Phillip Cook – Insight

Rather than offer Phillip Cook the usual kind of interview, I asked him to share either how he met his partner, his testimony of faith, or something interesting from his family heritage. Phillip has chosen to tell us about both his testimony and his wife.

Worlds Collide

I became a Christian late in life after being tossed to and fro by the waves and the winds of life. It was the late eighties (not my age of enlightenment but the timing) and I was living in Sydney. After being born again, I got rather confused by the Christianity message I was receiving from the so-called Christians around me so I decide to attend the Capernwray Bible College in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales. Most students at the college were from overseas. It was at Capernwray where I started to build a solid foundation (through God’s word) for my life. It was also at Capernwray where I set my eyes on a pretty young lady. I thought I was blessed when I found out she was from Victoria. Aah, you beauty, another Aussie, but she did talk funny. It turns out there is a place called Victoria in British Colombia, Canada. That’s only 12,000 kilometres away and that’s where this lovely lady lived.

I can get away with a few things here like telling you that this girl had come to Australia looking for a bronzed Aussie and fell madly in love etc etc. But she came to get closer to the Lord and to visit her auntie in Queensland. But it just so happens now that this lovely lady is living in Queensland and we have been together close to 25 years.

I love how God seems to orchestrate these things in our lives, don’t you? Thanks for sharing your story with us, Phillip. Last week I reviewed Phillip’s debut novel, Dead Man’s Journey, which can be read here. What are you working on now, Phillip?

I’m working on a sequel at the moment.  It’s early days yet but the Professor has reappeared and has called on Lucas to help him with a problem he has. It involves the Professor’s granddaughter and revolves around the use of drugs to control depression etc.  The drugs are also used by the ‘enemy’ to stifle the desire to know God.

Sounds like it will be another intriguing read! I will look forward to it. In the meantime, where can we find you on the internet?

I can be found on www.52passages.com. I’m currently working on a series of devotions and this site will be where it all happens.

Thanks for joining me on my blog today, Phillip and all the best with your writing endeavours.

Phillip Cook – Dead Man’s Journey

From the Back Cover:

At death your escorts are either angels or demons.

Aaron Fitzpatrick doesn’t know what happens when you die. Others have told him but he’s not sure if he believes them. Now his belief system is challenged as his dad goes missing during his daily run and is found, dead, twenty kilometres away from home—and missing a finger. Aaron’s investigation leads him to suspect a link between his father’s death and the mysterious ‘vanishings’ of homeless men.

Mackenzie Gordon is Aaron’s childhood best friend. She knows what happens when you die. She’s a Christian. He isn’t. But then she vanishes and Aaron is drawn into the mystery. And as Aaron investigates her disappearance, his beliefs about life and death, angels and demons, and God, are all challenged.

Amanda’s Review:

I love the idea in this novel: to inconvenience lawbreakers by transporting them to another place for a while. But the technology for this ‘transport’ is not perfect and problems begin to form. Serious problems, including the death of a few individuals. This concept and the troubles that arise give the opportunity for glimpses into the spiritual realm.

What happens in the unseen? Where do souls go when they depart their bodies? What does death mean? These kind of questions are addressed in Dead Man’s Journey. I found this novel an intriguing read and the variety of characterisation was great.

If you like supernatural or futuristic stories, coupled with some mystery, you will enjoy this novel. Congrats to Phillip Cook on a great debut novel. Available only on Kindle at: http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Mans-Journey-ebook/dp/B00CR3UCZQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370837394&sr=8-1&keywords=dead+man%27s+journey.

Thanks to the author for a free review copy.

About the Author:

There always seemed to be a desire in me to find the truth about this strange place I found myself born into. I was way off track for a long time and encountered a number of battles—they were sad and bewildering times. I always had an interest in the supernatural and ventured into this world for a while before finding the truth. My writings always move towards the supernatural but from a Christian perspective and with a desire for others to find the truth.  Phillip lives in Queensland with his wife and family.

Lavish Grace

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ,to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.” [Ephesians 1:7-10 NIV]

Photo by Charles Thompson

I love the thought that God lavishes His grace on us. It sounds so generous and extravagant, and wouldn’t you know it, when I looked up the meaning of lavish, that is exactly what it said – ‘bestow something in generous or extravagant quantities upon.’

Lavish can also have the connotation of haphazardness, to me anyway. To lavish sounds spontaneous and an expression of largess. But God is in no way haphazard or careless in how He tosses His grace around. He uses all His wisdom and understanding – it is purposeful. He specifically poured out abundant grace on you and I, in order to bring us into life with Christ.

His grace is a wonderful, extravagant, designed and purposeful gift. And the gift is sealed by the Holy Spirit in our lives — proof of His grace and approval — proof that we belong to Him.

