Question about publishing

[Farine]

...it is too deep for a church that wants to be an inch wide and a mile deep. So we wait...

I thought when I said, "That sending changes all the odds, transforms the entire process. " I would pique your interest. Kingdom processes are extremely different from worldly processes. Like night and day. Consider this when I asked God to help me get a job. The prompting in my spirit was 'Go do the Laundry." And it so happened that I met my coworker there on a Tuesday night at the Laundromat. I met my husband at my cousin's evening party. The inspiration for Expectations was my ride's rant at how Sunday School was boring. All this to say that the discovery of you as an Author and your work as a laborer in His Vineyard will be surprising and unexpected. Mentally, disconnect what you think will be your route of entry. God almost always has something amazing in mind.

Take our meeting. I just was meandering, wandering really all through the forums and subforums. HEY! THey have a writer's sub forum. Fancy that! And look! Here's a lovely woman who is trying to get her work in shape and in position. Let's read it. Now I'm very convinced we were meant to encounter each other. Your steps are ordered by the Lord. Don't despise the day of small beginnings. And get the full preparation. Don't skimp on that. Your work is going to tear down strongholds and take up a standard that the enemy is going to go all out to deny and delay. Remember, with publication comes a multiplying effect. Instead of having a cozy little conversation like we are having, it's you on a platform addressing thousands or millions of listeners. God's living words in you become seeds which if taken into their hearts, sprout and become divine DNA in the transformative process of being a SON or a DAUGHTER of the MOST HIGH GOD. Heady stuff.

But, not to get off topic, I also wanted to say and hope this is an encouragement to you as well. As I have prayed about these studies, God has laid on my heart that even if I don't see them getting into the hands of people who need them right now, there will come a day in which people will be desperate for any truth from scripture they can find.... .

I see a revival in my spirit. A great 'come-one-come all' before the Great and Dreadful Day of the LORD. A great revival like in the days of John Wesley or the Charismatic Movement in the 1960's. This revival I see already happening in some areas of the world. We need one here in the United States. Badly. The deliverance of people requires awareness. From what I can see, most people are not aware. The current wilderness experience that most of America is plunged into is really grace based. People need the external pressure of uncomfortable circumstances to push them into considering if all they see is all there is. The indifference to the value of intangibles is at a high level. Your topic of love, is, I note, an intangible. People want what they can touch.. what they can weigh and measure. Last time I checked, you can't weigh love.

That day where people will be desperate for any truth comes at the awareness that they are exposed. Vulnerable. Perplexed and without a clue. Logically, one can work out what will bring people to that level of need: Hardship and suffering on a large scale. America broke its covenant with the LORD. I see your position as pointing to the exit sign out of the wilderness. As Kingdom Jobs go, it rocks! Don't let other people knock it. It's an important role to be given. Maybe I'm not expressing this totally clearly. Please feel free to ask or comment. I'm giving you my impressions.

 

[razzelflabben]

I have three writing projects that I am currently working on. One is called "Expectations". The other two are "Broken Heart, Unchained Spirit" and "Tap Out". These three series are all in a SS format with a half page of introduction then questions followed by a half page of 'now or later' prose. I have a manuscript for a book 'Unstilled Storm" about the dialogue between God and us in Crisis. That manuscript seems to be on hold as I wrote it a long time ago. I sense there will be a time when I come back to it and bring it into a fuller expression.

Expectations is about the inheritance of the saints. What was interesting about doing this Bible Study with about a hundred participants in six small groups was that you could put together quick statistics about the whole just by counting noses. How many people understood question five on the top of page 35? One, two... three.. four.. Um, Ok. I need to rework that question. Everyone liked question 6 and there's a huge misunderstanding on question seven. Check.

People liked the study. The pastor and I concluded most of that response was because they hadn't encountered the material before and they enjoyed something new. The number of people who understood the 'change-your-life' elements were few. For those who got it, hey! I was pleased to be given the role to write it. Glory to God! Go out and take much territory for our God!

I'm in the middle of the rewrite of Expectations following the reactions of the church. When I get stuck or need a break I switch to the other projects. Life exposes one to a variety of situations that lends itself to one grand theme or another. It's almost like I live a day and then spend some time sorting what happened and whether it related to something that matters. In addition, there are sermons I hear which strike sparks off my spirit that make me want to run over to the computer and write. Not that I want to copy the original thing, but that other thing which makes so much sense at the time I have it but may fade out before it is written.

Overall, the preference for natural living.. what I call 'the dashboard of human experience" is like maintaining dual citizenship. One foot in the Kingdom. One foot in the World. This creates a sense of entitlement. The freedom from sin seems to not be so important as the freedom TO sin. What I saw in your Bible Study is an accurate depiction of the Bible's insistence to cast away our affiliations with the world. Let me tell you from many long, deep conversations that they don't want to do that.

