Is God ruthless or merciful?

Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years.  And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions.  Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age.  But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” Genesis 15

So often when I'm discussing God with a nonbeliever and extolling His mercy and love and grace, I get the question 'What about the old testament where God commanded Israel to wipe out all the peoples living in the promised land?  What about all that murder and bloodshed? Would a loving God do such things?'

The answer is yes, God did. What I don't think we understand is the way God views sin. Because we sin every day, we don't understand that to God, sin is unbearable. It is depraved and horrid and in His holiness, He cannot tolerate it. All you have to do is look at all the rules and regulations surrounded the Jewish temple and worship to see that God takes sin and holiness very seriously. I mean the priests couldn't even enter the main part of the temple without going through a series of cleansings and sacrifices and sprinkling blood on themselves. Sin is contagious and it cannot come in contact with Holiness.  

God waited over 400 years, keeping the Israelites enslaved in Egypt while He desperately sought to get all the peoples living in the promised land to repent of their wicked ways and turn to him. 400 years!!  As he told Moses in the scripture above, Their iniquity was not yet complete. What does that mean? It means there would come a point when they would continually reject God over and over and would dive deeper and deeper into wickedness and at that point, God would give up on them. But before that He would keep reaching out, hoping they'd turn to Him. You see God didn't just love the Israelites. He loved and loves all peoples. I truly believe that if these Amorites and others would have turned to God, He would have allowed the Jews to intermingle with them and inhabit the land together. But they didn't. 

So why did God have them killed? Because sin is contagious. It pollutes the land. These people were sacrificing their babies to their gods. They were engaging in all sorts of sexual worship. They had to be removed or the Israelites would most certainly have been swayed to join in their sin.

But the fact that God gave them 400 years to change astounds me. I'm in all of His mercy! 
Yet, don't we as a nation sacrifice our unborn babies to the god of selfishness and convenience?  Aren't we also engaging in all kinds of sexual immorality? I wonder how long God is going to give us? 

Disneyland and quote from forefathers

Hubby and I had a great time at Disney. Who wouldn't? Trouble is, we were having so much fun, we forgot to take alot of pictures. But here are a few.

Jungle cruise!

Me in front of Columbia, the first American ship to circumnavigate the globe

Indiana Jones temple of the evil eye!

Me with my pirate hat in front of what else but the Pirates of the Caribbean ride!

My adventurous hubby!

Me about to set sail on board the Columbia!

I'm in heaven!

And now for our Friday quote. This one is from John Dickinson one of the signers of the Constitution and the governor of Pennsylvania.

Kings or Parliaments could not give the rights essential to happiness. . .We claim them from a higher source. From the King of Kings and Lord of all the earth. They are not annexed to us by parchments and seals. They are created in us by decrees of Providence, which establish the laws of our nature. They are born with us; exist with us; and cannot be taken from us by any human power without taking our lives. In short, they are founded on the immutable maxims of reason and justice. It would be an insult on the Divine Majesty to say that He has given or allowed any man or body of men a right to make me miserable.

Wordless Wednesday!

The Admiral's Wardroom on board the HMS Victory a 100 gun First rate ship of the line!

The seven I will's

Happy Monday!  Did you know God is a God if the "I will's"?  When you find one of His "I will"s in the Bible, you can bank on it. He never goes back on His Word. He never changes His mind. I ran across these 7 "I wills" in Exodus 6. Moses had been complaining to God about his task of freeing the Israelites from Egypt.
The first thing God says to Moses is "I am the Lord"  Then her goes through a series of 7 promises.

1. I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians
2. I will free you from slavery
3. I will rescue you with an outstretched arm
4. I will take you to Me for a people
5. I will be to you a God
6. I will bring you into the land concerning which I lifted up My hand and swore that I would give to Abraham
7. I will give it to you for a heritage

And He ends this list with another emphatic "I am the Lord."
As I read this, I realized that though none of these things were simple or easy, most actually impossible, God accomplished ALL of them.

