April 2024
Dea’s book…
(You will want to read this month’s “Sermon of the Month” to learn what is happening to my book.
March has been dedicated to writing my new book: REVELATION: End Times Guidance…a BIG job! My 64-day email teachings were the basis for the study, with many additions, deletions, and edits. The Lord would put things in my heart, (like in the middle of the night!), and I would make further changes. This is NOT just another theological study of John’s revelation. I sought to show it reveals how to live NOW, not just in the closing days of time, and how to find guidance from its truths. I feel like this is my most important book yet! And if, as some prophesy, the total eclipse of April 8 is a sign of hard times beginning for our nation, this book is timely to help people get through 2024-25! I’m thankful to Linda Stephens, my editor, for her hours and hours of assistance (She is a retired pastor’s widow, living in Houston with her son, who worked as an editor for a Newspaper, so she knows what she’s doing!). There were wholly unexpected problems with the publishing, delaying it for a month! So much so that we may have to begin working with a new publisher to ever get it published. God has assured me that this is all “working together for good.” I don’t think the devil likes this book at all, so he’s fighting its publication! Here is a sneak peek (unfinished) look at the possible front cover that we have been working on in the next column…
I am next scheduled to fly to Dallas, Texas, for a Miracle Service on April 12 and a service on Sunday, 14th. I expect to be preaching more on the End Times in the coming meetings and bringing my book with me if and when it is published. Thank you for praying against the devil’s strategies against this ministry! Read what we are going through on the next page!
Nathan’s report…
I, Dea, wanted to write a report on my son’s behalf this month. Last month he reported in the March Newsletter about an opportunity he had to speak to a group of about 15 young people. He spoke on the importance of evangelizing the lost and challenged them to do so. A few weeks later, the youth leader reported to Nathan that the youth were now less fearful or shy to witness, but were now boldly doing so! One of his youths told him Nathan’s message…
“…was the best sermon I have ever heard!”
Then, the youth leader added,
“And I agree with him.”
Nathan is definitely called to be a preacher of the gospel and your prayers and financial gifts are helping this up-and-coming kingdom instrument! Thank you! God will reward you. Next month, expect to hear great news about his coming planned ministry in Japan.
By Dea Warford
I have published 3 books since 2020. I used a professional Christian publishing service each time. They developed the cover, the formatting, the pagination, and the many things you have to do to make any book publishable. The number one place to publish your book is KDP Amazon. I don’t know of one Christian author who doesn’t use that service. My fourth book is ready to be published.
For my 4th book, I found a KDP publishing service online that offered to do everything for only $600.00. The quote I got from the previous Christian company was as much as $3000.00, so because Warford Ministries didn’t really have the money at this time for that large of an expenditure, I signed up for the KDP service.
The men I worked with (online and by phone) were Sean, and his assistant, Nathan. His “employees” helped design the book cover shown on the previous page. (I learned later that he probably was just using someone in Asia for $15.00 an hour. Computers and the internet make this possible). We were discussing the formatting and other necessary things to prepare the book when Sean started pressuring me to invest more money so that he could help me sell a lot more books! He offered to help me develop an “Author’s Website” to steer buyers to purchase from there (which I now realize could have meant purchasing from HIM!). But, I informed Sean that I already had an excellent website from which I sell my books. I kept putting him off every time he mentioned it (and it was almost every time we talked!). I explained that this book is to sell to churches when I travel, and to my friends and supporters, and not primarily to make money and that I couldn’t invest more in this project at this time. He just couldn’t accept this. It is a much longer story, but the short of it was that he finally asked if he could borrow $1,000.00 from me, assuring me I would make many more than that when he got through doing all the things he could do to sell more of my books. I smelled a rat! With further research, I discovered that there were many (and I do mean many) who are willing to help you publish a book on KDP. Like Sean, though, they probably assure you of making a lot of money with their help (which, of course, isn’t free). I have a friend who was, frankly, a poor writer (She is now in heaven), who paid $5,000.00 to get her book published and for sale on Amazon. Last I looked, she sold 4 books, and I bought one of them! Anybody can become an author if they are willing to pay enough! I am an author because God has called me to be one, not for the money! After a month of this mess with Sean, I finally wrote an email demanding him to either publish the book for Warford Ministries or refund the $600. He never got back to me! I tried to find a phone number to talk to KDP headquarters but discovered that there are not a bunch of employees sitting at desks, waiting for phone calls to help people. Everything, it seems, is now AI. You deal with a computer for business! (I am sure you have learned, as I have, that every company will talk to you on the phone as a last resort, first giving you many options besides talking to an operator!). But KDP is apparently different. They have millions of people who want to become rich by publishing the wonderful little books they have written. It is not their problem if you can’t figure out how to do it or find someone you can trust and pay to do it for you. It is your problem! Well, it became my problem. I considered hiring an attorney. I considered threats. But, ultimately, I just “cast my care on him, for he cares for me!” But, it was a real learning experience for me!
There were three agents possibly involved in this book fiasco: 1/ men, 2/ the devil, 3/ the Lord. Let me explain. When Job experienced his great losses, Job Ch. 1 revealed what was going on: 1/ men attacking and killing his household, 2/ the devil (inspiring them and using the elements to kill Job’s children), 3/ the Lord allowing all this for His eternal purposes. A devious man was entrusted with my book. The devil didn’t want it published. And God wanted to teach me a few important things, things that I needed to learn through this. I am, by nature, trusting, but we live in an age (thanks to AI) when you can no longer trust ANYONE who hasn’t earned your trust. I had never met Sean. He hadn’t earned my trust. I figured as an employee (I thought) of KDP, I could trust him. I learned otherwise!
