Letters to a Samuel Generation: The Collection

By Rachel Starr Thomson

What the world needs is more of Jesus, and the way it is going to see more of Him is if we as Christians love Him more—know Him better—believe and trust in Him with all our hearts.

 

This collection of essays is specially written for God's "Samuel Generation": every believer who wishes to know and do the heart and mind of their Father in Heaven. In a highly personal and encouraging style, they bring a fresh and convicting look at topics such as grace, love, trusting in dark times, unity, and the character of Jesus Christ.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Little Dozen Press
• Release date: Dec 11, 2015
• ISBN: 9780988061361

Rachel Starr Thomson

Rachel Starr Thomson is in love with Jesus and convinced the gospel will change the world. Rachel is a woman of many talents and even more interests: she’s a writer, editor, indie publisher, singer, speaker, Bible study teacher, and world traveler. The author of the Seventh World Trilogy, The Oneness Cycle, and many other books, she also tours North America and other parts of the world as a speaker and spoken-word artist with 1:11 Ministries. Adventures in the Kingdom launched in 2015 as a way to bring together Rachel’s explorations, in fiction and nonfiction, of what it means to live all of life in the kingdom of God. Rachel lives in the beautiful Niagara Region of southern Ontario, just down the river from the Falls. She drinks far too much coffee and tea, daydreams of visiting Florida all winter, and hikes the Bruce Trail when she gets a few minutes. A homeschool graduate from a highly creative and entrepreneurial family, she believes we’d all be much better off if we pitched our television sets out the nearest window. LIFE AND WORK (BRIEFLY) Rachel began writing on scrap paper sometime around grade 1. Her stories revolved around jungle animals and sometimes pirates (they were actual rats . . . she doesn’t remember if the pun was intended). Back then she also illustrated her own work, a habit she left behind with the scrap paper. Rachel’s first novel, a humorous romp called Theodore Pharris Saves the Universe, was written when she was 13, followed within a year by the more serious adventure story Reap the Whirlwind. Around that time, she had a life-changing encounter with God. The next several years were spent getting to know God, developing a new love for the Scriptures, and discovering a passion for ministry through working with a local ministry with international reach, Sommer Haven Ranch International. Although Rachel was raised in a strong Christian home, where discipleship was as much a part of homeschooling as academics, these years were pivotal in making her faith her own. At age 17, Rachel started writing again, this time penning the essays that became Letters to a Samuel Generation and Heart to Heart: Meeting With God in the Lord’s Prayer. In 2001, Rachel returned to fiction, writing what would become her bestselling novel and then a bestselling series–Worlds Unseen, book 1 of The Seventh World Trilogy. A classic fantasy adventure marked by Rachel’s lyrical style, Worlds Unseen encapsulates much of what makes Rachel’s writing unique: fantasy settings with one foot in the real world; adventure stories that explore depths of spiritual truth; and a knack for opening readers’ eyes anew to the beauty of their own world–and of themselves. In 2003, Rachel began freelance editing, a side job that soon blossomed into a full-time career. Four years later, in 2007, she co-founded Soli Deo Gloria Ballet with Carolyn Currey, an arts ministry that in 2015 would be renamed as 1:11 Ministries. To a team of dancers and singers, Rachel brought the power of words, writing and delivering original narrations, spoken-word poetry, and songs for over a dozen productions. The team has ministered coast-to-coast in Canada as well as in the United States and internationally. Rachel began publishing her own work under the auspices of Little Dozen Press in 2007, but it was in 2011, with the e-book revolution in full swing, that writing became a true priority again. Since that time Rachel has published many of her older never-published titles and written two new fiction series, The Oneness Cycle and The Prophet Trilogy. Over 30 of Rachel’s novels, short stories, and nonfiction works are now available in digital editions. Many are available in paperback as well, with more released regularly. The God she fell in love with as a teenager has remained the focus of Rachel’s life, work, and speaking.

Book preview

Light in the Cell

And a light shined in the cell

And there was not any wall,

And there was no dark at all,

Only Thou, Immanuel.

