Are You Up For A Challenge?

OK...I've been struggling with something that I know a lot of others struggle with. Especially if you have ever been on a mission trip.

How do you keep the same excitement and closeness to God in your everyday life that you have on a mission trip or camp or (you fill in the blank for a time you were closest to God)?

As I have been praying, reading, and talking to others about this, I've come up with several principles you can put into practice. After all, this blog was started on the mindset of "running straight to the goal with purpose in every step." These are steps we must purposefully take to reach that goal.

1. This is not just a cliche. You have to pray. Think about this. On my recent trip to Honduras I spent hours in prayer leading up to the trip asking God to make me a servant, to keep the team safe, to help me lead, to open our eyes to what He wants us to see. Our team had hundreds of people around the world praying for us. On the trip, we began every morning with prayer and devotion time together as a team. What would my life look like if I approached every week of my life with that much intense and purposeful prayer?



2. "The civilized Christian has a routine; the barbarian disciple has a mission." (From The Barbarian Way by Erwin McManus...a must read for every believer!) Every successful organization clearly understands their mission. They place it in front of them at all times. Every decision they make is held up against that mission to see if it falls in line or not. They are evaluating their results to see if they match the mission. Are you getting the point? What is your mission? My mission was clear on my trip. I knew I was there to serve and love people the way God would. I had no routine to get in the way.



3. "May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and receive power that comes from God." Ephesians 3:16, NLT On my recent trip I was truly filled with the fullness of life. I don't always feel that in my everyday life. The difference is that I do not always seek to experience the love of Christ. On this trip I expected to experience the love of Christ...was that my first thought when I woke up this morning? Unfortunately not. I started thinking through my day and how much rain we had last night (12 inches in 24 hours!) So, ask yourself, "How can I experience the love of Christ?" I've learned it comes from serving and spending time with God and other Christians who are in love with God.

Pray on purpose. Live on mission. Love always.

They don't sound so difficult. Will you accept the challenge to follow these steps and see how they change your life?