I AM A STEAMFUNKATEER!: Why – and how – I write Steamfunk

At first, I had no great love for steampunk. It seemed stuck in Victorian England, and as another writer has written, "It's a genre based around fashion." I generally don't hang around where i'm not wanted.

Of course that is a bit of an exaggeration. But you know what I mean. Not to mention the whole business about lords and ladies, corsets, women of easy virtue and highwaymen.  Sure, there are all these pocket watches, corsets, waistcoats, top hats and laced boots. But there was also steam. The genre's one saving grace -- or the central core of the genre. 

You can do a lot with steam without having to ponder the whole Victorian wink-wink upperclass issues of pervy shopgirls etc, eugenic Darwinism (as in Time Machine), and the British Empire.  And really, if the basic definition of steampunk is a world where technology is driven by steam and pipes, I can explore and understand it. 

It's the nature of Black folks to create so African-Americans have spent much of our creativity learning to adapt the art styles of the larger cultures we find ourselves in.  

I DO like some steampunk. Philip Reeve's world for instance. But I still want to see more Black, Latino, Native American and Asian folks in steampunk. I am generally not Afro-centric in my writing. I tend to be very multiculti, loving Asian and other cultures as well as the many cultures of the African Diaspora. Isn't a Korean sajeuk or a Japanese samurai period piece another form of Sword and Sorcery?  I also love certain genres and often wish to write in those other genres as well. I like the purity of fairytales. I especially love pure romance. But one rarely sees a Steampunk novel that is multicultural and romantic AND a fairytale....which speak to modern Black or non-white readers. 

So -- for the steamfunk anthology edited by Milton Davis and Balogun Ojatede, I figured, why not extend steamfunk to Korean Joseon times? So I did. What would life be like if a Black princess and a Korean prince were forced to get married back in the day? If we are to be honest about racial issues, and add an acknowledgment of racism to romantic fairytales...and if we are to add fantasy to the mix....well.... anything's possible. My story is in the Steamfunk Anthology. 

For the next Steamfunk anthology, I'll stick closer to home and I might not use the fairytale genre. However I'll keep to the multicultural pattern. A love story about an escaped Black female slave and a Native American youth who helps her escape her owners and the slave bounty hunters. Steamfunk evolves!!!!!!

Please visit the sites of other steamfunk writers:

Milton Davis – Milton Davis is owner/publisher of MVmedia, LLC . As an author he specializes in science fiction and fantasy and is the author of Meji Book One, Meji Book Two and Changa’s Safari. Visit him: www.mvmediaatl.com  andwww.wagadu.ning.com .

Ray Dean – Growing up in Hawaii, Ray Dean had the opportunity to enjoy nearly every culture under the sun. The Steamfunk Anthology was an inspiration she couldn't pass up. Ray can be reached at http://www.raydean.net/.

Malon Edwards – Born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, Malon Edwards now lives in the Greater Toronto Area. Much of his speculative fiction features people of color and is set in his hometown. Malon can be reached at eastofmars.blogspot.com.

Valjeanne Jeffers – is an editor and the author of the SF/fantasy novels: Immortal, Immortal II: The Time of Legend and Immortal III: Stealer of Souls. Her fourth and fifth novels: Immortal IV: Collision of Worlds and The Switch: Clockwork will be released this spring. Visit her at: http://valjeanne.wordpress.com  and http://qandvaffordableediting.blogspot.com/ .

Rebecca M. Kyle – With a birthday on Friday 13, it's only natural that the author is fascinated with myths, legends, and oddities of all kinds. Ms. Kyle lives with her husband, four cats, and more rocks and books than she cares to count between the Smokies and Cumberland mountains. Visit her at http://bexboox13.blogspot.com/.

Carole McDonnell – is a writer of Christian, supernatural, and ethnic stories. Her writings appear in various anthologies, including So Long Been Dreaming: Postcolonialism in Science Fiction, edited by Nalo Hopkinson; Jigsaw Nation; and Life Spices from Seasoned Sistahs: Writings by Mature Women of Color among others. Her reviews appear in print and at various online sites. Her novels are the Christian speculative fiction, Wind Follower, and The Constant Tower. Her Bible study is called: Seeds of Bible Study.   Her website is http://carolemcdonnell.blogspot.com/.

Balogun Ojetade – Author of the bestselling “Afrikan Martial Arts: Discovering the Warrior Within” (non-fiction), “Moses: The Chronicles of Harriet Tubman” (Steamfunk); “Once Upon A Time in Afrika” (Sword and Soul); “Redeemer” (Urban Fantasy) and the film, “A Single Link” and “Rite of Passage”. Finally, he is Co-Author of “Ki-Khanga: The Anthology” and Co-Editor of “Steamfunk!” Visit him: http://chroniclesofharriet.com/.

Hannibal Tabu – is a writer, a storyteller, and by god, a fan. He has written the novels, “The Crown: Ascenscion” and “Faraway” and the upcoming scifi political thriller “Rogue Nation”. He is currently the co-owner and editor-in-chief of Black geek website Komplicated at the Good Men Project, and uses his Operative Network website (www.operative.net) to publish his poetry, market what he's doing, rant at the world and emit strangled cries for help.

Geoffrey Thorne – Geoffrey Thorne has written a lot of stuff in a lot of venues and will be writing more in more. It's his distinct pleasure to take part in another of these groundbreaking anthologies. Thanks for letting me roll with you folks. For more (and God knows why you'd want more) check out http://www.geoffreythorne.com/.

Post modern versus premodern

I recently saw a quote by the author of In God's Good Company, a book about the communion of saints.

The quote was something like. "Post-modern exists only in college. I've found that most people are pre-modern."

I love that quote. Cause it's so true.

Let's see: there was the experiment with kids where kindergarten kids were told that an invisible fairy was sitting in a chair watching them and they would have to be good. The kids who had been told about the invisible fairy were well-behaved while the ones who weren't aware of said invisible fairy  were badly-behaved.

Now, some folks might say that kids believe in fantasies but it turns out that humans also believe in the invisible.

Another bit of research:
When people are told that a certain item belonged to a rich or renowned person, the typical human wants to see it, to touch it. But in the same research, when people are told that a certain item -- in that case a cardigan supposedly belonging to serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer-- they balked at touching it or wearing it. There is the idea of a kind of spiritual contagion or a spiritual blessing.

In fact the world also seems to be pre-modern in its subtle honoring of hierarchy as opposed to pure democracy. Consider how much interest is shown in the lives of so-called important people when it comes to gossip tabloids, autographed items on ebay and what-not. We seek to see the people who are winners, and above us. Even if they did nothing to really deserve their "ranking." Not only do humans have this tendency to honor the big guys or the important members of society but when primates such as chimps and monkeys are shown pictures of their community group, the primates generally pause to look and gaze and stare at the pictures of the alpha males etc in their groups.

No matter how much modern philosophy and rationalizing we modern humans hear about certain life situations, our hearts leap with joy when our dead mother comes to us in a dream because we feel that perhaps she has indeed visited us. And we all get a bit weirded out when passing a cemetery late at night. 

THE STEAMFUNK ANTHOLOGY: What – and why – it is

Steampunk is a special kind of alternate reality fantasy. The world all steampunk shares is a world where steam technology never ended and advanced in its own way. But even then, steampunk was too Euro-centric. 

