Uncategorized

I’ve truly been blessed by all the email I’ve received about The Jesus Lens since we started posting it a few months ago. I don’t do a lot of direct lecturing these days and this was a unique series with a lot of content. My hope in doing it was that people would be able to see that the Scriptures give us one consistent view of God if it is read as a story of the reality of God coming clearer as the story unfolds.

I was really blessed by this email I got last week from Europe. They had just finished listening to the audio version of The Jesus Lens available from the Lifestream Podcast.

What a service you have done for God’s people!

I’ve listened to all of The Jesus Lens. How I thank God for the lady who asked the very last question, prompting you to answer that what’s important to God’s heart is the direction you’re heading, not necessarily how close you are at the moment. I just broke out weeping for joy. I literally bawled for awhile as I drove. Such a relief! I still was struggling with some “brokenness” as you call it, that made me feel estranged or at least distant.

My heart shouted, “Yes, that’s it!” I had no “proof-text” at the moment to back up your perspective, but now, I have remembered Scripture that clearly supports that way of seeing it. But I was relieved by what my heart told me before the scriptural foundation came.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Today is the third day straight that I’ve had some wonderful time in Luke. (i was reading the gospels when I started listening to the Super Disc and haven’t gotten very far, because Scripture just wasn’t that attractive to me.) You succeeded in whetting my appetite for God’s written words. All of those hours and hours of careful preparation on your part were worth it, Friend.

And this is just the beginning! I can’t imagine what an impact this is going to have on God’s people around the globe! You are working on the book, aren’t you?

Actually, we are working on a book as well, but that will take some time. We are on target to have the DVDs finished by October 10. The price for this 3 DVD collection is $34.95, but for those who would like to order early you may do so now from Lifestream a pre-publication price of $30.00. This is for a limited time and we will ship the DVDs to you just as soon as we get them in stock. If you want to add other books or audio to this order, please be advised that they will all ship together when the DVDs arrive. If you want them earlier, please place as a separate order.

Here is a larger picture of the cover for those interested:

Trailview Media • 3 DVD set • $34.95 • Available only at Lifestream

I got two emails this morning that were incredibly encouraging as to how God works in people as they continue to learn to live loved. The journey can be ragged at time, especially in the early days. But as Father teaches us to live loved, it’s amazing what he can put behind us and the fresh pastures of life he leads us into. Enjoy these stories and know that God wants to shape his life in you, too.

The first is from a former pastor and his wife that went through a very difficult season that is not as uncommon as some might think:

My husband and I experienced the proverbial “boot” from the church he pastored three years ago. The issue interestingly, was that he taught everything from a foundation of grace. A handful of “reformed types” who saw that as dangerous, found a way to accuse him of something …. etc, etc … you know the story. Overnight, our whole family’s reputation was destroyed, and we were excommunicated.

A week after our lives were suddenly turned upside down, a friend brought over your book, So You Don’t Want to Go to Church Anymore and we also discovered your podcast and listen to it regularly.

I know you’ve heard these stories a thousand times. The point I want to make is that you and Brad have “accompanied” us on this amazing journey. You clearly articulate so many things that we believe and teach and live … yet haven’t always had a clear way to express. A few weeks back you spoke about your experience with your former church. You called it a dying. We looked at each other and smiled. That is exactly what we have called our experience. A painful but wonderful death to having a good reputation, a “fruitful” ministry, being liked by many, the ability to provide for our family, being understood and believed in, and so on. We have remained in our little town, where we are seen as unrepentant people who have done something horrible (but nobody really understands what it is), so we are to be excluded from “fellowship.”

Jesus has abundantly provided for us materially. But best of all, He is never satisfied with death. He has brought so much new life in the place of those things that have died… and that needed to die. These past three years have been one of the most significant gifts that Jesus has given us. As deeply painful as it has been, His nearness, tender care, and love have been deeper still. We are so very grateful.

The second is from someone who had been an active volunteer in a larger congregation and found God inviting them to a bit of a different journey:

e have been in a good place for a long time. We experience Father’s love and freedom and we are delightfully learning how to love the people he puts in front of us each day. That expands out to the neighbors we never knew because we were too busy running off to our big church where we were grossly overworked.

