Prayer

When i was a kid i remember one of the hardest things for me to do was to actually carry a conversation with my friends' parents, especially the father. Every time i would make a new friend and the father wanted to meet me i would shake, especially if this was a female friend. Crazy thoughts would go in my head..."what do i say?" "what if i ran out of things to say?" etc. As we come to the end of the 21 days of prayer i thought about that....How many times are we asked to pray and those crazy thoughts come to our head? How do i talk to our Father?

After a few days of getting to talk to my friend's father i would start to feel very comfortable and over time the talks would get easier and easier, i would never run out of things to say. It is awesome how after 21 days of prayer, 21 days of going out of our ways, habits, eating agendas to spend more time with God, our relationship with Him gets stronger and stronger. The fears of running out of things to pray about are gone!

Prayer enriches you because prayer is intimate time with God. When we pray we praise God, we repent of our sins, we ask for forgiveness and many other needs we may have, and also, we submit to God's will.

Constant & Earnest Prayer

Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant (earnest) prayer was offered to God for him by the church. -Acts 12:5 

It's 4:46 in the morning and I've been up praying for the last hour or so over my family, my core team of leaders, staff pastors, our church and anything else that I can think of.  I wake up sometimes in the middle of the night and do this because I feel like an alarm is going off in my spirit telling me to start praying.  So consider yourself prayed for.  

I also looked up and read Acts 12.  This is an amazing story about the power of what constant & earnest prayer can do.  King Herod started to harass the early church so he had James the brother of John killed and he saw that this pleased the people so he arrested Peter and placed him in jail and was going to execute him as well.  He didn't just put him in the jail, he placed him in maximum security with the maximum amount of guards protecting him.   (I guess he was still a little gun shy after Jesus getting out of the tomb episode.)  So what did the local church do?  The went into a all night prayer session and they prayed for Peter with all that they had.  I can just imagine what was happening in that prayer room.  What were they praying?  What were they expecting?  How hard did they pray?  I'm not sure but one thing I do know is that they keep praying and they had a sense of urgency about what they were doing.  What ever they were praying impacted God and He responded by sending an angel to Peter and woke him up and the two of them walked out of the prison, past the guards and through the gates to freedom.  Peter went the house where the prayer meeting was still taking place and knocked on the door.  A little girl came to the door and heard Peter's voice and got so excited that she forgot to open the door and ran into the prayer meeting and told everyone that Peter was out of jail and at the front door.  It took a few minutes before anyone believed her and went to the door to check on her claim.  But when they did finally go to the door they were astonished!  I bet so!  The rest of the story goes like this - Herod killed the guards and then God killed Herod!  WOW that is the POWER OF PRAYER!

I've been thinking about what we're doing during these 21 days.  What are we praying for?  Someone's freedom, the freedom of our generation or our nation?  The healing of a loved one or a relationship? Guidance? Peace? Forgiveness?  How are we praying?  Earnestly?  Consistently? Are we expecting that God will answer our prayers?  Does God want to astonish us with His endless and creative power?

Over the next few days, I'll be setting down with the 21 days of prayer core team and talking about what to do next.  Please be praying for us.  I feel like we having been trying out this prayer thing on a 21 days money back guarantee if not satisfied stop praying and I'm feeling like we should not only keep keep doing it but maybe upgrade!  Anyways, for you that know me know that I can't leave a good thing alone but I'd like to think of it as "I can't leave a God thing alone!"

FINALLY!!!

A few nights ago I completed four nights of night shift. Working nights is nothing new to my wife or me, however working night shift while being married is something completely different. See Celeana and I have just officially been married one month as of January 15th , so working night shift while being married is not something that we are used too. I never thought some one could miss somebody so much in just a few nights time. Two people operating in two different time areas, passing by each other in the morning, having to call each other on the way home from work and on the way to work just to hear each other’s voices. I missed her like crazy!!! I finally got off for a few days and we have been able to spend some time together talking and laughing. Just to eat a meal with each other, or watch a movie together, not even talk but to enjoy each other’s company has just been the happiest feeling in the world. Last night we went for a drive. We didn’t even know where we were going. The only thing that we knew was, we were together…finally!!

