Greater Glory

But now be strong, O Zerubbabel,' declares the LORD. 'Be strong, O Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,' declares the LORD, 'and work. For I am with you,' declares the LORD Almighty. 'This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.' "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.  I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,' says the LORD Almighty. 'The silver is mine and the gold is mine,' declares the LORD Almighty. 'The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,' says the LORD Almighty. 'And in this place I will grant peace,' declares the LORD Almighty." Haggai 2:4-9

This is one of my favorite passages. Many years ago our Pastor at a former church spoke on this passage; at the time, Dan and I were struggling with so many things in our life: I was on bed rest during my pregnancy with our daughter, Dan had been laid off from work and had been out of work for 5 months, we lost our home and we were financially stressed to say the least. But this passage gave me great hope that the former glory of our home would change to a greater glory because God owned the gold and the silver…He was sovereign and had us and all that we were facing in the palm of His hands. All we needed to do was not fear and remember that God’s Spirit was with us. In the end, God proved to be faithful to us and He did provide for us in amazing ways that we could not fathom or think up on our own.

As we leave 2011 and all its’ glory, successes, and struggles, we can look forward to 2012 with hope that God’s Spirit is with us and what he had planned for us in 2011 doesn’t even compare to what He has planned for us in 2012. With this promise we pray for our future and we trust in His provision. I look forward to His handiwork in our lives and in the ministry of Kids Quest at River Club.

Dear God,

Thank you for your provision, your covenant, and your Spirit. Thank you for being faithful to us in 2011 and for continuing your faithfulness to us in 2012. We start a new year with new hope for greater glory than the past glory we have experienced. We pray specifically for the children of Kids Quest that this year would be marked as the year they grow deeply in YOU and widely in INFLUENCE at school, their neighborhoods, and their family.  Empower the leaders and the volunteers with Your wisdom, with Your vision, with Your heart, with Your character, so that we only implement what YOU desire in the lives of these children. Grow the volunteer team numerically and spiritually so that we are equipped to do Your will and help each child and each family know you intimately through Your word and Your presence. You have promised that if we honor You, You will honor us. Honor our request, Lord. And give us success in Your kingdom work! Shake us Lord, Fill us with Your Glory!

In Jesus Name, Amen.

Fervent Cries and Tears

"During the days of Jesus' life on earth, He offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverent submission." Hebrews 5:7

Jesus, being our gentle, faithful, and persistent Savior, prayed with fervency and reverence. Fervency means to show great warmth and intensity of spirit. Reverence means an attitude of deep respect tinged with awe. With the warmth of great love and with the intensity of His own spirit, Jesus prayed to His Father with such respect, His posture was in awe of Who His Father is.

It takes serious contemplation on our parts to pray in this manner. Life is so busy, often times we can pray on the fly. Without intention, we can neglect the warmth and awe of our prayers. As we approach this Christmas, let us take time to be in awe of our Great God, Who, without hesitance gave us His Son as our perfect High Priest.

Just imagine the awe and the exhilaration the shepherds felt when the angel said to them "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord." (Luke 2:11). "Today" meant that finally true redemption, eternal salvation has been born and total freedom to enter God's rest through His Son is here! Bask in this concept reflecting on what life would be like "Today" if we did not have Jesus. My heart pangs at the thought! I shudder to know what my life would be like. I'm so grateful to our Savior who loves us with tears of love and the persistence to show this to us on the cross!

Dear God, 

We love you and we honor You today with our stillness. You have given us Jesus, a gift we cannot repay. But we receive Him with great warmth and awe. Lord, our life would not be filled with joy and peace without Your Son, Jesus. Thank you for giving us salvation and gracing us with Your eternal salvation that resides in our souls. We pray with fervency that each person in Fredericksburg would feel the tug for You and be drawn by Your Spirit to come to the Christmas Eve services at River Club; we pray that they receive You as their High Priest and Savior. Never give up on these people who are caught up in the distractions of sin and life; give them reason to pause and reflect on their deep need for You; and give them courage to do something about it. 

In Jesus Name, Amen.

We are One

“My prayer is not for the disciples alone. I pray also for those who will believe in Me through the disciple’s message, that all of the people may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You. May they (all the believers) also be in Us so that the world may believe that you have sent Me.” ~Jesus said in John 17:20-21

The word “one” in this passage means to be in agreement. Ever go out to dinner and ask the family the question, “Where do you all want to go to dinner?” And you get four different options and no one wants to budge on their opinion? We certainly have experienced that enough times. Sometimes this can cause disunity like any disagreement. And you may not get dinner at all! Just kidding.

We aren’t really talking about dinner, but we are talking about agreement. To be in agreement in the sense that Jesus was praying is to have the mind of Christ, make His decisions, and be selfless, just like He is. When we allow God’s Spirit to rule our hearts, our emotions, our decisions, our plans and our thoughts, we implement His will: “…that the world may believe that God has sent Jesus.” And this continues to be God’s will until Jesus returns.

Dear Jesus, You are an awesome Savior and our example to live our lives by. We pray Lord that You will teach us and the children in Kids Quest to implement Your will by being in agreement with You and with each other. May we submit our will to Your will and bring the good news of Your redemption to the Fredericksburg area one child at a time. We pray specifically for the Thurman Brisben Children and their families that they will see Your love and will desire to know You with all their heart! We are one as we ask this in Your Name. Amen.

Shake Us With Your Boldness, Lord!

Acts 4:31-34

"After they (the believers) prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.  All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them."

The word “prayed” in the Greek means “desired.” I beleive that it was because of the their deep desire for God’s grace and His power that God literally shook their environment. He not only shook their environment, He shook their very own heart and mind, so much so that God placed each in perfect unison as ONE. In that Oneness, God was able to move their longings for belongings to a place of offering! In one accord they spoke with power, they gave with compassion, they received God’s grace to finish out their commitment and there was not one needy person among them! Everyone was totally full of God’s benevolence.

At River Club we desire to be and remain in this state of ONENESS! Pray with me for our church:

God, You are all we desire. Make our hearts like yours, filled with benevolence, compassion, power, and offering. Help us Lord when we pull back, to instead press forward. Thank you for the freedom to give and the privilege to see our giving change lives! Lord, bless River Club with Your resources, for what You have in mind for this church far outweighs what we can imagine. Make us bold as the believers of Acts so that our very hearts and minds are shaken and placed together in Your Oneness. It is only in Your Spirit that we are able to have flawless love. Move our environment, shake us with Your boldness, and draw every heart this Sunday to Yours. We give ourselves to You with complete abandon! In Jesus Holy Name, Amen.