If We Don't Pray

This past Sunday as we were worshiping the Lord spoke clearly to me.  The message was on praying with boldness and the Lord said, "Sometimes people don't feel that they can or should pray boldly.  So, they will back down.  But know that there are people in this room whose prayer I will answer.  If they do not pray... this community will lose.

No doubt this is a season of learning to pray, of becoming a praying church.  Walk in confidence this week.  Pray the Lord's blessing and presence upon this community, your family, your neighbors and be assured that you are being heard.  Our prayer has more effect than we know!

Borrowing Faith

“Folks who have little appetite to be with other believers have, in fact, little appetite for Christ. To be a healthy part of the body always implies two things: a desire to stay connected, and the humility to admit our need for other believers.”

Excerpt From: Cymbala, Jim. “Breakthrough Prayer.” ZONDERVAN, 2003. iBooks. 

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This is why at GraceRiver Church we put such a high value on powerful relationships. As I look back on my life I can remember the darkest moments were the moments I felt alone. Alone doesn't have to be void of people. Alone is the feeling that, "no one gets or understands or could ever."  As an extrovert it is rare I find myself alone.  As a believer who has an enemy of my soul I can tell you that there are often times I do. Why that is so dangerous is because what the enemy wants to destroy is your faith.  Why that is so dangerous is because faith Is the mandatory ingredient for peace, love, hope, deliverance, joy; basically everything of value. 

So how does God protect us from the dangerous isolation of our faith?  Through the powerful faith in others.  When my faith is strong I have found myself telling those struggling, "borrow my faith.". In other words, believe because I do.  That is the power of Holy Community.  It is the ability to believe through the faith of each other.  Living out of each others faith when our faith feels week is the gift off God of community. 

Don't miss Sunday's.  Don't miss the fall relaunch of growth groups.  Don't miss the faith in Jesus offered through Holy Community.

Spiritual Presence Through Powerful Relationships

Unseen by many, spiritual battles are all around us.  The goal of the enemy is to ruin our faith, to move us away from a connected life with Jesus.  Testings, temptations, hurt and anger, the list goes on as to how we are pulled and pushed away from a life giving relationship with the Lord.

I've had a few of these over my lifetime.  I know what it is like to wonder if God is anywhere let alone here.  I know what it is like to begin to question this choice to follow Jesus.  I am aware of being so busy that my heart shifts to another focus and I lose my passion and then wonder if it was real in the past.

Chapter 10 of our reading of "Breakthrough Prayer" Cymbala describes how to endure these seasons.  The strategy?  Spiritual Presence through powerful relationships!  As I have had seasons of wondering what was going on, wondering where was God, I am one who has seen the Lord show up in the faces and voices of people who love me and love Him.  Sometimes it was just a phone call but the call would carry a sense of spiritual power.  The Lord was using a familiar voice to speak to my heart!  Their care was actually God in the flesh showing up in my life.  I've had people call "You've been on my mind lately."  Or, "The Lord stirred me to call you."

Amazing how the Lord is moving not just in my life but in the lives of others for me!  Yes, there may be moments of wonder, questions that leave my faith a bit shaky but always the Lord sends a love note, a call, a card.

At GraceRiver we speak of 2 values, spiritual presence and powerful relationships.  Spiritual presence creates powerful relationships as the Lord stirs us to care for each other, pray for each other, serve each other.  If you have powerful relationships look a bit deeper.  It is likely the relationships are powerful because the Lord has stirred life in the persons around you.  In the middle of "it", in the season when spiritual presence seems nonexistent look for the Lord to show up in powerful relationships!  He will send people your way, count on it!!

Ancient Truth vs. Modern Wisdom

While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.) (Acts 17:16, 21 NIV)

Why is it we feel, as a culture, a craving for new that has us abandon the wisdom of the old. With every generation it seems a knee jerk reaction to swing the pendulum completely the other direction demanding reform from the thinking and structure of the previous generations. It's as if we are always trying to fix the past with some new idea for the future. While this works for technology and innovation it doesn't quite translate equally when in regards to theology.

The Athenian Jews at the synagogue bought the myth hook line and sinker that new ideas about God were more valuable than all of their history with God. New ideas about God usually leads to an idol we build as an attempt to make God who we want Him to be. So as culture becomes more right or left wing so does God seem to become; as if our views of politics could frame Him in. So when what culture values shifts, so does God. So instead of some fixed point as the North Star defining life he becomes subject to whatever life we decide we want to live.

What if this was seeping into our prayer life and habits? When we pray, we pray for the things we desire, convinced somehow in our hearts, that God should care about what we care most about and grant that. No wonder our prayers have lost their power. It is so hard to pray as Jesus taught us, "your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.". But what if that is when real power is released?
But that would require a full surrender of self. And that is where the battle for our souls is waged.

