From the First Nightingale to the Last

Ferris Arfaa D.

Description

"In the darkness of the night, the nightingale sings with wondrous splendor, A beckoning songbird calling the world to feel peaceful surrender. The nightingale's beauty lives in the essence of his melodic voice, Leaving listeners disarmed by its power, making sweetness their choice." From the poem, Splendor in the Night's Light, D. Ferris Arfaa arouses our awareness that life's true meaning and effect emanates from our inner beauty, not outward appearance! Furthermore, we are left with the personal choice of whether to receive and surrender to the power of redemption and salvation through Jesus Christ. This book contains poems that reflect on the lives of Jesus and His original Twelve Apostles. The poems carry us from their callings by Jesus into apostleship and, finally, martyrdom. They are intended to spark a personal revival in each of us to answer God's calling no matter our personal limitations. From the First Nightingale to the Last emphasizes that, like Jesus and His Apostles, we all share a common nature, but we can move beyond our personal shortcomings to a powerful purpose in service to others. The reader cannot fail to be motivated to a new level of living through the power of faith and a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie

Informations

• Publié par: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Date de parution: 29 janvier 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781645758754
• Langue: English

Extrait

F rom the F irst N ightingale to the L ast
Poetry of the Salvation Song of Jesus Christ and the Twelve Apostles
D. Ferris Arfaa
Austin Macauley Publishers
2021-01-29
From the First Nightingale to the Last Dedication Copyright Information © Author ’ s Note Foreword Prologue Poem: Splendor in the Night’s Light Chapter I: The First Nightingale Poems: The Crop of Souls The Nazarene Jesus Christ: The First Nightingale Chapter II: Come as You Are and Change Poem: The Nightingale Forever Sings Chapter III: The Apostles Simon-Peter, Andrew, James – The Greater, and John: The Upper and Innermost Circle of Jesus Poems: The Apostle Simon-Peter The Apostle Andrew The Apostle James – The Greater The Apostle John Chapter IV: Philip, Nathanael-Bartholomew, Matthew, and Thomas Poems: The Apostle Philip The Apostle Nathanael- Bartholomew The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector The Apostle Matthew The Apostle Thomas Chapter V: James – The Less (Son of Alphaeus) Simon – The Zealot, Judas – Not Iscariot (Son of James) And Judas Iscariot (The Betrayer) Poems: The Apostle James – The Less The Apostle Simon – The Z ealot The Apostle Judas – Not Iscariot The Apostle Judas Iscariot: The Betrayer Chapter VI: Called and Commanded to Serve Poem: The Calling Chapter VII: The Servant ’ s Role Poem : The Parable of the Servant’s Role Epilogue : John 3:16–21 (NKJV) The Notes About the Author
Dedication
I dedicate this book to my beautiful grandson, Peter, who knew Christ ’ s song well, sang it out loudly in his daily life, and thus, profoundly touched so many lives before reaching the young age of 15. He epitomizes my idea of a dutiful apostle and servant of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Peter truly loved, faithfully believed, and earnestly lived with Christ ’ s song in his heart. Peter joined Christ ’ s chorus, sang out, and touched everyone he met!
Copyright Information ©
D. Ferris Arfaa (2021)
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher.
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Ordering Information
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Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication data
Arfaa, D. Ferris
From the First Nightingale to the Last
ISBN 9781645361138 (Paperback)
ISBN 9781645758747 (Hardback)
ISBN 9781645758754 (ePub e-book)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2021900065
www.austinmacauley.com/us
First Published (2021)
Austin Macauley Publishers LLC
40 Wall Street, 33rd Floor, Suite 3302
New York, NY 10005
USA
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Author ’ s Note
I originally wanted to compose a book of prose about how God touched my heart, made me stronger through devastating trials, and brought me despite my circumstances to a new life, fresh spirit, and closer relationship with my Savior, Jesus Christ. But, after prayer, God placed on my heart that His desire was that I present the same message with the gift He lovingly gave me – writing poetry. So, I changed the book’s form to be of poetic verse.
With a wonderfully contemporaneous blessing, the Lord led the leadership at my Bible study to teach on the lives of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. These twelve men were all examples of common individuals who suffered life’s hardships and overcame their circumstances as a result of their encounter and relationship with Jesus. The story of Jesus’ calling, teaching, and sending of these men into apostleship captivated me because the apostles, like me, were all challenged, common, ordinary, and chosen by Jesus to fulfill an extraordinary purpose: spread the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ to all the earth. They were beckoned by Jesus to come, learn, and change in order to fulfill God’s purpose in their lives. I was inspired to give their stories poetic life because of our common bond and common calling.
