Kingdom Pursuits, where you hear from ordinary people instilled with an extraordinary passion. Together we explore the stories of men and women who take what they love and let God turn their passion into Kingdom Pursuits.
Now, live from the Truth Booth, your host, Robbie Dilmore.
Well, hey, this is Michael Zwick, and I am sitting in this morning for Robbie Dilmore. And we have a very special guest. For you today, and this actually means a lot to me because my dad was Jewish, and so I was raised sometimes going to the synagogues. But so I grew up half Jewish and half Christian, but I ended up becoming a Christian. And this gentleman, Sam Blumenthal, is actually a writer.
And Sam was raised as a Reformed Jew and was a clinical psychologist for over 30 years, but then became a Christian at the age of 45 in the midst of significant storms in his own life. And although he has come to know and love God over time, God showed me that there were other things in life that I worship far too much, things that I believed I could fulfill me. And he said, I've wondered ever since if this is one of the reasons that the Christian life for many can lose its vibrancy and become stale in a matter of years when it started out as a grand adventure. And Sam Blumenthal, B-L-U-M-E-N-T-H-A-L, has written a series and it's called Once Upon a Time. Welcome to the show, Sam Blumenthal.
Well, thank you, sir. It's great to be here. Yes, sir. And so, you know, we meet so many people who come to Jesus when they're six, seven, eight years old. But what was your childhood like?
Yeah, so I grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, reform. Jewish, um, b and that was in the I was born in 'Fifty Four, being Jewish in the South. in the l light fifties and sixties is um it's not that common, although there, you know, were Um I don't know, maybe 100 Jewish families that were kind of active in the Jewish community at that time, two temples. Reform, if you don't know, you know, for people who don't know, it's just. At some point in time, and the reform movement supposedly goes way back.
It's kind of more secular, more liberal. At some point, though, clearly, there are a lot of people who just got tired of keeping kosher kitchens, of following all the rules, of all the service, you know, the majority of the service being in Hebrew. And we're Americans, let's just make it in English so it's easier to understand. And they kind of. Created this form, which is just, you know, a little more common.
I didn't really observe the Sabbath. As much. Um for sure. Um and so I kind of grew up that way. Um most of the people uh and even somewhat more religious Jews that I was familiar with.
Growing up, really had lost their belief in God, the God of the Bible, anyway, the God of the Old Testament, and really believing that it was. literally true, which is very sad to me 'cause I think if you just go back seventy five or one hundred years, I think almost all Jews were Orthodox, which meant they really believed in the Old Testament. And kind of as our culture has gone, Yeah, we're saying things happened in the church. Um, and just, you know, more and more and more People really don't believe that the Bible is literal. And And most people have lost their belief in God altogether.
So that's how I grew up. Going to temple was important. In the South, there are not many Catholics, there are more now. But after I came to Christ at forty five and I got to know more and more Catholics, They reminded me of a lot of Jewish people. The Catholic.
Um the Catholics that really don't believe in God anymore, but they go to Mass and it just because they always went. And that's kind of why we always went to temple because we'd always gone, you know. but didn't really believe in God as he is in the Old Testament, which is just just really sad. What's incredible when I became a Christian when I was 45 and the Old Testament became completely real to me? I felt more Jewish in a way than I'd ever been because it had never been real before.
It had never been literal. And so there's more to the story than just the Old Testament. which is real important. But the first part is super important. you know um So hopef hopefully that helps.
Yeah, it does. And so then you grew up. I guess you got married. You kind of were living your life, I guess, apart from God. And then you said something happened to you at the age of 45, and it was a little unusual what brought you to Christ.
Is that right? Yeah, so I was married when I was quite young, 22. My first wife and I were married for 19 years. We have three sons. They're all in their 40s now and have five grandkids.