Light of Love shined in the cell,

Turned to gold the iron bars

Opened windows to the stars

Peace stood there as sentinel.

Dearest Lord, how can it be

That Thou art so kind to me?

Love is shining in my cell,

Jesus, my Immanuel.

Amy Carmichael, from Toward Jerusalem

Daughters of Zion

THIS IS DEDICATED TO all my little sisters, natural and spiritual, and to those older sisters who are little to Someone.

Dear ones, hear these words. This is my burden for every little sister in the family of God, for all who are struggling to gain their footing in a world of shifting sands; who are so close to realizing that their refuge is under the covert of His wings, in Him who is the rock that is higher than I (Psalm 61:2). He sees the time spent in front of the mirror, time spent criticizing and covering up. He knows the questions you ask, the pride and insecurity you indulge in, the vanity that tugs at you. But underneath He sees a heart beating, a heart which He desires to fill with beauty until it glows in your eyes and laughs in your smile, until your soul weeps when He does and sings when He rejoices.

He knows the pain you try to hide. He has heard the whispered words that slapped you in the face, seen the betrayal of friends, and the little foxes that gnaw at your soul. He knows the dark secrets, the overcoming loneliness, the pain of nights spent crying into your pillow until you shake the bed, hoping no one can hear. And He is there; He is crying too. The sins committed against you were committed against Him. He shares your rejection and knows every tear intimately. The rain outside the window on so many nights is the grief of heaven coming down for you; the thunder declares His anger. Yet in all this His purpose stands; His love will win the battle. You are a masterpiece in the hands of a great Painter. The shades of black and grey, the shadows and dark places, must be painted so that the end result will have depth and meaning.

He knows, too, the gifts and talents inside you. He knows the joy of your personality and the greatness of your dreams. Oh child, God is the ultimate dream-spinner. The rainbow threads you surrender to Him will be woven into a tapestry you could not have imagined. But they must be given up; they must be laid down at His feet to do with as He pleases.

He is your beauty-maker, your tear-bearer, your dream-weaver. He is the mother heart that will never forsake you. He is the hearth fire to keep you warm, though storms rage outside. He will take you by the hand and teach you how to dance, when the music is sad and when it is joyful.

Someday He may walk with you down an aisle and give you into the hand of a chosen man. Someday He may witness with you things you always wished to see. Surely He will suffer with you; surely He will laugh with you. Some nights He will sing you to sleep, and some nights you will dance.

In you He is creating a lady, and in you He is creating a light. And one day He will claim you as His bride, and you will step over a new horizon and into a brand new world.

Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all thy heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.(Zephaniah 3:14,17)

Lights

DARKNESS IS A WEARYING thing.

We can only stumble around in it for so long before our eyes begin to weaken from the strain of trying to see, our feet grow tired of fighting to keep a steady foothold, our spirits are cast down for the lack of anything beautiful or good.

For many long years, there was nothing but darkness. Here and there a glimmer came through—in a fire on a mountain called Sinai, in the songs of a shepherd boy named David, and in the hearts of those who sought for something more than constant fog and darkness.

To a man called Isaiah came the word: "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:2, 6)

And so light came. It came in the form of a child, who grew to be a man who never lost His child’s heart. Light radiated from Him in the form of love that would not surrender to the forces of evil that buffeted Him. It came in the form of a soul so pure it was never once tainted by the stain of wrong motives or hidden pride. Those who loved light ran to Him. But not one left His presence without having been in some way wounded, because light will not leave one corner of darkness untouched; and we all have some black thing we would like to keep safely tucked under our coats, right next to our hearts, where nothing is allowed to touch it.

Some, having seen the light, took their precious blackness and cradled it close to themselves, whispering soothingly to it as they walked away. Others gave it to the Light-Bearer to be annihilated. Thus did the woman at the well, who exulted, He told me everything I ever did! So did Peter, as he wept after finally seeing what cowardice was in his own heart, and surrendered even his failure to God.

