Tag Archives: faith

Review: Sailing Between the Stars, by Steven James

Sailing Between the Stars: Musings on the Mysteries of Faith, by Steven James (Revell, 2006)

Sailing Between the Stars is the best book I’ve read in 2010. And I’m writing this in December, not January. I felt safe, understood, reading Steven James’ musings. Not that it’s comfortable reading, but that he talks honestly about many of the same questions I have. He affirms the value of asking the questions, of not trying to pretend we know all the answers correctly and absolutely.

I may have finished the book with more questions than when I started, but that’s okay. It means a lot to know I’m not the only one who has them, and I’ve learned that honest questions don’t cause us to vanish in a puff of confusion. If anything, they let us be more real. And they point us to the Source of all answers, the God who is bigger than our comprehension.

Steven James puts it this way:

“The questions, not the explanations, are what draw me deeper into the wonder of the dance.” p. 164

His writing is gentle and lyrical. If you like Mark Buchanan’s books, you’ll like this. It’s poignant at times, whimsical at others, and there are a few places that had me laughing out loud.

And while the topics aren’t easy to nail down with a “definitive” answer, there’s no philosophical mumbo-jumbo to exclude the average reader. There is one heavy-duty word, agathokakological (follow link for definition), but it’s introduced naturally through an anecdote about a child’s spelling bee and since it describes us, I think it makes the point that we’re more complex than we can understand.

You can read an excerpt of Sailing Between the Stars here. Here’s a quote from the beginning of the book to set the tone:

“Imagination dwells at the heart of Christianity. It’s a worldview of wonder. …And it’s packed full of paradox…which makes many believers today uncomfortable.” p.19

If the mystery and paradox of faith threaten you, you’ll want to give the book a miss. I don’t know what I’d have thought if I’d read it in my younger days, when I “knew” more of the answers. Now that I’ve begun to be more sure of God and less sure of myself, I found a lot of truth in this book.

In prose and occasional poetry, the author ponders some deep topics: the good and evil in each of us, joy and pain, love and failing, humility, free will, doubt, unanswered prayer. In voicing our common weaknesses, he points to the mystery of Jesus, who alone lived life to the fullest and who came to point us to the Father.

None of these topics are addressed with an “I’ll tell you what to believe” agenda. He just explores them and leaves us to explore too… and to trust the God who actually sees the full picture.

Right now, Sailing Between the Stars is featured at Christianbook.com for $1.99 USD. It’s worth full cover price, but at this price why not buy in bulk for your spiritually-musing friends? It’s also available through amazon.ca. Amazon.com and chapters-indigo.ca are both sold out, and I can’t find it on the publisher’s site. So glad I found a copy when I did. This is a definite keeper and re-reader.

Steven James blogs occasionally on writing, faith or life, at Musings and Meanderings. His website showcases his intense thriller series, The Patrick Bowers Files. I’ve reviewed book one, The Pawn, and I’d love to know what happens next in Patrick Bowers’ life. Still working up my nerve….

[review copy from my personal library]

Listening to God

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I’ve been trying to be more intentional about listening to God, on the premise that He’s communicating a lot more than what I’m hearing: not necessarily detailed instructions or revelations, but gentle course corrections or quietly saying “I love you.”

Over at Something About the Joy, Ginny Jaques has some thought-provoking posts on the subject.

“It’s Not About Sofas” particularly challenged me, with the idea that maybe what God has to say is something other than what I’m listening for—and what if I miss it?
“An Amazing Truth” warmed my heart with the efforts God makes to remind us of His love.
And “A Whisper in the Wind” finishes the series with some thoughts on “But how does God speak? Is it always specific?”

At Free 2 Soar, Stephanie Nickel talks about the different ways God may speak in “Ears to Hear”.

In the busyness leading up to Christmas, may we hear God whisper, “Be still, and know that I am God.” And may we obey, to the renewal of our spirits and to the blessing of those around us.

