Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
R. Ashbrook
Read between
January 22 - February 11, 2019
Instead of religion, we want an actual relationship with a personal God who we find somehow, knowable, experienceable, and most of all, present and involved. We Christians insist that such a relationship is possible with God, the creator of the universe, through His Son, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit given to enable us to believe. Yet I propose that few actually find such a relationship real.
While some may feel “safe” with a God “up there” or “out there,” I think that most of us, even secretly, want more.
No longer do we have to try to understand God only as the eternal and transcendent Creator, the One who fills all time and space. We can now relate to this eternal spiritual God in a way similar to the way we relate to another human person.
If Jesus dwells present with us, if the Kingdom of God is here, then why do our church services so often feel more like a memorial service to a historical figure who lived so long ago rather than a celebration with our Lord who’s actually in the room?
But I wonder if we know that truth merely as doctrine rather than experience. I wonder if we’ve confused a relationship with the Bible or the church with a relationship with the person of Jesus.
The Reformation helped us begin to get our theology back on course and more recently the Jesus movement, the Small Group movement, the Charismatic movement, and now the Spiritual Formation movement have brought new life and hope for many.
Even though our motivations may be right, I wonder if most of us don’t really know what to expect of Jesus in the midst of these spiritual disciplines.
If He is in fact present with us, shouldn’t we be able to relate to Him in a way similar to his first His disciples? Shouldn’t we be able to listen to Him, talk to Him, and interact with Him in practical ways? Isn’t that the kind of communication that Jesus intended when He said that His sheep hear His voice and follow Him? “But how can we do that?” you may be asking. “His disciples could actually see and hear Him. They could touch Him and feel His presence. We don’t know how to see, hear, or touch spiritually. We just can’t expect a Jesus that real.”
What if we used our imaginations to interact with that same Jesus, the one we’ve come to know in Scripture, in the present? Maybe an imaginative story about Jesus relating to everyday people in our time could give us a feel for what it might be like for us to experience Jesus as present in our own lives, day-to-day. With that taste for Jesus as present, it might become easier to open ourselves to Him in the here and now, in practical ways. With such an imaginary story as a common experience, we could then reflect on what we’ve discovered and learned from Him together. Let’s give it a try. Let
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“This is stupid! I have a silly dream and now I’m trying to decide what to wear for a meeting with the Savior of the World.”
“One day Ole woke up and saw Jesus standing at the foot of his bed… Great.”
For months now, you have been pouring your heart out to me and asking me for help and advice, but you end your prayers before listening to my response.
He felt excited and terrified at the same time; encircling the two feelings a terrible skepticism filled his heart like smoke from a smoldering garbage fire. Jim mumbled, “God just doesn’t do things like this.
It would be cruel because Jim wanted it to be true with all his heart.
But as the years of ministry wore on, Jesus seemed to withdraw into the pages of the Bible, to be proclaimed, interpreted, defended, but never really experienced.
The passage, frustratingly, went on to recall biblical people who actually experienced God in some tangible way, and Jim wasn’t sure he ever had, at least not for a long time.
“Forgive my lack of faith, Lord. I know I’m angry and even bitter. Why would You want to appear to me? Maybe I’m in more trouble than I thought!”
Trouble is, you haven’t taken much of it seriously—so far, that is.
Maybe Jesus is present, has been present; but that’s not the way Jim felt or acted.
Jesus interrupted, “I know. That’s been the problem all along. So many people have let you down over the years that you find it hard to believe in anyone, even me.”
She paused. “But this couldn’t happen to me; maybe only to really holy people.
Although Jim had earnestly pleaded with God in prayer to do something that would relieve his misery at church, he never actually expected Jesus to do anything – certainly nothing like this.
It’s about you, Jim. It’s about you growing and becoming the beautiful person you really are. That becoming happens even in this pain you’re experiencing, but you have to trust me to guide you through it.”
When you need my strength or wisdom, the Holy Spirit will be there to give it to you. He lives in you, you know.” Jesus smiled and turned toward the door.
“The Holy Spirit told you that the first day we met, Lillian, but it sometimes takes a while before folks realize that He’s spoken or decide to believe what He says. I had to learn to listen to Him myself.”
I desire love in your heart, not perfection.”
That’s what it means to follow me; to let me lead you and give you strength. When you let me do that, joy comes—a wonderful joy.”
“I always thought that following You meant just to stick to the right beliefs and to obey biblical principles. It feels better to follow You as a Person. But I’m afraid that I don’t know how—that is, in a day-to-day way.”
I know this is hard to believe, but the best still awaits you. Can you see how your entire life has been preparing you for something yet to come? The story isn’t over, is it?”
