Point of View April 10, 2025 – Hour 2 : Brave Woman, Mighty God

[00:00:04] Across America, Live, this is Point of View, Anna Dexter. Welcome back to Point of View. I think it's so interesting and I didn't really plan it this way but earlier in the program we spoke with a young widow.

[00:00:32] Actually she has a ministry to widows and her name is Rachel Faulkner Brown. She lost two husbands by the time she was age 31 both very suddenly and her story is amazing. But she now has a ministry for widows and she's written a book actually a devotional book about this. And really what you need to face this I think is something that we're going to discuss in our next couple of segments.

[00:01:02] Courage and bravery. We need that in today's world women in all eras have faced certain times where they needed to be brave. And I can think of countless times when I face challenges I'm not sure I'll be able to handle. And even some of those would seem small to other people.

[00:01:20] But instead of reaching deep down inside me to find the courage and the bravery I find as I grow as a Christian God comes through in many of these cases. And that's what we're going to talk about today. And there's a wonderful book out about this brave women mighty God it's by Laura Smith. And Laura is a writer podcaster and speaker.

[00:01:45] She's passionate about tearing down lies so we can live in Christ's truth. And that's what this book is all about. It's her 15th book. And Laura thank you so much for joining me today. Thanks so much for having me on what an honor. Well it's an honor to have you and you've done such a wonderful job in going through the word of God and telling the stories of women who were brave in various circumstances.

[00:02:15] So many different circumstances. And it's just a wonderful book. You've made it very practical. Because current real life situations throughout each story and with. Well you can you put these current real life situations into the biblical story and you sort of parallel them. And I think that's what makes it practical. And then of course at the end of each chapter there's there's suggestions for people to actually study it. This could be done individually or as a group.

[00:02:44] But first of all before before I start picking my favorites. I had a few favorites. Is there one woman you wrote about that inspired you the most? So I love all these women so much. It's really it was so fun to write about them and get to know them so much better. Some of the women in the Bible I think I've known about all my life and some of them I really didn't know about till I wrote this book.

[00:03:10] But one that's just been sticking with me recently is a little girl who doesn't have a name in the Bible. And she I'm sure she had a name but we're not given it. And it's a woman it's a little girl who has died. And her dad is Jairus' son to Jesus and is like you know when her dad goes to Jesus she's just very sick and dying.

[00:03:34] And Jairus is begging Jesus to heal her and Jesus comes with Jairus to the house but by the time he gets there the little girl is dead. And Jesus extends her hand in his hand, grabs her hand, pulls her up and says to Lisa, little girl, get up. And her story is resonating with me so much right now because she didn't do anything.

[00:03:59] I think we have so much pressure that we put on ourselves to do more, try more, learn more, be better. And this little girl couldn't. She couldn't get better grades. She couldn't make her house cleaner. She couldn't learn more about scripture. She couldn't pray harder. She was empowered to step into new life through Jesus. And I think so often we put the pressure on ourselves.

[00:04:28] And yes, he does call us into doing certain things. And he calls her to get up. Like she can't just continue to lie there. She must respond to his call. But when there are so many pressures I put on myself to do more and to do better, her story brings me so much comfort that Jesus is really the one who does all the hard stuff. He just invites us to step into it with him. But in a sense, there's a picture, too, of how we before we come to the Lord, we are dead. We're dead in our in our sins.

[00:04:58] And we we cut you know, God makes us alive and we can't do that ourselves. I mean, we can say yes to to Christ, but but he does that. And so that's a wonderful picture. Boy, I didn't know that you were going to pick that one, but it makes a lot of sense because it's the ultimate story of dependence upon the Lord. Well, OK, I'll tell you my my my first favorite. My first favorite.

[00:05:23] Well, Sarah, I love the story of Sarah and her name wasn't even Sarah when the story starts, was it? Correct. No, it's Sarah. I. And so she she lived in a culture was very different from ours because it prioritized one thing for women and one thing really only having children. And it wasn't exactly happening. Well, then yeah, having male children, it wasn't happening for her.