The themes I keep hearing in my spirit are focus, awareness, identity and trust. Your Bible Study addresses awareness in a beautiful way. What happens after someone becomes spiritual aware? They are in pain. That pain is godly sorrow. (That's a good pain.) The sweetness of Jesus heals that pain. It is possible for a someone to get just aware to be freaked out while not aware enough of the Presence of Jesus to deal with the hurt. It's frustrating. People really are like sheep. What keeps me motivated are the ones who come into fullness of spiritual realities AND that the project management of a person's life is the LORD's. YAY!

sorry for the delay, I am using checking on posts all day long when I need a quick break, but today is a bad physical day, our youngest is home and I needed to run to the store...can't wait for quiet again.

I love hearing about your projects and would love to see your work in due time. Thanks so much for sharing this with me, it will be an honor to pray that God brings out of it all that He intends to accomplish.

My process might be a bit different, (not really important, but want to share to bring up another way God works, if you will bear with me)

When it comes to study of the word, I find a question that I think needs an answer, the harder the question the better since that is who I am. Then I find everything I can about that topic, for example, Pain/Suffering/Affliction, etc. and allow scripture and God to take me the direction that I should go. Have learned some amazing things by doing it this way. But, here is what I wanted to share...in doing things that way, what I have discovered is how much of scripture I end up not using in the study books is really getting into me in a deep and meaningful way. A great example of that is this murder mystery series I stated out talking about on here. When I write novels, I develop a character then allow the character to tell me what they are doing. Throughout the book or series, I become amazed at turns the story takes because of this method. In this murder mystery, a very dark look into human nature (I mean murder is dark) there is always room for God and there are several places where the light of God does show through, even in ways I couldn't have imagined previously, ways I didn't even realize had become part of who I am and how I understand and love God.

It grieves me that a huge chunk of the church will never grasp how powerful the word of God really is, how much just knowing and reading the word can change us.

Well, looking forward to your next post...I love how this has turned into a discussion of the things of God.

 

[razzelflabben]

I thought when I said, "That sending changes all the odds, transforms the entire process. " I would pique your interest. Kingdom processes are extremely different from worldly processes. Like night and day. Consider this when I asked God to help me get a job. The prompting in my spirit was 'Go do the Laundry." And it so happened that I met my coworker there on a Tuesday night at the Laundromat. I met my husband at my cousin's evening party. The inspiration for Expectations was my ride's rant at how Sunday School was boring. All this to say that the discovery of you as an Author and your work as a laborer in His Vineyard will be surprising and unexpected. Mentally, disconnect what you think will be your route of entry. God almost always has something amazing in mind.

Take our meeting. I just was meandering, wandering really all through the forums and subforums. HEY! THey have a writer's sub forum. Fancy that! And look! Here's a lovely woman who is trying to get her work in shape and in position. Let's read it. Now I'm very convinced we were meant to encounter each other. Your steps are ordered by the Lord. Don't despise the day of small beginnings. And get the full preparation. Don't skimp on that. Your work is going to tear down strongholds and take up a standard that the enemy is going to go all out to deny and delay. Remember, with publication comes a multiplying effect. Instead of having a cozy little conversation like we are having, it's you on a platform addressing thousands or millions of listeners. God's living words in you become seeds which if taken into their hearts, sprout and become divine DNA in the transformative process of being a SON or a DAUGHTER of the MOST HIGH GOD. Heady stuff.

amen...I have seen God do amazing things and take us amazing places we never could have imagined....my heart has always been for the lost in the church, how I grieve for those that are lost while touching those that are suppose to be a light in this dark world.

Something that God has been reminding me of late is that no matter what happens, He is ultimately in charge and that is something we need to trust with confident rest no matter what direction we go.

I see a revival in my spirit. A great 'come-one-come all' before the Great and Dreadful Day of the LORD. A great revival like in the days of John Wesley or the Charismatic Movement in the 1960's. This revival I see already happening in some areas of the world. We need one here in the United States. Badly. The deliverance of people requires awareness. From what I can see, most people are not aware. The current wilderness experience that most of America is plunged into is really grace based. People need the external pressure of uncomfortable circumstances to push them into considering if all they see is all there is. The indifference to the value of intangibles is at a high level. Your topic of love, is, I note, an intangible. People want what they can touch.. what they can weigh and measure. Last time I checked, you can't weigh love.

in study I have discovered that Biblical love is more tangible, more measurable than people realize. But, maybe another discussion. My husband and I have been saying for sometime now that the Western church needs persecution, so that it can become alive.

That day where people will be desperate for any truth comes at the awareness that they are exposed. Vulnerable. Perplexed and without a clue. Logically, one can work out what will bring people to that level of need: Hardship and suffering on a large scale. America broke its covenant with the LORD. I see your position as pointing to the exit sign out of the wilderness. As Kingdom Jobs go, it rocks! Don't let other people knock it. It's an important role to be given. Maybe I'm not expressing this totally clearly. Please feel free to ask or comment. I'm giving you my impressions.

