Serious ministry-work and business aside, we all wanna find “the one” and live happily every after, right? Like with so many other things in life, dating won’t really work by just “waiting for God”. A healthy dose of – as I like to call it – “action taking faith” is required to get out there and meet that significant other. While I’m certainly not a dating expert, I’ve made my fair share of (great and… well, not so great) experiences when it comes to approaching a pretty stranger. Here’s one advice I give all the guys out there:

Supernatural boldness doesn’t only apply to Evangelism! 

Do you belong to the crowd that struggles with occasional mental blackouts or suffers under temporary loss of faculty of speech in the presence of a handsome representative of the other sex? The following list might be able to give you a jump-start when it’s time for the 20 (potentially life-altering) seconds of insane courage. Even if you’re an experienced veteran of the rose-war, you might find yourself with the urge to try one of these lines out next sunday after church or on your partner…

1.  ”So last night I was reading in the book of Numbers, and then I realized, I don’t have yours.”

2.  ”Hey, I’m Will. God’s will.” (Tip: Your name should actually be Will)

3.  ”You put the “stud” in bible study.”

4. “Now I know why Solomon had 700 wives… He never met you!”

5.  ”I didn’t know angels flew this low.”

6. “I’m no Joseph, maybe you can help me interpreting the dreams I’ve been having about you?”

7. ”Is it hot in here or is that just the Holy Spirit burning inside of you?”

8. ”Is your name Faith? ‘Cause you’re the substance of things I’ve hoped for.”

9. ” How many times do I have to walk around you to make you fall for me?”

10. ” I didn’t believe in predestination until tonight.”

11.  ”Is this the transfiguration? because you are glowing.”

12. ” Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from Gilead.”

13. ” Excuse me, I believe one of your ribs belongs to me.”

14. ” Let me sell you an indulgence because it’s a sin to look as good as you do.”

15. ” Me. You. Song of Songs: the remix.”

16. ” Is it a sin that you stole my heart?”

17. ” Want to practice speaking in tongues with me?”

18. ” What’s your name and number so I can add you to my “prayer” list?”

19. “I just want you to know, I’m praying for you… No, I’m praying “FOR” you.”

20. “Here’s my number… Call me if you need prayer.”

21. “I’m usually not very prophetic, but I can see us together.”

NOTEWORTHY ADDITIONS:

Since this post went live, there’s been some great and funny comments including these two by Alison and Dave I’d like to highlight:

YOUR TURN:

Which one did you like most? Could you see yourself trying any of them out? Ladies, how would you react to any of these? Let me know in the comments below! Also, if this post made you smile, don’t forget to share it with your friends & let’s start a dating-revolution based on cheap lines… I mean meaningful heart to heart connections!

If you liked this post, you’ll love my other funny post on 10 Ways Not To Approach Someone When Evangelizing. Or browse the “comedy” category by clicking here!

Heidi with one of the many kids she’s investing her life into.

I’ve quoted Heidi Baker many times before on the Revival Quotes Twitter Channel. Since I’ve always gotten great response from all of you, I finally decided to put together a compilation of my favorite quotes of her’s.

Heidi’s life is a huge inspiration to me. She’s also known as “Mama Aida” and has been dubbed the Mother Teresa of the 21st century. Heidi and her husband Roland embody the love and power of God more than anyone else I can think of in our age. They have been given an apostolic calling to transform Mozambique by Gods miraculous power and love and have planted over 10,000 churches in the past 30 years. If you’d like to find out more about the Bakers and their ministry “Iris Global”, make sure to check out their website after reading the quotes!

  You can easily tweet any of the following quotes by hitting the “Tweet this!” link!

1. “All fruitfulness flows from intimacy.” [Tweet this]

2. “Sometimes we make things too complicated when we really need to remember that the kingdom belongs to children.” [Tweet this]

3. “I never understood why people want to do big things… Just do little things, with great Love.” [Tweet this]

4. ‎”Yes, God wants you to do signs and wonders. But the love of God manifested through you is what people really need. So you first must see His face. You must become so close to His very heartbeat that you can feel what others feel.” [Tweet this]

5. “When you’re in love with God, you’re not afraid to yield your life to Him.” [Tweet this]

6. “Obedience out of love is joy.” [Tweet this]

7. “There is always enough because I died for you.” [Tweet this]