Come as You Are

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And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Hebrews 10:24-25, NIV*

You know how, some weeks, you’re ready for Sunday worship. There’s a reverent hush in your spirit before you even walk into church, a holy waiting that warms you towards your congregation and makes it easy to hear God speak through song, Scripture, sermon.

Then there are other weeks when you show up because it’s the right thing to do, you smile and hug and do what you expect of yourself, but there’s no sign of life on the inside.

Well, maybe you don’t know. For me, these are the two extremes, and the first is less common than the last. Usually I’m somewhere in the middle.

Sunday past was one of those “show up and smile” days. If I go to church sad, I feel like a fake in my “happy” guise. But I know I’ve come to the best place to find help. Going empty feels even phonier, but it shouldn’t. Where better to fill up?

As the service started, I looked around at the congregation—people of whom I’m genuinely fond—and didn’t feel any more connected with them than with God. I was sort of apologizing to Him, sorry to be that way and thinking, “All I could do was come as I am.”

His response was so quiet I didn’t recognize Him at first—the sudden idea that we’re welcome to “come as you are” in obedient trust.

So He said it again in the opening song: “Come, Now is the Time to Worship” has that “just as you are” tone too.

Father, You draw us to worship, and in You we find life and light. Help us to do our part daily to prepare our souls, and help us trust You to daily do Your part to prepare them too. I praise You for the mystery of relationship with You, how we can’t come to You unless the Holy Spirit draws us, but yet we still need to make the choice to come.

∞

Here’s Brian Doerksen’s “Come, Now is the Time to Worship,” sung by Hillsong.

A Gift from the Heart

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Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. John 14:1, NIV*

If you love me, keep my commands. John 14:15, NIV*

Last week’s devotional thought, “Willing to Give,” was about the wholehearted, willing offerings we make to God out of love for Him. Lots of times these are actions, but beneath the action is the true offering that comes from the heart:

Faith.

Love.

Trust.

Believing in God, trusting Him, just because of who He is. Because of what we know of His character. Because we know He’s trustworthy.

Even when we don’t see the whys and hows. Even when it hurts.

Our love and trust will result in obedience if it’s real. If we act on it. If we don’t put it into practice it stays theory and we’re never truly sure about God.

Many of my favourite novels have a hero/heroine who’s a strong leader, one the other characters will follow in the bleakest circumstances in blind (but fully warranted) trust. One who operates on the “need to know” principle because stopping to explain takes too long and because the followers don’t have the knowledge base to be able to understand. One who brings them through incredible odds to victory.

God is like that, except better. He’s real, and nothing surprises Him.

Reading the novels, when I see characters mistrusting the leader or trying their own ways, I know they’re wrong and I keep hoping they’ll wise up before it’s too late. Before they either ruin everything or at least get themselves killed.

In real life, it’s sometimes easier to be the doubter than the faithful follower—even when God is the leader.

Father, I’m glad You know our weaknesses. I’m gladder still that You love us anyway, and that You’re working all things out to the end You’ve planned from the beginning. You are the only wise, all-powerful God. The only one who can bring victory in the mess we’ve made. Help us to love, trust and obey You, in the big and in the small. Sometimes the small is the hardest part.

∞

This week’s song is Big Daddy Weave’s version of the classic hymn, “Trust and Obey”.

A Pure Heart

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Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Psalm 51:10, NIV*

To step out from behind my wall of self-protection and live authentically with others…

to trust God to be my Protector and to let His life give itself through me…

I need a pure heart and a steadfast spirit.

Purifying the heart, renewing the steadfast spirit, comes by removing the fallen wall’s rubble so that I can step out through it.

Sometimes purification needs strong cleansers. Or fire. It needs an expert and delicate touch—only God, who broke the wall, can do it.

What feeds a pure heart? Dependence on God and delight in Him. Time alone with Him, with heart, mind and spirit tuned to His.

Father, thank You more than words can say for rescuing me from a life—and a death—separated from You. You have saved me… You are saving me… You will save me. In the saving, make my heart pure. Make my spirit steadfast. Help me learn to depend on You and to live authentically in Your world.

