ANGEL OF WRATH, by Bill Myers

Saturday - Will isn't the only preacher's kid in this story. Two of the key characters in the story are Thomas and Lisa Harmon. Thomas is the pastor of a church his father started. Lisa is a former FBI agent. Not only are they preacher's kids, but also the product of an abusive household. Rev. Richard Harmon was their father, and Lisa seems to have taken most of the abuse. The son, Thomas, seems to have followed, at least to some extent, in his abusive father's footsteps.

With each character there is a different story, a different lesson each must learn, or rather the same lesson from a different angle. Thomas, it seems, started out in the ministry with the right attitude and intentions, but we learn his heart has strayed. His love for the Lord has grown cold. He has allowed himself to become more concerned about the things that make up the local church than his own love for the Lord. This leads him down a path where he fantasizes about some things with one of the female workers in the church. Even though he doesn't do anything about it, well other than hang out with her more than is appropriate, it is something that causes the abuse from his father to continue on into his life and into his marriage. It becomes something that nullifies what he is doing as a minister. He needs to forgive and find forgiveness.

Lisa, on the other hand, was more directly abused by her father. She joins the FBI, but her marred character, complete with a severe anger problem, gets her thrown out. When she is pulled back into this case she shudders at having to face her father. She would rather face the killer, even this monster, than that. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on your point of view, she gets to collide with all three. She too must learn forgiveness in order to get on with her life, and she needs to realize that she isn't perfect either. One of the final scenes in the book is absolutely brilliant, as we see her finally coming to grips with reality and her Lord.

Now, are you and I any different than these preacher's kids? Have we allowed abusive behavior to cause us to become abusive? Where love is supposed to be, is there bitterness? One thing that this story points out is a truth I've learned long ago, when you fail to forgive, then you hold yourself, as well as the person who has wronged you, in bondage. There's not much God can do with you until you forgive. Now some of you will probably read this and say, "There is no way I am going to forgive so and so." This is your choice, but remember, if you want God to forgive you, you must forgive them. Jesus states this in what we call The Lord's Prayer, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." Unforgiveness isn't just wrong, it's stupid. Think about it. If not forgiving someone is going to cause you harm, then why would you do it? Wouldn't you rather forgive, and let God take care of the justice part? At least that way you would be free, you would be forgiven. But if you do not forgive, you will not be forgiven. That's not my word, that's God's Word on the subject. One day you will face yourself. What do you want to find, that you have no one to stand before God to defend you? that all your evil deeds will be displayed for all creation to see? or to have them eternally buried, washed away by the blood of Jesus? If you chose the latter then you need to exercise the same kind of love Jesus has shown to you. You and I do not deserve God's mercy, His love, His forgiveness, yet He gives it anyway. We should not ask whether a person deserves forgiveness, but what we can do in forgiving them that they would find that same forgiveness we have found in Christ.

Check out these other member blogs this week for more info.




On Saturday, June 13th check out Laura's site for an interview with Bill Myers.

And don't forget to visit Bill Myer's site here.

To purchase ANGEL OF WRATH you can do so at the following sites:

ChristianBook.com
Amazon.com
Barnes and Noble
Books a Million

ANGEL OF WRATH, by Bill Myers

Friday - Dilema of preacher kids. One of the points Bill Myers made, at least in my mind, is the plight of many preacher kids. Many times their parents subject their children to unrealistic goals, or worse, threaten them with having blemished the ministry by their sinful acts. Such is the case of Will Harmon. Will is not only a PK, but an only child. He is also Lisa Harmon's nephew. The development of Will is done amazingly realistic. For many years he struggle to be good, to support his father in the ministry by his example. (Do you see how wrong this is? Shouldn't the pastor support his family first, then others?) As the child grows older he begins to feel that the burden placed on him is increasingly unrealistic. Once in his teens he decides to rebel against all that his father preached about. Booze, drugs and sex are calling to him, as well as a society of people who will accept him for who he is. Tragically, this happens all too frequently, and it usually happens during the teen years. That's why I'm saying this is done so realistically.

What I'd like to harp on though, and hopefully not tread on my friend's toes, is the fact that children should be allowed to be children. All of us make mistakes throughout our lives, but children shouldn't be held to a higher standard than we are willing to keep for ourselves. Even the standards we set for ourselves we should expect that children would faulter in try to meet those lofty goals. We should love them, joke with the, embrace them and encourage them. We should pray for them, be there not just for the bad times, but for the good times too. When your little boy comes home from a litle leage gam and says, "I got a hit today and the coach says my hit caused us to win," he is inviting you to share in one of his intimate moments, an acheivement that he holds in high honor. Similar references can be can be given about daughters.