[00:05:52] It was promised to fulfill God's greater purpose. But at seventy six, she began to give up, didn't she? Yeah, I mean, I think of we we struggled to get pregnant and how frustrating that was. But that was after a year. I can't imagine being seventy six and still being like, wait, God, you promised this. But the maternal clock has ticked and popped, you know? Yeah.

[00:06:20] Well, she took things into her own hands. Didn't she? Sometimes we I know that we all should trust the Lord. But there are times I think that we're all guilty of. Certainly I am when I'm like, but God, what if I tried? But what if I just do this? Maybe I know better, which is ridiculous because, of course, the Lord knows better. But yes, that's the situation Sarah's in. She's doubting God's promises.

[00:06:47] And so she takes things into her own hands and things go really poorly. So, you know, that is we we we sometimes think we know more than God. You just said that. And that is it's just so arrogant. But we all do that. We think we could tell God how he could have done it better or how he should have done it. And, you know, how do we avoid doing that? How do we get out of that habit?

[00:07:15] I think the thing that helps me the most is remembrance and gratitude. So when I've been waiting on God for a long time or things aren't going my way or I've been praying for something and it doesn't feel like it's being answered or maybe something just hits me out of the bone. And I'm like, oh, wait, this is not how I wanted it to go. And instead of just maybe me jerking into action how I want it to do, when I can one turn to God first and be like, OK, God, I need you here.

[00:07:46] And two, if I can recount the ways he's been faithful before and thank him for that, like the Lord has showed up so many times in my life. He has saved me from so much. He has answered so many prayers. When I go back and remember what he's done and thank him for that, then I can be like, like you're good and you're faithful and your word is true. You're going to show up again. I know that you will. I don't know how. I don't know when.

[00:08:15] It's probably not going to be in my timing. It might not look like how I want it to, but God, you have always been faithful. And I know you will be. But it takes that pausing instead of just like bringing into action as we're so prone to do in our insta world. But it takes that pausing to stop and ask him for help and then to recall the ways he's been faithful. Good advice. My guest is Laura Smith. We are discussing her book, Brave Woman, Mighty God.

[00:08:44] And we will be back right after this. This is Viewpoints with Kirby Anderson. Pundits and political consultants warn that the Democratic Party needs to reevaluate some of its policy positions.

[00:09:08] The editors of the New York Times argue that the party moved too far left on social issues after Barack Obama left office in 2017. So will Democratic candidates moderate their position on a topic like transgenderism? In a recent commentary, Jack Butler says it's unlikely and points to the harsh reaction from the left to California Governor Gavin Newsom's statement that allowing men to compete against women in sports is deeply unfair.

[00:09:32] Jack Butler doubts moderation will happen on the transgender issue due to three powerful forces, money, science and religion. First, there is tremendous institutional and financial network in place to ensure that Democrats, both aspiring and elected, yield to the utmost left possible iteration of transgender ideology. To understand this, just follow the money. Second, leftist science is different from other forms of science.

[00:09:59] You've probably seen yard signs that say women's rights are human rights and science is real. What that often means is to trust the science when it conforms to your view of reality and reject it when it doesn't. Third is religion. All it takes is a few religious leaders to call for transgender acceptance to reinforce transgender ideology. Jack Butler calls this a classic postmodern trick. If you can find religious differences of opinion, then there's no genuine truth.

[00:10:28] So any moderation on the issue of transgenderism will expose weaknesses and logical flaws. That is why it is unlikely to see too many Democratic candidates changing their position. I'm Kirby Anderson, and that's my point of view. For a free booklet on a biblical view on chemical abortion, go to viewpoints.info slash chemical abortion. Viewpoints.info slash chemical abortion.

[00:10:57] You're listening to Point of View, your listener supported source for truth. Thank you for joining us today on Point of View. We are talking about things we can do and looking at the lives of biblical women, seeing how God worked in their lives. And it's so interesting. My guest is Laura Smith, and she's written the book Brave Woman, Mighty God.

