Why Amazon is a Threat to Human Rights by James R. Coggins

Posted on May 29, 2024 by jrcoggins

Among the fundamental human rights are freedom of thought and freedom of expression. The first demands the second. There is not much point in having freedom of thought if you can’t express your thoughts.

Thoughts are expressed in many ways. You can speak those thoughts in person, to a single individual or to a large crowd. You can broadcast your thoughts on radio, TV, YouTube, or some other social network. You can portray thoughts in dramatic form through stage plays, movies, and TV shows. You can express your thoughts in print, through letters, newspapers, magazines, blog posts, and books.

And this is where Amazon comes in. Amazon’s clear goal is to dominate online retailing. It has largely succeeded in this and is becoming more dominant all the time. Amazon has 310 million subscribers with $1.4 billion in sales every day.

Amazon began by selling books, and books are where Amazon becomes a threat to human rights. About 50 million books are bought in Canada every year, and over half of those are bought online. And Amazon is by far the largest online retailer in Canada, with over 40% of the total market.

I feel this acutely because I write and publish books, and I live and write in Canada, primarily for a Canadian audience. Amazon is so dominant that many bookstores have gone out of business. If you want to sell books in Canada, you have to be on Amazon. You might be able to sell books through Indigo (formerly Chapters and Coles) or Barnes & Noble (which sells online in Canada through its US website, but has almost no profile in Canada), but they might not stock those books.

Through my Mill Lake Books imprint, I have published over two dozen books, a few of which I have written myself. They are printed through IngramSpark, a print-on-demand publisher in the US, and distributed through Ingram, one of the largest book distributors in the world, particularly of Christian books. One of the great advantages is that all Ingram books are automatically listed with online retailers such as Amazon and are available for order from thousands of bookstores.

Well, maybe not automatically. My latest book, Too Many Deaths, was released last November, and I began promoting it, specifically mentioning that it could be purchased through Amazon. I was therefore puzzled when it was not selling. I checked online and discovered that the book could be purchased from Amazon in the US (but couldn’t be shipped from there to Canada). Amazon.ca, the Canadian branch of Amazon, listed it for sale but said it was “currently unavailable.” The book was available, but some glitch had occurred, and the book’s availability listing was incorrect.

And nothing could be done about it. IngramSpark’s efforts to resolve the situation achieved nothing. I tried in vain to contact Amazon, but Amazon is such a massive beast that it is essentially unresponsive. I was shuffled from one department to another—to customer service, to seller services (I am not the seller; Ingram is), to Kindle Direct Publishing (Amazon’s own print-on-demand publisher, which competes with IngramSpark). Amazon is simply too big to care.

The result is that I had put a great deal of effort into publishing a book that I could not sell. I am not suggesting that Amazon was censoring or blacklisting my book. Amazon does not seem to have any moral sense; it seems willing to sell anything that can return a profit. The problem was simply a glitch in the computer systems. In the end, I was forced to republish the book through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing. The book is now available for sale in Canada, but the customer has to search hard for the correct price ($17.99 in Canada, $12.99 in the US). Amazon.ca is so convoluted that the primary seller listed is often not Amazon itself or IngramSpark but some secondary retailer, in Europe or somewhere else, which offers the book at a very large markup. The customer pays an inflated price, but I, as the author and publisher, receive only the same small royalty.

The reality is ominous. Amazon, like any monopoly, has become so dominant that it has the ability to determine which books are available for purchase. Our freedom of expression exists only to the extent that Amazon allows it.

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Agents of Light

Posted on May 28, 2024 by Author Mary Alford

Recently, I was talking about my latest release, The Last to Know, and the question came up about how I personally dealt with writing dark subjects such as the villain in the book. The Last to Know features a team of Behavioral Analysis Unit agents working with the FBI to take down a serial killer known as the Embalmer.

When I write a thriller such as The Last to Know, the darkness that is featured there is only part of the story. There’s so much more. As Christians, we are called to be the light of the world. And I think our light shines the brightest when we are facing down the darkness.