Black and African-American speculative fiction writers had to change that. There were African-American and Black concerns that could not be honored in steampunk. The Steamfunk anthology is a collection of steampunk stories from the experience of the African diasopora. Call it multi-culti steampunk or steampunk with minority sensibilities. 



Authors included in the steamfunk! anthology are:

Milton Davis – Milton Davis is owner/publisher of MVmedia, LLC . As an author he specializes in science fiction and fantasy and is the author of Meji Book One, Meji Book Two and Changa’s Safari. Visit him: www.mvmediaatl.com  andwww.wagadu.ning.com .

Ray Dean – Growing up in Hawaii, Ray Dean had the opportunity to enjoy nearly every culture under the sun. The Steamfunk Anthology was an inspiration she couldn't pass up. Ray can be reached at http://www.raydean.net/.

Malon Edwards – Born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, Malon Edwards now lives in the Greater Toronto Area. Much of his speculative fiction features people of color and is set in his hometown. Malon can be reached at eastofmars.blogspot.com.

Valjeanne Jeffers – is an editor and the author of the SF/fantasy novels: Immortal, Immortal II: The Time of Legend and Immortal III: Stealer of Souls. Her fourth and fifth novels: Immortal IV: Collision of Worlds and The Switch: Clockwork will be released this spring. Visit her at: http://valjeanne.wordpress.com  and http://qandvaffordableediting.blogspot.com/ .

Rebecca M. Kyle – With a birthday on Friday 13, it's only natural that the author is fascinated with myths, legends, and oddities of all kinds. Ms. Kyle lives with her husband, four cats, and more rocks and books than she cares to count between the Smokies and Cumberland mountains. Visit her at http://bexboox13.blogspot.com/.

Carole McDonnell – is a writer of Christian, supernatural, and ethnic stories. Her writings appear in various anthologies, including So Long Been Dreaming: Postcolonialism in Science Fiction, edited by Nalo Hopkinson; Jigsaw Nation; and Life Spices from Seasoned Sistahs: Writings by Mature Women of Color among others. Her reviews appear in print and at various online sites. Her novels are the Christian speculative fiction, Wind Follower, and The Constant Tower. Her Bible study is called: Seeds of Bible Study.   Her website is http://carolemcdonnell.blogspot.com/.

Balogun Ojetade – Author of the bestselling “Afrikan Martial Arts: Discovering the Warrior Within” (non-fiction), “Moses: The Chronicles of Harriet Tubman” (Steamfunk); “Once Upon A Time in Afrika” (Sword and Soul); “Redeemer” (Urban Fantasy) and the film, “A Single Link” and “Rite of Passage”. Finally, he is Co-Author of “Ki-Khanga: The Anthology” and Co-Editor of “Steamfunk!” Visit him: http://chroniclesofharriet.com/.

Hannibal Tabu – is a writer, a storyteller, and by god, a fan. He has written the novels, “The Crown: Ascenscion” and “Faraway” and the upcoming scifi political thriller “Rogue Nation”. He is currently the co-owner and editor-in-chief of Black geek website Komplicated at the Good Men Project, and uses his Operative Network website (www.operative.net) to publish his poetry, market what he's doing, rant at the world and emit strangled cries for help.

Geoffrey Thorne – Geoffrey Thorne has written a lot of stuff in a lot of venues and will be writing more in more. It's his distinct pleasure to take part in another of these groundbreaking anthologies. Thanks for letting me roll with you folks. For more (and God knows why you'd want more) check out http://www.geoffreythorne.com/.

The book is on sale at: www.mvmediaatl.com 

Self-silencing and Letting go

After one of my Christian friends objected to me saying the world is a magical world, I stopped really writing about myself and religion on my blog. So my blog has been mostly empty. But now...yeah, more stuff that makes me feel the need to go silent. So yeah, time to just rest.

Am in a weird self-silencing and letting go mode. A real tiredness now, because i've spent the past 53 years of my life fearing illness to an obsessive degree, fearing about what folks think about me to the point of being terrified, worried about not having money. And really, what has all that worry done? I've been super careful, super prepared, super-alert to the point of hypervigilance and tiredness. And really, nothing has happened. I want to just chill now. And take whatever comes WHEN it comes, without anticipating. I also find that writing non-fiction and sharing my thoughts leads to sorrow for me, although at times what I say might be healing to others. But in writing fiction, one can tell all one's soul and still be somewhat protected. So am thinking from now on, I will share little of myself directly.

Am thinking this will be one of the last really personal posts on my blogs...then after this...nothing religious, nothing social, nothing societal...only writing related.

Red Flags

My big wish this year is to hear clearly...to hear myself clearly. When I write, when I have conversations with folks, when I meet strangers, when I walk alone...to "hear" clearly what is going on in the back of my mind.

Because I don't.

The Bible says "God's sheep hear His voice." I believe this. I believe our intuition, inner mind, better self, speaks to us and that the still small voice and the stuff we hear at the bottom of my mind, in the back of our brain, are guidance from God and our spirit. After all, the Bible says "The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord."

So, why, then, do we disregard red flags when we deal with people?

As Christians, as people living in a Judeo-Christianity-affected culture, we are brainwashed to always see the other person's side or to give the other person the benefit of the doubt. We don't want to wrong others and often we are taught that we should give up our own agenda, our own intuition, etc.. so that we won't hurt the feelings of another.

But dang! That kinda thinking leads to folks getting themselves killed. IF you're going into an elevator and some guy is on it and red flags from the back of your mind kick in, should you enter the elevator alone just because you don't want to hurt some guy's feeling?

I keep thinking of the homeless guy we took care of at church, who confessed to us that he was a murderer, who turned out to be sleeping with a drug-addled homeless woman in the attic of the church (because we were stupid and gave him the keys), who turned out to be ordering pizza from our church after we had closed it (cause he had a credit card that he hopened the door with...cause we entrusted him to put in the new locks.)

Seriously???? WHAT were we thinking??????

And I and the pastor had stayed alone in that church with this guy -- alone or separately-- so often. And if the pastor or I had gotten raped or murdered, the first thing folks would've said was: "Why didn't God protect her? She was such a sweet person!" As if God hadn't warned us and been warning us all along.

I gotta get my self-protection meter in tune again and not squelch it as I've been doing. 

The parable of the impoverished palace

So... I was lying in bed and suddenly the Lord told me this parable. I saw the events pass before my eyes and heard the words in my heart. I've never had The Holy Spirit tell me a parable before.

So here it is:

There was a certain kingdom which was rumored to be quite rich and the fame of it was so great that kings came upon it and beseiged it. Because, they thought, the riches within this city and this palace are greater than the riches in all our kingdoms combined. In attacking this city, these invading kings lost their wealth and many soldiers but they thought little of the loss because the promise of the wealth inside was so great, their loss would be nothing compared to the gold and riches they would gain when they breached the palace. At last they came to the city where the king lived but the king would not give them the city. The invading kings beseiged this city and would not let anyone in or out. Starvation and death occurred in the capitol city but the king would not relent and give up neither his city nor his palace. Most of the city died and only the king was left alive in his palace. At last the invaders managed to destroy the palace walls and entered. When they entered the palace, they were surprised to see nothing within it: not old, not silver, not precious gems. Indeed, the palace had been empty since the siege began.
The question then is: Who is more foolish? The king of the beseiged city who allowed his kingdom to be destroyed because he was too ashamed to show his emptiness? Or the invaders who lost all in order to gain what turned out to be nothing? Indeed, the captive king might have opened his palace to his would-be captors if he had had gold and silver. And the would be captors would have returned to their own lands early if the king had shown them his emptiness.

