Monday, July 29, 2019

BOOK REVIEW: “Seventh Dimension - the Howling: A Young Adult Fantasy,” Five Stars from Readers’ Favorite Reviewer Romuald Dzemo


    BOOK REVIEW
Reviewed by Romuald Dzemo for Readers' Favorite




The Howling: A Young Adult Christian Fantasy is the sixth book in the Seventh Dimension Series by Lorilyn Roberts, a story told in atmospheric prose that follows the spiritual journey of a compelling character — Daniel Sperling. The Kingdom of God draws near and the spiritual landscape changes, with untold challenges and a prevalent culture of deception and evil. It is shortly before the arrival of the Messiah when Daniel receives a great mission. But he is shaken by a powerful revelation concerning the fate of his father. Follow him as he navigates great challenges, faces the horrors of the Day of the Lord and remains steadfast in his love for Shale and Shira. 



When the story begins, readers are treated to a wonderful racing experience, with Daniel competing against the ruthless Tariq in a chariot race that ends in a way no one expected. The religious symbolism of the race is beautifully captured and the reader immediately understands that time doesn’t exist in the spiritual realm — it is an illusion. I enjoyed the powerful use of religious symbolism and allusion, and the relationship between Daniel Sperling and Shale Snyder, a love so strong it continues to inspire the hero of the story and acts as an anchor for him. The author uses visions and supernatural experiences to lift the minds of readers and transport them from their immediate surroundings, just as the case of the protagonist. 

The writing is gorgeous and crisp and filled with wonderful descriptions, from action-packed scenes to emotionally rich encounters, to awe-inspiring moments of spiritual ecstasy. The Howling is a book that will inspire readers and make them look beyond their physical experience of pain to find delight in the hope of a spiritual world that could be theirs. Highly imaginative and skillfully written, the message can’t be mistaken and the reader feels compelled to be one of the Followers of the Way.
☦☦☦☦

To sample or order from Amazon, Kobo, Apple Books or Barnes & Noble, visit my website:  bit.ly/LRHowlingWord


Sunday, July 21, 2019

THERE SHALL BE TWO MEN IN ONE BED: Devotional by Lorilyn Roberts


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Luke 17:34 reads: “…in that night there shall be two men in one bed; one will be taken and the other will be left.” Recently I read that verse and I needed to think about it. Why did I not remember reading that before? Something seemed unnatural to me about it. When has it been a norm that two men sleep in one bed? Could that passage be signifying another sign of the end times—that it would be natural for men to have unnatural sleeping relations?



The passage disturbed me so much I went to a King James Bible published in the late 1800s to make sure the passage read the same way. To see God’s unchanging Word from a Bible over a hundred years old reminded me that no matter how much things around us change, God’s Word is unchanging.
In the last days, God has promised to reveal himself to those who are wise. When Jesus came the first time, he physically opened the eyes of the blind and shut the eyes of those who refused to receive him—the lost sheep of Israel. As the return of Jesus nears, discernment will be given to those who have the Holy Spirit. Their eyes will be opened.

Recently I watched a Youtube video, and a pastor made the same observation—he did not remember that verbiage. He wondered if it could be because of the Mandela effect—an event where many people incorrectly remember something from the past in the same way. 



Perhaps people had misremembered that verse. However, if God’s Word is unchanging, it must be because our eyes have been given more discernment.

In the United States, as of 2015, all fifty states allowed same-sex marriage. The boundaries between right and wrong and pure and profane have become blurred. In the Scriptures, profane usually refers to unnatural sexual relations.

2 Peter 3:3 states: …there shall come in the last days scoffers walking after their own lusts.”  The question becomes, if two homosexual men are in one bed and one man is taken and the other is left, why would God take one and not the other? 2 Cor 5:21 states, “For our sake he made him [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Homosexuality is not the unpardonable sin.

Luke 17:34 gives much insight into what the world will be like before the return of Jesus. His shed blood has freed us from the bondage of homosexuality and many other sins the Bible says will be rampant in the last days. 


Click to Tweet:  I always remember, the deeper my own sin, the greater the opportunity for God to show his amazing grace to me—and that same grace is available to all who repent and ask for forgiveness. 

Friday, June 28, 2019

BELIEVING LIES OF THE DEVIL - DID POPE FRANCIS REALLY SAY THAT: Devotional by Lorilyn Roberts



Many years ago I watched a movie about a pastor who did not believe in the infallible Word of God. The passages he deemed irrelevant he instructed his congregation to cut out of their Bible. By the end of the movie, the Bible was in rags, and when trials and tribulations came, those divinely-inspired passages that the people needed were no longer in their Bibles. If my pastor said during a Sunday morning sermon, “I think this Bible passage is wrong and I will change it to…” I’d be looking for another church.

In fact, anyone who tells me the Scriptures are flawed is not someone from whom I would seek counsel. We can only see through a glass darkly now, and while there are many things I don’t fully understand, I know God will make it all clear on the last day.

