Happy Day After Christmas!

I thought I'd just give you a song today. I will be working, and praying for our city. Please do so today. And thanks to Countryside Baptist for covering us today with 24 hour prayer!

Unity

Today I finally share about the 7 spheres of influence that we are to be praying for. Eventually, this will lead to  us having 7 councils in which the local church performs coordinated action. But, before we can do that, there must be some dedication to the unity of the Body of Christ. Otherwise, we are just a para-church organization. And Jesus did not say that upon this rock he would build His PCO.

No. We must recognize that there is one church in Gainesville, and that it transcends our organizational and denominational borders. And we must love one another, and not merely be committed to a unilateral cease fire. Turf-guarding among pastors is like a married couple keeping separate bank accounts, separate bedrooms, and eating at opposite ends of one of those banquet hall tables. Can we transcend our own special interests to the point that the world notices that we truly love one another and that Jesus must be real?

BTW, no church has today covered with 24 hour prayer. But it's not too late!

Missing

Sorry I went missing yesterday. Blogging was something I kept meaning to do, but got distracted. I still want to thank the people at The Rock of Gainesville for covering our city with 24 hour prayer. Today, it's Oak Park Baptist. Thank you so much for all you do.

This has been a bad week for missing persons. Yesterday I got word that authorities had found the body of a young man who had gone missing. He was only 19, and I have no details. I have known his mother for years, though not very well. I am leaving the name out of it because they are getting enough attention right now.

Currently missing is James Boyle, 23. I always knew him as Garrison and I know his parents fairly well. I have been praying for his safety, his return, and I have also been opposing the forces of darkness on his behalf. I pray that none of this is too late. He has been missing since Friday night.

I know of no other connection between these two young men other than the fact that they had some mutual friends. One was found in Tampa, and one is missing in the Ocala National Forest or thereabouts.

Continue to lift up James in prayer, as well as the family of the unnamed young man. God knows who they are.

Finding your place

I just finished reading an article about the New Monastics, urban Christians making their place with the poor and homeless. I can definitely identify with its appeal, as my wife and I are busily paring down our possessions and preparing to downsize to apartment living. The article appears in the "Politics" section of the Huffington Post, so I found it a bit exploitative, but living among the poor and ministering to them is certainly a part of the Gospel.

When I first became a Christian, I read an old book, "In His Steps" by Charles Sheldon, that touched on this in a different way. It's the popular novel in which some of the people of a small town vow to make no decision without first asking, "What would Jesus do?" What was compelling was that no one thought that Jesus would tell them to stop going to work and doing their jobs. Instead, He went to work WITH them and changed their jobs.

Asking yourself that question is a form of prayer, one for guidance. And whether you are led to move into the poor side of town, or move one of them in with you, it is a prayerful decision. But we are called to do something. First of all, we are called to pray. It changes us before it changes things, and that is definitely the will of God.

There is no church holding 24 hour prayer today. Please consider joining us.

You are able

Do you wonder if you are good enough to pray, get a hearing with God, and get an answer? This world's system is one of special access given to special people. If you are rich enough, wear the right clothes, have enough education, or have the right family pedigree, you will be allowed inside life's velvet rope.

Fortunately, God is not like this at all. He says, "Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." He said, "whosoever," and that means you. Further more, "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." Ask whatever you will.

We do not have to earn a station in life, or get the proper documentation to get an audience with God. He just wants US. We must be willing, not wealthy.

This should cause us great joy, because not only is God willing to hear us and help us, he is big enough to fulfill us; all of us. We don't have to take a number. He will never leave us not forsake us.

Let us start this day by renewing our desire to be a part of God's plan, His mission, and pray. This would be a great day to start and download the prayer list on the right sidebar. No church is signed up to cover this city with 24 hour prayer. Can you pray one hour?

Adding works to our faith

I heard of this a couple of days ago, and it seems to be going viral: people going into Wal-marts and K-marts and paying off people's layaway purchases for Christmas.



The first time I heard of this, the woman who got her bill paid said she was going to take what she was going to spend and do the same thing for someone else. It was reminiscent of the movie, Pay it Forward.

This holiday season, let's remember that while we are praying, that we should add our works to our faith and do some good while we are at it. But then the real test is making it a part of our lives during the rest of our year.

Today, there is no church covering us with 24 hour prayer. We must take up the slack as individuals!

Christopher Hitchens is now defending his thesis

Today we are being covered with 24 hour prayer by the congregation of Abundant Grace.