And We divorced after 19 years and I married again and My second wife and I, we just began to have difficulty that kind of just didn't go away. And we were. We're married for over ten years, but it just got harder and harder. She she was a a grown-up Southern Baptist, and she was a believer, and she had.
somewhat falling away and was kind of coming back by the at the time we started. dating but she really shouldn't have started dating me. I mean, I was like the last person in the world to help her spiritual. Journey and but she did, and um, and we got married a couple of years later. I still didn't know Christ, and then.
Really, the difficulty of I didn't understand it at the time, but the difficulty of our relationship really. Was prompting me to explore if God might be real. But she had been to seminary, and she was a great teacher, and so. We get married though, and then the relationship continues to be difficult. And finally, like six or seven years after we got married, Long, long story.
But God showed me, he revealed to me. But The biggest idol in my life, you know, which is an Old Testament word. The biggest thing in this life that I had always worshipped as a God. was was the woman in my life, which means For me to be, you know, for most men it seems to be career and success and all that. I was a psychologist for over 30 years and all that was really important to me and I loved it, but I wasn't insecure about it.
I didn't lose sleep about it. Another way people say, you know, you wanna know what your eyeballs are, what do you love too much? That may help, but I think we're in such denial about those things. The better way I think is what keeps you up at night? What are you afraid of losing?
Um and you're supposed to very much love, you know, your wife or your husband. You're supposed to care for them. You're supposed to sacrificially love them, as Jesus said, but it's never meant to replace God. And so it was not an easy thing to see, kind of like it's not easy to see. When you're legalistic and you're self-righteous, because you're supposed to be following the law, you're just not supposed to be worshiping it.
as something else and um And so God not only revealed that to me, but He essentially delivered me from it, which was unbelievable. And like I said, ultimately. that marriage didn't survive, which was not my desire, but Looking back. It was like my perfect. I really don't think I would have come to Christ if not.
for all that stuff. struggle. And that difficulty. And then God always used stories. From the very beginning, He used stories in my life.
I was a Freudian psychologist and I knew a lot about dreams. God gave me like a dream at the very beginning. Like when I came to Christ, He gave me other dreams. He started using movies. And Narnia and other stories in my life from the very beginning.
And so it's I started writing nonfiction really about all the things we just talked about. But then and I want to get back to that, I've never published it, but then I started writing short stories and have published two volumes and working on a third. But I really come to believe if if people may not learn just as much from fiction as they do. Nonfiction. Yeah, it seems more logical that if you just talk directly to somebody, they'll.
to learn better and and the nonfiction Christian book world is much bigger than the most people are drawn to those nonfiction books. But I think we're also guarded and we're also defensive about stuff. The reason we watch so many movies, at least I do, and other people and love stories. That, you know, God is trying to speak to all of us through stories, you know, and sometimes it. It gets through easier.
So. Absolutely. And so, this is interesting. We're going to get when we come back right from the break, we're going to get into some of these books that you've written and why you've written them. Guys, you don't want to go anywhere.
We're going to be back with Sam Blumenthal, the author. And before we go, you can check out his website. What is your website, Sam? It's a Sam YoelBlumenthal.com. SamuelBlumenthal.com, and we're going to come back with his story right now.
Right back. You're listening to the Truth Network and TruthNetwork.com. Hey, this is Michael Zwick. I've got a Sam Blumenthal back here, and I'm excited to have Sam because, like I said before, I'm half Jewish, and Sam grew up as a reformed Jew. But, you know, Sam, when you were talking before over the break, I felt the Lord gave me something, and it's Psalm 110, and it says, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion. Rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning. Thou hast the dew of thy youth. And Sam, right when we were about to leave, you were kind of sharing your story about how you came to the Lord.
But then, Sam, you've got some books that you've come out with recently, and I believe it's called Once Upon a Time. Is that right? Yeah, I have two volumes that have come out, and a third that may come out next year. And they're all short stories, Once Upon a Time. The subtitle is.
a collection of short stories for those trying to find their way. home, which is a little of a trick kind of question because I think we're all Trying to find our way home, even those of us who don't realize it. Yeah, that's kind of a takes us to really the next thought is that God Um Convicted me years ago, but other people too in more recent years. Tim Keller used to belong to something called the Gospel Coalition, and they started talking about the Bible being in uh having four chapters and calling it the four chapter gospel creation is the first thing and then fall then redemption really through Christ primarily, and then restoration at the very end of time. God's gonna kind of come full circle and bring everything back.