8. “Love looks like something.” [Tweet this]

9. “God has spoken to me many times that my job is to love and his job is to heal.” [Tweet this]

10. “Ministry is being one of theses sent out ones, a labourer of love.” [Tweet this]

11. “If ministry is not about compassion and passion, let it die.” [Tweet this]

12. “Love looks like something, yet it has no limits.” [Tweet this]

13. “Union and Communion: this is the essence of Christianity.” [Tweet this]

14. “Why go to the ends of the earth if you have nothing to give?” [Tweet this]

15. “We must give up all that we are in order to possess all that He is.” [Tweet this]

16. “Ministry is not about where you are or where you go, it is about where He is.” [Tweet this]

17. “If we are not full of Him we have nothing to offer to anyone else.” [Tweet this]

18. “It’s not complicated. Just love the one in front of you.” [Tweet this]

19. “I don’t want to grow up, I want to grow down” [Tweet this]

20. ”If you stand, worship, and love God in the midst of lack and difficulty, you will never lose” [Tweet this]

SUPPORT IRIS GLOBAL

At this point I’d like to ask you to take a few minutes and learn more about Heidi and Roland Baker’s amazing ministry. IRIS missionaries are spreading Gods love all over the world and have planted over 10,000 churches in the past 30 years. IRIS does not solicit donations and manages all its donations through volunteers at zero admin costs. Except for credit card charges 100% of all donations will go to the mission purpose and the needy. Please note: IRIS HQ is located in Pemba Mozambique, where Heidi lives. IRIS has support offices in the US, Canada, UK and SA.

To find out how you can support iris global and their individual projects click here.

YOUR TURN

What’s your favorite quote form the list above? Do you know a quote of her’s I should ad? Let me know in the comments below!

Also please consider sharing this blog post with your friends to help spread the word about iris and their awesome projects!

By the way, if you’d like to find out more about Heidi, you’ll love this interview CNN did with her!

This article is a guest post by minister, author and entrepreneur Bruce Chant from Australia. He writes at eDevotional.com and has recently launched an iPad only magazine for Revival-living believers called R3 Magazine. I highly recommend you to check out his sites and follow him on Twitter and Facebook! If you’re interested in guest blogging for Revival Lifestyle, you can find out more here. Now take it away, Bruce!

One of my favourite TV shows is ‘The Biggest Loser’. Usually there is a time in the show when one by one, the contestants “get it”. A mental switch is flicked and the contestants realize what it takes to lose weight, perform well, and ultimately achieve their goals.

You or I are not in a reality TV competition, but we are in something much more important – life! In the same way, we need the revelation of the Holy Spirit – and the mental shift that that brings – to walk in the fullness that Christ has bought for us.

The book of Acts contains so many rich illustrations of this way of living. In Acts 10 there are four mind-shifts you and I must take in order to walk in the fullness of Christ.

1. THE HARVEST IS READY

Acts 10:16 says “This happened three times, and immediately the object was taken up into the sky.”

Three times the word of the Lord came to Peter. Three times the Lord patiently reinforced His message of salvation for all the world, before Peter reluctantly “got it”. Interestingly, Cornelius – the unbeliever – was only told ONCE to go and find Peter.

Too often we allow what we see, what we hear and what we’ve experienced in the past dictate to us our level of expectation of what God can do in our midst. Instead of being reluctant receivers of God’s revelation, we need a mind-shift to walk in the truth that the harvest is ready NOW!

2. LOOK UPWARD NOT INWARD

Acts 10:17 \”Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what the vision that he had seen might mean\”

Here’s another interesting observation. Peter wrestles with what God is telling him to do. Can you relate to that? I can!

Often we wrestle with God because we take our eyes and trust off of God and begin to search inwardly for the resources, wisdom and strength to carry out the vision of God.

The bad news is, we won’t find what we need looking within! Countless hours, dollars, training has been spent on therapies, counseling and techniques to try and fix humanity’s brokenness on the inside, when the answer comes to us from above; His name is Jesus!

Friend, we need to shift our thinking from inwardly looking at ourselves and our flaws and looking up to Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith.

3. ALL PEOPLE MATTER

Acts 10:34-35 \”…Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.”

