Once I was playing tennis at a certain sports club. There were weeds growing up on the court and there were holes in the backboard. The owners seemed not to care, but they were hurting themselves by not improving what they could. Maybe they thought small details didn’t matter, but they were terribly wrong. Small details are the best reflections of our whole attitude toward what we do. People will always notice in one way or another. And believe me, with that club’s kind of a sloppy attitude, you won’t succeed!

The attitude, “We only need to do enough to get by,” is just not good enough! If you only do the minimum expected of you, don’t expect much out of life. The Bible says, “…God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Galatians 6:7). God gave you all the keys for success, so use them!

Andrew Carnegie, a well-known billionaire, had 50 millionaires working for him. He said, “No man ever became a millionaire by putting a million dollars as his goal. He did it by putting excellent service as his goal.”

Money is not a strong enough or worthy enough goal for life. You need a goal worthy enough to die for, so you can put your energies into it and live for it!

It’s important to pick a goal that will glorify God. Write down what money could do if you had it, then make those things your goals. Millions of Communists died for their goal, but because it was the wrong goal, those who remained later ate the bitter fruit of wasted lives.

Our goal should never be to make as much money as possible. Money is not the end-all, but rather the by-product of our life. Our goal is not our job–we all have jobs. Our work is different from our job. Our work deals with our attitudes and our thoughts before God and our actions before people. A worthy goal for a spiritual person is to be a positive influence on the job to transform attitudes and hearts!

Many years ago I was in the nation of Côte d’Ivoire. As I was standing on a great field with nearly a quarter of a million people, there was a woman on the very edge of the crowd, listening. Actually she was in the throes of death, lying in what we would call a wheelbarrow. I didn’t know she was there. Her family had carried her a great distance just to get her in the presence of that meeting. And as she heard some words of life something very special happened to her.

The meeting went long and miracles were happening all over the field. We couldn’t even control the platform; there were so many people rushing it from both sides to give their testimonies. I would run back and forth from the left side of the platform to the right to let people give their testimony in the microphone. I remember one young girl dressed in white, and her mama looked at me and said, “My daughter is healed. She could not hear, she could not speak.” I said, “Mama, how do you know?” And right at that moment the little girl just looked up at her and said “Mama, Mama,” and her mother broke into tears right there on the platform.

At that moment on the other side of the platform, someone else rushed up and the whole crowd began shouting “Jesus! Jesus!” I ran over there to take the testimony, and discovered a man who had been chained to a tree because he was dangerous to himself and others. He had just been set free! They had taken the chains off him and now he was walking about totally healed, in his right mind! And yet, in the midst of all these miracles, there was that woman on the outside of the crowd that I didn’t even see, nor did she testify, but I heard much later that on the outside of the crowd it was also her day to receive her healing from God!

I can’t see you face-to-face, nor can you see me, but I know this—I have been sent by God to declare to you that the foundation for your miracle is solid when you understand that God is willing, God is able, and right now God is ready to heal you!

There is nothing better than a good piece of toast with coffee in the morning, but our daily bread is much more than that. What is our daily bread? In the story of the Exodus as the children of God were deciding whether or not to cross the Jordan River and fight, Joshua shouted out to those who were backing out of the idea. He said the call of God to possess the land made every giant in the land as BREAD for them.

“Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” Numbers 14:9

There was no protection for their enemies as they pursued the will of God!

With this truth on our side, we in the 21st century can look at the giants that stand before us and say they are bread for us.  We are not to be worried over as problems, mountains, or impossibilities. We eat them as bread!

Our victory nurtures us for future conquest. Your giants are nothing before your God! Your God lives in you, so there is defeat in the heart of your enemies who stand before what God wants to accomplish in your life. Rahab said to the spies that they had dreaded the day when the children of God would cross over. Defeat was already in their enemy’s heart.

We are seeing Europe and the republics and regions of the former Soviet Union experience a great revival through bold evangelistic tent meetings, and we continue to expect the grace and favor of God on all who make those giants as bread for these dynamic evangelists!

A Presbyterian evangelist named Charles G. Finney, who lived from 1792-1875, successfully popularized the altar call. Finney referred to the altar call as coming to the “anxious seat” or to the “inquiry room,” and began using it in his evangelistic services in about 1820. Evangelist D.L. Moody took Finney’s altar call and refined it, and in turn it was passed on to its modern champion, Billy Graham.

In Finney’s time, most denominations were not preaching a gospel that allowed you to publicly call on the name of the Lord for your conversion to Christ. They were preaching a gospel of predestination, which said you were predestined to be born again so you would eventually find Christ on your own.

Finney was willing to challenge the status quo, and he preached his emotional messages with altar calls in all the churches. Of course, he was highly criticized for challenging the accepted Christian theology of the day. He faced many difficulties because the religious hierarchy didn’t believe you could stand up on the platform and call the people down front and have them call on the name of the Lord to be saved. Yet, undeniably his preaching ushered in one of the greatest revivals ever experienced on the North American continent.

To comprehend our position on miracles, like Charles Finney, we must challenge the broad understanding that it is ok to ask Jesus into your heart, but not ok to ask Him into your heart and expect healing at the same time!