And we all kind of know that's the story if we're believers. But to me, it really We're kind of, as believers now, we're kind of in the middle of this story. But who we were made to be by God. Um and the struggle we have or because of sand, because of the fall. To me, it just helps tremendously to always remember it's a chronological story.
It's really the one real story. And so, and it's why we struggle, explains why we struggle. We have, you know, I think our deeper self, Thomas Merton called it our true self. It's kind of like the art that Adam and Eve had in the garden before the fall, that God was there with them, they knew. He was the creator.
They knew he loved them perfectly. They loved him back. And we've never lost that. And um but then when the fall happened, um and Adam and Eve had had better ideas and thought that maybe we should be in charge of our lives instead of God. Um and that fractured the whole world spiritually, but it also gave birth To what Thomas Merton calls this false self, which is really our flesh, the sin.
Um us believing the lie that The things in this life that really God gave us is blessings, really. really is kind of just extra stuff. we focus on as the real thing. For me, like I said, it was believing this person in my life. If I could just.
get their affirmation on a consistent basis That would make me happier than anything ever could. And there's nothing wrong with that. But yeah, Keller was the one who said, you know, idols are good things made into ultimate things. They're never made to be ultimate. And that's kind of really, I believe, where our craziness comes from.
And sometimes we're clear on these things, and sometimes We're not.
So I started thinking about a right stories and Short stories are much easier to write than novels. You can write a whole lot more of them. And it's like, um, I wanted to represent those four chapters in some way. And so some of the stories Try to take it. What was the garden like before the fall?
What would that have been like to be just filled with? With God's perfect love, and to, you know, be able to love Him and others back that way. And then You know, because that's still deep inside us, I believe. And then the fall, really, what happened to us? How can you represent that?
in stories and the struggle. And then God in the Old Testament was always trying to help Israel, redeem Israel. but not until Jesus came and then not until the Holy Spirit came. Have we ri really had a fighting chance? Against sin.
You know, we can still be just as depraved, you know, if. if we don't try to follow God, but with the Holy Spirit. Um, you know, the battle has been different. It can be different, it should be different, you know, and what is what is that? How can you represent that?
in story, especially to help people. Yeah, the stories are We're not written that I hope they inspire and encourage, but they weren't written just for that. They're really written to teach. Um, and not every story, you know, has that. That seed in it, but some of the stories do.
It just depends where you are and what you struggle with. And then some of them, you know. Uh speak of heaven and a foretaste of heaven, although that's Uh I'm still kind of most of the time I'm kind of stuck. You know, and trying to do the best I can every day. And I know heaven's there, and I can't wait for it.
But that's not usually when I'm thinking about Yeah, you know, yeah, when I, when I, you know, one of the things it's so funny that you talk about heaven because, you know, so many things that I hear people, preachers and people talking about in the church is, you know, how to improve your life right now, or, you know, how to work on your marriage, or how to work on this, or how to work on that. In other words, how to make things better right now. And all of that stuff is important. But I think what a lot of people don't realize is that, you know, for me, Sam, the most important thing in my life is when I meet Jesus. I, you know, there are some tough times that come in your life.
You know, people, there's some preachers you listen to, they think, hey, when you, you know, they may say something like, hey, when you come to Jesus, things are going to get better. And in many ways, they do, because Jesus gives us the peace that surpasses all understanding. But at the same time, we have some tough times in life. And I believe it says in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, it says, But if for this life only we have hope, then we're more miserable than anybody. And in other words, what it's saying is, That, hey, if this is it, you might as well eat, drink, and go out and do all that stuff because this is it, and there's no point.
But the truth is, is that you've come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ at the age of 45, and that your hope is in heaven. Your hope is in another place. That, yes, even though your marriage did not work out at the age of 45, you are the bride of Christ. Yeah, no, exactly. And I think what I would say is, I think.
