Tag: faith (Page 2 of 2)

No More Bozos For Jesus?

This morning I was praying for some twenty-somethings I know who have kind of wandered away from God.  They’re really enjoying the partying hard thing, the sex without strings thing, and carpe without commitment.  I was praying that God might draw them back to Himself – remind them of the grace and meaning and joy to be found in dependence on Him.

But I have a Confession:  I don’t have the gift of “evangelism” and I often think I don’t care as much as I should about the souls of those far from God.  The culture of “live and let live” has immunized me.  Plus there’s the risk of making anyone feel like a “project” or being labeled one of “those” Christians with pat answers and tracts in place of candy at Halloween that scares me.  Unknown-1

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When We Were On Fire and Got Soaked

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I read very few blogs, but Addie Zierman‘s is one I love.  She is an incredibly talented writer whose new memoir, When We Were on Fire is her story about growing up in an evangelical church, in the “strange us-versus-them world of the 90′s Christian subculture, where your faith was measured by how many WWJD bracelets you wore and whether or not you’d “kissed dating goodbye.”  I can’t wait to read this account of her journey in and out of the evangelical church.  Today she’s hosting a synchroblog, inviting others to write of their experience of being on fire for Jesus.  Mine, growing up a suburb of Chicago, was quite different from hers…

I was in high school in the 70’s before “WWJD”, but when “Jesus Freaks” were still a thing.

We weren’t cool enough to earn that title, but not clueless enough to be weird. A friend of mine wrote in the cover of his Bible, “No more Bozo’s for Jesus.”  We just tried not to be “them”.  We fell somewhere between Freaks and Bozos.

The extent of our Jesus freakout was that our youth group went to the downtown Chicago theater productions of Godspell and (subversively) Jesus Christ Superstar.  And we carried our The Way Living Translations of the Bible to school on mornings when we had Bible study.

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With the awe and fervor of new found faith, like a scientist discovering a new planet, we wanted to run up to others, shake them and yell “Have you heard??!!! Isn’t it amazing??!!” and “Do you know about this earth-shattering-stinkin’-awesome grace stuff?”, but we tried not to pounce.

We lurched forward, fell down, and stumbled our way towards owning our faith and finding authentic ways to express ourselves.

Then one day, we were on a Young Life ski trip heading north to Whitecap, Wisconsin.  A jumble of hormonal teens, all arms and legs and acne, some new to faith, some desperately confused, all self-conscious and insecure. Continue reading

When God’s Good Work Doesn’t Seem Good

Tuesday morning at 2:11 a.m. our friends’ baby took one last breath and slipped into the hands of Jesus.  Gentle, healing hands much bigger than ours.

Her parents have known for six months as she fought to grow in her mama’s tummy, that short of a miracle, her breaths would be few, if at all.

Every time the doctors asked if they wanted to abort, they gently said “No”, grateful when the question stopped coming.  They are strong.  They cling to Jesus.

With a good idea of what was ahead, they read with faith and heartache, “I knit you together in your mother’s womb.  You are fearfully and wonderfully made.”  But she was. Continue reading

The Story God’s Given You on Fearless Friday

I had a great phone conversation recently with a high capacity leader on the other side of the country.  She is confident, bold, and faithful in using the gifts God has given her.  She inspired me, and challenged me. I walked away from our conversation encouraged…with renewed passion.

Usually I love to read how God is at work in the lives of others!  I love to ask people where they’re noticing the work of God.  Love to hear stories of big faith and audacious prayers.

Conversations like I had with my leader friend are an important part of living into community.  But if that’s all I’ve got, that’s not enough.  We can’t just live off of someone else’s story.  We each need a first-hand experience of God.  I love the way Mark Batterson says this.  “God’s dream for you is bigger than a second-hand faith.”

Sometimes, though, we’re tempted to settle for second-hand.  Easier to cheer from the sidelines than get in the race because…you know…

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The Opposite of Fear on Fearless Friday

My husband John is ridiculously wise and is my biggest cheerleader, praying with and for me regarding this blog.  He’s also extremely gracious, so when I asked him to write this guest post while we’re on vacation, he said “Yes.” 🙂  

It was a crash course in Fear, the single scariest moment in my adult life.  Suspended over the Zambezi River with its crocodiles and the roar of Victoria Falls, my pudgy almost-60 year-old body connected to the bridge by a rope that seemed thinner than yarn. 1-2-3 Jump!  Are you crazy?

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Bungee jumping was terror for a moment, but there are other fears, fears I’ve gotten so used to that they shape my life.  I believe we’re all afraid, experts in fear. While we’re afraid of different things, Fear is not only universal, it has a common impact: Fear STOPS us.