So, I went in search of "I will"s from the Bible. Here's some real gems that I found.

Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;I will set him on high, because he has known My name.He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. Psalm 91
Turn at my rebuke; Surely I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you. Proverbs 1:23
I will contend with those who contend with you, and your children I will save. Isaiah 49: 25
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:29
Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men Mark 1:17
And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day John 6:40
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. John 14:3
And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. John 14:13
He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him John 14:21


I challenge you to look up your own "I will"s from God's Word. Then memorize them and recite them often, especially when life gets ugly and you feel your faith slipping.
You can take God at His Word. He is a God of the "I will" !

Disneyland and where our rights come from.

Well, by the time you read this, I'll be on my way to Disneyland for two days! Yea! Just me and my hubby. We haven't had a weekend away together in a long time and we decided to make the short trip south and spend a few days in a fantasy world far far away from reality. You can bet I'll be visiting the Pirates of the Caribbean ride more than once. If I remember my camera, pictures will be forthcoming!

Now. Where do your rights come from?

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.  The Declaration of Independence

 
Our forefathers believed that certain rights came from God and God alone. Rights to live in freedom, to pursue our own happiness. Because these rights come from God, they cannot be altered or changed by man. They also believed in a small, centralized national government. Why? Because they had come from countries where the government was huge and powerful and corrupt. They knew that power corrupts the hearts of men, so they gave the States more power than the national government. Yet years later, we find their desires have been drastically changed and perverted. Not just by this administration but from various presidents over the past one hundred years. Our current government considers itself to be the giver of rights. It knows what's best for us. The more powerful and large it becomes, the more regulations and laws it passes, the less rights individuals have.
 When government takes the place of God, man is no longer free.

And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure if we have lost the only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but by His wrath. 
Thomas Jefferson, who is considered one of the least religious of our founding fathers.

Wordless Wednesday!

Run out the guns!

What is in your hand could be your desinty!

I'm reading through Exodus now and came across the story of Moses. LOVE MOSES!  Why? Because he's so Human. He's weak, he's not an eloquent speaker, he has no self-confidence. Basically he feels inadequate. So, when God approaches him through the burning bush and tells him to go free the Israelites from Egypt, Moses of course tells God He's got the wrong guy!
God proceeds to patiently tell Moses that He doesn't have the wrong guy, that God has a plan and it's going to unfold exactly according to His will.
Then at the beginning of Exodus 4, Moses still questions God by saying "But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice?
Then God says. "What is in your hand?"
And Moses answered "A rod."  It was his shepherding rod. Just a normal stick he used to guide the sheep. Nothing special. 

So, I'm asking you today, what is in your hand? What are your God-given talents? Perhaps you have a beautiful singing voice or you can play an instrument. Maybe you can draw, paint, or sculpt? Maybe you have talent in math and analytical thinking. Perhaps you can write, fix things, maybe you have a gift of listening, caring, comforting. Maybe you're clinging to a problem, a heartache, a fear. The list goes on. Maybe you don't know if you have any talents at all. Maybe you're just an ordinary person who really doesn't think much of yourself.
I still ask you, What is in your hand?   Maybe its just you.

God then asked Moses to throw the stick down. Cast it at the foot of the throne of God. Basically God was asking for everything Moses had. 
What happened?  God turned the stick into a snake and Moses ran.  God performed a miracle. He changed the rod. But it certainly wasn't into something  Moses expected or even wanted. Has this ever happened to you? You finally turn everything over to God (whether it be your talents, time, problems, heartaches, your life itself), but then things get worse. The bouquet of flowers you expected turns out to be a snake!  

But then God does an interesting thing. He asks Moses to pick up the snake from the tail end. Anyone knows you NEVER pick up a snake from the tail end because then it will be able to bite you.  You see, God was testing Moses. Would Moses be obedient even when things hadn't been going well and even when being obedient would cause him great harm? Would he trust God?

