New Book recommendation

I just learned of a "new" author, meaning he's been writing most of his life but recently published his first novel. For years, Creston Mapes has written feature articles for both Christian and secular magazines, but finally his latent creativity drove him to try his hand at fiction. And what a hand he has. DARK STAR, a chapter of which I read on his web site, chronicles a heavy-metal rock star's decline into indiscriminate drugs, sex and the occult. Tell ya what, I'll let Creston explain the book in his own words. Everett Lester and his band, DeathStroke, ride the crest of a wave to superstardom. But the deeper they become immersed in fame, wealth, and power, the more likely they are to be swallowed alive by the drugs, alcohol, and discontentment that have become their only friends. Discontent and dabbling in the psychic realm, Everett is headed down a perilous road of no apparent return when he's charged with the murder of his personal psychic. The only hope he can cling to comes from Topeka, Kansas, and the letters written by a prayerful young lady who lives there. Consistent and persistent, the notes cut straight to Everett's empty heart, offering a fulfillment he's never grasped before. But what if he's found guilty of murder? Will he recognize the spiritual battle raging for his soul?

The Birth of B. J. Daily

I awoke this morning at 4:30, ostensibly to void my bladder. By the time I expectantly stood before the concave throne my mind became unruly. Rediculous thoughts, amusing in their absurdity, played like brats before my consciousness. Crawling back into bed, I began feeling distraught. But a thought came to me. From God. "The Word will wash them away." A new comfort displaced my disquiet, and I snuggled in, joyfully took my Bible and opened it to Psalm 76 where I had been reading days ago when I laid it down. That fact likely explains a lot. By the time I read both Psalm 76 and 77 I felt another need to void. This time, my soul. Just after having become cozy-warm I threw back the covers, swung my legs over the side, stood and grabbed my jeans and robe. Maddy's collar jingled when I opened my door, but she didn't come to investigate. Down the two-step hallway to my right and through the door lay my dormant computer. A flick of the lamp switch for light, and a finger on the tower's power button brought my Gateway grudgingly to life. First, came the registry checker, one of those diminutive digital details that expects to be executed before work can be done. Then for KeyNote, the tricky little text editor that lends itself perfectly to daily journals and such. Maximize the window and confusion ensues. I've never actually used the little application. Investigation needs to be accomplished before work can be done. By 5:20 nothing remains before me but a blank window, welcoming, and not intimidating. Then without a worldly care, I began recording my early-morning miracle. God is indeed faithful, providing my needs because of His boundless love, and forgiving the unfruitful ravings of an undisciplined mind.

Paul's Aleged Errors

To my millions of faithful readers, I apologize for my weeks of absence from these hallowed, virtual pages. I guess that's about deep enough for one B.S. session, so what follows is something I found in scripture. Saul of Tarsus had his critics when he was alive, and he still has them. From feminists to fundamentalists, carpers pick apart his New Testament writings hoping to discredit them so their own pet doctrines will hold water. Most of his critics, however, are Christians who proclaim their belief in the balance of New Testament Scripture. "Saint" Peter, however, had his own conclusions about Paul's veracity: 2 Peter 3:15-16 (Analytical-Literal Translation) (15) And consider the patience of our Lord [to be] salvation, just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom having been given to him, wrote to you*, (16) as also in all his letters, speaking in them concerning these [things], in which are some [things] difficult to be understood, which the untaught and unstable twist [fig., distort] to their own destruction, as [they do] also the rest of [the] Scriptures. Obviously, Peter held Paul in high esteem as his brother in the faith, fully qualified to teach others, even to the point that his writings were to be considered Scripture. Where, then, does that place Paul's Christian critics? Perhaps out on a very fragile limb?