But I do not account

my life of any value

nor as precious to myself,

if only

I may accomplish my course

and the ministry 

   which I received

   from the Lord Jesus,

to testify to the gospel

        of the grace of God.

                     Acts 20. 24

(Faithful to God

in His course for me,

     His ministry through me.

That which is most significant 

      for His kingdom

I will least suspect).

...and the name of the Lord Jesus

       was extolled.

                 Acts 19. 17

(And on the bottom line,

that is what counts

       most of all

in whatever I do today.

Even in this,

       His name,

       His glory.

There is nothing insignificant 

    in God's economy).

Then Jehoahaz 

   besought the LORD,

and the LORD

   hearkened to him.

          2 Kings 13. 4

(Inquire,

listen,

and heed.

It is not that the LORD

  doesn't hearken to us,

but it is we who don't 

     hearken to Him.

God will change

  the course of your day.

God will change

  the course of your life.)

And the LORD said to Paul

one night in a vision,

"Do not be afraid,

but speak

and do not be silent,

   for I am with you,

and no man shall attack you

to harm you,

for I have many people

                in this city."

                Acts 18. 10

(Do not be silent in this.

You are there for a deep purpose,

    surrounded 

         by God's anointed people,

even those you do not know

         in impossible places.

Seek them out.)

And some of them

   were persuaded...

           Acts 17. 4

(Share the gospel,

live it out before

everyone around you,

yes, even verbally.

You will be astounded 

by those who respond 

to God's calling

       on their lives.)

But about midnight,

Paul and Silas were praying 

and singing hymns to God,

and the prisoners were

     listening to them.

...and immediately 

all the doors were opened 

and every one's fetters

     were unfastened.

                Acts 16. 25-26

(Fervent praying and praise

to God cannot help

but change everything 

and everyone around you.

Worship in the midst,

     even in the ordinary,

is a catalyst for

     the monumental.

God releases you

even in the impossible 

     to bring Him glory

in words and actions and attitudes.

Even now. Even in this place.)

(One of my favorite passages)

When the servant of the man of God

rose early in the morning

and went out, behold,

an army with horses and chariots

was round about the city.

And the servant said,

"Alas, my master!

      What shall we do?"

Elisha said, "Fear not,

   for those who are with us

   are more than those

   who are with them."

Then Elisha prayed, and said,

"O LORD, I pray to You,

open his eyes

      that he may see."

So the LORD opened the eyes

   of the young man, and he saw,

and behold, the mountain was

full of horses and chariots of fire

round about Elisha.

                   2 Kings 6. 15-17

(Feeling that kind of

           overwhelmed?

"Then Elisha prayed..."

It is not that

    "God will show up,"

but He opens our eyes

to see He is already here.

The LORD is my strength.

Even in this.)

And then he said,

   "What then

     is to be done for her?"

             2 Kings 4. 14

(Who has God

     put on my path?

What need stands

     right before me?

I can't do everything,

but I can do something.

God's faithful people

are strategically placed

for profound purposes

        and His glory in it.

Never minimize 

  where God is using you.

No act of faithfulness 

    is ever insignificant.)

A cheerful heart

     is a good medicine,

but a downcast spirit

        dries up the bones.

               Proverbs 17. 22

(I may not be able

to change my circumstances,

but God can change 

             my heart in this

and I can choose

     a day-changing attitude.

It impacts me

      and everyone around me.

It is not making the best of it,

     but seeking Him in it,

and bringing the reality of Jesus

                  into it.

O LORD,

    give me a different heart

through this miry bog.)

...that you may bring salvation 

  to the uttermost parts

                 of the earth.

                     Acts 13. 47

(And that includes your zip code.

Bring the name of Jesus with you,

      the gospel in real time.

Even there,

  where God has 

         strategically placed you

and to whom God has put

       on your path

       and on your heart.

The uttermost parts of the earth

    may be right under your feet.)

And Jehoshaphat said

           to the king of Israel,

"Inquire first

   for the word of the LORD."

                 1 Kings 22. 5

(What does God have to do

                  with this?

     Everything.

I don't want to miss out 

     on His way in this,

even in those things

    I will never comprehend.

God is not just 

     part of the outcome

        or a variable in the solution,

but God is the reality

   of the equation before me.

Inquiring first of the LORD

   avoids a lot of panic later.)

...the people of Israel 

encamped before them

like two little flocks of goats,

but the Syrians

         filled the country.

                1 Kings 20. 27

(Ever feel overwhelmed like that?

God is never limited

        by the odds against Him.

Indeed,

impossible situations 

       are His specialty.

What am I trusting Him for

    that only He can do?

God will show the way

    where there only seems 

                     to be no way.

He always has deeper purposes

       woven in the fabric.)

So Peter was kept in prison,

but earnest prayer fir him

    was made to God

by the church.

                   Acts 12. 5

(And that is when

     things begin to happen.

Prayer does not change things.