The revelation Peter received was the Gentiles as well as Jews mattered to God. God is not willing that any perish, right? That’s the truth, but inwardly many of us have a bias towards ourselves and our needs, over the needs of the outsider “Gentiles” around us.

This mind-shift needs to happen for the church to walk in the fullness of Christ, and that is everyone matters, those in and outside the church.

A little while ago, a friend and I were walking in our neighborhood when we noticed a bunch of guys outside sitting around drinking beers. Prompted we approached them to see if any of them needed prayer. These guys were not “church folk”, they sat around with shirts off, tattoos on display, with their polished metal vehicles parked on the yard. But the Holy Spirit opened an opportunity and rocked the world of one of the guys there. Why? He loves about them dearly.

4. BELIEVE THEN SEE

Acts 10:44-45 \”…While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles.”

Peter preached the Word and the Holy Spirit hit the room. First came Peter’s act of faith – speaking the truth, then the result came – lives were impacted by the Holy Spirit.

Friend, too often we fall into the trap of believing sometime there will be a perfect time. The perfect time is a mirage! “When my kids are older, then…” “When I get married, then…” “When I get some money behind me, then…”

Stop it! Our thinking needs to change. TODAY is the day of salvation. We can no longer afford to wait for perfect conditions to prevail. God responds to faith and when we step out acting in faith, then we will see the results of faith follow.

Your turn: Which of these 4 mind shifts did challenge you the most? What else would you add? Let me know your thoughts and feedback in the comments below!

I want to make my blog more relevant to your needs and interests. To do that, I need to know more about YOU. As a result, I have created the 2013 Revival Lifestyle Reader Survey.

Would you please take a few minutes to fill out the survey? By doing so, you will ultimately be helping yourself. Why? Because you will be helping me make my posts even more interesting and relevant to you.

Here’s a snapshot from the questions.

Your input is important to me. The survey is easy to fill out. The survey results are completely anonymous. I can’t tell who said want. And it will only take five minutes of your time.

Sure I’d love to give my input! Gimme those survey questions!

Thanks in advance for your help!

If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments below!

Director Darren Wilson is striking again!

Christian director, Darren Wilson, is doing it again. After releasing Finger of God, Furious Love and Father of Lights in the past 4 years, Darren has now set out to a new venture called “Holy Ghost Experience”.

For this new project he’s taking a new approach: you’ll be able to follow the entire process from brainstorming, live outreaches across the world and even influence decisions during the editing phase!

To be able to take on this new project, Darren seeks to raise $200,000 until mid June 2013. He’s chosen the popular route of crowd-fundraising, in which niche movie creators offer anyone the opportunity to invest small to medium amounts into the film and receive a corresponding pledge in return. In the following video, Darren takes a minute to explain how this kickstarter campaign works and how you can become a part of this thing.

About the Film

“Holy Ghost will take Darren and his team around the world as they go in search of the nature and evidence of the Holy Spirit. They will explore the role of the Holy Spirit in the arts, ministry, and the Christian life. But as with all of Darren’s films, it will be the encounters of ordinary people with the God of the Bible that will take center stage. Darren feels that God is directing him to approach some of the religions of the world and “introduce them to the Holy Spirit and see what happens.” This will be a film with no script, but will be a visceral, authentic, and wholly unique experience for the viewer.” – as posted on kickstarter

Who’s In The Film?

Darren’s films always contain a large cast and a wide variety of voices and opinions, and Holy Ghost will be no different. While the cast is still in the process of being finalized, some of the people already confirmed include: Bill Johnson, Todd White, Randy Clark, Michael W Smith, RT Kendall, William P Young, Kris Vallotton, Will Hart, Jamie Galloway, Robby Dawkins, Jake Hamilton, Jeremy Riddle, Banning Liebscher & Jesus Culture, Shawn Bolz, Lee Grady, Devon Franklin, Kobus Van Rensburg, Heidi Baker, and many, many more!

Your turn: Are you excited about this new movie? Which one of Darren’s movies do you dig most so far? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below and don’t forget to share this great news with your friends!

Angie during her performance on Wednesday night’s Season 12 Top6.

