This is a guest post by my friend, Faith Blum. :D
She is hosting a giveaway on her blog. Read this post for details on how to win an Advanced Reader copy of Be Thou My Vision and an ebook copy of Aundy by Shanna Hatfield.
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Book Blurb
The church was empty when I dragged myself out of the pew and headed out the door. As I opened the door, the corner of my eye caught a flicker of movement which I chose to ignore. I walked down the steps and was nearly bowled over by two wild boys. With arms grown strong and quick from man-handling two brothers growing up, I grabbed the two boys before they had a chance to escape me.
Anna Stuart is comfortable with her life. She may be a 30 year old spinster, but she has her routine and enjoys taking care of her father and older brother. One letter shatters all her routines, comfort, and enjoyment. After learning of her brother’s death, Anna feels like her life will never be the same again.
Then she meets two motherless boys. Did God place them in her life to lead her to a new vision of life? Can she trust God to give her the desires of her heart before she even knows what they are?
Writing sermons
By Faith Blum, author of the book A Mighty Fortress
I think the
hardest part of writing "Be Thou My Vision" was writing the
sermons. I only have two (or three) in the book and they are both
fairly short, but let me tell you, they were hard to write! First of
all, it was nerve-wracking to write a sermon because I didn't want to
make any major theological errors. Secondly, the sermons had to be
historically accurate, too! Preaching styles have changed quite a bit
since the 1870s. Here are just a few of those differences:
- Most people during that time thought they were Christians simply because they went to church or had a spiritual experience at a revival meeting.
- Preachers often preached "brimstone and hellfire" sermons.
- Pastors were more candid about sin
- Terminology was slightly different
When writing the
sermons, I had to be careful to keep all of this in mind and I still
don't know for sure if I got it all right. I'm sure I messed up
somewhere. When editing the sermons, I decided to edit more for
theological accuracy rather than historical accuracy. Read below for
the first fully-written sermon in "Be Thou My Vision":
“Please turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter seven.” Pastor
Miles Jenkins waited until the rustling of pages quieted down. “We
will read verses seven through twelve.”
“'Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and
ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one
that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that
knocketh it shall be opened.
“‘Or what man is there of you, whom if his
son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he
give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good
gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in
heaven give good things to them that ask him? Therefore all things
whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them:
for this is the law and the prophets.'
“This passage talks about those who know something about God’s
kingdom, but still seek out His will for their lives or have yet to
come to know Him as their personal Savior. There is a giant
difference between going to church and knowing Jesus personally.
Those who only go to church without a personal knowledge of Jesus
Christ will go to hell.
“Are you one of those people who comes to this house of God, but
you don’t read your Bible or know Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Or
perhaps you are one of those who believe that all the good deeds you
do will get you to heaven. The Bible is very specific and clear about
that very issue.
“In this passage, Jesus explains how to know His as your personal
Savior in a simple, yet difficult, formula. Ask, seek, and knock. Ask
God your questions. Seek His answers in the Bible through prayer and
asking your pastor or a friend who knows the Lord. And then comes the
hardest step: Knocking. Knock on the door and ask God for His free
gift of salvation.
“Why is this part so hard? Because we think
salvation should be harder than simply knocking and asking. I have
heard the question, 'Don't we have to DO something before God will
accept us?’ many times. Or sometimes it is said this way, 'Isn't
there something we can DO to earn God's favor?'
“The Bible answers that question with a
resounding 'No'! No, there is nothing you need to, or can, do to earn
salvation. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, 'For by grace are ye saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of
works, lest any man should boast.' Faith, not works. I guess we
should add that to the list. Ask, Seek, Believe, Have faith, Knock,
Accept. That's all there is to it. Simple? Perhaps. Belief and faith
do not come easily.”
Pastor Jenkins looked toward the back wall; his
eyes avoided eye contact for the first time during this sermon.
“Although I grew up in a God-fearing home, I had a hard time
accepting it for myself and making Jesus my personal Savior. And even
after I came to a personal faith in Christ, having faith was often
hard. When I knocked and accepted Jesus as Lord of my life, keeping
my faith in line with God's word was, and is, the hardest thing I
have ever done. Yes, even harder than watching my wife die. Even
harder than accepting that her death would ultimately be for the best
somehow.”
Pastor Jenkins cleared his throat and wiped the
tears out of his eyes. “But that faith is what brought me through
all those trials and it will continue to do so in the future. Every
day I struggle and every day that I persevere is sweeter than the day
before.
“How many of you have faith, but struggle
with it? Know this, God is stronger than your trial or temptation
and, if you ask, He will help you and guide you through.
“How many of you have yet to believe and put
your faith in Him? God is seeking you. Do not hide from Him like the
Old Testament prophet, Jonah did. Jonah was told to warn the
Ninevites that they needed to repent or their city would be
destroyed. He disobeyed, thinking he could hide from God. God found
him and Jonah spent three days and nights in the belly of a big fish.
When God let him out of the fish, Jonah completed his mission.
“God seeks you just as you are. He knows you
are a sinner condemned to hell. All He cares about is that you come
to Him so He can save you from an eternity without Him. God does not
want a single person to go to hell.
“Are you hiding from God today? Why are you
hiding? Is your faith less than you desire it to be? Trust God and
ask Him for help. Seek His face. Believe He can help you. Have faith
He will accomplish His work in you. Knock on His door and accept His
help and be ready for Him to want you to change.”
Pastor Jenkins looked over the sanctuary. For a
fleeting second, I thought he looked me straight in the eye, asking
me those questions personally. Then he concluded, “Let us spend a
minute or two in silent prayer. After that time, I will close us in
prayer.”
About
the Author
An avid reader,
Faith Blum started writing at an early age. Whether it was a story
about the camping trip that summer or a more creative story about
fictional characters, she has always enjoyed writing. When not
writing, Miss Blum enjoys reading, crafting, playing piano, leading
on the Holy Worlds Christian Writing Forum and playing games with her
family (canasta, anyone?). As a history enthusiast who has been
fascinated for years with the Old West, Faith has endeavored to
create a clean, fun, and challenging Western story. Faith lives with
her family on a hobby farm in the Northern Midwest, where she enjoys
the many cats they have.
Find Faith on:
To preorder a copy, just follow this link: Go Here. ;)
Giveaway:
To enter the
giveaway for an Advanced Reader copy of Be Thou My Vision and
an ebook copy of Aundy by Shanna Hatfield go to Faith’s
blog and leave a comment to either ask her a question,
or make a comment about what you think about the article.
