Spring in California

Every day I go for a walk behind my house. We live next to some foothills here in the Bay area. It's a great place to walk and pray and sing and plot the demise of my characters!  But it's particularly pretty in Spring. I thought you'd like to see some pictures I took yesterday.

Field of wildflowers

Don't know if you can see the tiny purple flowers or not

California Poppies!

My Neighbors!

Isn't God's creation magnificent?  Even in the midst of a world gone mad, His majesty and glory are all around us!  Have a wonderful weekend!

Wordless Wednesday!

Don't give up the ship!

So, did Jesus really rise from the dead?

There is enough evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus that were it taken to court today, Judge and Jury would be forced to admit it's true.  It is one of the things that put the final seal on my fledging faith years ago.  I'll just give five snipets of the best arguments for the Resurrection below. May they strengthen your faith. 
We serve a living Savior!


The Empty Tomb

Although made secure by a Roman guard, the tomb was found empty by several of the women disciples, then  later by several of His closest followers.  In addition, the earliest writings confirm the fact that the tomb was found empty.
The Jewish religious leaders were strongly opposed Jesus and His teaching, and were prepared to go to any length to see that His body remain in the tomb because Jesus had predicted several times that He would rise again.
The disciples preached the resurrection of Jesus first in Jerusalem, not in some far off land.  If the tomb had NOT been empty, they would never have been able to pull this off.  Adversaries would simply have pointed to the tomb and the body within it and rejected their message.
In new testament writing there are many references to the fact of the resurrection, but NONE defending the empty tomb.  Why?  The answer should be obvious:  this was not a point of contention -- everyone, friend and foe, KNEW the tomb was empty.

 Broken Roman Seal
The seal on the tomb where Jesus was laid stood for the power and authority of the Roman Empire. The consequences of breaking the seal were extremely severe. The FBI and CIA of the Roman Empire were called into action to find the man or men who were responsible. If they were apprehended, it meant automatic execution by crucifixion upside down. People feared the breaking of the seal. Jesus' disciples displayed signs of cowardice when they hid themselves. Peter, one of these disciples, went out and denied Christ three times. Also something pretty frightening must have happened for the Roman guards to run away from their post. This was an offense punishable by death

They couldn't have moved the body. 

The theory that the Jewish or Roman authorities moved Christ's body is no more reasonable an explanation for the empty tomb than theft by the disciples. If the authorities had the body in their possession or knew where it was, why, when the disciples were preaching the resurrection in Jerusalem, didn't they explain: "Wait! We moved the body, see, He didn't rise from the grave"?
 The disciples began preaching the message of Christ crucifixion and resurrection in the very place it had happened -- not in some distant land.  If Jesus was still in His tomb, they simply could not have done this -- no one would have believed them.  But as Peter began preaching, "over 3,000" souls were saved that day.

Jesus was SEEN alive over a period of weeks by many people, at many different places.

It was Christ's post-resurrection appearances that assured His followers that He had indeed risen from the dead.  After He arose the Bible reports He was seen by ... 

A.  the women as they returned from the tomb, after having seen the angel (Matthew 28:1-10)
B.  Mary Magdalene at the tomb, during her second visit to the site (John 20:10-18, Mark 16:9-11)
C:  to Peter the day of the resurrection (Luke 24:34)
D.  to two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35, Mark 16:12-13)
E.  to ten of the apostles the evening of Easter Sunday (Luke 24:36-40, John 20:19-23, Mark 16:14-18)
F.  after eight days to the eleven apostles, including Thomas (John 20:26-29) 
G.  to some of the disciples fishing at the sea of Galilee (John 20:20-28)
H.  to all of the apostles on a mountain in Galilee (Matthew 28:16-20)
I.    to James (1 Cor: 15:7)
J.   to all of the apostles on the Mount of Olives (Luke 24:50-52; Mark 16:19)
K.  to 500 additional believers at one time (1 Cor. 15:6)
L.   to Paul on the road to Damascus (1 Cor.15:8) 

All of these people were eyewitnesses to His resurrection.  They saw Him, touched Him, ate with Him, and spoke with Him.

The lives of the disciples were radically transformed. (My personal favorite!)
From cowering followers who abandoned Jesus when He was arrested, to bold proclaimers of the good news of the gospel.  Nearly ALL his apostles were killed for their faith as a result.  People will die for something they believe to be true, but they will never die for something they know is a lie.  If they hadn't seen Jesus alive, then all of them were lying.   And millions of early Christians were persecuted for proclaiming Jesus as Lord.

"This scared, frightened band of the apostles, which was just about to throw away everything in order to flee in despair to Galilee; when these peasants, shepherds, and fishermen, who betrayed and denied their master and then failed him miserably, suddenly could be changed overnight into a confident mission society, convinced of salvation and able to work with much more success after Easter than before Easter, then no vision or hallucination is sufficient to explain such a revolutionary transformation." - Jewish Rabbi Pinchas Lapide

Beware, false prophets are among you!

