The image above was generated by Imagen 3 via Gemini, while the featured image was generated by Jetpack AI.
This story is available on this site, Guarding Books.
Author: jevlir
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Excerpt from Guarding Books
So here he was, most of a rope length down the cliff, desperately trying to manage the rope and grab the sack that was lying on the ledge. Then through the partially loose mouth of the sack he identified the contents. Books! Each carefully wrapped in what looked like water resistant, oiled paper. -
One Who Restores Streets Lined with Homes
This is a short video representation of this passage from Isaiah 58, based on my slightly poetic paraphrase.
You’ll rebuild old, despairing ruins;
Isaiah 58: A Slightly Poetic Paraphrase
You’ll restore ancient, strong foundations.
You’ll be called the one who repairs broken walls
and restores streets lined with homes.I also reference my translation of the passage in my blog post on Psalm 119:105.
(Video generated by Adobe Firefly. Text added using Adobe Express.)
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Seeing Signs of the End
The young pastor was visiting his elderly parishioner. He was always a little intimidated when he went to this particular home. It was not that the man was hard to talk to. He was always friendly and even helped the conversation along. Rumor had it, however, that he had been a pastor of a very large church and that he had a doctoral degree in theology. Not that he ever mentioned it.
“So how are you doing today, Mr. Franklin?” asked the young pastor.
“Doing well, pastor!” he replied. He always used the title “pastor.” Never the young man’s first name, even though a couple of generations separated them.
“You always say that.”
“Well, at my age, being able to say that means it’s true!”
The young pastor didn’t know what to say to that. So he moved quickly on to the standard questions about children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. This was always a good way to eat up some time, and it was totally safe.
But as he was getting ready to leave, the young pastor made one of those safe theological comments many Christians make. “I guess as we read and hear the news today we can know that Jesus is coming soon. I imagine you can’t wait for that!”
A few moments of silence passed, just enough to make the young pastor think he had accidentally said something that offended the old man.
“Jesus is coming soon,” came the reply finally. “That’s always true. For me, what’s coming soon is my journey to go meet Him.” There was another pause. “But what the news tells me, pastor, is that God is in control. Always.”
“With all the trouble in the world, how could you say the news tells you that God is in control?” As soon as he said it, he regretted it. He was supposed to be the pastor, after all, encouraging, not frightening.
Mr. Franklin smiled. “The news always tells me that God is in control.”
“So when people are dying in floods, or have their homes torn up by tornadoes, or thousands are dying in war, that means God is in control?”
“Absolutely! I imagine you learned in seminary that God is always in control. We’ve all read the book of Daniel, for example, where God sets up kings and brings them down. Or perhaps Isaiah 45:7, where God says he is equally responsible for making darkness and light, well-being and woe.”
“Well, yes, but surely good news reminds you more of God’s action. I mean I really believe God is in control, but with some of the news, it’s harder to remember. But then I think that ‘wars and rumors of wars’ are signs that the end is near. That makes me feel better.”
“There are things it’s easier to teach than it is to believe, I mean to believe to the point you really trust them. God’s control is something like that. We say God is in control when things are going well and then we wonder where God is when things are going badly. When you’ve lived as long as I have, you’ve either discovered that God is always there, or you’re going to have a lot of fear in your life, and that’s no fun at all.
“It’s the same thing with signs of Jesus’ coming. As long as I can remember, which I’m sure you’re thinking is a long time, I have heard preachers pointing to bad things happening in the world and telling people Jesus was obviously coming soon because of all the trouble. They scoured their Bibles for signs so they could know what was going to happen next.
“Thing is, it never worked. It’s never going to work. The reason is that the one sign you need to see is simply that God is in control, and you’re God’s servant. Keep on working with that. When you get to be my age, you’ll realize how close Jesus has been to returning all the time.”
“I’ve been wanting to ask you about the end times, but I hated to admit I don’t understand everything about it. And here you’re basically saying you don’t have a roadmap either!”