That freedom to love has also expanded out to the people we work with. People we used to see only as people that happen to work for the same company we see now as walking the same journey, just at different places in the journey. We enjoy meeting new people and discovering the treasure that is hidden of who they are and the unique way Father has gifted them, it is fun to dig in and get to know them and understand how they perceive their life’s journey so far and where they think it is going. We are just quietly living in freedom and loving it.

In the confines of religious obligation, freedom looks incredibly scary. But from those who walk away from its bondage and lies, I continue to hear of a full and free life ahead in spacious places. We were never meant to find our security in the structures or expectations of men, but in the gracious love of an incredible Father.

I’ve been trying to write an update from Australia for the last week, but just have not had time. Every day has been packed with people and the opportunity to explore their hunger and passions. And now I’m overwhelmed to even try. This has been an incredible adventure in all the conversations I’ve had with people who are hungering to live loved and share that life with others in relational ways.

There’s no way to sum that up today. I started in Toowoomba at the invitation of the pastors in the city, getting to talk with them one morning, and then with a room full of people over the weekend. It was a large conversation, but I think God was able to unveil himself through it. I even had time to share at Teen Challenge with some of the young men just sorting out their lives. Unveiling a loving Father was something so foreign to them but so freeing as well. Then in the Gold Coast and Adelaide we continued conversations with people who had read or heard things I’ve been part of. A recurring theme has been helping people who have been overwhelmed by depression by trying to live out the dictates of legalism and religion and how God sets people free from that. The personal conversations on this trip have been even more incredible than the group dialogs. I love that.

Now in Sydney that time has continued to unfold. Friday night and Saturday we had another large group conversation and watched God just invite people into his life and freedom. Relaxing into God’s reality, seemed to be a recurring theme. We try so hard to attain what God simply wants to give. Learning to respond to God’s giving instead of striving so hard to get him to give us what we want is the only way to live. But it takes some time to learn that.

Then last night I sat with a small group of people over dinner who have recently come out of a highly-structured and tightly wound mega-church in the area. As they shared about all the ways their need for approval had been manipulated by the leaders of this congregation, and how many “ministers” from America had come here with their pompous demands for their personal care and how the people here were trained to satisfy their every whim was at quite sickening. But as the stories unfolded it got increasingly hilarious. And instead of the conversations leading to greater pain, the laughter seemed to heal and affirm what God had revealed to them as the celebrated the freedom God brought them. We laughed late into the night and had to finally tear ourselves away so people could go home.

What a conversation! What joy I have in finding new found friends here in Sydney. It has not been easy to move on from any of the places I have stayed here, but I go to a different part of Sydney today to see what God is doing in a more traditional congregation and then I get to spend a day with a long-time friend from down under, before boarding the big bird for home.

This has truly been an amazing trip from the first people I’ve met, until now. I am simply overwhelmed with joy at the people I get to meet and share in the work Father is doing in their lives.

‘Roos in the wild near Adelaide

Bondi Beach in Sydney

The life of God continues to be shared through the people I met with in Kenya. A recent report from Michael about the love of God growing among them and that they are increasingly shifting from large-group lectures, to small-group conversations to help people truly learn to live loved and not just hear sermons about it. I’m really blessed with this change.

Here’s some of what Michael wrote me this week:

“Pokea salamu katika jina la yesu kristo” I have quoted this in Swahili which means; receive much greeting in the name of Jesus Christ. I was out for the living loved training conference, in the conference I saw the holy spirit doing marvelous in the heart of people. Traditional power and doctrine of men is being broken, I have never seen this before, but the Holy Spirit it is in the work. I believe God is having good plan in Africa. The vehicle is now in the good condition and the driver had brought it back to the centre.

May the lord bless you for being much concern. I believe we would reach many parts of Africa.

Another surprise that God is speaking in the hearts of people here towards the children orphans in the centre, one lady and her family has given milking cow freely to help the children. Other people also they have given the two sheep and one goat. (See picture below) Actually God is changing the heart of our people, despite of difficulties that they are passing through, they can do something. This breaks my heart for what God is doing.

This the picture along with the brothers to receive the cow, sheep and the goat. Another thing, I would like to remind you, that the money you supported us, it covered July unto August, so the food is urgently needed at the end of the next week. It is our prayer that God will provide for September and October, we have tried to minimize the budget although the price of food is rising. The teachers have done good work for the children. They have been working even during the night so that the children may completely catch up.