Christmas is a celebration full of light. Lights on the tree and on the telephone poles downtown, lights reflecting off the waterfront and glowing through windows. In our churches we light Advent candles and sing songs about goodness and grace.

This year the Christmas Child lives in the hearts of many. Many others are facing, like Mary, the implications of having the Son of God born in them.

Jesus no longer walks the earth as a human being, but He lives and works in many such creatures. The hands that do His work are human hands, the feet that walk His paths are human feet. But it is the same now as it has ever been: those who choose darkness will eventually meet their death in one of its pits; and those who choose light will be forever on a great journey toward purity, toward good, toward eternal Christmas.

It’s not always easy to be a light. People do not like to have their secret sins touched. You don’t always have to preach to expose things; sometimes just the fact of your being will bring conviction to others. And so it’s not your words that will be rejected, but your being.

Even so, it’s not always easy to walk in light. Sometimes the darkness looks better to us. Darkness gives us our privacy; it allows us direct our own paths, even if those paths inevitably end in snares.

When we’re walking in light we give up our right to darkness. We have no more right to be offended or angry; no more right to judge; no more right to live our own lives without thought to others.

Don’t forget, darkness is wearying. Privacy gets lonely. Anger becomes a bitter taste in our mouth. Living our own life becomes empty and pointless.

This isn’t a very Christmas-y message; there’s no tinsel or holly in it. But light is, ultimately, what Christmas is about. Not one of us got to be there when Christ first took a breath of our air. But if we walk in the light, we will witness the miracle of Christmas again and again—in our own hearts, and in the hearts of those we touch.

The choice, of course, belongs to you. Will you slip quietly off into the darkness, content to live half in and half out of light?

Or will you take another step on the High Road, the way of the Father of Lights?

One more step toward eternal Christmas.

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

THIS LITTLE-KNOWN CAROL was written during the Civil War, America’s bloodiest conflict. As brother killed brother and the horror dragged on, peace on earth seemed to be a hopeless dream. This year, some of us may feel the same way. But the promise of the Prince of Peace still stands.

I heard the bells on Christmas day

Their old familiar carols play

And mild and sweet the words repeat,

Of peace on earth, good will to men.

I thought how as the day had come,

The belfries of all Christendom

Had roll’d along th’ unbroken song

Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bow’d my head:

There is no peace on earth, I said,

"For hate is strong, and mocks the song

Of peace on earth, good will to men."

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:

"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;

The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,

With peace on earth, good will to men."

’Til ringing, singing on its way,

The world revolved from night to day,

A voice, a chime, a chant sublime,

Of peace on earth, good will to men!

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Thoughts on Unity

VERY FEW OF THE PRAYERS of Jesus are recorded in the Bible. The longest of them is found in John 17, and takes up all twenty-six verses of that chapter. It seems to me that this address from Son to Father ought to be of immense importance to us. As it was important enough for Jesus to say it and significant enough for John to record it, we really should give it some attention. This is especially true since the prayer is one of intercession, and we are the subject of it. Yet, surprisingly little is ever said about it these days.

Here is a portion of that prayer:

"Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

"That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

"And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one.

I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.(John 17:20-23)

This may well have been one of the last prayers John ever heard Jesus pray, for in the very next chapter, the story of Judas’s betrayal begins. At the very end of Jesus’ ministry and life on earth, He found Himself concerned about our future—specifically, that we would be united.

I can’t help thinking that He must be heartbroken by the attitudes of His people these days, and throughout history. Driving down Main Street in Anytown, U.S.A., you will find a Presbyterian Church on one corner, a Baptist Church two blocks away (with a separate Hispanic congregation which meets in the building after the English service—two congregations, and ne’er the twain shall meet), and an Assembly of God to finish the collection.

The community around them is being torn apart by loneliness, suicide, drugs, etc.; but the church can’t do anything about it. Each congregation is too busy keeping their members away from the other denomination down the road. Each zealously guards its own territory, pouring their energy into putting up walls between church people. On the mission field, many of the same things happen.

Is it any wonder that the lost do