Featured Book: A Man Like No Other

1 Comment / Jesus /

We continue on a guided tour through some of Wayne’s books with one of his more unique books: A Man Like No Other. This is an illustrated life of Jesus, with paintings visualizing moments in the life of Jesus while Wayne, along with his friend, Brad Cummings, tell the stories of those images with words. It’s a large, hardbound book, so it costs a bit more, but this week it is discounted and is a wonderful gift for Christmas time. At Christmas we celebrate God becoming man, the man, Jesus—a man like no other!

We are quickly approaching the end of this calendar year, and as you know, we are highlighting several of Wayne’s books, available here through Lifestream, offering a couple ways to save a little bit, too. Over the last few weeks remaining, we’ll continue to highlight one book per week, and offer bulk discounts on those, and a coupon for a 25% discount on any order over $75.

Today we’re featuring A Man Like No Other: The Illustrated Life of Jesus. For the next week, this book will be 25% off, or you can order in bulk, and save even more (Box of 5, Box of 10, or Box of 20). In addition, through the end of the year, use the coupon code 25off75 when you checkout to save 25% off any order over $75. Merry Christmas from Lifestream!

Ordering Options:

If you’d like to order more than the Box of 20 option, email us your order and we’ll get you a custom price.

Book Description

71kHQ3msAwLJesus continues to be the most engaging person who ever lived, not only a man of compelling words, and incredible miracles, but also a man who treated others around him as they had never been treated before.

Now, through the brush of award-winning artist, Murry Whiteman, and the pen of authors, and collaborators on The Shack, Wayne Jacobsen and Brad Cummings, experience the richness of the One who set the world on fire. In provocative paintings and insightful prose, these three unveil the life and teachings of Jesus to show how truly unique a person he was.

Discover afresh Jesus growing up and beginning to grasp his identity as God’s Son, living loved through the temptations and turmoil he faced, and finally offering his own life to rescue people he loved from the darkness and fears that held them captive.

Let him become more to you than just the character in a book, a name used by those who fight over doctrine, or an empty religious icon. In him the God of the universe came and took up residence in his own creation.

In the fullness of time, God spoke again into the chaos of darkness. This, too, was a word of creation and light, but this time it was not in a voice, but a baby—the Word made flesh now inside the creation. God sought to prove he was not distant and uncaring, by becoming one of us, embracing all that it meant to be human. Here he lived, he loved, he taught, he healed. He came to set us free, to invite us into the life-giving relationship that he himself enjoys with the Father.

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

A couple weeks back we asked for you to share something Wayne has written or said that has been particularly meaningful to you, and we’d post here. Today’s thoughts come from Mark, and mention (among other things) Wayne’s collaboration with other authors, which would include the book we are highlighting this week! Mark said:

I believe Wayne is one of the warmest, most encouraging, productive persons to ever walk the planet. His faith during his marital crisis was remarkable. His ability to not strike back at his enemies when he had every right to do so was inspiring.

The incredible amount of correspondence to so many people looks tiring to me, but he does it. Wayne’s writing is like the icebreaker in the Arctic when only specialized ships can do the task while the rest are allowed to follow behind once the way is clear.

His collaboration with other authors has produced a rich harvest of ideas for all of us to absorb. Wayne has endured many blows, and trodded through thickets of thorns, but has always come out the other side, smiling and unbroken by bitterness or resentment.

He can still give and receive love without thought of personal gain.

Many people live on an island of sorts of their own creation. Wayne has chosen to develop a multiplicity of relationships to sustain himself, as well as many others. His writing shows the inner growth these struggles produced, as well as how his long-term relationships have helped sustain him. Wayne’s faith in resting with his Father throughout his trials shows how a Christian life may be lived. “Jesus is the only weapon you will ever need.” Those words are a lodestone for my life. I have shared them multiple times in my work with others.

This is only a small part of what Wayne has done. Eternity will reveal much more. I am blessed because of his presence in my life. Thank you for allowing me to share.

If you have something you’d like to share, please reply to this email, or email me directly at webmaster@lifestream.org.

This post was written by Greg Campbell for Wayne Jacobsen and Lifestream.