Famous atheist Christopher Hitchens passed away yesterday. He was the author of "God is Not Great," and he had a huge following. I am not saying this to gloat about his passing, but to remind us that there are many people who have a really big investment in there being no God. While many people are simply ambivalent on their way to Hell, these folk deny its very existence loudly and write books about it. Indeed, he speaks for what appears to be a growing group of noisy anti-theists who mock God if only to get my goat.

For those of us who still believe, we must pray for them to be loosed from this blindness and stubbornness. It is not the argument that will win them over, but a visitation of the Spirit of God.

For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. 1 Corinthians 1:21

My prayer is that their hearts will be softened and that they will not go the way of their teacher. Ours is a spiritual battle, and we will not win it with words alone. 

The Holy Ghost in the Machine

First, I want to thank Oak Park Baptist for their dedication to praying every Thursday, keeping up a prayer watch of 24 hours. Today, this is your day! They are also being joined by Parkview Baptist because they cover the 15th of every month.

I first heard the expression, "Ghost in the Machine," by a technology writer who was talking about the inexplicable way that computers sometimes act. Now, a couple of years later, I looked it up and discovered that it is a little more philosophical, referring to the primitive parts of our brains where hate, anger, and other destructive forces live.

I was listening to a radio show while driving home one night, and it depressed me. It was a bleak assessment of our American society and culture, and it left me with little hope for this nation. But then I remembered that real change is supernatural. The hopelessly embedded sin that leaves us with cycles of degradation, redemption, and apathy, followed by degradation again, does not get the final victory. There is an eternal life that outlives this cursed planet. And until then, "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." Romans 8:2.

In this present time, we are given a new "Ghost" for our machine: the Holy Spirit, "who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory." Ephesians 1:14.

This is why we pray: not just to change our temporal situations, but the eternal situations of our fellow citizens, who will outlive this sin-cursed world if we do not give up!

The Season is not the Reason for Jesus

Every year we get touched by something sentimental about Christmas. Something reminds us that we have what we have by the Grace of God. We renew our sense of meaning and being. And after Christmas, so many of us forget it faster than we will forget our New Year's resolutions.

This is why it is important to be a part of something that is ongoing, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Our occupation of Earth as the manifestation of the Kingdom of God is not seasonal, and it's not an event. It's reality!! God has called us to pray for the rest of our lives! And we need one another to do that because the things of this world NEVER stop calling us away from God. And the devil NEVER takes a day off. That is the reason this world, this nation, this city, and many of our own lives are lost and full of strife and hopelessness. The Kingdom of Darkness is the real City that Never Sleeps, and we are waiting to get caught up during the holidays...if we are even doing that.

I challenge you to become a better Heavenly citizen. Embrace your rights in Christ Jesus; exercise His power, and repudiate the "god of this world," Satan. (2 Corinthians 4:4).

Meanwhile, today has no 24 hour prayer sponsor...

Divine Intervention or Dumb Luck?

First, I want to say that no church has had Saturday, Sunday, OR today covered with 24 hour prayer for Operation Rolling Thunder. Second, I did take the weekend off from blogging here because I had other writing and reading obligations to attend to. I only have so much time. But I did pray the list yesterday morning before church!



This video has ORT founder Tim Taylor talking about how 24 hour prayer affected a community up north, and about how we, as one city church, are building a wall of prayer around our city.

This weekend, a woman in our church came to me with a story about a group of Christians in Jacksonville, FL mapped out their city to pray over it street by street, on foot. She said the crime rate had decreased by 12% by the time they had covered 12% of the city.

I have not had a chance to verify this story yet, but if it happened, do we believe it was the prayers of the saints, or was it dumb luck? I guess the question should really be, do we give God the glory, or do we attribute it to some sort of mathematical randomness?

This must lead, once again, to Tim Tebow. He won again yesterday, and it has raised the question in living rooms and bars across America: Is it God, or just luck? Week after week, he steps up and it appears that the Lord bails him out. Is that really what's happening? Does God really care about football? Really?? Or does God care about being glorified? That one is much easier to swallow.

And does this Tebow example matter to those of us who want divine intervention in our city? Yes, and here is why. Tebow is committed to a schedule in which he will be on public display, and millions will be watching to see if it happens again. Tim cannot walk away from the table a winner, and let the team play without him. He will be tested week after week until the season is over. But what about us?