The apostle Peter has much to say about false prophets in 2 Peter 2.  As I read through it the other day, I was stunned. Even though I've read the Bible many times, I find there are so many things I've either missed or God deemed I wasn't ready to know the last time I read it.  This entire chapter was one of them.

Peter describes them like this:
They walk after the flesh
Indulge in the lust of polluting passion
Scorn and despise authority.
Presumptuous
Self-willed and self-loving creatures
They scoff at and revile dignitaries (glorious ones) without trembling,
Unreasoning beasts
Mere creatures of instinct,
Railing at things of which they are ignorant
They have eyes full of harlotry, insatiable for sin.
They beguile and bait and lure away unstable souls.
Their hearts are trained in lust and greed
These are springs without water and mists driven along before a tempest,

Then I read something that startled me
They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions and carousing together even as they feast with you.....Forsaking the straight road they have gone astray;

These prophets were once Christians! Or at least they call themselves Christians.  In fact, many of them are still among God's people like wolves among sheep.

Here's what they do
They beguile and lure with lustful desires of the flesh those who are barely escaping from them who are wrongdoers...they promise them liberty, when they themselves are the slaves of depravity and defilement-

Why am I telling you this? It's not to frighten you. It's to make you aware that not every one who calls themselves a Christian is one. Love everyone. Trust no one. Not even your pastor. Jesus told his disciples to be as gentle as doves but as wise as serpents. Question everything you are taught in your church, your Bible Study, books, (even my books!)  Find out the truth for yourself by reading the Bible. Don't rely on anyone else for your knowledge of God. Especially not your church traditions or beliefs.  Test them against Scripture. Discard them if you can't find them in the Bible. Cling to those you can.  I believe there are many people today in the church in powerful positions who are leading people astray. And it can be ever so slightly. Just a slight twist of Scripture. And then another twist, and another. And before too long you are way off the Path.
I believe in these last days, God wants us to be a people of the Book. We must know the Scriptures inside and out on an individual basis. Or we may be deceived. For the great deceiver, Satan himself, will soon appear in human form and trick the entire world.

For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the full, personal knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they again become entangled in them and are overcome, their last condition is worse for them than the first. 2 Peter 2:20

As Thomas Jefferson said "Question with boldness, even the very existence of God."

Do we really know what Jesus endured on the Cross?

As we remember the day our Lord was crucified, I've been pondering everything He went through on our behalf.  Though the physical pain of being scourged and crucified is far worse than any of us can ever imagine, I'm not just speaking of that.  I'm talking about what took place in the Spiritual realm. 

The Burden of Sin
Have you ever wondered how if felt to have ALL the sins of EVERY human past, present, and future placed on your shoulders?    Think of how you feel when you do something wrong. If you're like me, you feel terrible. You feel guilty. You condemn yourself and sometimes even dislike yourself. And that's just one tiny sin.

Jesus bore all of our sins and all the guilt and the shame and the condemnation that went with them. The burden must have been mind-boggling. He's the only one in the universe who could have borne it and not died spiritually.

Abandoned by God
Secondly, because all the sins of the world were dumped on Jesus, the Father could not look at Him.  The sweet fellowship that had existed between Father and Son for eons was severed. Leaving Jesus completely alone in His greatest time of need. If you've ever been betrayed by a spouse or a close friend and abandoned,  you have only a hint of the emotional agony Jesus suffered. Remember He was fully man as well as being fully God. He felt completely rejected and abandoned by the One Person who had always been there for Him and with Him. And now, as He hung there in excruciating pain dealing with all the guilt and condemnation of every sin of mankind, He found Himself all alone.

The Wrath of God
Not only did God have to abandon Jesus, but because Sin has a price, God had to pour out His wrath on His only Son. I encourage you to read Psalm 88, which is a Messianic Psalm which speaks of Christ's suffering on the cross. Here's a few verses:

You have laid me in the lowest pit, In darkness, in the depths.
Your wrath lies heavy upon me, And You have afflicted me with all Your waves

Your fierce wrath has gone over me; Your terrors have cut me off

After Jesus died, God  poured wave after wave of wrath upon Him. What this entailed, we may never know, but imagine for a moment the punishment that had to be inflicted for every sin ever committed. It had to be excruciating.I believe this along with God's abandonment is what upset so Jesus so much in the Garden of Gethsemane, not necessarily the physical pain.

Descent into Hell
There's much controversy over this but I believe Scripture confirms that Jesus descended into Hell after His death. While there, He suffered the wrath of God and then the Bible says He preached to the dead  who had disobeyed God and then freed the captives--the righteous dead--to go to heaven. He also took the keys to Hell, indicating his victory over Satan. (See Scriptures below)
Before Jesus' sacrifice, the righteous dead went to a place called Paradise which existed close to Hell. We know this from Jesus' story in Luke 16 of the rich man who called to Abraham across the void between the two places wanting a drink of water.  So, when Jesus told the thief on the cross that He'd see him in Paradise that same day, He was speaking of this underworld place.

