- INTIMATE FAITH
- Summary article of the book
- by Jan Winebrenner
 
    
The late night phone call startled me.
 
     "Mom, Jen needs a place to stay tonight. Can I bring her to your
house?"
 
     My son Matt arrived a few minutes later, bringing his fiancé with
him.
 
     "Her roommate came home drunk and started acting crazy - she
was throwing things, making threats," Matt told me as we settled Jen
in my guestroom. "I wanted to get Jen out of there."
 
It wasn't the first roommate horror story I'd heard. Most of us have
one or two of our own - a college roommate out of control, a flat mate
suddenly turned morose and destructive - it happens often.
 
Living with another person is risky, even if it's someone you think you
know well. We all have the capacity to make others miserable, and
constant daily interaction increases the risk of misery.
  
Isn't it fascinating that Jesus, in His final hours with His disciples,
knowing them well, and knowing what they would do in the coming
days, asked them to live with Him? "Abide in Me," He said.
 
These men He called "friends" would run away at the first hint of
danger, leaving Him alone with murderous enemies. One would curse
and deny he ever knew Him. Except for one, the rest would hide and
quake in fear. Yet, Jesus yearned to see them settled in the household
of faith, living in fellowship with the Father He called "Abba."
 
It wasn't a temporary arrangement, this abiding that Jesus desired for
them, but rather a permanent kind of moving in. And the welcome call
extends to us twenty-first century Christians as well - not simply to be
roommates, not to just "share space," but to enter into the most inti-
mate of relationships - the kind a father shares with a child, a groom
with his bride.
 
And here's the most amazing thing of all: Jesus knows our nature; He
knows our propensity for sin and selfishness and our tendencies toward
destructive, foolish behavior, yet still he offers us a place in His heart
and in His kingdom. He knows the risks we bring with us, and still He
welcomes us.
 
But how unsuited we are for this magnificent new life with the King of
kings. Until that moment when we were redeemed, by grace, through
faith in Jesus Christ, we were scavenging for security and sustenance
from the debris of our culture. Spiritual bums and bag ladies, we were
filthy in our sin, desperate and lost. Then, suddenly, by the mercy of
God, we were brought into the household of faith with Jesus' welcome
ringing in our hearts, "Come in! Live with Me! Mi casa is su casa!"
 
But what do we know of about living in the presence of a King? What
do we who are finite know about interacting with an infinite God?  We
have been cleansed and dressed in the righteousness of Christ, but still
we cling to habits cultivated on the streets. How do we learn to live in
the reality of our new status as members of the family of God, heirs with
Christ? How do we "abide in Christ?"
 
The answer: Through the exercise of the spiritual disciplines.
 
 
The Abstract Made Concrete

I stumbled into a study of the spiritual disciplines at a time when my
faith was weak. I had no passion for God, no zeal for souls, and felt
only confusion and bewilderment when anyone spoke of loving God.
Limp, failing, and easily pulled into sin, I finally begged God to do some-
thing in me, for me. I knew I was His child, by faith in Jesus Christ,
through God's grace, but I had no energy for the Christian walk. In
fact, I was baffled by it, and by the joy I saw in other Christians.
When my church began posting this slogan, "Passionately Pursuing
Jesus Christ," my head pounded with confusion. How do you do that?
I wondered.
  
What does it look like to "walk with God," "to abide in Him?"
 
What does it look like to passionately pursue Jesus Christ? 
 
Nothing was more clear to me than this: I was like a bag lady thrust into
the palace of the King of kings, and I hadn't a clue how to behave, how
to respond, what to say or what to do. Awkward, uncertain, I didn't know
the first thing about interacting with the infinite God who had formed me
out of the dust of the earth.
 
Timid, scared, I admitted that I wasn't sure that I really wanted what God
wanted to give me; I prayed, "Lord, I want to want You."
 
In answer to that prayer, God almost instantly led me into a study of the
classical spiritual disciplines. And the abstract concept of "abiding in Christ" became concrete. It was as though God had attached "handles" to the life
of faith, and for the first time I was learning how to grab hold of it.
 
 
More than Just the "Big Five"  
 
For many centuries, devout Christians have exercised and taught the
seventeen spiritual disciplines taught in the Old and New Testaments,
along with ancient Christian writings. But in recent generations, the
Christian community has emphasized only five disciplines: Study, Worship,
Prayer, Service, and Fellowship. A careful look at Jesus' life during His
incarnation shows that He displayed not only those five, but another
dozen as well. And shortly before His ascension, He told His disciples
to do and teach others to obey everything He had taught them.(1)
 
I thought back over the discipleship courses I have taken (and there
have been many) and wondered why no one had ever included medit-
ation, or fasting, or silence, or solitude in the lessons. Had I missed the
sessions on fasting, and chastity and celebration and confession? Had
it been an accident, or a deliberate oversight, to delete simplicity and
submission and humility and sacrifice from the study of discipleship?
 