I wonder if that is the way God has felt these past 21 days of prayer. Has he said, “Finally!!!”? God is so incredible with his love and passion for us, and for some of us, these past 21 Days of Prayer have been the most time that we have spent consecutive amounts of time with Him. Do we feel the same since of relief and peace from having been in his presence? Maybe our sleepless nights, or stressful work weeks have stemmed from our lack of time with our loving God, yet when we began seeking God these past few days, our sleep became a little easer, or our weeks became a little more productive. This is just something that I have been thinking about and I wanted to share it with you. Let’s finish out these last few days more passionate than ever. Let’s continue in our pursuit of His presence and guidance even after all of the hype and counting is over. It has been a pleasure and an honor sharing with you what God has been speaking to me and I am praying for you.

Be Green!

"Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." John 15:4-8

Have you ever tried to break a green branch off of a tree? It can be really frustrating because it doesn't break; it bends. You have to twist it several times and you pull it this way and that way and it never cooperates. If you do break it then there's that outer layer of bark/skin that is peeling off making it more difficult. The point is a green branch is tough and not easy to break because it is connected to the life of the tree or vine. If we stay connected with God and let His life continually flow through us we will be flexible, strong and hard to tear down. Is there something or someone trying to tear you down? Don't focus on the problem, focus on the solution: Jesus. Stay connected with Him and don't let any attack distract you.

Jesus uses the word "remain" several times here. The KJV uses the word "abide". In the Greek it means "to sink into, settle in, and live in". I pray those words describe my relationship with God: I want to live in Him, live with Him and sink into Him. The branch and the vine are always connected. The branch doesn't split up with the vine and say "I'll be back later to soak up some life". In the same way we were designed to be connected with God 24/7.

We have an enemy that is trying to break us. If we disconnect ourselves from God we become dry, brittle, inflexible and easy to break. It is vital (literally) to stay in God's Word. Jesus said, "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you."

In a few days we will reach the climax of our 21 days of prayer. But really we are just getting warmed up. This is not the end but the beginning. Our prayer lives are not getting ready to slow down, they are getting ready to take off! These 21 days have simply shown us our potential. This has been a launching pad and I can't wait to see what God does throughout this year.

Kevin

Temperature of our hearts

Last night at the 24/7 Youth Service we talked about what happens when God's fire burns in us. One of the key passages we studied was about an event right after the resurrection when Jesus appeared to two men who were walking together discussing all the events that had just happened. After Jesus walked with them and explained the Scriptures to them, they said in amazement,

“Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” Luke 24:32

As I studied this passage, I had to ask myself how often I feel that passionate burning sensation in my heart - the one that only comes when I'm walking with Jesus and when He "explains the Scriptures to me". I'd like to encourage you to join me in pursuing that Presence every day. Pursuing that intimacy that heats up our hearts and the relationship that stirs our passion. Let's make the time to encounter Jesus in such a way that we can say at the end of the day, "our hearts burned within us as he talked with us..."

48 Hours of Prayer

Here is a video of what the 48 hour prayer room looked like!  I just wish you could have felt the thick sweet Spirit of God that was in this place (maybe one day I can upload it).  

Enjoy!

Names on the Wall

I have really been trying to put 1 Thessalonians 5:17 into action and "Pray without ceasing" as it says. Today when I went to Wal-Mart I really felt the Spirit speaking to me. Yes, I said at Wal-Mart. I felt as though I had a really keen sense of discernment at that moment and God was telling me how much the world was hurting just by crossing paths with some of these people. I didn't go up to anyone and witness to them, but I was definitely willing to if God told me to. And that is the level of obedience I want to be at every moment. I want my awareness level to be operating that highly at all times, but that is where I must be focused and bold enough to share my faith with those God calls me to share it with. If I am constantly praying, God will open up those doors to share the Good News with those who need to hear it.

So, with that said, I really want to reach out those who are unreached. Pastor Fred reiterated on our mission statement which is "To make fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ of unchurced people". He also made the point that everything we do must spring from that statement and carry us toward fulfilling it. All you have to do is think about people at your workplace or just be aware of your surroundings at a place as casual as Wal-Mart and then be obedient enough to act on sharing your faith with that person.

Those names on the walls in the Extension are a great reminder to us to be in prayer for those who are lost. I love praying over those names every Wednesday morning; over the names I wrote and over the names that others wrote. If we continue to be faithful in praying over them, I have faith that God will answer those prayers. Be in prayer that God would open your eyes to those who need you to reach out to them. Also, pray that we as the Body of Christ can be bold enough to invest in those people's lives and invite them to one of our worship services.

