Tim Speer's Blog - Posts Tagged "faith"

One of the themes in my book, Return to Paradise, is learning to follow God's will. This is something I have been working on personally for some time. The writing of this book is one of the times I have chosen to follow what I felt God, through the Holy Spirit, was calling me yo do. In doing so I have been taken in directions I did not expect it to lead, and found my own spiritual life has grown.

Although the specific events and circumstances are greatly different, David, the main character in Return to Paradise, goes through a similar journey as he too learns to follow God's will.

One of the themes in my book, Return to Paradise, is learning to follow God's will. This is something I have been working on personally for some time. The writing of this book is one of the times I have chosen to follow what I felt God, through the Holy Spirit, was calling me yo do. In doing so I have been taken in directions I did not expect it to lead, and found my own spiritual life has grown.

Although the specific events and circumstances are greatly different, David, the main character in Return to Paradise, goes through a similar journey as he too learns to follow God's will.

I've recently started a correspondence with a gentleman who is starting up a new Web site: kickbackinstyle.menu
He is an avowed atheist, but open to discussing religious topics. We are currently thinking about starting a blog where we discuss religious issues. As a starter he asked the following question, which I am posting along with my response.

Question :
what point do I stop waiting for divine intervention or a big company to tell me what to do, and just have faith in myself?"

My answer:
As to your question on waiting for Devine intervention, or some big company to come and give you everything you need, I would have to ask first, on what basis do you expect this. People tend to want to look at God as some big gift horse that will give them everything they need. Well, God is a gift horse, he gave us everything we have. If you have a talent, it's because God gave that talent to you. Sure, we have to cultivate it and hone it, that's what God expects. Think about it, if you have, or were to have children, would you automatically give them everything they want? Would you do everything for them, dress them and tie their shoes for them, even when they're in high school? Would you do all of their homework for them while they watch TV or play video games? If you did, how would you expect them to turn out? Yet this is what we often expect God to do. Bottom line, nothing is going to happen automatically of you just sit around waiting for it. You already have had Devine intervention, God gave you life, he gave you talents, he gave you a good brain. So trust in God and use what he has given you. That's the first step. The second is to find out what God really wants you to do, and to follow it. This may sound easy to some, but it is probably the most difficult thing you will ever do.

This is the official announcement that I have started my new book, "Seventy Times Seven". You should by now have some idea about what one of the major themes will be.

The decision to write this book is not one I made lightly. It is ultimately the result of considerable prayer. There are several reasons for this. First and foremost, as I said in one of my earliest posts, I write because I feel called to do so by the Holy Spirit. I absolutely do believe this. I also absolutely believe that if I ever write for my own reasons, I will fail. Thus, I wanted to be sure it was a true calling of the Holy Spirit. I might add that the Holy Spirit not only leads me to write, it inspires a lot of the content. Another reason I waited a while to start writing "Seventy Times Seven", is that I had a major hole in the plot that I was unable to fill in. I believe that it was no accident that the idea I needed to fill this hole in came to me during Adoration.

Another reason I was a little hesitant, is that this book will suggest that you do something that I myself would have a hard time doing. Yes I know we are called to forgive, and I do. But like many, there are limits to what I would easily be able to forgive. So it's my sincere hope that I am never called to forgive to the degree that the main character in Seventy Times Seven is called upon to.

And, as I discovered with "Return To Paradise", writing a book is no small commitment. And, as I have also discovered, it doesn't end when finish writing the book.

So the good news is that I have not only decided to start writing "Seventy Times Seven", I have actually started writing. Timing wise, I hope to have it published by mid-2016, which means you will still have to wait a while for it.

Now, at least for some of you, the bad news. It is not a sequel to "Return To Paradise". I say this because a number of the people who have read "Return To Paradise", have expressed their desire for me to write a sequel to it. This does not mean that I will never write a sequel to it. We'll just have to wait until after I finish "Seventy Times Seven" and see what the boss says.

