Image courtesy of Sura Nualpradid at FreeDigitalPhotos.net I was reading the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 the other day and was challenged to reflect on it from the eyes of the boy who had the five loaves and two fish. If you wish to read along I used the version in John 6. I don’t think I’ve really even considered it from his perspective and with the SUMite Gathering this weekend I thought there were some wonderful insights to encourage all of you who will be attending. And especially for those of you who might be nervous or a little apprehensive as is very normal before such an event. Jesus asked the boy for his loaves and fish. Conceivably the boy could have refused the request. But he didn’t as I suspect Jesus, like he was with every child he met, was kind and considerate in making his request.... Read more →

I wonder if you feel offense for the older brother?After all, this man dutifully stayed at home, working hard, toiling in the land and never disobeyed his father. Honestly, if you’ve been a prodigal, you wished you had never run away, and you feel guilty that you come home and are welcomed back. You compare yourself to your brothers and sisters and feel shame. You also feel admiration that they were faithful. Read more →

So, gang, let’s look at this Prodigal son and consider our spouses. They have been hoodwinked into a kingdom of darkness. And what is flabbergasting to me is this. They are convinced, passionately, that they are neutral to faith/religion. Or they are committed also with a passion in opposition to our God, in which they believe they know all about, but actually don’t know at all, and are deceived into blindness. Read more →

Hello SUM family! Tiffany here: We live in a fallen world where there more often than not (thank you media and social media) we see turmoil or chaos swirling about the atmosphere. It is so easy to get caught up in a mindset of "I can't take it anymore, come back NOW Jesus!" that we forget who we are and the goodness and PROMISES of God. Can I get an amen from anybody? On Sunday I heard this song for the first time. It is called Fall by The Belonging Co. I have listed a couple of lines below: My eyes above what it looks like My eyes above what it looks like I will only see All You promised me... My faith beyond what it feels like My faith beyond what it feels like All the way to You, All the way to breakthrough breakthrough... Something's changing in the... Read more →

I am having an amazing time reading the Word and meditating on two different stories. One in the Old Testament, in the book of Joshua and one in the New Testament, in Luke 15, the Prodigal son.Gang, WOW!  The sub-plots and lesser-known lessons that most believers miss, are blowing my mind. But today, I want to chat with you about the unseen lessons in the Prodigal son story.I’m compelled to write about this story because through my prayer ministry, and often with people who don’t know Yahweh, our Father very well. I’ve come to discover that far too many people don’t really know that God is truly always good. They are blocked by numerous lies about His love, goodness, and kindness. So-much-so, they feel far away from God or that God is distant, mean, and punishing. Read more →

If you were to open Google earth right now, you’d see a picture of earth from on high. Zoom in, and you’d see New Zealand, Auckland, then a suburb. Zoom in. You’d see a house. Oh, and there inside that house, there’s a girl, me, where God placed her. Zoom out. Zoom in again. India. Another believer. Another location. Another heart. Sometimes I wonder why on earth I’ve been placed in New Zealand and how to live with the fact that my life here is so seemingly comfortable while other locations are less so. As I’ve lived with that question, though, I’ve come to see that everything in the Kingdom is topsy-turvy, and in Kingdom currency, the most comfortable people don’t have it easy. The important question is “What is my heart’s response to my circumstances, to this place God has me?” SUMites, in this post today I feel I’d... Read more →

Hi all - I am new to this community and wanted to ask if it was natural and normal to feel anxiety and a little bit of fear when feeling as if we live in the end times and our husbands are not saved? Read more →

Hear my voice now, with Jesus, our marriage relationships will become easier. Jesus fills in all the missing places in your heart and life that your husband is unwilling or unable to meet. Stay strong. Read more →