[00:11:22] At 89, Sarah had that promise from God that she would have a son reiterated to her. And she actually did. Finally, that was fulfilled at age 90. And then kings came from her and, you know, the line of Jesus. And, you know, I just wanted to ask you because you mentioned the issue of infertility and bringing this up to things we face today. That's a huge issue for a lot of people for many reasons.

[00:11:49] But, you know, having a child is a blessing. And sometimes we're seeking the blessing. And, you know, we can't wait to get pregnant and start our family. But what we really need to be seeking is God himself. Correct? Yeah. That's so interesting you say that, Penna. There's so much that God has been impressing in my heart in the last two weeks is just this whole seek-y first thing.

[00:12:16] That we're just to seek first the kingdom of God and everything else will be added. And, yeah, we do. And there's nothing wrong with wanting a family. There's nothing wrong at all with that. There's nothing wrong with wanting health. There's nothing wrong with wanting safety. But God is the prize. He's the ultimate prize. He's the actual thing that will bring us joy and fulfill our hearts. And there's nothing wrong with praying for those other things or hoping for those other things or wanting those other things.

[00:12:45] But seeking him is what will actually bring us the greatest joy. I want to take us to another one of my favorite women in the Bible, and that's Rebecca. I love her story. And, of course, she had to be in the exact right place at the exact right time. And she had to have faith. But what door is God nudging you to walk through today? That's a question you ask in your book. How do you answer that?

[00:13:14] What door God is nudging me to walk through today? Yes. Or how does anyone answer that question? How do they figure out what door God is nudging them to walk through today? Oh, I think that goes right back to what we were talking about, Penna. That's seeking God first. When we listen to his voice, and the world is noisy, let's be honest. We have all kinds of voices that are in our heads from the internet and social media and news, which aren't bad things. It's just a lot of things.

[00:13:44] We need his voice to be the loudest to know where to go. And he tells us that he will direct our steps. And to hear the voice of God means we need to read the word of God. That's the Bible. So reading the Bible tells us who he is and what he can do and what he thinks and what are his actual ways. And prayer is another great way to do that. Again, asking him, Lord, what do you want me to do? Where do you want me to go? Do you want me to take this job? Do you not want me to? Do you want me to move? Do you not want me to? Do you want me to date this guy? Do you not want me to?

[00:14:13] Like, do you want me to start this endeavor? Should I get childcare? Should I stay at home? Should I, you know, all the questions we ask, if we talk to God about it, he only wants goodness for us. So he will direct our steps. And that might be, we'll actually sense something during prayer. We might come across some scripture that seems to speak directly to what we were asking him about. A friend might send us a text or a song or a Bible verse, or we might be reading a book. God can answer our prayers in many ways.

[00:14:43] But by reading the Bible and by asking God his will for us, that's how we find out where he wants us to go and when and why and who with. And often, like Sarah, who we just talked about, it's just one step at a time. God asked Sarah and Abram to leave their homes, but they didn't know where they were headed yet. So a lot of times it's just, okay, I want you to do this. I often think of it as stepping stones, right? Like just go on this stepping stone, Laura, God says.

[00:15:11] And then, okay, once you're on there, I'll tell you which one to go on next. So, yeah. But when we are seeking that relationship with God, he'll continue to tell us which stone is the next one to go on. Sometimes it's an outrageous request, and I'm thinking of Rebecca. And, of course, Sarah and Abraham's son, Isaac, needed a wife and sent his servant to go and find one. And she ended up agreeing to go four to 600 miles back and marry Isaac. Wow.

[00:15:39] I mean, you know, I know there were cultural parts of this, and this was family. But it takes a lot of bravery and courage to make a decision to follow God in that way, doesn't it? Oh, gracious, yes. And I know there were some very specific signs because Isaac's servant had prayed a prayer that, you know, God let me know which woman it is and I'm supposed to ask.

[00:16:09] And God answered his prayer by bringing Rebecca to him, and he shared that with Rebecca. But she could have been like, hey, dude, I think you are off your rocker. Like, I don't know what you're talking about. I've never met you. Why should I believe you? But instead, I have to believe that God was saying to her, listen to this man. I am sending for you. There must have been some promptings that the Lord was putting in her spirit. And I love the Bible so much, but sometimes I'm like, could you give us some more details?

