The Centurions Wife Acts Of Faith 1 Bunn Davis Oke Janette by Bunn Davis; Oke Janette 9780764205149, 0764205145 instant download after payment.

Janette Oke has dreamed for years of retelling a story in a biblical time frame from a female protagonist's perspective, and Davis Bunn is elated to be working with her again on this sweeping saga of the dramatic events surrounding the birth of Christianity...and the very personal story of Leah, a young Jewess of mixed heritage trapped in a vortex of competing political agendas and private trauma.

Caught up in the maelstrom following the death of an obscure rabbi in the Roman backwater of first-century Palestine, Leah finds herself also engulfed in her own turmoil--facing the prospect of an arranged marriage to a Roman soldier, Alban, who seems to care for nothing but his own ambitions. Head of the garrison near Galilee, he has been assigned by Palestine's governor to ferret out the truth behind rumors of a political execution gone awry. Leah's mistress, the governor's wife, secretly commissions Leah also to discover what really has become of this man whose death--and missing body--is causing such furor.

This epic drama is threaded with the tale of an unlikely romance and framed with dangers and betrayals from unexpected sources. At its core, The Centurion's Wife unfolds the testing of loyalties--between two young people whose inner searchings they cannot express, between their irreconcilable heritages, and ultimately between their humanity and the Divine they yearn to encounter.
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Grandmother of the evangelical Christian fiction boom, Oke teams with Bunn, another established author brand, in this biblical fiction embroidered around a minor character in the gospels, one Roman soldier whose young servant was miraculously healed by Jesus. The centurion Alban seeks advancement in the Roman government of occupied Judaea. His plan to advance will win him an unwilling bride, Leah, a young woman whose family's economic disgrace has forced her into servitude in the household of Roman governor Pilate, who has recently condemned to death a controversial Jewish spiritual leader by the name of Jesus. This nicely plotted series kickoff provides interesting back stories for the central characters that cry out for further development. A few supporting characters hold interest, including Alban's fellow soldier Linux and Pilate's wife Procula, another intriguing bit player in the gospel of Christ's passion. Unfortunately, the characters who follow Jesus have but a single dimension: piety. Fans of these popular authors will love their joint effort imagining and animating the context of Christianity's birth.
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Mediterranean breezes caressed her, and Leah could not help but pause between kitchen and bath house. She lifted her face to the cry of the sea birds and the few clouds overhead. Sea waves lapped gently along the promontory's edge. Not even the first stirrings within the palace compound behind her could wipe out her sense of peace. Leah finally turned toward the elaborate courtyard with its columns and statuary, the opulent ceramic tiled baths, and the impressive marbled facade of the palace. No childhood dreams had ever included residing in the palace of the Prelate of Palestine. In different circumstances, Leah would have found it all impossibly beautiful. In different circumstances...Leah sighed and turned away. The reality was that she was here because she had no other recourse. Far to the northwest lay her home. True, it was no longer her home, but it still held her heart. There her mother faced a new dawn also, alone. Leah yearned to be with her, giving what love and comfort she was able. But trapped within this imposing palace, she was surrounded by elegance she could appreciate only from a distance. Yes, even though she had been born to wealth, to position, yet here she was little more than a slave. Bitterness filled her throat and caught her breath. She pushed the dark thoughts aside, cast one more longing look out over the wide expanse of sea, and with a determined lift of her shoulders walked on toward the bathhouse. Her first of many duties for the day would have her laying out fresh towels and robes...