From the back cover: “Day of War is the first book in the Lion of War series–the intense, gritty, and stylistic portrayal of the Mighty Men of Israel, a ragtag band of warriors …”

And it delivers. Wow.

This is the REAL David, and the REAL Mighty Men. This is the warrior, not the watered-down, seeker-sensitive psalmist. DISCLAIMER: Don’t read this if you can’t stomach a graphic, brutal–and realistic–account of true warriors.

This well-researched, well-written look into the daily life of warriors in 1000 B.C. is a great historical fiction account of biblical armies and King David’s mighty men. Written by author and US Army Chaplain Cliff Graham, it’s an excellent peek into warrior culture. I had the pleasure of interviewing Cliff, and I asked him what was his hope for this series:

It was my prayer and burden that men would see the fire in the Scriptures. That they would see that it was more than just Jesus petting lambs or a soft-faced David with product in his hair strumming a harp. I didn’t want to create a dumb, macho image of Biblical battle, but a real portrait of suffering, hardship, and honor, themes that I think men resonate with.

Above it all, I just want to tell the truth about what haunts the hearts of men, both good and bad. No kid gloves, just raw, gritty honesty about our battles as a gender.

Day of War tells the story interwoven between the scripture accounts, the one that I had always imagined as a boy, the one I had always hoped was there. Graham was able to create a convincing and historically accurate back story as seen through the eyes of Benaiah, one of David’s Mighty Men. It gives the writing a personal perspective that is missing from many other historical accounts.

From the routine down times, where joking, horseplay, rumors and grumbling are the norm, to the bloody realities of battle, Cliff Graham describes a military lifestyle that remains unchanged even though the weapons and uniforms have changed. His action sequences of graphic battles against the enemies of Israel are riveting and realistic. I couldn’t decide what I enjoyed more: the action sequences, or the portrayal of these warriors as spiritual men who took their relationship with God as seriously as their relationship with each other.

Graham, in reply to how his military service affects his writing:

I think it has given me an ability to glimpse into the soul of warriors. Each man faces battle differently, whether it is internal struggle or outward conflict. Becoming and then serving as a soldier has put me around a lot of different types of men from many backgrounds, united by their desire to put themselves in harm’s way for the sake of others.

As the first book of a series, Graham hints that there is much more to come — shadowy angelic (demonic?) messengers; talk about “the covering,” a supernatural power and protection; the internal Hebrew struggles between King Saul’s army and David’s army … it all made me excited to get on with the next installment, Covenant of War. In fact, I’m going to go download it right now… use the link to buy your own copy from Amazon.

I wrote this review for Third Option Men. I am doing a book giveaway this week, so go to this link and leave a comment–you could win a free copy of Day of War

Heartfelt.

Selfless.

The Project

I am a huge fan of Chris Telfer, who has been a friend since we met in Peru years ago. He’s a musician whose music has so much impact and heart in it, you can can’t just sit and listen without being affected. But his latest project shows off another side of him, his honor and selflessness…

In the last year, he’s created an EP album called “I Am A Mattoo.” MATTOO is an acronym for “Man Against The Trafficking Of Others,” and for this project he is contributing 70% of the proceeds directly to MATTOO, an organization who is committed to ending human trafficking by ending the demand: Through awareness and education of men, who provide the demand for the supply of sex trafficking around the world.

The Issue

According to the UN,
- An estimated 2.5 million people are in forced labour (including sexual exploitation) at any given time as a result of trafficking.
- The majority of trafficking victims are between 18 and 24 years of age.
- An estimated 1.2 million children are trafficked each year.

Let that sink in for a while.

This is not just a third-world issue or a Asia issue or Eastern Europe issue. This is a world issue.

The Music

Chris’s style is soulful, funky, folksy, guitar-led, word- and message-driven music. That’s the best way I can describe it. And both his style and message are really coming to focus with this album, which is his best work to date. He has really put his best stuff into this album, and it shows. I am super proud to call Chris (and his wife Jenny) friends…

The Call to Action

I know this is a huge departure from my regular blog fare, but I believe in this cause and Chris’s work, and if it causes me to alienate a few readers, it’s worth it.

If you believe in supporting an organization that is doing something about human trafficking, and enjoy listening to excellent, soulful music by an independent artist, pay the $5.94 for this EP. It’s nothing to most of you, yet it can make a difference in someone’s life. Click here to purchase the EP from iTunes and make that difference. I Am A MATTOO, by Chris Telfer.

