Thinking the Thoughts of God After Him

Isaiah 30:21
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

It's Morning, Jesus
How wonderful to align my first thoughts of the day with you.
How sweet, to saturate my sponge like brain with the water of your word.
How uplifting, to think your thoughts
How convicting, to let the grey matter of my brain process your truth with the Spirit's guidance
How exhilirating to know eternity is being sown into my body
How trustworthy to think thoughts that are true, forever and ever
How encouraging to have safe words, powerful thoughts, lofty ideas downloading from you into me
How excellent to walk on a parth knowing the bend in the road leads to you.

So I open the book
And in so doing I walk the road
With you
And try to walk, and not run
Try to pace myself beside you and not get ahead or behind
Though I want to run and shout
Help me keep pace with you, Jesus
On this road with you and your word
The sun rises soon enough.

Amen

The Body

14 The body is not one part, but many parts. 15 If the foot should say, "I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand," that would not stop it from being a part of the body. 16 If the ear should say, "I am not a part of the body because I am not an eye," that would not stop it from being a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye how would it hear? If the whole body were an ear, how would it smell? 18 But God has put all the parts into the body just as He wants to have them. 19 If all the parts were the same, it could not be a body. 20 But now there are many parts, but one body.

21 The eye cannot say to the hand, "I do not need you." Or the head cannot say to the feet, "I do not need you." 22 Some of the parts we think are weak and not important are very important. 23 We take good care of and cover with clothes the parts of the body that look less important. The parts which do not look beautiful have an important work to do. 24 The parts that can be seen do not need as much care. God has made the body so more care is given to the parts that need it most. 25 This is so the body will not be divided into parts. All the parts care for each other. 26 If one part of the body suffers, all the other parts suffer with it. If one part is given special care, the other parts are happy.

I Corinthians 12

It's Morning, Jesus
I thank you for the created order of all things.
I praise you for the wisdom of your work.
Bless this body I partake of now: my hands, my feet, my eyes, my ears.
Bless the family I am part of now: Sherri, Hannah, Chelsea, Jenna, Greg
Bless the church I am a part of now.

Amen

I Have Come to Proclaim Release to the Captives

It's Morning, Jesus
And I thank you this morning for the miracles of last night.
She said: "This is the first thing I ever graduated from."
Last night, Lord, they call came together. AA, Celebrate Recovery's from the churches, and the Salvation Army. They met in Judge Little's Drug Court, and we saw your power to release your creation from bondage.

I praise you for creating man with a mandate to shape his world.
I praise you for those servants, who saying Yes, let go of their own lives, and take up a cross and follow you.

I thank you for calling Chuck Anderson to ministry with us.
I thank you for the Celebrate Recovery Team.
I thank you that people with character, with salty lives, have a domain of influence that is everywhere they go; and that you still commission these salty saints to point-specific ministry, to engage the hurting world.


Amen

For You Have Been My Help

Psalm 63

Lord, you touch all of me; every part of my body,
every aspect of my life. I come to you this morning
by way of:

MY SOUL

1 O God, you are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.
2 I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.

MY LIPS

3 Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.

MY HANDS

4 I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.

MY MOUTH

5 My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

MY BED

6 On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.

MY SONG

7 Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.

8 My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.

9 They who seek my life will be destroyed;
they will go down to the depths of the earth.

10 They will be given over to the sword
and become food for jackals.

11 But the king will rejoice in God;
all who swear by God's name will praise him,
while the mouths of liars will be silenced.

The Mirror, the Magnifying Glass and the Bible

Rain

It's Morning, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

Be exalted, three-personed God
Be exalted over all the earth!
You brought the Governor, our leader, to His knees
before you sent the rain.
Be exalted.
Your let us see the cracks of parched earth as a symbol of life without you
before you sent the rain
You waited unitl you heard the cries of your people
before you sent the rain

For we took for granted our bounty
We accepted without real thanks our blessing

Now, we cry glory
Now we cry hallelujah
For the simple rain
Because now we see in it the majestic hand of Your creation
Now we know in it the wonder of your blessing!

Thank you, God, for the rain.
You have heard our prayers
You have exalted your name.

Let it rain.

Amen

Jesus Claim to be the Messiah

19"Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. 20Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem."

John 4:21 Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24G od is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

25The woman said, "I know that Messiah" (called Christ) "is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us."

26Then Jesus declared, "I who speak to you am he."

