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Home » Theology » Page 15

Theology

Tomorrow Starts Now

By Dan Balowon January 5, 2016
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1956 was an interesting year (other than the year of my birth).  There were wars and rumors of wars, great music, movies, books, political campaigning, controversy involving Islamic control of various nations and trouble in the Middle East.

Sound familiar?

Woody Guthrie’s song “This Land is Your Land” was popular, Norman Vincent Peale’s book on The Power of Positive Thinking was still hot and medicine was closing in on a vaccine for polio that would significantly eradicate it worldwide.

But on this day, sixty years ago, five men camped on the bank of the Curaray River in Ecuador.

fivemissionaries01Two days earlier, Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Ed McCully, Peter Fleming and Roger Youderian answered the call of God to bring the Gospel to the Huaorani people and flew a light plane into the jungle, landing it on a sandbar and setting up camp.

For several months they had dropped gifts for the Huaorani from flyovers, hoping to open a communication channel to them. The Huaorani were a small but violent tribe and the missionary crew was well aware of it.

On Sunday, January 8, 1956 the tribe attacked and killed the five missionaries with spears.

The long-term effect of the killing fueled renewed commitment to evangelistic missions and inspired generations to follow the call of God boldly. You can read about it in books like Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot and a more recent book titled End of the Spear by Steve Saint, son of Nate.

It is the most well known missionary story ever.

But today’s post is not about January 8, 1956.  It is about January 5, 1956. Sixty years ago today.

While the five missionaries have been honored and used as inspiration for what happened three days later, on this day, those five men were right where God wanted them, in the center of his purpose for them. The “sweet spot” if you will, when you are doing what God wants you to do.

They had no idea what would happen on January 8, but that didn’t matter. God did, and they trusted and depended on him completely.

How do you know if you are doing what God wants you to do?

I have no greater insight into the answer than any other Christian. Very smart theologians and teachers have written books on how to know God’s will. You need to read them.

But from the perspective of someone who will turn 60 during this year and a Christian for over two-thirds of that time, here’s how I unpack this for authors and any others working to communicate Jesus Christ.  There is a big responsibility for anyone in public view, especially when you can have influence over many people.

Here is what God desires of you today:

To love him with all your heart, mind and strength and also love your neighbor in the same way you would your own life. (In Matthew 22 among others)

Live each day characterized by love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Found in Galatians 5:22-23)

OK, I get that, how about specifically for writers and authors? This sounds like the same for every Christian. You obviously don’t realize that authors are a special group of people requiring special advice.

Be transformed by the renewing of your mind and not conformed to this world. (Romans 12:2)

When your mind is renewed you don’t worry about January 8 and can better discern the perfect will of God for you today.

 Yes, I know, but get to point about authors Dan, for heaven sake I’m busy and I need tips on what to do next. I need specifics. Come on, lay it out for us. Will my book be published?

OK, here’s something specifically for Christian authors.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing and give thanks in all circumstances. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-19)

You are a sneaky agent you are. Got to admit I am a little disappointed in these answers.

 January 8 might be the day an agent or even better, a publisher offers you a contract. It might be the day your manuscript is rejected for the umpteenth time and you decide to give up writing for good. It doesn’t matter.

That’s easy for you to say, Dan, you aren’t the one who worked for five years on a book.

What matters is living in the center of God’s will for you on Tuesday, January 5, 2016. His will for you is the same as for every other believer on the planet. It all comes from who you are in Christ, a new creature.

To repeat, when your mind is renewed, you don’t worry about January 8 and can better discern the good, acceptable and perfect will of God for you today.

January 8 will have it’s own challenges. We don’t need to know about them today. God knows about the future, he has gone before you and is waiting there for you.

Sixty years ago, five men trusted God, put their lives completely in his hands and we feel the impact of their lives to this day. I would guess any author would consider their lives well lived if the same was said about them, sixty years from now.

But even better when you hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

A footnote to this, in mid-2012, Steve Saint was injured in an accident, which left him partially paralyzed. If you want some inspiration for today, watch this video and see what happens at the 1:30 mark. It will be six minutes well spent. 