One by one, as I studied what have become known as the "classical
spiritual disciplines" I began to see that many of the questions I had
about the Christian life could be answered in the exercise of a particular
spiritual discipline. I discovered that I was learning to live in the reality
of the invisible truths of my faith through the practice of the spiritual
disciplines. But more than anything, I began to experience for myself
the sufficiency of God. I began to learn, first-hand, that God is enough.
 
Through the discipline of fasting, I discovered the truth of Jesus' words,
that "there is food ye know not of."  I began learning to feed on God,
recognizing Him as the Bread of Life, and learning to savor His presence
and trust His never-ending supply of strength and wisdom.
 
Meditation became an essential discipline for me as I learned that this
was God's way to give me strength for meeting temptation, for having
victory over "the sin that does so easily beset" me. Through meditation,
I found my heart warmed toward God, making space for His sweetness,
readying me for prayer and service.
 
For years I had heard that I should "rejoice" in the Lord. But as I studied
the discipline of celebration, I learned that God wanted me to learn to
live with a light - heart; to be a woman who can "laugh at the days to
come" because she knows, as the great preacher E.V. Hill liked to say,
"This ain't it, folks!"  She knows a loving Savior  holds the future in tender,
nail-scarred hands. Even in the aftermath of September 11, and during
the long months that a beloved family member lay suffering and dying
from cancer, God showed me what Paul meant when he said, "We are
sorrowful, yet rejoicing."
 
The discipline of secrecy is training me to release my anxious need for
others' attention and approval, and to content myself with God's approval
and His smile of "well done."  I am learning to value the secrets I share
with Christ, and Christ alone, knowing that intimacies are exchanged in
secret, not in a crowd.
 
The discipline of silence is teaching me to be quiet and listen, instead
of insisting that I be heard. It is teaching me to let God speak to me,
and for me. It is teaching me that I don't have to have the last word:
It's okay for God to have it.
 
Learning to exercise the discipline of humility challenges me every mom-
ent, every day. It challenges me to let God be God - to humble myself
in the presence of His supremacy. It is training me to live comfortably
with divine mystery, not always demanding that God give me reasons
and explanations for all that is occurring in my life. It is training me to
release my expectations and my demands - of God, of others, of myself
- and allow God to be in control. It is allowing me to see God at work
on my behalf. It is training me to disentangle others from my plans for
them, releasing them to seek God's approval, and not mine.
 
The exercise of each discipline - the commonly recognized ones, and
the more obscure, less familiar ones,  such as simplicity, sacrifice, sil-
ence, solitude, and others - takes me into a place where I am able to
recognize clearly the sufficiency of God. What I used to know in theory
has become proven fact - that God is enough, that He is faithful and
good and can be depended upon to do good for me in every circum-
stance.  With the exercise of every discipline, all seventeen of them,
I am learning to relate to God; I am learning to recognize His voice in
my heart, and learning to expect Him to be sufficient; I am learning to
rejoice in His presence, and to passionately pursue Him.
 
 
To Be God's
 
Of course, any discussion of discipline carries with it the danger of
misunderstanding. We can fall easily into legalism, mistaking the
disciplines for rules and regulations enforced on us to govern our
Christian performance. But God isn't looking for people who will "be
good"; He's looking for people who will "be God's"!
Through the exercise of the spiritual disciplines we learn how to be His.
We who are finite learn how to relate to the infinite God who calls us His
beloved. We learn how to enjoy His presence, to savor His goodness, and
to trust ourselves to His compassion and His power.
 
 
Moving Into Intimacy  [excerpt from INTIMATE FAITH]
 
"Missionary friends told me about a young Nigerian man who fell deeply in
love with a young woman in his village. The parents of the couple
negotiated the bride price, and the groom's father threw a lavish wedding
feast to celebrate their marriage.
 
    The bride, however, did not have such a generous nature. Soon after
the wedding, she demonstrated her disdain for the young man who loved
her: she slaughtered and cooked a chicken, in full view of the entire village,
and ate the whole portion herself, saving none for her husband and
offering none to her neighbors.
 
     Shamed by his wife's boorish actions, the young man was heartbroken.
He asked the missionaries to pray with him that God would enable him to
show his wife how much he loved her. It was a slow journey, made difficult
and miserable at times by the woman's stubborn, selfish will, but over
time, her husband's love won her.
 
I see myself in this story. A poor risk, I often leave God open to shame
and embarrassment. Though He claims me as His bride, I often live at a
distance, selfishly pursuing my own interests, my own passions, heedless
of the yearning of His heart. But He has generously given me all that it
His. He continues to offer me His forgiveness and companionship. He
continues to desire intimacy with me.
 
The question we must all answer is this: Will we put away our selfishness,
our pride, our raging independence, and move into intimacy with Him?
 
 
Getting In On Everything
 
If we agree to live with Him, on His terms, in the intimate way God
desires, will He make good on His promises? Will what we gain be worth
what we leave behind? Will God be equal to our faith?
 