For those of you who "gots to know", I have written a short epilogue to "Return To Paradise". Since it is an obvious spoiler, I will not post it here. It is available for download on my website: http://timspeer.net

For those of you who would like to know a little more about "Seventy Times Seven", I have posted a synopsis of it on my website.

The other day I was listening to some music when the Whitney Houston song, "One Moment In Time", started playing. This song was written for the 1988 Olympics, and it is definitely a very inspirational song. If you're like me, it conjures up images of standing up on some big stage, or podium, accepting accolades for some great achievement you've accomplished.

And isn't that what we all want? A moment in the spot light, recognition for what we've done. As Whitney Houston says:

"Give me one moment in time
When I'm more than I thought I could be
When all of my dreams are a heartbeat away
And the answers are all up to me"

But then I started thinking about it. As I listened to the song, I realized it doesn't say anything about public recognition. It talks about personal satisfaction, and working your hardest, striving to reach your goal. In the songs case, the goal is yet to be reached:

"My finest day
Is yet unknown"

So let's go back to the beginning of the song. The song starts out:

"Each day I live
I want to be
A day to give
The best of me"

The bottom line is, we really don't have to be Olympic champions, or do anything that brings us wide public recognition. What the song calls us to do, is to be the best we can be each and every day. And, that is also what God calls us to be.

And then I thought a little more. That "one moment in time, When I'm more than I thought I could be," I've already lived it, and more than once. In fact, many times. Some stand out more than others. Among them, the day I was married, and when my children were born. For on each of these days, I was given a gift from God that made me not just more than I thought I could be, but more than I ever could have been without them.

So what are the other days in my life that I count as such great moments? None measure up to my wedding day, or the birth of my children. But yet, they were still days, that through God's Grace, I became something greater than I could have ever dreamed.

And, as for the future, each and every day can, and should, be one of these moments in time. The key is not just to strive to be your best, but to look around, and recognize what God has given you. The last verse of the song sums it up:

"You're a winner for a lifetime
If you seize that one moment in time
Make it shine"

So today, and every day, we should strive to be the best we can be. And, we should look around and recognize the many graces God has blessed us with. Sieze the moment, and we will have not just that one moment in time, but every moment in time.

Like a lot of people, I sometimes find myself too eager to jump into an argument. And when I do, suddenly winning that argument becomes the most important thing. But do we really ever win? And if the argument happens to be about faith, or God, is it the argument, or the soul that we should really want to win.

The other week I saw the movie "War Room", and it was a powerful reminder that the best way to win an argument is through prayer. And how ironic is it that it took this movie to remind me of that. For even my own novel, "Return To Paradise", has the power of prayer as a main theme. It is through prayer that the town of Spring River receives help in a time of crisis. And it is through prayer that David, the main character, is able to help.

Prayer is the most powerful weapon we have. And, in the end, sincere and heartfelt prayer is more powerful than the best of arguments. So from now on, I will try to jump into prayer a little more often, and jump into arguments a little less.

The other day I read a blog post about how to deal with a lack of success as a Christian author. Among other things, it noted that, having put a lot of time and effort into our work, we have a natural desire to be rewarded for that work. Most people have one dream or another about being wildly successful at something. As the author of the blog post mentions, for an author, that usually translates into being on the New York Times Best Seller list, or winning a major book award; or even just seeing thousands and thousands of your books sell, and seeing those big royalty checks come in.

The reality is, that most will never see that kind of success. But perhaps the problem isn't ones lack of success, as much as the way they define that success. If we are truly writing for God, then success must be defined by God, on his terms, not by us, on our terms.

Before proceeding, I will qualify myself a little. Unlike some, I do not write as a full time profession, and I do not count on my writing for income. Also, although I am nowhere near making any type of New York Times list, the reality is that for a new author with only one published book, I am not doing that bad.

So how do I define success? First I have to look at the reason I chose to write a book to begin with. The answer to that is simple, I felt that God was calling me to write it. So if God was calling me to write, that means he has a purpose for my writing. By definition then, success is achieved when God's purpose for my writing is fulfilled.