Maybe like Moses, you've thrown down your all to God. But now all you're seeing is snake. You're frightened, you're discouraged and you're tempted to run the other way.  God is done transforming your problem, your talent and now He wants to give it back to you. But it frightens you. God is asking too much. But you need to pick it up. You need to be obedient. I promise, if you do, the snake will transform into a powerful rod of God.

I'm so glad Moses picked up his stick. You see, he went on to use that rod (through the power of God) to perform great miracles in Egypt and free the Israelites from 400 years of bondage.  Moses had a destiny. And all he had to give God was the staff of a shepherd. But he gave it to Him. And God did things with that rod that blew Moses's mind.

So, what is in your hand?

Sliding toward Gomorrah!

First of all, I want to thank those of you who responded to my call and posted reviews of my books at various sites! I really really appreciate it. It's just one way to get the word out about my books. And Congratulations to Debbie Mitchell whose name I drew for the free advanced copy of Surrender the Night!

Recently I've become very interested in the history of my country. Not the history I learned in school (which I'm finding out now was biased) but the real history. The truth. I want to know why my country is in such a mess. I am starting to believe that many of our problems came from the misinterpretation of the First Amendment and refusal of our courts to study the original words of our forefathers. I'm talking about Separation of church and state, which has become a common phrase here in America, but which DOES NOT EXIST in our Constitution or Bill or Rights or in any other government document. It came from a letter Jefferson wrote to a Baptist minister to reassure him that the government would never institute a national religion.  Here's what the First Amendment says in regard to religion:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof....

The problem started in 1947 when the courts began to derive their own interpretations rather than seek out the founding fathers' own words.  Here are some of the results:

1. A verbal prayer offered in a school is unconstitutional even if that prayer is both voluntary and denominationally neutral  (Engel v. Vitale 1962)
2. Freedoms of speech and press are guaranteed to students and teachers unless the topic is religion (Stein v. Oshinsky 1965)
3. It is unconstitutional for students to see the Ten Commandments since they might read, meditate upon, respect, or obey them. (Sonte v. Graham 1980)
4. A school song was struck down because it promoted values such as honesty, truth, courage, and faith in the form of a "prayer" (Doe v. Aldine School District 1982)
5. It is unconstitutional for a war memorial to be erected in the shape of a cross (Lowe v. City of Eugene 1969)
6. The Ten Commandments, despite the fact that they are the basis of our civil law and are depicted in engraved sonte in the U.S. Supreme Court, may not be displayed at a public courthouse. (Harvey v. Cobb county 1993)
7. It is unconstitutional for a public cemetery to have a planter in the shape of a cross, for if someone were to view that cross, it could cause emotional distress and thus constitute an "injury" (Warsaw v. Tehachami 1990)
8. Even though the wording may be constitutionally acceptable, a bill becomes unconstitutional if the legislator who introduced the bill had a religious activity in his mind when it was authored (Wallace v. Jaffree 1985)
9. It is unconstitutional for a classroom library to contain books on Christianity or for the teacher to be seen with a Bible (Roberts v. Madigan 1990)
10. It is unconstitutional for a kindergarten class to ask whose birthday is celebrated on Christmas (Florey v. Sioux Falls School 1979)
11. It is unconstitutional for a nativity scene to be displayed on public property unless surrounded by sufficient secular displays to prevent it from appearing religious. (ACLU v. Allegheny 1989)

And these are only a few of the absurd laws that have been passed to throw God out of our government and our schools. If you're like me, you're probably shaking your head. How did we let this happen? And no wonder our country is sliding toward Gomorrah.

I hope to post interesting facts of our history as I discover them. It's time we learn the truth!
Have a great weekend!

Wordless Wednesday!

My dream room--the captain's cabin!

You shall never be moved!

