Frozen in Fear by Nancy J. Farrier

Posted on November 4, 2024 by Nancy J. Farrier

I’ve mentioned before the I take long walks in the desert pretty much every day. Over the years, I’ve seen several rattlesnakes. One thing that always happens is the snake does its best to get to safety—usually by hiding under a bush. Yes, they rattle as they go, but they’ve never struck at me, and they always escape as fast as possible. 

A couple of weeks ago, I walked right by a rattlesnake—within easy striking distance. I was walking fast and was a few steps past the snake before it registered that I’d seen an “odd” stick that hadn’t been there before. I turned around and there was the snake (pictured above) frozen in that position. 

Of course, I took pictures. Then I waited. I wanted video of the snake as it slithered away. But that didn’t happen. The snake didn’t rattle or move at all. It just stared at me frozen in place.

I keep thinking about being frozen in fear. That snake had no idea if I would kill it or walk away and leave it alone. Freezing in place could have been a very bad decision. 

The same can be said for us in situations like this. When fear takes over, we can lose our ability to think clearly. We’re no longer able to act in a manner that keeps us safe or accomplishes what we need to do. Our whole focus is lost because we can’t see past our panic.

We begin to depend on our own perceptions rather than what God can do for us and His protection. If left to build, we can end up allowing that fear or terror to drive a wedge between us and God, harming our spiritual life.

Of course, prayer is endemic to being a Christian and we all know the first thing we should do is pray. But often alarm at what has disturbed us becomes overpowering and we forget to speak with God and let Him help.

There have been times this has happened to me. I’ve forgotten to pray because I’m consumed with fearfulness. As I’ve grown in my Christian walk, seeking God’s help has come much easier. 

Remember the Israelites wandered in the desert for forty years before they were ready to cross into the promised land. As Joshua prepared to lead them across the Jordan, God reminded him to have courage. In fact, in the first nine verses of Joshua 1, God gives Joshua His promises and tells him three times to be courageous.

Joshua 1:9 says, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not be in dread or be dismayed, for Yahweh your God is with you wherever you go.”

Likewise, we, as Christians, have God with us wherever we go. He still asks us to be strong and courageous no matter what may come against us. No matter how dire our circumstances, God is with us and we only need to stand strong.

While we may be tempted to freeze in fear as that rattlesnake did, we must put our hope and trust in Jesus. God is there with us. There is no reason to fear.

“…for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” 2 Timothy 1:7

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Medieval Torture Devices by James R. Coggins

Posted on October 30, 2024 by jrcoggins

The Middle Ages in Europe are often considered to be an era of “economic, intellectual, and cultural decline” between two great eras of civilization. They lasted about a thousand years, from the fall of the Roman Empire in the fifth century to the rise of modern Europe, beginning with the Renaissance in the fifteenth century. The Middle Ages are also called “the Dark Ages,” a term first coined during the Renaissance. The term became popular during the Enlightenment in the eighteenth century, when people praised reason and science, idealized the more cultured classical age of Greece and Rome, and derided the barbaric and superstitious period in between when the Christian church dominated Europe. (The church was the dominant institution in the Middle Ages because it was one of the few institutions to survive the fall of the Empire.)

I recently watched a television documentary on “medieval torture devices.” These were said to have been in popular use in Europe during the Middle Ages (“Medieval” is Latin for “Middle Ages”). The documentary described a number of these devices.

The Iron Maiden. This was an iron cabinet with a hinged front and an interior covered with sharp spikes. The unfortunate victim was placed inside, and the cabinet was closed, driving the spikes into the body. The victim would slowly bleed to death in great pain.

Disembowelment. The victim was cut open while still alive, and his internal organs were gradually removed. Again, the victim would die in great agony.

The Rack. This was a bed or wheel on which the victim was tied by the hands and feet and gradually stretched apart until ligaments and tendons were torn and sometimes bones broken. This device was used to secure a confession or information. The victim did not necessarily die but was often maimed and left disabled for life.

The pear of anguish. This was a metal, pear-shaped mechanism that was inserted into the mouth, rectum, or vagina and then spread apart to silence the victim or to inflict great pain and internal damage.

The documentary was chilling and disturbing. However, listening carefully to the details produced a somewhat different understanding than the documentary’s assertion that these were medieval torture devices.