[00:16:36] And I would love to know kind of the inner dialogue with God and Rebecca in these scenes. But I feel like the way he timed it that she would be at the well right at that moment. She could have dawdled on the way there or decided to go a little bit earlier. And, you know, she did what was respectful and polite in her time, which was to bring the man water.

[00:16:58] But then she went and got, I think it's 450 gallons of water for his camels, which I can't even picture this situation. Like, how much lugging of water is that? Wow. And that wasn't necessary. Like, getting it for the man was, but that she felt the need. She somehow saw him. And we all have this happen to us, too. Sometimes we're in the storm. Someone, you know, we feel this nudge from God to say, you know, open the door for that person. Pick up that thing for that person. You know, and we're just like, really?

[00:17:27] But God's like, yeah, just help them out. And I think God nudged her to help him out. So I would have loved to have heard all the little nudges and all the things in Rebecca's head. But yes, I mean, she says these three words, I will go. And those words are so powerful. They change lives, right? Her going created the family line that Jesus actually came from. Yeah.

[00:17:56] It's just, I promised as I introduced this book, and it's Brave Woman, Mighty God, that we would talk about how this applies in our lives today. And I think Rebecca's story, Laura, applies to your life. You actually were called somewhere, geographical, that changed your life, weren't you? We were. So my husband and I lived in Atlanta, Georgia.

[00:18:24] We had lucrative careers there. And when we had our first daughter, I felt God calling me to stay at home and leave my job. And then my husband felt this call to kind of leave corporate America and become a teacher. And we were trying to figure out how that would work and what that would be. And I heard God telling us to move to Oxford, which is the town where we had gone to college.

[00:18:53] And the way God orchestrated things that one of my husband's college professors, like, had this conversation with him and inviting him to come interview. And while my husband was here interviewing, he literally saw a message on a chalkboard in a cafe that was exactly what God had been speaking to him. It was so wild how God was literally shouting at us to move to Oxford. And there are so many reasons. Here we are 23 years later that God has been here. It's been beautiful.

[00:19:22] But there is an incident that I talk about in the book. Our son, Max, is a worship leader. And he was leading worship at a gathering of college students. And it struck me through something someone else said at that event that, like, gracious, if I was pregnant with Max when we moved to Oxford, and if we hadn't had moved, would that event be going on? Would those college kids be hearing the good news about Jesus?

[00:19:51] Like, just the big and small things that God does with our yeses, with our I will go, whatever that is he's calling you to do, and you're like, ah, I'm not so sure, God. The things that he does are so beautiful. So beautiful. He has such a gorgeous, intricate plan for things we can never, as the Bible tells us, that we can never hope, dream, or imagine about that he already has planned.

[00:20:18] And when he asked us to move to Oxford, it was for tons of reasons, but one of them was something that would happen literally over 20 years later. Yeah. A generation later, your son has now been given his direction. And it may have been very different if you had not moved there. So that is, it's fun to look back on those things. And I think it's a real faith builder. And that's what I like about this book, ladies and gentlemen, Brave Woman, Mighty God.

[00:20:44] It's a faith builder, because it speaks of people throughout history, the Old Testament and the New, and what God did, and how they had to have courage and be brave to step out and do what God wanted them to do. And just, God gave also, he gives the bravery. He gives the courage through his Holy Spirit. So I do want to take us to another person who said yes, a very important one.

[00:21:13] And that's Mary. We'll do that in the next segment of Point of View. Again, my guest is Laura Smith, author of 15 books and this latest book, Brave Woman, Mighty God, 30 Things You Can Do. We'll talk about it right after this. It almost seems like we live in a different world from many people in positions of authority. They say men can be women and women, men.