19 year old Chrsitian singer Angie Miller recently performed the worship song “Love Came Down” at American Idol’s season 12. The song was originally written by worship leaders Brian Johnson, Jeramy Riddle and Ian McIntosh of Bethel Church in Redding, CA and published under the label “Bethel Music“. Angie’s cover now broadcasted the powerful message of this beautiful song across the entire nation. See for yourself:

Angie Miller – Love Came Down – American Idol… von IdolxMuzic

The judges responded with a standing ovation and the following comments:

Randy Jackson: ” I love that for so many reasons.”

Maria Carrey: “The piano is so organic to you, you sounded so perfect.”

Keith Urban: “The piano is the perfect place for you. It was beautiful.” Nicki Minaj says, “this is the only time you get only remembered, this was Angie.”

Here’s how worship leader Brian Johnson responded to Angie’s version of his song.

YO!!!!!#lovecamedown would’ve never been on #idol if @karijobe didn’t cover it and make it better. Kari is the best! FOR REAL!

— Brian Johnson (@brianjohnsonM) April 11, 2013

Several weeks prior Angie had already wowed the AI judges with her own, spiritual song called “You set me free”, which also carries an incredible message about the transformative power of God’s love.

“Love God. Love Music. Love Others.” – Angela Miller’s YouTube Channel

For more info follow Angie on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and check out her website!

Are you excited about this worship song being broadcasted across America?

How did you like the cover?

Let me know in the comments below!

What the iTunes Podcast Artwork looks like.

After receiving many requests from you via the Facebook Page about making some of my sermons available as audio here on the blog, I finally followed through with it and started an official iTunes Podcast.

This has actually been a longterm goal of mine for the this year, so I’m excited to now be able to connect with you on a whole new level this early in the year. I understand that listening to a podcast is much easier than reading a blog post, since you can easily do so while commuting to work, working out, doing laundry… or pretty much anything you’re doing by yourself. If you have an iTunes account you can  subscribe to the podcast directly there. By doing so you’ll get notified by about future episodes, can listen to them on your iPhone/ iPad and even have the option to download them automatically.

What You’ll Learn in this Episode

In this episode of the Revival Lifestyle Podcast you will learn:

• What strategy the devil is using (probably right now) in your life to hold you back from your divine potential
• Why in reality the devil is scared to hell by you
• Why fear is the biggest liar in your life
• Why every believer should cultivate an appetite for dark places
• What you need to know about God’s promises over your life
• How 99-cent squirt guns can release supernatural healing
• How many people can get baptized in 10minutes of spontaneous beach revival

Make sure to listen all the way to the end of the episode to learn the One Secret all the might men and women of God had in common!

Here’s some more visual inspiration for you to pin and share.

 Your Turn!

Did you listen to the podcast and have any questions or feedback? Then please leave a comment below this blog post (I reply to all comments) or contact me privately.

Would you like to listen to more of my sermons in future? Then please let me know in the comments and you might just convince me to record more audio content.

If you liked what you heard, please consider subscribing and sharing this post with your friends using any of the social sharing buttons above or below.

Also I’d be very grateful if you would consider partnering with me by taking a minute of your time to leave a review/ rating of the podcast in the iTunes directory. This will help the podcast to get noticed more and ultimately bless more people.

Since I got such great feedback from many of you on the blog post “Why You Should Build Family instead of Ministry“, I thought why not dig deeper into this topic and get a bit more practical about it.

I also just purchased a new camera, which allows me to shoot awesome full HD video, so I decided to put this week’s post into a video (a v-log) instead of the usual written (b-log) form.

I hope you’ll like it! Here we go:

Don’t forget to subscribe to Revival Lifestyle on YouTube for Future Videos!

So let’s recap for a moment. We looked at:

1. Make a list

With hundreds of contacts in your phone and on your facebook feed, it’s important to become aware about who your closest relationships are. The best way to do so it by writing them down. Who are the friends you want to stay in touch with for life? Who are mentors in your life, whose advice you respect and admire? And finally who are people that really need your input their lives and have asked you to mentor/ pour into them? I personally created a mindmap using the free software XMind.

2. Review the list

That’s where the magic really kicks in. Most of us kinda know in the back of our heads who our closest relationships are. The issue is the well known “out of sight, out of mind” effect. It’s amazing to me how quickly the quality or even existence of friendships can suffer simply because we forget to stay in touch and finally completely forget about the person. Reviewing (and updating) your list regularly will help to prevent that from happening. I take half an hour every monday to go through mine.