Donations to help feed the children

We appreciate so much those of you who have already helped us here. If any of you would like to give to one of these needs, or simply find out more about our ongoing touch with these dear brothers and sisters in Kenya, you can read this earlier blog or see our Sharing With the World page at Lifestream. You can either donate with a credit card there, or you can mail a check to Lifestream Ministries • 1560-1 Newbury Rd #313 • Newbury Park, CA 91320. Or if you prefer, we can take your donation over the phone at (805) 498-7774.

Thank you for your love, prayers, and concern for these dear people.

It’s always a bittersweet experience to let go of a book to the printer that has been in your heart for so long. In one sense, you want to keep editing and fussing with it to make it perfect, and on the other you have to remember it is but a snapshot in time and at some point you have to let it go to be shared with the world. This week we sent our latest book to print. Because of the special nature of this book it will be a couple of months before we have the printed copies on hand.

Over a year and a half ago I met an award-winning artist, Murry Whiteman, who had compiled two books of paintings drawn from the Gospels. I was moved by many of them and wanted to know if the books were for sale so i could buy them for a ton of people I know for Christmas. (Some of those pictures you can see at left.) He said they weren’t available yet and wanted my counsel on self-publishing them. And then he asked if I would be open to writing words to go with his art. I hesitated, unsure that I had the time or ability to write words worthy of his art, but told him I would consider it and asked if he would be open to Brad helping as well. He was.

And thus Brad and I began the task of bringing words to this art and trying to capture the reality of Jesus living in time and space as a human and experiencing all of life as we do. We finally completed that process over the weekend and soon this book will be available. It is 128 pages of art and prose that seek to illuminate Jesus and how he was truly a man like no other.

Last week on vacation I read a bit of it to my seven-year-old granddaughter as I showed her the paintings on my computer. Keep in mind that this is not a children’s book. We wrote it for adults, but I hoped there would be enough here to engage Aimee in that story as well. Not only was she transfixed by the art and listened intently to each story, but so did her three-year-old sister. After each one Aimee had so many questions about Jesus, whose child he was, and why he came to this earth. Each night she was excited to read more and wouldn’t let me stop on any night with just one. “Read this one,” she’d say pointing to the next one.

I am incredibly excited about this book finally being completed. Couples will enjoy reading the brief vignettes as a devotional together and others might use it in their own personal study and reflection.I think it will capture people’s hearts and be a discussion-starter as it sits on a home coffee table, or adorns the waiting room of an office. When we had a copy of the proposed cover sitting at a table in a restaurant as Brad, Murry, and I went over the book no one seemed able to walk by the table without zeroing in on the cover and pausing to read it.

We’ll have information soon about ordering a copy of the book. I just wanted you to know it will be available soon and I think it will make a well-appreciated gift for those on your Christmas list. It is called, A MAN LIKE NO OTHER: THE ILLUSTRATED LIFE OF JESUS. It will be published by Windblown Media and will be available through our offices at Lifestream as well as many other outlets.

Windblown Media • Hardback • Full Color • 8.5 x 11 • 128 Pages • $24.99 • Available in October

If you read this page frequently you’ll know how incredibly powerful it has been for me to grow to embrace the Almighty God of the universe as my Abba Father. These words continue to work their way into my heart with ever-greater reality:

For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” (Romans 8:15).

Of all the discoveries in my life over the past 15 years, none has meant more and none has been more powerful in reshaping my life. I am blessed to find God as a tender Father through the twist and turns of my journey in this age. Instead of being frustrated at him when he doesn’t give me what I want or trying to find the right prayer or bargain for God to give me what I think is best, I am finding the joy of simply learning to trust him as a tender Father.

I resonate with John’s words:

“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.” I John 4:13

I can imagine John in his twilight years reflecting on his entire spiritual journey in that simple phrase. I hope when I am older I am able to say with the same sense of resolve. As for now, I am simply learning this reality each day. There are some places in my life where I live truly loved, and their are other spaces in my heart that struggle to believe it’s true. At the end of my days, I’d want to say them with such finality as he did here. To trust God as my Abba, puts him in every situation with me and even in the difficult ones he doesn’t fix the way I want, I know he is never against me. Even when in sternness he disciplines me to live more freely in him, or asks of me more than I think I have to give, it is my Abba behind it all and that makes it easier to submit to his ways.

