life

It’s Like Watching Jesus Drive a Shuttle Bus (AKA, Flourishing in Action – Excerpt)

Does God want his people to flourish? What does flourishing even look like? John Ortberg gives us a picture in this excerpt from The Me I Want to Be: Becoming God’s Best Version of You.

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John Ortberg

Not long ago I boarded an airport shuttle bus to get to the rental car lot. Driving a shuttle bus is usually a thankless job, for the driver is often regarded as the low man on the totem pole. People on the bus are often grumpy from travel and in a hurry to get to their car. No one says much except the name of their rental car company. But not on this bus.

The man who drove the bus was an absolute delight. He was scanning the curbside, looking for anybody who needed a ride. “You know,” he told us, “I’m always looking because sometimes people are running late. You can tell it in their eyes. I’m always looking because I never want to miss one. Hey, here’s another one! …”

The driver pulled over to pick up a latecomer, and he was so excited about what he was doing that we got excited. We were actually cheering him on when he was picking people up. It was like watching Jesus drive a shuttle bus. The man would grab people’s luggage before they could lift it, then he would jump back on the bus and say, “Well we’re off. I know you’re all eager to get there as quickly as possible, so I’m going to get you there as soon as I can.”

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Why Does Jesus Give”Life to the Full”? [Excerpt by John Ortberg]

Jesus gives us life — so, what do we do with it? John Ortberg reflects in this excerpt from The Me I Want to Be: Becoming God’s Best Version of You.

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Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” [John 10:10]. We may have heard that without understanding what Jesus offers. When he says he has come to “give life,” what exactly does he mean?

We all feel that we know what life is when we see it, but life turns out to be surprisingly tricky to define. So we might start here: Life is the inner power to make something happen.

Throw a rock, and it soon stops moving. But put a seed in the ground, and something happens — it sends out a root, takes in nourishment, and grows up to be fruitful. To be spiritually alive means to receive power from God to have a positive impact on your world.

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Imagine that God is Love [Excerpt by Scot McKnight]

 

Excerpt from One.Life: Jesus Calls, We Follow (eBook) by Scot McKnight.

 

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Lots of people say they know that God loves them, but deep inside they don't feel loved and so they feel like impostors with God. Even more, deep inside they are so conflicted about love itself that they cannot become vulnerable enough to embrace this God and know that God embraces back.

It is much easier to say we believe God loves us
than it is to bask and dwell in that God of Love
by receiving and returning love…

 

Until we get our heart connected to God's heart, Jesus' dream kingdom will be neither understood nor embraced. At the core of Jesus' dream kingdom is God, and that God is a God of Love. No, even better, that God is Love the way that God is Life.

 

The only way to be connected to God is to love the God who is Love himself.

We need to think back into Time and Before Time to the time when God was all there was, back to Before this world of ours even existed. What we have learned from Jesus and the New Testament and the Church is that … God was indwelling God. The Father. The Son. The Spirit. One. Three-in-One. Indwelling and interpenetrating One Another in the endless God Dance of love and delight. This dance of love is who God was and is, and this is what God is like and what God will always be like, and that means that the only way to be connected to God is to love the God who is Love himself.

 

To follow Jesus … is to enter into the Divine Dance.

To follow Jesus into this God-who-is-Love God is to enter into the Divine Dance. Jesus' vision of the dream kingdom, then, is a dream about dancing with the God who is Love. It's like Jesus to imagine a world where that kind of God was at work. So we must listen to another of Jesus' stories and…

 

Imagine a World Where God Is Love

Jesus was imagining the kingdom one day when he told a parable we call the Prodigal Son… The story starts at a table where Jesus is dining with the religious experts of Jesus’ day who had serious questions about his table friends [see Luke 15:1-2]. The experts want Jesus to explain himself for doing such an unholy thing like associating with (to the point of sharing a meal with) sinners. Jesus does explain himself, but he does so by telling a fantastic story that takes their question and sabotages it. At the same time, the tax collectors and sinners are listening in to Jesus' response and they discover that he is tossing grace toward them.

