Consider the prayer path Jesus laid out to His early disciples.

What profoundly simple words do we begin with?

“Our Father…”

The rights and privileges this new conversation afford you are infinite in scope.

Prayer and relationship will become a continual feast of surprises if you keep your heart hungry and expectant.

Immediately, I was curious.

An array of artists and artisans harnessed their gifts and in worshipful synchrony bringing God’s invisible plans into plain sight.

I believe you can do the same. That God is still today calling gifts and skills into the sanctuary and sending them forth with marching orders to deliver life-changing creations to the world.

The manifesto was originally titled ‘Made To be A Maker’.

You are created in God’s image with creative DNA infused with Christ’s anointing to serve the world.

I felt impressed to share a few more thoughts to encourage your creative, entrepreneurial journey.

Keep going forward.

Even one tiny stubbornly believing step at a time is progress.

Don’t look back or crumble under pressure.

Fix your eyes on the prize and serve God through your creative contribution to the world with enthusiasm.

Whatever means you employ to share your worth, with it comes the opportunity for others to judge and criticise you.

Fears of what others will think or say stops way too many gifted people before they even begin.

Don't be that person who nurtures innumerable ideas but never brings them out in the open. Be bold enough to step out even when you don’t feel ready.

At every stage of the entrepreneurial journey from the first penny to growing great, God’s presence is the one essential.

As Jesus said, the road leading to life, real life here and in eternity, is narrow. Staying true to your faithful convictions in all seasons is the challenge every faithful-preneur will face.

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

All else will fade but His words will never pass away.

To know Him is eternal life.

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Scripture provides over 300 data points that point to Jesus as the unique and only begotten Son of God, Messiah.

He alone is the only candidate for the Christ.

God, on the other hand, is giving his stocks away for free to anyone who’ll believe Him; power, love, a sound mind.

Feed your creativity by refusing to shun your most audacious thoughts. Don’t dampen your dreams with reality (so called). Instead, let them blossom.

Here are five more thoughts on slowing down and discovering your gold…

Link to Brennan's newsletter and products

https://christiancreative.academy/go/brennan-dunn

Book Writing Courses mentioned...

https://www.davidleemartin.net/courses/non-fiction-book-writing-roadmap

https://www.davidleemartin.net/heros-journey-bootcamp

As a podcaster, he hosts the Novel Marketing Podcast, and the Christian Publishing Show. 

Here, in the intimate, warm, embrace of God, the words are heard, “accepted,” worthy,” “whole,” and “holy”.

Moreover, “God put in Bezalel’s heart that he may teach,” (Exodus 35:34 AMP). The blessing stretched far beyond the bounds of Bezalel’s life, spilling into the lives of others and multiplying God’s gracious anointing.

Jesus first, everything else follows.

The richest man or woman on earth is not the one with the most money!

I think not.

The pace of grace is not breakneck. The only neck spoken of in relation to the way of Jesus is the one on which He longs to place an easy yoke.

It’s actually simpler than you think.

YOU are the common factor in the enterprise equation.

Equilibrium in all things comes from centering your efforts on the one thing that matters. That one thing is relationship with Jesus Christ.

The word diligent in the original Hebrew essentially speaks of sharpness. It means to bestir oneself, decide and decree, determine, and to move.

I define diligence as “consistent application of what you know in one direction over time.”

To coin some phrases.

Slow and steady wins the race.

Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast...

Ears.

Words and sayings.

Heart and health.

Life to those that find them.

Life to those that find them.

Life to those that find them…

Nope. The most stubborn giants are the ones you carry in your own backpack.

The world is looking for a “convincing demonstration” that dreams can be realized. They want some proof and evidence that it's ok to step outside the tomb.

It is only when another bold soul steps onto the field that courage rises.

Faith and creativity go hand in hand.

Creativity and Christianity are connected.

You must take care of yourself!

Created to create.

Shaped to shape the world with words,

Called for now and won’t be late.

What’s missing here?

I must put myself at the very centre, where I’m vulnerable and exposed if my ART is ever to find its fire.

Do not these fragrant petals of creativity deserve their day in the sunlight where they can fulfil their purpose and be heard, seen, and appreciated?

Exploring your creative calling and gifts will unfold continual surprises. All too often people give up before they hit the gusher.

Keep making, keep painting, keep playing, keep singing, keep sewing...

Not to liken our creative work to the genesis of the universe, but there’s a principle here that works well when we are developing our training materials.

Begin with the end in mind.

Mentioned in this episode, my favorite online course delivery platform Podia

14 Days Free on Podia

https://christiancreative.academy/go/podia

In the simplest form these vehicles are words, video, and audio, and technology has freed us to explore them all!

Don’t discount the power of your “OW!”, and its ability to help you reach your WOW!

“Do it anyway!”

I’m worried what other people might think or say.

“Do it anyway!”

Most of the people we admire and aspire to become like have one thing in common somewhere in their history.

They did it anyway!