“Yes, my PhD had to be good for something. The best thing it did was teach me that I really don’t know all that much.” He paused. “But in this case my education plus a lot of experience gave me some insight. You mentioned the news as a sign of the return of Jesus. You were surprised I would respond that God is in control. But you see, it is precisely in those times when things go wrong, when they come closest to seeming to fall apart that I see most clearly that God is in control.”
“I still don’t understand. God is in control when people are slaughtering one another in war?”
“Have you ever considered our great capacity as people bring on major disasters? It’s interesting to look at history, especially recent history and consider how much worse things could have gone. One of the things we don’t always consider is the depth of human depravity.”
“Depravity? I’m not sure people would like me using that word from the pulpit.” The young pastor looked thoughtful. “People don’t like to think of themselves as depraved. It sounds so dirty. Maybe ‘limited’ or ‘weak’, but not depraved.”
“But depravity, in a theological sense, simply means we have nothing to offer God. The problem is that when we put it that way, people think of themselves as OK, but not quite up to God’s standards. They’re pretty good, just not all the way good. But the reality out there is that we humans are really good at making a mess of things. When I think of the possibility of the Nazis getting the bomb before the allies in World War II, or the possibility of the superpowers destroying the world in the cold war, or simply the millions killed because we can’t get along, I have to realize that if something didn’t stop it, we could have destroyed everything. I wonder if that’s not what happened at the flood. It wasn’t that God destroyed everybody because he didn’t like what they were doing, it was because they were going to do that by their actions, and he chose to only intervene for a few. I don’t know, but it’s a thought.
“Still, for me, when I read the bad news and then think, and we’re still here, that’s when I am most reminded that God is in control.”
“OK, I think I see that. I’m not sure I can really feel it, but I see it.”
“Give yourself another couple of decades!”
The young pastor paused, then resumed. “I’m still wondering about the signs of the end-times. Aren’t these items of bad news signs of the end?”
“Let me ask you a question. If these are signs of the end, what are you supposed to do?”
“Well, I suppose I’m supposed to try to spread the gospel and help others. I’m supposed to be a witness.”
“And if they aren’t?”
There was another pause. “Well, pretty much the same thing.” He said it reluctantly.
“So what’s the purpose of knowing precisely how the end times are going to go? Hang on to Jesus if things are going well. Hang on to Jesus if things are going badly. Hang on very tightly if things are falling apart completely. And let me tell you, it’s hardest to hang on when things are all going well. You tend to forget!”
It was a very thoughtful young pastor who left that day.
(Featured image generated by Jetpack AI.)
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In One Sentence: Tired
He stopped, looking at the green grass beside a gently flowing stream, wanting to stop, to rest, but the words in his head said, “Keep going,” and he staggered on.
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Wanting
I want
More money
Better health
Longer life
Friendlier neighbors
Clearer mind
Stronger arms
Better planning
Stronger concentration
Deeper spirituality
Less troubles
More praise
…The Lord is my shepherd
I shall not want (lack).And yet …
(With due apologies to Psalm 23. Featured image generated by Jetpack AI.)
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I’m Just the Enforcer
“Because you failed to get a proper license for your stand, I have to cite you for operating it without a license,” said the official. He looked like his name could be “Official,” wearing a suit like a uniform and radiating precision.
“OK, so what’s the fine for that, and where can I get a license?” asked the young merchant.
“You would get a license from me.”
“OK, but what’s the fine, and how much does the license cost?”
“Oh, the fine is $200 per day, and the license costs $10 per day.”
“So if I can pay you $1400, and then $10 per day, I’ll be OK?”
“Well, no, you cannot purchase a license within 30 days of having been cited for not having one.”
“So I pay you $1400 and then wait 30 days to get a license and open a stand again?”
“Well, no. Once your stand has been in place for a week, which it has, you are required to give 2 full days notice before you shut it down.”
