If you saw this book on a shelf in a book store, would the cover tempt you to pick it up, check out the back cover text, or even peek inside? If you’d be tempted, please click the “like” button below, and/or leave a comment. Thanks
Tag Archives: Christianity
What Difference Will a New Book Cover Make?
When I first published “We Called Him Yeshua” over four years ago, I decided to go with a cover design that my niece had created. At the time, I thought the cover was cool and I really liked the idea of honoring my niece by using it. Yet, as time passed, I learned that for several reasons, the book could really benefit from a more professionally looking cover. However, since the Amazon review ratings and comments were looking good, I left the cover as-is.
Recently, I decided to take a look at what I’d written 4+ years ago. It was no surprise to me that while reading those words, I saw room for improvement. Motivated by the opportunity to enhance the story, I embarked on a project to make revisions and re-publish the book as a revised edition. This also gave me the chance to get a new cover design.
So, what do you think of the new cover? If you saw this book on a shelf in a book store, would you be tempted to open it up and peek inside?
By the way, if you’re curious about what you’d see if you peeked inside, please following this link to learn more, and even read the first couple of chapters if you’d like to.
(original cover …………… new cover)
They followed Jesus to the end. But for them, that end was a new beginning.
“It can be hard feeling close to God. The divine can feel intimidating and unapproachable. Yet it was easy feeling close to Yeshua, for though he was both God and human, to us he felt more human.
“You may know of him by his divinity and his Greek name, Jesus Christ. We knew him mostly by his humanity and his Hebrew name, Yeshua. You may know about him by what you read in the Bible or hear in a sermon. We knew him by his presence in our lives. My name is Anna, and along with my brother Neri and the others, I’d like to tell you about our time with Yeshua. We’d like to show you what it was like and how it felt to follow him.”
Based on stories in the Bible, We Called Him Yeshua imagines following Jesus Christ as he traveled the dusty roads of ancient Israel. Told from the perspective of those who followed, their stories will help you see what they saw, feel what they felt, and experience Jesus as they did. What they experienced was not only the healing power of God, but also the love, compassion, and humility of a friend.
They followed Jesus to the end. But for them, that end was a new beginning.
This book was originally published just as the pandemic erupted—perhaps bad timing on my part. The revised edition, with a new cover and slight changes to enhance the story, will be available initially on Amazon very soon.
If you would like to be notified when the revised edition is available on Amazon, please click the “Follow” link in the right sidebar.
If you’d like to get a sneak-peek at the first couple of chapters, which is likely more than the Amazon “read sample” would give you, please follow this link.
They Relied on the Holy Spirit
First century aspiring Christians didn’t have a written word to rely on—they didn’t have a New Testament—which may have been to their advantage. They didn’t need the written word, for as promised, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to guide them. The paradox today is that the written word can sometimes be a distraction, getting in the way of someone becoming truly Christian. For as Jesus warned:
“You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life. … The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing.” (John 5:39-40 and 6:63)
Oh sure, Jesus relied on scripture when He walked the roads of ancient Israel. But He relied on His Father more. And if we’re going to consider ourselves Christian, Jesus calls us to do the same:
“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, so that He may be with you forever; the Helper is the Spirit of truth. … But the Helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and remind you of all that I said to you.” (John 14:16-17, 26)
“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.” (John 16:12-13)
Does God Hate Sinners?
The Bible does talk about God hating sinners, such as in Proverbs 6:16-19 and Psalm 5:4-6. Some so-called Christians take these verses as license for them to shout out that God hates a particular person or group of people. Yet there are two thoughts regarding this that I’d like to place before you.
First, maybe it’s possible for God to both love and hate the same person. Maybe God can love the good, and at the same time hate the evil and sin within a person. I’ve felt that odd combination of emotions, and if I can, God certainly can do even better.
Second, it’s not up to me or anyone else to declare who God hates. That privilege is reserved for Him, and Him alone. For me to declare a particular person or group of people as an object of God’s hate is an act of judgment. And maybe that’s one reason so many outsiders view Christians as judgmental.
