A Message from John Dillard
Over the years I felt a tugging on my heart to write. For a great while I did not know what my subject was to be about but eventually, the Holy Spirit revealed what he wanted for my life and for me. My first book was a Christian Fiction/Romance/Murder Mystery titled Charleston Dawn and is about romance the way God intended. After I wrote my first book, I felt God prompting me to write Low Country Calling which is an action packed thrill a minute ride as an F-18 Super Hornet fighter pilot bravely faces near disaster over the air and on the desert floor in Iraq. After his narrow escape from death, our pilot is eventually called to be a pastor in the Low Country of Charleston, South Carolina.
One of the talents God alone has blessed me with is one of exhortation. Over the last thirty years of my life, my focus has been predominantly on the New Testament. As I have grown both in my walk and my study of the Bible, I have discovered the richness, body and compassion of the Old Testament. No longer do I see an angry God but how much he loves each and every one of us deeply and whose undeniable commitment to his people is frequently missed amidst many of the Old Testaments tribulations. Thus, I set out to write the Inspiration Series!
After several months of prayer to discover what it is God would have me write, I opened my Bible to the first page of the book of Nehemiah in the Old Testament. There I discovered fresh revelations of which I had never before heard or seen. Discovering God’s grace and compassion, I studied and as God divinely guided my hand, I wrote A Voice of One and how Nehemiah, a layman, steps out to accomplish great things in God’s name. I had my own “Nehemiah type” experience as I was led to change Georgia law requiring restitution for medical and counseling care to be paid by the guilty party to the victims of felony crimes.
Soon afterward, I wrote Overcoming Life’s 9/11’s as God revealed his truth to my heart and mind. Learning new truths from scripture, I discovered God’s hand both in my life and that of others. Studying in the Old Testament the book of Job, we come face to face as we learn God will never forsake us or give us more than we can bear. I also wrote Overcoming Life’s 9/11’s as a result of two prolonged illnesses that included four major surgeries, cancer, diverticulitis, and six weeks of hospital stay.
After publishing Overcoming Life’s 9/11’s, I was honored to be nominated for the Georgia Author of the Year Award for 2009 by the Georgia Writer’s Association. The publication of A Voice of One earned me the honor of being nominated for Georgia Author of the year for 2010.
Though God’s word can never be summed up in any less than the Bible, which is God’s ultimate love story to his people, A Voice of One & Overcoming Life’s 9/11’s are a manual Believers will be able to review again and again each time gaining fresh insight to their walk. In my own life I have learned through careful study and analysis that we all need a spiritual road-map to guide us along life’s way. Through this study and effort, I have learned much of what I feel led to pass along to others as they seek God’s will for their lives.
I believe that God has specifically called me to this place and time and to share His word and love with all that I encounter. I have learned that through diligence, perseverance, and faith that we indeed can do great things in His name. Our task is simply to be obedient and to perform the tasks He set out before us while leaving all the results and all the glory to Christ. John strives to live by his pastor’s words, “We should all dare to accomplish something so great that it is doomed to failure lest Christ be in it!”
No one, no not one of us is given a spirit to timidity, we are to go out and to live our lives as Jesus would boldly stepping out in faith to lead others in love to a closer relationship with Christ. John’s favorite Apostle was Paul who suffered gladly claiming the name of Christ for all of his doings while taking no personal credit all the while fervently spreading the Good News of the Gospel. Paul counted it great joy in all his sufferings and in his weakness he found the perfect strength of our Savior. Paul indeed counted it great gain to die, as he knew that he would join Christ in the heavens and would live with Him forever!
John’s favorite Bible verses are used in his writing and are some of the many of God’s promises that he clings in his own walk with Christ. This effort has been one of love, one to share who God is and can be in your life while telling you of how much God loves you and wants you to accept his calling. God wants to be the true center of your life. All you have to do is believe and to have faith. Reach out for Him in all that you do and Christ will find you in a deep and meaningful way!
Author John Dillard was nominated for the 2009 Georgia Author of the Year Award after publishing Overcoming Life’s 9/11’s and nominated again for the 2010 Georgia Author of the Year Award after publishing Low Country Calling.
Read more of John Dillard’s Biography
“A Voice of One calling: ‘In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God’”Isaiah 40:3
“Build up, build up, prepare the road! Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people.”Isaiah 57:14