Wayne Jacobsen

Thank You, Thank You, and Oops!

Behind the Scenes /

I’ve got two quick things to update you on.

First, we are so grateful for those who have responded to the need in Kenya to rescue the orphanage we built fifteen years ago. Torrential rains have caused the land to shift, and without your help, the government would have shut it down. In just a week, we received $25,02500 of the $41,430.00 we needed and have sent it on so they could get started. We are still looking for the remaining $16,405.00.

If you can help us raise the remaining $31,430.00, please see our Donation Page at Lifestream. As always, every dollar you send goes directly to Kenya. We do not take out any administration or transfer fees for Lifestream. Just designate “Kenya” in the options or email us and let us know your gift is for Kenya. You can also Venmo contributions to “@LifestreamMinistries” or mail a check to Lifestream Ministries • 1560 Newbury Rd Ste 1  •  Newbury Park, CA 91320. Or, if you prefer, we can take your donation over the phone at (805) 498-7774.

The work begins…

 

And now the oops!

The email notification for the blog last week had a typo. I gave out the wrong date for our God Journey After-Show regarding my last blog and the current podcast about a mistranslation of the Greek that may have significantly altered our understanding of the Gospel Jesus preached. We continue that discussion in upcoming podcasts as well. Unfortunately, the email notification announced the date as September 14 when it should have said September 21. I apologize for the error and any inconvenience it caused. In any case, the After-Show will be held on September 21, 2024, and Tobie will join us from South Africa. It will stream live on The God Journey Facebook page at 11:00 am Pacific Daylight Time and be available afterward for those who want to hear it. If you’d like to participate in the Zoom room conversation, please email Wayne in advance to get the link.

 

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Living Loved on Steroids

13 Comments / Behind the Scenes / /

It feels like someone walked into my office and unfurled a treasure map on my desk. “There’s gold there,” he said, waving his hand across the aged parchment.

It was more a puzzle than a map. There were no hills, rivers, or oceans but words, images, and symbols. It looked familiar, but I couldn’t see the gold.

“You’ll need the code to understand it,” he added.

“There’s a code?”

He smiled. “The word ‘righteousness’ does not appear in the Bible.”

Now I was really confused. What kind of nonsense is this? Of course, it does, and what did that have to do with the map I was now holding? Off the top of my head, I thought of a dozen verses with ‘righteousness’ in them. He watched me getting ready to raise an objection.

“What if it’s a mistranslation?”

“How could that be? It’s such a critical word to the whole Bible story?”

“Then why is it that the Greek word we use for  ‘righteousness’ not translated that way in any secular books from that time?”

“How is it translated?” I couldn’t believe it.

“Justice.”  And with that, he took the map out of my hand, turned it ninety degrees, and my eyes lit up. There it was! 

      *         *         *        *

It didn’t quite happen that way, but that’s an excellent metaphor for what happened to me a few weeks ago. I received an email from someone I didn’t know named Tobie van der Westhuizen from Bloemfontein, South Africa. He calls himself a “reclusive philosopher” but has been on a path that unveils an interpretation of the Scripture that may be more complete than traditional Protestant theology has yet seen. Here is my introduction to Tobie:

My theological world came to a standstill eight years ago because of a single sentence that captivated me and would not let me go: The word righteousness does not appear in the Bible

Whilst that may sound as crazy as saying “The word ‘God’ does not appear in the Bible,” I believe it to be true and also confirmed it over and over again during eight years of near-obsessive study and reflection on the topic. In fact, I have been so overwhelmed by this simple sentence and its implications for my life and theology that I have found it difficult to teach it to others in the way I have been teaching the Bible for four decades.

During this time I have been reminded, quite regularly, of Neil Postman’s analogy of Native Americans communicating via smoke signals but finding it impossible to discuss deep philosophy this way. “The form excludes the content,” Postman says.

His words perfectly captured my feeling that the form of theology, as we know it, is inadequate for conveying a revelation of this magnitude—in essence, a revelation of life that is as different to the theory as the romantic exploration of newlyweds is to a monk reading a dreary textbook on the physiology of the human body.

I was pretty sure I’d just gotten an email from a loose cannon on the deck of the body of Christ. But I kept reading what he had sent me, and he got into my head and heart. I couldn’t stop thinking about it and tried his premise as I read Scripture:

  • Matthew 6:33: Seek first the kingdom of God and his justice, and all these things will be added to you.”
  • Matthew 5:20: For I tell you that unless your justice surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
  • Romans 1:17: For in the gospel, the justice of God is revealed—a justice that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The just will live by faith.”

Any Greek scholar will tell you that the word justice is inherent in the Greek d-k words that we translate as righteous and righteousness. And yet, in our day,  righteousness has come synonymously with personal piety, sinlessness, and morality. It turns our hearts inward when an invitation to live in his justice would impact every human interaction we have. Scripture became fuller and richer. Treating others as we want to be treated makes us part of how his kingdom reveals itself in the darkness of our world. It is still living loved, but on steroids. This is an entire flow of love, from the heart of the Father into ours and from ours to how we engage the world. 

This may very well complete what Martin Luther began in the Reformation. Yes, it is salvation by grace, but it is not primarily to resolve our eternal destiny or for us to work toward personal piety. Engaging his love transforms us so that we become outposts of justice alongside other followers in a world of selfishness. This is the kingdom come! 

You’re likely to hear a lot more about this in days to come. I’m letting you know because tomorrow, Kyle and I, along with Tobie, will begin to unpack his thoughts on the next episode of The God Journey. If you no longer listen to the podcast, you might want to return for the next few episodes. This may be the most important content we’ll share on the podcast this year. And for those who listen, we will host a God Journey After-Show on September 21, 2024, with Tobie. It will stream live on The God Journey Facebook page at 11:00 am Pacific Daylight Time and be available afterward for those who want to hear it. If you’d like to participate in the Zoom room conversation, please email Wayne in advance to get the link.

I’m so excited to share this treasure with you and give you a way to explore it yourself because this is one of those realities that is far better explored than explained.

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Devastation in Kenya Continues

4 Comments / Kenya / / , , , ,

The torrential rains that destroyed the crops in North Pokot a few months ago now threaten to wash out the original orphanage we helped to build in 2009.