No language on earth is out of bounds, and even tongues of angels are spoken and heard.

The covenant cut is laid bare on its pages, and every blood bought promise bears your name.

https://davidleemartin.com/plough-the-ground/

https://davidleemartin.com/baptism-in-the-holy-ghost-and-speaking-in-tongues/

God’s ways have never changed.

https://davidleemartin.com/following-the-footsteps-of-greatness-in-gods-eyes/

God’s habitation does not live by the natural rules we are accustomed to. He steps outside of time and space and invites us to do the same. This time-busting, realm-leaping, eternity-dwelling practice is called prayer! ...

Great outpourings of power begin with great outpourings of prayer.

The rains of revival in the House of God always begin with the houses of God pouring out their hearts.

A favorite promise box scripture, so worthy of bumper sticker, is found in Jeremiah chapter 29. I’m sure you are familiar with it:

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV)

What most people don’t include on their sanctified T-shirt or bookmark is the context and what follows:

“Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:12–13 NIV)

The plans, the prosperity, the future, and the hope, all spring from the well of passionate devotion to the practice of prayer.

I will not be unmannerly, but I will be forthright. Intimate encounters are not intended for public display. The coming together of a man and wife is a private celebration of something uniquely shared by the couple in question.

Prayer is intimate in a way that requires privacy.

The Master taught us the way:

“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” (Matthew 6:6 KJV)

But when thou, not if thou, prayest!

When you pray, close your door.

Shut out the noise, even the good and positive voices that cheer you on, and let your the bubbling froth of stimulation and activity subside.

Bring your heart close and become aware of your bigger, more beautiful self. The man or woman cleansed and clothed with righteousness. And from that foundation of set-apart holiness begin your adventure

How anyone can diminish the delights of prayer to a morning drudgery is almost incomprehensible, but I believe I know the reason such a tragedy may occur. It has nothing to do with the devil, or some other external enemy seeking to derail your desire (although there will be many of these too).

The problem is a simple one. Failure to give attention to the practice.

Like a marriage untended, where spouses grow coldly familiar with one another and fail to appreciate the beauty and strength in their partner, so the exotic delights of deepening relationship with God disappear in a slew of religionism.

It takes time and active attention to keep the flames of love burning strong in a marriage, and the flames of devotion in spiritual disciplines are no different.

Neglect is the reason so many starve for a vigorous connection with God.

And that’s where we will begin.

The question of devotion...

Can we ever comprehend the blood that broke from Jesus’ brow as he contemplated the horror of sin upon himself. He became sin. The sinless, spotless, pure Son of God.

How great the price that he paid so personally for you!

Could we ever really imagine to true cost that was paid that night in Gethsemane? On the cross at Calvary.

Do we for a moment grasp why the Father had to turn his eyes away? The One who sees all, blinded by the horror of our sins and demon lovers savaging His Son.

Grace is offered freely to the sinner.

But it is far from free.

A full and fearful price was paid.

Is the key to life finding the right answers? Or is more about learning to ask the right questions?

A classic question, with an equally class answer, is found in Exodus chapter 3.

Moses meets with God and in course of conversation asks:

Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” (Exodus 3:13–14 NIV)

There’s so much we can unpack from this pithy response but the thing that’s been scratching my itch is the simple honesty of it.

Who are you?

The answer to this question changes everything...

Why produce more if it only multiplies your misery?

Money is an amplifier, not the music.

The music is the tune that plays in your heart.

Scripture does not teach that money is evil. It highlights that the love of money opens the door to all kinds of trouble. However, the Good Book does point to the unredeemed and unhealed heart being evil and prone to deception. That is where the music plays, for good or for bad. All issues of life flow from the heart and the boundaries we choose are first drawn inwardly.

Work on your heart.

Work on developing your inner man or woman, not just your income.

Fruitfulness and multiplication rest on the command of mastery. If we fail to subdue our propensity to excuse ourselves (“it’s not my fault, the woman told me to do it”, “It’s not my responsibility, the serpent told me to do it”) we’ll continue as we always were. Worse still, we’ll diminish in our own eyes and hide away in a fig leaf life.

Purposeful productivity is really the mastery of time and energy in positive productive ways that bless mankind.

At base, I think it boils down to simply saying yes to the things you know you need to say yes to, and no to the things you don’t.

It comes down to the mastery of that moment of decision.

It is not the quantity of tasks that you accomplish that will set you apart.

It is not even doing many things right that will stand you before kings.

It is doing the right things with exceptional excellence that makes you remarkable.

You have two choices today. Multiply your efforts or multiply your excuses. Generally, you will do one or the other.

Despite what the marketers might like to tell you, real results take real work, and making a dent in the world with your creativity takes work, sometimes a lot of it.

There are a million reasons, “why not”, but an even bigger reason why you MUST!

We all have good days, and we have not so good. Occasionally we have something that could rightly be described as a bad day!

Our measure of good and bad are relative of course, and we could say much about perspective when discussing how we see and respond to the challenges we face.