I see that turning at GraceRiver. I see us becoming that powerful source for "thy kingdom come thy will be done". I am seeing surrender becoming the new way of life for us as a body of faith. It is so cool to be a part of that with you. Spiritual Presence and Powerful relationships as a New/Old way of life.

Praying For Someone Who is Being Sifted

This past Sunday we walked into Jesus words in Luke 22:31 where Jesus told Peter, "Satan has asked to sift you like wheat."  Sifting was a grueling process of crushing, beating and trampling of wheat.  That was coming at Peter.  Most often when people go through sifting they are unaware of the spiritual battle and begin to "act weird" (anger, frustration, irritable, full of fear, controlling, etc).

Praying for people who are being sifted begins with us recognizing that a person may be in a spiritual battle whether they know it or not.  We must begin to see beyond the moment to the spiritual challenges and implications.  That alone is a prayer, for the Lord to help us to see beyond what frustrates us about another.

The second step is to reflect on what you may know the person is going through.  That reflection typically must be slowly thinking and praying, allowing the Lord to speak to you about the focus of your prayer.  You might see they are fearful and begin to think what might be causing that and what that fear may cause them to do.

Then, once we have entered with our hearts into their lives we are ready to pray.  Ask the Lord to be real to them, to protect them, to send others who will speak words of love, encouragement, etc.  Pray they will not make life ruining choices while they are being sifted.  Ask the Lord to bless them and take a moment to think what that blessing might be that would meet their need.

We've made a commitment at GraceRiver to not be in the face of someone being sifted but be on our faces (in prayer) for them.  That is the hardest prayer but maybe the most significant.

Forced by Faithfulness

Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. (Acts 16:6, 7 NIV)

Ken and I have talked about the revelation of which God has, after 6 years, opened to us. That revelation is of a God who won't let a people of faithful hearts become anything less than his full expression of love and power to the world.

For 6 years the Holy Spirit has been leading us as a church to the place we believe we have finally arrived to. We could tell you countless stories of how God has blocked us by the Holy Spirit in order that we would land here: 1. Spiritual Presence. 2. Powerful Relationships.

Six years ago we would have become a church of bells and whistles seeking to attract people to our modern expression of a relevant Jesus. Three years ago we would have been a church of crazy activity leading people from event to event as the means to evangelize the community. Today we know now what the expression of GraceRiver is to be and why our community so desperately needs us here. We are to be a church full of the Spirit of God who's lives are being formed by His presence; held in that pattern by relationships of power until our hearts match 100% His. We are to be a church of life giving disciples in Jesus Christ.

Sometimes the blocks we find in our life are from sin. But sometimes the blocks are from the Holy Spirit guiding his faithful people to real kingdom impact. I am more fully His than I have ever been. I am more committed to his call than I could ever have imagined.

The Fruit of LOVE...

The Fruit of Prayer

When Jesus is was asked to name the greatest of all commandments He listed two.  He said that it was to love the Lord God with all that a person is, and to love all those around you.  As I read the book this week and the author spoke of spiritual fruits of the spirit, I could not help but be amazed by the powerful connection between Jesus' interaction with with Jewish leaders who questioned Him on the most important of God's commandments and the list of qualities Paul gives of those living in the Spirit in his letter to the Galatians:

"22 The Holy Spirit produces a different kind of fruit: unconditional love, joy, peace, patience, kindheartedness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. You won’t find any law opposed to fruit like this."

(Galatians 5:22-23 The Voice)

I find it intriguing that the very first characteristic that Paul lists it the main element of both of Jesus' greatest commandments.  What this tells me is that there is a lot of weight placed upon the importance of love.  In fact, the author of the book goes on to describe just how important he deems love to be:

"Without love, every form of religious observance is worthless. Proficiency in Scripture is just a deception. We may understand the divine attributes or probe into the mysteries of predestination, but without love we have no proof of citizenship in heaven. We may perform miracles and preach eloquently, but all our efforts are for nothing if we do not have love."  

(Cymbala, Jim ~ Breakthrough Prayer) 

So, in a season when I am searching for restoration.  When my heart, mind, and soul search for rest, my natural place of turning to is prayer.  I speak to my God, my savior, and prayer for Him to speak to my heart and lead me.  During my prayers, I am always plagued by a feeling being unsure of what to pray for.  However, as I consider this weeks reading and my study, I find myself continually asking for love.  I ask for an increased ability to show love in every area of my life.  I may not always be comfortable, but if I am demonstrating the first listed fruit of the spirit, then I will always be following the greatest of my God's commandments.  If I love my God and love my neighbor as they should truly be loved, then restoration my my life will be assured.