[00:21:40] People are prosecuted differently or not at all, depending on their politics. Criminals are more valued and rewarded than law abiding citizens. It's so overwhelming, so demoralizing. You feel like giving up. But we can't. We shouldn't. We must not. As Winston Churchill said to Britain in the darkest days of World War II, Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never. Never yield to force.

[00:22:08] Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy. And that's what we say to you today. This is not a time to give in, but to step up and join Point of View in providing clarity in the chaos. We can't do it alone, but together, with God's help, we will overcome the darkness. Invest in biblical clarity today at pointofview.net or call 1-800-347-5151.

[00:22:38] Pointofview.net and 800-347-5151. Point of View will continue after this. You are listening to Point of View.

[00:23:02] The opinions expressed on Point of View do not necessarily reflect the views of the management or staff of this station. And now, here again is Panna Dexter. Welcome back. My guest is writer and podcaster Laura Smith. And Laura has just told us about God calling her to move to a beautiful college town in Ohio. And Laura, was that hard? Did you have some qualms about moving there?

[00:23:31] And just tell us a little bit about it. And what is the college there that your husband and maybe you also worked at? Sure. It's interesting. It's the university where we both attended, Miami University. And so, in a way, it was coming back home. But when we went to school here, we never thought we would live in this tiny college town of 15,000 people. But it was hard in the fact that we had kind of established ourselves in Atlanta. We had these big corporate careers.

[00:24:01] We had our first house. We had joined, you know, our first church as a couple. We were newly married. We found a church community with friends and a small group there. And we'd gotten to know our neighbors. And, you know, when you're starting out and you're putting down your roots. And we'd been in that home for two years. We felt like, oh, okay, we're finally getting the hang of this thing maybe of being married and being grownups and being parents to our baby.

[00:24:28] And all of that seemed like, oh, okay, we're going to go to Oxford. But our families lived in Ohio. So that felt like coming home. And we had to give up. We gave up very large salaries to go to almost nothing. But it was interesting. It just felt so right and so true because God was so loud in his direction to us to go that we never questioned if we should or shouldn't. Like, it was just one of these.

[00:24:58] It was so obvious this is what God wanted us to do that it's like, all right, put the house up for sale. Let's do it. So we have been so blessed. We love it here. It's a beautiful college town of brick streets and wooded trails. And we just feel super blessed to be here. And my husband is teaching a course on faith and entrepreneurship and a public university, which is unheard of and definitely blessed by the Lord.

[00:25:23] And it's just been such a cool, cool situation every day, every year, but of what God has done for us since he's brought us here. It's wonderful to hear about the blessing. And yet, you know, just going back to the financial security even that you left to go too much less. And yet the blessing seems it's been greater. You're in another one of your characters in your book, Brave Woman, Mighty God, Mary.

[00:25:52] Mary of Nazareth, the mother of Jesus, mother of God, said yes when the angel Gabriel came to her. She asked a few questions first, though, didn't she? How can this be? Good question. Really? I mean, she's a teenage virgin. And she's like, what do you mean I'm going to be pregnant? This is not computing in my brain. Yeah.

[00:26:21] So she asked the question, but it wasn't in a defiant way. I think, you know, sometimes we can be asking questions and it's in rebellion to what God wants. But this was not that, was it? No, I think it was just a legitimate question. I think she was just like, wait, that doesn't make sense. How could that happen? Which I think most of us would ask if, you know, we were put in a similar situation. Like, wait, how is that going to work, actually? How will this be?

[00:26:51] And, you know, you and I know, Penna, that God does the impossible. But that doesn't mean that living in this world, we don't question it sometimes when he puts what seem like really wild suggestions and opportunities in front of us. And a lot of times they're like, wait, how would that work? And he's such a good, loving father that, of course, he wants to tell us what we need to know. And he's definitely going to give us what we need.

[00:27:22] He always equips us and empowers us to do what he calls us to do. If he starts it, he's going to finish it. So he never minds our questions. I love the psalms so much that they literally, the psalmists are asking God questions all the time. How long is this going to go on? Why are my enemies so awful? And sometimes those questions are defiant and angry questions, not like Mary's. I think hers was just inquisitive. But God doesn't mind our questions. He's not afraid of them.

