Author: Rachel
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Heaven Is Here: How the Kingdom of God Changes Our Questions & Our Lives
If you grew up evangelical, you know that the gospel is this: Jesus died for our sins so we can go to heaven when we die. The problem is, that’s not true. Or rather, it IS true, but it’s not the gospel–not the whole gospel, not even really the point of the gospel. The gospel…
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Looking Back, Looking Forward
Your regularly scheduled series on the Gospel of Matthew will resume next week, but this morning, as I sit at my parents’ house enjoying holiday togetherness and getting over the annual holiday cold, I’m reflecting on a full year and looking forward to one I expect will be just as full. A year ago at…
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What Faith Really Means (AKA Ordinary Trust and That Time Jesus Moved Away from Home)
It’s easy to think of the life of Jesus as one long list of supernatural extravagances: Be born of a virgin, check. Be baptized during a heavenly visitation, check. Go toe-to-toe with Satan, check. And then it’s ministry, miracles, save the whole world, check. Oh, and that time Jesus moved away from home. You know,…
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What the Riddle of the Magi Reminds Me to See
Good morning, friends! I’m taking a short break from the Gospel of Matthew series this week, as I am: On tour with 1:11 Ministries, celebrating the birth of Jesus through our production ADORE HIM; and Releasing a novel today! Today is the day Book 3 in The Prophet Trilogy, BELOVED, enters the wider world. I’d…
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“If You Are”: What the Temptation of Jesus Reveals About Our Deadliest Trap
“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil. After He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He was hungry. Then the tempter approached Him and said, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.’” (Matthew 4:1-3, HCSB) For years I…
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Character Spotlight: Flora and Rechab
Yesterday I posted an intro to two of The Prophet Trilogy’s major characters: the prophets, Kol Abaddon and Alack. But for a lot of readers, it’s the women who are the stars of the series. Faithful reader and Amazon reviewer describes Flora Laurentii Infortunatia (aka “Flora the Unlucky”): Flora, a wealthy woman who befriends Rechab,…
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Character Spotlight: Kol Abaddon and Alack
What would it have been like to be an Old Testament prophet–someone who shares both God’s heart for his people and a terrible message of coming judgment? That question helped kick off The Prophet Trilogy, and it also inspired the character of Kol Abaddon. His real name has been forgotten. He goes only by Kol…
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Behind the Prophet Trilogy
BELOVED, Book 3 in The Prophet Trilogy, releases in just two weeks. As I wrap up a series that has come to mean a lot to me, I wanted to share where it came from. Of course, no book comes from one thing alone. Stories develop when a lot of smaller streams flow together into…
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12 Fatal Flaws of Fiction Writing: “This book is like getting five self-help books in one.”
Well, it’s a banner month for book releases! 5 Editors Tackle the 12 Fatal Flaws of Fiction Writing released yesterday and is #1 in the Writing Reference category. Positive reviews are racking up as well. THANK YOU to everyone who preread the book and reviewed it. You are the best! If you’re a writer, I…
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Out of the Water: How History Culminates in Jesus’ Baptism
After Jesus was baptized, He went up immediately from the water. The heavens suddenly opened for Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on Him. And there came a voice from heaven: “This is My beloved Son. I take delight in Him! (Matthew 3:14-17, HCSB) This —…