Dr. Johnson's Devotionals 2011

[jeremiah7]

Stunned!

They told him, "Joseph is still alive! In fact, he is ruler of all Egypt." Jacob was stunned; he did not believe them. (Genesis 45:26)

The pistol shrimp is an amazing creature. It makes communication sounds by snapping it's claws. But it does something far more profitable using the same claws. It uses the claw as a weapon that can stun smaller shrimps by dealing a deadly blow. It cocks it's claw like a pistol and then fires at it's prey stunning it. As the claw snaps shut, it fires a burst of bubbles. As the bubbles collapse, they temporarily reach a very high temperature and the resultant shockwave stuns the prey and the pistol shrimp has a hearty meal.

Consider these two breaking news that Jacob heard from his sons:

They took the ornamented robe back to their father and said, "We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son's robe." He recognized it and said, "It is my son's robe! Some ferocious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces." (Genesis 37:32,33)

So they went up out of Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. They told him, "Joseph is still alive! In fact, he is ruler of all Egypt." Jacob was stunned; he did not believe them. (Genesis 45:25,26)

Jacob was stunned; first when his sons lied to him regarding Joseph's death and then when they told him the truth regarding Joseph being alive as ruler in Egypt. Imagine Jacob lamenting for 22 years even though his son Joseph was alive. Some people lie for their own profit or to hide their wrongdoings. We must be careful of them to avoid unwanted misery.

The Holy Spirit will guide us in all things..i.e. if we let him.

[jeremiah7]

Giving Thanks

He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people, and they did so. They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them. (Mark 8:6, 7)

I had a question for Jesus sometime back when my salary was delayed. I had been praying regularly regarding my salary and tithing and giving to the poor and needy. I had not withheld what I was to give others lawfully. Then why was my salary being delayed? Not once but every month for several months. And he answered me through the verses given above.

Giving thanks for what little was available was what Jesus did when he had to provide for more than 4000 people. And he did the same when he had to feed more than 5000.

The latter miracle is mentioned by all 4 gospel writers. Mark writes,

"Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all." (Mark 6:41)

Of course, we may give thanks when we get what we ask for, but God expects a heart full of gratitude when we have little too. The little that Jesus was given in his hands (7 loaves and a few fish) (5 loaves and 2 fish) were multiplied when Jesus gave thanks to the father in heaven. And the best part of the miracles were that.......

Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. (Mark 8:8)

They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. (Mark 6:42, 43).......The people ate and were satisfied.

Satisfaction & some left overs......May God be glorified.

[jeremiah7]

Protected by His blood!

For you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life. (Psalm 56:13)

Six of us doctors were travelling back to our homes after the evening shift at the clinic on September 19th 2011. It was around 9 pm and we were travelling at a casual speed. It was a clear night and I was sitting in the front with the driver looking at the scenes that passed by. Reaching a round-about, I could see that the road ahead was wet and as soon as the van went over that area, the vehicle started swerving to the left and right alternately like a drunk. It was then we realized that it was oil and not water that must have spilled from tanker or other vehicle. For a moment, we felt that we were all facing a major disaster or death itself, for the van would overturn or be hit by another vehicle. But after a while the vehicle steadied and we continued the rest of the journey without further problems.

I noted several things here. There were no vehicles ahead of us or to the left or right. There were a few vehicles behind us but not very close. In fact one of the drivers later came along at our right side and showed an action to our driver asking whether he was crazy. It was not the driver's fault though.

God ensured safety even though we had to go through a moment of uncertainity. I make it a point to regularly pray morning and evening and always before travelling for God to cover me and my family and whatever vehicle I am travelling in, by the blood of Jesus.

Jesus' blood is our protection. I praise God for that.

The Apostle Paul writes,

He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, (2 Corinthians 1:10)

Amen to that.

[jeremiah7]

Are we really grateful?

Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. (Psalm 105:1)

The Lord once spoke to me and said, "If you think if you are suffering, take a look at a few others."

My 2 year daughter was sick and he brought to me a mother with her child as a patient, who was far worse in bodily health than mine.

When I felt that my salary was inadequate, he pointed to me, a helper in the place that I worked, who had a very meagre earning and I realized I earned almost 22 times more than him.

I was not happy with my car breaking down now and then and he showed me people who walked to or travelled in packed buses to their workplace.

Sometimes we tend to consider trivial the blessings that the Lord gives us. The tendency is to look at what blessings we don't have rather than be grateful for how much more we have than many.

The Psalmist spoke to himself and said,

Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. (Psalm 103:1, 2)

One verse that the Lord has reminded me often in my troubles is from the book of Job. It says,

You will surely forget your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by. (Job 11:16)

We, as believers, must glorify and thank God for all his mercies, small and great. As the Psalmist says,

I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope, for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of your saints. (Psalm 52:9)

Being a faithful witness of his goodness in our lives is what God expects of us. We too must always say this one thing that the Psalmist said,

Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me. (Psalm 66:16)

[jeremiah7]

God's Favor

May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us - yes, establish the work of our hands. (Psalm 90:17)

Psalm 90 is titled as "A prayer of Moses the man of God."

In the verse given above, we see Moses praying to God for God's favor to rest upon him and the Israelites and that he may establish the work of their hands; a prayer that we all should pray regularly.

The Bible says,

Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. (Genesis 6:8)

God chose Noah in a depraved and wicked generation to fulfil his plans and purposes. Noah walked with God and did as God commanded him. The task was mighty, but because God's favor rested upon him, he could complete the mission God called him to.