Hi, I’m Greg Campbell. Wayne often calls me “[his] Web Guy” probably because I have been helping him with all his “web things” for about 20 years now. While Wayne is recuperating from his recent surgery and taking chemo, we thought it might be a good use of this space to remind people of some of the amazing resources Wayne has made available through Lifestream. Would you like to help? Perhaps something Wayne has written or said has been particularly meaningful in your own life. Would you be willing to share it as a way to encourage others who might be in a similar place in their journey. Perhaps there is a blog series, book, podcast, or audio recording (e.g. Transitions or Engage) that Jesus used to help you on your journey. Here’s the request again: Would you mind writing a paragraph or two about it? We’ll make it available here on the Lifestream website. Thanks!

Featured Book: A Man Like No Other Read More »

A Fresh Wave for He Loves Me

2 Comments / Behind the Scenes /

While I am sidelined with my recovery from back surgery and some chemo, God seems to be stirring something with my book He Loves Me. In the last week I’ve had numerous emails about this book. Some people are starting book studies with friends or doing podcasts about it. It’s so much in one week that it has made me ponder what Father might be doing in this season with a book that is almost 25 years old.

Also, someone sent me a link to two people who did a deep dive into He Loves Me, but they did it in 21 minutes. I was impressed, though, with their conversation because it covered the significant themes in an engaging and enlightening way. You can listen to it here.

I also recorded a podcast on Tuesday with Discovering God with Tacos. It’s a funny name for it, and I thought I’d have to recuse myself since I’m not too fond of tacos, but they were gracious to let me join them anyway and talk a bit of BBQ while we’re discussing my journey. I can’t wait to share it with you when it airs. I’ll have to let you know when it does.

Finally, I’m getting emails from various places around the world that want to do translations and reprints. This includes Israel, Russia, and Ukraine. That hasn’t been easy to do with Hachette holding the rights to the book; they don’t like people putting up the book for free downloads. However, I’ve always been more concerned about the message getting out than the financial return on this book, so we are entering negotiations with Hachette to have the book returned to us so we can pursue these requests. Please pray we’ll be successful here.

What to make of all of this? I’m not sure. But it seems God is letting a whole new audience discover that book and its message. I’ve often said it is the most important book I’ll ever write because there’s nothing more critical than moving from an appeasement-based view of God to an affection-based relationship with him. He loves each of us more than anyone ever has or ever will, and when we come to discover that we’ll find ourselves on the journey of a lifetime, not only coming to rest in his goodness but also learning how that love begins to untwist sin, shame, and religious effort in us so that we can truly live as his people on the earth.

You can buy it in case lots at deep discounts here if you want to start a study on it or make it a Christmas gift to your friends.

As for me, my recovery continues to progress. I don’t have much back pain these days from surgery, so almost all recovered there, and I can manage a lot more things for myself. However, that also means we can ramp up the chemo drugs to higher doses, so we’ll have to see how that goes. I’ve felt pretty good the last couple of weeks, though, and have been able to get back to some writing and thinking that God is inviting me into. I’m grateful for that, though my endurance is somewhat limited. I do hope I can maintain that with these new drugs. Sara and I are thankful for all the love and support from so many of you at this time. God is at work, though not in the same way I would have hoped early on. That’s often true for all of us. He does know best, however, and when we trust him more than we trust our perceptions, the road gets less strenuous.

A Fresh Wave for He Loves Me Read More »

Featured Book: So You Don’t Want to go to Church Anymore?

1 Comment / Growing in Trust /

We continue on a guided tour through some of Wayne’s books with the book that first introduced me to Wayne Jacobsen. The “Jake Book”, as it was then referred to, was released online chapter-by-chapter, and after catching up with what was already released I could not wait for the next one. What Jake was experiencing so mirrored all that God was patiently walking me through as I pined for a life lived in simple trust of the Father who loves me, with fellow travelers on the same journey, following Jesus’ lead via his Spirit in me. I didn’t have a John, but “Jake Colsen” (Wayne and Dave’s nom-de-plume) provided a similar invitation to trust Father’s perfect timing and care.

