WHAT ARE MY 2022 GOALS FOR "FRIEND OF THE PROPHETS" (AKA FAITH: FACTS AND FICTION)?

Passed along by author Rick Barry

 Let me start by informing you - this will be the last blog I post until next year. Hopefully you can wait for 2022 for me to resume. I do have some questions for you below.

I do have some plans for this blog. Starting the first day of 2022 (tomorrow), I'll be posting a fourteen part look at Church Fathers, influenced by Bryan Litfin's book Getting To Know The Church Fathers: An Evangelical Introduction. I also will be doing series on Romans 14, intriguing Bible characters, and whether prophecy exists today. There are some stand alone blogs I'll post as well.

One question I asked myself was whether I should do series for Lent (40 days) and the 50 days from Easter to Pentecost. I decided I will do them. For Lent, I'll be doing a series on Psalms, looking at various portions that I've memorized and review regularly. Starting Easter, I will be sharing favorite hymns.

Most of the blogs I've posted with the most views have been interviews. Unfortunately, most of those readers are there for the interviewee and don't read my blog regularly. But I still plan on doing more. Additionally, I'll still be posting reviews (and feeding an author).

By the way, I might interview some of my characters from my novel. I'll also check if some of my other favorite characters are up to being interviewed.

One thing I wouldn't mind if for the viewership to increase. Any ideas on how to get more viewers or more comments? I do paste a link on my Facebook wall, but I got the impression from one person that it's not obvious where the link is.

Finally, do you suggestions for blog topics, reviews, or interviews? Would any of you be interested in doing a guest blog? And were there any blogs that were favorites?

LOOKING AHEAD TO 2022

Courtesy of Enclave Publishing

 

Okay, I've spent a few days looking back at 2021. What am I looking forward to the next year?

First off, since I'm a writer and do a lot of writing, I'll start off with what I'm looking forward to reading. As I did last year, I'll set the goal of reading one non-fiction and two fiction books a month.  

As far as non-fiction, I have a few on deck. Last year, I read three 9-Marks: Building A Healthy Church books, and I'm considering reading four more. I also discovered "New Studies in Biblical Theology," and I'm planning on reading more (though I'm not planning on reading all in the series, which is at 52 last time I checked). Plus, I might reread some books such as Discipled Warriors by Chuck Lawless and Superheroes Can't Save You by Todd Miles.

On the fiction end - am I through with my reading a lot of Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense? Probably not next year. I read 9 in '19 (only 3 before that), 11 in '20, and 18 in '21; I've got 21 on my docket for next year. Nancy Mehl and Donna Fletcher Crow are tied for second on my most-read-novelist list with 16 each, and the competition will occur next year, and there's an Agatha Christie book I plan to read, slightly increasing her lead at 23. Kerry Nietz has a couple of books I'm planning to read as well, and the long awaited third installment of Janet Sketchley's Green Dory Inn is due out. Of course, I'm hoping for something new by favorite authors like Randy Singer, John Otte, Julianna Deering, J.P. Leck, J.M. Hackman, and Allistair MacLean. (Okay, I don't expect a new MacLean book.)

Three of my favorite interviews this year were with Angie Leyda of Always 1 Ministries, which hosts the Kingdom Come and Pitt Fest music festivals Becca Sugg of the band Reclaim The Day, and Devin Cunningham.  Hopefully, I can get to one of those two festivals this year and be blessed with a RTD concert either at the festival or elsewhere. There's also the Indiana Gospel Music Festival which is different stylistically, where I can hear Cunningham again. Finally, I'm looking forward to judging NCFCA speech/debate contests, and hopefully live this year.

Finally, Becky and I are talking about various ministry opportunities we can get involved with, and I'm planning on taking the next step with what seems like the never ending road to publication. 

The one thing I haven't talked about are this blog. This will be the topic for New Year's Eve, which is also known as tomorrow. 

How about you? What do you plan to read this year? Is there anything on your to do list?

FAVORITE NON-FICTION OF 2021

 

Courtesy of Enclave Publishing

Yesterday, I shared my favorite fiction books of this year. Today, I'm dealing with non-fiction. I mentioned I had a goal of reading 12 such books, and came just short of doubling that target.

Since a lot of the fiction authors I read are friends on Facebook, and I don't want any to think I like another author better than them, I put the lists in alphabetic order by author. I usually don't have that situation with non-fiction writers, I am quicker to put them in order from my favorite and down. This year, I did some debating. Partly because I do know one of the authors on my list personally and that my wife has met another. And while there might be books I want to promote and have everybody read it, this year I'm hoping you will consider getting (or at least checking out and reading) all ten of these.

I mentioned earlier this week that I reread three non-fiction books. I debated considering them in my top ten list, and if i did, all three would be in the top ten. All three of them, by the way, made my list the first time I read them.  So I decided to leave them off the list. But which books are they? I'll gladly tell you. They're, in alphabetic order by title:

1. Getting to Know The Church Fathers: An Evangelical Introduction (2nd edition) by Bryan Litfin. (My previous listing may have been from the 1st edition.)
2. Living The Cross Centered Life: Keeping the Gospel the Main Thing by C.J. Mahaney.
   
3. The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer. 

So here is my list of non-fiction for this year:

1. Another Gospel?: A Lifelong Christian Seeks Truth in Response to Progressive Christianity by Alisa Childers. 
   
2. Beyond Poverty: Multiplying Sustainable Community Development by Terry Dalrymple.
3. Calling on the Name of the Lord: A Biblical Theology of Prayer by J. Gary Millar (New Studies in Biblical Theology, No. 38).
   
