Radical, Relevant, Real: Living a Life that Outlives You

Europe has a significantly longer recorded history than my home country. One thing living here has impressed upon me is how many people have lived and died before my time…and have been completely forgotten! Of course, there are exceptional people who are remembered to this day. Some we remember for the good they have done, and some we remember for the great harm they have caused.

I am not seeking to be famous and remembered hundreds of years from now, but I do want my life to be used by God for His kingdom and His glory. I think everyone who loves the Lord wants their life to make a difference for Him. As His followers, we long to hear the words, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

Lana Packer, our key speaker at the IBC Women’s Conference, 4-6 May, challenged us to live a life in which we are alert and sensitive to the Lord’s leading.  We were reminded that God loves to work through ordinary people and through simple ordinary actions.

Even before the conference began, God was orchestrating a living illustration of this very principle. When Lana’s flight arrived, there was an unusual series of events that prevented Lana from connecting with the IBC team member who was meeting her at the airport to escort her to the conference hotel.  Due to this, Lana was left alone with the driver and instead of spending the drive to the hotel chatting with the team member, she instead found herself in a deep conversation with the driver about the Gospel. What had appeared to be a mistake turned out to be a “Divine Interruption.”  Furthermore, when the conference was over, she was able to return to the airport with the same driver and continue their conversation. She left him with her own Bible so he could continue to learn more about God.

Over the course of our weekend together, Lana shared from the Scriptures and her own personal testimony many examples of how God uses regular people to touch this world for His glory. Through the seminar sessions and also one-on-one with any woman who sought her out individually, she encouraged us to be actively involved in God’s Kingdom work wherever we are.

As I looked back over the notes that I took, these are some of the truths and challenges Lana shared:

• The fact is God is working and He wants us to see Him in our He also wants us to truly see those around us. We need to be intentional about making eye contact and connecting with the many people in need we encounter each day.
• Prayer is key, and quality time in prayer requires us to be quiet and expect God to speak to our We have to spend time with Him in prayer not only making our requests known but allowing Him the quiet needed to speak to us. We need to be praying for this entire world not just our immediate situations.
• Lana challenged everyone present to read through the Bible in its One of the clearest ways God speaks to us is through His Word!
• We have to be willing to act when we sense God’s leading. Sometimes that will mean stepping out of our comfort zones and serving Him in new ways. Our hearts need to be gripped with what God has for us. If we will keep our eyes on Jesus, no matter what we face, He will keep us refreshed, renewed, and ready to serve Him.

At this year’s women’s conference, four additional seminars were available to all attendees. They covered a wide range of topic including Stephanie Blake’s session on Prayer, Lydia Whitley’s session on Purity, Andrea Schmitz’s session on Marriage, and Tabitha Redmond’s session on Expressive Worship. All of them were excellent!

The worship was led by the ICF Worship Team from Oberursel. They did a beautiful job helping us raise our voices in praise and focus our attention and hearts on our Lord.

If you were unable to attend this year, please planning on joining us for next year’s conference, 5-7 April, 2019 at Rehe Retreat Center in Rehe, Germany, with Kim Blackaby as our speaker.

Trace Odom, Metterich, Germany, IBC Women’s Ministry Team