I love the idea of taking something truly dark and scary like the Embalmer character and pitting him against agents of the light. And I do see the agents of the Behavioral Analysis Unit as agents of light.

After researching the BAU and writing two books that feature the unit, I have a whole new appreciation for those who do this type of work daily. Imagine this is your job; to look into the mind of a killer and try to understand what makes him or her tick? It would be so easy to burn out if not develop a defeatist attitude when it feels like you’re fighting a losing battle. So, my hats off to all those who work tirelessly to push back the darkness. 

As an author, before I even write the first word, I know who is going to win.   

Just like we as Christians know how the story ultimately ends and who wins.

Knowing this helps us follow Matthew 5:14-16 when it says,

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Unlike fiction, we don’t always know how our story ends here on earth, but we do know who holds it in the palm of His hand and will help us face whatever darkness comes our way head on.

So, when you are facing down the darkness of the world, know that The Light of The World stands with you every step along the way. The battle is over. He has defeated death and darkness. We just have to do our part as agents of light and let your lights shine!

Mary

http://www.maryalford.net

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Holidays and Jeeps by Tara Randel

Posted on May 27, 2024 by tararandel

Happy Memorial Day. Today we honor those who served our country. Some paid the highest price to keep our country free. We thank them and all those who choose to serve in the US military today.

Long weekends are a great time to get out and have some fun. At our house, we turn to Jeeps. Yes, we load up the Jeep and haul it to the forest where we ride in the dust, mud, and beautiful trails. You might say, I don’t see the fun in that. Let me assure you, it’s an adventure.

While I don’t drive, I am a very enthusiastic passenger. Really, going on a drive through the woods is beautiful. We pass different scenery, all in one trip. There are carve outs for the more daring drivers, and lazy trails that take us through the trees. There’s always something new to view, like driving through a woody area to end up in a meadow.

Here are a few pictures I managed to snap on our journey.

I hope you have a wonderful holiday as we kick off the summer season. There are so many wonderful places to visit, so get out there and explore this summer!

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. For more information about her books, visit Tara at www.tararandel.com. Like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TaraRandelBooks. Sign up for Tara’s Newsletter.

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Maria’s Muses Book Blitz Where Every Post is a Giveaway by Julie Arduini

Posted on May 24, 2024 by juliearduini

The author’s life is often a lonely one where victories are few. Books often take hundreds of hours to write, edit, revise, format, publish and market. It’s not for the weak!

When authors can gather around and encourage each other, it’s special. One author who is so good at this is Maria T. Henriksen. She is the author of the Not Again series, an edgy Christian Coming-of-Age story. She created monthly game nights that I have enjoyed participating in and even hosting. She has regular events to join authors and readers together.

Tomorrow is a big event and it’s celebrating Maria’s group, Maria’s Muses 5th anniversary. From 10-10 Eastern every single post is a giveaway.

Did you read that?

Every. Single. Post.

There are softcover book giveaways, Kindle book giveaways, swag, and $10 Amazon gift cards. Many authors are participating from various genres.

I’m really excited to be participating. Look for me at Maria’s Muses under #ArduiniBlitz. I hope to see you there!

The giveaways are in no way sponsored by FB or Maria’s Muses.

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What Goes Wrong?

Posted on May 23, 2024 by Patricia Bradley

I volunteer with Advocates for Freedom, and every morning I receive a text with the names of three missing teenagers to pray for. Some of them have been gone only days, but some have been gone months, even years. The youngest has been eleven, but most are teenagers. And most are girls.

It breaks my heart to read about these teens each morning. Teens with names like Beautiful, Heaven, Miracle, Precious, Ella Celeste…and the names go on. These are names parents prayed over and thought about for a long time–they didn’t just slap a name on their baby. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, something went wrong. Either a child ran away or the unthinkable happened and human trafficking is involved.

