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Yes Lord!

March 20, 2023 //  by Debbie Alsdorf//  7 Comments

I waited with anticipation for the movie, The Jesus Revolution, to release and hit the local theaters. I sat in the cushy reclined theater seat, popcorn in hand, antsy to get past all the movie  previews. The movie did not disappoint. I laughed, cried, had ah-ha moments and was glued to my seat when the credits rolled to an end. Truth is, myself and the friends I went with, sat in silence long past everyone was gone and the theater was dark. Thank God for cell phone flash lights.

It impacted us.

I walked out wanting to rearrange my life in order to hear God  speak to me, so I could respond with a “Yes Lord”

It’s been a few weeks and it is still impacting me.

Lives Forever Changed

I was saved in that movement, baptized in that exact cove in Orange County and sat under the teaching of Pastor Chuck Smith. In my early twenties I was in the Maranantha Band, River of Life, touring the United States. My husband later became one of the early Calvary Chapel Pastors. I guess you could say, I go way back with the ministry of Calvary Chapel and Pastor Chuck Smith.

Though I reminisced about Pastor Chuck and his wife Kay, the movie was far bigger than them. Glued to the screen, the movie took me back to my first early love with Jesus and the first pastor I ever knew. In tears I remembered and relived the day  my mother was baptized by Chuck after some men burned her occult books and Tarot cards in a beach bonfire.

A Work of the Holy Spirit

Raised by an alcholic father and a mother who escaped into the occult, our little dysfunctional family was brought to life and light because of one man and his wife saying yes to Jesus. Two days following my mom’s baptism in her late 50’s, my father went to the church and accepted Christ, never drinking a drop of alcohol again. The Holy Spirit moved in great and powerful ways in those days. For the first time, I saw my parents love one another and literally watched them change before my very eyes. That was fifty years ago.  They loved a Jesus who rescued them from a dead-end life and ushered them into his arms as they aged.

Say Yes to Jesus

All of this  happened in our lives and many others  because one man  said yes to hippies, outcasts and doing church the unconventional way. I am not sure I would have had that courage but I am eternally grateful that Chuck and Kay Smith   said Yes to Jesus.  I am left today with one thing stirring in my heart–I want to say YES to Jesus in unconventional ways all the rest of my days. God can do a lot with a life that is willing to surrender to a sacred yes.

I don’t know how God is stirring in you these days, but as for me, I know that I am once again freshly aware of his presence, his power and his ability to use ordinary folks like me to do the will of the Father. My heart song, even as I write this is…Come Holy Spirit!

What about you?

Perhaps saying a new yes is where God is taking you in this season. Maybe it’s been a stretch of doing things in conventional ways that made sense to you and others… but you are not seeing the fruit you hoped for. What if, God called you out to do things that you didn’t feel quite qualified for? What if God was requiring a yes before the anointing to write that very book you’ve dreamed of could be written?

Will you join me in making,”Yes Lord”, a first and ordinary response to his extraordinary invite to follow Him and all that He is doing. In the wake of the revivals around our country, may we as Christian communicators have a revival of our hearts. I can’t wait to see what a Big God does with our surrendered yes.

Did you see the movie? Do you remember your early days walking with Jesus?  What does it stir in you now? How can you say YES to Jesus again in this season of life?

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  1. Andrew Budek-Schmeisser

    March 21, 2023 at 8:05 am

    Barb saw the movie, and it brought her back to her upbringing as a charismatic Catholic.

    I came to Christianity as a Zen Buddhist. Worlds collide. TOTALLY weird.

    Be ye faithful to the truth
    that the Lord presented
    way back yonder in your youth
    that you should have represented.
    Be ye faithful to what’s given,
    turn again to what was lost,
    and though from that you may be riven,
    go back now, and pay the cost
    of the world’s apostasy,
    demanded for acceptance.
    Know that you are called to be
    without guile, and without pretence
    a messenger whose voice will ring
    the saving Grace of Christ the King.

    Reply
    • Karen Marline

      March 23, 2023 at 3:37 pm

      Another corner where I find your wisdom, Andrew! (Shhh, don’t tell, but I’m praying He will allow this agency to represent me—they represent some of my favorite authors!). Anyway, nice to see you here, too!

      Reply
      • Andrew Budek-Schmeisser

        March 24, 2023 at 3:20 am

        And good to see you, Karen!

  2. Kristen Joy Wilks

    March 22, 2023 at 11:28 am

    Saying yes in difficult and unconventional ways, ha! That takes me back to when my boyfriend (now husband) accepted the call to work at the small Bible camp my grandparents started in the Cascade Mountains of Washington. It was too hard of a job. I was ready to say no since I had watched my parents and grandparents in the daily struggle that is life at a remote camp. However, God’s call was specific and after I gave my terror over to Him and my husband handed over his sense of inadequacy, God provided a passion that has lasted 24 years. He does amazing work with simple and overwhelmed people doing everyday things. So amazing!

    Reply
  3. Amaria Rose

    March 23, 2023 at 8:49 am

    Although I have not seen this one yet, I did see Godspell and Jesus Christ Superstar when I was a kid in the 70’s. Two movies I will never forget and still talk about to this day.

    Reply
  4. Karen Marline

    March 23, 2023 at 3:45 pm

    Dear Debbie— I’m *so* glad you shared this. I was saved during the Jesus Revolution on the other coast in 1971. I decided not to go to the theater to watch this movie because I knew the people around me would not appreciate it as I sobbed my heart out, quite probably impacting their enjoyment of the film. I can’t even stifle my tears of joy and bittersweet nostalgia as I watch the trailers on my tiny iPhone!! The thought of seeing this on the big screen is just too overwhelming. I’ll wait for the DVD. But, I am 100% in agreement with you in hoping the film’s impact is a lasting one. I feel this wonderful film is stoking the fires of revival across the nation. Thanks again for sharing your heartfelt thoughts! (PS— As a matter of fact, the novel I wrote in 2029 and am currently editing writing is set during the Jesus Revolution!)

    Reply
    • Karen

      March 24, 2023 at 2:16 am

      That’s 2019, of course. I haven’t perfected my Time Machine yet.

      Reply

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