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man experiencing spiritual power

Faith that Promises Power!

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For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. 1 Corinthians 4:20

You probably love the message found in our opening scripture. I do. It holds a beautiful promise. Our faith isn’t limited to words and creeds. It promises power.

But I have to ask, dear one. Are you experiencing that power?

I think it’s safe to say that many believing Christians don’t. We’ve settled for something that falls short of scripture’s promises. Most of us don’t really live as new creations in Christ. Very few actually witness any miracles. And we have no expectation that anything’s going to change.

But what if God is just waiting for His people to stop settling and take Him at His Word? What if we really could experience moments like Luke 5:26,

And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.”

Extraordinary moments happen when God shows up. And that’s what we’ve been missing, dear one. We haven’t learned how to carry His presence into every circumstance.

Years ago, God captured my attention with Romans 8:14.

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

I’ll be honest with you. For years, I called myself a child of God, but I wasn’t led by the Spirit. I made my own decisions without ever inviting God to participate. And I never experienced His power manifesting in my life.

Beloved, God shows up when we are yielded—when we allow Jesus to take His rightful place on the throne and lead. You see, Christianity isn’t just about acknowledging Jesus is Lord of all. It’s personal.

Real life begins when you choose to make Jesus Lord over you.

That’s what the early church had that many of us don’t, dear one. They were filled with the Spirit, yielding to His leadership. And where they went, God made Himself known.

It began on the day of Pentecost.

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:4

Do you see it, dear one? Power poured out when they were filled with the Spirit. Suddenly, they had capabilities they hadn’t had before. God’s Spirit enabled them to speak in languages they didn’t know!

Acts 6:5 describes Stephen—the first disciple martyred for his faith— as, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. What did that filling accomplish for him?

And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. Acts 6:8

When we are filled with the Holy Spirit—fully yielded to His plans and purposes—anything is possible.

That’s why Ephesians 5:17-18 commands us.

Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.

Scripture compares being filled with the Spirit to being drunk with wine. What happens when people are drunk? The wine influences and controls them. God uses that analogy so that we can understand what it means to be filled with the Spirit. In Scripture, filled with means to be under the influence of and controlled by.

Are you controlled—or led—by the Spirit, dear one? That’s the only way you’ll access heaven’s power.

The Apostle Paul lived in that power.

And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them. Act 19:11-12

Can you imagine being so filled with the Spirit—filled to overflowing—that clothing that touched you would carry the power of God’s Presence to others? Many people long for the authority and power that Paul had. But they don’t want to follow the path he chose to achieve it.

You see Paul suffered greatly to live surrendered. 2 Corinthians 11:23-29 offers a taste of it. But through all his suffering, Paul would let nothing come between him and the will of God. Not even death.

When the Holy Spirit warned him and several other believers that going to Jerusalem would mean his death, he went anyway. When his friends tried to stop him,

Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” And since he would not be persuaded, we ceased and said, “Let the will of the Lord be done.” Acts 21:13-14

Paul did go to Jerusalem and found himself in another jail. Acts 23:11 reveals what happened to him there.

The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.”

Our Lord Jesus never leaves a surrendered heart, dear one. In fact, yielding to His leadership causes Him to manifest, just like He did to Paul.

John 14:21 remains my life verse. You see, like Paul, I have lived its promise.

“Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”

Beloved, God defines loving Him as yielded obedience. And when we submit to His Word, He promises to reveal Himself.

Are you ready to believe that the kingdom of God is more than talk? Do you long to experience its power?

Yield, beloved. Love Jesus with obedience.

And watch Him manifest.

A New Perspective to Unlock the Power of the Gospel

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I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. Philippians 1:3-5

Paul got excited over these Philippian believers.

Look at his words. He thanked God every time he remembered them. And always, every time he prayed for them, he lifted his prayer with joy.

What made these believers such a source of joy and thanksgiving? Their partnership in the gospel.

I’ll be honest. For a long time I looked at those verses and thought that Paul simply rejoiced because they were helping in the work of kingdom building. But recently God took me deeper. He asked me to consider what that word partnership really meant.

So now I invite you to join me on the path He led me down. Let’s start by defining the gospel itself. Paul defines it for us in 1 Corinthians 15:1-5.

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

 The gospel that saves hinges on three important truths.

  1. Christ died for our sins
  2. He was buried
  3. He was raised to new life

Here’s the heart of the gospel, beloved. Death. Burial. Resurrection.

And here’s why I believe we witness so little of the gospel’s power in our own lives. We carry the message of the gospel—Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection— without participating in the gospel ourselves.

We want the resurrection power the gospel proclaims. We just don’t like the means to experience it. Beloved, death and burial must precede resurrection life.

And this, I believe, is what made Paul so excited about these Philippian believers. They had partnership in the gospel from the first day they heard it. They themselves participated in the death, burial, and resurrection, experiencing the transforming work of the cross within their own hearts.

You see, the original Greek word translated partnership in Philippians 1:5 is Koinōnia, which means: close association between persons, emphasizing what is common between them; by extension: participation, sharing…fellowship, communion.

These believers shared in Christ’s suffering, choosing fellowship in the death and burial of their flesh nature, so that they could also experience Christ’s resurrection power. And this led to Paul’s often quoted proclamation in Philippians 1:6.

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Beloved, what if we chose to begin this year with a new way of thinking? What if our partnership in the gospel could be more than just sharing creeds and faith? What if we committed to fellowship with Christ in the power of the gospel instead of just sharing His message?

