CCC 2023

Frazzled, hot and nervous! I pulled into the Drury entrance with my heart racing. The conference was about to start and I only had 10 minutes to check in and unload my luggage. I left work with plenty of time to get there, but traffic became congested just miles away from my exit. I jumped out of the truck with my purse and entered the hotel with a frantic look on my face. I was greeted by a gentleman whose voice lulled my soul and instantly I started to calm down. He checked me in and explained all the pleasantries to me, although I’ll admit I was paying more attention to the thoughts running through my head than the fact that I could get free water, soda, and popcorn.

As he handed me my keys to my room I smiled, thanked him, and rushed back out the door. I managed to find my room and ran into a lady I had met once before at another writer’s conference I attended earlier in the year. We hugged and then she asked, “Do you know where we are going?” I frowned and said, “No.” She smiled and said, “I’ll wait for you and we can go together.” My racing heart started to calm down once again, as I knew everything was going to be alright. 

We hopped on the elevator and found the conference room full of chatter. The ladies were mingling and I quickly found my spot at the back of the room in the corner and sighed. As I observed the women who were all excited to be there I was thankful that I had made it and couldn’t wait to see what God was going to do.

The next four days were nothing like I expected. I was accepted, encouraged, prayed for, and loved on. We had a full agenda from 8 am -8 pm. Our days went something like this: Breakfast, worship, devotional, LEARNING, lunch, LEARNING, dinner, worship. We started our day praising God and ended our day praising God. After worship, we would practice our speeches in groups. This was the best time of fellowship. 

The big day came when we presented our 3-minute speech, better known as the sizzle reel, to all the ladies. This speech was recorded and after the speech, we headed out to take headshots. We spent the morning listening to speeches, crying and laughing, cheering and being lifted up because we all crossed the “chicken” line and for many faced our fears. That night we had a celebration, walked the red carpet, and graduated from Christian Communicators Conference. The tension that had filled the conference room that morning had dissipated into excitement and joy.

Each lady had their own experience, and as far as I could tell was enjoying every moment. As for me, I walked in overwhelmed by the what-ifs and unknowns, and I walked away overwhelmed by the affirmations, acceptance, blessings, and love of my new sisters in Christ. I have finally found “my people”. The ladies understand me and support me. God is faithful to those who obey Him.

Sanctification

This summer my church is having a weekly Bible study over the fruits of the Spirit. As this study started God put the word sanctify on my heart. If you’ve been following my posts very long you know I’m a self-confessed word nerd, so what do I do? I studied the word sanctification and I wanted to share with you what I learned. Maybe it will open your eyes to a new perspective on your journey with God as it did for me.

Sanctification is to set apart for special use or to make them holy. Read that again. 

Once we accept Jesus as our savior we are set apart. “By this will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time.” Hebrews 10:10 Now, here comes the part that opened my eyes: we are working towards being like Jesus (holy).

As believers, we are to produce fruit. The fruit should come naturally as we walk with the Lord daily. Growing in the knowledge of Jesus is part of sanctification and if we’re not willing to put the work in to cultivate the soil of our hearts then we can not expect our fruit to grow.  

When we ask God to show us what we need to work on so there isn’t something keeping us from drawing closer to him; we are cultivating the soil. When we read our Bibles, study the word, and pray we are watering the seeds that will produce the fruit. When we allow God to work in our lives the fruit begins to grow. 

This is part of the sanctification process. We have already been sealed and set apart as one of God’s children, but with each phase of life, there will always be something we can work on to continue growing closer to God. We will have our droughts and floods along with rainbows and sunny skies. The thing we must all remember is God wants us to be open to His will for our lives and be willing to live for Him. 

We are a work of art created by a God who loves us more than we will ever comprehend on this earth. We were created in His image and He has a specific purpose for each one of us. He did not hit copy and paste when he created you or me, and for that I’m thankful. The thing is, as we experience life we may or may not choose to follow God or allow Him to have access to our lives so we can keep moving forward. 

The question is: Are we willing to trust Him through the good and the bad of our lives so that we can ultimately be who He created us to be?

God Said What? Tower of Babylon

 I am going to write a series titled, God Said What, which will discuss different things throughout the Bible that God said which either showed the abundance of faith of a person or people or just left me in deep thought. I can not tell you how long the series will be and at this moment I don’t plan on it being something I write about consistently or in any order, but they will be written as God puts them on my heart to write. I hope you enjoy them.

The first in our series is on the Tower of Babylon also known as the Tower of Babel. To give you a little background knowledge here; the tower was built in the land of Shinar and everyone spoke the same language. These people decided to build a city to live together and a tower that would allow them to have access to the heavens. This in itself was a rebellion against God’s command to fill the earth and shows the evil in their hearts.

