Into the Fire

As a politically conservative Christian, you can no doubt figure out how I respond to the secular humanist hoax-ified claims of man-made climate change. But, as I considered this expression, I realized that, yes, the climate change argument can indeed be made that man is responsible for its cause. However, this cause does not depend on aerosols, pollution, forest cutting, and carbon emissions as some insist. It rests solely and souly on mankind's sin.

Of course this reasoning never flies with unbelievers. For secular humanists, either mankind (homo sapiens) or a superior and unidentifiable alien community is responsible for this earth and its well-being or destruction. True science is ignored in favor of inferior guesstimating from projections of man-made computer mock-ups and testimonies and admittances of  those who falsified information to support their disingenuous theories. These falsehoods continue to be projected and argued by liberal government believers across this nation and the world in spite of the true science and compelling evidence against their claims. Their voices are shrill and demanding to override their lack of substance and facts.

Once upon a time earth languished in darkness (Genesis 1:2). God made a creative decision and all things turned out "good" as only a perfect God would make them. Man originated from God's mind, made in His image (Gen. 1:27). But God did something amazing with the man and woman He created and placed in a lovely garden. He gave the man instructions (with the ability to make decisions) regarding their responsibilities living in this perfect place and only required one restriction. One tree was off limits. One tree out of all the gorgeous flora and fauna deemed a no-no because that particular tree held dangerous consequences for the man (Gen. 1:16-17). The man eventually made a decision concerning this tree, and he chose to make the wrong one. As a far-reaching consequence, he and the woman were cast out of The Garden, a supernatural barrier was erected to hide the location and forbid entrance to it, and sin flourished on earth as a result of man's disobedience while the devil celebrated his persuasive abilities to manipulate and transform God's "good" creation. This original sinful disregarding of God's warning caused the tarnished heart of mankind and the disruption of  a perfect place to the one we now occupy. Complete with climate changes and seasons that include such destructive things like tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, pestilence, tsunamis, volcanoes, avalanches and whatever else has provided chaos and death across this earth since time began, we can attribute them all to man's decision to ignore the severe warning given to him to protect him from the inevitable effects of evil.

Climate change as we know it goes back to a sinful decision to forego God's instruction to the man He created, setting the world in motion for its eventual destruction because of the depravity of sin – sin that brought death and destruction to the human race and a planet. The end of this world lies in the lap of man's conduct, but the destruction of the earth will be by the hand of God, not because of carbon footprints. So, in this respect and in this respect alone, "climate change" is man's fault.

God, we're slipping away. Only you can forgive us for our widespread sins. Please bring us to repentance once more as a nation. We're truly desperate for you. May the lost find you and reap the beauty of knowing Jesus. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.       

For review and coming soon . . .

To name a few . . .

Father, thank you for these talented artists. I pray your blessing over them for all they do to further your kingdom in their own unique ways. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Asked by Athol Dickson in response to a George Orwell quote. Your answer?

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Athol-Dickson/416622918355206?ref=ts&fref=ts#!/photo.php?fbid=628114457206050&set=a.452773491406815.128385.416622918355206&type=1&theater

Father, we need to be set free by the truth in order to write it. Help us to always look to you for reality. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Personal because we wrote them. Who are your favorite characters that you've created?

No question Joey Parr of The Famous One is perhaps my favorite of my many creations. I loved him.

And Michael Jamison. But I also especially liked a dead character in Breath of Life who silently played an important part in the story – at least for me.

One of my unpublished novels titled Destination featured Thomas Grand who I enjoyed and an 80 year old widow most of her friends called "Grams" who I loved creating because she was such a spitfire and an on-fire lady. Their unique friendship was a joy to write.

Who do you love of your creations?

Father, you are the Author of Life and all things beautiful. Thank you for giving your people the desire to create characters that breathe and display your handiwork in our make-believe worlds. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.  

So. Summer is a ways away – especially for those of us who are climate-challenged this spring. Nevertheless, summer reading is often casually referred to as "beach reads" and tends to give liberties to guilty pleasures in the novel department. Do you indulge guilty pleasures in the sunshine and warm temperatures? A ludicrous question for Hawaiian and Floridian natives but not so much for the rest of the country which truly experiences seasonal weather . . .

For me, I'll read any of my regular selections at any time during any season and don't reserve summer for "guilty pleasures". In fact, I don't feel guilty about anything I read. Is that a bad thing?

