“I will also ask you one question…the baptism of John—was it from heaven or from men?” Mark 11   In the temple, Jesus found Himself confronted by the priests. They demanded to know by what authority He was doing the things He did. Before providing the answer, He had a simple question of His own. Do you know God when you see Him?   In a test for color blindness, a number in one color is set in a field of a different color. If you’re color blind, you cannot discern the number.

I was once told that I am not a horror writer (Amazon disagrees). The reason for that assessment was that I wrote too many happy endings. That has some validity. I have been ignored as a Christian writer because I write things about things that are scary and evil. That too is a valid or at least a reasonable criticism. It would be a lie to pretend that pleasing readers doesn’t occupy a corner of my mind. However, I would be deeply dismayed if I were writing to please everyone

Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.   Romans 2:1   The hunt for justification seems to know no bounds. People will say, do, and believe anything in order to feel good about themselves and be justified in their own eyes. Broad is the way that lifts a person up by tearing others down. Narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that seeks sel

“You don’t know how paralyzing it is, that stare of a blank canvas that says to the painter you can’t do anything…”  Vincent Van Gogh   Any writer who has sat staring at a blinking cursor on an otherwise blank computer screen knows what Van Gogh was talking about. The paralysis comes not so much from the empty screen, but the emptiness inside. There is no critic so harsh as oneself. He sees through the written words, looking at the hesitation and doubts to call every effort u

Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.  Philippians 3:12   I was taught long ago that there is nothing free except our will. Only the willingly blind and ignorant believe they have found an exception to that truth. My Christian friends might protest that salvation and grace are free, but they are wrong.   Romans chapter 5, speaking of salvation, mentio

You have to have a stout heart to be an author. I can’t speak for others, but my characters all like to complain. I mean, I give them a voice the world can hear, and what do they do? They blame me for being a busybody and telling their secrets all over town. I never get an “atta boy”, only a string of “about time you got it right”.   Take Ed Landry, for example. He loves to complain about how that trouble seems to seek him out, and how his desire to help others always gets hi

“There is nothing permanent except change.”  Heraclitus   I once wrote a book about Christian faith. I didn’t want to. I argued about it with God and my editor, maintaining it was a waste of time. The reason for my protest was that I wanted to sell  books as well as write them. After giving in and writing it, I did my best on the book. I think it is worth reading. My theology was sound, and the telling is a bit entertaining. Of course, it didn’t sell. A prophet has no honor i

But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Matthew 23:13   This scripture popped into my head a few weeks ago when I was trying rather unsuccessfully to navigate from the front doors of the church into the sanctuary. Now, I can’t speak for Yankees, but in the South, the preferred place to converse in most public buildings is the door

Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.  Exodus 3:10   Moses was raised in Pharaoh’s house but chose to leave its luxury in favor of his Jewish heritage. Seeing a Jewish slave being beaten by an Egyptian, he intervened and killed the overseer. The deed became known, and Pharaoh pronounced a death sentence upon Moses. Moses ran for his life. Years later, in the course of his shepherd dut

“The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive the Veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation.” George Washington   I do not believe American history is generally in accord with Washington’s remarks. From the Revolution through the War on Terror, a peek deeper than parades and speeches shows that we have treated our veterans shabbily. The treat

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. .. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.    Matthew 5:14,16 Many people say that our country was not founded on Christian principles. I don’t engage them in debate mostly because, in part, this is true to an extent. Christianity is not a republic; it is a kingdom, so differences in thinking cannot help but exist. That said, t

Before the advent of TomTom, Google Maps, and GPS, I navigated around the Western United States as a travel nurse. I am tempted to say here that “somehow” I managed to get through large cities, make highway connections, and traverse thousands of miles to places I had never been. That I had never been to these places was a huge part of their appeal.   But there was no “somehow” about any of it. I got to where I needed to go by learning the way there. I once moved from a tiny r

“ Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: ” Matthew 7:7   In pursuit of peace with God, Jesus’s command to knock is the action that results from asking and seeking. All three may seem to happen at once, and in a way, they almost do. Though you may ask God to reveal Himself and seek after God, entry into the kingdom comes when you knock.   Knocking is a sign of surrender. You cannot storm the gates of heaven and barge in

“Humans don’t want sober advice, but affirmation that their folly is wisdom.”   Ralph Peters~ Endless War   One of the greatest mistakes I made as a new author was to self-edit my writing. Now, there’s nothing wrong with going over what we’ve written to refine and polish the work. That is a must, but it is not the end-all of editing. I say that because there are always errors that we simply cannot see. Oh, the optic nerve works fine in relaying the image. The problem lies in

Much is said these days on social media about veteran suicide. Rightfully so. If there ever was an epidemic that required the attention of all Americans, this is it. To be honest, there is no single solution. That’s because we’re dealing with people, people who are hurting and feel alone. The first, best thing to know about people is that no two are exactly alike, and neither are their wants and needs. What I offer is not a solution, by any stretch of the imagination. It’s mo

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:  Matthew 7:7   After multiple discussions about the scriptures and God, a friend asked me, “How do I really  find God?” They were a bit taken aback when I offered a simple two-word answer—seek Him. I explained that God was not hiding from them; it was the other way around.   But God is invisible. So, where does a person begin looking for God? First, don’t confuse invisible with im

And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:   And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.     Proper etiquette calls for a person to dress for the occasion, not the crowd. Looking at the verse above, it seems to me that standard of civility goes back a long way. But all the rules aside, proper dress is ultimately a gesture of respect, a matter of treating

I find it interesting that readers of fiction want a book to give them the very things they shun in life. Conflict, stress, and...

“ Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: ”  Mathew 7:7   One of the things that...

Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. 1 Corinthians 16:13   What does it mean to be strong? Christians give a...