books

God Goes Where He’s Wanted

A modern day evangelist lamented, “Whenever the Apostle Paul visited a city, the residents started a riot; when I visit, they serve tea.”

The church in Thessalonica, like many of Paul’s churches, was born amid violent upheaval. An angry mob took offense at Paul’s work and chased him out of town, accusing him of causing “trouble all over the world.” (Acts 17:6) From my introduction to the book of Thessalonians, with notes by Tim Stafford and Philip Yancey.

The curious phenomenon of church growth during times of intense persecution is reflected in these quotes from Christians in different parts of the world.

From a believer in Malaysia:

“We are so blessed because in Indonesia they are killing Christians, but here we just have to put up with discrimination and restrictions on our activities.”

and from an Indonesian Christian….

“We’re very blessed because in Malaysia, they can’t freely publish the Gospel. Here we still can.”

Philip Yancey has an interesting observation from his travels and interviews around the world talking to believers in many different cultures and countries…….

As I travel and also read church history, I have observed a pattern, a strange phenomenon of God “moving” geographically from place to place: from the Middle East to Europe to North America to the developing world. My theory is this: God goes where He’s wanted.

Quotes and selections from the book, Finding God in Unexpected Places, I heartily recommend this book, what a blessing it was to read it.

I tend to agree with him.

But Jesus said, “A prophet is taken for granted in his hometown and his family.” He didn’t do many miracles there because of their hostile indifference. Matthew 13:58

Quotes and selections from the book, Finding God in Unexpected Places

Finding God in Unexpected Places

An Atlanta slum. A pod of whales off the coast of Alaska. The prisons of Peru and Chile. The plays of Shakespeare. A health club in Chicago. For those with eyes to see, traces of God can be found in the most unexpected places. Yet many Christians have not only missed seeing God, they’ve overlooked opportunities to make him visible to those most in need of hope. Excerpt from inside flap, front cover.

Philip Yancey hits another one out of the ballpark for me with this one. I recently picked up a copy on my last trip (literally last trip) to Borders before they closed. I was introduced to his books years ago, the first being, The Jesus I Never Knew. What I love about Philip Yancey’s writing is that he takes me places I will most likely never go and meet people I would never ordinarily have the chance to meet.

More importantly, he opens me up to the possibility that right next to me may be one of those ordinary and yet extraordinary people quietly doing what Jesus did……meeting the world with love and compassion.

With his strong journalism background, he has an insatiable drive to go to those far reaching places and ask the tough questions others are afraid to ask, yet he never pretends to have all the answers. Instead, he leads the reader on an investigation for the answers in light of the truth of Scripture.

In this book, He takes us to Ground Zero where he interviewed a Chaplain with the Salvation Army. He met with Prison Fellowship leaders in Peru, Chile, and Africa, and attended underground Church services in China. He presents us with a God who is very much alive and working in this world through His people. He tells us the stories we wish we heard on the news.

There is a balance and humility to his writing that I really appreciate, and what I love most about all his books is that while not backing away from the faults of the church and its people down through history, his love for the church always comes through clearly.

Through his writing and the lessons he has learned from his own experience and others he has written about,  there is always the gentle reminder that walking softly through the world with love and compassion has the power to change in a way that slashing our way through it with legalism and dogma never will.

If you love to read about the powerful ways the Holy Spirit is working through His people, you will love this book. I’m glad there are authors out there like Philip Yancey who don’t shy away from the journey.

Corrag

When I read Susan Fletcher’s first book, Eve Green I was carried away by her lyrical poetic style. I was captivated by it. I put her on my list of authors to watch for, so I was very excited when her second book, Oystercatchers came out. I was greatly disappointed, not so much in the writing style, but just bogged down with the depressing theme of the story. I really couldn’t wait for it to be over. It was with a but of trepidation but also hope that I picked up her latest, Corrag. Susan Fletcher, in my view has knocked one out of the park once again with her newest historical novel.

The story is narrated by Corrag, an accused witch who is in chains awaiting death by burning in the town square. Outside the door as the winter gives way to spring’s thaw, she hears preparation for her own execution. In reality, Corrag is a young girl who has never hurt a soul. She is traumatized by her own mother’s death at the hands of an angry village mob, also branded with the “witch” title. On the night they come for her Mom, she wakes Corrag and tells her to flee….”Go North and West…” where she felt her daughter would find safety in the Highlands of Scotland.

