It has been a long time since I have read a book that impacted me more than this one. In places I laughed out loud reading this book in a room by myself. In other places I cried at the challenges some kids have to face just because of where they were born. The book is Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion by Gregory Boyle, a man loving broken lives at ground zero of the gang culture in Los Angeles. It is a deserving NY Times Best-seller and one of the best reads I’ve had in recent months. And it’s all true. This isn’t a fictional representation of God’s love, but a life breathing in its full reality and sorting out how to pass that love on to others who seemed most predisposed to reject it.

He begins with an assignment to pastor at the Dolores Mission in Boyle Heights, and ends up creating Homeboy Industries to give gang kids their first jobs, teach them how to work, remove their tattoos and give them a reason to live beyond the wasted world of gang life.

Now I know some of you are going to get a bit cheeky because it was written by a Roman Catholic priest and you’re going to get all bothered by what your disagreements with Catholicism. That will be to your loss. There isn’t much Catholic theology here. This is a Jesuit who ended up assigned to a parish in the heart of LA right in the middle of its two biggest gangs and found a way to love the people there that will make your heart thrill. This isn’t a bunch of religious gobbledegook, but a man living the reality

Some of you are going to be bothered by the coarse language as he captures the vocabulary of the barrio he lives in. That will be your loss as well. It is not gratuitious, but an important part of the story as he reveals Jesus’ ability to make himself known at the most brutal edge of human brokenness.

This is a great love story of transformed kids, told with humor and realness in ways that will inspire you to love the people around you. It is also filled with failure and tragedy as he buries some of the 168 who died in the senseless violence of a gang-riddled neighborhood. And there isn’t a taste of guilt in it for people who aren’t doing what he’s doing where he’s doing it. Seemingly this is not his assignment; it is his joy.

Here are just a few excerpts:

I will admit that the degree of difficulty here is exceedingly high. Kids I love killing kids I love. There is nothing neat in carving space for both in our compassion…

Isn’t the highest honing of compassion that which is hospitable to victim and victimizer both?

Jesus says if you love those who love you, big wow (which I believe is the original Greek). He doesn’t suggest that we cease to love those who love us when he nudges us to love our enemies. Nor does Jesus think the harder thing is the better thing. He knows it’s just the harder thing. But to love the enemy and to find some spaciousness for the victimizer, as well as the victim, resembles more the expansive compassion of God. That’s why you do it.

To be in the world who God is.

Here is what we seek: a compassion that can stand in awe at what the poor have to carry rather than stand in judgment about how they carry it. (p. 66)

Jesus’ strategy was a simple one: He eats with them. Precisely to those paralyzed in this toxic shame, Jesus says, “I will eat with you.” He goes where love has not yet arrived, and he “gets his grub on.” Eating with outcasts rendered them acceptable. (p. 70)

Jesus was always too busy being faithful to worry about success. (p. 178)

This book is a graduate school course on loving others. It made me want to love more freely the people around me in the simplest ways. Unloved people do the most destructive things to themselves and others. It’s the most basic cry of the human soul and what is most unmet in a culture that lives by independence and personal expedience. So many people have no idea what it means to be loved by someone and that alone sparks the potential for great transformation. What’s so real here is not the extraordinary place he is doing it in, but the potential we all have to love the people God has put around us.

One thing I notice about people who seem to end up in extreme places of loving others is they got there quite naturally as they simple lived out their faith. Rarely do I find effective people off to wild corners of the earth because they felt God demanded it of them, but because they fell in love with people there and couldn’t let them go through their painful existence alone. I love that. The message is: love where you are and see where God takes you, not go find some despicable place to love the most difficult people on the planet.

As an added bonus, you will never listen to “O Holy Night” again without finally understanding what “the soul felt its worth” actually means and its power to transform even the most twisted life into something, lovely, beautiful and holy!

Yesterday I was invited to join Cliff Ravenscraft on his Encouraging Others In Christ Podcast, asking the question, “Is God Bigger Than Your Bank Account?” He wanted to respond to a paragraph in an email I sent about learning to live inside Father’s provision instead of the mistaken notion that we provide for ourselves. In this podcast I share a lot of my own journey to come to rest in the Father’s provision and thought it might be a blessing to many of you as well. He also gave me permission to include it on my Lifestream blog as well. I hope it is helpful to many of you wrestling with learning to live in the Father’s generosity.

You can also subscribe to any new audio postings at Lifestream via iTunes.

One of the things I enjoy about having a new book out there is that it shifts the conversation a bit. I love talking about living loved and why there might be better ways to do church than to fit it into one of the models so prevalent today. But now I’m finding through A MAN LIKE NO OTHER I’m getting to talk more about the life and person of Jesus—the most compelling person to ever traverse this planet. And because of IN SEASON, I’m seeing people think a bit differently about their spiritual journey. Finally many are beginning to understand that you can’t find life in him by applying a set of guidelines, no matter how good the guidelines.

He invited us to follow him, not follow a set of rules or rituals. We can only do that where a growing relationship with him is helping us begin to sense his whispers in our hearts and his nudges toward the people or things he wants us to engage, and those we can pass by without obligation. The longer I walk this journey the more clearly I see that daily following him defies any set of guidelines we try to force on any particular situation.

I know some will take that too far and toss out any principles of righteous behavior that will help us see and test what he is saying to us. I wouldn’t go that far. Principles of love, kindness, justice, and grace give us a moral compass in which we can recognize his impulses in our lives. Having a righteous heart will mean we won’t cheat on someone we love, we won’t gossip to tear down another person, we won’t lie just to get something we want, and we won’t betray close friends in our own self-interest. We are willing to do the difficult thing, rather than the easy thing. We’d rather give up our lives that manipulate someone away from there. Morality matters. Those who live without a moral compass easily justify the most obscene behaviors for their own personal gain and leave in their wake a host of broken hearts. What’s more, they won’t even care about those people so sold are they on their own personal happiness or survival.

But those principles alone will not tell us what to do today. The problem with trying to live a life by Godly principles alone is that you arbitrarily try to implement something that is true into a situation where it does not fit.

Many does not live by bread alone, but by every word that God breathes. Don’t look for another program to tell you how to live. Stop trying to find the principle to apply in your situation today that will turn the tide on your relationship with your spouse or kids, or bring you the life you hope to have. Instead, find those things that stir your heart to know him and in knowing him to recognize the smallest breath of a whisper he puts in your heart. Follow him today, as best you sense him and that will be enough.

Over the past year, due to the generosity of many of you, we were able to send $85,100.00 to Kenya to help complete the orphanage, pay school fees for orphaned children, and assist with famine relief in Kenya. We have bee blessed at every turn to see the generosity of saints here, and the loving appreciation of saints there.

Last week I received this email from Michael, the brother God has given us to work with there. His gratefulness and blessings go to all of you who have been part of this amazing relationship with us:

Dear brother Wayne and the entire team of the saints around the world,

I would like to take this opportunity to send my gratitude to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who has joined us together to build up the body of Christ and also to be a vessel to touch the lives of brothers and sisters in order for them to know who is really Christ, the people would not see Christ until they would see the image of Christ in us.

The church of God in Africa, has walked only with the doctrine and the judgmental message for long time and it was my long time cry to see the transformation from the hearts changing the way of focused in the church of God in Africa. These are the brothers and sisters for whom Jesus died and they must see the light with supernatural power to touch and to change the lives of every individual. This truth has been hidden for so long but our Lord Jesus Christ had a plan to work on His way to help the church of God in Africa to come out from human understanding to spiritual enlightenment.

So I thank God that my spiritual eyes have been opened to know the mind of Christ towards his people and I would like to thank God through you brother. I am not thanking you because of the resources that you have been sending alone. That is part of it, but spiritual enlightenment as well that I can realize the purpose of Christ to choose to sacrifice His life that we may be redeemed once more and have the fellowship time after time in daily life. This must become lifestyle—walking with Jesus. This is beyond the Sunday service, or certain fellowship or human structure/schedule.The transformation is taking place, it is my great joy people to come out from traditional religion which have bound brothers and sisters for so many generations that it has become routine and practice for many generations.

I can remember in the book of Acts Paul was sharing with the brethren that as he had read an inscription on one of their idols, “to unknown God”. Paul was emphasizing that he had come to share with them to the same God which they had been worshiping as the unknown God. So I thank God for the wisdom which God has given you. The time you first step in Kenya with brother Kent, you could see a lot of errors in Africans church, these inclusive hierarchy, title, positions, structures, institution which people called the churches. You didn’t judge us or point fingers but you shared the message of love and through that, that word had became a medicine to heal the entire continent just with the small group you began with.

You practice faith with action, along with your brethren over there to feed the hungry, to cloth the narked, to put the shelter to the homeless, to help the widows, to the rescue the orphans, to educate the needy and to help those who were oppresses, those are the key which has opened the gospel of Christ to get breakthrough and to change the lives of people from the small group to the Nation and even to Nations.

So it is our prayer that God gives you wisdom and understanding revelation that we may reach the entire world with the Gospel of love. We don’t have anything that we can give you, but I can just only pray for you and give you the below encouraging words and verses along with your family and sends these message scriptures to the entire brethren who have prayed and give out the gifts whether in financial or any other help:

Matthew 10:42 – And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”

2 Corinthians 9:13 – By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission flowing from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others.

Proverbs 19:17 – Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for his deed.

1 Chronicles 29:11-12 – David praised the Lord before the entire assembly: “O Lord God of our father Israel, you deserve praise forevermore! O Lord, you are great, mighty, majestic, magnificent, glorious, and sovereign over all the sky and earth! You have dominion and exalt yourself as the ruler of all. You are the source of wealth and honor; you rule over all. You possess strength and might to magnify and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give thanks to you and praise your majestic name. “But who am I and who are my people, that we should be in a position to contribute this much? Indeed, everything comes from you, and we have simply given back to you what is yours.

2 Corinthians 9:8 – And God is able to make all grace overflow to you so that because you have enough of everything in every way at all times, you will overflow in every good work.

Galatians 6:9-10
So we must not grow weary in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not give up. 6:10 So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who belong to the family of faith.

2 Corinthians 9:10-15 – Now God who provides seed for the sower and bread for food will provide and multiply your supply of seed and will cause the harvest of your righteousness to grow. You will be enriched in every way so that you may be generous on every occasion, which is producing through us thanksgiving to God, because the service of this ministry is not only providing for the needs of the saints but is also overflowing with many thanks to God. Through the evidence of this service they will glorify God because of your obedience to your confession in the gospel of Christ and the generosity of your sharing with them and with everyone. And in their prayers on your behalf they long for you because of the extraordinary grace God has shown to you. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift.

