Priorities

I got word last night that my children's book should be delivered by the end of the week. I'm excited of course, but now the nerves are jumping like barefoot kids on a hot sidewalk. Several times, I've woke up from a deep sleep thinking of just one word that I could have changed - when you write a picture book, there aren't that many words! Every one is scrutinized at length.

This morning as I pondered the book's arrival, it dawned on me that when eternity stretches out before me, this is but a piece of gravel on the highway of life. When's the last time I analyzed every word spoken to make sure I'm speaking words of life? When's the last time I woke up from a deep sleep with someone to pray for on my mind? Do I look for Jesus' arrival with greater anticipation than a book's?

I'm SO thankful and blessed to have this book coming out, but I must stop and prioritize. I don't know about you, but I can get caught up in the mundane and forget the mighty.

Boldly Presenting Truth: But What Truth?

(Second in a series: Choosing Content)
I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil (John 17:15 KJV)

We are not immune. We have aches and pains and succumb to viruses. Christians experience the devastating impact of Alzheimer’s Disease, heart disease, cancer, and pulmonary disorders. Even those who have worked hard to keep their bodies in top physical condition may endure other hardships such as financial ruin, career failures, and even marriage disappointments. Christians have been devoured by lions, killed by drunk drivers, and beheaded by those who desire to prevent the spread of the gospel. No amount of preparedness, prevention, or perseverance will completely shield us from the perils of this world.

As addressed previously in the Faithful Scribes blog, our faith is exercised through these ordeals and not through the avoidance of them.

How then do we continue to portray our vulnerability and still present hope to a lost world? Do we sugarcoat the truth and thus present a false sense of Utopia here on Earth? Or do we so realistically portray the harshness of life non believers see no benefit to receiving Christ?

As the journalist would ask, where is the fair and balanced reporting?

Most authors possess a sensitivity, compassion, and yearning to see a better world. For the Christian, this better world can only be achieved through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It is through the experience of spiritual deliverance from moments that would cause others to give in to the powers of Darkness that we can truthfully profess our God is able. And it is through these experiences that the reader will attest to God’s power. This then is our message. Not that belief in God will provide a way to circumvent the evil of this world, but that God brings us through the crisis to spiritual victory.

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it
(1 Corinthians 10:13 KJV).