Temple of the Holy Spirit

Prayers That Marked My Journey July 30 – Dec 9, 2020

We ask that you will cause the tide of transformation to rise as people everywhere receive forgiveness of sins in your name.

King Jesus, Be our strength every morning, our salvation in times of distress. You are the foundation that keeps us stable in the midst of change.

Teach us to pray and give praise in the middle of our darkest moments. Release grace to all of our friends who are in a dark place. Free them from shame and remind them that you have set them free already. In Christ, their chains are broken and their prison doors are opened.

Open our eyes and our understanding to beauty on earth today. Our world misses so much of your glory. It is all around us but we don’t see it. Change us by helping us see you and your new creation here and now. We lift our voices today on earth and we join with heaven saying “Alleluia! The Lord our God, the Almighty, has become king!

We freely confess that on our own we don’t have what it takes to keep it all together. But, you don’t expect us to make this journey alone anyway. So, we aren’t ashamed to say that we need help, support, strength, perseverance… we need YOU. Thank you for telling us the truth. You are the one who announced that the kingdom of heaven has come. And, you are the one who dwells in us… the hope of glory. Fill our conversations with hope today because we know you are with us.

King Jesus, you are the One sent from God. You are the fullness of God… Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the flesh. Fill us with awe and wonder today that the sign that you had arrived was a naked, new-born baby wrapped in cloths, and lying in a cattle feeding trough. Please show us similar, humble signs that you are present in our troubles today. Help us see your glory, God.

You are the One in whom the fullness of God dwells… Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Through you everything and everyone is being aligned with God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. Thank you for loving and accepting us, even though we are a work in progress. Restore peace today in us and through us wherever we go.

Prayers That Marked My Journey July 14 – July 27, 2020

Jesus, we have peace because we are One with you and you have defeated everything that intimidates us. Wake us up to reality… the life of God’s coming age is wrapped up in knowing you.

Your kingdom is completely different than worldly powers. As your kingdom comes on earth as it is in heaven, powers of darkness are revealed as chaotic, self-serving, and murderous. Cause your perfect love to drive out all of our fears today.

King Jesus, we speak your word over our lives today. We love being your witnesses. Come upon us Holy Spirit. Teach us to live submerged in You.

Most of your great followers will remain nameless to us. We pray that your church would overflow with the joy of heaven on earth. And that we, your daughters and sons would throw away the idol of earthly fame and live for the glory of Your name more than ever before.

God, in the middle of chaos and upheaval, I can trust You to build your church person to person, home to home, day by day.

You do not live in houses made by human hands. All of Creation is your dwelling place. That includes us. Release something new in us that calls all nations to follow you.

Prayer is Living With God

All of Creation is God’s place. There is nowhere that God doesn’t belong. Anywhere that there is life, there is God. Discovering prayer is discovering God. Discovering God is discovering prayer. Our prayer must expand to make room for us to live. Our lives must expand to make room for our prayer. Together we are a dwelling place for God. God is a dwelling place for all of us together. Prayer is you hearing God’s voice. Prayer is God hearing your voice. Prayer is where we are shaped. Prayer is us shaping things. There is no life outside of prayer. There is no prayer outside of life. Your life is meant to be a prayer. So God make our lives a prayer and make prayer our life. Through Christ Jesus Our Lord. – AMEN

Be Yourself

“Be yourself, not your idea of what you think somebody else’s idea of yourself should be.” – Henry David Thoreau

This quote from Thoreau inspires something deep inside of me. I am more than I imagine myself to be. I move through each day governed by motivations that I experience consciously as an after thought. They are real and powerful… these motives.

Like the world around me, I am always interacting with forces around me. As a human being, I have the unique skill of self-awareness. God has blessed me with the capacity to make choices.

Like you, I have a love-hate relationship with my God-designed function of choosing how I will work on my life today. The vineyard awaits me every day. Our father instructs me to work in his vineyard today and every day. Yesterday’s work may or may not feel the same as today’s. But it will be unique because this is always a new day… a day of renewal.

Thoreau’s coaching tip to be myself, not my idea of someone else’s idea… intrigues me. It does inspire me to humble myself in the presence of God (who actually is present with us), and place “myself” under his mighty hand. He promises to lift me up in the right way and the right time.

Prayer: God, being myself is so core to my sense of well-being. It is too much for me to leave to an afterthought. Help me to get better at surrendering every day to your amazing invitation to work creatively in your vineyard. This is your world and you have a concept of me in the midst of its pulsating life of renewal. You see me as more than any human’s idea including any of my own. Why wouldn’t I trust you? Inform my being today with your thoughts about me. Through Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.

Prayer to SEE in 2020

God, I come before you through faith in Jesus. You have taught me to believe in my heart that I have been rescued out of a dead, meaningless existence. My sins have been forgiven because of your faithfulness expressed in Jesus. I do freely and willingly confess that you are King of heaven and earth. Your kingdom is present everywhere and the increase of your government will never end.

At the beginning of a new decade, I pray that the eyes of my heart would be healed, restored and renewed. I long to see with 20/20 vision on earth as it is in heaven. King Jesus, I long for you to help me admit my blindness in any form and to receive your healing touch. In your mercy, touch my spiritual eyes so that I will see what you see, go where you send me, and say what you want me to say.