Be the LIGHT.

For this is what the Lord has commanded us; "I have made you a LIGHT for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth" -Acts 13:47

From my readings this week in Acts, this verse stood out to me the most. A few years ago, I served as a youth director at a church in Oklahoma City. During this time, I had the opportunity to work with many different students from all different backgrounds. The students I worked with were not your typical students who came from good families, they were students who were fatherless, who were homeless and students who were searching for love in all areas of their lives. From this experience, God really showed me the importance of being the light onto others and showing them an unconditional love that only comes from Christ Jesus. From my experience with each of these students, I learned that my mission as a follower of Christ is to be a catalyst in pushing back darkness for the Kingdom of God.

As followers of Christ, we are called to be the light to the ones we come in contact with on a daily basis. This can mean being the light of Christ to our co-workers, our families and even to the cashier at Publix. No matter who it is we come in contact with God has called us to be a light that shines bright onto the lives of others all around us. As a community of believers, God has called each of us to reach our hand into the dark and help bring someone into the light of Christ.

My prayer is that this week, we will be a light in the darkness... That we will have the courage to help someone overcome darkness in their lives by pointing them to the cross and allowing them to experience God in their lives like never before. The light of Christ will always overpower darkness.



Be the light.

Holy Spirit Presence

In my reading of Acts something keeps jumping out at me. When the Holy Spirit is given it isn't some cognitive reality it's an experience. In other words when "the holy spirit came over them" or "the holy spirit fell upon them" things happened. So many of us live life flat without a sense of Gods presence in power. If Acts is anything, it is the telling of a people so full of the spirit that the power of Christ erupts everywhere they go. What if that is the first prayer of GraceRiver Church? That we would be people of power! That He would release his Holy Spirit upon us where that power is revealed all around us. That is the body of Faith I have always dreamed of being a part of. That is the body of faith Jesus is calling us to be. I know it in my soul!

Spiritual "Leadings"

From time to time we hear people say the Lord led them to...  Others think, "How cool to have the Lord speak to you, lead you in everyday life.  I wish that would happen to me."  Acts is a "How to" book on being led by the Lord.  The Spirit of God is active, powerful, healing and leading. He leads through conflict, leads through crisis and leads when the people are under persecution.  However, the foundation is always the same.  Acts 13:1-3 is a classic example.  Verse 2 reads, "While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting the Holy Spirit said..."  Leadings only come when we are people of prayer.  Prayer creates sensitivity to the Spirit and calls our focus to the throne.  Leadings of the Spirit are given to any and all who make prayer, worship and fasting a part of their God-pursuit.

Maybe that is why the Lord has clearly said the next step for GraceRiver was to become people of prayer.  I can imagine a church full of people who worship with passion and joy, who live a lifestyle that welcomes the Spirit's leadings, a church that lives out of that prayer and worship and into the moments of impact that flow when spiritual presence (God in us) becomes powerful relationships (God through us with others).  GraceRiver is becoming that church!!!

Presence Not Personality

Reading through Acts has stirred something within me. I see the boldness of the followers of Jesus and realize that their boldness is not personality driven but PRESENCE DRIVEN! They are not just people with big personalities, people who are naturally bold. These are people who live in the presence of the Lord and with that presence they are confident strong, powerful. Spiritual presence is always the foundation for powerful people and powerful relationships. I keep praying for the Lord's presence to be big and real at GraceRiver. People of His Presence live in confidence and hope and their relationships are naturally powerful. We don't need big personalities to be strong, powerful we just need His Presence!

No Magic Bullet

I was struck again today by the passage of scripture in Psalms that says "If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear." I felt like the Lord was reminding me that this is the bottom line. When I seek to have a relationship with him it doesn't matter if I am obedient to other aspects of his guidance in scripture. For instance, Matthew 20:19 tells us that if two of us on earth agree about anything we ask for, it will be done for us by our Father in Heaven.  I wonder if I have been guilty in the past of using certain passages as if they were a magic bullet with no regard for the rest of God's Word. My agreeing in prayer with others when my heat is sinful will not be heard - bottom line - no magic bullets :-) 

Lead by Prayer

Acts keeps rocking my world.  Each chapter it seems the people move at the Spirit's moving which means they are connected and the prayer is real.  Peter is moved in a time of prayer to go to another man, a gentile, who is moved when he is praying.  Prayer - movement, prayer -movement and on it goes.  Just makes me wonder what life might look like if our (my) connection was so strong that I/we would be lead to connecting with others, led in everyday life.  Prayer - movement needs to be my life pattern!!