However, this is not a discussion about perspective.

What I want to tackle here is how to wrestle a ‘bad’ day to the floor. A day when you feel zero motivation to makes forward strides. Even crawling an inch toward your goals may feel painful.

On those days, when inspiration is in short supply, and motivation is meh, I have my own palette of positive responses I choose from, depending how in-a-funk I feel...

The creative life is not one that resides in the world of ideas, it lives and breathes in the realm of action. Application is where the rubber meets the road and visions become reality. It is no use to have a notion roll around in your skull endlessly without it somehow finding a vent of expression. Only in its outing can an idea find an audience. And with an audience it takes form.

In the past, I would have equated creativity to many things. But simplicity and minimalism would not have been one of them.

The idea that somehow doing less and curtailing my creative impulses was foreign to me.

If it was there to do, I would do it. Every idea was somehow equal in my estimation as a route to explore.

I would never want to discourage your own exploration, but I have discovered one key truth that has multiplied my effectiveness and my own peace of mind.

Although every idea may be good, they are not all good for me right now...

The tendency to be “ever learning and never coming to a knowledge of the truth” (2Timothy 3:7) is a human condition not confined to Paul’s experience with early churchgoers.

How often are we looking for the next key to our breakthrough or the next word from God when we have not applied the previous one that was handed to us?

Or how often are we looking for the BIG thing that will rock our world, instead of taking a small step that nudges us toward completion?

Jim Rohn, a grandaddy of the self-development movement, defines success in this way:

Success is making steady progress toward your own personal goals.

Not necessarily glamorous, but true...

How do you measure success?

That’s a brilliant question because the world is fiercely pursuing you, seeking to force its own elastic rules into your thinking.

If only I was actually able to do seventeen things at once. So said the nutcase looking for an early grave.

Only one thing is needful. Only one thing, at one time, with all your heart and mind focussed upon it.

It can be personal, loving your wife or husband in tangible ways. It can be spending time with your kids and not two-timing them with your devices.

It can be a business related task.

Prayer of course. Wholehearted and unhindered by worries about ten other issues.

There’s a right time for everything, and when the time comes the gates should be locked to everything else so you can focus on ONE THING AT A TIME.

Spending and saving. Two sides of the same slippy coin.

Productivity is all about these seeming opposites.

Spending time, saving time.

Spending thought, attention, and energy, saving thought, attention, and energy.

Spending money, saving money.

The right time to spend and to save is an art and a science rolled into one.

An old proverb reads, “a penny saved is a penny earned”. The less we spend the more we earn.

It is very easy to accumulate, and unchecked accumulation leads to a big pile of disorganisation that bleeds in every direction...

“You can be on line but off track.”

I first heard this said by Jim Rohn, and even back when he said it he hit the nail square on the head.

In another story he related a story about a friend who was prone to TV. Let’s call the friend Mark for the sake of this story.

He asked Mark how much his television set cost him. Mark proudly boasted he snatched a bargain for just $400. Jim turned and said that that was not right, but the friend insisted the widescreen wonder was just $400.

Jim pointed out he was not referring to cost of ownership, but cost of use. Taking Mark’s talents and aptitude into account, the time taken in front of the box rather than pursuing other wealth creating activities was probably costing him over $40,000 a year.

Cost of ownership vs cost of use...

There are two ways to get enough: one is to continue to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less.” G K Chesterton

Productivity is not just about more.

It is about enough. Getting the most out of your intentioned, invested input, so that you can enjoy the benefits of time and money it affords you.

The payoff is not more boxes ticked, more lists annihilated, more dollars flowing, more minutes filled, more activity, notoriety, fame, fortune…

Rewards of this kind have their payoff, many of them positive, but like a hungry dragon some ambitions will never be satiated.

Praying just last week I heard these words come out of my mouth, “Lord I want to serve you in simplicity and sincerity, uncluttered by my ambitions.”

It made me think about the nature of growth, and the importance of knowing what success looks like...

Yesterday’s harvest must make room for today’s growth, and give way to tomorrow’s crop. We live to expand and stretch our branches further, and to do so is a path of letting go and taking hold.

Life with margins.

For many, the crammed lifestyle pushes to the very edge of every page, and there is no room to breathe.

The slightest shift can tip the cart over the edge.

We need margin. Look for the whitespace and be careful not to fill it.

A moment in your day does not immediately demand that it be filled with phone. You know what I mean.

It’s in the spaces that we find new things. It’s through the cracks that fresh insights can leak in.

I have three key filters I like to apply, and each one can be enjoyed across the board of your happy existence.

Look at these like a sieve, a filter, that allows only the essentials to reach your desktop....

Whatever you are doing I can almost 100% assure you that there is an easier way to do it.

Scalability is hindered by complexity. The more complex the system, the harder it will to sustain and to scale.

Looking for ways to simplify is a gloriously fruitful way to spend some time, thought, and energy because the payoff will blossom over time.

Where procrastination is king no movement is possible. 