Yeah, to understand the whole story makes sense of why a lot of the time we're so confused. Why do I feel Good things in my heart, and know that they come from God. And why this person in my life I'm struggling with right now, whoever might be, why there's this part of me that sacrificially wants to. love them and and would sacrifice a lot for them. And then I have moments where all I do is resent them.
And I just want to like just completely get them out of my life and for all the most selfish reasons. And it's like we all struggle with all of that. What what God taught me is that The good path. a lot of times it's always the better path, but it it but it's You have to go through the fire. You can't go around it.
And there's always some part. of self and something that self is believing that's not right, but probably worshiping, that's got to die in you. And that's the cross is so powerful because it's such a symbol of like, yeah, the the our problem is that we have put self on the throne and when you and taking self off the throne, it's not easy. There has to be a if it's something really important to you, there has to be a death. And that's what, and it's such a beautiful image of Christ and what he did for us.
The cost is meaningful in so many different ways, but that's one more way I think it's. It's a it's uh an example for us, you know, and it's painful to go through death. But that's death to self, and you come li more alive to God in that process. And at the end of it, you're much Much better. Yeah, I was very sad that my my second marriage didn't work out.
I wanted it to. I loved her more than anybody I'd ever loved. But God showed me that. Yeah. you'll be you need to love me more than anything else.
And if you can do that, you know, it was C. S. Lewis that said that you know, we put earthly things first. We just essentially roin them. but we put heavenly things first.
We get heaven and we get all the earthly things thrown in and keep them in the right perspective and you kind of get it all. which I I think is the truth. Absolutely. And, you know, when you were talking, I was reminded of first, sorry, it's Romans chapter 7, and it says, for that which I do, I allow not, for what I would, that I do not, but what I hate, that do I.
So in other words, he's saying that, you know, when we were in the flesh, we just kind of went after the flesh. You know, I'll give you an example of, you know, if somebody's, if somebody has a girlfriend and they're not a Christian or a boyfriend and they're not a Christian and they say, well, hey, we're just having sex. We're just having a good time. And they don't see anything wrong with it. But see, what happens is, is when they become a Christian, then they start to feel bad.
They say, hey, I know this isn't right, but the flesh still wants to do it. And I heard you say that a little bit before, Sam, when you were talking about, yeah, there's a part of you that when somebody is not treating you right, there's a part of you that wants to hate them, but the love of Christ compels you to love them. Yes, and I think the example you used is a great one because I think in our more sane moments, our more godly moments, we can envision I mean God created sex. I mean, he didn't have to. I mean, all of it, you know, and so but it but it was never meant to be out of the context of romantic love, ever.
And that's what essentially we took everything out of context. And so lust becomes a thing in itself that people these days value. They don't even have much shame about it, it doesn't seem. But when you think about you back up, okay, how were things created at the beginning? None of that is supposed to happen unless you've you love the person.
And then in the context of love, sex is an incredible thing, but it was never meant to be taken out of context. And it really has been taken out of context. And so, what I mean, what pushed you to write these books? And it's called Once Upon a Time: A Collection of Short Stories for Those Trying to Find Their Way Home by Sam Blumenthal. You can go to Amazon, pick up your copy today.
But what really pushed you to write these books, Sam?
Well, from the very beginning, like I said, God used stories in my life. I've always loved stories, but then God used them from the very beginning. He used. Uh, two characters in Chronicles and then Arnie Steer. And Sam, I'm gonna have you, I'm gonna have you finish that.
We're gonna be right back on Kingdom Pursuits. We've got a Sam Blumenthal, and we will be right back. Stay with us, Kingdom Pursuits. You're listening to the Truth Network and TruthNetwork.com. Well, hey, this is Michael Zwick and I am back with Sam Blumenthal, the author, former psychologist, but Sam, even more importantly than that, you're a child of the living God, is that right?
Amen. Yeah, man. And so the book, the short series, it's called Once Upon a Time. And Sam, we know there's a lot of books that are out there. There's a lot of stories that are out there.