How cool is that! Could I possibly love Him anymore?

Paula Vince – Picking Up The Pieces

6 – 10 May

Australian Christian Readers Blog Alliance

is introducing

Picking up the pieces

(Even Before Publishing 2010)

By

Paula Vince

Available at Amazon

&Light The Dark

 

 

About the Author

Award winning Australian author, PAULA VINCE, loves to evoke tears and laughter through writing fiction. She has a passion to provide inspiring stories that highlight her own beautiful country.Website is http://www.paulavince.com/

About the Book:

“One terrible decision leads to another and the Parker and Quinlan families find out what it means to be in total despair.

In a moment of recklessness, Blake Quinlan does something he never should. The bitter consequences of his impulse will reverberate through the rest of his life unless he learns to deal with his past.

Without warning, Claire Parker’s life shatters. One horrific event leads to a choice that she can never forget. She must find a source of strength and forgiveness to help her recover or she will never again be the happy person she once was.

Moving forward, there is still a ray of hope. A triumphant story about forgiveness, new beginnings and the power of love.”

Ian Acheson – Insight

Rather than ask Ian for a standard interview, I asked him if he would share part of his life with us, either how he met his bride, how he came to know the Lord, or something interesting from his family heritage. Ian has chosen to tell us part of his journey to faith.

Pursued

“It’s time!”

I woke with those two words on my lips. I knew what they meant because I knew who spoke them.

It was February 2002. I was on holiday at Disney World, Florida.

My life changed in that moment. I knew then I was being pursued.

Pursued by the one who I first met 20 years earlier as a teenager. Our relationship over that time had experienced some highs but a lot of lows. We were now experiencing a long separation. I had chosen that, not deliberately, but allowed my mess to distract me.

But He wanted me back. Just as He wants all of us back.

I responded tentatively, not sure I was deserving or worthy. I’m not, but that’s the point – we don’t need to be.

Because He is!

We started talking again. Well, I did most of the talking and still do. I still struggle to listen. I know I’m not alone in that endeavour. I found a community where I could worship. I’ve always loved worship. No matter how I feel, something magical happens when I raise my arms in surrender and praise Him.

That was then. This is now.

I’m still in that community. I’ve learnt a lot but am still very much a work in progress as I will be for the rest of my days on this beautiful earth. I hunger and thirst for more.

I feel like I’m now the pursuer.

I love how the Lord chases us down like that, and yes, we ending up running after Him. Thanks Ian for sharing. Can you tell us what you’re working on now?

Right now I’m working on the second in the series of the Chronicles of the Angelguard: “Wrestling with Shadows.”

I’ll be looking out for that one. Last week I reviewed Angelguard, and you can read it here, along with more info about Ian and his book. Thanks for joining me on my blog, Ian!

Ian Acheson – Angelguard

From the Back Cover:

Within a period of weeks, three horrific bomb blasts devastate areas of London, Los Angeles and Sydney. No explanation is offered, no victory claimed for these acts of terror. Yet behind the scenes a Machiavellian European businessman is planning to bring the G8 nations to their knees for his own larcenous purposes, aided by the dark forces to whom he has sold his soul.

Jack Haines, an Australian academic, is grieving the loss of wife and children in the Sydney blast. Against his will he finds himself thrown into a war that transcends the physical world, a conflict in which angelic guards have a special mission for him.

A gripping novel of the unseen forces that throng our world.

Amanda’s Review:

I was looking forward to reading this novel ever since I heard about it late last year. I loved Frank Peretti’s This Present Darkness, so I figured I would probably enjoy Angelguard. And I loved that the author was an Aussie.

While it didn’t quite meet my expectations, Angelguard ranged across the globe with an exciting plot involving terrorism. This was a good novel from Ian Acheson as a debut, especially as it wound up towards the climax with lots of tension. But I did find that there were so many characters, both human and spirit beings, that I often had to stop and remember who was who.

Angelguard does give a good picture of how prayer affects the spirit world, and therefore the natural world, and inspires us to get on our knees and intercede for those who don’t know Christ — and that is a great take away from the book in my opinion.

If you love action and glimpses into the supernatural, you will enjoy this novel. But be advised, there are a couple of words in there that might offend some readers. Overall though, a good read.

About the Author:

Ian Acheson is an author and strategy consultant based in Northern Sydney. His first novel, Angelguard, was released recently in the US, UK, Canada and Australia. You can find more about Angelguard at Ian’s website, on his Author Facebook page and Twitter.