ROM. 12:11-13 – Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Our prayer also goes to the girl (Jesus knows her name) who made the dolls to help raise money towards Living Loved Christ Hope Education Center. The children are praying for her. I shared the message with the kids and they want her picture. Our prayer also goes to the donation of the students who are orphans in different schools whom you have been helping for the education in past years, our prayers also goes to those who stood in the side of relief, medication, microfinance, in widows program, single mother both in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania,

Thank once more for having the trust for me,and trusting my hand to guard the gift as on behalf the church. In Africa we have thousands of believers who could do better and are more well- educated. Why God has chosen me to carry the gift of the saints, I count as his gift and I promise to remain a good stewardship for his Body.

May the lord bless you and bless you much to stand with African church in this time of drought and famine that has swept up so many.

The needs in this part of Kenya are overwhelming, and the need continues. We feel like God has asked us to help out in this corner of the world and will continue to pay for the staff at the orphanage, assist students in their school fees, and be part of a continuing effort to salt that part of the world with the invitation to live loved by the Father. If you have some extra to share with these projects, or if you want to know more about this project or the AIDs recovery home we also support in South Africa, you can 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.

I should have known better. In order to preview this book, Hometown Prophet by Jeff Fulmer, I had to promise to write a review on my blog within 30 days. I have never made that commitment before. I usually tell people I’ll read 25 pages or so and see if it captures me as a reader. If so, and I can recommend it, I’ll do so on my blog. But I was intrigued with the storyline, so I told them to send me a copy. For the first half of the book, I was glad I did. I found myself casually recommending it to other people, with the caveat that I was only a third of the way into it, or when I was half way through.

The premise was brilliant. An unemployed young man, living at home with his mom begins to have dreams that appear to be from God. When the dreams come true, the Christians rally around him as a prophet. Then, the foretelling dreams begin to hit closer to home and the celebrated prophet becomes a pariah in the Christian community. There was so much about this set-up that I enjoyed, not the least was having God visit someone who wasn’t living a stellar “Christian life.” I liked the beginning conflict with those who had more vested interest in the status quo than in what God might actually be doing. The author is an engaging storyteller, making me believe the story and endearing me to its characters. I was hooked, until I got about 60% into the story. That’s when it all went wrong.

AT that point the characters surrounding our hero became horribly stereotyped, as did the liberal agenda that began to bleed from the pages. The dreams turned out to be less about God inviting people into a transformation with him and more about Christians become more politically liberal. Here’s where the author’s agenda really turned me off. I do think God would have us to be more loving especially to the poor and downtrodden, and I wish believers were more committed to good stewardship of the planet, but to have the story end there really cheapened what was going on in Peter, the protagonist in the story.

I have rarely been this unsatisfied with the ending of a story that started out with such promise. As I read the early portions I was intellectually salivating with the possibilities of how this story could turn out. In the end it didn’t satisfy any of them. Now, I don’t know Jeff, and his whole purpose in writing this story may have been fulfilled by its ending. I don’t begrudge him that. But in the end, it is not a book I’d recommend to others here. So, I guess I won’t be making that commitment again any time soon.

The other day this photo arrived in my inbox. Photographer Kent Lindsay, a frequent listener to The God Journey, said that this photo came to mind as he was listening to one of our recent podcasts, Conversations That Matter. He wrote that he found such peace in this photo because it reminded him that the kingdom of God is an unforced reality that is spilling out in the world and we are merely children letting it fall on us. With his permission, I get to share his photo with you. (You can find out more about his work here.)

I love what he wrote and as I looked at the picture I, too was captured by it and reminded that God’s purposes in the world are so much bigger than any of us. Who of us can cap the great force of his love or direct its flow. We certainly don’t control it and dare not presume to claim ownership of anything God does in or through our lives. All that’s good in the world is simply God’s life and love spilling over onto kids, in whom he delights. Is it not enough that we simply revel with him in the moment, and not be tempted into thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought to think?

This may be what Jesus meant when he said, “Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3) Participating with God in our world has less to do with personal achievement, but simply being willing to watch for the flow of his love, and play in that reality as circumstances unfold around us. There’s great hope and peace in that.

As the new year begins let me share with you a chapter from my latest book, In Season: Embracing the Father’s Process of Fruitfulness. If you haven’t read them earlier, you can read earlier parts of the book here: Introduction and Chapter 1.

Chapter 2

I am the vine; you are the branches.
If a man remains in me and I in him,
he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
JOHN 15:5

I was born into a family of farmers. My father owned and lived on a vineyard, as did his father before him. I grew up among rows of grapevines that stretched toward the horizon. I have worked in the vineyard during the heat of summer and the frigid cold of winter. It was in the vineyard that I began my spiritual journey.

This is why John 15 is one of my favorite passages in Scripture. In it Jesus uses the metaphor of a vineyard to teach his disciples how they could follow him into a relationship with his Father that would make them fruitful and fill them with his own special brand of joy. As a farmer in a vineyard, a student of Scripture, and someone who has been on a life-long adventure of growing to know the Father, I want to invite you into the vineyard with me to learn what so many have missed. Jesus really did offer each one of us a relationship with his Father that is more real than the breath we take and more natural than we dare believe. My favorite time in the vineyard is the waning days of winter.

It is still only mid-February, but in the short winters of California’s San Joaquin Valley, spring is just around the corner. The ever lengthening days are already clawing at winter’s grip. In the late afternoon the long yellow rays of the setting sun have surrendered to violet-tinted shades of pink. Though it was a warm afternoon, the evening chill comes quickly. I zip up my coat against the light breeze, pulling the collar up around my neck and thrusting my hands into the pockets. Lights from distant farmhouses have already begun to twinkle against the fading landscape, and out of the diaphanous shroud of evening ground fog that obscures the horizon, rows of grapevines curl over the hills and completely surround me.

The vines are all neatly trimmed, their branches gently twisting around the wire strung from the posts that stand as sentinels beside each vine. The hard work of winter brings surrealistic order to the vineyard. Should anything in God’s creation be so tightly clipped and neatly arranged?

The vineyard is at rest, waiting patiently for the glory of springtime and another season of fruitfulness. I guess that’s why I like this time of year so much. In the moments just before darkness settles in, the wispy fog and the neatly trimmed rows combine to grant me that marvelous gift of secluded peace. Except for the softened whine of a few cars far away, the only sound I hear is the crunching of dirt clods underfoot.

Only a few months ago the air was filled with dust, voices, and churning of tractor engines that mark the frenzied drive of harvest to get the raisins in before the first rain. A few weeks from now those same noises will fill the air as the process of fruitfulness starts all over again. But now it is quiet. And though a glance from a distant farmhouse might lead someone to believe that I am alone, it is not so. I have come here at this time to walk and talk with the Father.

This has been my cherished prayer closet since I was a young boy. It is a sanctuary of greater reverence than I’ve known in any cathedral built by human hands. No place on earth more quickly draws me to him, because it is here that we first met, and here we have met so often. This is where I began my spiritual journey.

This is my father’s vineyard—a thirty-five-acre ranch in the heart of California’s Central Valley. For almost all of his first sixty-five years he lived and worked within a mile of this very spot. The farthest he ever traveled, interestingly enough, put him in another vineyard, this one in northeastern France, where he was wounded in battle just before New Year’s Day 1945.

After the war he purchased the farm next to the one on that he was reared. This vineyard provided for his family, but more importantly, also provided the opportunity to teach his four sons about God and his ways. I’ve learned more about God in this vineyard than in all my years of Bible training and study. I learned from the lessons Dad taught us and that he backed up in the integrity of his own life and experience. I learned about the cycles of the seasons, of God’s faithfulness, of overcoming adversity, and of surrendering to his will. Most of Dad’s lessons came from Scripture, but many others came from his lifetime of growing grapes.

And I grew to know God in my long walks through the vines, usually at dawn or dusk. I read Scriptures and learned to voice my concerns to him, telling him my deepest secrets. Eventually I began to hear him respond—simple stirrings, gentle insights, and eventually deep convictions; the voice of God superimposed over my own thoughts. I could know what was on his heart in the same way I was letting him know what was on mine.

I remember the first time I touched a presence bigger than myself. I wasn’t more than eleven or twelve years old and had gone for a long walk. I was standing in a row of vines some distance from the farmhouse and made a simple request. “God, if you’re real, would you show yourself to me?”

Honestly, I didn’t mean at that exact instant, but in the next moment a soft breeze wafted through the vines. My skin began to vibrate as I sensed something or someone was coming close. I looked about anxiously to see if any of my brothers had followed me out into the vineyard, but they had not. The air became rich and clear and my mind filled with thoughts about the God I’d always wanted to know.

He seemed to surround me and flow right through me. My heart pounded, the hair on my neck stood straight out. At first it was pure delight, but the more I questioned what was happening, the more fearful I became that a voice would speak or a vine would suddenly burst into flames. I wasn’t ready for that. Eventually the fear overwhelmed me and I ran back to the farmhouse as fast as I could.

What had I touched? It was a presence undeniably distinct from my own. It felt wonderful and scary all at the same time.

And though I promised myself I’d never do that again, I would soon find that my desire for him would overrun my fears and I’d find myself again praying that prayer. He didn’t ever show up like that again, but he continued to make himself known to me in ways that endeared my heart to him as I continued to grow.

That’s why the vineyard has always been my special place, and it is no wonder to me that when Jesus wanted to reveal the reality of living in his kingdom he made rich use of farming and, in particular, vineyard illustrations. No other metaphor offers such a rich source of instruction, encouragement, and challenge. The passages of Scripture that deal with vines and grapes are among my favorite. I have not only studied them but also lived them, and they have changed my life. The vineyard of my childhood is not so different from those that Jesus would have walked through with his disciples and spoke of in stories.

On that last night before his impending trial and excruciating execution, he wanted to prepare his disciples for life with him beyond his death and resurrection. Where did he take them? He brought them to a vineyard to teach them their last lesson. Among those vines he spoke of a greater vineyard beyond space and time—his Father’s vineyard. He told them that he alone could make them fruitful and in doing so would put his joy in us so that our joy might be full.

Fruitfulness and fulfillment are the themes of the vineyard. Who doesn’t want joy and peace deep enough to hold us through the worst circumstances, and a sense of purpose that comes from knowing our lives make a difference in the world? For many, however, these promises remain only an elusive mirage. Though many things in this world promise fulfillment, they only bring moments of happiness that quickly fade to emptiness. None of them offer the enduring joy and peace we were told they would give us. So people are not surprised when religion’s joy seems fleeting as well, when the joy of salvation quickly gives way to the rigors of discipline.