[00:27:51] He loves us. So we can bring all our questions to the Lord. So if you're asked to do something that seems impossible, nothing would be like what Mary was asked to do. But she did have, I think, the reputational challenges that, you know, encountered her being so young, being a virgin. And then suddenly this would happen. And there would be so many people that would be just clucking and criticizing.

[00:28:22] And that happens with many of the choices that we have to make or many of the things that God asks us to do. I mean, what you did moving from Atlanta, moving from what looked like, you know, a great future. Some people might have said something about that. I don't know if they did. But often the pushback or you had other plans. But if he calls you to it, how do you how do you get through all of those obstacles?

[00:28:50] I think we have to trust his voice more. Right. God knows us better than anyone else does. And that takes, again, a lot of prayer, a lot of time in the Bible. And for my husband and I, it meant we had to be communicating together all the time, too. I had to be like, God told me this. And he said, God showed me this. So it wasn't just, I wasn't just relying on my own experiences of what God was sharing with me. But I could be built up in the faith with what my husband was experiencing well, as well.

[00:29:19] I think that holds true for all of us. Our communities are critical in our Christian walk. God will ask us to do some what seem like culturally outlandish things that don't go with the flow of our society. And that can be anything from taking a Sabbath and not having our business open on Sunday. That seems outlandish to our culture, to moving across the country, to doing all kinds of things.

[00:29:47] And when we have a strong Christian community around us, then sometimes when the voices of culture or the world are saying, is that so smart, like does that make sense? People in our Christian community can remind us of stories in the Bible of how God empowered people to do what seems like outlandish things all the time. And they can also be praying for us for discernment to make sure we're making the right decisions.

[00:30:12] They can be there for us and help us and encourage us instead of just give us a hard time and also ask us good questions. Like Mary was asking a good question here. They can ask us good questions, too. So I think Christian community is so helpful to overcome all of the naysayers of the world when God is calling us to something. So what if you're afraid?

[00:30:39] I mean, Mary was very young and she didn't know how this was all going to happen. Often we're presented with a possibility and opportunity and we feel very unqualified to do it. So how do you what advice do you have for someone who feels unqualified or afraid, intimidated? I think I do things I'm unqualified for all the time. I think of Moses, who didn't feel qualified to lead the Israelites.

[00:31:09] And that's like, no, I choose you. I think of Paul, who in Ephesians 3 said, I love the message translation of this passage because Paul says, I was the least qualified of all the Christians. And yet God equipped me to share, teach, and write about things that are way over my head, the inexhaustible riches of the kingdom of God. And I feel that way all the time. I feel like I'm the least qualified Christian to do this, Lord.

[00:31:40] But yet God will equip and empower us to do things way over our head because he is amazing. He is all powerful. He is almighty. He can do anything. His grace is sufficient and his power is made perfect in our weakness. It's not us who has to do the thing alone. He will never leave us.

[00:32:03] So remembering, again, who God is, how he's been there for us in the past, and spending a lot of time in scripture or in repeated time in scripture, consistent time in scripture to remember how faithful our God is. He's not going to send us anywhere and not be there with us. We see the three gentlemen who are thrown into the fiery furnace, and God is there with them. We see Daniel thrown in the lion's den.

[00:32:33] And God closes the mouth of the lions. Like, I'm not saying bad things won't happen to us. They will because we live in a broken world. But God will be with us. We see Stephen being stoned. Something bad is happening to him because he's talking about God and people don't like it. But he says, I see heavens opened up and I see Jesus waiting for me. Like, even though something bad was happening to him on earth, he was going into the throne room of Jesus.

[00:33:02] Like, God will be with us. He won't let us down. So we are going to be fearful. And there are some things in life that seem overwhelming. But God will be with us. He always will be. He promises to never leave us.

[00:33:17] So, ladies, ladies and gentlemen, when you look at the last part of every one of these chapters on every one of these women that Laura writes about, she has a very small, short kind of to do or how you can apply this piece. We're going to talk about that after this, because I think that's what makes this makes this book very practical. So stick with us. I've got more with Laura.

