Dean's Blog
Hindsight 2020: We Thought Zig. God Zagged.
PART ONE OF What We Should Have Seen, Where We Go From Here (1 of 8) In the days of Ahab and Jezebel, God scheduled an encounter with His prophet—an encounter that necessitated a disruption of expectations. With astonishing poetic economy, this brief story manages to produce what every good …
IN A TIME OF PANDEMIC, ONLY ONE CAN SAVE: THE MOST IMPORTANT LITTLE BOY IN THE WORLD
Call it “prophetic fiction” I suppose, but 20 years before the coronavirus, in 2000, I wrote a medical thriller about a far more deadly pandemic involving a virus called “Sleeper.” Sleeper had been bioengineered by ecoterrorists to kill. It was highly contagious and extremely virulent…
The Misguided Theology of Acquiescence
Oft has the phrase been heard, spoken in warning: “If you’re too heavenly minded, you’re no earthly good.” No doubt, this has some merit for those who drift into super-spiritual, religious pretensions, claiming mystical preoccupations unfounded in any real experience with God. However, by-and-large, the assertion is total bunk. Set your minds …
The Critical Need for True Knowledge of God
The Bible makes it clear that deep life comes from a deep knowledge of God. We are encouraged to prize such knowledge and diligently seek it out, but also to be aware of the real possibilities of accepting and defending false knowledge regarding the personality of God. From the serpent in …
Star-Struck Faith
Abraham, the father of our faith, believed in a God “who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist. In hope against hope he believed” (Rom. 4:17-18). Nothing but faith is capable of seeing the invisible, believing the impossible. As Abraham’s children, we are part of a crazy bloodline of …
Joy and the Dominos of Grace
In New Testament Greek, the root word for grace is ‘joy.’ Isn’t that interesting? By inference, when our lives are full of grace—if we truly understand grace—then joy increasingly characterizes our personality and outlook. A domino effect begins, tempering our words and attitudes. We are less easily offended, more understanding, more patient. …
The Inherent Danger of a Tolerant Society
The election is over. The race card, economy card, liberal agenda, obstructionist republican and “birther” cards have all been played. But there’s one gift that keeps on giving: the mythical virtue of tolerance. Please, let us be done with this. Proclaim the limited benefits of tolerance if you must, but not …
Help File: Downloading Your Free Copy of “The Book of Names” to iPad, Kindle, Nook
The Free Ebook Giveaway What’s better for a Christmas reader that to begin a glorious, epic quest? How about a glorious, free, epic quest. Word is spreading, and I want to fan the flames. I’m so convinced that readers will love my epic 5-part series, The Legends of Karac Tor, …
The Season of the Tunnel
“In the shadow of His hand He has concealed me, and He has also made me a select arrow; He has hidden me in His quiver.” (Isa. 49:2) Let’s do a little anthropomorphic exercise. Let’s pretend the arrow is self-aware. Have you ever considered what a quiver must look like …
The Alabaster Soul
To speak of something breaking is to speak of the weakness of one thing and the strength of another. Typically, something breaks for a reason. The problem is inherent, whether due to fragile materials or flawed construction. For example, a vase can crack because the ceramic is very fine (read: …