Until 2017, I knew little about human trafficking, but that all changed when a member of Advocates For Freedom spoke at my church in North Mississippi. As I listened to her talk about the horrors of human trafficking, I knew I had to write about it. At the time I had started working on the first book in my Memphis Cold Case Novels, Justice Delayed. In that book, I laid the groundwork for Justice Delivered, the story of a woman who escaped her captors and is working hard on building a new life. It is the most emotionally difficult book I’ve written.

The more I researched, the harder the book was to write. By this time I was receiving the daily list of teens to pray for and learning that many were runaways. Human traffickers often lurk at bus stops, and lure young girls who’ve run away from home. My prayer always is that the teens will find Jesus, and that there will be someone, like the women in Atlanta who offer coffee on cold winter nights to those who are caught up in the web of prostitution. More than one girl has been rescued from the streets by these dedicated women.

What’s so sad is that human trafficking is almost impossible to stamp out–it’s too profitable. In 2004, it was estimated human trafficking generated $150 billion dollars. In 2022, profits from modern slavery generated $245 billion a year.

What’s the answer? The only answer can be God. He’s the only one Who can change hearts, and that’s my prayer each morning for the dealers of human trafficking — that they will come to know Jesus as well and that their hearts are changed.

Please join with me in praying for victims of human trafficking. I can’t help find them, but I can pray for them. And pray for those who perpetrate it as well.

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The Book of James by James R. Coggins

Posted on May 22, 2024 by jrcoggins

The book of James was written by “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ” (James 1:1) This is most likely James, the brother of Jesus. It is remarkable that he describes himself simply as “a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ” (James 1:1), without mentioning the relationship. He could have played up the relationship to bolster his own status, but he did not. By this time, he must have realized that Jesus was not like him—Jesus did not have the same DNA, but was the Son of God.

Matthew 13:55 contains a description of the family offered by some local Jews: “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas?” So, Jesus apparently had at least four brothers and perhaps some sisters. It is likely that Joseph (the father) had died by then and Jesus would have been head of the family.

James had an up and down relationship with his older brother. At first, he and the rest of the family were quite supportive, even proud, of their sibling. They were part of Jesus’ entourage. John 2:12 says, “After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.”

Later on, John 7:1-4 says, “After this, Jesus went around in Galilee. He did not want to go about in Judea because the Jewish leaders there were looking for a way to kill him. But when the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near, Jesus’ brothers said to him, ‘Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.’” This suggests that the brothers were encouraging Jesus in His ministry and perhaps even telling Him how to do it, urging Him to get on with it. But the next verse, John 7:5, suggests that doubts and criticisms were starting to creep in: “For even his own brothers did not believe in him.” They did not believe/trust that Jesus knew what He was doing and wanted Him to do things their way. Perhaps, like many of Jesus’ other followers, they were hoping Jesus would lead an armed rebellion against Rome and restore the Kingdom of Judah—and grant them important posts in the new regime. Jesus told His brothers to go to the festival without Him, saying, “My time has not yet fully come” (John 7:8). Jesus did follow them to the festival but secretly (John 7:10-11).

As time went on, the doubts Jesus’ family had about Him grew. Mark 3:20-21 says, “Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, ‘He is out of his mind.’” This was only a slightly better assessment than that of the teachers of the law, who were convinced Jesus was possessed by Satan (Mark 3:22). Jesus, however, rejected His family’s intervention: “Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, ‘Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.’ ‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’ he asked. Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother’” (Mark 3:31-35). After this, Jesus seems to have been estranged from His family, for they are not mentioned. Jesus’ mother Mary was present at His crucifixion, but his brothers apparently were not. Jesus had to pass on responsibility for caring for His mother to John, one of His followers (John 19:26-27).

However, at some point something changed. In describing Jesus’ resurrection, Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:7, “Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.” This suggests that Jesus appeared to His brother James after His resurrection, turning James from a skeptic to a believer. In any case, James was soon a leader in the Jerusalem church.

The death and resurrection of Jesus changes things. It especially changes people.