If you remember the story, we helped rescue 45 orphans from a slum near Eldoret who were living in their sewage. Thanks to your generosity, we built an orphanage and a petrol station so the profits from the petrol station would sustain the orphanage. That worked well until the last storm three weeks ago when an adjacent culvert was washed out.  Now, the buildings are threatening to slide down the hillside.  Here is an inspection report they received just yesterday:

HEALTH INSPECTION REPORT FOR LIVING LOVED CARE CENTRE
REPUBLIC OF KENYA

During our inspection, we discovered that many structures at The Living Loved Care Centre were in bad condition, making it a high risk for children to use. The damage was caused by heavy rain, which is taking place across the country. During our assessment, we found that the drainage overflows and runs towards the building, weakening the structure and causing some to develop big cracks

To create a better and safer environment for children and the community, we have given the work three weeks from 25 August 2024 to be completed.
We shall continue doing our routine inspection on weekly basis for more advice and directive.

Note: Failure to our recommendation the Centre will be closed down, operational permit withdrawn, and the law wil take its course for risking the life of the children and the community.

This is the request we have received from Michael and Thomas who oversee the orphanage:

It has been 15 years since we started this orphanage, and we have never experienced what is happening in Kenya due to climate change. The damage has affected hundreds of families, and many buildings have been damaged. Some have collapsed, leaving the family in great distress.  However, the engineer who built the Living Loved Care Centre says we must put strong protection, concrete culverts, pavement, and floors inside the buildings.This is not renovation because we do that yearly using profit from the grain enterprise. 

So we appeal to you to help us once again to rescue this situation. The estimated budget to repair the damage, secure the hillside, and clean the septic system will cost $42,930.oo. We have collected $1500.00 and are trusting God for $41,430.00.

If the Living Loved Care Centre closes, it will affect the future of these children.  I believe these children and those in the Forkland community now understand what it means to be loved when they didn’t feel they deserved it.  They are worried and stressed to see that the Centre is in danger of closing and wonder where they will live. Please continue praying for us.

As we contemplated this request yesterday, a check for $10,000 came in for our “Kenya Mission” when I had yet to tell anyone about this need. So, the need is already down to $32,420.00. I would appreciate it if you could help us reach our goal with large or small contributions. As always, every dollar you send goes directly to Kenya. We do not take out any administration or transfer fees for Lifestream.

If you can help us raise the remaining $31,430.00, please see our Donation Page at Lifestream. Just designate “Kenya” in the options or email us and let us know your gift is for Kenya. You can also Venmo contributions to “@LifestreamMinistries” or mail a check to Lifestream Ministries • 1560 Newbury Rd Ste 1  •  Newbury Park, CA 91320. Or, if you prefer, we can take your donation over the phone at (805) 498-7774.

Thank you for considering this desperate request. We only have a week or so to make a difference.

One of the condemned buildings

Children help in clearing debris

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Fierce Hope and Power Unleashed

2 Comments / What I'm Reading / / , , , ,

These books couldn’t be more different. One is a memoir of a woman whose young husband’s unfaithfulness destroys all her dreams and hopes and how God rebuilt her life in the aftermath. The other is a fictional story about a woman who must fight with everything in her to rescue the world from the ravages of tribal warfare and save her daughters. What they have in common is that they are well-written by two incredible women whose lives I know firsthand and they ring with the authenticity of truth.  If you’re looking for a good read to finish up or summer or start your fall, put these on your list.

 

Fierce Hope: Walking Through Pain with the God of the Universe by Corrie Napier

When twenty-eight-year-old Corrie overhears a phone call and discovers her husband’s affair, her idyllic Christian world is shattered. Plunged into gut-wrenching pain and betrayal, Corrie’s life comes to a standstill as she cries out to God for a way forward. In the midst of her darkness, an unexpected symbol of hope appears, igniting a transformative three-year spiritual journey. During this time, she experiences divine touch points of healing and closeness with her Creator, inviting her to dream again, and find her way into who she was created to be. This riveting memoir invites you into Corrie’s dual worlds—her dynamic outer life as an American living overseas in Shanghai, China, and her profound inner world of conversations and encounters with God.

This is the endorsement I wrote for the cover of her book:

“There is no tragedy so great that God can’t work his triumph in it. When your hope of happily-ever-after gives way to a nightmare, you’ve got to find a different hope. That’s what Corrie Napier does in FIERCE HOPE, as she tells her story with a sincerity that will touch your heart, vulnerability you’ll admire, and wisdom that will help you to find your own story of redemption when things go horribly wrong.”

For those who have felt the sting of betrayal, the weight of life-altering changes, or the longing for deeper divine connection, wondering where is God this book is for you. It can also encourage those paralyzed by grief or stuck in the darkness of pain. You two can find a hope fierce enough to traverse any difficulty and rise to the moment.

 

Power Unleashed – The Velieri Uprise Book 3 by Tessa Van Wade

Many of you began this journey with Tessa when she released the first two books in this series through Blue Sheep Media. She has now published the final book in the series, which is a battle for the soul of the world and completes the story from Part 1, Out of the Shadows, and continues in the second book, Deep Trace. This is a deeply textured story of a young woman who discovers a past she’d lost sight of and becomes a pivotal figure in a battle between two different kinds of humanity.  It’s the Hunger Games meets The Matrix, by a gifted and imaginative writer.

This third book is almost all action as our heroine, Remy, seeks to thwart a genocide plotted by her own kind. While there is a lot of action in this third part there are also some gems of insight that will encourage your own journey. Here’s a few I noted:

  • Be honest with yourself. It is the only way to break free.
  • They didn’t recognize that rules and limitations are a hinderance to God, not the path to him.
  • We do not have to conquer or control one another in order to own our own beliefs.

It’s definitely a thriller with lots of action and tragedy. Once you begin, you’ll have a hard time putting it down. If you haven’t read the first two in the series, you will want to start there.

 

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Seeing the End from the Beginning

5 Comments / Encouragement / / ,

Many of you wrote me about the videos I shared of Sara’s new garden. It is a joy to live in the middle of this.

But there’s another story here. Sara saw this garden before we ever moved into his house and if you saw what the yard looked like when we bought the place, you wouldn’t believe it. So, I thought I’d show you in seven different before and after pictures that my grandson made into a video this weekend.

 

As various craftsmen were out doing things in the backyard from replacing the old drain pipes that were filled with palm roots to putting in lights, they would ask Sara about positioning things. It was amazing to watch her as she had already mapped out the garden in her mind. “Let’s see, that tree is there, the rose bush is here and here, so put the light there,” she would say pointing to an exact spot on a barren piece of land.