 

What Jesus wants us to see in this Kingdom.Life is a Father-God who loves us in ways we never imagined and a table of fellowship that is full of Kingdom.Life joy and love. But this father sabotages the expectations of many listeners (and many today are like them)…

 

We've got to imagine this world to make it happen.

"We've got to imagine this world to make it happen."

 

We've got to imagine this world to make it happen. The dream of reconciliation with God and with the family can only happen if we first believe it can, and then we have to take the first steps to return to the Father.

 

[Read the Parable of the Prodigal Son]

-Scot McKnight

Question: If we already agree that God is Love, does it make a difference when we take time to imagine that God is Love? Imagine that God is Love, then share your thoughts in a comment.

- Adam Forrest, Zondervan

 

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Visit Scot McKnight's blog at www.patheos.com/blogs/jesuscreed.

Image and some styling above are web-exclusive features not included in the text of One.Life. Image: Rembrandt's interpretation of the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons. This post does not represent the views of Zondervan or any of its representatives. The writer's personal opinions are shared only for information purposes. To receive new Zondervan Blog posts in your reader or email inbox, subscribe to Zondervan Blog.)

 

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A Life Worth Questioning (John Dickson on Evangelism & Good Living)

 

Before we can give answers about Christ, we must be asked questions. Find out how to invite more questions in this excerpt from author & pastor John Dickson's book The Best-Kept Secret of Christian Mission (eBook).

 

Living a Life that Stands Out

The apostle Peter's "be prepared to give an answer to everyone" sounds very much like the apostle Paul's "know how to answer everyone". It is as if the two of them got together on this issue to make sure they told their congregations the same thing: be ready and willing to answer those who do not yet believe…

[It is] worth noting that both apostles' exhortations to speak about Christ appear in the context of instructions about living godly lives. [Peter writes,]

Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing. (1 Peter 3:8–9)

 

Christians will not stand out in this world simply by being "nice" …

The life out of which we are to speak [about Christ] is not simply a moralistic life. It is a life of humility, compassion, nonretaliation and so on: in other words, a life of love. Christians will not stand out in this world simply by being "nice" and "ethical", but they will if they live the life described here, the life epitomised by the Saviour himself.

The point is simple: we are to live lives worth questioning and then offer answers worth hearing. 

As Christ did, give off light that brings questions

 

- John Dickson

 
Question: What's the difference between being "nice" and living by Jesus's example?

  

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Learn more about The Best Kept Secretion of Christian Mission eBook

- Adam Forrest, Zondervan

 

(Images & some styling above are web-exclusive features not included in the text of Best Kept Secret. Image attribution: video by CarbonNYC under creative commons license, via Flickr, and special thanks castingoutnines.wordpress.com. This post does not represent the views of Zondervan or any of its representatives. The writer's personal opinions are shared only for information purposes. To receive new Zondervan Blog posts in your reader or email inbox, subscribe to Zondervan Blog.)

 

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“Before You Were Mine” and Telling Your Adopted Child’s Life Story

 

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November is National Adoption Month, and I found a cool Activity Calendar that shares daily adoption-themed activities.

Know what isn’t on the Calendar, though? “Share a good resource for adoptive parents.” But I’m going to share a good book with you anyway.

Before You Were Mine: Discovering Your Adopted Child’s Lifestory is a new Zondervan release by Susan A. TeBos and Carissa R. Woodwyk. Susan (an adoptive mother) and Carissa (an adoptee daughter) bring a solid Christian perspective to the book, which will guide you through creating a “Lifebook” for your adopted child.

The Lifebook idea is more than inspiring! The Lifebook you create will tell your adopted child’s story in a way that helps them to see God’s faithfulness and rest in Christ’s love. To help you craft your child’s Lifebook, Before You Were Mine gives you real-life stories, advice, and practical excercises.