There can be danger in manmade versions of Christianity
I just came across a post on Reddit showing an example of the harm inflicted by manmade versions of Christianity. The title of the post is “Goodbye Christianity,” and here is, with a few bits edited out:
“I first joined Reddit because at the time I was very evangelical. Now that 4 years have gone by along with events in life that involve the church, I have come to the conclusion that people who profess the name of Jesus Christ are untrustworthy and rotten to the core just like everyone else. … If you all can stay in this religion with peace in your heart and you’re not a terrible person towards others, then God bless you, as for the rest who do not have the aforementioned trait then you can only blame yourself and people likewise yourself as a sole reason why Christianity is on the decline, not the devil, yourself. So long my former Christian brothers and sisters, I’m gonna live my life now.”
Upon reading this, I first felt sadness for the person who wrote it. I then felt anger, anger toward the true root cause of what has led this person to leave Christianity. It’s not the people who the writer claims are untrustworthy and rotten, for those people are just more wounded victims. The true root cause is a manmade version of Christianity, a version of Christianity that promotes such things as judgment, hypocrisy, bigotry, and arrogance.
But, where manmade Christianity inflicts wounds, true Christianity, Jesus’ Christianity, heals wounds. So if I were to try and comfort the person who wrote that post, I’d encourage them to leave their painful experience in the past, turn to God and Jesus and their words in the Bible, and pray.
And as Brother Lawrence said in the book “The Practice of the Presence of God:”
“It isn’t necessary that we stay in church in order to remain in God’s presence. We can make our hearts personal chapels where we can enter anytime to talk to God privately.”
Jesus isn’t the problem—the church is
In a survey of both Christians and non-Christians, the Barna Group discovered that:
- 71% of survey respondents have a positive opinion of Jesus Christ
- 57% have a positive opinion of Christianity
- 47% have a positive opinion of churches in their community
- 16% have a positive opinion of megachurches
(https://www.barna.com/research/year-in-review-2023/ See item #3).
As the Barna article stated, Jesus isn’t the problem—the church is.
The Best Evangelist
It’s not my place to convince anyone of the truth of Christianity. Christians are called to be neither an arguing attorney nor judge. All I’m called to do is be a witness, nothing more, nothing less. As Jesus said:
“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning.” (John 15:26-27)
And while being a witness, I’ll rely on the Holy Spirit to do the convincing. As Jesus also said, “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth” (John 16:12-13).
Finally, notice the role of the Holy Spirit. D.L. Moody once said, “There is no better evangelist in the world than the Holy Spirit.”
Manmade verses God-made
When we look on the surface of modern Christianity, we don’t always see what Jesus had in mind. Rather, we often see a manmade version, a form that at least partially paints Christianity in man’s image rather than God’s image, thus defacing Jesus’ truth.
Of course, many adherents to a manmade version of Christianity are reluctant to accept this claim. As I’ve experienced, some will vehemently argue that the nuances of their religion represent true Christianity, unpolluted by human influence. Over the centuries, their predecessors perfected the arguments approving the authority of their manmade version of church, and their definition of what it means to be Christian.
But consider this, from Jesus: “In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me” (John 18:37). Now consider what Peter said when challenged by the religious leaders of his day who clung to their manmade rules and traditions: “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges!” (Acts 4:19).
The choice facing all who call themselves Christian is, will they listen to Jesus and His truth, or to those who cling to a defaced version of Jesus’ Christianity.
The End of the Other Pandemic
In the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve fell for the temptation of Satan, the outcome was as if Satan had infected them with his sinfulness, pridefulness, and selfishness. This virus was then passed onto Adam and Eve’s descendants.
Then, Jesus Christ died to the sin, pride, and self that had infected humanity. And by His death and our faith, we can participate in Jesus’ death and also be dead to the virus of sinfulness, pridefulness, and selfishness.
The best part about all this is that, with death to our sinful nature, we make room for the Spirit of Jesus to take its place so that we can say with Paul, “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”
My Daily Filling … of God
It begins or ends with sleep. I mean, my daily connection with God. Sleep has become a weird experience for me. There’s no control of my thoughts, almost never a thought of God. Though my body’s asleep, my mind seems to never stop. One strange dream after another. It feels like a waste of time. Since my mind’s going to stay active anyway, why couldn’t it instead be with God and Jesus in heaven, resting in their presence, getting ready for the next day?