Life and business require that we be decisive. Cutting the ballast from your lives so you are not dragging confusion and fear every step of your journey is an important step to take. It is one that needs to tackled fiercely because there is an ever present temptation to so hedge our bets that we are hemmed in on every side.

Here are some thoughts to get you moving...

A potato story.

The farmer went to his potato patch to sow.

Some seed was swallowed, some trodden underfoot, some strangled.

The seed that found its happy soil bore fruit, some 30, some 60, some a hundredfold.

How many potatoes the farmer harvested depended on which plot he plowed and populated. Some were significantly better than others.

So said the Master in Matthew 13.

So much can be said about this prime-cut parable.

I just want to point to one thing. Even the good ground yielded varied results.

If you knew that your efforts in one place bore more fruit than exactly the same effort expended elsewhere, what would you do?

Productivity and progress are the result of exercising consistent pressure in one direction over time.

“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom.” Psalm 90:12

Life can be lost to hurry. In our rush to tomorrow we miss the delights of today. And so the dance continues.

The number of days only ever diminishes, so it is wise to stop and take stock of how you are spending them. Are the moments dripping through your fingers in pursuit of something you already have? Or something that you think you want but on inspection could never satisfy your craving?

It is easy to live by default, reacting to circumstances as they rush by, rather than living by design, cultivating the life that you desire.

And by that I don’t mean the American dream. Whoever the ‘American’ is, he has much to answer for. The dream (or more precisely what the dream has mutated into) that has been foisted on unsuspecting generations drives the ambitions of millions over a precipice of endless discontent.

This is not the way of Jesus.

His purpose for you is richly furnished with provision, but is not driven by market forces. It is not moulded by passing fads and fashions.

God has great plans for your prosperity in every arena of life, and all that is necessary for fulfilment is already baked into your future.

Steps of humble obedience will get you there.

The door that will unlock in your thinking if you ponder what I share here long enough could save you years of frustration.

The accumulated moments of unnecessary effort in our daily routines can add up over time and become years of our life. These unchallenged chief robbers of time are the small foxes that spoil the vine. They appear unimpressive and minimal close up, but multiply their destructive consequences and you’ll find time spilling out in all directions.

It begins with the false premise that more effort is equal to bigger or better results.

We seek better outcomes and wonder why they are not forthcoming, and simply jump on the bike and pedal harder. The problem is, some of our cycles have square wheels!

Your habits and processes are the bicycles that you ride in life and business. We flow with the familiar without giving consideration to whether the way we are doing the work is the best and most efficient use of time and energy...

Productivity hacks are often used to cram more activity into tight-packed time. The myth of multitasking continues its cultural march, pulling unsuspecting ambitions into an ever-increasing swirl of bigger, faster, more.

But productivity at its heart is not about filling time, it is about freeing time.

Freeing time for those activities that are most meaningful and impactful...

Business and creativity can become like a giant bowl of spaghetti. A tangled mess of awesome but impossible to tame. All of the ingredients for delicious are in there but every day is fraught with problems because no processes are in place.

Instead of peaceful pathways leading to predictable results, there’s a constant run round the same mountains, increasingly eating your time and hampering your creative flow.

But creative natured entrepreneurs often prefer the chase. They love the starts, not the stays. The making, not the maintaining.

But a business is not built on excitement. However much the sales pages sell you on passion, passion is not enough to build your business on. There has to be structure, however simple, and process, however rudimentary.

Once the pathways are in place, the streams can run freely, and results can be expected today, tomorrow and for as long as the machinery of production is in place...

I pray weird.

In fact, it may be weird to pray nowadays, period.

Most folks like to think they can do life themselves. No help. No fallback. No crutch.

Not me.

I’m helplessly and happily aware that without Jesus I’m up a creek without a paddle. In fact, not just a paddle, a boat, a motor, a direction, a scrap of toilet paper, or even a hope!

Atheists passionately practice their non-belief with religious zeal nowadays. Ironic how “not believing” has become so in vogue. It’s the new thing to believe. Apparently.

The high-priests of nothing-there push their belief in not believing with a devotion that shames the luke-warmness of many churchgoers.

The worship of self is the altar of choice for a generation.

All the while, there’s some weird folk praying.

The life of any sermon is not so much in the accuracy or eloquence, but in the life that sits behind the speaking. It is the secret heart, the man behind the suit and boots, that makes the difference.

Behind any product, service, or publication, is a person.

Whether you write, sing, act or architect, the vibrancy of your creative work will depend upon and be infused with the life that produced it.

https://davidleemartin.com/your-secret-is-in-your-story/

Men of God learn to pray in the upper room, not the schoolroom.

A bare but leafy tree became an object lesson in faithful fruitfulness.

A farmer became the frame through which the Master taught the principles of spiritual seedtime and harvest.

On the beach, they became fishers of men.

The looming mountain was the picture used to distill the working of faith.