Sadly, most think they are the only ones who feel that way. They look around not knowing that others are pretending as well. Even those Christians who try to convince others that they have found the secrets of fulfillment and fruitfulness often prove by their own personal stress, immorality, or spiritual emptiness that they have not. Religious activity will never lead to the fruitfulness and fulfillment Jesus promised his followers. When Jesus led them to a vineyard he wanted them to know that the way to the fullness of life lies through the reality of a relationship—not the dictates of a religion.

I have long since left the ranch and moved to more urban settings. My days are no longer filled with vineyards but with computers, automobiles, and other machinery of our technological age. It is easy to be seduced into the mistaken notion that spiritual growth lies in carefully observed principles and rituals, rather than the more organic realities of a growing relationship.

We are organisms, not machines. Our spiritual growth patterns have more in common with the four grapevines growing today in my backyard than they do with the computer on which I am typing. That is why when it comes to spiritual growth, Scripture makes such vivid use of the images of a vine growing in a vineyard and the ever-shifting seasons that influence its growth.

Let’s go to the vineyard together, you and I. Let’s walk the rows with the Father of the vineyard and watch his vines grow and bear fruit. We’ll even get to stop, pull back the leaves, and behold the marvelous process of bringing a vine to fruitfulness. Let him teach you the lessons of the vineyard and show you the secret of finding the fullness of joy and fruitfulness that he promised to every believer—including you!

___________________

This is Chapter 2 of my new book, In Season: Embracing the Father’s Process for Fruitfulness. Copyright 2011 by Wayne Jacobsen and used by permission. Available from Lifestream.org

Well, everything is ready to share some richly welcomed days with our family. What I love most about this season is when all the preparations are finally done and time slows down so we can simply relax and enjoy each other. Grandchildren make that even more special. Also, Sara and I will be taking a break between Christmas and New Year’s to enjoy our family and be personally refreshed, so the office will be closed during that time. Orders won’t be filled again until January 4. I’m sorry for any inconvenience this will be to any of you and hope you’ll hold whatever business email you have until then. We truly need some time away from computers to let our souls refresh.

I also did an interview for the Encouraging Others Through Christ Podcast with Cliff Ravenscraft, which you can access by clicking on the link above.

Finally, last week a friend of mine quoted a Martin Scorsese interview with Fast Company magazine about how much support creative people need. I chuckled when I read the quote since it had never crossed my mind before and it seemed like a strange thing to say. Then almost immediately I realized why. The reason I’ve never felt the need for support is because I’ve had so much of it over the years. I have never known the lack of it. Sara has always been so encouraging about most of the scatter-brained ideas that run through my head, especially those that led us down this Lifestream trail. My family and extended family have also encouraged the creative side of my life. And though I get angry letters now and then from people who would prefer that I shut up, I get far more emails and comments from people that encourage me to keep writing and speaking the things that are God has put on my heart. These days that support and friendship literally comes from all over the world.

Thinking through all that, I found myself undone by the incredible people God has placed around my life. No doubt this road has not been easy and there have been seasons filled with pain. I’ve been betrayed by people who take my help, then turn around and lie about me. I’ve been forced out of relationships with people that I dearly loved through gossip. We have watched a lot of work washed away by the selfish actions of others. But God has continued to open other doors, offer us other friendships, and we seem to always have more opportunity than time to do it all. And through it all I have been able to enjoy the beauty of long-term friendships with people who have had a profound impact on my life.

So as we arrive at year’s end, I want to express my gratitude to so many of you who continue to hold a place in your heart for Sara and me and the tasks Jesus has asked of us. For the people who have prayed for us, sent us notes of encouragement, given us your counsel and wisdom, welcomed us into your homes and lives, supported us, sent us financial gifts, loved us, and simply maintained a friendship with us, thank you. Without you we would not have been able to be a part of the incredible things Father allowed us to participate in this year:

We are blessed by our relationships with so many people. We are grateful for all God has allowed us to be part of this year, and look expectantly into a year ahead. And, we want to bless you and your family. May his love overwhelm you now and in the year ahead and grant you all the support you need to journey on in him and do what he has asked you to do in the world.

And if you missed our Christmas card, scroll down to the next post. You won’t regret it!

With all our love and prayers,

Wayne and Sara.

Art and words from A MAN LIKE NO OTHER, available at Lifestream.org.

To all those who read these pages, to our friends and fellow-travelers around the world, we are so grateful for the lives God has linked us to around the world. May you spend treasured days with loved ones, and laughter and joy enough to fill your heart. May you know the riches of his love and the joy of friendship from others on this journey as you celebrate the most awesome act of God in his Creation—sending his Son among us to redeem the world from its enslavement to darkness.

A light came into the world, and we have beheld his glory! And one day his kingdom will triumph over all.

May you and yours have a joyful and peaceful Christmas and a blessed new year.

Responses to A Man Like No Other have continued to come in and I’m really blessed at how people have taken to this book and are sharing it with others. The mix of paintings and writing have done exactly what we prayed they would do—capture people with the glorious reality of what Jesus came to do in us as he lived among us. So many are using it devotionally, savoring one story at a time and letting Jesus come alive in it. Some are reading it individually, others as families.

Here are some of the recent comments from my emails:

“I was expecting a coffee table type of book with great pictures and a few words. The pictures turned out to be brilliant but the retelling of His story is way more engaging than I had expected. Much more than just great artwork to be admired.”
Mike in Florida

“I just received your new book, “A Man Like No Other”, and it takes my breath away. Not only is the art work stunning, your story telling brings tears to my eyes and joy to my heart, as you bring out deep truths. I wish I could give one to everyone on my Christmas list. I am being blessed by this beautiful work of art.”
Renee in Oklahoma

After we opened to the first page and felt goose bumps, we’ve chosen to savor each page and only read one page a day. The artwork is a feast for the eyes and the accompanying article helps us ponder the gospel in a fresh way. What a treat for our souls and spirit! Bravo!
Otto in Europe

My wife & I have been enjoying the thoughts conveyed and the conversations that are spawned between us as we read together through “A Man Like No Other”.
Gary by email

“The Miracle Worker” wrecked me tonight & left me in awe of Jesus… humbled, reflective, & deeply grateful for his mercy, patience, forgiveness… his love, compassion, & healing touch in my life. There’s no adequate way to thank him. but I tried. My favorite picture of Jesus in the book is the one on page 35. Its unreal what this picture does to me. Truly. I love ending the year on this book.
Renee in Texas

A Man Like No Other
The Illustrated Life of Jesus
By Wayne Jacobsen, Brad Cummings, and Murry Whiteman
128 pages, Windblown Media, $24.99 • 128 pages • 8.5 x 11.5 • Hardback

Available from Lifestream.org

I love the stories I get to hear and be a part of as people grow in the Father’s love, even through the most unexpected changes. I met Daryl years ago when we were both vocational pastors in Visalia, CA. We’ve stayed in touch through the years and have even crossed paths at a number of different locations around the US. I have walked with him through his wife’s unfaithfulness and then divorce. Watched him start a new business venture and then his business partner betray him. I watched him pass over some pretty shaky theological ground, and yet Daryl kept coming back to an unrelenting desire to follow Jesus and to find his security in the Father’s love.

This has not been an easy journey and it didn’t end up where either of us thought it would, but it has ended up in real freedom and life. This is part of an email he sent to me the other day:

Dear Wayne,

Father is so good as I can sense that through His love and patience he taught me about just relaxing in to His love. I really can’t explain it, but through this long and sometimes seemingly brutal process, I have experienced His faithfulness and love. I’m okay each day, and enjoy each day.

Over these last 10 years I’ve been kinda expecting Father to bring restoration. A restoration of a new wife and family, a home, my finances, job, etc. Well, He hasn’t done that, but I believe He has brought a spiritual restoration. Now this is what I can’t really explain. In the simplicity of my life—-one day at a time, one moment at a time–it is filled with laughter and the security of His love and faithfulness.

I have been working part time at Home Depot now for almost a year now. Father has provided this job and I know it is what He has for me now. I am renting a room fairly close to work, and have been blessed with some amazing friends who are “church” to me. It makes me laugh, because I see many things differently than they do as we are quite diverse. I understand that Father is pulling me into being with those who passionately love Him and seek Him, even as they are at different places in their journey. I mean really, Father? I know I’m supposed to be with them right now and it just makes me laugh. They are passionately studying the “Torah”, and doing the Messianic Jewish thing. Really??? Yes… really.

Right now my life consists of going to work and coming back to my room and getting to spend time with Father. Very restful. A reclusive hermit (smile). I’m getting the sense that a lot of things are happening around us, and some amazing things are about to happen. In fact the sense is very strong. And a lot of what I’m seeing and experiencing seem to support this. However I reserve the right to be totally wrong. I’m comfortable to wait and watch what unfolds.

There are a lot of things I would like to do other than being a part-time flooring assistant at Home Depot, but Father will reveal what His agenda for my life is in time. I’m thinking all that I’ve gone through is getting me preparing me for the next step in His plans. In the meantime, I’m just enjoying each day that He gives me, rejoicing in the simple things. this has been very humbling, but freeing. I find I don’t have to prove anything anymore. So I’m a “failure” in life. Yes, and so what? I’m poor, yes, and your point is? I no longer have to compete. I can just be me. Beloved son of my Abba. No one fights to be least and last. It’s freedom. Really gaining my identity as the adopted beloved child of God. I used to talk about this but it becomes more of a reality when all the other things that I could base my identity were gone. Status, career, reputation, education, intellectualism, and being a “spiritual kind of guy”. When I come to the end of myself, I’m free to be just “His Beloved Child”.

Not sure what tomorrow brings, other than I go to work, allow the Holy Spirit to live in me, love those around me, and do what He has put in front of me–one day at a time. He is faithful. Deep down I used to wonder what I was doing wrong that my life has been the way it has. Maybe when I get “it”, then I’ll get all the stuff that will make me satisfied and happy. I think I’m finally beginning to get that when you know His love, it can be enough. One day at a time. I can trust His leading, because He is faithful. I sure enjoyed the interview with Mike Steele. Really related to it.

Anyway…. I’m looking forward to where He leads next, and who I get to see next. Looking forward to when Abba crosses our paths. It’s always fun.

No, you don’t have to lose everything to learn to live loved, but when you do lose everything, isn’t it nice to know a love deeper than our circumstances. I’m so blessed at where this friend has landed through a very rocky journey.