Video of the Week

I knew this was coming… swarms of nano-helicopters. Keep your terrorists and third-world dictators indoors…

Video of the week runner-up:

Video of the week 2nd runner-up:

Video of the week 3rd runner-up

Best news story of the Week

BBC News – Boy’s football lost in tsunami found in Alaska

or this:

Paralyzed Football Player Drafted by Buccaneers

C.T. Studd was born in 1860 into a wealthy family and attended Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge. But he gave up all of that privilege and wealth to live a life of faith on the mission field. In 1915, having pioneered the Heart of Africa Mission (which is now WEC International), he wrote a pamphlet entitled “Christ’s Etceteras” to inspire Christians to recognize the urgency of evangelizing the nations for Christ.

Here are some excerpts from Christ’s Etceteras. Sign me up!

The command of Christ settles the question once for all for every Christian as to whether the whole world should be evangelized or not.

The prophecy of Christ that the Gospel should be preached in the whole world for a testimony unto all the nations similarly settles for ever the question as to the possibility of its accomplishment.

It is also evident that the whole world cannot be evangelized in this generation or even in this century by the present methods and existing forces.

There remains yet very much land to be possessed, and many peoples therein who have never even heard the Name of Jesus Christ. Consequently unless some NEW HEROIC EFFORT is made by God’s people entailing great sacrifices, great faith, and desperate courage, the evangelization of the whole world in this and several future generations is a patent impossibility.

Here therefore are 3 Undeniable Facts :

1. The evangelization of the whole world has not been accomplished.

2. It ought to be done.

3. It can be done.

WHEN?

The answer to this question is surely unmistakeable.

TO-DAY!

For this purpose we have banded ourselves together under the name of “CHRIST’S ETCETERAS,” and invite others of God’s people to join us in this glorious enterprise. Existing Missionary Societies and Missionaries we gladly recognise as GOD’S SOMEBODIES.

We are merely CHRIST’S Nobodies, otherwise CHRIST’S ETCETERAS. We rejoice in, and thank God for the good work being carried on in the already occupied lands by God’s Regular Forces. We seek to evangelize only such portions of the world as are at present unevangelized. We seek to attack and win to Christ only those parts of the devil’s empire which are beyond the extremest outposts of the regular army of God.

Its Object:
The speediest possible fulfilment of the command of Christ to evangelize the whole world by a definite attempt to evangelize the remaining unevangelized parts of the earth. Rom. 15:20, 21.

Making it our aim so to preach the Gospel not where Christ was already named, that we might not build on another man’s foundations, but as it is written: “They shall see to whom no tidings of Him came, and they who have not heard shall understand.” Its Prayer:

Its Convictions:
I. That the evangelization of the world is capable of accomplishment in the near future, if Christ’s people are willing to devote themselves to this glorious achievement.

II. That in no other way can the command of Christ be fulfilled by this or any other generation.

III. That failure to fulfil this command of Christ spells eternal disgrace to the Christianity and Manhood of this generation of Christians. “No man,” said Archbishop Temple,”has any right to be called a Christian at all unless he is working up to the hilt to promote, by all means at his disposal, the fulfilment of Christ’s Command to Evangelize the World.”

If we seek first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness we have the word of Christ that God will supply our needs. If we degenerate into seeking anything else, the sooner we cease to exist the better for ourselves, for the world, and for the cause of Christ.

An Etcetera Evangelist is one called of God to go forth to evangelise in some part of the unevangelized world at all costs and risks. He counts not his life as of any account dear unto himself. Difficulties, dangers, and death have no terror for him, but are rather his native element in which he flourishes and rejoices. He cares not to save his own life, but those of others, as His Master saved others but not Himself. He rather seeks to lose his life for Christ’s sake that Christ may find it for him.

He is A MAN of GOD and not a child of men.

He is not the salaried servant of the Etcetera Committee.

He is the Servant of Jesus Christ with Whom he has settled terms of agreement already. He knows no other Master. He looks to Christ only for payment of such agreed salary, and not to the Committee, although God may choose to supply his needs in whole or part through the Etcetera Committee.

He has not the ghost of a doubt about God supplying his need; he carries the Cheque-Book of God with him always, and has no fear of the cheques being dishonoured.

Now, once again, and for the last time. THIS WORK OUGHT TO BE DONE, AND IT CAN BE DONE, but only by God Himself working through men and women loving HIM supremely, utterly abandoned to HIM, trusting HIM wholly, enthusiastically and joyfully desiring to run all risks, to stop at no cost, to fight against all odds, to live and to die to crown HIM King. Too long have we been waiting for one another to begin! The time for waiting is past! The hour of God has struck! War is declared! It can only end with the destruction of Satan’s kingdom and the Coronation of Christ.

Who will enlist for Jesus Christ today, to fight to a finish, to crown HIM Lord of all the world?

