A place of refuge for weary souls who are struggling to live for Jesus in this sin-sick world. Here, you will find encouraging words, life-changing biblical teaching about real-world discipleship and unashamed defense of Jesus’ claim to Lordship over our lives.
Here is a link to my daughter-in-law’s new book:
![829171: The Homesteader"s Sweetheart](http://ag.christianbook.com/g/tiny/8/829171.gif "829171: The Homesteader"s Sweetheart") |
The Homesteader’s SweetheartBy Lacy Williams / Steeple Hill Books
To escape a dreaded arranged marriage, Penny Castlerock will face anything-even life on her grandfather’s farm. But it isn’t the rustic lifestyle that’s got the Philadelphia socialite tied in knots. It’s the handsome homesteader and his eight adopted children next door.. |
Buy it for Kindle here:
The Homesteader’s Sweetheart (Love Inspired Historical)
Posted in Books, Topical Studies.
– May 1, 2012
Why do we have two ears and only one mouth? Perhaps that’s God’s way of saying we should listen at least twice as much as we talk!
The Holy Spirit’s counsel provides some serious thoughts on this matter: Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires, (James 1:19-20, NLT).
The contrast is clear
Listening is a priority. Every one of us should race to listen. For those of us who are constantly rushing to do and say what matters to us, this is no small thing. Still, when it comes to our interactions with others, we are to show up early to hear what they are saying. On the other hand, tardiness is recommended when it comes to our words and wrath. Instead of rushing headlong into a verbal barrage that could easily lead to an angry outburst, we must put the brakes on. Instead of erupting in anger at what others say, we must resist the temptation to do so.
The consequences are immense
If we respond with verbal venom to the things said to us, God’s purposes are not served. If we allow anger to take root in our hearts and act accordingly, God’s will is simply crowded out of our lives. To be sure, there is no justice — no righteousness at all — in the anger of man. We cannot take the travel on the road and reach the right destination. No matter how many times we claim to be concerned about what is fair or right, if human angst animates our actions, the righteous life God desires is far, far away.
The challenge is ever-present
The world we live in is radically different from that of the Lord’s brother James. There are more ways to communicate with one another than ever before. We are exposed to more things that make us want to rant and rave than any generation before us. It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that some people tweet more words in a day than my great grandmother spoke in a week, maybe even a month. Still, these simple imperatives — three sign-posts leading to the righteous life God desires — are an ever-present challenge for each one of us:
May God help us all heed the warning and follow the signs.
(c) Bill Williams, 2011
Posted in Christian Living, Discipleship, Life.
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– December 14, 2011
Not that we will ever exhaust the topic, but here are a few more thoughts about fiction. In the introduction to her splendid little book “Bird by Bird, Some Instructions on Writing and Life” Anne Lamott comments on the importance of creative writers who give us their take on life. She says:
I started writing a lot in high school: journals, impassioned antiwar pieces, parodies of the writers I loved. And I began to notice something important. The other kids always wanted me to tell them stories of what had happened, even—or especially—when they had been there. Parties that got away from us, blowups in the classroom or on the school yard, scenes involving their parents that we had witnessed—I could make the story happen. I could make it vivid and funny, and even exaggerate some of it so that the event became almost mythical, and the people involved seemed larger, and there was a sense of larger significance, of meaning.
I’m sure my father was the person on whom his friends relied to tell their stories, in school and college. I know for sure that he was later, in the town where he was raising his children. He could take major events or small episodes from daily life and shade or exaggerate things in such a way as to capture their shape and substance, capture what life felt like in he society in which he and his friends lived and worked and bred. People looked to him to put into words what was going on.
Given these observations, fiction, it seems to me, can be very important — even a necessity — for those who grapple with the sense of and significance of life.
© Bill Williams, 2008-2011
Posted in Books.
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– December 13, 2011
There are times when I just can’t get my brain to stop processing at the end of the day. It’s a bit like the Energizer Bunny, it keeps going, and going, and going. At times like this, I find relief in the wonderful world of make believe. There is something about becoming engrossed in a story that helps me to relax and allows my mind to cycle down so that sleep is not so hard to attain. For me, it’s much more effective than counting sheep.
There is great power in story—power that is much more significant to humanity than a simple sleep aid. Though I will admit that there are times when it seems like there is nothing more important than a good night’s sleep. This significance of story is brought to light by Greg Stevenson, in his post “The Necessity of Fiction” on his blog (Caritas). Here he writes:
Yesterday I was reading a book on C. S. Lewis that was discussing his connection to G. K. Chesterton. In one of Chesterton’s early writings from 1901, he discusses the role of the sort of pop culture of his day versus high literature. Chesterton makes the intriguing statement that “literature is a luxury; fiction is a necessity.” That thought intrigues me. Fiction, paradoxically, is a necessary force for constructing and dealing with our reality.
This is excellent, isn’t it? Fiction is a necessity! This is probably startling news to some of my super-studious colleagues and friends who lovingly chide me about reading so much fiction, while somewhat smugly stating, “I just don’t have time for fiction.”
The pervasive influence of fiction is underscored by Charles Bohner in his Introduction to Short Fiction. He asks:
“Do you know this song?”
Come ‘n listen to a story ‘bout a man name Jed
Poor mountaineer barely kept his family fed
An’ then one day, he was shootin’ at some food,
An’ up thru the ground came a bubblin’ crude
Oil that is! Black gold! Texas tea!
Well, the first thing you know, Jed’s a millionaire
Kin-folk said, “Jed, move away from there.”
Said, “Californy is the place y’ oughta be,”
So they loaded up the truck, and they moved to Beverly
Hills that is! Swimmin’ pools! Movie stars!