The Iron Maiden. The idea of the iron maiden was first developed in the nineteenth century, when several prototypes were manufactured. There are stories that the ancient Greek tyrant Nabis of Sparta used a similar device around 200 BC for extortion and murder. There are unconfirmed stories that the Roman Marcus Atilius Regulus was tortured and killed by such a device at the hands of the Carthaginians in the third century BC. The Muslim vizier Ibn al-Zawyyat is said to have created a wooden oven-like chest that had iron spikes for torture, which was also used during his own imprisonment and execution in 847. But there is no evidence one was ever built or used during the Christian Middle Ages in Europe.

Disembowelment. The earliest known use of this punishment was in 303 AD, when Erasmus of Formiae (Saint Elmo) was martyred by disembowelment during the persecutions of Emperor Diocletian and Maximian. During the Middle Ages, Western Slavic tribes such as the Wends are said to have revenged themselves upon Christians by binding the guts to an erect pole and driving the victim around it until he (or she) was fully eviscerated. In “Christian” Europe, its first recorded use was in 1584, when the man who assassinated William of Orange in the Netherlands was disemboweled. In England, disembowelment was one part of the punishment known as being “hanged, drawn, and quartered,” a punishment inflicted on only a few victims (convicted of high treason), beginning in 1326. In early 1941, 125 Jewish civilians were killed during the Bucharest pogrom in Romania, and multiple Jews were tortured, including disembowelment. In the 20th century, during the Vietnam War, members of the Viet Cong were said to have used disembowelment to intimidate rural peasants.

The Rack. The ancient Greeks used the rack on slaves and non-citizens. It was also used in 356 BC on Herostratus, who burned down the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus. Alexander the Great used it in 328 BC on some pages and his court historian Callisthenes, who had plotted to assassinate him. A woman named Epicharis was racked in 65 AD in a vain attempt to acquire the names of those who had conspired to assassinate Roman Emperor Nero. The rack was also used on early Christians such as St. Vincent in 304 AD. Its first appearance in England is said to have been in 1447. The Protestant martyr Anne Askew was tortured on the rack before her execution in 1546, as was the Catholic martyr Nicholas Owen in 1606, and perhaps Guy Fawkes, who attempted to blow up the Parliament buildings in 1605.

The Pear of Anguish. There is no evidence of such a torture device existing in the Middle Ages, except for a possible device used to extract juices from fruit. After about 1600, there are unconfirmed stories of robbers using them to keep their victims quiet.

Contrary to the generally accepted notion, these “medieval torture devices” were used far more often in classical Greek and Roman civilizations than they were in the “Christian” Middle Ages—and also more often in modern societies based on reason and science.

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In All Circumstances by James R. Coggins

Posted on October 23, 2024 by jrcoggins

In the Bible book named after him, James talks a lot about dealing with suffering, but not all of life is hard. James concludes his letter with an exhortation to make God central in all parts of our lives (James 5:13-20). If we are experiencing blessing, we should thank and praise God: “Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise” (James 5:13). If we are suffering, we should pray for God’s help and seek the prayers of God’s church: “Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord” (James 5:14).

James notes that some prayers are answered miraculously, as Elijah’s was: “Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain” (James 5:17-18). But this does not mean that all prayers will be answered. The drought in Elijah’s time caused much suffering, as did the apostasy and cruelty of King Ahab’s reign that led to the drought. And James had also previously counseled patience in suffering when God does not immediately alleviate it.

James finishes with a reminder that sinfulness and eternal damnation are a more serious problem than temporary earthly suffering: “My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins” (James 5:19-20). Indeed, earthly suffering can lead to repentance and eternal blessing, as it did in Elijah’s day and as it could in James’s day—and in ours.

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Hurricane Times Two by Tara Randel

Posted on October 21, 2024 by tararandel

I’m just going to state the obvious right off the bat. Two devastating hurricanes back-to-back is no fun.

First Helene decimated the coastal areas not far from my home. The flooding was significant. I have friends who have lost their homes due to the storm surge. Then Milton barreled toward us, the aftermath causing inland flooding and because of the high winds, lots of downed trees. On the other side of the state there were significant tornadoes.

Along with the damage comes the emotional toll. First, the stress of waiting for the storm to hit. Do we leave? Did we shore up the property to withstand the storm? Then comes the rain, high winds and uncertainty. Once the storm passes, we deal with clean up, assessment and trying for a bit of normalcy.

A week before Milton was forecasted to impact my county, I walked my property praying Psalm 91. As the forecast grew more dire, I expanded my prayers to my neighborhood, the county and then the west coast of Florida. When you feel helpless to what is coming, reciting God’s Word brings a calm you can’t even fathom before and after a storm. Praying the scripture reminds us who is in control and builds faith.