Below you’ll find out what people are saying about Before You Were Mine. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment on this post.
(-Londa Alderink, Zondervan Trade Team)

What people are saying about Before You Were Mine

Before You Were Mine is another way in which adoptive parents can help their child feel an extra measure of love and care. A great resource for all adoptive families.

-Mary Beth and Steve Curtis Chapman, Grammy Award
winning singer/songwriter and adoption advocates

Studies have shown that adopted individuals are interested in their birth and placement history, and that many adoptive parents, even those who do not describe themselves as religious, can sense the role of Providence in bringing their families together. Before You Were Mine brings these two concepts together by describing the work of a loving Father acting purposefully in the lives of children and families, and offering suggestions on how parents can help their adopted children know and understand their individual stories by recording the relevant thoughts, details, and experiences into ‘Lifebooks.’

-Chuck Johnson, President and CEO, National Council for Adoption

This is a resource every adoptive parent needs to own.  Our adoptive children depend on us to put the pieces of their life together for them.  While I’m not a naturally creative person, Susan and Carissa have given me the tools to be successful in telling my son’s life story!

-Jill Savage, CEO, Hearts at Home, author of 7 books
including Professionalizing Motherhood, adoptive mom 


Before You Were Mine
is not only worth reading but worth referring back to again and again. Written from the perspective of an adoptive mother and an adoptee, it beautifully blends personal experience, the advice of experts, and God’s promises. Full of touching vignettes, it walks the reader through not only how to create a Lifebook but why it matters in the life of a child.

-Kris Faasse, LMSW, ACSW, director of Adoption Services,
Bethany Christian Services

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No Boundaries is No Way to Live (The True Story of a Super-Nice Landlord)

 

A recent story on the radio show "This American Life" grabbed me and wouldn't let go. It's the true story of a compassionate landlord named Dennis, who for 6 years tried everything he could to help two down-on-their-luck tenants make their rent payments. I could relate to Dennis' position and I think his story will make you wonder what you would do in his shoes, so I recommend you listen to Dennis' story called "Please Re-Lease Me."

Dennis' father shared some chilling advice when he first became a landord. His father said dealing with problem tenants "will make a good person bad." Dennis didn't want that; he wanted to live in service to others. That's why he kept pursuing new, more involved ways to help the struggling couple.

I don't want to spoil the end of his story, but I will say the situation snowballed. Dennis believes the ordeal changed him for the worse, and that his father's words may have come true. "Now I don't like to get personally involved with tenants," Dennis says. "It's just too hard."

This saddened me because I think Dennis could have avoided the more soul-scorching aspects of his experience. As I listened to his story I wanted so badly to talk with him and recommend two books, Boundaries and Beyond Boundaries!

 

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I would recommended Boundaries by Henry Cloud and John Townsend because its biblically-based principles helped me learn when I need to say 'no,' and how this doesn't make me a mean person. Since I'm one of those people who can let good intentions get me committed to more things that I can reasonably handle, Boundaries has been helpful in learning to set legitimate, healthy limits on my commitments and relationships. There are times when a Christian can say 'no' because there are times when love says 'no'! Read an excerpt of Boundaries on Scribd.


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I would also tell Dennis about John Townsend's new book, Beyond Boundaries: Learning to Trust Again in Relationships. Beyond Boundaries is especially helpful for for people who have already been burned by a breach of trust. It covers how you can know when you can trust someone again, how to heal broken trust, and how to build a strong and healthy foundation in new relationships. I've read several chapters of the book and I've liked it a lot. You can read an excerpt of Beyond Boundaries on Scribd, and there's also a Beyond Boundaries video curriculum.

 

In a way this post is an open letter to Dennis. So Dennis, if you're reading this, I encourage you to pick up Boundaries and Beyond Boundaries… and God's blessings on you for all you've done to treat your tenants with justice and compassion!

 

For everyone else, what are your thoughts on Dennis' story? How would you have handled the situation differently? Do you recommend any other books that have helped you discern when a well-meaning commitment has become unhealthy?