4. Confronting Injustice Without Compromising Truth: 12 Questions Christians Should Ask About Social Justice by Thaddeus J. Williams.
5. Corporate Worship: How the Church Gathers as God's People by Matt Merker (9Marks: Building Healthy Churches).
   
6. The Cross Examination of Jesus Christ by Randy Singer.
7. Facing Snarls and Scowls: Preaching through Hostility, Apathy, and Adversity in Church Revitalization by Brian Croft and James B. Carroll.
8. Faith Seeking Freedom: Christian Libertarian Answers to Tough Questions by Dr. Norman Horn, Doug Stuart, Kerry Baldwin, and Dick Clark.
9. Voice of a Prophet: Who Speaks For God? by A.W. Tozer.
10. When Faith is Forbidden: 40 Days on the Frontlines with Persecuted Christians by Todd Nettleton. 

You'll notice that unlike my fiction list, all I gave on this list is the title, author, and if applicable the series it's in. That's because in the case of nine of them, you can tell what the book is about with just the title and subtitle. The exception is #6, The Cross Examination of Jesus Christ, which has no subtitle. The book is written by attorney and pastor Randy Singer, and looks at key confrontations between Jesus and the Pharisees.

If you want to know the order I placed them, yell, and I'll let you know. And if you've been a faithful follower of this blog and have been reading all the entries for at least the past four days, you'll know which one was number one.

Which books have you read and been blessed by? Which of these have you read? Which ones will be on the top of your reading list? And which one of these is written by an author that has shown up frequently on my favorite fiction lists?

FAVORITE FICTION OF 2021

 

Courtesy of Enclave Publishing

In yesterday's blog, I mentioned that this was a strange year, and it is reflected in my novel reading. I'll be listing my ten favorites in alphabetic order (as usual). What's not usual is that I'm limiting it to ten, and not moving it up to twelve or fifteen. Sometimes, I keep it down by reading two or more in a series and counting them together. Not this year.

I usually keep track of three things in my novel reading - comparing male authors to female (the latter usually dominating), the number of new-to-me authors compared to ones I've previously read, and the division of genres. The first division is 20 female authors (24 books) to 3 male authors (3 books) - a few less men than normal. For the first time, previously read novelists overwhelmed the new ones - 19 to 4 (normally they have a narrow lead). 

Genres? Normally, it is balanced between mystery, suspense, and speculative (sci-fi, fantasy, horror). This year, out of 28 books, one was speculative, four were mysteries, and three were none-of-the-above. With the other 20 falling in the realm of suspense, 18 of those were Harlequin's Love-Inspired Suspense.

So here's my list, in alphabetic order:

1. Arctic Christmas Ambush by Sherri Shackleford. A young lady in the Witness Protection program has just witnessed another murder - related? Or not? That's in the mind of her and her Alaska State Trooper ex-boyfriend as they're stranded in a lodge by storm and avalanche with the killer (and a batch of sled dogs with an adorable runt of a puppy).
2. The Dog That Whispered by Jim Kraus. What do you do when you feel you need to adopt a Labrador Retriever but you're in a nursing home that won't let her keep him? Why, of course, you call up your middle aged bachelor son and have him take care of the dog. By the way, the dog told the lady he agreed with that set up. And naturally the son knows it's impossible for the dog to communicate with humans, even though the dog seems to be whispering things to him.
3. Explosive Situation by Terri Reed. Henry Roarke is being investigated for excessive youth of force by Internal Affairs officer Olivia Vance, when he is notified about a bomb threat, right where his teenage (and orphaned) sister is. On the plus side, he has an adorable bomb-sniffing Beagle partner. But how does he catch the bomber while being investigated and taking care of his sister who thinks he's overbearing? This part four of the eight part series "True Blue K-9 Unit: Brooklyn; it's a collection of novels which have their own story but also have a trio of threads overarching the series; each book is written by a different author.
   
4. Fatal Identity by Jodie Bailey. This is the sixth book I've read by Bailey (though I'll be honest and admit that one is a combination of two novellas, with Valerie Hansen writing the other). In this story, Alex "Rich" Richardson prevents the abduction of friend Dana Santiago. But why does her boss question if she's working with an infamous drug cartel? And why are her would-be kidnappers calling her "Danna", a name that she's called only in her nightmares? NOTE: This is the third of a series. I read the first a couple of years ago (Mistaken Twin, which was in my 2019 favorites list) and missed part 2 (Hidden Twin), but you can enjoy this without reading the other two.
   
5. Fugitive Trail by Elizabeth Goddard. How can you not love Samson the mastiff in this exciting story? Deputy Sierra Young and Samson go up to see if there's survivors in a helicopter crash. It turns out that the occupants were escaped killers, who have a vendetta against Sierra. One dies in the crash, but the other is at large. Technically, this is the third of the three part series "K-9 Mountain Guardians." This "trilogy," written by different authors, have different settings (except they're all in mountains) and no characters in common. 
   
6. The Keeper of the Stone: Of Saints and Chieftains by Donna Fletcher Crow. Most of what I read by Crow (who is currently #2 on my most read novelist behind only Agatha Christie, though that won't last long) are mysteries. This book is definitely historical. It starts looking at a trio of contemporary 20 somethings and an older storyteller, but the bulk of the book is on St. Columba in the 500's, establishing a monastery in Scotland. First in her ten volume Celtic Cross series, with part 1 (volumes 1-4) taking place in Scotland and part 2 in Ireland.
   
7. Mountain Survival by Christy Barritt. Derek Peterson is seeking help on the mountain for his injured brother when he meets ranger Autumn Mercer and her Australian Shpeherd partner Sherlock. But when they return to the site, they found blood, no brother, and someone shooting at them. If that's not enough, they have storms, floods, and wildcats to deal with. This is part of another series-in-name-only.
   