The Messiah

Handel's Handwritten Copy of Messiah

It's Morning, Jesus
We live in a world that still questions who you are.
Though ancient Words of holy text, and ancient songs with Hallelujah's
declare your glory, the world still debates.

Your footprints are in the dusty roads from Nazareth to Jersualem
Your ancient words still funnel to us through the tunnel of time
And for those of us who believe, your Living Word, is a voice we hear.
In You we live and move and have our being.

Grant it, Lord Jesus,
That in these days approaching Christmas
Your birth may be remembered, honored, and studied
To give weighty and truthful anchorage to our flippant world.

Forbid that we should argue over Christmas trees
while we lose the identity of the One who came to save us.
Rescue us, again, from the Evil One
Who lurks in cultural drift toward death, not life
toward darkness, not light.

To You who are the Light, we pray.
Amen

Evening Prayer

It's Evening, Jesus
I walk toward you in the light of your Word
I sit at your feet to ask you to speak to me
I wait on you as the earth waits on rain.

I know that by the promise of your presence
the Holy Spirit will attend to my preaching tomorrow
I do not want to go into the pulpit without You
I give you my body, my mind, my mouth, my lips, my voice
I yield tonight every part of me
For You and the proclamation of Your word.
Holy God.
Amen

Evening Prayer

Compline (Night Prayer)
O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen. Alleluia.


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This is an excellent moment for an examination of conscience.


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Psalm 4
Thanksgiving
Take pity on me, Lord, and listen to my prayer.
When I called out, he heard me, the God of my righteousness.
When I was in trouble, you gave me freedom:
now, take pity on me and listen to my prayer.

Sons of men, how long will your hearts be heavy?
Why do you seek for vain things?
Why do you run after illusions?
Know that the Lord has done marvellous things
for those he has chosen.
When I call upon the Lord, he will hear me.

Be vigorous, but do not sin:
speak in the silence of your heart,
in your bed, be at rest.
Offer righteousness as a sacrifice,
and put your trust in the Lord.

Many are saying, Who will give us good things?
Let your face shine on us, Lord,
let the light of your face be a sign.
You have given me a greater joy
than the others receive
from abundance of wheat and of wine.
In peace shall I sleep, Lord, in peace shall I rest:
firm in the hope you have given me.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
Take pity on me, Lord, and listen to my prayer.

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Psalm 133 (134)
Evening prayer in the Temple
Bless the Lord through the night.
Come, bless the Lord,
all you servants of the Lord
who stand through the night in the house of the Lord!
Lift up your arms to the sanctuary
and bless the Lord!

May the Lord bless you from Sion –
the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
Bless the Lord through the night.

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Reading Deuteronomy 6:4-7 ©
Listen, Israel: the Lord our God is the one Lord. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength. Let these words I urge on you today be written on your heart. You shall repeat them to your children and say them over to them whether at rest in your house or walking abroad, at your lying down or at your rising.

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Short Responsory
Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.
- Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.
You have redeemed us, Lord, God of faithfulness.
- Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
- Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.

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Canticle Nunc Dimittis
Keep us safe, Lord, while we are awake, and guard us as we sleep, so that we can keep watch with Christ and rest in peace.
Now, Master, you let your servant go in peace.
You have fulfilled your promise.
My own eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of all peoples.
A light to bring the Gentiles from darkness;
the glory of your people Israel.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
Keep us safe, Lord, while we are awake, and guard us as we sleep, so that we can keep watch with Christ and rest in peace.

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Prayer
Let us pray.
Come to us, Lord, this night, and give us the strength to rise at dawn rejoicing in the resurrection of your Anointed, who lives and reigns for ever and ever, Amen.

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May the almighty Lord grant us a quiet night and a perfect end.
A M E N

Evening Prayer

Compline (Night Prayer)
O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen. Alleluia.

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This is an excellent moment for an examination of conscience.


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Psalm 15 (16)
The Lord, my inheritance
My body will rest in calm and hope.
Preserve me, Lord, I put my hope in you.

I have said to the Lord “You are my Lord, in you alone is all my good”.
As for the holy and noble men of the land, in them is all my delight.
But for those who run to alien gods, their sorrows are many.
I will not share in their libations of blood. I will not speak their names.

