Venturing to Other Worlds

As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ…Ephesians 4:14-15 (NASB)

I’ve been asked a few times now why I would want to write stories like Not Guilty and Tokens of Promise. Can’t I just write Bible studies or devotionals, or if I have to write fiction, maybe I could write nice little stories about happy things?  People seem to believe that Christians are only supposed to talk about “godly” things and leave the “worldly” subjects to non-believers. My premise is that that’s exactly why the world is in such a mess today. We have closed our eyes, or buried our heads in the sand for centuries and have meekly handed our children’s generation over to Satan’s dominion through their books, television, and music. Because we won’t talk about such things, we have given him free reign in all these arenas. When are we going to wake up? Jesus never sat up on a high horse and looked down his nose at the world. He walked through the land and touched everyone he met at the point of their need. He met a woman at a well shunned by all her contemporaries and had compassion on her. He lifted a woman taken in the act of adultery out of her sinful estate to become his devout follower. What good does it do the world to write a thousand books on Bible study and prayer if the only ones reading them are the ones already safely in the kingdom? These do have a place, I certainly don’t deny that, but I want to reach people for Jesus! And the only way to do that is at the point of their need.

But you write about subjects like rape and abortion and physical and sexual abuse! Yes, I do.  These are just a few of the subjects I think Christians have neglected for far too many centuries. Rampant divorce even in the church, child abuse and neglect, alcoholism and drug abuse, and many other societal ills have resulted from our refusal to take a stand for Christ on these sensitive issues, not in anger or hatred, but in lovingly teaching the truths of God in all areas of life. Think about it. Have you ever heard the story of Tamar and Judah, or Dinah,or the other Tamar and Ammon preached in a sermon? Maybe you have heard the story of David and Bathsheba, but was the emphasis on the rape itself, or on David’s confession, repentance, and redemption afterwards? I’m sure you’re thinking, “but we all know rape is wrong.” If that’s true, why is date rape so prevalent and hard to prove? Why do most men today think sex in a dating relationship is their right?  Read Genesis, or 2 Samuel 11, or 13, or many other passages, and you’ll see that the Bible never considers these to be “ungodly” topics not worthy of discussion. So why do we?

I actually heard Oprah say recently that God has no interest in what goes on in our bedroom. And no one challenged that statement. Obviously she hasn’t read the Bible. God destroyed Er and Onan for what happened in their bedroom. He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for what was going on in their bedrooms, and if we don’t begin to speak out, we may be next! I am so grateful for a publisher like HopeSprings Books.  They’re not afraid to speak out, and share God’s truth even on “ungodly” and “worldly” topics that most Christian publishers don’t dare to touch.  God truth is the same, yesterday, today, and forever. It hasn’t changed. If we care about people at all, we need to speak the truth in love so that our children can truly be set free by the One who is all Truth

God bless you,

Teresa Pollard

To get to know Teresa’s characters, check out Tokens of Promise, released June 2013 and available for purchase at amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.

“Beware, Prince of Hebron, her witching ways are strong.” Ben Qara’s evil words still rang in his ears. Judah is sure he was bewitched by the beautiful Tamar. She is all he can think about. But no, it must not be. He will not break his vow to Yah. He already has a wife, and he will have only one. Tamar must marry Er.

Rescued from disgrace by the handsome Judah, Tamar is already in love with the kind stranger. She eagerly followed Emi’s advice on how to win him. It almost worked. He’d promised. If only his servant hadn’t come at that moment, she’d be his wife now instead of going home with him to be his daughter-in-law. Why had her father agreed to this? Surely he could see her destiny was with Judah?

Teresa Pollard is from Richmond, Virginia, and was saved at a young age.  She has a Masters degree in English and Creative Writing from Hollins College, and has served as a Sunday School teacher and children’s worker for most of the last forty years.  Married for forty years, she was devastated by divorce and the death of her youngest daughter, but God has blessed her with a new home and another grandson, and she now resides in Dacula, Georgia.  Her website is TeresaPollardWrites.com.

Winners of recent giveaways include Erin Unger (chapter critique) and Clint Hall (copy of Hear No Evil by Mary Hamilton). As always, thank you for hithering and venturing to another world with me. Please visit again next week when I’ll interview Laura Jackson, author of Worth the Wait.