8. Night Fall by Nancy Mehl. Part one of the Quantico files. Behavioral Analyst (aka profiler) Alex Donavan is called in to a series of murders by a serial killer calling himself "The Train" man, and spraying quotes from a cult group her aunt belonged to. Can Alex and the rest of her team stop "The Train Man" from unleashing a virus that would make COVID seem like the common cold? NOTES - first novel I've read to mention COVID. Also, the book I mentioned that I'm reading is part 2 of this series, which will put Nancy Mehl in a tie for second with Donna Crow.
9. Scene of the Crime by Sharon Dunn. Forensic specialist Darcy Fields is scheduled to testify in a murder case. So of course someone's trying to discredit her and kill her, and the stalker is ready to take out her protector Jackson Davison and his trust K-9 partner Smokey. Very exciting story. Like Explosive Situation, above, this is part of the eight part series "True Blue K-9 Unit: Brooklyn; it's a collection of novels which have their own story but also have a trio of threads overarching the series; each book is written by a different author. Scene of the Crime is part six.
   
10. Through Chaos by Joshua A. Johnston. The thrilling conclusion to the epic trilogy "The Sarco Chronicles". Yes, the term "epic" is often overused, but have you ever heard me use it before? This series fits the description, looking at a federation of five planets ...well, until recently. The threat is Dar, who has faced some defeats but holds that while their bodies are free for the moment, their souls belong to him.  NOTE: Another item on my list, like this was the end of a trilogy. While you don't need to read that other one (Fatal Identity) in order, you. Need. To. Read. This. Trilogy. In. Order.

I had thought of asking if you could figure out which of these are Love Inspired Suspense stories (which six of the ten are), but I have a hunch it's fairly easy. 

Do you have any favorite novels you've read this year? Any of you read any on my list? What do you think of them?

A LOOK BACK AT 2021

 

End of June, 2020:

• Preparing to move from our home where we lived for 12 years which we sold.
• Attending Arlington Avenue Baptist Church, where we had been members for 16 years (and had previously been members for another 2 years before that).
• Working at MACL (Mid-America Clinical Labratories) in the Processing department, having celebrated my 20th anniversary there that March, but knowing that one of the co-owners of MACL (Quest Diagnostics) bought the others out.
• Starting to adjust to a COVID world where everything was closed.
• Working again to get my novel published.

A year and a half later:

• Finishing our fifth month in a Senior apartment after leaving another apartment complex where we stayed one year (Aug. 1, 2020 to Aug. 1, 2021).
• After moving further away from Arlington Avenue, we joined Northside Baptist Church this May, where I help in the streaming booth with the videos of the church service. I'm also in a small men's group that meets Tuesdays, and I just finished leading them through three months in Getting To Know The Church Fathers: An Evangelical Introduction by Bryan Litfin.
• Finishing a year being an official Quest Diagnostics employee and six months working in the Purchasing department. Different employer, but still the same building, same co-workers, same supervisor while I was still in Processing. 
• Still adjusting to a COVID world (I'll be glad to get off any second now). Voluntarily got my vaccines (not required to at work where I'm at). Voluntarily wear a mask in grocery stores and as required at work and the library. Mourning the frequency of restaurant dining rooms (and in one case a gas station 7pm on a Saturday evening) being closed to staffing problems and some of our favorite items vanishing like McDonalds' Steak and Egg Bagel and Grilled Chicken sandwiches.
• No progress on novel, except for having Beta readers read it; praying about trying to publish it as is or completely rework it or wave the white flag (having been working on the novel since 2007, this is familiar territory).

This year, I set a goal of reading 12 non-fiction books (1 a month) and 24 novels (2 a month). Final count - 23 non-fiction (including 3 previously read) and 28 fiction (including one previously read - first time I've reread a novel for 20 years or more - and not including the one I just started and will probably be half way through by year's end).

The next two days, I'll do my annual tradition of giving lists of favorite fiction and non-fiction. The day after that, I'll let you know what I'm looking forward to in '22. Then, New Year's Eve, I'll mention what's coming up in this blog next year.

BOOK REVIEW - WHEN FAITH IS FORBIDDEN BY TODD NETTLETON

 

This is a MUST read book for Christians. Todd Nettleton leads you on a forty day journey interviewing Christians who live in countries where their government and/or community are not happy with them being Christians.

In the West, we view religious persecution as something that happens over there in other parts of the world, but will not happen here, and if it does, we have no one to blame but ourselves for those negative, unwanted circumstances. The believers we meet in this book, on the other hand, see persecution as a natural consequence for faith and view suffering for Jesus Christ as an honor. One lady in the book referred to her time in prison, for example, as "A wonderful time." What causes people to have this mindset?

Todd's stories are nice and short, and this book is great for a devotional. After the story, he challenges the reader to examine where their faith is on certain topics.

I've read over 20 non-fiction books and more than two dozen novels this year (2021), and if you asked me to recommend one book, this would be the one.

CHRISTMAS - A CHRISTIAN CELEBRATION OR BAPTIZED PAGANISM?

 

Living Faith Church, Indianapolis

Let me start with wishing you a Merry Christmas. Then, let me follow up by questioning some of our Christmas traditions. How's that for creating some confusion? If I start sounding like Scrooge, please bear with me until the end of this blog.

Two items I've seen recently have inspired and influenced this blog. The first is watching Kirk Cameron's movie "Saving Christmas." The other, which came on CBN News right before I was going to write this blog, was an episode of "Faithwire Presents Faith Vs. Culture" with Dan Andros and Dale Partridge, titled "To Santa Or Not To Santa."

