The Loving Lighthouse© 2008
By Ronnie Johnson
For even darkness cannot hide from God; to you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are both alike to you.(Psalm 139:12 TLBV).
None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.
—Goethe
I miss the incessant rolling, splashing sound of the Gulf waves where I grew up. We often went to Galveston and loved “the get-away” time for recuperation and relaxation from ministry. At times I can still sense the smell of the Gulf, hear squawking seagulls in a distance, and picture in my mind those ocean waters battering the seashore. I can at times even taste the salt water upon my lips, as though I was there walking along the sandy beach. And upon the horizon I can envision those giant ocean-going vessels that pride themselves upon those free waters of the vast sea.
I also remember a beautiful, well-kept black and white towering Lighthouse we use to pass on our way to Galveston Island. It was always sweeping the area with its blinking lights and giving its presence to the seaman coming in to the Houston/Galveston Ship Channel. The warning lights of the Lighthouse give ships that added advantage of direction midst the thick fog, choppy waters, and mobile shoals underlying the entrance that makes navigation so treacherous.
Today as you enter such treacherous waters of life remember The Loving Lighthouse. For to Him “the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are both alike unto Him.” He knows your every need. He sees you in the dark difficulties of life you are in right now. He understands your heartache. He cares about you. He has your picture upon heaven’s refrigerator—sees you each passing moment of the day. He loves you. He wants to be your Light in the night; your Loving Lighthouse.
Down the road ...
Ronnie Johnson
Fears in the Way© (2008)
Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way...” (Ecclesiastes 12:5a KJV).
Why were you born? Why are you here? What is your purpose on this dirt you walk upon each day we call Earth? Have you become acquainted with the awesome Architect who designed you? Who loves you?
—Jason Lloyd
I was walking to my car recently in a parking garage downtown Denver. These places sometime seem creepy to me; especially when you hear yourself walking with no one else in the garage, but you. I was on the fifth floor of this particular garage. I stepped off the garage elevator and proceeded to my car. As I rounded the inner wall of this parking garage building a man spoke to me out of no where.
“How ya doing?” came the startling question. For a brief moment I had no idea where this voice came from. This made it even more eerie for me, too.
I turned in the direction of the voice and saw a strong, muscular-looking young man toying with his big SUV. It looked like some kind of vehicle you would see on a Safari hunt in Africa. I replied carefully, even cautiously, “OK, how are you?” And kept walking in my suit and tie; I had been to a board meeting.
I continued on to my car with slightly quicker steps. I have discovered after living in Colorado for almost two decades that people usually don’t talk to you just out of blue; especially if they do not know you.
As I continued my sped-up pace to my car, this loud command from this same man came over my shoulders that made my heart shutter, “You come back here!”
I immediately turned toward him and his Safari outfit not knowing what to expect next. I did not know if he was coming after me or just what was up at that point. When I turned I was met with the biggest, blackest, most vicious-looking dog I have ever seen before leaping at my heels with a loud growling bark—“Ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff” followed by that guttural sound only an angry dog can make.
As I looked into those eyes of this big black dog I could only see a face of anger, and those white pearly teeth just waiting to feast upon me.
“Come here Ruff, come here,” mercifully his owner called out. I stood there with my heart racing and the thought, “This is it! This animal may kill me.” I also raise my hand toward the dog in a “Hail Hitler” mode that I saw on the Discovery Channel, and it worked. The dog stopped in his tracks before he attacked me.
The man in the Safari SUV apologized profusely for his pet’s actions. And I, I was glad to be alive at that point. I could not get into my car soon enough. His pet returned in obedience to him. Thank God! No wonder he called him Ruff.
In the Last Days the Bible tells us fears shall be in the way. What scares us most are experiences we incur that have never happened to us before. We are out of our element. When we face surgery, a car wreck, death, storms, health issues, job changes, and disobedient children fears are in the way….or big, black, vicious dogs in a lonely downtown parking garage.
I read about a little boy who had a part in a play at his school. He was to say, “It is it, be not afraid.” But when that time came, and he looked out into the audience from the lonely stage he was upon, he said, “It’s me and I’m scared.”
What’s bugging you? What’s in your lonely parking garage of life? What’s bothering you on the stage of society; where you, too, are giving your part? Remember that the awesome Architect knows what’s best for you. And you are never alone.