Had they but the chance, every saint and angel would enlist at once! Where saints and angels desire, but are unable to tread, fools for Christ’s sake have liberty to rush in. Christ rejects not fools, nor weak, nor ciphers. Someone must begin. So here goes.

“I will! Set down my name, Sir.”

I love this guy.

I have ideas, visions, dreams, and plans cross my mind and my desk every day. Many of these are prime opportunities for businesses or ministries that could have big “returns on investment”–spiritually as well as financially. Others are great ideas that need smart and innovative implementation. Others are long-term dreams that will need years of development and fostering.

The thing I am searching for daily, however, are people who are willing to roll up their sleeves, put in 12 hour days, take on a second job, and see a project through to completion. Someone who can take the initiative to make hard decisions, take risks, and work independently to see a dream become reality.

None of these great ideas will come to reality through magic. None of them will materialize out of thin air from desire and passion alone.

I’m looking for some people who aren’t afraid of getting their hands dirty and breaking a sweat.

So what is so hard about hard work? Why does it put people off?

It hurts.

Simply put, hard work hurts. It’s going to make your muscles ache. It’s going to raise your stress level. You’re going to have to get up early when you’d rather be sleeping. But we must look ahead to our goal, and realize that the aching muscles and the headaches will all be worth it when we enjoy the “fruits of our labor.”

Here is where our heart, our motivation and self-discipline, have to kick in. Can we keep working once we have a setback? When we are out of breath and out of strength?

I was taking a hike with some friends this past weekend and there were sections of the trail that were plain hard. Rocky, loose soil, steep incline, hot sun … I was was sucking wind. There comes a point where you simply have to will your feet to move up and down. Pick ‘em up, put ‘em down.

It would be easier to just stop…

You’re going to want to stop.

One thing you’ll find with hard work: There will be multiple opportunities to pack it in.

“Why don’t we just extend this break a little longer?”

“You know what? …it’s just not worth it. Let’s stop.”

“I can’t go on any longer…”

Sometimes our heart has to override our head. Sometimes the smashed thumb, instead of giving us an excuse to quit, can remind us what it’s like to be alive. Sometimes working through the pain becomes part of the journey.

It’s going to take a long time.

This may be the hardest part. The wait. The consistency. The monotony. When someone says the word “commitment” to you and you start to think in weeks and months… there may be a problem. Commitment means you’re in for the long-haul. So that means if the project takes a year, you’ll stick with it. Hey, if it is something you believe in and enjoy, and you are continuously making progress, your “hard work” may take a lifetime.

But trust me, …

Hard work pays off.

I won’t lie–it’s going to be hard, you’re going to want to stop, and it’s going to take a long time. But if you’re willing to put in the hard work, there will be a payoff. Always. You may see the result in a successful business (money), a successful ministry (people), or maybe your reward will come in knowing you can complete a hard task until it’s completed.

But now, on to the festivities:

Album of the Week:

Desperation Band’s new album, Center of It All is a brilliant addition to their portfolio. Soaring worship tunes are the hallmark of this album, just what you need for some one-on-one time with God.*

Blog Post of the Week:

The Most Important Publishing Platform by Jeff Goins at goinswriter.com

Webpage of the Week:

The interactive map of the National Museum of the United States Air Force provides an amazing walk-through of some of the coolest aircraft on the planet. “Immersive” doesn’t even begin to explain it. If you can’t go to Dayton, Ohio in person, this is the next best thing. (P.S. Unless you can’t help it, don’t go to Dayton, Ohio.)

Book of the Week

Day of War, by Cliff Graham: I’ll be writing a full review on it soon, but if you don’t want to wait, you can check it out now. *

News of the Week

Muslims Offer Mosque to Church for Easter Service

Video of the Week:

Take the time to watch this, you won’t regret it.

Caine’s Arcade from Nirvan Mullick on Vimeo.

*Affiliate links

We are working together on a project and he was visiting Mijas, Spain, where I live and work. I was explaining to him how blogging for me isn’t as easy as it is for him and people like Jeff Goins. I love to speak, I love to teach, I love to counsel… but writing, as in posting blogs, is excruciating.

Don’t get me wrong, I have great blog ideas and sometimes I can even write well. But consistent, quality writing is tough.

In fact, I’ve got some great ideas inside me right now that need getting down on paper. But that usually takes a night to get my initial thoughts down, a day to let it simmer, than another night of writing, then editing, then a day to procrastinate and find a nice photo… and by this time I’ve lost the fire and three subscribers.

So forgive me. The blog posts will still keep coming, and I there is much I still need to say… but it takes time.

Any advice for someone who is only pretending to be a writer?

How about this…

And it’s dusty. My contact lenses don’t like the heat or the dust and I’ll probably have to change them out tonight.