It's all good...I am uncomfortable with a lot of comments that have been made to me, but I also get where they are coming from. In fact, several people have said that my husband and I are both modern day prophets, call people to repent and draw near to God for the time is short.

 

[Farine]

amen...I have seen God do amazing things and take us amazing places we never could have imagined....my heart has always been for the lost in the church, how I grieve for those that are lost while touching those that are suppose to be a light in this dark world.

Something that God has been reminding me of late is that no matter what happens, He is ultimately in charge and that is something we need to trust with confident rest no matter what direction we go. in study I have discovered that Biblical love is more tangible, more measurable than people realize. But, maybe another discussion. My husband and I have been saying for sometime now that the Western church needs persecution, so that it can become alive. It's all good...I am uncomfortable with a lot of comments that have been made to me, but I also get where they are coming from. In fact, several people have said that my husband and I are both modern day prophets, call people to repent and draw near to God for the time is short.

I wanted to let you know I had read this and thought about what you said. My thoughts are scattered tonight. I sounded coherent earlier. Right now I'm focused on a sick friend and all that will come out is disjointed sentence pieces. I will write soon.

 

[Farine]

I am combining the response from both of the posts you wrote into one post so we can simplify our discussion. It was diverted earlier to keep the thoughts organized. I think we can merge them ok now.

You were mentioning how you write and that you find more verses than you can comfortably fit them into the study. Yup. I found that to be the case as well. And I did get the benefit from the effort of looking into the Bible to answer complex and diverse questions. Yes, yes, I can see all that happening here.

It's not enough to consider the clarity and accuracy of the message. One has to evaluate what happens after the message is delivered--not that the writer is responsible for that. In order to receive from God, a few things are required. You know it. Your husband knows it. Most of the people we interact with do not know it. When I say receive-- think receive in its broadest sense.. even to receive the inner, hidden meaning from the Bible as well as provision or inspiration or some resource.

I like Psalm 25:14 The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.

Unlike writing a novel or a cookbook, there is another dialogue happening with the material and the reader. The Holy Spirit is either active or not. Let me give you two contrasting examples. Both men had big needs in their life. The first man is a recovering addict who attends 12 step meetings every day-- He's been sober ten years. He reports that the focus being on others helps him in his walk with the LORD. The second man is medically fragile. His health is constantly threatened.

Here's the interesting thing. SAME BIBLE STUDY. The first man sees all the connective structure both within the lessons and how the lessons tie together. The second man gets easily frustrated and asks what's the point frequently. At the end of the study (12 weeks), the first man sees all kinds of applications for his 12 step mentoring with others. The second man has a completely blank look when the presenter asked him what he got out of the 12 week time period. Nothing. The second man could not receive anything from coming to the Bible study for 12 weeks.

Writers, historically, are a very insecure lot of people. CHeck it out. Lots of famous authors revealed in their private correspondence that they were wretchedly miserable about the perceived quality of their work. If I let the response for that second man influence me, I have denied the ministry God gave me. I'll hang back and absorb some shame and disgrace for something that is internal to the person and not part of the art of writing welded to the yieldedness to the Holy Spirit.

Part of the trust we have is that God is able to take our work and bless it to have it be effective. In that situation, I have to flip my reaction around concerning the first man. I could be so excited that the concepts of the Bible Study are being shared one on one with many hurting people stuck in their compulsions. If so, it would have to be in praise to God who has done this and not to boast the writing was so good.

I'm glad we have each other to help balance the wildly different reactions we will have to what words are committed to paper. I'll write more later on the other excellent points you raise.

 

[Mudinyeri]

I self-published a book (Amazon, Barnes & Noble) for electronic distribution only. For the first few months that it was on Amazon, I was pulling down $3000 - $6000 per month in commissions. Unfortunately, I didn't have the time to follow up with a second book before the interest died down in the first book.

My book started out as an experiment. I was working on another book but didn't have a following of readers. I had read an online book that was available for free and decided to write a different book, giving it away for free, to develop a following. At its height, the book that I made available for free had approximately 11,000 daily readers. (The book was originally published on a website with a new chapter available daily.)

Here is what I did:
1. Published one chapter per day for free on a WordPress website. The chapters were essentially blog entries.
2. Promoted the work on one or two forums where I was already an active member. Some forums required me to be a "vendor" to do this promotion. I paid the vendor fees and stayed within the rules of the forums.
3. People on those forums started talking about the book on other forums.
4. I used a Google term watch tool to find these forum posts.
5. When the book showed up on a new forum, I joined the forum and posted that I was the author. I went back to each forum every day with a link to the new chapter (following forum rules).
6. Several online publishers began to reach out to me.
7. I became aware of online fiction contests and entered several. My book was in the top five of several of these contests.
8. More and more people began to talk about my book online. The momentum grew.
9. I put a virtual tip jar on my website where people could make donations if they enjoyed the book. That brought in a few hundred dollars.
10. When the book was finished, I published it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble for Kindle and Nook.
11. I went back to the forums and provided links (per forum rules) for the Kindle and Nook versions.
12. Even though the book was (and still is) available for free, people bought the book on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Today, I think Facebook would be just as big a promotional opportunity as Internet forums - if not bigger. I used Facebook when I was promoting my book ... as well as Twitter but neither was as big a contributor as Internet forums.