Not only were the people not wanting to spread across the earth, but they also wanted to make a name for themselves which shows how prideful they had become. As they built this city, “The Lord came down to look over the city and the tower that the humans were building.” Genesis 11:5 “

The Lord said, “If they have begun to do this as one people all having the same language, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let’s go down there and confuse their language so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” Genesis 11:6-7

God said what?

God said, “Nothing they plan to do will be impossible.” Hold it right there, let that sink in. The people were building something, working together and nothing they planned would be impossible. When we work with others nothing is impossible. We can achieve great things and not-so-great things depending on what plans we are following. The people building the city and tower were focused on self-glorification and not following God’s command, so God stepped in and stopped them from completing their plan.

What can we learn from this?

When we don’t follow God’s commands he will redirect us. This could cause us to fail at our plans, but if we aren’t seeking God are our plans truly what we should spend our time on? We are intelligent and capable of so much more than we give ourselves credit for, especially if we follow God, seeking his wisdom and will for our lives. We can accomplish more when we are willing to work with others with the same desires as we do and seek to glorify God.

Did you catch that the Lord came down to the city? We don’t read very often that the Lord came down. So, this city and tower being built must have been a pretty big deal. We don’t know the form that the Lord came down in, but we do know he wasn’t happy with what he saw. Mankind tends to turn away from God quickly and seeks to fulfill their evil desires assuming that God will just overlook what they have done

The consequence of their pride, self-glorification, and rebellion of filling the earth was God changing each tribe's language. They could no longer understand one another and therefore had to abandon their mission.

How often do we allow pride to get in the way of our work and relationships? When we allow pride to win, we lose. We can accomplish so much more when we set our pride aside and choose to show compassion and love. God created us for relationships. Let’s work together to achieve the impossible and make a difference in this dark and hurting world.

“Pride comes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18

God's Waiting Room

 Are you currently in God’s waiting room? 

Waiting for Him to heal you or a loved one.

Waiting for Him to answer that prayer you’ve been praying for years.

Waiting for Him to show you the next step.

    It seems there are many of us in the Lord’s waiting room. I’m not sure if I’ve known this many people in the waiting room before or if it’s because I’m in the waiting room that I recognize other people are in the room with me. Being in the waiting room isn’t always the most comfortable place to be. When we are in the waiting room at the doctor’s office we are sitting amongst strangers and we are all sick or we are there to see if we can get answers as to why something is wrong with us; thus making us all uncomfortable or on edge. 

    The Lord’s waiting room isn’t much different. We’re waiting for God to do something or tell us something to do. We are anxious and wanted answers yesterday. God’s timing isn’t always aligned with our timing. We recognize God is in control, but what happens if we don’t wait?

    I was reminded in Sunday school about Saul and him not waiting on Samuel at Gilgal. “Saul, however; was still at Gilgal, and all his troops were gripped with fear. He waited seven days for the appointed time that Samuel had set, but Samuel didn’t come to Gilgal, and the troops were deserting him. So Saul said, ‘Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.’ Then he offered the burnt offering. Just as he finished offering the burnt offering Samuel arrived. So Saul went out to greet him and Samuel asked, ‘What have you done?” 1 Samuel 13:7b-11

Sit with me as I break these verses down by what jumps out at me. (I'm smiling at you as I pat the seat next to me.)

    The first thing that jumps out at me is that fear was a major factor in how Saul responded to Samuel’s late arrival. Saul’s troops were, “gripped with fear”, and I’m sure Saul wasn’t just sitting around chumming it up as the enemy troops were gaining ground. How often do we jump ahead of God because we are filled with fear of what we think is going to happen? When we let fear overtake us we tend to lose focus on God and his promises. We take control of the situation and do what we think is best only later to realize our fear never came to fruition.

    The second thing I notice is Saul did wait for the seven days that Samuel asked him to, but once that time frame was up he became impatient. Once the time that Saul thought was right expired he decided he would offer the burnt offerings to God instead of allowing Samuel to do his job as the prophet of the Lord. How often do we get impatient with God’s timing and do something that was not meant for us to do? We tend to be so focused on ourselves and our timeline that we don’t consider the big picture. While we are sitting in the Lord’s waiting room, God is working and only his timing will allow all the pieces to fall into the right place. He is working out all the details that we don’t even realize need attention. Could it be that when we don’t wait we not only miss out on a blessing, but we steal someone else’s opportunity to be blessed?

    The last verse and a question that no one really wants to hear, “What have you done” is asked. I’m sure this question was laced with disdain. Samuel was disappointed that Saul didn’t wait for his arrival, but the ultimate picture was Saul would lose his kingship because he did not listen to God. Thankfully, we can not lose our place as sons and daughters of the King because we don’t listen. We can, however, make a mess of things and have to clean it up before we can move forward.

