Angling Admonitions


Book Description

Contained in this book are one hundred and fifty “fish tales” from fifty years of fishing, shared by an avid fisherman who has also spent the last fifty years fishing for men as a small-town pastor in New England. This accounting of passed fishing trips and fish caught reflects on the spiritual application to the techniques and tactics using in fishing for trout and salmon, and a few other species of fish, to the biblical application for people Jesus called “fishers of men”! In each of these short stories, Pastor Blackstone reveals to his reader the wonderful blessings that come from leading someone to a saving knowledge of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The author is convinced that Jesus deliberately chose fishermen to be his earliest disciples, men he would call “apostles,” because those Galilean fisherman had the necessary characteristics and qualifications to teach (cast) his gospel and to share it with the multitudes. It is the hope of the writer that this book will not only be of interest to someone that fishes, but ultimately will be found profitable to anyone that wants to share his or her faith in Jesus Christ with others.




The Uttermost Part


Book Description

Pastor Blackstone is once again on a spiritual journey to the subcontinent of India. His primary purpose for going is a three-week teaching ministry at Kerala Baptist Bible College, but his real reason for going is a secret missionary trip into northern India. As with his other books about India, experience the insight and inspiration Pastor Blackstone gets from a monsoon storm, a bed and breakfast in a cardamom forest, a woman beggar, a little girl named Nana, a prophet's chamber, a hike up Kerala's highest mountain, a chance to pick a pineapple, a lady riding a scooter sideways, a mountain goat, a flower that only blooms once every fourteen years, several elephant sightings, a new house church, an opportunity to teach five young students a Gospel song, American meals in India, a book about Israel bought from an Indian traveling bookseller, and a train ride into a remote mountain region filled with hidden dangers. Travel once again with Pastor Blackstone through the congested highways, smelly railways, narrow byways, and rural roadways of India to a far off and distant place the Bible calls "the uttermost part of the world."




The Angler's Guide


Book Description













At a Moment's Notice


Book Description

At a Moment’s Notice is the very first writing project the author ever attempted in 1988. After thirty-five years, the author took a second look at the series of devotionals and decided they needed to be made into a book. At a Moment’s Notice contains fifty chapters based upon the truth of the title. Gleaning from the word of God, the Bible, the preacher in the author recognized that more often than not the main characters underlined in the Scriptures reacted immediately to certain situations and circumstances they were confronted with. Take a trip through Holy Writ as we encounter the judge Shamgar as he comes face-to-face with a marauding band of Philistines in his field; as Lydia the purple saleswoman meets Paul by a river in Philippi; as Hur helps Moses at a moment’s notice with the Rod of God that eventually wins an important battle; as Simeon comes into Herod’s Temple just at the right moment to meet the Christ-child; and as Naboth has to make the most difficult decision of his life that will also cost him his life. Though the actions and reactions of each famous or infamous hero or heroine highlighted in the book have the same quality, the lessons being taught are as varied as the stories being told. Take a few moments to read the account and ponder what is being taught, and then hopefully an application can be made in the reader’s heart—at a moment’s notice!




Beyond the Bend


Book Description

Journey with a family through six months in "the valley of the shadow of death" as an aggressive lung cancer takes a beloved, firstborn son through the worst battle of his life. A Purple Heart recipient from the Afghan war, Scott's war with cancer will highlight and underline the survival on a distant battlefield only to die on a familiar home front. Share the thoughts and memories of a dad reflecting on the irony of the number forty, and read of his memories of his past that helped him endure one of the greatest tragedies of his life, the death of his son in his fortieth year. Witness the miracles in the midst of the misery as family and friends rally to help this family cope with an incurable disease. Note the sadness that comes when this father's father passes away at the height of his grandson's struggle for survival. Hear the glimmer of hope that comes from looking "beyond" to happier and fairer days coming in the blessed place called heaven. See the faith that sustains through insomnia and illness, heartache and heartbreak. Learn the precepts from the Bible that that will not only help one understand the process but understand the purpose of why someone so young passes away. This book is more about departing than dying; more about heaven than earth; and more about acceptance than bitterness.




Expendable


Book Description

Have you ever wondered why the best die young? Who of us hasn’t thought the same thing when we learn of the death of a young Christian with such potential when a fellow believer lives on to wreck his testimony, the reputation of the local church, and the cause of Christ? Having been a pastor now for nearly fifty years I have had nearly a lifetime to ponder the word “expendable” in relationship to not only individuals, but dreams and desires, hopes and wishes, events and expectations. This concept of expendability came home to me years ago when I learned that my grandfather, on my mother’s side, had a brother who died of an illness in his early twenties after only spending a year on the mission field in Peru! Over the portal to a special room that celebrates those that died young in the Hall of the Faithful in Heaven is found, I believe, this superscription: “EXPENDABLE”! I would like to share with you some of the biblical portraits that are hanging from those celestial walls, for if you are looking for the answer to the question I asked, I have come to believe it can only be found in the Bible.




Satan's Super Soldiers


Book Description

Barry Blackstone has been fascinated with the biblical reference to “giants” since childhood but only began looking deeper into the subject when he was challenged by a member of his congregation twenty-five years ago. Over those years, Blackstone compiled information on all the named “giants” and those that slew them (men well-known like David, Joshua, and Caleb and those not so well-known like Othniel, Elhanan, and Abishai). Coming to the conclusion that this race of super-humans was a product of Satan’s plan to corrupt man, stop the coming of the Messiah, and resist the Hebrews from possessing their promised land, Blackstone began to see the principles and precepts needed to combat the “giants” of our day in our spiritual warfare “against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Eph 6:12). Travel with this pastor through the Bible as he reveals the origin of the “giants,” how they survived the Flood, and when they were finally wiped out in the days of David. With strange names like Rephaim, OG, Arba, Anak, Sheshai, and of course Goliath, learn about their fabled size, their formable weapons, and why they all were so easily defeated! This exploration will cover some of the greatest battles described in Scripture and will uncover how to win against gigantic foes personally. Each chapter is written in a devotional style that will bring a spiritual encouragement to the reader and will help them see that no matter how invincible the adversary, “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Rom 8:31).