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Coals of Fire by Nancy J. Farrier

Posted on May 20, 2024 by Nancy J. Farrier
Photo by Andrey Andreyev on Unsplash

I needed new glasses so I went to an optical department—a busy place where I had to scan a QR code to get a place in line. As I waited for my turn, I observed the people who were working and their interactions with the customers. There were eight different customer service people working that counter—a busy place. 

At least one person got tired of waiting, grumbled at me about the time, and left. The workers were doing their best but the wait was long. As I watched the people working, there was one woman who was very brisk and from where I stood, didn’t seem to have a congenial manner. I didn’t say anything but internally thought, Please don’t let me get that woman.

Of course, God in His wisdom had that very person call my number. With no choice, I pasted on a smile and hoped the interaction would be quick anyway. 

I approached the counter and held up my phone to show her my number. This woman I had deemed to be less than congenial, smiled at me and said, “Your earrings are so beautiful. They look great on you.”

She went on to be the nicest person who’d helped me in a long time. I explained I wanted glasses similar to what I was wearing. She took me to the case of glasses, picked out a pair, and they were perfect.

My prior negative thought and judgement against her burned deep within and I prayed for God’s forgiveness. I was reminded of the following advice in Proverbs.

“If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; For so you will heap coals of fire on his head, And the Lord will reward you.” Proverbs 25: 21-22

In Biblical days, when people traveled, they carried hot coals in a box on their head so they would be able to start a fire for cooking and warmth when they stopped for the night. Heaping coals of fire on someone’s head was a good thing because you were giving them a way to provide for themselves. You were helping them—helping the enemy in this case.

Although the worker didn’t realize it, I was her enemy at this point. My judgmental thought about her character made me that. When she was so kind to me, I realized the disservice I had done for her. As a Christian, I am called to love others, not to look at them critically and harshly. I am called to love as God loves.

I realized I had much to repent. This harried woman, who was dealing with people who had a long wait and possibly were frustrated, showed me nothing but kindness. I don’t know how I saw her otherwise. I was in the wrong and needed this lesson.

When the woman finished my order, she insisted on taking my old glasses and replacing the nose pieces which kept falling out. She put in new pieces and cleaned the lenses for me. I thanked her profusely, leaving with a thankfulness to God for allowing me to learn this painful lesson, and for placing this kind soul in my path.

My prayer for you this week, is that you consider those you come in contact with in light of God’s love. May we all look at others through the filter of God’s love, even when we’re standing in line and frustrated. Maybe we can find an opportunity to “heap coals of fire”  on someone and make their day a little better.

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Living the Gospel by James R. Coggins

Posted on May 15, 2024 by jrcoggins

David was one of the most learned theologians I have had the privilege of knowing. He was a seminary professor and a Bible college president. He wrote a number of learned but readable books. He was a member of various denominational faith and life boards. When a particularly difficult theological issue arose, it was fascinating to watch the rest of the board automatically turn and look to David to provide the answer.

David was also a man of great integrity. He did the work to earn a doctorate in Old Testament studies, but when the divinity school insisted he change the contents of his dissertation to suit the school’s more liberal theology, he refused and walked away. He started over and earned a doctorate in New Testament studies from another university. He was once asked to join a group of scholars working on a new translation of the Bible but refused when he found out the translators would be housed in a hotel in Hawaii while they did their work. He did not believe it was possible to properly translate the Bible while living in a luxury hotel.

What was less well known was that David had a keen sense of humor, which only came into view in private settings. One of the stories he told in such settings concerned a famous and highly regarded theologian whom David had studied under. The students one day asked this professor what he did just before he went on stage to preach. They were expecting a devout and profoundly theological answer. His answer was, “I check my fly.” He knew that an open fly would distract attention from whatever theological truths he was about to preach.