I heard from another old friend a few days ago. He told a very painful story of the last few years of their journey, which involved some legal hassles and starting a new business and then losing it. He went back to school in his late 50s to learn a new vocation and now works at a hospital. As I commiserated with him about all he had lost and could not even imagine how he was coping with his new job, he said, “You know, with all we’ve been through and how unfair it was, I know today that I am exactly where God wants me and I couldn’t be happier.”

Wow! Love that! Joy rarely resides in getting what we want, but in finding his purposes unfolding in the reality of our lives. If we look for him in our unfolding lives rather than withdrawing into the cocoon of our own frustration or bitterness, God has some extraordinary things under his sleeve.

I’m waiting at the Dallas airport for my flight home from three days in Louisiana and two in Jasper, TX. As wonderful as these last days were with two very different groups of people, it is always a joy to head toward home and those I love. So this is a day filled with fond good-byes and the rising anticipation of getting home to Sara, Lord willing, later tonight.

Someone asked me this weekend why I do this if I don’t love traveling. I’m going to let someone else answer that question for me. A couple of weeks ago someone gave me the following thank-you note that sums up why I do what I do. I know (perhaps better than anyone else) that the work she describes is not what Wayne does, but what God does in a heart. She was summing up what God had done in her life over the past couple of years of reading, listening, and crossing paths in the world both in her city and mine:

So You Don’t Want to Go to Church Anymore was a life-changing book for me. Reading it was like putting glasses on and looking at something I’ve looked at all my life, but never really seen.

As a teacher, writer, and friend you’ve helped me to see beyond

Beyond religion, the church, and the law.

Beyond the system, the building, the hierarchy, the leader.

Beyond fear and shame.

Beyond the program, the rituals, the schedule, the weekly meeting.

Beyond obligations and expectations.

Beyond “a thing with a name that has to be maintained.”

Beyond the need to fix, the need to do, the need to solve and the need to prove, the need to know, the need to carry, the need to be heeded.

And beyond all these I’ve found rest, joy, adventure, engaging relationships and unfolding seasons and the reality of living loved.

Thank you!

“Seeing beyond” is exactly what I hope our books, articles, podcasts, and other resources do for those who visit here. I couldn’t put any words together to better express the hope I have for people with whom I get to spend time as I travel about.

I so enjoy watching people’s countenances change from their white-knuckled attempts to be “good Christians” to a relaxed follower of Jesus, confident in his work in them. I know these things express what only Jesus can do in the human heart. Unfortunately these things don’t happen in a weekend, but from a process of God reshaping our thought-patterns from the exhaustion of religious obligation, to the simplicity and power of living loved by the Father.

The reason I travel around a bit when I sense he asks me to do so, is to be a cheerleader for others as his work unfolds in them, helping them have courage enough to see the process through and not give up when it takes longer than they hoped and when they can’t yet see the fruit of the incredible work he is already doing in their hearts.

I hope you’re not getting tired of me writing about Kenya. It has been some time since I last brought them to your attention because I know how easy it is for any of us to be fatigued over an ongoing, persistent need. We hear about it every day in our own country with the economic downturn and I also know that many of you have others you’re in touch with in the world that need a helping hand.

But the Kenyans I know are never far from my heart. These are not just brothers and sisters, they are my friends. Weekly I hear of their struggle, their hopes, and the pervasive need for the simple things of food, clothing, and shelter that they face every day, and even more so the end of this year as the effects of last spring’s drought continues to overwhelm their lives. I am constantly reminding them to look to God as their provider, not Lifestream, but I also know this is a corner of the world where God has asked me to be involved, so we continue to support his people there.

I am excited by the transformation we are seeing in them as they are learning to live loved. Two months ago we shipped them 24 copies of The Jesus Lens DVDs to help equip those who are wanting to help others learn to live loved as well. With each email I receive, I see forward progress in their thinking, their lives, their ministry to others.

This year through the generosity of many of you we were able to build an orphanage. Since it was completed in March we have also been underwriting the expenses for staff and food even though contributions have slowed to a trickle. Our commitment to them was to do so for another fifteen months in hopes that by then they will have a way to fund it on their own. We’re also looking for ways to help these kids move into homes and be loved, rather than stay in orphanages.

I just wanted to remind many of you that this is an ongoing need and we are looking to Father on their behalf, seeing how he will provide for them. If you have any extra in this season, or simply feel called to help us support them either with a one-time contribution, or a monthly donation over the next fifteen months, that would really be a help. If you want to know more about this project or the AIDs recovery home we also support in South Africa, you can 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.

I get as many questions about parenting outside the traditional congregation as I get on any other topic. It seems many believe there is a right way to raise our children and if we can learn all the principles involved we can guarantee that our kids will be good examples of what it means to follow Jesus by never making mistakes and always having a Godly attitude. At least we want to save them from the mistakes we made. And that’s a recipe for disaster and self-condemnation if I ever heard one.

To start with, kids deal with the same flesh we all do, and growing up in a broken world provides opportunities none of us can control Besides, God gives kids to rookies. Our only experience in doing it, is when we’re actually doing it, and I don’t know any parent that hasn’t made his or her share of mistakes. That doesn’t mean we can’t do the best we can, but you’re still growing, too. I wish I had raised my kids back then with the knowledge and freedom I have now. No, I still don’t think they would have turned out perfectly, but perhaps they would be less encumbered with the obligations of religion and would have had a better chance to know a Loving Father.

So when I read this a few weeks ago on the Lifestream Journeys list, one that we provide for those who are being touched by some of our things at Lifestream and want to learn from others, I knew I wanted to share it on my blog. So with permission from Pamela, it’s author, I want to share with you this perspective of parenting. She has been at it awhile, raising her children in a religious construct and now loving them as adults. I love the humor, the honesty, and the reality that loving adult kids involves a lot of apologizing for the ways in which we complicated their lives and journeys. If it helps you relax a bit more today in your own parenting and realize that you are never going to get it all right and that parenting is a lot of doing your best when they’re younger, and apologizing when they are older, then it will have served its purpose.

Pamela was responding to another parent who was struggling with raising her own young children:

Truth is, I don’t think there is a parent anywhere who doesn’t–at some point or another–feel completely overwhelmed and incompetent. I know I’ve banged my head on the floor more than once, and cried out to my Dad “What in the world were you thinking to give me children??!! Hello! I am clueless here!”

And, then you have those moments of brilliance when you think “I’ve got this parenting thing down!” I said that to myself after my first-born was about 2 years old. Then, the second child was born. And, nothing I did with the first worked with the second. By the time I got to the fourth…well, the head-banging was almost a daily ritual. Perhaps God gives us more than one child just to keep us from getting cocky… or to keep us on our knees, admitting our powerlessness.

Have you seen M. Night Shyalaman’s movie “The Village”? Oh, my! It’s an amazing depiction of parents’ desire to protect their children from evil, and the lengths to which they will go to that end. I have watched so many loving parents erect a border of “yellow flags” around their children, believing that if they can just keep them “contained” in a “safe zone”, then no evil will be able to get to them. But, as others have pointed out, the evil is in our human nature. Of course, that doesn’t stop the powers that be from telling us “if you will just dress ‘em right, take them to the right places, don’t let them go to the wrong places, keep them in Sunday School and Children’s Church, don’t let them watch TV, put a bad-word bleeper on the TV, nothing but G-rated movies, have them memorize Scriptures, have family devotions, pray before every meal, say bed-time prayers, go to church some more, only have church friends, only play sports with church leagues, read the Bible, teach them to tithe, go to church some more, don’t let them go to public school, only send them to Christian school… thennnnnnnn you will get perfect children who are angels and never make bad choices and never sin and never get in trouble and never make you look like a bad parent and will go to heaven and won’t go to hell”

And I’ve had my share of well-meaning family members pointing out that my children’s bad choices was because of something I did. When my oldest son was struggling with addiction, and had attempted suicide, my sister said “I just feel like God wants me to tell you that all of this is happening because you took him out of the presence of God.” (i.e. left the congregation she was in.) Whew! That one knocked the wind out of me. At the time, I was so traumatized by everything that was happening that I figured she was probably right. (By the way, Father tells me that it’s not even POSSIBLE for me to take anyone out of His presence! Remember that whole “if I make my bed in hell….” thing!)

The thing is, as broken and messed up as we all are, it’s a wonder that any child survives. My husband and I are on a mission of repentance with our children. As Dad makes us aware of the mistakes and bad parenting, we go to our children and repent to them, and ask their forgiveness. My husband has apologized for specific things so frequently that our oldest son has told him “Dad, you don’t have to apologize anymore.”

Tony responded “Yes, I do…because I have to own this stuff, and I can’t get better until I do.” The coolest thing is that as we respond to the awareness His Spirit brings us with contrition, it is healing our family! To tell you the miracles we watch everyday in our children would take a book!

And yes, seeing them make unwise choices, knowing the painful consequences that are coming their way, is very hard to watch… agonizing, actually. But, my Shepherd just gently reminds me that He is THEIR Shepherd, too, and He loves them way more than I do, and He’s been known to leave the “ninety and nine” to go retrieve that ONE foolish little lamb and bring him safely back to the fold.

My dad used to say that most people only get enough of God to be miserable. The longer I live, the more I am convinced he’s right. If you only think of God as a meddlesome deity who demands that you follow his rules to live in his good graces, you’re probably one of those people. If the thought of having God with you during the day causes your stomach to churn with feelings of failure and inadequacy, you’re probably one of those. And if your Christian experience is nothing more than following a set of rituals, rules, and obligations that you think makes him happy, then you’re also probably one of those people.

Most people didn’t start out that way. They will tell you of their early days of faith when God first captured their hearts. At the beginning, they knew they were loved and they began each day with fresh excitement and anticipation. Soon, others began to teach them what it meant to be a good Christian, and they began the long, slow descent into the rules and regulations of a religion called Christianity. The religion eventually erased their joy. They became content merely to plod along, unconsciously becoming obedient to human obligations instead of faithful to Jesus. This is not the life Jesus offered his followers.

On the night before he went to the cross he told them that his desire for them was “my joy might be in them and that their joy might be full.” That doesn’t sound like laboring under the onerous demands of religious practice. Jesus showed them that his Father was the most endearing personality in the universe and that he loved them more than anyone else on the planet. He invited them into a relationship that would fill them with unknown depths of joy and lead them to completely fulfilled and fruitful lives.