You, Lord, are my inheritance and my cup. You control my destiny,
the lot marked out for me is of the best, my inheritance is all I could ask for.
I will bless the Lord who gave me understanding; even in the night my heart will teach me wisdom.
I will hold the Lord for ever in my sight: with him at my side I can never be shaken.
Thus it is that my heart rejoices, heart and soul together; while my body rests in calm hope.

You will not leave my soul in the underworld. You will not let your chosen one see decay.
You will show me the paths of life, the fullness of joy before your face, and delights at your right hand until the end of time.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
My body will rest in calm and hope.

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Reading 1 Thessalonians 5:23
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you in every way and preserve your life and your soul and your body without blemish, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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Short Responsory
Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.
- Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.
You have redeemed us, Lord, God of faithfulness.
- Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
- Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.

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Canticle Nunc Dimittis
Keep us safe, Lord, while we are awake, and guard us as we sleep, so that we can keep watch with Christ and rest in peace.
Now, Master, you let your servant go in peace.
You have fulfilled your promise.
My own eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of all peoples.
A light to bring the Gentiles from darkness;
the glory of your people Israel.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
Keep us safe, Lord, while we are awake, and guard us as we sleep, so that we can keep watch with Christ and rest in peace.

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Prayer
Let us pray.
Lord our God, we are tired by the work of the day. Refresh us with peaceful sleep and, forever renewed by the help you give, let us always be dedicated to you in body and mind.
Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

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May the almighty Lord grant us a quiet night and a perfect end.
A M E N

Thanksgiving

It's Evening, Jesus

"The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God."

Romans 8:19-21

Thanks be to God
All creation is being brought into glorious freedom of the children of God.
All creation...the year 2007 and the year 2008; Hannah and Chelsea and Jenna and Sherri and Greg;
All culture...Western, Eastern, Asian.
I pray for Australia and Germany and Yemen and India and Morocco;
I pray for Cuba and the Dominican Republic and the Honduras and Mexico.
I pray for Malaysia and Myanmar and Africa.
May we touch the world with our lives, Lord Jesus, in a way that exalts you and gives you glory.
May we shape the culture and impact the world.

Thank you Heavenly Father, for your watchcare over this nation.
Thank you for our birth as a people.
Thank you for our forefathers.
Thank you for the sacrifices made.
Thank you for leading us and not abandoning us in our sins.

Be a part of our perfection as a nation
Be a part of our healing
Grant to us your mercies as we seek to touch the world.

Be with our President tonight as he takes to rest.
Give him wisdom and discernment as he leads this nation in times of trial and testing.

May this day close with your benediction, your mercy and your grace.
Amen

Amen

O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen. Alleluia.


Psalm 90 (91)
The protection of the Most High
He will shade you with his wings; you will not fear the terror of the night.
He who lives under the protection of the Most High
dwells under the shade of the Almighty.
He will say to the Lord:
“You are my shelter and my strength,
my God, in whom I trust”.

For he will free you from the hunter’s snare,
from the voice of the slanderer.
He will shade you with his wings,
you will hide underneath his wings.
His faithfulness will be your armour and your shield.
You will not fear the terror of the night,
nor the arrow that flies by day;
nor the plague that walks in the shadows,
nor the death that lays waste at noon.

A thousand will fall at your side,
at your right hand ten thousand will fall,
but you it will never come near.
You will look with your eyes
and see the reward of sinners.
For the Lord is your shelter and refuge;
you have made the Most High your dwelling-place.
Evil will not reach you,
harm cannot approach your tent;
for he has set his angels to guard you
and keep you safe in all your ways.

They will carry you in their arms
in case you hurt your foot on a stone.
You walk on the viper and cobra,
you will tread on the lion and the serpent.

Because he clung to me, I shall free him:
I shall lift him up because he knows my name.
He will call upon me and for my part, I will hear him:
I am with him in his time of trouble.
I shall rescue him and lead him to glory.
I shall fill him with length of days
and show him my salvation.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
He will shade you with his wings; you will not fear the terror of the night.

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Reading Apocalypse 22:4-5
They will see the face of the Lord, and his name will be marked on their foreheads. There will be no more night: they will not need sunlight or lamp-light, because the Lord God himself will shine upon them. And they will reign for ever and ever.

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Short Responsory
Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.
- Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.
You have redeemed us, Lord, God of faithfulness.
- Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
- Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.