I am one of the Bible study leaders, consequently, I did an extensive study on the Twelve Apostles and their relationship with Jesus to fulfill my responsibility to the group. I read and studied the precious and wonderful works of others whom I greatly appreciate, admire, and respect.
Therefore, I acknowledge with thanks the auspicious work of John McArthur in his writing of “Twelve Ordinary Men – How the Master Shaped His Disciples for Greatness and What He Wants to Do with You.” We used John’s book to present the material. I personally found it to be an absolute “must-read” and resource for all who seek to know Jesus better along with the men who served Him unto death. I also acknowledge with thanks Spencer Coffman who wrote the book, The Twelve Apostles – The World’s Most Known-About Christians, Michael Fonseca, D. Min., who wrote Pour Out Your SPIRIT Upon Us, Lord – Journeying with the First Disciples of Christ, and C. Bernard Ruffin who wrote The Twelve: The Lives of the Apostles After Calvary.
All four aforementioned authors extensively contributed to my knowledge about Christ and His apostles. All four authors enhanced my understanding of the fact that it matters not where we start in life, but, where we finish! The information on the twelve apostles that I used in my poetry about each one, not only came from the Holy Bible but also, from the comprehensive information in these four books. I could not have written the poetry exposing the specific knowledge of their lives with Christ without the intense, shared research from these four venerable authors. I strongly encourage everyone to read their excellent books, which I have referenced on the “Notes” page at the end.
I cannot go further without mentioning my deep gratitude to my pastor, Dan Dean, of the Heartland Church in Carrollton, Texas. He is without question one of the greatest disciples and apostles of Christ one can hope to meet in her lifetime. Many of you know him for his vocal talent with his musical group, “Philips, Craig, and Dean.” He has been singing out the gospel through his original music for many years, and, he is a powerfully persuasive force, preaching and spreading the gospel in our church and throughout the world. Dan Dean is a dedicated and sincere pastor who has selflessly given himself to minister, help, heal, and guide Christ’s church body. He most graciously offered his time to review this book, give his personal insight into the subject matter, and write the Foreword. He is more than a pastor and a musician – Pastor Dan is a sincere and loving friend to all who need his spiritual wisdom to “rock” their world.
Also, I extend my deep gratitude to my dear sister-in-law, Susan Ferris, and my dear friend and fellow co-leader at Bible study, Rebecca Campbell, for reviewing and critiquing my work. Their honest, discerning eyes and encouraging words were invaluable to its completion.
Please read and receive this book in the light and heart it is presented. I chose to answer God’s calling and speak through His Holy Spirit to poetically present the stories of Jesus’ “Twelve Ordinary Men.” In this book, I come to present Christ’s beautiful message of salvation, His adored and restorative song, through God’s gift to me of poetic writing. Therefore, I, also a nightingale, am poetically singing out in chorus with The First Nightingale, His singing twelve nightingale apostles, and all nightingale ancestors to reach all around the world to the end of time.
Join the chorus. Hear and be heard. Christ calls and welcomes you to choose to sing along with Him in His redemptive salvation song to the world! Sing, sweet apostolic bird, sing, sing, sing, sing, sing, sing, sing, sing, sing, sing, sing, sing…
Foreword
“Nightingale.” The very name of this small songbird is derived from the fact that he makes his best music in the darkest of hours. The song of the nightingale is not stopped by the blackness of “night.” In truth, his song becomes more pronounced at a time when most other birds have ceased to sing in the absence of sunshine and, thus, when it is most needed.
Like many of us, Dottie has experienced the journey from sunshine to darkness and back. Although it seems like a long journey, it isn’t that far from one to the other. The sun can be shining one minute and the next there’s total darkness. And while it only takes one phone call for the lights to go out, it appears at first much harder to make the journey from darkness back to the light again.
I had a front-row seat to the searing pain and sadness that Dottie encountered. It was unexpected and terrifying. I’m not sure that one can ever be properly prepared for this kind of night. Darkness tends to come to all of us at some point in our journey of life. And while the pain of some may seem more poignant and pronounced than that of others, the reality is that when we walk through dark times, dark is dark. The degree to how dark it is becomes irrelevant. We feel helpless and battered with questions that seem to have no answers.
Dottie did what the nightingales do. She gave birth to a song. Her song was the poetry of a broken heart that gave insight into the personal hope of positive change bringing a new bright day. The words and the poetry came pouring out, even when the answers were nowhere to be found: words forming from deep within the nighttime of her soul. As she wrote and as her words soared like music, healing began to come forth like the morning sun. Answers? Maybe not always. I believe that she discovered she may have been asking s