I have often thought of that story. Looking over the North American church in the last few decades and considering the many scandals that have marred that history, I wish that, before undertaking public ministry, many more preachers had “checked their fly.” It is far too easy for sinful human beings to focus their attention on lofty theological, ecclesiastical, and philosophical concepts and forget that the gospel needs to be put into practice in everyday human life, with all of its mundane aspects and earthly temptations. The most profound theological constructs will fall on deaf ears if they are not backed up by practical integrity.

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Why Surrender the Good by Julie Arduini

Posted on May 10, 2024 by juliearduini

Julie’s Note:

This is a revised post from my new Substack. Substack is part blog, part newsletter.

I write once a week on surrender issues with chocolate mentions.

Always with encouragement, never preachy.

Consistently authentic.

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***

I remember driving my car, dog in tow, as part of a caravan leaving Upstate NY for the Ohio/PA border. I was thirty-four and except for college, that area had been my home. It’s all I knew. My reality was a move to Ohio for my husband’s job.

Oh, and everyone I knew lived in Upstate NY too. Including my recently widowed mother and my grieving sister. The loss was so brutal, followed up with my moving that my mother approached my husband and begged him to take a job at McDonald’s just so we could be local. “If you move, it will be like another death to me.”

Yeah.

Driving those 300 miles, I asked why a lot. Why would I leave everyone and everything that was good for a place I knew no one and nothing?

This year will be the twentieth anniversary of that move. It didn’t take long to see why that move needed to happen. Our daughter, a baby at the time, was quite sick. She received amazing care that was close by. Our son made friends because he was in a classroom versus the homeschooling I had done in NY. Had we stayed, even switching to a school would have put him in a rural district with very few kids to play with. My husband found his niche immediately at the church we still call home.

Me? It took a little longer, but I remember years later seeing the visual on Facebook with the little girl and her ragged doll. Jesus was asking her to give HIm the doll. She was reluctant, asking why.

What she couldn’t see was a better doll behind his back.

When I started writing, my tagline became “Surrendering the good, the bad, and—-maybe one day—-the chocolate.”

I’m often asked about the good. Why surrender that?

The bad makes sense. Quitting smoking is a great surrender. But what if you’re minding your own business, doing great, and being kind and something comes along that requires you to let go of something good?

Before I met my husband, I was friends with a guy who others said we’d be a great match. Looking back, being Christians was the only thing we had in common. I was young and took those opinions as gospel. I was certain he had to be the one.

Well, he was not. When I found out, I remember being shocked I didn’t even cry. I was embarrassed and confused, but I wasn’t sad. It was weird but I said a prayer as I drove home. It was something like, “Hey, God, thanks. If this guy wasn’t it for me and he was good, then I know You have something even better.”

Three months later I met my husband.

Surrender is hard, and I wonder if surrendering the good is harder than the bad. It’s a big leap with no guarantees. What if you had a job and you felt that nudge to apply to the one you found out about? I’ve seen that happen. The person surrendered the good and obeyed. Turns out that good job closed down a year later. The person was at the new place, thriving.

I can’t promise you surrendering the good in your life will be easy, or a straight shot to fun and reward. I can tell you there is a purpose in it. God isn’t a cosmic joker ready to point and yell “Gotcha”. That’s not who He is. Ever.

I’ve had to surrender good enough times to know the picture with the doll is accurate. I still struggle and ask why, but I’ve never regretted being obedient.

If you’re called to surrender a good thing, take the leap of faith. God’s holding something better behind His back.

Oh, the tagline about maybe one day the chocolate? Today is not that day.

How about you? What good things has God asked you to surrender?

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Welcome to my land . . .

Posted on May 9, 2024 by dtopliff

As shared in my fun, helpful memoir/travelogue, A Traveling Grandma’s Guide to Israel: Adventures, Wit, and Wisdom, there’s a wonderful, little-known network of Christian believers in Israel (if you can find them) that helps travelers know where to go, who to meet, etc. I’m still friends with many I met on my first life-changing trip there in 1980 and connect often again in my eight additional trips since.