 

[Farine]

I self-published a book (Amazon, Barnes & Noble) for electronic distribution only. For the first few months that it was on Amazon, I was pulling down $3000 - $6000 per month in commissions.

First of all, welcome to the thread. HI! What genre and focus did your book have? I have a thought that a secular book is going to be responded to differently than a book dedicated to God. In the case of writing a Bible Study, there is a polarizing effect that has to be considered. People either are drawn to what we write or are massively turned off. Little middle ground.

Today, I think Facebook would be just as big a promotional opportunity as Internet forums - if not bigger. I used Facebook when I was promoting my book ... as well as Twitter but neither was as big a contributor as Internet forums.

How many forums do you participate in on a regular basis and how much time do you spend on them? I'm here for personal reasons on this forum-- I need fellowship. I want to honor you for your thoughtfulness. Very kind. The process clearly worked for you. Please don't be scared off. You're welcome to join us.

For me, I know the path to being discovered in ministry is in God's hands. Meaning, I won't be able to use secular means to advance this. Other people can and do .. for me, there is an ordered timeline that isn't to be endrun. Thanks again for your kindness. It put a smile on my face

 

[razzelflabben]

I am combining the response from both of the posts you wrote into one post so we can simplify our discussion. It was diverted earlier to keep the thoughts organized. I think we can merge them ok now.

You were mentioning how you write and that you find more verses than you can comfortably fit them into the study. Yup. I found that to be the case as well. And I did get the benefit from the effort of looking into the Bible to answer complex and diverse questions. Yes, yes, I can see all that happening here.

It's not enough to consider the clarity and accuracy of the message. One has to evaluate what happens after the message is delivered--not that the writer is responsible for that. In order to receive from God, a few things are required. You know it. Your husband knows it. Most of the people we interact with do not know it. When I say receive-- think receive in its broadest sense.. even to receive the inner, hidden meaning from the Bible as well as provision or inspiration or some resource.

oh amen...had many conversations about this especially as it applies to sermons since we have talked about my husband going back into pastoring. Not looking like that is where God is calling us, but had the discussion none the less.

I like Psalm 25:14 The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.

I get sidetracked a lot by your posts...my issue not yours. It just reminds me of things I want to share. this is one of them.

One of the studies of Love that I did was on relationships. The biggest subtopic was marital relationships. So we took from Eph. 5 how Christ loved the Church and laid it along side how the church should respond. This took the form of Isaiah 53 how Christ loved the Church and the perfect compliment to that, Prov. 31 the wife of noble character. Wow! that is about all I can say about that study, WOW! But what I wanted to share here was the very beginning of that study.

Isaiah 53:1 Who has believed our report and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed.
The report has been made but not everyone believes it because not everyone is listening to the call and revelation of our Lord. But....look what happens when we lay that passage up against Proverbs 31:10 A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.

The revelation of who Jesus Christ is, the very revelation of HIs Love, restores to us our value, the value that is hidden by sin. It is the revelation of HIs Love that makes us of more value than rubies.

Well, I think maybe I love talking about God too much if that is possible anyway. Just wanted to share what you reminded me of.

Unlike writing a novel or a cookbook, there is another dialogue happening with the material and the reader. The Holy Spirit is either active or not. Let me give you two contrasting examples. Both men had big needs in their life. The first man is a recovering addict who attends 12 step meetings every day-- He's been sober ten years. He reports that the focus being on others helps him in his walk with the LORD. The second man is medically fragile. His health is constantly threatened.

Here's the interesting thing. SAME BIBLE STUDY. The first man sees all the connective structure both within the lessons and how the lessons tie together. The second man gets easily frustrated and asks what's the point frequently. At the end of the study (12 weeks), the first man sees all kinds of applications for his 12 step mentoring with others. The second man has a completely blank look when the presenter asked him what he got out of the 12 week time period. Nothing. The second man could not receive anything from coming to the Bible study for 12 weeks.

exactly, we try to counter this some by giving practical applications and even some questions about how to apply this, but as you say, in the end, it is a working of the HS in the man's life which requires a yeilding.

