The Elijah Mandate
Selah Award finalist and Kops Fetherling International Book Award recipient, this political conspiracy suspense thriller, weaves the headlines of today with the Scriptures of old. A recent law school graduate, Eliana lands her dream job but finds it saturated with malicious corruption. Her boss, a powerful Supreme Court Justice, is part of a nefarious plan that will dismantle America as we know it. If she keeps quiet, she might survive, but far too much is at stake for that. With her life in peril, a prophecy about Eliana becomes reality. She lives out a parallel story to that of her namesake, Elijah, complete with rampant evil, epic power struggles, and the mandate to trust Almighty God no matter the cost.
The Elijah Mandate, Part 2
Bestselling and multiple award-winning author, Lisa Worthey Smith, continues the political suspense in part 2 of this Selah Award finalist series.
This heart-pounding thriller intertwines tomorrow's headlines with Scripture. America will rise or fall depending on the path they choose. Following the parallels in Israel from the time of Elijah and Elisha, God equips modern-day Christians to face down the evil that threatens America.
Perspective by Peter:
Searching my To Be Read list for the next novel and I came across this series. I do not remember buying the first novel in 2020. But then, that is a characteristic of someone who buys too many novels! Novel hoarder I am, but what a library I have! I have enough novels to read well into my full retirement, which I pray can be in 2022. Semi-retired at present.
Well, my first impression of this novel is that it drags your attention and has you engaged until the end. I was committed to finish this novel. It is uplifting, strengthens your faith in God. I know more about Elijah from the Bible than what I had previously. There is power in the art of storytelling and this is evident in Smith's ability to apply what she has studied of God's Word and her understanding of it.
This series is based on the life of Elijah and the mandate that God had with him. Many lessons to be learned and even applied to our lives from this Biblical person (I hate saying character as this implies they are a fictional creation and the people of the Bible are just not; they were real people).
Smith runs the account of Elijah alongside the main character of Eliana, who is a female version of Elijah and even her name is so. The word building here is well done. Eliana has a relationship with God that is natural, not forced, she knows Him intimately, she is fully submitted to Him and lives under His direction and guidance. She lives out the Word of God and compromise is not part of this relationship. Just like Elijah.
This relationship is contagious. Those around her want what she has, even amoungst those who oppose her and are in conflict with God and are antagonistic towards Him. And those who don't know Him, or are in the evil regime of power against Him also come to know Him.This type of fiction that Lisa creates is what we need nowadays, not just an entertaining tale, but one that goes past that, one that edifies, educates and brings glory to God. It shows God for who He is. It shows Christians we are not to be afraid of the circumstances we are in and to confront evil in all its forms with the Word of God, living out His Word, prayer and supplication but above all by listening to and acting on the instruction and guidance of God and His Spirit as He directs our paths and actions.
It is of great benefit having all the bible verses listed at the back of the novels and what they mean. It was also edifying seeing some of these either mentioned in the novel or seeing it lived out in the characters situations in the novel.
I know Christian authors get criticised by having prayer outlined in their novels or when the narrative becomes "preachy". I am glad Smith has not listened to this criticism. The inclusion of the prayers by various characters is an essential part of this novel and shows how this is to be part of the Christian's daily life. The same goes for the narrative of the story of Elijah and what Eliana does with this. Yes, it went on for pages but I could see without its inclusion, it would take away some of the impact of what this novel is about. Yes, it does put the suspense and fast-paced flow of the novel on hold for a bit, but this should not be seen as a negative or a criticism. It needed to be included. Without both, it runs the risk of the novel's message and impact being watered down.
I highly recommend this series. This is Spirit-filled fiction at its best. I look forward to more from this author.
The three ratings below are based on my discernment:
World Building 5/5Characters 5/5 Story 5/5
The two classifications below are based on the booklet, A Spiritual System for Rating Books by David Bergsland:
Spiritual Level 5/5Enemy Spiritual Level 5/5
Overall Rating: 5/5
Reality Calling Christian Spirit-filled Fiction Award
Congratulations, Lisa!
If you would like to investigate this series further, click on the images below:
Please note: As an Amazon Associate, I am required to disclose that book cover images or titles of novels in this post are paid links if they are linked to Amazon and result in a sale.
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