The Lifestream Podcast

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Finding Church Now Available in Audio

Imagine you laying back in your easier chair or being caught in an exasperating commute to work and me sitting right beside you reading to you from Finding Church.  OK, that doesn’t even sound fun to me.  I wouldn’t sit next to you and read, we would get to talk.  But the audio version of Finding Church is now available for download, so you can listen to me read it even though I won’t be right there beside you.  Maybe we’ll get that chance up the road sometime.

If you’d like to listen to a sample, you will find Chapter 17 below:  “Unity Without Conformity”.  This is the high point of the book, in my view.  It demonstrates not only the answer to Jesus’ prayer, but also why our attempts to produce unity through conformity are destined to fail.

If you’d like top purchase the audiobook you can do so from Amazon.com or Audible.com, or download it through iTunes.  

Happy listening!  

Finding Church Now Available in Audio Read More »

Engage 24: The Adventure of a Lifetime

Engage #24: The Adventure Of A Lifetime

The final episode makes it clear that we haven’t arrived yet, but merely stand on the edge of the most amazing adventure available to us—how can we explore the vastness of God’s love and character not only in this age, but also for all eternity?

On this last day of the year, I get to post the final episode of the video series, Engage: Finding Your Connection With God. These brief 5-7 minute videos were designed to be listened to in two-week increments so that in the time between them people would have a chance to explore their own relationship with God and let God connect with them. The topic of this final one is one of the most exciting for me because when I lose the sense of wonder at how God might show up in my day and get lost in the mundane responsibilities and droning media of our age, my spiritual life stagnates. But when I am reminded that this amazing God wants to make himself known in my life today in the reality the circumstances I confront and the people I encounter, the possibilities are limitless and my heart begins to soar.

It was good to be reminded of all this as the year closes out and a new one begins. I can think of nothing better to share with you than this today. May you be caught up in the most amazing adventure life has to offer. May you find the grace to be more focused on what you do understand about him and his life and less preoccupied with what you don’t yet understand. The idea that even at our best we only stand ankle-deep in the vast mystery of God’s love and affection for us can set us at ease in the uncertainty and let our trust in him grow.

I am blessed to see the number of people who are working their way through this series and warmed by the emails I’ve received at how they’ve helped people relax into the reality of a relationship God has always been seeking with them. Living loved is not a matter of embracing a different set of principles about God.Living loved is the fruit of growing in the “knowing” of God, learning to sense his presence in our life and to cultivate an ongoing conversation with him about what’s going on in your life.

Engage #24: The Adventure Of A Lifetime Read More »

Engage 23: That Your Joy May Be Full

Engage #23: That Your Joy Might Be Full

Everything God does in our lives is so that his joy might be in us and that our joy might be full.  He makes a way for us to be at home in him and he disciplines us so that we can find the fruitfulness and fulfillment of his life instead of being tyrannized by the twistedness of our flesh.

Engage is our unfolding video series designed to equip and encourage people to explore their own relationship with God.  We are adding a new video every two weeks until we’re done. Of course the most important part of this process is not the videos, but the time and focus you’ll give between them to learn the joy of letting God show you how he wants to build a relationship with you. Living loved is not a matter of embracing a different set of principles about God.

Living loved is the fruit of growing in the “knowing” of God, learning to sense his presence in our life and to cultivate an ongoing conversation with him about what’s going on in your life. As that unfolds, or if you have specific questions you’d like to ask, feel free to share using the comment section of this blog.

Engage #23: That Your Joy Might Be Full Read More »

Engage 22: Tuning to God's Frequency

Engage #22: Tuning To God’s Frequency

Many of us were taught to find security in the approval of others, monetary success, religious activity and belonging to the right group. What if those aren’t the best signals to follow? It may seem difficult to separate the static of the world from his frequency, but it really isn’t. Here are some insights to help you distinguish the life that flows from his heart to yours.

Engage is our unfolding video series designed to equip and encourage people to explore their own relationship with God. We are adding a new video every two weeks until we’re done. Of course the most important part of this process is not the videos, but the time and focus you’ll give between them to learn the joy of letting God show you how he wants to build a relationship with you. Living loved is not a matter of embracing a different set of principles about God.