This is too glorious, too wonderful to believe! I can never be lost to your Spirit! I can never get away from my God! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the place of the dead, you are there. If I ride the morning winds to the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me; your strength will support me. If I try to hide in darkness the night becomes light around me.
Psalm 139:6-11 (TLBV).
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Ronnie Johnson
In The Old Days© 2008
By Ronnie Johnson
History merely repeats itself. Nothing is truly new; it has all been done or said before. What can you point to that is new? How do you know that it didn’t exist long ages ago? We don’t remember what happened in those former times, and in the future generations no one will remember what we have done back here.
Ecclesiastes 1:9-11 (TLBV).
Times have changed so drastically. My dad talks about a distinguished African-American lady, a teacher, who would come to their East farm each month for a signature. My dad’s dad was a board member and trustee who could sign her check. She would have to walk miles each month sometimes, and go to the back of the farm just for one of two signatures before she got paid for her work.
My father still talks about how sophisticated and educated this lady was—she made a huge impression upon him as a child. She was paid $12.50 each month for her teaching job at the local school. This was long ago In The Old Days.
Just recently Jean and I had lunch with friends and one of our friends talked about growing up back East. She said her mother gave birth to 12 children. She had most of them on her own. In fact, when the husband, her dad, came home from work he would take the newborn baby and clean up the infant. She said her mother also made their clothes from old flour sacks and other material that never went to waste. She related how her own mom would make big kettles of potato salad and beans for the children at their school. Her older brother would bring the food for the children because the parents were receiving the funds, and using them for other needs they had. This, of course, was In The Old Days.
Do you remember how it was In The Old Days? My how times have changed! I remember so well covering up under those old think, heavy blankets that felt like sheets of lead. They used to make them from men’s old suits. I also remember having to get up and light the fire place when I was very young. When I placed my feet upon the floor at grandpa’s house in East Texas, it felt like I was walking up a glazier of ice. I also remember those chickens I could see underneath his house between the cracks in the floor. Those chickens just bobbled along; with a dog now and then running under the house as well. But it’s obvious now; these times were In The Old Days.
What will people say about us in the centuries to come? You guessed it; those people lived In The Old Days.
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Ronnie Johnson
You Did Great© 2008
By Ronnie Johnson
The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious.
Ecclesiastes 10:12 (KJV).
I can live for two months on a good compliment.
—-Mark Twain
Sometime when you’re just passing by other people the greatest lessons are learned incidentally, not purposely or premeditatedly. My wife and I were going to the doctor some time ago. She and I whisked by a mother and her approximately 3 year old little boy. The child was very upset to say the least. He was sitting on a bench at a medical clinic in a hallway as she was attending to him. The little boy was just sobbing. You could tell that he had just gotten out of the doctor’s office and most likely had received a shot….somewhere. He was showing one of those “Stinging Shot Cries.”
All of this happened, of course, in just an instant as we passed by, but I did not miss those compassionate, touching, and wonderful positive words that can only come from a caring mother. She said so lovingly, “You Did Great!” These words, however, were against the background noise of a very touchy little boy; he was hurting and crying his little heart out over this shot no doubt. And these words, “You Did Great!” suddenly echoed through my mind and heart; and continued to echo the whole day.
In a world of so much evil, discouraging, negative tones, pessimistic and difficult people, in a society of unsettling, anxious news reports it is so calming and strengthening to hear words like this from a caring mother, “You Did Great.” That child is to be envied. He has the kind of mother I once had. She would have consoled me and my siblings the same way. Her motherly heart very often came out in words of assurance and softness I needed to hear when I hurt. A child never forgets this either.
Our heavenly Father sent a Man to give us consoling, uplifting words of assurance, too.
Remember, He avowed to us, His followers, in one of those infamous parables, “Well done good and faithful servant “(Matthew 25:23 KJV).Inside those consoling, calming words I can hear Him saying to you and me, “You Did Great!”
Stay the course. Keep the faith. Never give up. Keep looking up. Believe, believe, believe. Onward and upward march on. No matter how difficult the road, how tough the highway, or how hard the knocks and blows may come your way. Whatever the nurse of life dishes out, shots and all, stay at your post, take care of your character, trust in the Lord.
And in the end you will hear Him say just as this gentle, sweet mother, “You Did Great!”
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Ronnie Johnson
CAUGHT IN A CAGE© 2008
By Ronnie Johnson
I am like a pelican of the wilderness:I am like an owl of the desert.
