Authors: Melody Carlson
Beyond Reach (26 page)
Guide
Early in the story, Samantha begged God to give her a break from her special gift, but when He did, she got worried. Have you ever asked God to give you a break from something? Explain why and what happened.
Why do you think'Samantha was feeling stressed when Ebony asked her to help in the Peter Clark case? Should Sam have done anything differently? Explain.
Were you surprised at what Sam discovered when she visited the suicide website? What are your thoughts on suicide? How do you think God feels about suicide?
If you suspected a friend was considering suicide, what would you do or say to help that person?
What do you think about the dating relationship between Samantha and Conrad? What do you like or dislike about it?
Did you think it was important for Samantha to talk to her pastor about her unique gift as well as her employment opportunity with the police force? Why or why not?
How did you feel about Samantha's mother when she came home drunk? If you were Samantha, how would you have dealt with it?
What were your first impressions of Garrett Pierson? Do you know anyone like him? If so, how do you interact with that person?
Garrett seemed confused by a lot of things, including his sexual orientation. But Sam and Olivia pretty much accepted him for who he was. Do you think that was right or wrong? Why?
Do you think Sam was taking too big of a risk when she went onto the railroad bridge to talk Garrett down? Why or why not?
ABOUT VISIONS AND DREAMS?
As Christians, we all have the Holy Spirit within us, and God speaks through His Spirit to guide us in our walk with Him. Most often, He speaks through our circumstances, changing our desires, giving us insight into Scripture, bringing the right words to say when speaking, or having another Christian speak words we need to hear. Yet God, in His sovereignty, may still choose to speak to us in a supernatural way, such as visions and dreams.
Our dreams, if they are truly of the Lord, should clearly line up with the Word and thus correctly reveal His character. We must always be very careful to test the words, interpretations of circumstances, dreams, visions, and advice that we receive. Satan wants to deceive us, and he has deceived many Christians into thinking that God is speaking when He is not. So how do we know if it's God's voice that we are actually hearing?
First we have to look at the Bible and see how and what He has spoken in the past, asking the question,
Does what I'm hearing line up with who God shows Himself to be and the way He works in Scripture?
Below is a list of references to dreams and visions in Scripture that will help you see what God has said about these gifts:
Genesis is full of dreams and visions! Check out some key chapters: 15, 20, 28, 31, 37, 40, 41
Deuteronomy 13:1-5
Judges 7
1 Kings 3
Jeremiah 23
Several passages in the book of Daniel
Joel 2
The book of Ezekiel has a lot of visions
There are a lot of dreams in the book of Matthew, specifically in chapters 1 and 2
Acts 9, 10, 16, 18
The whole book of Revelation
If you want to learn more and have a balanced perspective on all this stuff, you'll probably want to research the broader category of spiritual gifts. Every Christian has at least one spiritual gift, and they are important to learn about. Here is a list of books and websites that will help:
Hearing God's Voice
by Henry and Richard BlackabyWhat's So Spiritual about Your Gifts?
by Henry and Mel BlackabyShowing the Spirit
by D. A. CarsonThe Gift of Prophecy in the New Testament and Today
by Wayne GrudemAre Miraculous Gifts for Today?
by Wayne GrudemKeep in Step with the Spirit
by J. I. Packerwww.enjoyinggodministries.com
. Click on Theological Studies Section and choose Controversial Issues. Check out Session 03-04 and 18.www.desiringgod.org
. Click on Online Library and choose Topic Index, then check out Spiritual Gifts.
(Note: If you're doing a Google search on spiritual gifts or dreams and visions, please make sure you type in
Christian
as well. This will help you weed out a lot of deceitful stuff.)
As you continue to research and learn about spiritual gifts, always remember: The bottom line is to focus on the Giver, not the gift. God gives to us so we can glorify Him.
“Signs and wonders are not the saving word of grace; they are God's secondary testimony to the word of his grace. Signs and wonders do not save. They are not the power of God unto salvation. They do not transform the heart—any more than music or art or drama that accompany the gospel. Signs and wonders can be imitated by Satan (2 Thessalonians 2:9; Matthew 24:24), but the gospel is utterly contrary to his nature. What changes the heart and saves the soul is the self-authenticating glory of Christ
seen in the message of the gospel (2 Corinthians 3:18-4:6).
But even if signs and wonders can't save the soul, they can, if God pleases, shatter the shell of disinterest; they can shatter the shell of cynicism; they can shatter the shell of false religion. Like every other good witness to the word of grace, they can help the fallen heart to fix its gaze on the gospel where the soul-saving, self-authenticating glory of the Lord shines. Therefore the early church longed for God to stretch forth his hand to heal, and (that signs and wonders be done in the name of Jesus.”
—John Piper,
Desiring God
This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living
or
dead, is entirely coincidental.
BEYOND REACH
published by Multnomah Books
A division of Random House, Inc.
and in association with the literary agency of Sara A. Fortenberry
© 2007 by Carlson Management Co., Inc.
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from:
The Message
”1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002
Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group Multnomah is a trademark of Multnomah Publishers, and is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The colophon is a trademark of Multnomah Publishers.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording,
or
otherwise—without prior written permission.
For information:
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Carlson, Melody.
Beyond reach: a novel / Melody Carlson.
p. cm. - (The secret life of Samantha Mcgregor; bk. 2)
Summary: Samantha has a gift from God that makes her see visions of crimes and impending disasters, and she struggles to use this special ability to help people and to glorify God.
eISBN: 978-0-307-56192-3
[1. Christian life—Fiction. 2. Visions—Fiction. 3. Suicide—Fiction. 4. Death—Fiction. 5. High schools—Fiction. 6. Schools—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.C216637Bey2007
[Fie]—dc22
2006034482
v3.0