[00:33:43] You're listening to Point of View, your listener supported source for truth.

[00:34:01] My guest is Laura Smith, and she wants to teach women through many women who have lived over the centuries who've been described in the Bible, who have had courage to do things that were hard. And we were talking about Mary. And she asked at the very end of the chapter on Mary, what is God asking you to say yes to? What barriers are in the way? Things that make it hard.

[00:34:28] And then you answer those questions and then you go on and close your eyes and imagine being Mary. Imagine Gabriel coming when you were 13 and telling you you'll be able to do the thing God's calling you to do. Now picture yourself saying yes. And then she has a prayer. And, you know, the prayer ends with, I pray for courage to get going, endurance to stay the course and trust in you and your goodness and faithfulness along the way. I find this to be very useful.

[00:34:57] And just tell us about sort of how you laid out this book and why you laid it out that way. Sure. I am so passionate about the goodness of God. He promises in Psalm 23 that his goodness and love will follow us all of our days. And yet I fear we forget that there's goodness and love for us today. I think we, even as Christians, we'll read our Bibles. We'll go to church on Sunday and hear a great sermon.

[00:35:25] We'll read a great book and we'll be like, yeah, like, that's right. God is with me. God will give me the courage. God will empower me to do that thing. God will be with me. And we forget. I think we have spiritual amnesia. So, one thing that really helps me to remember God's goodness is to have to process, not just read it and be like, oh, yeah, that's a good point. Mary said yes, I can say yes. But to actually stop and have to think about, wait, wait, what is it God's calling me to say yes to?

[00:35:51] And all of us have something in our lives maybe that God is calling us to say yes to. It could be, you know, something as little as volunteering, signing up for that thing that we got a volunteer sign-up sheet to, to literally moving across the country. And to take time and be like, oh, what is it in my life?

[00:36:13] And then to actually close our eyes and imagine things and to pray out loud or write this prayer out, it just helps cement it in our brains. It helps cement it in our heart. It helps us remember the truth that we're learning and remembering and applying it to our own lives. Because it's nice that Mary said yes. It's fabulous, actually, because Mary said yes. We have Jesus. And Jesus died on the cross so that you and I could live in freedom. Thank you, Lord.

[00:36:44] But her story is wonderful to hear. But if we don't apply it to ours, then we're missing a really big element. So I put questions, prayers, things to journal about, some promptings at the end of each chapter to help us apply it to our everyday life. Do you see this being done in groups? I actually am getting ready to teach a group from this book. So, yes, I think it's great for groups.

[00:37:12] I think these are great discussion questions. And sometimes things that we might not ask ourselves take time to ask ourselves if we don't process it. But it can also be done alone. Like, it doesn't have to be done. I have several women who have reached out and said, I'm going through the book. I'm filling up my journal. It's prompted me to think of lots of things. But as we were talking about community a little while ago, Penna, I think it's always so beautiful to see how the Lord is working in other women's lives.

[00:37:41] And it just helps us broaden our view of God and who he is and what he does. And we're like, oh, I know what he's doing for me, but look what he's doing for her. And look what he's doing for her. And look how he showed up for her. And we can also share our struggles with each other. And if someone's been through something already, we can, you know, testify to how God has showed up for us. And so I think this book can be done alone, certainly. And I pray that it will bring you closer to Jesus and his love. And like I said, I'm excited.

[00:38:09] I'm getting ready to start a group and lead a group of women through it. So I'm all for the group method as well. So just one more. There's none of my not all of my favorites made it into the program today. Too many, too much to talk about. But Mary Magdalene was one also. And I think I picked this because this book is for, you know, is for women decidedly. It's about women. And sometimes the women had to step up because the men didn't.

[00:38:37] And you kind of say that in your story about Mary Magdalene where she's the one. She's actually the one that goes and tells everyone that Jesus is alive, isn't she? She is. She is. And it's remarkable not only because a woman in that culture at that time wouldn't have ever been thought to be the spokesperson for anything, religious or non-religious. But just women were not spokespeople.