Psalm 102:6 (KJV).
I remember conducting a funeral many years ago at Fort Logan, a National Cemetery in Denver, Colorado. I also remember these beautiful gees flying away during the taps that were played toward the end of the funeral service. It was a very cold, windy day. Much of the ground was still covered in snow. These geese that flew away lifted off from a small lake near the burial site. There they went against a gorgeous winter’s day baby blue sky. Flying free! Up and away! Waving their long wings. In utter glory and majesty; a spectacle to see.
There is something magical about birds to me. They just were never meant to be caged in; not really. The large birds especially, are awesome as they swoon down upon a pond and glide upon the waters. They seem to be at home, then. But in a cage—no way! Birds with clipped wings and trapped in a cage is a picture of lifelessness, hopelessness and emptiness to me. Do you feel sometime like you are caught in a cage?
Much of life becomes like a cage to humans I think. They are at a job they hate, a marriage they can’t stand; upset with where they live, do not like the community they live in, and unhappy with the business associates and fellow employees they must tolerate, and detest the government. Most importantly, there are people who have no clue why they are living—the biggest, ugliest and most devastating cage of all.
Many people today throughout the world feel like the Psalmist did, alone and desolate. When a person reaches this kind of depression and gloom, they all too often lose their will to live. Desolation leads to despondency. And despondency leads to a cage of uneasiness and purposelessness. It is an attitude issue. Pessimism, negativity sets in.
There are ways to freedom, however. Someone heralded this news long ago, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free” (John 8:32 RKJV).Real freedom is in Christ. To know Him is to know an incomparable life of cagelessness. He is the reason for every season. He is as He claimed to be, “The way, the truth and the life….”Apart from Him is a caged life within itself. He is liberty. He is hope. He is the key to total emancipation. He is everything one can imagine apart from a miserable pelican in a wilderness and a lonely owl in a desert. When He comes into your world, into your heart, mind, soul and spirit the cage door is opened, and you are able to fly in a sphere of abundant life that is truly unspeakable joy, unthinkable and unshakable.
The more we let God take us over, the more truly ourselves we become—because he made us. He invented all the different people that you and I were intended to be….It is when I turn to Christ, when I give up myself to His personality that I first begin to have a real personality of my own.
–C. S. Lewis
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Ronnie Johnson
LOVE YOUR ENEMIES © 2008
By Ronnie Johnson
Love your enemies.
—Jesus Christ (Luke 6:35a TLBV).
I think my favorite quote when it comes to people relations and loving those who have hurt me over the years, is a quote by Mark Twain. I just like his philosophy, his ideas and the way he treated humanity with his attitude. He once said, “Forgiveness is the fragrance the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.”
Have you ever been crushed by someone else; really hurt deeply by their words and/or actions? I have, too. Boy, does it sting! Don’t be surprised if people act like people. It is always an inside job, too. The most injurious wounds come from those we are related to or know best.
Remember the Psalmist who said, “Yes, my own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, who did eat of my bread, has lifted up his heel against me” (Psalm 41:9 RKJV).
I have three simple suggestions for you if you are going through a real heartache with someone who has hurt you and disappointed you greatly. These steps are not easy to follow, but they work. Here’s the prescription:
1.Pray for them. Sincerely pray for them. Ask God to help them see their way….their wrong. Ask Him to help you to love them. Think about it, you cannot sincerely pray for someone you do not love.
2.Learn to let it go. Release them from your mind. Think more of yourself. Allow the grudge to escape from your own heart. Loose them. You can still love them as well as loose them, loosing that meanness and ugliness they showed toward you.
3.Go on down the road. Think positive. Learn from their distasteful, evil way. Let the experience become a gift. Let it become an invaluable learning experience that you yourself want to always avoid; and not make the same mistake in life they did.
Most importantly do what Jesus, our loving Lord taught, Love your enemies. Let that fragrance spray upon the person who hurt you most—be a violet in a world of violence.
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Ronnie Johnson
Colors To Live By © 2008
By Ronnie Johnson
And they shall take gold and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen.
Exodus 28:5 (KJV).
What kind of world would it be without colors? These famous colors of the Old Testament appear more than once. They are colors that God instructed His people to use in worship, in the garments that would be worn before Him.
