Are You Compromising?

Scripture Reading: Daniel 1

Focus Verse: Daniel 1:8  "But Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king.  He asked the chief of staff for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods."

Daniel decided in his heart that he would not eat the King's food and wine.  It may be because the food wasn't in line with Jewish food laws.  However, his decision meant that he could have been put to death for not eating the food offered to him by the king.  But he decided even if it meant death he would not compromise, and he would stay true to God. 

Every day we are faced with decisions to compromise or to not compromise with God's standards.  We live in a land where many do not honor God.  As Christians we must decide, "will I compromise my purity?  Will I compromise my integrity?  Will I compromise my lifestyle?"  What kind of price do we pay for compromising these things in our life?  

Do you compromise your beliefs for gain?  Are you willing to be dishonest to gain financially?  Satan will tempt you into thinking that this is okay.  Satan will say "after all you need to feed your family and provide for them.  But God can certainly provide for your family without you cheating and stealing to gain. 

Don't compromise your Christian character and testimony by listening to Satan's lies.  I hope we can all stand before God one day knowing that we have not compromised our beliefs to gain something that we can't keep anyway. 

Bobby Johnson
Interlocking Ministries

In a Pit?

Bible Reading: Genesis 50

Focus Verse: Genesis 50:20 "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today."

Joseph underwent trial after trial, the first being that Joseph's brothers put him in a pit in the ground and then sold him into slavery.   God meant it for good so that Joseph could save his family during the famine.  This was intended for harm, but it brought a better outcome because of God.

Do you ever feel like you are in a pit?  Some pits are just part of life, some pits we fall into for lack of awareness, some pits are from decisions our leaders or others make around you, and other pits are from our own decisions.

There's a story: One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement he quieted down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.

As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

Understand this :
Life is going to shovel trials like dirt on you, all kinds of trials.  In the story of the donkey, the people intended the dirt for burial, but God used it for GOOD.  We can get out of the deepest wells just by trusting God to show us the way out.  Shake it off and take a step up. God will provide our path when we are trusting in Him. (proverbs 3:5-6) There is always God's presence, God's purpose and God's promise in the lives of those who belong to Him.

~Page Johnson
Interlocking Ministries
 

When Will Jesus Return?

When Will Jesus Return?

Scripture Reading: Matthew 24:5-8, 32-44

Focus Verses: Matthew 24:36  "No one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.”

The short answer is nobody knows when Jesus will return.  Only God knows.   Jesus has given us some important clues in verses 5-8.  “Many will come in my name, claiming, I am the Christ, and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.”  We are seeing all of these things happening today that are mentioned in these verses.  

Jesus could come back today or it could be a thousand years from now.  We need to live expecting that He could return at any time.  The Bible says that Jesus' return will be like it was in Noah’s day.  Noah warned them that rain was coming. But people went about their lives as normal.  They didn’t realize what was about to happen.  The flood came and swept them all away.  

I see people today not giving any thought about God.  Just as Noah warned the people of his day.  We need to warn the people of our day.  We are responsible for this generation.  Romans 10:14 says, "But how can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them?”   We don’t know when Jesus will return, but He will return.  So we need to share the good news of the Gospel with them before it’s too late.

Bobby Johnson

Interlocking Ministries

Tempted to go Back

 Tempted to go Back
Bible Reading: John 21:1-14
Focus verse: John 21:3-6 – “I am going out to fish, “Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We will go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Early in the morning Jesus stood on the shore but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. He called out to them, “Friends haven’t you any fish?” “No, they answered.”

When life becomes unbearable we often get tempted to go back to our initial way of life. We try to justify why we cannot continue holding strong into the faith. Some begin to think that God did not clearly speak to them about serving Him or maybe they did not make a right choice to follow God. They think it would have been better off for them in their previous way of life. These people may end up winning others to go back with them to their past way of life. Simon Peter finds things unbearable for him after Jesus was crucified and he feels he is not safe to continue with life as a disciple and a fisher of men. He shares his new decision to go back with other disciples who also jointly agree to go back with him. He forgets that Jesus had taken them away from fishers of fish to fishers of men.

