BOOK REVIEW - "OLYMPIC MOUNTAIN PURSUIT" (PACIFIC NORTHWEST K-9 UNIT BOOK 4) BY JODIE BAILEY

When her identity is blown after 4 years in the Witness Protection Program, will single mother Everly Lopez and her daughter Amelia have to undergo the trauma of starting a new life with new names, etc.? Or will the drug matriarch who murdered Everly's husband before her eyes permanently end that "inconvenience"? Can former U.S. Marshall and Pacific Northwest K-9 Unit officer Jackson Dean, assisted by his Dobie partner Rex,  protect them from seemingly innumerable assassins, or will he fail like he did for another witness he was supposed to protect? Is Jackson able to focus on his role of law enforcement, or will his feelings for Everly which kindled 4 years earlier become ... oh, you know the answer to that question?

This is the 11th novel of Jodie Bailey that I've read, several of which deal with the Witness Protection Program. As usual, she has an exciting plot that will keep you on the edge of your seats with protagonists you care about and adversaries that give you the willies, mixed with a definite but not preachy faith element.

"Olympic Mountain Pursuit" is the fourth of the nine part, multi-author Pacific Northwest K-9 Unit series. Like most of these series, there are continuing Love Inspired Suspense sagas that started in the first book - in this case, concerning a member of the team in hiding, suspected in a double-murder, the search for three stolen bloodhound puppies, and which of four candidates can fill the two vacant spots of the team - so on one hand, it makes sense to start with book one and read them in order. On the other hand, as usual, the books are written that should you read them out of order, you are able to follow the long stories I mentioned and enjoy the main story of each book.

I highly recommend this book, this series, and any book by Jodie 
Bailey.

BOOK REVIEW - "NOW AND NOT YET: THEOLOGY AND MISSION IN EZRA-NEHEMIAH" (NEW STUDIES IN BIBLICAL THEOLOGY) BY DEAN ULRICH

 

Is God's Kingdom on earth a reality of the present or a promise of the future? Yes.

Dean Ulrich looks into Ezra-Nehemiah and gives an excellent commentary on that book (or is it two? We normally divide it into two books, but it is just one book in the Jewish OT). His focus is that the post-exilic period shows both the Promise of the restored kingdom and the fact that things still aren't perfect. For example, Nehemiah 12 deals with the victorious celebration of the completion of the wall. However, it is followed by chapter 13, which deals with the various problems Nehemiah was dealing with.

I highly recommend this book.

HOW DOES PSALM 149 RELATE TO CHRISTIAN LIFE? OR DOES IT?

"The Company of captain Frans Banning Cocq and lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburch preparing to march out", better known as "The Night Watch," by Rembrandt.

For years... make that for decades, I've wondered about how to apply Psalm 149 to my life. 

The first half is pretty straight forward: it talks about singing to the Lord a new song, rejoicing in our Maker and King, praising Him with dance and harp, and that He takes pleasure in His people and will beautify the humble with salvation. But buckle up your seat belts: The latter part takes a surprising twist. Starting with verse 5 and continuing to the end of the Psalm:

"Let the saints be joyful in glory; Let them sing aloud on their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, And a two-edged sword in their hand, To execute vengeance on the nations, And punishments on the peoples; To bind their kings with chains, And their nobles with fetters of iron; To execute on them the written judgment-- This honor have all His saints.  Praise the Lord!"

                Psalm 149:5-9, NKJV

Are you stumped as well? Then I'm not alone. How does this apply to your lives?

Often when I have a question, I try to get feedback, so I asked the question in a Facebook group I trust - Calvinst Dispensationalists Unite. I did get two primary themes in the responses:

"No, we're not supposed to get swords out and start chaining people up." Really? Shucks! I had my fetters all ready to go! Yes, I realized that we Christians aren't to literally apply it. But if not, then how? After all, isn't all Scripture inspired by God and profitable for teaching, rebuke, correction, and instruction in righteousness? 

"We need to look at the original audience and the message to them. And in this case, it looks to the Millennial Kingdom." This response is right on the money, and is a key part in interpreting Scripture. However, it is silent on the part I was seeking help on: Application. After all, the passage says this honor have all the saints - aren't Christians part of "all the saints?"

So, unfortunately, I resigned to still having that question unanswered. But that was not permanent.

A few weeks later, I was sitting in a D-Group meeting in class. No, we weren't looking at Psalm 149. But all of a sudden, a thought went through my head... or was it leading of the Holy Spirit?...

"Your answer is in 2 Corinthians 10:3-6."

As I was saying, the discussion at the moment was unrelated. No, nobody mentioned 2 Corinthians. I had memorized that passage in the past year, but I hadn't reviewed it for a week or two. 

Unfamiliar with that passage? Here it is:

"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled." 

                            2 Corinthians 10:3-6, NKJV

Am I the only one noticing similarities? Both deal with weapons. Both mention taking captives and punishing disobedience.

Now, how do we apply Corinthians? That's another blog.

By the way, next time I have a question? I'll go back to Calvinist Dispensationalists Unite. They have proven to be a great source for sound Biblical teaching and discussion.