I also have to realize that it's quite possible that God may only have a limited number of people for whom he wants to use my writing. And, I have to remember that when he called me to write, he never said I was going to make a lot of money off of it. So, since God's pupose may not be for me to make the New York Times Best Seller list, or to make a lot of money on my books, how do I know if God's pupose is being fulfilled? How do I know if I am being successful on God's terms? The bottom line is faith. I have faith that if God has a purpose for my writing, then God will make sure that it is read by those he wants to read it, and that it will serve the purpose he wants it to serve. I start by constantly praying that what I write will be what God wants me to write, and that it will be used for his purpose.
Do I have a basis for my faith? Absolutely. As I have said, I am a new writer. This is not something I have ever done before. Nor have I ever taken any courses, or had any training. And, while I realize that just because I wrote a novel doesn't mean it's any good, I have had overwhelming feedback from people telling me how much they liked it. Some even going out of their way to do so. So if God can take me, an untrained writer, and use me to write a book that people actually like, then why should I not have faith that God will see that it accomplishes his purpose? And I have faith that, to that end, I will be wildly successful.

Today I got up, and went out for a morning run before sunrise. Looking up at the sky to the east, I could see that the planetary conjunction has definitely begun. Jupiter and Mars are now so close together, that you have to look closely to see Mars through Jupiter's bright glow. And Venus lies about three moon widths above, and is closing in on the other two.

Swinging to the south, Canis Major, now two months separated from the dog days, looms brightly. From there, one can trace the path of the Milky Way north, as it goes through the bright stars of Orion, Taurus, Perseus, and Cassiopeia. As I run, I can't help but marvel at how truly grand God's creation is.

Looking at the stars this morning, I think of the times when I have been out under truly dark skies, such as in Big Bend. And I can suddenly imagine the sailors of long ago, such as those that might have been sailing with Columbus or Magellan. As trying and hard as their voyages might have been, I can picture a lone sailor standing on the deck, on a clear night, when the sea was calm, looking at the stars and thinking, it's all worth it. In the case of these two examples, that sailor quite possibly would have been clutching a string of Rosary beads in his hand. May the Star of the Sea shine upon you.

In the aftermath of the Paris terrorist attacks, we are again confronted with the question of why there is evil in the world. Many atheists often use the existence of evil as an argument that there can be no God. They say that if God is omniscient, all caring, and omnipotent; then he should know there is evil, want to stop evil, and be able to stop evil. They say that the existence of evil means that God, if He exists, lacks one or more of these characteristics. And these are characteristics that are almost universally ascribed to God. However, there are some flaws in this type of argument. First, they are blaming God for human failures. The existence of war, crime, terror, hunger, poverty, and all other evils, are the result of human failures, not failures of God. But, they argue, why does God allow such human failures to occur? The answer boils down to love.

I'm sure many of you are now scratching your head because you were sure that I was going to say free will. And ultimately it is. However, free will is the result of love. For you see God is, above all else, love. God created us out of love, and He wants to be loved. But love is not something you can dictate, it has to be freely given or it is not love. So we aren't given free will simply as a gift, to allow us to make our own choices. Rather, we are given free will because the very fact that we were created out of love requires free will.

Free will allows us to love God, and to love those around us. However, it also means we can choose the opposite. We can choose to hate, we can choose evil. So here is another error in the atheist's logic. Free will necessitates the existence of evil. For a person can only choose to love, if he can also choose not to love; if they can also choose hate. One can only choose to do good, if he can also choose to do bad. Otherwise, it's not a choice.

There is another, somewhat similar reason, that evil is necessary. That is that we are able to know of, and identify things only through contrasts. As the old saying goes, if everything was red, there would be no red. We can identify red, only because we also have blue, green, yellow, and all the other colors. We know light, only because we have darkness. We know hot, only because we have cold. And we can know, and choose love, only because there is hate. And with hate, comes evil.

