Imagine with me?

It is a comfortable night. A gentle breeze is blowing. We are far from the city lights. We look up from our path, and admire the awesome brilliance of the Milky Way. 100 billion stars… Lost for words? Most of us are! So many stars… We wonder, are we lost in space? Who else is out there?

Our guide for the evening interrupts our thoughts: “Do you really want to know? May I introduce you?”

In a smallish voice, someone asks: “Introduce us to whom?”

“God. Our Father in Heaven.”

Without waiting for an answer, our host stands and raises his hands to the stars and calls, “Abba, Father.”

The stars above us blur as a warm light glows around us. It joins the breeze in caressing our skin. The air gets fresher and sweeter. We hear the sound of soft rustling and a voice singing over us, “You are my delight. I want to hold you. I want you to feel safe. I want you to know that you are never alone. It will take an eternity to understand how much I love you. We will have many adventures together. My love will transform you. Fear not, I will never harm or forsake you. My child, you are precious to me. Enter in to the joy of your Lord.” 

The cooing of soft words continues, but we are already held fast in his love. We have no doubts. His words warm every part of our heart. We can’t stop ourselves from raising our hands and softly calling, “Abba, Father!”

God smiles and we feel his joy! We are safe and saved by his love!

This is not imaginary! I’m summarizing many Bible passages in the song above. Grounding my hope in Romans 8:15, and encouraged by passages like Numbers 6:24-26 and Zephaniah 3:16, I believe that each of us will receive tastes of this experience. If we will but open our hearts, we will come to live in this kind of love. Join us as we seek the life-giving power that fuels our worship: “Abba, Father!”

(Thanks to Raychan and unsplash for the free use of the photo of the cosmos)

Two bits about me

Who am I? I am a Christ follower—a disciple of Jesus—who needs to pray for forgiveness, wisdom, and faithfulness every day. I love the Bible. I love the story I find as I read the Bible. It is about Jesus. And I hope this website and the story I am still learning to tell well will please him. Some may want to know my name: James Wakefield.

I have a doctorate in systematic and philosophical theology from Marquette University (2001), a Master of Theology in New Testament Interpretation, Bethel Seminary (1983), and a Master of Divinity from Denver Seminary (1979). I served for more than forty years as a pastor, scholar, and seminary professor.

An invitation

Please join me in a conversation. We didn’t start it. It has been going on for at least three thousand years. Let’s talk about some big ideas—posed here as questions: Is there any good news about God? What is it? If so, then how do we tell God’s story to our families, friends, neighbors, and even to those who care nothing for us at all?

One goal for this website is to promote discussion. Let’s be respectful. But let’s also keep it real. A second goal is to ask for help. I’m moving forward with a decades long promise to write a book about telling God’s story.

How can you help? I don’t want to do something this awesome alone! I need company—friends and critics—who can speak the truth in love. Help me make this useful? Keep me from too many errors and from my own weirdness. Join me in sharing good news with our world.

I want you to be and feel safe! I won’t publish your name or your comments without your permission. Private or public, I will be grateful that you trusted me enough to share your thoughts. I will try to answer you if your comments and questions are about God’s story. I don’t promise to play “Bible answer man” for random questions about religion or God.

Explore the blog and begin reading the book

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