Writers, historically, are a very insecure lot of people. CHeck it out. Lots of famous authors revealed in their private correspondence that they were wretchedly miserable about the perceived quality of their work. If I let the response for that second man influence me, I have denied the ministry God gave me. I'll hang back and absorb some shame and disgrace for something that is internal to the person and not part of the art of writing welded to the yieldedness to the Holy Spirit.

interesting...again, much thanks and sorry for all the rabbit trails, that is how I think, not necessarily how I write, in fact, writing helps me stay more focused. I live with people who take lots of rabbit trails which doesn't help. hehehehe

Part of the trust we have is that God is able to take our work and bless it to have it be effective. In that situation, I have to flip my reaction around concerning the first man. I could be so excited that the concepts of the Bible Study are being shared one on one with many hurting people stuck in their compulsions. If so, it would have to be in praise to God who has done this and not to boast the writing was so good.

amen and amen

I'm glad we have each other to help balance the wildly different reactions we will have to what words are committed to paper. I'll write more later on the other excellent points you raise.

love the correspondence, looking forward to more

 

[razzelflabben]

I self-published a book (Amazon, Barnes & Noble) for electronic distribution only. For the first few months that it was on Amazon, I was pulling down $3000 - $6000 per month in commissions. Unfortunately, I didn't have the time to follow up with a second book before the interest died down in the first book.

My book started out as an experiment. I was working on another book but didn't have a following of readers. I had read an online book that was available for free and decided to write a different book, giving it away for free, to develop a following. At its height, the book that I made available for free had approximately 11,000 daily readers. (The book was originally published on a website with a new chapter available daily.)

Here is what I did:
1. Published one chapter per day for free on a WordPress website. The chapters were essentially blog entries.
2. Promoted the work on one or two forums where I was already an active member. Some forums required me to be a "vendor" to do this promotion. I paid the vendor fees and stayed within the rules of the forums.
3. People on those forums started talking about the book on other forums.
4. I used a Google term watch tool to find these forum posts.
5. When the book showed up on a new forum, I joined the forum and posted that I was the author. I went back to each forum every day with a link to the new chapter (following forum rules).
6. Several online publishers began to reach out to me.
7. I became aware of online fiction contests and entered several. My book was in the top five of several of these contests.
8. More and more people began to talk about my book online. The momentum grew.
9. I put a virtual tip jar on my website where people could make donations if they enjoyed the book. That brought in a few hundred dollars.
10. When the book was finished, I published it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble for Kindle and Nook.
11. I went back to the forums and provided links (per forum rules) for the Kindle and Nook versions.
12. Even though the book was (and still is) available for free, people bought the book on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Today, I think Facebook would be just as big a promotional opportunity as Internet forums - if not bigger. I used Facebook when I was promoting my book ... as well as Twitter but neither was as big a contributor as Internet forums.

very helpful, thank you, spurring ideas I want to explore

 

[Mudinyeri]

very helpful, thank you, spurring ideas I want to explore

Feel free to PM with questions or ask here if the answers will benefit the greater good.

 

[razzelflabben]

First of all, welcome to the thread. HI! What genre and focus did your book have? I have a thought that a secular book is going to be responded to differently than a book dedicated to God. In the case of writing a Bible Study, there is a polarizing effect that has to be considered. People either are drawn to what we write or are massively turned off. Little middle ground.



How many forums do you participate in on a regular basis and how much time do you spend on them? I'm here for personal reasons on this forum-- I need fellowship. I want to honor you for your thoughtfulness. Very kind. The process clearly worked for you. Please don't be scared off. You're welcome to join us.

For me, I know the path to being discovered in ministry is in God's hands. Meaning, I won't be able to use secular means to advance this. Other people can and do .. for me, there is an ordered timeline that isn't to be endrun. Thanks again for your kindness. It put a smile on my face

Personally I am working in both ministry and secular writing, so from my perspective all is good

 

[razzelflabben]

Feel free to PM with questions or ask here if the answers will benefit the greater good.

awesome, thanks, working through some "inspiration"

 

[Mudinyeri]

First of all, welcome to the thread. HI! What genre and focus did your book have? I have a thought that a secular book is going to be responded to differently than a book dedicated to God. In the case of writing a Bible Study, there is a polarizing effect that has to be considered. People either are drawn to what we write or are massively turned off. Little middle ground.

How many forums do you participate in on a regular basis and how much time do you spend on them? I'm here for personal reasons on this forum-- I need fellowship. I want to honor you for your thoughtfulness. Very kind. The process clearly worked for you. Please don't be scared off. You're welcome to join us.

For me, I know the path to being discovered in ministry is in God's hands. Meaning, I won't be able to use secular means to advance this. Other people can and do .. for me, there is an ordered timeline that isn't to be endrun. Thanks again for your kindness. It put a smile on my face

Thank you for the welcome.

My book would be categorized as "dystopian future fiction." It had both Christian undertones and overtones.

I think fiction can be just as polarizing and a Bible study.

I only participate in a couple forums on a regular basis now - this being one of them. I won't be scared off.