The result of this decision is very disappointing! They did not catch any fish despite an all night struggle to get some. Isn’t this what others have faced when they are tempted to go back to their initial way of living? Actually others have ended worse than before and have lived not to see the joy they had hoped for in their going back. They try fixing it again and again but end up wasting their strength and resources. As it happened to Peter and the friends; a decision to go back will never result in any fruit. It is a decision for grief, disappointment, shame, regrets and even death. Regardless of the circumstances we must not think of going back. But Jesus is faithful and is out looking for a soul which is tempted to go back into former life so that he may bring him back. He has the power to restore and bring back those which have abandoned service for God’s Kingdom. All our life victories have been because He has been our side and unless we stay in him we cannot get any catch. John 15:5, “I am the vine; you are the brunches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

Pastor Eliazar Wambo
Makira Baptist Church – Mfangano Kenya

Keep Moving Forward

Scripture Reading: 1 Timothy 4

Focus Verse: 1 Timothy 4:1  “Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith, they will follow deceptive spirits and teaching that come from demons.”  NLT

There are many indications that tell me that we are living in the end times.  One of those signs is that people will turn away from the true Gospel and follow a false gospel.  My friend Pastor Greg Laurie gives some good notes on this:  "We must be on our guard against Satan’s clever counterfeits, because as this passage tells us, he will be at work in the last days.  In fact, we are warned that some in the church will fall prey to these deceptive spirits and teachings. Therefore, as you listen to various teachers and pastors today, remember this:

* Any so-called gospel that distorts the message of Jesus as found in the Bible by either adding to it or taking away from it is not the true        

  Gospel.

* Any so-called gospel that offers Christianity without Christ or the cross is not the true Gospel.

* Any so-called gospel that promises forgiveness without repentance is not the true Gospel.

* Any so-called gospel that presents the hope of Heaven without the reality of hell is not the true Gospel."

"These are watered down versions that will give you false assurance. Such teachings are extremely hazardous to your spiritual health. Stay away from them at all costs."

There is no such thing as staying still in your spiritual journey.  Either you are going forward or you are moving backwards.  Satan will do all he can to get you to move backwards away from God.  Let us stay focused on God, the source of our strength so we can keep moving forward.

Bobby Johnson

Interlocking Ministries

God, Where Is The Good?

Scripture Reading: Romans 8:18-30

Focus Verse: Romans 8:28  “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.” NLT

Romans 8:28 has always been a hard verse for me to understand.  If I were to plan out my own life I would not have planned everything the way it has gone.  And perhaps you would not have planned everything in your life the way it has gone either.  This verse has a very strong promise written here.  The promise is that God makes everything to work for our good.  But, the verse also says that if we want this to qualify for this promise,  then we must love God and be called by God for His purpose.  Another thing to notice about this verse is that God does not promise we will see the good.  We may not fully realize how good the plan is that God has for us until we get to heaven.

I’m reading in the news today about a strong Christian family that just had their oldest daughter murdered.  She was in college studying to be a nurse because she loved people and wanted to help people.  Where is the good in this?  I don’t know how God will bring good out of this situation, but this verse in Romans promises that He will.  I’m reading testimony by the parents of this young girl that was murdered a few days ago and it is obvious that they have a very strong faith in God, and they believe Jesus will help get them through this senseless tragedy.

 

Let these parents of this girl be an example to us to walk so close to God that we could weather a storm like this.  Even when we can’t see the good in all of life's circumstances, David reminds us of another promise of God in Psalm 23:4  “Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for You are close beside me.  Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.”  Let’s remember just because we can’t see God doesn’t mean He’s not here.  God is always present in our lives working out the good for us even when we can’t see it.  That is real faith.

Bobby Johnson

Interlocking Ministries

Don't Separate

Bible Reading:  Matthew 19:1-12
Focus Verse: Hebrews 3:8  "Don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled, when they tested me in the wilderness."

