Kingdomtales

I sometimes wonder if I had walked with Jesus if I would have been part of the “inner circle.”  When you think of Jesus’ closest friends, you can probably narrow it down to Peter and the brothers James and John.  This is not mere speculation, for in Matthew 17:1-13 we find that He chose them to go with Him for a most unique experience:  His transfiguration and meeting with Moses and Elijah!  Why those three – because they would always  Worship Jesus with Genuine Enthusiasm! Now, you undoubtedly think that it is most presumptuous to contemplate whether or not you would “rank up there” with “the big three,” but understand that I don’t have these thoughts as a way of building myself up.  Rather, it helps me to concentrate and make sure that I always  Worship Jesus with Genuine Enthusiasm!   As I evaluate my worship, I have come to the conclusion that the songs I sing actually have little to do with it.  While “worship” can be defined as...

How many times have you been confronted with a question that begins with, “Is it alright for a Christian to . . . ?”  I’m guessing that it has been more than once.  Probably a lot more than once. When I was a young teenager, the answer was typically a gracious “Sure” or a steadfast “No.”  The latter, as I recall was usually preceded by an emphatic “Heavens,” which only made me more curious about the “why” of the “not.”  Sometimes the negative answer was accompanied by the respondent pointing to someone who appeared to be down-and-out and the addition of the phrase, “Do you want to grow up to be like him?”  Well, no, not really, but that’s not what I asked.  At least I got black and white answers. When I was a young adult, the answer went something like this:  “Do what you think is right.”  That sounded appealing, but it never meshed too well for me with the scripture that says  “There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is...

One of the more ingrained New Year’s traditions is to develop “New Year’s Resolutions,” with which we hope to better our lives in the upcoming year.  These allow us to “cast a vision,” if you would, of how we believe things can be better.  The question is, when we do these are we solely concentrating on only the physical, or do we make our resolutions ethereal in nature as well?  If we don’t already, we should make sure that we enter every New Year by casting a vision of a better kingdom, both now and in the future. Jesus did this in what we commonly refer to as The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12).  If you read this passage with a discerning eye you will note that the “better Kingdom” Christ referred to comes not as a result of a change in our situation, but rather a change in our perception!  He tells the long suffering that they are blessed in a number of ways! Click  here , to learn more about the product. Click  here , to learn more about the article.

I was thinking the other day about how Paul may have understood his imprisonment in Rome, beyond what is revealed by Scripture. I was trying to put myself in his place . . . to understand his frame of reference. In what may have been his last 50 recorded words or so, he said,  “The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen”  (II Timothy 4:18). From my perspective, altogether too many professing believers in this day tend to cling to that verse as a proof text that the Lord will deliver us from the tribulations of life. Not so. It says that Paul was confident (trusting) that the Lord would deliver Him from every annoyance, peril, pain or trouble, whether seen, unseen or unforeseen (faith). It struck me that Paul had been in this position before. While chained in the darkness of night at the jail in Philippi, he and Silas prayed and sang praises to God (Acts 16:25). It is likely that they s...

Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” The context of that quote is a situation where Jesus was being derided and scoffed at by some people who claimed to be religious. His response was, in effect, “I am God. My sheep listen to me when I speak. I know who my sheep are, and it is obvious to everyone who they are, because they follow me.” The Cliff Notes version might have been, “You are not my sheep. You don’t listen to me. You don’t follow me. And I don’t know you.” I wonder. Do you hear God when He speaks? For years I somehow sloughed off that verse as completely parabolic and with the theological understanding that Jesus was acting as a prophet in the passage, signifying that the Gospel would come to the Gentile nations as well the Jews. But it also always bothered me. There was always this nagging question . . . “Do I hear His voice?” I would hear people say that God told them to do something. I was always skeptical, because that is a line tha...

We seem to live in a time when courage is still respected but more and more is seldom displayed.  Instead, it appears that most people are willing to follow along with the crowd, deciding that rather than making a stand for what is right they will either go along with, or at least ignore, that which is wrong.  Yet, as Christians, we know that is not the way we should act.  Rather, we know that we should act courageously regardless of the Mission God asks us to perform.  The willingness to do so allows us to demonstrate our faith. There are two prime examples of this taking place in the eleventh chapter of Mark.  In the first eleven verses we are told of the Triumphant Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.  The story begins with Jesus sending two disciples to go find a colt, untie it, and bring it to Him.  He advises them that if they are “challenged” by anyone, they should reply,  “The Lord has need of it.”  They are, of course, challenged and when ...