I think that when we grow up we forget the magic of the little things in life, at least if we aren't careful. Children are God's gift to help us recapture those gifts, but if we beat down on them and try to get them to fit into their adult idea of what they should be. I tried not to do this with my children, and yet I saw a JV coach who literally sucked my son's love for baseball out of him by the way he was treated. He wasn't abused in the normal sense, just severely overlooked. Had I sided with that coach my son may well have ended up like Will Harmon. God in His grace had surrounded me with people who lived Christianity, not just talked about it. They walked in love and let me make my own mistakes. But when I was in college I found a number of kids there didn't have that. Dropped off by missionaries and pastors these MK and PK kids had a real rough time. Out on their own for the first time, they not only challenged what they'd been taught their whole life, but in some cases attacked it. Still, with God all things are possible, and even in these extreme circumstances God has already set up a kind of truth detector. It may cause problems right off, but it will serve them well when they return to the household of God.

Check out these other member blogs this week for more info.




On Saturday, June 13th check out Laura's site for an interview with Bill Myers.

And don't forget to visit Bill Myer's site here.

To purchase ANGEL OF WRATH you can do so at the following sites:

ChristianBook.com
Amazon.com
Barnes and Noble
Books a Million

ANGEL OF WRATH, by Bill Myers

Thursday - Batwings, here we come. In ANGEL OF WRATH, by Bill Myers we are actually shown this creature. It is described, generally speaking, as a creature having a large wingspan. It differs in different parts of the book. The drawing on the cover I think depicts what the author was trying to get across, a creature with wings like a bat. He describes it in one place as having wings that were strong and leathery, like a bat's wings. If you're paying attention to detail, however, you will notice that the body of the creature represents that of a man, although it has large, iron-hard, taloned claws. In other words it is a monstrosity, and not a creation of God. This is a body that demons have created to be their host.

The thing I find interesting is that, unlike other depictions of demons with bat-like wings, the Angel of Wrath has wings that at first appear as a dark cloud or mist. Even when trying to strike it you seem to go right through it. Yet, at the same time this mist has the capability of reaching out and causing physical harm. So, unlike past authors, Bill Myers has created a monster that appears as a vapor or something, while at the same time giving it the power to inflict bodily harm. Not only can it inflict bodily harm, but it can cause emotional distress and spiritual anxiety. In one sense you might say it is vampiric, in that it feasts on the fears and doubts it creates in others.

This beast is only a host, however. We are given it's name, and whether by choice or accident, the name of this beast is Legion. In Scripture (Mark 5:9 and Luke 8:30) the demons within a possessed man identifies itself as Legion. In the account in Mark when Legion was released from the man it entered into a herd of 2000 pigs. This would mean there were at least 2000 demons living in this man. Also in that account notice how the man couldn't be bound with chains or anything. Yet Jesus comes up to him and commands the demons to leave. One of the things I like about this work is that while we are shown what Satan and his demons can do, we are also shone that he only has power when we give it to him. Satan's power over all humanity was crushed by Jesus' death on the cross. The problem is, whenever we voice doubt or give credit to Satan or the demons we give him power over us that he doesn't have, nor is rightfully his. In Christ we have been set free. The serpent's head has been placed beneath the foot of Jesus, and although it caused the Son of God pain, He crushed it's head. (Genesus 3:15)

Today the battle continues, but for those who put their faith and trust in Jesus, the outcome has already been decided. That's why the Angel of Wrath cannot stand the prayers, the praises, the songs nor the worship of God's people. For when this happens God is present and Satan's weaknesses are made known. As darkness is drven away by light so also are the demons sent to flight in the presence of the Light of the World. In the Gospel of John the writer says that Jesus is the Light of the world, but in Matthew, Jesus speaking of those who would follow Him said, "You are the light of the world." Know therefore that if you let Christ reign in you His Light shall bring about the victory.

Check out these other member blogs this week for more info.




On Saturday, June 13th check out Laura's site for an interview with Bill Myers.

And don't forget to visit Bill Myer's site here.

To purchase ANGEL OF WRATH you can do so at the following sites:

ChristianBook.com
Amazon.com
Barnes and Noble
Books a Million

ANGEL OF WRATH, by Bill Myers

Wednesday - (caution - spoiler alert) I really didn't want to include this, but it's so fantastic that I just can't help myself. For those of you who want to experience the book for yourself, please STOP reading now. You can pick up my post tomorrow.