Hubby says it's about losing all the world. The people who have riches (religion or whatever) feel someone has so much more riches. So they lose their riches in pursue of riches (other religion) that aren't there. 

Jessica says, both the king and his invaders are equally foolish. Envy, covetousness, assuming.

I'm thinking it's about fear of showing one's emptiness. And what is emptiness? Would someone because of pride allow himself to be destroyed so that others will not see his own emptiness? Or is there some kind of satisfaction in his heart now? He had nothing. The others have now lost everything to get what they thought he had but now they are just like him because they lost what they had?

I don't think I can make a story out of this...cause...well, it's a parable. And stories require characterizations etc. 

Thoughts on guilt after seeing the film "Cassandra's Dream"

oooh, a funny thing today

i was in bed stuck, sick, watching the dvr

and i watched a little english indie flick called "Cassandra's Dream."

It was basically about two brothers who murder someone and one of them feels guilty

and it dawned on me again how guilt is something we don't see a lot in crime dramas

punishment for a crime is often external.

The cops get the bad guy, the divorce court gives alimony, etc

but the culprit's guilt for a murder or for adultery is never shown.

And i really think there are more people who feel guilty, about the sins they commit, than we know. Perhaps most humans hide guilt nowadays really well. Or they don't know how to recognize their guilt. Maybe we live in a world where folks don't understand their discomfort is really their guilt...kinda like the way some folks don't understand the peace they feel in church or in a park (when they have no cell phone service.) So they think the peace is boredom or discomfort?

Cain had guilt (guilt and punishment being the same word in Hebrew)

Lamech had no guilt

  because Lamech had been immunized by accepting grace (Cain family history and all.)

But when one sees the literature of the 19th century

Crime and punishment etc..or Madame Bovary. Or Anna Karenina. Or even some Freud stuff in the early 20th century. 

We see so few movies and shows where we see the guilty adulterer or the guilty theif or the guilty murderer feels guilt from within. The culprit just shoots his glock or murders...or cheats on his wife and gets a new mistress and moves on. (Every once in a while a Michael Corleone pops up...but that doesn't happen much in gang movies or American drama.) It just makes me wonder. Because I'm thinking that people are perhaps more simple than Hollywood and other film folks pretend we are.

Or of course.....is this generation seared in its conscience by the whole "grace" thing? Even if one isn't Christian, there is that idea of God being all understanding and loving and willing to forgive?

But...is human nature so easily changed and changeable?

Okay, within a few generations from Cain to Lamech... there was this change of dealing with guilt. Lamech took God's act of grace and kinda ran with it, the way a lotta folks in the US or the Christian church take the idea. So God would be showing how we humans deal with grace. God's gracious kindness to Cain creates a Lamech. But only with Lamech, I think.

Funny how Adam and Eve then Cain then Lamech deal with grace and guilt

and blame

but the film got me thinking.....we as writers...

It makes me wonder if hollywood is polluting folks in such a way that folks actually feel they feel no guilt when they do a crime...only to be terribly surprised by suddenly feeling the guilt of their murder or adultery?

Just pondering....

 

Next Best Thing: The Constant Tower

1. What is the working title of your next book?

The Constant Tower
2. Where did the idea come from for the book?

I had a dream of a world where its inhabitants are transported every night across the planet. So when they woke up, they never knew where they were. In the dream, someone said, “But the tower is constant.” 

3. What genre does your book fall under?

Heroic fantasy/alternate world setting.
4. What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

For Nahas, my nature-blessed warrior king (with the physically-disabled way-too gentle son:  Ben Cross, Jason Statham, or Julian Sands. For his right-hand man: Julian Sands or Jason Statham.   
5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

A boy cannot go on a journey.
6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

It will be published by Wildside, the small traditional publishing company that also published my first novel, Wind Follower.
7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

About five years. I tend to procrastinate or to get lost writing other things.
8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

• I don’t know if there’s a book that plays with the notion of moving unstable worlds as Constant Tower does but it’s “sword and soul” so it’s got a lot of heroic fantasy things.  It’s a bit like N K Jemison’s series.
• It’s a bit like Stephen King’s “The Stand” because  the hero is physically disabled and doesn’t believe he’s the hero.
• It’s a bit like the Lathe of Heaven — for some of the characters— because each night they have to adjust themselves to the world they find outside.
• It’s a lot like the climate change debate, and debates about helping the poor; the characters don’t really care that their world is falling apart.
• There are Unfleshed spirits and demons so it’s very like some of C S Lewis’s stories.
• The relationships in the clan we spend the most time with involve marriages where one woman has two husbands. In that way, it is like Sylvia Kelso’s Amberlight trilogy.
• It’s an adult novel but there are strong young adult elements  and there is a search for the constant tower. So there is a kind of Lloyd Alexander vibe to it.

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I tend to like writing about disabled or wounded people. I got to thinking: There are so many emotional and physical crises people go through in fantasy stories and what if one couldn’t go away and flee the castle? And what if we had a hero who was emotionally, physically, and psychologically not cut out to be a hero? What if a warrior-king's sickly son struggled with his destiny while his clan warred with an enemy clan with whom he strongly identifies? What if he is a priest-physician of his people and he has to become a warrior? And what if there is an ancient myth which tells of a mythical Constant Tower that can change the world but he doesn’t believe in such nonsense?
10. What else about the book might pique the reader's interest?

Here’s my blurb:  Fifteen year old Prince Psal, the son of the nature-blessed warrior-king Nahas, should have been named Crown Prince of all Wheel Clan lands, but he was born sickly and “damaged” with a clubfoot. A priest-physician of his people, Psal lacks a warrior’s heart. Still, he desires to earn his father’s respect and become a chief within his clan. If not, he wishes to escape his clan altogether. But his love for Cassia, the daughter of his father’s enemy and his petulant and “weak” personality are working against him. When war comes, and he challenges his clan on the atrocities they commit, his chances of rising to chief become even more difficult. And now, outside the longhouse, the mysterious towers —which the clans use to challenge the power of the nightly third moon— are rebelling.  The king’s longhouse has become Psal’s prison. Psal is a prince who cannot go on a journey. Since the going forth of the Creator’s ancient curse, the power of the night has ruled. But a prophecy exists  — not that Psal believes in such matters— of three great ones who will restore the night. Could Psal and his mysteriously fellow-studier be those great ones? What exactly is required of him? And would he be willing to lose his father’s waning respect or throw himself out into the night to find his destiny?

Here are the excellent writers who you’ll hear from next. Hope you enjoy their writing as much as I do.