When God answers our prayers, do we quit and go out a winner? NO! We come out and play and pray day after day. We glorify God, and let the critics come and do their worst. And our season does not end until WE do.

I challenge you to stick your neck out; spend time in prayer regularly; glorify God, and give Him the opportunity to win the big one while you are on the field, and not on the bench.

Prayer Ambitions

First, there is no church signed up to pray for 24 hours today. Second, I erroneously reported that there was no one covering yesterday, but Oak Park Baptist recently turned up their commitment to every week, and they are doing it on Thursdays. Thank you, Baptist brothers and sisters for having our backs!

Consider this passage and what it means:

12“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it." -Jesus in John 14:12-14

It sounds like Jesus has pretty much given us a blank check. And I have heard arguments that discount this, as well as some exploiting it to a somewhat questionable degree. The disciples seemed to have taken this at face value. They healed the sick, did signs and wonders, and converted thousands at a time. They also had violent opposition and suffered great persecution. Was it because they failed to pray that this would not happen?

Mark 10:29 Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, 30 but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life. 31 “But many who are first will be last, and the last, first.”

 Ah, yes. Jesus actually promised us persecutions, so they come with the territory. Nonetheless, the check Jesus has signed off on seems to be of a considerable amount. Why are we not spending it? It may be that we are like the servant who was given a talent of silver and told to invest it. When the master returned, he brought it back to him, wrapped up in the cloth in which he had buried it. He was afraid to use it because, "Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine" Matthew 25:24-2.


I am longing to cash Jesus' big check in Gainesville. I want to see miracles, signs, wonders, and revival. I don't want to stand before Him some day, with these shiny verses in my dirty cloth, saying, "See? I remembered these! I was just afraid to use them because I thought I might make a mistake..."

This is why I am seeking after others who will pray. I believe in Jesus more than I believe in my doubts.

Praying for our Business Sphere

First, I want to thank Fire of God Ministries for their commitment to 24 hour prayer today!

What follows is a part of the ORT Prayer list for Business. This comes on the heels of my post about The Original Occupy Movement. Here is a way to pray for God to influence our business life, and for us to resist the devil in the same place...

Areas concerning Business to pray for: For business owners to prosper and create good jobs with fair pay, for employees to have good work ethic, for fair-minded, reasonable and wise Government Officials that pass righteous laws that help create an environment for good paying jobs

Thank God for:  

• His provision and His plans & purposes for the work of our hands

• His Divine Wisdom & Strength to help

• His Redeeming Grace to sanctify such a significant area of our lives

Repent for:

• Complaining about work – not recognizing your work or job is a gift from God

• Dishonesty in the workplace

• Being a poor Christian example in the workplace

• Complaining about our bosses and our work

• Leaving God out of our business life

• Mistreating other people in the workplace

• Lack of diligence, attentiveness, & excellence in our work

Declare:

• Jesus Christ is Lord over all businesses

• God's Power and Wisdom is available to help prosper the work of our hands

• Our businesses in Gainesville will glorify & please God and help others

• Christians will be salt and light in the workplace

• The Gospel will go forth in the workplace

Pray:

• For those who are unemployed and desperate for work and steady income

• That business leaders will have wisdom & vision to make good & righteous choices

• For Christians to have favor in the workplace

• That there would be honesty and integrity in business dealings

• For bosses to respect workers and workers to respect bosses

• That growth, development, & mentoring be made available in the workplace

• For creative ideas from management and workers to improve product, working conditions & relationships

• That the City, State and National Government would make it possible for companies to be profitable in Gainesville and create a positive workforce

• For Business & Education to network together for the benefit of all

• For Christians to have wisdom and boldness to share their faith in the workplace

Resist the enemy:

• Resist dishonesty and abuse in the workplace

• Resist complaining, back-biting and dishonor in the workplace

• Resist the spirit of greed and the temptation to make money more important than people

The Original Occupy Movement

First, I want to say that there is no sponsor for this day's 24 hour prayer.

In Luke Chapter 19 Jesus tells a story about a nobleman who is leaving for awhile and he gives money to his servants and tells them to, "Occupy until I come." Those servants went out and got mixed results. Some made profits of varying sizes, while one hid his money in a piece of cloth and brought it back, making no profit. The nobleman comes back to reward each according to what he has done. The person who made the most gets more, the person who made no profit has his money taken away and given to the one who made the most.