Have you noticed how “dark” movies and TV shows have become?  Not necessarily in content, though that is becoming more and more the case as well, but rather they are  actually dark , making it difficult to see what is going on.  The reason, of course, is rather obvious – - the people are engaged in things that they don’t want others to know about and therefore they are shrouded in a blanket of darkness.  And, when it comes to our need to  Embrace Righteousness and Renounce Evil , “Darkness” and “Light” have a lot to do with it! I John 1:5 – 2:6 spends a good deal of time dealing with this very issue.  The verses there tell us that “walking in darkness” is contrary to having Fellowship with Jesus.  Rather, we are advised to walk in the Light as He is in the Light.  For, in this passage, “darkness” and “sin” are synonymous. Another issue that this scripture deals with is the fact that we need to make sure that we are not deceiving ourselves into bel...

The 2014 Olympic winter Games open in Sochi, Russia on February 7, 2014.  Exactly one month later, following the 17 days of initial competition, the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games open for 10 days.  What better time to use Mainstay’s Go for the Goal sermon series.  As support material for our  Go for the Goal series , we begin a series of stories that spotlight Winter Olympians whose Goal is to honor Jesus Christ.  We begin with American figure skater, Janet Lynn. Janet Lynn is now 60 years old.  She never won Olympic gold, but she caused the sport to change dramatically simply by her outstanding freestyle performance ability.  If she were to skate under today’s rules – the very rules that were changed because of her – she would likely have an entire collection of gold medals.  When Janet competed in the 1972 Winter Games in Sapporo, Japan, she was 19 years old and America’s hope for gold.  Why she did not win the gold depends upon whether...

The 2014 Olympic winter Games open in Sochi, Russia on February 7, 2014.  Exactly one month later, following the 17 days of initial competition, the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games open for 10 days.  What better time to use Mainstay’s Go for the Goal sermon series.  As support material for our  Go for the Goal series , we begin a series of stories that spotlight Winter Olympians whose Goal is to honor Jesus Christ. Her Twitter profile reads “Christ follower, Olympic & World Champ medalist in women’s bobsled, MBA student.”  Her name is Elana Meyers, and she has her priorities in order.  But it wasn’t always like that.  There was a time when bobsledding was not her sport and Jesus Christ was not her passion.  In fact, her biography on the Beyond the Ultimate website, explains that sports in general was her all-consuming passion; especially softball, which she played in both high school and college. Elana, who hails from Douglasville, Georgia, where...

The 2014 Olympic winter Games open in Sochi, Russia on February 7, 2014.  Exactly one month later, following the 17 days of initial competition, the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games open for 10 days.  What better time to use Mainstay’s Go for the Goal sermon series.  As support material for our  Go for the Goal series , we continue our series of stories that spotlight Winter Olympians whose Goal is to honor Jesus Christ. Mark Johnson was a Devil when he came to Christ.  Some astute readers might be thinking, “You shouldn’t capitalize ‘devil,’” but the fact is that Mark was a capital ‘D’ Devil.  He was a New Jersey Devil professional hockey player.  It was while he was playing for the Devils he traded his personal accolades for the glory of God, trusting Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord. Before turning professional and becoming a Devil, Mark had actually been part of a miracle when he was an Olympic athlete.  It was during the 1980 Winter Olympics. ...

The 2014 Olympic winter Games open in Sochi, Russia on February 7, 2014.  Exactly one month later, following the 17 days of initial competition, the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games open for 10 days.  What better time to use Mainstay’s Go for the Goal sermon series.  As support material for our  Go for the Goal series , we continue our series of stories that spotlight Winter Olympians whose goal is to honor Jesus Christ. It can become very confusing when you talk about Nancy Swider-Peltz because there are two of them.  To avoid confusion, we are going to talk about the Olympian, Nancy Swider-Peltz.  Unfortunately, that  still  does not reduce the confusion, because there are still two of them.  Let’s narrow it down a bit more.  Let’s talk about the Olympic speed skater, Nancy Swider-Peltz. As it happens, that doesn’t help either, because there are still two of them.  The only way we can do this is to talk about mother, Nancy Swider-Pelt...