Another costly thing happened recently. Our garage isn’t big enough for our two big, older Buick Park Avenues that my wife and I drive. So, I have to park mine on the street out front of the condominiums. A few weeks back, I walked out to my car and discovered that somebody had sideswiped my car in the night, breaking off the mirror and leaving ugly damage to the body. We hated to spend the money on cosmetics for a car, but I once had an old vehicle I drove for years that looked so bad that I would at times park it down the street away from churches where I came to preach (embarrassed by it). I didn’t want to do that anymore. Besides, I feel it is a good testimony to have a nice-looking car when you preach to people that “The blessing of the Lord makes rich.” I didn’t bother to report the damaged car to the police (What could they do about it? Get a few detectives to take pictures, fingerprints, and make casts of tire marks? Ha, ha!). As with Job, I believe there were three involved in my car’s damage: 1/ men (likely an illegal, a drunk, or an uninsured driver), 2/ Satan (He hates that car because it gets me to meetings where I am a threat to his kingdom!), 3/ God (who wants me to trust him for His provision and wants me to learn to patiently suffer problems—like everybody else on earth!).
I had already prepared my “Sermon of the Month” yesterday, but in the night I felt the Lord gave me this message instead. I even realized something this morning I hadn’t thought about. There were pieces of silver plastic (my car’s color) around the accident scene. I picked them up in case the body man could reuse them. When I got to his shop, he told me that a few of the bigger pieces were not from my car, and showed me the slight difference in color. What were the odds that my car would be hit by a car with the same color that night? Only 12.6% of cars are silver. And there were probably about 20 cars parked not far from mine. So the odds of probability were less than 1 out of a hundred for my car to be the one damaged that night. Imagine the odds of Job’s animals and household being destroyed all at the same time! I believe the Lord showed me that a silver car had hit my car is a sign that the hit-and-run driver was just a man like me. We both have accidents, face financial losses, and live in a fallen world. But there is one BIG difference: I have grace. I am saved. I am on my way to heaven. Yet, in hell, a million years from now, that man may be asking himself, “Why didn’t I repent of my sins, stop drinking, and start obeying the laws?” But in heaven, a million years from now, I guarantee you I won’t be asking myself, “Why didn’t I park that car in a safer place!” (brings things into perspective, doesn’t it?).
I don’t want Sean, Duke, that driver, or anybody else to go to hell, so I forgive them all!
I was telling a friend, Jean Griggi, about this experience, and she reminded me of the truth called: “Death of a Vision.” This is the spiritual principle that the Lord often allows someone’s vision or dream, even if it is from Him (Joseph in Genesis is the primary illustration), to die, making it seem impossible for it to ever come to pass. I trusted my vision for this book was from the Lord. Someone even donated $600.00 to pay for its publication! Wasn’t that a sure sign? Then, you see what happened. Is it possible that I missed it? Maybe I am not supposed to sell this book because I believe in a pre-wrath rapture? Besides, the pre-tribulation rapture doctrine is so important to some that they will not even consider any thought to the contrary. I preached in a church in Iowa. The pastor allowed me to get people’s email addresses who wanted to receive my teachings and a few home addresses who wanted to support my ministry on a monthly basis. Later, in one of my newsletters, I shared what I believe about the timing of the Lord’s return. That pastor wrote me and told me to remove all of his congregation from both my newsletter mailing list and from my email teachings. I honored him and did that. But, it was a graphic lesson to me about how uncompromising some Christians are about the timing of the Lord’s return.
I was tossing and turning at night, concerned if I should tone down my teaching to be more accommodating to any who might feel like that pastor. The next day, I got in touch with a pastor friend, Corey Lovers, a godly man who strongly believes in the pre-tribulation rapture. He counseled me that if God had given me what was in that book, I should go ahead with it. I did, but I made it very clear that this was just my opinion and that I could be wrong. I am aware that many men of God, wiser than me, believe in a pre-tribulation rapture. They could be right! Though in my book I showed scripturally why I believe like I do, I left room for others to be right. Then KDP happened!
If it is just men, I need to cut my losses and perhaps find someone else to help. If it is the devil, I need to wage warfare against him for this project. If it is God, I need to accept this “Death of a Vision” and see what God is saying through all this.
I had planned to take my new book to my home church, where I am scheduled to speak in May (and also happen to turn 75 years old that month!). This might be my last book, so it would be a blessing to make it available to my church family. Now it looks like that won’t happen. Am I disappointed? Of course. But I trust the Lord. If I got ahead of His timing or if there is some presently unknown purpose going on (as there was with Job), I choose to continue to be a worshipper of Him and to say, “The Lord gave (and if the Lord wants to take away), blessed be the name of the Lord!”
So, we have looked at my problems. Now, let’s look at yours. If men have hurt you, stolen from you, abused you, forgive them! Above that, forget what they have done. If the devil is in the details, trust the Lord for revelation on how to best defeat his schemes. If God is in it, humble yourself before Him and repent if He reveals that your sin or unbelief is a root of the problem. And if He is testing you, as He did Job, PASS THE TEST by continually praising Him and trusting Him. Perhaps you are just experiencing the “Death of a Vision.” Remember, your life is a book, written in heaven. And…
IT is not dependent on KDP!!!!
PS: Sean apparently relented and sent me a formatted copy of my book for my ok after I had composed this newsletter! So, I will either use him or take all this as a sign to use another formatter. Either way, I forgave. I praised. I trusted. You do the same with your problems! And be ready to order my book when it is available.