It is so awesome when God gets all the glory for someone coming to know Chirst as their Savior. Be aware. Be bold. Share the Word. Extend a hand in love.

Not judging.......a different result

Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemed. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

Luke 6:37-38

How many times have i heard that phrase " If you keep doing what you are doing you will always get the same result"? I have heard that phrase over and over ever since i was a very young man starting my way into the world of sales! And later as i became a Christian I kept hearing it, yet, how many times do I really apply it?

As we often pray, we ask God for favors, for many things we may need, for fixing the broken relationships we may have, for a financial need we may be dealing with. But how about asking God for wisdom in how to change our ways to get a different result?

This past weekend opened my eyes, as the message on Sunday touched a little on broken relationships, and it was mentioned how for some people the holiday season is tough and we may spend time with people we really do not want to spend time with. I felt as if everything was directed towards me, because, I am that Christian with those struggles. I realized that I was the one with the problem not them! I realized I am the one who can take the initiative to fix this. I am the Christian in this relationship! Who am I to judge any one's actions? I realized that i will never get any positive result if i keep acting the same way, it is time to change my ways.

We often have people around us that may fall, may be living a life that we do not necessarily agree with. We are all sons and daughters of God, we are all brothers and sisters and as a family we need to stick together never judging each other's actions, but rather help those in trouble to get closer to God, to pray, to change their ways to get a different result......and then, we start seeing our own different result.

48 Hours of Prayer

Over the next 48 hours (Sunday 5 pm - Tuesday 6 pm), we are entering a time of continual prayer.  All of the Genesis & 24/7 Core Team members have taken an hour each to go into a Prayer Closet (a modern day Tent of meeting) to seek God's face over our ministries, our communities, the 2008 elections and our world.  Please pray for us!  We are expecting to meet with God here.  I am actually in the prayer room right now starting it all off and I just wanted to invite you to join us.  If you have any prayer request, leave us a comment on this blog or you can email us and we will make sure that your prayer gets covered.   I can't explain to you just how cool this is in here!  The I-pod is playing, the candles are burning, communion is on the table, the walls are covered with paper so that we can write what we feel God is telling us. Way cool!  More importantly the presence of the Holy Spirit is thick in here!  I will be blogging and telling you what is happening!  I love you guys and I'm so stoked to be on this journey with you!   

Go God!

Rodney

A Realization and An Answer

My ears have heard of you, but now I have seen you with my own eyes,
Job 42:5
(NIV)

I was reading in Job the other day, and one thought hit me that I had never had before. The statement that Job makes in Job 42:5 just blows me away. I think about all that Job had endured. The pain that he felt, and the commitment that he had. Having lost everything, his friends, wealth, and even the support of his family, nothing, could convince him to turn his back on his God. He lived an upright, blameless life in God’s eyes. (Job 1:8). The Bible goes on to let us know he was a man who feared God and shunned evil. What makes a man live this way? I guess the realization that I am trying to make is Job lived his life on a belief and a confidence in who he knew and heard to be God. Isn’t that what drives us to live the way we do? We direct our total focus and attention on a God of whom we have heard. How many of us have actually seen God? Many so called Christians live their lives strictly on what commandments the Bible gives and never really truly experience God or get to see him at work in their lives. Job stood firm in his confidence in his maker, yet here we find him making a statement that says, everything he thought he knew about God was just hear say, but now he has seen God with his own eyes. Maybe it is time for some of us to experience a God moment like this. When we see, if we are living this kind of life based on hear say, or living based what we have seen. Not taking anything from Job please don’t mistake this. Job was found so upright in God’s eyes that God himself was sure that Job would not fail Him. Job was the Bomb!!! But even he when experiencing God through trial and heart ache had found a realization. What realization do we need in this last half of the 21 Days? Maybe it is more than that, maybe you have been searching for some real answers. Job sought for answer the majority of his troubles and it wasn’t until the near end that God began to speak. Seek God hard this last half of the 21 Days because the realization or the answer might be a few days away.

Action!