Why would somebody want to pick up this set of books, Once Upon a Time?
Well, I I think w we all will Stories, and maybe not everybody, but I think most of us love stories and fictional stories. But I think they're They have a great opportunity to teach us. Matter of fact, at some point God I just watched, listened to so many stories, watched so many movies, and at some point, It became clear to me there's really only so many themes in stories. I mean, you'll find a few from time to time that are really weird and really crazy, but most of them. The four chapters we talked about with the gospel, most of them.
Really speak God's story over and over. And if you think about all the stories. you you know and that you've loved or the most or movies or whatever. at some point in the story, usually early on, but before too long, there's the protagonist, and maybe more than one, who is either in a crisis or getting ready to go into a crisis and the crisis builds And sometimes there'll be some representation of something spiritual and sometimes not. But usually what happens is that crisis humbles him in a good way, brings him to see just how selfish and narcissistic he's been, probably his whole life.
And at the end of the story, he's a kindler and gentler version of himself. And that, you know, that's the story, over, and that's really God's story. God would just. you know, add into that story that, you know, uh He created us. He created us to love him and others.
We in the fall kinda ran away from him. He's pursued us ever since. you know, the crisis we have the crises we have in our lives are because of Things we worship instead of God that can never make us happy, and He's trying to wake us up to that, bring us to faith, and with His redemptive grace. Make our lives better and get us on a better path. And I think that's the story.
over and over again. I think stories are like trying to speak to all of us to let us know that's kind of the story. And then there can be more specific things that can help us. you know, in our lives. Yeah, absolutely.
I mean, when you were talking about this before, that you said you put women, that was kind of your number one thing in your life before, you know, I guess before anything else.
Some guys use success or money or whatever it is. But I was reminded, and it's actually, I think it's John chapter 12, and in verse 42. It said, Nevertheless, among the chief rulers also many believed on him, but because of the Pharisees, they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue. For they love the praise of men more than the praise of God. And that's a pretty serious thing to me, right there.
It's saying they knew Jesus, they knew who he was, but they put the other things in their lives, the praise of other people, above the living God, above the word of God. And I'm sure for you and for me, Sam, it's become a process. It doesn't happen overnight. It does. And I think the story of the Pharisees and Jesus is so powerful because these were the guys who had the law.
I mean, the law was. was good. And yet, you can take you can even have the best thing. It just shows you how fallen we really are. You can have the best thing, but then the motive of your heart can be more about the praise of men than it is.
the praise of God. And then even more selfishness. I mean, we all if You know, Jesus, they put Jesus to death. It was a political thing. They didn't want to lose their position.
Yeah, they're well. And that and like and that's why he died. That's why they had him. But to death. you know?
And and it's like you think about that, I mean, just how sad that is. And they they had the law. and the law in itself. Couldn't even redeem though. Absolutely.
And I've heard it said this way. It says that people who fear God no longer fear man, and people who fear men no longer fear God. And I know it's been a process for you. And hey, brother, you're 70 and I'll be 44 soon. And I'm sure we'll still be working out that process until we're gone.
Is there one of the stories in particular in these short stories, one of the stories that kind of sticks out to you?
Well um Uh just one. Wow. Um Well one that's always been close to my heart, uh that was half inspired by uh the movie The Soloist, which is a Movie with Jamie Foxx and Robert Danny Jr. about a schizophrenic cello player. And I kind of changed that into uh a schizophrenic violinist who actually was very famous And how God redeems him, really, through this other, through the love of another man who's helping him.
But um it's a story about how God can really heal anything. even even schizophrenia. And uh yeah, it's called the story is Uh um a more quiet mind. This is in uh volume one.
Well, you know, it's funny. You talked about a more quiet mind. I believe there was actually a book that was written about bipolar disorder, and it was called An Unquiet Mind. Yeah, no. Yeah, so.