How about you? Are you looking forward to specific summer reading genres? Do you entertain yourself with the lighter "beach reads"?

Father, thank you for all kinds of reading pleasures. May we honor you with our reading and writing pleasures. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

You who are far away, hear what I have done:

you who are near, acknowedge my power!

The sinners in Zion are terrified;

trembling grips the godless:

"Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire?

Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?"

He who walks righteously

and speaks what is right,

who rejects extortion

and keeps his hand from accepting bribes,

who stops his ears against plots of murder

and shuts his eyes against contemplating evil —

this is the man who will dwell on the heights,

whose refuge will be the mountain fortress.

Isaiah 33:13-16 (NIV)

Sit quiet with your hands folded on your desk. Don't ask any questions. Just write your stories and praise your publisher, your editor, and your agent. Be a good little writer and wait until we don't want you anymore.

Hey, I'm sure it's not like that. That was just a snarky opener. Yes, there's a tiny truth in there, but probably not enough to matter.

Here's the main thing. If it's your nature to accept, to "sit quiet", then do it. I can say it used to be mine. A long time ago. Maybe it was growing up in the tumultuous 60s and 70s that brought the change. Maybe it was when authorities power-grabbed instead of being respectful of their positions. Maybe it was when I started to examine motives more closely and discerned the heart of man. I don't know. At some point, people had to earn my respect and demonstrate they deserved to be an authority. During some period of my life, what I had to do needed to make sense to me before it got done – other than basic speed limits or No Trespassing.

I don't want to generally "make waves" mostly because my wave making is off so far in some remote region as to go unnoticed by anyone anywhere, but there's one area where I will not cease to stir the waters. It has proven to be damaging to a certain extent but beneficial in other ways. It's a risk worth taking. I love my country. God blessed me with being born in this country, one nation under God, and I intend to go down fighting for it if necessary. I will make waves, I will shout from the housetops, I will not be silent about the destruction being perpetrated on this country by a crooked and ruthless regime that believes in nothing this country was built on and fought for by brave men and women. It's being disgraced and dismantled by a group of people who don't value its sovereignty or its heritage or the law of this land: the Constitution of the United States of America.

Writers can choose their topics of discussion and conveniently stay out of the controversial "religion and politics" arena. Secular humanists will continue to incorporate their worldviews in their work, and Christians can choose to do the same. Discussing their opinions on these electric topics in any public forum can elicit postive or negative attention and publicity. Again, it's a risk because those who resent the writer's opinions can decline to support them by not buying their work.

Many have chosen to keep their literary publicity on placid lakes without making waves. Christians tend to clothe their choices in the "love" themes with refrains of not "judging" others. Secular writers have no such motivations, but, for some, if sales reflect unfavorably, there will be those who withdraw and slip into silence with the objective of selling their wares more effectively. (Hollywood filmmaking must have missed the memo because their liberal agendas in producing movies have failed miserably at the box office.) 

The trashing of my country matters more to me than book sales or my "career". I will not sit down and shut up. I will not ignore the obvious and let it go. I will pray fervently and hope God will act soon, but if He allows our nation to perish because of the filthy vile sin going on before Him today, then I will know His return is imminent. Just as He told us.

So, if you wish to abandon this outspoken female who will not stop "sharing" those patriotic, factual posts here, on Facebook or Twitter, it's your perogative because I will definitely not stop making waves. Not until this ship is sunk. 

Father, thank you for loyalty, patriotism, truth, and honor. These don't come naturally to us. Every good and perfect gift comes from you, and apart from you, we can do nothing. I love you, Lord. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Not "there" in the picture but there here. Lovely view of a pretty place, huh? A question waits for you over there.

Lord, thank you for all that you do, so much of which I cannot see with my human eyes. I love you, Lord. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

This week's posts have an edge to them. One might think I have something against Christian publishers. I don't. Without understanding their need to shield themselves within their so far successful industry, it is working for them overall even though they've excluded many readers and, for that reason, many writers.

This has never been about incorporating the usage of vulgar language, graphic sexual scenes, or a typical worldly approach to the Christian venue of fiction. Not at all. In my opinion novels written by Christians should be the most insightful, the richest, the deepest, the most imaginative, and the most entertaining of all of literature because of the vitality of the Holy Spirit. These serious criticisms of the Christian publishing industry arose from the repetitive offerings composing most of their fare and the seeming need to produce more of the same in spite of conference speakers and professional blogs, etc., which insist the opposite is true. 