 

INTERVIEW WITH DAVE HARVEY OF MILLENNIAL REIGN

 

Millennial Reign, l-r: Pedro Cortes (drums), Dave Harvey (guitars, BGVs), Tiffany Galchutt (vocals), and Neil Bertrand (bass, BGVs)

Allow me to admit: I was probably born a symphonic metal fan, long before the genre existed. One, I love symphonic music period - when I got familiar with classical music, I was hooked. But also, even my taste in music as a teen-ager - Kansas, Styx, Yes, ELO, and the later Beatles - showed that leaning. So I'm excited to get to interview another Christian symphonic metal, along with my interview two years ago with my buddies Divine Martyr. I have the honor of interviewing guitarist Dave Harvey.

JR: Welcome to my blog! I'll start with my typical first question for bands: How did you get started, and what inspired the group's name?

DH: Millennial Reign actually started as a recording project. I had already released one album in an 80s genre but was wanting more of a powermetal direction with the second. I had the right vocalist lined up and we signed with Ulterium Records during the recording process. Once we did that it was decided to create a full band. As for the name, it literally came from a church service one morning. The pastor mentioned the thousand year millennial reign of Christ and I remember thinking, that’s a good name for a band.

JR: Usually at this point, I ask about the most recent project. However, I hear you've got a new project due out this summer! I'm excited and can't wait to hear it. Would you like to tell me and the readers what to expect about it? 

DH: In my opinion it’s the best album we’ve released to date. The current lineup of the band is by far the best since its creation, everyone is on board and fully committed to the vision. One video “Bring Me To Life” has been released and a second is coming in May.

JR: "World on Fire" is your first full project since 2018's "The Great Divide." What has the Lord been teaching you during that period of time?

DH: For me personally I’ve been much more focused on the Word and the ministry. On this album I wanted to be much more direct with what we had to say. These are perilous times we are living in and it’s no longer optional to be vague in the message. A strong word is what everyone needs.

JR: I'm sure you're familiar with the old adage "You can't judge a book by its cover," but in your case, your projects have great artwork (see bottom of interview). Could you tell us about it?

DH: Our record label takes care of hiring the artists to do all of their covers. Jan Yrlund did the last two album covers for us. He does a lot of very well known bands in Europe. 

JR: One hunch I have is that Christian rock bands endure a lot of spiritual warfare, especially those who break into a new genre where the world formerly had a monopoly. What warfare have you seen, and how has God helped strengthen and encourage you during the heat of battle, either through the Word, prayer, or fellow believers?

DH: The only quote, unquote “warfare” that really comes to mind would be that Christian bands aren’t taken seriously by some of the metal world. I see this a lot with Stryper by a few of the bigger zines using headlines that mock rather than actually promote the story. Jesus himself said that we’d be hated by the world so personally this doesn’t get to me. I know exactly who I am in Christ, what I can do in Christ and the final outcome of the mockers.

JR: Thank you for your time. How can we keep up with what's going with you all? And is there any closing remarks you'd like to make?

DH: All our info is posted on our webpage at https://millennialreign.com or https://facebook.com/millennialreign

We are having an album release show June 22nd at Platinum Music Complex in North Richland Hills, Texas. Greg X Volz of Petra and CPR will be speaking and performing at the event. See our pages for ticket links.

IT'S THE NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER! AND THIS COUNTRY (AND THE REST OF THE WORLD) NEEDS PRAYER!!!

At Arlington Avenue Baptist Church, Indianapolis. On the left of the bouquet on the Communion Table is the American flag, and the Christian flag on the right.

First blog in over two weeks, and I get inspiration on the National Day of Prayer!

I'm sure you've been reminded how divided our country is. Are you, like me, sick of all the negative political ads going on, making you wish the election is over? Not unusual for me to feel that way early November, but early May? After the primaries?

For those who aren't in the area, we have an open Governor's race (like many states, we have a term limit on governors, and the current one is finishing his second term), and an open U.S. Senate seat (the incumbent announced two years ago he would be leaving the Senate to run for Governor), as well as all the congressional seats.

Now, I find the Senate race peaceful. Basically because all the Republican candidates except one dropped out, and the two Democrats have been very quiet.  In fact, I haven't heard or seen any ads by Democrats. 

Unfortunately, the Republicans aren't so quiet. There are six candidates for Governor, and some of them have hit the airwaves on how bad the other candidates OF THEIR OWN PARTY are. The one that grieves me is the current Senator is paying for attack ads on a challenger, though he also is running positive ads promoting himself. One of the U.S. Congressional races is no better.

Of course, I'm chuckling. A couple of candidates are using the support of Former President Trump as a reason to elect them. Five months from now, the Democrats may quote those ads as a reason to oppose the same candidate.

I used to like primary elections, though I felt the purpose was to weed out the good candidates. I had seen some Primary fighting - years ago the Marion County GOP leader would send out flyers tearing apart one Republican candidate, but this takes the cake. 

Yes, I'm discouraged. No, I don't think the country's going in the right direction, and the in-fighting of the Republicans is, I believe, hurting their chances of having an influence.

But the solution is to pray! I'm weekly praying for the people currently in office, whether Democrat (which most of them currently are) or Republican. 1 Timothy 2:1-4 encourages us to pray for our kings and those in authority, and to give thanks for all people. 1 Peter 2:17 tells us to honor all people and to honor the King. (You want to hear a bad joke? It's those who say that we have a President, not a King, so we're not obligated to honor and pray for them.)