That first time, a friend and I stayed with Tina, a dynamo Dutch nurse, and her Jewish-Christian husband in a Jerusalem suburb, they gave a great introduction to the country. When it was time to visit Galilee, Tina put us in touch with friends there who offered simple housing and warm fellowship at low cost. As a volunteer North American Bible college teacher, I had a shoestring budget. To economize, our hostess suggested we ride a boat one-way across the Sea of Galilee on that Saturday (Sabbath-Shabbat) morning to explore the other side until sunset when Shabbat ended and the inexpensive Jewish buses began running again.

We found a boat and bought one-way tickets, but the Arab Christian guide wasn’t happy.

“It’s below sea level and hot. If you walk all day, you’ll get sunstroke.”

I promised we’d be careful, but he spoke to the pastor guiding the group onboard from a church in California. That man came to me and explained that their bus on the other side would take them around the Sea of Galilee, up to Metula in Israel’s northwestern corner where it joins Lebanon, through the Golan Heights overlooking Syria, and back to Tiberias where they would deliver us to where they were staying.

“Would you like to join us?” he asked.

I had priced tours, $50 each in 1980, out of my range for one day’s outing.

“What would you have to charge?” I asked.

He beamed. “Could you could each give one smile?”

Could we? With bursting hearts, we gave some of the biggest smiles of our lives!

At the Church of the Beatitudes where Jesus taught His Sermon on the Mount, the pastor had reserved tree-shaded benches with a fabulous view. He handed out Bibles and assigned verses to read aloud. Mine was Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled and abundantly satisfied.”

Before I could finish reading mine, I burst into tears. It was as though Jesus Himself had joined us, His arm sweeping over the landscape saying, “This is my land. Welcome to my home. Let me show you around. Relax. Enjoy.”

We did!

I’ll never forget that welcome. I wish no finer gift for anyone visiting Israel than to have the Lord Himself invite you into His home!

I share that and more in A Traveling Grandma’s Guide to Israel: Adventures, Wit, and Wisdom, available on Amazon and other sites in print, Kindle, and audio. May God bless you and make every Bible event and conversation live for you!

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The Lines by James R. Coggins

Posted on May 8, 2024 by jrcoggins

I remember reading Psalm 16 many years ago, probably in the King James Version, and wondering what the phrase meant that “the lines” had fallen to the psalmist “in pleasant places” (Psalm 16:6). What lies behind this phrase is some history dating back several hundred years. When the Israelites had gained control of the Promised Land, the land was divided up among families by lot. That is, a lottery was used to determine which family would get which piece of land. Some land was obviously better than others, and that land would be passed down from one generation to the next; it was to remain with that family permanently. Lots were used at various times in the Old Testament to decide a variety of things. The assumption was that since human beings did not determine the outcome, it was really God making the decision: “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord” (Proverbs 16:33 NIV). We still use lotteries to determine many things in modern life, from the assignment of dorm rooms to who gets to speak first in a debate and who gets control of the football first. We still speak of building lots and even our “lot in life.”

It is this latter idea that is at work in Psalm 16. The first four verses affirm the psalmist’s commitment to God, his solidarity with others who follow God, and his alienation from those who follow false gods and will suffer the consequences. Then, in verses 5-6, he says that he is lucky or blessed with his inheritance: “The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.” But he is not talking about the piece of land he or his family received. He is talking about his whole life. I have some sense of what the psalmist is feeling. Like many Christians, I look back and say, “God has blessed me with a good life.” There have been struggles and losses, but on the whole things have been good.

But the psalmist goes beyond this to say to God that “You are my portion” (Psalm 16:5). In other words, the “lot” assigned to him is not a piece of land but the presence of God Himself. It is not just that the psalmist’s circumstances are good but that the central aspect of his life is the presence of God. Again, I resonate with this. When I look back, I don’t just look at the good things that have happened to me. I also ponder the fact that I was early on given many opportunities to learn about God and be committed to Him. In a very real sense, I did not choose God, but He chose me. He called me. Why me? Why would God call me to be one of His followers? I feel immensely privileged.

