Exciting announcement I wanted to let you know about. You can now book me and Kirk Cameron from the same agency to speak at your next event.

I just joined up with Outreach Speakers to help handle many of my speaking engagement. Excited to partner with their great team.

Please let me know if there’s anyway we can serve your church, ministry, or organization.

I was listening to a sermon the other day by Andy Stanley. He asked a rhetorical question that struck me very deeply sitting alone in my office. He asked:

If all your prayers from last year were answered, would anyone besides you, your family, and a few sick people be better off?

I didn’t have to stop and think too long about it. It was obvious that a majority of my prayers center around me, my family, my desires, my situation. Convicting to say the least.

The point is not to persuade you from praying for your circumstances or your family. The point is, there are a lot of other things that deserve our attention in prayer and God greatly desires our pleas.

> There are 27 million slaves in the world that deserve our prayers.

> There are a billion people without access to clean water that deserve our prayers.

> There are billions of people who have never heard the gospel that deserve our prayers.

> There are orphans in your city that deserve our prayers.

> There are single parents barely keeping their heads above water that deserve your prayers.

> There are kids that only ate a handful of rice today that deserve your prayers.

> The list could go on forever.

The challenge is not to stop praying about what you’re praying for currently, but to add bold prayers for those in need. It will take a mighty move of God to end slavery, end the water crisis, and bring the Gospel to those that are lost. A mighty move of God requires bold prayers. This will take additional prayer time for those that are serious. But it will be worth it. I want to see a mighty move of God in my midst. I want to see these prayers answered.

I’ve decided this is the year for bold prayers. Will you join me?

It is becoming incredibly difficult in our culture to avoid noticing the “theys”. They are everywhere and constantly in front of us.

- They got a raise.

- They got a new book deal.

-They had 4,237 baptisms yesterday.

- They sold their house.

- They got engaged.

- They got their dream job.

- They were invited to a speak at ____ conference.

- The list is endless.

Sometimes, it is very difficult to keep going with your calling because “they” seem to be having so much more success. They get all the breaks. They get the opportunities. They land the deals, book the event, have the success. And when you compare that with where you are, it can really slow you down. I know from experience.

Here are few reflections:

1. For every great thing happening to “they”,  you rarely hear anything about the journey. If someone just got a book deal or a raise, it’s because they’re working hard and have been rewarded. You are comparing yourself to someone who is not at the same point of the journey.

2. Tune them out to focus. It’s difficult to focus on your calling if all you do is watch what everyone else is doing. Sign off of Twitter and Facebook for a few days and get back to work on your calling.

3. If you get jealous or frustrated when others succeed, you have pride and jealousy that needs to be dealt with.  I had to come to grips with this in my own heart. The more jealous you become, the harder it will be to pursue your calling. If the jealousy is left unchecked, it will infect your motives and destroy your potential. The best thing you can do is to start helping others promote their projects, congratulate them on their success, and pray for them.

4. It’s very difficult to trust God when you focus on them. God has mapped out your path specifically for you. You have to trust him, and the best way to do that is to focus your attention on him. Figure out what he is saying and trust his calling.

I have been praying and reflecting a lot on the thought to knock and the door will be opened. James told us we don’t have because we don’t ask. There are some doors I have been fervently praying will open, but alas, they remain shut. It’s almost like there are no doors at all. The battle in my heart for faith and unbelief has been incredible lately.

One of the doors I’ve been praying for is an opportunity to preach on a more consistent basis, with the ultimate goal of being full-time. I love preaching and have been doing it part-time for years now. I have had success and blessing with the opportunities I have been given. I take every opportunity with the utmost honor and opportunity of presenting the gospel. But I’m not full-time…yet.

My hope in sharing some of the frustration at where I’m at with my calling and ministry right now is for you to realize you’re not alone. You’re pursing what God has called you to but the doors don’t seem to be opening. Maybe:

• You’ve written the book, but few are reading.
• You planted the church, but few are coming.
• You started the business, but few are buying.
• You recorded the album, but no one’s booking.
• You want to become parents, but it’s just not happening.
• The list could go on and on.

