#365: Mentoring Moment: Worth the Trip

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.

Before we dive into today's episode, I have some exciting news to share with you. My name is Shelly Hitz. My husband CJ and I are the hosts here at the Kingdom Writers Podcast. But we also host the Kingdom Writers Conference and today we have opened registration for our fourth conference. This one is going to be all about email marketing and so I am excited for you to join. This is a one day conference. We've handpicked eight amazing speakers who are ready to help you unlock the power of email marketing to effectively grow your audience, consistently sell more books and free up valuable time for writing. We'll also be live twice on Zoom. But if you can't come live, there will be recordings, there will be prizes, it will be a ton of fun. You can come and learn how to grow your audience while you're writing your book. If you are still in the writing process or if you already have a book and you're in any stage of email marketing, I encourage you to come. Email marketing has been the number one way we have grown our business and it still works. Plus you can schedule and automate your marketing promotions so that you're not glued to your computer all the time. So definitely come and join us. You can sign up@dommywritersconference.com email and we would love to see you there again. This is completely free one day conference. It will be hosted on March 9th, but registration is open now, so make sure to go sign up and and let all your writing friends know to join us at the email marketing edition of the Kingdom Writers Conference. So today CJ is going to share encouragement based on the theme Worth the trip. So cj, go ahead and share that with us today.

Yeah, so I want to look at.

The story of the wise men that, that made the journey from it says eastern lands.

To come and see Jesus, you know, the birth of Jesus. And we picked this up in Matthew chapter two and I think it's just relevant, you know, as we, as we get closer to Christmas to look at some of these stories and look at them more deeply and look at the details. And so I want to read some of this to you just beginning Matthew chapter 2, verse 1 and it says Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men. And by the way, we don't read that it was just three wise men. I think we, we get that three because there were three gifts that are mentioned in there. And so it could have been 12, it could have been three, it could have been five. There could have been a whole caravan. Most likely there was a caravan of servants. But I think that's an interesting detail that, that we, we, we don't necessarily see just three of these, but we, we associate that too as we, as we hear songs like We Three Kings and we, we just immediately, you know, those are the things that are etched in our minds. But it says they came from eastern lands. And there's a good chance that it was probably around Babylon, which would be modern day Baghdad, Iraq. It could have been Persia. Some, some scholars say Persia, which is modern day Iran. We just know it was, it was, it was far enough to where it was. It was these eastern lands that they came from. And so it says they, they asked, where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose and we have come to worship him. And we could just quickly pause there that these were, were guys. We don't know exactly what they did, we don't know what their lineage was. I think they were people of means.

They obviously had an interest in stars and what those things meant. And I do want to say that what they saw in the sky was something rare. It was so rare that would prompt them to take a 900 mile journey. I want you to think about this. If they came from Baghdad, which would have been Babylon at that time, even if they would have come from Iran, it would have been 900 to 1200 miles journey and it would have taken them a while, taking breaks and things.

Where is this newborn king, the King of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose and we have come to worship him now. King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked where is the Messiah supposed to be born?

In Bethlehem in Judea, they said. For this is what the prophet wrote. And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not least among the ruling cities of Judah. For a ruler will come from you, who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.

Let me also just say that.

We either.

Will, will, will be worshiping Jesus in his coming or will be worsening. And I want to say that, that with Herod here, Herod was immediately worried and beginning to worsen as a human being. Because how many know that there's only one? There's only room for one king, right? Anywhere around the world. You can't have two kings simultaneously working together and ruling. There's, there's. There's generally room for one. And Herod, of course, you know, was threatened because he, he immediately thought, well, this, My position is going to be taken. I like what I'm doing right now. I like the authority that the Romans give me to be able to be king of this land. And so I think it's ironic. Let's just.

Go with the thought that maybe there were these three kings, three different kings from different regions of the east that came. How ironic that they came to worship and that there was a local king that was more threatened and he was beginning to worsen. He was beginning to worry. And so the king, then Herod, called for a private meeting with the wise men. And he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. Then he told them, go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child, and when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him too. Of course, we know that was a deception. After this interview, the wise men went their way, and the star they had seen, the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. And when they saw the star, they were filled with joy. I think that's so key right there. I, I think that is a major understatement. I think we gloss over that little term right there. They were filled with joy. Wouldn't you be filled with joy? And if you have been traveling 900 to 1200 miles, anticipating arriving and seeing this, this child that's been born. And by the way, I believe Jesus at this point would have been anywhere from six months to two years old. Okay, because we read here that they entered the house and saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route. For God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod. And so it says, they entered the house. This would have been probably the house that Joseph and Mary had had found in, in the Bethlehem area after Jesus was born. So he was no longer in a stable. But I think many of our nativity scenes portray, you know, you've got the shepherds over here, and then the wise men. And, but these wise men would have approached Jesus when he was, I believe, at least six months old, if not as. As much as two years. And we also know too, that Herod had asked approximately when, when this child was to be born. And we, we read later that he, he committed one of the most atrocious acts that we, we could ever read about. He. He basically had every boy two years old and under slaughtered in Bethlehem. And this is why Joseph and Mary fled. Now, here's the thing.

