#348: Writing Well: Priestly Pens in the Hands of the Author of Life

Welcome to Kingdom Writers, where we help equip and empower Christian writers of all genres to share your unique gifts with the world. We're your hosts, C.J. and Shelley Hitz.

This podcast is filled with spiritual encouragement as well as prayers to help you overcome the resistance you face as a writer. Your story matters.

Hey friends, in this Writing well episode, we are going to talk about how we are Priestly Pens in the hands of the Author of Life. This is a presentation that my husband CJ first gave in our Kingdom Writers Conference Battle Plan Edition. However, he went on to write a book of devotionals for Christian writers just like you. And that book is also called Priestly Pens. So we're excited to let you know if you're listening or watching right now as this goes live. His book is free on Kindle on November 2nd and 3rd and you can download it for free. We would love for you to download this book to be encouraged. Share it with your writing friends and then leave us a review. It just helps us reach more Kingdom writers like yourself and enjoy this training, this encouragement and make sure to check the link in the description or in the show notes below and get your copy of this book. So CJ is kicking off with our keynote presentation today, and it's called Priestly Pens in the Hands of the Author of Life. And so cj, why don't you go ahead and share this encouragement.

Yeah. So you know, many of you that are in the academy, you've heard me use that phrase before. Priestly pens in the hands of the Author of life. Where. Where does that come from? Well, many of you are probably already thinking of some scriptures, but I want to actually give you some scriptural inspiration for that title. So, for instance, Hebrews 12:2 says, Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. You also have Acts 3:15 where Peter is speaking here. He says, you killed the author of life, speaking to the religious leaders of of that day. But God raised him from the dead, and we are witnesses of this fact. Revelation 1:6. Listen to this. He has made us a kingdom of priests for God his Father. All glory and power to him forever and ever. Amen. Revelation 5:10 and you have caused them to become a kingdom of priests for our God. And they will reign on the earth.

First Peter 2:9. But you are not like that. You are a chosen people. You are a. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God's very own possession. And so that that idea of priests, each of us are priests serving God in the role of writing. And those of you, we all, if we're here, we. We feel called to write. We feel called to be kingdom writers. But why do we feel compelled to write? Well, let me share a couple scriptures on this one. Philippians 2:13 says, For God is working in you, so it's God working in us, giving you. Listen to this now. The desire and the power to do what pleases Him. Well, obviously what pleases him is to obey his word. But I also believe that he gives us each gifts. And as we are obeying him in those gifts, he's giving us the desire and the power to want to even write and glorify him in that way. And then listen to this. Ephesians 2:10. For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus. So we can do. Listen to this now. The good things he planned for us long ago. Now, some of your translations say the good works. Well, I want to say that that word for good works or good things is the Greek word ergon, E, R, G, O, n. And that means literally any product whatever, anything accomplished by hand, art, industry, or mind. Does that include books? You better believe it does. And so our lives have a fresh and unique calling. After we surrender completely to Jesus, our writing takes on a much deeper meaning. That's why we call ourselves Kingdom Writers. We're not just writing for this earth. We're not just writing for temporal purposes. We are writing for the purpose of bearing fruit that will last for eternity and show up in people's lives for eternity.

Yeah. And so this can mean whether or not you write Christian books, God is using your gifts and your person, you know, as you connect with people to impact lives.

Amen.

I love this quote by Joni Eareckson. Tada. Many of you are familiar with her, her ministry, Joni and friends. But if you don't know her, she was paralyzed from the neck down early in life. And she's lived with that paralysis her whole life. And yet God has used her powerfully in her art, in her speaking, in her writing, just all sorts of ministry. But listen to this quote by Johnny. She says, if God seems to be writing an unusual story in your life, don't resist his penmanship on the pages of your days. Okay, let me read that again. If God seems to be writing an unusual story in your life, don't resist his penmanship on the pages of your days. And so God is writing a story through your life. Every single one of you have a unique story that he's writing. It may seem odd at times, but Listen to this. God doesn't waste one thread of our lives. Everything. Listen to this. Now, everything, good or bad, is being redeemed, as Romans 8:28 confirms. Listen to this. As. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. God causes what? Everything to work for good. And so the ups, the downs, everything in your life, things that really don't look very good on the surface, God is weaving that all into this recipe, all into this story that your life. And if you have a life, if you've got a pulse right now, then you have things that God wants to share through you. And so everything can be redeemed for his glory. You have a unique testimony, you have a unique way you came to Christ. You have unique things you've traveled through, been healed of. And people in the world need to hear your story. That's why you feel this compelling to write. You feel this compelling to write. Words on a page that will last. Now, I want to say this. Our lives, with all the twists, turns and rabbit trails. How many have rabbit trails?