Let me begin by mentioning that the Christmas Wars were silent this year. On the one hand, there are the secularists who want to remove any remembrance of Christ. On the other are Christians who believe Christmas is a pagan holiday filled with pagan traditions and symbols and thus play the role of Scrooge. Again, both of these antagonists didn't show up on my Facebook Newsfeed this year.

Allow me to start with the movie. The plot of "Saving Christmas" is Cameron's brother-in-law, named Christian, is grieved with all the materialism and how the focus is on unbiblical concepts like Santa Claus and the Christmas tree. Sadly, neither the questions nor the answers were the strongest, and the point of the movie seems to be we shouldn't be grieved with all the materialism of Christmas. 😱

The common thread between the movie and the TV show is Santa Claus. One of the weak arguemnts Christian uses in "Saving Christmas" is that "Santa" has the same letters as "Satan." While true, we also need to remember "Santa" means "Saint," as in the California cities Santa Ana and Santa Barbara. Cameron's refutation is telling a story about St. Nicholas of Myra, including a telling of the legend that he beat up on the heretic Arius. (This legend was first told in 1300, with it being a follower of Arius; it later became the theology's founder.) 

Christian did refer to the godlike qualities of Santa such as his omniscience ("He sees you when you're sleeping, He knows when you're awake, etc.) and the works base of the Santa myth, with him giving those who do what is good all the stuff they want. Cameron completely ignored those objections so he could tie in St. Nick with the real Saint Nicholas. Andros and Partridge of Faithwire treated those objections more seriously, as well as stating that parents spend eleven months a year teaching their children to care for others to please the invisible sovereign of the universe and then encourage them to think of themselves to get the favor of an invisible fable.

How about Christmas trees and other items? Are they symbols with godly origins or totally pagan? One friend encourages people to read all of Jeremiah 10 to see that God condemned the Christmas tree. I read that chapter, and concluded it's not talking about modern Christmas trees. Jeremiah points out they can't speak and can't move themselves (10:5); I've never met anyone expecting a Christmas tree to talk to them or to transport itself from point A to point B without someone carrying them. The language in this chapter, talking about overlaying it with gold, made me think about overlaying a wooden image with gold (Isaiah 40:19-20). Is it possible that when Jeremiah is referring to a tree, he's actually using that term of an idol to get across that carved image is just a tree and not a god?

I've heard Christians avoid traditions because those traditions can lose their original meaning. This is true about godly practices, but could it also be equally true with pagan practices? I won't argue that decorated trees, missletoe, and wreaths didn't originally have ungodly roots, but I also don't see anything in their use that can be identified as paganism.

There's a lot of questions about Christmas and its traditions. Some say that the Constantine era church started assigning Biblical themes to heathen festivals to keep the pagans from revolting. I can't say it was or wasn't true, since I wasn't around then. Maybe Jesus wasn't born December 25th, but I heard one pastor say he'd take any opportunity to honor Him he gets.

One last thing about the Christmas tree. To be honest, I wouldn't put one on the church platform. However, a former church I attended would have a tree on the platform and place shoebox gifts underneath it for the Baptist Center to distribute to children in women's shelters. I liked it being a reminder of a ministry the church was doing.

BUT HERE'S THE IMPORTANT POINT!!! Too often we are looking for things to judge and correct others, and we don't take off from that practice on Christmas (or any other holiday or non-holiday either). I may have my concerns, and you may not. I should not ignore my concerns so I fit in, but neither should I rob joy from others by imposing my opinion and concerns on those who don't have them. After all, isn't that what grace is? God showed us grace, and Christ's birth is the perfect illustration of that: Shouldn't we show that grace to others also?

Again, have a Merry Christmas. (Unless you want to be like me and have a Joseph Christmas instead.)

 

BOOK REVIEW: ARCTIC CHRISTMAS AMBUSH

 

A witness to her mentor's murder and her Alaska State Trooper ex-boyfriend are snowed in a lodge with several guests and the killer, not to mention a batch of sled dogs along with an adorable runt of a puppy. If you think this would be an exciting romantic suspense, you would be correct.

Shane and Kara are well developed and interesting characters, and you have twists and turns in this story that will keep you guessing. This story reminded me of the style of one of my favorite authors, Allistair MacLean; being a story of being trapped by winter weather by not-so-nice people might have something to do with that.

This is an ideal story to read in the extended Christmas season - meaning anytime within six months of Christmas time.

CHRISTMAS AND THE SECOND COMMANDMENT

 

Nativity scene at Christ Cathedral, Indianapolis at night

Several years ago, I joined a Calvinistic FaceBook group late in the year. One of the rules was about not sharing photos that violate the Second Commandment, and the Administrator commented that Christmas time was when a lot of violations occur.

First, though: What is the Second Commandment? Some people will be thinking of Jesus' answer to the lawyer and wondering how Christmas disobeys the commandment to love your neighbor as yourself. However, others will be thinking it refers to the second of the Ten Commandments.

But again, what is the Second Commandment? You see, Jews, Catholics, and Protestants break them up differently. For the Jews, the First Commandment is "I am the LORD your God who brought you up out of the house of bondage," and they combine "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me" and "Thou shalt not make any graven image." Catholics also combine what Protestants consider two separate commands, but consider it the First Commandment, thus making "Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD in vain" as the Second Commandment and splitting the commandment "Thou shalt not covet" into two separate commandments.

I will admit: When I was young, I could easily see why those two commandments were combined. However, separating them into two separate commandments bring about a distinction. "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me" clearly means we should not worship gods other than Yahweh, the LORD, such as Molech and Baal and the Ashteroths. The commandment about graven images deals with false representations of the true God. Remember that both Aaron's and Jereboam's golden calves were images of Yahweh and were declared to be the God who brought them out of Egypt.