These wise men, or three kings, whatever you want to call them, astrologers, astronomers.

People who noticed things in the sky that were significant, that were rare. They made this arduous journey. And so they're overwhelmed with joy when they finally get there.

We also read about an arduous journey that, that Mary and Joseph took leading up to Jesus's birth. You know, they had to hightail it to Bethlehem because there was a census cult. And that journey alone was 90 miles when Mary is about ready to pop. Okay, imagine traveling 90 miles when you're about ready to give birth. You got it. You're stressed. You got to head down there. And that's not the end of it. We all read that they had an arduous journey after the Lord warned Joseph in a dream, you need to flee Bethlehem. Herod is going to.

Have young boys murdered. And so what does he do? They scurry after this. And they fled to Egypt. Many think they fled to a part of Egypt around where the Nile comes through there.

And that journey alone probably would have been 500 miles. So I want you just to think about these arduous journeys that people like the wise men and Mary and Joseph with Jesus had to make. These were tiring journeys. But how many would agree that those journeys in hindsight were worth it, that those journeys were worth the trip, that. That in God's great plan, these wearisome journeys served a purpose. And I want to say that you may feel.

Wearied on the journey right now. You may wonder, is this really worth the trip in terms of my book? And I want to tell you that you're going to have a point where you look back in hindsight and say, it was worth the trip. It was worth every ounce of blood, sweat, and tears that I shed, every word that I bled on the pages, every bit of. Of coming to the Lord and seeking and really just putting myself in a place where I can write and be a kingdom writer. I also want to say this, that those gifts were significant, that these wise men gave the gold the frankincense, the myrrh. We've all, we, we've through the years looked at these and said they must be symbolic of something. Gold is royalty, like a king. Frankincense, this, this, this oil that would have been used along with the anointing oil. The formula that God had even said, anoint kings with this, anoint priests with this. So there's that anointing aspect of things, there's that priestly part of Jesus and then there's the myrrh. And myrrh was used, it was also a very sweet smelling aroma, but it was usually used as an embalming in embalming as well. And so we kind of read about, okay, Jesus is being foretold as a king, as a priest, but also we're preparing for, in a prophetic way for his death. And so I want to say this, that Mary and Joseph, and of course these were things that were given to Jesus on his behalf and Jesus being worshiped by these wise men. But you know how many of us ever thought about the practicality that maybe this was the way that God provided for their flight to Egypt? Because these gifts would have been worth a huge amount of money. They really would have. The gold, the frankincense, the myrrh, they could have been sold. And I'm sure that I'd like to think that they were. That God used these gifts that he already had provision ahead of time for Mary and Joseph because a flight to Egypt would have been a major expense. And what I want to say to all of you here is God will prepare for your arduous journey. He's already prepared. He's got you. He has taken care of every detail. He's not worried about an unexpected flight to Egypt. He's not worried about an unexpected trip with a census that gets you down to Bethlehem. He's not worried about a 900 to 1200 mile journey. If you're willing to take that kind of effort to come and simply lay gifts before Jesus and worship Him. I'm here to tell you, God will provide for your every need. And God will provide every word that you need for your book. He'll provide every dollar that you need for any of your marketing efforts. And I'm here to tell you that he's made provision already. If we see the provision in his hand working behind the scenes in all of this, giving Joseph and giving these wise men dreams, saying, you need to go this way now, I'm here to tell you, he will give you the pivot as well, and he'll speak to you very clearly. It may not come through a dream. It may come through a person. It may come through a TV program. It may come through.

A fellow member here in the academy. But I want to say that you'll look back and you'll say, it's worth the trip. It's worth the trip.

Yeah. That's so good. And, you know, I think I'm being challenged in this, like, all the time. I just recently shared a testimony on the hit Splits private podcast. If you're not listening, you can, you can listen into all the details there of how I believe God prepared in advance for some things we needed. And I'm gonna cry.

This year. And I'm feeling the pressure again. It's like, how is this gonna work.

Lord? And yet sometimes the question is not how. It's like, God, I just trust you.