Since the storm, the sun has been shining, The weather is beautiful. Talk about mental whiplash.

Despite it all, people are cheerful, going out of the to help others and hopeful for the future.

I’m grateful not to have sustained as much damage as others. My heart breaks for those having to deal with the results of two storms. Please, take a moment out of your day to ask God to assist those who desperately need Him right now.

I’ll leave you with Psalm 91 and the truth that through anything, God is good and He loves us.

Psalm 91

1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
    my God, in whom I trust.”

3 Surely he will save you
    from the fowler’s snare
    and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
    and under his wings you will find refuge;
    his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
    nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
    nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
    ten thousand at your right hand,
    but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
    and see the punishment of the wicked.

9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
    and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
    no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
    you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
    I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
    I will be with him in trouble,
    I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
    and show him my salvation.”

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Smarter and More Competent than I am by James R. Coggins

Posted on October 16, 2024 by jrcoggins

Things have changed. We had not bought a car for seventeen years. The problem is that the Japanese know how to build good cars. Our seventeen-year-old Toyota Yaris was still running very well, and our mechanic said it could continue to run well for another ten to fifteen years. But still it was time. So, my wife and I went out and bought a brand new Toyota Corolla Hybrid. Only had to wait twelve and a half months after we ordered it.

That is when we found out things have changed. The new car is a highly sophisticated electronic marvel. It goes 1,000 kilometres on a tank of gas and a year between oil changes. The car is so advanced that I think I need an engineering degree and a computer science degree to understand it. When I tried to plug our old iPod (full of even older songs) into the new car’s sound system, the dealer explained that it was too old and obsolete to properly interface with the new car. I am beginning to suspect the same could be said of me.

The car door unlocks as soon as I touch the door handle—as long as I have remembered to put the key into my pocket (which is not actually a key but a fob, whatever that is). The lights come on and switch to bright automatically. There is a thermostat that automatically adjusts the temperature inside the car. The emergency brake comes on automatically when the car is in park. The car automatically slows down when it thinks I am getting too close to the car in front. If I deviate over the yellow line, the car gently guides me back. It warns me when there is a car in my blind spot. (I have a lot of blind spots.) It warns me when I am going faster than the speed limit. It tells us how long in kilometres and minutes our current drive is and how many kilometres before I need to fill the car up with gas or take it in for servicing. When I get out of the car, it reminds me not to forget the stuff I left on the back seat. My wife is almost redundant.

It took some time, but I finally found the gizmo that opens the hood. On a previous car, I remember removing the air breather and inserting a pen into the carburetor to resolve a flooding problem. Looking under the hood of the new car, I couldn’t find the carburetor, if there is one. The only thing I recognized was the dipstick (the one holding the hood open because I couldn’t find the supporting rod).

I am not sure how to handle a car that is smarter and more competent than I am. I am used to driving the car, not the other way around.

It helps me to remember that cars don’t last forever. We used to say that in twenty years, a car, no matter how elegant, would be nothing but a pile of rust. Now, it is more that in ten years, the car will be a rust-free pile of burned-out electrical components and malfunctioning sensors. I have outlasted all of my previous cars. I am not saying how old I am, but if I was a car, I would definitely qualify to be an antique—old enough to be a collector’s item. Cars, after all, are just things. They eventually wear out, break down, and disappear. The same is true of my body. But because Jesus died and rose again, I have the promise of living eternally with Him.

My car might be smarter, but I will outlive it.

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Time To Look Up!

Posted on October 15, 2024 by Author Mary Alford

As a kid, I never really thought much about end times. I never read Revelation or thought about such terms as the rapture or tribulation.

End time prophesy always seemed like something that would happen one day probably not in my lifetime.

When the Left Behind Series first came on the scene, they got my attention because the books were a fictional account of what might happen after the rapture and leading into the time known as tribulation.

It made me wonder if God’s prophetic timeclock was ticking down to that moment in time.

Many prophesy scholars believe the next prophetic event to take place on God’s timetable will be the rapture.

The Bible if filled with prophesies that talk about Jesus’ first coming as a baby born to a virgin. As well as the scriptures that can be interpreted to speak of the rapture. Jesus Himself talked about going to prepare a place for us in John 14:1-3

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

And Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15: 51-53

Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

As the world around us grows darker with each passing year and we see sin’s grip increasing, it’s easy to think the time is quickly approaching when the rapture will take place and the world will descend into chaos led by who the Bible calls the Antichrist.