Jaz is one of the most unique characters I've ever come across. She's (like totally) a teen, with all the joys and horrors that may dredge up. She's also deaf, but being deaf doesn't mean you cannot hear, not really. Being deaf means having a diminished capacity to hear audible sounds. It is through this unique individual that we learn the power of praise. Unable to truly hear the songs in church as we do, she does try to pick up the vibrations from the huge loud speakers. Yet her spirit is also sensitive and we find her "hearing" something else, a vibration of power and warm, and sometimes darkness and cold. I use the term "hearing" in this case because it is during praise and worship that we find this out. She gets a CD and finds there's nothing about the songs themselves, not even the words, but when you concentrate on the words, make them come from your heart, then God releases power through you. On the flip side of that, when you make words that are negative, words that seek out the darkness in life, another power can be felt. God's power is descibed as light and warmth. Satan's power is described as darkness and cold.

After learning this Jaz finds herself in the odd position in which she uses praise in song to fight against the ANGEL OF WRATH. She is only partially successful because she hasn't put a lot of effort into her spiritual growth. Yet she is still successful enough to save a girl's life, although the preacher's son is almost sacrifice for the action. We must remember that fighting spiritually is nothing to be taken lightly. That is one of the reasons I like Bill Myer's books. He gives a balanced teaching of spiritual warfare. He doesn't say, "Okay, you can sing songs to the Lord and everything will be fine and dandy." Instead he says, "Be sure you know what you are getting into and even then be sure you are backed up with lots of prayer, because you will need it."

How many of you know that you can put the devil to flight just by singing? How many of you considered singing as a weapon? You see, it seems that music is one of God's greatest weapons, but it has to come from the heart. It has to be pure worship for Him. If you have a concordance, check it out. See how many references there are to praising the Lord, then cross check that with how many of those references have to do with music, with song, even with dance. Then check that against how many times it is mentioned in reference to a weapon or spiritual victory. I think you'll be surprised.

Sorry for the spoiler, but this facet of the story just hit me so hard that I couldn't keep quiet about it. Praise, true praise, is real, powerful, and a delight to the Lord. We are admonished to walk daily in His praises.

Check out these other member blogs this week for more info.




On Saturday, June 13th check out Laura's site for an interview with Bill Myers.

And don't forget to visit Bill Myer's site here.

To purchase ANGEL OF WRATH you can do so at the following sites:

ChristianBook.com
Amazon.com
Barnes and Noble
Books a Million

ANGEL OF WRATH, by Bill Myers

Tuesday - In ANGEL OF WRATH, by Bill Myers, one of the things that sticks out is that some of the most dangerous things in this world are those things Satan would have us believe are lies. Think about it. The 2 top lies are, that there is no god, and that there is no devil. You'd think the fact that these are opposing figures would would give some credibility to one or the other. The fact is that both exist. The lie found in ANGEL OF WRATH, is about the existence of an angel dispensing wrath on the community. Even though several people have seen it, and Will has found descriptions of it on the Internet, most people don't believe the story of some avenging angel or demonic spirit of wrath. People, like Sheriff Hutton, are used to dealing in real facts. At least that's the way they would put it. The lie, that this angel does not exist, is much like the lie that Satan doesn't exist. It's just some far out myth or the wild imaginations of people so doped up they couldn't tell you the truth if they wanted.

The reality behind the lie is frightening. There is a whole world that most of us never see, and yet live and walk through on a daily basis. It's called the realm of the spirit. Believing that things are simply what they appear, or that only that which we can perceive in the physical world is true has been one of the major reasons for our social decline. There are many more to be sure, but let's face it, if we don't believe in a spiritual world, then we don't believe in God or Satan, angels or demons, miracles or magic. We can only believe what is proven to us scientifically, and that has become some a tremendous obstacle. The truth of the matter is that if you can't see it, then it probably is something that is more real, more lasting than what you do see. For instance, you can't see love, but love never fails. You can't see God, but He is ever present.

Jesus talked about laying up treasures in Heaven "where moth and rust do not corrupt, nor thieves break in and steal." He compared this to laying up treasure on earth where they could be destroyed or stolen. In other words, what we see is both of less value and is less permanent that those things which we do not see. Bill Myers uses ANGEL OF WRATH to show us how the enemy seeks to make the truth appear as something false, then goes on to show just how true it is. Using a wide range of characters, whose viewpoint on this topic are equally diverse, we are able to see just how terrifying this truth can be if we believe it to be a lie. He leads us to the place where Jesus says, "You shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall set you free."

Check out these other member blogs this week for more info.




On Saturday, June 13th check out Laura's site for an interview with Bill Myers.

And don't forget to visit Bill Myer's site here.


To purchase ANGEL OF WRATH you can do so at the following sites:

ChristianBook.com
Amazon.com
Barnes and Noble
Books a Million

ANGEL OF WRATH, by Bill Myers

Monday - The serial killer in this book is remarkably like the one in the novel SEVEN, by Anthony Bruno, at least in his choice of victims. From that point on everything is fresh and different. Apparently there are people out there that really think people should pay for their sins by physical death. There are plenty of Bible quotes in this novel, most of them by the killer and his lackeys. This should remind us that people out there are reading the Bible, if only to condemn us for our fantasy world we call faith, and our hypocrisy. So right off the lesson here is live according the the Spirit of God and not according to the desires of the flesh. This is a message that rises up time and time again throughout the entire book in different forms.

