Devotional 2-10-12

A woman came out of her house and saw three old men with long white beards sitting in her front yard. She did not recognize them. She said “Oh dear, what are you doing in my yard, can I help you, are you hungry? Please come in and have something to eat.”

“Is everyone home that lives here?” they asked. “No,” she replied. “My husband is out.” “Then we cannot come in”, they replied. In the evening when her husband came home, she told him what had happened. “Go tell them I am home and invite them in!” The woman went out and invited the men in. “We do not go into a house together,” they replied. “Why is that?” she asked.
One of the old men explained: “His name is Wealth,” he said pointing to one of his friends, and said pointing to another one, “He is Success, and I am Love.” Then he added, “Now go in and discuss with everyone you live with which one of us you want in your home.”

Which Would You Choose?
The woman went in and told her husband what was said. Her husband was overjoyed. “How nice!!” he said. “Since that is the case, let us invite Wealth. Let him come and fill our home with wealth!”

His wife disagreed. “My dear, why don’t we invite Success?” Their daughter jumped in with her own suggestion: “Would it not be better to invite Love in? Our home will then be filled with love!” “Let us heed her advice,” said the husband to his wife. “Let’s invite Love to be our guest.”

The woman went out and asked the three old men, “Which one of you is Love? Please come in and be our guest.” Love got up and started walking toward the house. The other two also got up and followed him.

Surprised, the lady asked Wealth and Success: “I only invited Love, why are you coming in?”

The old men replied together: “If you had invited Wealth or Success, the other two of us would’ve stayed out, but since you invited Love, wherever He goes, we go with him. Wherever there is Love, there is also Wealth and Success!!!!!!”

The moral of the story… if you have love in your life all else will follow.

Gracious God,
May my life, home, family, friends, and coworkers have love in our lives as we enter this new year. AMEN

Rev. David Johnson

Devotional 1-6-12

What a Blessing

1:9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 1:10 And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 1:11 And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."
I am struck by the image of Jesus being baptized by John in the river Jordan. As he comes out of the water he sees the “Spirit” descending like a dove on him. Then Jesus hears a voice coming from heaven. With my mental health background this is somewhat suspect. Was Jesus so stressed that he was delusional and having hallucinations?

During my three years of training in both the Georgia and South Carolina mental health systems, I met and talked with many individuals who believed that they had a special relationship with God. God had talked with them, and they had heard the voice of God. God had touched them and given them various instructions or messages for this world. Some believed they were God, some Jesus, and others that the Holy Spirit possessed their souls. This experience certainly gave me a different perspective than I had prior to my clinical training.

When one reads this passages it is natural to ask the question “Is it true?” or “Is it real?” This question always raises the anxiety of those who hear it. For some finding an answer is difficult. For others it is easy to use theological double talk, religious shaming or rigid indoctrination to quickly answer, “Yes!”

Even with my mental health background, I believe it as it is written. Here’s why: It happened to me.

It did not happen when I was baptized because I was baptized as an infant. I have no memory of the event. It did not happen when I joined the church at six years of age. I only remember my aunt who never showed affection hugging me as the church members filed by to congratulate us for what I did not at that time know. It did not happen when I was sixteen and decided to answer this mysterious thing referred to as “the call to ministry.” I was not even sure I wanted anyone to know about my career choice.

In fact I do not know at what age it happened or if it is a “true” event. That is the point. In our religious lives we are so locked into the need for certainty that we miss the truth of spiritual events. The world has to be created in seven days and Mary has to be a virgin. Many times we believe it has to be true or if not, it is false? Not true!!

Here is what happened to me: I saw God in his heaven. God spoke to me. As a scared, frightened, child who was abused by parents, teachers, siblings, school mates, I did not know if the world was safe or if I would survive. During Sunday school, Vacation Bible School or maybe in a dream I looked to the heavens and the heavens opened up. There sat God on his throne. God looked down at me with compassion in his eyes and caring in his voice and spoke. God said, “Son it is going to be ok. You are going to be ok. Don’t worry.” That’s it! The End.

Did it really happen? Was it real? Is it true?

To me it is, and that is all that really matters.

So it was with Jesus.

So it is with you.