Jesus didn’t come to inaugurate a new religion complete with rituals, principles, and obligations that only serve to wear us out. I’m convinced he came for quite the opposite reason. He came to fill up the space in the human spirit that chases after religious ritual in order to satiate guilt. He wanted to set people free. He did not take his disciples to the temple to teach them this lesson. He took them to the vineyard.

What a strange night it had been! As Jesus served the Passover meal he made ominous comments about the bread being his broken body and the wine his spilled blood. He said that before the morning sunrise one of them would betray him, one of them would deny him, and the rest of them would abandon him. He told them not to be afraid and warned them that he was going somewhere they could not go. Judas fled the room for reasons none of them understood. They left the safe confines of that upper room and headed through the darkness into the Garden of Gethsemane. Suddenly Jesus took the conversation in an unforeseen direction.

I am the true vine.

Eyebrows must have popped up as they looked incredulously at one another. Vines? Why is he talking about vines? Perhaps Jesus had spotted a small stand of vines in the garden. I can imagine him walking over to a grapevine, affectionately taking one of the canes in his hand. He might even have squatted down near its trunk, inviting his disciples to gather around him as he launched into one of the more tender metaphors of his ministry—one he reserved for his closest friends.

He compared himself to a vine, his disciples to branches, and his Father to a gardener. He spoke of the seasons through which his Father would care for them, producing the most amazing fruit. Why was he telling them this story? “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”

What an unlikely group for such an incredible promise! Take a look at the men sitting around that grapevine. Which of these eleven men deserved it? Four years earlier, which would you have chosen to dine with a king, much less the Creator of the universe? None of these men had been to state dinners at Herod’s palace, and none were likely to be invited to one in the future. They weren’t outcasts necessarily, but most were nondescript people who you would pass on the street and not give a second thought to. He found some of them on the docks, frustrated fishermen who had worked all night and come up empty. One he found in a tax office, and another
was sitting beneath a fig tree.

Who would have thought such a promise would be given to people such as these? Certainly their friends wouldn’t have, or the Pharisees. Cultures only reward a sliver of people they consider special, and it usually comes down to those with the right talents, backgrounds, breaks, or achievements. These men, however, were ordinary people who demonstrated the same weaknesses we do—anger, jealousy, greed, and incredible thick-headedness—-and Jesus extended to them the amazing invitation to absolute joy.

He paused in that small vineyard on the way to the olive grove in Gethsemane to teach these men—and through them all of us—-how to embrace joy at a far deeper level than their circumstances would ever allow. Joy is not mere happiness—-that temporal feeling of satisfaction resulting only from favorable circumstances. This is a joy that springs from the deepest part of your soul with a knowing that he is with you and his purpose is being fulfilled even in the most difficult times.

Discovering joy is the heart of the lesson of the vineyard. You may seem as unlikely a candidate as the eleven men who surrounded Jesus in that garden, and unless you are convinced that the same offer is yours, you will never pursue it with the fervency necessary to apprehend it.

I’ve met many people who couldn’t imagine that such a treasure could be theirs. Through the hollow glare in their pain-filled eyes they all ask the same questions: “What hope do I have of ever knowing joy? Can God help me find the same fulfillment in Christ that you have?” Some were brought to that point through years of abuse or abandonment, others through the brokenness of sin or after years of disappointed spiritual pursuit.

One such person came to me recently. Everyone who had ever been close to Judy, from her birth parents to her adopted parents, had rejected her. She was a real-life Cinderella, but without the carriage and glass slipper. She believed in God, but believed that God had made her only to help expose the sins of others; her personal pain mattered not a whit to him. She reached this conclusion only after her many pleas for healing had seemingly gone unanswered. Everything she tried had failed, and she was left to the bitter throes of loneliness and bulimia.

Was there hope for her? And just as importantly, is there hope for you? You’ve tried to find a vital friendship with Jesus any number of times, but your experience, like Judy’s, may never have lived up to the promise. Let me assure you at the outset that the promises made in the vineyard are as certain for you as the sun rising tomorrow. God has no favorites; he loves all his children equally. Jesus offered the promise of joy not only to the eleven in the garden that evening, but also to rich young rulers, hardened Pharisees, lonely beggars, and brazen prostitutes. Not all took his offer, but those who did never expressed disappointment.

You need to let go of the past with all its unanswered questions and give yourself a fresh start. It is a process and it will take time as God untwists your distorted thoughts and shines light into your dark places. It will challenge you, but you don’t need to shrink back from him in guilt or unworthiness.

His touch is tender and his love is certain. He did not come to condemn you for the places you got stuck, but to rescue you from them and set you in his glory. All you have to do is keep coming to him with the simple request that he reveal himself to you. There is no brokenness he cannot mend, no pain he cannot heal, and no person he does not invite to the fullness of his life. He desires an intimate friendship with you, and he wants to help you engage in a conversation with him that gives wisdom and comfort to your heart.

That’s why he told the story of the vineyard to a group of people about to face the greatest trial of their young lives.

__________________________________

This is Chapter 1 of Wayne’s new book, In Season: Embracing the Father’s Process for Fruitfulness. Copyright 2011 by Wayne Jacobsen and used by permission. Available from Lifestream.org

In Matthew’s twenty-fifth chapter, Jesus tells three of his parables that are most often used by those who drive the performance treadmill to make people work harder to try and earn God’s favor. And, not surprisingly they are some the enemy uses in his accusations that we may not be “doing enough” for God. But in each case, the conclusion of the parables are anything but the “try harder” explanations that religion gives. As I was reading through them the other day, here’s what caught my eye:

First, the Parable of the Virgins: Ten virgins are awaiting the bridegroom, but his coming is delayed longer than five of them had planned. They just had enough oil enough to get to midnight, and when the groom came later they had no reserve with which to light their lamps. The conclusion: Those who live for his coming as if it is immediate, will lose out when he delays. Live for the long haul and whenever he comes you’ll be ready.

The Parable of the Talents: At first blush it looks like those who work harder are rewarded more than those who do little. At a closer look, however, we see that it is really a parable about fear. The one who feared God as an exacting taskmaster is the one who made all the wrong decisions and ended up empty at the end. The lesson: Those who live loved have the freedom to be fruitful. Those who live in the fear of not being fruitful, will find themselves fulfilling their own fear.

The Parable of The Sheep And Goats: Those who were truly about the Father’s business had no idea they were. They were simply loving whomever God put before them. Those who sought to do good as a qualification to enter God’s kingdom missed what it meant to love the people right in front of them. Doing their works for him, meant they missed his opportunities for them.

Those who learn to live loved and cease to strive in their own efforts, will know the joy of the Lord and all that it means to be fruitful. Those who seek to suck up to God to earn brownie points are so lost in their self-effort that they miss him in the simple realities of life. I used to see all these parables completely the opposite of what he intended, and though they made me work harder, they didn’t lead me to true fruitfulness. How could they? My attempts to fulfill them were too self-centered. I’ve said it before. The only thing worse than unrighteousness is self-righteousness. The latter leads to pride and arrogance that only spoils the world around us.

But as I’ve been learning to live loved I’ve been less conscious of trying to do what I think he wants, and freer to embrace what he gives me each day. Who knew it would lead me to the better things he had for me, than those things I thought I should do for him? Learning to live loved will lead us to a righteousness that our growing trust in his love produces. We’ll find ourselves blessing others when we’re not even aware of what we’re doing. That will make us a far sweeter fragrance in the world and a far better follower of his.

Good news! The IN SEASON books arrived today after a virtual comedy of errors by our printer, including the truck breaking down that was supposed to deliver them yesterday. So once again we’re filling backlogged pre-orders. But now we have everything in stock.

I’ve also been getting notes back from people who are already reading A MAN LIKE NO OTHER. It seems to be touching people as deeply as I hoped:

From a lady in Canada:

I received “A Man Like No Other” yesterday and have finished a quick reading of it this evening. What a beautiful portrayal of the love of Father and Jesus both in painting and prose. I was deeply blessed and will be ordering several books as Christmas gifts for friends stuck in a concept of a distant God. I myself am in a growth process out of that stuck space, and I hope to take a few more steps away from that place as I immerse myself in the love portrayed in this book. Thank you to all of you for the work you put into it to bless hearts like mine.

By the way, are you aware that there is a steamy romance novel with the same title selling on Amazon? I don’t know copyright laws for book titles. I hope this doesn’t create problems for you down the road. Having grown up in a vineyard myself, I am eager to receive “In Season” when it becomes available.

Yes, we knew about the steamy romance novel. I hope people don’t order that thinking they’re getting our version, but the two books couldn’t be more different so I doubt anyone will get confused. There are no copyright laws for book titles. People are free to use whatever they want.

And then this came this morning from a woman in Austin:

I started reading A MAN LIKE NO OTHER tonight… and the tears began streaming just a few pages in. I’m gonna move slowly through this one. Just sit with God and take my time. Murry’s artwork is amazing. I feel like I’m there.

That’s what we hoped people would gain from this re-telling of a very familiar story, but one that usually shrouds Jesus’ life with a religious veneer that makes it uninviting for many. We wanted to show him as the personification of God’s love in the world and how he invited others into a similar relationship with his Father. I’m deeply blessed it is touching others in the way we hoped it would.

If you have thoughts about either of these books, it helps tremendously to have people post even brief reviews on Amazon or their own blogs and websites. And if you’d like to interview me on your podcast about either of these books or THE JESUS LENS, I’d be happy to do so as a way to get the word out. Also THE JESUS LENS DVD are now available at Amazon as well. Search in “All Departments.”

Unfortunately the In Season books that we were promised by Friday did not arrive. Our usually dependable printer had some issues with equipment breakdowns, so we’re not going to get them until Tuesday. My apologies to those of you who will have to wait just a bit longer. On the plus side Sara got all the pre-orders for A Man Like No Other out, so they are on their way.

But for those who are Kindle-enabled, In Season is now available at the Kindle store. We will also be posting it with Barnes and Noble as well as have downloads from our own site later next week. Everyone uses a different format, unfortunately, so it will take some time to get them up in all the right places.

But before I go, let me leave you with another spread, with text following from A Man Like No Other:

Who Would Have Imagined?

God very God. The King of the Universe. The Creator of all. He who was before anything ever was. He could have come into this world in any manner he chose. He could have come in all his glory with guns blazing, demanding submission, demonstrating his power, and commanding our
worship.

Instead he chose to come in the womb of a willing teenager. Though Mary was a descendant of the line of King David, Israel’s most celebrated king, she did not exactly come from one of the more noble branches of that family tree. She was a simple, young teenager, betrothed to a humble carpenter.