Because of God’s call, I have many blessings. These are outlined by the psalmist in verses 7-11 of Psalm 16: the abiding presence of God, God’s guidance (“The Lord counsels me”), joy (“You will fill me with joy in your presence”), peace (“With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken”), and the assurance that death is not the end and we will be resurrected to have eternal blessings with Him (“You will not abandon me to the realm of the dead”).

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A Blessed Day by Tara Randel

Posted on May 6, 2024 by tararandel

Recently I did a Bible study of 1,2,3 John. The study is called Abide, by Jen Wilkin. She is a wonderful teacher and I always gain so much insight when I listen to the videos that are part of the study.

In one of the sessions, she recited this old prayer from the book, Valley of Vision, a collection of Puritan devotions and prayers. This prayer is about humility and when I heard it, I had to write it down. Today, I’d like to share it with you.

Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly, Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision, where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights; hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold your glory.

Let me learn by paradox that the way down is the way up, that to be low is to be high, that the broken heart is the healed heart, that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit, that the repenting soul is the victorious soul, that to have nothing is to possess all, that to bear the cross is to wear the crown, that to give is to receive, that the valley is the place of vision.

Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from the deepest wells, and the deeper the wells the brighter thy stars shine; Let me find thy light in my darkness, thy life in my death, thy joy in my sorrow, thy grace on my sin, thy riches in poverty, thy glory in my valley.

I hope you have a blessed day!

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. For more information about her books, visit Tara at www.tararandel.com. Like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TaraRandelBooks. Sign up for Tara’s Newsletter.

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The Other John Smyth by James R. Coggins

Posted on May 1, 2024 by jrcoggins

I grew up a Baptist, and, like most other Baptists, I didn’t know much about Baptist history.

That changed in university when I studied history and wrote a paper on John Smyth, the founder of the first Baptist church (see my previous blog on him here). At the suggestion of another student (also a Baptist), I then chose John Smyth and his congregation as the subject of my doctoral thesis.

Trained as a historian, I naturally became an editor and writer. And then, after a while, I began writing contemporary murder mysteries.

The hero of many of my stories was a short, bald, bearded editor with a denominational Christian magazine based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. At the time, I was a short, bald, bearded editor with a denominational Christian magazine based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Writers are told to “write what they know,” but this was a bit of overkill. But I was writing murder mysteries, so overkill fit right in. Or write in.

I was uncertain what to name the hero of my murder mysteries. When I started writing, I temporarily named him John Smyth (the name of the man I had written my thesis about) until I could think of something better. This suggests a definite lack of imagination on my part, which did not bode well for my novel writing career.

Naming my hero John Smyth was a bit of an inside joke. (Like the original John Smyth, I was a Baptist with Mennonite connections.) But the more I worked on that first novel, the better the name seemed.

For one thing, John Smyth is the most generic of names, and yet the unusual spelling (with a Y) made it unique and memorable.

And I started to have some fun with that Y, as John tried to explain the unusual spelling of his last name and ended up blithering, which helped to establish his character as somewhat bumbling. The Why question was a useful counterpoint to the Who (done it) question.

As well, calling himself John Smyth made the police and other people suspicious that he was using an alias or was trying to hide his identity.

Sometimes I wonder what the original John Smyth (the founder of the first Baptist church) would think about how I have made use of his name. But, like him, John Smyth the editor and solver of mysteries, is a Christian. And so am I.

The recently published Too Many Deaths is the fifth and most recent crime book featuring John Smyth and the first since Springtime in Winnipeg (published in 2015). Both are available through bookstores and online retailers such as Amazon.

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Fighting for Your Valuables by Julie Arduini

Posted on April 26, 2024 by juliearduini

A couple weeks ago I took time off from posting to prayerfully press in on some things. When I felt it was time to put into play what I received, this heaven-sent object lesson still resonates. It is so powerful to me.

Think of three things that are valuable to you. It isn’t a test, so you don’t need to give cliche answers. What is valuable to you?