She rides her beloved mare, her only companion, for many miles until she finds an enchanting mountain valley called Glencoe. She settles quietly there where she builds a small shelter for herself in that rugged but beautiful place. Unbeknownst to her, it is also the home of the MacDonald clan, a wild bunch of highlanders who actually treat her better than anyone else has up until then. Due to her knowledge of herbs and healing arts, she is summoned one night to save the leader of the clan who has suffered a nasty head wound. If not for her skill, he would have died. She becomes part of their community and finds a welcome there she has never known before.

Susan Fletcher then weaves more history into this tale for during the time that Corrag is living on MacDonald land, the infamous slaughter of the MacDonalds of Glencoe happens and Corrag seems to be the only eyewitness. She gets caught up in the tragic events because she leads some of the MacDonalds to safety, which makes her an enemy of the government, which lands her in prison.

We see the world through the eyes of Corrag, as she tells her own story to her only visitor while she waits to die, a young “man of God” who has his own reasons for finding out what really happened the night of the massacre. Before we get to the night in question, Corrag tells us her own personal story. At first our young preacher is repulsed by this supposed witch, his mind has already prejudged her. But once he gets to know her, he becomes enchanted by her and the wonderful way she sees the world.

By the end, he is deeply disturbed by her impending death, which he now knows is unjust. He sees her as she really is, a scared young girl, so small most people mistake her for a child. Someone who is compassionate and full of life, though in chains. Someone who has transformed his life because she shows him a world of beauty such as he has never seen before.

I am immersed in this book and I don’t want it to end. I have enjoyed my time in Corrag’s little hut with her…..transfixed by the beauty of the wilds of highland Scotland. I found many lessons in this book. It made me think about how quick we are to prejudge and condemn with little or no evidence, even those in our own churches and communities. I thought of the times I have been prejudged and prejudged others.

I don’t know how this story will end. I could wish the the young Pastor would tell Corrag of Jesus and that she would know that the church and its members are about love and compassion instead of condemnation. I wish for an angel of the Lord to release her from her dank cell. I fear that I may not get the “Christian fiction” ending I hope for. No matter, I love this book regardless.

Book recommendations…….

I thought I would post the two books that most impacted my Christian walk in 2010, so here is the first, Radical by David Platt. This book knocked my socks off. Several moments while I journeyed through this book it brought me to complete silence……sit in a corner and stare at the wall kind of silence. David points the way back to the heart of what Jesus said, what He meant, and it answers the important question: What does God expect from me? Many times we puzzle over God’s will and the answer is right there in front of us in Scripture…..we just don’t want to do what it says. This book will impact your life, your walk with God, and challenge you to think differently about your responsibility to people in need.

The second one I just finished. It is One Heartbeat Away by Mark Cahill. This book was a perfect one to read after “Radical.” The former took me outside the bounderies of my own comfortable little safe world, and this one took me back around to the person I meet right outside my door. The service person who works on your washer, the person on the plane next to you, your neighbor…..Mark brings us right to the heart of the big question: What lies on the other side of eternity and what happens when we die, and more importantly, if we know the answer to these questions, why aren’t we telling others? Both books rest on the solid foundation of Scripture.

Two books, two questions…..

What does it mean to follow Jesus?

What happens after we take our last breath?

Read them both with an open heart, and I believe they will have a great impact on your life and challenge you to grow, they did that for me! Happy reading……Lori

Final thoughts on "Radical"

You and I stand on the porch of eternity. Both of us will soon stand before God to give an account for our stewardship of the time, the resources, the gifts, and ultimately the gospel he has entrusted to us. When that day comes, I am convinced we will not wish we had given more of ourselves to living the American dream. We will not wish we had made more money, acquired more stuff, lived more comfortably taken more vacations, watched more television, pursued greater retirement, or been more successful in the eyes of the world.  David Platt, “Radical”

I am very glad I read this book, I think. I say I think because I found certain parts about it unsettling. I was confronted with some things about myself that made me uncomfortable and that is not a bad thing. Any time you read a book and find yourself wanting to dive into Scripture and re-read verses you have read almost all your life I think it’s good. David Platt puts a spotlight behind the words of Jesus in such a way that we can no longer brush them off or explain them away and skip merrily on to the next verse. You know, the warm fuzzy verses that tell you how much God loves you. He does love us, and if we know Him, then He already has us. But there is a vast and lonely world out there that does not know Him, has never heard the Gospel, who are hungry and thirsty and sick, and may not make it through the day. God is asking…….what are you, my church, going to do about it?