∞

Brian Doerksen’s song, “Refiner’s Fire,” is a challenging prayer that holds nothing in reserve. May it be our prayer nonetheless.

Listening to God

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As I packed for a spiritual retreat last weekend [two weekends past, now], a thought hit me: you can count on hearing God at a retreat because you’ve reduced the distractions, but it’s also because you’re listening. You’re anticipating. You expect to hear him.

Pop on over to the InScribe Writers Online blog if you want to read more about “Listening to God“.

Out Through the Rubble

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Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28, NIV*

I got away for a much-needed spiritual retreat last weekend. Our speaker challenged us to ask God to take down the walls we’ve built, and to let His living water flow out through us instead of being dammed up.

As part of this process, she asked us meditate on Scripture. Not sure what verse to choose, I thought, “Come to Me”. Not a verse, but a fragment. Okay.

Come to Me.

It said some things that meshed with our weekend:

step out through the rubble of your wall;
you need to be with the people you’ve walled out; and
Jesus is waiting there to welcome you (not that He’s not with you in your self-made prison too).

It wasn’t until later I recognized the phrase as coming from Jesus’ words in Matthew 11:28. But don’t they fit beautifully?

If we’re struggling to hold up a wall, we’re definitely weary and burdened. It’s hard work. And it never ends.

Trusting Jesus to be in charge gives us rest. Taking down the walls lets us be ourselves: the gifts God has for those around us.

Father, I praise You for Your grace and mercy to bring us back into relationship with You, and for Your healing and restoration in our lives. Thank You for setting us free, for equipping us to live with one another and with You. The world may look out of control, but You are sovereign. Teach us to live trusting in You, listening for and confident in Your leading.

∞

I had trouble finding a song for this, but Francesca Battistelli’s “Free to Be Me” captures the feeling of how I want to live on the other side of the rubble.

Review: So Long Insecurity, by Beth Moore

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So Long Insecurity, by Beth Moore (Tyndale House Publishers, 2010)

“Insecurity among women is epidemic, but it is not incurable. Don’t expect it to go away quietly, however. We’re going to have to let truth scream louder to our souls than the lies that have infected us.” (p. xiii)

Drawing on her own experience and the responses of over 1,000 women (and men!), and using Scripture as a key weapon, Beth Moore has given us a book that equips us to change. So Long Insecurity is about empowering women to find their security in God.

One surprising point that comes up early in the book is the idea that it may not just be self-doubt that cripples us—we may be doubting God.

How? By doubting what He says about us. He says He loves us, and that He values us. But do we secretly think we know better, that if He really knew us completely He’d discover He’s been wrong?

The book exposes insecurity for what it is—a lie from the enemy of our souls—and takes a good look at the things that may have let it flourish in our lives.

There may be parts you relate to and parts you don’t, depending on your own personal experience. Insecurity manifests itself in various ways, and some women may be surprised to discover this is what’s been hindering them.

Prayer and Scripture form the basis of our defence against our individual default patterns of insecurity. One key verse is from Proverbs 31:25, where it declares “She is clothed with strength and dignity.”

Our God-given right to dignity—and our responsibility not to give that away when something threatens us—is central to maintaining our security. No, dignity is not something we can earn. It’s a gift from our God, and we need to hold it tight.

We also need to trust God. Beth says, “Whenever you get hit by a wave of insecurity, the wind driving it is always fear” (p. 320).She reminds us to consciously choose to trust God without conditions.

Not to say, “I’ll trust You as long as You don’t let my fear come true.” To decide that even if what we fear happens, we will trust Him to look after us.

If we must picture the worst-case scenario, we need to remember that God will be in it too. He won’t vanish in a puff of surprise and leave us fending for ourselves.

So Long Insecurity isn’t a quick-fix, one-time deal, because the triggers to insecurity are all around us. But it is a practical resource to help us reclaim our security and to arm us with what we need to guard ourselves.