PS – To learn more about Beyond Boundaries, tune in to the Beyond Boundaries Live Worldwide Webcast with Dr. John Townsend on October 4, at 8pm EST. Register for the free webcast at www.facebook.com/drtownsendspage.

(-Adam Forrest, Zondervan Internet Team)

 

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Celebrating the Life and Legacy of John Stott

 

John R. W. Stott

The Zondervan family wishes to express our sincere condolences on the passing of Reverend John Stott. Reverend Stott is widely regarded as one of the great evangelical leaders of his time and he has left a significant lasting legacy having played a major role in shaping 20th-century evangelical Christianity through his writing, preaching and global ministry efforts. He was a prolific writer and author and Zondervan was privileged to publish several of his influential books and to help share his voice with the world.


Reverend Stott was credited with having a great heart and passion for supporting and mentoring Christian scholars and leaders. We have also been fortunate to publish some of those great voices he mentored, including the talented Dr. Christopher Wright,

 

As the world grieves the loss of this great and humble man, we should also celebrate his full and rich life which was fully devoted daily to serving God and the church through his tireless work.

We would like to share with you two excerpts by Reverend Stott. We feel they exemplify his vibrant hope in Christ, and his passionate pursuit of better knowing, sharing, and living the Gospel.


From Understanding the Bible:

Whenever we read the Bible, we must look for Christ. And we must go on looking until we see and so believe. Only as we continue to appropriate by faith the riches of Christ which are disclosed to us in Scripture shall we grow into spiritual maturity, and become men and women of God who are “thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:17).


From Issues Facing Christians Today:

It seems to me that we [Christians] need to repent of two particularly horrid sins. The first is pessimism, which is dishonoring to God and incompatible with Christian faith. To be sure, we do not forget the falleness, indeed the depravity, of human beings. We are well aware of the pervasiveness of evil. We are not so foolish as to imagine that society will ever become perfect before Christ comes and establishes the fullness of his rule. Nevertheless, we also believe in the power of God – in the power of God’s gospel to change society. We need to renounce both naïve optimism and cynical pessimism and replace them with the sober but confident realism of the Bible.

The second sin of which we need to repent is mediocrity, and the acceptance of it. I find myself wanting to say, especially to young people: “Don’t be content with the mediocre! Don’t settle for anything less than your full God-given potential! Be ambitious and adventurous for God! God has made you a unique person by your genetic endowment, upbringing and education. He has himself created you and gifted you, and he does not want his work to be wasted. He means you to be fulfilled, not frustrated. His purpose is that everything you have and are should be stretched in his service and in the service of others.”

 

We would love to hear how John Stott has touched your life. Share your reflections in a comment.


-Zondervan

 

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Jesus: Favorite Uncle or Uptight Boss? by Scot McKnight

Guest post by Scot McKnight, who blogs at www.patheos.com/community/jesuscreed. Scot's latest book is One.Life: Jesus Calls, We Follow.


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I don’t know about you, but I get tossed between absolute wonder and utter frustration when I read the moral challenges of Jesus. Some days I wonder if we ought not call Jesus a "moral zealot" to chase away our beliefs that he is an avuncular Lord. Consider words like this: "Be perfect as your father in heaven is perfect" or "Let the dead bury the dead," or the always yougottabekiddin’ me! line of Jesus that if we don’t give up our possessions we can’t be his disciple.

 

Sometimes, if I were to confess the deepest truth, I can almost unconsciously dismiss these lines with "that’s just the way Jesus talked," but I can’t for one conscious moment think Jesus said some of the following things and didn’t mean business:

  • If you don’t have surpassing righteousness you can’t enter the kingdom (Matt. 5:20)

  • If you don’t do the will of my Father you can’t enter into life (Matt. 7:21-27)

  • If you don’t become like children you can’t enter the kingdom (Matt. 18:1-4)

It's the "you can’t enter" stuff that disturbs me.