God has entrusted the church with the awesome responsibility of taking His good news to everyone else on the planet, with getting it to them before they die. It is a life and death message, and its an urgent one. It won’t happen by any kind of magic osmosis. It won’t necessarily happen fast, and it may take some time. By investing in relationships long term.

I came away from this book with a deeper understanding of just how much God really does love the world. He would do anything to save it, but would we? Would we be willing to sacrifice our lives to save them? Does God expect this of us? Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. Luke 9:23, 24

What are we clinging to so tightly that we wouldn’t give up for Him? There are testimonies in this book that tell of people, despite great fear and trepidation, trading in their old lives of stress and endless accumulation, only to find that He was right there waiting to bless them with something far better than anything they ever had before! The inexpressible and glorious joy that God meant for us to have all along.

I found myself questioning my giving. Do I give sacrificially or out of my excess? Do I give away what I don’t want anyway, and write a check to a charity so I can sleep better at night?  How much does God expect? I always felt so bad for the rich young ruler who comes to Jesus and left with such sadness, but for the first time I was confronted by the fact that there is a bit of the rich young ruler in myself. Maybe much more than I care to admit.

What happens when the church starts to look so much like the world you can no longer tell the two apart? Does the world dislike us? Why should it when there is little or no distinction between us, when the church is seeking and striving after all the same things the world does?

If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. John 15:19

Why would God send His people to a place where sharing the gospel means certain death or imprisonment? Doesn’t He want us safe? What about people who have never heard the gospel? If they have never heard it then won’t they get a “go directly to Heaven pass?” But as I read, I kept thinking of Jesus words…..”I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” John 12:24  I don’t think He was just talking about Himself.

These are some of the questions addressed in the book and I think they are valid questions. The fact that this book was on the New York times bestseller list makes me believe that many in the American church believe that something does needs to change. I have heard and read many testimonies of people who have not been afraid to look into their hearts and ask themselves the hard questions. People who felt the Spirit lay a burden on their heart to make a drastic change, to sacrifice for the good of others. I think of successful author Lisa Samson. After a missions trip, she and her husband sold their luxurious home in the suburbs and moved to the inner city to minister to the poor. She now feels blessed beyond measure.

Having said that, this is not a book meant to indict the rich, but to encourage those who have much to turn around and bless others to the glory of God. It is also not a book that says that you have to sell all you have in order to be saved.

The conclusion of the book left me with a choice and a challenge. I thought about pretending I had never read it because now I feel a response is necessary. I am grateful for it, because there are some things I needed to question. Despite how sobering I sometimes found the book, at the end I experienced something that was totally unexpected, a kind of wild exultant joy. I couldn’t help but be captivated by thinking how it would be to enter into that life of radical faith and see what God could do through little scaredy-cat me.

I leave this book with my faith strengthened and I find comfort in the words of Peter after some of the disciples took off and Jesus asked if he wanted to leave too “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” Peter knew that whatever he had to go through, living without Christ was unthinkable. I am going forward with an open and prayerful heart and I am thankful that David Platt had the courage to write it.

If any of you have read the book I would be interested to see what you thought about it!

Further thoughts on "Radical"

“Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Luke 13:24

Some statements Jesus made trouble me. I always find myself asking, “Am I one of those people He was talking about?”  I think it is healthy to evaluate our Christian walk, in fact the Bible says that we are to watch our life and doctrine closely. It is easy to get off track, to believe something you have heard all your life from the pulpit, especially when it makes you rest a little easier in the pew, so to speak. Now that I am halfway through David Platt’s book Radical, I can say that this book has challenged me in a very personal way. I have found myself sitting in silence at odd moments more than a few times ever since I started it.

Beyond just taking an uncompromising look at some areas where the American church has fallen short, he gently points the way back to his own shortcomings as a Pastor and church leader. Ultimately, and more importantly, he invites us to take another look at the words of Jesus. It is not a book that has made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, and yet it has made me feel, in a deeper way, just how radically God loves the world and to what length He is willing to go to reach it. Not only that, He wants every follower of Christ to have that same love and be willing to take some personal risks in reaching that world, whether it be across the street or across the globe.

