Category: Holy Spirit

Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” John 21:22

On By Susan Cort JohnsonIn Holy Spirit, Jesus, Knowing GodLeave a comment

               Would you drive the length of a football field with your eyes closed? Probably not. But if you take 5 seconds to send or read a text while driving 55 mph you are doing exactly that. Texting and talking on a cell phone are called distracted driving along with eating and drinking, talking to passengers, and trying to operate the radio, entertainment, or navigation system.

               Looking at the list, I can see distracted driving is common. It is easy to get caught up in the conversation when we drive with others in the car and we often place our coffee or a soft drink in the convenient cupholder manufacturers install.

               In John 21 Jesus warns us of another type of distraction…distracted service. This is where we take our eyes off our calling to examine the work of our brothers and sisters in Christ. After the resurrection, before Jesus ascended to heaven, He met a few of His disciples fishing on the Sea of Galilee. He served breakfast, then instructed Peter to feed His sheep and shared the type of death required of him to glorify God. When Peter asked about John’s fate, he was told it did not concern him.

What Is That To You?         

               It is easy to get caught up in things that do not concern us. Perhaps we try to fix relationships, listening to both sides to gain insight into the problem and determine what might be done. Or we monitor service in the church evaluating who is and is not fulfilling their calling. Essentially, we are wasting time figuring out solutions to problems out of our control and judging another servant without the knowledge needed for a fair assessment. Each time we expend energy on things that are not our business we are slacking on our duties.   

               We want to know how other disciples are faring as servants and worshipers of the living God. Are they doing well in the roles they have been given whether wife, mother, friend, sister, aunt, or niece?  Are they excelling in their jobs and professions and developing their talents whether as a financial wizard or fine artist? While it is right to care, we can’t supervise the walk of another Christian because we do not know the work of the Spirit in their life nor do we know the plans God has for them. It isn’t up to us to assess another Christian’s walk. We will all stand before the judgement seat of Christ individually (2 Corinthians 5:10). We only have control over our responses.

In His Word

               How do we take our eyes off Jesus and what He requests of us?

One: We can become judgmental, looking at another Christian’s walk, pointing out how they fall short of all Jesus commands thus failing in our sanctification process.

Matthew 7:3-5—”Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” ESV

Two: We can fail to acknowledge our sinful ways, and judging can be one of them.

James 4:17—”So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”

Three: Comparison leads to wrong conclusions. We may begin to feel either superior or inferior. Both keep us from fulfilling our calling.

2 Corinthians 10:12—”Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.”

Four: Comparison can cause us to strive, working hard to achieve another’s calling. We look fruitful but are not.

Ecclesiastes 4:4—”Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man’s envy of his neighbor. This also is vanity[a] and a striving after wind.”

Walking It Out

Jesus told Peter what He wanted him to do. “Tend My sheep” (John 21:16). I personally long to hear such clear direction… tend, feed. But have I asked Jesus for my assignment? Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” Matthew 7:7

These are instructions for intensity, passion, and persistence in prayer, writes David Guzik in his online Bible commentary.

Step One: Make our requests known to God.

Step Two: Search after God, His Word, His will.

Step Three: Knock until the door is opened.1

The apostle Paul uses the analogy of the human body to explain how the body of Christ has many members working together to do the work of the ministry. Paul says the body is not one member but many with some assigned to be a foot, another a hand, others an ear or an eye. “God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased” (1 Cor. 12:18).

If we don’t know, we should ask Jesus for our assignment and then follow Him. Not looking at others called to be a foot or hand, but what kind of a foot or hand God has asked us to be. Once we know what God has called us to, we keep our eyes on Jesus to be our very best.  

© 2026 Susan Cort Johnson *All Rights Reserved

Resources:

1-enduringword.com/bible-commentary/matthew-7/

Letting Go of Childish Ways

On By Susan Cort JohnsonIn Agape Love, Growing in Christ, Holy SpiritLeave a comment

1 Corinthians 13:11—When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.

          As children, my siblings and I would work through a pack of Valentine cards until we had written the names of each of our classmates on one. We would sift through the selection looking for the most generic messages for the kids who weren’t our close friends, not wanting them to get the “wrong idea.” If our mother had not insisted that we bring cards to the school party for everyone, we would have played favorites. Time and again our parents demanded that we show love and kindness to everyone from party invitations to playground games.     