And it stinks. There are columns of smoke behind me from the fires where someone is burning trash and human filth. It smells like nothing else on earth.

But I’m not worried about the heat, the dust, or the stench.

I can feel the compression of my vertebre under the weight of body armor, gear, radios, ammo, and water. About 50 pounds, I think–but this is a short patrol and we aren’t taking packs, so at least that’s a bonus…

But I’m not worried about the weight of my gear.

What worries me are the machine guns that are trained on me and following my patrol’s every step.
Photo Credit: Ash Clements

I’m in the no-man’s-land that separates Iraq and Syria, looking for “rat-lines:” small paths and hideouts, sometimes in mini-canyons that have been cut out of the dirt by torrential rains, used by smugglers and foreign fighters to get into Iraq without being seen. My team’s job is to cut off the flow of foreign fighters into Iraq, using any means necessary.

But the Syrian border guards that watch over the no-man’s-land don’t like the fact that I’m there. Maybe they get a kick-back from smugglers or terrorists. Maybe they take their job seriously and don’t want some American patrol wandering into Syrian territory. Maybe they would just love to have a story to tell their kids how they showed the Americans who was really in charge in the desert.

I don’t want to be part of that story.

So my men and I get out of range of the machine guns. Quickly.

I’m brought back to that scene often as I think about men and women who believe they are committed to do hard things in this world. Maybe they’ve heard the call to serve: They’ve been moved enough to sign on the dotted line and dedicate their life to a higher calling. Maybe they’ve geared up–they’ve been through training and they’ve got their equipment. Maybe they’ve made it to the front line…

But there’s still a no-mans-land to be crossed.

And that’s usually the hardest step to take.

It’s going to be dangerous, it’s going to scary, and we might take casualties. But the no-man’s-land must be crossed in our lives. It’s the obstacle that awaits us any time we decide to follow our mission and dreams. It takes on many shapes and sizes.

Sometimes it takes the shape of criticism. I get it—it’s hard to keep following our mission if we can be offended by criticism or verbal opposition.

Some times the no-man’s-land is difficult terrain. Our mission may include a challenging task or a hard duty. Unfortunately, we don’t have the luxury to disregard our given mission.

Some times the no-man’s-land is full of enemy trenches. We could receive active resistance from the forces of darkness: sickness, death, fear. However, we still must fight, encourage and strengthen each other, and advance the line.

We’ve all got a no-man’s-land to face. But let’s commit to not be afraid of the unknown or from doing our duty.

What do you need to face?

I apologize for the lack of blog posts these past weeks. My life is in a [good] transition phase and I have many options I can pursue as I move forward. I’ve let the multiple options, and the multiple tasks, lock me into a state of inaction.

Photo Credit: Will Ockenden

Teaching in Africa, writing a blog, raising a family, working on websites, learning Spanish, and running a non-profit give me a lot of things to work on throughout my day.

So why do spend so much time on Facebook or Words With Friends?

Why don’t I study my Spanish or finish my website projects?

I feel paralyzed by my options.

In the western world, we are told we can do anything, or we could be anyone, we want to be. For many of us, that’s just too much pressure.

Maybe we should focus on doing something, not anything.

New options, new directions, or new opportunities are presenting themselves daily. Do we let them stop us? Do we let them confuse us and wonder “What is God trying to do to me?” Maybe he’s giving us the choice to choose. But we must choose. We must not let too many options lock us into “analysis paralysis.”

So I fight everyday to do things I need to do.

I focus and remove distractions.

I limit time on Facebook, “apps,” and random surfing.

New opportunities should encourage, excite, and invigorate us… not slam the brakes on projects we are already working on.

You must start a new non-profit.

And here’s four reasons why:

Photo Credit: GS+

1. Even though there is another non-profit that is practically identical to your idea, you don’t like their logo/their location/their board/the 7th point of their statement of beliefs

The “market” can handle an infinite number of non-profits. So feel free to start one on a whim. Because it’s cheap to file, and hey, everyone loves getting tax deductions. And that whole “synergy” is overrated.

2. Because you like starting from scratch with zero.

Zero resources.

Zero momentum.

Zero employees/volunteers.

Zero connections.

3. Because you are smarter than just about everyone else out there.

The thing about working for someone else, or serving their non-profit, is that they are going to try and tell you what to do. And who needs that? You’re smart, right? And none of us need to learn from others that have already done the hard work and have the experience. And anyway, you already have a lot of knowledge on non-profits….

4. Because you bought Non-Profits for Dummies at Barnes & Noble.

Everything you need to know about running a non-profit, from tax rules to creating a board, to marketing and fundraising, are already covered in excellent books. And you’ve read them cover to cover, and that’s enough.

What have I missed?