You Are What You Worship

“The idols of the nations are silver and gold,  made by human hands.
They have mouths, but cannot speak,  eyes, but cannot see.
They have ears, but cannot hear,  nor is there breath in their mouths.
Those who make them will be like them,  and so will all who trust in them.” [Psalm 135:15-18 NIV]

Photo by http://www.pixlab.pl/

Although in some cultures, people still worship idols, in our western civilization, we worship different man-made idols. It might be our career, it might be our house and car — our material possessions, or it might be our lifestyle. Whatever is most important in our life is what we worship.

The problem is that most of these things can’t do much for us. They can’t speak to us and give us advise on life. They can’t hear or respond to our troubles and struggles. They can’t intervene when we are about to make a bad decision. These things have no life of their own. they are things.

According to these verses, those who make their idols will become like them. Our lives become less than they can be. We can lose  our voice, our heart, our ability to see clearly (in the sense of wisdom). We can become less effective, frozen, shrivelled up.

We  need the life-giving breath of God moving in and out of our lives to have truly abundant life. When we worship God, we become more like Him. That is an image worth heading for, I think. I would rather emulate the living God than bricks and mortar. How about you?

Worthy of the Call

‘With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.’ [2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 NIV]

What does it mean to be worthy of our calling? I guess it means we are living it out, rather than sitting around doing nothing. I love that this Scripture says that God does a lot of the work. HE makes us worthy of our calling. HE brings our desires to fruition. HE takes over once we step out in faith to fulfill His purposes in our lives.

On the opposite end of the scale, when we hide away from His purposes for us, we can be likened to the man with the one talent. (See Luke 19). This man hid what he had in the ground, he didn’t even try a little bit. He didn’t step out in faith, even though it meant risking the little he had. As a result, he lost everything.

To be worthy of our calling, all we have to do is step out on the Father’s word and watch Him make our little steps bear fruit.

“He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away.’” [Luke 19:26 NIV]

 

Hands Off

‘David then said to Abishai and all his officials, “My son, my own flesh and blood, is trying to kill me. How much more, then, this Benjamite! Leave him alone; let him curse, for the Lord has told him to. It may be that the Lord will look upon my misery and restore to me his covenant blessing instead of his curse today.”’ [2 Samuel 16:11-12 NIV]

I find the way David responded when he heard Absolom was marching against him very hard to take sometimes. You would think he would take up arms and fight for his throne. You would think he would stand up for what was rightly his, God ordained even. But no, he takes his men and leaves the city — retreats.

At first thought, this seems like cowardice, defeatist, weak. But on closer inspection I think David did something that goes against our natural human tendencies. He put his future and his throne in God’s hands.

David had made mistakes, several of them. One of the worst being adultery and murder involving Bathsheba and her husband. He knew he wasn’t entirely guiltless. And he had seen what happened to Saul when that king stopped obeying God — God removed him from the throne. So, perhaps David thought his time was up, that perhaps God had drawn the line.

Instead of rising up in pride with the attitude that the throne belonged to him and that he had a right to it, he humbly stepped back and allowed God to have His way. It is reflected in this one statement he made above. ‘Maybe the Lord will restore me to His blessing.’ He didn’t presume to know God’s will, in spite of receiving several promises on the matter. He simply allowed God to be the one to restore him, instead of doing it in his own strength.

How many of us can say we have acted with such humility when something we think God has promised us seems to have been stolen from under us? Something to think about …

On This Day …

Friday, 11th May 1849

Today I have been reading The Argus newspaper from Melbourne, for this date back in 1849. For those who live in Melbourne, you might this snippet interesting …

Town Allotments.— A considerable number of new allotments have been surveyed and marked out for sale, between the Flag Staff and the Swamp, abutting upon La Trobe and Spencer  streets, and a new street called after Judge Jeffcott. They will not, however, be put up to sale except upon special application, and under any circumstances we should recommend their being withheld, till the removal of the boiling-down establishments has rendered the neighbourhood a little less obtrusive upon the olfactories. We have before noticed the abandonment of the lane system, which has been productive of so much mischief. The streets are all marked out of equal width, but we doubt whether a narrowing of the blocks would not prove a still further advantage, in depressing the tendency to the creation of rookeries, narrow rights of way, and other nuisances. In future, town allotments are only to consist of a quarter acre each, the frontage remaining the same, but going only half-way through to the next street. This, too, appears a  judicious step, and we fancy that the Government will find their account in it, in the shape of an increased proportionate price for the allotments.

Thirteen years after the establishment of the new colony, and this is where they were developing.

The West Melbourne Swamp mentioned was to the left of this piece of map, and from the little research I have done, the boiling-down works would have been nearby in Footscray. So, at the time of releasing these allotments, I doubt they would have been very attractive to the nose. And I’m not sure what they mean about doing away with the lane system — aren’t there lanes everywhere in Melbourne???

Would you have tried to buy one of these stinky quarter acre lots?