Warning: You may be missing out on all that God has for you!

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Since I live in Minnesota dealing with snow is a part of life. That said, it doesn’t mean that we don’t sometimes go in our minds to a happy place: like standing on the beach. This is especially true for a guy like me with Sri Lankan blood. There is something that is good for the soul about standing by the ocean watching the waves crash in as you soak up the sun.

But it reminds me of something I heard Dave Williams of Strategic Global Mission share about the ocean. He talked about how the ocean is vast like our God. God is bigger than we can imagine. But so often we come to the ocean of God and all that we bring with us is a cup. Since a cup is all that we bring to our relationship with God that is all that we can take away. What if we brought a bucket? Or for that matter what if we brought a truck that could carry water? Dave said, “The problem is not with God, it is with our capacity.”

The problem is not with God, it is with our capacity.-Dave Williams

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One of my favorite quotes of George Mueller is, “God has dealt with me according to my expectation.” What are you expecting from God? What are you asking Jesus for today? Might as well ask for a sea crossing, sun stand still, Goliath slaying kind of miracle!

Might as well ask for a sea crossing, sun stand still, Goliath slaying kind of miracle!

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Let us ask big today!

I turn 40 this month. One thing that I really want for my birthday…

When you are a little kid one of the big questions that people ask you as you get close to your birthday is, “What do you want?” My daughter turns 9 this week and people want to know what she wants. This month I turn 40, which I know is hard to believe, but what would I really want?

Last week I had the opportunity to attend America’s National Prayer Committee meetings for the first time as a member. It was a great opportunity to meet and hear reports from these key leaders across the country. I was one of the youngest people in the room and it was great fun to be with some of my heroes. The meetings were held at the beautiful CRU headquarters, formally Campus Crusade for Christ.

Being in this place where Bill Bright and team strategized to complete the great commission gave me a good opportunity to look up from my day to day activities to the broader vision of Christ Connection. Sitting next to one of my mentors, Dick Eastman from Every Home for Christ, did something to help me see the worldwide mission that God has called me to complete.

After the meetings were over I took a couple days to just be with God and hear what He had to say. It was an amazing time of reaffirming what this ministry is all about. It was a time of dreaming and recommitting to the big opportunities that God has for Christ Connection. On the flight home I even read a quote from my pastor from high school which said, “Oh for heaven’s sake, don’t pray little prayers.”

Oh for heaven’s sake, don’t pray little prayers.-Mark Denyes

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So what do I want this year when I turn 40? One of the things that I really want is for every pastor to be a praying pastor with a group of people praying for them. I want every church to be a house of prayer with every Christian excited to be a part of it. And not only excited to pray, but walking out of that prayer time following Jesus to the adventure they have together.

Are you not only excited to pray, but walking out following Jesus to adventure together?

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Which is why I am excited to launch our annual February challenge. Each year we challenge you to consider a gift to the ministry in the amount of how much I am turning this year. Would you consider a $40 donation to help us equip and encourage pastors? Since this is also the month that I celebrate 20 years in ministry maybe God would have you give a multiple of that: $200, $2000 etc.

Maybe this special year God would prompt you to become a monthly support of this ministry. Every dollar makes a difference. Could you give $20 a month to help raise up a movement of prayer around the world? What about $100 a month to see countries changed for eternity?

As I hit 40 this month I am more committed than ever to helping ignite pastors and church through the power of prayer ministry here and around the world. But I am more convinced than ever that I can’t do that alone. Will you be a part of this great month and let’s see what God will do?

6 Ways to Have Some Adventure in Your Christian Walk without Going Crazy (Updated)

I am learning more and more that I am not wired like everyone else. Reading Marcus Buckingham’s book Standout and taking the assessment he defines me as an Equalizing Pioneer. Another way of saying it he would describe me as an Organized Trailblazer. Thinking about my story I find this to be true.

I am willing to do things that other people are not even thinking about doing. I start a ministry that doesn’t have another example that I know of already. I work strategically so I can travel to some of the darkest places in the world. I start a blog about prayer and then walk out step by step to make it happen.

But what if you are not wired that way? Maybe you read those things and think they just sound like a bad day. You want excitement in your walk with God, but that just sounds out there. How do you get to that place?

One simple verse by Paul gives a powerful and practical solution. He says, “Only let us live up to what we have attained.” (Philippians 3:16) Basically he is saying that there are things that we don’t understand, but we can always do what we know to do already. Just living up to what we believe already will keep us really busy even if we don’t add anything new.

Living up to what we believe already will keep us really busy even if we don’t add anything new.

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Here are some examples:

1 Pray and listen.

Simply taking 5 minutes a day to prayerfully listen to God could radically change your next year

2 Love your neighbor.

Finding practical ways to love the people around you will take you on adventures that will touch you and them.

3 Encourage people.

Even 1 time a day of encouraging someone is like John Maxwell says-you are giving oxygen to their soul.

4 Cut out something destructive from your life.

We don’t normally need someone else to tell us what they are, but what would your life be like without whatever that thing is?

5 Rejoice easily.

Enjoying God, life, friends and simple moments will bring adventure to the ordinary.

6 Give generously.

When we give we make room for the miraculous in our lives.

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What other things do we already know that just need to live? What could you do today?