Alex Tran

Learning from your past experiences is a great thing to do. But using your past experiences as a gauge for what God can do in the future is a horrible idea.

Often a smart thing to do is not so smart when it comes to God. In fact, it puts a lid on God and becomes the limiting factor in what God can do in your life.

As an example, let’s talk about Noah and the ark. God asked Noah to build an ark in order to preserve himself, his family and some animals.

Based on past experiences this is what Noah had to go off of.

• God had never wiped everyone off the earth before.
• This level of flooding had never been experienced before.
• Nobody had ever built an ark of that size.

If I were Noah, I’d be thinking to myself God is crazy. Nothing of this magnitude has ever been done before. And right there, our realism, the wisdom of past experiences will fail us.

It fails us because we’ve limited what God can do.What God has not done in your life does not mean he can’t or won’t.

Don’t put a lid on him by looking at your past experiences and have them dictate your level of faith in God.

If you’re believing God for a restored marriage, don’t look at how many times you’ve tried to reconcile and failed. Don’t look at the repeated unwillingness of your spouse to go to counseling. If you’re believing God for a job, don’t look at how many resumes you’ve submitted and not heard back from.

What if Noah were the Realistic Reggie type?

Based on past experience, he would have built a little life boat instead of an ark (if that even). Flood? Hah, never seen one before. Giant ark? Have you ever seen me pick up a hammer?

What has God called you to? What is his vision for your life? What are you believing for?

Ephesians 3:20-21 (ESV)
²⁰ Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Do you want God to do far more abundantly than all you can ask or think in a life boat or an ark big enough to preserve every living creature on earth?

Create space for God. Give him room to fill.

Go. Build an “ark” for God.

And share with everyone in the comments how you’re going to do it. I welcome all tips/insight/wisdom cause it’s definitely a lot easier said than done. ;)

It’s story time! We’re going to talk about Minimal Mannie today. ;)

Back when I did the internship at my church, it was a full-time, unpaid gig which lasted two years. Which meant I was not able to work and would need to raise support. So kinda like a domestic missionary. We joked that we actually had to pay the church to work there. ;)

I remember sitting down and figuring out how much I would need to survive a year. The total came out to be $12,000 per year.

That’s a ridiculous amount of money to raise in a year. And I knew that. I also knew I had enough saved that I didn’t need to raise the entire amount. I could survive off $6,000 per year. So what did I pray for?

God, please let me raise $6,000. I’ll be happy if you can do that for me.

God had called me to do this internship. And when God calls, he provides. So why was I only praying for $6,000? It’s cause they call me Minimal Mannie. My personality only wants/needs the bare essentials.

I’m not a fan of extravagance or excess.

But in this situation, a good personality trait can inadvertently affect how you approach God.

What vision has God given you? What seemingly unattainable thing are you praying for? Are you actually praying and believing in faith that it will come to pass in full and exceeding all expectations?

Or are your prayers just asking for the bare minimum?

I say let’s blow up the prayers. Let’s push the envelope of what we’re comfortable praying for.

A week before the internship started I had only raised a few hundred dollars. But in one fell swoop, one donor committed $6000 over the course of the year. They answered my prayer in a split second.

From there, the flood gates opened and by the end of the year I had raised over $15,000.

You know what God taught me?

Don’t be a Minimal Mannie in my prayers. If you’re going to be bold enough to ask, ask for it in full.

God’s vision or what you’re praying for may seem impossible, but when you ask for it in full, you empower God to answer in full. Otherwise you are keeping some of the burden/responsibility on yourself.

That’s just a bad idea.

Put the ask on God. Empower him.

Wow. It’s only the third day of the fast and I am S-T-ruggling.

My faith has taken a big hit. My confidence has started to crumble slightly. All the good vibrations from Day 1 are more like loud, rattles from a soon to be broken muffler. Heh.

Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome in power
Our God, Our God
…
And if Our God is for us, then who could ever stop us
And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?
And if Our God is for us, then who could ever stop us
And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?
What can stand against?
~lyrics from Our God (is Greater) by Chris Tomlin (listen)

The good news? The lyrics above are money. They are encouraging. It was one of the songs I heard this morning during my worship time.

It’s funny how you can be on cloud 9 one second; super confident and full of faith in what God is doing only to start questioning days later. I can totally understand the waves crashing back and forth analogy in James.

James 1:6-7 (NIV)
⁶ But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.

The first day I reminded myself (and you) not be afraid to ask God.

