Come to the Fire

Last week my friend learned that her brother was critically ill and that her daughter’s cancer had returned. For several days this news was a terrible weight in her spirit. “Here’s how Jesus helped me this time,” she said.

She read a piece by Bob Benson about a tree. He said if he were a tree, he would not want to be a trunk. A trunk carries the weight of the branches and it never bears any fruit. He then referred to the verses in John 15 in which Jesus said He is the vine and we are the branches. Jesus will carry our weights, our burdens and all we are to do is to bear fruit.

After reading this, she told the Lord she was going to let Him bear the weight of how long her brother lived and how long her daughter lived. She knew God heard her and He lifted her load. Jesus became her burden-bearer.

She is now bearing fruit. “The fruit of the Spirit is … peace.”

This was my second year to attend and both years have been fantastic! I loved the music and Linda Boyette as a speaker. I also appreciated that there were women of all ages in attendance. That makes a young woman like me feel more comfortable.

I also really love Melinda Priest’s ministry. She is young and vibrant. As a person dealing with infertility at this time, I appreciate seeing someone on the other side. Her willingness to share her story last year made me realize that there are other women who understand what I am dealing with right now.

Julie, Shawnee Church of the Nazarene, Shawnee, Kansas

I come by myself, soak up the word and enjoy the worship immensely.

Brenda, Grace Evangelical Church, St. Joseph, Missouri

The best part of the conference is the Spirit, Jesus was ever present. The focus was on Him… and on achieving Holiness on a daily basis. The music was fantastic, and all of the presenters were great.

Bunny, College Church, Olathe, Kansas

I was so sorry the main speaker wasn’t available, but I know that must have really put the planning staff in a tough situation. She had been so enjoyable the year before. The conference is well planned, well carried out, and quite wonderful as it is.

Sue, Covenant Chapel, Overland Park, Kansas

I was touched by each speaker and each song. I was amazed at how many women came forward for healing and I received new truth throughout the conference. I sent out registration forms to all my sisters and their daughters and to 4 of my friends in MN hoping they could come, but only one niece made it from Nebraska. Several of our ladies from our church were together and we all received such a blessing we will be talking about and thanking the Lord for the next year. I told my sister that it was the best thing I have experienced in 25 years. The Holy Spirit was there. There was not one thing I did not enjoy. I was looking forward to hearing Beth Coppedge so much, but was very blessed by Linda’s messages and God spoke to me through her. Sometimes God changes things when He is in control. Patricia Kansas City First Church, Kansas City, Missouri
I received personal insight from the Holy Spirit while at the conference regarding an area I need to work on spiritually that I was not even aware of! It was life-changing for me. Hard to hear, but I’m sooo thankful to God for opening my eyes to it.

Jeanne, Christ Community, Overland Park, Kansas

God was so thick if He had been jello we would have had to use a knife to cut through Him! The ladies in our church have continued to be inspired by the conference and have passed that inspiration on to the other ladies. God met me there – I am already Spirit filled, but He was especially real then. I am the church Sunday School Superintendent and have been concerned for some time about SS teachers and space. He showed me in a dream on Thursday night that He is in control of the situation. The last 1/2 hour of the conference, I actually felt like we would fly away. It was totally awesome! (And I do not care if this is used or not) If it improves much more, I will see you in Heaven. I do hope it continues in the same place next year. If it moves farther from Centralia, IL, I am concerned that we will not be able to attend.

Tina, Church of the Nazarene Centralia Illinois

It was very refreshing to attend a women’s conference that proclaimed the message of holiness and applied it to my life as a woman. There is such hope in this message. While other conferences may be helpful, they don’t leave one with the same confidence in God’s ability to change and make us complete in His image.

Amy, Church of the Nazarene Blue Springs, Missouri

The spirit of worship was so evident. It was so wonderful seeing women coming together for one thing….to worship God. It was wonderful seeing so many receive help (myself included). I have heard that some would like to see it moved to other parts of the US. My suggestion is to have 3, one on the East side, one here, and one somewhere on the West side of the US. For some who are not able to travel long distances, it would give access to such a wonderful conference. Kansas City is a good central location, if there can’t be three locations. Maybe you could have mini conferences in different parts of the US, with the big one in KC. It would be wonderful if a way could made for more women to attend. I am sad that so many women in KC did not take advantage of the opportunity to attend such a wonderful conference.

Shirley, College Church of the Nazarene, Olathe

I received a new sense of my responsibility to intercede for other nations and peoples. Sometimes the task of taking the gospel to unreached peoples seems too huge for “just me” to do anything about, but I was challenged as never before to be a missionary of intercession. Also, the Communion table was a beautiful place of rest and comfort for me. God spoke to me, through the singing of a Psalm on Friday evening, that my hope is in Him alone, not because He has the power to answer my prayers or fix my problems, but my hope is just in HIM. He ministered to me powerfully during that worship song that says, “I love you, Lord; You are my strength, my rock, my deliverer, my shield, my strong tower…” I embraced the fact that He is my strength, not just because of what He can do but because of Who He is. This conference was different from any other I have attended (literally dozens) in that its objective was not to give us the warm fuzzies or even to remind us that God cares about our problems. It was to help us seek Him at a deeper level and understand our part in seeing His glory cover the earth. Maybe not as giggly or giddy or fun, but with far longer lasting results. would have liked to see more of the worship dancers! One song was definitely not enough of such a meaningful worship experience. I honestly don’t know how the conference can be improved. I’m sure there are many other activities you could do, but I would be careful to keep them all prayer-centered and very focused, not just fun things to keep women busy. Women do need fellowship and fun, but I don’t think that’s the purpose of this conference. So… I think you have created the perfect schedule to accomplish the mission to which God has called you.

Faith, Church of God Holiness, El Dorado Springs Missouri

October 9-11, 2008
College Church of the Nazarene
Back by popular demand, Beth Coppedge will be speaking

Yesterday as Linda Boyette and I talked on the phone, she commented that we don’t just assume a friend will come be with us—we invite her. In the same way, why don’t we not just assume Jesus will be with us, but invite Him? So we prayed together specifically inviting Jesus to come share our day with us.
It was our way to take literally the words in Proverbs 3:6: “In all your ways acknowledge him.” If I acknowledge someone, when she is in the room I don’t ignore her. I am consciously aware of her presence.

But would this simple but sincere prayer make a difference?

I knew Jesus heard our request when later in the day situations arose in which I didn’t know how to respond or when a conversation needed extra patience. The thought would come to me that Jesus was there and I visualized Him standing with us. I would think What would the atmosphere be like if He were here?

Each time I did that, it seemed to me the atmosphere changed. At least my attitude softened and the fear of not knowing what to say vanished.

Jesus promises that if I acknowledge Him, He will direct my paths, and I think that promise includes the paths of my thoughts and attitudes.

When I visualized Jesus standing in our midst, I felt His supernatural Spirit to be close by. He promises to never leave us. That’s a promise too good to ignore.

Have a question? Send an email with the subject line “Ask Aletha” to aletha@cometothefire.org. Check back often to find out if your question is featured on the web or in the magazine.