 I was reading through Psalm 15 a few days ago and the verses just flew out at me. A question is posed to God in the first verse that goes like this:  Who shall dwell in Your Tabernacle and who shall dwell on Your Holy Hill?
In other words, who gets to hang out with God in Heaven Forever?
Then the psalmist proceeds to answer the question:

1. He who walks and lives uprightly and blamelessly
2. He who works rightness and justice
3. He who speaks and thinks the truth
4. He who dos not slander with his tongue
5. He who does no evil to his friend
6. He who does not take up a reproach against his neighbor  (does not blame or find fault)
7. He who despises a wicked person  (taken in context this means to hate evil)
8. He who honors those who fear God
9. He who swears to his own hurt and does not change (makes a promise and keeps it)
10. He who does not lend money for interest to his friends
11. He who will not take a bribe against the innocent

Then the Psalm ends with yet another promise:
He who does these things shall never be moved

You see, I moved a lot as a kid. 25 times before I was 18. My mother had a grass-is-greener complex, bless her heart!  That in addition to multiple step fathers and it seemed there was no stability in my life. People who suffer from this as children often end up being control freaks as adults. (My hubby can attest to this!)  I want everything to stay the same or if it changes, I want complete control over how much and when. But the truth is, life is full of unexpected changes and most of them are not good!

But God never changes!!  Yea! I finally found Someone who never changes!  So I figured out that if I abide in Him, I will be in a stable place.  You see the Bible says that we who know Jesus are ALREADY SEATED in HEAVEN 

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ, and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

Did you know you're already seated in Heaven in your spirit?  That's what the psalmist is trying to convey in this Psalm, I believe. Yes, life will throw you tons of storms and on the outside it will look like everything is in chaos, but if you do these things... (And you can only do them by truly following Jesus and allowing Him to change your heart) then the promise is that you will never be moved. That's you, your spirit, that's you on the inside, the real you, the you that worries and gets frightened and cries and rejoices and praises and loves and has special talents, etc...the unique you that is you alone. That's the you that will never be moved from your seat in Heaven! 

You see the devil would love nothing more than to knock you down from your spot in Heaven. When he can do that, then you're under his authority again.
Do you want to be a person who is never moved from your place of victory in Heaven? No matter what is thrown at you? Well here is the formula. Submit to and follow Jesus and do those 11 things listed above to the best of your ability and God's promise is sure and true! You don't have to allow life and the devil defeat you. You don't have to live under the circumstances. You're already in heaven!


He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved. Psalm 62:2
I have set the LORD always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved. Psalm 16:9

Happy Friday!
I thought you'd like to see the final version of the book cover for Surrender the Night, (due out in March 2011)  it's the one on the top. The one on the bottom was the first draft.  Now, you get to tell me what changes they made!

When British soldiers invade Baltimore amid the War of 1812, Rose McGuire, alone on her family farm, is easy prey for a brutal lieutenant. In the midst of the attack, she’s saved by British 2^nd Lieutenant Alexander Reed. Will she now have to heal, as well as hide, this enemy soldier?

Alex hadn’t meant to kill his superior, nor get shot in the process. Now badly wounded, he’s at the mercy of this tomboy who obviously hates him. Can he trust her or will she turn him over to the Americans?

Rose is having trouble keeping Alex hidden from her family, the townspeople, and the man intent on courting her. Will the discovery of Alex’s presence force her to accept an abhorrent proposal?

As their love blooms, trouble looms, for the British are on the move again. This time, their target is Washington DC. Will these young lovers at heart find themselves enemies at war?

