About Jim Sutton

Jim Sutton lives in the USA, in Montana with his wife, Becky. They have 3 children and 10 grandchildren (soon to be 11), scattered all around the United States.

"Jim" is a nickname, his actual name is James Sutton. He was born in the small city of Pasadena, Texas, in 1952. He attended school in Houston, where he also later met his wife. Two of their 3 children were born in Houston.

At the age of 17, Jim was born again as a believer and follower of Jesus Christ. (Read Jim's story here: What Jesus Did.) His conversion to genuine Christian faith followed several years of traditional church membership, and destructive juvenile delinquency (not that delinquency is a natural result of church membership or attendance).

After giving his life to Christ, Jim met his wife-to-be: Becky. They met in a small country church. Immediately after exchanging vows, Jim and Becky set off to wander the western United States, visiting Colorado, Utah, Nevada, California, Washington state and Montana. Later, they also made several journeys into the deep south, visiting Alabama, & Mississippi, and living for a time in Georgia (where their first child was born) and Florida.

When he isn't writing stories or verse, Jim is busy maintaining websites, producing ad copy, designing catalogs & brochures, and creating computer graphics. He also enjoys woodworking, dabbles in sculpting, and experiments with other art forms (see an example here).

As already hinted at above, Jim and Becky have traveled the United States quite a bit, from east to west and from north to south. Natives of Texas, they find that the entire US feels like home. In addition to Montana, they've lived in Indiana, New Mexico, Wyoming, Kansas, Colorado, upper New York state, Georgia, Florida, California, and of course, Texas itself. They also lived for a year down in Old Mexico, and have traveled up into Canada a few times. In all these places, they met and spent time with wonderful people from all walks of life.

Jim and his wife are both Christians, enjoying a living relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. They believe strongly that all born-again Christians are valid members of the one world-wide church, the Body of Christ. While they hold firmly to their own convictions and theological positions, they recognize and accept Christian brothers and sisters from other church backgrounds. You can read more about the faith they share at GoodWordUSA.

Years ago, Jim and Becky ran a small weekly newspaper in western Montana that covered several communities. It was a highlight of their lives. Jim now maintains a website where you can pick up some ideas that might prove helpful in starting and running your own newspaper or other print publication. See that here.

Even though Jim stays busy with commercial work, he also offers free Christian graphics that can be used in email, on your website, or even as desktop wallpaper. The collection features some of his own creative animations and ePosters, and are free for anyone to download and use. You can visit the collection here.

While the Christian life is certainly marked by faith and the power of God, it is not always a bed of roses. The journey of faith, from spiritual birth to the final rewards in heaven, is often one of failure and hard lessons as well as repeated and ultimate victory and rejoicing in Jesus Christ. We can see this in the lives of godly saints throughout the pages of Holy Scripture, in the lives of the apostles, in the pages of church history, and in any Christian's life today. Jim Sutton's life and journey of faith is no different in that respect.

Jim has struggled with doubt, confusion, and unbelief, just as all Christians will. All that we receive from God, by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, will be tested by fire. Satan will do all in his power to destroy, break down, ruin, and wrangle away the blessings and gifts of God. Ultimately, of course, Satan cannot win. But he often does succeed in robbing Christian believers of their present joy and confidence when he is able to delude them and distract them with his deceptions and antics.

We must all each choose — and not just once — who and what we will believe. As Adam and Eve lost their earthly domain through unbelief which led to disobedience, so we also can lose temporal blessings and joy when we stop clinging to the promises and warnings God offers us in His Word. We can lose our health, our position in society (and the church), and even our very lives, physically, if we begin to follow the false claims of darkness over God's perfect truth and light. It's that simple.

Satan is an accuser of the brethren, a liar and murderer from the beginning. He is not anyone's friend. He and his hordes of evil forces of darkness work continually and unceasingly to try and hinder, stop, and destroy God's ultimate program for each human life. God desires all people to be saved. Satan desires all people to be destroyed. Whatever God loves, Satan hates. Whatever God pushed forward, Satan will resist.

Happily, God will win in every area of His work of grace, whereas Satan will lose all that he has attempted to accomplish. God wins. And in Jesus Christ, all who hope in God will also win.

This work of God's grace is as evident in Jim Sutton's life as in anyone else's. Jim's only hope is life in Jesus Christ. And that is a good place to be, and a good hope to possess.

			verse