The New Testament is full of the telling refrain:

“As they went”...

https://davidleemartin.com/instead-of-worrying-about-what-you-dont-know-share-what-you-do/

Some may be far better organised than I am, and have things neatly planned out months ahead. God bless that person, I need them to lay hands on me and impart some of that amazing!

It would be easy for me to slap myself up and get on own case for not being more awesome. After all are we not all supposed be superhero’s nowadays? Juggling business, life, and family like a rock star?

Or does that only happen on Facebook and Instagram?

In the down-and-dirty reality of putting the bins out, cleaning up spilled juice, cooking, washing, paying bills, praying, staying fit, and figuring out why-that-thing-is-not-working-as-it-should-do, days can quickly disappear.

Having said all this, I do a lot. I have two businesses up and running and making money, a healthy and happy household, and most importantly of all, a thriving relationship with Jesus Christ.

I must be doing something right I remind myself.

And here’s one of those things that I think is making a difference, at least for me...

“And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in” (Deuteronomy 6:23 KJV)

Yes, He brought them out, but the purpose was not just to deliver them from bondage and futility, it was in order to BRING THEM IN.

Sometimes we can focus so much on the desert that we forget to look and remember that we were made for the promise.

We will generally move towards the things that are biggest in the frame of our imagination.

https://davidleemartin.com/from-and-for/

You are my prize, my pleasure, and my portion.

I leave my destiny and it’s timing in your hands.”

Psalm 16:5, Passion

https://davidleemartin.com/my-prize-and-my-pleasure-psalm-16-praying-the-psalms/

This morning as I was praying, I was surprised to hear my own spirit calling out to God and saying to Him over and over again, “I want to make myself available to You. I want to make myself available to You.”

In itself that may not seem strange. After all, don’t we all want to be available for God. What impressed me was the insistence of my spirit. I could not stop repeating this simple request.

“I want to make myself available to You. I want to make myself available to You.”

The reality is that often it’s not our ability that determines our progress, but our availability.

As Christian creatives, authors, business people, and entrepreneurs, we need to understand that we are not in this enterprise alone.

We are not limited by our own ability or skill set, because we have a Partner who is working with us. He is more than on board and sees and understands everything.

The Holy Spirit is a partner with you in whatever endeavour you choose to engage in. You just need to continually come and make yourself available to him, so that you can become a conduit for something bigger than yourself.

I believe that the two go hand in hand. Creativity flows from the indwelling presence of the Creator. Christ in us, the hope of glory!

Does that mean that non-Christians are excluded? In no way. We are all made in His image. But it is my utmost conviction that to tap the deepest resources of our Father’s limitless heart takes more than mere acquaintance. We want to plumb the depths of what’s possible and allow His creative unction to flow full force through our being.

The church, and by that I mean the living, breathing church made up of believers across the planet, not some staid spired building on a street corner somewhere, should be the creative hub of every community.

It is time for a creative revolution. A bold and unashamed reclamation of the arts, and a celebration of the One who is the Source of all creativity.

So choose not to stay there.

Let’s not camp around the idea that something won’t work. Don’t pitch your tent around the fire of discouragement and despondency. Self pity won’t warm your fingers to write, play, or paint again.

These simple words are powerful:

“The LORD is on my side” (Psalm 118:6 KJV)

You are not alone, even if sometimes it feels that way. Your Father is here with you, fighting your battles and championing your cause.

Judges 3:1 speaks of how God deliberately left resistance in the land to test, prove, and train the people who had not yet experienced war.

Each generation, indeed every individual, have their battles to fight.

God did not allow enemies to stand in the way of His promise to slay His people, He left them there to shape them.

You are equipped by God Himself to tackle whatever stands in your path.

He has chosen you for this time, because you have all that’s required to stand on the victory’s podium.

The wonderful thing is victory is different for each of us. Our commission and assignment as given by Papa is unique to our own personality and call.

The pace of peace is walking in tandem with the Father. The cool of the day stroll in the security that He has everything under control.

A rest remains for those who will claim it, the Bible tells us.

Busy, busy, busy, does not give you bragging rights.

The badge of honour is not “I’m busy”, but “I’m blessed”.

It is in you right now. 

The most valuable, most ground-breaking, most life-changing, product on the planet was crafted by divinity.

It is you, brother.

It is you, sister.

And you are enough!

From that place, you can begin to share, and the world will be a far richer place because you do.

It may have been buried under disappointments. It may have been shrouded in fears and insecurities. Maybe your unique contribution is clouded by excuses and reasons you think no one would listen.

But it has never been lost. You are not looking for something outside of yourself.

You sufficiency is of God (2 Corinthians 3:5). 

He has planted His will and ways in your heart and you have been given the royal privilege of stewarding that gift. 

Whatever talent you have, don’t be scared to bring it to the table.

I said it earlier, and I’ll say it again.

Your voice is waiting for you, and the world is waiting for your voice. Go find it.

“I believe in you”.

God sees you. God, your Father in Heaven, believes in you.

We need to let His voice be heard first in us, and then through us.

