Moral Power

MaryBe, Are you in the Seven Day Adventist? I can see leanings toward this belief system in your writings. One must choose to live under the Law of Liberty by the Holy Spirit in order to walk with Christ. I only read some of the first two chapters. In this book, do you address the power of the Holy Spirit? We do not have the power in our weak humanity to live morally in God's standards.That is why it took Christ to die for us, so that He takes upon Himself our sin and we His righteousness. No matter what we do, we will always fall short of the glory of God. But through Christ we are empowered to become sons of God. Allow the truth to set you free. Those who live by the law is bound to the whole law. Jeri

Beautiful. Sin is missing the mark and falling short. And the Torah (Law of Moses) was given as a mirror for us to see our need for Grace. Well written and sound theological advice, Peter B.
"The Bible I Thought I Knew"

This is a very good companion book for anyone studying the Bible. It's very well written and edited.
I found it very interesting although I'm not familiar with the I Corinthians 4:20.
I don't believe that most people would need to read the Bible to understand Moral power.
You have dedicated a lot of time and thought to this book for the good of others and I wish you all the best.
Jesamine.

We no longer live under the law, but under Grace. We, and no one else in the Bible were able to live under the law, even with all the sacrifices.

Abby

Hi Mary,
This is a work of dedication, belief and inspiration.
Your passion for what you write comes across clearly and the information you have gathered and woven together is amazing.
I love how your book flows, it feels seamless.
Very well written and with no doubt at all, will be appreciated by many who are looking for guidance to deepen their own personal understanding and knowledge.
High stars and on my WL

Best wishes
Jessica

The World Through My Eyes

Mary,

I certainly can appreciate all of your hard work and dedication to the Scriptures that I have found in your presentation here. I can see why you would say that it is something that needs to be looked at in depth. There is a wealth of information given here. I think that it might be more effective if it were broken down to smaller concepts and having some personal applications added. I think that it would then be something that a person could not only look forward to exploring in the various concepts, but also relate to on a more individual basis.

All in all, I believe that God will certainly honor all of your hard work and dedication! I wish you the best!

Audrey Semprun AKA Ladypreacher
Crooked Places Straight: Straight Talk about Hard Places
The Back Track Conspiracies

Hello Mary,
I think that you have a great format for your book and it comes together in a very strong and clear way. Certainly this whole project is extremely well thought out and put together and I hope that you dont mind if I offer a few suggestions so that you could make it even more powerful.
I like the fact that you used Websters' definition of morality at the start which includes the idea that morality is set by a group. It is important that you have clarified that you are talking about the specific, Biblical morality of the first Christians. However, I think that a sentence on relativism here would strengthen your case. In other words it would be good to acknowledge that there are other types of morality and that you are specifically concerned with morality as outlined by the scriptures.
When you define the word 'excellent' it would also be a good thing to include the Latin root: 'excelsior' and give the defintiion which means 'ever upward'. I say this because this actually fits in to and enhances the themes that you are developing at that point.
I was very thrilled to see the definition of the word 'soul' that you have chosen because it is almost identical to mine and that gave me, personally, a real connection to how you work with the concept. I am also very much a person that emphasises that 'the kingdom of God is within'. So you had me eating out of your hand :o)
The references that you make to the prophets of the Old Testament with regards to the prophecy of the coming Messiah would be stronger with a couple of Bible verses that illustrate what you are saying.
Where you state that the law is summed in Loving God it would be good to state that it is also summed up in 'loving your neighbour as yourself'.
I have also developed the theme that you take up that our position as Christians is one to affect our relationships of the unGodly world and I think that this section could also be made more powerful with a few illustrations either from the Bible or from every-day life. Further on in, chapter four, this theme is continued where you write about carrying others faults being a means to solve one's own problems. Again this could do with more detail so that the reader is clear about what is expected in a few exemplary situations.
This is a very important aspect of the Christian walk and I would think that a bit more explanation would make your book so much stronger.
I have picked up a few important typos. For example. Where you write about the characteristics of morality the first condition that you describe is that of being UNclean. I think that you mean clean here.
There is also a sentence that goes: 'Principles have a development sense...' . Is that a developED' sense?
There is a sentence that says 'Adultery is a problem to people who lack moral principles...' Im not sure if that should be it is no problem or a problem for these people. There are a few of these things and you need to read through and catch them because they change a lot of the meanings that you are putting across.
There were a couple of places where you could have developed the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit a bit more effectively. Eg: In the beginning in the area where you are defining the words you state that the power behind a follower is 'a matter of their ability'. This sentence, in particular, needed the impact of the Holy Spirit to show the reader the way that they can experience the transformation. Further on (in the fourth chapter I think) you describe this transformation that a Christian experiences and label it being made new: again this really needs a reference to the transforming impact of the Holy Spirit.
Please do not get me wrong, Mary, this is a great book with a very intelligent and effective format. Your writing is very clear and your language is easy to sollow. You move from theme to them very fluidly and I think you have a winner here for an inspirational book.
Kindest regards, SteveSeven