A big part of God’s instruction to me in this arena has been in my emotions and love for my own children, and now for my growing brood of grandchildren. i can’t believe how much I loved them, right from birth. I love the relationship I have with each of them and how much they enjoy being with their grandpa. I know the tenderness I want them to feel in me, and the fierceness that would protect them at all costs. A year or so ago, my daughter took the above picture of me when I was so deep in a conversation with Aimee that I wasn’t even aware that her mom was taking pictures. When I saw it the first time, my heart leapt. It has become the picture that illustrates “Abba” for me–a child quietly at rest in the arms of someone she completely trusts.

Last week as Sara and I were returning home from a vacation in the nearby Sierras, we stopped to have lunch with some long-time friends. As we walked into their dining room she directed my attention to the wall on which hung her watercolor adaptation of that picture. It took my breath way. They said it was a gift and we returned home to hang it on our wall.

Here it is:

Every time I look at not only do I get to celebrate that special bond that Aimee and I share, but even more special is the reminder that the God who made heaven and earth delights in being my Abba. There is no safer place to be, even at my worst, than on his lap, wrapped in his incredible love. There every difficult thing in my life fades in the absolute wonder of who he is and the relationship he wants to keep carving out with me.

And that is as true for every one of you reading these words.

I am back from a semi-vacation. Unfortunately I had to work on some of the DVD videos for The Jesus Lens, but I did get some rest and play in as well. The most important thing I could update you on is the need in Kenya. I heard from my friend Michael this week. They were able to repair the transmission on the car with the generous donations some of you have sent. Thank you so much on their behalf, mine, and I suspect even the Father’s!

But he sent me another email that strikes to the core of my heart:

What is happening here for hunger we have never experienced before. For more and more people, the same thing is happening. Many families are running for finding refuge just to get one meal. Your prayers are very important we don’t know what to do but just to lift in the mighty hands of God. May the Lord bless you as we pray for one another.

The drought in the horn of Africa has already driven a needy nation into a starving one. Food prices have risen astronomically because it is so scarce. My heart goes out to my brothers and sisters there and we’ll be sending them an additional gift to help alleviate the suffering. If you’d like to join me in sending something to help, you may do so through Lifestream, or any of the other charities looking to bring relief to that corner of the world.

We appreciate so much those of you who have already helped us here. If any of you would like to give to the people in Kenya, or simply want to find find out more about our ongoing touch with these dear brothers and sisters in Kenya, you can read this earlier blog or see our Sharing With the World page at Lifestream. You can either donate with a credit card there, or you can mail a check to Lifestream Ministries • 1560-1 Newbury Rd #313 • Newbury Park, CA 91320. Or if you prefer, we can take your donation over the phone at (805) 498-7774.

Thank you for your love, prayers, and concern for these dear people.

Sara and I are going to take a much needed vacation for the next two weeks and as such we regret that the Lifestream office will be closed during that time. We will still have access to email and voice mail, but will probably not be responding to anything that isn’t critical.

I hope you can appreciate that we’re a pretty simple operation here that doesn’t have a staff to fill-in when we’re gone. We may be able to ship some orders during the second week, but that has not been all worked out yet. We’ll be back on August 15, however, and will be able to assist you at that time. Please forgive us for any inconvenience this may cause you.

Sara and I are off to North Carolina in the morning, for a weekend retreat and then a special gathering with fellow-travelers in Charlotte on Sunday night. I thought I would leave you with this before I go:

I don’t often say this about a book, but I will this time. If you are the parent of a child who seems like a prodigal to you, wandering in a far off place from God, go get this book! But even if you don’t have such a child, go get this book! It is a powerful read of a father’s love for a rebellious son. If you’re experiencing anything similar his journey will surely encourage your own. But it is more than that. It unveils the relentless love of the Father for all of us as he continues to seek us out in the places we get lost and restore us in his grace and mercy.

I talked more about this book on last week’s podcast if you want to hear it. It is toward the end. This book is an engaging read. Remarkably well-written, honest, and vulnerable this book describes the ongoing pain of having a child wander far from the faith of his father, and a father’s love that keeps believing the best in the face of such brokenness. And through it all he discovers a depth of God’s love for himself in his wandering moments.

