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Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…
Ephesians 3:20

Ephesians 3:20 has always been a source of encouragement to me.

Here Paul is writing to the believers in Ephesus, telling them of the prayer he prays regularly for them. At the end of the prayer, before he closes out, he writes what is more of a side note than his actual point.

God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.

This verse pumps me up, fuels my faith, and is one way I encourage and challenge the students and leaders in Ignite to dream bigger.

If you can ask it, if you can imagine it, you’re already thinking too small.
God can do more.

It’s how I’ve interpreted this verse.
It’s how God challenges and encourages me with this verse.
It’s how I’ve preached and taught on this verse.

God can do more.

While I still believe that interpretation to be true, the past few days God has shone a new light on this passage.

God can do more than than all we ask or imagine, but…
We have to ASK.
We have to IMAGINE.
We have to dream and think and pray.

It all comes down to us asking.

We can’t expect God to do more if we don’t ask.
We can’t wait for Him to exceed our imaginations if we don’t lay out our requests.

God knows what we’re thinking. He knows what we want. He knows the desires deep down in our hearts. But He will wait until we take a step of faith and ask Him for something more.

Something bigger.

We serve a God who can do immeasurably more than the very thing you’re hoping deep down He would do in your life.

You simply have to ask.
And trust that He will do much more than you asked or hoped for.

What do you need to ask of God?

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There has been one prayer I’ve consistently prayed over the past 12 years:

Lord, I want nothing less than all of you.

That is my heart’s desire.

I don’t want to stop short.
I don’t want to give in.
I don’t want to be happy apart from Him.

I don’t want to settle for anything less than all of God and all He has for me.

It’s a very dangerous prayer.

Everyone in scripture who dared to pray a similar prayer, everyone brave enough to fully pursue the call God placed on their lives, paid a price.

Abraham was declared righteous, and asked to sacrifice his son.
Moses sought God’s face, and spent 40 years wandering around the desert.
David was a man after God’s own heart, and had a troubled family life.
Esther rose to her calling, and was almost killed for it.
Paul wanted to know Christ and the power of His resurrection, and was murdered because of it.

Seeking all God has for you, fully going after His heart and character, will cost you.

It will cost you your comfortable life.
It will put you on the opposing side of society.
It will push you and stretch you and cause you to make sacrifices you may not want to make.

But it will be worth it.

The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend…
Exodus 33:11

God reserves His best for those who seek Him.
He rewards those who give up everything for Him.
He offers those who won’t settle for second best a glimpse of His full character and face.

God draws close to those who draw close to Him.

If you truly want all of God, if you really want everything He has for you, there is a price to pay.

But that price pales in comparison to the reward of knowing Him.

What do you need to lay down in order to experience all of God and all He has for you?

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Last week I took a Feed Me Week.

I take one at the end of each school year.

A Feed Me Week is to a sabbatical rest – I intentionally steer clear of my ministry obligations, I make sure not to plan any speaking engagements, I try not to work past my normal hours, I take a break from my blog (hence why you didn’t see any posts last week), and I put mentoring on hold.

It’s a great way to end a busy school year.

But Feed Me Weeks are much more than taking down time. They are more than just laying on the couch watching TV, going for bike rides, and hanging out with friends.

Feed Me Weeks are just that – weeks where I intentionally feed my spirit and my soul.

I spend time reading.
Do some studying.
Try something new or start something I haven’t done in a while.
I go to a conference or class or seminar.
Spend concentrated time in the Word.
Find myself worshipping more.
Do something fun. Or adventurous. Or downright crazy.

It’s all about doing the things that bring me the most life.

The school year can be pretty draining, what with pouring into students, reaching out on campus, mentoring young people, dealing with drama and heart ache and struggles, speaking, teaching, planning retreats, and coaching college students.

By the end, I need an extra boost.

That’s what Feed Me Weeks are all about.
Revitalizing my spirit and soul after months of pouring out.

How do you plan on feeding your spirit and soul this week?

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I’m just waiting on God to open that door.

As Christians, we use that phrase way too much.

It’s become almost cliche.

Whenever we don’t know what to do, whenever it seems that the obstacle is too difficult, whenever there’s someplace we want to be but don’t know how to get there, we end up waiting on God to open that door.

Waiting on God to open a door is equivalent to us doing nothing.

Yes, we need to wait on God’s timing. Yes, there are certain doors only He can open. Yes, we need to wait on Him to open those doors.

That doesn’t mean we sit around and wait for our dream to fall out of the sky on a silver platter.

A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.
- Colin Powell

There’s something we can do when waiting on God to open a door.

We work. Hard.

We do everything we can to prepare and position ourselves to step through any opportunity we’re granted.

Want to write a book? Start by writing a page. Every day.
Want to be in ministry? Apply to seminary. Intern at a church. Go out and be the hands and feet of Jesus.
Want to start your own business? Take a class on entrepreneurship.
Want to be a missionary? Pay off your debt.
Want to be a better parent? Spend more time with your kids.