What a blessing.
Rev. David C. Johnson
Rev. David C. Johnson DMin BCC is assistant director for operations in the Pastoral Care and Education department of Carolinas Medical Centers in Charlotte, NC. He serves as president of Association of Professional Chaplains and may be contacted at: David.Clark.Johnson@carolinashealthcare.org,

Devotional 5-29-09

Pentecost is about Testifying
John 15:26-27 (New International Version)

"When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.

I am a weenie when it comes to testifying. How about you?

I don’t like to testify to my faith. Yeah, I know that I am a minister. I have hundreds of hours of seminars and conferences, a seminary degree, and over 30 years experience in visiting, preaching, and praying. I still feel awkward when I find that I am called upon.

I wish I had your excuses. You are just a lay person, you have heard sermons all your life, but you can’t really remember anything specific. You have only had one intensive Bible study, and it was over your head. Sunday school is a time to drink coffee and catch up on what your friends have been doing in the past week. You don’t like to talk in front of people and, besides, everyone you know is a Christian.

That is why Pentecost is my least favorite Christian Holiday. Did I say holiday? I am sorry -- it is my least favorite “Holy Day.” There are no gifts, no painted eggs, no candy. There is no special meal of turkey, ham, cakes, cookies, or even a fish fry. There are not even any special songs, cantatas, or children choir specials. Worse yet, I am supposed to wear the socially unacceptable bright red coat.

Nope, Pentecost is no fun. It is just about testifying. It is a time to pull out and wear our “I love Jesus” T-shirts. It is the day we stand in the line at the grocery store and tell the person in front and behind us that, “Jesus is the Bomb”. It is the day that you go outside into your yard and dance the “Jesus is Coming Again” shuffle.

Today is Pentecost. It is the day set aside to remember that we are not alone. God sent the Holy Spirit, the Holy Comforter, to be with us, to strengthen us, to empower us. It is a gift better than any other that has been bequeathed to us. It is a day to testify to our experience of God in our life. I am going to attempt to muster up the courage to testify to what the Holy Spirit has done in my life. I invite you to do the same.

Did I ever tell you about the time God……………

Rev. David Johnson

Devotional 10-17-08

Harmony
Psalms 133

“Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers (and sisters) dwell in unity.”
RSV

As I write this devotional thought in October 2008, we are in the midst of the presidential campaign. In the tradition of being transparent, I must disclose that it is my intention to vote for Barack Obama. I share this fact to give you permission to disregard the rest of this devotional or to move on to the next devotional. I cannot get away from my naiveté, idealism, unrealistic, or deluded state that we as Christians should be able to live together in harmony. For me it is a central teaching of Jesus and one that he was willing to die for.

The political campaign and rhetoric make me sick. I find that it is very divisive and plays upon our fears. Our political process plays to the lowest common denominator. By and large the speeches and the advertisement play to our fear. Obama is a Muslim because his middle name is Hussein. Obama is an Arab because his middle name is Hussein. Obama can’t be trusted. All these misstatements were taken as the truth. It got so bad that at one point during the campaign McCain had to defend Obama as being a “decent” man.

I realize that politics is based on competition. I know that our culture and capitalism are based on competition. It is not a bad thing, but I worry about whether we use competition or if it uses us. I know that there were intense feelings when Obama beat out Clinton for the democratic presidential nomination. Yet I found it interesting to hear the speeches she and her husband gave at the convention and to observe them campaigning for Obama.

We are not going to have unity in our churches, states, or communities until we begin to understand and see the greater good. There is time when a stance I call the “mature adult stance” is appropriate. It is what I see in the Clintons out campaigning for Obama. I know that they have to wish that Hillary instead of Barack were the candidate. For the Clintons putting aside the personal disappointment and campaigning for Barack is an act of intimacy.

That is what makes Jesus so special. It is what makes him a role model for our culture. Instead of moving toward Jesus we appear to be moving away from him. Instead of reaching out to others who are different, we are putting more emphasis on being the same. As an articulate black man Barack Obama does not fit the image that many have projected on him. Jesus also had expectations projected onto him such as “Messiah”, “King” and “Lord”. As Christians we are called not be co-opted by our competitive society but rather hear the message of love and respond to others by seeing what they could be rather than what they are. I would like to see a presidential campaign or a public debate, which is focusing on an intense issue using that paradigm.