It would be frightening to know how many people in the world can sing the theme song to “The Beverly Hillbillies.” Whether they learned it in the 1960’s, when the television show originally appeared, or whether they learned it in the reruns and syndication in the decades since, millions of people, worldwide, are familiar with the basic outline of this one family’s story. The strange thing is that this family never existed.
At one time in the United States, there were families like the Clampetts who lived in the backwoods, growing up poor and unsophisticated. But Jed, Granny, Jethro, and Daisy Mae are not living, breathing people; they are characters imagined by writers, actors, and directors, and finally by us viewers. However, the fact that this family isn’t real and that they never experienced any of the events we see them experience does not change the other equally valid fact that we viewers enjoy watching them. Somehow all of us who live our lives in a very real world of jobs, taxes, families, traffic, and so on, find pleasure and even a little enlightenment in the story of these people who never lived. The pleasure we receive from their story is an example of the magic of fiction.
Of course, the compelling voice in favor of the power of story is Jesus Christ. His use of story is unparalleled. His parables encapsulate some of the most important aspects of His teaching. Though we did not walk with Him, we can almost hear Him say, “The kingdom of heaven is like…a man who sowed good seed in his field…a mustard seed, which a man planted in his field…yeast a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour…” When you think about it, the Bible is more than anything else a story book, given the fact that it is written mainly in the narrative form.
So, I enjoy fiction. I agree with Chesterton and believe it is a necessity, as well. It can help bring clarity to life, by allowing us to enter into the imagined successes and failures of others. Of course, fiction can be used to cause confusion. This is where readers must exercise caution. While fiction writers attempt to convince their readers to suspend disbelief, this does not mean that we, as consumers of their prose, suspend our good sense. As readers, we must remember that we are not buying into a worldview; we’re just reading a story!
Mitch Albom’s little book “The Five People You Meet in Heaven” is a good case study. I’m not buying his premise in the book, but I found this to be an interesting read. The last paragraph, indeed the last sentence in the book, made me appreciate Albom’s writing prowess. Here is what he wrote:
Lines formed at Ruby Pier—just as a line formed someplace else: five people, waiting, in five chosen memories, for a little girl name Amy or Annie to grow and to love and to age and to die, and to finally have her questions answered—why she lived and what she lived for. And in that line now was a whiskered old man, with a linen cap and a crooked nose, who waited in a place called the Stardust Band Shell to share his part of the secret of heaven: that each affects the other and the other affects the next, and the world is full of stories, but the stories are all one.
One of my favorite Christian fiction authors is Francine Rivers. Her books are well-crafted; background research is thorough; the characters are credible; and the theology is refreshingly biblical. There are, of course, many others—too many to mention them. I’m wondering, though, whether any readers of this blog have favorites they would like to mention. That’s assuming that any of you endured this marathon post long enough to finally get to the end of it.
Do you have a book or author you would like to mention?
© Bill Williams, 2008-2011
Posted in Books, Christian Living.
– December 13, 2011
Here’s something a little different from what you normally find posted here at the Spiritual Oasis. I put this together as a supplemental handout for a class I was teaching. While this is not a complete summary of the work of the Holy Spirit, it accurately depicts the Holy Spirit at work in the early church as reported in the Book of Acts. Here we read about…
1) The risen Christ instructing the apostles through the Holy Spirit:
— 1:2, …until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen
2) The Promise of and Baptism of the Holy Spirit:
— 1:5, For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit
— 1:8, But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth
— 2:4, All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them
— 2:17, In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams
— 2:18, Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy
— 2:33, Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear
3) Giving utterance to Gospel Heralds:
— 2:4, All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them
— 4:8, Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people!
— 4:31, After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly
— 6:10, but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke
4) Through specific prophecies / prophets:
— 11:28, One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.)
— 13:9, Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said…
— 21:11, Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’
5) As God’s gift to the redeemed:
— 2:38, Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
— 5:32, We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him
— 19:6, When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
6) Active in the ministry of Jesus and the Old Testament prophets:
— 1:5, For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit
— 1:16, …“Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus…
— 4:25, You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: “‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?
— 7:51, “You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit!
— 10:38, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him
— 28:25, They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your forefathers when he said through Isaiah the prophet
7) The disciples were “filled with” the Holy Spirit:
— 4:31, After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
— 6:3, Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them
— 6:5, This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.
— 7:55, But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
— 11:24, He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.
8 ) Operative in the Apostles’ leadership (inferred):
— 5:3, Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?
— 5:9, Peter said to her, “How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”
9) Poured out on individuals or groups other than the apostles:
— 8:15-17, 15When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. 17Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
— 9:17, Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
— 10:44, While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message.
— 10:45-47, 45The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. 46For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, 47“Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.”
— 11:15-16, 15“As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. 16Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’
— 13:52, And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
— 15:8, God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us.
10) Taking Philip away after the Ethiopian’s baptism:
— 8:39, When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.
11) As Comforter of the believers:
— 9:31, Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.
12) Providing specific direction to the lives of believers:
— 8:29, The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”
— 10:19, While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three men are looking for you.
— 11:12, The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house.
— 13:2, While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
— 13:4, The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.
— 15:28, It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements:
— 16:6, Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia.
— 16:7, When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.
— 20:22, “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there.
— 20:23, I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me.
— 20:28, Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.
— 21:4, Finding the disciples there, we stayed with them seven days. Through the Spirit they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.
13) The Holy Spirit’s gift cannot be bought with money:
— 8:18-19, 18When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money 19and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!
© Bill Williams
2005 – 2011
Posted in Topical Studies.
– December 11, 2011
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