          As an adult, we should no longer need our mother’s supervision. We are to put away such childish ways. Eventually my siblings and I began to be all-inclusive, kind, and loving on our own as we witnessed the fruit of such behavior. We learned it was best for others as well as ourselves.  This is true for a Christian as well. God gives direction in His word on appropriate behavior just as my mother directed her children. As we walk in His ways, reaping their fruitfulness, our behavior changes.  In maturity, we put away childish ways.

Embracing Maturity

          The Corinthians were not exhibiting spiritual maturity when Paul wrote the letter that includes the passage on giving up childish ways. There was division in the church, envy of others’ spiritual gifts, selfishness, impatience with one another in public meetings, and behavior that was disgracing the Lord.1 They needed to be taught mature behavior, which meant loving one another.

          According to Warren Wiersbe, author of Be Wise, a commentary on 1 Corinthians, love would make them long-suffering instead of impatient and remove the envy they experienced over other people’s spiritual gifts (13:4). Love would remove their pride and replace it with a desire to promote others.     

In His Word

          The apostle Paul wrote: “Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature” (1 Corinthians 14:20). Tony Evans provided this insight on the verse in his Bible commentary: “We do not want to be experienced in wickedness. Otherwise, we want to be adult and mature in our thinking. Excitement about exercising exotic spiritual gifts that no one can understand is immature. A more mature stance is to exercise gifts for the good of others.” 2

          The author of Hebrews addresses maturity as well, accusing the readers of needing milk rather than solid food. He writes, “Everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil (Hebrews 5:13-14).” 

Walking it Out

          Just as my mother taught her children how to be loving and kind to everyone with whom we interact, God teaches us (1 Thessalonians 4:9).   But agape love is not of the flesh; it is spiritual. To achieve it we therefore must walk in the Spirit. (Galatians 5:16-26)

An article on this topic in Got Questions states: “To walk in the Spirit means that we yield to His control, we follow His lead, and we allow Him to exert His influence over us.” 3

We remain mindful of the Spirit’s leading through ongoing prayer. In addition, we study and meditate on God’s Word to be aligned with His ways because the Spirit leads according to God’s revealed truth (2 Timothy 3:16). Also, by the Holy Spirit’s power we refuse to gratify the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:16). 4

Those who are spiritually childish are not being sanctified by digging deep into Scripture and learning how to put it into practice. The Holy Spirit is our helper, but we make the effort to mature. 

© 2025 Susan Cort Johnson *All Rights Reserved

Resources:

1-Be Wise, A New Testament Study of 1 Corinthians by Warren W Wiersbe. ChariotVictor Publishing.

2-The Tony Evans Bible Commentary by Tony Evans.

3-gotquestions.org/Spirit-walk.html

4-biblehub.com/q/what_does_walking_in_the_spirit_mean.htm

Leaving What Is Familiar

On By Susan Cort JohnsonIn Holy Spirit, Knowing God, Walk in the SpiritLeave a comment

Matthew 4:20—Immediately they left their nets and followed him.

Matthew 4:22—Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. ESV

               When Christ called, I did not walk away from all I knew. I remained in the fourplex my husband and I rented, writing in the extra bedroom on the second story.  To supplement my income, I continued serving tables in a family-owned restaurant, where the owners treated their employees like family. My heart’s desire was to write freelance full time, and that too remained unchanged.  

               My clothing closet was not culled, nor my grocery list edited, and I strapped on my running shoes each morning to exercise on the American River Bike Trail a mile from my house.  Although the TV shows I watched and the movies that drew me to the theater didn’t have the Christian Good Seal of Approval, I was not dissuaded by conscience or any other deterrent from viewing them.

               What I did do, similar to the first disciples, was to find a good source of teaching. I found a Bible-teaching church and began to attend regularly.  In the Scripture from Matthew chapter four, quoted at the top of this blog, the reference is to the response of Simon Peter and Andrew, as well as James and John, when invited by Christ to follow Him. In the era when Jesus called this group of brothers, young men were invited by Rabbis to study under them. They would follow the Rabbi around to absorb his teaching. This was by choice, not by summons. 1 They followed a good teacher.