Jesus had just finished teaching about how to handle a brother’s sin against you and how much we should forgive.  I don’t think it’s an accident that that is covered just before marriage.  Forgiveness is needed regularly in any marriage based on our nature to sin.  The Pharisees came to test him and asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”  Jesus replied that from the beginning, God created them male and female to be united as one.  God joins them together and man should not separate.  There was a concession given by Moses for marital unfaithfulness, but only because of the hardness of their hearts.  He said it wasn’t that way in the beginning.  Jesus went so far as to call it adultery if someone divorces and remarries for any reason other than that. 

There is a beautiful trinity in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  At the end of each day of creation, God said it was good.  After He created Man and Woman, he said it was “Very good!”  Why this difference?  We are not like the animals.  Marriage is a reflection of the unity found in the trinity.  Jesus many times said that the “Father and I are one”.  Now he says that man and wife will become one.  We are to honor that commitment. 

After saying this, it stands to reason that you should be careful and prayerful as you choose the person you will marry.  I remember when I was in High School that I made a list of the qualities that I was looking for in a husband.  I then rated them in priority.  Sure, we can get swept up in emotional love, but the lasting marriage takes commitment.  Remember how I started this devotion?  It was about forgiveness.  It really works.  Be sure that when you marry, you both are committed for life!  Begin now by praying about the person that you will marry.  Pray for that person as they walk with Christ.  If you are married, pray for your spouse and seek to build the unity between you through becoming closer to Christ together.  Pray together,  read God's word together and serve God together.

~Page Johnson
Interlocking Ministries

Plan Your Escape

 Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 10:12-13

Focus Verse: 1 Corinthians 10:13  “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience.  And God is faithful.  He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand.  When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.”

I had a dog named Mia. Sometimes when I was with her, she would see a wild animal in the bush.  Then she wanted to chase it, so I kept her on the rope.  But even though she knew I wouldn't let her chase it, she continued to look at the wild animal and that only made her want to chase it more.  If I used the rope to take her in the opposite direction, she would be back to normal.  That reminds me of how temptation is in our lives.  We see the sin.  Satan tempts us to want it.  If we continue to look at it, the temptation becomes even more difficult to resist. 

When you are tempted to do what is wrong, remove yourself from the temptation.  God has promised you a way out.  So get your eyes off the temptation, and start looking for the escape route God has promised for you.  Joseph in the Bible was being seduced by a woman.  We read in Genesis that he didn’t look twice, instead he pointed his feet in the opposite direction and ran.  Some things to remember when being tempted:

• The Word of God is our first defense. 
• Sometimes fleeing is the only way to resist.  
• Remember we are in a fight, a spiritual battle.  
• Fellowship with the right kind of people, not people that will drag you down.  
• Follow Jesus example, when He said “Get behind Me, Satan.”   
• Remember, the way you live does matter, so plan your escape.

Remember verse 12 as a warning, "If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall."

Bobby Johnson
Interlocking Ministries

God's Spirit Over Darkness

Scripture: Genesis 1
Focus verse: Genesis 1:2-3 "The earth was without form, and void; and the darkness was on the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light” and there was light."

     There is a great darkness hanging all over the globe today. The fear of death is taking control in many hearts and nobody is certain about what will happen the next day. People are glued to the media and there is a common fear of uncertainty all over the world. Doctors are overwhelmed and health facilities are overstretched. The economy is collapsing and people are losing jobs. It’s no longer business as usual. It’s a dark time that nobody would wish to have again. Our leaders are losing focus and so is the direction that nations are taking. Things appear formless and what we see is absolute panic.
     However, God’s word in Genesis reminds us of total darkness that covered the surface of the universe. The word of God tells that there was total darkness. I believe if that kind of darkness was to happen today there would be more danger than the present calamity. Can we imagine a darkness with not a single light in the entire world?  Not even the lights from the stars and any other heavenly bodies. I bet that’s something we can’t contain. God allowed that same darkness to cover the surface of the earth for three hours as Jesus hanged on the cross, Matthew 27:45. The Bible in Genesis tells us that in that total darkness, the spirit of God was hovering and taking control of all things, having authority and not being hindered by anything.
     We could be going through a time of darkness but the spirit of God is moving and God is still in control. He finally declared that there was light and the whole world had light. We know that God’s power to move and work is not hindered by any form of darkness. No matter what life brings today, God can still declare light where there is darkness, life where there is death, healing where there is sickness and strength where there is weakness. The Lord is in control no matter how close days of darkness hangs from us.