3. Show people that You love them

Think of creative ways you can display your love, instead of just telling people. Even the smallest act can communicate much more than words, if they prove thoughtfulness.

4. Get to know their dreams & passions

It can be quite sobering to reflect on how well you really know the people around. What past events and experiences have formed them into who they are today? What dreams and goals do they have for the future? It’s always a good idea to remind yourself that there’s more to find out about the people around you. Although I’m certainly not saying every meeting has to become about deep life questions, it won’t hurt to throw in some of these questions every now and then.

5. Find ways to make their lives better

This point actually becomes really easy once you mastered point 4.

 

Alright that’s it for today from me, but wait, I have some questions for ya:

• Is there anything you’d add to this list?
• What other questions could you ask to get to establish more meaningful connection with the people around you?
• Did you like the video format of this post? Would you like to see more videos in future?

Please let me know your thought on any (or all) of these questions, by leaving a comment below!

And please share this post with your friends, if you liked it!

Michael Brodeur and his wife Diane

Michael has been a great friend and mentor to me in the past two years.
Currently he’s director of the “culture project” department at Jesusculture in Redding California and also runs DestinyFinder - a business that helps believers step into the fulness of their divine potential.

I actually spent my 3rd year at Bethel’s School of Ministry interning under him in the Jesusculture office. Michael is one of the wisest men I know. With over 35 years of experience as senior pastor, church planter, evangelist, street preacher and father of 7 children he’s got some of the most profound insights into revival, church growth & discipleship I’ve ever encountered.

This week he’s releasing his new book “Revival Culture”, in which he bundles all of his wisdom and insight on the topic of building revival as a lasting culture, not just an event.
Banning Liebscher and Bill Johnson (two of my heroes) wrote a couple of chapters as well, which adds up to an explosive mix!

In the following Interview I asked Michael these questions:

• If you had to bring it down to a few key words, what would you say the book is about?
• Why did you personally want to write on this topic?
• What are some tips you have for leaders who want to build a revival culture in their community?
• What part do Banning Liebscher and Bill Johnson play?
• Who should read the book and why?
• Where and when can we buy it?

We’ll also discuss the topic of the “billion soul harvest” that’s been prophesied over this season and the question how leaders can prepare for it.

If you care about what God is doing and about to do on this planet, this interview and the book are absolutely mandatory.

Thanks for taking the time to watch this video! I hope it blessed and inspired you!

Do you have any questions or comments for Michael? Please leave them in the comment section below and I’ll ask Michael to respond to you.

If you have a YouTube account, please don’t forget to subscribe to the Revival Lifestyle Channel to stay tuned for the upcoming video “5 Ways to be More Intentional with Your Most Important Relationships”!

If you’ve still got some room for more inspiration and amazing testimonies, make sure to check out the other interviews!

Sometimes I feel like there’s a lot of confusion in the charismatic revival scene.

How do you measure success in life & ministry?

How do we measure the success of our churches, ministries and individual lives?

HOW JESUS’ PRIORITIES WERE DIFFERENT FROM MOST CHURCHES & MINISTRIES TODAY:

How Jesus would spend his time today?

At the end what He was really after was to build up 12 men. Yes, that’s it. I’m telling you that 12 average guys deserved the full attention and priority of the only 3 years of ministry the incarnated, eternal son of God spent on planet earth. The reason is simple, but profound: Jesus was after covenant relationships, not multitudes, because he understood that only deep, loving relationship was able to mirror the reality of His kingdom in a quality that does justice to the beauty of the Gospel. (it’s okay to take a moment to read that sentence again)

“Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” (John 13:35, NLT)

“When you minister to someone they might get loved, but when you love someone, they always get ministered to.” – Joey LeTourneau

FAMILY – THE ULTIMATE MANIFESTATION OF THE KINGDOM

“family are people you can be a fool around and they still love you.”

“What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family.” – Mother Teresa [Tweet this!]

“The essence of the kingdom is family.” – Bill Johnson

2 JESUS-PROOFED STRATEGIES TO KEEP THE FOCUS ON QUALITY

“True leaders seek quality above quantity.”  [Tweet this!]

If you’re feeling pumped up already and would like to look at this topic in a more practical manner, I highly recommend you to check out my video on the “5 Ways to be More Intentional With Your Closest Relationships“.

YOUR TURN