Carole McDonnell holds a BA degree in Literature from SUNY Purchase and has spent most of her years surrounded by things literary. Her writings appear in various anthologies including “So Long Been Dreaming: Post-colonialism in science fiction,” edited by Nalo Hopkinson and published by Arsenal Pulp Press; Fantastic Visions III" anthology published by Fantasist Enterprises; “Jigsaw Nation” published by Spyre publications, “Griots: A Sword and Soul anthology,” edited by Milton Davis and Charles Saunders, “Life Spices from Seasoned Sistahs: writings by mature women of color,” “Fantastic Stories of the Imagination” edited by Warren Lapine and published by Wilder Publications. Her reviews appear in print and at various online sites. She lives in New York’s Hudson Valley with her husband, two sons, and their pets. Her novel, Wind Follower, was published by Wildside Books. Her other works include My Life as an Onion, Seeds of Bible Study: How NOT to Study the Bible. Her collection of short stories, Spirit Fruit: Collected Speculative Fiction, is available on kindle.

To learn more about Carole, visit her:

Website: www.carolemcdonnell.blogspot.com

Twitter: @scifiwritir

The Personality of a Personal God

I can't help it; I just love Yah's personality.

But let's back up a little. We Christians have a theistic God. This means -- breaking it down-- that we believe that the sole Creator of all that compasses the universe, the Only God of all the multiverses, the Uncreated Creator of all things who was never made and can never be unmade and is eternally NOW, is infinitely involved with the smallest and largest of his creations is also love, is also a being with a personality. I'll repeat the last part: This God, whom Christians call Yah, or Yahweh, or Jehovah, and whose name means "I AM" has got a personality.

I'm sure some atheists have a problem with the whole personality thing. They look at the Bible and what they see of God's personality is embarrassing: they think Yah is jealous, petulant, peevish, spiteful, petty. That's what they see. But, they don't understand what I see.

This blog isn't for them. It's for those of us who accepts the creator of the universe as we find him. I accept a jealous God who thinks we owe Him. I accept that God because He loves me and because, quite honestly, He is the only God I have. If I were to find out that the Creator of the Universe was another god with a different personality I would accept that other god. Because whoever the true God is is the God I will accept and whoever the real God is...well, he is deserving of praise because He created me.

So when I see that the personality of Jah is such that Adam -- the first man-- shouted in glee when Eve was brought to him "YES!!! You did good! This is the one you made perfectly for me!"

When I see how Jah didn't accuse Adam but simply asked, "Did you eat the fruit I told you not to eat?"

When I saw how Adam tried to foist off his sin on Jah (The woman YOU gave me) and how free he felt to blame Jah

When I see how Jah asked Cain "Where is your brother?" (Again, not accusing)

When I see how Cain answered Jah rudely with "Am I my brother's keeper?"

I see humility and a friendliness and an accessibility that is so near and dear and condescending that his creatures felt so free to have an attitude with him.

And when I see how angry Jah got at Miriam -- so mad at her as to symbolically tell her he had spit on her-- (saying all this while he leaned on the tent, mind you!) YES, I like this God.

Basically, we have a God who has a major fascination with beetles and has spent all the ages designing them as a kind of exercize in creativity. We have a God whose favorite geographic area is desert since he likes the land of Israel and mount Zion. We have a god who apparently likes sand a lot.

The more I discover about his personality through the Bible and through the way He treats me and throgh how he treats those he loves I will accept it. It is not the personality the proud rational atheist would want a god to have, but it is the personality of the Being who created the universe...and the more I get to know this great warrior, this great Being, the more I say "I totally love your personality!".

Simply believe

There are many verses in the Bible which encourage the faithful believer to trust in God’s willingness to answer prayer.

John tells us that “we know we have what we pray for because we keep His commandments.” (1 John 3:22.) If we’re keeping God’s commandments, and are praying for the glory of God, and feeding our faith by studying God’s character and Jesus’ Great Finished Work on the cross, we should trust that our prayers have been answered. After all, Jesus Himself told us that when we pray we must believe that we HAVE received and we WILL receive whatever we ask for.

We are told to pray with thanksgiving. This means we must pray and give thanks for what we will receive as if we have already received it, seeing that which is invisible. Jesus gave us a wonderful example of this when he prayed for Lazarus to be brought back to life. Even before Lazarus came from the tomb, Jesus ended His prayer with the words, “I thank you, Lord, that you have heard my prayer.”

We pray every day using the word “Amen” which can be translated to mean as Surely, truthfully, verily, this is a true statement, or it’s done. Jesus told us to approach the throne of grace with boldness and courage. Our prayers end boldly, but although the world “Amen” is a bold ending to a prayer, we don’t really rise from prayer believing that our prayer has been answered. We tend to think that either God hasn’t heard our prayer or that He will spend the next few days mulling over a decision or that He wants to drag out the answer for a while in order to teach us a lesson. This is doublemindedness. We are not believing what God has said. As the apostle James said, “this kind of double-minded attitude is not going to get anything from the Lord.” Why? Because our unbelief vies with our faith.

If we use the sowing and reaping metaphors that Jesus and the apostles used to show how the kingdom of God works, we can readily see that we have more faith in the physical act of sowing and reaping than we do in the spiritual act. In the case of a physical seed, we actually believe there is a seed with the power within itself to germinate. Yet, even though Isaiah, Jesus, Paul and others told us that the word of God is active and alive and has power within it to germinate and flower, we hardly believe.

The Bible says, “Let God be true and every man a liar.” (Rom 3:4) And yet, unbelief is a wonderful theologian. If we aren’t careful, we --or a really intelligent minister-- can convince ourselves that God will do the most heinous evil because he loves us. Some great religious writings can convince us that although Jesus came to heal those who were oppressed by the devil that somehow our particular oppression is not from the devil but from God.

St Paul tells us that “We are accepted in the Beloved Eph 1:6" This is the Greek word Charitoo which is translated as “full of grace” and “highly favoured” in Luke 1:28 when the angel spoke to Mary. It means freely bestowed overwhelming love. This means God loves us and has placed us in such a favored position that, like the loving Father He is, He wants to bless us more than we’re able to receive it. We’re adopted children who are His very special favorites. John says, “Behold what manner of love the Father has for us, that we should be called the Children of God.”

John states, “This is the confidence we have in God: that, if we ask anything according to His will, he hears us.” I John 5:14. He writes earlier in the same chapter, “whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world, even our faith.” Through Jesus’ name, and faith in that name, we are “more than conquerors.” And St Paul tells us that God hasn’t given us the spirit of fear, but the spirit of power, love, and a sound mind.