“So I’d have to pay the fine for nine days, and then shut my stand down, wait 30 days, and buy a license?”
“Well, no, once I’ve cited you for failing to get a license, and for operating without a license for a week, you can’t continue to operate. I’d have to cite you for that too. For that, the penalty is 30 days in jail.”
“And what is the penalty for failing to give two days’ notice before shutting down?”
“That’s from 30 to 90 days, depending on whether the violation is deliberate. And yours would be deliberate, because I just told you about the law, so if you stay here now, it will be a deliberate violation, and you’d certainly be sentenced to 90 days in jail.”
“So what should I do?”
“You should have found out about the law before you set up your stand.”
“But I didn’t know there were such complicated and contradictory laws!”
“Show some respect! I can also cite you for showing disrespect to our laws.”
“But isn’t there a way out?”
“A way out of the law?” The official looked scandalized. “Put your hands up on the back of your head.”
The merchant complied, but continued to complain. “But this doesn’t make any sense. There’s no way out, even paying a penalty.”
“That’s not my problem,” said the official. “I’m just the enforcer.”
(Featured image generated by Jetpack AI.)
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The Definitive Guide
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of any character to anyone past or present in the story to anyone in real life is purely coincidental. Copyright © 2025, Henry E. Neufeld
“Are you planning to cross through the mountains with that gear?”
Liranac, heir of a great Enzar family (in his own mind), and graduate of the University of Arkanal, with a Grand Master of Geography, turned to see who was addressing him in this manner.
He saw a girl, perhaps in her late teens or early 20s (it was so hard to tell with these weather-worn peasants) dressed in worn, drab clothing, and not all that well groomed. “Are you speaking to me, peasant?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said abruptly.
“Who are you to question me?” he asked trying to get the right tone of haughtiness into his tone. While he claimed to be part of an ancient Enzar bloodline, he faced the problem that the Enzar weren’t really about bloodlines, and nobody really remembered what an Enzar was in these parts. As for the great University of Arkanal, it was but a shadow of its former glory, or at least of the glory its faculty and students imagined it had.
“I’m someone who has traveled through the mountains many times. I rode through the mountains on my mother’s back before I could walk. I know the mountains.”
“These are the Zalenthan Mountains, are they not?” asked Liranac. He clearly expected a “yes.”
“We call them the Salens, if we need a name. Most of the time they are just the mountains.”
“You don’t even know their name, and you’re trying to tell me how to pass through them?”
“What good does knowing their name do? I’ve experienced their trails, their landslides, their avalanches. I’ve crossed their streams and climbed cliffs.”
“Why don’t you use the royal road?” asked Liranac.
“Royal road? There are a few ancient road markers, but no road that you can actually trave.”
“No road? You have to be lying.”
“It’s also very cold,” added the girl. “You don’t appear to have adequate cold weather gear.”
“The land north of the Zalenthan mountains is warm and borders the sea. In summer, passage on the royal road is easy. I will stay at inns at the various stops along the road.”
“There are no inns. There is no road. There are trails, rocks, occasional rope bridges, but often they are in such bad repair you can’t use them. You need warm clothing, camping gear, hunting gear, weapons to defend yourself from bandits.”
Liranac reached into his pack and withdrew a carefully hand copied volume titled, “Southeast Enzar Geography.” The original of the book, back in the university library, was at least a millenium old.
“This,” said Liranac, “is the definitive geography of this area. It shows a road through the mountains. It says there are civilized people to the north, though this area to the south is filled with ignorant peasants such as yourself. Now leave me. I am one who knows.”
The girl, Arinithar, descendant of mountain rangers and expert hunter and climber, shrugged and walked out.
Days later she recovered Liranac’s body from the bottom of a cliff. Well preserved in his backback was the definitive geography of the region. She could read it quite well. It showed a well-kept road running about where the cliff was. She remembered the earthquake that had rearranged the area.