When I see this video, I think of what Father sees in us even before he begins his work. He doesn’t even see the barren places because he is already visualizing how he is going to fill them with beauty. Isaiah 46:10 says it so wonderfully, “(He declares) the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, ‘My plan will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure . . . ” 

Even better, as Sara was doing it with her garden, God was doing it with changing the barren places of her recently-discovered trauma into a garden of great beauty.  He, like Sara, makes all things new.

What does he see in you that you cannot yet see?

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Chapter 9: Eyes to See, Ears to Hear 

2 Comments / It's Time / / , , , , , , ,

Note: This is the ninth in a series of letters written for those living at the end of the age, whenever that comes in the next fifteen years or the next one hundred and fifty years. Once complete, I’ll combine them into a book. You can access the previous chapters here.  If you are not already subscribed to this blog and want to make sure you don’t miss any, you can add your name here.

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I know there is a supernatural world all around us, but I don’t seem to be tuned into it. What did Jesus mean when he said some were given to know the mysteries of the kingdom and others were not? Would he leave me out? 

— Marcus, former pastor, now car detailer and father of 3 teenagers in Arizona

Marcus, 

I love your hunger and appreciate your concern, but you can rest assured that Jesus wants you to see into his reality more than you want it. 

Unfortunately, many followers of Jesus have only learned to follow the Scriptures or some leader and not his Spirit who guides us into God’s reality. It is so easy to look with our physical eyes or listen with our physical ears and think with our own reasoning, that most people never learn the joy of life in the Spirit. 

Our physical senses and scientific instruments can only measure the physical world, and the more advanced science becomes, the harder it is to recognize the spiritual dimension affecting everything around us. But there is. And yet, our view of the supernatural has been so over-sensationalized in Christian sermons and novels most people miss the genuine while seeking after audible voices or physical engagements with angels and demons.

As mysterious and powerful as the supernatural can be, it mostly doesn’t come to us that way. My encounters are far more normal and natural when they happen than most people would think. It’s only when I look back that I am awed by all that God did. In the retelling, it is easy to embellish and exaggerate stories in a way that cause people to think they are made up, and reject the supernatural or discourage them from seeing it in their own lives. That’s not to say some encounters can’t be awe-inspiring in the moment, but those are extremely rare by design, and if you’re looking for those to be normalized, you will miss just how his Spirit works. 

I’m glad you haven’t given up that hunger, Marcus. There are no rituals or principles, even biblical ones, that can replace a life of perceiving and responding to his work in you. The wind of the Spirit blows across our lives every day inviting us beyond the world that is temporal, and fraught with pain, illusions, and selfishness, so that we can anchor our hearts in the kingdom that is eternal, unshakeable, and true. Learning to sense his movements around us will lead to a growing fullness in his presence as well as provide the courage and wisdom to navigate any difficulties we face.  

He can show you what he wants you to know, feel the emotions God wants you to feel, and to ensure that you see what you need to see to know how to respond to what’s going on around you. I wish more people were tuned to the realm of the Spirit, which is what this letter is about.  

 

What Many Long to See

Jesus told his disciples that “Many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.” (Matthew 13:16-17) What an amazing gift we’ve been given to see the world around us as God sees it. That hasn’t always been true. Before Jesus’s redemption on the cross that removed our shame and allowed us to rest confidently in his presence, people could not behold him. Still, spiritual blindness can be a problem. 

That’s why Jesus said things like, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them (Matthew 13:11),” or, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear (Mark 4:23, et al).” It is easy to conclude that only a selected few get to see into the supernatural world. So, Marcus, your question about being left out is a fair one. Many don’t see Jesus engaging them in a way they can recognize, and wonder the same thing. 

Looking closer, however, the ability to perceive was not in Jesus’s hands. He was aware that the realities he was bringing inside the human experience were so incredibly different from the world they lived in, that most people would miss them. That’s what he meant when he talked about a narrow road, “Small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Mark 7:14). He wasn’t distinguishing between saved and unsaved, but recognizing that those who learn to follow are going to be few. 

That’s not to say he would only reveal himself to a select group of people, but that only a few would be ready to see and follow. I’ve no doubt Jesus wanted to include everyone, but not everyone was ready to be included. Having eyes and ears that can perceive spiritual reality is available to anyone who is ready. Tuning into that frequency is where we discover what’s true about God, ourselves, and the choices we face, as I talked about in my last letter. 

He wants you to have eyes that see and ears to glimpse into that world enough so that we can live freely in truth. In these ever-darkening days, we will need to be more sensitive to him than ever. 

 

Calluses and Veils

 

So how do we cultivate a heart that can see and hear the secrets of the kingdom? Let’s look at how Jesus spoke of it. 

He said those who could not see had “callused hearts.” (Matthew 13). By that he meant their hearts were hardened to what’s true because they lived so long by their own wisdom and desires, even using the Scriptures to make doctrines of their own preferences. 

So, while seeing, they couldn’t really see, and hearing, they couldn’t really hear. They interpreted everything in their own self-interest. Thus, Jesus disguised his words in parables, so they wouldn’t have to reject him yet again. Each time they ignored his leading, the calluses grew thicker. Those who were ready, he pulled aside for more detailed explanations. 

This same problem impacted the early believers as Paul warned them, in the last days hardened hearts would embrace “a form of godliness but denying its power” (2 Timothy 3:5). It’s easy to turn religion into a practice at the expense of presence. He also wrote of false teachers who acted with hypocrisy and lied habitually because their “consciences have been seared” (1 Timothy 4:2). 

The callused heart or seared conscience seems to result from bypassing the overtures of the Spirit in deference to our own ambitions. This is not people making honest mistakes, but those who persistently ignore the Spirit’s overtures to them until it becomes nearly impossible to recognize him anymore. 

So, it is possible for us to be near God’s things but be blind to his reality. In I Corinthians 3 and 4, Paul spoke of a veil that blinds us to his working. This result from substituting religious performance and arrogance for the desire to know him. He specifically tied it to the reading of Moses, which brings a veil over our hearts (3:14-16) The performance-based approach to God blinds us to the relational journey. And yet, many Christians today want to post the Ten Commandments in classrooms or promote Moses’s example of leadership as a guide for church life. That’s the veil, trying to see God through a legalistic lens.

In the next chapter, Paul wrote of how a similar veil influences the world. “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ…” (4:2-4). It is why he preached Christ, because only he can lift the veil to let them see clearly, which is exactly what he wants to do for us. 