Again, as we approach the end of the calendar year we are highlighting a few of Wayne’s books, available here through Lifestream, and we’re offering a couple ways to save a little bit, too. Over the next few weeks we’ll highlight one book per week, and offer bulk discounts on each of those, and a coupon for a 25% discount on any order over $75.

Today we’re featuring So You Don’t Want to go to Church Anymore?. For the next week, this book will be 25% off, or you can order in bulk, and save even more (Box of 10, or Box of 20). In addition, through the end of the year, use the coupon code 25off75 when you checkout to save 25% off any order over $75. Merry Christmas early from Lifestream!

Ordering Options:

Other purchasing options such as Amazon, Kindle, Apple Books (all without special pricing), are available on any of those linked pages above. And if you’d like to order more than the Box of 20 option, email us your order and we’ll get you a custom price.

So You Don't Want to Go to Church Anymore? by Wayne Jacobsen & Dave ColemanJake Colsen, an overworked and disillusioned pastor, happens into a stranger who bears an uncanny resemblance (in manner) to the apostle John. A number of encounters with John as well as a family crisis lead Jake to a new understanding of what his life should be like: one filled with faith bolstered by a steady, close relationship with the God of the universe. Facing his own disappointment with Christianity, Jake must forsake the habits that have made his faith rote and rediscover the love that captured his heart when he first believed.

Compelling and intensely personal, SO YOU DON’T WANT TO GO TO CHURCH ANYMORE relates a man’s rebirth from performance-based Christianity to a loving friendship with Christ that affects all he does, thinks, and says. As John tells Jake, “There is nothing the Father desires for you more than that you fall squarely in the lap of his love and never move from that place for the rest of your life.”

A couple weeks back we asked for you to share something Wayne has written or said that has been particularly meaningful to you, and we’d post here. Today’s thoughts come from Jeannine, who wrote this on Thanksgiving Day:

This day I am thankful for You Wayne! Your support, wisdom, counsel, kindness, compassion, and prayers have helped me become a better reflection of Christ in this lost and broken world. I can try to express how your book “So You Don’t Want to Go to Church Anymore?”, your testimony, your ministry, and your friendship have helped guide me to a stronger relationship with Christ and a deeper desire to learn more about how to live in His eternal love… But I will leave it at this. God has blessed me with so much, you included. I live in the hope of all we have and ALL that is to come.

If you have something you’d like to share, please reply to this email, or email me directly at webmaster@lifestream.org.

This post was written by Greg Campbell for Wayne Jacobsen and Lifestream.

Hi, I’m Greg Campbell. Wayne often calls me “[his] Web Guy” probably because I have been helping him with all his “web things” for about 20 years now. While Wayne is recuperating from his recent surgery and taking chemo, we thought it might be a good use of this space to remind people of some of the amazing resources Wayne has made available through Lifestream. Would you like to help? Perhaps something Wayne has written or said has been particularly meaningful in your own life. Would you be willing to share it as a way to encourage others who might be in a similar place in their journey. Perhaps there is a blog series, book, podcast, or audio recording (e.g. Transitions or Engage) that Jesus used to help you on your journey. Here’s the request again: Would you mind writing a paragraph or two about it? We’ll make it available here on the Lifestream website. Thanks!

Featured Book: So You Don’t Want to go to Church Anymore? Read More »

I Will Miss You, Tony

2 Comments / Encouragement / / , , , , ,

Tony Campolo passed away last week, and though I’m a bit late, I want to acknowledge his powerful contribution to Christian thought around the world and to my own life personally.

I never had the chance to meet him or hear him speak in person, but decades ago, his books and recordings challenged and inspired me. If you’ve never heard It’s Friday But Sunday’s Coming (the whole thing is sermon is powerful, but the story I’m referring to begins at 50:20) or The Kingdom of God Is a Party, don’t wait any longer. Any of his books are a great treat as well.

