We have a Living God!

I just attended my first men's bible study at my church. Usually there would be 20 to 30 men there, but today there were only 4. The leader didn't show up and no one else did. Apparently it was cancelled, but the word didn't get out to everyone. Dennis and I were the first to get there, so we talked about our life situations.

I Talked about the printing industry, the bad economic times and changes in the industry itself, and how it has changed my life. Dennis talked about being out of work for four months and about a new job that he is going to start in two weeks. Dennis's real trepidation is in the fact that he has poor writing skills and a reading disability that he thinks may hurt his job performance.

Paul came in and we discussed his part time job and how he wanted to go full time and how impossible that seemed. Paul is 77.

Charlie came in and we discussed the fact that Charlie has gone down an impossible road, with a tragic accident that almost cost him his leg, Charlie is on disability and now volunteers to help as much as he can at the church.

Suddenly my situation wasn't so bad. It allowed me to focus on someone else besides me.

We sat and talked and shared about our families, our expectations and our prayers. I shared about a person whom I have been praying for for many years. God has recently increased my vision for him. It was not enough to pray for him and his family, God wants me to pray for the whole area he lives in! We all agreed on one thing. We all have a Living God who is amazing! He wants us to believe the impossible. He wants us to believe that where we fail and are lacking, He is able and willing to do amazing things on our behalf. We also believe that if two or more are gathered in His name, He is there in the midst of them and if two of us agree about anything we ask for, it will be done for us by our Father in heaven. Our brother Jesus was there in our little meeting. Perhaps encouraging us to share and pray for one another. We ended with prayer for these situations, believing that God would stretch Dennis and give peace to him about the job.

Normally walking into a bible study with one person sitting there would seem like a sign from God to forget coming back. I know enough to trust that He has a plan. I now know 3 other men a lot better and have shared in their lives and prayed with them. There are no accidents. He has plans for each of us. Next time it seems that things didn't go the way you planned, look around and be patient. The Living God has a plan for you!

The Fourth Kingdom - Alexandra Swann, Joyce Swann

The boys from Brazil are coming! This is a book with a lot of potential for a series. Unfortunately the ending leaves a lot to be desired.

This story is about two scientists involved in two different branches of cloning. While they are diametrically opposed in their beliefs, they have much in common in other areas. The story follows their lives through the years and the effects they have on one another. Exciting discoveries and collaboration between both men bring the story to an exciting climax.

As a Christian Fiction genre piece, this book contains the Gospel message in an excellent context. The story is woven masterfully and contains Christian and secular paradigms. The story plot was good but a bit too predictable. I won't say too much about how this happens, but lets just say that it is evident which way the story is going too early in the book. If this series is going anywhere, I would like to see it come to an Apocalyptic showdown involving the Anti-Christ and the two witnesses.

This is hard, because I really enjoyed the book, but in the end, I found it too predictable and lacking in suspense to get five stars. It was however interesting and imaginative in its concepts and creativity. Still a good read and worth the time.

The Fourth Kingdom at Amazon 

My Rating - 4 Stars