We need to allow Him to help us see others, so we can more effectively help them.

We need to be the reflector of His declaration, “I believe in you”, and bring those beautiful words to a world desperate to hear them from a genuine heart.

Build your business to work for you, not the other way around.

At the end of the day, it’s not really about the pages, promos, popups, or presentations.

Consistency. Persistency. Patience. In one direction. Over time. These are the elements that play most powerfully into a prosperous life and business.

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“the hand of the diligent maketh rich.” (Proverbs 10:4 KJV)

Find one pathway that fits your personality, and persist in it with simplicity in mind.

Don’t overcomplicate the processes required to take your prospect from A to B.

Complexity does not sell.

Simplicity works and serves your customer better, and perhaps more importantly it will serve you and keep you sane.

Most of the time we do not need to know or do more, we just need to do what we know.

Cashflow? Assets? Intellectual property? SOP’s? 

What’s the secret sauce that makes your business stand out from the crowd and how do you protect it? 

Let me tell you, it’s a great deal simpler than it may first appear, and calls for some radical shifts in practice if you plan on long-term growth and prosperity.

The number one thing that sets your business apart is…

YOU!

You are, after all, ultimately in the business of being yourself.

How you show up in the world is an overflow. Your business, ministry, or service to others is an expression of yourself, crystallised into products, publications, or some other platform.

You must protect your number one business asset. It is essential that you take care of your own needs and build your business with the lifestyle you want to create in mind.

What if we’re embarrassed? What if we’re misunderstood?

Let us express ourselves more fully, and without fear of repercussion. Let us learn the difficult art of guileless honesty with our family and friends. 

Let a culture that does not depend on keeping up appearances be the one that we cultivate. 

A community of friends who’ll bear with the worst to get to the best of you.

An din that, be bold enough to share not only your hurts and disappointments, but even more so your dreams and deepest desires.

A God-sized BHAP.

It seems that there’s often a disconnect between who we know we are on the inside, and what we do most every day.

And right there is the clue.

The disconnect is between the “who” and the “do”.

I’ve lost count of the number of people who want to be writer, but don’t write.

Or the folks who want to create a lifestyle business, but fear making the moves necessary to embark on that risky but exciting adventure.

Here at home base is my advice on how to discover and grow in your bigger purpose.

Walk after the manner of our pioneer father, Abram!

Chronic procrastination and never-quite-finished syndrome keeps them from shipping. Perfectionism steals their confidence and prevents the doors from being opened wide for the fresh public breeze of feedback to blow through the workshop.

And the world remains a poorer place for it.

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In those moments when a million messages are flooding your brain, and a googol of voices are pulling you in every direction, remember this one choice fact.

The only step you need to take is the next one.

Take a breath.

That’s why the Scriptures teach us that even though it’s healthy and right to plan our way, consider our options, and built toward an envisioned end, God directs our steps.

“A man’s mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps and makes them sure.” (Proverbs 16:9 AMP)

The Lord directs our steps and makes them sure.

When you are groping for some certainty, the question to ask is simply, “What’s my next step?”

Not steps, not leaps, not milestones or missions.

Step.

Then open your heart to hear, not hustle.

Only one very special seed broke that finish tape and fertilised that egg, and it was you!

You started as a winner, and you’ll end as one also. As a Christian, even death will not be able to hold you. Sin has already lost it’s grip and the grim reaper has no claim to your eternal destiny.

The greatest power in this natural universe, death itself, is rendered null in your presence. He may take a swipe, he will cost certainly swing his weight, but the final bell will declare your triumph!

You begin as a winner.

You end as a winner.

It seems that there’s a pattern here.

The same nature lives in you as His child, but there are ways in which we can limit Him if we are not careful to stay connected.

Lift the lid on your limits today, and let God speak into your circumstances.

God is real.

The idea that He has a purpose for your life is not just sermon-fodder. It’s true.

How do we enter into the place where our work and our worth align so perfectly that we feel we are living out our purpose with authentic faith?

Here’s my take for what it’s worth.

A Simple Truth For All Your Life And Loves

It all begins with something so simple you’ll kick yourself for not seeing it before. Truth is, you may have read it, you may even have nodded in agreement. The question is, how would this truth look if it were applied on a daily basis in your life and work.

Would the simplicity of what I’m about to share change the perspective you approach your everyday with, and would it affect your daily practices and disciplines?

Ready? Here it comes. This is as simple as it gets…

“Then said they unto him, “What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said unto them, “This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” (John 6:28-29 KJV)

To do the work of God is first to believe in the work He did and does for us!

Jesus first!

Everything else follows.

Perhaps even more mind boggling is that He also said, “YOU are the light of the world!” (Matthew 5:14)

It is a startling statement, but it’s right there in red. He said it, I believe it, and to hell with any other opinion.

And if you are the light of the world, is it not time to stop skulking in the shadows?

Read More?

https://davidleemartin.com/let-your-light-shine/

I don’t have one.