As you’ll see, Tony Campolo was among the most humorous speakers ever. Inside that humor was a constant challenge to be mindful of the poor and to realize that our calling as followers of Jesus is to lay down our lives for the needs of others. Many evangelicals didn’t like him, calling him a “liberal” as a way to dismiss his message. Indeed, I didn’t agree with everything he taught, but that’s true of most people. I have no problem enjoying the chicken and spitting out the bones. He coined the term, Red Letter Christians, to help Jesus followers take seriously the words of Jesus in the Gospels about visiting the sick, feeding the hungry, and reaching out to those in prison.

Since we’ve been talking about the focus of justice and righteousness on The God Journey before we had to take a hiatus, I’m freshly aware of the link between the Kingdom of God with God’s kind of redemptive justice for the broken, the marginalized, and the wounded and how skewed our preoccupation with personal holiness rather than the injustice in a fallen world.

I know no better illustration of that than how Tony Campolo addressed many chapels at Christian universities. He would often begin his talk with a statistic about how many children died the night before from malnutrition and related diseases around the world, numbering in the thousands.  Letting it sink in, he would then add, “And most of you don’t give a sh*t.”

Of course, the room would be scandalized at such a coarse word in their imagined holy place.

When the room settled, he would point to the heart of the problem. “What’s worse is that you’re more upset with the fact that I said ‘sh*t’ than the fact that thousands of kids died last night.”

He wasn’t always invited back. In my more legalistic days, I would have been more concerned about his use of a bad word than I would have been about a hunger problem that seems too large for me to fix. That wouldn’t be true today. Justice is holding a bigger heart for the poor and deprived. Policing the word ‘sh*t’ is just a misplaced, legalistic preoccupation with righteousness.

Of course, we can care about injustice at the same time we watch our mouths, but Tony was making a point here.  I hope you don’t miss the larger issue as well. People concerned with their piety are often disengaged from how their lives impact others. That’s why they can profess Jesus while viciously fighting a culture war with a moral superiority that leaves no room to love their “enemies.”  It’s why some can think of themselves as holy; they don’t use “bad words,” but they still gossip about others to destroy relationships.

That’s why I’ve come to see, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his justice…” (Matthew 6:33) as a better translation than the word righteousness. We can seek righteousness and not always get to justice, but you can’t seek relational justice and not become more godly. Treating others the way we would want them to treat us is where the kingdom of God advances in the world. Of course, they are not unrelated, but one fixates on our good, and the other focuses on the fulfillment of God’s heart by being a beacon of his compassion in a broken world.

Tony, we will miss you here, and yet the joy I’m sure you’re finding there is beyond compare. Rest in peace, my friend. You served him well in this world.

______________________

As for a personal update, my back continues to heal from fusion surgery, and though I still have to be careful while it heals, I’m almost pain-free there. I’ve been on a lower dose of chemo the last two weeks, so I have some really good days of late, but next week, they are going to be ramping up the dosage, and I’m not sure how I’ll be doing then.

Sara joins me on today’s episode of The God Journey podcast to share how our current challenge has also affected her journey. It’s called Expectations, Disappointment, and Hope.

I Will Miss You, Tony Read More »

Featured Book: He Loves Me

1 Comment / Encouragement, Living Loved /

As we approach the end of the calendar year we thought it would be good to highlight a few of Wayne’s books available here through Lifestream, and we’re offering a couple ways to save a little bit, too. Over the next few weeks we’ll highlight a couple books per week, and offer bulk discounts on each of those, and a coupon for a 25% discount on any order over $75.

Today we’re featuring He Loves Me! Learning to live in the Father’s affection. Originally published almost 25 years ago, this book has drawn so many around the world into a deeper, more full understanding of the Father’s affection for them. For the next week, this book will be 25% off, or you can order in bulk, and save even more (Box of 10, or Box of 20). In addition, through the end of the year, use the coupon code 25off75 when you checkout to save 25% off any order over $75. Merry Christmas early from Lifestream!

Ordering Options:

Other purchasing options such as Amazon, Kindle, Apple Books (all without special pricing), are available on any of those linked pages above. And if you’d like to order more than the Box of 20 option, email us your order and we’ll get you a custom price.

He loves me!He Loves Me by Wayne Jacobsen
He loves me not!

Do you find yourself picking through circumstances like children plucking daisy petals attempting to figure out whether or not God loves you? If you find yourself least certain of his love in those critical moments when you most need to trust him, there is hope for you.