It's particularly true of schizophrenia and even have hallucinations and voices and all that. But all of us could use a more quiet mind that was Part of the reason I wrote the story is that We have way too many voices speaking to us. And there's there a lot of most of them are speaking bad things, and most of them are taking us away from God instead of taking us toward God. Absolutely. And so you said just one, you said you have many stories.
What's another story in one of the books that really sticks out to you that people would love to hear about? Uh there's another one uh In volume two, called Letter to Myself, and it's a story of a man who. a godly man who uh had a nephew come to live with him when he was a teenager and struggling with drugs. And things seem to be going well for a few months, and then the boy relapses and like overdoses and dies in their house. And this is years later.
He's never been able to res feel, you know, resolve his guilt over that, although they really didn't do anything wrong. And um It They're s it was half inspired by the movie City of Angels. I don't know if you've ever seen that. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, years ago.
Years ago. I have two angels. And they Yeah, they they act. Um they finally take action. to help him finally forgive himself and to realize God forgives him And I could kind of tell you how they do that, but then that would that would ruin the whole story, you know.
Yeah, well, well, well, you gotta, you gotta pick up the short story. You gotta pick up the book by Sam Blumenthal. And the books, it's a series of stories. Are there actually three books, Once Upon a Time?
Well, there's two there's two. There's twelve stories in volume one, volume two, and volume three, you'll probably It'll probably be next year by I'll have another 10 or 12 in it. Yeah. This is absolutely amazing, man. And it's amazing how God can use anything, literally anything, whether it's a divorce or anything like that at all.
And he can God can draw us closer to him. You know, the funny thing is, and I don't know if it's really funny or not, but it seems like a lot of times in our lives, Sam, when things are going well, when everything, you know, when the kids are behaving, when the money situation is doing well, when our personal lives are doing great, when our spouses are acting the right way or the way that we want them to, we don't really see the need for God as much. But a lot of times, God will get our attention. By letting a disaster happen in our lives. And then when we're down, then we cry out to the Lord.
And it really shouldn't be that way. But there's a verse in the Old Testament. It says, Give me neither poverty nor riches. It says, If I'm in poverty and I don't even have enough to eat, he says, Then I'll be forced to steal and I'll profane the name of my God. He says, But if I'm too rich, if I have too much, then I may look around and say, Look what I've done and who needs the Lord.
And that's a dangerous place to be as well, because one of the things that I've seen, Sam, is that a lot of times when people are struggling, people are hurting, those are the times when they reach out to the Lord. But when things are going great, they kind of lose their sight or their need for the Lord. Have you seen that? No, well, and I'd even say more. I would say what, and I think it's part of the reason, especially we struggle so much in this country because we've done so well.
God says in Deuteronomy 8, he tells the people of Israel before they go into the land that you're going to forget me. because things are going to be really and we're going to finish that story when we come right back. Yeah. You're listening to the Truth Network and TruthNetwork.com. All right, we've got Sam Blumenthal back for the last segment, and we are so excited to have Sam.
He has written a series of short stories, and it's called Once Upon a Time: a collection of stories for those trying to find their way home. But, Sam, before we went, I gave a Bible verse talking about the dangers of actually having too much. And obviously, there's dangers of not having enough, but more so the dangers of having too much. And you said the United States was a good example of that. No, I think and you've heard people kind of put it the opposite way.
They say if you go to China, I know the third world, China's not really third world anymore, but places like the church there, they're persecuted, and other third world places where they're persecuted. their faith is is is much stronger and I made reference to To Deuteronomy 8, where God, you know, through Moses is essentially telling the people of Israel: you're getting ready to go in the promised land, and what's going to happen is you're going to forget me, who delivered you from Egypt, who sustained you in the wilderness for 40 years. He's going to give you the forest. Give you houses you didn't build and give you cisterns you didn't dig, and after a while. Things are going to prosper, and at some point, you're going to start patting yourself on the back for like, wow, look what we.
Did, and it's exactly what does happen, and yeah, it's very sad, but um. we have a tendency to like start feeling self-sufficient and and to even give us ourselves the credit. Um and it's uh and it's just yeah, it's How we all are. It's sad that we need to be more humble, you know, to begin to think of. of God.