Can I put up two hands.

Are producing a thrilling adventure with Jesus as the central character woven into every fabric. How many would agree that any good story has ups and downs? Drama, plot, twists, mystery, action. Well, I want to just say this, that God is directing all of it, all of those emotions, all of those things, all those highs and lows. In fact, listen to this, folks. He's the writer of the script. He's the writer. He's the master writer. You and I are simply priestly pens in the hands of this author of life. Now, one of my favorite verses in scripture is Psalm 45. 1. Listen to this. And this is the new living translation. Beautiful words stir my heart. I will recite a lovely poem about the King. For my tongue is like the pen of a skillful poet. Okay, let me read that again. Beautiful words stir my heart. This is the psalmist. I will recite a lovely poem about the King. For my tongue is like the pen of a skillful poet. Kingdom writers, as we are yielded completely to the Lord, our lives become like pins in the hands of the skillful poet.

Amen.

The author of life. I want you to think of all the pens or people that God has used through the ages to write his grand story. Just think of it all. Think of all the writers in the history of mankind. How many people have been impacted by written words? I just want to say this. Every one of you here today have Words that are yet to be written that God's going to use to impact history in some way, shape or form, it's going to happen. We believe it. We believe God has brought you here for a purpose. We believe that God is designing and desiring that you live out your gift as a kingdom writer. Now.

I want to just share something here, a couple thoughts that are just a little sobering and yet to place some urgency on all of us. How many would agree that eventually the ink of our lives will run out? Eventually, the ink is going to run out. But listen to this now. The words that God writes will live on as a legacy of his work in and through us, okay? And so even though the ink of our lives is going to run out, he's going to use our words that go on. Now, we only have a certain amount of ink or years of life. My question to you is, how is the ink being used in your life? And what is God calling you to use your ink for? In the days, weeks and months ahead? I think we'd all agree that we're living in some desperate days. Right now, things are changing rapidly. People are looking for hope. People are looking for the words of life. Peter himself. I remember that innocent thing when Jesus asked, do all of you want to leave me too? After some followers had left him. And Peter just kind of innocently said, where else are we going to go? Lord, you alone have the words of life. We don't have any other option. And I want to say that you and I can be used to write the words of life that honor Jesus, that glorify him. And those words can get into the hands of hopeless people looking around at the events happening and saying, whoa, what do I do? Your words, your story could unique, uniquely impact people. Yeah. And I want to just kind of begin closing with a thought, something that perhaps can stick with you long after.

This talk. But how many would agree that sometimes it doesn't seem like our words will go very far? You ever think that your. Your words are just.

Evaporating as soon as they leave your mouth or your head or the things that you write? Sometimes it just doesn't seem like our words are going to go very far. Well, Peter's brother Andrew thought the same thing regarding a little boy's lunch. Now, some of you might recall the feeding of the 5,000. Some even believe it was 15,000 when you consider the women and the children in the audience. But this grand miracle where Jesus took a little and fed a whole crowd of people, and it began with this Little boy's lunch. Now, listen to what Andrew said in John 6. 9, after they had taken inventory of what kind of food supply they had there. They basically bummed this lunch off this little boy. And listen what it says. It says, there's a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But here's the key right here. Listen to what Andrew says. But what good is that with this huge crowd? I mean, what good is it? It's like a drop in the bucket. And I think some of us might have the same thing regarding the same thoughts regarding our words. What good are my meager words? Who am I to write a book, man? My words aren't going to go very far. But I want you to listen to these words in John 6:11, two verses later. Then Jesus took the loaves, you might even insert loaves for our words. He took our words.

Hmm.

He gave thanks to God and distributed them to the people.

Afterward, he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted. It wasn't just like, well, you know, you only get one. One piece of fish and, you know, one little piece of bread. No, they ate as much as they wanted till they were full, till they were nourished, till they were satisfied. Folks, when we place our writing in the hands of that God, he'll distribute our words in ways we could never imagine. The words he writes through our lives have the potential to be multiplied in order to nourish crowds of hungry people.

As Kingdom writers, we have access to an endless supply of words from the author of life. And the author of life was the same one that fed that crowd of perhaps over 15,000 people with five barley loaves and two fish. That's the same God that can take your words and distribute them to needy, hungry people all around this world. And so when you think, oh, what good are my words going to do in the hands of God? What are the limits to what God can do? Your words can impact in ways that you never dreamed possible. And so that is my message for you today. And I'd love to just close in prayer and just. We'll even stick around, you know, for some comments and. And some interaction. But I just want to close this. This portion with prayer. And Father, we just thank you so much for every single person that, yes, God is on here. We also thank you for those who are watching the recording. And, Father, we ask that we would be.

