by Suellen | Join the Mission, Vision and Goals
Which Mountain are You Climbing?
Now you may think that this is a strange question. We have been focusing on influencing the world for God. Why would I suddenly start talking about mountains?
To understand where I’m coming from, let’s go back a few years. In fact, let’s go back to the year 1975.
In that year, Loren Cunningham, founder of Youth With a Mission (YWAM), had some visitations from God. His heart was sold out to the ministry to which God had called him, as he was sending missionaries into all areas of the world. These ministers were bringing people to Jesus and helping them to grow in their new faith. There was tremendous fruit being produced for God’s Kingdom.
However, he realized that forces were working against his mission in a mighty way. Many times discouragement would hit when he would see the new converts being swept back up into the current thinking of his or her society.
During this season, Loren was getting a revelation of the many forces of darkness – coming from many different areas of life. It was the “secular world” coming against the “sacred world” he was living in as a minister.
As Loren sat pondering, the Lord took him to Acts 10:9. It’s the episode in which Peter received a revelation to go to the Gentiles. The Lord gave Peter a vision. Three times a sheet came down from heaven containing animals, reptiles and birds. A voice said, “Rise, Peter. Kill and eat.”
Each time Peter would say, “No, Lord. Never have I eaten anything which was unclean.”
After the third time, the Lord spoke. “Do not call anything impure which God has made clean.”
Then the Spirit said to him, “Peter, three men are looking for you. Go downstairs and go with them. For I have sent them.”
So Peter went with the men to Cornelius, a centurion in the Italian Regiment. And he led the officer and his entire family to the Lord. As Peter stood there, the Holy Spirit fell on these people – just as He had done for Peter and the apostles in the upper room.
Thus for the first time, Peter realized that God was calling gentiles to receive Jesus – and not just the Jews.
This was a transforming time for Peter. And also for the Jewish leaders of the early church. They were just learning that God was a God of all the believers in the world. A revolutionary thought.
Well, on this day in 1975, as Loren came to that passage, the Lord said, “Do not call anything impure which I have made pure.”
Of course, the minister’s mind first raced to food restrictions. But the Spirit said, “No. I am talking about things you call ‘sacred’ versus what you call ‘secular.’ You consider church and Sunday “sacred.” You consider every other area of society to be “secular.” Then the Lord said, “I have created it all. It’s all for My glory.”
This required some pondering, indeed! Loren had never thought in those terms before.
As he sat in the stillness, Loren heard God begin to list for him the seven spheres of influence in a society. Then he began to see that these seven were in existence in every culture where his mission teams had gone.
The seven: Religion, Family, Government, Education, Commerce (Business, Science, and Technology), Media, and Celebration (Arts, Entertainment, and Sports).
Then came the realization: these seven areas of culture bear such a great influence on people that a nation will never be truly discipled for Jesus until all of these areas have Christians involved at high levels.
When Loren Cunningham received this revelation from God, he wrote the areas down on a yellow pad and started praying over them. He was on vacation in Colorado at the time.
A dear friend of his, Bill Bright, who had founded Campus Crusades for Christ was also vacationing at a log cabin in the area. When Bright heard that Cunningham was nearby, he invited him over. Loren tucked the list of seven spheres into his shirt pocket, and headed for the visit.
Was he ever in for a surprise!
As he walked in the door, Bill Bright said, “I want to share with you something which the Lord just spoke to me. It’s about seven spheres of influence in society which hinder or help the discipling of a nation.”
Wow! Was that ever confirmation! They compared notes and they had received the same list from the Lord.
About a month later, Darlene Cunningham, Loren’s wife, was listening to an interview with Francis Shaeffer who was speaking from his ministry, L’Abri, in Switzerland. He had recently received a word from the Lord in which he was given seven “Molders of Culture.”
Do you think that it was the same seven?
Yes. It was!
Fast forward a few decades, and a minister/marketplace apostle named Lance Wallnau enters the picture. The Lord gave him some insight also. He had a revelation of the cultural influencers which make or break a society. He called the seven spheres, or molders, the Seven Mountains. But the message is the same.
Individuals can be brought to the Lord throughout the world, but cultures will never change as long as the Seven Mountains are dominated by unbelievers. Only a saturation of believers in every sphere of society will bring true discipleship to a nation.
Nations can’t be discipled properly until these seven mountains are dealt with.
And that works both ways! If Unbelievers dominate those mountains, then the prevailing attitudes will work against God and His plans. If Believers are prevalent and high profile, then Godly attitudes will prevail.
Now think about our modern western cultures. Can you see where we are on this scale?