So, if you find yourself unable to sense his presence in and around you, or feel you’ve been ignoring his nudges, you may need to turn back to him and ask him to soften your heart. He forgives so readily and over time you’ll begin to recognize his nudges again. But for most people like you, Marcus, I suspect that you’ve not had the opportunity to discover how his Spirit is making himself known to you. 

 

The Prayer

 

The prayer Paul held in his heart for the Colossians (1:9-14 Message), is often one I pray for myself and others:

“(I am) asking God to give you wise minds and spirits attuned to his will, and so acquire a thorough understanding of the ways in which God works…. As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work…. (with) strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us.

There is so much in those few words; let them capture you. Holding them in my heart helps me tune to the Spirit’s frequency as I recognize how he is working around me. This is where guilt, self-blame, and desperation are not helpful. Trying to be good for God or filling your head with Bible instruction won’t help either. 

Asking him and being patient will help you discern the spiritual world around you and how his Spirit blows through it. This is less about miraculous signs than it is a growing discernment of what he is doing around you and how he is revealing Jesus to you. Celebrate each nudge you feel, each bit of his wisdom that he puts in your mind, and follow where he seems to be leading you.

Rest and quiet are your friends here. Desperation in prayer or action puts us right back in human-effort mode. Staying relaxed in Jesus’s love allows him to show us what we need to know when we need to know it. If he’s not revealing anything to me today, all I need to do is stay open so I’m ready when he does. Trusting him with timing will help immensely; begging for answers we want will only distract you. His timing isn’t anywhere close to what we’d expect. 

Seeing his world in yours is a slow process with a glorious arc. Don’t pressure yourself for quick results, and let him relieve you of unrealistic expectations. This counsel from Julian of Norwich, who lived in the latter half of the 14th Century, is helpful. “We need not worry if we cannot “find” God, for we are only responsible for seeking; no formula exists for finding. The revelation of the Divine Presence is always unpredictable and surprising.” (All Shall Be Well by Ellyn Sanna)

Don’t look for “words” and visions, bells or whistles. What you’re looking for are glimpses into his kingdom in thoughts and nudges that cause you to think differently than your natural inclinations. As you begin this journey, his Spirit will want to help you discover just how deeply loved by God you are, and free you from shame, guilt, and fear that makes it more difficult to see. That’s how he removes the calluses. 

As you awaken further to the Spirit’s work, you’ll have a growing sense of what’s really going on around you and not just what you think might be true. Seeing into his world will be a powerful source of comfort, peace, and courage in the face of your most challenging circumstances.

 

Glimpses of God’s World

 

Most people have misconceptions about the supernatural that limit their ability to engage with it. This is often complicated by those who claim to listen to the Spirit as they manipulate others or build a following. There are many charlatans afoot who dazzle people with their miracle stories, contrived smoke-and-mirror “encounters”, or made-up prophecies. It is easy to fake such things with a crowd, either to build a following or harvest a financial windfall, but it confuses the genuine seeker who doesn’t see the Spirit working like that in their daily lives.

Don’t be fooled by the counterfeit and be careful not to use it as an excuse to reject the genuine. Pretenders can be spotted when you see their “prophecies” don’t come to pass, honest questions provoke their arrogance and anger, and how extravagantly they indulge themselves. The true work of the Spirit leads to increasing authenticity, humility, generosity, tenderness, and an honest portrayal of the supernatural in which everyone can participate. 

Thinking of God as “up there” somewhere as your prayers bounce off the ceiling will impair your ability to glimpse into his kingdom. Heaven, where God dwells, is not primarily a geographical place but a spiritual dimension that surrounds us at every moment. Beholding that world will continually shape in a wonderful way how you live, see, and listen. 

 

Putting Together a Puzzle

I hope this can help you, Marcus. Recognizing the spiritual world around us is more like assembling a puzzle than a list of instructions or a crystal-clear vision. We sense it in bits and pieces as we go about our day and then watch his Spirit fit them together to help us understand what he wants us to know. 

Certainty isn’t even possible here. Paul admitted his own limited perspective, “We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist” (I Corinthians 13:12). Don’t you love his honesty? Those who claim to see spiritual things with absolute confidence are making it up. Perfect clarity will only come when our redemption is complete at the appearing of Jesus. 

Until then, we peer into realities greater than us all, not trying to figure it all out, but simply to recognize what the Spirit might be showing us each day. Paul used the word ‘enigma’ to describe how we see his kingdom. It’s like a puzzle or a riddle for us to explore as he gives us greater understanding. Watch for the fingerprints and nudges of the Spirit; make note of them, but avoid rushing to your own conclusions. That’s what we often do and then we’ll find ourselves chasing our own wisdom again instead of being more settled in his. 

Discerning the Spirit or the times we’re in is not about “getting a word” from God; it’s about letting the wisdom of the Spirit seep into our consciousness. It will seem like a puzzle with lots of clues until the penny drops and we see what he has for us. It’s extraordinary, how the nudges, glimpses, and conversations help us see into his world. Pieces of insight will come from Scripture, random thoughts he brings to our consciousness, conversations, observations in nature, dreams, song lyrics that jump at us, or movie scenes that move us deeply.  

Resist the urge to read into things on your own, as if everything is a piece of that puzzle. Doing so, you’ll contrive your own insights again. Let the Spirit highlight what is from him. Look less to get specific questions answered as seeing what he is revealing. The first puts our focus on him, the latter puts it on us. What the Spirit reveals may have nothing to do with what we are asking of him. He is simply showing you the way things truly are, so you’ll know how to live. He will give you a different way to think about him or something you’re facing. 

Why does God choose to engage it this way? Couldn’t he just be clearer from the outset? I don’t know that God has chosen to speak to us in riddles, I just think it looks that way from our side. The Creator connecting with his creation is a reality all its own and we wake to it like a small child growing to appreciate the world she is in. Everything comes in bits and pieces as she learns to navigate the world outside the womb. 

When glimpses come, ponder them in your heart and see what other clues or confirmation the Spirit might bring to clarify his work in you. As the Spirit shows you where God is working, he will confirm in multiple ways what he wants you to know. 

Having a community of friends who are on a similar journey and comparing notes is incredibly helpful. Don’t look for people who are spooky or super spiritual with “revelations” about God that put others down, but find down-to-earth, genuine people who are learning to embrace Father’s love and being honest about their uncertainties and mistakes. 