I appreciated the solid reliance on Scripture, and the focus verses and short prayers that are perfect to write down and carry with us. There’s also a slightly longer prayer we can use each morning to keep our defences up.

Working through this book has changed me. I’m not yet where I want to be, but I’m closer. And I have the tools to get there. Whether you’re deeply or only mildly insecure, or if you want to understand an insecure woman in your life, I recommend reading So Long Insecurity. Check out the first chapter of So Long Insecurity here.

Beth Moore is a popular Bible teacher and author. You can watch an interview with Beth Moore about So Long Insecurity here, or learn more about the book here. Or click here to visit the So Long Insecurity website.

[Book from my personal library—and while I may lend it to you, I want it back!]

How to Pass the Test

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When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, ‘Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?’ He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.”
John 6:5-6, NIV*

God’s tests reveal to us what we’ve already learned, or how successfully we apply it, or they show us we still have some learning to do.

I can imagine Philip looking around and seeing the impossibility of feeding a crowd of 5,000 men plus women and children. He heard Jesus’ question and felt responsible to provide a solution.

To pass the test would have been to turn to Jesus for the solution.

The disciples had already experienced Jesus’ miraculous signs, and this new challenge was an opportunity to extrapolate their faith from what they’d seen into new territory.

Jesus wasn’t into pulling things out of thin air like an entertainer. He worked with the materials on hand, be it water when people needed wine, or a damaged person who needed wholeness.

I’d like to think Andrew passed the test by telling the group about the boy with the loaves and fish, but he finished his sentence with “but how far will they go among so many?” (John 6:8-9, NIV*)

How many times do I do the same thing?

Father, by Your grace I’ve seen You work in my heart and circumstances. I’ve heard the testimonies of other believers. When life throws the next question at me, please help me pass the test. Help me remember You already have in mind what You plan to do. Help me trust you.

∞

Let’s encourage our spirits with Matt Redman’s song, “You Never Let Go”.

Seeing and Believing

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Jesus replied, “You may go. Your son will live.”

The man took Jesus at his word and departed. Then the father realized that this [his son’s healing] was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and all his household believed.
John 4:50, 53, NIV*

I was always amazed at how this father, some sort of royal official, could accept Jesus’ abrupt dismissal and promise of healing and just go. He was an important person, probably used to special treatment. He came to Jesus begging for his son’s life—already something beneath his position—and he’d asked Jesus to come with him.

Jesus didn’t even send one of His disciples along as a representative!

The man’s strength of faith made me miss a deeper point until now: Jesus originally told him, “Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders…you will never believe.” (John 4:48, NIV*)

I never understood why Jesus would say this here. After all, the man wasn’t demanding a sign like Jesus’ opponents so often did. He was pleading for his son’s life.

The man came because he wanted something. But it wasn’t until he received that miracle that he was open to receive the full package of who Jesus is. To move from believing what He could do to believing who He truly is.

To see what the miracle actually meant. It testified that this itinerant Rabbi could command the power of God.

How many times do I come to Him for what He can do for me—for what I want Him to do—instead of for Who He is?

Father, You invite us to come boldly, and to bring our prayers, petitions and praises. But too many times they’re the only reason I come. You didn’t reconcile me to Yourself just to listen to my prayer list. You drew me back into fellowship with You. Relationship. Sometimes the needs are huge. But my need of You is central. If you were to never answer another prayer, I’d still need to be in Your presence.

∞

Let “Open the Eyes of My Heart,” by Paul Baloche, be our song and our prayer today.

Janet Sketchley

Writing Christian Mysteries & Suspense

Tag Archives: faith

Review: Sailing Between the Stars, by Steven James

[review copy from my personal library]

Listening to God

Come as You Are

A Gift from the Heart

A Pure Heart

Listening to God

Out Through the Rubble

Review: So Long Insecurity, by Beth Moore

[Book from my personal library—and while I may lend it to you, I want it back!]

How to Pass the Test

Seeing and Believing