In the fall of 1988 Kevin and I were married. I had struck out on a new journey in life and was so excited—yet very apprehensive! Our goal was to impact the lost with the love of God. After we paid all of our bills and prepared for our first journey overseas, we had exactly $1.00 left over!

Now, I had gone to a faith school, been trained in faith principles and married a faith man, but still, it somehow seemed incredible to me that after sharing our vision with friends and partners we had only $1 left for our trip! How could this be? What should I do??

Well, I decided to go! I remember thinking to myself as I boarded the plane, Are you crazy? You’re going overseas for three months with only $1 in your pocket?!

To make a very long story short, when we arrived in Detroit on the first leg of our journey, we found that the airline had overbooked our next flight and was asking for volunteers to give up their seats for $400 per ticket. As you can imagine, we jumped at the opportunity! We took the money and ended up having a wonderful overnight visit with family and friends in Detroit.

I learned a great lesson. By making a decision to act, I put myself in position to receive a blessing. We often intersect God’s blessings as we travel life’s road. This is our day of opportunity, and I say “I AM READY!!”

In 1984 I was in prayer one evening in Detroit, Michigan, asking the Lord what His next step was for me. In a flash I saw myself standing in downtown Detroit, next to a statue of George Washington, preaching the Good News. This picture was a totally new idea…I had never stood up in public before!

Because my regular soul-winning team didn’t show up at the church that night, I thought I should go downtown and see if this idea was of God. When I arrived I saw to my amazement that there was a small platform next to the statue. I stepped up on it and opened my Bible.

All summer long thousands of people walked through here going to the international festivals, and that night when I opened my mouth, power came forth to help the people and a new ministry was born. One man shouted from the crowd, “Who gave you the right to talk to us?”

I had to think for a moment.

No organization had told me to go. No preacher or pastor had sent me. The idea had simply come to me.

As I stood there thinking, I was reminded that scripture tells us to go into all the world (Mark 16:15-20). Detroit was part of the world, so I replied to the man, “The Apostle Mark told me to go!”

We wake up each morning with a world of possibilities before us. The morning news will reveal what went wrong while we were sleeping, but the good news is that there is more that has gone right! If you have found a right relationship with God, you had peace as you slept and a confidence when you woke up that He will be with you in your decisions and help you in your weaknesses.

In a world that is producing Pantheists with no framework for their faith except for the one they make up, you can be a shining witness of something solid to stand on. When you go into a grocery store, you never ask for the mush aisle where you can buy all the foods that require no teeth. That being true, why do people go into their spiritual life wanting a “mush” God, who has no definition, clarity, or voice other than the feelings they have during the day?

People are not interested in having mush on the menu for dinner, nor do they want mushy preachers sharing indefinite truths that are portrayed as opinions rather than guiding lights for us to hold before us!

I gather strength from my memory of watching Billy Graham stand before the leaders of nations and religions at a national meeting, and addressing all of them first by stating that He is a Christian minister and must therefore represent the One who has sent him. In our ministry we often have to address crowds of mixed religions, and they respect it when we identify who we are and why we must speak on behalf of the One we represent; just as they would represent their faith.

We are called to love people in their differences. People do not want to feel like you are tolerating them. It is a sign of disrespect to tolerate a person. We love people, and they recognize that love when we tell them from our heart why we are different, and what a difference Jesus has made in our life.

Our conviction is what draws people to Christ as it is expressed in sincerity. The truth that must be chewed on is what puts teeth in our mouth and strength in our bones!

“If you’re a street-sweeper, be a great street-sweeper for God.”

These words saved a street sweeper in Siberia from suicide, and launched him into the leadership of a church and authoring a book. He saw for the first time that what he did was important to God. Whatever you’re doing, recognize that God is in the middle of it and you will excel.

On earth we measure greatness by the amount of toys in your backyard bank account. But the measuring stick that God uses is different, and it makes every human qualify for greatness.

Matthew 5:19 “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” 

Every human has God-like qualities. Every human is eternal, and has the right to heaven through faith in the blood sacrifice of Jesus for their sins. Once that relationship with God is established, then “God’s Positioning System” can work in every human, guiding them from where they are to where they were designed to be. Every human has a destiny on earth. Your dreams say a lot about where you were designed to go!

Jesus did not condemn His disciples when they discussed among themselves who was the greatest. Instead, He showed them the way to be great. In simple terms, He used the master key called service. If you provide a value to others, then you will be valued in return. Discover some of the many ways you can provide value to others and you will find a place of greatness in this life and the life to come.

Matthew 20:26 “Not so shall it be among you; but whoever desires to be great among you shall be your servant…”

There are qualities inside you that can override every obstacle faced in this earth. When we understand who lives in us and is our Helper, there’s no challenge that makes us afraid. The key to overcoming is not perfection, but perseverance.

I remember watching television coverage of the famous swimmer, Michael Phelps, in his quest for the new Olympic gold record. During the 7th race he was behind the Croatian swimmer the entire time, but a photo finish moment would determine his destiny. With 6 inches left to go, his opponent lifted his head and reached out for the wall…but Phelps kept his head down, allowing for one more stroke.  Stretching his right hand out, he touched the wall 1\100 of a second before the hand of his opponent, and history was made. One extra stroke and that tiny extra stretch was the difference between victory and defeat!

Paul had this attitude as He reached for his best life: “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which area head, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12-14).