Where? At the one event in human history that forever secured your place in the Father’s heart-the cross where Jesus allowed sin and shame to be consumed in his own body so that you could freely embrace a relationship with his Father. There you will discover that what he always wanted was not the fearful subservience of slaves, but the loving affection of sons and daughters.

If your spiritual life feels more like performance than freedom, like an empty ritual rather than a joyful journey, let Wayne help you discover:

  • A Father who loves you more than anyone on this planet ever has or ever will.
  • A growing confidence in his affection for you through whatever circumstances you face.
  • A vibrant relationship with him that will free you from the torment of shame while it transforms you to live as his child in the earth.

Last week we asked for you to share something Wayne has written or said that has been particularly meaningful to you, and we’d post here. Today’s thoughts come from Katelyn, who wrote:

Thanks for this email! I wanted to share what has most helped me from Wayne’s book, He Loves Me. So far I have read parts of He Loves Me, parts of Finding Church and all of So You Don’t Want to go to Church Anymore? I am also listening to the podcast more regularly and just received the 365 reflections book you all promoted last week… but this is the quote that stands out the most to me:

“There is no one God does not love with all that He is. His love reaches beyond every sin and failure, hoping that at some moment every person will come to know just how loved he or she is. There is nothing more important for you to know.”

The reason why it stands out the most is that I just feel like it underlines the truth that “apart from love, you can do nothing.” And not in a “duty” type of way but really, I just want to live in His love and flow from that place with the rest of my life and that is becoming the desire of my heart. Therefore I’m really grateful for Wayne and his stuff and the way God’s using it to transform me 🤍

If you have something you’d like to share, please reply to this email, or email me directly at webmaster@lifestream.org.

This post was written by Greg Campbell for Wayne Jacobsen and Lifestream.

Hi, I’m Greg Campbell. Wayne often calls me “[his] Web Guy” probably because I have been helping him with all his “web things” for about 20 years now. While Wayne is recuperating from his recent surgery and taking chemo, we thought it might be a good use of this space to remind people of some of the amazing resources Wayne has made available through Lifestream. Would you like to help? Perhaps something Wayne has written or said has been particularly meaningful in your own life. Would you be willing to share it as a way to encourage others who might be in a similar place in their journey. Perhaps there is a blog series, book, podcast, or audio recording (e.g. Transitions or Engage) that Jesus used to help you on your journey. Here’s the request: Would you mind writing a paragraph or two about it? We’ll make it available here on the Lifestream website. Thanks!

Featured Book: He Loves Me Read More »

An Angel at My Door

10 Comments / Encouragement / / , , , ,

If you haven’t heard the podcast from last week or read this blog, you may not appreciate all that’s happening here. I’m currently battling bone cancer that destroyed vertebrae in my back, causing me to have surgery there.

But yesterday, I think I caught an angel on my Ring camera.

I had been battling nausea for three days, so I could barely eat or drink enough to maintain momentum. I was physically weak and tired of the fight. Sara reminded me that we take one day at a time.

Soon, I settled in my chair, and Sara took the dogs out for a walk. A few moments later, my phone told me someone was at the front door.  I turned to look, but no one was there. I hadn’t heard anyone out there. So, I checked the feed from our Ring camera, and sure enough, a woman came around the corner from our driveway and dropped a small package at the front door.  It was not someone I recognized because the light was so intense behind her that her facial features washed out.

As she walked away, she paused at the end of our porch, raised both hands to her lips, and blew a kiss back at our house. Then she extended her hands as if praying for Sara and me. I was undone the first time I saw it; it was such an act of tenderness and love. God’s Spirit washed over me, and I felt her extended arms, conveying her prayer and the prayers of many people I know who are holding space before God for us.  It felt like an angel had come to my door.

When Sara got home, she recovered the package from the front door, and it was a small gift from a woman we have been sharing a journey with over the past few years. She’s become a very close friend and cares for us deeply. Did the fact that she was someone we knew change my view that an angel was outside my door? It didn’t. Sometimes, angels are the closest people to us, and God works through them similarly. And I know what I felt when she was there.  It was all the richer knowing it was someone who loved us.