I remember one time when God taught me to pray specific prayers. I was in a ministry internship and we went on something called a Faithwalk. It was very similar to Matthew 10:5 when Jesus sent the twelve out to minister to the cities. The disciples were instructed not to take any food, money or extra clothes. So we were out there in the middle of nowhere looking for someone to minister to and for food and shelter. I asked my team what we should pray for and they said "lunch". So I said "Ok, what kind of lunch should we pray for?" And we all agreed to pray for pepperoni pizza. Later a truck pulled over and gave us a ride and we ministered to them on the way to wherever. When they took us as far as they could they dropped us off at a gas station. When we walked inside the owner asked us if we would like some free pepperoni pizza. Sure! It really taught me a lot because we weren't allowed to ask anyone for anything. We could accept offers but we could only ask God specific prayers. There were so many specific prayers answered like people praying for a disabled person to minister to or an old widower to encourage.
A year later we were on another Faithwalk and this one was a lot harder. It was cold and rainy and we were walking at night. We had prayed specific prayers but we felt like God just wanted us to keep walking. We began to sing songs from our spirit. The words just came out of our mouths without even trying to think of lyrics. And then we saw a rainbow. It was so dark that night but we saw this rainbow and we walked right through it but it stayed with us as we walked. There were 5 of us and we were walking shoulder to shoulder and this rainbow went from my feet (I was on the far right) and over our heads and ended at the feet of the person on the far left. It was amazing. It just stayed with us as we walked. It was like God was giving us the symbol he gave Noah, telling us He will keep His promises. Soon after a car pulled over and this guy jumped out in the rain and said "Are you ready for some food and a place to stay?" Sure!

I learned that if you pray for someone to minster to they just might show up and you are going to have to back up your prayer and minster to them! So many of us are praying for wisdom during these 21 days. If God gives you wisdom will you act on it? If God gives you boldness will you use it? If you tell God you will do anything He tells you to do can you back that up?

James talks about this in a passage we have all read. Read it today keeping in mind all the prayers you've been praying lately.

What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

James 2:14-17

If you've been praying for a name on the wall maybe you are part of the answer. Faith and action go hand in hand. God many times gives us the keys to the car but we don't get in and drive! God loves faithfulness. Remember the parable of the talents. If we are faithful to use what He has given us then He will keep on giving as we keep on using. Sometimes we struggle because we don't feel like God is speaking to us. Maybe we should think back to the last thing He spoke to us. Did we do what He asked? Were we faithful? If not, how could we expect more from Him? James 1:22 teaches us to be doers and not just hearers. Sometimes we feel so good about praying. We're like "I'm doing good! I'm reading and I'm hearing". Are we doing any of it? It says that when we hear but don't do we are deceiving ourselves. My wife is never impressed when she asks me to take out the trash and I keep saying "Ok, I hear you". I left out the most important part. I have to get off my couch and do it. Let's take the next step in our prayers by taking action.

Kevin

Some Prayer Needs

But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given to you besides. - Matthew 6:33

If your looking for some things to pray for here you go:

• God's Will to be established in our lives, church, state, country and world.
• That the leadership of the church to be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
• The direction of the church.
• Pastor Fred
• 24/7 
• Northwood Academy 
• All the names that are written on the church walls for salvation
• 2008 elections 
• All our soldier's and their families & peace
• The marriages of the couples in our church 

Thank you for joining us on this journey!

Rodney 

FIRST and nothing less.

Today I'm reminded of God's desire to be 1st.

1. He laid it out in the first of the 10 commandments: "Do not worship any other gods besides me.... for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not share your affection with any other god!" Exodus 20:3

2. Jesus spoke of it as the greatest of all commandments: "Love your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength..."

3. Isaiah wrote the words of God, "I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to anyone else. I will not share my praise with carved idols." Isaiah 42:8

He will not give His Glory to anyone else, He will not share our affections with any other. He wants to be First, Supreme, Utmost, Above all others. He wants to be our Ultimate, our Greatest, our All. He wants to be the Highest, our Top, our Completion. He wants us to see Him as the Unmatched, the Unbeatable, and the Unstoppable. He wants to be our Obsession, our Fascination, our highest Passion.

He wants to be FIRST. First in our thoughts, in our time, in our finances, in our families, in our work places, in our speech, in our pursuits, in our goals, and in our dreams.

He will not take second place. He will not settle for shared affections. He will not be pleased with flawed sacrifices. He does not want to be a side-note in our lives. He wants the CENTER. He wants complete FOCUS. He wants to be in our SPOTLIGHT.

