William Golding once said in his famous book Lord of the Flies, “The thing is, fear can’t hurt you any more than a dream.” Although a profound statement, I beg to differ because, for 16 months of my life, I was stuck in a painful nightmare. This is the story of my journey of my personal crucifixion and being reborn in Jesus Christ.
A new book of two-way journaling has just been released and is available from this website. In it, Janis shares her experience of healing as she encounters the voice of the Wonderful Counselor. I believe others will also be inspired and healed as they read. Below Janis gives you an introduction to her book, and some of the journaling found within it.
Do you resent your need for sleep? Have you ever thought about how much more you could accomplish if you didn’t require it? If you didn’t get any sleep, you wouldn’t accomplish very much, and would not survive for long. Not everything that is necessary for your life can be captured on your ‘to-do’ list. Much takes place while you are asleep even if you are unaware of it, and these things are restorative. Sleep is essential for your body, mind, and spirit. Don’t you feel refreshed after a good night’s sleep? Medical science can describe the ways your body and mind are restored.
Are you desired? Is there any more validating human experience than being wanted? Yet you live in a competitive world in which the hierarchy of desirability is strictly enforced, and those who are desired know it and those who are not know it as well. This is true in the job market and in romance. Is there any realm of human interaction where this doesn’t play a role? The downside is the pain of rejection which is as real as the pain you feel in your nerves. Those who do not win the lottery of human desirability can take comfort in the fact that I want them.
I said that John the Baptist was a prophet, and others said the same of me. Both of us operated outside of the structure and organization of the established faith practice. You see the same principle in effect through the Old Testament as well. Prophets were not priests or kings who had title and office. They were all voices crying in the wilderness, yet called and commissioned by God to bring necessary words of correction that they would not have been able to deliver from within the organization. The need for this ministry has not gone away. Who do you think of as a prophet today?
Do you think of food as spiritual? Do you know of churches that put more emphasis on potlucks than sermons, or for which events involving food draw a larger turnout? Don’t be so quick to criticize. How many of my miracles involved food or wine? How many of my ministry opportunities and key events in my life took place when food was served? What elements did I instruct my followers to use to commemorate my death? Haven’t you observed from your own experience how breaking bread with others builds community and overcomes isolation? In this regard food serves a spiritual purpose.
Have you ever changed your mind? This phrase is normally used to state that you have arrived at a new opinion on some issue, ranging from political policy to trivial preferences. It is not usually understood to mean that you have acquired an entirely new mind. Yet is this something you need? Your old way of thinking is more than a set of opinions. It flows out of your world view. I offer you an entirely new world view and corresponding way of thinking. This is referred to as being transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Have you ever told anyone something in confidence? When you did, did you state clearly that it was to be held in confidence? Did you go further and insist on an affirmative promise before you told your secret? Have you had others impose such conditions on you? If you are an honest and trustworthy person, you should be able to figure out which things you are free to tell and which you are not, without being told or requiring a promise. Confidence can be implied. Some things are not yours to tell even if they are true.
Did you know that I went to church when I was a young man? One day it was my turn to read from the scroll. I did so and went on to remind the people of Biblical accounts in which God bestowed blessings on people who were outsiders when there were those in need within the nation of Israel. This was not well received, and it was the last time I was welcome in church. I went on to do my public ministry to outsiders as an outsider myself. Do you accept it as an essential element of your faith that God loves everyone? How popular in your church are stories of God blessing outsiders?
Is there a time to die? Your culture, believer and unbeliever alike, struggles with this concept. Solomon said yes. You regard life as sacred, and so you should, for all are created in my image. Yet the same Supreme Being who created you in his image built in a finite lifespan, like an expiration date. You can acknowledge both concepts without denying the other. Otherwise every death is a tragedy, implying that every life will meet a tragic end. I told Peter that he would die at the hands of others against his will.