“Because I hate the way I think and feel and sometimes respond to others, and I know You must hate it even more! I want to be close to You, but how can I? I despise who I am and when I think about it, with You in mind, I feel even worse.” “Then a safe distance from me feels better to you?” “Yes—I mean no. It does feel that way, but I don’t want it to. I know about the cross and Your forgiveness, but….”
But you and most others have depended on created things for your wisdom, power, and affirmation. As those things let you down, the Holy Spirit calls you to let go of them and place those same needs in me. It takes a long time for most of my followers to learn to do that. That ‘long time’ causes them and others a lot of pain.”
I want you to love with me, to lead with me, and to heal with me.”
“I’m so sorry, Lord, for the way I have expected You to be my slave, to make my plans work out the way I thought they should. But You wanted to help me grow up with your help, just like only You can make these sprouts grow.”
“But receiving a new heart takes time, Jim. And most of all, it takes your cooperation. I can’t violate you by just doing things to you, by reprogramming your head and heart. You need to want to be like me, to seek my likeness, so we can accomplish this transformation together.”
Interestingly, her questions were usually answered without her asking.
Abundant life, for him, consisted in the approval of others.
The Father and I discussed whether or not to intervene in Elaine’s disease, but for reasons I cannot possibly explain, We chose to let her come home sooner rather than later.
Jim responded immediately, “Life, eternal life, comes through being Your sheep, by belonging to You. You provide everything I need or could ever want, as long as my needs and wants are focused on life in your Kingdom, your flock.”
Neither Barry nor Lillian knew where to look for what Jesus wanted them to see. Jim had always been skeptical of the “close your eyes, open your Bible, and point” tactic. So all three sat in silence, interestingly all at about the same time in the evening, and waited.
Barry went to the nightstand where he kept Elaine’s worn and marked up Bible. A deep longing for Elaine rose up within him as he remembered the long hours she’d spent with her Bible.
I don’t think I’ve ever done that, not really. I’ve believed all the right things, tried to act nice to people and help out the needy and attended church almost all my life. I’ve asked for lots of things but never really sought Him, personally.
“The trouble is, you have to learn to live in abundant life. It doesn’t come naturally for my fallen people. Let’s meet again next week—same time, same place.”
In these casual times each one began to process what they’d learned about abundant life. They reflected about how they had grown up to depend on everything but Jesus, expressing regret that they had been so selfish and expected God to jump to their commands.
Jesus responded to each of their confessions, “It’s sort of like growing up, isn’t it? We start out as babies, needing and demanding. We become adolescents and begin to figure out how we can make the world work for us, to meet our own needs. Finally, if we truly become spiritually mature adults, we learn that the world and God are bigger than we can ever manage to control. So, we learn to adapt, to care about the needs of others. You learn to take yourself out of center place and let God be God, our God. As He reveals Himself to you, you come to love Him and live in His love. As you continue
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As I told you before, learning to live in abundant life takes a lifetime of letting go of the things in this world, things and people that tempt you to rely on them for love, safety, success, and power. You have to learn to trust my love and to depend on me for every need. When I become your rock and your basic needs are met in me, then you’re free to enjoy the love and friendship of others without needing something from them. You’ll be able to accept yourself as less than perfect and forgive yourself as I forgive you. With my strength, you’ll be able to face the trials of life without fearing
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But subtle seeds of change that will affect the whole town have begun to sprout, first deep within the hearts of three simple followers of Jesus, and then among those they touch. Presence has radiated beyond.
While they’d believed in Him for years, and even known Him to some extent, the relationship definitely changed. For them, Jesus had once been almost like a mythical figure, somewhere in another dimension. Yes, they knew that their prayers were able to break through that other dimension, but they had never experienced Him as personally present in the way He had really been, all along. While they wouldn’t dare say they now knew the whole of Jesus, some of the significant barriers to knowing Him have been removed. For each one, issues of sin, forgiveness, love, and misunderstanding needed to be
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Our three all lived busy and full lives, but now everything in everyday revolved around Jesus and what they were learning and discovering. Other than when to meet and maybe what Bible passage they were to review, Jesus had given no instructions to change.
One day, Jesus responded to one of those lists, “You know that I am still just as close to you whether or not you can see or hear me; just say what you want to say or think what you think and I’ll know it. Be still for a bit afterwards, and you might be surprised by my response. Remember, I’m with you always.” Jesus’ broad smile assured Jim he wasn’t being scolded.
But soon, they realized that, as they waited, thoughts came with a certain feel to them, the same feeling that came when He was actually talking out loud. They learned to recognize His voice even though they didn’t “hear” anything. In each of them, the fear and anxiety that had been so ever-present were gradually replaced by faith, hope, and trust. Without that dampening weight of fear, they began to act more like themselves, with more energy to relate to others.