If you find one or two who have more experience than you, all the better. Ask if they’ll help you learn to see better. I’ve been fortunate over my lifetime to have continuing engagements with “older” followers of Jesus who encouraged me in different ways to relax into the flow of the Spirit. They didn’t teach me techniques or try to control me; they just allowed me to watch as they followed, gave me honest feedback about my perceptions, and encouraged my spiritual hunger. 

I realize people get nervous whenever someone encourages others to sense and follow his Spirit. They, like me, know too many people who claim to be following God’s voice when they were pushing their own agenda. Most people who use “God told me to…”, use it to justify their own desires or to end an uncomfortable conversation. Don’t fall for it. Don’t let anyone else tell you what God wants of you unless it confirms how he’s already been leading you. People who know God would never say, “God told me to tell you,” but instead would express, “I had a thought the other day and I’m wondering if it might be helpful to you.” 

Maybe the value of uncertainty in the Spirit’s leading is how easily it exposes those who speak with false confidence. Those who are really learning to listen hold their conclusions more lightly and would never tell someone else to do what they think is best. They actively seek the input of others to help them wrestle with what the Spirit might be saying. Over time, you will become more confident in following the Spirit’s nudges, but far from certain that you have it all right. 

In the meantime, know that he will never lead you in a way that violates God’s nature as the Scripture reveals it. He won’t direct you to lie, betray, cheat, injure, or accuse others of malicious motives. He’ll be teaching you how to live in his love. He will show you the way the world is, God’s order to the universe beneath the games of darkness that broken humans play. You’ll discover the power of gossip and jealousy destroys relationships, the lengths people in pain will go to survive, even if they hurt people they love. You’ll recognize the controlling cadence of political speech and religious services, the empty formulas behind popular entertainment that dulls our hearts to God, and the hype used to manipulate the emotions of a crowd. And you will know these things because you’ll recognize them first in yourself. Doing so will transform you to a wiser and kinder you, easier on others’ mistakes because you’re aware of your own. You’ll find the freedom to apologize for bad choices instead of doubling down on them to justify yourself. 

 

Life in the Spirit

It is said that people are either motivated by their intellect or by their emotions. Knowing which will allow you to manipulate them for your own ends. Jesus had something different in mind; that is, living out of our spirit instead of just our thoughts or feelings. Our spirit lies at the core of our being where his Spirit makes connection with us. 

Paul talked about life in the “Spirit” as the way we walk in the world. In the Greek, there are no capital letters, so translating that phrase with a capital “S” may have changed his meaning. When I was growing up, life in the Spirit meant obeying God’s instructions. In effect, we would become robots following preprogramed instructions from God, which were often Scriptures we had interpreted to our own comfort. 

What if Paul was inviting the followers of Jesus to live out of their spirit instead of their thoughts or emotions? What’s the difference? Instead of living by principles our intellect can understand, or being controlled by our capricious feelings, we would live out of that part of us that connects to God. Getting in touch with our spirit is where we gain the eyes to see and ears to hear. 

That fits the journey I’ve been on for some time. It allows us to participate in transformation so that our intellect and our emotions are informed by God’s reality and his purpose in us. When our spirit comes alive with his, we are partners in the joy of an ever-growing relationship—our person merging with his.

Living by “the spirit” is what flows out of that union. It isn’t following our intuition; it is deriving our motivations from eyes that see a better kingdom. This is where we come to know we are loved, begin to recognize his nudges, and find reserves of strength that go beyond our own. He doesn’t want to tell us what to do, but for us to become one with us, so that we’ll see his character increasingly reflected in our nature.

Having eyes to see and ears to hear will take us on an ever-unfolding adventure of his Spirit adding insight and freedom to our journey as we live by what’s true and what’s loving in the world of chaos. 

 

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You can access previous chapters here.  Stay Tuned for Chapter 10.

Chapter 9: Eyes to See, Ears to Hear  Read More »

Do You Want to Talk with Me?

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The last few years have brought a lot of change to the trajectory of my journey. Living loved is taking me to places I’ve never considered and brought more joy and fullness to my life than I’ve ever known. I’ve shared most of the changes in that journey on the weekly podcast as well as here on my blog. This has been the most transformative season of my life, bar none.

I know people have many questions and insights into how they might process some of that in their own journey, and since I’m not traveling as much these days, I thought I’d hold some occasional Zoom sessions to explore this amazing journey together.

You may want to discuss the content of my latest book, It’s Time: Letters to the Bride of Christ at the End of the Age, my current journey praying for the brokenness of the world, or raising up a new generation of young people tuned into Jesus. We can also talk about living loved, gazing with God, healing from trauma, dealing with toxic family members, or anything else you want to talk about.

We will meet by Zoom and begin this Saturday, August 10, at 1:00 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time. Lord willing, we will stream it live on The God Journey Facebook page for those who want to watch live or the recording of it after. If you want to participate in the discussion, please email me in advance for the Zoom link.  And if you want to be added to a list of people I’ll contact for future conversations, even if you can’t make this one, email me as well.

This is meant to be a relaxed conversation among friends, not asking questions of an expert. I’m a brother on a journey and if there’s any way that the things I’ve learned can be a blessing to you, I’m happy to share them.

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Those who enjoyed my last blog about Sara’s garden, Painting with Flowers, can see how magical the night view here.

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Painting with Flowers

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Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God’s handwriting.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

My wife paints with flowers, and what an amazing job she does. We’ve lived at our new home for just a little over a year and I wanted to share Sara’s latest garden with so many of you who have asked about it. Sara will always say it is a work in progress, but here it was last Friday in the middle of summer:  

(If the link doesn’t play in your email, click on this link.)

She calls it her favorite garden of all she has done, and it’s mine too, even though the last one was pretty impressive. The difference now is that instead of going out to look at her garden, we live inside of it. Every window looks out on stunning views of the flowers, greenery, fountains, butterflies, and birds that inhabit this space. It makes our new home a true oasis of beauty and peace. There is nothing more pleasurable than sitting in this garden with friends and family as we share the wonders of our life in Jesus. We’ve done that a lot since we’ve been home from our last trip and I’ve always said I’d enjoy the day when I travel less and people come to find me.

So, y’all come and sit a spell if you’d like. Let’s do it by prior arrangement, though, so we can space it out. And maybe I’ll fire up Wayne’s Smokehouse (see video for what that means) and break bread together as well.  Space is limited, but I’ve no doubt that if Father has it in his heart, it will work out.

And if you want to see how magical it turns at night, click here.

And, if you haven’t heard this yet, here is one of my favorite stories to ever come out of Sara’s Garden.