Some could interpret the Second Commandment to mean that we should not carve statues. Biblically, this doesn't fit, because God commanded the artists making the tabernacle to carve cherubim for the Ark of the Covenant and Moses to make a bronze serpent, and there also were the twelve oxen in the temple to represent not God but Israel. After all, the issue of the Commandment dealt with the purpose of the graven image, condemning the creation of objects to worship.

How about statues and for that matter paintings/drawings of God? This falls more into what the Commandment teaches. Remember that no one has seen God the Father at anytime (John 1:18; 4:24; 1 John 4:12). 

But this brings us to why Christmas is on a collision course with the Second Commandment: What about statues and paintings of Jesus? After all, Jesus is God come in the flesh. Yes, He was fully man but He was also fully God. So are we violating the Second Commandment when we set out a statue of a baby in a manger?

Once again, we need to look at the complete commandment. The activity commanded is making items to worship. Are we bowing down to the carved baby in the hay? Are we burning incense to paintings of Jesus with the children? I don't. 

No, we don't know what Jesus looked like, except we know He was a Middle Eastern Jew. Any drawing or sculpture is an artistic representation. I have no problem with that. Did Jesus look like a blonde haired European? No, but it doesn't bother me to see Him drawn that way. Likewise, I enjoy seeing how other cultures portray Him. Becky and I have several nativity scenes, and one of our favorites is one done by an African believer.

Reality? There are times we do carve Jesus in our image - maybe not as a statue but by how we perceive Him. We need to avoid and repent forcing our convictions on God. But does God condemn artists who love Him drawing scenes of Him in the manger or accepting the children or calling Matthew or talking to Mary Magdalene after the Resurrection? I don't believe so.

As Jesus told the Samaritan woman, "The time is coming and now is when the true worshipers of the Father will worship Him in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." John 4:23-24

 

THE COMING KINGDOM OF LOVE - FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT 2021

 

Nativity Scene we received from a friend; "Frame" by Sandra T. Monte

Once again, I'll mention that I connect Advent with the revolutionary concept in the Lord's Prayer: "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." In the previous three weeks, I've looked at the advent of hope, peace, and joy, and how radical those aspects are. This week, I'll be looking at an Advent of Love.

I'm going to date myself (and may date the readers of this blog) by mentioning Jackie DeShannon's 1965 hit "What The World Needs Now Is Love" (written by Hal David and Burt Bacharach. Of course, I doubt many people would disagree, including those whose parents and maybe even grandparents weren't around when the song came out. But what do you mean by "love"? 

Maybe someone at this point has picked up their Bible and turned to 1 Corinthians 13, which gives a description of love. For those haven't done so, let me share verses 4-7: "Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no eveil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." (NKJV)

Jesus said "By this the world will know you're My disciples, in that you love one another." He gave characteristics of what being a disciple looked like, but how many have the description, "By THIS, they world will know you're My disciples?" Just this one. I've actually heard a couple of people in more exclusive churches disagree with this. Why? Because there are people outside their little group that would qualify as Jesus' Disciples. God forbid that should happen!

We also need to remember God is love (1 John 4:8, 16). Note - don't try to reverse the word order or you're idolizing love. Also, don't make the mistake of separating love from God's attributes. When God calls us to be holy and when He gives the wicked what they deserve, He is doing that as a loving God. 

Too often, we want to have enemies to hate. We subconsciously realize that loving one another is a tough task, so we try to make "one another" as small a group as we can to make it manageable. But I consider love to be desiring others to turn to righteousness, to look for the good to encourage (anybody can find the bad to discourage, sometimes when it only appears to be bad). Love is sharing the gospel, not wanting anybody to go to hell but knowing everybody deserves it.

MOVIE REVIEW: SAVING CHRISTMAS BY KIRK CAMERON

 

There is debate among Christians whether to celebrate Christmas (and Easter) and if so, which elements should be kept and which discarded. This movie attempts to defend many of the current trappings of Christmas as part of celebrating Christ's birth. Unfortunately, it could have been done better. It ignored several arguments by those who consider Christmas a pagan holiday, as well as being comfortable with our materialistic society.

Additionally, this video seemed to be made with a goal of how long it should be and left me feeling that scenes were longer than they needed to be to reach the target.

Kirk Cameron starts the video with some thoughts, including the importance of stories and how we often don't have real bad guys and tamer heroes. To be honest, I found it ironic because the story told is a Christmas Carol Lite. You have Christian as the nicer Scrooge who instead of being a miser is one who thinks money spent on Christmas can help the poor instead. Instead of three ghosts, you have three points of holiday tradition, where Christian learns something new.

I have my doubts the anti-Christmas Christians will buy the arguments. They probably will be glad to tell you their concerns which this film overlooked. Becky and I were both highly disappointed with it. It is rare I give a project less than 5 (out of 5) stars; this I gave a 3 star review to.

To be honest, I think I could do a better job, and will attempt to in a blog next week.

BOOK REVIEW: A LIGHTED LAMP BY DONNA FLETCHER CROW (MY FIRST REPEAT BLOG)

 

NOTE - Yes, I posted this blog last December 8th. But I wanted to promote this book again for Christmas.

If you'd like a book to get you in the mood for Christmas, look no further.

This is a unique collection. It contains excerpts from Crow's previous novels looking at Christmas. Considering her books range from historical to contemporary, you have a nice kaleidoscope of the wintertime holiday from a medieval Scottish castle to celebrations at a modern day monastery.

In reading this book, you'll find different emotions as you visit settings on both sides of the pond. You also feel the anxieties, fears, and dangers faced by the characters as well as the hope, joy, and redemption of Christ's First Advent on the earth.

I have read short story collections by a few of my favorite authors, and those have turned out to be my least favorite book. THIS IS AN EXCEPTION! I really enjoyed these excerpts, and some of them have me interested in reading the whole book.