I have questioned anew some things that I have heard in church that don’t match up with Jesus last command just before He ascended back to Heaven…….”Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19,20

We can say that we are not called to do this thing or that thing, but isn’t that really our way of saying we don’t feel comfortable doing it? These are the questions I have been asking myself. I believe there are people anointed to teach and preach and who are gifted in certain areas as the Bible says, but not one of the disciples was exempt from spreading the Gospel and making more disciples. In Jesus great commission to us all, He doesn’t say “If you are called you are to do these things, if we belong to Him, then we have already been called.

That challenge still stands, and in this book David Platt echoes it as he invites himself and his church as well as you and I to go forth in a new adventure with God, no holds barred. I am looking forward to what the next half brings…..

Where do you buy books?

Tom’s Used Books, Lodi California

Over at Internet Monk there was an interesting post about Christian Bookstores and this got me to thinking about bookstores in general, which is one of my favorite topics anyway. Bookstores are my all time favorite  hangouts. Recently I have re-discovered used bookstores. I love them! Some of them are musty, dusty, and cramped, and they sometimes have books piled on the floor. The reason I like them is that their inventory is always changing, you never really know what you are going to find, it’s a bit like a treasure hunt. When I go back home I go to Tom’s Used Books. He has been on School Street for about 25 years. There are usually a couple of cats roaming or laying around by the cash register, and the aisles are very narrow, and part of the floor feels like it’s sinking. I love it.

I can disappear for hours in the aisles of a bookstore. It is my happy place. I frequent the big guys, Barnes and Noble and Borders, but I love the independant bookstores that I feel are such an important part of our community. Many of  these are going away, regrettably, although there are a few still around if you look hard enough. One of my favorite movie bookstores is the one from “You’ve Got Mail.” If I had a fantasy job I would own that bookstore!

I have a dream of owning my own used bookstore. Everyone tells me this is a bad idea….not in this economy they say,  it would never work, what with Amazon and online sales, not to mention Kindle and Nook.(Of course I would have online sales in my store, too!) Anyway, it’s a dream I can’t escape. I frequently go there in my mind.
 It would be a little storefront building downtown within walking distance to everything. A little cottage would do nicely also. I already have a name picked out which I will not disclose here in case I actually do this someday…..I would sell used books with a Christian bent and also the classics, poetry, nature books, books on animals, children’s books and mysteries. It would be my store and I would market and sell what I want, not what someone else tells me I must sell. I would also sell coffees, teas, and have comfy chairs and little tables by the window for reading, sipping and dreaming. And lamps that cast warm light.
I would host a weekly Bible study that people could sign up for…..I might sell a few trinkets along with the coffee and tea but not many, and of course homemade cookies, muffins and scones. I would link up with local food banks and churches to let people know how they could help out in their community. I would sell books that instruct, edify, uplift, inspire and encourage. I do like happy endings, and I don’t apologize for it. I realize that in life many times there are no happy endings, that is why I like books that make me feel good at the end. 
I would have music, maybe some jazz or classical quietly in the background. At Christmas I would play the songs you don’t hear too often anymore…..”It Came Upon the Midnight Clear,” and “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” It would be a peaceful place, a quiet escape from the noisy world around us that never ceases to clamor for our attention. A small stopping point in your day, a little cozy corner where you could come visit with your neighbor and pet a cat….yes, cats are a must have for my shop.
What do you think, would you come to my shop?
I am a bit afraid for the future of bookstores. I have shopped Amazon, I know it’s convenient and fast and easy, but it will never take the place of the little bookstore downtown where you can browse your Saturday away thinking of things you should be doing but putting off for just a while longer…….
What about you? Where do you buy books? What is your favorite bookstore hangout?
****Lolita disclaimer: I know this is primarily a Christian blog, but I noticed the copy of Lolita too late and didn’t have time to photoshop a Bible in place of it. It is the only picture of Tom’s I could find on the web! Thank you for having a sense of humor……

Selection from "Lost Mission"

Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither. C. S. Lewis

I felt like sharing a quote from one of my favorite fiction authors, Athol Dickson. Every book he writes is brilliant and unique. This particular selection is about a woman named Lupe who has come from her friendly but impoverished village in Mexico, and the cultural shock she encounters when she enters the U.S. A devout Christian, she believes she has recieved a call from God to save “the Anglos” and lead them to Jesus. It is a very interesting theme. He does a very good job of presenting the contrasting cultures through the eyes of Lupe and others. The small community she is from has very little in resources but is rich in many other ways, in contrast the United States in her view is impoverished in spite of all their material wealth……..

