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| C. Kevin Thompson |
I know we were just a little late to the party (okay, really late), but we just watched the movie, I Can Only Imagine. It was definitely inspirational. First, as a Christian. Knowing that God can forgive the worst of the worst is encouraging when I walk amongst so many monsters. And to make it even more encouraging, to sum up the words of the Apostle Paul, we were all part of that unpopular throng at some point, whether we choose to admit it or not (1 Tim. 1:15). We may not have been a domestic abuser like Arthur Millard or an accomplice to murder like the Apostle Paul, but through the lens of Scripture and what “the kingdom of heaven is like,” sin is sin is sin. Here on Earth, we have a tendency to categorize sin. Some sins are viewed to be more heinous than others. But according to the Ten Commandments, serving other gods and dishonoring your father and mother made the list alongside murder, adultery, lying, and stealing.
Now do you see why I’m encouraged? God can forgive us…all of us.
As a writer, the movie inspired me to never give up and make sure my relationships with others are in order. Bitterness is a cancer of the soul. Usually bred from a wounded heart—usually at the hands of those we love the most—bitterness can cause even the most well-veneered Christian to see the world through anything but the eyes of God.
Hatred, envy, and anger are just a few characteristics of a soul filled with bitterness. They can lead a writer into a wilderness indeed. A wilderness that may cause the writer, like Bart Millard almost did, to quit. It can also cause a writer to be envious of others who they have pictured as “being good enough.” This can draw the writer into fits of anger and self-doubt, pushing away those they love and those who support them (e.g., Bart’s future wife).
Bart never quit, however, nor should you. That doesn’t mean you’ll pen the next #1 all-time, listened-to song or most-beloved novel ever. Those kinds of things (like Bart writing the song “I Can Only Imagine”) are of God, and nobody can predict them nor can they produce them with human effort. However, like Bart, you can continue to write. And you never know just how God will use that next novel, if you allow Him…after your heart is right.
I find it interesting that God had Bart take a several-month-long hiatus from the band Mercy Me before He gave Bart the words to the now famous song. Bart had to find forgiveness in his heart for his own dad before he could be ready to write such words.
Does God need you to take a similar hiatus? Are there areas in your life that God wants examined and remedied before the words will flow?
Only you and God know the answer.
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| 30 Days Hath Revenge |
A Clandestine Mission.
A Cryptic Message.
A Chaste Promise.
Blake Meyer dreamed of a peaceful end to a dutiful career with the FBI. Married now, his life was taking him in a new direction—a desk job. He would be an analyst. Ride it out until retirement. Be safe so he could enjoy his grandchildren some day.
But when a notable member of the IRA is murdered in a London flat, Blake’s secretive past propels him into the middle of a vindictive, international scheme so hellish and horrific, it will take everything Blake possesses—all of it—to save the United States from the most diabolical terrorist attack to date.
C. KEVIN THOMPSON is a husband, a father, a grandfather, and a kid at heart. Often referred to as “crazy” by his grandchildren, it’s only because he is. He’s a writer. Need he say more?
The first three books of his Blake Meyer Thriller series are out! Book 1, 30 Days Hath Revenge; Book 2, Triple Time; and Book 3, The Tide of Times, are now available! Book 4, When the Clock Strikes Fourteen is coming soon! Also, the second edition of his award-winning debut novel, The Serpent’s Grasp, is now available!
Kevin is a huge fan of the TV series 24, The Blacklist, Blue Bloods, NCIS, and Criminal Minds, loves anything to do with Star Trek, and is a Sherlock Holmes fanatic, too. It’s quite elementary, actually.
Website: www.ckevinthompson.com/
Kevin’s Writer’s Blog: www.ckevinthompson.blogspot.com/
Facebook: C. Kevin Thompson – Author Fan Page
Twitter: @CKevinThompson
Goodreads: C. Kevin Thompson