The 2014 Olympic winter Games open in Sochi, Russia on February 7, 2014.  Exactly one month later, following the 17 days of initial competition, the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games open for 10 days.  What better time to use Mainstay’s Go for the Goal sermon series.  As support material for our  Go for the Goal series , we continue our series of stories that spotlight Winter Olympians whose goal is to honor Jesus Christ. Ken DeLong’s story may be the most unusual in our series, but it may also be the most representative of Going for the Goal.  Ken grew up in Roanoke, Virginia with aspirations of being an Olympic athlete.  He never made it to the Olympics.  But he is about to. After high school, Ken went to Milligan College, a highly-rated Christian liberal arts school in Tennessee where he earned his bachelor’s degree in health and physical education.  He obtained his graduate degree while working as a strength and conditioning coach at Texas A&M....

The 2014 Olympic winter Games open in Sochi, Russia on February 7, 2014.  Exactly one month later, following the 17 days of initial competition, the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games open for 10 days.  What better time to use Mainstay’s Go for the Goal sermon series.  As support material for our  Go for the Goal series , we continue our series of stories that spotlight Winter Olympians whose goal is to honor Jesus Christ. American Olympic hopeful, Noelle Pikus-Pace appears to be on track to win a medal at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic games. This is not Noelle’s first Olympics. She finished fourth in the skeleton competition in Vancouver in 2010. She left the sport after Vancouver to give birth to and begin raising her second child. She has returned and is blazing a trail of glory down the slopes on the World Cup tour as she prepares for Sochi. During the first race of 2014 Noelle was tied for the lead at the end of her first run. But, in hopes of gaining speed, she made ...

What Are You Preaching That Relates to the Upcoming Winter Olympic Games? The 2014 Olympic Winter Games will soon be front-page news in America. The games will be held February 7-23 in Sochi, Russia and will feature world-class competitors who are vying to become recognized athletic champions. Pastors, you can turn all that news and attention into spiritual lessons taught at your church! Preach through the sermon series  Go for the Goal : Becoming a Spiritual Champion. To view the series, go   here .   Click  here , to learn more about the product. Click  here , to learn more about the article.

The 2014 Olympic winter Games open in Sochi, Russia on February 7, 2014.  Exactly one month later, following the 17 days of initial competition, the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games open for 10 days.  What better time to use Mainstay’s  Go for the Goal  sermon series.  As support material for our Go for the Goal series, we continue our series of stories that spotlight Winter Olympians whose goal is to honor Jesus Christ. Sometimes we forget that world-class athletes are human. We watch them on TV and wonder why they don’t always perform up to our personal expectations. We forget that they, too, have injuries, sickness, sorrow, and other burdens to bear – ones that we do not see on television. Jilleanne Rookard is a perfect example. After winning the World Cup 3000 meter speed skating event in 2009, she went on to participate in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games. She failed to medal, placing 12th in the 3000m, 24th in the 1500m and 4th in Ladies Team Pursuit. Disappoin...

The 2014 Olympic winter Games open in Sochi, Russia on February 7, 2014.  Exactly one month later, following the 17 days of initial competition, the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games open for 10 days.  What better time to use Mainstay’s  Go for the Goal  sermon series.  As support material for our  Go for the Goal series , we continue our series of stories that spotlight Winter Olympians whose goal is to honor Jesus Christ. Curt Tomasevicz has already tasted Olympic gold as part of the “Night Train” four-man U.S. Bobsled Team at the 2010 Games in Vancouver. Now, four years later, he is on his way to Sochi to compete as a pusher for the sled that has now been officially designated as USA-1. But Curt is not “just another Olympic pusher,” he is considered one of the most powerful pushers in the world. “It’s a great thrill to know that you have given everything you could to try to win and at the same time, done it with honor and integrity. I discovered this at a you...

The  2014 Olympic winter Games  open in Sochi, Russia on February 7, 2014.  Exactly one month later, following the 17 days of initial competition, the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games open for 10 days.  What better time to use Mainstay’s  Go for the Goal sermon series .  As support material for our  Go for the Goal series , we continue our series of stories that spotlight Winter Olympians whose goal is to honor Jesus Christ. Giselle “Gigi” Marvin is a member of the US Women’s Olympic Hockey Team. Her list of accomplishments are impressive. For instance – and this is just a short list – she won gold in 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2013  as a member of the US National Team in the IHF World Women’s Championships. She added silver medals in 2007 and 2012, along with the Olympic silver at the 2010 Games in Vancouver. Now she is headed to Sochi.   Click  here , to learn more about the product. Click  here , to learn more about the article.