But this morning it occurred to me that, where it feels like my soul empties itself of God’s presence during my dream-filled sleep, each morning with my coffee cup warming my hands and my eyes closed, I feel myself open up to God, like opening a valve. And then, with my heart and soul again fully open, God pours His Spirit into me.
So, my preparation for each day isn’t found in the rest of a sleepful night. But rather in the quieting and opening of my soul each morning, where I empty myself of self to make room for God. And the best days are when I open and empty myself enough to truly let God be all within me, so I can then say with Paul, “It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).
I no longer look upon sleep as a waste of time, which I know is a strange thing to say. For me, sleep now presents the opportunity to show my love and commitment to God each morning.
Christ Living in You
When Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23), He was talking about denying the worldly and self-centered side of what makes up our personality.
And when Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20), he was referring to the same worldly self. He was talking about his little devil effectively being crucified when Jesus was crucified, making room for the Spirit of Christ to come in and take its place.
Yes, picture the Spirit of Jesus on your shoulder, in place of your sinful self. That’s what Jesus promised when He said, “My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them” (John 14:23). It can happen.
Giving Truth a Shoulder to Lean On
Entering the campus of Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, as I followed the herd of other tourists through Library Square, I looked up to see a large sign with this quote from Jonathan Swift.
With respect to the state of Christianity these days, this quote has helped fuel my desire to give truth a shoulder to lean on, especially when so many people are kicking it in the shins.
In My Name
As you knock on the door of the humble yet attractive house, you feel a bit nervous about meeting the owner. But you couldn’t pass up the bargain rent he was charging for his spare bedroom.
“Well, hello. Please come in,” Jesus says as he opens the door, with a soft smile and a sparkle in his eyes. “Let me give you a quick tour.”
Jesus leads you through the rooms of his warm and cozy home, finishing with the family room.
“This is my computer,” he says, opening the laptop sitting on the well-used wooden desk. The screen lights up to an email app. “You can used this too, whenever you like.”
“Um, thanks,” you reply, a bit confused. “But I have a computer. All I’ll need is a connection to your wifi.”
“Yes, I know,” Jesus says, with a smile and a squint that acknowledges the confusion on your face. “Still, you’re welcome to use my computer, though the only app is email, and it will send emails to only one address.”
“Oh … well … that’s interesting.” You’re beginning to wonder if moving in with him was a good idea.
“My computer sends emails to my Father,” Jesus continues with enthusiasm. “With this, you can ask God for anything, and He will give it to you.”
“But if I do that, my request will appear to God as if it’s coming from you.”
“Exactly.”
Imagine the Glory
When I get together with friends, we mostly talk about what’s going on in our lives. The gutsy ones talk about politics.
I’ve been thinking, what if God got as much airtime as certain politicians do? I like to visualize a world where people talk more about God than about personalities in the news. I like to visualize a world where God is widely glorified.
Looking at a dictionary definition, to glorify means “to cause to be or treat as being more splendid, excellent, etc., than would normally be considered.” I like to visualize a world where God is seen as more splendid and excellent than He is currently seen. And I like to visualize the impact that would have on society.
Imagine a life where, rather than complaining about politicians, certain societal groups, or the weather, we instead talked about our love for God. I like to imagine that.
Helping Jesus Get His Christianity Back
I’ve been on a 16-year journey searching for Christianity, writing a book about my journey and what I found—I hope to publish the book this year. What I learned early in my journey is that what we often see on the surface of Christianity isn’t what Jesus had in mind.
During the past few years, I believe God solidified my purpose for the book and for my life, which is: To promote Christian truth and help Jesus get His Christianity back. Jesus wants His Christianity back.
Who is it That Overcomes the World?
No need for me to rattle off a chaos-list of insane things going on in this crazy world. You don’t need a litany of stress this morning. What you may need, what we all may need, is a way to overcome those things that cause us stress. We need help overcoming the world.
