Rachel Starr Thomson

Letters to a Samuel Generation is a collection of devotional articles exploring the wonder of relationship with God and the meaning of discipleship. You can read each chapter below, or purchase the whole as a hardbound book. (The book includes poetry and quotes not found online.)

Thanks for reading! I pray you’ll be blessed.

Table of Contents

A Christmas Letter
“World, do you understand that the God of Judgment and Wrath has made Himself such that no one could possibly fear to come near Him? Our God, who is a consuming fire, has made Himself such that little children can play with Him and kiss Him and love Him. Beautiful and frightening. Perhaps that little baby in the straw is more beautiful and frightening than anything we have seen yet.”

Daughters of Zion
“This is my burden for every little sister in the family of God, for all who are struggling to gain their footing in a world of shifting sands; who are so close to realizing that their refuge is under the covert of His wings, in Him who is ‘the rock that is higher than I’ (Psalm 61). He sees the time spent in front of the mirror, time spent criticizing and covering up. He knows the questions you ask, the pride and insecurity you indulge in, the vanity that tugs at you. But underneath He sees a heart beating, a heart which He desires to fill with beauty until it glows in your eyes and laughs in your smile, until your soul weeps when He does and sings when He rejoices.”

Lights
God sent light into the world in the form of a child–the Son of God. His appearance drove away those who loved darkness, but it also offered hope to all who would brave the radiance. An uplifting look at the nature of Christ our Light.

Thoughts On Unity
“Jesus said that when Christians would unite with each other and God, then the world would believe. Through our unity, the glory and love of God operates. Without it, our light is darkened. The world will never change because they read our books, listen to our radio programs, or admire our personalities. Rather, it is the miracle of a people, one in heart and mind, caring for and loving each other, that will bring people to believe.”

Miracles
“I’ve heard a lot recently about how God is moving around the world to confirm His word through signs and wonders. Christians are seeing the sick healed, the demon possessed delivered, and even the dead raised. All of this is true, and we ought to give glory to God for it. But let us not forget that our lives, our daily walks, are the real signs and wonders to the world around us.”

Homecoming
The story of Jesus’ Ascension… from a Heavenly angle. An imaginative look at what was going through the minds of the saints, the angels, and Christ Himself when Easter’s purposes had been accomplished.

Not In Vain
“Have you ever beat your fists against the doors of Heaven, demanding to know what God was doing? If you have, perhaps all you gleaned from the experience were bloody knuckles.” A look at the burning question of life–”Why?”–and the promise that God gives to each of us in answer.

Valiant for the Truth
“We are desperately in need of a generation that will stand up and be valiant for the truth. It is easy to blame the state of society on the media, on Hollywood, or on the educational elite. But this is only another form of avoiding the truth. Our prevalent attitude of wishy-washiness toward truth, like all sins, begins in our hearts. Truth hurts.”

Blessing
“Society believes that family is ‘uncool.’ Youth leaders tell teens that their parents are out of touch, so they should come to their pastor if they have problems. Older siblings spend oodles of energy trying to ditch their younger sisters and brothers in order to spend time at the mall, the movies, the bowling alley… anywhere where there are friends and no family. This is one side of the picture. As a product of the other side, I would like to protest.”

One Body
A hard-hitting and humourous look at the struggles of a church that has decided some positions in the Body are more important than others. “How much are we, in our thoughts, words, and actions, crippling the Body of Christ? These are the people that Christ gave His life for. Every brother or sister in the Lord is a temple of the Holy Spirit, whether they work at a gas station or a mission station.”

Now We Are Free
My grandmother, a Christian matriarch in every way, passed away a few days before Christmas in 2002. I wrote this article the same night. It is a tribute to her and to all who die in the Lord, and an inspiring look at the reality of life on the other side of death.

Joy to the World
“There He is, a dirty little child in a dirty little manger; and that young girl is his mother. He can’t sleep because the sheep are making too much noise, but it’s all right. He’ll sleep later. Tonight is not a night to sleep, anyway. The King has come.”

On Doing the Will of God
A challenge: do we leap to do God’s bidding with joy, or is our childlike obedience of the foot-dragging, pouty variety?

Boldness
“For most of us, the word ‘boldness’ is synonymous with the word ‘outspoken.’ And the truth is that words are worthless. Without a living, vibrant foundation behind them, words are nothing more than a plastic sword that will melt as soon as a little heat is applied.” A call to live bold lives.

A Question of Security
“Is it dangerous to follow the Lord’s leading? Oh, yes. But we must ask ourselves – is safety what we truly ought to seek? Did God send us into this world to build walls around ourselves, or to go out and face the enemy?” Marching orders from a little-known story in the Book of Jeremiah, and an admonition to seek safety in the one place it truly exists: beneath the shadow of His wings.

Allegiance
An allegorical look at what happens to a Christian whose allegiance is divided. This article was written in the heat of battle and quickly became of the most popular Letters in the collection.

Refuge of Lies
“I’ve known people with two faces, or more than two—one righteous, one gentle, one vicious and sarcastic. One face was more pleasant than another, but all buried the real person, choking for air under a heavy cloak of falsehood. We live in a world of fake smiles, fake laughter, fake worship, and fake tears. And it’s no wonder, for the god of this world is a liar, and the father of it.”

Not My Will
Jesus’ disciples showed great courage in Gethsemane–until they realized that Jesus’ capture was the will of God. Against the dramatic backdrop of the terrible night when Christ was delivered into the hands of sinners, this article encourages believers to keep faith in all circumstances. “If we can convince ourselves that God’s will is all wine and roses, then we will have no trouble sticking by it. But when the will of God is terrible—what then?”