God changes things.

God answers in incredible,

impossible 

and unexpected ways.

Praying acknowledges that

and brings us deeper in Him.)

...and with the stones,

he built an altar

in the name of the LORD.

                1 Kings 18. 32

(Take these difficulties,

that impossible situation,

the big rocks on your path,

        and let the LORD redeem.

Build an altar to the LORD

            with them.

Worship Him through it.)

For thus says the LORD

           the God of Israel,

"The jar of meal

      shall not be spent,

and the cruse of oil

      shall not fail..."

                1 Kings 17. 14

(God is faithful.

Where God guides,

             He provides.

Do not fear.

God will sustain you.

God makes it enough.

Watch for how

     He brings it about.

"Trust Me in this.")

...for this thing

               is from Me.

                1 Kings 12. 24

(What in the world is this?

Watch, listen, follow, obey,

   even in what I do not understand.

What is God's way in this?

God always has deeper purposes 

    beyond my comprehension.

"Trust Me.")

But Saul,

still breathing threats and murder

against the disciples

                   of the Lord....

                  Acts 9. 1

(No one stands 

        beyond redemption,

nor beyond the grace of God.

Never stop praying for them.

Be bold in who you pray for.

You can never know

how God will use

    the most unlikely person

    for His glory.)

But an angel of the Lord

said to Philip,

"Rise and go

toward the south to the road

that goes down

from Jerusalem to Gaza."

This is a desert road.

And he rose and went.

              Acts 8. 26-27

(Immediate obedience

even when it does not

        seem to make sense.

God always has deeper purposes

       than we can see.

Forgive me, O LORD,

   for what I have missed out,

because I didn't follow You

                     into it.)

...that My name 

       might be there...

          1 Kings 8. 16

(Why am I here in this place?

No higher purpose,

   the sowing of the Gospel

wherever He takes you.)

And the LORD said to him,

"Take off the shoes

           from your feet,

for the place where

you are standing

           is holy ground."

                 Acts 7. 33

(Everywhere and anywhere

     God strategically brings us,

is the place of His abiding,

the reality of His Presence.

Even this impossible situation 

    is being used

    for His sacred purposes.

Even in what appears as wilderness,

        worship Him in it.

The LORD is here too.

Willing to follow Him barefoot

     is how He brings us through.)

...if you walk in My statutes

and obey My ordinances 

and keep all My commandments,

      and walk in them,

then I will establish 

            My Word with you...

                      1 Kings 6. 12

(It is not a set of beliefs,

but a life-changing relationship 

with the Creator of the universe.

Walk with Him.

He will lead you

    into a incredible life.)

But we will devote ourselves 

to prayer

and to the ministry of the Word.

                       Acts 6. 4

(First things first.

Everything else

from the biggest vision

   to the tiniest detail

emerges from that,

beyond our wildest imagination,

the bearing of God's purposes.

Even in this.)

...but if it is from God...

               Acts 5. 39

(God has something
 so much more profound
       designed in this.
Follow Him into it,
even that you cannot possibly
        understand.)

As the LORD lives,

Who has redeemed my soul

   out of every adversity...

                      1 Kings 1. 29

(God redeems

even what appears impossible,

even in what IS impossible.

God never promised 

    that life would be easy,

but "I am with you"

           every step of the way.

Our stories 

are a chronicle of His faithfulness,

a revealing that

our help is 

    in the name of the LORD.)

...pleasant speech

      increases persuasiveness.

                      Proverbs 16. 21

(In every difficult situation,

in every impossible relationship.

What is a different way

         of approaching this?

Bring the grace of Jesus

                        to it.)

The LORD lives.

            2 Samuel 22. 47

(And that changes everything)

...and you shall be

My witnesses in Jerusalem

and in all Judea

and Samaria 

and to the end of the earth.

                 Acts 1. 8

(No exclusions.

Even here?

Especially even here,

   strategically placed,

   divinely appointed.

Being a witness

     underlies whatever we do,

     influences whatever I do,

     changes who I am.

The concentric circles of witness

        have no boundaries

and run farther

          and profoundly deeper

than we can ever know.

What does that look like

     where I am today?

Yes,

        even me.)

Jesus said to them,

"Children, have you any fish?"

They answered Him, "No."

He said to them,

"Cast the net

on the right side of the boat,

and you will find some."

So they cast it,

and now they were not able

to haul it in,

for the quantity of fish.

                    John 21. 5-6

(That is what

following God's way into it

              does in our lives,

even when it does not seem

to make sense at the time.

The fish are there,

    more than I can know.

Am I willing to respond

to His voice in this,

His vision in this?)

   

...Jesus came

       and stood among them

and said to them,

"Peace be with you."

              John 20. 19

(Jesus meets us

right in the place

of our deepest fear and need.

The peace of Jesus

is not the absence of conflict,

but His shalom

      --His wholeness--

right in the midst of it.)