               Leaving the Familiar Way

               Although the twelve disciples Jesus chose to apprentice with Him left their professions and homes, like us they didn’t immediately become like Jesus. They had some personality traits that needed refining and they had to be taught Jesus’ ways.  

When Jesus told of His death and resurrection, Peter proclaimed that it should not happen. At this proclamation, Jesus answered, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” (Matthew 16:23)  

Jesus rebuked James and John when they asked to consume the residents of a Samaritan village with fire from heaven, when they did not receive Jesus.

When we walk out of the world and into the Kingdom of God, we find ourselves in unfamiliar territory. Much biblical instruction is counterintuitive to our sin-nature.  Let me give some examples.

–In humility, count others more significant than yourselves (Philippians 2:3b).

It is difficult to live selflessly, refraining from asking, “How does this impact me?” Meeting the needs of others often requires that we give up something important to us such as money set aside for something we wish to purchase or the free hour we hoped to sit down and read a book.    

–Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5).

We try to “wrap our minds” around situations. But sometimes God is doing a work, and we just need to place our trust in Him. Remember Abraham and his journey to the region of Moriah to sacrifice his son Isaac? When Abraham took the knife to slay his son, God stopped him. The purpose of the request was to test Abraham’s reverence for God and his confidence in God’s faithfulness to keep His covenant promise. 2 Abraham did not lean on his own understanding, but trusted God instead.

In His Word

               We become transformed by renewing our mind through the reading and practice of God’s Word.

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:2 NKJV)  

God’s ways are perfect. As we practice them in our everyday life, we prove the statement the apostle Paul made to the Romans is true.  Do we choose familiar worldly ways, or do we test God’s ways by putting them into practice? When we do practice them, we discover God’s will is good, acceptable, and perfect.2   

Walking It Out

               Jesus would teach God’s ways and demonstrate to the disciples how to walk in them. The Holy Spirit teaches in the same way. We read the Word, looking at the context of the passage to comprehend it, then try to determine how to live it if applicable. The Holy Spirit brings it to mind at times it is applicable to help us learn how to walk it out. 

For example, to teach the disciples selfless service, Jesus took the role of a servant and washed the disciples’ feet. This passage may come to mind when we are faced with a menial task we might be tempted to think is beneath our dignity.  This is the point of choice. Will we do what is unfamiliar and immediately follow Jesus’ teaching, becoming more like Him as we do, or not try to practice it?

Let us determine to step immediately into the unfamiliar way, the way that seems counterintuitive, and trust the Holy Spirit to help us learn to walk it out.

© 2025 Susan Cort Johnson *All Rights Reserved

Photo from Pixabay

Resources:

  1. Enduring Word Commentary by David Guzik (enduringword.com/bible-commentary/Matthew-4/)
  2. Spirit Filled Life Bible published by Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville. Kingdom Dynamics page 36.

Just a Smidge

On By Susan Cort JohnsonIn Growing in Christ, Holy Spirit, PrayerLeave a comment

Matthew 26:41: “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

     My uncle only allowed himself a smidge when eating sweets. He would slice off a sliver of triple-layer chocolate cake with thick frosting to satisfy his craving for sugar without overindulging.

     However, he never stopped at just “one smidge.” Tiny slice by tiny slice, over the span of an afternoon, the entire cake was demolished. This is the way of temptation. My uncle never intended to overindulge but he lacked the willpower to resist.

     Most of us have had one of those “I can’t believe I ate that” moments. My weakness is the small loaves of warm sourdough bread with butter the waitress places on the table at San Francisco seafood restaurants on Fisherman’s Wharf.

An entire cake or loaf of bread is no big deal, right?

A Smidge is Never Enough

     Self-indulgence is that crack that begins to fracture godly characteristics, such as self-control. Soon the flesh takes over and indulgence becomes our practice.

     The Apostle Paul used the metaphor of yeast in a lump of dough to show how sin, if not addressed, spreads. In 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 he wrote: “A little leaven leavens the whole lump. Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump…For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” In this passage, Paul was instructing the church, explaining that if Christians overlook sin in the body of Christ, it will quietly spread.