Call it a coincidence if you want, but later that day, we met with our oncologist, and things changed dramatically. He made adjustments to my medications due to my symptoms, and I came home from that appointment a changed man. I’ve not had nausea since and have even looked forward to meals. It’s quite a change.  I’ve felt stronger and could even do a 6/10 mile walk this morning.

And then there was this: the doctor told us that the marker in my blood they are using to track the power of the cancer has decreased 97.5% in the four weeks I’ve had treatment. He said that drop is highly unusual and indicates they may get this in remission sooner than they hoped. Another great piece of news, though we have no idea yet what twists and turns lie ahead.  We are assured, however, that we are not alone on this journey and that he is faithful.

The last twenty-four hours are the best I’ve had in weeks, and we are so grateful.

And the lady doing a simple act of love toward us had no idea at the time how powerfully God was using it.  Remember, a simple cup of cold water in his name can yield incredible fruit. Don’t despise the small acts of caring or minor expressions of love; the impact is often more significant than we understood then.

Maybe Jesus has someone on your heart to love today by simply expressing your love and caring for them.

 

An Angel at My Door Read More »

Featured Book: A Language of Healing for a Polarized Nation

Language of Healing / /

As we approach the end of the calendar year we thought it would be good to highlight a few of Wayne’s books available here through Lifestream, and we’re offering a couple ways to save a little bit, too. Over the next few weeks we’ll highlight a couple books per week, and offer bulk discounts on each of those, and a coupon for a 25% discount on any order over $75.

Today we’re featuring A Language of Healing for a Polarized Nation. For the next week, this book will be 50% off, or you can order in bulk, and save even more (Box of 10, or Box of 20). In addition, through the end of the year, use the coupon code 25off75 when you checkout to save 25% off any order over $75. Merry Christmas early from Lifestream!

A Language of Healing for a Polarized NationAre you tired of the animosity and vitriol that fill our society at every mention of politics or religion, dividing us into two hostile camps on every possible issue?

So are we. We’re looking for others who want to change the dialogue from the rhetoric of polarizing animosity that is destroying the social fabric of our nation to a language of healing where honest differences don’t have to destroy friendships. Then we can seek a broader common ground based on mutual respect and compassion.

The Language of Healing will help you learn how to . . .

  • See disagreement as an opportunity for growth and discovery.
  • Change the temper of a hostile engagement or walk away.
  • Share mutual respect even beyond our deepest differences.
  • Become a peacemaker in your network of friends and family.

With another US election in our recent past, it’s likely we all have friends or family who are either elated or irate, and not playing nicely with “the other side”. Seems like good timing for a book that offers language for healing!

Ordering Options:

Other purchasing options such as Amazon, Kindle, Apple Books (all without special pricing), are available on any of those linked pages above. And if you’d like to order more than the Box of 20 option, email us your order and we’ll get you a custom price.

This post was written by Greg Campbell for Wayne Jacobsen and Lifestream.

Hi, I’m Greg Campbell. Wayne often calls me “[his] Web Guy” probably because I have been helping him with all his “web things” for about 20 years now. While Wayne is recuperating from his recent surgery and taking chemo, we thought it might be a good use of this space to remind people of some of the amazing resources Wayne has made available through Lifestream. Would you like to help? Perhaps something Wayne has written or said has been particularly meaningful in your own life. Would you be willing to share it as a way to encourage others who might be in a similar place in their journey. Perhaps there is a blog series, book, podcast, or audio recording (e.g. Transitions or Engage) that Jesus used to help you on your journey. Here’s the request: Would you mind writing a paragraph or two about it? We’ll make it available here on the Lifestream website. Thanks!

Featured Book: A Language of Healing for a Polarized Nation Read More »

Featured Book: Live Loved Free Full (365 daily reflections)

1 Comment / Living Loved /

As we approach the end of the calendar year we thought it would be good to highlight a few of Wayne’s books available here through Lifestream, and we’re offering a couple ways to save a little bit, too. Over the next few weeks we’ll highlight a couple books per week, and offer bulk discounts on each of those, and a coupon for a 25% discount on any order over $75.