When Lupe greets several people on the street and they don’t respond, she is devastated. It is something she has never experienced before….Also she has just been observing a “laughing yoga” where people are faking laughter as part of therapy.

“What evil place was this, where people languished deaf to greetings, blind to neighbors, isolated in the middle of a crowd? What wicked mesmerism numbed them to the undulating glory of the sparkling sea? What devil drove them to attempt this imitation happiness, this counterfeit laughter, when the true delight of God’s creation lay in all directions? Athol Dickson, Lost Mission

I recommend every one of his books……

“Holy Father,” cried Lupe. “Your works are glorious, and you are beautiful beyond description!” She said it very loudly, with her face and palms raised up toward heaven. Arm in arm, a passing man and woman looked away.  Lupe, on seeing the Pacific Ocean for the first time

For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation. Psalm 149:4

Jesus, the original people person

 “Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” Luke 5: 15,16
Crowds followed Jesus everywhere He went. He was the original people person. He wasn’t a people pleaser though. He wasn’t afraid to say what was unpopular, but He didn’t grandstand. He didn’t bring up controversial subjects to draw attention to Himself, although controversy followed Him because He spoke the truth, and the truth wasn’t always what they wanted to hear. But He always spoke the truth in perfect love. 
Jesus always had time for people. Maybe you feel as if you are in demand now, from your work, your friends, your family? Just try producing a few miracles and see how in demand you would feel then….remember the Calgon commercial? Take me away……..I think Jesus must have felt like that because the Bible says He went often to lonely places to pray. 
People like people who are people persons, not people who are people pleasers. With people pleasers you never really know if they are just giving you lip service. If they are really going to follow through. Do they mean what they say or are they just saying what you want to hear? This is just my humble opinion, mind you. I can say this because I have been a people pleaser at times, and I don’t like that about myself. I want to be more like Jesus and be a people person.
Ever been to a funeral and everyone gets up to speak and says how so and so “always had time for me.” We all know those special people who, no matter what is going on in their lives, they always treat you as if you are the most important person at that moment. They don’t look away, distracted by every little thing when you are pouring your heart out to them. I once knew a very special Pastor like that. People would line up out the door just to hug him. He always had time. He looked in your eyes and made you feel like you mattered….like he was so glad you waited so he could see you!
That is how Jesus was. I want to be more like that. It doesn’t come naturally for me. I think I would have been well suited to the cloister with a stack of books. But God wants us to invest in the lives of people. When I go to Heaven He will not ask me how many books I read. Darn.
When I look at Jesus, I see how far I have to go…….but He is happy when I try. He is happy when He nudges me and I pay attention.
Okay I am closing my book now……
 “One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret,  with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, he saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.” Luke 5:1-3

Tuning in to what’s real


“Here and there among men, there are those who pause in the hurried rush to listen to the call of a life that is more real. How often have we seen them, David, jostled and ridiculed by their fellows, pushed aside and forgotten. He who sees and hears too much is cursed for a dreamer, a fanatic, or a fool by the mad mob who, having eyes, see not, ears and hear not, and refuse to understand.

Only when we can no longer strive in the battle for earthly honors or material wealth do we turn to the unseen and more enduring things of life and hear and see the things we have so long refused to consider.” The Shepherd of the Hills, Harold Bell Wright.

I recently found a little treasure of a book published in 1907 about a worldly traveler who longs to escape his sophisticated city life and retreats to the Ozarks where he meets some people who teach him how to truly live. Leaving behind a successful church in the city, he ends up finding his faith and God in the mountains.

While there he meets Pete, the child who claims to speak with God, who wanders at night under the stars and hears the voices that whisper in the wind. When I look at this picture I can just see little Pete standing there in the sun. We can all learn something from the Petes of this world.

I talk to God all the time and though I have never yet heard an audible voice, I know He answers. The main way He answers me is though His word, but He uses other creative ways as well. I think I am going to listen to the wind more, and tune in to the song of the stars that sing. I am going to try to be more like Pete and tune into the Eternal world where God lives. I might be surprised what I hear!

“When I think of the wisdom and scope of God’s plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit. And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is.” Ephesians 3:14-18