When we consistently fail to resist an extra slice of cake or piece of bread, we eventually damage ourselves physically. My uncle developed Type 2 diabetes. But from a spiritual aspect, we set ourselves up for future failure. These seemingly minor desires that gratify our flesh can lead us to greater infractions.

In His Word

     The instruction to watch and pray so as to not fall into temptation was given to Peter in the garden of Gethsemane shortly before Jesus was arrested. Jesus took His disciples to the garden after eating the Passover meal with them and initiating the Lord’s Supper. But before the chief priests and elders came to arrest Jesus, accompanied by crowds carrying swords and clubs, He stepped aside with Peter, James, and John to pray. He asked them to watch with Him, then He fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:39)

     After pouring His heart out to His Father, He returned to the three and found them sleeping. He asked, “Could you not watch with me one hour?”

     “Peter and his fellow disciples had promised to be faithful to death, and yet they went to sleep! They needed to pray for themselves, because danger was around the corner,” wrote Warren Wiersbe in Be Loyal, his commentary on the book of Matthew.1

     To watch and pray means to be both physically and spiritually awake. By watching, we do what we can in our power, and by praying we seek God’s power. We cannot stand when tempted without God’s help.2

     What are we to be watching for? Anything that entices us to stray from God’s will. Jesus dreaded the cup of judgment but endured because His sacrifice was the only way to pay the penalty for sin. Without it, you and I could not be forgiven of our sins and saved from judgment.

Walking It Out

     All that entices us is referred to as temptation, which is the lure from within or without to act contrary to God’s Word or character. We sin when we give in to temptation.

     Therefore, we are not only to be watchful but also pray. David Guzik wrote in his online commentary Enduring Word, “The spiritual battle is often won or lost before the crisis comes.”2

     Perhaps that is why Jesus directed His comments to Peter in these passages. Although two other disciples were present, it was Peter who would deny Jesus three times that very night. Yet he had boldly told Jesus, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” (Matthew 26:33)

     Those of us who are in Christ are like Peter. Our spirit is willing- “We will never fall away!” we exclaim. But just like Peter we soon discover our flesh is weak. Yes, our intentions are sincere but human nature is frail.

     Therefore, we must be watchful. What are we allowing to seep into our life that could fracture our resolve and lead to our downfall? Remember the metaphor of yeast in a lump of dough. A little sin can quickly spread corrupting the individual and even those around him or her.

     Just as my uncle could not stop at one smidge, neither can we. So let’s be watchful and pray, that we might recognize all that tempts us and be able to stand by the power of the Holy Spirit. In this way, we will not succumb to that smidge that leads to another and another.

©2025 Susan Cort Johnson *All Rights Reserved

References:

1 Be Loyal, by Warren W. Wiersbe. Victor, Cook Communications Ministries, Colorado Springs, Colorado.

2 Enduring Word commentary by David Guzik, enduringword.com.

Great Love Does Not Retreat

On By Susan Cort JohnsonIn Agape Love, Growing in Christ, Holy Spirit, Knowing GodLeave a comment

     “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:12-13 ESV

     I found it difficult to understand how anyone might show the greater love mentioned by Jesus, “to lay down his life for his friends.” Then I read news blurbs about Dick Eastland, co-owner and director of Camp Mystic which was built on the banks of the Guadalupe River. He was swept away during the flash flood early Saturday morning, July 5, while rescuing girls at the Christian summer camp. The water along the riverbanks reportedly rose 26 feet within 45 minutes.

     When we see someone in earnest need of help, we rush in because we intensely will the best for them, and that is agape love. It may be a violent robbery at a subway station, a cry for help from a swimmer trapped in river currents as we sunbath on the beach, or witnessing an attack from a wild animal along a hiking trail in a national park. Whatever the scenario, agape love causes us to rush in.

Giving Not Getting

     Dick Eastland was practicing selflessness as rising water rushed through cabins at dawn. Most likely he was not thinking about what his efforts would personally cost him but rather the good of others. The young campers and counselors needed to be rescued, guided to high ground so they would not be swept away and he was committed to the task.