Today we’re featuring Live Loved Free Full, 365 daily reflections to draw you deeper into the desires Jesus has for you. For the next week, this book will be 25% off, or you can order in bulk, and save even more (Box of 10, or Box of 20). In addition, through the end of the year, use the coupon code 25off75 when you checkout to save 25% off any order over $75. Merry Christmas early from Lifestream!

Live Loved Free FullIsn’t it easier to awaken each morning pressed by the demands of life rather than aware of Jesus’s presence and his perspective to carry you through the day? This book was written to flip that narrative.

As you relax into his affection, you will find it easier to recognize his fingerprints in your circumstances and his whispers in your heart. That’s where you will discover the peace of living loved, the joy of living free in his desires for you, and the power of living in his fullness.

These nuggets represent the best insights Wayne has had during the last twenty-five years of his journey to live loved. Each offers an insight that will inspire your confidence in God and focus your heart on what he is doing in you. By knowing him, you’ll have a better perspective to navigate your life with greater wisdom, confidence, and peace, no matter what circumstances you face.

Ordering Options:

Other purchasing options such as Amazon, Kindle, Apple Books (all without special pricing), are available on any of those linked pages above.

This post was written by Greg Campbell for Wayne Jacobsen and Lifestream.

Featured Book: Live Loved Free Full (365 daily reflections) Read More »

How Do You Withdraw Love?

10 Comments / Living Loved / /

I’ll provide a health update after I share this brief quote that crossed my computer this morning and stirred my heart. This is a more profound treasure in the mine of love. You cannot fairly hope in God’s gracious love towards you in your brokenness if you also don’t share it with those who haven’t “earned” yours.

Love the Person You See by SØREN KIERKEGAARD

 

We foolish people often think that when a person has changed for the worse we are exempted from loving him. What a confusion in language: to be exempt from loving. As if it were a matter of compulsion, a burden one wished to cast away! If this is how you see the person, then you really do not see him; you merely see unworthiness, imperfection, and admit thereby that when you loved him you did not really see him but saw only his excellence and perfections. True love is a matter of loving the very person you see. The emphasis is not on loving the perfections, but on loving the person you see, no matter what perfections or imperfections that person might possess.

Real love continues no matter how much a person changes.

Love is not an obligation nor obedience; it is a different way of living in a river of love that comes from the Father’s heart and flows through us to touch the world.  Loved by him and then loving with him is where his glory dwells.

And of course this does not mean we have to maintain contact with people who are abusive or toxic. We can still love them, though, even from afar without letting ourselves continue to be a target for their anger and vengeance, in hopes that one day his light will dawn in their darkness.

 

Health update:

Thank you for all the emails, comments, notes, and calls expressing your love and prayers for us in this season.  I am now three weeks from my back surgery, and the pain has lessened appreciably. I still have much to deal with there, but I have greater freedom of movement and have even been able to take some short walks (really short!) with Sara. I have begun treatments for the underlying cancer, and we are very hopeful that this will mitigate further damage. However, this is a long and challenging regimen, and it will be some time before we know its true impact.

So, my time, energy, and focus are limited. I can respond to some emails and enjoy phone calls with friends, but I’m only doing what God seems to inspire me to do each day. I am not worried about trying to keep up with any workload; this will continue to be a time of healing for the foreseeable future. Through it all, Sara has been God‘s greatest gift to me, though I know it is also taking its toll on her. Pray for her strength to endure these days and the wisdom to know when to take a break and care for herself. Hopefully, as I can do more, she will not be so taxed.

In all of this, Sara and I are not without hope—that our God reigns, that every breath we take is in his hands, and that the works of darkness will not thwart his purpose in us. I am grateful to be his son and to live in his growing grace and revelation. Kyle and I may even record a podcast next week, strength permitting, to process some of what I’m learning in this stretch of the journey for those who are interested.

In our prayers for my condition, I always remember Jenny, a friend from the UK who has been suffering longer and far more deeply than me. Whenever I am before the Lord for my health, I am before him for hers, too. I’ve written about her on this blog as a gifted poet finding real faith amid desperate need. She needs some significant help right now if you have some means to help her. And please pray for her too as you pray for me.

