Parson Place News and Views

Tag: seven keys to effective prayer

  • My 2012 Year-End Update

    I managed to do a little better with blogging more frequently in 2012 than I did in 2011, but I still have plenty of room for improvement. I’ll keep working at it in 2013. My goal is to work my way up to weekly blog entries by the end of 2013. We’ll see this time next year, Lord willin’, if I have reached my goal by then.

    In retrospect, this year was filled with both the joy of writing and publishing and with the disappointment of not being able to make a go of the new independent ministry that I felt toward the end of 2011 that God was leading me to set up. Although I managed to set up the name, bank account, and other legal and organizational aspects for the ministry, when I finally began conducting worship services, things just didn’t progress as well as I’d hoped and envisioned, so I discontinued the services. Without going into all the details (which are just too personally discouraging for me to share), I feel that God was not ready for me to begin just yet. As discouraging and disappointing as that fact is now, I am determined henceforth to wait patiently for God to instruct me further before I act on this dream again. I intend to begin an extended fast soon after the beginning of 2013 strictly for the purpose of drawing nearer to God, whether He reveals anything spectacular to me or not. I intend to make this about Him rather than about me. I will let you know what I learn from this experience after it is completed.

    As for my writing and publishing endeavors, I was able to finish writing and publish my third book, entitled Seven Keys to Effective Prayer, in March of this year. What a thrill it was to finally finish and release it for the reading public! I’m currently planning to test it with a new print on demand printing service and a whole new distribution service. I’m very pleased with the POD service, and if the distribution service works out well, I will start using this service for all of my other published titles, too.

    I also managed to publish two other titles in 2012 (one fiction and one nonfiction) by two different authors who are new to Parson Place Press (my independent Christian publishing company). I am already working on my next book, which will deal with the subject of God’s Plan of Salvation for humanity, though I still have plenty of work to do on it before it is finished. Because I’ve agreed to publish at least five other books by other authors (four of which are also new authors to Parson Place Press), plus I want to publish a small collection of my own poetry this year, I will have lots of work to do, so I hope I can make the time to finish writing my book about God’s Plan of Salvation, not to mention that I hope I have enough financial resources to keep my promises, too. Please say a prayer for me to accomplish all that God has planned for me in 2013, and specifically ask Him to help me keep my word.

    I have plans for one other important project in 2013 — to create a course about how to be your own publisher, but I want to keep the details about that one under wraps for now until I’m ready to unveil it. I hope it will be a grand success. Be sure to follow me on this blog and on my author site for details as I make them public. Incidentally, I’ve just (in the last week) moved my blog from being hosted on WordPress’ site to being hosted on my own site. If you’re interested, you can also connect with me on LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/in/parsonplacepress) or follow me on Twitter (www.twitter.com/@parsonp) or “friend” me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/parsonplace).

    Well, that’s all I have for my review of 2012 and my preview of 2013. So, until next time, I want to wish you a very blessed and prosperous New Year in 2013. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

     

  • The Age of Deception

    I was responding to a blog post by Rev. K. H. Marple on her Keep Life Legal blog a little earlier about the propensity for lying that we see in contemporary politics and society in general, and I felt my comment was worth turning into a quick blog post of my own. You can read her blog at the following link: http://keeplifelegal.com/2012/10/30/furthering-the-moral-bankruptcy-of-the-united-states/ The next paragraph is what I posted on her recent blog post, though I did edit the final sentence of that post a little bit, but the succeeding paragraphs are a few extra thoughts I’ve decided to add.
    The first point Jesus made in His Olivet Discourse with His disciples about the Last Days is: “Take heed that no one deceives you.” (Matthew 24:1 NKJV). We live in the Age of Deception. Soon, during the Tribulation Period, all who have rejected God’s truth will be completely given over to deception so that they will “believe the lie” (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 NKVJ). THE lie implies the lie of all lies, and what might that lie be? I believe it is the lie that there is any other god besides the One True God.
    The apparent increase in wickedness we’ve seen in recent years, such as murders, thefts, and sexual promiscuity of all sorts and including the proclivity for lying about anything and everything, is just one more sign that we are drawing very near to the final days of this age. Some have called the age from the time of Jesus’ ascension until the Tribulation “The Age of Grace”, but I would argue that implies that God did not show grace prior to Jesus’ first coming or that He won’t continue to show some measure of grace during the Tribulation Period even. Moreover, God will continue to save whoever calls upon Him by His wonderful matchless grace even during the Tribulation Period after the so-called Age of Grace has supposedly ended (see Revelation 6:9-11 for proof that there will be some saved during the Tribulation). I accept the description of this era being called “The Church Age”, however, because it is certainly the era in which the Church has been commissioned by Jesus to reach the world, but God has ALWAYS been a God of grace, and there are numerous examples in the OT of God showing grace, just as there are numerous examples of God showing judgment during the NT era.
    So, what is the greatest deception that we face in this Age of Deception? Anything which contradicts the revealed and written Word of God (The Holy Bible) is a lie and an attempt at deception. The problem is that most people, including the vast majority of professing Christians (and many times that includes a disturbing number of clergy), have no idea what the Word of God says because they never read or consult it for guidance or direction. I will submit to you that the only way you will survive this Age of Deception without being deceived, EVEN if you are a professing Christian, is if you know and understand what God’s Word has commanded and is demanding of us all. If you don’t make time to read and peruse God’s Word (the Bible) for instruction, guidance, and revelation, you will be lost in more ways than one. Therefore, I heartily urge you to make reading and meditation upon God’s Word a part of your daily routine. Turn off your TV, radio, computer, and cell phone and get away from other people long enough to read and ponder the meaning of at least one chapter from the Bible per day. Spend some time in prayer and meditation on God’s Word as well. I discuss these matters in great detail (reading, meditation upon God’s Word and prayer) in my recent book Seven Keys to Effective Prayer, which you can get in both print and eBook format from any of the major book retailers.
    Don’t be deceived in this Age of Deception! Listen to God and follow His Word, and you won’t be deceived.