But as Jesus is quick to point on in Matthew 24, there are signs to watch for that will let us get a sense the season we are living in but only God knows when that moment will come.

Matthew 24: 36: But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

Until God gives the command for Jesus to come get His people, there’s plenty of work to be done, and a world filled with people desperately searching for Him. As His feet and hands we are to go until all the nations  

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

The fields are white, and the harvest is great!

Keep your lamp oil ready because the days are getting darker and the Bridegroom is coning.   

Mary  

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Rich and Poor by James R. Coggins

Posted on October 9, 2024 by jrcoggins

James 5 begins with a forceful condemnation of the rich: “Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.”

The Bible does not promote a class war or advocate for a communist-style revolution. It does not condemn capitalism outright. And yet it does recognize that some (and often more than some) rich people use their power to further enrich themselves and unjustly oppress the poor. The Bible calls this sin, and it calls for justice. In the first six verses of James 5, James sounds like an Old Testament prophet, condemning oppressors. But he also seems to be echoing Jesus’ words: “But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep” (Luke 6:24-25). Jesus also told a parable about a rich man who ignored the plight of a poor beggar; after he died, the rich man ended in torment in hades, while the poor man joined Abraham in heaven (Luke 16:19-21). Jesus, incidentally, stated that what He was saying was in line with the teaching of “Moses and the prophets.” James did not advocate for a social revolution here but affirmed that God will pronounce a just sentence in the next life. He said, “You have hoarded wealth in the last days” (verse 3). He noted that not only does earthly wealth disintegrate (echoing Jesus’ words about moths, vermin, and thieves destroying earthly wealth: Matthew 6:19-20), but he added the idea that ill-gotten wealth becomes a corrosive acid that destroys both it and the one who has stolen it. James also included another interesting image: “You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter” (James 5:5). The idea is that the rich have self-centeredly focused on their own pleasures, unaware that judgment is imminent. The image also suggests sheep who happily focus on eating and getting fat, thinking that the food is there for their benefit, unaware that they are being fattened up so they can be eaten by others.

Having addressed the sinfulness of rich oppressors, James turned to ordinary Christians, brothers and sisters, those who were not among the oppressors (true Christians don’t act like that), those who are often the oppressed. James did not tell the oppressed to rise up against injustice (although James himself loudly condemned injustice). What James told the oppressed was to be patient, to wait. Wait for what? He compared their waiting to farmers waiting for rain and waiting for the harvest. The harvest cannot be rushed, and rain cannot be controlled by humans. The farmer just has to wait. So, what are Christians waiting for? They are waiting for the great harvest when God will harvest the wheat and burn up the weeds (Matthew 13:24-30,36-43). There were hints of this in verses 1-6: “misery” is coming to the rich, they have hoarded wealth “in the last days,” the cries of the oppressed “have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty” (echoing the cries of the Israelite slaves in Egypt: Exodus 3:7-10), and a “day of slaughter” is coming. James was urging the oppressed to be patient. The oppressed often have no power to relieve their suffering, so James was telling them to be patient. Why? Because “the Lord’s coming is near.” In other words, they don’t have to worry about the oppressors because Jesus is going to return and punish the wicked in the flames of hell. James was telling the oppressed to leave judgment to God because that judgment will be more thorough and more just than anything the oppressed could achieve.

In the meantime, the oppressed are to resist two other temptations in the midst of their suffering. One is to “grumble against one another” (verse 9), to blame other people for our problems, to take out our frustrations on whoever happens to be within reach. The other is to swear (verse 12), to use God’s name and not really mean it, not really reaching out to God, which reduces Him to a powerless fiction in our eyes. (If we were truly aware of the Almighty God listening, we would be much more careful with our words.) James here was directly quoting Jesus (Matthew 5:33-37). As is easy to recognize, these two temptations are common responses to trouble, and they are sinful.

It is worth noting that James was here reverting to the theme with which he opened his letter: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds” (James 1:2).

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Something Strange by James R. Coggins

Posted on October 2, 2024 by jrcoggins

I found something strange in my mailbox today. Among all the flyers (air mail), store coupons, political advertisements, bills, lottery notices, etc. was a white envelope about nine inches by four inches. I couldn’t recall ever seeing anything like it. I checked, and it was addressed to me, but the address had not been printed on a computer printer. Someone had written the address by hand. This was very strange.