Living loved is the fruit of growing in the “knowing” of God, learning to sense his presence in our life and to cultivate an ongoing conversation with him about what’s going on in your life. As that unfolds, or if you have specific questions you’d like to ask, feel free to share using the comment section of this blog.

Engage #22: Tuning To God’s Frequency Read More »

Engage 21: The Only Thing that Counts

Engage #21: The Only Thing That Counts

We find our way into the simplicity of following him as we ignore the obligations and expectations that others can put on us and live in the confidence that there’s only one thing that matters to God—that whatever we do is the fruit of a growing trust in him expressing itself in our love for others.  Here are some practical hints in loving others without being gullible or exhausted by the expectations of others.

Engage is our unfolding video series designed to equip and encourage people to explore their own relationship with God.  We are adding a new video every two weeks until we’re done. Of course the most important part of this process is not the videos, but the time and focus you’ll give between them to learn the joy of letting God show you how he wants to build a relationship with you. Living loved is not a matter of embracing a different set of principles about God.

Living loved is the fruit of growing in the “knowing” of God, learning to sense his presence in our life and to cultivate an ongoing conversation with him about what’s going on in your life. As that unfolds, or if you have specific questions you’d like to ask, feel free to share using the comment section of this blog.

Engage #21: The Only Thing That Counts Read More »

What’s Going On Around Here?

Let me take this opportunity to share some of what’s going on around here these days.  First, for those in the San Diego area, I’m headed that way this weekend and will be gathering with people from the area who want to discuss the relational journey this Saturday, November 16, from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm in a private home in Oceanside, CA. If you’d like to attend, you can find contact information on my Travel Page.

I’m really excited about two new books we will have coming out through Lifestream.  One is the Spanish version of He Loves Me, ¡Él Me Ama! .  Some people in Spain have been working on a printed version of it and let us access their files to make it more accessible to Spanish readers in the Americas.  The e-book should be out in a couple of weeks and the printed version will come out in early December.  You can check out the cover below.  We’ve had a lot of interest in having this material available to the Spanish-speaking world and are excited this has finally come about.  We’ll get information out as soon as those are available.

Also, work continued on my latest book, Finding Church:  What If There Really Is Something More?  I’ve gotten 8 chapters of 19 roughed out and hope to have it available this spring.  For those who want to sample the first chapter, I read it for a God Journey podcast a few weeks ago called She’s Alive and Well. You can listen to it here if you haven’t heard it.  I’m having as much fun working on this project as much as anything else I’ve ever done.  Recent trips to the UK and Texas have delayed that just a bit, but both invitations were something I had to do now, or miss a propitious time.  I have been working with my good friend, Dave Aldrich on cover designs for the book and we’ve finally settled on one, we think conveys the heart of it really well.  I’ll let you peak at it below along with the Spanish version of He Loves Me.

           

Do you think Jesus can do cool?  Someone sent me this picture last night from the UK, and according to them the classes were just laid down on the book without intentionally placing them the way they turned out.

Sara and I enjoyed a good laugh at this.  It’s hard to believe someone didn’t put them there intentionally.  If you haven’t seen this book yet, you might want to check it out.  I love the artwork my friend Murry, Whiteman painted, and the chance Brad and I had to retell the story of Jesus without the religious overlay so often attached to him. I continue to get emails about how it has touched people’s lives, and how much it has spawned family conversations about Jesus, even though we didn’t write this as a children’s book.  If you’re looking for a great Christmas gift this just might be it.  You can order them from Lifestream.

Finally, someone videotaped part of my presentation in the UK last month.  I was talking about the new creation awakening in our hearts and how that runs counter to the religious sensibilities that have been engrained in so many of us.  This offers some fresh language to help us understand not only what Jesus has been doing in us, but what he’s doing in the world to bring all things together under him. It’s included here in case you want to hear it.  We’ve also included the audio to add to the Lifestream Podcast.