A Writer’s Reflections
“May we never become so focused on the trivial that we forget to be grateful that our God is an I AM THAT I AM and not an I AM THAT YOU WANT ME TO BE. The mysteries of God cannot be found out by textbook. We can’t learn all there is to know about Him in a few years of study, or even in a whole life of consecration. No matter how deep we go, His ways are deeper.”

Amazing Grace
“Some of Scripture’s more frightening passages tormented me, with their warnings of sheep and goats, of castaways and those who ‘fall from grace.’ My works became a matter of desperately trying to keep my head up above water, instead of flowing from my love for and faith in the Lord of life. The harder I tried to work my way into God’s good books, the more aware of my own utter depravity I became.” Then I rediscovered grace. One of my favourite SamGen articles.

Tyrants and Conquerors
I wrote this article shortly after U.S. troops rolled into Baghdad in 2003, an event that got me thinking about the human race and our need for deliverance from a greater tyrant than Saddam Hussein had ever been. “Our Liberator must come from beyond this world; from outside of a race that has carried a deadly taint since Eden. If mankind is to be free, God Himself must intervene… and though much of the world is still unaware of it, He already has.”

For This Is the Will of God
“It is God’s will that we give thanks. I’m not telling you that you must go leaping and skipping, strewing flowers in your wake, when you feel more like laying down to die. God does not ask us to manufacture emotions where there are none. God’s will is not necessarily that you feel thankful—it is that you give thanks. The giving of thanks is an act of obedience, a matter of the will.”

Beauty
A lament for the lack of beauty in our world today, in the arts, media, and elsewhere, this article is also a call for Christians to love and create beauty because it reflects the True Heart behind creation. This article got quite a response when it was first published, and has continued to do with each re-publication.

Tinsel and Trappings and the Meaning of Life
“Last night in church we sang ‘Angels We Have Heard On High’ and I thought about the shepherds on that very first Christmas, so very many years ago: I thought how they saw and heard such a wonder, and yet, they didn’t fall into the trap we have fallen into. They did not go home and decorate angel trees; they didn’t make angel cookies and sing angel carols. They knew that Christmas wasn’t about angels. The angels knew it, too—they came for one reason, to point the hearts of men to a child in a manger.”

The Face of Love
“Love is not a passive feeling over which we have no control. Love is action and choice. At times everything in us will stand behind the choice. At other times, our whole being will cry out against it. Yet obedience demands that we love no matter how hard or how easy the task. Love is the whole business of our lives as Christians.”

Voices
All the voices of creation speak of the One who made them. Those who take the time to go out and listen will hear. Christians don’t often speak of listening to nature, but perhaps we should. This is a poetic, joyful call to breathe in the life all around us.

Light of the World, Salt of the Earth
“We share the calling of every God-follower who has ever lived, from the time of Adam till now. As light we illumine darkness; as salt we battle the corroding influences of the world. Sometimes this is a conscious battle, more often it is not. But it is being fought nevertheless, and the consequences of it affect everything around us.”

A Dance With Mystery
“And so we join hands with the cloaked spectre of Mystery and dance, unafraid, down the pathways of life. Those who do not believe cannot know what the future holds for them. And while we do not know the exact circumstances of ours, we do know this—for us, the name of Mystery is the Will of God, and that Will is good and perfect.”

Why Can’t We Sing?
“We’re on fire for God”
But our fire burns pale
Like neon lights on white city walls.
But where is the burning?
The deep-seated fire?
Our music falls short of a song.

A sort of long prose-poem mourning the church’s “teenage girl syndrome” and expressing deep longing for God.

Love Touches
“Together, the Father and the Spirit reached down to the lonely One. The Holy Spirit touched Him. Not an indescribable, spiritual touch: a physical one. It was a touch with soft feathers and black eyes; the touch of a dove. No one understood that day but John the Baptist, and even he was never quite sure what to make of what he had seen. All he knew was that he had seen great holiness at work. He had seen great love.”

Second Thoughts (on “Our Father In Heaven”)
Published in my original Lord’s Prayer book, this chapter was removed from Heart to Heart: Meeting With God in the Lord’s Prayer for editorial reasons. It’s a quick look at the practical implications of God’s omnipresence.

A Samuel Generation
The prophet Samuel served God every day of his life, yet, when God called him in the night, he didn’t recognize the voice. I believe God is calling our generation to move beyond religious service and truly know him. This article is both an explanation of the title Letters to a Samuel Generation and a call to Christians everywhere to know their God.

In the Morning
“When the sun is long in coming and warmth is a waning memory, when we can see our way to the cross but not beyond it—what then are we, the children of God, to do?” Hope and believe; trust and rejoice. For all those who are trapped in winter and longing for spring.

The Holy Mystery (What Manner of Man Is Jesus, Part 1)
“As often as we talk about the Incarnation, I think we forget. Our world trivializes everything, and unfortunately the Church has followed suit in many ways. We can turn on Christian radio and listen to Scooby-Doo singing ‘Hallelujah’; we can turn on secular television Christmas morning and watch a lonely cartoon Jesus sing ‘Happy Birthday to Me’ on South Park. Wonder goes by the wayside as the profane swallows the sacred, and we forget. Will you allow me to remind you?”

A Great Light (What Manner of Man Is Jesus, Part 2)
“If the Church today needs anything, it needs a clearer vision of Jesus. Paul calls Him ‘the visible image of the invisible God’ (Col.1:15, NLT). Jesus Himself declared that no man comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6). What manner of man is Jesus? If we want to know God, it is imperative that we find out.”

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