I carefully slit open the envelope, and three pieces of white paper fell out. There were words written on the paper, again not printed by a computer printer but apparently also written by hand.

I puzzled to think what this could be. I looked at the papers and found that I could read (but just barely) what had been written. The characters on the page looked similar to what a computer printer would make but were somewhat less uniform, Somebody had apparently gone to a lot of trouble learning how to copy what printer characters look like. Essentially, this person had learned how to do with a pen held in the hand what a computer printer would normally do. I was astounded. Who would go to all that work?

I looked at the last of the three pages and discovered that someone had written a name at the end. It was a name I recognized. I have a friend by that name. We have been friends for a long time, but I could not recall that he had ever done anything as strange as this in all the time I had known him. He now lives in a different town hundreds of miles away.

I decided this warranted further investigation. I carefully read through the three pages. It seemed as if my friend had written down the things he had been doing, talking about his house, his work, and his family—the kinds of things you would tell someone on the phone or in an email or even on Facebook or X or some other platform. He also commented on things I had told him in the past and asked how I and my family were doing. This was very strange. It was like he had found a new and hitherto unknown way of communicating. I was dumbfounded.

I decided to do a little historical research. I was curious about whether such a thing might have been done in the distant past or if my friend had invented something new. What I discovered was amazing. Apparently, in ancient times, this type of thing had been done before. It even had a name. It was called a “letter.” How had I never heard of this before?

Even more strange was the fact that in this “letter,” my friend had suggested that I “write a letter” back to him just as he had done to me. I wasn’t sure this would even be possible.

But I decided to give it a try. It felt strange to be doing something so unusual and unexpected. I’ll do it to humor my friend, but I can’t imagine that this sort of thing will ever catch on or become widespread.

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Car Shopping by Tara Randel

Posted on September 30, 2024 by tararandel

Earlier this summer my vehicle started having trouble. I love my 2003 Jeep Liberty. I was only supposed to have it for a few years, but ten years later, it’s mostly going strong. With a bit of age creeping in.

My husband and I went car shopping, and I test drove all the vehicles that are comparable in size to my Liberty. Problem? I didn’t want a newer car. Especially after my husband brought the Jeep to some buddies at a garage and they told him how to fix the problem. He got the parts and replaced a few things. (What, I don’t know. I am not a car person.) His time and labor took care of the problem and while my car is still creaky, the air conditioning runs super cold, I only drive the Jeep around town and the major point is, I like it!

I finally narrowed my search down to a few specific models, but my heart isn’t in it. I don’t want car payments, for sure. If my car just stopped running, that’s a different story. I’d have to make a decision.

Is it just me or do most people have a problem with change?

I suppose the answer would be that everyone is different. My husband loves cars, so car shopping is fun for him. I go home with a headache. And even though we both come at the process from different angles, we did have fun spending time together while looking at cars.

It made me think about how well our Father knows us. He places us with people who bolster us when we might not be doing well in an area because they are stronger than we are. Or on the flip side, I might be able to help someone who is struggling because I have a differing point of view or experience. My issue is that I don’t like change, but my husband is an adventurer who isn’t afraid to drop everything to try something new. Yet we still work as a couple.

God had blessed us all with wonderful people in our lives. We also encounter challenging people, but in it all, God is with us. He places us with people who might need us or we them. We have an opportunity to show the Father’s love to the world just by being who we are. God has uniquely made us all. It’s great that we aren’t all carbon copies of each other.

It may have seemed like I rambled from my car shopping story to focusing on our gracious God, but I wanted to take a task we’ve all experienced in life to highlight how God is with us in every situation. In the process of shopping, we got to meet people and shine the love of God on them. I learned to appreciate my husband so much more. And even though I’m not a fan of car shopping, I made the effort to give my opinion instead of letting my husband handle it because I couldn’t be bothered. God works for all our good, even in the mundane process of car shopping.

Just so you know, I’m still driving the Jeep and I’m very happy. My husband is still looking for cars, which makes him very happy. That might change in the future, but we’ll handle it together and with God.

Tara Randel is an award-winning, USA Today bestselling author. Family values, a bit of mystery and of course, love and romance, are her favorite themes, because she believes love is the greatest gift of all. Look for her Harlequin Heartwarming romance THE SURPRISE NEXT DOOR, available May 2025. For more information about her books, visit Tara at www.tararandel.com. Like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TaraRandelBooks. 

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Humility by James R. Coggins

Posted on September 25, 2024 by jrcoggins

The biblical writer James wrote: “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’…Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that’” (James 4:13-15).