The message will stand or fall on it’s own merits. It’s one that has significant implications. 

I want to take a little time to talk Hamster wheels.

I was certainly in Hamster mode for many years. Spinning plates, scurrying between projects, hustling in life and hassling in prayer. Little surprise I burned out and came crashing back to the arms of the Father looking for a better way.

The thing is, when the wheel is spinning, life and time take on a life of their own. Jumping off takes courage, and may well leave you with a few bruises when you leap into the unknown, wondering who you are and why you are here.

“Martha, Martha” is the refrain many of us might hear if we took a moment to stop the madness, and incline our ear.

Martha was “cumbered with many things, distracted with much serving, anxious, and troubled” the Bible says. 

All the while “only one (or but a few things) were necessary.” (Luke 10:41).

Only One or But A Few

One of the greatest questions you can ask the Lord is, “What is my one, or but a few, things?”

The thing is, the answer may mean laying down or cutting off some of the “many things” that currently keep you scurrying. That takes courage. The busyness sometimes becomes our identity. Our security is derived from the many things we occupy ourselves with.

There’s a fear that stopping will not only break the cycle and frantic momentum we have steamed up, but that it will break us. 

Scripture speaks to this cultural disease in Matthew 11.

“Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you.” Matthew 11:29 MESSAGE

Walking In Pace With Grace

In my conversation with the Holy Ghost this morning we spoke about pace. Walking in pace with the prince of Peace. 

I asked Him about His pace. 

He is the pace maker. Hearing is His heartbeat. 

The unforced rhythm you are looking for can be described best in the original picture of man and his Maker.

Two friends walking and talking together in the cool of the day.

“And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day…” Genesis 3:8

Walking, listening, talking.

It’s hard to hear on the hamster wheel. 

Take courage and take the leap.

What of the many do you need to jettison, and what of the few do you need to focus on? 

Let faith lead your forward as you embrace the pace, and believe in the good providence of God for your journey.

The beginning of a thing.

And the completion.

Between the two a blood drenched chasm where many a creative has given up the ghost and let their dream idea gasp its final breath.

Just as the Scriptures encourage us not to despise beginnings, however inauspicious they may feel, the Holy Ghost also makes mention of the other factor in that equation.

“Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.” (Ecclesiastes 7:8 KJV)

Better to be a finisher than just a starter.

Here are 3 keys that will help you do that!

Read more?

https://davidleemartin.com/be-a-finisher/

It’s an app by the way. Niche specific rooms with real time audio conversations.

Hordes of hungry covid-incarcerated thought leaders, and think-followers, are crowding in to engage together in live, as-it-happens, conversations around just about any topic you can imagine. Some rooms are bursting with hundreds of participants, all eagerly “raising their hands” to take the stage. Others are more intimate discussions among friends and avid fans.

It’s presently in beta, and works by one user inviting another two, making it somewhat compelling when you sit on the outside waiting for an opening.

The next thing in social?

Innovative viral marketing and the buzz that this is the “next thing in social” is stirring up quite a storm of enthusiasm and curiosity. Whether the optimistic prophecies are true or not will be played out in time.

For now, Facebook feeds and other places of engagement are filling with requests for an invite.

But let me divert for a moment and recommend another conversation. 

Another Clubhouse.

Heaven has a clubhouse

It’s been open for a long time now.

No app required. Fully matured but always experimental and wildly innovative. Deep and wide all at once, and fired by the inspiration of three Co-hosts who blow me away every single day.

Want to read more?

https://davidleemartin.com/have-you-joined-clubhouse-heaven-yet-let-me-send-you-an-invite/

I used to work for a newspaper. Not as a writer or undercover reporter or anything glamorous like that. I just laid out the pages and designed ads for local businesses. 

The press office was over the road from a supermarket, so lunch usually comprised of wandering across the street and a cheap sandwich. Amazing how routines play out day after day. 

My other routine is to chat with God as I go about my business. So much so, I sometimes do it without thinking.

Thing is, I forget that many (most) other people don’t share that routine. 

On this particular day I arrived back in the office, and Kate, one of my colleagues, said (in a friendly way, I think), “I used to think you were crazy, but now I know that you are.” 

Feigning hurt, I asked her why.

“I saw you stood in line at Asda (the name of the supermarket chain) talking to yourself.” 

Supposedly, the saying goes that talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity. At least that’s what the devil would like you to believe. It really depends what you are saying, I guess.

I corrected Kate of course, and told her that on this occasion I was not talking to myself, I was talking to God. I also informed her that talking to God is actually the first sign of…

Sanity.

Want to read more?

https://davidleemartin.com/talking-to-god-in-the-supermarket-and-the-first-sign-of-sanity/

It’s easy in the mass of humanity to feel like a nobody, especially with the curated stream of success stories and gorgeous selfies we gorge on. It can get to the point where you feel as powerless to make an impact as that fragile embryo swimming in its mother’s juices.

But God can see.

He does not need a microscope to notice you.

