I borrowed this title from Russell Wilson’s father. In case you don’t know who Russell Wilson is. Russell Wilson is the Super Bowl winning quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks. Russell is very undersized for a NFL quarterback; most are approaching 6’5” and he is 5’11.” He dad told him when he was thinking about his future and evaluating it “why not you, Russell.” He was encouraging his son with those words; basically saying you can do anything you put your mind to, Russell. The sky is the limit. Just have faith! This is a blog I had wanted to write for a while, but when I heard those words I knew it was time.
I have relatives who are so filled full of fear and totally limited by it. They are praying and hoping that nothing goes wrong that day. This is how they live every day. It is so sad. I grew up this way and for nearly fifty years this guiding philosophy ruled my life. I finally came to a place when I was forty-seven years old that I prayed a dangerous prayer that would change my life. I prayed “God do whatever you have to change my life, just do it, give me a vision of heaven or hell, just spare my life.” I couldn’t take one more day of my life being a mess and not going anywhere. I was a failure and headed nowhere fast.
I thought when I prayed that prayer, it would be quick and easy. God would just give me a little vision and motivate me to help others and change me at the same time. I figured it would take about ten minutes and I would be off and running. I really believe that. It took a trial of seven years of going through physical and emotional pain with fifteen to twenty things wrong with me to change me and I am still learning. You see God wanted to give me a future and a hope but first he had to change me. To do that, he had to change my heart. This was no easy process. He allowed me to go through a life changing experience and stood beside me every inch of this journey as painful as it was.
It took me five-and-one half years to surrender my heart totally to Jesus. It also took me that long, to receive divine healing. I could have stopped there but I wanted more. I wanted to teach others about how to receive divine healing. Fighting through this process took one-and-one half more years and nearly cost me my life.
That last year-and-a-half, I remember as I was going through this crucible, I would draw strength from others: many of whom were well known preachers. I also remember thinking of three Christian men in my community who had built a business empire by faith and hard work with God’s blessing. I thought to myself, it they can build a business empire for God, I can have a Book of Acts ministry for him. They inspired me and I drew motivation from them. I determined in my heart that nothing was going to stop me! It was Book of Acts Ministry or bust for me!
So what do sports do? They don’t cure cancer! They can teach team skills/life skills. They can give Christian athletes like Russell Wilson, Tim Tebow, Kurt Warner, and Tony Dungy and others a platform to share their faith. I do think they have a product that is intangible: they inspire. And these guys I just mentioned as some of my heroes of faith.
So Russell Wilson, just answered that challenge, put out by his dad; “why not you, Russell.” He became an NFL starting quarterback in spite of his size and didn’t just stop there but won the Super Bowl this year and is a World Champion. Thank you Russell for rising to that challenge and inspiring others. I took the challenge myself and God honored it. I felt like the three characters in the Wizard of Oz. For the first time in my life, I had courage, heart, and a brain that worked. This was all because I didn’t quit. I persevered and God helped me to reach my goals and I am still reaching. I give him all the glory. So now I am going to pose the question to you.
WHY NOT YOU? The only thing stopping you is you!
“If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” (Mark 9:23)
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:11-13)
I have relatives who are so filled full of fear and totally limited by it. They are praying and hoping that nothing goes wrong that day. This is how they live every day. It is so sad. I grew up this way and for nearly fifty years this guiding philosophy ruled my life. I finally came to a place when I was forty-seven years old that I prayed a dangerous prayer that would change my life. I prayed “God do whatever you have to change my life, just do it, give me a vision of heaven or hell, just spare my life.” I couldn’t take one more day of my life being a mess and not going anywhere. I was a failure and headed nowhere fast.
I thought when I prayed that prayer, it would be quick and easy. God would just give me a little vision and motivate me to help others and change me at the same time. I figured it would take about ten minutes and I would be off and running. I really believe that. It took a trial of seven years of going through physical and emotional pain with fifteen to twenty things wrong with me to change me and I am still learning. You see God wanted to give me a future and a hope but first he had to change me. To do that, he had to change my heart. This was no easy process. He allowed me to go through a life changing experience and stood beside me every inch of this journey as painful as it was.
It took me five-and-one half years to surrender my heart totally to Jesus. It also took me that long, to receive divine healing. I could have stopped there but I wanted more. I wanted to teach others about how to receive divine healing. Fighting through this process took one-and-one half more years and nearly cost me my life.
That last year-and-a-half, I remember as I was going through this crucible, I would draw strength from others: many of whom were well known preachers. I also remember thinking of three Christian men in my community who had built a business empire by faith and hard work with God’s blessing. I thought to myself, it they can build a business empire for God, I can have a Book of Acts ministry for him. They inspired me and I drew motivation from them. I determined in my heart that nothing was going to stop me! It was Book of Acts Ministry or bust for me!
So what do sports do? They don’t cure cancer! They can teach team skills/life skills. They can give Christian athletes like Russell Wilson, Tim Tebow, Kurt Warner, and Tony Dungy and others a platform to share their faith. I do think they have a product that is intangible: they inspire. And these guys I just mentioned as some of my heroes of faith.
So Russell Wilson, just answered that challenge, put out by his dad; “why not you, Russell.” He became an NFL starting quarterback in spite of his size and didn’t just stop there but won the Super Bowl this year and is a World Champion. Thank you Russell for rising to that challenge and inspiring others. I took the challenge myself and God honored it. I felt like the three characters in the Wizard of Oz. For the first time in my life, I had courage, heart, and a brain that worked. This was all because I didn’t quit. I persevered and God helped me to reach my goals and I am still reaching. I give him all the glory. So now I am going to pose the question to you.
WHY NOT YOU? The only thing stopping you is you!
“If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” (Mark 9:23)
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:11-13)
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