By Martha Bush Note: Adapted from my journal entry during the Sumite Fast, January 10, 2018. ***** She walked to the well as usual to draw water. Since she was an outcast from her society, she came to draw water at midday because she wasn’t welcome to join the other women of the town in the morning when it was cool. She was unmarried, living with a man and had shacked up with a few others guys before this latest guy. She wasn’t perfect, unlike the “other women” of the town who obviously thought they were. (John 4) As Lynn told the story of The Woman at the Well and her encounter with Jesus, she had these words to say in regards to our family: “This salvation experience is what our unbelieving family members are looking for. They need an ENCOUNTER with the God of love, power, forgiveness and wisdom.... Read more →

Conference highlights: Multiple speakers, share your testimony, worship, prayer, powerful messages of truth for our marriages and family as well as ministry time. You will leave filled with strategies for victory in your life and faith. Read more →

Image courtesy of graur codrin at FreeDigitalPhotos.net From the beginnings of my faith journey as a teenager Romans 12:1-2 has been a favorite. It was the one I first memorized and regularly prayed seeking the Lord to help me not to conform to the world by transforming me through the renewal of my mind. Even at that immature stage of my faith I perceived that we were supposed to be different. We weren’t supposed to conform to the world. What does not conforming look like? It’s not necessarily about vocation nor how we spend our time but it starts within our heart. Heart? But didn’t I just mention ‘renewal of my mind’? I can do something with that? Read some books, listen to some podcasts, watch some of those great preachers on YouTube. I think that’s what I thought for so many years and so I hungered for knowledge. Don’t... Read more →

This past week the Lord surprised me. He began to show me how many promises, hopes, and dreams have been delayed. He began to speak to me about delay. I asked the Lord about delay and He said to me that many in the SUM community are in this place along with me. During my prayer time, our Father's spoke to me about this current season. I know someone is out there who needs this word. Blessings and love, Lynn Delay Must Depart Read more →

Today, I'm sharing the Let's TALK LIVE video from Wednesday. It’s vulnerable. It’s real. It’s God’s thoughts about our assignment in a spiritually mismatched marriage. Read more →

*Photo credit: Arkdiscovery.com, this is the forever blackened top of Mount Sinai, where God's presence came in fire. God is angry and full of wrath...and I want no part of that! I've heard throughout my lifetime that the God of the Bible (specifically the Old Testament) is mean and unmerciful and a murderer. I'm sure you have heard things similar...maybe even last week. There are a lot of people who hold this viewpoint. I never knew how to really answer these types of comments. Sure I could mention that Jesus died on the cross and rose again for our sins to take the wrath of God upon Himself. But I was always left confused when my heart and mind could not make the connection with all of the death and destruction in the Old Testament with a loving God. I mean after all God never changes right? (Malachi 3:6; James... Read more →

A few weeks ago, this question arrived on our Instagram:"What to do with that guilt I feel sometimes for marrying someone who is not a believer?” Read more →

Hi everyone, Ann here! Some SUM moments are so tough they’re funny when you look back, and I couldn’t resist sharing one with you. It was the time a well-meant speaker at church said these words from the pulpit: “Every year my wife and I sit down and decide how much to give to church.” I'm afraid that did it for me. I crumpled into a self-pitying heap in the back of church. See, I’d been attending for months, and gave nothing. Not a dollar. I hadn’t felt able to ask it of my husband. It was painful, I guess, because my heart badly wanted to give. I knew the pastor needed to at least eat. I knew God wants us to financially support the one who sacrifices their life for that work, so that they can survive (Gal 6:6). Eventually, I asked, saying to my husband, “Look, I at... Read more →

I hesitated in writing this post. If you live unequally yoked, I think you will understand my perspective. If you aren’t, consider what I have to say. Several days ago, I received a phone call from a woman who lives in Wisconsin ( I live in California). She had heard about our book and took time to call me. She shared that she has lived with her unbelieving spouse now for 33 years. Wow, thirty-three years. She loves him and in the past, fought many spiritual battles and persevered with Christ. She went on to tell me that her strength to walk this road came from a scripture verse she heard as a young woman. Proverbs 16:7 When a man’s (woman’s) ways are pleasing to the LORD, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him (her). She told me that she believed this and this verse has proven... Read more →

