Living Life on Purpose

Today I was reading an interview of Joel and Victoria Olsteen in Success Magazine. There was a profound quote by Joel Osteen that jumped out at me. Joel says, "If you woke up and God gave you breath to breath, then you've got something else you need to do. Somebody needs what you have. You have an assignment. You have something to offer the world."

As I thought about these words I was struck by a deep sense of purpose for my days. I think often about long-term purpose; what my vision and goals are for the next 6 months, one year or five years but rarely think about my day to day purpose. Recently I have thought about the importance of waking up every morning with purpose. What should I do today? Who should I impact today? Who shoulld I talk to today? Who should I encourage today?

What if we all woke up everyday with a sense of purpose for the next 24 hours. What will my mission be for the next 24 hours? How will I accomplish this mission? I would say that waking up everyday with purpose for the next 24 hours would yeild much more productivity in my life and work. My challenge is to live life on purpose!

Summer 2009

What an incredible, busy, full, powerful, exciting and moving summer I have had. I would like to say a huge thank you to Oklahoma, Northern Missouri, North Carolina, Indiana and North Texas for allowing me to share in the camp experience with your students.

Camp is an incredible opportunity in the lives of every student. I am always blown away by the testimonies of God's grace, love and peace each week at camp. This summer was no different. Each week there were dozens who responded in the altars to commit their lives to Jesus Christ; hundreds were filled with the Holy Spirit and dozens of physical and emotional healings.

I will never forget during the altars one night in Northern Missouri a young lady walked up to me holding crutches in her hands. I noticed her right away and recognized that she had been walking on those very same crutches all week long. With tears streaming down her face, she said "I've been healed! I've been healed!" I rejoiced with her and then pulled her up on the stage to give a testimony. As she stood before her peers and testified to God's great power to heal in her body, there were many others who began to receive the healing touch of the Lord in that room. It was truly a powerful sight!

Hosea 7:6 says, "Their hearts are like an oven, they approach him with intrigue. Their passion smolders all night; in the morning in blazes like a flaming fire." This summer I watched God spark and smolder a passion in the lives of hundreds of students. Paul commands us to ..."fan into flame the gift of God inside of us"... My prayer is that we would continue to fan into flame an intense burning passion for the presence of God. That this generation would be the generation that would live with an unsatisfied hunger for God! Father, let this be the generation!

My first time speaking in Spanish

I'm sitting here in the airport in Guatemala City waiting for my flight back to the states. I'm reflecting on the last two weeks here in Guatemala. Latin America has truly captured my heart. There are so many incredible things that have happened in the last two weeks, it is hard to know where to start.

First, I graduated from Grade B and moved on to Grade C in my Spanish studies. I find the burden to learn this language deeper than ever. It was great to see missionary friends whom I haven't seen in a while again. I had the pleasure of sitting down over breakfast with Wayne Monson, who is a missionary here in Antigua. It was great to hear his heart and hear testimonies of what God is doing in and through their ministry. Ministering alongside Jonathan and Alicia Farrant is always an honor and was a highlight of this trip. They are great friends and it is always a pleasure to get to hang out with them and work alongside them.

The school assemblies were indescribable. For the first time ever, I spoke in a school assembly completely in Spanish. I cannot even describe the excitement that I felt. Ever since I have been making these trips down to Guatemala for language school I have dreamed of being able to speak and preach in Spanish. That dream is finally beginning to happen!

God is opening up a tremendous amount of opportunity for me here in Guatemala and I have a great deal of anticipation for the future. Below are some pictures from the school assemblies yesterday. Check it out!

Guatemala June 10, 2009

Hola Mis Amigos,

Wow, what an incredible day of ministry here in Guatemala. Today I spoke in school assemblies in Chimaltanango with Jonathan Farrant (the missionary here). Together we impacted the lives of over 1700 students. The youth team here from Minnesota performed drama's and gave testimonies in the assemblies. It was an incredible day. We saw hundreds of students respond to commit their lives to Jesus Christ. I will never forget watching the tears stream down the faces of dozens of students as we shared the hope of Jesus Christ and they found healing.

Here are some pictures from the School assemblies...

Guatemala Update

I have been in Guatemala for just over a week so far. Last week I was studying Spanish at Christian Spanish Academy in Antigua, Guatemala. It has been a tremendous trip. I took my test for grade B and am into Grade C now. I'm super excited to think about preaching in Spanish soon.