Fear Stops us from:

  • Seeking help for a relationship, instead of running away or living in denial or blame
  • Sharing our dreams, because then someone else would know of our dissatisfaction AND the insecurity that paralyzes us
  • Reaching out to forgive, or asking forgiveness instead of avoiding
  • Crying out to God for help, because our fear of change is even bigger than the status quo, and God might actually DO something

Instead of acting, we live with our fear, we live In fear.

I love Henri Nouwen’s image: “we live in  the House of Fear, and our fears have power over us, even as we long to live in the House of Love.”  I see how we are trapped in the House of Fear, and the lock is on the inside.  How to leave the house of fear?  Will we ever feel Safe?

But the opposite of Fear is not safety, it’s Trust, another word for Faith. Trusting something stronger than fear that paralyzes.  Trust frees us to be vulnerable instead of faking, encourages us to act (even if only a baby step off the ledge).  Only Trust can move us toward the House of Love, where Jesus shows that ‘love casts out fear’.

So a young couple share how they are facing their fear to trust God, and uproot their young family to follow a dream.  A young man faces his fear of disappointing me, and takes a step in trust to a new future.

And, finally, I jumped (though it may have taken a little push).

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If we were sitting over coffee (non-fat white mocha, lite whip) and I shared one of my fears, what would be on the tip of your tongue?  What fear do you yearn to be free of, and how long has it been since you’ve cried out, asking God to free you to the House of Love?  What might be your first little step?

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What’s on your reading list?

It’s totally unfair.  My husband reads fast and retains everything.  AND actually applies what he learns.  I, on the other hand, read at the speed of an endless Minnesota winter and struggle to retain a fraction of what I read, never mind actually applying it.  I’m in the loser bluebird reading group.  However, there are some books that I’ve read recently that have been impactful and so relevant that it’s been hard NOT to apply what I’m reading.  Here are a few.

I highly recommend all of them, but today I want to write about another one that’s not in that pile.  I received an advance copy of Mark Batterson’s new book, The Circle Maker, which will be out December 12th.  I’ve found this book to be challenging, encouraging, and uncomfortable in the best way possible.

If I had to name one thing I struggle with the most in living out my faith, it would be landing on the “right” way to view prayer.  I am inspired by those who dream big dreams and pray audacious prayers, but I am repulsed by those who seem to have more confidence in their specific prayer, than in the God they are praying to.  I’m paranoid about my prayers being more about me than God.  This book is both challenging and encouraging in that regard.  Batterson, using Joshua’s march around Jericho (in addition to a legend and other biblical accounts), writes about “praying circles around your biggest dreams and greatest fears.”  Mark himself prays huge petitions of faith, but is authentic in sharing the lessons he’s learned when God hasn’t responded as he might have liked.

This book is chock full of insights and examples that are catalytic. One of the images I love in Circle Maker is that of the hyperlink.                                                                          “Our most powerful prayers are hyperlinked to the promises of God.  When you know you are praying the promises of God, you can pray with holy confidence.  It’s the difference between praying on thin ice and praying on solid ground.  It’s the difference  between praying tentatively and praying tenaciously.”

A few other quotes to whet your appetite:

“Prayer is the alpha and omega of planning.  Don’t just brainstorm; praystorm.”

“If you seek answers you won’t find them, but if you seek God, the answers will find you.  There comes a point after you have prayed through that you need to let go…by resisting the temptation to manufacture your own answer to your own prayer.”

“We allow our circumstances to get between God and us instead of putting God between us and our circumstances.”

Batterson is NOT writing about a “name it and claim it” theology, but he challenges me through these words: “Nothing honors God more than a big dream that is way beyond our ability to accomplish.  Why?  Because there is no way we can take credit for it.  And nothing is better for our spiritual development than a big dream because it keeps us on our knees in raw dependence on God.  Drawing prayer circles around our dreams isn’t just a mechanism whereby we accomplish great things for God; it’s a mechanism whereby God accomplishes great things in us.”

In reading this book I am convicted that too often I pray safe prayers that allow me to “help” God out in case He doesn’t come through.  So, I’m reflecting on the riskier prayer circles God might have me draw.

I think this book is so good that I’m going to do a drawing for a free copy of The Circle Maker.  The names of everyone who posts a comment on this post before Tuesday night at midnight will be put in a hat for a random drawing.

How does this land on you?  Is prayer a challenge for you?  What’s one word that represents what you would like to circle in prayer?

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