All of us make plans, and planning is generally a good thing. So, what was James’s point? James called this type of planning “arrogant” and “boastful.” Why? Because we “do not even know what will happen tomorrow” and our life is “a mist” that could vanish in an instant (James 4:14).

This small section seems to be a stand-alone comment, unrelated to what has gone before. But it is thematically related to the previous section (James 3:13-4:12). There, James talked about two ways of living, one rooted in arrogance and the other rooted in humility. The arrogant way is characterized by “bitter envy and selfish ambition,” which leads to fighting and quarreling to get what we want and to slandering other people. The humble way is characterized by good deeds, peacemaking, love, consideration of others, mercy, and righteousness. Instead of fighting and quarreling to get what we want, James encouraged us to “ask God”—provided we ask with right motives. James summed up his advice with: “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you” (James 4:7-8)

This new section on “boasting about tomorrow” continues the emphasis on humility. When we say we are going to do this or that, we are really saying that we are in control, that we can do what we want. (Note that the people James was talking about were not going to another city to do “good deeds” but to “make money.”) Not only should we humbly and voluntarily submit to God, but we are actually powerless to resist God’s decisions. Saying, “If it is God’s will” is not just an acceptance of our lack of control, an acceptance of our fate, but it echoes James’s earlier advice to actively seek God’s will. If we are doing what God is telling us to do, then He will enable us to do it. If we want to know what our attitude really is, this passage offers us a good guide. When we find ourselves saying, “I am going to…” it tells us that we are in danger of being arrogant and sinful and not submitting to God. 

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Sprinting in Faith by Nancy J. Farrier

Posted on September 23, 2024 by Nancy J. Farrier
Photo by Braden Collum on Unsplash

Writing is often a solitary business. You have your writing area, usually away from people or things that might distract—such as cute cat videos or a good book to read. When you are on your own, it’s often easy to be distracted from the task at hand and losing track of what you should be doing.

If you think about it, most jobs come with a workplace, coworkers, and a boss, all who expect you to carry your share of the workload for the hours you are at your job. Just being in their presence gives you incentive to not only work harder but to do a better job.

There are some jobs, such as writing, where we don’t have those same incentives. Writing a book and seeing it in print nudges us to keep working, but deadlines are often months in the future. When that happens, it can be so easy to drag your feet when you need to be working.

Just recently, I’ve discovered writing sprints set up through Zoom. The ones I’ve joined have anywhere from a few authors to twenty or more all ready to work. The host of the Zoom meeting asks people what they are working on today. Then the host sets a timer for 25 minutes and everyone gets to work. 

At the end of the 25 minutes, the timer goes off and everyone comes back on screen. We take a few minutes to share what we’re accomplished with plenty of encouragements to go around. Then the timer starts for another 25 minutes and we’re off again. We usually do this in sets of three, sometimes four.

It is amazing how much work you can get done in a focused 25 minute sprint. Being with other authors who are also working, hearing their goals, and seeing the difference community makes is an encouragement to keep going. 

I am reminded of Hebrews 10: 24-25.

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another…”

I’ve always heard this verse used in context of making sure we attend church regularly or meet for Bible study. But what if it can also mean working together, or meeting for coffee, or having dinner with friends? As long as we “stir up” one another in our faith as we come together, then this scripture can apply. 

Maybe we need to consider how each of us can apply this verse in our lives. Even when meeting together is inconvenient, putting out the effort is worth that slight disturbance to our normal schedule. 

I loved writing sprints so much that I started my own sprints in the afternoons. I invited others to join me and the group is slowly growing. To be honest, I almost quit. For the first two weeks, I was the only one attending the sprints. Slowly others have joined in and now there is someone writing with me almost every day.

Encouraging one another is a gift from God. Consider who you can encourage and how you can do so. You might just find that you are the one most uplifted as God blesses you.

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Paul Simon Is a Poet by James R. Coggins

Posted on September 18, 2024 by jrcoggins

I discovered the music of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel when I was in university, and I was deeply impressed, particularly by the lyrics, most of which were written by Paul Simon.

As the years have gone on, I have remained impressed. Paul Simon’s songs offer a deep understanding of the brokenness of the world, even if they offer few solutions.

More recently, I noticed how often Simon’s songs mention poetry. This might have been one reason the songs first resonated with me because at the time I was studying English literature and poetry. Here are some examples from Simon’s lyrics:

• “She faded in the night like a poem I meant to write” (“Leaves That Are Green,” 1965).

