Dear Church...

Dear Church, I love you. My parents taught me to love the Church, to love the Bride of Christ. I want to encourage you with something that's stirring in my spirit for you.

Prayer. Intercession. Calling on Jesus.
Depending on the Holy Spirit. Stepping into Christ's victory!

My prayer for you.

"FATHER,
You are faithful and You are steadfast; nothing moves You or removes You from Your Throne. Thank You for loving us and giving us constant compassion. You never fail. Thank You for calling us Your children. That means no one and nothing can snatch us from Your hands. We're caught up in the Holy grip of Grace within Your fingers. Jesus, You won't let us go.

Today Lord, I ask that You stir within our hearts, thoughts, and meditations a deep call, urging, and desire for prayer, intercession and communion with You.

I sense the enemy around the people of God today to persuade them to leave You; to give in to the temptations and follies of this world's system. Father, may our hearts be moved to bow on our knees. May our lives be the fragrance and aroma of Jesus to spread throughout our communities today. A fragrance of prayer; communion with You.

I ask Father that You would call out our names today and usher us into prayer and intercession. Even if it under our breath while working in the workplace or walking through the market place. From walking down hallways to lunch breaks, from in-between meetings to driving in our cars, from making dinner to just before we rest, may we spend every moment we can meditating on Your Word, calling on Your Name, and communing with You in constant prayer; blessing You.

This is my prayer for Your Church today. Stir us, move us, provoke us to pray.
Thank You for Your faithfulness and peace. We are Yours for the using.

In Jesus' Name. Let it be so."

Dear Bride of Christ, your prayers move the heart of God. He truly desires to partner with us here on this planet to build His Kingdom and bring others to the adoptive-grace of His love; bringing others into the Family of God. Yes, He wants to partner with YOU! That's what He made us for...relationship. Rest in that today. Be open and available for His 'suddenly moments' to serve others and pray at any moment.

To the Pastors and Church Leaders reading this. May you be refreshed in the presence of our Faithful Father and Lord. Let me encourage you to find or start a gathering of Pastors in your community who are praying for revival, unity, and the healing of trust in the Church in your area. If you have any questions how to start something like this, please comment to this blog and we'll do all we can to help. To encourage you, check out the photo below of around 15 pastors from the Bloomington, Illinois CHURCH who gathered around our Mayor for prayer. God LONGS to move within and through His Church to bring about transformation. We say, 'Let it be so God.'

Bloomington, Illinois Pastors praying over Mayor Renner

Scriptures to encourage your prayers today and everyday.

Psalm 133:1-3 NKJV
¹ Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

² It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments. ³ It is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion; for there the Lord commanded the blessing—Life forevermore.

 

James 4:7-10 NKJV

⁷ Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. ⁸ Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹ Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

 

Romans 10:13 NKJV

¹³ For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

 

John 10:10 NKJV

¹⁰The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

 

Philippians 4:6,7 NKJV

⁶ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Romans 13:11-13 NKJV
¹¹ And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. ¹² The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. ¹³ Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. ¹⁴ But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.

Romans 8:37 NKJV
³⁷ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-22 NKJV
¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray without ceasing, ¹⁸ in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ¹⁹ Do not quench the Spirit. ²⁰ Do not despise prophecies. ²¹ Test all things; hold fast what is good. ²² Abstain from every form of evil.

On The Mountain

A few weeks ago, I took a trip with some men to Colorado for some black bear hunting, trout fishing, campfires, high mountain time, 4-wheeling through the mountains, star gazing, ah...good times. The trip started great until our RV, hauling 4 ATVs, started crying out for mercy. First, the brakes caught on fire. Then it started fussing about how much power it wanted to give. Then one of the fuel lines started leaking. Then black smoke started billowing out of the exhaust. Not good. All in all, we became stranded at an RV / Truck stop on the West side of Kansas...12 hours from home. Our high mountain country time dream became a nightmare.

Thanks to 2 brothers from Victory who drove through the night to rescue us and drive us back home. We were only 1 1/2 hours from the Colorado border. Two words...extremely disappointed.

But we were relentless. We decided...'Let's get home, regroup, and turn around with a truck, camper, and 1 ATV this time. Let's do this thing!' And we did. 4 of us put the nightmare behind us and made the journey. I had to join the guys later by catching an airplane to Colorado where they picked me up.

Making the journey to Crested Butte, Colorado

I'm sharing this with you because this journey of ours (a bear hunting trip) turned in to something completely different for me after the RV broke down. To this day, I think about the Kansas Nightmare, the up-and-down of whether I was going back after getting home, and then the sweet peace that came as I flew by my lonesome to Gunnison, Colorado turned into a pursuit of an adventure with God.

I shared with my wife after the nightmare was over that I still wanted to go because I wanted to encounter God on the mountain. I wanted to seek Him there. I'm a man, and this man needed an adventure.

My Prayer Stump with Mountain View

Let me tell you. I was refreshed because I heard the Lord speak and speak clearly. I could have thrown in the towel and gave up after the RV broke down. But persistence paid off. I wanted to hear from God. I wanted to hear Him speak and give direction for my family; my first and most important ministry to my wife and kids. He spoke. I heard Him. Each day I was on the mountain I came to the dead tree stump pictured above and prayed, talked with the Lord, and or read His Word. What He said when He woke me up at 4am on the last day of the trip was amazing and exactly what we needed to hear. He provided us with a vision plan, things to repent of and correct, things to realign and adjust. He spoke.

Listen. If you are in need of the Father to provide direction, vision, and clarity for your life right now...get away with Him. Shut off the voices. Close up every other opinion. Disconnect from other's ideas and words. Connect with the Holy Spirit and He will speak.

While I was on the mountain I enjoyed the fishing, fellowship of friends, campfires, and the wilderness and wildlife were awesome. And...we didn't see one black bear. And that was just fine by me.

I heard from God.


More photos from our trip On The Mountain.

Buck Mule Deer bedded down, spotted 80 yards from the roadside (center of the photo)

Campfire with Mountain View

Fishing in a massive beaver dam. Water was clear to the bottom. Fish were plentiful.

We ate fresh brook trout 2 of the days from the beaver dam pictured above.

Camping at the foot of Gothic Mountain as seen in the background.

Reflecting on God's Word (more specifically Romans) while sitting on my stump.

On the day I was being dropped off at the airport, we came upon sites like this. Breathtaking.