One day God sent the angel Gabriel to her. Even though she was still a virgin he told her she would become pregnant and give birth to a son. His name would be Jesus, and he would be called the Son of the Most High. He would be the promised Messiah.

“How can these things be?” Mary asked. The angel answered, “It will happen by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Mary knew what was at stake. This was an invitation to certain ostracism. Her reputation would be ruined. Would anyone believe her? The angel may have greeted her as the “Favored one,” but that was about to end in everyone else’s eyes. What would her parents think? What would Joseph, her fiancé, think?

Nevertheless, in spite of all her concerns and fears, she said, “Yes, I am your willing servant. Let it happen as you have said.” Thus the God of the Universe entered into his creation as a single cell. He who is Life itself spent nine months growing in a womb. He was part of the struggle and pain of childbirth, a baby gasping for his first breath. A cry pierced the night, and “God” was comforted by the love of a young couple. Tiny, helpless, and utterly dependent, he was cared for by two first time parents with little more to their name than what their donkey could carry. This was his grand entrance, a baby in a stable, in a small forgotten town on the backside of all that mattered.

If any of us were God, would we have done it that way? Wouldn’t it have been far more spectacular to rend the Heavens and come in full glory on top of the Temple Mount, perhaps with a legion of angels in our wake?

God chose something different. Even in the face of a world perishing in the corruption of sin God did not overwhelm the planet. While the salvation of the world hung in the balance, he was not in a hurry. Instead, he embraced all that is human with a steady, slow deliberation as if savoring each moment. In doing so he celebrated the ordinary—the miraculous among the mundane. He would not skip ahead to the good stuff. This was the good stuff and he was not about to miss the joy of growing up in his own creation.

Matthew 1-2, Luke 1-2,

A Man Like No Other
The Illustrated Life of Jesus
By Wayne Jacobsen, Brad Cummings, and Murry Whiteman
128 pages, Windblown Media, $24.99 • 128 pages • 8.5 x 11.5 • Hardback
Now available at Lifestream.org

Just released from customs, A MAN LIKE NO OTHER has arrived at our offices, and Sara is busy getting out all the pre-orders. This is an amazing unveiling of the life of Jesus in both art and prose. I have enjoyed carrying my advance copy with me on my two recent trips and watch as people thumb through it and are captured by the paintings that Murry Whiteman created. If you missed our earlier blog that showed some of the layouts, you can see them here. I am excited to finally share this project with you and hope that it will be another tool to help you know who Jesus is and how he came to engage us in a transforming relationship with his Father.

And coming from the category of when-it-rains-it-pours, we have also learned that copies of Wayne’s newest book, IN SEASON, will be arriving by truck tomorrow. So we’ll be shipping those orders as well. Pray for Sara. There were an awful lot of pre-orders of both titles.

We are also finishing up the e-book files for IN SEASON and will soon have it listed on our website as well as at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

And if you like what you see and want to buy them as gifts for Christmas, or any other reason, we will be announcing bulk pricing and full-case prices over the next few days. If you are interested in that now, you can call our office for more details. (805) 499-7774

You can order them from Lifestream Ministries as well as the new JESUS LENS DVD. We sent two dozen copies of THE JESUS LENS to our brothers and sisters in Kenya and have been greatly encouraged by the reports of how it has touched the people there. There are over nine million believers involved in the network of believers that we have been working with. They have sent those copies out to numerous countries in the region and are busy copying them to share even wider.

These three projects have taken a lot of my time this year and it is wonderfully rewarding to finally make them available and get early reports from people that they are as touched by these resources as we were in producing them.

Working on In Season: Embracing the Father’s Process of Fruitfulness over these past few months proved to be an incredible experience for me personally. Since I was working with material that I wrote over twenty years ago it gave me a glimpse of the process God has used in my own life. I thought I had so many answers back then, but soon discovered I wasn’t even asking the right questions at the time. I express that in the Introduction I wrote for this edition.

A Personal Time Warp

I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.
But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and
straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-14)

I’ll admit I have a problem. I can’t just rerelease another edition of a book without tinkering with it.

I see life as a journey, and any book, audio, or article is just a snapshot of that journey. So while what I wrote twenty years ago was the best I knew then, God’s work has continued to shape my life. I would not write the same book today. So putting out a new edition of a book I wrote in the distant past, even if it was one of my favorites, is not as easy as simply sending it to the printers again.

I knew the book needed to be changed. What I wasn’t prepared for was how much it needed changing. As I read it over I knew printing it as it was would be like posting my high school photo on my home page. Sure the resemblance is there, but I don’t think anyone would see that photo and know immediately that it was me. I have changed a lot since high school. And I have changed a lot since I wrote the first edition of this book.

I’ve often wondered what it would be like to have a conversation with a younger me. What if I could warp time, go back twenty years, and sit down in my old pastor’s office with the person I was back then. Would we even like each other? Would we be able to communicate? Would the younger me recognize the current me?

While I was rewriting this book, I had the chance to experience a bit of that sort of time warp. Much of this material was originally published in 1991 in a book called The Vineyard. That book was republished in a couple of different formats. Some of it was put into a coffee table book titled In My Father’s Vineyard and some of it was repackaged in a book titled Tales of the Vine. Those books have been out of print for some time and many people have been asking if I was going to republish my material on the vineyard. As I started through those books again, I wasn’t prepared to meet the Wayne of twenty years ago who wrote and thought very differently from the Wayne I’ve become in the intervening years.

While still embracing the content of the book I wrote, I had to cringe when I read my own words. They sounded more like the fiery preacher of my former days—the one who talked down to my listeners from a pulpit. I was constantly setting a high bar and pushing them toward it (as if our own human effort could ever bear the fruit of our Father). I hope that now after some reworking, it tenderly encourages you to find Jesus in the reality of your life today and find the grace to follow him as he shapes your life to be fruitful and fulfilled in him.

As I reworked this material, a powerful theme emerged that highlighted the seasonal element of our spiritual journeys. We tend to conform our lives to obligations that do not fit what he is asking of us, instead of appreciating the process of fruitfulness that allows each of us to be free in our journey to follow Jesus as each day requires.

Many believers I know live as though it is always supposed to be harvest time and they grow frustrated when their lives are not as fruitful in other seasons. If harvest is our only expectation, then we’ll despise the days when Jesus shapes our lives in the relative stillness of winter, or holds us in his hands while we face the heat of summer, bringing maturity to his fruit in us. Vines are never frustrated with shifting seasons. Each one is essential to the cycle of fruitfulness that God invites us to embrace.

As a farmer’s view of John 15, this book touches on the deepest themes that have defined my life, while also drawing from the fondest memories I have of growing up on my father’s vineyard in central California. That may sound more spectacular than it was in actuality. Today vineyards are marketed as romantic tourist destinations, but for those who live on them they are a lot of hard work.

During summer it is hot and dusty as the farmer cares for the vines or harvests the crops. In winter the labor can be cold and menial as he prunes one row of vines after another. Nonetheless it was in those fields that my young life was shaped. It was in my father’s vineyard that I learned so much about God and life. There I learned the nobility of an honest day’s work, of the joy in a job well done, and what character and integrity really mean. All of these lessons have served me well in the forty years since I’ve left that farm.

It took far longer to rewrite this than I had planned, but I hope the result will set you free to live deeply in the Father’s life and flow with his working, whether he is pruning you in the rest of winter or developing fruit in you that he can share with so many others.

Who knows, I may have to rewrite it again in twenty years and take more of the old me out yet again.

In Season will be in hand on November 8. In fact, they were just printed this morning. If you’d like to order your copy, you can do so here.

Now I’m off to Omaha for the weekend. Looking forward to what God has in store there.

A friend sent me this quote yesterday. While I don’t usually turn to Johnny Depp for wisdom, he said a mouthful in a recent Larry King Special.

Money doesn’t change anybody, it reveals them. Same with success.”

I know it often looks to us like people change whenever they come into money or some measure of success, but perhaps he is right. I like to think character (or the lack of it) runs deeper than our circumstances. So if people become arrogant, deceitful, or unfaithful when their circumstances in life change, maybe that’s who they truly were before. They just didn’t have the opportunity to show it.

Certainly money and success present people with very different options than they had before and that’s why it is often more a trap than a blessing. I think character is best displayed by how we’re willing to treat people when we most think we are right. If we are less than loving, gracious, or self-sacrificing in such moments, it only shows us there is more work to be done by the only one that can shape our character—-Jesus himself!

And didn’t he say that if someone is faithful with something small, they will continue to be faithful when they have more. In the end, our character really does matter more than our circumstances!

It is so good to get all the new resources finalized and available to people. I’m excited that THE JESUS LENS DVDs are out, and so is the video on-line for those who want to view it for free. A MAN LIKE NO OTHER has arrived at the docks in California, now it’s just a matter of getting them through customs, which is not an easy process these days. And IN SEASON is at the printer’s with a promised date of November 7, while we’re working on getting the e-book made for that. The number of pre-orders for both of those books have really surprised us.

And during this busy season it has been a joy to be on the end of hosting travelers, instead of being the one crawling on the airplanes! Last week we had a mother and daughter visit us from Visalia, and a couple from Colorado Springs stay with us for four days. Last night I met with a local group of believers who are part of a church plant in the area. They have been reading SO YOU DON’T WANT TO GO TO CHURCH ANYMORE and wanted to ask some provocative questions about all that in light of what they’re involved in. What a delightful group of people and a wonderful evening.

This afternoon a young couple arrives from Indiana to stay with us a few days. Then it’s the grandkids coming to Camp Grandma on Saturday night! That will be lots of fun. Then next weekend I’m off to Omaha, before returning in early November. Then we’ll have another wave of visitors coming from Sacramento, upstate New York, Texas and England. Wow! It’s nice to have some folks come this way for a change. I don’t always get the chance to intersect with people who come to the area, because of my travel schedule and other meetings out here, but it’s always nice when it does work out.

Then Sara and I are going into stealth mode to sneak into Green Bay, Wisconsin to catch a Packer game at Lambeau Field for the first time ever. We are also looking forward to meeting the folks that invited us. Then it’s Thanksgiving with family before I’m off to Louisiana to hopefully end my trips for the year. And in the meantime I’m working on a book for THE JESUS LENS book and finally giving some time to the FINDING CHURCH book, which I’ve been playing with for a number of years.

I continue to be blessed by the responses I’m getting to the Jesus Lens audio that we released a few weeks ago on the Lifestream Currents Podcast. Some people love it and it has helped them read the Scriptures with joy and clarity they have not known before. Others are struggling through it, knowing that it doesn’t match the way many of us were taught to read the Scriptures. All in all I am excited that people are reconsidering the power and place of the Scriptures in their own lives and are re-connecting with this powerful resource that will help us know Jesus and his Father better.