Listen to these words of George Macdonald:
 
'One day we shall laugh ourselves to scorn
that we looked for so little from Thee,
for thy giving will not be limited by our hoping.'(2)  
 
Jesus says it like this: 'The Father loves the Son extravagantly. He
turned everything over to Him so He could give it away - a lavish dist-
ribution of gifts. That is why whoever accepts and trusts the Son gets
in on everything.'(3)
 
The offer is staggering, really. 'Everything Jesus is saying to you can be
summed up in the words `Know that you are welcome.' Jesus offers you
his own most intimate life with the Father. He wants you to know all He
knows and to do all He does. He wants His home to be yours.'"(4)
 
Not simply roommates, sharing space with the King - but family: the chil-
dren of God, the beloved Bride of Christ. We can live at a distance, or
move in and share deep, meaningful intimacy with the One who loves us
beyond all measuring, through the exercise of the spiritual disciplines.
 
We can live on the outskirts of intimacy, or cultivate closeness, inhabit
levels of sweetness we cannot begin to imagine. The choice is ours; the
risks, God's.
 
 
God's Provision  [excerpt from INTIMATE FAITH]
 
"The duke and duchess of Windsor once vacationed at an exclusive
American resort. As they were leaving, the hotel clerk presented them
with the bill. The duke, baffled, asked, 'What do I do with this? I'm not
used to paying bills.'
 
Few of us can imagine traveling at the king's expense and having no
worries about cost. But if we have embarked on the Christian life and
determined to travel into deeper levels of intimacy with God, living out
the reality of His invisible kingdom, God himself will handle the bill. He
will ensure that we have everything we need for the journey.
 
'My God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in
Christ Jesus,' Paul wrote.(5)
 
Teresa of Avila said, 'It is a great thing to have experienced the
friendship and favor He shows toward those who journey on this road
and how He takes care of almost all the expenses.'(6)
 
 
Our Cost: The Cost of Saying No to Self.
 
This is the truest definition of discipline, but in saying no to self, we
are saying yes to God. We are saying yes to the one thing that our souls
desire above everything - a life of intimacy and friendship with almighty
God.
 
We are saying Yes to a journey that will take us where no other path can
lead - into deep and meaningful relationship with God; into the knowledge of
the mystery of God, 'namely, Christ Jesus, in whom are hidden all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge.'(7)
 
It is a journey to the only place our souls will ever call home.
May it begin here, now."
   
    
- INTIMATE FAITH: A WOMAN'S GUIDE TO THE SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES
- Summary article of the book
- by Jan Winebrenner   (Footnotes below)
  
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~ Learn more about the book INTIMATE FAITH and author JAN
WINEBRENNER @ www.IntimateFaith.com.  Jan Winebrenner is a popular
speaker at women's events as well as a writing instructor.  Her book
INTIMATE FAITH was published in December of 2002 by Warner Faith
books, and will actually be offered as a special gift to all pastors' wives
attending the upcoming Global Pastors Network annual conference: Beyond
All Limits. Learn more about this exciting event @ www.BeyondAllLimits.org
and be sure to check out www.IntimateFaith.com.
 
INTIMATE FAITH
- This book would make an excellent Christmas gift
  for any woman on your list!  :)
  
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More info:
  
- INTIMATE FAITH:  A WOMAN'S GUIDE TO THE SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES
   
Discover inspiring new ways to truly know Him.
 
You may have walked in faith throughout your life, been a committed
churchgoer, and practiced the five basic spiritual disciplines of study,
prayer, worship, fellowship, and service. And yet ... somehow ... you feel
something is missing. You want to feel closer to God...
 
A woman of faith and a popular speaker at Christian events, Jan
Winebrenner now invites you to break through the barriers that can
separate you from the vital reality of God's infinite presence. Exploring
seventeen often forgotten disciplines, including humility, meditation, and
celebration, Jan introduces you to practices that are neither hard work
nor items for your "to do" list. They simply ask you to rely on His love.
 
Open your heart and:
 
- Find commitment by freeing yourself from everyone else's expectations
and the constant fear of being judged by your peers.
 
- Discover peace of mind and let God provide - even amid the day-to-day
turmoil of earning a living in an insecure world
 
- Change and grow as you experience God's love in moments of private,
secret communion with Him.
 
- Renew your attitude towards your work, family, and life through personal
"time-off" communions with God.
   
www.IntimateFaith.com
   
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 ~ FOOTNOTES:
   
(1) Matthew 28:20
(2) George MacDonald, DISCOVERING THE CHARACTER OF GOD (Minneapolis:
Bethany House Publishers, 1989) p. 76
(3) John 3:35 THE MESSAGE
(4) Henri Nouwen, THE INNER VOICE OF LOVE (New York: Image Books,
Doubleday, 1998) P. 102
(5) Philippians 4:19
(6) Tessa Bielecki, TERESA OF AVILA: ECSTASY AND COMMON SENSE (Boston:
Shambhala Publications, Inc., 1996) p. 104-5
(7) Colossians 2:2-3