Contrasting this are those people who are watching us to see if it really works. They are spiritually hungry, so if we let Jesus shine through us we will reach them for Christ. If, however, we live to our own desires they too will become engulfed in the notion that we are nothing but hypocrites. Our job is not to save people, but to be Jesus to them wherever they are. We are to understand and use the spiritual gifts, especially that of prayer, and our actions must always be those of love.

Now love has 2 sides, and people tend to forget that. We see this in the relationship between Jaz and Charlie. Both are equally stubborn, and yet both exhibit love in very uncomfortable ways. The Bible calls this chastisement. In Hebrews it says, "God chastiseth every son whom He loves." It goes on to say that if a person is not chastised by God and calls themselves a child of God is lying. On the other side of this coin is the kind of love that we like, that affirmative, uplifting, embracing kind. This side of love is usually the focus of what love truly is, but the reality is that God is Love (1st John 4:8) and this means several things. First, love is a choice, not a feeling. (Romans 5:8) and second, because love motivates both the actions of discipline and the affirmation sides of love (John 3:16-18; 1st Corinthians 13:1-8a). If our motivation is not one out of love, first for God, then for the other person, and always last for ourselves, then we are not truly loving the way God wants us to love. This chilling novel exposes just how much we are lacking in this area, and challenges us to do more, to be more, to love more.

Check out these other member blogs this week for more info.




On Saturday, June 13th check out Laura's site for an interview with Bill Myers.

And don't forget to visit Bill Myer's site here.

To purchase ANGEL OF WRATH you can do so at the following sites:

ChristianBook.com
Amazon.com
Barnes and Noble
Books a Million

ANGEL OF WRATH, by Bill Myers

Sunday - Well, I guess we're back to speculative fiction. It's not that I don't enjoy this genre and its sub genres. It's just that I keep hoping for other things, like last month's THE ARK, THE REED, AND THE FIRECLOUD, by Jenny Cote. This month, however, we are pleased to do a feature tour of bestselling author Bill Myers and his latest book ANGEL OF WRATH. The contrast between these two books is amazing, and yet you will find some of the same spiritual truths in both.

In ANGEL OF WRATH we have quite an interesting cast of characters, Lisa Harmon, former FBI agent, Charlie Madison former member of Special Ops who is trying to find redemption in the ministry, Rev. Thomas Harmon, Lisa's brother and senior pastor of a megachurch, Jaz, Charlie's niece who is deaf, but has some extraordinary ablities. Then there's Will Harmon, the pastor's son, Sharon Harmon, the pastor's wife, Jason Ballard, teenage pawn used to lead a group of outcasts in Satanic worship, Sheriff Hutton and more. Each character is unique and realistic. If you're a parent you may want to slap some sense into Jaz, but at the same time you'll appreciate her brutal honesty. She's one of my favorites...and least favorites.

The story begins with a Dr. Norman Gibson putting his little girl to bed. I won't spoil it for you if I can help it, but Dr. Gibson ends up dying, an appearant accident due to heart failure. That would be the end of it if he hadn't received a threat and if the words of that threat were found on his daughter's bedroom wall after he died. Other similar deaths follow. Is there a connection? How is all of this even possible? We are led through a truly remarkable investigation where, it appears, anything is possible.

The overall story is good verses evil, but it's the way Bill Myers brings it out that makes it special. Some of the other storylines running through this is Lisa's need to be freed from unforgiveness towards her father, Rev. Harmon's need to return to a simple and true Gospel, not some watered down politically correct one. Priorities shift. In the end we realize one thing, that evil, as powerful as it may seem, is a shadow. It gets in the way of God's light, or rather Satan throws things in our paths that create these shadows. These shadows take on form and power as we accept their reality in our lives, but if we trust in God and deny them to have exist in our presence we find the power of God's love shining into even the worst of our situations, bringing about joy, peace and victory. For you see, victory has already been won for us by our Lord. We don't need to accept the temptations and evil of this world as ours. For "Greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the world."

This is one of those must read books, particularly if you are living among people struggling with one kind of evil or another. I think that about covers all of us. The problem isn't that we trip and fall, even as Christians, but what we do after we fall. Do we sit there and give up, or do we press through to victory? That's what's important.

Check out these other member blogs this week for more info.




On Saturday, June 13th check out Laura's site for an interview with Bill Myers.

And don't forget to visit Bill Myer's site here.

To purchase ANGEL OF WRATH you can do so at the following sites:

ChristianBook.com
Amazon.com
Barnes and Noble
Books a Million