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Taking Some Time to Heal

11 Comments / Behind the Scenes /

For all our best laid hopes and plans, it’s the things you don’t see coming that have the most profound impact in how life unfolds

Sara and I have a few detours thrown our way over our lifetimes, which has helped us to live feely in the present and not too dismayed when times turn a bit darker. Over the past few weeks, we have been caught in an ever-declining health situation that came on rapidly and will leaves it imprint for some time to come. I know most people don’t read this blog to hear about my health situation, and I don’t want to share all the details hear for the world to read. At the same time, I have a world of friendships and I just can’t keep up with all inquiries more personally.

I woke up on September 14th with severe pain in my back. I have had some back trouble from time to time, so that wasn’t a huge surprise, but as we prayed and sought treatment, the pain only increased to excruciating levels. Nothing seemed to slow it down, not an epidural, targeted injection, or physical. The scans we had didn’t unveil a cause worthy of the pain.

Nearly passing out from pain one day, Sara finally took me to the ER, early last week. During their rigorous tests they found a suspicious lesion on one of my vertebrae in the middle of my back. It was decomposing. The next day, I was on the operating table to remove the vertebrae for a biopsy, rebuild that part of my back and then fuse it to hold together.

The larger issue is what caused the deteriorating vertebrae. The biopsy has indicated multiple myeloma which is which is a cancer in the white blood cells. Fortunately, it is treatable, and the prognosis is good to manage this condition in the future. We’ll begin that today and hope that in the next two to three months we find the right combination of drugs to restrain this disease while my back heals from the very brutal surgery it just has endured.

So, quite quickly we entered a new season of our journey, learning to embrace Jesus’s love, light, and healing in these new challenges. He has been part of all of this from the beginning, leading us by his goodness and putting together the medical team we needed. We have no idea how long this stretch of our journey might demand all of us, whether it will be a few weeks, months, or longer. That’s not in our hands. It could also just go away tomorrow. We are not looking forward any of it, but we’re not afraid of it either. God works some of his special triumphs out of desperate situations.

We managed to return home Wednesday after my eight-day hospital stay. What’s evident now is that this medical battle ahead of us is going to take significant time and energy. It takes almost all we have each day just to get work though my treatment demands and navigate the pain. Recovery has already been arduous with pain and complications. Who’s to say what the next days and weeks will contain?

It is obvious now that this medical need is going to take almost all our time, energy, and resource for the foreseeable future. Thus, I’m going to be taking a leave of absence from writing, email, and podcasting as I give my full attention to what my body needs. We’ve tossed all our plans into the wind and we trust that God will show us the way forward.

How are our hearts through all of these? They’re great, well-covered by Jesus and his love for us. We are both so glad we have each other to lean on at a time like this. Our faith in the Lord stands resolute, confident that in his ability to work good out of tragic circumstances, and that pain is only another lens to see his beauty in the word.

We appreciate your prayers, concerns, and friendship. We will also appreciate your patience as we need to expend our resources closer to home these days. I know most people don’t read this blog for updates on our personal needs, but it is also true that Sara and I have a family that covers the whole world. So, we will provide some updates here in general terms. Our internet/messaging load is already greater than we can keep up with.

We are taking this one day at a time. We could wake up tomorrow completely healed and that may allow us to get back to those things God has asked of us. Or, that my happen over a few months. At this point and we are making no assumptions. We wake up each morning seeing what he has before us and what we need to do that day to deal with our circumstances and still find ways to put his love in the world. Sara has been a rock through this season in caring for me as well as sorting through all the medical information. She will need continued strength, rest, and joy to hold her. Please pray for her.

In the end, nothing has changed. Every day, every breath is in his hands, no more today than it was before all this began. We are confident that he has a way through this and that we will be here to accomplish his purpose for us in the earth. So, I guess we’re on a new journey together not just Sara and me but the Lifestream and God Journey families. So, buckle up. Let’s see how God glorifies himself here and anticipate with gratitude his power to do all things well.

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