This is a story that Jesus is telling about himself. His disciples thought the Kingdom of God was going to be restored at that time, and Jesus wanted them to keep their eye on the ball and realize that they had work to do, and that He would not be returning for a long time.

Today's Occupy movement is about taking up space, holding up progress, and making a statement against greed. And it takes place in the vacuum left by the church, which takes up space and has little to say about greed. Well, OK, some churches actually promote greed and materialism.

The church needs to reclaim the original occupy movement by entering the greed discussion from a Biblical point of view instead of what the modern occupiers are doing: opposing it with envy and anger. All of our political problems are merely manifestations of sin and spiritual death. They cannot be defeated by rules and regulations and ignorance-exploiting politicians. Only revival of the church and a Great Awakening in America will really give us Hope and Change.

The Lord's Prayer

First, I want to thank New Horizons Outreach for covering this day with 24 hour prayer.



I planted this video of Charlotte Church singing the Lord's Prayer simply for your inspiration. Have a blessed day.

Covering all the bases

First, I want to thank my home church, Vineyard Christian Fellowship, for stepping up and covering Gainesville with 24 hour prayer today!

In my last post I talked about resisting the enemy, and I remembered something I meant to add to it. Many years ago my son was feeling sick before he went to bed. He was about five years old and he was trying not to cry, but he was in pain. I prayed for him, used all the appropriate promises of God from the Bible and finished it off in Jesus name. He was still sick and in pain. I told him goodnight and closed the door.

On the other side of the door, I could hear him crying, and it made me mad. Why was he still sick? Why was he still suffering? I was really angry! I turned, opened the door and shouted, "Satan, I bind you and your spirit of infirmity in Jesus name, and I command you to leave!" I told my son goodnight again and closed the door.

Suddenly, I heard him cry out, "Dad!" When I opened the door and looked in he was smiling, and he told me, "It's gone!"

Sometimes we are asking God for things that we already have the authority to do ourselves. We just have to evict the spiritual forces that are hindering our prayers.

In the Old Testament, there is a story of Daniel praying and fasting to get and answer from God. After more than 3 weeks he got this message:

Daniel 10:11 He said to me, “O Daniel, man of high esteem, understand the words that I am about to tell you and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you.” And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling. 12 Then he said to me, “Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words. 13 “But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia. 14 “Now I have come to give you an understanding of what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision pertains to the days yet future.”

 In the new Testament, Paul refers to the Devil as "the prince and power of the air" in Ephesians 2:2, and later he tells us that we do not struggle against flesh and blood, "but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:12

So, it's not weird to take authority over the enemy. It's just Biblical!

Resisting the enemy

First I want to thank Victory Church for giving us 24 hour prayer cover today!



For many years I have looked at God's Word and His promises as a life support system in a sinful world. And I have certainly benefited from that way of thinking. But I am afraid I have been only thinking of myself and my own survival!

God has not intended that I merely survive here on Earth. He has expected me to wage war against the Kingdom of Darkness, and overcome the spirits that oppress this world. That is supposed to take place NOW, in this time, and not in the next life, when I won't need it, nor be able to act in this world.

In over our heads

First, I want to thank Harvest Bible College for stepping up and covering this day in prayer for 24 hours.



Here, John Piper is exhorting us to use prayer for wartime communications. Well, we are at war with spiritual forces that want us dead and in hell. If we are not aware of this, or if we are just bystanders in this cosmic conflict, it may be that we are being herded timidly to disaster.

"The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds." Paul, in 2 Corinthians 10:4.

As you go through your day and look at your city, do you see it as a place that is occupied by foreign invaders from the Kingdom of Darkness? Or are you just used to it, because it was always this way? Or, worse, are you a collaborator, some one who assists the wicked at staying in power by keeping the other prisoners docile and busy?

This is why we pray for every sphere of society: because the enemy has influence over every one of them. And that is why a part of our prayer is to resist the enemy and to repent of our sins and of cooperating with him. Please join us today!

Prayer is intentional

First, I want to thank Servants of Christ for taking this day for 24 hour prayer!



I heard someone putting down prayer meetings one day, saying he didn't need them because, "My life is a prayer!" I suppose it can be, if you are "in the moment" all day long. But most of us aren't. I believe that people have to draw away from the mundane, daily grind to pray; especially to pray effectively. Even Jesus took time to get away from everyone to pray, and He was probably "in the moment" more than anyone!

"But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." Jesus, in Matthew 6:6