This morning, in between sips of coffee and moments of meditation that often slid off into a realm of random thoughts or semi-sleep, I was reading the Apostle John’s first letter to whomever he was writing it to. Good letter. I like what he says. Anyway, here’s what prompted me to write this short post this morning:
“Whoever has been born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:4-5 NASB)
Our ability to cope with and overcome what’s going on in this world comes from our faith and relationship with God and Jesus. That relationship—being “born of God”—is a relationship of Father and child, which is made real by our faith in Jesus.
If you feel you don’t have such a relationship, try this: close your eyes, tamp down those random thoughts, quiet your mind, and look for the Spirit of God and Jesus within you. And wait. That’s where you’ll find the Holy Spirit. That’s where you’ll find the relationship. That’s where you’ll overcome the world.
Where the Morning Coffee Led Me
What’s it mean to be a disciple of Jesus? As I waited for my morning coffee to fire up the brain cells, some of those cells got stuck on this question. Then my brain took a little walk and stumbled upon these words from Jesus:
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23 NIV)
Hmm. You know, I’ve been on this journey called life a long time. My goals have changed over the years, but as I’ve gotten older—and hopefully a little wiser—my goals have become less focused on myself and more focused on God and Jesus, and my relationship with them. And I’ve come to see that “self” can be a very troublesome character.
Self is that little devil on my shoulder telling me to do the opposite of what my conscience—on the other shoulder—is encouraging me to do. Looking back, I see that self and its utter selfishness is the root cause of almost all my troubles. Either self has created problems directly, or its selfish reaction to external problems has caused me to internalize those problems.
I think it’s my evolving perspective of self that’s helped open my eyes to see a clearer image of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. For me, it’s denying self. I want to live as if my self were dead. I want to leave self hanging on its cross, and follow Jesus wherever He wants to lead me. And I want to have the peace that Paul promised when he said,
“The mind governed by the flesh [aka, self] is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.” (Romans 8:6 NIV)
I want the Holy Spirit—whom I see as sitting on my other shoulder with my conscience—to control my thoughts. I want the Spirit of Jesus to live within me, and through me, leading me to wherever He wants me to go. And I believe that’s ultimately what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.
A Thought on Forgiveness
There’s someone in my past where our relationship was rancid, and if I see them in the future—which I hope to do—it may be helpful for both of us if I forgive them for some of their past behavior. But with what kind of forgiveness?
I now believe there are two kinds of forgiveness. There’s worldly forgiveness, the kind we so often see, which is a forgiveness that has to be earned somehow by the offending party. Then there’s God’s forgiveness, which is unearned, always offered, just waiting to be accepted. All we have to do, as those who offend God with our sins, is acknowledge those sins, believe in God’s forgiveness, reach out to Him, and accept His forgiveness.
Now regarding that person from my past, God calls me to forgive as He forgives. That person doesn’t need to ask for my forgiveness, they don’t need to earn my forgiveness in any way. Thanks to God and how He has worked within me, my forgiveness is already given. If that person and I meet again, all they have to do is accept my forgiveness.
So what do you think about this idea of earned verses accepted forgiveness?
Morning Coffee With God
For many years now, I’ve gotten up early each morning so I could have some quiet prayer time with God before heading off to work. Of course, since early 2020 heading off to work means closing my home laptop and opening my work laptop.
The nature of my time with God has varied over the years, often frequently interrupted by random, worldly, pinball thoughts bouncing my attention around to everything but God. Yet I’ve usually been able to wrestle my thoughts back to God long enough to have some quality alone time with Him.
Anyway, this morning I saw something new in my time with God. Shortly before He returned to heaven, Jesus said to His apostles, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me talk about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. … You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you” (Acts 1:4-5, 8).
I believe that message applies to us as well, in our morning time with God. I believe that Jesus is telling me to not leave my time alone with God until His Spirit has fully come upon me. Don’t work on my writing, don’t interact with others, don’t open my work laptop, until I’ve escaped captivity to all those worldly pinball thoughts and felt the Spirit take control. Yes, control. For as Paul said in Romans, “The mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace. … You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature (e.g., many of my worldly thoughts) but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you” (Romans 8:6, 9).
For me, there’s no better way to start my day than hand-in-hand with the Holy Spirit of God and Jesus. He in me, and me in Him, with Him in control. He will lead, and I will follow.
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