I was inspired to write this book when God began to do things directly in response to my questioning Him. All of a sudden, it seems like he showed up. And then all of a sudden, He shined the light down the history of my past and pulled the ripcord, bringing it all together, showing me the places where He has been there the whole time!
My hope is that He will do this for you, and you will also see where He has actually been walking with you, even though you may not have known it. My hope also is that you will "Speak to the Fire" in your own life and understand that you have the power to change things, with even a tiny bit of faith in our creator. Speak to that problem that has been haunting you! Speak truth to it, and forgive yourself!
No matter what walk of life you are—married, single, LBGT, parents or not—no matter where you are on your path in that walk or what religious label you carry—Christian, Mormon, Agnostic, Catholic, Muslim, Jewish, even Atheist—this will inspire you to start OR to keep talking to God, that fire within you!
There's a lot of uncertainty and a lot of division in our country these days. So much hate, so much prejudice, so much fighting. So many things done claiming to be "in the name of God" that just don't sit well with me.
The word Christian doesn't sound right to me anymore either. It has been distorted and twisted and used for political reasons. The church itself has been corrupted in many ways. But God, Christ, Jesus…They all still live and speak to each one of us, if we will quiet our minds enough to listen.
I even recall that, when I was single, I didn't put the label "Christian" on the dating websites but opted instead for the "spiritual but not religious" category. I dated Jewish, Muslim, Agnostic, Mormon, Catholic, pretty much anybody that I was attracted to. Each step of the way, I knew that God would lead me to the right person and that my steadfast belief in Him would not be shaken. Unequally yoked? I can hear you now. That is what grace is for, and when you are truly led with a humble heart, the Lord knows…and matches you up accordingly! Sometimes that path can be the very thing leading you closer to each other and to him. Pray, seek God's answer and follow that divine direction he puts in your heart AND gut.
There is a true voice of God, and there is a true spirit of God, and it doesn't matter what label you put on yourself. I was raised non-denominational Christian, I believe, and I even had to check with our pastor to ask! My mother was raised Pentecostal, but she was led away from some of it. She fell under the non-denominational category as well. She was a fire-breathing, Holy Spirit-filled prophet herself. She didn't always get it right, but she did get most of it, and I was blessed to have her as a mother. The term "false prophet" is in reference to willful liars doing their will out of greed vs. God's will he put in their spirit. Discernment comes into play on the part of the receiver. More on that later.
In every generation, God is still present. Sometimes we just don't recognize Him. Worse yet, sometimes we don't really understand where other people are in their path to Him. He created us all equally and He loves us all equally, regardless of what label we put on ourselves.
I have atheist friends who are more LED in goodness of heart and deed than some of the people claiming to be Christian. I have brought to my pastor some of my Muslim friends, who were given words from God of comfort and direction; and it didn't matter what faith, background, or country these friends were from.
God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, our Creator knows the heart. We don't. And we don't know what label people have on themselves (or that are placed on them), whether or not there's relevance. Even the great singer Prince, who was raised Baptist, switched to Jehovah's Witness; and in his walk, I am certain, he found the Lord, touched the face of God, and he loves Jesus. Know He understands