One thing I'll mention - in the two most recent Monastery Murders novels, I was included in her list of rave reviews. But I had the honor of being asked to write a promotional blurb for the back cover. 

Also, I'd like to recommend another Christmas time book I've read recently: Fatal Identity by Jodie Bailey. You can see my book review for that title here.

THE COMING KINGDOM OF JOY - THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT 2021

 

At Arlington Avenue Baptist Church, photo by Trish Walton

 

"It's beginning to look a lot like Advent."

I have mentioned before the connection I see between Advent and the radical petition of the Lord's Prayer, "Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done On Earth As It Is In Heaven."  You might not think an Advent of Joy is revolutionary. Or is it?

The pursuit of happiness is quite different from joy. Happiness is fleeting. It doesn't last. Joy is a different story. Plus, there are times the world at the least accepts and laughs at wickedness if not outright applauding and celebrating it.

But does Christ coming back and establishing His Kingdom give us joy? Before you quickly say "Of course," does it fit with how you live? Would you rather be at church with fellow believers even if you miss the football game? Does reading the Scripture excite you more than your favorite TV series?

I remembered a skit by a group called "The Lamb's Players." In it, there were two guys sitting at a table in a restaurant. The first guy was telling the other about the football game, with lots of energy and excitement, while the second nodded. Then, the second started telling about the worship service Sunday ... with the same exuberance as the other guy described the sporting event, and with the first guy looking nervous and urging his friend to tone it down.

Are you excited about the coming Second Advent, spending eternity with Jesus Christ? And does that thrill accompany your relationship with Him now between the Advents?

BOOK REVIEW - MOUNTAIN SURVIVAL BY CHRISTY BARRITT, PART THREE OF K-9 SEARCH + RESCUE

 

Yes, I am a 62 year old male who has gotten hooked on Love Inspired Suspense. What can I say? I love good suspense. And this novel is top notch suspense. It involves a park ranger and her rescue dog searching for a hiker's wounded brother on a mountain during a terrible storm. When they get to where the brother was supposed to be, there was no brother. But there were others shooting at the ranger and hiker. So between wild men, a wild storm, and a wildcat...

This is the last of a three part K-9 Search + Rescue series. No, let me call it a collection. The three installments were written by different authors.  But unlike other Love Inspired Suspense multi-author series (for example, the True Blue K-9 Unit series), this group only shares that it includes rescue dogs. There are no common characters, no continuing story; in fact, the settings differ from each other. So if you want to read this first, go for it.

While all three are good stories, Mountain Survival  is definitely my favorite of the three. You grow to care for Park Ranger Autumn Mercer and hiking lawyer Derek Peterson and of course Sherlock (isn't the dog on the cover absolutely beautiful?), as you also learn to detest the gunrunner who is hunting them. As for the wildcat...

I also recommend the other two. The series starts with a bang in the New Mexico desert with Lisa Phillip's Desert Rescue, featuring an Airedale Terrier as the rescue dog. And if you're panting either due to the Southwest heat, the romance, or the non-stop action, you might want to take a dip in the Florida coast... well, maybe not during a hurricane which the hero's of Trailing A Killer by Carol Post deal with.

MUSIC REVIEW - AMERICAN INDIAN CHRISTMAS BY JANA

 

This unique album is one of my favorite Christmas albums. 

Jana Mashonee sings each of the ten songs in a different Native American language. For example, it starts with "O Holy Night" sung in Navajo; later on, there's an Apache translation of "Joy To The World."

For those like me who love Christ centered Christmas albums without the Santa/Rudolph/Frosty type songs, you'll enjoy the selection of songs. "Winter Wonderland" is the sole Seasonal song. It closes with a song I don't associate with Christmas: "Amazing Grace."

While in Native American languages, the music style is as traditional as the song selection. There is a Native American orchestra accompanying the songs. 

I highly recommend this album.

THE COMING KINGDOM OF PEACE - SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT, 2021

Peace Garden at Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Park

 

"It's beginning to look a lot like Advent."

Last week, in the first part of this series, I started with that quote, questioning where I picked that line up from. Actually, it was a frame that can could be added to your Facebook profile picture.

Also, last week I mentioned that the concept of Advent can be tied to the line in the Lord's prayer, "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." After all, Advent means coming, and Christians often refer to the Incarnation as the First Advent and Jesus' future returning to earth to reign as the Second Advent.

 There are different ways of referring to the four Sundays of Advent. The first variation dealt with different players in the first Christmas: Prophets, Angels, Shepherds, and Magi. A way I like better deals with important characteristics in our Christian life:
Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. If you weren't paying attention, I dealt with Hope last week.

I'll admit something that had me confused. The photos I'm using on the top of these blogs are also being used as my Facebook profile photo, and I've added a frame indicating the week of the post. I've seen two primary sources - Good News TV and Christy Gallinger. However, Good News TV had frames with the second week being Peace and the 2nd week as Love. What's more Christmassy than a bit of confusion?

Returning to my theme of the controversial and radical concept of God's Kingdom coming, we are looking for a Kingdom of peace, and there isn't much peace here. Everybody wants peace, as long as they get to define what peace looks like. For many, it's when their side wins that they  want peace, with their opponents throwing the white flag. For example, you notice how it's the winning party after an election that calls for the people to unify? 

Should we expect peace among unregenerate people? Of course not. But sometimes the place with the least peace are the Christians. Pick a topic: Sovereign Predestination vs. Free Will, whether we can lose our salvation, almost any element concerning the end times, style of music, Bible translations, and of course politics. In fact, I heard of a church that split over the question whether having a hat rack was Biblical or not.