Most Christians have noticed a decline in the American society over the last decades. But just sitting around playing the game of “Ain’t it awful,” is not enough. (You know. The game where we say, “Ain’t it awful what they did, or said, or voted for?”)
No.
In fact, God has created you to be on one of the mountains. Whether you are a teacher, an actor, a businessman, or a stay-at-home Mom, you are on one of the mountains already.
Let that thought soak in. You will start to see how important you are in God’s big plan.
Think about it for a moment. Think about how different our culture would be if actors were speaking out for Jesus. If journalists were speaking out. If educators and doctors were influencing the world for Jesus.
When we notice the charge of Jesus to “go into all the world and preach the Gospel,” (Mark 16:15), sometimes we might think in terms of going to other countries. Well, of course, some do that. Yet every day we are “going into the world.” We are going to our jobs, or our neighborhoods, or our committee meetings. Wherever we go, we are to shine brightly for Him.
We are ministers. Every born again believer.
A lot of your success in your position is for you to appreciate where God has you. It’s an important position. The gifts and callings He has put within your DNA are what you need to accomplish His will for you in that place. God’s Spirit will guide you and empower you to bring influence for Him – right where you are.
Do you need to change positions? He’ll let you know and make a way for it to happen. He’ll direct your steps.
The keys for you to accomplish God’s will for you are:
First, spend time with God. Read His Word, pray, and listen for His voice. Be ready in season and out of season.
Second, When God shows you someone to pray for, or to share with, do it. When you bring a person to the Lord or encourage them in their walk, the ripples of your ministry are felt beyond what you can imagine. As they are encouraged, they will encourage others – and the effects will be seen beyond your expectations.
Third, Stand for righteousness. Make sure that you bring to your position honesty, integrity, and diligence. The world has become slack in these things, and when someone shows up with a different set of standards, people will notice.
Finally, be strong and courageous. Just as God spoke these words to Joshua on entering the Promised Land, (Joshua 1;6,7,9), He speaks these words to all of us.
Wherever we are, we are taking territory for Jesus. As we are strong, courageous, counting on God and seeking His plans, we will see great victory in our lives.
So you are important in God’s kingdom.
Go climb that Mountain. Your Mountain.
Do it with faith, God’s wisdom, courage , and great joy. Thanking and praising your God every step of the way!
You have an assignment from God. You are to influence the world around you to know Him and to live according to His purposes. He has great things in store for you!
by Suellen | Reach the World,
I could barely sleep last night.
Not because I was worried. I was excited and full of anticipation.
Mickey and I watched and listened as Ken Malone and Dutch Sheets shared about the powerful prayer meeting Dutch had held from Washington DC. Because of the shutdown, his prayer trip had been cancelled. So he went with only a couple of people and fulfilled the mission with leaders from around our great country joining in by phone.
It was a great success. Powerful decrees – speaking God’s purposes into the earth. By digital devices across the nation.
But then Dutch said something which rocked my world.
He said that now it’s time for a shift. Now the internet and digital devices are going to be used more than ever for ministry. Meetings on YouTube, blogs, podcasts, etc.
That’s the vision the Lord gave me in 2013, and I have been reaching for it ever since.
With varying degrees of success. I have even re-configured several times, and I have been discouraged on occasion. But God’s Word kept me going.
And I realize that Now is the time of fulfillment!
I know that there are many ministers and leaders who have vital messages for the church – and the world at large. I want to help them establish their platform and maximize their influence.
Maybe you are one of them.
A few things I have learned:
- It’s easier than it looks, to set up a blog, write a book, or start a podcast.
- Alone it’s hard. Together we help each other, and it becomes doable.
- There are many messages and it takes many messengers to accomplish God’s plan. When the streams flow together, we have a mighty river!
- Our minds cannot comprehend the numbers of people we can reach as we band together. (Think about the current billionaires. They got there because of the numbers).
- We can literally reach the world. (If you don’t believe me, click on the button at the top right of the page which says, English, and watch the page translate before your eyes).
We stand at an amazing moment in time.
God has given us the digital world for His Purposes. And He has great plans for its use!
If you have had ideas about starting a blog, or writing a book, or beginning a podcast, or wanting to teach on YouTube, your moment is here.
People are tuning in to God’s spirit. They are beginning to realize that they need Him more than ever.
Or, for the first time, they are reaching out to Him. They are searching for answers to the big questions.
They are praying. They are seeking.
And they are ready for you to help them learn more.
If you feel that you are part of this, go to https://OurCBI.com and sign up at the bottom of the page.
This is really our time!
In the meantime,
Keep on Soaring!
by Suellen | PLR, Writing Tips
I love good quality PLR. It’s one of the greatest treasures a writer or blogger can find. When you come across a source of this great quality writing, audios, or videos, you will find your content creation will take on an added dimension.
