- #Scripture for iwrite down the vision and make it pplain how to#
- #Scripture for iwrite down the vision and make it pplain series#
I felt him say, “Lauren, you could assemble a book of testimonies together that show and tell the way out of Christian Science. I continued praying, and sometime after this writers conference, I heard God, or rather felt God, plop this book idea into my head. They testified to the incredible goodness of God, that while we were in our sinful state, he chose to save us in our weakness, he was strong. I was amazed and transfixed by each of their stories and longed to hear more. It was such a new and wonderful experience to be in the presence of other former Christian Scientists who now knew the Lord! At this same time, however, I was becoming more active in the Fellowship of Former Christian Scientists ministry led by Katherine Beim-Esche. I spent hours putting together a book on a completely different topic. I didn’t know, and I felt like I was in the dark, yet I trusted God that he would not only provide the vision, but he would make it possible for me to achieve it-for his glory.Ībout 18 months into my frequent prayers for direction, I attended a writers conference. I waited sometimes patiently, and sometimes I wondered when the vision would come and how I would achieve it. I prefer to follow directions the first time, and so when I began to pray about four years ago, “Lord, what book would you have me write first?”-I waited. I’m reminded of Jonah who wasn’t initially obedient, and therefore was swallowed by a great fish as a form of discipline. Repeatedly throughout the Old Testament, we see God call people to obedience.
#Scripture for iwrite down the vision and make it pplain series#
Often, just like us today, God was calling them to righteousness, or the process of becoming righteous, through a series of steps. Many of the minor prophets had a difficult job: they were often asked by God to preach repentance to an unrepentant people group. “The Lord answered: ‘Write the vision make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it’” (Habakkuk 2:2). He questioned the Lord, and shares the message he received:
In the Old Testament, the minor prophet, Habakkuk, speaks about repentance, of waiting on the Lord, and leaning into the mission God set out for him.
After coming to grips with my sin and surrendering my life to Jesus, I began to sing “Open the eyes of their hearts, Lord” for every relative still engrained in this perplexing, often debilitating set of false beliefs. The year I gave my life to Christ, the Christian radio was playing Paul Baloche’s hit, “Open the eyes of my heart.” It was everywhere-in churches I visited, and on KLOVE Christian radio when I drove to work.
#Scripture for iwrite down the vision and make it pplain how to#
I prayed on and off over the years wondering how to reach those still lost to Christian Science in my family. I knew at some point God might use my story, I just didn’t know how. I majored in English literature, then started a career in public relations, publishing, and freelance writing. I finally stopped and told him, “Lord, I get it-Christian Science is false!” God gave me signs throughout my emergence out of this false gospel. This search for truth pushed me forward, first to the library, then to a Christian church, then to talk with former-CS friends, neighbors, and then encounters with random strangers who all started appearing in droves. When I began questioning this faith in my college years, then ended up working at a Christian company, I knew I had to uncover the truth and find out what Christian Science really was. Yet my mother routinely professed throughout my childhood, “Christian Science is the best gift anyone could ever give you,” in essence patting herself on the back for carrying on the long tradition.
I now knew there were people who didn’t have the same rosy experience with Christian Science. Her response stuck with me, as I was 14 or so, and a seed of doubt was planted. My piano teacher had a visceral reaction to seeing the Christian Science Hymnal and emphatically shouted, “No!” I was startled and confused. I had never met or talked with a person who had left Christian Science until, at my mother’s urging, I brought our Christian Science hymnal to my piano lesson to ask my teacher for help with playing several hymns. It practically ran in my blood and I knew of no other religious options.
I was a fourth-generation Christian Scientist on my mother’s side. I managed to leave Christian Science in my mid-twenties and felt that at some point, God would use my testimony to help others out of the same generational bondage that so many have endured. So it has been for me in publishing my first book, Leaving Christian Science. But the vision eventually does become our reality as we aim to accomplish it it becomes a piece of our story. In the moment, we rarely have a clue how our vision will ever become reality. Often in our Christian walk, we catch a glimpse of a vision that gives us hope that we can impact others in some meaningful way.
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