We are taking a trip down memory lane this fall! Each Thursday we will be revisiting some of Going Beyond Ministries’ favorite guest bloggers from the past! This week’s “throwback Thursday” guest blogger is Anne Graham Lotz!
| Original Post Date: August 21, 2014 |
My life has been dramatically and profoundly impacted by Anne Graham Lotz. Our paths crossed nearly two decades ago and I still remember our first meeting as if it were yesterday. Her passion for God’s people and intense devotion to faith and family lit a fire in my soul for the same. She didn’t have to take the time to talk to me that day. . .but she did and it changed the trajectory of what would be my future ministry.
Her ministry spans far and wide – in and out of various denominations and across continents. Her books and studies, teachings and messages are deeply stirring and life changing. Every single word she speaks drips with an authority that can only be given by God’s Spirit. Her feminine yet powerful voice stirs stadiums and crowded arenas and galvanizes people – men and women alike – to an active faith.
Just like her father’s did.
I almost weep to write this short introduction today.
Because in my young twenties, this woman gathered me under her ministerial wing and gently nudged me forward. She cared more about the stability and strength of my soul than the growth of my ministry. She answered my questions, prayed for my requests, responded to my emails and then invited me along to her conferences for several years so that I could have an up close view of what ministry onstage (and off) was supposed to look like. When I wondered what it meant to be a wife and mom who was also in full-time ministry, her example was in plain view. When I wasn’t sure how to speak with an authority that was gentle but would still carry the weight of God’s own power, her example was – and still is – in plain view.
I’ll never forget (and tears sting the corners of my eyes now) the day I was speaking at a conference in the vicinity of her home town. There were a couple thousand women in the room that day. I looked out into the crowd, somewhere between my message introduction and the first point, and there was that unmistakably, beautiful silver-ish hair glimmering in the audience. I almost lost my words at the thought that she – she – had taken time out of her schedule to come.
I was twenty-seven.
Afterward, Miss Anne came backstage to give me a tight hug, speak words of blessing over me and pray for God’s hand to cover me. Then she got back in her car and drove home…leaving a spiritual inheritance and blessing behind her that I carry in my heart til this day.
Anne Graham Lotz is a student of God’s Word and cares deeply for the bride of Christ. She hears from God and we hear Him more clearly through her. In this post, you’ll see her passion peeking through every line. She’s not apologetic or apprehensive. She never has been.
And why should she be. There has and will always only ever be. . .One Way To Safety.
Miss Anne, thank you for always pointing us – pointing me – to Jesus.
Priscilla
Jesus answered, “I am the way…”
John 14:6
On August 8, tens of thousands of people were trapped on Mt. Sinjar by Islamic State forces who surrounded the base. The men, women, and children were cut off from food and water, with many dying and all being threatened by ISIS who issued the ultimatum that they convert to Islam, or die. Pictures have been circulated on YouTube of babies being butchered, Christians being crucified, and men being beheaded by this demonically controlled group of vicious fighters.
While the world seemed to look on helplessly, the Syrian Kurds and the Peshmerga fighters combined to open up an escape route from the mountain to northern Syria. If you are like me, you breathed a sigh of relief and uttered a heartfelt prayer of thanksgiving to God for the rescue.
As far as I know, not one of those trapped complained that the Kurds and
Peshmerga had not opened up more ways off the mountain. They were simply grateful and took the one way provided. Thus they were saved.
What a dramatic picture of the equally desperate state of the human race. We are trapped on the “mountain” by our own sin, selfishness, and Satan. We are dying from lack of Living Water and the Bread of Life. The enemy is circling, seeking those he can devour and destroy. Threatening us with eternal extermination. Hell.
But praise God! There is a Rescuer! A Savior! He left Heaven’s throne and came down to open up a way out for you and me. A way of salvation! A way to safety. One way. His name is Jesus!
Stop complaining that there is only one way to salvation. One way to eternal life. One way to Heaven. Just thank God that there is a way. Then take it.
Sincerely,
Anne Graham Lotz