People of Power (Book of Acts)

Do you ever wonder why there seems a dissonance between the power we see at work in acts and today?  I read about these first followers of Christ and am ushered into a world where miracles are regular occurance, where fear of God outweighed any fear of men, and where faith in Jesus Christ was the source of all of life. Was that reserved for only that time and place or is it meant to be how life is meant to flow even today?  Have we so domesticated Jesus that he has become a God on a shelf rather than the God alive in our hearts?

I wonder if we really believed and put our faith out on that limb the disciples seemed to do at every turn if we would become the same people of power the early church was. I wonder if we dared to ask God to release his power through us if we could become an explosion of the "Acts" of God in our own community, in our schools, in our work places, in our homes?

Here is a challenge from God. Why don't we all commit to this week putting our faith out on a limb.  Why don't we all commit to doing something risky for the Gospel of Jesus. Maybe it's to ask to pray for someone (with them) who isn't even asking but you know needs it.  Maybe it's to share your story of how Christ is changing your heart and life with someone.

We will only become a people of spiritual power if we're willing to put our faith to the test. GraceRiver, I know God is calling use to that. Will you dare with the rest of us to be one of those people of power?

The Mystery Behind Peace

Perhaps one of the greatest mysteries of life is how some seem to have a more significant sense of peace than others that face the same daunting circumstances.  We could try to draw conclusions from family of origins differences or personality types.  I look at my life though and see that what has transformed me from insecurity and anxiety to peace and joy is what Cymbala speaks about in chapter 3 of Breakthrough Prayer.  "Such people (peace and joyful people) are not operating out of simplistic theology but a revelation of the character of God, who delights to display his faithfulness in answers to prayer."

• Prayer is theology functioning in life.  
• Prayer is theology that actually works.  
• Prayer is what makes God real to life, what brings him off the shelves of our homes and places him in the middle of our souls.  
• Prayer is the link between a Jesus who saves and a Jesus that delivers life.  

The past 6 years of my life is evidence of that.  My circumstances are strikingly very similar as they were 6 years ago.  The difference is me.  I am excited as I look around GraceRiver and don't just see this change in me but this transformation happening in us!

GraceRiver "The Next Step"

We have no doubt that the Lord has said the next step for GraceRiver is prayer. Praying for God's presence (glory) among us, praying for others, praying for forgiveness all are a part of us becoming people of prayer. As we (Sheila and I) read this weeks assignment my heart was lifted. Having the Lord powerful among us is our heart's desire. Learning to see life from the Kingdom perspective, turning to prayer when we are "up against it" may be new patterns for many of us. However, if anything will set us apart, it must be His Presence. This whole Summer I am continuously asking for the move of the Lord. Nothing else will satisfy. Nothing!

A Generous Breakthrough

Breakthrough Prayer (our Summer read) says that blessing is released when several factors are true. One is generosity. This past week GraceRiver exploded in blessing when, in partnership with the rotary, 10,000 meals for kids were purchased and packed. Blessings of joy, partnership, relationships flowed as people gave of themselves in finances, time and energy. That's what happens when people live spiritual presence and powerful relationships! What a cool moment in a cool church!

Acts Power, Our Power

The powerful move of God through Acts is rooted in prayer. In fact prayer is such a foundation that the church is always moving to and from prayer. As we prayed (catch the irony there) we knew The Lord was calling us to that foundation. We have seen the Lord's Spirit moving among us in many ways. However, we want more! More of His power, more of His joy, More of His perspective, more of HIM! It is clear that what happened in Acts 1 must happen among us, a passion for prayer and a fierce commitment to meeting with The Lord personally and as a body. This Summer can alter not just our lives with The Lord but the neighborhoods around us. The bold move of God in Acts can be real to us. This Summer we are pursuing God's presence through prayer and this community will see the difference. It all begins Sunday as we begin our pursuit! Can't wait to jump in!!!

In Dealing With Blessing

How really a-tune are we to how blessing works.  In my own life I feel I fall prey to the same washed out, watered down theology that say's that "God is good so my life should be a reflection of that goodness."  The problem is that I put the onus on God instead of myself.  God is good.  His nature unchangeably 100% loving and good.  So where does the problem lie in the gap that seems to be between his goodness and my blessing.  Possibly the four areas of which that goodness flows.

1. Praying with real fervor and intensity.  As if my life and the life of others depends on it.  
2. Fully falling in love with God's word that has the power to fill me with blessing every day.
3. Really giving weight to the sin in our lives and desiring with my whole being holiness.
4. Finding God's full blessings released in direct correlation to how much I give.  

Onus on me or onus on God?  I guess I'll start with number 3, confessing I am the problem with blessing.