man ever puts a stumbling-block in the way of others by telling the truth”. Oswald Chambers  Truth is the foundation upon which anything that stands is built.

 We find unchanging truth as we acquaint ourselves with the mind and heart of God in His Word. For example:  “ If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”! Jn. 1:8 or “The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” Or Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” Jn. 14:6   In the continuing conflict between good and evil, truth is the weapon that wins the war.

 One of my husband’s favorite verses is John 8:44 which says, “He(Satan) was a murderer from the beginning and not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him.  When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” In case I was negligent in telling you where lies come from, John 8: 44 very clearly states the truth.

 Do  you exaggerate when talking to others?

Do you lie or tell only part of the truth to escape the consequence of your actions?

Do you misrepresent the Lord with inconsistent or negative attitudes?

Do you give damaging reports of others?

We lie in many culturally “acceptable” ways.

Let’s take a stand against dishonesty and deception on every level this week…

Only truth sets us free.

~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's Under the Hood?"

The deer mouse demonstrates contentment in its ability to make its home almost anywhere, making itself comfortable with whatever is available. We know this firsthand, as one rainy winter, they decided to make their nest under the hood of my car!  Hungry little creatures that they are, they proceeded to eat through my cable lines and brought my transportation to an abrupt “out of commission”!  He must have traveled miles with me over the course of a few months while he ate what was available, while resting in his warm nest! 

 Oh, I forgot to mention…at the same time,

his friends did the same thing under the hood of my husband’s car!

 The alternative to contentment is boredom.  This little mouse and his little family were content because they weren’t under a bush in the rain, but cozy, dry and had plenty of cable lines and food I set out for more domestic animals to eat!  They maximized what was available to them.  They felt welcome because all summer I kept the bird feeders full of food and planters with vegetables ready for all of them. “They no doubt invited the whole community for a feast” my husband would say.  I was content watching the birds, squirrels, rabbits and racoons come to entertain me every morning while I drank my coffee.

 Little did I know they were moving in!   Not just a morning visit, but sly interlopers.  I learned that as content as they were, I was a little dismayed!  Contentment is understanding God has provided everything I need for my PRESENT happiness. Why was I complaining…I brought this on myself!  Contentment is contrary to human nature and must be learned.

 Adam and Eve had the perfect environment and they were not content in it.    They had perfect health, a perfect marriage, a perfect garden, and walked in that garden with God, yet they soon believed the lie that God had not provided everything they needed to be content!  What hope is there for me?

 “Not that I speak in respect of want; for I have learned,

in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content”

Philippians 4:11

 God’s purpose was to teach me to distinguish between my needs and wants and to lean in on Him. Contentment is a decision we make as He uses these interruptions to  remind us to focus and recognize our daily need for Him regardless of our circumstances. Hence, the “cozy car destroyers” are  not my irritation… but my best friends!

~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 "Life's Relentless Shifting!"

From the look of my neighbor’s yards, my front doors, our Malls and craft stores, the holiday season is in full swing!  Fall is one of my favorite times of year and this one is going to be distinctive with a lot of changes and variables.  We live in a world in which the only constant factor is change…

 “Have you ever thought about change and the collapse of time?  From the days of the Lord Jesus Christ until about 1830, man could not travel any faster than a horse.  In 1960 a man went into outer space and traveled at a speed of 18,000 miles per hour.  Look how far we have come in so short a time(and even more so, the changing world to date)!  Sometimes when I read the papers (or open social media), I think we are trying to run the Space Age (or this day and age)with horse-and-buggy moral and spiritual equipment.

 Technology, you see, has no morals, and with no moral compass man will destroy himself ecologically, militarily, spiritually, or in some other way.  Only God can give a person moral restraints and spiritual strength.  While our world is shaking and crumbling, we need to realize one thing will never change… and that is God. He is the same today as He was ten million years ago, and He will be the same ten million years from today.  We are like grasshoppers; we appear and hop around a bit on earth and then we are gone.” Billy Graham

 The truth is…when we are through changing, we are through!  Bernard Baruch said  “During my eighty-seven years, I have witnessed a whole succession of technological revolutions.  But none of them has done away with the need for character in the individual or ability to think”.   SOOO, this holiday season, I choose to embrace change and welcome new adventures…new ways of doing things…but mostly, I choose a new appreciation of my God who never changes…

~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 Can Do It Myself!"