“Definitive,” she said to herself, “is an interesting word.”
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Rules – A Haiku
Rules of proper life
Springs forth from gracious giver
Life freely nurtures.(With apologies to Psalm 119:124 and Psalm 1:1-3.)
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In One Sentence: Not Quite Patient Enough
Five minutes before the inspector arrived, Connor decided that he had waited long enough and went to bed and fell sound asleep.
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A Essay on Miracles
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of any character to anyone past or present in the story to anyone in real life is purely coincidental. Copyright © 2025, Henry E. Neufeld
“Mom,” said Jimmy. “Do we believe in miracles?”
“Well,” said his mother sl,owly. “I certainly do. Why?”
“I have to write a short essay for English class, expressing what I believe about a controversial subject. I’m going to write about miracles.”
“OK. So are you going to say that your mother believes in miracles?”
“I’m not sure. Tell me about a miracle you believe in.”
“Well, when the Israelites were slaves in Egypt, God sent plagues on the Egyptians so that they would let the Israelites go.”
“How long ago was that?”
“Well, I think maybe 3000 years or so,” said the mother slowly. She wasn’t sure.
“So before there was a United States. Before even Grandpa was born.”
“Well, yes. Long before that.”
“So have you ever seen a miracle?”
His mother thought for a moment. “Well, you are a miracle,” she announced triumphantly. She thought this would end the discussion.
“I don’t think that’s what the word means. How am I different from all my classmates?”
“You’re unique, just you!”
“But I came into the world in the same way that they did. I pretty much do similar things to what they do. If everything’s a miracle, there’s nothing to talk about. I’m looking for something impossible that you know happened in your lifetime. You said you believe in miracles. What miracles have happened to you, or to people you know?”
“Well, I can’t really think of anything. I’ve lived a rather ordinary life, well except for you.” She still hoped that talking about how important Jimmy was would divert him.
“I don’t count,” Jimmy said, startling his mother. “Not for this.”
“Has dad seen any miracles? Can he tell me a story of a miracle that he knows happened because he saw it?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never heard him tell about any.”
“What about Grandma and Grandpa? Have they told any stories of miracles?”
“I can’t really remember anything,” said his mother. She was really hoping this topic would go away. “Maybe you should try some other topic, like whether we should plant flowers along the street. People are arguing about that.”
“I want to write about miracles. It’s obvious we should plant flowers.” He paused. “So are there a lot of miracles that happen to other people?”
“Well, there are miracles in the Bible. There’s one about the sun standing still so people could win a battle. Then there’s the story of Jesus rising from the dead. We celebrate that every Easter.”
“OK, but none that happen to people like me, right?”
“I can’t really think of any right now. Miracles happen to people who are especially close to God. That’s why we have Bible stories about them. They were closer to God than other people. They were his special servants and worked hard for him and faced persecution.” She paused. “Write about something else. I don’t think you’re going to get very far with this one.”
“OK,” said Jimmy, and headed back toward his room.
The next day Jimmy’s mom found the copy of his essay. He had written about miracles.
Miracles are impossible things that still happen sometimes. Nobody alive has actually seen one happen, but we still believe that they happened a long time ago.
In old times, there were people who would work and work all their lives and get very close to God. They would learn all about God and do many important things for him. They were special people. These special people could do totally impossible things, because if you work hard and get close to God you will be able to do impossible things.
But you have to be really, really old too, because God doesn’t let people who aren’t old do miracles. They can’t do impossible things because they aren’t close enough to God yet and they haven’t worked hard enough. You also get miracles points if people try to kill you. God likes that a lot.
But you won’t see miracles now. They haven’t happened for years and years, at least since before my grandpa was born.
I wonder where he got all that, thought Jimmy’s mom.
Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
Psalm 78:1-4 (NRSV)
incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings from of old,
things that we have heard and known,
that our ancestors have told us.
We will not hide them from their children;
we will tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might,
and the wonders that he has done.