Rev. David Johnson

Devotional 8-21-08

David’s Lament
Lamentations 3:22

Response: But the steadfast Love of the Lord Never Ceases.

Leader: When our medical machines can no longer keep us alive or solve our problems we ask --- Why God!!!!

Response: But the steadfast Love of the Lord Never Ceases.

Leader: When we keep our taxes low and our profits based on a short-term focus while our societal safety net crumbles we ask ---- Where is God?

Response: But the steadfast Love of the Lord Never Ceases.

Leader: When we invest in pleasure and self-indulgence only thinking of ourselves and not others in our world by the burning of forest, global warming, unsafe environmental practices and our lifestyle implodes we ask --- Who is God?

Response: But the steadfast Love of the Lord Never Ceases.

Leader: When business lay low-income workers off and give bonuses to management based on those decisions – We wonder about justice?

Response: But the steadfast Love of the Lord Never Ceases.

Leader: When our government official’s former companies make billions from a war that they promote while our children are killed and maimed in that war which was uncertain to begin with -- It angers us.

Response: But the steadfast Love of the Lord Never Ceases.

Leader: When we continue to eat, live, and act unhealthy and find ourselves dying from diseases and causes that are related to the way we have lived, eaten, and acted. We want God to fix our problems. When He doesn’t we say it is God’s will.

Response: But the steadfast Love of the Lord Never Ceases.

Leader: When and oil company Exec makes $ 50 million in salary and bonuses a year and responds to a questions about the price of gas by saying he is only charging what the “free Market” will bear and that it is his “right” to make a profit, we have to wonder where profit becomes greed. We ask does only that which is limited have value?

Response: But the steadfast Love of the Lord Never Ceases.

Leader: When a society can produce financial crisis’s such as the junk bond collapse, the saving and loan bailout, the disintegration of the tech stock market, the real estate balloon burst and foreclosure, Enron’s debacle, the Bears and Sterns implosion and still believe to not be motivated by self centered desires – We wonder when God?

Response: But the steadfast Love of the Lord Never Ceases.

Rev. David Johnson

Devotional 5-30-08

A “New” Spiritual Principle
Matthew 7: 21 – 29

I am on somewhat of a rant lately. I see it even in this devotional. Jesus is telling us to build our house on a rock and not the sand. The story of "Three Pigs" tells us to build our house out of bricks and not sticks or straw. We seem to not be following the advice of either lately. We invest in the short term and not the long term. We go for the short gain and not the long gain. We look for the easy way out of difficulty and not the complete way out. We live in an indulgent society and we participate in it. We want church growth, missional opportunities, and vibrant worship services to meet everyone’s needs. We do not want to volunteer our time and energy to make it happen. We want a clean city, paved streets, and a new infrastructure, without paying for it. We want our federal government to take care of the poor, the homele ss, those without healthcare but without increasing taxes. We want to make more money but we want the prices of all goods and services to decrease. We want our Hummers, Ford Excursion, Toyota Sequoia to get 50 miles to the gallon and believe the car manufactures could/should deliver that mileage. We want a safety net of social security but we do not want our social security taxes to increase nor to do we want to extend the level of income which is assessed over $100,000.00. Like a child we want what we want when we want it. We are a society of instant gratification. Delayed gratification is not only a powerful psychological tool we need to learn but it is a spiritual principle as well.

It is more difficult to build a house upon the rock. It takes time to drive in the stakes that will hold the walls up. It is hard to smooth out and flatten the ground. It is much easier to build a house on the sand. The stakes go in easily and the ground is smoothed with nothing more than a stroke of a brush or broom. If you build your house on the sand you will have more time to play but it will fail you in the storm. If you build your house on the rocks you will have less time for play but when the storms come you will survive.

We need to delay our need for instant gratification and build our spiritual house upon the rock of our Lord and Savior. Jesus knew and understood what it meant to go the distance. He also understood that when we practice the art and spiritual principle of delayed gratification, we would find ourselves at odds with our world. We are so co-opted by our culture that we find it difficult to build upon the rock. That is the rock of prayer, meditation, reflection, and inspiration. They will last a long time and wear well.

Rev. David Johnson