• “You read your Emily Dickenson and I my Robert Frost” (“The Dangling Conversation”).

• “Every stop is neatly planned for a poet and a one-man band” (“Homeward Bound,” 1966).

• “The poet reads his crooked rhyme” (“Bleecker Street”).

• “I have my books and my poetry to protect me” (“I Am a Rock,” 1965).

• “The crayon on the wall he slashes…a single-worded poem comprised of four letters, and his heart is laughing, screaming, pounding, the poem across the tracks rebounding” (“A Poem on the Underground Wall”).

• A similar idea is presented in “The Sound of Silence” (1964): “And the sign flashed out its warning in the words that it was forming, and the sign said, ‘The words of the prophets are written on subway walls and tenement halls.’”

• The song “Richard Cory” is a rewriting of a poem by Edwin Arlington Robinson.

I doubt that many modern songwriters are as familiar with poetry as Simon is. Why the interest in poetry? I think it is partly because, for Paul Simon the songwriter, the lyrics mattered, the message mattered.

I am a writer, and I agree.

It is significant that Simon earned a university degree in English. With YouTube turning teenagers into celebrities, some modern songwriters are high school dropouts.

In my estimation, too many modern songs are admired because of the instrumental music, the pyrotechnical display (in a live concert), the music video (onscreen), or the gyrations and image of the singer (shirtless men and scantily clad women seem to have become the norm)—everything but the lyrics. The words, all ten of them, are repeated over and over (as well as a lot of “Ahs,” “Ohs,” “Oohs,” and “Yeahs”). The words don’t matter.

Words do matter, and that is why I think Paul Simon’s music will endure long after many other songs have been forgotten.

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Everybody Needs a Martha!

Posted on September 17, 2024 by Author Mary Alford

The story of Martha from the Bible reveals several things about her. She had a servant’s heart. We first meet Martha while she and her sister and brother are hosting a dinner for Jesus. Martha wanted everything to be perfect and got frustrated with her sister Mary for not helping.

We later read about Martha after her brother Lazarus died. She meets Jesus and tells Him that if He’d been there, her brother wouldn’t have died, but then she says something that shows her faith in Jesus.  

But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.

In both these incidences, Martha speaks without really considering the consequences of her words. Still, we can learn much from Martha’s story such as don’t stress about the insignificant things in life and don’t let anything shake your faith in Jesus.

That’s the Martha from the Bible. Let me tell you about my friend, Martha.

She’s outspoken like Martha from the Bible, but she has a heart of gold, and she’s been one of my biggest supporters as an author.

Recently, when a few days before my husband and I were scheduled to leave for Colorado, the cabin where we thought we’d be staying wasn’t ready, Martha offered her cabin to us to stay.

I’d told Martha we were going to Colorado a few weeks before the problem came up, and she’d told me she wished we could have stayed in her cabin. That’s just like Martha. Always so giving.

At the time I thanked her for her kind offer and then later when I found out that our cabin wouldn’t be ready, I asked her if we could stay at hers for a few days. She never hesitated to tell me we could stay as long as we wanted.

She and her husband built the cabin many years ago. They spent most summers there together. When we bought our cabin up there in the small community in the middle of national forest, we had the honor of meeting these two wonderful people.

After Ed passed away, Martha still came and spent several months up there by herself. She drove herself there and stayed until the weather started changing in October.  

The Martha I know is a strong woman. She’s outspoken like the Martha from the Bible, but her faith in Jesus is every bit as unshakable as Lazarus’s sister. And it’s been a blessing and an honor to call her a friend.

I wish I had a picture to post of her smiling face, but I don’t, so I’ll let you leave that to your imagination.

I hope each of you are blessed enough to have someone in your life like my friend Martha. Because everybody needs a Martha!

Here are a few photos taken from the cabin. I hope you enjoy them.

All the best. . .

Mary

www.maryalford.net

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The Unruly Tongue by James R. Coggins

Posted on September 11, 2024 by jrcoggins

The Biblical writer James addressed the dangers associated with the tongue (that is, associated with our words) in James 1:19-27.