During the promotion of my book, I work up just a bit earlier than usual each morning. I had a process that took me about 15-20 minutes to "make the rounds" on the forums. Occasionally, I would post in other threads that were relevant to my purpose for being there but rarely spent more than an hour a day on my "non-regular" forums. An hour a day to promote a book that eventually generated several thousand dollars a month in income. Not a bad sacrifice.

Personally, I wouldn't dismiss "secular" means to promote Christian work ... unless I misunderstand your meaning. For example, promoting through Facebook works just as well for Christian material as it does for secular. The same goes for publishing through Amazon or B&N.

 

[Farine]

It grieves me that a huge chunk of the church will never grasp how powerful the word of God really is, how much just knowing and reading the word can change us.

There were a lot of powerful points in your replies. I'm in peril of missing them for their quantity. This one deserved its own special spot. I will just wade through and pick them out as my own rabbit trails meet yours. Deal?

(To the Temple Priests) [Matthew 22:29] Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. .."
[Matthew 15:12-14] Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?” He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”

There is an edge to Jesus' voice inferred in the text. You can almost tell he's irritated from how he says the terse, brief reply.

You are not blind. You see. You are not in error. You know the Scriptures and the power of God. It's like one day when I was reading 1 Corinthians 13 in a state of financial pressure. Hey, Lord? It says here that if I don't have love, I am nothing. Well, who am I if all I have IS LOVE?

You mentioned those who are not abiding in the vine within the church. The Temple Priests and the Pharisees were the spiritually disconnected religious people of Jesus' day. I felt there was some context here between the two different time eras: Jesus' and ours. For what its worth, here is my take on the compassion for the 'blind, erring' we encounter.

** Don't pick your own Kingdom assignments. (Verses provided for convenience sake)

Jeremiah 17: 9-10
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? 10 “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.”

We don't know what is going on inside a life. I doubt Ananias would have visited Saul if it hadn't been his assignment from Jesus. And a lot of us are spending time on hearts that just aren't open yet.

**There is a time to walk away.
It's apparently allowed to 'leave them'.. for at least one scripture reason: 'they are blind guides'.

**It is impossible to argue with a demonstration.
Walk in the power of God through the WORD. I really love this verse from Daniel 11:32b-33a (AMP)

but the people who [are spiritually mature and] know their God will display strength and take action [to resist]. 33 They who are wise and have spiritual insight among the people will instruct many and help them understand;

 

[razzelflabben]

There were a lot of powerful points in your replies. I'm in peril of missing them for their quantity. This one deserved its own special spot. I will just wade through and pick them out as my own rabbit trails meet yours. Deal?

(To the Temple Priests) [Matthew 22:29] Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. .."
[Matthew 15:12-14] Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?” He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”

There is an edge to Jesus' voice inferred in the text. You can almost tell he's irritated from how he says the terse, brief reply.

You are not blind. You see. You are not in error. You know the Scriptures and the power of God. It's like one day when I was reading 1 Corinthians 13 in a state of financial pressure. Hey, Lord? It says here that if I don't have love, I am nothing. Well, who am I if all I have IS LOVE?

You mentioned those who are not abiding in the vine within the church. The Temple Priests and the Pharisees were the spiritually disconnected religious people of Jesus' day. I felt there was some context here between the two different time eras: Jesus' and ours. For what its worth, here is my take on the compassion for the 'blind, erring' we encounter.

** Don't pick your own Kingdom assignments. (Verses provided for convenience sake)

I am having so much fun...really I am, and learning a lot from everyone. In fact, we are working on a plan for one direction of promotion that I would be happy to share if it works and we can get it going, but want to work out some details first.

That being said. these rabbit trails are just simply tickling my fancy so to speak. One of the things that came up repeatedly in one of the studies is how we need to simply be faithful to what God asks of us and not worry about what He is asking someone else to do. This goes for how easily we become jealous of others ministries as well as trying to do God's job for Him. He asks us to be faithful to what He asks of us and allow Him to convict and draw and even save others all the while we too often are trying to convict, draw, and save others. When we let go of the things that are not ours to hold, God is free to work in us and through us in amazing ways we couldn't have even imagined.

In fact, in our current situation, I find myself throughout the day, asking God to take what is not mine and leave me only with what is mine to bare or do.

Jeremiah 17: 9-10
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? 10 “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.”

We don't know what is going on inside a life. I doubt Ananias would have visited Saul if it hadn't been his assignment from Jesus. And a lot of us are spending time on hearts that just aren't open yet.

**There is a time to walk away.
It's apparently allowed to 'leave them'.. for at least one scripture reason: 'they are blind guides'.

this too is a lesson God has been teaching me. It first hit me hard with my health issues and wanting to be healed (very long story) We tried and tried to get medical help for things that others take for granted, but for a variety of reasons, no one would help and God wasn't healing. So, we asked the question, when do we walk away and when do we stand and fight?