God wants to be our ONE and ONLY - nothing less. Simply first.

He knows who He is

When I pray, not only do I feel as though I learn about God's character but I also get to know who I really am. In Exodus 3 & 4 Moses encounters God and gets just a glimpse into how majestic and beautiful the Lord is. Moses also realizes that he is not worthy of this calling that God wants him to live out. Moses was filled with fear and doubt but God gives him a miraculous sign. God turns the rod into the snake and then back into rod and that is an awesome experience within itself but the part that floored me was when God tells Moses to reach into his cloak. He reaches in, pulls it back out and it is leprous. God tells him to put his hand back in his cloak, then to pull it back out and it is restored.

That moment when Moses looked down at his leprous hand is a powerful illustration of how Moses felt about himself. He already knew of his own inadequacies and it is as though at that moment he realizes God finds out that he is inadequate. But we know God knows us, even though sometimes we don't like to get real with Him. Then, when he reaches back into the cloak and this hand is restored it is as if God is telling Moses that His grace is enough, which we later see with Paul's thorn in the flesh.

God calls us. He called Moses. God knows who we really are. He knew Moses, even when Moses wasn't so sure. But what we have to realize is that God knows God. He knows who He is.

Just let your faith in Jesus Christ lead you to answer the call God places before you. Don't let doubt get in the way. Over the next two weeks, my prayer is that He continues to change us and that we can align our lives with the lives He is calling us to live.

REACT!!!!

"The greatest love that anyone could ever know
That overcame the cross and grave to find my soul
And till I see You face to face and grace amazing takes me home
I'll trust in You

I will live to love You
I will live to bring You praise
I will live a child in awe of You"

I was listening to this song by Hillsong today while i was reading my bible and i felt this crazy sense of peace and excitement come over me. I'm not really sure if that is really possible but that is kind of what it felt like. This song should be our declaration to God. "God i will live to love you, God I will live to bring you praise, and I will live a child in awe of you."

I can't describe with words what it feels like to have an encounter with God. It's bigger than my thoughts. The only way for me to describe a God moment is by reacting to it. God steps in our day to day lives so often and we simply miss it. Over the last couple of days i have realized how often I ignore God. When my spirit is in line with God it allows me to sense his presence. The last couple of days has really been like that for me. I feel like God has really spoken to me. Now it is my time to react!!!!!

He wants us to be real!!!

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Psalm 23:4

What a beautiful Monday morning! The last few days have really been a blessing from God. No, nothing out of the ordinary has happened. In fact, people around me may think that i just had a "routine" weekend. But, i have enjoyed every second of the last few days because of the understanding of what God is doing in my heart.

Every morning I start my day by reading Psalm 23: 4 and it gives me strength to get through the struggles i may encounter during the day, sometimes i read it more than once. But in the last few days i have asked myself how real i am with God, how honest are my words as i speak to him!

Friday morning i had an opportunity to share my heart with the students at the upper school and my focus was how God wants us to be real with everything we offer to him. I brought up how the love for Jesus in your heart makes you act in a wonderful and amazing way. As christians we seem to have a lot of "checklists" in our lives, we have the "do not's", we have the "you should's" etc. And we have them handy, in our pocket, wallet, ready to come out when we need them. As I prepared my notes for friday morning i realized how close i was to being that christian with a checklist and it just felt like a cold bucket of water being poured on me!.

I decided to take charge and change it, but how? I prayed and spent some quiet time with God and he spoke to me, and before i knew it, the only words that were coming out of my mouth were "He wants me to be real". I decided to throw away those checklists and focus on the main thing which is love God with all your heart! Have God as #1 in your life and everything else will just fall into place, every item written on that checklist will be covered.

As I left the school on Friday morning i felt pretty good about my message thinking that a few of the students may go out there and be real for God. I also felt very excited about living for Christ in a real way from that point on. The whole weekend I lived it being real and forgetting whatever checklist i might have had, I decided to be myself and walk with Jesus in every activity!

On Sunday night as i was driving home with my wife, tired and ready to get some rest before the start of the new week i turned to her and shared with her how amazing i thought all the activities with the youth group had been, she then asked me why i thought such thing, she asked me if there was a specific reason why, and i gave her some explanations and situations but the real reason why is because with every activity, every prayer, every conversation, I was being real. We do not need any checklists, if we have God in our hearts and we do everything in his name all the items will be covered. He wants us to be real!!