One of the beatitudes is "Blessed are the Peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God." (Matthew 5:9). Note the difference between being a peacekeeper and a peacemaker. The former basically is a referee, trying to make sure the opponents behave themselves. The latter does his work when the opponents are not on good terms and labors to create a peace between the two that is presently non-existent.

What are we doing to establish God's Kingdom of Peace? It calls for peacemakers, because there's none in the world to keep.

BOOK REVIEW OF FATAL IDENTITY BY JODIE BAILEY

 

Yes, I've gotten hooked on Love Inspired Suspense. In the past 3 years, I've read 47, and 17 of those were this year. Six of them were written or co-written by Jodie Bailey, and this was Jodie at her best.

Why is deputy US Marshal Dana Santiago a kidnap target? Why do they call her Danna, a name she's called in her recurring nightmares?

This is the third in a series by Jodie Bailey. I've read the first, and missed the second. However, I haven't really missed a thing. This is a stand alone story, even though it contains characters from the previous tales, and this one won't spoil the others. And like the others it contains Yes, I've gotten hooked on Love Inspired Suspense. In the past 3 years, I've read 47, and 17 of those were this year. Six of them were written or co-written by Jodie Bailey, and this was Jodie at her best.

Why is deputy US Marshal Dana Santiago a kidnap target? Why do they call her Danna, a name she's called in her recurring nightmares?

This is the third in a series by Jodie Bailey. I've read the first, and missed the second. However, I haven't really missed a thing. This is a stand alone story, even though it contains characters from the previous tales, and this one won't spoil the others. Of course, like her other Love Inspired Suspense novels, the action is full throttle from the beginning to the end.

Dana and "Rich" Richardson are excellent characters, dealing not only with the bad guys but also their own weaknesses and their feelings for each other (I don't think this is spoiling much in a romantic suspense novel). And no, the missing slipper on the cover is the only thing to make you think of Cinderella. 

One other thing I'll add. Jodie Bailey, as always, is great in bringing faith issues into her stories. No wonder she's climbing on my favorite authors list.

INTERVIEW WITH MUSICIAN/WORSHIP LEADER KATHLEEN HOWELL

 

Becky and I lived in Nashville, Tennessee for a half dozen years. Would you be surprised to learn that I got acquainted with several Christian musicians while I resided there? Those who know me would be surprised if I didn't actively search out Christian musicians. 

One place I hung out was at a couple of monthly Christian open mike nights at Koininia Bookstore (part of Belmont Church). This is where I was introduced to Kathleen Howell.

JR: I'd like start by asking how you came to Christ and how you became interested in music.

KH: I got saved in treatment for an eating disorder when I was 19. I didn't know anything. I mean, I was raised in church, so I knew to give my life to Jesus, and that He was God, but I had hardly read my Bible at all. I needed discipleship, but unfortunately, that was hard to find. So I languished with some wrong believing that kept me in fear for many years after.

I sang in public for the first time at 3, with my Dad accompanying me on guitar. I barely remember it, but I know I sang "Sing a Song" and my Mom said they could hardly pry the microphone out of my hands! Later, by the age of 13, I had determined to make music my career. 

JR: I first met you and became familiar with your music while we both were in Nashville, Tennessee; you and your family are now in Asheville, North Carolina. In regards to spiritual life and to music, what's the difference between the two cities, besides a missing letter? (I love driving down the I-75 into Knoxville, and seeing the sign: I-40W - Nashville; I-40E - Asheville.)

KH: Well, for one thing, it's more expensive to live in Asheville I think! There’s just as much construction here as I remember when I lived in Nashville but Asheville is growing faster than the new roads are. Seriously though, Nashville is full of wanna be stars. Asheville, not so much! There is a music presence here, but it's mainly bluegrass. Not sure of the political differences. Asheville is very left leaning, but it seems country music has become way more politically correct than it was in the nineties..

JR: You also are a worship leader. How do you prepare for leading a worship service? How does that resemble and differ selecting songs when you're doing a concert?

KH: How do I prepare for worship? Personal intimacy with God for sure and sometimes asking Him about songs, but honestly, more just planning what I'd like and The Holy Spirit works it out. I mean really! I can't tell you how many times He has had me do songs that fit so well without me knowing anything beforehand. 

I don't get to do concerts much anymore, but worship is certainly different. It's one of the reasons that I, as a rule, where I might have a lost person play with me in a concert, I usually don't in worship. There's a personal sense of God's presence one needs to have; a sensitivity to the Spirit. I want excellence in playing, but not perfectionism. In worship, I'd rather miss a chord or word than miss what God is doing. 

JR: If I remember correctly, your daughters are also musicians. What is it like having a daughter interested in music? How have you influenced them, and what have you learned from them?

KH: At the present time, I have two singing daughters. My youngest is only interested in that as far as a hobby, though she has led worship. My oldest is more interested in performance. I've performed and led worship with both daughters and that is a beautiful experience, let me tell you! 

Hopefully the most influence I have had, in the last ten years, has been spiritually. I had to relearn the Gospel and what it means to truly know Jesus, so I was pretty immature when my oldest was coming up. Fortunately, by the time my youngest was aware, I think she was better able to benefit from what God was doing in my life. What have I learned from them? A ton! They have called me on my inconsistencies- not fun! They have revealed the selfishness I grew up in-(I was an only child, so I never had to share!) They have helped me see how God must feel when we struggle, as His kids- like your heart is walking around outside yourself! 

JR: Your FB profile mentions you also have a teaching ministry. What's that like? 

KH: I was enormously impacted about 12 years ago by teaching that helped me understand what the Gospel really means and how one in Christ can actually be transformed in Christ. I had no solid identity before that. I was a people pleasing, stressed out Christian. I was saved, but not at peace. The enemy regularly taunted me and I had no idea how to stop him. So God changed all that when I discovered grace. I now share through teaching at my church and on You Tube, writing (I just finished my first book ) and I'm working with the youth at my church as an interim youth director. 