Priestly pens that can be used in the hands of the author of life. We thank you, Lord. We even have this privilege of being writers for your glory. Kingdom writers, as we like to say. And I just want to ask that you would encourage each and every person here. I pray you give them hope. I pray you give them inspiration with words. I pray you confirm their calling. I pray that you would give them glimpses of the possibilities that can happen when they share their words with a hungry world. Yes, And I just want to pray, Lord, that you would distribute our words.

As far and as wide as you want them to go. Yes, and we know that that is limitless in terms of what you can do. Just like you fed that crowd, you can feed crowds with our words. Words that you inspire through us. And even as we place ourselves in your hands to be broken, so to speak, like that bread.

As you give thanks to the Father for even just our individual lives and what you're doing through our lives, I just pray that. That there would be a multiplication effect in terms of the encouragement that's brought about through our words. So, Lord, we desire to be priestly pens in the hands of the author of life. Use our lives for your glory every drop of inc.

Yes, possible.

And we ask all this in Jesus name. Amen.

Amen. How many of you were inspired?

We are here just, you know, with God doing this to encourage you to use your gifts and calling to reach many, many people. And when, when he talked about that scripture, I just pictured all of those people. And it said, then Jesus began to distribute. And when he said, he was saying, you know, think of it as our words. Like, I just saw it that your books are going out to so many places. I got chills. And the enemy, guess what? Wants to stop you. He wants to stop you. But God has the victory. And as CJ Was praying, God often speaks to me in pictures. And the picture that I got when CJ Was praying is that some of you saw. Feel like your ink is already run out. It's too late. You, you know, felt like you should have written this book earlier. You don't have the funds or the money. You just feel dry and you feel like your ink is already run out. Is there anyone that is feeling that today or maybe that you don't know what to do? You just. You feel like, I don't even know the first step to take. I don't even know how to get my words onto the paper. I don't understand anything about publishing or marketing my book. And you just feel like this pen, no ink. And I just felt like the Lord wants to say to you today and encourage you today that you are not a disposable pen, but a fountain pen. And guess what? Fountain pens can be refilled with ink.

And you don't have to stay dry. You can come to him and he will fill your reservoir. He will fill you. He will give you what you need to write. He will give you the words to write. He will show you the way to have that book published. He will give you the ideas for marketing. And believe me, God is able to give you favor. We have seen it in our own lives. And just things that have happened that we couldn't have even orchestrated or made happen that has gotten our books to so many people. We're not well known. We're not household names. I mean, some of you didn't even know of us before this conference. And yet God has used us to sell more than three quarters of a million books and given away over half a million for free on Kindle. What? How is that even possible? English was my worst subject in school. He refills the ink. He gives the favor. He has those divine connections for you. He has the resources for you. And so I want you to know right now, if you feel like you're a disposable pen that's run out, there is more for you, friends. There is more for you Kingdom writers. And God wants to refill you today. He wants you to move forward in that call to write. That is what we have promised in this conference. Right Battle plan, helping you move forward in that call to write. And so we're excited for all of you. We have just been so blessed by being here with you today. So, cj, why don't you just say a prayer blessing over every Kingdom writer that's here live, but also that's watching this recording.

Yeah. So, Father, we thank you for every single one of these Kingdom writers.

Yes.

We ask that you would give them strength and energy this day. I pray, Lord, that they would be able to glean nuggets out of each one of the speakers over this conference. And I just pray, Lord, that you would give each person those aha moments or those. Those pivotal points in their lives that turn them in a different direction or something that you're calling them to that they hadn't thought of. And we'll give you the glory and the honor for all the fruit that you bear through each one of these Kingdom writers. So we ask all this in Jesus name. Amen.

Amen. And remember, you are priestly pens in the hands of the author of life. And you're not a disposable pen. You're a fountain pen with refillable ink. Just keep coming to God. Keep meeting with him, being filled by him, his spirit, his words. And he will lead and guide you every step of the way, even amongst the highs and the lows, the twists and the turns. Can I get an Amen?

Amen.

Thank you for listening to this episode of Kingdom Writers. We believe that you, as a Christian writer, have a specific role to play in the Kingdom of Heaven to impact lives for eternity.

And because of this, we choose to pour out our lives into encouraging writers like you to not only tell your stories, but to take the courageous step of self publishing your stories and books that will add, outlive you and leave behind a powerful legacy. This podcast is sponsored by Christian Book Academy, where we help you give birth to your books. We invite you to join our community of Kingdom Writers.