     To give out such love we need to be personally filled with it. It’s not natural, it comes from God. The Holy Spirit pours God’s agape love into our hearts. This love is “An intelligent, purposeful attitude of esteem and devotion; a selfless, purposeful, outgoing attitude that desires to do good to the one loved.”1

     God demonstrates this love. Jesus Christ redeemed us by paying the penalty for our sin on the cross. He laid down His life for each person who has been reconciled to God through His selfless act.

     In a day when many ask, “What’s in it for me?” those filled with agape love run into danger to rescue others unconcerned about the reward or cost. That was Eastland.

In His Word

Agape love is not based on how worthy the object of this love is, whether the recipient is deserving. God demonstrated this aspect of agape when Christ died for sinners, according to the apostle Paul (Romans 5:8). That means none of us are worthy whether we are considered outstanding citizens or not.

Sacrifice is also a hallmark of agape. God sacrificed His Son because He willed the best for humanity, a restored relationship with Him. Are we willing to sacrifice what’s best for us for the benefit of another?

In 1 Corinthians we find a comprehensive description of agape in chapter 13.

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” 1 Cor 13:4-7 ESV

We can define agape love as unconditional, sacrificial, patient, kind, enduring, protective, hopeful, and originating form God’s own nature.

Walking it Out

     It is good to know what agape love looks like by knowing Scripture, but it requires a work of the Spirit to live it.

     When 50,000 Jews, exiled in Babylon, were allowed to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple the prophet Zechariah gave them a message from the Lord. The temple would not be built by human skills, resources, or determination but by the power of God.

“Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,” says the Lord of hosts. Zechariah 4:6 ESV

Because agape love is a selfless love it comes with surrender. We humble ourselves before the Lord and allow Him to do the work with no thought to our abilities, resources, or willpower.

Perhaps agape love happens when we rush in, fully committed to the task at hand. It’s not calculated or planned. We have no time to think about our abilities or the object of this love. Therefore, we rely completely on God.

©2025 Susan Cort Johnson *All Rights Reserved

1-Abide, A Study of 1,2,&3 John by Jen Wilkin published by Lifeway Press in Brentwood, TN.

Grateful God Never Gives Up on Me

On By Susan Cort JohnsonIn Growing in Christ, Holy SpiritLeave a comment

     I keep journals. That provides opportunity to look backwards for signs of spiritual growth. In review I have realized that many of my current struggles are also past struggles. I have plateaued.

     Most recently, while reading through pages of an old journal I discovered the frustration that stumbles me now is something I have been battling without victory. It seems I should have worked through this issue. But there has been little progress.

     I mentioned my discovery to a friend the other day, telling her how surprised I was to find transformation was so slow in coming. She nodded, confirming I was not alone in this plight.

Then, miraculously a breakthrough came. At the time I wasn’t doing anything to address the problem. It was an “out of the blue” occurrence… a complete surprise. Tucked into a chapter of a book I was reading, I found a sentence that explained the problem. I get frustrated when my will is violated. Instead of surrendering a situation to God and responding “thy will be done,” I insist “my will be done.”1

     This explanation fits every frustrating situation I encounter. When I can’t get Zoom to work correctly and I want to participate in an online class. When I get behind a slow-moving truck on Highway 395 and I want to drive faster but there is no safe place to pass. When the baristas at Starbucks are behind in their drinks and I want to finish my shopping and get home.

     According to the Berkeley Well-Being Institute, “Frustration is an emotional reaction that occurs when an individual is prevented from achieving a goal or fulfilling a desire. It is often associated with feelings of anger, annoyance, and disappointment due to perceived resistance to one’s will or goals.”

     The definition clearly identifies the problem, yet I had never noted the “perceived resistance to one’s will or goals” when reading an explanation for frustration.

     So how do I deal with this negative emotion? Bible teacher Jenn Wilkins writes, “Both positive and negative emotions are a gift from God, not sinful in and of themselves. But they can quickly progress to being sinful if we do not manage them properly.” Cain’s anger eventually led to his brother’s murder. Why? His “problem was not mere anger, but anger nursed, anger indulged, anger gratified.”

     My frustration always escalates because I do not take steps to manage it. If I look to a sovereign God, and surrender the situation with a silent prayer for God’s will to take precedence over mine I might keep frustration from festering into a temper tantrum.

