Gwynne Johnson's blog

In April I had the privilege of hearing veteran missionary, Dr. Helen Roseveare, speak at a staff conference for field missionaries of Entrust, International, in Hungary. Today I finished her book, He Gave Us a Valley.  In it, Helen describes her twenty years of ministry in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

Did you celebrate Pentecost Sunday yesterday?  Fifty days after Easter the Church historic has celebrated the coming of the Holy Spirit in power upon the waiting disciples in Jerusalem in the first century.  Since then, much debate and discussion has arisen among the faithful regarding our understanding of the third person of the Trinity.  As I result, I fear, the clear and crucial role He plays in our daily lives has been neglected.  In addition, even many Christians have come to doubt His existence or His person.

In II Cor 5:18-20 Paul reminds us that God has taken care of the problem of sin for the whole world and calls us to be ambassadors of that message to our world. To be honest, I tend to focus more on the prevalence of sin in the world rather than on the message of reconciliation I am to represent.   With a 24-hour news cycle there is always something to be alarmed about. I find it easy to slip into a critical and judgmental

Recently visiting Europe and it’s many churches I was reminded again of the sober reality that God has no grandchildren.  Richly beautiful cathedrals now attract crowds of admiring tourists rather than crowds of humble worshippers.  Walking among the tourists, admiring the powerful art displaying biblical themes, my heart grieved for the lost awe of and growing apathy for God so prevalent in our 21st century culture.

There’s an interesting new book out titled “Women, God’s Secret Weapon.”  I think the author is trying to promote the value of women in ministry, but I am interested in his use of the word “weapon.”  In our media saturated world it is important to choose words that communicate clearly and it seems to me that too many in the church already view women in that particular way; dangerous, untamed, in need of control. 

Sometime ago a friend and I headed to a meeting and stepped into an elevator, still chatting. We stood there engrossed in conversation waiting to be delivered to our destination. Finally, when the elevator wasn’t moving, we glanced at one another thinking that perhaps it was malfunctioning. Sadly the malfunction rested with us. We burst out laughing as we realized that neither of us had pushed the requisite button. Talk about missing the obvious.

Always intended to read the bible through in a year?  It’s still early in 2009 and bible.org makes it 21^st century easy! Have you discovered that every day on the home page there’s a link to a daily portion of the Net Bible available which will take you through the entire scripture in a year.   Here’s the link: http://net.bible.org/daily.php check it out and bookmark it for easy access daily.

Do you, like me, often feel you are on information overload?  Between texting,emailing, surfing and living I declare that I need a bigger hard drive and a updated chip for my brain.

It doesn’t help to view an Internet video highlighting the rapid pace of change and learning that the amount of information contained in one week’s New York Times is more a person in the 18^th century would have received over an entire lifetime! 

Something was wrong. I love to teach the bible, it is one of my favorite things. I enjoy diving into the text and context breathing a prayer that the Teacher will teach me, enlighten me, as to what the women I teach need to hear.   But this day, I began preparation of the week’s lesson and sensed in my spirit an inner resistance.  It was a hard message, an unpopular one, and a painful one. 

At this beginning of another new year I am reminded how I delight in new beginnings.  From crisp clean sheets, to soft new stationery, to a clean page, to a new dress or just a new discovery.  A fresh start fills my heart with hope.