[00:39:05] But also because Mary Magdalene had had seven demons in her. And we don't know exactly what that means, but it couldn't have been good. No. It had to have been awful. And so she has, and also the stigma that would have come with that whatever that meant, people knew her as the girl with the demons, right?

[00:39:28] So the fact that Jesus comes to her in the garden and is like, Mary, I want you to tell the disciples that I have raised from the dead, that I am alive, that I have defeated death, that I have defeated sin. I want you to share this message. The message I think it's such a beautiful picture of how Jesus redeems and restores all of us.

[00:39:54] It doesn't matter what quote unquote demons we've had in our lives, what bad things have happened to us or what bad things we've done. Jesus can and will use us to do mighty things. It's so beautiful. It's so wonderful. Think how empowering that was for Mary Magdalene to be like, I used to be this, but now I'm a spokesperson for Jesus. He changed my life is what she's thinking. And that's my story too.

[00:40:23] He changed my life. And yes, I love her story too, and I'm so glad that you brought her up. I think also that it was hard because people would probably, a lot of people would just not believe her. So she would have to face that too. It tells us in the Bible that the disciples did not believe her.

[00:40:43] So not only would people dismiss her, these men who she had been traveling with, and we read in Scripture that she has been kind of following this band of disciples around for at least months. We don't know if it's possibly years in Jesus' ministry. She's been sharing meals with them and hearing Jesus' sermons with them and been there at the big events. And they don't listen to her.

[00:41:10] And I think it's a good reminder to you and me and everyone listening as well that sometimes God will ask us to do things, and people won't listen. And they won't think that's a good idea. But we can let Jesus take care of the outcomes. We're just supposed to be obedient. And that's what Mary and I going dead. She knew it was going to be hard. She knew they could turn down. Also, the streets weren't safe for her right then. She was a Jesus follower, and that meant she was on everyone's most wanted list.

[00:41:38] And still, she goes out through the streets, goes up to the upper room, and is dismissed by her friends. And she brings them the good news. She brings them the gospel, and they dismiss it. And that's going to happen to all of us. We're going to bring people to the good news of Jesus, and they're going to dismiss it. But we can let God take care of the outcomes, and he just cares about our obedience. Yes, we can.

[00:42:07] Well, I'm glad. That's a beautiful reminder. I am glad, Laura, that you were obedient and took the time and the energy to write this book, about 30 different women in the Bible. And I just want to thank you so much for spending an hour with me to talk about it. There's so much more in here, ladies and gentlemen, that I think you would just love this book. If you're a student of the Bible or if you're not, you'll learn a lot. So thank you, Laura.

[00:42:35] And God bless you, and thank you so much for joining me today. Oh, Penna, thank you so much for having me on. It's been a delight, and I will talk to you about the women in the Bible or anything else in the Bible anytime you'd like. God bless you as well. That's great. Thank you so much. Ladies and gentlemen, you have a treat before you tomorrow for our Friday weekend edition. Kirby is at one of our stations in Peoria, Illinois,

[00:42:58] and he will be hosting the program from there tomorrow with Kelly Shackelford and Dr. Merrill Matthews. So it ought to be a great way to end up your week. Thanks for joining me. At Point of View, we believe there is power in prayer, and that is why we have relaunched our Pray for America campaign, a series of weekly emails to unite Americans in prayer for our nation.

[00:43:26] Imagine if hundreds of thousands of Americans started praying intentionally together on a weekly basis. You can help make that a reality by subscribing to our Pray for America emails. Just go to pointofview.net and click on the Pray for America banner that's right there on the homepage. Each week you'll receive a brief news update, a specific prayer guide,

[00:43:54] and a free resource to equip you in further action. We encourage you to not only pray with us each week, but to share these prayers and the resources with others in your life. Join the movement today. Visit pointofview.net and click on the banner Pray for America right there at the top. That's pointofview.net.

[00:44:20] Let's pray together for God to make a difference in our land. Point of View is produced by Point of View Ministries.