And I think in one way it's one of the biggest things of the Bible. Yeah, absolutely. And so, you know, the series of short stories, they're reasonably priced. You can pick them up. It's called Once Upon a Time, and it's by Sam Blumenthal, and it's a collection of short stories for those trying to find their way home.
And it says that stories have always been about us. A mirror in which we can see ourselves, our hopes, but especially our dilemmas. If you lean in and listen more closely, God will meet you there and help you find your way home. And Sam, Jesus didn't just speak to people plainly. A lot of times He spoke in parables.
No, he he did. It's fascinating, isn't it? And a lot of times his most important lessons Yeah. to you know, on the surface sounded very confusing and very dense. Um But at some point, yeah, God showed me that, you know, the only reason things sound confusing to all of you is because when the fall happened, you essentially flipped everything upside down.
You took me off the throne and you put everything else on the throne. That's right. And so I'm trying to just flip it right side back up, you know. And to you, it's very confusing because you're so lost. in this perspective of the world that you've had that's wrong.
You know, and you think about it, it's like that's the only reason it was so confusing. because, you know, they had had lost sense of what's real. Yeah, they did. Yeah, no, that's it. Yeah, and you know, the thing is, is that a lot of times when I go out and share the gospel, Sam, it's a lot easier to share the gospel with somebody who says, Well, God would never want me.
I've done too many bad things. And I think Charles Spurgeon actually said one time, he said, If you say that, he said, You're close to knowing the truth. But the more common answer is, no, I'm a pretty good person. I don't really need God because I'm good, I've done enough. And so, and you used a word before, depraved.
Unless you realize that you are depraved and you need God, you'll never be able to come to Jesus. Not completely. And I think, yeah, you have to you don't see your need until what, you know, at some point finally God's the last, yeah, the last thing that I needed to understand well about the gospel was that I was depraved and and It it finally it made sense. You you don't think you need to be saved if you don't believe you're lost. And SIM is not just a problem, it's a hopeless problem.
And so you begin to you see that and now it makes sense. of why we needed a solution. Yeah, you know, it's like somebody who's selling something. You know, the first lesson that they'll always be taught is that you don't just start talking about the benefits until you talk about the problem.
So, in other words, for people to come to Christ, they're not going to typically come to Jesus until they realize that they're lost, that they're sinners, that they have a need for Jesus Christ. And so, what you do, if you pick up these books, it's called Once Upon a Time, a collection of short stories for those trying to find their way home by Sam Blumenthal. It will give you stories to share with people that maybe it can help them come to Christ. Is that right? Oh.
For sure. And I really wrote them. A lot of that, some of the heading, most of the headings for the stories all have a heading, and a lot of them are Bible verses. But the stories themselves, you know, or not Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, very purposely. They're really stories.
They're just regular stories, but they have God's redemptive grace in them.
So um you know, it could anybody Could enjoy them. Anybody could. And I hope you guys go to Amazon and pick these sets of stories up.
Well, you said the next book, Volume 3, will be coming out around next year. Is that right? I think so, yeah. You need some time, you know, and a little too late into this year, but hopefully, yeah, and sometime in early 2026 should come out.
Well, you know what's funny, Sam, is I love what you're doing, and it's Sam Blumenthal. And you wrote the series of short stories, but I love what you're doing because you're 70 years old. You're not sitting around watching soap operas just ready to die. You're 70 years old, and you say, God, what do you have me to do left? Pick up these books, Once Upon a Time by Sam Blumenthal.
And Sam, I want to thank you for coming on the show today. It has been a real joy on Kingdom Pursuits.
Well, I want to thank you for the opportunity very much. Thank you. You're very welcome, guys. Go out and pick up the books. If you don't know Jesus, Jesus loves you and He wants to be your Savior forever.
God blesses you, He loves you, He wants to have a personal relationship with you, and He cares for you. Cast all your cares upon Him because He cares for you.