Planting Seeds!

 

Don't be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he'll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God's Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.  Galatians 6:7-8 (The Message)

Just a quick reminder for all of us!  

God is paying attention to what is happening here.  

Every time that we pray - He is listening.

Every time we fast we are planting seeds and we will 

reap a harvest.

Let's keep planting seeds so that we can see a harvest of souls in 2008!

Excuse Me God...Did You Say Something?

Ps 106:13-14

13 Yet how quickly they forgot what he had done!
They wouldn't wait for his counsel!
14 In the wilderness, their desires ran wild,
testing God's patience in that dry land.
NLT

Ever been in a conversation where some one wouldn’t let you talk. You were full of words or had a great story to share, but the people around you just wouldn’t stop talking long enough for you to get a word in.

As I sat praying quietly and alone in the darkened room upstairs in our apartment, I came to the point where I stop talking and listen for a reply from God. How often does that point turn into a recap of the day, or even a rabbit chasing adventure? My mind began to wander. Thinking about the police car passing by with sirens blaring, the truck up the road down shifting, and the trains whistle blowing accompanied by the ruffling of the tracks and shifting of the cars the train carried. Wandering further to the chores I had left to do, hang the pictures, hang the shelves, empty the dishwasher…wait a minute!!!! What am I doing? At what point did I lose absolute total focus on the importance of that moment? Surely of all of the blabbering and talking that I had done for the past 20 minutes, the most important part of that prayer was the response from God. We have all done this and have probably experienced it several times in the past 5 days. Those moments of silence that we set aside to hear from God turn into the “Honey Do list” on the refrigerator, or the recap on the day’s experiences. In many cases our prayers are left unfulfilled and without response. Our prayers are concluded with no answer and no added life. I challenge you all to be strong willed in these 21 days of prayer. Concentrate on hearing a whisper from God. Do more than just focus on these prayers and petitions. Focus on the voice of who you make those petitions known. Because more important than any words that we can speak, are the words that He speaks to us.

Giving God Our Best

A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am the Father, where is My honor? And if I am a Master, where is My reverence? Says the Lord of hosts to you priests who despise My name. Yet you say, ‘In what way have we despised Your name?’ You offer defiled food on My altar, but say, ‘ In what way have we defiled You?’ by saying, ‘ The table of the Lord is contemptible.’ And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? Offer it then to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you favorably?” says the Lord of hosts.

Malachi 1:6-8

This passage sheds light on my life and makes me ask myself the question: Am I giving God my best or am I just "getting by" in our relationship? Have you ever had a relationship that was just barely making it? I have a word to describe my marriage if I were to just go through the motions: misery. It just doesn't work! A real relationship takes sacrifice and sincerity. Do those 2 words describe your relationship with the Lord right now? If not, let's not beat ourselves up because this is a new year! A new beginning. I love that we are focusing on prayer now at the beginning of '08. Do you know how many days it takes to create a habit? Studies show it takes 21 days. We weren't even thinking about that when we decided to committ to this for 21 days. Now lets focus on giving God our best. Since God says that we (the church) are His bride, how should we treat Him? Should we mumble the same words to Him over and over? Should we give Him just 10 minutes of alone time with us? Come on! Let's get a little romantic in this relationship. Let's not, as this verse describes, give Him an evil sacrifice. Let's give Him our best. 21 days of prayer is not a chore. It's a vacation with God so enjoy!

Kevin Harris

Fasting that pleases God!

Isaiah 58 talks about how to fast the right way. But first it talks about an ineffective fast that does nothing and displeases God!

The Wrong Way (verses 3 - 5) - the self centered and selfish way

• Fasting to please ourselves. This could mean many things like; trying to lose weight, trying to impress others, trying to make you feel good about yourself. Our biggest mistake is to look only at what will the fast do for us. Being me focused!
• When we fast and keep on oppressing our workers. When we find our own freedom and forget to invite others into the freedom.
• While fasting (spending time with our Grace Giving God) we keep fighting and arguing. Once again, we are wanting to receive grace but are unwilling to give it.
• False humility and going through religious motions.

