Mandy Baker Johnson

Living without Shadows

Tag: Bible

The Heart That Heals

The Heart That Heals

12/10/2019 / / 1 Comment

The Heart that Heals by Patsy Burnette is a Bible study guide written out of Patsy’s pain and heartache over losing her teenage sister Ginger. It is a very gentle, non-threatening study that can be used as a journal (as I did) and is split into three parts, looking at emotions, burdens, and growing in Christ. Each chapter opens with a beautifully hand-drawn design with a Bible verse for the reader to colour in.

As soon as I heard of The Heart that Heals being launched, I was desperate to read and use it. It is written by a woman who knows how it feels to be broken and wonder if anything will ever be ‘okay’ again. This book is a good, safe read for anyone who is broken and raw. Patsy’s style is very gentle. She knows about broken souls.

I think it is a book where the reader will get as much or as little out of it depending on his or herself. Each chapter closes with three questions aimed at helping the reader think through what he or she has just read and note down any changes they will make as a result.

At times, I found the book bordering on being a little shallow – as if truths were being skimmed over. I felt there were places where the book could easily have gone deeper. It also sometimes felt slightly repetitive.

But, I also found it thought-provoking and urging me into action. After completing the study on the importance of bearing one another’s burdens, I sent a thank you card to a faithful friend who prays for me every day.

The book reminded me of who God is, what His character is like, and what He thinks of me. I needed that. It helped me get back into the Bible again, and that can only be a good thing!

Here is a quote from The Heart that Heals that blessed me.

Sometimes we think that turning to God and relying on His mercy, grace and comfort will make our brokenness disappear.
No, not necessarily. Relief from our brokenness may not always be the best thing for us.
Relief is not always in His plan, but peace is.

I was privileged to be chosen to be part of Patsy’s online launch team and to have received Kindle and printed copies of the book to provide an unbiased review. I have given it 4* on Amazon.

90 Days in John 14-17, Romans, James

90 Days in John 14-17, Romans, James

12/02/2017 / / 2 Comments

I’m excited about this devotional book by Tim Keller and Sam Allberry.

Each short chapter gives the Bible text for the day followed by a few helpful notes. The notes are split up by sub headings, as well as questions which aid the reader to think about the passage and how it applies to your life. At the end of the chapter is a small paragraph with suggestions of how to pray in to what you have just read.

The page layout (it’s on my Kindle) is easy on the eye with lots of white space and clear headings and short paragraphs. It is appealing and draws you in, making you want to read it.

This is precisely the kind of devotional I like to start my day with. I don’t have to work at trying to wake up reading lots of dense text, and at the end of a chapter wonder what I’ve just read because I haven’t taken any of it in. With a book like 90 Days In, I can begin reading and find that my brain and heart are engaging with the subject matter almost at once.

I love Tim Keller’s books. His love and passion for God shine brightly through each page, and he brings fascinating insights from the original Hebrew and Greek.

I’ve read only one other book by Sam Allberry but found him to be a very readable writer with a deep love for God. He comes across as compassionate and sensitive with a wholesome love for the truth.

I’m looking forward to reading and savouring 90 Days In, using it as my morning devotional. I have given it **** on Amazon and am grateful to Cross Focused Reviews for providing me with a free copy to review.

 

 

women-on-street

Jesus Loves Prostitutes

06/10/2016 / / 0 Comments

For most of my adult life there was a wide gulf between prostitutes in the Bible and the ones I saw working on the streets of Nottingham.

Those in my city are often despised because of what they do, or ignored.

But many of the prostitutes I’ve met in the pages of my Bible became women who were honoured and loved by God.

It’s almost like the Father went out of His way to make sure a prostitute (Tamar) featured in His Son’s family tree. Rahab, who presumably worked out of a brothel on the walls of Jericho, demonstrated such faith in God that she is mentioned in the heroes of faith line-up in Hebrews 11.

Jesus didn’t shun them, but welcomed them. He showed unconditional love and acceptance to the broken women working the streets of towns and cities He visited. I love the opening words of Luke 15: ‘…the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear Him.’ But the religious people weren’t happy about that, which led Jesus into his three famous parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son. Religious people looked down on the prostitutes and outcasts. Jesus valued them.