Dear Mary...Your message to me of 8 days ago is filled with the love of Jesus and an evident desire to follow Him.

I have read through most of Moral Power. You are off to a good start and in a good direction. I would view this current rendition in Authonomy as draft two or three of maybe five or six drafts to reach a polished manuscript. I have rewritten and edited The Second Half of the Cross and The High Standards of God in the End-Times so many times I have lost count. I read that Tolstoy rewrote War and Peace six times before it was finished, and he was a world-class author by then.

Part of the joy of discovery in writing a Christian book is the privllege of a partnership with God in allowing Him to set-up the life experiences to shed light on what we are trying to articulate in our book. You certainly have a nice vision of what you want to say, and have exhaustive biblical references and research to complement each topic. So as a person who has had to work very hard just to get to the point where I could put two words together coherently, I would encourage you to keep writing, don't let anything or anyone discourage you, and allow Jesus to speak to you as you apply yourself to rewriting and editing this book that has a lot of potential. God bless you richly. Bart Jahn

Dear Mary you have meditated on the law of God as King David did. Indeed it is a delight. Your chapter on the 4th commandment I thought was very well written. regards David

Dear MaryBe: Oh my, what a much-needed book in an amoral world this one is! In this day and time when almost everyone sees "morals" as antiquated and out of style or, at best, as "relative", you are a remarkably courageous young woman to write the truth! I'm thanking God and praising Him for you and your book!

Your book shows, in addition to its obvious inspiration by the Holy Spirit, a lot of research, work, and concentrated effort on your part. I love the way you provide both Scripture sources and dictionary definitions of your terms.

Let me point out a few more spots that I really liked in your book: the sections in Ch. 3 on "A Person's Character" and "The Peace Morality Brings." In Ch. 5, (again, I admire your courage in writing this) you provided a beautiful contrast in your two sections: "Hell destroys the Soul" and "Jesus Replenishes the Soul."

The only suggestion I have is that as you begin your analysis of the ten commandments in Ch. 6 that you might include, either in Ch. 6 or Ch. 7 - or add a whole new chapter - "the God of Self".

The strength of the rest of your discussions of the ten commandments, Chs 6-15, rests in your backing up your ideas with specific Scriptural text. This gives your discussion the authenticity and "power" (smile) that is needed. Good work!

Ch. 16 provides an uplifting, lyrical, beautiful closure with the words of our Lord, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." Marvelous work, MaryBe, and a real testimony to God's truth and the need for developing moral character in a world strangely devoid of it. I'm sure God will use this to His glory and you and your manuscript have my prayers. pat

I'm curious to know how long it take you to put this book together? There's a lot of details here.
MORAL. you research and present this subject well

6 stars

Fantastic book! I highly recommend this book as it is powerful. I especially love the bit in chapter 3 where you said "moral thought comes from making small decisions and builds to correct actions" and of course all that you have to say about power. This is a wonderful tool for teachers fo the word too as it covers very important matters that people need to hear. I hope your book does really well. xxx

Mary,

I have read through chapter five of Moral Power and found what you have to say is delivered in such a way that it is excellent - just what Jesus would expect. You approach is methodical, easy to understand, and conveyed with a voice of patience and kindness.

Living right is something that is so overlooked these days that people don’t even realize that this type of honor is what is missing in their lives. When one lives righteously they have the power to influence others and make a difference in their little corner of the world.