While the movie was a fictional example of how the serpent can cause deception in a leader’s understanding of Scripture, it’s even more treacherous when the leader is the head of the Roman Catholic Church and 1.2 billion Catholics. I’m referring to Pope Francis’s recent approval of the changing of the translation of the Lord’s Prayer given to us in Matt 6:13 and Luke 11:4: “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil…”

To quote Pope Francis: “A father [doesn’t lead his children into temptation]. A father helps you to get up immediately. It’s Satan who leads us into temptation. That’s his department.” The Pope’s new rendition of the Lord’s prayer to His followers is: “Do not let us fall into temptation.”

This stunning proclamation by Pope Francis leads to other significant questions that are at the core of the Gospel. Would a perfectly loving and Holy Father offer up His only begotten Son to be tortured, crucified, and killed as a sacrifice for humankind? Or what about when God commanded Abraham to offer up his only son Isaac as a sin offering?  

What kind of example is Pope Francis setting when he says the Bible needs to be changed to comport with his understanding of what Jesus meant?

https://amzn.to/2RDBYLG

Steve Cioccolanti states in his new book The Divine Code, A Prophetic Encyclopedia of Numbers, Volume 1 (Discover Media 2009-2019), “The devil knows that the worst thing he can do to you is to make you reject God’s Word and believe a lie instead (ch. 4).”

Examples abound in the Bible where Satan succeeded in his deception. Perhaps the most well known is in Genesis 2:17. The serpent asked Eve, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?’”

In another example where Satan failed, he misquoted Scripture when he tried to tempt Jesus three times in the wilderness. Jesus countered the serpent’s false accusations by proclaiming, “It is written…”

Steve Cioccolanti goes on to say, “There is really nothing for the believer to worry [about] once he or she knows his or her authority in Christ and uses the Name of Jesus in prayer (ch 4). ‘If you abide in my word, you are my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (John 8:31-32).’”

Romans 10:3 tells us we do not know the righteousness that comes from God and therefore we seek to establish our own. Isaiah 40:8 states: “…the word of our God shall stand forever,” and to quote Steve Cioccolanti in The Divine Code once again, “Jesus promised us victory over every stronghold not by praying against devils, but by putting God’s Word first (ch 4).”

The most precious thing we can touch and hold in our hands this side of eternity is God’s Word. Matthew 24:35 states, “Heaven and earth shall away, but my words shall not pass away.” By believing the Scriptures, all of them, even those parts we may not fully understand, we can escape any attempt by the devil to reject or retranslate God’s Word in a way we find palatable.

“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions” (2 Tim 4:3).
The Lord’s prayer means exactly what it says: “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” We can rest assured that whatever temptation we face, God will provide “the way of escape, that we may endure it” (I Cor 10:13).

Friday, June 21, 2019

WHY SHOULD I READ THE SIX BOOK SEVENTH DIMENSION SERIES? Lorilyn Shares Her Hope to Evangelize Teens and YA Readers for the Glory of God

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The Seventh Dimension Series Full Box Set includes The Door, The King, The Castle, The City, The Prescience, and The Howling. The Seventh Dimension Series has won over thirty book awards.

“Time is an illusion until God's appointed time,” is a major theme based on A.W. Tozer's quote in The Pursuit of God: “A spiritual kingdom lies all about us, enclosing us, embracing us, altogether within reach of our inner selves, waiting for us to recognize it. God Himself is here waiting our response to His Presence. This eternal world will come alive to us the moment we begin to reckon upon its reality.”

The two young protagonists, Shale Snyder, an American, and Daniel Sperling, an Israeli, meet in the Seventh Dimension—a reality outside of time. Shale and Daniel’s love for each other is conflicted over their opposing spiritual beliefs that seem irreconcilable. The story covers many years as the young couple mature, and the last book, The Howling, culminates with startling revelations concerning the future and Daniel’s missing father.
I weave together allegory and symbolism from the Bible, and the heroism of the protagonist is meant to inspire the reader. We are all heroes to someone or can be if we allow God to be first in our lives.

Love and forgiveness are virtues that both protagonists must learn. The Seventh Dimension Series begins in Atlanta, Georgia, but quickly moves to Israel. The reader soon finds himself in the first century, and stories from the life of Jesus Christ are woven into the plot. As the reader progresses through the story, he is exposed to many religions and worldviews including Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhism; and he goes on a memorable trip to heaven and hell.

Many relevant topics are addressed that young adults will have explored in school, among friends, or been exposed to through the media—evolution versus creationism, globalism versus nationalism, socialism versus capitalism, adoption versus abortion, and Christianity versus occultism. Spiritual warfare is a recurring theme, and there are talking animals, special gifts, and much more that I will let the reader discover for himself.

My goal is to make the reader think, ask questions, and consider the most important question of all—where will he spend eternity?  

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD ON AMAZON KINDLE FOR ONLY $9.99




Sunday, June 16, 2019

NEW RELEASE: “Seventh Dimension Series” Full Box Set Is Now Available from Amazon






📘📘📘📘📘



The Seventh Dimension Series Bundle includes The Door, The King, The Castle, The City, The Prescience, and The Howling. The Seventh Dimension Series has won over thirty book awards and is more than 1650 pages in length. “Time is an illusion until God's appointed times,” is a major theme in the series based on A.W. Tozer's quote in The Pursuit of God: “A spiritual kingdom lies all about us, enclosing us, embracing us, altogether within reach of our inner selves, waiting for us to recognize it. God Himself is here waiting our response to His Presence. This eternal world will come alive to us the moment we begin to reckon upon its reality.”

