Preface Meant for More Lately it seems like I''m meeting more and more believers who are unsatisfied with the kind of Christians they''re becoming and the version of the Christian life they''re experiencing. These aren''t bad people. They aren''t gangbangers and ungodly pagans. If they were, their discontent would make more sense. The thing is, most believers aren''t in imminent danger of ruining their lives. They''re facing a danger that''s far greater: wasting them. I worry about that risk for myself, and maybe you''re the same way. We''ve had some big dreams about what God might want for our lives.

But so many of us are stuck in the starting blocks. Or are dragging along at the back of the pack. We know we were meant for more. Yet we end up settling for less. We''re frustrated about where we are. But we''re confused about how to move forward. If this is where you are, the Greater Devotional is for you. For the next forty days, we''ll learn to spend time with God and His Word to find out how He wants to expand our world.

The devotionals are based on some key ideas I talk about in my book Greater . Much of the material is brand-new to print, and here the focus is on the spiritual journey necessary to get from "good enough" to "greater." We''ll be looking at a lot of events in the life of the prophet Elisha, but we''ll also be mining other rich texts from all over the Bible. These devotionals are not primarily meant to give you a cozy feeling or make you satisfied because you''ve met a spiritual requirement. They are meant to yank you from the mediocrity you may have grown accustomed to and set you on the course to a greater destiny. The call to be greater is the call to walk with God Himself. And, in fact, I believe any lasting transformation flows from divine revelation. More can be accomplished in a half hour of prayer, worship, and listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit than in a month of strategizing on our own.

I can trace my most frustrating seasons to a deficiency of time I allocated to my most important task: seeking the wisdom of the Lord. And, conversely, I can trace the genesis of many of the most important changes in my life, my family, and my church to specific moments I spent in the presence of God. That''s why I believe you have every reason to expect amazing things to happen as you spend time with God for the next forty days. Dream big. Start small. Ignite God''s vision for your life, starting today. Day 1 The Muck of Mediocrity Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. --John 14:12 Today''s Bible reading: John 14:1-14 For most of us, the experience of our daily lives is a far cry from the greater works Jesus talked about in John 14:12.

We know instinctively, even if we can''t articulate it exactly, that something isn''t squaring up. There''s a huge gap between what God said in His Word and the results we see in our lives. It''s like we''ve been lulled into comfortable complacency. Then we wake up one day to find ourselves stuck in miserable mediocrity. So we tuck away any dreams and notions of the great things we''d like to do for God. After all, we''re doing good. Good enough. It kind of sucks.

But it''s all we know. If that''s where you are today, I need to share a strong word of warning with you. You can''t keep living like this. It''s not fine for you to settle for going every day to a job you''d prefer to quit, doing decent work, being a pretty good person compared to your neighbor, paying your bills on time, and sporadically reading the Bible as though it''s your guide to the great things God did in other people''s lives in the past. Baseline living is not okay. Not for a believer in Jesus. There''s a price to pay for Christian complacency. If you keep living on this level, your heart is going to shrivel.

It might already be shriveling. Your dreams are going to die. They may already be on life support. Will you look up one day and be overwhelmed by the stack of regrets staring back at you? The frustration that''s simmering on the back burner right now might boil over one day, and you''ll be bitter about the opportunities you missed. Opportunities to be used by God, to touch lives, to get outside yourself and be a part of something greater. I know it''s not easy. But don''t tell me it''s not possible. Jesus Himself said it was.

The fact is, we can be so much better than we''ve become, because God is so much greater than we''re allowing Him to be through us. That''s why, for forty days, we''re asking God to show us His picture of the greater life and help us go after it. Start today by telling yourself you don''t have to stay stuck in the muck of mediocrity. Open your spirit up to the possibility of something greater. Open it up to Jesus Himself. >Prayer Focus Ask God to ignite in you a vision of the different life He wants you to live. Commit to a lifestyle of listening for His voice.