God led us to four things that stand forever as an answer to the question. 1. God Himself stands forever 2. God's name stands forever and 3. the Word of God stands forever and 4. Love never fails, thus stands forever.

So, we looked at my health issues, we looked at the time we were spending trying to get the simple help that could preserve my life and we measured them against these four things. In the end of the matter we determined that God was indeed using my illness and that the result of that illness was a sharing God's word in ways I couldn't do otherwise. Eventually (another long story) we stopped looking for help, began treating it ourselves and even though the situation is still life threatening, I am better than I ever was in Dr. care.

When I study the word of God and I come across something like a time to dust the dirt from our feet and move on, I always ask God to show me how to know when to stand and when to move on. Sometimes it just takes time to break through hard hearts. When we were teaching SS we had in our class an Atheist, today, after some 40 ish years of God putting people in his life, he is a believer...amen and Praise the Lord and this happened only about a month and a half ago...what an amazing change in the man. But without perseverance, he would have fallen away and so it is important to know when to persevere and when to move on.

**It is impossible to argue with a demonstration.
Walk in the power of God through the WORD. I really love this verse from Daniel 11:32b-33a (AMP)

but the people who [are spiritually mature and] know their God will display strength and take action [to resist]. 33 They who are wise and have spiritual insight among the people will instruct many and help them understand;

one of the things we have found as we pursue this ministry of directed bible study is that many of the true believers, the faithful in the Church are struggling beneath the weight of a church that is more like the world than like Christ. It becomes important for us to reach out to them as well as to reach out to the lost, which seems to be more where God is directing us at least at the moment.

 

[Farine]

My book would be categorized as "dystopian future fiction." It had both Christian undertones and overtones. I think fiction can be just as polarizing as a Bible study.

I was curious how many 'pages' your book ended up being. Trade books average about 110 pages. Of course those are paper back sized pages. If your book is PDF Format (8.5 by 11 inches) then pages have a different context.

Your comment that fiction can be just as polarizing.. I'd love to hear you elaborate. I can think of one example on my own. The book 'The Shack' is a work of fiction. There is at least two camps with passionate, opposing views.

During the promotion of my book, I work up just a bit earlier than usual each morning. I had a process that took me about 15-20 minutes to "make the rounds" on the forums. Occasionally, I would post in other threads that were relevant to my purpose for being there but rarely spent more than an hour a day on my "non-regular" forums. An hour a day to promote a book that eventually generated several thousand dollars a month in income. Not a bad sacrifice.

Personally, I wouldn't dismiss "secular" means to promote Christian work ... unless I misunderstand your meaning. For example, promoting through Facebook works just as well for Christian material as it does for secular. The same goes for publishing through Amazon or B&N.

I read what I posted and yes, it does sound weird doesn't it. The course of my life has been charted by the Lord. Now that i've found out how to walk in the steps presented to me. Now that I can detect what God wants, I have fallen in love with His art in my life. That's what I want to do.

 

[Farine]

One of the studies of Love that I did was on relationships. The biggest subtopic was marital relationships. So we took from Eph. 5 how Christ loved the Church and laid it along side how the church should respond. This took the form of Isaiah 53 how Christ loved the Church and the perfect compliment to that, Prov. 31 the wife of noble character. Wow! that is about all I can say about that study, WOW! But what I wanted to share here was the very beginning of that study.

Isaiah 53:1 Who has believed our report and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed.
The report has been made but not everyone believes it because not everyone is listening to the call and revelation of our Lord. But....look what happens when we lay that passage up against Proverbs 31:10 A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.

The revelation of who Jesus Christ is, the very revelation of HIs Love, restores to us our value, the value that is hidden by sin. It is the revelation of HIs Love that makes us of more value than rubies.

This is such a gift. Three paragraphs. Maybe a dozen sentences? The importance of understanding our value, our noble character? We can believe God when He speaks with understanding like this.

What I really liked about this insight is that it reveals new things. Who believes? One can run a long way pondering who actually believes...
Children believe, as a rule. There was a family with three daughters. The father said to them "You are all to be women of God." The three daughters believed that. That very week, all of them had their own unique and strong interaction with God.

Poor people tend to believe. They have thrown themselves against 'the system'. They understand so much easier that the world is barren.

Broken people have an easier time believing. After crashing one's life, the offer of a new life is attractive...

 

[razzelflabben]

This is such a gift. Three paragraphs. Maybe a dozen sentences? The importance of understanding our value, our noble character? We can believe God when He speaks with understanding like this.

What I really liked about this insight is that it reveals new things. Who believes? One can run a long way pondering who actually believes...
Children believe, as a rule. There was a family with three daughters. The father said to them "You are all to be women of God." The three daughters believed that. That very week, all of them had their own unique and strong interaction with God.

Poor people tend to believe. They have thrown themselves against 'the system'. They understand so much easier that the world is barren.