     This knowledge is new and untested, but it is a breakthrough. I do not know why it has taken so long for me to understand this as a surrender issue. It could be the Holy Spirit has revealed this before and I just didn’t get it. Or maybe the Holy Spirit has been waiting for the perfect time when I was ready to receive the information.

     Either way I am encouraged to know God doesn’t give up on me when transformation is slow in coming. I think of this promise: “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

Let’s Talk:

1-How has God been faithful in helping you overcome your battles with sin?

2-What are you struggling to conquer now that others might cover in prayer?

©2025 Susan Cort Johnson *All Rights Reserved

Photo from Pixabay

Before Calling it Quits, Ask the Holy Spirit “What am I leaving behind?”

On By Susan Cort JohnsonIn Growing in Christ, Holy Spirit, Walk in the SpiritLeave a comment

     Frustration makes me want to quit. No matter the circumstance, whether a routine daily task or a calling from God, I lean toward the easy route. The Holy Spirit revealed this pattern of behavior following two incidents.

The first occurred as I waited to see my dermatologist. I arrived seven minutes early for my appointment but was called to the exam room an hour and fifteen minutes later. My patience waned as I thought about all I had planned to complete that afternoon before such sabotage. This would never happen again! I would find another dermatology clinic.

The second encounter with frustration was ongoing as I struggled to share a manuscript on Google docs with my writing critique group. When I joined, I was assured that those who were not familiar with Google docs would be given clear instructions by the leader. Wanting to fulfill my commitment, I fumbled through the comment process for several weeks. Then it was my turn to submit a manuscript for critique but I couldn’t master the technology. When a message I posted asking for help was not answered, I began contemplating how to graciously withdraw from the group.

     The Merriam-Webster Dictionary describes frustration as “a deep chronic sense or state of insecurity and dissatisfaction arising from unresolved problems or unfulfilled needs.”

     Ah yes… I do become insecure in situations where I might look the fool. Unsure how to use Google docs made me vulnerable. And I tend to be dissatisfied with what I determine to be incompetency or injustice. After all, I exhibited respect for the dermatologist by arriving on time yet the clinic destroyed my schedule.

     Although frustration is a characteristic I need to address, this time the Holy Spirit was alerting me to the wiles of the devil. God says perseverance is beneficial, so Satan says “quit.” According to Scripture, when we persevere our character is strengthened,1 we spiritually mature,2 righteousness increases,3 and we become more resilient.4

     It seemed as if frustration would be a private struggle, only visible in the privacy of my study while working at my computer to master Google docs, (certainly not in the waiting room of the clinic). Yet my private displays of this behavior weren’t always so private because demonic forces are usually unseen. They see my displays of frustration and thus know my weakness. Who knows how they will use it. Perhaps to drive me out of a place of service, ruin a relationship, and even make me walk away from writing projects.

     Most likely Satan knows all that frustrates me. It includes encroaching on time I have set aside for writing or meeting some project deadline, difficulty figuring out how to accomplish something, and being overwhelmed. I can expect demonic forces to whisper in my ear “quit.” But most likely, only at the times I shouldn’t walk away.

     As I contemplated my desire to escape frustrating circumstances by fleeing, the Holy Spirit recalled a very old incident with a similar lesson. It was in the 1990s, when I first began teaching Sunday School. The time I spent with the children seemed to do no good. They were not learning, not changing and misbehavior seemed to be the norm rather than the exception. I discussed my struggle with other teachers who encouraged me to persevere. Those who had been teaching for a long time said children they thought would never give their lives to Christ were now walking with Him.

     However, it is the words of my husband from that ancient struggle that match this recent situation. When I told him I no longer wanted to teach Sunday School he said, “Quit, just quit. Let Satan win!”

     It seems the Holy Spirit isn’t teaching me anything new but rather offering me a reminder. When frustrating circumstances tempt me to quit, I will ask Him to reveal what I am leaving behind. An opportunity to become more Christlike? A chance to complete a good work? The perfect time to plant or reap for the expansion of God’s kingdom?

     I think I have grasped hold of this message. Testing is sure to come to determine if I have learned it this time or not. And if I fail the test, I am certain the Holy Spirit will continue to teach me and of course remind me when needed.