In James 3:1-12, he went further. James began by warning, “Not many of you should become teachers…because…we who teach will be judged more strictly.” James included himself in this, and there were certainly times when he said the wrong thing. James then compared the power of the tongue to the power of a bit in a horse’s mouth or a ship’s rudder. If we take the analogy of the church being the body of Christ, the teacher/preacher can be considered the tongue. As such, the preacher has the power to guide the whole body (like a ship’s rudder or a horse’s bit) but also the power to “corrupt the whole body” (James 3:6). False teachers and false prophets have been a problem throughout history, a corrupting influence on the people of God in the Old Testament and in the church. In the modern era, we can see it in the sordid history of televangelists and morally flawed megachurch pastors (as well as some morally flawed but less prominent pastors). Power of any kind can easily go the head. And yet teachers are still necessary. James himself, in spite of past failures, was continuing to teach through this letter. Teachers are necessary, but teachers need to be warned to teach with humility, fear, and trembling, very aware of the judgement of God.

James also talked of the corrupting power of the tongue generally. He said it is virtually untameable, “a restless evil, full of deadly poison” (James 3:7-8). James then suggested that what comes out of the mouth reflects what is inside the person. This reflects Jesus’ teaching. Jesus said, “What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them” (Matthew 15:11), adding that what comes out of the mouth originates in the evil in people’s hearts (Matthew 15:18-19). Jesus also said, “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit…A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of” (Luke 6:43-45). Jesus also said, “Watch out for false prophets.…By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit” (Matthew 7:15-20). James used a very similar image: “Can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs?” (James 3:11).

This sounds as if the situation is hopeless—the tongue is untameable. But what James actually said is, “No human being can tame the tongue” (James 3:8). What is impossible for human beings is possible with God (Matthew 19:26). In Mark 13:11 and Luke 12:12, Jesus told His followers that they should not worry about what to speak when they were brought to trial because “the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.” Jesus also promised in Acts 1:8: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses.” We cannot tame the tongue, but if God has entered our lives, if His Holy Spirit is redeeming and controlling us, then He can tame the tongue.

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Keep Track of Reading by Tara Randel

Posted on September 9, 2024 by tararandel

Have you ever wondered how many books you read each year? I never really thought about it until the women in my chiropractor’s office were talking about it. It was in January of this year and the doctor was lamenting the fact that she hadn’t had the time in 2023 to keep up with her reading progress. Before that, we frequently suggested books to each other and the office staff. It’s a treat to show up for an appointment and find out which new books and authors everyone loves. The doctor even has a small lending library in her office to take or exchange books.

After that visit, I have to admit, I was curious. How many books do I read?

Once I finish a book, I dive into the To Be Read pile next to my bed for my next adventure. I look ahead to new books released by my favorite authors so I can order them in advance. I’m always reading, whether it’s a romance, mystery, thriller, or a combination of these. During my devotional time I read topical Christian books.

So why not discover how many books I read?

As of September 2024, I have read 53 books. This averages out to about six books a month. The most I read in one month was eleven. I don’t have anyone to compare the number with, but as far as I’m concerned, this is pretty normal for me. I’ve always been a big reader and now that I write books, I’m reading all the time.

As I was getting into this concept of recording the books I’ve read, I was on Amazon one day and came across a number of journals you can purchase to log your results. Some keep the number of books read, others are more elaborate including date, name of book and page count. There are logs that look like the library cards that used to be in the back of library books, which is nostalgic for me because I remember those days. You can buy an entire stack if you really want to get into the fun. One book had a graphic of a stack of books where you write in the name of the books you’ve read along the spine. There are bookmarks to record the number. I even saw a pocket-sized book log. Some come with stickers or others have room for you to review the book. The journals are either very basic or very nice hardcovered copies. Yes, I went down a rabbit hole of research.  

I went old school to start, keeping track of books read on a piece of paper. But next year, I’m going to order a journal or the library cards and make a big deal about my progress.

Here’s my challenge to you. Why not plan on keeping track of the books you’ll read in 2025? It’s only a few months away. You can get caught up in searching for different logbooks or journals before the new year so you’re ready to go on January 1. Maybe you’d just like to keep track of your favorite books. Or you can keep it a mystery and not figure out how big of a reader you are. Bottom line, reading is fun, whether you keep track or not. Isn’t that why we love books?

I’ll come back to this topic later this year to record my final tally of books read and to see if you are on board with the journey to keep track of books read. In the meantime, keep reading!

Tara Randel is an award-winning, USA Today bestselling author. Family values, a bit of mystery and of course, love and romance, are her favorite themes, because she believes love is the greatest gift of all. Look for her Harlequin Heartwarming romance, THE SURPRISE NEXT DOOR, available MAY 2025 . For more information about her books, visit Tara at www.tararandel.com. Like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TaraRandelBooks. 

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