The 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia are almost over, but, on March 7th, the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games open for 10 additional days. What better time to use Mainstay’s  Go for the Goal sermon series . As support material for our  Go for the Goal series , we have been offering a special series of stories that spotlight Winter Olympians whose Goal is to honor Jesus Christ. David and Alexandra Wise are the youth leaders at Valley View Christian Fellowship in Reno, Nevada. As of Tuesday, February 18th, 2014, David is also an Olympic Champion. While the city of Reno was asleep, David won the gold medal in Halfpipe Skiing at Sochi. David is perfectly willing to confirm what the word pretty much already knows about the party atmosphere of freestyle skiing and snowboarding competition, but he is also quick to point out that he does not live the X-Games lifestyle. As he says,  “I’m going to do the best I can to be a big part of this sport, but who I am is who I am.” He...

We have the first two Backers for the Kickstarter Campaign to revise, re-illustrate and republish the Tales of the Kingdom Trilogy, which David and I began writing some thirty years ago! These Backers have come in at the $157 and $300 levels, which insures (if we meet our goal of raising $22,500) that they will receive the exclusive, limited edition Kickstarter hardcover Trilogy—all three books—with their names printed in the books, and personalized autographs to the recipients of your choice. These particular editions will only be available for a limited time in a limited quantity through this Kickstarter Campaign. Our goal is to mail them to your door in time for Christmas giving. For those of you who have loved these books through the years, this is a wonderful legacy project to give to family and friends. Thank you first donors! You have kicked off the campaign! For more details, visit  https://www.kickstarter. com/projects/ kingdomtalestrilogy/the- kingdom-tales-3-illustrated-...

The artist in us all can be sidetracked, but it can never be eliminated.  That’s a fact that Zoltan Tobias, of Szeged, Hungary will readily attest to.  Though currently a university student who is about to become a medical doctor, Tobias still pursues his love for art. “When I was ten years old,’ Tobias explained, “I saw an extremely inspirational movie about a young child who was drawing comics.  And,” he added with a big smile in his voice, “I discovered that I could do the same thing.” Like so many artists around the world, Tobias is self-taught.  He prefers digital art, but when dealing with more traditional mediums, he is attracted to markers and ink.  While searching online for digital paint jobs, he came across 99 Designs.  He followed through with signing up because he realized it presented him with a number of promising projects, opportunities to improve himself, and good financial offers. “I think I was probably attracted to the Tales of the ...

  I am enough of an artist that I love working with other artists.  I can remember the first time I was invited to attend a two-week laboratory where one of my books was being turned into a film project.  The screenwriter was a friend who had talked me into letting her submit this entry, and I rather reluctantly made my way to New Harmony, Indiana where I realized for the first time in my life I was with a whole group of people and we were all speaking the same language (artist-ese). So some thirty years ago, when Jack Stockman, the artist who illustrated the first two books of the Kingdom Tales trilogy, began scheming and dreaming with me of collaborating on his first fully illustrated book project and my first venture into creative writing, it was pure joy to see how Jack’s mind interpreted my stories.  I loved his work and still love it. Jack’s process, however, is not cost-effective for a tight publishing budget.  It takes Jack a week of work to paint one il...

We found that when we put together our contest in 99Designs that we were working with artists from all over the world.  One such artist, Roni Yulianus Nurak, is a big fan of the Website, not only because he has an opportunity to win assignments, but also because he enjoys immersing himself in the huge community of designers it provides, allowing him to test and improve his skills. “Too,” Nurak, who was born in Indonesia but now lives in Bandung, West Java,  added, “I have the opportunity to learn lessons from not only the artists in Asia, but from artists all over the world.” Like so many of the artists who competed in the 99Designs contest regarding the Tales of the Kingdom Trilogy, Nurak has been pursuing his skills and talent in art since he was in elementary school.  While he enjoys working with pencil and paper, he also enjoys computer design.  In fact, he is most interested in discovering what new things can be accomplished with graphic design, illustration and...