Shortly after daybreak, an arctic explorer stood at the base of an eight-thousand-foot mountain.  The temperature was thirty below zero.  He was about 600 miles from the North Pole, when suddenly, a strange feeling overcame him and he considered turning back.  His uneasiness was heightened  by the unusual pattern of tracks in the snow.  He quickly recognized that most of the prints belonged  to arctic wolves!

 As he continued up the mountain, the wolf prints disappeared. However, he still sensed an eerie presence.  Something was watching him. Pulling himself up to the next snowy rise, the man was stunned by a rush of fur that flashed by his face! Wolves??  Polar Bear??

To his amazement it was a Musk Oxen.  The shaggy animals swiftly formed a circle, standing shoulder to shoulder, horns lowered and their young calves tucked inside the wall of protection.

 The ravaging wolves had no recourse but to retreat.  There was power in numbers.  Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted another wolf that was now coming right for…him!  Only five feet away stood the huge wolf pack!  The wolves were no match for the combined protection that the musk oxen gave each other.   BUT the wolves were fearless against one man who tried to make it on his own…(condensed Bill Gothard material)

 Do you know anyone who says, “I can do it myself?”  I think there is a little of that independent spirit in all of us.  We forget the danger of trying to make it on our own. Most of us are convinced we have it covered…no help needed in our decision-making process. The savage wolves in life are just waiting to pounce…they come in different forms, but the end result is all the same.  There is self-rejection, rebellion, guilt, bitterness, anger,  purposelessness, habits and addictions, peer dependence, financial bondage….

 Understanding that the only safe place on this complex and confusing planet is to be wrapped inside the circle of the perfect will of God, walking in the light and truth of HIS Word.  This is our only hope. Facing the tomorrows independently of HIM is to invite the inevitable, like the arctic explorer.  None of us can do it alone…

 Which wolves are after your soul?

~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 "Busy Bees!"

Bees…bees…bees!  Buzzing busy bees!  These little creatures have taken over my house…again!  They burrow into a tiny entrance and come in a swarm once a year in the spring.  Tiny, over-active little furry insects with a hum that is continual and high pitched.

 They are efficient and they store, clean, repair, guard, nurse and scout for the Queen Bee!  She, by the way, lays 2,000 to 3,000 eggs a day!  Bees make a moaning sound that travels through the hive when threatened.  All the bees throb as though they were afflicted with fever which signals each bee to quicky adapt…even change role…in an effort to re-establish balance in the hive.

 Bees show us what loyalty is all about by their commitment to common goals and their amazingly accurate system of inter-communication for the benefit of the good for all.  If the bee rebels, the whole colony suffers and collapses.  This intriguing bug is the epitome of unity…the bonding  of individuals in a commitment of sacrificial support and defense. We could learn from the little bee!

 Loyalty is using difficult times to demonstrate our commitment to God and  those He has called us to serve. We are a Christian Colony. How loyal are you?  Do you ever doubt God’s sovereignty during trials or do you draw closer to Him? Are you double-minded or divisive?  Do you speak well of your authorities when in turmoil or do you murmur?  What’s your protective ratio?  Are you tempted to “throw others under the bus” to protect yourself?  The opposite of loyalty is infidelity.    

 God wants us to be reliable messengers for Him with common goals that glorify Him.  He wants us devoted to Him first, His Word, His commands, His people, His plan and His purpose. Like the Honeybee that rebels and the hive suffers and collapses, we have the same result if our loyalty is to the world and not a committed fellowship to God.  Do you know who you are loyal to? 

 We are facing difficult days ahead…are you ready?

~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.