Gold is a symbol, of course, of wealth, of completeness, and wholeness and power. The Bible even talks about the “Streets of Gold in Heaven.” Gold can be beaten into a very thin layer. It is extremely malleable; more so than any other metal. One sheet of gold leaf can be as thin as 0.000127 millimeters or 400 times thinner than a human hair. Even though the metal is the most valuable of metals, it is also a symbol of being molded and made into what the refiner chooses. What a picture of the kind of person God wants to use in His great kingdom. Are you coachable, malleable? Are you like clay (gold) in the hands of the Master Potter?
The second color is blue. Blue stands for beauty .It stands for clearness; as a blue sky. Royal blue stands for nobility and richness. Blue is actually calming; a color most everyone enjoys. There are religious groups who feel that blue helps keep away bad spirits. Blue is a cool color for bedrooms where people actually seem to sleep better. In the corporate world blue is akin to intelligence and stability. It is a universal color of welcomed décor because of the blue sky; which, of course, is associated with light. This is the opposite of a dark and grey sky filled with thunder, rain and stormy scenes of weather. It is a color that reminds us of the Above, where God reigns.
Purple defines majesty at its best. It is the color of those who rule the world. Purple is a color of kings, and queens, of royalty and those in high authority. It is the color of the people in leadership. It was the favorite color of Egypt’s Cleopatra. It is a color of nobility and spirituality, too. In nature we are drawn as are children to its magical and mysterious hues: lavender, orchid, lilac, and violet. It is an ancient color God chose for Aaron to wear in his attire before Him in worship—a color God liked. God wants His people to be a “royal priesthood.” And we are in Christ. We are people of the purple color in our faith, our walk with God; we are royalty and should act accordingly.
Scarlet is the color of love. It is through the precious, scarlet blood of the Messiah that mankind may have hope, have the message of salvation and the freedom from sinful nature. Scarlet is the red thread that runs through the Bible reminding man that God is after him, after His own creation to love him, redeem him, and fellowship with him. It is the color that stains sin; it blots out the guilt, the hate, the remorse and the hopelessness that man knows apart from His Maker and Savior. Red is the warmest of all colors. It is the favorite color of China. Red evokes all kinds of emotions resulting in love and war. Red is the color of the ages, a color filled with thoughts of courage, strength, honor, and life. From passion to anger red rules.
It is most of all the color of life: of the blood that flows in the human body reminding mankind of his God-given soul and spirit in a human creation.Is it no wonder that the Christ declared, “I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly” (John 10:10 RKJV)?And we do…don’t we?
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Ronnie Johnson
That Instant Look of Wonder © 2008
By Ronnie Johnson
Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before my eyes.
Psalm 5:8 (RKJV).
This week I was minding my own business driving along through the streets of Denver. Suddenly I came upon an intersection where I quickly glanced at two, old, blind people attempting to get across the street. Apparently this was a husband and wife. They both had their white canes, and were just in the process of stepping down from the curb onto the street. This is one of the most traveled intersections in Colorado. Cars were like dogs chasing cats speeding along these streets; as motorists were hurrying and scurrying to get to their destinations.
Midst all this commotion, traffic, road and highway noise were these two old blind people. Just a few yards away from where they stood is the interstate. This very busy interstate runs through Denver’s busy streets and communities, Interstate 25; now often referred to as T-Rex because of all the changes that have been made in recent years. With my windows rolled up there was a lot of noise, but I can’t imagine what the sound must have been in the ears of these two, old, blind people.
To add to their plight of fright it was a cold, windy day in Denver. The wind was whipping around as though it owned the day. And here in the midst of all this, were these two, old, blind people crossing this extremely trafficked intersection. I became teary-eyed. I thought to myself, “And I have worries?” I also said, “Thank you Father for my eyes.” For me it was an instant look of wonder, when I beheld these two, old blind people; puzzlement for them, deep gratitude for my sight.
In your world of challenges, of stress and competition, remember that you have many blessings to be thankful for. God has endowed you with gifts and “mercy drops” from His heaven—they are multiple gifts like the sand upon the seashore. He has given you so much—even two eyes to see with, if you are so blessed to have your vision.
I do not know where these two people were headed, but in a crazy world like we have today I saw two, old, blind people who touched my life forever. They were stepping gently, carefully and cautiously across this intersection. But even with eyes, shouldn’t we be stepping through life gently, carefully and cautiously across the intersections, too?