When God really got hold of my heart in 2013 and I began to have the first inklings of what grace is (it’s all about Jesus, not me; I am loved more than I can imagine simply for who I am and because He wants to love me), an immediate change was the way I saw other people.

I crossed the street to talk to a Big Issue seller – such people had never been on my radar before. I got involved with my church’s food bank and social hub, revelling in chatting with fascinating people I wouldn’t normally have opportunity to rub shoulders with including ex-prisoners, refugees, the homeless, drug addicts.

From there, it was a small step to getting involved in an inter-church charity reaching out to women working in the sex trade.

I love spending time with these amazing women: gutsy, brave, struggling, desperate, broken. So many words can describe them. The Father says of them that HeAshamed loves them like He loves Jesus. His blazing heart of love overflows with compassion for them. He is as crackers about them as He is about me. God is adamant that it was worth Jesus giving up His life for prostitutes, so that He can invite them into His Kingdom and call them daughters.

I’m writing a blog series on prostitutes of the Bible. When I read their stories, I see the faces of the women I meet and am getting to know. There may be several centuries between then and now, but God’s love for broken people will never change.

Bookcases

Celebrate: Books

20/03/2016 / / 2 Comments

From the days of reading The Magic Faraway Tree to my teddies and dolls, I’ve loved books. Hard backs, paperbacks, smooth paper, pictures, no pictures. I love ’em all.

I disliked learning to read. Thankfully my mum was firm, insisting that I practise each day before going out to play with my friends. I owe her a lot – thanks to her teaching me to read, whole new worlds have been opened up.

When I had surgery on both wrists for carpal tunnel syndrome, I was unable to hold a book for a few days. It was torture; I’d almost rather read than eat. Eventually, I got around it by pinning the book open on my lap with both elbows. Not very comfy, but it did the job.

One of the hardest things to bear when I was ill was occasionally forgetting how to read (sometimes I’d try to follow words diagonally down the page instead of reading left to right, at other times I couldn’t recognise the words). Then there was being too weak to physically hold the book and turn the page. Adi found a solution for that by downloading the Kindle app to my iPhone and buying me Corrie ten Boom’s The Hiding Place to start me off.

I love my books and having nice bookcases to store them on. Good books are like old friends that you can come back to time and again. Sometimes I’m in the mood for John Grisham, other times I reach for Lee Child. I’m built up by Bill Johnson and Heidi Baker and John Piper.

My favourite book is the Bible. Some bits are hard to understand but I love reading it because it’s alive. There are jewels to be found even in the boring bits of the law in the Old Testament. And the Gospels read like a riveting adventure story. I get to know God by reading the Bible and the Holy Spirit makes it real to me, opening my mind and helping me understand. I’ve been reading the Bible since I was ten, and I’m thrilled when He surprises me by taking me deeper or unlocking the meaning of a verse or passage.

So today, I celebrate books. Especially the one God Himself authored.

Ron

Ron

18/11/2015 / / 0 Comments

On Sundays Ron was usually at the church door, waiting to welcome people with a firm handshake and shy smile. He worked wonders with the old boiler, knowing just how to coax heat from it, so that we could enjoy warm radiators during the sermon in winter. No one else was ever quite able to manage it. When he was away for a six-week-world-holiday-of-a-lifetime,  we shivered our way through meetings huddled in coats and scarves. Oh the relief when Ron The Master Boiler returned and we had a warm building once more.

Ron arrived early on Sunday mornings to turn on the electric heaters in the cold, damp rooms we used for Sunday School so that when the teachers and children turned up, the rooms were toasty and welcoming. Before leaving, he made sure the timers were set on those self-same heaters to ensure they came on in good time for the pre-meeting prayer time in the evening.

When my keys refused to work in stiff locks, Ron was my go-to guy. Even in the pouring rain, he gave every appearance of being happy to help.

He took charge of filling the baptistery with a hose pipe whenever it was needed (doing his utmost to ensure the water was warm), made tea and squash for holiday Bible clubs and Bible exhibitions, and collected up hymn books and newssheets at the end of the service.

Dependable and stolid, faithfully getting on with the next thing, contentedly chewing his mints, an amused chuckle, twinkling eyes, a well-worn Bible: these are my memories of a special man.

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