We all need God's continued favor upon our lives as did Joseph, the son of Jacob. Though he passed through adverse circumstances, we see God being with him continually and delivering him and blessing him mightily. The following verses attest to that.

The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. (Genesis 39:2)

Joseph's master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison, the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. (Genesis 39:20, 21)

The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did. (Genesis 39:23)

The story of Joseph did not end with that. God fulfilled everything that he had spoken to him through dreams long ago.

A person on whom the Lord's favor rests is truly blessed. That doesn't mean that, that person will not have problems while living in this world, but it means God's continued presence and deliverance in his/her life. Let's make it a point to pray for God's favor to rest upon us continually. Praise the Lord.

[jeremiah7]

The Right Response

For twenty-three years - from the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah until this very day - the word of the Lord has come to me and I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened. (Jeremiah 25:3)

The people of Judah were stubborn and did not care for the godly counsel that Jeremiah gave them. They persecuted him and tried to kill him on several occasions, but God saved him time and again.

Over the past 17 years as a minister of the Gospel, there have been many who have approached me wanting me to pray for them and tell them what the Lord's counsel is regarding a certain situation they are facing in their lives. Perhaps it's a new job or a new location that they are planning to shift to or regarding buying a plot of land to build a house. The situations are diverse and the seekers are keen to know what the Lord's will is. Whether to----or not to-----. But many a times, I have noticed that the seekers have already made up their minds regarding their situation. And even if I tell them that it is not the Lord's will, they anyway go ahead and do as they like.

In the infancy of my work for the Lord, I used to get upset that the seekers were not obeying the Lord's counsel that I gave them. A few years back, once, when something like this had happened, I was upset because the seeker was a member of my Church and he directly did the opposite of what counsel I gave him. But as I spent time in prayer one of those nights and as I put the matter in the Lord's presence, he spoke to me quite clearly and said, "Let me handle it from here."

When I heard that, I was so relieved, that from then on, I was, and am now, never perturbed when seekers do not follow the counsel that I receive from the Lord and give them. May the Lord have mercy on them is what I pray.

We, as servants of the Most High must faithfully do what we are called to do. If our calling is to tell what the will of the Lord is in the lives of those who ask and seek counsel regarding their life matters, we must do it faithfully. What the seekers do with the counsel that we give should not disturb us unduly. Such matters will be handled by the Lord as per his infinite wisdom and impartial justice.

[jeremiah7]

A Barren Patch

I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs. (Isaiah 41:18)

Sometimes, we as believers can hit a barren patch in our lives. Gone is the excitement to worship, the zeal to pray and hunger for the Word seems to have died out. Perhaps it's some long sanding problem that has played on our minds and is the cause, but often it's difficult to figure out what the problem is.

After all the excitement in the first 40 years of his life living in the palace with the Egyptian ruler Pharaoh, Moses hit a barren patch for the next 40 years. Though he got married and had kids in Midian, Moses must have often remembered his days in Egypt. He must have wondered whether things could have been different if he had not taken matters into his own hands by killing an Egyptian. Like Moses, many questions may plague our minds when we go through a barren patch. Things don't seem to move swiftly, dreariness sets in, we go through the motions, but are left unsatisfied.

To preachers who have preached almost everyday and sometimes several times each day, not getting enough oppurtunities to preach or teach the Word can bring a sense of unwantedness. Is it a satanic attack or is God involved? The answers do not come easily.

Moses, finally seemed to have accepted the new life that he was living, taking care of his family and tending to Jethro's flock. The memories of Egypt were fading. "This is it", must be what he felt in his mind. And "this is it" must be what you are thinking in your mind. But wait! God had not finished with Moses and he's not finished with you. A sudden call came to Moses from God at a time when he least expected it and Moses thought he was unprepared for the job. He didn't want to accept it. But God wouldn't take "No" for an answer for he was preparing Moses for this work for 40 years.

If you are going through a barren patch in your spiritual life, God is preparing something new for you. Persist in prayer, worship and meditation of God's Word even if you don't feel excited about it. Things will change. God will do a miracle for you. He will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valley for you.

[jeremiah7]

You are important!

He appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark of the LORD, to make petition, to give thanks, and to praise the LORD, the God of Israel: Asaph was the chief, Zechariah second, then Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-Edom and Jeiel. They were to play the lyres and harps, Asaph was to sound the cymbals, and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests were to blow the trumpets regularly before the ark of the covenant of God. (1 Chronicles 16:4-6)

Sounding the cymbals may not seem to be an exciting job but that was what Asaph was appointed to do as part of the worship and he was supposed to do it faithfully. There are many unsung heroes in every church, every worship and even every forum. They do the work that they are called to do without much or any fanfare. Everyone is important, though many do not realize it. The success of a venture does not only depend on the person at the helm but also the unknown “behind the curtain man or woman”. But even though people may not appreciate or commend such people for their efforts, God rewards them in his infallible ways.

Asaph had a calling to be one of the chief musicians during the reign of King David and he fulfilled his role faithfully. He authored 12 beautiful psalms, namely psalm 50 and psalms 73-83. Later on, we read of his children playing important roles in leading the worship.

When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise the LORD, as prescribed by David king of Israel. (Ezra 3:10)

Faithfulness is what God desires from each one of us and the rewards are sure, in God’s time and in God’s ways. Reawrds may not be monetary though, but what more blessing can believing parents receive from the Lord than seeing that their children follow in their ways of serving the Lord and being blessed by the Lord in every aspect of their lives.

So even if your role doesn’t seem important, hang in there, for God has a purpose and plan for you and he will bless you and your family for whatever you are doing for him and his kingdom these days.