 

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Zoom With Me? 

On an unrelated note, I will be hosting an open Zoom conversation this Saturday, August 10, at 1:00 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, for anyone who would like to discuss any of the themes of our podcasts or my blog. I don’t have an agenda for this, just a desire to further the discussion with those who are finding similar hunger in their own journey. Lord willing, we will stream it live on The God Journey Facebook page for those who want to listen in. If you want to participate in the discussion, please email me in advance for the Zoom link.  There’s lots we could talk about—gazing with God, praying for a younger generation, healing from trauma, how God speaks to us, living with temporal uncertainty, God’s vengeance, life in the spirit, or anything else on your heart. You’ll set the agenda, I’ll just be along for the ride.

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May You Bloom and Grow Forever

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I never expected to be undone in the middle of a theatrical production of The Sound of Music, but I was. I tell this story in today’s podcast, Unmanipulatable, but I wanted to share it here as well for those who might miss it there. 

Last Saturday, Sara and I went to see this musical because it is one of Sara’s favorite stories, and she adores the music. I went because we’re exploring things that bring Sara joy. Three years into our marriage we bought our first video cassette recorder and the first movie we bought was Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music. For the next few weeks, I’d arrive home just as the nun was singing Climb Every Mountain. So, that became a bit of a joke in our home, as I would mockingly belt it out with her. 

But when it came up in the play, it took me back to those first years Sara and I lived alone as a young couple in love. It made me smile as I watched her enjoy the play. But then, later in the play, Captain Von Trapp sang Edelweiss, which I’ve mistakenly seen as one of the schmaltzier tunes in the show. A few lines in, I was overcome with emotion as tears pooled in my eyes. What just happened? It was the line, “May you bloom and grow, bloom and grow forever.” My body had recognized it before my mind had registered it. I wasn’t thinking about a small white flower in the Alps but my wife sitting beside me. 

If you have followed our story, you know the last fifteen years have been quite an adventure for her as she wrestled with a deep pain she didn’t understand, and battled with it for her very life, and finally in the last two years discovered in long-forgotten memories a series of horrific events in her childhood that had traumatized her severely. I am so proud of the way she has embraced her story, even the darkest parts, has leaned into Jesus to find healing from the pain, and is learning to renew her mind with new neural pathways based on who she is, not on how trauma defined her. 

As remarkable a story as this is, it has, at times, been an incredibly painful journey for Sara. Last month brought a particularly excruciating memory that hit Sara hard. Dealing with it has been exhausting, and it’s made us wonder how many more may come in years ahead. She was just finding her pace beyond it last week when we went to the play. Watching her enjoy it was particularly meaningful. That’s why my mind was on her when the lyric was sung. Sara will bloom and grow forever. No matter how long this takes her, no matter what dark bridges we have yet to cross, the day will come when the trajectory will shift from working through the pain of the past to embracing his ever-unfolding glory uninterrupted in the present. Yes, that is already happening as we experience the first-fruits of Sara’s growing freedom, but someday, further in this life or perhaps in the next, the pain will all be gone and she can bloom and grow forever in God’s garden. The thought still causes my heart to exult today, and gives me a slightly different view of what eternity might mean for her. 

You also know my wife loves gardens, and they’ve been an important part of our story. Today, we will be shooting a video to share with you her current creation, which surrounds our new home. She says this is her favorite garden. I sat in it last week with a good friend, and as we talked numerous butterflies and birds flitted about the flowers. Finally, he remarked, “This seems like a fairy-tale garden in a Disney cartoon.”  And it does!  That’s a shot of the front of it above, but there is so much more. Thinking of her blooming for eternity is a joy all its own. I know Jesus already sees her as the beautiful flower he made her to be, but she will get to become more aware of it.

And not just her, me too! And not just us, but you, too. No matter what pain and struggle you’re working out in your life, the day will come, perhaps sooner than any of us think, when sorrow will yield to celebration, pain will be absorbed in healing, and death will give way to life. From there, we will all get to bloom and grow forever in the presence of Jesus, where each one of us will get to be all that Jesus created it to be before the fallenness of the world disfigured us. 

That’s redemption! As I watched the end of the play, I Corinthians 15:42-44 (Message), kept creeping into my mind: 

“This image of planting a dead seed and raising a live plant is a mere sketch at best, but perhaps it will help in approaching the mystery of the resurrection body—but only if you keep in mind that when we’re raised, we’re raised for good, alive forever! The corpse that’s planted is no beauty, but when it’s raised, it’s glorious. Put in the ground weak, it comes up powerful. The seed sown is natural; the seed grown is supernatural—same seed, same body, but what a difference from when it goes down in physical mortality to when it is raised up in spiritual immortality! 

So, my prayer for you today, is that you will rest confident in knowing that the work of Jesus in you now means that you too will get to bloom and grow forever. Your Father already sees you as a treasured delight in his garden but when the struggle is over you will see it, too, and revel in it and him forever.

Even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly!

 

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Chapter 8: Love What Is True

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Note: This is the eighth in a series of letters written for those who will be living at the end of the age, whenever that comes. Once complete, I’ll combine them into a book. You can access the previous chapters here.  If you are not already subscribed to this blog and want to make sure you don’t miss any, you can add your name here.

 

I wish truth was more obvious. Seemingly reasonable people violently disagree with other seemingly reasonable people. Why can’t we have one source of clear facts on which we can base our decisions? Christians can’t even agree on what the Bible says about God or how we are to follow him. I’m so confused. Who can I trust to tell me the truth?

Caryn, social media influencer and mother of two from Southern California

Caryn, 

What a great question, especially doing what you do. We’ve often talked about how your job makes you choose every day between telling the truth and doing what will make you the most money. I wish more people cared about what’s true.  Most cherry-pick information to justify what they already want. 

“What is truth?” is as relevant a question today as when Pontius Pilate asked Jesus about it. Though he asked the right person, he didn’t wait for an answer. He used it dismissively, so as not to confuse the decision he had to make. 

It’s a question I ask daily, not in a philosophical way, but in wanting to know what’s true about the situations I face, about my own heart and motives, or how God is making himself known to me. His light is the only thing that makes sense out of the chaos of this world and has guided me through its most difficult challenges. 

His light brings life, and yet so many of us resort to lies whenever we think they can help us. Here is the strangest conversation I ever had. A good friend of mine had told me about some developmentally challenged children who were having a fascinating connection to God. Visiting his city a few months later, I asked him more about it because I thought it would encourage parents with similar children. 