Waiting.

I’m not very good at it. I hate waiting.

I try to pick the fastest checkout line at the grocery store.

I try and choose the quickest teller at the bank.

If there’s traffic slowing down on my commute, I take an alternate route.

I have Amazon Prime so I can have 2 day shipping instead of 5-7 day.

And I don’t think I’m the only one who struggles with waiting.

Our entire culture wants to hurry up and get it now. If you have to wait…well, that’s a problem.

I hate waiting. And its scary to see that bleed over into my relationship with God.

I don’t like waiting for answers to prayer. I don’t like waiting for doors to open.

I don’t like waiting in silence, begging to hear his voice. I don’t like waiting. I want the answers now. I want the doors open now. I want to hear his voice now. I don’t like waiting.

In the silence, I’m learning that just because God is not answering now, that does not mean he is not answering. God being silent does not mean God is not working.

In the waiting, we learn to trust. To get tomorrow’s daily bread, we’ll just have to wait.

God I’m waiting and believing you will answer in powerful and incredible ways.

When you try and time the market, the odds of success are low. Trying to pick the diamond in the ruff is nearly impossible. Investing your money like this is similar to throwing darts. You’ll most likely hit the board, but there’s low probability you’ll hit a winner.

I’ve noticed this is similar when people try and follow God’s leading when he gives an idea. They’ll wait on it and then through something out there hoping it becomes a winner. And that rarely works either. The best investors are the one’s that consistently invest whether there’s a short-term gains or losses.

Pursuing a dream is like that. You have to invest every day, every week, every month in the hopes of a long-term pay off. I talk with a lot of people that want to write a book. Most people think its easy until they sit down and try to write one. When there emotions are high, they’ll write a little bit. When their emotions are low, they push it to the side. They only invest when the “market” is just right. These people rarely ever write a book.

If you want to be great at something, you have to invest consistently.

 

• Want to be a great husband or wife? Watching TV every night will not make it happen. Invest in the relationship consistently, even when you don’t feel like it.
• Want to be a great parent? Cut off the phone, the computer, the iPad, the Playstation, the TV, the distractions and go read a book with them, or through the ball in the back yard. Take them to get ice cream or heaven forbid, dad’s take your daughter to the mall. I know you’re tired. We all are. But the deserve it.
• Want to have a great walk with Christ? Spend time daily in the Word and in prayer. Find quiet time away from work and even family. If you only pray when things are really bad or really good, you’re leaving a lot on the table. Spend time investing in that relationship.
• Want to write a book? Write. (I’ve written on this plenty)
  
• Want to get in shape? You have to eat healthy foods consistently. You have to work out at least 3 times a week. And unless you are one of those weird people, you’ll never feel like working out. But you make the investment or you’ll miss the payoff.
• You want to __________? It will take consistent investment to make it happen.

What is it that you want to do?

Sometimes it doesn’t make sense when God says no. Everything adds up on paper, but for some reason, it doesn’t work out.

• Your profile matches up perfectly with her’s, but you don’t get the date.
• Your resume fits the job description perfectly, but you don’t get the job.
• Your SAT and GPA are great, but you don’t get in the school.

I’ve had my fair share of opportunities like this and here’s a few lessons I’ve learned.

1. Rarely will a “no” from God ever make sense in the moment.

2. You can’t reason with emotions, so pray like crazy and give it some time.

3. If God says “no” now, it actually means he’s got a better “yes” in the future.

4. A “no” can give as much clarity (if not more) than a “yes”.

5. A “no” is never the end unless you quit. Don’t give up after one “no”.

6. You need people that won’t coddle you, but will encourage you to keep going.

The road to big dreams is paved by doors shutting and rejection. When I got my first turn-down letter from a publisher, my initial thought was frustration. But then my second thought was, “I’ve joined the likes of Stephen King, JK Rowling, and tons of others who were rejected, but went on to make it.”

Everyone hears “no”. It really is how you respond that matters. Thankful for great friends and an amazing wife that support me when God says “no”.

What is something that you have been told “no” to recently?