I trust you. And he will provide the how, right? He'll provide. Whether it's a thousand dollars a month that you need, whether it's a hundred dollars to pay, you know, your book cover designer, whatever. It is, like, he provides.

And it's like, I just, I realized, like, it's just not going to be a cushy, easy road. When we're following Christ, right.

We'Re called to suffer for Him. And sometimes I don't feel willing to take the trip and suffer for Him. And yet it is worth it. It is worth it. And if you feel called to do this and yet you're feeling resistance, you're feeling persecution, you're feeling financial issues, you're coming up against technical problems, you just feel like it's one thing after the other. You know what, you're in good company.

Jesus had Satan against him, you know, from the very beginning. And even just here, you know, just try his life to. Trying to be snuffed out from the very beginning. And so when we are following Christ, when we are doing what he's called us to do, it doesn't mean that we're going to all of a sudden be on the bestseller list and that all of a sudden we're gonna, you know, all of these great things are gonna happen. Yes, can do, God do.

He is the God of Ephesians 3:20, right. Exceedingly, abundantly above what we think or imagine. But there are going to be those moments where you just want to give up. And you're like, I don't want to continue this journey. And I felt like it this morning. I'm like, I just want to go in some little cabin and I just, I just want to hide. I just, I don't want to do this anymore. Just feels so hard. It just feels like every time we make a step forward, it's like three steps back. And yet the Lord is with us. And so we just, we just have to keep going with his, knowing that he, he is with us, that trusting him in this journey. And, you know, that's why we have this group. That's why, why we have community. Because, you know, if we didn't have community, you know how easy it would just be to be like, this doesn't matter anymore. You know, I'm just going to go do something else. I, I, this, this, this writing thing, it's just, it's just not for me or this marketing thing or whatever. I can just have an easier time having a different hobby or having a different thing or whatever, a different, different whatever. And yet the Lord wants you to be encouraged today that he has a plan for you, he has a purpose for you. Don't give up. Don't give up. It is worth the trip. And so, cj, why don't you go ahead and pray?

Yeah. Well, Father, again, we thank you for each person here, Each person here represents a fellow traveler, someone who is on a journey. And some may be nearing.

Bethlehem, some may still be 500 miles off, but they can still see the star. They can still, they're still being guided. We're all being guided. And by the way, speaking of star, we acknowledge that, Jesus, you are the star. You're, you're the star of the show. And we thank you that we, we don't have that pressure to be the star of the show, that we lift you up, we lay our gifts before you. We worship you completely because you alone are worthy. You're the only, there's only room for one sheriff in town. And you're that. You are more than that, though. You, you are the King of kings and the Lord of lords. And we acknowledge that. And we prepare room, we prepare our hearts as we lead up to Christmas. And we just, we rejoice like these wise men who finally arrived. We rejoice in.

Saying it's worth it, Lord. And so I just want to ask that you would give wind beneath the wings of, of each and every person here. Give them fresh wind, fresh fire and energy, Lord, for this remaining journey, wherever they're at in the process. And again, we just thank you, Lord, for what you're going to do today and into tomorrow. In Jesus name, Amen.

Amen. Would you like more? If you are enjoying this podcast but want more. I have something exciting to share with you. We have released what's called a private podcast. So a private podcast you will not find by searching in Apple. You have to know specifically how to subscribe to it. It's more private and exclusive and it just can be more relaxed behind the scenes. And my new private podcast is called Hits Blitz and it's wisdom for writers that you're going to learn from from my 18 plus years of experience in publishing and online marketing so that you can move forward in God's call to write. I am best known for injecting energy and enthusiasm into everything I do and inspiring those around me to take action. So I encourage you to listen in to this exclusive private podcast. It is free, 100% free. You don't have to pay for it and be prepared to be inspired by my next Hits Blitz. So you can sign up@trainingauthors.com hitsblitz and if you have any other writing friends that you think could benefit from it, definitely share it with them. They can go to the same link trainingauthors.com hitsblitz to get access. Again, this is a private podcast so you cannot get access to it any other way. It's completely free. All you have to do is sign up and then you'll get all the information on how to add it to your podcast player of choice. So I can't wait for you to join me over there. I share a lot of things behind the scenes and more content just in a real time basis. So it's more like chatting with a friend or following someone on stories on social media. Except you don't have to get caught up in any of the algorithms. You'll just have this in your podcast player and be able to listen in wherever you're at, whatever you're doing. Some of the listeners told me this week that they were listening while waiting in the Target parking lot, while brushing their teeth. You can fit this into the pockets of time that you have, so I hope you'll join me. Come over to trainingauthors.com hitsblitz.

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 in books that will outlive you and lead 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.