I’m so glad you touched on 2 Peter chapter one. Procedurally adding moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love eventually leads to Christ-likeness.
In essence Peter is saying that we should spare no expense to add to our moral excellence. Like an athlete training for a triathlon we must give our all -if we expect to do anything excellent, it takes practice - every day.

I loved your chapter on power and like Margaret said, here would be the perfect place to say that our power comes from the Holy Spirit. That if we daily surrender our will, the Holy Spirit’s power is manifested in us to change our sinful nature into Christ-likeness.

I know a lot of people do it, but to me it is a little distracting when the writer inbeds their own interpretation within the text of scripture. I would much rather see the scripture as it is and then read the author's impression as a commentary below it. Just my opinion...

Thank you for spurring us on to excellence! Highly starred!

Dianna Lanser
Nothing But The Blood

Chapter three

“Diligently keeping faith with the promises God has given, people will began (begin) to develop virtue…”

Dianna,

Thank you for your detailed and insightful comment. However I do want to respond to your idea that I inbedded my interpretations in the scripture. Actually the interpretations inbedded in the scripture are a part of my Amplified Bible. I have quoted the BIble exactly with all punctuation. The interpretation inbedded in are not interpretations but amplifications, definitions and meaning explanations that the authors of the Bible have found to be relevant to the thorough understanding of the text. They have gotten the meanings from knowing the Greek and Hebrew translations. God bless you in your understanding of the Blble.
MaryBe

Mary,

I have read through chapter five of Moral Power and found what you have to say is delivered in such a way that it is excellent - just what Jesus would expect. You approach is methodical, easy to understand, and conveyed with a voice of patience and kindness.

Living right is something that is so overlooked these days that people don’t even realize that this type of honor is what is missing in their lives. When one lives righteously they have the power to influence others and make a difference in their little corner of the world.

I’m so glad you touched on 2 Peter chapter one. Procedurally adding moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love eventually leads to Christ-likeness.
In essence Peter is saying that we should spare no expense to add to our moral excellence. Like an athlete training for a triathlon we must give our all -if we expect to do anything excellent, it takes practice - every day.

I loved your chapter on power and like Margaret said, here would be the perfect place to say that our power comes from the Holy Spirit. That if we daily surrender our will, the Holy Spirit’s power is manifested in us to change our sinful nature into Christ-likeness.

I know a lot of people do it, but to me it is a little distracting when the writer inbeds their own interpretation within the text of scripture. I would much rather see the scripture as it is and then read the author's impression as a commentary below it. Just my opinion...

Thank you for spurring us on to excellence! Highly starred!

Dianna Lanser
Nothing But The Blood

Chapter three

“Diligently keeping faith with the promises God has given, people will began (begin) to develop virtue…”

Hi Mary – I have read your book! Your personality and your commitment to God and to His word shines through your book which is a joy and an encouragement to other Christians – like me! You are urging us to live up to our profession of faith which is much needed and, in the main, I did enjoy reading your book and learned from it.

One subject I found missing however was the Holy Spirit without whom we can never have moral power or keep the commandments. Perhaps an extra chapter about this? He is the power within us which will enable us to keep God’s laws – without His help we will fail every time!

I found I was distracted from fully enjoying your book by the fact that your work does not seem to have been proof read either by yourself or someone else. There are many grammatical errors or missed words which mean that sometimes the sentence does not make sense. I don’t mean to be harsh but it is such a shame to spoil your beautiful work with such a distraction. Examples of what I mean are as follows:

Chapter 2

The kind that is referred to in the definition of excellence is specified in the scripture verses is the soul.?

Of which the church members were now a part of

That gave his people the correction action with each

Chapter 3

People who have principles have a development sense of what is moral

Other more general comments are as follows - I did have a lot more than this but thought my comments shouldn't be too long!

I loved the part in chapter six about the Almighty God having control over everything while the other gods only ever claimed to have part of something.

In chapter 10 it might be an idea to include some practical examples for today about how we honour our father and mother.

Anyway Mary – well done for attempting such a subject and keep up the good work of following Christ and urging others on! God Bless you.