I know many people have been loaded up with religious ways of reading Scriptures that brings guilt and condemnation. But that’s what we have added to it to distort its power and simplicity. When you understand the story of how God made himself known in the world, you’ll never again see it through the religious spin that obligates you with fear and guilt to follow principles. Instead you’ll let it equip you to listen to Jesus and follow him with joy.

Today we get to announce the opening of our newest web page, TheJesusLens.com. Here the videos have been posted on-line for free viewing by those who prefer the video to the audio. Also you can download study guides, Powerpoint slides, and further resources to help you engage Scripture as an active part of your own spiritual life. You can also order the DVDs through Lifestream from that site as well.

I hope it helps you recapture the wonder of God’s revelation of himself over human history until it culminates in the Jesus himself!

Words really do have the power to destroy or to heal. Today I’m getting to experience some healing words indeed and the ramifications of that have filled my heart with boundless joy. In fact, the words that came into my inbox this week were completely unexpected. And they might just be the most powerful words any of us could ever speak. Someone who had been a good friend of mine for many years and with whom I’d had no contact for more than a decade, sent this note to my inbox a few days ago:

“I simply want to deeply apologize for all that happened. I know that I hurt you and was in the wrong.”

Our friendship had been shattered by a very painful season in his life and a confusing time in ours. Despite my repeated attempts to work through it years ago, he wasn’t ready. My joy does not come from hearing him admit fault. I honestly don’t care who is at fault in these kinds of things. We all make mistakes in relationships especially at very painful times in our own life and also misunderstand others as they often misunderstand us. What caused me to rejoice was the crack in the door he offered for relationship to begin again. That has brought me more joy than I can tell. I find myself smiling all the time now in grateful joy that God could bring back together what the enemy had cut asunder.

We have exchanged a number of emails since and even a long phone call that was rich with love for each other that had been cut off too long ago. We found that same love, respect, and affection that we had back then was still alive today. Though I can’t give you all the details, because this is a personal matter, the door opening with him has also opened doors to others that Sara and I have long-loved and long-missed. The prospect that these relationships may find resurrection delights us, too.

Does God know any greater joy than seeing broken relationships in his family mended? I’m thinking this is a miracle of the first order, because something that was dead is coming alive again and if you ask me, that’s more amazing that most people think. Sin and selfishness creates all the divisions and factions among humanity, and it is our self-focus that robs us of relationships with others. I didn’t want this one to go away when it did. I have grieved the loss of that and now get to celebrate the joy of its return.

There are just too many broken relationships in the world, and mostly our pride keeps them that way. I don’t think God wants us to pester people who are not open to reconciliation, but simply be ready to embrace it when the opportunity comes. When it came this week, I was ready to jump in. There are enough damaged relationships in the world, especially among brothers and sisters, without us adding any more to it. I couldn’t imagine anything worse than my own kids breaking faith with each other and cutting the other one out of their lives. But if they did, I couldn’t imagine any greater joy in knowing they found a way back together again.

Please don’t try to guess who this is. You don’t know. It’s nothing I’ve spoken about publicly or written about, but it does give me hope that God can touch the remotest heart and open the door to restore what the enemy has devoured. It’s amazingly easy to open that door. All you have to do is open your heart, be open and honest and see what God will do. How simple his words were, and yet they opened so wide a door.

God’s heart is always for reconciliation. Wherever you can participate in it, jump in. Life is too short to dodge damaged relationships.

I promise, this is the last one this year. Yes, I have been busy getting some projects done that have been on my heart for some time. I am pleased to announce that I have finished a new book that was built off of my former books called The Vineyard, Tales of the Vine and In My Father’s Vineyard. All of those books have been out of print for some time and people continue to ask where they can access some of my teaching on Jesus parable of the vine and the branches. I grew up on a grape vineyard, so this is actually a farmer’s view of John 15 and what it means to remain in the vine. This contains some of my greatest memories growing up on a vineyard, as well as the most tender metaphor Jesus used to invite us into the fullness of his life and the fruitfulness that he produces in us out of that reality.

This book is called In Season: Embracing the Father’s Process of Fruitfulness. I retell Jesus parable of the vineyard to show how God works in different ways in us depending on the season we are growing through. Each season has a particular and valuable place in the development of a vine. It cannot be fruitful all the time, and if it doesn’t get refreshed in winter, it will not bear fruit again.

This book will be released on November 7. This should coincide with the arrival of the other book I’ve been working on, A Man Like No Other. So if you want to order them together, we’ll ship them together. You can pre-order both books here. The cost for this book is $13.99 and we’re working now on the e-book for those who prefer it that way. Hopefully it will be ready about the same time. I’ll let you know.

Here’s the cover and back cover. I’ve been working with a new designer, Nan Bishop out of Tulsa. I love her work and appreciate how the layout for this book has come together. And it’s as pretty on the inside as it is on the outside. Yes, if you want to, and if you want to order it alongside A Man Like No Other, go ahead. We’ll ship them together.

Trailview Media • 208 Pages • Paperback • $13.99

I’m on my way home today after an amazing 8-day swing through St. Louis, Kansas City, and Wichita. I’ve met hundreds of new people and had long, lovely conversations with people I have crossed paths with before. It has all been wonderful, even our last three days hanging out in a barn with a wide-ranging group of people in all stages of this amazing journey. I am always amazed at the conversations that people on a real spiritual journey share with each other.

I got to the airport early and have free-wifi at Wichita. (Thank you, Wichita. No one should charge $8.00 for a one-hour connection. Highway robbery!) Anyway, I’ve been reflecting on Steve Jobs recently. The founder of Apple and its high-profile CEO died on Wednesday. I have been a dedicated user of Apple products through my entire computing life. I have savored how his innovations made my writing so much easier. And I have watched him give speeches of new products to see if they were going to be of further help to me. I felt a sadness in my own heart when I heard of his passing.

If you haven’t already heard his 2005 Commencement Speech at Stanford University, you might enjoy giving it a listen. I have no idea what kind of faith journey he was on, but so much of what he said that day resonates deeply with me. Even on that date he knew he had pancreatic cancer and it was probably going to shorten his lifespan significantly. He died this week at 56.

During his Standford commencement speech he talked about dropping out of college, of being cheated out of Apple by some of his best friends and how it came back to him later. He had some marvelous things to say about overcoming even the unfaithfulness of others to flourish in that which your heart draws you toward. When I read this, I don’t so much think of my heart and what I want, but I did think of the dreams God has planted there and how easily we let ourselves be talked out of his purpose in us by those who think in the box of human intellect.

I posted part of this speech previously in a blog a long, long time ago. I wanted to post some of it again today. Here’s how that speech ended:

“Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.”

“No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because death is very likely the single best invention of life.”

“It is life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.”

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.“

You can read or hear the entire speech here. Good stuff!

BodyLife has now become “Living Loved.” Our latest Living Loved Newsletter has just been posted at the Lifestream website. We will still deal with church life issues and concerns from time to time, but the newsletter has always been about so much more. The latest issue has just been posted at:

http://www.lifestream.org/current-issue.php

(If this URLs does not show up in your email as a link to our site, just copy and paste it into the window of your browser and hit ‘return’.)

The title of this issue is, Quiet Lives of Profound Consequences, and talks about the crying need in our world for men and women who have learning to live loved by the Father in their own lives and are now ready and willing to help others learn to live in that reality as well. These are true elders in Christ’s body and there is a crying need throughout the world for people who can help others embrace this journey with grace and wonder.

Also you’ll find information on three new resources by Wayne that Lifestream will be releasing this Fall. The Jesus Lens is an 8 hour DVD series designed to help people read Scripture with greater joy and wisdom. A Man Like No Other: The Illustrated Life of Jesus, a book co-written with Brad and framed by paintings from the Gospels by Murry Whiteman. And finally, In Season, Embracing the Father’s Process of Fruitfulness, which is a re-packaging of Wayne’s look at the parable of the vine through his formative years growing up on a vineyard. You’ll also find letters that will encourage fellow-travelers, a book recommendation for parents of prodigals, and other Lifestream News.

You can read it online, or print your own downloadable version. We hope it inspires your own journey in drawing closer to Jesus and reveling in his life.

We have just received the first order of The Jesus Lens DVDs. And hopefully we’ll soon have the sit active that will post those videos as well. We’ll announce when that is read.

Right now we’re going to fill the orders for so many of you who ordered in advance. You should be receiving your DVDs over the next week or so. If you haven’t ordered it yet you may do so from our website.

You can also hear the audio and read more about this project here.

Here’s what some people are already saying about The Jesus Lens:

THE JESUS LENS material is excellent. Fresh, relevant and anointed.
David, retired teacher from Ireland

I love everything about it, especially what you said about the Bible
being a love letter. This has breathed new life into my Bible reading!
Julie, mother of three in California

These sessions opened up a fresh way of looking at the Scriptures as
God’s unfolding love story through the lens of His Son, Jesus.
Barry, retired military in Virginia

I feel like I’ve been handed a missing piece of my heart. (The Bible
has often been just another source of shame. Now I can see how God is
restoring it to its proper and useful place in my life.)
Susan, former slave of shame

THE JESUS LENS is an incredible look at the Scriptures. Having read
the Bible all of my life, this teaching has endeared me in a whole new
way to the amazing story of my loving.
Dawn, a member of the studio audience

I am so excited! Just this morning I received my advance copy of A Man Like No Other: The Illustrated Life of Jesus. Brad Cummings and I co-authored this book about the life of Jesus to put words to the incredible paintings of a friend of ours, Murry Whiteman, an award-winning commercial artist in the entertainment industry. The result is a full-color book that is a visual feast as well as a powerful tool for personal reflection or reading together with your spouse and family. On your coffee table it will become a focus of conversation with visitors. Our hope is that it will make people hungry to know the Jesus of Scripture and see him as the most engaging person that has ever lived.

The other copies are on a boat headed for California. We are hopeful to get these in hand to distribute by early November, but that will depend on border security and a lot of other circumstances we don’t control. But it will be here in time for the Christmas holidays and I can’t imagine a better gift to share with family and friends.

A Man Like No Other
The Illustrated Life of Jesus
By Wayne Jacobsen, Brad Cummings, and Murry Whiteman
128 pages, Windblown Media, $24.99 • 128 pages • 8.5 x 11.5 • Hardback

Available around November 7, 2011. You may now pre-order it from Lifestream for $24.99 Please do not include other books or audio in your order unless you want us to ship those when A Man Like No Other arrives. Our shipping prices are only configured for one shipment.