    We don’t like to wait, but there is something special about waiting. We can use this time of waiting to draw closer to God. Every time we get anxious or impatient with waiting we can take it to God. While we’re waiting God is working. I had a friend/mentor tell me recently, “God knows,” and that simple phrase eased my anxious heart.

God knows we’re anxious.

God knows we want to know the next step.

God knows the problem.

God knows the answer.

    Being in God’s waiting room isn’t always comfortable or easy, but we can trust him. If we are waiting it is so he can work things out for our good. Even though it doesn’t always seem like it’s for our good, if we keep giving all our concerns, fears, and worries to him we will receive his peace and all will be okay. It may not work out the way we wanted or even thought, but it will work out so that God’s will and purpose for our lives are done and he receives the glory. 

“Wait for the Lord, be strong and let your heart be courageous. Wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27:14

Easter's Over, Now What?

    There is so much hype for Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, but what’s next? I wanted to take a different perspective this Easter and look at Pilate’s Good Friday all those years ago. When I did, a question stood out to me. Join me as I walk through that day and maybe it will help us decide…NOW WHAT?

    It’s early Friday morning and the Sanhedrin, who had just tried Jesus, presented him to Pilate. A little background here, Pilate was not well-liked by the Jews or his fellow Roman superiors. Herod and Ceaser both disliked him, so for him to be faced with making a decision on Jesus’ innocence put him in an awkward situation. The odds of him making someone unhappy were highly likely.

    Upon hearing the accusations from the elders of the Sanhedrin, Pilate declared Jesus was innocent and sent him to Herod hoping that Herod would take the sentencing of this innocent man into his hands and Pilate wouldn’t have to worry about upsetting the Jews, Herod, or Ceasar. Herod agreed with Pilate’s declaration and sent Jesus back to Pilate for him to make a final decision in this obvious religious spitefulness. 

    Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent and to clear his conscience of condemning an innocent man he offered to have Jesus flogged and then release him. The leaders of the Jews would have nothing to do with that and wanted him dead. Pilate went back to interrogate Jesus and he did not deny that he was King of the Jews, nor did he deny that he was the Son of God. I’m sure this unnerved Pilate, and then Pilate’s wife told him to have nothing to do with the death of Jesus because of a dream she had. This probably rattled him a bit, and at this point, Pilate felt defeated, but he still had a decision to make. He could release Jesus and cause a riot, which would further the dislike of him by Caesar, or he could grant the Jews their demand for justice and crucify him. Pilate, thinking the Jews would surely free Jesus over a murderer, offered to release Jesus, but the elders stirred up the crowd and they all yelled, “Crucify HIM!”. Washing his hands in front of the crowd, indicating he had nothing to do with the innocent man's blood Pilate released the murderer, Barabas, and ordered Jesus to be crucified.

     As these events played out, I’m sure Pilate was dealing with internal conflicts. He had to decide which group he wanted to please. He knew Jesus was innocent, but did he choose Jesus’ life or his own safety/comfort? 

    Can you imagine what he was thinking Sunday when the word got out that Jesus was not in the tomb, and he was in fact ALIVE? 

Pilate probably thought…Now what? 

    During Pilate’s last interrogation of Jesus, he asked Jesus a very important question. A question that often gets overlooked, but is important for us to know the answer to. The answer to that question is what separates Christian beliefs from the rest of the world. 

The question: “What is truth?”

The answer: The Bible

    As we come down from the exhilaration of Jesus’ victory over the grave we must seek the truth daily. By seeking the truth daily, the excitement from this weekend can last. We will not only have the excitement of the resurrection, but we will also have the JOY of the Lord stored in our hearts. We can be like Pilate and make the decision to please the leaders, stay in our comfort zones, and not cause a riot or we can live like JESUS and start a revolution.

John 18:28-19:16

Jesus Knocking

The lyrics “Knock, knock, knocking on heaven’s door” comes to mind when I think about people on their deathbeds, but also when I think about being persistent in prayer. I picture myself knocking on the door of a quaint little cottage with smoke escaping the chimney. God is sitting in the cozy living room, reading the newspaper, when I start knocking. He sets down the newspaper, calmly and slowly gets up, and walks to the door. As he opens the door I have my arm raised at 90 degrees, hand in a fist ready to knock on the door with a scowl on my face. Our eyes meet for a split second before I bow my head but not before I notice the sparkle in his eyes. 

God welcomes me in and we walk to the living room where I begin talking to him. He listens patiently as I pour out my heart to him, but a slight movement by the fireplace catches my attention and I stop my rambling, I look around, and I realize I’m not alone in the room. “Who are these people and why are they here?”  I ask impatiently. His smile fades as our eyes meet again, and ever so softly he replies, “These people came a knockin’ before you got here, and they haven’t left. You didn’t let them in when they came knocking at your door, so I have no choice but to let them in and wait until you decide what you’re going to do.”