He acted as if he had no idea what I was talking about. Surprised, I pressed him but also gave him an out. “If you’re not comfortable talking about this, I’ll understand.” Again, he acted confused, denying the conversation we’d had months before. What was strange about this encounter was that I knew he was lying to me, and by the look on his face I was sure he knew that I knew. Nevertheless, he persisted, gaslighting me enough to make me question my own memory.  

Years later, a mutual friend told me he had pretended ignorance to get me off the scent. It would have been far easier to tell me that. Instead, he chose to double-down on a lie with such conviction that it damaged our friendship. Now, he was uncomfortable around me, and I didn’t know if I could trust anything he said. Sadly, a man I’d known to be sensitive to God started slipping into other areas of darkness as well, taking advantage of others.

You cannot play with a little bit of darkness and not risk getting sucked into its vortex. Many I know risk that today, thinking they can use half-truths and white lies to honorable ends. You can’t. There are two kingdoms vying for control—the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light—and they are mutually exclusive. 

 

Where Darkness Thrives 

 

We were all born into a world of lies and illusions. Everyone thinks they live in truth, but what if  “our truth” isn’t true at all? My whole life I’ve been trading in the lies I’ve believed for the truth Jesus reveals. In the days that portend the end of the age, this confusion between true and false grows even greater, so that even the very elect can be deceived. (Matthew 24:24)

We see it as a matter of course in our day with advertising, accusations of “fake news,” and outright fabrications. Lies are easier to spin than confronting people with difficult truths. Politicians, celebrities, and business leaders use deception as a regular tool to manipulate public support. Every statement allows them to spin the narrative they want to manipulate their target demographic. Even worse, our media has joined them, often stringing together legitimate facts to false conclusions. Here, half-truths are more destructive than outright lies, for it doesn’t take much cyanide in the punch to poison the whole brew.

It’s even worse when close relationships are infected by darkness. A well-placed lie has tremendous power. It can get you out of a tight spot or destroy someone’s reputation. We’ve all done it and been mostly oblivious to its effects, if we benefit from it. But lies destroy, and once you tell a lie to protect yourself, you must tell an increasing number of lies to cover the first one. That will invariably lead you to places you don’t want to go and hurt people you would rather not have hurt. 

The kingdom of darkness thrives inside of lies, secrets, innuendo, and deception, and all of those do great damage, even if you don’t know what you’re saying is untrue. My wife, Sara, lived with a dark secret in her body for over sixty years. Threatened into silence by her abusers, she lost track of what was real and is now only beginning to discover the truth of what happened to her, and who she really is. 

I can’t tell you how much I grew up believing about God that turned out to be untrue. When we decide to follow Jesus, he will draw us out of the tentacles of darkness that have held us captive. That may sound easy, but coming to know the truth about God, ourselves, and the world around us, is the longest, most difficult journey you’ll ever take. Take it anyway, because it leads to beautiful places.

 

Poking Holes in Our Illusions

I suspect half of what I think I know today is wrong, and that may be generous. I don’t know what I’m wrong about, or I would give it up. What’s more, the confirmation bias we all have predisposes us to weigh evidence based on what we already think is true and not even notice evidence to the contrary. How do I know that? Because with each passing season I watch Jesus poke holes in my illusions and invite me into truth. It’s one of my favorite things about him, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. 

Here’s how Eugene Peterson expressed it in his translation of John 5.  “(The world) is against me because I expose the evil behind their pretensions.” That is a mouthful, and it isn’t only true of the world, but also our worldly thoughts. Evil works behind our illusions, lies, and our pretenses to impress others. 

So, when Jesus, or anyone else, pokes holes in our illusions, we get defensive, grab our spiritual duct tape, and try to cover the hole. We like the illusions that comfort us and can even get hostile when they are challenged. As they fail us, either by Jesus’s intervention or when they bump up against the reality of life, it hurts. Illusions die a hard death. 

It’s what you feel when the God who is “supposed to protect you” allows some kind of tragedy into your life. The pain makes you question God, your faith, or whether he even loves you. Yet, that whole perspective is misplaced. He doesn’t “allow” bad things into our lives; they are simply the result of living in a fallen age. 

Without recognizing what’s true, we end up blaming God or ourselves, instead of learning how God works. He protects us by guiding us through the pain in our lives, refining our faith and perceptions of him in the process, and transforming the way we think and live. 

 

The Path to Freedom 

 

To his followers, Jesus said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). I used to think he was talking about theological truth. When you know Scripture and believe it, you will be free. 

Of course, knowing the truth about God and Jesus that Scripture teaches can be incredibly helpful, if we’ve interpreted it rightly. But that is easier said than done, since we have so many denominations simply because we can’t agree on what’s true even after 2000 years of studying the Bible. I’m convinced Jesus was talking about so much more than getting doctrine right. He wanted us to know the truth about ourselves and how we’re responding to the world around us. 

Much of his truth brings great joy—that we are deeply loved by God, that his death has relieved us from all shame and fear, and that he will care for us no matter what we face in this world. But what about those lies we’ve come to believe to comfort ourselves? We often decide what’s true based on whether it serves us well, so we pick up a lot of illusions—that following religious traditions makes us more special to God, that “my truth” is more important than his, or that God hates all the same people I do. 

Giving up those things is more difficult and makes us more resistant when he challenges them. Thus, before the truth sets us free, it messes with us first. Since so much of what we believe is based on lies, illusions, and half-truths, our first inclination when truth appears can be to reject it. So many times, I’ve thought, “I hope that isn’t true,” when I start to see something he’s showing me. Get past that and you’ll discover what a treasure his truth is, especially when its challenging. 

Embracing what’s true or doubling down on our illusions is a choice we face every day. Sometimes our friends won’t help us here. Holding to the same illusions we do, they may discourage us from following something different. You won’t be able to convince them otherwise by arguing with them. You can only live in such a way that they either marginalize you because you make them uncomfortable, or they seek you out because of how grounded the truth will make you, especially in adversity.

 

A Love for Truth

 

So, how do we know when you’re believing something that isn’t true?  In short, we won’t until Jesus by his Spirit reveals it to us. He didn’t say he’d give us a book but his Spirit “to guide us into truth (John 16:13), and John added that we all have an anointing that will help us distinguish between truth and error (I John 2:20). 

As we learn to follow the Spirit, he will help us to live in the light. That’s not easy and doesn’t come quickly, but he will show you the truth that you need, whether it is correcting our views of God or showing us how to navigate a difficult relationship.