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Ronnie Johnson
The Mystery of the Rockies© 2008
By Ronnie Johnson
As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth even for ever.
Psalm 125:2 (KJV).
It was just amazing to me as I stared at my rearview mirror. The sun was almost set in the west. Jean, my wife, and I were driving eastward along Interstate 70 headed to one of my seminars that I was conducting at a church. The evening was very, irritating cold with a dampness that had come in from a Canadian front.
With the seminar on my mind and other pressing obligations that I was thinking about, that mountainous scene kept popping into my mind through my rearview mirror. God has a way with colors. The silhouetted panoramic mountain scene was absolutely awesome and awe inspiring. This treasured view through my rearview window was such a reminder of Who He is, and who we are not.
The colors of the scene were so magnificent. The breath-taking hues of gold and orange and yellow with a ting of pink, swept my spirit off its feet. It was as though I was privileged to take a special peek at God’s house—one of the rooms where He lives and reigns.
I will lift up my eyes to the hills where my help comes from.
Psalm 121:1 (RKJV).
The magical and mysteriousness of such a scene is God. His thoughts and ways are not ours. He is in a league all of His own. He is sovereign, Lord of all, King of all kings. He is Creator, Master, Savior and Healer. The scene just looked like the hand of the Divine. What a masterful, gifted, unlimited Artist He is. Oddly enough through this rearview mirror was just a smidgeon of the gigantic creation of this universe; and to think of all the other scenes in other universes that exist. WOW! What a creation! No! What a Creator!
I feel so blessed day after day to be a fan in the grandstand of the Rockies.I am able to see firsthand God’s glorious mountainous theatre, and His great handiwork—the mystery of the Rockies.
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Ronnie Johnson
HE DIDN’T FIT IN© 2008
By Ronnie Johnson
As he paced the Starbuck’s Coffee Shop everyone who was inside or outside this Starbucks could tell he simply did not fit into this scene. He was grimy and dirty. He wore an old, long, filthy, golden topcoat. He was constantly speaking to himself; twitching with his hands and fingers, and making a very uncomfortable scene to say the least. He looked so gruff, and scary that anyone in his own, sane mind would be careful around him or with him.
He appeared to be a man in his late fifties, or perhaps already turned sixty. He was a tall bearded man approximately 6’2” or taller. His pants that jutted out now and then from his golden topcoat were in need of a bath, too. Hollywood could not have depicted a more perfect character in this real life story. I sat inside the Starbucks observing this uncanny real-life movie through the large picture windows. Back and forth he paced the parking lot immediately in front of this Starbucks where business people were coming and going.
As I waited for my party to arrive I noticed the incredible contrast between the normal Starbucks customer base, and this rough, gruff-looking man. Most of the people at this Starbucks were young, professional people. The ladies had on their usual trendy business attire, and the men were dressed in their khaki pants, with a shirt and tie that matched. It was a scene of total contrast; all the customers there were well groomed, healthy-looking young yuppies and professionals while this man intruded their perfect society with a brazen appearance of disgust and shame.
None of us dared go up to this man and ask him if we could be of help to him. He was much too scary to be around, much less attempt to find out if he had any needs or problems we could assist him with. So we all, myself included, attempted to ignore he was even there. But he was….there—right in front us! Pacing! And pacing! And pacing the parking lot! I simply threw a prayer toward him, “Lord, please remember this old hobo man, or angel you sent my way today.”
The more he paced back and forth I could not help but think about a Carpenter who lived a long time ago. No one accepted him either. He was way too different from society, too. He didn’t fit in. The philosophy he had, the style of teaching he taught, the way he lived and the people he associated with, was a total turn off to those who met him and knew of him. He met absolute rejection, disregard, and finally a cross of crucifixion.
He came unto his own, and his own receive him not…
St. John 1:11 (KJV).
Somehow I got the feeling that God placed this man right in front of all us Starbuck customers to reveal to us who we are, what we have and why we are here on this green earth.This old hobo man was in my own mind an angel that somehow now, I wished I would have entertained in some way.But I failed like all the other clean, decent, well-dressed human beings in his shadow; or at least that’s the way I feel now.
Be not forgetful to entertain strangers; for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
Hebrews 13:2 (KJV).
Was he really an angel in disguise? Or, wasn’t he? He didn’t fit in. Or, did he?
Down the road ...
Ronnie Johnson