Writing NEWS
This week I got back to work on Surrender the Dawn. I'm trying a new writing strategy. Before I used to write each chapter until it was perfect. I would go over and over it and read it over and over before I would go onto the next chapter. But that requires a lot of both left(logic) and right(creativity) action.  So, now, I'm shutting down my left brain (Boy, won't my scientist hubby love that!)  and I'm just throwing myself into 1812 and writing from my right brain. I don't stop for anything. Not for some historic detail I don't know. Not for some word I can't remember, not for editing or grammar or dialogue tags or smells, emotions or anything.  And I'm not going to look over what I've done until I finish the book. Then what I hope to have is a pretty good outline of the plot. At that point I can then look at the entire story as a whole and figure out if the story works. Do I need to insert another scene? Do I need to take out one. How can I create more tension? What characters came to life and which ones didn't...etc.  When I get everything the way I like it, I'll go back and edit and fix everything.
Well, we'll see if this works.  I'm already on Chapter 12, so that's a good sign. This is the story of Luke Heaton, the town rogue and Cassandra Channing the town Miss Priss.  I haven't gotten the cover on this one yet, but if you've read Surrender the Heart, you'll know who Luke Heaton is. I've already gotten lots of comments on him. :-)

Anyway, have a great Weekend!! Spend some time thanking God for all He's done for you. !

Wordless Wednesday!

To the edge of the world!

Introducing author, K.Dawn Byrd and her new novel, Killing Time

Please welcome author K. Dawn Byrd. Today I'm featuring her latest novel, Killing Time.  Although I haven't had a chance to read it yet, it sounds really good!  If you like what you see, be sure and click on the links below to order a copy.   Thanks K. Dawn!

 

Mindy McLaurin, thinks it's the end of the world when she's incarcerated on trumped-up embezzlement charges. While in jail, she investigates the death of an inmate who allegedly died of an overdose. Mindy suspects foul play when her cellmate dies and she learns that both women had ingested the same drug. Mindy trusts no one, including Drew Stone, the handsome counselor she can’t stop thinking about. She faces many challenges, including constant interrogation by the Major and emotional abuse from the other inmates. Upon release, someone is stalking her and framing her for the murder. Can she prove to Counselor Stone that she’s innocent of all charges before she loses him forever?

Here's the video!

K. Dawn Byrd is an author of inspirational romance. Queen of Hearts, a WWII romantic suspense released in April and was Desert Breeze Publishing's bestselling novel for the month. Killing Time, a contemporary romantic suspense released August 1, also with Desert Breeze Publishing.

K. Dawn Byrd is an avid blogger and gives away several books per week on her blog at www.kdawnbyrd.blogspot.com, most of which are signed by the authors. She's also the moderator of the popular facebook group, Christian Fiction Gathering.

When not reading or writing, K. Dawn Byrd enjoys spending time with her husband of 14 years, walking their dogs beside a gorgeous lake near her home, and plotting the next story waiting to be told.

Blog: www.kdawnbyrd.blogspot.com

Publisher:

http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-103/k-dawn-byrd-killing/Detail.bok (there will be links at this site to purchase from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, the Sony ebook store and others)

Joseph's boot camp for a grand destiny!

I LOVE the story of Joseph, always have. There is just so much to learn from it. I never tire of reading it and each time I do, God gives me some new way to look at it. Since the current series I'm working on now revolves around finding your God-given destiny, I read Joseph's story with a new pair of eyes last week.

You see God had a HUGE destiny for Joseph. Essentially he was to become the most powerful man of the known world at that time. Aside from the pharaoh of Egypt, there was no one more powerful. Imagine that. It would be like someone today being 2nd in command of a global government. But aside from the power, Joseph's destiny was to save his family from starvation and hence save the nation of Israel from complete annihilation. In addition Joseph would save the Egyptians and I'm sure other nations as well that came to him for help.

But isn't it true that ultimate power corrupts ultimately? Not many men can handle that kind of power without becoming self-serving, proud monsters. It's in our fallen human nature. God knew that. So, He had to put Joseph through what I like to call God's boot camp. Let's compare Joseph before and after he went through this boot camp.
In Genesis 37, we first meet Joseph. He's been pampered and favored his entire life by his father. Now, at age 17, he appears to be your typical spoiled teenage boy. He has dreams about his brothers and father bowing down to him. But instead of keeping them to himself or going to his father to discuss what God could be trying to tell him, Joseph tells his brothers his dreams, essentially flaunting their meaning before them.

