Hello 100 Day Pursuers! Can you believe we are on day 79? I pray that my letters to you would not fade or fizzle in any way. Please cover me in prayer that I might finish strong. Thanks!
An idea from afar
One of my close friends from Austin who is participating in the 100 Day Pursuit with his family had a great idea that I think will make the last few weeks of our pursuit more interactive and interesting. I’d like to invite you to send me a short note written to the “100 Day Pursuit Community” that tells what the Lord has been doing in you through this initiative. It shouldn’t be more than 250 words, which is about three paragraphs, and it can be much shorter if you’d like. If you respond to this email (or any of my emails) your letter will come to me.
I’ll review your letter and then choose some to include in my daily emails to everyone. I say “some” because I’m not sure how many of you will participate in this. Also, I may only use part of your note, and I may edit your words just slightly if there are grammatical errors. If I feel like something isn’t clear I will reach out to you to rewrite a certain part. But please don’t get worked up over what to write. Just pretend you are writing to a group of beautiful people who are seeking the same Jesus you are seeking. Because you are.
I’ll use some of these letters as springboards for my daily letters to you. Feel free to include questions about prayer, as well, and I’ll respond to your question in what I write that day. I’m excited about this because it gives you guys the opportunity to shape the direction of the initiative in these final weeks. Oh, also, your first few sentences should probably give us a little info about who you are—name, where do you live, what you do, and so on. I’m looking forward to hearing from you!
Testimony
What you write about your experiences with God, in Christian language, is what we often call “testimony.” I don’t mean merely the story of our conversion but the ongoing stories of how the Lord is working in us. Sharing these have been a huge part of Christian community for 2000 years.
What is it about sharing our personal stories that has such an impact on others?
Well, one thing is that it’s hard to argue with an experience. It’s kind of like the blind man healed in the Bible when all the religious skeptics were grilling him. He basically said, “All I know is I once was blind but now I see—because of Jesus.” Another example is the man crippled from birth healed at the Gate Beautiful. After he was healed he ran around telling everyone what happened. A personal experience ties the philosopher in a knot. What can you say?
Those who know you
If we don’t really know a person well then the testimony is easier to be suspicious of, right? You know, maybe you come across something on YouTube of someone on the other side of the globe telling about some amazing encounter with Jesus they had. I’m not saying there aren’t clues we can pick up on to discern the authenticity, but it’s hard to know for sure. But, if the person sharing the testimony is a close family member, or a best friend, we know them well enough to know—they could never make this up.
Shortly after I came to Christ I decided I should tell my best high school friend. He was living in Texas at the time. I bought a fresh blank 90 minute cassette, went out on the trestle near my apartment, and poured my soul out in a recorded message to him. When he listened to it—it really rocked him—because he knew me as someone completely immersed in a lifestyle of sin. He knew me well enough to know I couldn’t have been making this up.
When we hear someone share their experiences, it has a way of opening us up to possibilities. The closer we are to the person, the greater the impact. When we read in the Bible that people prayed and the Spirit was poured out—we are stirred to the possibility for our own lives. If we read about a church overseas that prayed earnestly and the Spirit was poured out—we are even more stirred that it could happen for us. If our close sibling who lives an hour away testifies to us that his church experienced a great outpouring—now we are so stirred that it may even have an immediate igniting impact.
Igniting fires
The sharing of testimonies is part of why the Gospel spread so fast in the first century. The stories of conversions, miracles, divine judgment, outpourings of the Spirit, unusual orchestrations, and angelic visitations, were shared openly. This sharing of testimonies is also what has caused revival fires to spread throughout church history. We often find that spiritual fires were ignited in individuals when they were exposed to the firsthand stories of believers who had dramatic experiences with the Lord. Think of Paul’s story that he told over and over.
“As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me. And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’ Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me. And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.’ (Acts 22:6-10)
Cautions
I’ve heard Christian leaders, at times, discourage people from sharing personal experiences. I don’t mean they discourage sharing conversion stories, but they say we shouldn’t share subjective spiritual experiences with people. They say we should just “preach the Bible.” But is this good advice?
I understand the reasons behind this. Sharing the Word is safe and protects us from veering out of theological bounds. It is common knowledge that many testimonies of spiritual experiences are either exaggerated, fabricated, or even of “another spirit.” What I mean by the latter is that demons counterfeit the working of the Holy Spirit. These kinds of testimonies are not helpful, but rather, produce confusion and bad fruit. So there is good reason to be cautious. I agree with the voices of caution in that regard.
However, the Bible itself is filled with hundreds of accounts of experiences people had with God. Moses tells about the burning bush, Abraham tells about his intercession, Jacob tells about wrestling with an angel, Isaiah tells about his vision of the Holy One, Job tells about his long conversation with the Lord, Paul tells of his experience on the road to Damascus, Mary tells of her dream, the Shepherds tell of hearing angelic choirs in the sky, the disciples tell everyone about their encounters with the risen Chist, Peter tells of the angel freeing him from prison, John shares his apocalyptic vision. The Bible gives us no license to concoct stories to impress people; that would deeply grieve the Holy Spirit. But if the Lord has revealed Himself in an interesting way—it’s okay to tell someone!
They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power, to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. (Psalm 145:11-12)
Another caution about sharing our testimonies of spiritual experiences is the danger of pride. It can be a form of boasting to elicit praise from people. We must be so careful about this and always check our hearts. But I think it is a clever scheme of Satan to tell us we should keep our testimonies of encountering the Living God to ourselves lest we be guilty of spiritual pride. This lie is very effective in silencing many good Christians.
But if what we’ve experienced is genuine, and our motive is to glorify God and help others—we should testify!
My struggle
I’ve really struggled with this a lot over the years. Even with my daily 100 Day Pursuit writings I question how personal I should get. I don’t want to forfeit my reward from the Father in exchange for the fleeting praises of people! But I also know that personal testimonies can really help people and open them up to the possibilities for their own lives.
If my testimonies of spiritual experiences have caused you to hold a high view of me, then you are deeply mistaken. What I’m trying to show is that weak, imperfect people can experience God deeply. I’m nothing special at all. I was a terrible sinner for the first twenty years of my life. I’m still broken because of it. And as a Christian I’ve missed the mark daily. I’ve been up and down. I’ve let my heart get cold. Fear cripples me at times. I’ve wrestled with anxiety. I’ve made a million mistakes as a pastor. I can be moody and critical. And lazy. Please don’t think of me as more than I am. I’m quite ordinary, even boring. But that’s the point: the Lord can grace the weakest people with a deep relationship with Christ. Be encouraged.
Attainable
Nothing I have shared with you up to this point (79 days) is a fabrication, delusion or exaggeration. What I’ve testified of is true. Intimacy with God is possible. Having a deep prayer life is attainable. Hearing the Spirit’s voice is not just for “supersaints.” The Lord says more than once in His Word that He is no respecter of persons. In other words, He doesn’t pour out His presence on one person who seeks Him but refrains pouring out upon another who seeks Him. The Lord loves each of us and genuinely longs to draw us close.
When I look back at my walk with God in the past 30+ years I see a lot of weakness. I’ve wondered at times why I’ve experienced the presence and power of God so dramatically and regularly in my life. Why has the Lord allowed me to have a deep life of prayer? Why has He encountered me so many times and given me glimpses of eternity? I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I can’t point to any extraordinary discipline. I don’t even wake up that early most days. If there’s any secret to the depth I’ve found in God it is simply that I’ve incessantly thrown myself at His mercies, acknowledging my spiritual poverty and need for Him. It hardly feels like a virtue, but it’s essential. It’s something I can do. It’s something you can do.
The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:18)