The Right Way (verses 6-12)

• Free those that wrongly imprisoned. Many people are living in sin's prisons because of the sins of others (parents, leaders, society). We can go to them and free them by telling them of God's salvation through Christ Jesus.
• Lighten the burden of those who work for you (with you). This can be both physical and spiritual. Physically - we can do some sort of action on the behalf of our coworkers that is above what is normal. It may or should cost us something but it should benefit them and not us. Spiritually - we need to recognize that were put in our jobs to free our coworkers not condemn them. We are to show them how we found freedom so that they can find it as well.
• Let the oppressed go free and remove the chains off of the blind. This means that we are to forgive those that have hurt us or oppressed us. The Bible says - freely you have received freely give. Many of the people that we need to forgive are blind to God's Glory and by our actions we illuminate His glorious plan to them.
• Give food to the hungry, give shelter to the homeless, give clothes to the needy and do not hide from relatives that need help. When we fast we should be reminded of what Christ did for us and be proactive in helping out someone who is worse off then us. This was Christ mission statement found in Luke 4. This what He lived and died for!

“Then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind. Then when you call, the Lord will answer. ‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply.

“Remove the heavy yoke of oppression. Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors! Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon. The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring. Some of you will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities. Then you will be known as a rebuilder of walls and a restorer of homes." -vs 8-12

What are you wanting to see God do this year? What are we wanting to see God do this year? I'm wanting to see His light shine into the darkness of my generation. I'm wanting some clarity on some issues. I want the guidance of the Lord. I need for my spirit, soul, body and mind to be watered and strengthened. I want to be so full of His Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, kindness, meekness and self-control) that I have a spring of living water flowing out from my innermost. I want to be known as a rebuiler of what has been destroyed by sin. I also want to one whom God uses to restore families and peoples belief in the family system.

God's will - done God's way - has Gods provision.

DAY 3 Taking the trash out...

Wow, it is very very cold outside this morning. I woke up early this morning and went to take the trash outside cause it's garbage day. Well, as soon as I stepped outside and felt the freezing wind, I almost turned around and said, "forget this trash can! It's too cold, I'll just let it overflow and take out next week".

Isn't that a lot like our lives? We have trash in us that we need to take to God - daily repentance - a cleansing of the soul, but we get distracted with our environment and, before you know it, our trash is overflowing - it has been weeks since we've gotten on our knees... since we've repented from anything... since we've gone to God with a broken heart, ready for a spiritual cleansing.

Maybe today can be a day when we remember to go before God and allow His Spirit to search through us and bring out every impurity in our hearts. Maybe today can be the day of repentance, humility, cleansing... And maybe today can be the start of a new habit for us: the daily humbling ourselves in repentance before God.

"So humble yourselves before God... Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief... Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor." James 4:7-10

Holy Spirit we invite you to search us from within. Every impurity, every sin, every meaningless word, every dirty thought, every ungodly attitude... we repent from them. We humble ourselves before You, knowing You're a God of grace, and we receive the cleansing that comes through the blood and love of Jesus. Amen.

DAY 2!

Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.  So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing.  I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified. 

- 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Well yesterday was awesome and strange at the same time.  I loved spending some quality and quantity time with God but without eating my head was feeling funky!  Today, I feel so much better.  Over the next 19 days we will encounter many emotions and feelings (awesome and strange) so hold on.   

The first thing I'm noticing is how strange my body can feel after just a day or so with out food.  It makes me wonder how our spirit men must feel without food?  It's no wonder that christians who don't feed their spirit men can fall into sin so easily.  

The second thing that I'm learning is how much that I eat on a daily bases.  My fast for the first week is food so 'm trying to replace my food or my desire for food with prayer or reading the Bible.  My weakness is food.  I crave food, it's smell, the texture but most of all the taste.  I'm praying that God will give me that kind of desire for spiritual food as well.

I'm excited that we are on this journey together!  We have only just began and I feel God already doing somethings in my life.  My prayer for us is that we wouldn't sprint through this time and miss the ride.  Enjoy and grow as you go! 

Living Our Faith!!!!

Wow!!! I am crazy excited about the next 21 days. It's going to be really amazing to see what happens when we truly dedicate our lives to God. I mean I know that our lives should constantly be a dedication to God but for some reason I feel like I am making more of declaration by joining in on this 21 days of prayer. Maybe this can be something that we as a ministry and as a people can let take control of us and possibly change who we become. Man that would be cool!!!!

