The God Who Covers
The Revelation of God's covering in scripture
Available 2027
About the Book
This book traces the beautiful theme of God’s covering from Eden through the patriarchs, the tabernacle, the Davidic tent, the temple, the incarnation of Christ, and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Covering is the divine provision and invitation that makes intimacy with a holy God possible and creates the atmosphere for true worship — the enthronement of God in the praises of His people. It is written with both theological depth and a passionate heart for worship, intercession, and the preparation of the Body of Christ for the days ahead.
The Day of Small Things
AUTHOR STORY
For who has despised the day of small things? Zechariah 4:10
From the acknowledgements:
As I worked through the process of putting this material into a more conducive form for publishing, I began with the first version of the book that I have had in a Microsoft Word document for many years now. In its original form, I even included all the expected parts of a book, including front matter, which had all the bells and whistles that you would expect for a published book. Right there on the first page it said “Copyright 2001 J. Todd McDonald”.
I mean, not many people can say it took them three decades to write and then publish a book! I’m not really sure why I waited over 25 years to give publishing this a try, but in the meantime I’ve certainly had a lot of practice publishing! Over the intervening years, and having lived in the world of academia itself, I have written over 100 peer-reviewed articles that deal mostly with cybersecurity and computer science. If anything else, I guess you could say I have learned how to write a little!
As I read thoughts from those years ago, I was pleasantly surprised that not much of my perspective has changed over the years, though the world has changed considerably in 25 years! A lot of the book was still in skeleton form with just some key thoughts and verses, so there was still a lot of fill in left to be done. Though I might have considered rewriting the entire book in maybe a more informed way or with different language, I decided to just use most of the same words as I wrote them a few decades ago.
Maybe it’s a good sign that I wouldn’t rewrite much anyway. Spiritual truths are eternal and, when you hit the mark, the passage of time really doesn’t alter their essential elements. I actually have three books with beginning points that predate the millennium. Let that sink in - the last century. I chose this book first because of the mostly simple message and concept - and the still urgent need for us to understand God’s covering in this time of human history. Many more books are to come, I am sure. But for today, I will not despise the day of small things and small beginnings.
J. Todd McDonald has had three careers. He served in the US Air Force for 25 years as a Communications and Cyber Operations Officer, retiring as a Lt Colonel in 2011. He has also been in academia for over 20 years, serving as a Professor of Computer Science on the faculty of both the Air Force Institute of Technology and the University of South Alabama. He has a PhD in Computer Science from Florida State University, a MS in Computer Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology, and a BS in Computer Science from the US Air Force Academy. His third career has always been his life calling as a teacher and worshipper in the Body of Christ--he has served for almost 40 years as a Sunday School teacher, preacher, seminar leader, worship leader, musician and singer, writer, and lay minister. In the twilight of his life and other careers, he will focus on full-time ministry and serving the church in whatever way the Lord chooses. He is well acquainted with writing, having co-authored over 100 peer-reviewed academic articles in journals, conferences, and workshops. The God Who Covers is his first theological work to be published, with plans for many other books. He also has plans for podcasts and channels that include the Songs of Intercessory Worship, which are live recordings of prophetic and spontaneous worship that involve singing scripture, with focus on the Psalms. He has a heart and calling for intercessory worship, which combines music, singing, prayer, and worship as a private and corporate expression. Part of that includes resources and teaching on the subject of the restoration of the Tabernacle of David.