YouTube link

 

What’s Going On Around Here? Read More »

Engage 20: Letting God Win Your Trust

Engage #20: Letting God Win Our Trust

Faith is not a tool we’re supposed to produce to manipulate God to do what we want. God wins us into faith by showing us who he is and how he is working in our lives. The more we grow to trust him the less we’ll react to trouble by trying to save ourselves and then we’ll be able to embrace how God is working in our circumstances.

Engage is our unfolding video series designed to equip and encourage people to explore their own relationship with God. We are adding a new video every two weeks on Wednesday. Of course the most important part of this process is not the videos, but the time and focus you’ll give between them to learn the joy of letting God show you how he wants to build a relationship with you. Living loved is not a matter of embracing a different set of principles about God.

Living loved is the fruit of growing in the “knowing” of God, learning to sense his presence in our life and to cultivate an ongoing conversation with him about what’s going on in your life. As that unfolds, or if you have specific questions you’d like to ask, feel free to share using the comment section of this blog.

Engage #20: Letting God Win Our Trust Read More »

Engage 19: Living in the Spirit

Engage #19: Life In the Spirit

You do not learn to live this life in Jesus by wrapping your head around a different set of principles. You actually grow to understand this life as you respond to the Spirit guiding you into his truth. Over time the draw of the Spirit will become more powerful than the pull of the world or our religious training. Then, instead of seeking certainty, we will be at rest with him in our uncertainties.

Engage is our unfolding video series designed to equip and encourage people to explore their own relationship with God. We are adding a new video every two weeks on Wednesday. Of course the most important part of this process is not the videos, but the time and focus you’ll give between them to learn the joy of letting God show you how he wants to build a relationship with you. Living loved is not a matter of embracing a different set of principles about God.

Living loved is the fruit of growing in the “knowing” of God, learning to sense his presence in our life and to cultivate an ongoing conversation with him about what’s going on in your life. As that unfolds, or if you have specific questions you’d like to ask, feel free to share using the comment section of this blog.

Engage #19: Life In the Spirit Read More »

Engage 18: One Step at a Time

Engage #18: One Step At a Time

Few of us really live in the moment, where God is most easily seen. At times we live in the past by our regrets or by trying to recapture some past experience with him. Sometimes we live absorbed in the future with anxieties about what might happen, or trying to fulfill the plans and hopes we have. God is best seen in the present, where he is making himself known in the very things that impact you today. Few of us really live in the moment, where God is most easily seen. At times we live in the past by our regrets or by trying to recapture some past experience with him. Sometimes we live absorbed in the future with anxieties about what might happen, or trying to fulfill the plans and hopes we have. God is best seen in the present, where he is making himself known in the very things that impact you today.

Engage is our unfolding video series designed to equip and encourage people to explore their own relationship with God. We are adding a new video every two weeks on Wednesday. Of course the most important part of this process is not the videos, but the time and focus you’ll give between them to learn the joy of letting God show you how he wants to build a relationship with you. Living loved is not a matter of embracing a different set of principles about God.

Living loved is the fruit of growing in the “knowing” of God, learning to sense his presence in our life and to cultivate an ongoing conversation with him about what’s going on in your life. As that unfolds, or if you have specific questions you’d like to ask, feel free to share using the comment section of this blog.

Engage #18: One Step At a Time Read More »

Engage 17: A Life of Love

Engage #17: A Life of Love

Jesus invites us into a kingdom that thrives in love. Learning to live in the reality of his love for us and sharing that love with others, leads us away from the tyranny of always having to have our own way. Then instead of seeking what we want, we can lay down our lives for others and see more clearly how he makes himself known in the world Engage is our unfolding video series designed to equip and encourage people to explore their own relationship with God. We are adding a new video every two weeks on Wednesday. Of course the most important part of this process is not the videos, but the time and focus you’ll give between them to learn the joy of letting God show you how he wants to build a relationship with you. Living loved is not a matter of embracing a different set of principles about God.

Living loved is the fruit of growing in the “knowing” of God, learning to sense his presence in our life and to cultivate an ongoing conversation with him about what’s going on in your life. As that unfolds, or if you have specific questions you’d like to ask, feel free to share using the comment section of this blog.

Engage #17: A Life of Love Read More »