When God gives you a task, He will be with you all the way! And this was the case when God called me to write a Bible study. I'll share with you how this came to be so you'll know that all the glory goes to Him.
This Bible study was a labor of love and an act of obedience. The thought of being a writer never entered my mind. This study was born out of a prayer I wrote in my journal in 2009. "Dear Lord, please bring me the crowds, the lost, I want to tell them about your great love."
Two weeks later at a women's retreat in Lake Tahoe, I asked God for something new. The something new did not come out of the mouth of the speaker, but out of my roommate's lips at the end of the retreat when the speaker was selling her devotional books. My friend said to me, "Guadalupe, you should write a book!" I immediately said, "What? What makes you say that?" She said, "You have a lot to offer. You need to share all the experiences you have had with God, with others." Then the following week two friends from Bible study told me independently that I should write a book. I prayed and asked my husband. He said to get started. When he was in the middle of reading my manuscript, while on travel, he said that this book needed to go out and that he would support me in doing so. The study had impacted my husband.
When I was done writing all twelve chapters, I asked God to please help me publish the book. Two days later I received an email saying, "You don't know me, but I'm a friend of Michelle who is in your Bible study. She told me about your book. I'm going to a Christian Writer's Conference, would you like to come? I did. I found out that there was a critique group of Christian authors in my own town!
After attending conferences, and meetings for several months, I still needed a Publisher. I asked God in prayer to send me help again. I had a coffee meeting with the President of Inspire Christian Writers to tell her that I was stuck and needed a publisher for my study. Toward the end she told me that they had just started publishing books through Inspire Press, and that she was giving approval for my book to be published by them!
The icing on the cake was that my editor was not only a book author himself, but had been a missionary in Africa and currently a Bible professor at a Bible College. When he finished editing my book he wrote a wonderful P.S. note, which I asked for his permission to share. He stated, "PS, Obviously the Spirit has anointed you in leading Bible studies and has guided you in creating this Bible study book, including the testimonies. I'm glad Inspire Press gets to publish it."
So when God gives you a task, He will be with you all the way!
I pray you'll get a hold of a copy over the internet, because I know this Bible study, about the greatest commandment, will bless you. It will be as if I'm sitting with you sharing my heart for the Lord and the amazing things God has done in my life.
The name of my Bible study is: "How To Love God with All Your Heart - A Personal Journey & Testimonial Bible Study Guide" By Guadalupe C. Casillas.
Here is the link on Amazon.com:
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B01A6HMOFA
May you be blessed as you continue to draw closer to God's heart of LOVE!!!