Want God to open a door of opportunity for you? Prove yourself ready to receive that opportunity.

God doesn’t give opportunities to people who sit on their butts and do nothing.

He rewards those who, through diligent work and faithfulness in the small things, have prepared themselves to receive the opportunities He has given.

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’” – Matthew 25:21

How are you preparing yourself for God to open the next door of opportunity?

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We all have dreams we’ve stopped pursuing.

As we get older, as we take on more responsibilities, our dreams can seem foolish. Or irresponsible. Or downright impossible.

There are bills to pay, mouths to feed, homes to purchase, vehicles to repair, taxes to pay, retirement to plan, vacations to fund, clothes to buy, iPhones to update, yards to maintain, home repairs to make, student loans to pay off, credit cards to pay off, car loans to pay off. Did I mention anything about bills to pay?

It’s no wonder our dreams fall to the bottom of our priorities. Our lives are inundated with much more important responsibilities.

And so our dreams begin to fade.
Fall to the bottom of our priority list.
Are choked out by the realities of life.

And begin to disappear all together.

Your dreams never disappear as you get older. You just replace them with standards of living you prefer.

Our dreams never really die. They never really fade into oblivion, disappearing from our hearts altogether.

We just choose a level of comfortability over the uncertainty of our dreams.

We want the bigger paycheck, bigger house, fancier car. We desire the latest cellphone, tablet, and gaming system. We want to remodel the house, put our kids in brand name clothes, and get them involved in every activity under the sun.

And pursuing our dream may mean giving all that up.

So we go after our preferred standard of living, strive for the better paycheck, and choke our our dreams with other desires.

But those dreams never really die.

All it takes to resurrect our dreams is a decision – to put aside a specific standard of living and wildly pursue the dream God placed in our hearts.

What standard of living is stopping you from pursuing your dream?

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“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19-20

It’s difficult for us to see the impact we have on people’s lives.

Sure, there are those we can easily point to and see the impact we’ve made.

The friend who came to Christ after your conversation.
The coworker who is now going to church because you invited him.
The young person who is beginning to like how God created them because of your mentoring.

Those are easy to see. We can point to the fruit in their lives and know the difference we’ve made.

But what about the people we pour into once or twice and don’t see again?
What about the friends who don’t change right away?

That impact is much more difficult to see.
But it doesn’t mean an impact wasn’t made.

Continue Reading…

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The number one question I get from college students and young adults revolves around discovering their dream or calling.

They don’t know how to determine for sure what God has called them to do.

It’s true for many of us.

We expect God’s call to come through some burning bush.
We look for it written on a neon sign in the sky.
We’re convinced it’s some complicated process divorced from our desires and passions.

Discovering God’s call is anything but easy.

It takes years of prayer.
Decades of trial and error.
Forcing yourself to do something that deep down, you don’t really want to do.

Or does it?

What if discovering God’s call on your life was easy?
What if learning your purpose in life wasn’t some acrobatic feat of jumping through hoops?

What if uncovering your call was as simple as engaging your ingrained passions?

Do you want to know what you should do right now? Look at what you did when you were a kid. Nothing changes when you grow up except that you get clouded vision from thinking about what you should do to be rich or successful or please your parents.
- Steven Furtick

The call of God is stitched in us from birth.

The way he designed us, how he created us, the things that rile us up, frustrate us, bring us joy – all of it points us to what we should do.

Enjoy helping others learn new skills? Maybe you’re called to be teacher.
Have a passion to see others grow closer to God? Maybe you should consider getting involved in ministry leadership.
Heart break when you hear about kids in the sex-slave industry? Maybe it’s time to do something about it.

The talents, skills, passions, frustrations, heart-aches, and joys we’ve experienced since childhood all point us to the call God has placed on our lives.

They are clear.
We just need to stop clouding our vision with thoughts about what we should be doing to get rich, successful, or please those around us, and focus on who He created us to be.

How has your life made evident the call God has placed on you?

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A few days ago, I listened to a message given by Ben Arment at the March 2013 Killer Tribes conference on the topic of chasing your dream.

It blew me away.

During his talk, Ben said something that stuck with me:

What if setback, heartache, or tragedy was a prerequisite for your dream? Would you be willing to be wounded deeply in order to be used greatly?

Ouch.

I think most of us would agree pursuing your dream isn’t always easy.

It requires late nights, early mornings, and making things work on a limited (or no) budget. It takes sacrifice, sweat, and a lot of tears. There will be times of doubt, frustration, and on more than one occasion, you’ll want to throw in the towel. You’ll face ridicule, misunderstanding, and the constant voice saying it will never work out.

Chasing a dream is hard work.

But heartache? Setback? Tragedy? Incurring deep wounds?

I would never had described chasing a dream with those words.

The whole reason we chase a dream is because it’s something we want, something we enjoy doing. The work may be hard, there may be long days and even longer nights, we may have to face ridicule and judgment, and the ever so often “be realistic here,” but it’s all to acquire something we want.