Oh that Jesus would look upon us with the same joy that Paul felt for those early believers at Philippi! May our lives prove the message of the gospel and proclaim Christ’s kingdom.

For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. 1 Corinthians 4:20

Feeling Powerless? Drink!

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Like cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country. Proverbs 25:25 ESV

The Gospel is good news.

Literally. That’s what it means.

And it is good news. The cross of Christ changed everything, offering what nothing else can. Forgiveness. Redemption. Identity. Healing. Resurrection life. Restoration. Wholeness. Power. Transformation. Grace.

But for some reason we don’t share the message of the cross like its good news. We act like we don’t want to bother people with it.

Huh? Somehow the enemy has convinced us to fear sharing the hope that will help people. That will quench their thirst. That will heal what’s broken, revive and restore.

Good news is like cold water to a thirsty soul, beloved. So why aren’t we more excited to share it?

I have a theory, based on my own experience.

While we smile and enter our churches all dressed up and ready to worship Jesus, inside we’re not at all sure the gospel offers any real power—at least not while our feet still kick up dust on this earth. Life hasn’t changed much—except that we set an alarm on Sunday—and we don’t want to look bad when the message we share doesn’t live up to their expectations.

Because we ourselves still thirst.

We’re dry. Broken. Bitter. Powerless. Weary. We sing praises to the name of Jesus, but our lives too closely resemble the lost we’re supposed to save.

And so we reason that the promises of scripture are future promises instead of now promises. And we settle for just getting by, with no real zeal for advancing a kingdom that seems to promise much but deliver little.

I get it. I’ve been there. But what if the words Jesus proclaimed to a thirsty woman at a well are actually true for us today?

“Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”” John 4:14 ESV

Sounds pretty fabulous to me.

Jesus said that in Him it’s possible to never thirst again. Ever. Can you imagine it? To never feel dry and unsatisfied but always filled and refreshed?

Well He said it, dear one. So the question really boils down to whether or not you believe it. And if you say you believe it, will you live trusting the principle, or will you settle for less than what Jesus has promised you?

Jesus claims that the water He provides will become a spring welling up within us until life flows—both in us and from us (John 7:38). Eternal life that doesn’t fade.

Ever present refreshment that won’t permit thirst.

But Jesus also gives a condition to experiencing those promises. We must drink the water.

We can’t just talk about it. It does no good to memorize scriptures about it. We have to drink it. Consistently. Deeply.

But we haven’t drunk deeply, beloved. We’ve sipped of His Spirit on Sunday mornings. And we expect the life of God to manifest in us while we live the majority of our lives ignoring Him.

It doesn’t work that way, dear one. We must drink the water to experience the life it gives. 

We must drink the water to experience the life it gives. Click To Tweet

We have to meet with God and partake. Only then can the water within us well up to produce life.

Then we will be changed.

And that change will compel us to offer that water to everyone we care about. Because when we have drunk deeply from the living water, allowing it to do its work—reviving our own souls and restoring our own brokenness—how could we not share the resurrection life we have been given?

 For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. 1 Corinthians 4:20

 God’s Word is true, dear one. Let’s prove it.

Drink.

Then drink more.

And keep drinking until you no longer remember how it feels to thirst.

A Unified Purpose

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Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! Psalm 133:1-2

Few things thrill the heart of God like seeing His beloved children come together in agreement over His purpose. After all, unity reflects the very nature of God.

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” Deuteronomy 6:4

Dear one, God dwells in perfect agreement with Himself. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit never depart from acting as one.

Yet His church often resists such unity. Instead of building one another up and working together to advance His kingdom, we oppose one another. We point the Sword at one another instead of standing together against the real enemy.

My heart burns to embrace the same unity that reflects our One God.

I’m excited to announce a new partnership with Renewing the Heart Ministries to claim Kingdom ground in the Northeast. Here are a few words about my vision. I pray you will catch it too!

I’m excited for the opportunity to partner with Renewing the Heart Ministries, answering God’s call to redefine “women’s ministry” in our region and become women who authentically and biblically minister to women. Ministry was never supposed to be about programs. God calls us to live ministry, impacting the lives of those around us as a natural consequence of our own personal walk with Jesus.

I share Renewing the Heart’s passion to teach believers how to align their lives with the Word of God so they can live transformed and victorious. I know the frustration of living a powerless existence, doing my best to please God while rarely experiencing joy myself. The days of empty works are over. Christ’s return draws near. He calls His body to prepare the way for His coming, to rise in unity and prove the power of the cross through the word of our testimony. It’s time we link arms and together experience the promise of 1 Corinthians 4:20, “For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power.”

I am honored and humbled to join Renewing the Heart for their Iron Sharpens Iron conferences as MC and one of their keynote speakers. Uniting all churches to worship together in Spirit and Truth echoes Christ’s cry to His Father in Gethsemane:

“The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.” John 17:22-23

Unity in the body of Christ releases love to accomplish His work. And together we have the opportunity to come alongside hurting churches through our Woman2Woman events. The Kelley Latta Ministries team will work in partnership with Renewing the Heart to disciple leaders and their women in the Word and equip them to raise up difference makers—authentic followers of Christ who impact their communities.

Together we’ll see Christ revealed in our region. Love remains the answer. The Word of God lived in love carries the power to heal and restore. Our God stands ready to reveal Himself in our midst. What a privilege to be a vessel He uses to release life!

Thank you for your prayer support as we join together in Jesus’ Name. I look forward to updating you as the vision unfolds!

Anticipating the Harvest,

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