So What is PLR?
PLR is the acronym for the term Private Label Rights.
The term describes the industry that creates and sells content with permission for people to use as their own. Put simply, the blogger or writer can purchase the material, edit it, and put their name on it. It’s their own material.
The creator of the work sells the rights to use the intellectual material in ways laid out in the terms of the purchase agreement. Most of the time these rights are quite liberal.
Creating content can require lots of time and effort. Thus, salting your creativity with PLR can truly enhance your success.
I use PLR often, but I always edit it to give it my “voice.” Sometimes I almost totally rewrite the work, but I still benefit from the ideas generated by others.
PLR takes many forms. It can be:
- Blog posts
- Emails
- eBooks
- Courses
- And more
Most of the time, the content is written in a general way, sticking to a theme or niche. Then you can use it to target and attract clients and customers. Or in the case of emails and posts, you can use it to provide continuous information for engaging your audience and keeping their interest.
Why should you use it?
When people realize that you are providing great information to help them with their business, they will keep coming back to your website. Or reading your emails.
PLR can be the secret sauce which continues to draw your readers and your customers. Providing ongoing information and solving problems elevates the value you bring to the table. It gives people a reason to come back and not forget about you.
And often you can use the PLR for E-books or Courses which can be sold, adding to your bottom line.
Your goal may be to sell other things or work with people one-on-one and your time is best spent doing activities which make sales or schedule clients. If so, you probably don’t have time to spend creating blog posts, writing emails and newsletters. Or time to come up with new content for the never-ending curiosity of people surfing the net.
Once again, PLR to the rescue. PLR content is just what you need to offer more to your customers. At the same time, targeting their needs and sharing your message.
This ongoing supply of content helps keep you and your goods and services top of mind when people need what you have to offer.
To recap: PLR is pre-written content that you can purchase to use as your own. You can add your branding information and edit the content to best suit your needs.
From start to finish, PLR is an easy way to provide value to your customers and make running your business easier and more profitable.
by Suellen | Meeting the Challenges, Writing a Book
Now Could Be Your Time
I hope you are coping well during this chaotic time. There is a lot of fear and anxiety out there.
However. For those of us who know our God, it can be a time for us to grow in our faith. As we spend time with Him and His Word (the Bible), we can find a peace which passes all understanding rising up within us.
Time with God can quieten our nerves. And we can come out of this crazy episode with greater confidence than ever before.
This can also be a time for great productivity!
How, you say?
Let me explain.
In 2009 my husband’s mother came to live with us. She was a delightful person, and we loved having her.
However, there was one catch. Because of her health condition, Mom couldn’t be left alone. Someone had to be with her at all times.
A good portion of the time, I was that person.
As a Type A person, just “hanging out,” was never my first choice.
So I started thinking.
What could I do during this time?
For many years, I had thought about writing a book. But I just hadn’t had the confidence – or the time, to do it. So that was one thing I left on the shelf.
Soon I began to realize that this was the perfect time to write that book!
I bought a book on self-publishing, and I began to learn. Then I began to do what I had learned.
That’s when I wrote my first book. Forever Upward: A Mother’s Journey Through Prayer.
Since that time, I have written more than 20 books which are in paperback and on Kindle.
But that was the start.
That time when I was required to spend a lot of time at home turned out to be the start of a new career for me.
As I think about what is happening right now, I am reminded of that moment in my life.
The time at home became a turning point for me.
If you are having to spend lots of time at home, this could be your turning point.
This could be the time you decide to start your online business. Or start your blog.
Or write your book.
If you are thinking about writing your book, I think you’ll love my online course. It’s a step-by-step approach which eliminates the overwhelm connected with a big project.
It’s Time For You To Write That Book 2.0.
- It starts with your mindset and organizing your book.
- Then goes on to some writing tips.
- How to make time for your project.
- Some info about how you can plump up your topic and make it more interesting. (With free resources).
- How to format your book in MS Word.
- Then how to upload it to Amazon for worldwide sales.
- Also a few tips on early marketing.
- Plus lots of bonuses.
You can purchase the course in Video, Audio, and Transcript form. Along with bonuses.
Or just Audio and Transcripts.
Or just the transcripts.
All of the packages have bonuses.
I think that you will be glad that you “used your time wisely.” Your kindergarten teacher will certainly give you kudos.
The time factor is one blessing we have on hand right now.
And it could be life-changing for you!
With the right focus and determination, this could be a turning point moment – for the better.
Take a look HERE.
Stay safe and Keep on Soaring!