He does not need a hearing aid to discern your voice.

He saw you when you were knitted in your momma’s womb.

“For You did form my inward parts; You did knit me together in my mother’s womb.” Psalms 139:13 AMPLIFIED

“My frame was not hidden from You when I was being formed in secret [and] intricately and curiously wrought [as if embroidered with various colors] in the depths” Psalms 139:15 AMPLIFIED

You are significant.

From the moment of conception to the day of your demise God is passionately interested in you, and all that you have to offer the world

It is easy to fall prey to the powers of the terrible twins, the crushers of creativity, and dampers of dreams…

Procrastination and Perfectionism.

Procrastination says, “tomorrow”, and perfectionism takes it a step further and says, “never”. Taken together they have stolen a thousand dreams and prevented countless initiatives.

When Jesus said, “be ye perfect even as you father in Heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48) He was not suggesting that you take a lifetime polishing your halo before you step out and help someone. Thankfully, Jesus took care of the perfect piece of the pie, liberating you to step out boldly in all your weird and unpolished ways and learn, grow and improve as you go.

Don’t need 3 degrees and a PHD before you put a pen to paper.

Don’t need to know everything before you do something.

Take a step today and throw caution to the wind. Start where you are at and make a move.

Want To Read More?

https://davidleemartin.com/turning-your-hopes-into-habits-one-insignificant-move-at-a-time/

“…take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body…” (James 3:4–5 NIV)

The words on your lips steer your life.

Tug Boat Words & Let’s Go Promises

There are also other words that direct us, and the Holy Ghost today described them to me as being like tug boats that we attach our faith to and guide us into harbour.

Our faith will always be hitched to a word. Always. Without exception, there’s a word that our faith is attached to tugging us in one direction or another.

God asked me today what words I’m hitching my future to?

I want to ask you the same question.

Choose Your Destination Harbour

Let me remind you of another boat, one crowded with rowdy disciples. Strong men of action, not unfamiliar with choppy weather and adverse conditions.

Here they were hitched to the words of their Captain, “Let us go to the other side” (Mark 4:38). Then it happened. A massive, sudden, and shocking storm that terrified even the hardy fishermen among them.

In the face of adversity, they unhitched their faith from the words, “let’s go to the other side” and instead secured them to, “God doesn’t care and we are all perishing!”

Which harbour destination would you choose? “The other side” or “Lord, we perish!”

Is this not the challenge that we face too? God speaks and we hitch ourselves to His words, we cherish them, allowing them to pull us forward in faith.

You look across from where you are now, to where God wants to take you and start making moves.

Then something happens that runs contrary to the promise we have cherished, and it seems God has hit the snooze button.

Want to Read More?

https://davidleemartin.com/lets-go-promises-and-tugboats-two-keys-to-steer-your-ship-into-harbour/

That does not mean you are the cornerstone of your success, or that more action taking will automatically lead to more results. What it does mean is that motion puts things in motion to move towards the results you dream of. You learn far more by doing than by watching, reading or listening.

Best case scenario: Do all four, read, listen, watch, do.

But if you have to lean into percentages, weigh toward the doing rather than perpetual learning, thinking or planning.

Taking Massive Mini Action

Actions do not to need to be massive.

The biggest thing is the actual decision to make a move. That’s where the massive implications play out. Most often the actions themselves are quite obvious and natural. They may not be easy, but they are natural, not alien.

I’m sure you have heard the favourite saying in entrepreneurial circles, “take massive action.” Usually what it means is “take a massive chunk out of your bank account and buy my course, coaching, or service.” But most of the time, and this coming from someone who has spent over $30,000 on training and coaching this year alone, what we need is not more training, it’s doing the things we have already trained in.

Want to read more?

https://davidleemartin.com/take-muscly-mini-actions-today-and-crush-your-competition/

There, I’ve said it.

You may disagree or you may not - but the truth remains. 

If you are living and breathing today there is a deep treasure inside you that deserves to be explored and expressed.

Our multi-faceted, colourful, unhindered humanity is a doorway for divinity - the overflow of our Father’s rich heart into the world around us.

After all, He is the Creator!

And you are made in His image. A unique expression of His heart endued with uncommon giftings.

For years I have had the desire in my heart to champion the callings of the vast community of creative Christians residing on our planet.

Sometimes you just have to exercise patience until a thought is fully formed. A premature baby gasps for life, but a full formed infant, when its ready to be unleashed on a waiting world, hollers its arrival.

That’s exactly how I feel about this message. It is hollering inside me - refusing to stay inside a moment longer.

I believe with all my heart that’s God’s people - the Jesus loving following radicals of our Father in Heaven - are called to a new renaissance of creative expression in every sector of society.

I believe that He is raising up a new generation of revolutionary thinkers who have tapped the mind of Christ and opened the floodgates of their imagination, and so become conduits for Heaven’s agenda right her on earth.

This podcast a call to fellow revolutionaries.

And with that said, welcome to the David Lee Martin show!