The last couple of months I have been studying this idea of faith. Faith is something much bigger than what I had ever thought it to be.

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1

Faith is not something that we are supposed to have; it is something that we are supposed to live. Our faith is a result of being SURE of what we hope for and CERTAIN of what we do not see. I think we all have a weird understanding of the word hope. God says in scripture to be sure of our hope in him. Most of the time the very reason I hope for things is because I'm not sure about them. God wants us to put our hope in him and be sure of that hope.

For too long i have had "faith" without any results. Does my faith influence a change in my life? The difference between having faith and living faith is results. This is why I love what this next 21 days will bring, because it is challenging us to live our faith. God is going to do some amazing things in the next couple of weeks!!!

In Awe

The first day of the 21 is drawing to a close and for me it has been a refreshing, energizing and humbling experience thus far. Remember just who it is we get to pray to and hear from; the God of the universe who spoke life into existence, and who is filled with mercy, grace, righteousness, justice, and love, and who loves us so much that He sent His Son to give us eternal life and save us through our faith in Him. Be still in awe of Him.

Keep praying and fasting!

Open Arms

Isaiah 66 (New Living Translation)

1 The Lord says,

   “I was ready to respond, but no one asked for help.
      I was ready to be found, but no one was looking for me.
   I said, ‘Here I am, here I am!’
      to a nation that did not call on my name.
 2 All day long I opened my arms to a rebellious people.
      But they follow their own evil paths
      and their own crooked schemes.

I was reading this for breakfast this morning and it got me to thinking about how I respond to His voice.

1. I often forget that He is calling out to us waiting for us to respond.
2. He is everywhere and in everything trying to teach something if we will only listen
3. That He has open arms that are waiting for us to run into.
4. If we are not following His voice, whose are we following?

Anyways, I'm excited that you are joining us as we respond to His voice and run into His loving open arms. 

Maybe, like me, you may need to do a U-TURN on some cooked path that you find yourself on .  DO IT NOW!! 

If so, go and check out this video -

www.cornerstonesimi.com/sermons/video/2007-12-16_Francis_Chan_Getting_Real.mov

God is the Solution

What a beautiful morning! Whenever I wake early to pray, those seem like some of the best times I have in communication with God. The spirit of expectancy that came over me this morning when I was praying about these next 21 days is indescribable. Jesus never mentioned unanswered prayer. Rather, He told His disciples, "Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full." It is so awesome that God answers prayer in the best way EVERYTIME and when we are praying in according to His will, we get to see it answered in the same light that He sees it. When I am on my knees in prayer, those are the times where God shows me who He is.

I am very excited about the fasting part of this 21 days of prayer. When I fast, I love being able to carve out that extra time with God during that time in which I would usually be doing the other practice. Fasting really stretches me; it helps me grow closer to Him and increases how dependent I am on Him.

I was reading Rodney's blog from last night before I posted this morning and it reminded me of something Filipe and I were talking about. In the book Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, when the Brooklyn Tabernacle congregation was so dependent on God that prayer was the only answer when someone would ask how they are doing what they are doing, God seemed to have an overflow of blessings for them. I pray that whenever someone hears or asks about how God is advancing His Kingdom at Northwood Assembly, we can give Him the glory and say, "It's because we pray to Our Father."

John 3:8 says, "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit." The Holy Spirit, just like wind, is difficult to understand. But proof of the work of the Spirit is evident and undeniable when He begins to move. Let Him move in your life.

- A.J.

Here we Go!!!

What will the next 21 days consist of?  I don't know but I'm looking forward to turning my attention back to God!  I'm looking forward to joining with all of you as we raise the sails of our lives, church and ministries and see where the Wind of the Holy Spirit is going to blow us!  

Our aim for this blog is to -

• Share some helpful hints on prayer and fasting
• Encourage each other on the journey
• Share what we since God is doing and sharing on how you can know what God is doing in your lives
• And so much more

A Prayer to open us up-

God we open our lives, our schedules, our bibles, our minds, our hearts, our prayers, our ministries, our church and our families to You.  We give you permission to do in us whatever You need to do to get us where You need us to be.  We desire to discover more of You and all your glory.  Here we are and here we go!  We love You God.

Amen

What Happens When We Pray As A People

I'm really excited for what God will do in each of us, in our church, and all the college and school campuses in our city because of our prayers! This is what God said would happen if we pray together.

"If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14