A few months ago, a friend of mine shared a short warfare prayer. Every day since then, on my walk-n-pray, I open my phone to the link and read/pray it out loud inserting my name, my husband’s name, children grandchildren, SUM ministries, Centerpoint ministries (my home church) and all my prayer ministries, the leadership and those there-under. I read it aloud and adapt it as led by the Holy Spirit. I’ve found just reading it aloud moves my spirit into a higher realm of authority, prayer and then leads me to pray further about issues in my life that need prayer covering. Read more →

By Martha Bush With their adrenalin still running high right after miraculously crossing the Jordan River, Joshua, Caleb and a new generation of Israelites had to make a “pit stop” for three things to take place before moving forward into Canaan. It happened like this in a little town called Gilgal: 1. Don’t Move Forward Before Building Memorial Stones God instructed Joshua to choose twelve men, one from each tribe to take a stone and carry it back out into the place where the priests were still standing in the middle of the Jordan River. Pile the stones up as a monument. “In the future, when your children ask you, 'What is this monument for', you can tell them it is to remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the ark of the covenant went across. The monument will be a permanent reminder to the people of Israel... Read more →

I messed up! I slipped up…. AGAIN…. I continue to be disappointed in myself because I have this sin, this ugly thing, that I battle on and off.I wonder, Is God mad at me? Is God disappointed with me? I want God to be pleased with me, perhaps he will bless me more if I can just get this right. If I can just do more good and stop this ugly thing. Can anyone relate? Read more →

This is the painting I'm speaking about in the video Hello my dear friends, I have had a heavy heart for all of you who are in the throes of battle right now. So, today, I’m not going to talk about marriage killers. NO! I want to talk about the marriage saver. Jesus Christ. I’ve been in a deep reflection upon my life in the past few weeks. It’s as though Jesus is pouring revelation upon me about the many seasons of my marriage. Pointing to how He used my very own wrong choices to work with. How inside my rebellion, He loved me, taught me, and led me into peace. I’m on a wonderful journey right now with the Savior. And the tension of what waits around the corner of the unknown, is almost palatable to my spirit. It’s BIG… REALLY, REALLY BIG! With that said, I’m not going... Read more →

Photo courtesy of Pexels.com Hello, dear friends. Ian from sunny Sydney here. It seems ages since I’ve written. I trust the New Year has started well for you and you’re excited for what 2019 holds for you and your family. Recently, I was reading something written by Will Graham, the grandson of the late Billy Graham, where he sought some counsel from his famous granddad on navigating the challenges of a ministry that required a lot of travel around the globe. He was expecting some advice on how to run meetings better or how better to emphasize a point but instead received this simple message, “Pray, pray, pray” and “study, study, study.” It made good sense as this was what Will had seen his granddad doing most times he visited, praying and studying. Abiding and Bearing Fruit “I am the sprouting vine and you’re my branches. As you live in... Read more →

.....looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame. While Jesus carried His cross, THIS MOMENT was on His mind.... This moment in time when His bride gathers together in unity! Astounding! Read more →

A lasting power outage yesterday kept me from writing. So I'm sharing two videos that are worth a listen. Turn them on when doing the dishes or driving and I pray you feel the Presence of the Lord and the Spirit of Wisdom in the words. Hugs, Lynn Read more →

Marriage Killers. How do we slay them?Today, I want to talk about …The in-laws. Every marriage brings with it an extended family. My experience with in-laws was a good one. They weren’t intrusive. At the time I married Mike, he had lived on his own for years. He had a health relationship with his parents, and they lived in another state. Their involvement in our lives centered about holiday visits and trips to visit their place in the summer. And on occasion, a trip to the Santa Cruz where his parents and their friends and family would vacation every year.Marriages struggle when either spouse fails to become fully liberated from their parents. Read more →