Here are the first two spreads:

Text:

Before the beginning they were always together celebrating life in a community of love and light far grander than anything mere mortals could ever conceive. One day their joy erupted into the darkened void of chaos with a proclamation of profound consequence, “Let there be light!”

And there was!

Text:

Father, Son, and Spirit gave birth to a new reality,what we know as our universe. Father proclaimed and the Son brought his words to life—creating light, stars,planets, oceans, land, and animals. Everything that was created, the Son created. This was his world teeming with life and beauty and it reflected His magnificent glory. And as the crowning glory of creation, they made a man and a woman in their own image and gave them the earth to live in and care for. And God made Himself known to them by coming each day and walking with them in the cool of the day.

He willingly gave up his life so that we and this world could be redeemed back to God. He came as a Son that he might reveal to us the Father. His life–who he was, what he did, and how he related to others—exactly reflected of God’s nature. If you want to know what God is like, we have only to look to him. This is the story of that man, Jesus – a man like no other!

Genesis 1-3, John 1:1-12, Galatians 4:1-4, Hebrews 1-5:3, 2:14-18

I don’t put YouTube videos on my blog very often. If memory serves me well, I think I’ve only done it twice. And I’m probably very late to this one since it has been viewed over three and half milliont times But this one touched me very deeply. Yes, you have to sit through a cheesy ad and it is from a pop TV show, but watch the story unfold. Incredible!

I know many don’t like the words to the song, but the sum total of this story and song struck a deep chord in my heart as I listened to it this weekend. No, I don’t agree with all the words of the song, but I do agree with the theme of it. God does want a world without war and will one day make it so. And there is perhaps no one better to proclaim that truth than someone who has been so impacted by it. I don’t know if I can tell you to enjoy this one, because if you’re like me you might need a box of Kleenex nearby. But its end your heart will feel triumphant as the purpose of God unfolds in our world. This is as close to God’s heart as anything I know. Only the selfish, greedy heart of broken humanity keep this from being a reality. Lord Jesus, come judge the world and set right what sin has so twisted!

For many people, the early stages of seeing through the illusion of religious performance, makes them feel as if they got lost. Suddenly they look around and it appears the whole landscape has changed. Places that used to help them now seem to hinder them. The old wells they used to drink from now taste dry and dusty. It’s easy to feel as if you’ve done something wrong, or got lost somehow. But as this recent email exchange will show, this isn’t the sign something is wrong, but just the effects of starting out on a different trail. Yes, that can be disorienting for a period of time. I’ve said this often, no one I’ve ever met who went down this trail didn’t find it well worth whatever price they paid to find it.

I feel as lost as lost can be. Not in the sense of “saved” but in the sense of where do I go from here, what does forward look like? That sort of lost. Nobody calls anymore…they’ve “given up on me.” You see I refuse their “fellowship.” But all they offer me is the same stuff…get in a group and serve the “body.” But the body they are referring to is the machine that ate up my soul, the machine that refuses to question anything it sets out to do. The machine that consumes it’s own like some crazed animal that devours its young.

Is this machine, the one Jesus created when He spoke of His “church”? Nobody in the machine gives the one thing that is precious, time. If I’m truly wrong ,my actions (or lack thereof) then why can’t they spend a couple of days (if necessary) to explain my error?

The answer to that last question is that I have come to believe that they cannot engage in the conversation because they know , they will also have to repent and they will be where I am, a VERY HARD PLACE. It’s just easier to to say, “look at him, he won’t GO to church he is in error…” The definition of “church” is a narrow one…only they fit in it. However I don’t think this is the “narrow way” Jesus spoke of…

Anyway here I am… lost

I actually love where you are. I don’t see you lost at all. You’ve awakened to a greater reality than they can see from where they are? You may feel lost but you’re not. You’re just living out of a different framework that finds the old guideposts to be unworkable. I think of it is people being disorientated. The reality I see doesn’t fit into the relationships I have. That’s a tough moment in this journey, no doubt, but if you truly are awakening to a different reality than they can see, that is the result. You’ve known “fellowship” with religious people. Having rejected the religious overlays that you now know kept you from a deepening relationship with God, you are a threat to people who find their comfort in their religious performance.

How could you not be? And be thankful they don’t have the resource of time to give you, because you probably wouldn’t find it of much help. The one thing I love about religious performance is that it keeps those trapped in it so busy and exhausted that they don’t have much time or energy to infect others with it.

You will find the grace to live in God’s revelation to you and NOT need the validation of those who serve in more religious ways. But it will take time. For now they seem only to make you question your own insights. What you discover going forward is a whole new set of relationships that live in God relationally and then you’ll discover a depth of fellowship you have to date only hungered for. I guess I’m saying don’t look for the old relationships to move with you on this journey as long as they find security in their religious activity. You’ll find a way to love them eventually, but look for the relationships God is bringing to your life now. Just love the next person God puts before you and see where that goes. And keep doing it every day. And soon you’ll find your life full of friends, maybe not all will be fellow-travelers, but they people God loves and with whom you can find friendship.

Weekly I’m asked by scores of people to recommend their blog, book, or podcast on my web page. I rarely do that because the shear number of them would make them all eventually meaningless. I trust God to alert me to those things I need to read and I share the ones I think God wants me to pass on.

One brother recently really touched my heart with his passion for a new website, but it seemed he could only see self-promotion as the way to gain an audience. I sensed he was a bit open for me to be really honest with him and to give him another option. I’ve heard back from him since I’ve written this and I have to see I was truly impressed with how graciously he grasped what I was saying and chose to let Jesus make his life available as he desires, rather than struggling in his own human passion to build an audience through self promotion.

Here’s what I wrote him. I thought others who are trying to find an online audience might find it helpful as well:

I’m glad you’re moving forward with some things that are on your heart. If I could, however, let me caution you about the process here. And I do this because I care about you and how you’re moving forward. And it isn’t so much wrong as it’s just the world’s way of doing things—-build an audience by getting people you know to do you a favor while also praying for great success. How do you measure that? By growing “audience share” or website hits?

I love your passion, but I think God would want it more directed at helping people live loved than them helping your website become known. What I love about the Internet is that people see through this pretty quickly and allows organic growth to happen effectively. When people are asked to “like” someone’s post, or pass it on to their friends, it has a strange feel to it. The truth is people will pass it on if they are touched by it. You don’t have to ask them. When people find you engaging, they will read and pass on the things God has put on your heart to share.

Kingdom growth is organic. It isn’t the result of people doing favors for someone they care about. Rather, it’s people trusting that God will take their voice as far as the want it to go. When I first began blogging and writing, it took me a long time to find my “voice.” Was I really communicating the things I wanted to say? Were people touched by it enough to read it or quote it to others? That’s along process and I know of no way to shortcut it. If too many people come to your blog or podcast too soon, they may form an opinion about it that would be totally different two years from now, but by then they are not coming back to read it.

I guess I’m suggesting another way to go here. Write or say what you think God gives you. See how people connect with it. Over the process you’ll find a “voice” that will resonate with people, because you are actually helping them find life in Jesus. When you find that voice people will pass along the website because of their passion for it, not because you asked them to do you a favor. Does that make sense? I know it is disappointing to those who think they have great stuff to say and no one to read it. I’ve been there. I understand that. But promotion shortcuts a better process of God working deeply in the heart as you find how his voice speaks through you.

I actually get hundreds of requests a month to “like” things, or to help promote someone’s book or website. If I did all that was asked at me, no one would have any regard for what I actually want to recommend. When I read things that touch my life and I think valuable for those who frequent my blog, I put them in. But I can’t do it as a personal favor even to people I care about without diluting the value of doing so. I hope you can appreciate that and not read this as being unsupportive of God’s work in your life, but supporting a truer work that I pray will allow you to freely share what God has put on your heart.

There’s a huge difference between self-promotion in hopes of gaining an audience, and making yourself available to the Father to encourage others on their journey. One may make you a sensation for a moment, but only for a very small minority, the other will transform you over a lifetime and your focus will be on loving the next person in front of you, instead of using them to advance your ministry.

I just got word that Editora Sextant has just released my fourth Authentic Relationships: The Lost Art of One Anothering in Portuguese for people in Brazil. It is called, Amar o próximo. This book I wrote with my brother, Clay, for Baker Books. Since Sextant isn’t a Christian publisher, it is amazing that they have done four books now that I had a hand in: The Shack, He Loves Me: Learning to Live in the Father’s Affection, So You Don’t Want to Go to Church Anymore, and now Authentic Relationships.

From the cover design it looks like people might mistake it for a book on dating or romance, but it is not. It is designed to help believers take their growing friendship with Jesus and apply it to building deep friendships with other people in his family. We don’t have copies here, so you will either need to buy them through the publisher. English versions of course are sold through Lifestream.

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

During our recording sessions, Wayne paused to answer questions from those in attendance. This is some of the dialog that followed sessions 19 through 23.

The Jesus Lens: Seventh Dialog Session – Here is some of the interaction that followed Wayne’s teaching. If you’d like to add your questions to some of the material you’re hearing in this series, please send them to the Lifestream office through our Contact Page. When we get enough questions, Wayne will interact with them in a future audio podcast.

To download Study Notes and Powerpoint Slides, or for more information on this series please go to The Jesus Lens Pages at Lifestream. You can also subscribe to any new audio postings at The Lifestream Podcast at iTunes.

The final audio in our new series about the wonder of Scripture and how to read and interpret it through the revelation of Jesus.

The Jesus Lens #24: Let the Journey Continue – By viewing all of Scripture as one continuous story culminating in the revelation of Jesus Christ we can continue to explore a cohesive view of God and live in the tension of not having all our questions answered but continuing to grow in truth.

To download Study Notes and Powerpoint Slides, or for more information on this series please go to The Jesus Lens Pages at Lifestream. You can also subscribe to any new audio postings at The Lifestream Podcast at iTunes.

The twenty-third audio in our new series about the wonder of Scripture and how to read and interpret it through the revelation of Jesus.

The Jesus Lens #23: The Return to Israel – Over 106 years the exiles return from Babylon to rebuild the temple and their nation under some inspiring leaders as the prophets continue to call them closer to God and promise a day of greater redemption yet to come.

To download Study Notes and Powerpoint Slides, or for more information on this series please go to The Jesus Lens Pages at Lifestream. You can also subscribe to any new audio postings at The Lifestream Podcast at iTunes.

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.