©2025 Susan Cort Johnson *All Rights Reserved

Let’s Talk:

1-When has the Holy Spirit kept you from succumbing to the wiles of Satanic forces?

2-Have you ever wanted to quit? What steps do you take before walking away from something that is difficult?

Resources:

1-Romans 5:3-4

2-James 1:4

3-Hebrews 12:11

4-James 1:2-3

Tripped up by Traffic

On By Susan Cort JohnsonIn Growing in Christ, Holy Spirit, Knowing God, Walk in the SpiritLeave a comment

     Scripture never fails to convict. And this is good, oh so good. Just when we think “not me” the Holy Spirit says “yes, you too.” This keeps us from becoming arrogant. It keeps us humble.

     John 17:17

“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” ESV

A trip to the Sacramento metropolitan area took me out of the mountains where traffic jams only occur during roadwork as pilot cars lead a line of vehicles through a construction zone. In cities bumper to bumper seems to be routine as drivers in a rush tailgate those driving slower as if to relay the message, “get out of my way.” As I navigate city streets there always seems to be pressure to drive faster or move over.

One afternoon as I drove to the store with my elderly mother to pick up a few groceries, I became irritated by the pushy drivers. She lives in a small, rural community in the foothills above the city but the roads have become congested with commuter traffic. Drivers zipping through the area make pulling out of driveways or turning onto side streets dangerous.

On the way home a big pickup truck seemed attached to the bumper of my car, but despite the driver’s persistent efforts to increase my speed I held my pace not wanting to whip my mom, who is 95 years old, from side to side. My assessment of this driver was less than kind.

But the incident proved to be a lesson in sanctification by the truth of God’s Word for me, not the irritating driver who followed me to my mother’s house. When I drove back into the mountains, on my return trip home, I found myself pushing drivers in front of me not as familiar with the mountain roads.

And so, I was convicted as the Holy Spirit brought this Scripture to mind. “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.” Matt 7:1-2 ESV

I was acting no better than the driver on the Latrobe Road as I returned from the grocery store with my mother. It is a self-centered attitude rather than other centered. It is sin. A simple definition of sin is to “miss the mark.” Generally, it is anything that “falls short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23)

All who want to be like Jesus Christ in character and deed know this battle. The Apostle Paul describes it in the book of Romans: “I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.” Romans 7:21-25 NLT

But remember, Paul tells us as we continue to read Romans chapter eight that we do have power over sin through the Holy Spirit given to us when we receive restoration through Jesus Christ. The old person lingers but we are a new creation.

Paul’s confession of his battle is not permission to shrug off sin. Instead, we are to walk in the Spirit rather than according to the flesh. It is a conscious choice. God gave Cain some directives on how to make the right choice when we are tempted to sin.

“You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.” Genesis 4:7 NLT

What or who is in charge, sin, or the Spirit of God? “If our minds are set on the wrong things, our feet will automatically go the wrong way,” writes Tony Evans in his Bible commentary.1  

“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.” Romans 8:5 ESV

When the Holy Spirit reveals situations or behaviors of others that cause us to stumble it is time to prepare. We can set our minds on things of the Spirit determining to be gracious, loving, patient and kind. And we will succeed because walking in the Spirit results in self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)

©2025 Susan Cort Johnson *All Rights Reserved

Reference:

1-The Tony Evans Bible Commentary by Holman Bible Publishers Nashville, Tennessee.

This Moment is Mine

On By Susan Cort JohnsonIn Growing in Christ, Holy Spirit, Knowing God, Walk in the SpiritLeave a comment

     Our culture is plan focused. We tend to map out our future, creating calendars for each day, one and five-year plans for all the aspects of life, and even itineraries for vacations.

My days begin as planned. This cold, February morning I built a fire in the woodstove while our Cuisinart coffeemaker ground the beans and perked the coffee. My cup of choice was large, and bowl-shaped, enough to complete one day of homework for the seven-week Bible study I am working on, which is focused on various types of prayer. This week we learn to pray for unity in the church. Then I read the section of the book of Mark and a Psalm that is on my read through the New Testament and Psalms plan for this year. Is this my rhythm or my regimen?