Yet in the face of all this overwhelming evidence of God’s love towards us, the ancient inability to trust God remains. From the day our first parents hearkened to Satan’s “Did God say?” to today’s modern taunts, we humans have found it difficult to believe that God means us well. We forget that He who freely gave us His life will also freely give us all things. Plain and simple, we love God but like unworthy friends we often believe what others say about our Dear Friend more often than what He says about Himself. If it’s through faith in God’s Love and Power that we conquer the world, how can we conquer our own Promised Land if we allow rumors of giants to make us feel like grasshoppers. (Numbers 13)

The Bible tells us, “Let God be true, and every man a liar.” (Rom 3:4) And we know better than to come right out and say that God is a liar. But we work around that by making Him way more inscrutable than He really wants to be. This is not to say that we understand everything about God. We don’t. But the Bible has made His personality clear to us. He doesn’t have some hidden secret plan which prevents Him from answering our prayers. The Bible states that God does nothing without revealing His will to His people. (Amos 3:7)

We also make God unpredictable and flighty. Instead of saying that God’s promises and spiritual laws work all the time, we say that God does heavy micro-managing and sits on His throne deciding which spiritual law will work in every case. We say that whatsoever a man sows he will reap, yet we often think that in this particular case – our own problem– that particular spiritual law will not work. God’s word is sure. God does not change. His word abides forever and He honors His word. God is aware of all His children, but He does not micro-manage. Spiritual laws are as dependable as physical laws. Unfortunately, like many physical laws some spiritual laws need a faithful heart to set them in motion. The law of gravity, for instance, tends to work all the time...unless one understands how to override it. As powerful and universal as gravity is, it is routinely conquered by pilots and birds all over the world. Yet, although gravity has its weak moments, it’s not a good idea to defy it. Seeds will grow into plants if we continue to water them and so we know that we should not cast away our confidence when a physical plant seems to be weakening. We should not be weary with well-doing: God is not mocked. In due time, we will reap if we don’t faint. We depend on physical laws. This attitude should be the same when we rely on spiritual laws.

For instance, Jesus commands us not to worry and in Mark 7:14-15, He gives us some insight into spiritual law when he tells us that evils within the heart are what defile the body. As American Christians we half believe Jesus was right about this. After all, the medical world has taught us all about the dangers of being a type A personality. But do we believe what Jesus says simply because Jesus said it? For instance, do we believe that adulterous thoughts can also affect our health? Other spiritual laws or insights include: the law of giving and receiving, the power of the tongue to steer a life towards good or ill, the evil that comes upon those who hate Israel or Jewish people.

In Mark 9:23-24, when the father of the demon-possessed boy asked Jesus to help him, Jesus said, “if you can believe, all things are possible to him that believes.” To which the distraught father replied, “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.” This, unfortunately, is the state most western Bible-believing Christians have found themselves in. We believe greatly, and we doubt greatly. At the exact same time. Let us search the Scriptures and learn to understand and love our God. John warns us that many antiChrists are out in the world and we should test every word we hear. And Jesus tells us that if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into the pit. (Luke 6:39) But Jesus warns us to “take heed how we hear.” (Luke 8:18) Let us learn to love our Father. As Jesus said, He who hath seen Me hath seen the Father. (John 14:6-20) If we know the love of Jesus, we cannot help but trust Him with our lives.

We have a great and high calling with many doors of opportunity opened to us and there are many adversaries who – wittingly or unwittingly– have set out to steal the word of truth from us or to mingle it with worldly philosophers. Let us not be removed from the simplicity of the gospel. (Gal 1:6; Rom 6:19; 2 Co 11:3 ) Let us arise and dream great dreams, let us hold onto the promises of God. Let us do great exploits and not cast away our confidence. Let us arise and shine, because our light has come. Is 60:1

Free Promotion: My short story collection on kindle

Beginning Tuesday Sept 25th through the 29th my kindle short story collection will be free. Here's the link. Please pass it on.  http://www.amazon.com/Spirit-Fruit-Collected-Speculative-ebook/dp/B0069VMX22

Christianity, Culture and Writing: Polyamory in the Constant Tower.

In my upcoming novel, The Constant Tower, a character is suddenly faced with the possibilities of having two husbands. She thinks, "Yes, I can love them both. I am in their clan now. I can marry and love both of them." Something like that.

Although I'm a Christian, I must admit that there are times when being a Christian is restrictive. I understand the restrictions, mind you. I even assent to them. But, yes, I also acknowledge that there would be a different path to follow if I was not indoctrinated in Christianity.

Some cultures have some societal, spiritual, and cultural stuff one has to put aside. And although I would love to pick and choose what aspect of a culture or a religion I would want, such a buffet spirituality and buffet culture is very much like creating a Frankenstein creature. I think of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein often. Although the creature is portrayed as ugly, in the novel he was not ugly. Just hard to bear, hard to look upon, strange, and eerie. Beautiful bits and parts culled together -- beautiful red lips here, pale skin there, raven-like flowing locks there-- he ended up strange, "monstrous" in the old sense of the word, weirdly bizarrely larger-than-life. Thus, a religion that picks and chooses what it likes from other religions and from various cultures and societal systems or traits, becomes an inorganic unliving religion.

In my novel, my character can validly marry two husbands from the Wheel Clan because she has now become a part of the Wheel Clan, despite all her efforts against assimilation. Yet, even so...the Wheel Clan husbands she marries are not "typical" of that Clan. They are the best of their clan but they also understand her clan as well. Moreover, she was not particularly passionately attached to the men of her own clans because they were abusive. Which is all to the good. People generally carry their own culture into the culture they assimilate. Thus, Christians who become converts to Islam will have a "friendlier" idea of God, even if they do not wish to accept God as "father" or as "love." And Christians who become Hindus also often go with a more westernized idea of reincarnation (they often look forward to reincarnation instead of trying to escape the karmic wheel entirely.) So, in my case, if I were to attempt to mix Christianity with some African cultures, I don't think I would accept the whole One-husband-Many wives situation. Although the idea of many women sharing communal work, and living together in a compound is attractive, I'm too American/western to accept a system where my husband would have the right to take on a new younger wife any time he wants to.

So in Constant Tower, my female character has the best of both cultures. Her husbands are not going to treat her as the men of her culture generally treat women, but they are not going to treat her the way men in their own culture generally treat women either. My female character is  now free to have two lovers instead of the requisite "one husband" her culture deems normal. Her heart readily assents to this because she loves both boys, and perhaps was resisting the love of one. Resistance now is unimportant. In fact, it would be the wrong course to take. Her only problem now is to love them differently. It's not about quantity, but about type. Her problem now is that she must love both husbands deeply but in different ways. She is, however, spared what other women of her culture have to endure when they enter the new clan. The other women are forced to accept the rules of the new clan without the cushion my main character has. My main character loves both her husbands. She is not being forced to bed two men  -- or even one man-- whom she does not love.

When American women speak of converting, they are generally converting to an Americanized form of Islam. For instance, although Sharia law allows Moslem men to rape or beat their wives or to marry additional wives, Moslem men in America live in a Christianized West. The religion is tempered by the culture. In the same way, I suspect Christianity in the Middle East is probably very affected by being surrounded by Islam. And Christianity in Africa is also affected by cultural traditions.

The meeting of culture, emotions, and religion is not only present in matters of love, marriage, and sex. (In this case, polyamory, which occurs rarely and only in cultures where land is scarce and inherited land must be protected, thereby brothers marry the same woman) but it occurs in other matters as well. In my novel, Wind Follower, characters who became Christians had to give up the ancient tradition of speaking to their dead. Now that Christianity had popped into their lives, they had to now discern if the dead person speaking to them was truly a dead relative or a demon bent on deception. Those who are comforted by speaking to their departed relatives through shaman, etc, have to put that aside.

Of course, we Christians who live in the West are also Christians within a culture. We also do not have a "pure" form of Christianity. American Christianity is affected by the culture at large. Jesus Christ warned His followers to beware of the yeast of the king and the yeast of the religious legalists. Those to forms of yeast are very much present in modern Christianity. For some Christians, Christianity is mixed in with patriotism and the desire to rule. For some, the gospel of the kingdom is watered down and legalism abounds. Others have allowed the "progressive" ideas of the world or the desire of their flesh to color/change/taint the Christian Scripture.