When we blame God for evil, we also presume to know God's full plan. We in essence, pretend that we are omniscient, by saying that the evil can serve no purpose. Yet there may be a purpose that we are not aware of, or perhaps aren't able to understand. The reality is, there may be times when God allows evil because it serves a purpose he has for us. God wants us to come to him, and to love him. And if an evil event brings us to God, then it is serving God's purpose. And that purpose stands higher than, and overcomes the evil that led to it. We cannot know God's full plan and purpose, because God's plan is of heaven. While we are of the earth.

So what about the victims you ask? How can evil bring me to God if that evil just ended my life? This is the biggest fallacy of the atheist's argument. They say this only because, consistent with their lack of faith, they see things in terms of earth, and not of Heaven. Heaven is our ultimate goal. And we get there through death. By dying here on earth, we are born into an eternal life in Heaven. At that point, through the saving Grace of Christ, we have overcome evil. And what about the loved ones we leave behind? In time, they will join us. Yes, they may be sad, they may go through difficulties, and they may go through pain. But, in time, they will join us. And then they too, through Christ's Grace, will have overcome evil. What we go through on earth is temporary, and in the scheme of things, extremely short. Heaven on the other hand, lasts an eternity. This is precisely what Christ is talking about in John 16:33 when he says, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

As I have gone through life I have discovered that the key to being happy is to learn to be thankful. Very simply, those who are thankful, are generally happy because they realize how much they have been given. Those who aren’t thankful tend to be miserable, and think they are owed things. This Thanksgiving day, I challenge all of you to think of at least ten things that you are thankful for. Since I hate “post it challenges”, “pass along posts”, “share this posts”, and the like, I do not want you to post anything or share any post. Just within your own heart, think of ten things that you have to be thankful for. To show how easy it is, I am posting ten of my own using fairly broad categories. However, the rules are yours

For God’s love, and the gift of his Son, Jesus.
To think that the God who created the universe, would still love me. And, that he would love me so much as to humble himself to take on human form. And further, to hand himself over to his enemies to be tortured, ridiculed, and crucified for my sake.



For all of my family, both immediate and extended.
For a beautiful, loving wife, who loves not just me, but my soul. For our children, who have blessed us so much. For my parents, who were always there for me, and for all of my family, both close and far.



For all of God’s creation; the mountains, the oceans, the stars, the animals, and all of His glorious works.
There is so much beauty in what God has created. So much majesty. I have been blessed to have been able to see a lot of truly magnificent places in my lifetime. To stare in awe at the wonders of creation. But seeing God’s beauty doesn’t always require travel. Just the other day I was treated to a beautiful sunset, which I watched from my back yard. The stars on a clear night. And the trees, flowers, and birds that are all around us. The tree in the photo at the top of this post is just outside of my office.



For my home, the food I have to eat and the clothes I have to wear.
I have been blessed to always have had what I needed, and most of the time, more than I have needed.



For all of my friends.
I have been blessed with numerous friends throughout my life. And all have, in one way or another, had a positive influence on my life.



For all the teachers I have had, both formal and informal, who have helped me to learn and to grow.
There are so many lessons that I have learned along the way which have so greatly benefited me.



For all of those who have devoted their lives to the service of others including the armed forces, police, firemen and clergy.
For our freedom, for our safety, for our spiritual well being, there is so much I owe to others who often sacrifice their lives for mine.



For all of the jobs I have had throughout my life, for all they have provided me with, and all I have learned from them.
I can honestly say that I’ve never had a bad job. There may have been some that I did not want to stay at very long, but all have benefited me. I have learned from all of them, they have all helped to provide for the things I needed, and they have all helped me to advance.



For all those who work at jobs I would not want to do, but yet are still necessary.
There are many jobs that I hope I never have to do. Yet many, if not all are necessary. For those who do these jobs, I am thankful.



My health, and another day here on earth to enjoy all the many things I have been blessed with. br>Nuf said.



Now go have a blessed Thanksgiving day and a joyful, happy life.