In addition, Dan is a friend and has been for 15 years or so. But that’s not why I’m recommending his book as many of my other friends might attest. For me to recommend a book here, I have to be convinced that it is a really good read and that a many of you will find this book helpful for your own spiritual journey. This is all that and more. It is deeply touching and wonderfully encouraging, even though they story has not yet ended. There is a spirit of triumph in it, even though Dan’s son is still sorting through the damage in his life from alcohol and PTSD from his service in Iraq.

This book is not available in stores, but you can order it from Amazon.com or from other online retailers.

Here is some added info from the back of the book:

Hope is a butterfly
Fear is a stone
As the father waits
For his son to come home.

For anyone who has loved a prodigal child, here is a voice in the night that says you are not alone. ‘The Butterfly and the Stone’ is a story of fear and hope on a journey that leads from the safety of home to Iraq, and home again to face a fiercer enemy: post-traumatic stress and addiction. Woven throughout is God’s love… found in a most unexpected place…

You can find out more at Dan’s website, StoneButterfly.net.

The life of God continues to be shared through the people I met with in Kenya. A recent report from Michael about the love of God growing among them and that they are increasingly shifting from large-group lectures, to small-group conversations to help people truly learn to live loved and not just hear sermons about it. I’m really blessed with this change.

Here’s some of what Michael wrote me this week:

Thank you very much for the great work that you are doing for the Lord especial the work of sending the gospel of Christ across the world. As I shared with you earlier that we are sharing with groups and just training them to understand God’s love to every body. So I have been receiving more invitations from the brethren here in Kenya and other part of East Africa, to go myself or send the team to help them about this revelation. I thank God some of the trip I have been sending the team a small group of people to go and help and some of the group I have been joining them. And I have seen really the hunger from the hearts of people. And yesterday Sammy my son he asked me that why this truth has been hidden for long generation and why God is revealing now?

So we have been visiting some areas where we have been meeting with local brethren ready to hear what God might having for them and very area we have been going it so fruitful and high expectation of understanding. Sometimes we break in the meetings and allow people to share among themselves. They can questions because many people were bound by religion system so some times we pray more so that people may have inner understanding. May the Lord be praised and honored for His people to get the true revelation from Him.

In Mt Elgon, we went for villages in high mountains where many people have been died during the land clashes and you may get hundreds of women who are widows and the young single mothers. My dear brother, let us continue praying for this people as God provides such time of this let us show them that they are really under the care of God no matter they may be alone but they are with |Jesus who cares the lives, there is a lot of every kind of suffering in this area but God is the solution of very thing. Among the hundreds of children we managed to take only just two but we promised that has the father provides we shall help where necessary.

We want to thank you very much for your support along with the team for the past years to help these people in relief. (We are looking for ways to help) many widows become self-reliant through income-generating businesses in teams of ten. The hunger has become very worse in the area but God is only the solution for this, you can also pray with the widows of Mt. Elgon that God may give them clear understanding. May the Lord bless you as we pray for one another.

Michael

Here, too, are some recent pictures that they sent:

A recent outreach to Mt. Elgon to help people learn to live in the love of the Father.


Learning to pass along the life of love through conversations instead of lectures


Praying


The broken transmission damaged on a trip to the highlands of Mt. Elgon

So God’s grace is growing among them, but so are the needs in this distant land. News reports continue to talk about the famine and subsequent starvation of many people in the horn of Africa, which includes this part of Kenya. The crops have failed, costs have soared. Every time I write to them I’m helping them learn how to trust Jesus for his provision and not just rely on gifts from Lifestream. They are learning to do that. At the same time, I can’t help but feel like I have a stake in this unfolding story since God has knit my heart with theirs. All we can do is make the need available to others and see what God provides for them.

There are three critical needs now:

We appreciate so much those of you who have already helped us here. If any of you would like to give to one of these needs, or simply find out more about our ongoing touch with these dear brothers and sisters in Kenya, you can read this earlier blog or see our Sharing With the World page at Lifestream. You can either donate with a credit card there, or you can mail a check to Lifestream Ministries • 1560-1 Newbury Rd #313 • Newbury Park, CA 91320. Or if you prefer, we can take your donation over the phone at (805) 498-7774.

Thank you for your love, prayers, and concern for these dear people.