Now imagine a bratty, disrespectful, loud kid who barely reaches your waist comes at you and snatches your valuable things and runs off.

What would you do?

Not how would you feel, what would you do?

Common sense would say it’s a kid. You’re bigger than the kid and carry more authority. He has YOUR valuables.

You’re going to confront the kid and take back what was stolen from you.

As my own object lesson played out, I had a list of things that had been stolen from my family. This isn’t exactly my list but common things the enemy would steal:

Peace

Joy

Compassion

Rest

Desire to serve

A foundation that is built on Christ

You get the picture.

For many of you reading this, the enemy has been robbing you blind. You feel depleted, worn out, defeated and just done.

Here’s what the enemy of your soul wants you to forget. Jesus is in your past—healing it. He’s in your present, loving you. He’s in your future—two minutes to twenty years from now, equipping you.

He’s in the future, whatever that looks like, packing up everything the enemy has stolen from you. And it’s time to pray it through. Confess any sin and stronghold (something like bitterness that seems like a safe place to land but isn’t) and proclaim those things don’t belong with you. Those stay in the enemy’s camp.

But because of Christ and HIs shed blood for you that you acknowledge and surrender to, you’ve got the authority to take back every single thing that was stolen. Those things are for you, that God gave, for you to use to further His Kingdom.

No more depression. No more anxiety. No more apathy.

It’s time.

You are worth fighting for.

YOU are valuable.

Don’t forget the devil, who is very real, has a name he’d rather you never know. Defeated one. His bags of tricks are on a budget, so he’ll use what works. And telling you that you are actually the defeated one is a lie he’s going to throw at you time and time again.

If Christ is your daily life, if you have made Him your priority, if He is your relationship and friend (note I did NOT say religion,) then the defeated one has as much power in your life as that bratty kid.

Walk in victory with your heavenly valuables. It’s time.

This originally appeared March 6, 2024 on my Facebook page. To follow me across social media and book sites, visit Link Tree.

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Connected to Nature by James R. Coggins

Posted on April 24, 2024 by jrcoggins

People in Bible times had a much closer connection to nature than we do. With no electricity or lights, they could see the stars most nights. They traveled mostly on foot—and occasionally on animals—and were not insulated from weather as we are in our cars and trains and airplanes. Working outdoors caring for their fields and animals, they constantly looked at skies, fields, mountains, hills, valleys, springs, streams, rivers, lakes, trees, plants, and animals. Without satellites and modern media, they had little ability to forecast the weather and were at the mercy of heat, cold, storms, lightning, winds, and floods.

Seeing so much of nature, people in Bible times recognized that they were at the mercy of a much greater power. Behind nature, they saw the creativity and power of God: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands” (Psalm 19:1 NIV); “He who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns midnight into dawn and darkens day into night, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out over the face of the land—the Lord is his name” (Amos 5:8). Seeing all this often made them humble. Today, sitting in our air-conditioned offices surrounded by our virtual reality and artificial intelligence, we have the delusion that we are the creators and we are in control—until an earthquake, a hurricane, or a terminal disease brings it all crashing down. Just so, the flood that saved Noah overwhelmed the Tower of Babel; plagues of bloody river water, frogs, gnats, flies, animal diseases, boils, hail, locusts, darkness, and death broke the power of Egypt’s Pharaoh; and the Israelites entering the land of milk and honey were warned that if they stopped following God, God would punish them with “fearful plagues…harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering illnesses…all the diseases of Egypt,” as well as drought, crop-devouring insects, confusion, defeat, failure, invasion, and oppression (Deuteronomy 28:15-68). Revelation warns that human sin brings death through plagues of famine and natural disasters and disease and war. Our sin continues to destroy nature, and God continues to punish sinful humanity with suffering, which is designed to convince us to humble ourselves and commit ourselves to following Him and His ways.

The apostle Paul summarizes: “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse” (Romans 1:18-20). James advises us, “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…Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up” (James 4:7-10).

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