Forever and always, the Caretaker of Great Park brought those who were hurt or frightened, sick or broken to his wife, Mercie, because she was wise, and whatever she touched was made better. . . . Except Dirty. Dirty refused to become better. Caretaker had found her outside Stonegate Entrance, rooting around for food after a Burner had beaten her. The child was covered with welts and bruises. When Caretaker approached the girl, she immediately stood to her feet and shouted, “I’m Dirty! I never wash! I never cry! I’ll fight anything that raises a fist to me!” Then she fainted from her wounds and hunger. Caretaker brought her to Mercie. But all of the old woman’s efforts could not help the girl to enjoy life in Great Park. Dirty hated the cottage. She despised the people who lived there. She thought Caretaker with his tree hat and jingling pockets was stupid. She hated Hero’s ugly scar. “I’m not going to live with those creeps,” she declared one day as she stomped off to the barnyard to ...

If you are a mastermind when it comes to World Geography, then you might know exactly where Irina Voloshina hails from!  She currently resides in Chisina, the capital of Moldova – a small country in the geographical center of Europe between Ukraine and Romania.  Through the miracle of the Internet, however, she was able to participate in the program of seeking new art for The Tales of the Kingdom Trilogy. “I have been drawing my whole life,” she shared when asked when her interest in art began.  “In fact, I always found it easier to ‘draw’ than to ‘tell.’” With such a close relationship with art, it is not surprising that she graduated from an Art High School, and then went on to the Ukrainian Polygraphic Institute in Lviv (Western Ukraine), where she became a Graphic Designer and Illustrator.  Her full-time occupation finds her designing packaging for meat and dairy products, concentrating on the advertising aspect of the packaging. “I particularly like to work with...

The Apprentice Juggler was sure he would shame the troupe in tonight’s performance. He knew he would drop a baton during the pyramid cascade. Then, the Juggling Master would know his secret, and he would lose his place in the juggling group. A knot in the pit of his stomach felt like a tug-of-war between giants. Standing in the middle of the practice field, the Apprentice Juggler warmed his hands in a patch of morning sunlight. He loosened his fingers with limbering exercises. He started tossing balls in a basic crisscross pattern. The Apprentice Juggler concentrated. He could hear the words of Juggling Master’s first lesson. “Teach the balls to dance. The word ball is from the French. It means to dance. Make the balls dance!” The balls did dance in the Apprentice Juggler’s hands. As long as he worked alone, he did fine. In this last year as an apprentice, he had learned to toss rings, batons, clubs, and eggs (unboiled ones even). He could spin plates on sticks. He could balance umbrel...

Sir Bumpkin was long and thin and farsighted. He was always tripping on roots and bushes and stones because he couldn’t see the danger that was near. Sir Pumpkin was round and short and nearsighted. He was always getting stuck in tight situations, because he squinted to see the danger that was far off. The two knights always attended Ranger councils in the Ranger Lodge. At the end of each meeting, after all reports had been made and all tales had been told, the Ranger Commander would ask for the pledge to the King. He would shout, “How goes the world?” And all would answer back, “The world goes not well! But the Kingdom comes!” each Ranger, to a man and woman, raised his hatchet and vowed, “To the Kingdom and the King!” Then they marched from the lodge to take up watch or to go on patrol. The two knights would shout these same cries. They would draw their swords from their scabbards. Then they would rush from the lodge with the others—and lead their horses to a large stone. Bumpkin, gr...

The huge beast sat waiting for her. Its long tail swept slowly across the ground behind it, then flickered, then swept back. The claws on one paw flexed, tearing the thatch and soil beneath it, then opened, then flexed again. A thin, wet trickle dripped out of its mouth, down its jaw. Yellow light gleamed in its eyes. The dragon had become cunning. Why had she not seen this? Amanda drew herself to full stature. She ignored the throbbing in her feet. “Dragon,” she announced in her most majestic tone, “you must go. You are too big for my den. Grown dragons are not allowed in Great Park. Your breath is too hot. Fly away!” The dragon leered at her. It hunched, like a cat on the prowl, and moved closer and closer to her. Finally, the huge beast was near. It swept its tail, which quickly covered the distance between them. Amanda hopped over the tip. The dragon swept the long jagged tail back, faster. She hopped again. It raised its head and blew hot flame onto the grass behind her. She could...