Today, I’m telling myself to continue believing in faith despite the ups and downs I’ve been experiencing. It’s easy to tell yourself you didn’t hear from God correctly. Or it just wasn’t meant to be.

But screw that junk! *cue Rocky theme song*

Just as we have to constantly fight to guard our relationship with God, we have to fight just as hard to believe and not doubt. The things I’m praying and believing God are important to me. Important enough not to abandon ship in the first few days. ;)

And really, the only way I know how stir up faith when it’s dwindling is to press in to God. To kick it up a notch. Go deeper, seek harder, believe bigger.

To quote a good friend:

did you think it was going to be easy? its a battle! WIN IT!

So, what’s the report from everyone on Day 3? I’m hoping everyone is still on cloud 9. But if not, what are some challenges you’re running into?

My church kicks off Awakening: 21 Days of Prayer, Fasting and Personal Devotion today. Miraculously, I rolled myself out of bed at 6 AM to catch the first session of the Virtual Conference.

Afterward, as I began to worship, I was overwhelmed by God’s goodness and was reminded of this verse.

Matthew 7:7-11 (ESV)
⁷ “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. ⁹ Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? ¹¹ If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

Particularly the emphasized part.

I don’t know about you, but it’s kind of been a tiring season for me. And I’ll be the first to admit I haven’t always been on point spending time with God and fanning the flame of devotion.

Which is why I was overwhelmed by God’s goodness today.

Despite me withdrawing from God at times, I still see his hand at work in my life. I still see the blessings and constant reminders of how he cares for his children.

In times like these (Foo Fighters anyone?), it’s natural for us to disengage from God when we know we’re not where we should be in our relationship with Him. How many of you agree when you feel disconnected from God it’s also hard to ask God for something?

Which makes Awakening awkward because every year during this time I always highlight two or three things I want to pray and ask God for.

But that’s why this verse is so great as I kick off the fast because it reminds me (all of us!) not be afraid to ask God even if we feel far from God. We’re “evil.” We do stupid things. We sin. But we are still his children and he will “give good things to those who ask!”

So if you happen to be joining me in Awakening, let’s ask and believe God boldly!

It doesn’t matter if you deserve it or not. What rookie mistake you made last week. Or how close to God you feel right now.

Don’t be afraid to ask.

If you’re comfortable sharing, I would love to hear in the comments what two or three things you’re praying/believing God for so I can be in agreement with you!

So, in March I’m turning 30.

Which I guess is a milestone year for a lot of people. It’s got me thinking about a lot of things. Tonight, while I couldn’t sleep (because yet again I drank way too much Coke this late at night), I found myself pondering my singleness.

Over the course of time, my “spouse filter” has slowly dwindled to just two, bare essential requirements.

1. Spiritually attractive
2. Physically attractive

The list reminds me of Othello’s tagline: a minute to learn, a lifetime to master. Or in this case, easy to say, a lifetime to find. ;)

This post is really about #1 and why it’s so mission critical to me.

Spiritually Attractive

The main reason is I know life brings with it many trials and tribulations. Inevitably we all face challenges. In a marriage, I’m confident many of those will come from the marriage relationship itself.

What I know about a grounded, Jesus-lovin’ woman is that despite the roller coaster ups and downs, their inward life remains constant and steady.

• They are internally regulated by their faith in Jesus Christ.
• They understand the concept of dying to self and being selfless.
• They are willing to do the God thing which may not always be the easy thing.

This is the type of woman I want to be with. This is the type of woman I know will go the distance through sickness and health. Where I don’t ever have to second guess the integrity of her character or devotion to God.

A woman who will actually put more fear in Satan knowing we’re together than each of us did individually.

Physically Attractive

I guess I’ll touch on this real quickly. Even though it’s secondary to me, it’s still important. ;)

If I don’t look at you and have a strong desire to suck your face, make out on the couch and have some babies along the way then it’s just not going to work…

Just sayin’. ;)

Oh, to Answer the Question

I’m still single because while there are a lot of attractive woman in the world, spiritual attractiveness is much harder to come by. Good looks will only tempt me for a second. ;)

But surprisingly as I approach 30, I’m not worried. I don’t feel rushed. A wife of that caliber is worth waiting for.

People may say my standards are too high. I would agree. They need to be.

Marriage has always been a lifetime commitment for me. It wigs me out why some people spend more time choosing the right big screen TV than they do choosing their spouse.

This is a lifetime decision people! Take it seriously!

It’s a much bigger deal than choosing the best big screen TV. We need to put a lot more thought and prayer into it.

What are your thoughts? Am I crazy? Disagree? Let me know in the comments.