May the year 2020 mark a shift in my perception of your kingdom on earth as it is in heaven here and now. By your grace, I admit my need for gold refined in the fire, purified clothes from heaven to cover my shame, and healing ointment for my eyes. These things can only come from you. (Revelation 3:17-18)

Prepare me to serve in your overwhelming season of harvest in all nations. In a fresh way, help me see how you are manifesting the glory of your Name as you flood all creation with your Presence. I hear your knock at my door and your voice asking to come in. In the fear of the Lord, I gladly throw the door open again trusting you to come renovate, restore, and transform my life as a living temple in all that I say and do.

At the start of a new year and a new decade, this is my prayer.

Amen

Unrefined ponderings on a tired midweek morning…

Holy Spirit, reside in me, in us.

In Jesus, I am in heaven. Because Jesus is in me, heaven is on earth.
It is a “right here, right now” thing. The living, breathing, moving union of heaven and earth is overflowing with the glory of God.

Somehow to live every moment in the faith that in Christ, heaven and earth have been joined.

Transformation happens at the pace of a plant growing. And it grows up out of the mess and chaos of our lives.

We are fearfully and wonderfully made. Thank you, Jesus, for your faithful, undying, life infusing presence in us and with us especially when we think we are at our worst.

Teach us to see in every moment at least a hint of your kingdom flowing on earth as it is in heaven.

Amen

Your Life is Not a Test

Your life is not a test. In Christ, it is a masterpiece that God is creating. Your calling is to surrender and discover that God is good regardless of your circumstances. If we will trust in the resilience that only Jesus can bring, the potential of what can happen through us in His name is mind-blowing. We would not need His perseverance if living for God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven was easy. God wants you to know that he is crafting an incomparable work of art with your life. That is not the same as creating a life of ease for you. This is not easy to accept. But, it is the truth. You and I were created for more than a life of ease. Left to ourselves, we would never fulfill our calling as God’s image-bearers. But, in Christ, we have joy in any circumstance because we know we are a part of his story, his workmanship. (inspired by Ephesians 2:10)

If you feel overwhelmed…

We are designed to be the temple of the Holy Spirit. Our bodies are created for the presence of King Jesus. God is intent on living in His family, His bride, the church. His church is people. It is you and me.

Something begins to happen as a result of surrendering our lives to Jesus. He starts changing things… changing us. The living Holy Spirit is constantly renovating and upgrading us BECAUSE we are the temple of the living God. For His glory to fill this temple, we need to be made ready.

God is right now renovating the church in all nations, preparing us for a more profound and intense manifestation of the glory of King Jesus. The challenging times and the unprecedented upheavals around the world are happening because all things must come into alignment with God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

As we, His temple, surrender to him we will shine with His glory and increasingly find others drawn to us to find hope. Lately, I have been experiencing more renovations in my own life. God has been aligning the attitudes of my heart and calling me to higher levels in prayer. He needs to do that in me because of what He wants to do through me.

Maybe you have been wondering why life has been harder than usual lately. In the middle of amazing times with God, things seem to be more chaotic. I want to encourage you. If you have surrendered your life to King Jesus, you are in his care and He is with you… not just surrounding you but within you.

He is not working on you out of frustration, but out of a passionate desire to prepare you to shine even more with the fire of His presence. I know it is hard and maybe impossible to find the courage to go on when you are looking at your own strength. We HAVE TO focus on Christ in us in order to find grace in our time of need.

I pray that right now, the eyes of your heart will be opened and you will hear from the Spirit of God that you are not alone. All of the perceived challenges in front of you are only there to make you more amazing for the glory of Jesus. You are not alone and today is a day when we win in Christ.

My story #7 “Awesomeness”

I know that God the Creator has been having a private conversation with me my whole life. I didn’t always know it. But, I understand now that I have never been alone.

I have been misunderstood many times. I have felt disappointed, bruised, broken, guilty, sad, angry, rejected, etc…

In my life I have also been celebrated, loved, hugged, kissed, thrilled out of my mind, accepted, promoted, honoured and respected as well.

But, I have never been alone.

If I take the most honest look at myself, I have to admit that I have even been more ready to condemn and reject myself than my Father God has been willing to walk away from me. It has been His patience and kindness toward me that has given me the strength to always try again.

Many of us are waking up to God’s appointment of us through a burning love

for Jesus and His way of living (His kingdom).

He has designed us and given us life so that we will be walking signs of His awesomeness.

But, the way of entering that awesomeness is not what I expected. Much of the journey that I have taken would probably have been labeled a “waste” by many people. The question the “friends” of Jesus asked on that day when the woman broke open her treasure and poured it out on Jesus was “Why this waste…?”

I used to care about that question. But, I don’t anymore. In order for a plant to grow, the seed must die

In order for me to live in the awesomeness of my

destiny, I must smash my treasure (dreams, hopes, agenda, ambitions, etc…)

and pour it out in love on Jesus.

That is “why this waste…” 🙂

Do you honestly think that your Creator and lover will abandon you? You are his artistry.

Did you forget about your defining moment?

I was blown away today as I listened to this video teaching from Newsong Church. Dave Gibbons is the pastor. He is the author of “The Monkey and the Fish”. The guest speaker is a man named Charles Jenkins. But, Dave’s comments at the end are equally as powerful and “on fire” as the blazing message from Charles. Please, Please listen… Click here… Defining Moments. I pray that you will be challenged and encouraged.

Enjoy!