Visions of Courage: Christian Short Story Collections, #1

By D. I. Telbat

VISIONS of COURAGE by D.I. TELBAT is Book 1 of his Christian Short Story Collections. It includes thirty-one parable-style, life-impacting short stories—stories of courage for each day of the month—to bring you examples of courage and strength that can only come from God.

These fictional stories—some short, some longer—are from D.I. Telbat's blogging years. They have now been arranged to encourage readers with a spiritual lesson to ponder each day for thirty-one days.

Visions of Courage is a 30,000-word collection, soon to be followed by Book 2, VISIONS of FAITH.

• Language: English
• Publisher: In Season Publications
• Release date: Nov 13, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393605997

D. I. Telbat

D. I. (David) Telbat is a Christian author best known for his clean, Suspenseful Fiction with a Faith Focus, which includes his bestseller and award-winning COIL Series, Steadfast Series, and several other suspense and End Times novels. He wrote his first book at age 14, and hasn't stopped since!Through David's weekly D.I. Telbat Newsletter, he provides free Christian short stories, or his Author Reflections, or his novel news. Many of D.I. Telbat's stories are about persecuted Christians—their sacrifice, suffering, and rescues.Getting into trouble with the law as a young man became a turning point in David's life. The Lord used that experience to draw David into a personal relationship with Him. Re-focusing his life for Christ, David now seeks to honor God with his life and his writing.David studied writing in college, and worked for a time in the newspaper field, but he is now doing what he loves most--writing and Christian ministry. When not busy writing Christian novels, you will find him teaching/preaching/discipling, and writing curriculum for Christians in the prison system.Though D.I. Telbat is currently living on the West Coast, he has kept his home office in the Northwest U.S. where his assistant, Dee, lives and helps with his research and editing needs.There is no redemption without sacrifice.

Book preview

2-False Charges

Note from the author: While working on my novel, Tears in the Wind, I came across some recent news on Christian persecution inside Sudan. The situation is terrible, and has been for many years. Let's remain sensitive to the needs in this difficult place, and pray for strength for those who are faithful in their profession of Jesus Christ as their Savior in this dark land. Even there, where Christ is held close by a desperate few, God still moves powerfully. This short story gives an example of how God is moving where the faithful endure.—David Telbat

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Akim al-Bashir walked slowly through the abandoned house of a family he knew to be Christian. In Sudan, they were called Nazarenes, after Jesus of Nazareth. As a special agent for the government, Akim had learned as much as he could about the Nazarenes—those who committed apostasy against Allah and Muhammad on a daily basis. Anyone in Sudan who converted to the Nazarene's faith was punishable with death according to Islamic law.

He thumbed through the pages of a notebook he'd picked up in one of the bedrooms. Someone had taken notes of Bible verses, as if for teaching purposes. Yes, when caught, these Nazarenes would suffer terribly as they died. These people weren't just believers in Jesus; they were teachers!

In a closet, Akim discovered a false wall panel. After removing the panel, he found the hidden space empty, but large enough to hold perhaps fifty Bibles. So, he had to assume there were fifty Bibles somewhere out there, scattered across this village and in the next city, all under his jurisdiction.

A police sergeant and three officers waited in the living room for his assessment of the missing occupants, and Akim's orders.

What will the charges be? the sergeant asked.

Under such crimes, Akim was given complete discretion. But religious crimes and their accompanying charges required extreme caution. After all, the government didn't want to create martyrs. That was why Akim was often called in. The right false charges, though believable, needed to be fabricated and filed. Under false charges of child perversion or sadistic violence, the accused party was often alienated by other Nazarenes, bringing universal condemnation. Thereafter, catching the Bible teachers was often immediate. Then, no one cared how badly the government treated the Nazarenes.

Using false charges, Akim had nearly wiped out the Nazarene population in several villages. It had taken ten years, but he had succeeded.

Except, Akim was struggling with this situation. His teenage daughter had been accosted at school a week earlier. The one who had come to her aid was the teenage son of the family in whose house he now stood. A Nazarene had saved the honor of his daughter. Did he owe the Nazarenes now? Not necessarily, but it did make him hesitate with the false charges. The Muslim population didn't help people known to be Nazarenes, but the Nazarenes were helping Muslims. This wasn't the first occurrence, but it was the first time Akim had benefited from the Nazarenes' love—his own daughter and his family had benefited.

The Special Branch will handle this investigation, Akim told the sergeant, referring to his own department. There are confidential elements to this case I cannot disclose. I'll deal with it myself.

"But the family could flee to the Nuba Mountains unless we do something tonight. We need to act