The Creator of Odunao (the name of the planet in my novel The Constant Tower) has different rules about marriage than the Creator of the Earth does. When Christians read the novel, I hope they will be able to accept that god as they find him. I hope they will leave their American Christian ideas about marriage behind and live in that world without judging the polyamory laws. (Often Christians seem to be able to understand one man with two wives but seem to balk at the other configuration.) In addition the social laws of the many clans on Odunao are different from American social laws. In many novels, the king is expected to fall in love with the most beautiful woman. That doesn't happen. The men in Odunao have different ideas of beauty.

Anyway, my novel will come out one of these days. But even before it sees print, I want to remind everyone that in this day, mindfulness is necessary. Just as we are mindful as to what a character allows to become acceptable in her world -- because of her culture-- so we Christian writers, we Black writers, must be aware of the subtle societal influences that taint our stories. 

Poisoned Profits: The Toxic Assault on Our Children

Poisoned Profits: The Toxic Assault on Our Childrenby Alice Shabecoff, Philip Shabecoff

Product Details

• Pub. Date: August 2008
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Format: Hardcover, 368pp
• Sales Rank: 340,363

• ISBN-13: 9781400064304
• ISBN: 1400064309

Synopsis

In this shocking and sobering book, two fearless journalists directly and definitively link industrial toxins to the current rise in childhood disease and death. In the tradition of Silent Spring, Poisoned Profits is a landmark investigation, an eye-opening account of a country that prizes money over children’s health.

With indisputable data, Philip Shabecoff and Alice Shabecoff reveal that the children of baby boomers–the first to be raised in a truly “toxified” world–have higher rates of birth defects, asthma, cancer, autism, and other serious illnesses than previous generations. In piercing case histories, the authors identify the culprit as corporate pollution. Here are the stories of such places as Dickson, Tennessee, where babies were born with cleft lips and palates after landfill chemicals seeped into the water, and Port Neches, Texas, where so many graduates of a high school near synthetic rubber and chemical plants contracted cancer that the school was nicknamed “Leukemia High.”

The danger to our children isn’t just in the outside world, though. The Shabecoffs provide evidence that our homes are now infested with everything from dangerous flame retardants in crib mattresses to harmful plastic softeners in teething rings to antibiotics and arsenic in chicken–additives that are absorbed by growing and physically vulnerable kids as well as by pregnant women. Compounding the problem are chemical corporations that sabotage investigations and regulations, a government that refuses to police these companies, and corporate-hired scientists who keep pertinent secrets massaged with skewed data of theirown.

Poisoned Profits also demonstrates how people are fighting back, whether through grassroots parents’ groups putting pressure on politicians, the rise of “ecotheology” in the pulpits of formerly indifferent churches, or the new “green chemistry” being practiced in labs to replace bad elements with good. The Shabecoffs also include helpful tips on reducing risks to children in how they eat and play, and in how parents clean and maintain their homes.

Powerful, unflinching, and eminently readable, Poisoned Profits is a wake-up call that is bound to inspire talk and force change.

Authors' website

Embracing the Wide Sky by Daniel Tammet

Here's a bit of the blurb:

Daniel Tammet captivated readers and won worldwide critical acclaim with the 2007 New York Times bestselling memoir, Born On A Blue Day, and its vivid depiction of a life with autistic savant syndrome. ...
Tammet explains that the differences between savant and non-savant minds have been exaggerated; his astonishing capacities in memory, math and language are neither due to a cerebral supercomputer nor any genetic quirk, but are rather the results of a highly rich and complex associative form of thinking and imagination. Autistic thought, he argues, is an extreme variation of a kind that we all do, from daydreaming to the use of puns and metaphors.
Embracing the Wide Sky combines meticulous scientific research with Tammet's detailed descriptions of how his mind works to demonstrate the immense potential within us all. He explains how our natural intuitions can help us to learn a foreign language, why his memories are like symphonies, and what numbers and giraffes have in common. ...
Embracing the Wide Sky is a unique and brilliantly imaginative portrait of how we think, learn, remember and create, brimming with personal insights and anecdotes, and explanations of the most up-to-date, mind-bending discoveries from fields ranging from neuroscience to psychology and linguistics. This is a profound and provocative book that will transform our understanding and respect for every kind of mind.

This is his website

This is his blog.

Here's an interview in New Scientist in their January edition. You can read it in full online here:

Religious Virtues that Satan loves

Will-worship -- noble suffering, dying to self, submission rather than aiming in faith for the joy of life
legalism -- sticking to the letter of the law (as opposed to also trusting the spirit.)
repressed anger -- rather than speaking up against injustice
religious debates -- (it's okay to discuss one's faith but it's not men's wisdom that proves our religion: it's the power of God.)
Believing Everything is The Will of God -- This seems to be saying that God is omnipotent and sovereign, but it also blames God for stuff we or the devil or the world does.
Pity -- Pity will keep someone sick for ever.
Rationalism -- humans like to be praised for being good thinkers and for not being "emotional."
Denominationalism -- People like thinking they are on a good team.
Pious platitudes -- People think they are being wise and kindly when they say something holy-sounding. But they are often reinforcing some sentimental unthought-out unexplored bunch of hooey.

The reason he likes these virtues is because people think they are being good when they do them but sometimes are really falling into spiritual error and the devil's clutches.

Now, let's get into the seven deadly sins and the virtues.

The seven deadly sins are
gluttony -- enslavement to food (from overeating to only desiring a specific kind of food. A thin person who wants to eat only a specific kind of cracker or only a specific kind of beer is as much enslaved to gluttony as someone who overeats.)
sloth -- literal, intellectual, and spiritual laziness
lust -- enslavement to the desires of the flesh
anger/wrath -- enslavement to passion
envy -- enslavement to comparing one's self or one's earthly goods with others
pride -- enslavement to one's self
greed-- enslavement to the need to take everything the world has

The book of Proverbs definitely talks about these sins. Chapter 6:6-11 is good. The Book of Proverbs has 31 chapters. The best way to read it is to read the chapter for each day. On the 30th read chapter thirty, etc.

They are deadly because some sins are not sins unto death. But a deadly sin has the power to cut one's life short. Adultery, for instance, shortens life. (Did you know that less than 1% of people die while having sex but that of those who do die having sex, 87% or so were cheating on their spouse?) Gluttony also shortens life. As does sloth. And definitely pride. It goes before a fall. If someone becomes sick because of one of these sins, one may or may not pray for a full recovery because they have a sickness unto death caused by a deadly sin.

The Catholic church has a different interpretation of these sins..and I think (not sure) make them sins that even affect folks after their deaths. They have mortal (deadly) sins and then they have venial sins. The Catholic church also has it's list of virtues. Virtue can be something a person attains by working toward it. Or it can be something that grows in the person through the working of God.

The virtues depend on which list you're using. In the Bible James talks about a list of virtues, so does Paul, so does Peter in his "golden chain". 2 Peter 1:5 This leads to this which leads to that.