     As Paul states in Romans 8:1 – 18, For I consider that the suffering of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.  Our God is so faithful.

Pastor Eliazar Wambo
Bethesda Faith Ministries
partnered with Interlocking Ministries

Simple and Powerful

Scripture Reading:  1 Corinthians 2:1-5

Focus Verse: 1 Corinthians 2:1  Paul speaking, “When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan.”

Paul writes in our Bible passage that he wants to forget anything, to forget any of his own strength, forget to speak in a clever way, but to just focus on speaking about Jesus, God's plan! He knew that it was important to trust in God's power and not human wisdom.

 

I have preached many messages in Kenya over the last 23 years.  The comment that I hear most often about my preaching is how my message is simple, easy to understand, and powerful. The Gospel is not complicated, and we should not make it sound complicated to the listener. The Gospel message consists of the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.  It takes faith to believe this.  Sometimes it’s easier for a child to accept this message than for an adult because of the faith that is needed.  Ephesians 2:8-9 says, " For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.” 

Although the Gospel message is simple it is also very powerful because of the Holy Spirit.  In Romans 1:16 Paul writes, “I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ.  It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes.”  When I think of power I think of large storms, or earthquakes.  There is great power when God is at work.  Remember there is great power in the simple message of the Gospel.  There is power in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Don’t be ashamed of this message, but proclaim it boldly and keep it simple and true.

Bobby Johnson

Interlocking Ministries

Walking in the New Year

Bible Reading: 2 Peter 1

Focus Verse:  “May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord.” 2 Peter 1:2

We are just a month into the new year and we feel like it's a fresh start!  We can look back on the last year and look forward to the next year.  What do you see as you look back?  We can see our world changing culturally, politically, financially and medically.  Maybe we see some hardships, sin, pain, loss, struggles and discouragement.  Maybe we see  joy, blessings, new relationships, God's handiwork and spiritual growth.  Most likely, there's a combination of the two and we see some good and some bad.  In life, we will always have trials and blessings.  In all these things, as a follower in Christ, we are not alone!

In light of this, how do we move forward this year?  The scripture in 2 Peter chapter 1 tells us that we can have a supernatural peace that can multiply into more and more, even in the midst of our storms and a God who rejoices when we look to Him.  We also read in v. 4 that we can share his divine nature and have the power to escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. We can have His strength to live for Him and walk in His ways.  Verse 5-6 teaches us how to take steps for our faith to grow.  Read over that again as you make your plans for this year.  And lastly, we should pay close attention to what the scripture says!  The scripture was not written out of any of man's ideas or thoughts, but the very heart of God.  We must study God's Word so that we can not be swayed by the clever words and sweet drip of a false preacher.  Verse 19 says of God's Word, the Bible, that we "must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place". 

We also pray "May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord."

Page Johnson

Interlocking Ministries

Questions For Christians

 Questions For Christians

Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 10:23-33

Focus Verse: 1 Corinthians 10:23  “You say, "I am allowed to do anything but not everything is good for you."  You say, "I am allowed to do anything but not everything is beneficial.”

What is the Apostle Paul saying in our focus verse?  There are some activities for a Christian that fall into gray areas. Some activities might be permissible but does it help you to grow as a Christian?  You can tell a lot about someone that calls themselves a Christian by the questions that they ask.  They might ask, “can I still be a Christian and do _____?  It sounds to me like they are asking “how close to sin can I get and still be a Christian?”  Maybe a better question is “how far can I get away from sin?” We don't have to earn our salvation, however we shouldn't trample on the grace of God.  We need to seek God's wisdom in these things.

Maybe you are wondering about an activity that you would like to participate in.  Here are four questions that you could ask yourself:  

1. Does this activity build me up spiritually?  In other words will this activity help you grow as a Christian?  Could it be likely to cause me to move away from God and his will for me?