My years of studying these lines (and I teach some of them nearly every semester and encounter them more times a year than I care to count) has convinced me that they are designed at their deepest core to confront us with the singular challenge Jesus gives to us as a daily summons. It goes like this:

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“Being Hip Didn’t Work” + More on Church Community from Mike Tatlock

Pastor Mike Tatlock is a self-described "recovering church hater," so I didn't know what to expect from his new book on building church community, Faith in Real Life. I certainly didn't expect optimism–and I found loads of it.

"I believe," Tatlock says, "that authentic Christians want a faith that is more than just lip service to God and the world. We want to reconcile our faith with the realities of our daily lives… [this calls for] an ability to see the bride of Christ the way the Bridegroom sees her. Faith in real life captures the optimism of what it means to be the church — as in the community of God’s people … a vibrant group of Christians expressing themselves through a community of faith that engages with the surrounding culture."

You probably noticed Tatlock's double-edged emphasis: Christianity is a faith lived in community and lived by us everywhere, every day in real life — not just behind the four walls of our church.

That's more or less the thesis statement of Faith in Real Life. From there author/pastor Tatlock shares stories of success and failure in four areas:

1) the New Church, a.k.a. moving the center of importance from "services" to relationships
2) the Park, a.k.a. connecting with the larger community around your church
3) the Coffee Shop, a.k.a. people you know who aren't ready for small groups
4) the Living Room, a.k.a. small groups

I haven't finished the book yet, but I wanted to share a passage I liked. My unofficial title for this section is "Being Hip Didn't Work." It really got me thinking about what I desire from my church. If you'd like to read more of Faith In Real Life I recommend you check out the excerpt on Scribd-Adam Forrest

 

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The First Drop of Rain by Leslie Parrott

More about The First Drop of RainAn essay by Leslie Parrott, author of The First Drop of Rain and other books.

Here in Seattle we think a lot about rain. Actually I don’t need to think much about rain—I never carry an umbrella and rarely pull on a coat—but rain is an ever-present part of the landscape, my reality. It’s a steady companion, a gentle mist that follows me, day by damp day.

Rain, with its dark skies, gray days, and dreariness, is liquid disappointment. Rain is a symbol of ruin, a catalyst for corrosion, a creator of rust. We steel ourselves, stockpiling resources for a rainy day. Discouragement dampens our spirit, and no one likes to hang around a wet blanket. Rain is a pain, a bother. Our children sing, “Rain, rain, go away, come again some other day.”

Yet this is not the whole story. In the forty-fifth year of my rain-drenched life, I have come to see rain as compelling proof of God’s gracious, giving nature.

An absence of rain turns a place into a desert, a wasteland. If you’ve ever been parched and felt faint and studied the horizon for the smallest sign of hope, then you know the feeling. You know the feeling of hope at a softly darkening sky, the sharp-sweet scent of wet air, and the transparent but tangible first drop of rain.

That first drop of rain begins a transformation from hunger to fruitfulness. Rain streams down from clouds like banners across the landscape of your life.

The rain in Seattle is soft today, something between a drizzle and a mist. It’s not showoff rain like the magnificent storms from my childhood in Kansas. It’s a continuous slick soundtrack to my life. Most days it’s so familiar that it fades into the background. It’s not until I find a still, introspective center that I am captivated by the rain. My eyes follow drops outside the leaded window, drops that sparkle and shine as they form, fall, slide, and gather in shifting, mirrored pools. Each drop holds eternity—from cloud to ground and back, world without end.

A professor once told me that nothing can belong to us, even our own experience, unless we understand it. I watch my life with my eyes. I touch it with my fingers. My mind considers and my heart longs. Across the landscape of my interior, truth coalesces and I begin to understand. As I write my stories, I begin to understand.

Each drop of rain is ancient and new. “If there is magic on this planet,” says Loren Eisley, “it is contained in water” (The Immense Journey, 1957). Rain is the mystery of God’s presence and God’s absence across the landscape of my life.

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