If you go to www.Biblegateway.com and do searches for these specific sins you can find a whole store of verses. They have a ton of Bible translations online. French, English, Czech, Spanish, etc.

The virtues are:
Temperance -- moderation to the point where an inner stillness prevents you from being pushed this way and that by the world, or by your own self
Faith -- the ability to hold on to God's truth in spite of what one's eyes or mind tempts one to believe.
Hope -- the ability to see a way through when there seems to be no way and to not despair. Hope also has a joy to it. This isn't just blindly trudging along but joyously advancing. It's combined with faith a lot. Because we have faith in God and in what God says we can hope joyfully.
Love or charity or Mercy -- kindness and understanding toward those who are weak, ignorant, or our enemies
Restraint or forbearance -- having the power to do a thing and yet to not do it because of the love one had for one's neighbor, the refusal to use one's power of speech, action, etc because God has a higher purpose than you merely succumbing to your desire to say or to do something.
Justice -- this is a toughie to describe.
Courage -- spiritual faith that does not falter when it is threatened.
Prudence -- the ability to think and weigh out a matter and to see the ramifications of one's choice instead of rushing headlong into trouble, also being aware that God has his own plans and our plans depend on him.

There are other virtues...virtues that are the opposite of the seven deadly sins, virtues from other traditions, etc. But for the moment, these are the ones worth pondering. -C

The Next Evangelism by Soong-chan Rah

The Next Evangelism: Freeing the Church from Western Cultural Captivity
by Soong-chan Rah

180 pages
IVP Books (May 2009)
English
ISBN-10: 0830833609
ISBN-13: 978-0830833603

I found these reviews

Review

"Soong-Chan Rah explores the impact of ethnic and geographic shifts on the present and future state of evangelicalism. He gives us fair warning that parts of his heartfelt book are 'intended to provoke,' and they will. But that doesn't stop his book from being timely, thoughtful and very rewarding." --Philip Jenkins, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of Humanities, Pennsylvania State University, and author of The Next Christendom

Review

"In this manifesto for change, Soong-Chan Rah calls for the church to break free from limiting and exclusive paradigms and fully embrace the dramatic cultural diversity that is rapidly defining the twenty-first century in the United States. His powerfully persuasive pen engages and challenges the reader in ways that radically transform how church life is to be understood, shaped and lived. Everyone who cares about the Christian church in the United States needs to read The Next Evangelicalism. This book ignites hope for reconciliation in the world through the church."

Key endorsement on the back cover from Harvey Cox, Hollis Professor of Divinity at Harvard University:

"One of the most important changes now going on in America -- and indeed world -- religion is the profound transformation of evangelicalism, a movement which encompasses hundreds of millions of people. This book is the best and most balanced treatment of the subject now available. It is well researched, written and comprehensive."

The Tenses of Salvation

The Bible uses many tenses for Salvation

By Jesus stripes we were saved
We will be saved from the warth to come
We are being saved every day
We are saved and kept by God
and there are situations where we are in the position of being able to be saved.

It's not too complicated if we think of all the meanings of the word salvation and if we think of all we are required to do.

Our immortal souls are saved from hell and the wrath of God (a future occurrence.)
Our souls are being saved (in the present) from being tainted by this present evil world as we work out our own salvation through fear and trembling.
Our bodies were saved (before the foundations of the earth and when Jesus died on the cross) from disease by Jesus by whose stripes we were healed.
We are being saved (in the present) by the engrafted word of God which is able to save us but only if we abide in the word because this kind of salvation and sanctified life is given only to those who 1) seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness...and 2) rest in the word 3) forgive, 4) water the word with thanksgiving 5) are loving (because faith works by love.)

If any of us are sick and have had the prayer of faith prayed over us, we are being saved by our faith in God. This means

Jesus tells us that A) we command the body to be healed and B) we believe that our prayer has been answered because JEsus said, "When you pray believe that you receive." Jesus also said, "Everyone that asks receives." St Paul said, "All the promises of God are yes and Amen in Christ through the father."

This means:
A) It's not about whether God answered our prayers. It's about whether we believe God has answered our prayers.

B) Believe you receive WHEN you pray.

This means:
We do not "Believe when you see the answer to your prayer" (Remember, "We walk by Faith, not by sight.")

Nor do we believe that God is "going to answer" our prayers. (Remember, Daniel's prayer was answered but Satan fought against him for 21 days.)

So we are saved in the spirit and God has given healing virtue in the spiritual realm but we are to ask God for wisdom, boldness, perseverance that will enable us to get the manifestation of what God has promised.

Let's say a person comes to Christ for the saving of his soul. He believes that he is a great sinner and that Jesus SAVED him from his sin and will continue to save him from this present evil world. He then asks God to forgive him for his sins and he forgives all those who had hurt him because he knows that God has said "forgive us our sins as we forgive others." He acknowledges that he cannot get to God by his own wisdom, by any mystical experience, by his own goodness. He decides to repent from his sins and from his own dead works. He asks Jesus to save him.

What does he think God is saving him from? Well, it all depends on what he has been taught.

When does he think he is saved? Well, it all depends on what he has been taught.

Suppose he has been told by the Christian who preached to him, "When you are saved, you will be saved from all your sins and the power of sin. You will be saved from all the disease you have." It often happens that miracles occur at the point of his accepting of Christ because he was taught that Jesus saves to the uttermost. His idea of salvation is pretty large. But most people have faith for things they don't see rather than for things they do see. Remember, Jesus said, "Which is easier to say? Your sins are forgiven you? OR Take up your bed and walk?" It's easier to say "Jesus has saved your soul." Because the Christian doesn't have to put his faith on the line by actually proving anything visible. But in places where people have no prejudice against the full gospel, it's just as easy to tell the new convert "be healed" as to say "be saved." (Of course in the Bible the word for salvation means: healed, saved from sickness, saved from death, saved from hell, saved from demons.

The new convert in the west is usually told one of two things:

One of the typical thing he is told in the west: "Jesus saves your soul and has saved you from sin. This means Jesus has saved a person from the power of sin. Your spirit is now empowered to not sin. Sin has no more power over you. When you fight against sin's temptations, you will win because greater is God against you than he than is in the world."

Or the new convert is told: "Jesus saves your soul from sin. Now, go and sin no more." This is also true but the new convert is now made to feel that he is fighting sin all by his lonesome self. He must now go out into the world with his own will with no spiritual help.

Either way, let's say the new convert comes to the Christian who converted him three days later and says, "I prayed the prayer of faith but I don't feel saved. I don't feel good. I don't feel this extra love of God or this love of holiness I'm supposed to feel. I still don't like the idea of reading my Bible and I still want to smoke weed, drink, and hang out with the ho's down the block." The Christian who helped to convert him is likely to say, "Some people don't feel saved. Some do. You aren't supposed to go on how you feel. Just trust that you are. Believe that God HAS saved you and He IS saving you every day from the power of sin and that you WILL BE saved from death, the world, and the flesh. Just trust the word of God and the spirit of God and the blood of Jesus to save you....Oh yeah, and try to read your Bible anyway. Because you really need to read the word for the word to change you. The word is active powerful and transforming."