Obeying the Ten Commandments in 21st Century America - unfortunately this is often a foreign concept, even within God's own house. But I believe that there's soon going to be a revival of holiness in the church, and that the Lord will use you, Mary, to help restore His moral compass amongst His people

Your heart's cry is to live a life pleasing unto the Lord, and this comes through so clearly in your writing. I also appreciate your love for His Word and the many Bible passages that you used throughout your work.

I agree with some of the comments below that your book needs editing. But overall, I like the concept of your book and the research that you put into it.

Blessings,
Michael

Mary
Your book is not only a clear guide on the Christian principles but a vivid picture of how a faith in Jesus Christ is the true backbone for our morality. We are a weak and sinful people who can only achieve this morality by trusting in him who lifts us up by his love. Thank you for sharing these beautiful truths.
High stars
Blessings joy

Hello Mary, I saw your message and your compelling invitation to read Moral Power.

I took a look at the first four chapters and so far I find your work to be relevant, thorough and rich with teaching. At first, I felt I was reading perhaps a sermon, or speaking notes. Then I realized I was deep in what might be described as academic reference material.

The bottom line is that you've created a comprehensive reference on moral power and excellence of soul, and I can see this as a valuable resource for those who would teach these concepts. That said, the book doesn't speak in personal terms or engage the reader such that he or she might relate on a personal level.

Your book has merit in terms of the analysis and perspective it delivers. I don't see it as having wide commercial appeal, but I suspect that wasn't your intent.

I wish you success. God bless,

Steve.
"Something To Believe In"

Hi Mary, I went through several chapters and I understand what you are trying to accomplish. As a study, as a guide for people contemplating specific aspects that people struggle with, this is a fantastic road sign. I mean it as a compliment. I like your succint explanations, definitions, and the quotes to Scripture, for people to turn and read more about. I think it will make a wonderful desk reference for digging deeper into the moral challenges thrown at us daily. I enjoyed going through it. Great!
T. Donna Robison (No Kiss Good-bye)

My goodness, I needed this now! I am struggling with in-laws who are bad mouthing me to other believers because they don't accept my beliefs, and they are actually turning my stepson against me. The stress around here is unbelievable, and it is so hard to wade thru, and figure out what I should or should not be doing. The bible says rejoice when you are persecuted for His name's sake, but that doesn't mean it is easy!
Your book is a wind of fresh air. Thank you for all your hard work! It is written clearly and concisely. I haven't found anything wrong with it. I am putting it in my WL and six stars. Good luck with this!!!

Sincerely,
D. S. Hale
Jessup and the Teleporter

Interesting concepts, that I can see you have thought long and hard about.
In addition, I can see how much research you must have done and add the soul searching too.
I found this an interesting read and one I think would do well in the market you have chosen.
You have remained tactful, while still making your point.
The book is appealing and persuasive.
Well done.

Dear Mary,
Thank you for putting me on your watchlist. Our books have many similarities, I think, and I think that we can learn some stylistic tips from each other. For example, while I have received some high praise, I have repeatedly been advised to divide my work into smaller, more digestible sections as you have done. Meanwhile, I think you should set apart your Bible verses from the rest of the text as I have done, perhaps by indenting them, by using a different font size, or by putting them in bold. I would suggest indenting them, squaring up the sides of them (including aligning the verse citations to the right,) and adding dashes to set off the verse citations (for example, -- Exodus 20:7) These are all things I have done; it makes the work appear to run together less, and makes it easier to scan back to previous verses and maintain your place and train of thought.
Beyond that, forgive me, but this book needs a close, hard proof-read. There tends to be errors of the kind that creep into word-processed manuscripts, mostly in the form of words that accidently got left in or deleted when you rewrote a sentence. (Example from Chapter 7: “taking the words of Paul, people need to make God more important than money” The word “need” is missing.) However, there are also many errors in grammar and syntax. (Examples from Chapter 3: “as a person’s reads he or she . . .,” and “observing perfectly the law of Christ is to bear others burdens,” instead of “other’s burdens.” While I’m sure that many of these errors are careless oversights, I’m afraid that there are just too many of them, and an agent or editor will not stand for them. Also, I think that you need to consider editing with an eye toward streamlining many of your sentences. (Example from Chapter 7: “He [Paul] is instructing the church members to keep clear away from even avoiding by fleeing any idolatry.”) Mary, please, please do not be discouraged, but as constructive criticism, I am suggesting that you consider taking a couple of college-level English and Writing courses. I think you have some very good and very marketable work here. You have obviously spent a lot of time on it and done much intelligent study, and I’m sure that this book would be cherished by many people. However, if you want it to see the light of day, it is absolutely necessary that you present clean copy.
God Bless,
Eric
“The Second Symbol”