On Monday a team of 29 students from Minnesota flew down to work with us. The past few days we have been diligently preparing for some incredible school assemblies here in Guatemala. Today we did an assembly in an orphanage for a couple of hundred students. There was a great response as many students responded to the message and the drama's. Tomorrow and Thursday we will be doing three schools each day, speaking to over 2,000 students. I am thrilled at the opportunity before us. I know that we will see hundreds come to know Christ.

Here are a few pictures from the Orphanage today...

Mesquite, Texas

I was just recently speaking at a youth and young adult revival in Mesquite, Texas. The Presence of God was so powerful in those services. We saw many people saved, physically and emotionally healed and filled with the Holy Spirit.

On Thursday night we had an incredible prayer time where we prayed for the operation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It was incredible to watch people lay hands on each other and prophesy and pray for healing in their lives.

Here are some pictures of those incredible moments.

Supernatural Encounters

I recently read a book called "The Ultimate Treasure Hunt" by Kevin Dedmon. This book was about evangelism through supernatural encounters. I was hung on every word as I read the dozens and dozens of stories about Christians engaging lost and broken people with supernatural encounters.

I thought about some of the times that I have had the opportunity to be a part of these types of supernatural encounters with people. I thought about the youth rally in Lexington, Minnesota where we saw so many supernatural healing s. I thought about the camp in North Carolina where we took testimonies for nearly an hour of people who had been supernaturally healed in their bodies. I thought about the times when God had spoken words of knowledge to me in order for me to minister to someone in their time of need. I was reminded of the many times I have seen God work in supernatural signs and wonders. I was also filled with a burden to see more of what God desires to do in the lives of people.

In Matthew 10:7-8 Jesus says, "7. And proclaim as you go, saying, 'The Kingdom of heaven is at hand. 8. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You recieved without paying; give without pay." As Jesus sent out the seventy two he was very clear on the following points:

1. proclaim the Kingdom of God
2. heal the sick
3. cleanse lepers
4. cast out devils

There is a mandate for supernatural ministry in Jesus' words. We were destined to carry the anointing and power of God in our lives. We are commanded to be carriers of the supernatural power of God to lost and broken people. It takes an incredible amount of trust and a leap of faith to step out into this type of ministry. It requires faith and trust in our heavenly father to step out and take a risk in supernatural ministry. When we finally get out of our comfort zone and take a risk the rewards and testimonies are huge. We will see people healed, delivered, saved and filled with the Holy Spirit of God.

As I have been challenged in my own heart, I would like to challenge you to a life of supernatural ministry. A life of daily stepping out of your comfort zone and taking risk. Let's see what God will do!

Watford City, North Dakota

I am sitting here in the Williston, North Dakota airport. In the last 24 hours I have had flights cancelled and delayed. Now, I am just hoping and praying that I make it home sometime today. As I sit here I am thinking about the incredible week that I have had here in Watford City. I did an assembly in the High school and middle school. We had close to 100 students in attendance at the night rally.

The greatest moment was at the altar call when 56 students responded to give their lives to Jesus Christ. It was a powerful moment!


Here is a picture of the altar call in Watford City, North Dakota. This was a huge win for the Church and community.

This was a powerful week of ministry. It is incredible to see what God is doing in this generation. I am very excited about what is happening and how God is moving in the lives of students.

The Shack

I am reading an incredible book right now called The Shack. If you have read it then you know that I am behind since I am just now reading it. If you have not read it then you need to stop reading this and go get a copy of it right now! I'm only about a quarter of the way into the book but already it is changing my life. This may be one of the greatest pieces of fiction in our generation.

It is a powerful story of the struggle that every person has in connecting with God. The problem of pain, the heartache of life. How do we as broken human beings connect with a sovereign, compassionate, loving God?

If you have not yet gotten a copy of this book, I strongly admonish you to check it out. I am being deeply encouraged by it and I know you will be too.

Happy New Years

Here we are jumping into a new year! I love the beginning of the year because my heart is filled with so much expectation for the coming twelve months. I believe with all of my heart that the best is yet to come. This will be a year of God's favor and blessing. I can't wait to see the miracles and all the incredible, unexpected moments that are sure to come.

Get ready for something amazing. I am filled with a sense of shock and awe as I think about what God will do this year. I pray for my faith to be built stronger than ever. Together, let's believe God for miracles this year. Let's believe for the supernatural and trust a powerful, sovereign God who has our best at heart! It's going to be amazing.

Together, let's reach a Generation!