The same is true of getting a miracle for healing. We are prayed for but we say, "The Bible says, 'By Jesus stripes I am healed' but I don't feel healed." The answer is: "The Bible doesn't say you will "feel" healed. It only says you are healed. Walk by faith in the word of God and the blood of Jesus and the power of the holy spirit. You were SAVED and HEALED. The word is working within you TO SAVE AND TO HEAL you...even now! Only receive the healing as already given and you will SEE it. So, continue taking your spiritual medicine (the word of God) and the medicine your doctor has told you to take. Ask Wisdom of God about the seed and root of the illness. But think of each prayer as the moving of a mountain. When the mountain is big and faith is small, God has provided that the healing will come as the growing of a plant. First the blade, then the full plant, then the flower. So know that you are moving the mountain. The mountain may not be in the sea but it is NEAR the sea. Only believe that you have already received your healing from God." Jesus said, "Did I not say to you: If you will believe, you will see the salvation of the lord?"

Verses that touched me this morning

Pharoah's daughter went down to the river to bathe -- Exodus 2:5
Wow!!! Think of that. A small little decision like that is direction and guidance from God....PLUS God's timing. And deliverance is made for God's people. If she had bathed elsewhere or earlier or later.... what would have happened to Moses?

The chastisement of our peace was upon him. -- Isaiah 53
Mental healing is in the redemption. So many illnesses come from not being peaceful. There are so many emotional wounds in the world. We often think of Jesus as the great physician of our bodies but he was despised and rejected of men so that our spirits can be healed.

Whatever things are lovely, true, joyous, of good report. -- Phillipians
Here I was praying to God for manifestation of my healing... but in my mind I imagine, "well, will I be able to go on an airplane? No, I imagine myself getting very tired for the entire trip." My imagination needs to be restored and trained to see good things.

And last but not least a God wink.

Backstory: when my son was just a year old I was sitting on the bed when I heard quite loudly the holy spirit say "Rest." I wasn't resting. I got up and went to the other side of my bedroom to pick up my son. He had taken four letter cubes from the pile of alphabet blocks and had spelled out in perfect order R E S T.
I was amazed...and yet... I didn't really take the advice. I should have. Maybe learning to rest back then would have spared me this fibromyalgia.

This morning I was lying in bed and the same son -- now 21-- sat beside me. I kept telling myself to rest and to stay in bed until 9:30 or 10:30 just to recoup from another night of sleeplessness. I told myself to do that every morning. But theer I was...about to get up when older son decides to come and lie down beside me on the bed. I was reading a devotional so I said to him, "Pick any number from 1 to 472." He said, 372. I turned to the page and this was the verse it was talking about: "God blessed the sabbath day because he rested." Then the devotional went on to talk about the value of resting.

This kinda stuff happens to Christians all the time. So what does one say when atheists who have never experienced these kind of things tell us that God doesn't exist?

What God says we have versus what we believe we have

I John 2:12-14

Okay, this is how the verse reads:

12I write to you, dear children,
because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.
13I write to you, fathers,
because you have known him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
because you have overcome the evil one.
I write to you, dear children,
because you have known the Father.
14I write to you, fathers,
because you have known him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
because you are strong,
and the word of God lives in you,
and you have overcome the evil one

As Christians we all agree with verse 12. Those of us who have been in church all our lives have been trained from birth to believe that God has forgiven us. Okay, some of us still think that God is ready to get mad at us over every little thing -- perhaps because we have been in churches where the minister majors on sin-- but for the most part we all accept the idea that Jesus saved us from sin.

Where we part from God is ...well, pretty much everything else.

Verses 13 and 14 tell us what we have and what we know. According to God. But we don't believe we know the Father. We don't really believe we have overcome the evil one. We don't really believe the word of God is living and active and powerful in us. Remember when Thomas (or was it Philip?) said to Jesus, "Show us the way to the Father!" and Jesus said to him, "You know the way." Philip said, "uh...no! I don't know the way." There he was disagreeing with Jesus about what Jesus told him about the truth. We Christians are always doing that.

We are told in the Bible that we have the mind of Christ. That means God's love is within us, God's power over sin is within us. Very few of us believe that.

We are told in the Bible that we can heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the leper. We don't really have faith for that. Not really.

We are told in the Bible that we all have been given the like measure of faith. The same talent given to all, that we can build on if we choose to walk out on faith. We don't believe that. We believe that God has given some people great faith and other people little faith. Not true. In the Bible the difference between great faith and little faith is the fact that some folks have a deeper understanding of what they have and the power of faith. We all have the same measure of faith. We just have to use that servant instead of letting the servant sit around doing nothing. Come on, when was the last time you spoke to a mountain? How many of us have planted the word and trusted that it is growing whether or not we see the blade or not?

The Lord tells us "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want."
The Lord tells us "By Jesus' stripes we were healed."
Why do we lack, then? Why are we unhealed?
Because we do not receive with meekness the engrafted word that is able to save.
Because we do not enter into God's rest and trust that the active living word of God is working mightily in us. Hey, we have had mega-religious teaching that tells us that God makes us suffer for his glory, that God wants us to strive and strive before we receive the answer to a prayer. But that's not what the Bible says. The Bible says God answers speedily. The Bible says the seed grows secretly at first. The Bible says just as something demonic fought against Daniel's prayer so sometimes the devil fights against the fulfillment of the prayer. Most of the problem with unanswered prayer has very little to do with God's willingness. God is loving and willing. God is a good God, not a tyrant. The problem is with us receiving and truly doing what the Bible tells us to do to pull that prayer into the natural. Trust me: I know whereof I speak. I'm a minister's grandkid and it took me years to get past some traditional theology and see what the Bible is actually saying.

Let God be true and every man a liar. This means...the lies in our own mind which come against the truth as revealed in the Bible.
Hey, I'll admit that I'm not sold on the idea that every mountain I talk to is gonna go. But I know it should, I know it will...if I keep up the good fight of faith.

Hubby had a funny dream which shows God's wit. He dreamt that a great minister whom he highly respects called him and said, "Come with me and help me cast this demon out." My hubby was perplexed that a minister so great would be asking him for help. But the dream is right and totally true. We all are equal in God's eyes. No one is more powerful than another. We tend to put certain people into categories as powerful Christians but the Lord has said, "Would that all the Lord's people were prophets!"

There's an old saying about "It's hard to go building your house in a storm." Very true. When you have no house and a storm comes, you run to your neighbor's house and say 'My house is shoddy. I can't stay in it now with this terrible downpour. Can I stay here?' So we run to the prayers of those who have learned how to use their prayers for others. But we can't keep doing that. We have to learn how to build up our own faith. So that we can move our own moutains and help other folks who might need our prayers.

In the epistle of James, God tells us that when we look into the Bible we look into a mirror and see who we really are. When we look at the world, the world tells us what we are. Therefore we must take heed what we hear and accept what God tells us we have received. In the book of Hebrews we are told that the physical world is built on the intangible word of God. Faith brings spiritual things into tangible reality physical form. But how can we believe God's report if we use some of man's tradition's to blind us to what it is really saying. Jesus said the traditions of man have made the word of God to none effect. So we must read the word, trusting God to speak the truth in our hearts and to remove the false theologies from our spirits, minds, and hearts.

Read the Word. Believe what it says. Ask God to enlighten you and to help you perceive the truth. Cast down your imaginations...and trust what God said.