God has slowly been teaching me to write plans in pencil rather than ink. To not be so attached to what I view as my best and trust in Him, the God who intensely, intelligently, wills the best for me. A God who sees me, who knows all things, and has thoughts that are higher than mine.

Several months ago, as I stood in line to pay for purchases at a Christian bookstore, I dropped a tumbled marble square by Twelve Stone Art with these words imprinted: “My Future is in Your Hands.” (Psalm 16:5) I was going to give it to a sister in Christ in need of encouragement but had to gather the pieces and pay for the shattered square. Later I glued it together. It now sits in the window of my study, the cracks clearly visible.

That moment in the bookstore, as the stone artwork broke, the Holy Spirit revealed that I was deceived to think I was trusting God with my future. More accurately I was trusting God to complete the plans I made.

I do want to accomplish certain things in life… my dream of writing a book is not dead. Perhaps this desire to have certain dreams come true was the reason the crash between the Black Hawk helicopter and the commercial airliner in January triggered a state of depression. All those dreams, such as skating in the winter Olympics, ending up at the bottom of the Potomac River.

But again, God spoke. “You have this moment in time,” he said. Tomorrow, next week, or next year is not guaranteed.

We do not know the number of our days. But we have this moment. What might we do with it? I am writing this blog.

We shape our future moment by moment knowing God has our best in mind, ultimately, we will be honed into the image of Jesus Christ. I may not write the book but during my writing time I will pursue the dream at appropriate moments in time.

It’s not so much what we are doing but how we are doing it. Each moment is a choice. Will we walk with God or go our own way?

©2025 Susan Cort Johnson *All Rights Reserved

Photo from Pixabay.

Pledge to go for it in 2025

On By Susan Cort JohnsonIn Growing in Christ, Holy Spirit, Knowing GodLeave a comment

Do you hold back when God makes a request or gives you direction?

Abraham did not. When God gave instructions to sacrifice his son, Isaac, he obeyed. We are told he cut the wood for the burnt offering, rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and journeyed for three days to the land of Moriah with Isaac and two servants.

     “When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.” [Genesis 22:9-10]

     At that point, God stopped him.

     We are told Abraham feared the Lord. What is the fear of the Lord? These four points seem to capture the essence of this theological term:

  • Having a deep respect, reverence, and awe for God’s power and authority.
  • Recognizing God’s infinite power, wisdom, and authority over all creation.
  • Standing in awe of His majesty, power, wisdom, justice, and mercy.
  • Being soberly aware of His divine authority and not trivializing His judgment or wrath.1

Before this illustration of trust is given in Genesis 22, we are told in the first sentence that this request was a test. What might stop us from giving our all, exhibiting complete trust in God? Or maybe not even stepping forward in obedience?

   –Fear might cause us to hold back.

   Not the same “fear” of the Lord but the Mirriam Webster Dictionary definition: “An unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger.”

   Anticipating failure can stifle me. Or the fear of looking foolish in my attempts. Or the fear of criticism. Lists of fears seem to flow easily from my pen, how about you?

   –Self-focus could hold us back.

   Often, we look at our talent, skills, finances, resources; everything but God. When there is a request for money, my reaction is to look at my bank account rather than ask God for direction. Requests for help, may be selected according to my schedule. Before taking on a ministry, I may consider the skills I have to perform the task. How about you?

   —A meager attitude might result in holding back.

   We live meagerly when we look at what is not instead of what is. Therefore, our work is not abundant nor is it our best. Those who don’t hold back are willing, like Isaiah, to raise their hand when God asks “whom shall I send?” and reply “Here I am! Send me.” [Isaiah 6:8] Do you do your best work abundantly?

     Because Abraham did not hold back, God did not hold back either. He blessed him promising to multiply his offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore.

     If our life seems to be less than what it could be, maybe we need to spend some time reviewing all the opportunities we missed in 2024. Were they a test? It’s not too late to ask God to help us recall the instructions and give us another chance.

©2024 Susan Cort Johnson *All Rights Reserved

Photo from Pixabay

References:

–Definition of “fear of the Lord” from bing.com, compiled from lifehopeandtruth.com, christianwebsite.com, and biblestudytools.com.