We’ll never be able to study enough truth to navigate life by our own wisdom. What we can do is cultivate a heart that is ready for truth so that when it comes, we’ll recognize it. Paul told the Thessalonians that a “love of the truth” was our greatest protection from delusion at the end of the age (2 Thessalonians 2:10). That’s not about their salvation or God’s punishment; it’s the admission that the kingdom of darkness destroys; the kingdom of light heals. 

If you don’t love the truth, you will miss it when it comes. If you do, your heart will open to whatever his Spirit wants to show you. Here’s my resolve: “I want to know what’s true, even if I have to admit I’m wrong, even if I’ll need to apologize for my actions, and even if others reject me.”

When Jesus asked the Pharisees where they thought his authority came from, they refused to answer, knowing the crowd would judge them harshly no matter what they said. The reason they couldn’t see the truth is that they were more focused on what people thought of them than what God did (Mark 11). Anything we pursue, other than truth, will send us down trails that hurt us. That includes clicks and likes or wanting validation from people. When feeling good is more important than knowing truth, we will find ourselves wandering in increasing darkness.

My grandson and I watched the Matrix, where the hero must choose between taking a red pill that will open his eyes to the harsh truth or he can take a blue pill and stay in the comfort of an illusion that imprisons him. 

A few brutal scenes later, my grandson asked, “Which pill did Neo take?” 

“The Red pill,” I answered. 

“I want the blue pill!” he exclaimed, pointing to himself. “Blue pill!” 

I hope, in time, that changes for him, but he expressed where most people live. “Give me the comfort of my illusions rather than the challenges truth might bring.” And yet, those are the same people who, when their illusions eventually unravel, will complain that God ignored them, when he has been inviting them into his truth all along.

If you don’t love the truth above comfort, you will lean on those thoughts that keep you in the dark. What I admire so much about Sara in the last few years is her unrelenting passion to discover what was true about her past. It has been excruciatingly painful for her, but with Jesus alongside her it has been a beautiful process of healing. Darkness doesn’t fade away easily, but it will always yield to the light. 

 

Cultivate a Space for Truth to Appear

 

Caryn, if you love what’s true; it will come to you when you need it. These suggestions may help prepare the way. 

Ask him regularly to show you what’s true. My most ardent prayer is, “I want to know you as you really are, I want to see myself as you see me, and I want to see my circumstances through your eyes. Probe every corner of my heart and mind to expose any lie that traps me.” The more you follow truth, the easier it will become to love it. It opens the most amazing doors.

 

Check your heart frequently. In the things that concern you, do you want the truth or do you want the easy road? If you find yourself resisting a conversation because the truth might make you uncomfortable, maybe you have some room to explore here. I’ve had people flat out tell me, “I don’t want to know what’s going on here,” preferring the head-in-sand approach to embracing the light. If you really want to know the truth, you’ll ask questions, listen carefully, and not reject an insight just because it will cost you.

 

Play with uncomfortable thoughts to find out what his Spirit might be showing you. Don’t be afraid to learn something new. I find a growing restlessness in my heart when I am following an illusion. I may not know why, but if I honor the restlessness and ask him to show me, in time I’ll discover why. By the same token, when I am following his insights, I have a growing sense of rest in my heart, even in the middle of conflict. Be more suspicious of “discoveries” that seem to benefit you than those that challenge you.

 

Make it a regular part of your conversation with close friends who inspire you to truth: Ask the question, “What is true here?” Share what you’re contemplating and see what input they might have. Ask them to help you separate what you want to be true from what really might be true. Realize the truth will often be more difficult than our desires but therein lies the path to life.

 

Include people who don’t always agree with you and ask why they think like they do. That doesn’t mean they have it right, but it will give you thoughts to weigh as the Spirit will give you an increasing conviction about what is true.

 

Here are some cautionary guidelines that help me process the input of others: If someone is pushy, they are not helping me, but their own agenda. If someone thinks they know the motives of others, I don’t trust their conclusions, since accusing people of bad motives is the easiest way to elevate ourselves and dismiss others. When someone asks me to “believe” them when I ask questions, I know they don’t understand the nature of truth. And, if someone is angry or defensive, I know they are not confident about their own conclusions. Truth comes with a sense of peace and quiet that doesn’t bleed on others.

 

 Watch the fruit of what you embrace as true. Does it help resolve your response in tight situations without having to be mean or lie? Does it offer you a place in God’s love and safety even if it doesn’t fix everything the way you want? Does it keep you grounded in safety and love?

 

Enjoy the Journey

 

Discovering what’s true is a lifelong adventure. No one can possibly know it all; it is as vast as the ocean. No one would claim to be an expert by simply walking on a beach, exploring a few tidepools, or even scuba diving. All we need to know is the truth that helps us today. Realizing that will help you live humbly. 

I’m not talking here about the big-ticket theological realities we know with certainty—that God created us, that Jesus, as God in the flesh, came to redeem us back to his Father from where we had fallen, and that we can trust him with every detail of our lives. But there are so many other matters where we can think less, “I’m right about this,” and more, “This is the best I see at the moment.”  

Stay curious, open, and flexible as the Spirit continues to draw you more deeply into his reality. Loving the truth and the desire to be right are not the same thing. The desire to be right will lead you down false trails to defend yourself. Better to apologize for an error than prop up a mistake with more of the same.

Don’t think walking in truth means you owe everyone the whole truth, unless you’re in court. You owe them authenticity. When you speak, speak what’s true, as much as you think will help them. And when you don’t want to share something, just say, “I’m not comfortable talking about that right now.” 

As a man from Australia wrote me a few months ago, “Christianity has weaponized truth instead of embodying the Truth.”  What a great statement! We’ve gleaned truth from Scriptures and push it on others with condemnation and shame, only to disaffect them from the God who can bring truth into their hearts.  

When you can rest in what’s true, you’ll realize just how precious it is and you’ll respect the process for others to discover it as well, knowing it is as important as the truth itself. Then you won’t have to push people to your conclusions, and you won’t need their agreement to validate you.  

Caryn, in the next letter we’re going to talk more about training our eyes to see what his Spirit is doing around us and ears to hear what he is saying to us. For now, let your love for the truth deepen, and with it, hold lightly the things you already think are true, so he has room to show you what really is. 

Then you’ll be ready for whatever may come. 

 

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You can access previous chapters here.  Stay Tuned for Chapter 9.

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