2.  What does your conscience say about it?  Do you have an uneasy conscience about it?  

3.  If you do this activity and another Christian sees you could it make them stumble in their faith?  We need to be sensitive about what others see us doing.  

4.  Could this activity take control of you?  Example, alcohol has the ability to control you.  Don’t do anything that has the ability to control you above God’s control in your life.  

 

Would you yield to God’s desires in your life, seek in the Bible to know Him and have a passion to walk with Him and obey Him?

Bobby Johnson

Interlocking Ministries

With All Prayer

Bible Reading: Ephesians 6
Focus verse: "with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints" Ephesians 6:18

Do you ever wonder if prayer works?  Does it really make a difference?  Prayer is our connection to God!  God has planned for and ordained prayer and that He will work through our prayers.  The effective praying person will put on the armor of God before praying. (vs 10-17)  Another effective way to pray is to use scripture as you pray.  You can pray any time of day or night for as long or as short as you like.  Pray in all trials and joys of your life.  Pray for others.    An effective praying person knows how to pray in agreement with the scriptures, in the Spirit, watchful, alert, perseverant, devoted and by submitting their life to God.

Do you use all parts of prayer?  It is good in Kenya to start a conversation by a proper greeting of the other person and ask, "How is the day?", the family, the parents and the cows.  In the same way, you begin the prayer by greeting the heavenly father with some words of adoration and praise.  Such as God's faithfulness, creation, power, love, forgiveness, holiness and more.
Second, you can confess humbly who we are in our failures to live up to God's standard.  We remember our weakness, our sin, and we agree with God about it.  We can not do this life without God and we acknowledge it.
Third, we are to remember our blessings and be thankful to God for them.  Even in our trials, there are things to be thankful for.  Can you be thankful for your salvation, your family, your friends, your church, your country, your relationship with God and even we can thank God for the trials in our lives because of the growth that it brings (James 1:2-4)
Fourth, we will be bringing our petitions, our requests, to God.  This is prayer for others and for yourself.  God has asked us to bring our requests to Him. (Philippians 4:6)  There are three ways God can answer.  God might say, "No" if it is not the best thing for us or if we didn't ask according to the correct interpretation of scripture.  God may say "Yes" if our petition is based on God's principles and we are praying in the Spirit.  God may say, "Wait" when the timing isn't right.  We are always learning more of God's ways and the way He answers our prayers.  We can be sure that if we are in a right relationship with Him, that we are never alone and He always hears us.

Can you focus on prayer this week?  What part of prayer can you strengthen in your life?  Is it using all the parts?  Is it learning more of the scriptures?  Is it devoting more time to prayer?  Is it praying for others more often and faithfully?  Is it finding joy in your trials and having thankfulness?
"Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near."  Isaiah 55:6

~Page Johnson
Interlocking Ministries

Good Foundations

Scripture Reading: Matthew 7:24-29

Focus Verses: Matthew 7:26-27  "But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand.  When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

Jesus compares listening and obeying His teachings to the foundations of houses.  When Jesus teaches this parable it’s really very easy to understand.  The wise person that builds a foundation on solid rock is the person that obeys Jesus' teachings.  And the foolish person that builds a foundation on the sand is the one that does not obey Jesus teachings.  Notice that both the builders of these houses heard Jesus' teachings. Notice that both houses went through a storm.  We will all have to endure storms in this life.  The question is, will we obey Jesus' teachings or not?  The foolish man did not, and the wise man did.

 

It seems like every year when I go for a holiday to the beach I see one or two houses that are built on the sand that are at risk of collapse.  Many years ago I built my own house.  I put a lot of thought and work into the foundation of my house.  Because I knew if the foundation was not well built then the whole house would be at risk.

Every day we make decisions.  We are either laying a good foundation or a bad foundation. We are either obeying or disobeying Jesus' teachings and this is laying our foundation.  One day eternity will reveal what kind of foundation we have been working on.  As we begin this new year let’s commit to obeying Jesus' teaching so that our lives will not be at risk of collapse.  Remembering 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 ^"Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love."

Bobby Johnson

Interlocking Ministries