Skip to Genesis 41. Here we see Joseph again. He's been sold into slavery by his brothers, falsely accused of rape by his owner's wife, then thrown into prison in Egypt.  It's been 13 long, miserable years of slavery and imprisonment, of cruel treatment and injustice. He is now 30 years old and brought before Pharaoh because Pharaoh had a dream that no one could interpret. So  he asks Joseph. Here's his reply:

"I cannot do it," Joseph replied to Pharaoh, "but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires."

I don't know about you, but somewhere in Joseph's answer I see a man who's been humbled beneath the mighty hand of God. We don't see the young, arrogant, brash teenager anymore. We see a man who gives all the credit and power to God for everything.  And if you follow the story after Pharaoh makes Joseph 2nd in command, Joseph never again appears to be arrogant.  God had to get all of the pride and all of the self out of Joseph before he could reveal Joseph's destiny. Otherwise, Joseph wouldn't have been able to do it--at least not the way God needed him to rule.

I'm a firm believer that each one of us has a God-given destiny. Our God is a big God and His dreams for you are bigger than you could ever imagine. But He has to prepare you for that destiny. The more important the destiny, the longer and harder the boot camp! So, maybe you're wondering today what your purpose is in life. Why are you here? Have you asked God to show you your destiny? Have you told Him you're committed to fulfilling it? If so, maybe you're finding yourself in hard times, heartaches and betrayal and difficulties. Maybe you're wondering where God is? Has He forgotten you?  Can you imagine what Joseph was thinking for 13 years as a slave and a prisoner?   Maybe you're in God's boot camp!!  He needs to train you for your destiny. Don't give up like so many people do. If Joseph had given up on God during those 13 years, he would have completely missed his destiny. Maybe God would have found someone else, I don't know. But it wouldn't have been Joseph.  So, keep moving forward, keep trusting, keep believing, keep following God and never give up.  Take it from someone like me who, like Joseph, had to learn the hard way, but who ultimately found God's destiny for my life.

Book signing in Minnesota!

I thought you might like to see some pictures from my book signing last weekend. My friend and fellow author (and a fabulous one too, not friend, but author, but she's also a fabulous friend. Well, I digress) took these pictures as I chatted with people and signed books. I met some WONDERFUL people!!!

First of all, I met a mother and daughter who are big fans of my books, Makayla and Uvonne (hope I spelled your names right!)  They were such nice people!!  Waving at them! Thank you so much for coming by!

Here's a picture of me signing books for them. 

  And here's a picture of me and Michelle Griep. I stayed with her and her family while I was in town. They were so nice to me! Michelle even got up to make me a hot breakfast two days in a row. I tell you, a girl could get spoiled. Michelle is also the author of a wonderful book entitled Gallimore--a time travel medieval story!

Here I am with my editor, Traci Depree, the lady who edits all of my books and finds all the little oppsies and makes everything all better! She's an awesome and fun lady, too!

 Here I am trying to explain the plot of Surrender the Heart to a passing customer!

     Here's Beverly, one of the workers in the store. She bought a copy of each of my books off their shelves! She was so super nice!

This is Reyna, who sometimes posts on my blog! She is a wonderful lady! Thanks, Reyna, for coming out to meet me!

And finally, just a shot of me signing my book for another customer. All in all, it was a fabulous trip. Minnesota is a gorgeous state. All green and lush with lots of lakes. The temperature was fairly mild although I'm told the winters are horrendous.  I ate too much, thanks to my friend, Michelle!  We not only had a huge lunch at someplace called Mimi's Cafe but she fed me homemade meatballs and mashed potatoes when we got home. Oh, and did I mention the bowl of popcorn coated with garlic butter while we watched a movie!!

Anyway, I met some wonderful people and got to share about my book and about how the Lord has blessed me with a exciting destiny and how He has an equally adventurous destiny for all who believe and follow Him!