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,  by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, 1 Peter 3:18
For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. 1 Peter 4:5

But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.  Therefore He says:
      “ When He ascended on high,
      He led captivity captive,
      And gave gifts to men.”
 Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?  He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things. Ephesians 4

Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. Revelation 1:18


So I urge you to take some time today to think on these things. Read Psalm 22, Psalm 88 and Isaiah 53. And get on your knees and thank Jesus for all He went through just for you.

Wordless Wednesday!

Arg, she's coming for you!

Check out those green sails in the background. Gorgeous!

Because the Lord needs it.

And it came to pass, when He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, saying, “Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Loose it and bring it here.  And if anyone asks you, ‘Why are you loosing it?’ thus you shall say to him, ‘Because the Lord has need of it.’” 
  So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them.  But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, “Why are you loosing the colt?”
  And they said, “The Lord has need of him.”  Then they brought him to Jesus. And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him.  And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road. Luke 19:29-36

My pastor spoke on this theme yesterday and I thought it was so valuable, I wanted to share it with you.  We've read this story a hundred times about Jesus sending disciples into a nearby village to get a donkey for him to ride into Jerusalem on. But have you ever thought about what really transpired?

Here's an analogy that may put it into perspective. You're in your driveway washing and polishing and waxing your brand new Porsche. Or perhaps, if you're like me, it's a jeep or a truck. It's your only mode of transportation, the only way you have to get to work each day.  And these 2 guys come up and start driving it off.  So you chase them and ask them what they are doing!!  And they tell you "The Lord needs it." 

Have you ever wondered about this man? As soon as he heard that, he let them take his donkey, and in Matthew it tells us they not only took his donkey but his colt too.  But this man happily gave them to Jesus. We don't know if he was wealthy or poor. But we can surmise that at some point, he'd had an encounter with Jesus.

So what about you? What would happen if someday the Lord asked you to give him something?  Many of us would say, absolutely, Lord, I'll give you my car! No problem. But what if it is your good health, a boyfriend, a relationship you wanted so badly, a career, your husband, the dream of having a husband. Maybe it is someone you love who the Lord takes home in death. Maybe it's your house. Maybe it's your lifelong dream. 

Then what? I wonder how many of us (and I include myself in this) have held stubbornly onto things when God asked for them. We pretend we don't hear Him.  We think we cannot possibly live without this thing or person.  When in actuality, our love of it is binding us, restricting us, from all God has for us. We must let go and give whatever it is to God.

We don't know what happened to this man who gave up his donkeys so freely. But I would wager he got his donkeys back and much more  in the coming years. Why? Not because he expected to, but  because he gave freely and without hesitation out of his love for Jesus.

Perhaps God seems to be asking for something dear to you today. Maybe it's a loved one, a lost relative, a relationship, an object of great value, a dream. If God is asking for it, it's because He needs it. Not to satisfy His own needs, but because only in His hands can that person or thing flourish. Perhaps you'll get it back someday in much better condition then when you gave it. Perhaps you won't ever get it back.  Whatever happens, we must remember God doesn't take things away from us to punish us or to make us miserable. Everything He does is out of Love. Why? Because He is love and He can't behave any differently. 

The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed praised and magnified be the name of the Lord! Job 1:21

My next series.

I know this is a LONG way in the future, but I thought you'd like to know a bit about my next series.  It's a trilogy called Escape to Paradise.

Series Theme:  You can’t run away from your problems, your past, or your pain, and especially not from God. Trouble is, no matter how green your new pastures seem to be, your pain, problems and past follow you because the true problem is within you. Only God can deliver you from all three and from yourself.

Backdrop: In 1866, a year after the Civil War ended, the federal government’s reconstruction of the south has caused nothing but turmoil, depression, hardships, and chaos. Southern cities are in shambles: railroads are torn up, schools and banks closed, employment is at a standstill, and nearly everyone is mourning a loved one who died in the war. Angry and humiliated by their defeat and resentful of the military occupation, some southerners opt for fresh beginnings in a new fertile land—Brazil. During the years after the war nearly 20,000 southerners escaped to this beckoning paradise. Though some returned, several stayed and started townships where they created new, successful lives. Called the Confederados by the Brazilians, the culture of these hardy southerners still lives on in their ancestors today.

Book 1: The Heart’s Escape  (to be published Fall of 2012) 

A disillusioned confederate Colonel who hates anything or anyone associated with the North organizes a ship full of his fellow southerners to start over in Brazil and falls for the widow of the Brigadier General who killed his brother. 

Book 2:  The Rebel’s Retreat (to be published 2013)

A conman running from the law and searching for his father and the spoiled daughter of a plantation owner  desperate for her old life of security find love in the jungles of Brazil.

Book 3: Abandoned Memories  (to be published 2013)

Both failures at life, a preacher with a sordid past falls for a prostitute seeking redemption and a new life

I have a lot of research to do on Brazil, but I'm very excited about getting started with this series. As I already posted, I pitched it as a cross between LOST and Gone With The Wind.  The jungles of Brazil provide the perfect backdrop for all kinds of mayhem, intrigue and romance. I may even throw in a pirate or two!