Obviously, that is a scenario my brain just conjured up, but let me ask you a few questions. When is the last time Jesus knocked on your door? Did you let him in or were you too busy? Are the doors to your home open? Are the doors to our churches open? Are we too busy to allow Jesus in?

We knock on Jesus’ door throughout our lives and expect him to open up with immediate answers. We constantly seek him to fill our lives with our wants and needs and to give us all that we think we deserve. We rarely slow down and thank him for all he has done for us, much less allow him in. IN… to our lives. IN… to our day-to-day moments. IN… to our hearts. IN… to our plans. 

Jesus is knocking and his knock is getting louder. We have a decision to make. Will we open the door and let him in or allow the busyness of our lives to keep the door locked? We are at a pivotal moment in history. God is on the move. Are we willing to allow Jesus in and shake up our lives so the lost souls will be saved?

When we let Jesus in our lives will change. We will live life differently. It will be scary, but it will be worth it. People are hurting and looking for acceptance and love. As Christians, we can show them what they are looking for once we allow Jesus in. 

When we repent and allow Jesus to have full access to our lives He will use us. When we open the door for Jesus, he will open the doors for us to make the difference in this world that we are longing for. How many people are waiting for us to answer the knock at the door?

“See! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:20

"I Wanna Be Different"

Micah Tyler wrote a song titled, Different, which speaks to my heart every time I hear it. I want this song to be my life. It is truly something that I seek to do, but fail to be consistent. 

The song starts with these lyrics, “I don't wanna hear anymore, teach me to listen, I don't wanna see anymore, give me a vision, That you could move this heart, to be set apart, I don't need to recognize, the man in the mirror, And I don't wanna trade Your plan, for something familiar, I can't waste a day, I can't stay the same.”

I want to live my life so that others see Jesus in me. I want to live my life so that I am different, but I tend to get caught up in what will others think of me. I pray often that God will allow me to see what he sees, hear what he hears, and recognize His voice or nudge to help others. The truth is being different comes at a price. One that I’ve never truly been ready to pay until recently. God is on the move and He’s working in me and those around me. I also see him drawing others to him around our country and the world. Hallelujah! A revival! 

I have prayed for years that God would start a revival in me, the city, the state, and the country. It’s happening, but am I, are we, as Christians, ready for this? What does being different look like? What will it require of us? What will we have to sacrifice for a true revival to take place? What if others don’t want to do this? There are so many questions that are running through my head, but I know God is telling me your time is now.

Have you felt this? Let’s respond with an I’m all in and get to work. I’m tired of living scared and worried about what others will think. 

What does being different look like? The answer is really quite simple, but not always easy. Pray daily. Love others. Be kind. Be intentional with your words and actions. In the words of Micah Tyler, “We need to ask God to teach us to listen, to give us a vision, to move our hearts to be set apart and to not trade His plan for something of this world.” 

What will it require of us? It will look different for each of us because we all have our strengths and weaknesses. The overall requirement is going to be for each of us to deny ourselves daily and put others first, just as Jesus would do. We will need to slow down, seek God, and ask him to reveal how we can make a difference throughout our day. We will have to ask him, “How can I be different to make a difference in my circle today?” We may not be able to change the world, but we can change our world and that starts with the changes we make in our daily lives.

What will we have to sacrifice for a true revival to take place? Again, this will look different for each of us. God wants us to give him everything. God wants us to walk with him daily. God wants us to be ALL in. A true revival will start when we are willing to give up what he asks us to give up, to turn away from what is keeping us from drawing close to him, and live a life that shows we are walking with Him. Sacrifice can be a scary word, but if we live our lives fully expectant of God to take care of us we can have peace. 

What if others don’t want to do this? First, we don’t know what others want to do until we ask or we start doing it ourselves. Second, if God is telling us to do something we should just do it and not worry about if others will want to join. God will send those who he wants to be on the journey with us. There might be moments when we feel alone but we can rest assured that we are not alone, because God is with us. We can use those moments when we feel alone to seek God and draw close to him.

I no longer want to live a life that I recognize as something I planned, but one that has been directed by God. As the song says, “I don't need to recognize, the man in the mirror, And I don't wanna trade Your plan, for something familiar, I can't waste a day, I can't stay the same.” I’ve realized that my race started when I accepted Christ as my savior, and there have been many obstacles along with some false starts, but the urgency I have in my soul is overwhelming. God has drawn me closer to him, and while I know I will always be a work in progress; I am ready to let go of all my doubts and fears and follow him no matter the cost. I owe it all to Him, and there is no price higher than the one that Jesus paid for me. 

So, here I sit scared and excited about what God is about to do, because, 

“I wanna be different

I wanna be changed

'Til all of me is gone

And all that remains

Is a fire so bright

The whole world can see

That there's something different

So come and be different

In me”

“Therefore, with your minds ready for action, be sober-minded and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance.” 1 Peter 13-14