I'm well aware of those Christians who aren't familiar with His voice, who go through life relying more on their "intuition" than the desires of the God who saved them. I'm also aware of those Christians who live a restricted and rigid formula void of the daring of inspired conduct and the fullness of grace. Somewhere in the middle of those Christians reside layers of other believers who endeavor to go deeper into this One who knows no end or beginning and can never be fully known by those He created because of His infinite being. In each of those classifications there are readers of stories, many of whom read exclusively in the Christian fiction market and many of whom desire to do so but fail to find the kind of books they're hoping for, either because they've sampled the obvious choices and come away disappointed or unimpressed or because they have no idea where to begin their search for meaningful literature within its ranks.

This isn't a blame game but rather an acknowledgment of weaknesses and vulnerabilities in a profitable business. Most businesses look for ways to expand, to reach more of the consumer market, to build their base. Christian publishing seems to be satisfied with its small but steady and profitable portion of the market even though very low percentages of their authors earn back advances thus reducing advances in recent times. Could it be their readership is shrinking? Could it be their non-fiction market carries them? I don't know.

As always, my opinions for this week . . .

Father, please help your people to pursue your will above our own in every area of our lives. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

I'm not a boater. Not fond of deep water. Of any kind. So I could say wherever there's a boat on water, it won't be me rocking it.

But metaphorically speaking, yeah, I'm rocking the boat. I'm trying to tip it over and empty its contents, sending them all into the nether-regions of inaccessibility. I'm not adhering to the author protocol, the CBA acceptable norm, the politically correct quietness, or the falsely encouraging "never give up" platitude of the publishing industry.

Christianity is a decision to believe Jesus is God, came to earth to deliver His people from their sins by putting those sins to death on a cross and enduring a brutal death which He allowed, was resurrected to life, and sits at the right hand of the Father while being omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent. Christianity means the Holy Spirit who is God takes up residence supernaturally in those people who choose to believe Jesus is who He says He is, who accept His sacrifice through repentance and forgiveness, and yield their lives to God. Period. Then those Christians follow Jesus by learning God's word, living God's word – hard as it sometimes is – and sharing God's word under the direction and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Thumbnail sketch of Christianity. No rocking the boat here.

"Christian" publishers of fiction live by the rules of their individual houses. Some set mission-oriented goals. Others set requirements, standards, and practices. Authors/writers wishing to enter the world of Christian publishing do their best to find the group which fits them best. Making no waves and sailing on smooth waters, for some of them it's easy and without conflict. For others, there are some choppy waters, some righting the ship, some taming of rough seas, but they survive the tipping boat and stay the course. The uneven trip reminds them that at any time they could hear the "Man overboard!" echoing in their water-filled ears.

For the last few years since the economy tanked, since the publishers got skittish, since e-publishing appeared like a daunting iceberg, and since Christian fiction imploded into more of the "safe", "clean", and "chaste" directives, I, for one, am reading less of it. I have always emphasized there are wonderful and exciting exceptions to these claims, but they are in short supply and vastly outnumbered by the safe-clean-chaste formulaic and predictable fare. I find this more than merely disheartening. I think it's disturbing.

As the world exalts its evil in every aspect of our societies, Christian fiction offers sweet and nice. Nothing wrong with sweet and nice or escapist literature as long as there is also the reality of life in the mix. Somewhere. In CBA there are horrifying serial killers a la the novels by Steven James and there are unlimited numbers of Amish fiction. There are cute little romances and then there is the beautiful and wondrous The Passion of Mary-Margaret by Lisa Samson.

A few of the best and most unique Christian authors have slipped away from CBA, turned loose by their publishers for lesser sales than they'd hoped to gain but only after somewhat shoddy marketing efforts by the publishers and a certain discomfort with their novels. The discomfort arose from CBA's notorious demographic making noise about various aspects of the novels written by these individuals. And accepting the fact that the CBA demographic won't tolerate much variation, these particular well known publishers pulled the plug on further offerings from these exceptional authors.

It's a shame when an industry as successful as Christian publishing becomes unwilling to take chances and appeal to a greater audience. It's sad to think the major Christian publishers remain satisfied with the status quo and the "traditions of men", to trail behind the entrepreneurs of publishing to remain safe with the tried – but tired – and true.

Father, you lead us all. The only thing that matters is following you. Help us to do that well. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.