We don’t expect to face heartache while chasing a dream.
Or setbacks.
Or to be wounded deep in our souls.

We think it will be easy, enjoyable work that fulfills us and brings us pleasure (isn’t that why we chase a dream to begin with? To do what we enjoy and make a living at it?).

But what if it’s not?

What if your dream does require you to face heartache? Or pain? Or tragedy?
What if pursuing your dream brings about the most hurt you’ve ever faced?
What if discovering your dream means you have to journey through some dark and lonely seasons?
What if realizing your dream means you have to be wounded in a way that it left a permanent scar on your life?

Some of the most beautiful dreams, the most world-changing endeavors, were birthed out of pain.
And hardship.
And complete and utter heartache.

They came from places of deep frustration with the way things are.
Birthed out of a father wound incurred early in life.
Rose from the loss of a loved one no one wants to endure.

And yet, that very pain, heartache, and wound proved to be the catalyst for a world-changing dream.

Some dreams find their roots in ease and joy and wonder.
Others are birthed out of pain, darkness, and a wound so deep it leaves a permanent scar.

Would you still pursue your dream if could only rise out of pain?

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I sat at the entrance of my tent, playing with some stick I don’t even remember picking up. I’ve sat here for hours, staring at the cloud.

It hasn’t moved in over nine months.

I know we’re supposed to wait for the cloud to depart, wait for it to move from above the tent before we pack everything up and head out. I know we’re supposed to stay put when the cloud is there, and move when it begins to move, but nine months? In the exact same place? Really?

We’re supposed to be heading to some great land flowing with milk and honey, where we don’t have to work for slave drivers, building an empire on the backs of our families. It sounds like paradise – a promise we’re all waiting for.

Instead we’re sitting in the same place, doing the same thing over and over again…for nine months.

In that amount of time, we could have covered more ground, gotten closer to this land we’ve been promised, and eaten something other than this magic bread from heaven.

We might have even been there already. Enjoying this new land, building new homes, settling in a land where we are free to be our own people.

And yet, we wait.
Again.
Without any sign of things changing.

“Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out.” – Numbers 9:22

I’ve never been a big fan of waiting.

I know God’s timing is always perfect, I know He always has my best in mind, and I know everything He allows to come into my life or be delayed coming into my life has a reason behind it.

I still hate waiting.

I’m a doer, an achiever. When I set my mind to something, I want it done as quickly as possible. And when I get tired of waiting, when I’m frustrated with how long the process is taking, I am tempted to do something stupid.

Like take matters into my own hands.
Find my own path.
Throw everything I’ve been waiting for away and try to circumvent the process.

I can’t stand waiting.

Waiting for God isn’t fun.
It takes trust, faith, and a lot of patience.

Sometimes, He moves quickly – answering the prayer, moving on your behalf, setting things right in a manner of days. Other times, it can take months, years, or even decades to see anything even remotely distinguishable as movement from Him.

But He always moves. In His timing.

Our task isn’t to rush the process, try to accomplish the task in our own power, and get what God promised when we want it.

Our job is to wait for Him.
No matter how long it takes.

What are you waiting for God to do in your life?

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Every 2 minutes, someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted.

At least 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 a day.

62 percent of students who enter college with some sort of faith commitment leave college without it.

More than half of American marriages will end in divorce.

In 2008, approximately 1.21 million abortions took place in the U.S.

22 countries have legalized prostitution.

There are been over 600 million searches for pornography since the start of 2013 alone.

Over six million children in America live with at least one parent who has a drug addiction.

Every year 3.3 million reports of child abuse are made in the United States involving nearly 6 million children (a report can include multiple children).

UNICEF estimates that around 150 million children aged 5-14 in developing countries, about 16 per cent of all children in this age group, are involved in child labour

Diseases from unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war.

Our world is dark.
Very dark.

Turn on any news program and you’ll hear of murder, rape, drug addiction, child abuse, terrorists, bomb threats, and shootings within our country, and that doesn’t include the sex slavery, child labor, and countless deaths caused by curable diseases happening throughout the world.

And it seems no matter what we do, things are only getting worse.

It can become easy for us, even as Christians, to focus on the darkness – to believe that darkness is winning in our city, our state, our region, our country, continent, and world; to see darkness rising in our workplaces; to think there is nothing we can do to bring true change.

There is a battle between light and dark, and it looks as if the darkness is winning.

But the truth is: darkness can never defeat the light.

Flip on any light switch. Light any candle. Turn on your smart phone’s flashlight app and you’ll see the light penetrate even the darkest of dark places – not after hours of pep-talk, not after a roaring battle where it seems as if the light might not win, not after enough of the darkness has been defeated to send it limping home crying.

Light always drives out darkness.
Without a fight.
Without a battle.

Light. Always. Wins.

All it takes for the darkness to fall is for godly men and women to stand up, release the light within them, and let it shine in the darkest of places.

“I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.” – John 12:46

The world is waiting for us to portray Jesus in everything we do.

How can you shine your light into dark places?