The two young protagonists, Shale Snyder, an American, and Daniel Sperling, an Israeli, meet in the Seventh Dimension—a reality outside of time. Shale and Daniel’s love for each other is conflicted over their opposing spiritual beliefs that seem irreconcilable. The story covers many years as the young couple mature, and the last book, The Howling, culminates with startling revelations concerning the future and Daniel’s missing father.
Reviewed by Romuald Dzemo for Readers' Favorite

The Howling: A Young Adult Christian Fantasy is the sixth book in the Seventh Dimension series by Lorilyn Roberts, a story told in atmospheric prose that follows the spiritual journey of a compelling character — Daniel Sperling. The Kingdom of God draws near and the spiritual landscape changes, with untold challenges and a prevalent culture of deception and evil. It is shortly before the arrival of the Messiah when Daniel receives a great mission. But he is shaken by a powerful revelation concerning the fate of his father. Follow him as he navigates great challenges, faces the horrors of the Day of the Lord and remains steadfast in his love for Shale and Shira. 

When the story begins, readers are treated to a wonderful racing experience, with Daniel competing against the ruthless Tariq in a chariot race that ends in a way no one expected. The religious symbolism of the race is beautifully captured and the reader immediately understands that time doesn’t exist in the spiritual realm — it is an illusion. I enjoyed the powerful use of religious symbolism and allusion, and the relationship between Daniel Sperling and Shale Snyder, a love so strong it continues to inspire the hero of the story and acts as an anchor for him. The author uses visions and supernatural experiences to lift the minds of readers and transport them from their immediate surroundings, just as the case of the protagonist. 

The writing is gorgeous and crisp and filled with wonderful descriptions, from action-packed scenes to emotionally rich encounters, to awe-inspiring moments of spiritual ecstasy. The Howling is a book that will inspire readers and make them look beyond their physical experience of pain to find delight in the hope of a spiritual world that could be theirs. Highly imaginative and skillfully written, the message can’t be mistaken and the reader feels compelled to be one of the Followers of the Way.
Reviewed by Ray Simmons for Readers' Favorite

Some of the greatest stories you will ever read can be found in the Bible. From beginning to end, that’s mostly what the Bible is, a collection of great stories. But there are always a few people who read those stories and think they can tell them better and can adapt them to a tone more suited to a modern reader. Usually, they can’t but sometimes they can. When they get it right, it is a thing of true beauty. That’s what you have in The Howling, Book 6 in the Seventh Dimension series. Lorilyn Roberts has taken parts from all over the Bible and woven them into something new, beautiful, and true to the spirit of the original. I like that it is written for a Young Adult audience. So many of the spiritual books seem to be targeted at older people. I don’t think that’s fair. Young people need spiritual works targeted specifically for them sometimes.

The Howling is the last book in the series and though I did not read any of the other books in this series, I have read other books based on this material, so I enjoyed The Howling as a stand-alone story. Having said that, I am probably going to go back and read the series from the beginning and in order. This is what Lorilyn Roberts suggests in the introduction. She assures us that though we get the main story, there is some back story and building blocks that might make a difference. I believe her, though I went ahead and finished this book. The characters were too engaging and the plot too intriguing for me to stop once I picked it up. I love this type of story and I loved this book. I think everyone will but especially those with a Christian background.
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Sunday, June 9, 2019

“HE SAYS, ‘BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD’” PSALM 46:10 (NIV): Devotional by Lorilyn Roberts




As I was prepped for my third round of proton therapy treatment, I reached up to grab the bars overhead. Once I was positioned, the technician said, “Don’t move.” He closed the treatment room door, and I waited for the cancer-killing machine to start. The equipment started and stopped over and over. My arms became spastic and tired. When the machine finally finished, I broke into tears. I hadn’t moved for two hours. Later, my daughter dropped off some cards from friends to encourage me. Among the cards was a Bible verse: “Be still and know that I am God.”

Click to Tweet Click to Tweet http://bit.ly/LR-BeStill While I never had to stay immobile for that long again, the discipline of being still showed me how difficult it can be in times of stress and uncertainty. #devotional #blogger

However, if we are still, God won’t need to shout to get our attention. We’ll hear his counsel even if he whispers to us in prayer or boldly speaks to us through others. When we have moments of quietness, we’re less likely to become overly distracted by the busyness of life. Being still and waiting on God will also help to prevent us from making costly mistakes. 

Because the tyranny of the urgent will consume us if we let it, we need to allow times of rest and relaxation. Many things can lead us astray or encroach on our lives unnecessarily. Quiet moments allow us to recharge—and that helps to keep us healthy, less stressed, and more content.

Prayer:  Dear Father, help us to be still when we need to be still, ready to serve when we need to serve, and the wisdom to know the difference.