Broken people have an easier time believing. After crashing one's life, the offer of a new life is attractive...

I think that sometimes, exploring why people don't believe is important as well.

One of my favorite questions to ask believers is how they came to Christ. What I find is that each is looking for something different that only Christ can fill. For me, it was power to survive, I found power to thrive and more. My husband needed someone to follow, He discovered the leader Christ and more. Often, if we can identify the thing that the person seeks and show them how Christ is that answer, amazing things happen.

For others, the issue isn't so much what they seek in their lives, but what is preventing them from seeing. Our new brother in Christ that was atheist, had "scales" on his eyes, both literally and spiritually. Our son is blinded by grief, some are blinded by demonic influences in their life, or pains that just won't subside enough to clear the vision. If we can identify these "blind spots" and help to open those eyes through prayer, counseling, etc. we see God do amazing things as well. Unfortunately we too often rush through our lives, trying to "reach" as many people as we can and never take the time that Love requires to create a covenant that pursues the one we are loving with the patience to lead them to Christ.

 

[Farine]

If we can identify these "blind spots" and help to open those eyes through prayer, counseling, etc. we see God do amazing things as well. Unfortunately we too often rush through our lives, trying to "reach" as many people as we can and never take the time that Love requires to create a covenant that pursues the one we are loving with the patience to lead them to Christ.

Hello! I am coming to the conclusion that I need to thank you more often. Glory to God who introduced us. Wow LORD! I'm impressed.

In clipping the quote, don't think I didn't like the whole thing. I did. In order to keep the flow of ideas clear as to which part of your post I'm adding to, this seemed necessary. Your original question was about publishing. I want to tie in what you just wrote to the issue of publishing a work such as you and I endeavor to do.

What is a colloquialism that is said when someone doesn't believe something? They say, 'I don't buy it." The market place being a collection of individuals casting their economic votes the way they FEEL like creates the impression that there isn't a strong response to the Bible Studies. But wait, there's more.

The delight that you have in discussing and considering spiritual realities comes from a certain place in your being. I would guess that your library in your home has at least ten books and/or studies devoted to God. You have 'bought into this'. Truth be told, probably a great deal more than ten books on your shelf are about and for God.

There is a certain level of involvement that happens when we pull out our wallet or debit card and make a purchase. God doesn't want our money.. it's simply a leading indicator of whether the heart is involved or not. Alright, proceeding logically from a purchase, let's talk about the other roadblock here.

If people buy these studies and make the investment of time to actually read them (which is a whole other question), then the majority of them stick whatever words we say in their mind. They feel informed. They are not, though, empowered. The power in the words of God only is released when it is accepted (received) (believed) by the heart. And the heart wants what the heart wants. There's not really any logic there to appeal to.

To get to this point, let's go through the obstacle course again in summary.
-->A person has to have an curiosity in spiritual realities.
-->Then the person has to break the inertia with their favorite distractions to rise up and meet that interest.
-->The material that we have gathered and organized has to be within reach (either online or in a bookstore)
-->This person has to physically see the study(either online or in a bookstore)
-->A purchase has to happen.
-->The material has to be read.
-->Any Blind Spots have to be addressed.
-->The concepts have to be received in the heart.

We could despair at this point where it not for the ministry of the Spirit and the power of the Gospel. In Isaiah 46:10, God says, "I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’

I would mention the other issue that tends to happen. People decline to enter the Presence of God. They want proxies. When God spoke to the entire assembly of Israel, here is what the people said about the experience. Exodus 20:18-19

When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”

For those of us who have spent time in God's intimate space, we have the respect of holiness to curb our thoughts, desires and behavior. We know what it is like to have to re-enter God's intimate space aware of our failings pleading the Blood of Jesus over our lives. For those who want to maintain the distance to have the (ridiculous) plausible deniability, they want to have the mere words themselves without the mountain in smoke, the thunder and lightning or the fear.

 

[Mudinyeri]

I was curious how many 'pages' your book ended up being. Trade books average about 110 pages. Of course those are paper back sized pages. If your book is PDF Format (8.5 by 11 inches) then pages have a different context.

Your comment that fiction can be just as polarizing.. I'd love to hear you elaborate. I can think of one example on my own. The book 'The Shack' is a work of fiction. There is at least two camps with passionate, opposing views.



I read what I posted and yes, it does sound weird doesn't it. The course of my life has been charted by the Lord. Now that i've found out how to walk in the steps presented to me. Now that I can detect what God wants, I have fallen in love with His art in my life. That's what I want to do.

In PDF format my novel is 337 pages. If I recall correctly, Kindle formatted it into 500+ pages.

Anything powerful can be polarizing. Powerful fiction is no exception. On Amazon, you will find reviews of my book that are polar opposites - from hatred, name calling and disdain to high praise. I am happy to have "offended" some. At least I have taken a stand.