JR: It was back in '92, I believe, when I first heard you sing. And things 30 years later haven't changed a bit in our society, have they? Oh, they have? How has the change in our culture affected your music, your worship-leading, your teaching, and life in general? 

KH: Has culture changed in 30 years? Yeah, just a little! Asheville has the nickname "San Francisco of the South", so I imagine you can do the math on that. There's also a strong demonic presence here, unfortunately, from much Wiccan practice and freemasonry. The plus side is- the fields are ripe for harvest! 

How has that change affected your music? Not much. I don't reach that many people with my original songs, so I don't have to think much about  offending those listening! I always hope the listener will hear the truth in them and I have to say, when I've sung outside the church, I usually get a positive response from the unsaved. They seem to respect me as a musician first and I kind of then"get away" with sneaking Jesus in on them. I wouldn't say the culture has changed my worship leading.  Obviously, I want to play musically relevant songs from today's sound. I do focus on heart felt lyrics, though I try to make sure it's also doctrinally sound worship. My intimate relationship with Jesus is the biggest influence. My teaching? I've only been teaching about 10 years. I did have one sermon where I mentioned that I only believed in one man, one woman marriage and it has been one of my least popular videos. So there's that. 

I've become more sensitive to those around me, especially in Asheville. I don't want to unnecessarily turn off someone from the Gospel, at least by badly presenting it. Yet, I can't run away from the fact that bottom line is Jesus divides people. 

JR: Thank you for your time. Anything else you want to mention that I forgot to bring up? How can we keep up with your ministries?  

KH: Kathleen M. Howell is my You Tube channel. Wake Me Up is my FB ministry page. To access my original music and to support my writing, videos, an upcoming podcast, blog,etc., I humbly accept monthly (and otherwise) donations to my Patreon page.:

 

THE COMING KINGDOM OF HOPE: FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT 2021

 

Hope in a Prison of Despair by Evelyn De Morgan

 

Was it a meme? Or was it just a post by someone or even a comment? Regardless, what it read was "It's beginning to look a lot like Advent."

As I've probably mentioned before in this blog, I've grown up in Anabaptistic churches. Christmas and Easter are remembered, as well as the other essential holidays of our Christian faith: Mother's Day, Father's Day, and Independence Day. No mention of Lent. Pentecost may get mentioned, though that's not the norm. If there's anything around the end of October, it's more likely a Halloween alternative and less likely Reformation Day or All Saints Day. Advent is an exception, though I was old enough to run for Senate when I first observed Advent candles being lit at church. 

I  was fairly young when I noticed a division in the hymnal (knowing what a hymnal is dates me, doesn't it?) between Advent and Christmas songs. Eventually, I learned the difference: Christmas songs focus on Christ's birth, while Advent songs deal with Christ's coming to earth. "Joy To The World," "O Come, O Come Emmanuel," "Come Thou Long Expected Jesus" and "Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne" are the better known Advent songs.

In reality, though, the concept mirrors the radical request in the heart of the Lord's prayer: "Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Think about it. Christ is a King. Not a President. Not an Anchorman. Not a Moderator. But a Monarch who will reign. A Ruler who will one day have His enemies under His feet, who will break the nations with a rod of iron. 

The first Sunday of Advent focuses on the Advent of Hope. Is hope a common commodity in this world? "Change/Hope" was used as a slogan for President Obama's 2008 campaign. How much hope was there during that period of time?

Our hope is not in this world. Rather, we need to rest our hope in Christ alone. We need to hope for His sovereignty in our lives, in our families, in our churches, in our cities, and in the world. As it says in Psalm 60:11, the help of man is useless. We need to put our trust in God.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, 2021

 

Sign at Irvington Presbyterian Church, Indianapolis, IN

Best laid plans of mice and men. My plan was to write this by last night, and do my normal thing of having my blog post at 6am on Thursday morning. But no, it's not being posted until about 12 hours later. 😕

The past 18 months have included a pair of physical moves, a new church closer to our new residence, a change in employer name and in department I'm working in. And I'm thankful for those changes.

I would like this opportunity to thank my interviewees this past year and a half. These include, in reverse chronological order (because that would make it easier to find them scrolling down):

• Singer/Worship Leader Kathleen Howell (to be posted Nov. 30th, 2021)
• Singer Devin Cunningham
• Worship Leader Luke Jones 
• FB Group Moderator Richard Preston
• Singer Becca Sugg of Reclaim The Day
  
• Author/former Presidential Candidate Sam Robb
• Author Donna Fletcher Crow (interviewed in Oct. '21 and Sept. '20)
• Author Jackie Castle
• Author J. M. Hackman
• Musician Dan Schafer
• Author Terri Reed
• Angie Leyda of Always 1 Ministries (Festival Organizer)
  
• Meghan Williams of Dyed4YouArt
  
• Author Laura Scott
• Author Joshua A. Johnston
• FB Group Moderator Morgan Trotter
  
• Author John Otte
• Author Christopher Schmitz 
• Church Planter/Artist Kerry Jackson
• Author Kerry Nietz 

Also, I had written a blog thanking my Beta Readers and would like to thank them again.

One book on my 2022 reading list is Thanksgiving: An Investigation of a Pauline Theme by David Pao. 

I'm thankful for my marriage to Becky - Tuesday (11/23) we celebrated our 460 month anniversary. Also, I'm thankful for my friends.

Of course, WHO should we give thanks to? God, of course. He's the one who gave us every good and perfect gift, and He's the one who allows us to be tested so we grow in faith and maturity.