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Category: Career, TheologyTag: Career, God's Will, Theology

The Unexpected Advent

By Karen Ballon December 23, 2015
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Well, best laid plans, and all that. You may have noticed there wasn’t a blog from me last week. I was all ready to write about Bethlehem– And WHAM! Life took an unexpected turn. Rather than being in my office, writing a brilliant blog to bless you all, I spent the day dealing with health crises for my older brother. It started at 2:30 am with a phone call from emergency services, and I …

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Category: Personal, TheologyTag: Christian, Christmas, Theology

Joy to the World?

By Steve Laubeon December 14, 2015
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The angel said, “I bring you good tidings of great joy!” We really need some of that these days. With Paris and San Bernardino still in the news cycle we are reminded of the evil among us. And then this past week I received a series of bad news from industry friends. A publishing friend lost his home to a fire. A client called to say they’ve been diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma which is a cancer …

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Category: Personal, TheologyTag: Christian, Christmas, Theology

Not Going My Way?

By Dan Balowon November 3, 2015
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In case you haven’t noticed, things in the world are generally not going the Christian-way in politics, law, education, business, marriage, religion…or anything else. Evil seems to winning all around us. American Christians who once thought of themselves as the “moral majority” are now the “imperfect minority.” We thought we could change the world through the ballot box. We were wrong. Call it …

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Category: Theology, TrendsTag: Christian, Theology

Write from the Deep Places

By Karen Ballon September 16, 2015
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Far down, under the ground many of us walk on day in and day out, are roads and buildings and the remnants of long-ago lives and loves. Underground cities, they’re called. I’ve visited the one in Seattle. Peered down through the dark and dust and imagined people, horses, carriages…life. Under our feet. In the deep. I’ve been to other deep places, too, but these weren’t quick visits. Nor were they …

Read moreWrite from the Deep Places
Category: Book Business, Career, Communication, Craft, Creativity, Editing, Get Published, Inspiration, Marketing, Money, Platform, The Writing Life, Theology, Trends, Writing CraftTag: Encouragement, Inspiration, The Writing Life

Not All Words Are Created Equal

By Karen Ballon July 29, 2015
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Twice in the last few weeks something happened that got me thinking about how very careful we need to be when revising, either our own work or someone else’s. First, during a worship team practice, the leader changed the words of a song from “You give and take away,” referring to God, to “You give me all I need.” When I asked why she’d changed the words, she …

Read moreNot All Words Are Created Equal
Category: Art, Language, TheologyTag: Editing, Language, Theology, words

The How-To of Legacy

By Karen Ballon July 8, 2015
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Wonderful thoughts last week.  Thanks so much for sharing your experiences, honesty, and wisdom. Just one of the many reasons I so admire you folks. So here are my thoughts on this topic. As Connie Almony wrote, it’s not about the big things we do, it’s the small, everyday things. In fact, it’s about one specific thing: Choices. Legacy stems from the multitude of choices we make every day. It’s …

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Category: Branding, Career, Marketing, Personal, TheologyTag: Career, Legacy

The Accidental Theologian

By Dan Balowon June 23, 2015
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I’m stepping far outside my theological pay grade today so you will need to test and weigh the words of this post. After forty years of knowing Jesus, I find myself challenging my assumptions about many things on a regular basis, attempting to see myself as God sees me. What attitudes do I have that should change? What comfortable positions do I have that are more self-deception than God’s truth? …

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Category: Creativity, Theology, Writing Craft

An Amazing Legacy

By Karen Ballon June 17, 2015
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I just visited my younger brother and his family. Kirk and his wife, Lyn,  both went to Seattle Pacific University, so it was no surprise when Kirk shared a video made to honor Paul Lee, an SPU student killed in the campus shooting last year. What did surprise me was how profoundly affected I was by the video. That this young man so enriched and impacted those around him that they created a …

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Category: Personal, TheologyTag: Legacy

The Myth of God’s Goodness

By Karen Ballon June 10, 2015
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I’m in the process of developing a program with a friend to minister to writers who are in deep places in their lives. I’ve been asking God to show me how to encourage and share His truth with those who feel lost, abandoned, worthless, like they’ve wasted their gifts…those who are in pain and struggling… WHAT was I thinking?? There’s only one way to really minister to people in certain situations: …

Read moreThe Myth of God’s Goodness
Category: Christian, Personal, TheologyTag: Christian, Theology
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