Hello Mary,
It is so refreshing to see the subject of biblical morality brought out in such a great study. The Lord obviously dropped a word into your spirit to display so many gems and nuggets of wisdom concerning morality. It's needed, especially for my generation of kids that got saved during the "Jesus Revolution" in the 60's. The young people of that generation rebelled against the ridged, over moralistic church of the day. We were brought back in by the word of "Grace" and God's love. We broke off the shackels of the heavy "Thou shall Nots" of the extremly judgemental mainstream Churches. God knew what it would take to bring this generation back in, but unfortunately, the pedulum swung too far the other way and we brough some of our rebellion with us which was a relaxing of the high standards of morality the Bible teaches. The next generation followed our lead and so forth, thus we see this relaxed standard everywhere.
This is great timing for your book and I pray that it is well received.
Stay blessed in the Lord as He furthers your writing career!
Lynn

MORAL POWER-

Hell Mary,

I came by to leave a brief comment over your work. I was initially drawn to this because I’ve found many of the “spiritual” books on this site to be very well done and tasteful. I’ve only encountered one that came across as “too preachy” in my opinion. I do find it hard to leave an in-depth critique over someone’s personal beliefs that may resonate and help someone on their own spiritual path. But I will tell you that the research, dedication, and love that you have poured into this is evident to the reader. I hope that it helps send a message of light to others and that you find the success that you want with this piece! Good luck to you!

Ashley
“Maddy Hatfield and the Magic Locket”

Dear Mary,

I’ve found that it’s quite difficult to convince most people about the differences between right and wrong, speaking purely from an ethical standpoint. Maybe, it’s because notions of morality and ethics are actually quite subjective. Or perhaps, they choose to ignore the truth in favour of their quest to get ahead in life. They’d prefer facts and would often require extreme examples to distinguish the light from the dark.

That said, I believe ‘Moral Power’ is an extremely well written piece of work that uses a rational translation of parts of the Bible to convey the most important message in life. It’s a must read for all, religious, spiritual or plain misguided.
The book deserves permanence and so I’m putting it up on my profile page instead of my bookshelf whose contents will often change from time to time.

There is great power associated with moral behaviour and action.
For me, it works on three levels.
One should never be afraid to stand up for what is right. One should never compromise with what is wrong.
And finally, one should never be afraid to love.
It’s something that’s rather difficult to preach and has only to be experienced. But it’s my belief that once a person has tasted the strength, peace and freedom that are derived from leading their life in this manner, there can be no going back.

Best regards,
AGC

Hi there,

This is a very interesting study. In terms of theme, I think you have chosen to explore a subject that few people really think, and regarding the actual writing, I think this book is stronger than your last. The ideas are well communicated and the format you have chose to use is easy to follow.
I only noticed a few errors, nothing major:
In the section when you talk about adultery, the phrase, “Those who mix up...” is a little long and confusing.
A little later on, I found that this error: “As a person's reads...” should probably be, “As a person reads...”

Very nice work, so far.

Dyane
The Eagle's Gift
The Purple Morrow

Mary - You've obviously put a lot of time in researching and writing this work. The style in the presentation is different from most of the pieces posted on Authonomy, so I am curious to see how it resonates with all the various readers here (there is quite a broad cross section of backgrounds here). Most of what I've found here so far with a similar objective, tend to use personal anecdotes or short stories as a mechanism to convey their message (e.g. Ronnie Johnson's 'Never play chicken with a mother hen'). That approach seems to work rather well, in that it is both entertaining (giving it a softer edge), while at the same time educational/uplifting. Others I've read break the work down into well-defined daily devotional segments, each with a specific central theme and a few captivating personal stories/anecdotes to round out the daily message. I personally find that kind of segmented approach to such pieces helpful in working it into my daily routine. That's Just a thought.

All in all, this has a lot of very good food for thought.
Best of luck with this, and God bless!

Steve
'Epiphany'