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Canticle Nunc Dimittis
Keep us safe, Lord, while we are awake, and guard us as we sleep, so that we can keep watch with Christ and rest in peace.
Now, Master, you let your servant go in peace.
You have fulfilled your promise.
My own eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of all peoples.
A light to bring the Gentiles from darkness;
the glory of your people Israel.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
Keep us safe, Lord, while we are awake, and guard us as we sleep, so that we can keep watch with Christ and rest in peace.

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Prayer
Let us pray.
Today we have celebrated the mystery of the Christ’s resurrection, and so now we humbly ask you, Lord, that we may rest in your peace, far from all harm, and rise rejoicing and giving praise to you.
Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

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May the almighty Lord grant us a quiet night and a perfect end.
A M E N

Abraham

It's Morning Father God
To Adam and to all men you gave
a worship mandate, a social mandate, a cultural mandate.
Out of the garden to the world we are to go.
Help each of us fulfill that mandate today.
May we worship you today in our personal lives
May we exalt in you sun and sea and mountain and sky and tree and bird and neighbor and friend and business associate
May we fulfill the social mandate in serving our mates, teaching our children, participating in community.
May we fulfill our cultural mandate in shaping the world with what we eat, what we purchase, where we go, how we spend our time, all that we consume. May we push back against the darkness by striking a match of truth wherever we are.

I am a child of the covenant.
You began with Adam, then Noah, and then Abraham.

Thank you, God, that I am grafted in, through Christ, as a covenant child,
one you chose....you chose to die for me, that I might live for your Father's glory.

Amen

Heart to Heart

It's Morning, Jesus
I have before me the bible, the mirror and the magnifying glass
And I come to you this morning just to be with you
To exalt you.
You have put it in my heart to do so.
That is why I do it.
I do not come to you this morning out of my will
I do not have the will power in myself to get up in the morning to be with you
I don't even have the determination to say no to pumpkin pie
But I do have the heart beating inside of me to come to you
You have given me this heart
This is your work in me

You have written on my heart

You chose me, before the foundation of the world
to be holy and blameless in your sight. (Ephesians 1:4)
You had decided, even before my father left me
To adopt me as your son. (Ephesians 1:5)

I have no claim to any work that you have done in me
But in accordance to the riches of your grace
You lavished me with love (Ephesians 1:8)

So I come before you this morning.
I stand in awe of your mercy
I stand in the wonder of your grace

I thank you that you have given to all your people
The promise of a new heart.
I thank you that the redeemed of the Lord
know you and say so.

Jeremiah said: (1:5)
The word of the LORD came to me, saying,
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."

Speak to your people, this morning, Lord
And may your people visit with you
with mirror and bible and magnifying glass
that you may continue your work of perfection.

Amen

Now and Then

12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. (I Cor. 13)

The Age to Come

It's Morning, Jesus
You woke us up this morning
In your resurrection
The "age to come" has already begun.
Our guilty verdict has been overturned
and we have already been declared righteous on the basis of your death. (Romans 3:21-31; Galatians 2:14-16; 3:6-14)
As I stand in covenant with You, the final judgement has already taken place.
Because my guilt is removed, my sin atoned for, I can enter the holy of holies and stand in right relationship with you O' God.

You are the new Adam,
And the resotration of God's original created order is accomplished in You.
Out of the orphanage of sin, you have adopted me (Galatians 4:4-5) Ephesians 1:4)
And the same spirit that lives in You is poured into our own lives and enables us cry Abba Father. (Romans 8:14-15)

All Religions are Not the Same

Troupes of monkeys are out of control in India's northeast, stealing mobile phones and breaking into homes to steal soft drinks from refrigerators, lawmakers in the region have complained.
"Monkeys are wreaking havoc in my constituency by taking away mobile phones, toothpastes, sipping coke after opening the refrigerators," Hiren Das told Assam state's assembly.

He said the primates were "even slapping women who try to chase them".

"It is a cause of serious concern in my area, with more than 1,000 such simians turning aggressive by the day," fumed Goneswar Das, another legislator representing Raha in eastern Assam.

Last week, around two dozen people were hurt after monkeys rampaged through a New Delhi neighbourhood.

Last month, the deputy mayor of Delhi died when he fell from his balcony after being attacked by monkeys.

Efforts to drive out the animals is complicated by the fact that devout Hindus view them as an incarnation of Hanuman, the monkey god who symbolises strength.

It's Morning, Jesus
Give to my children and this new generation
an understanding that all roads do not lead to You.
Show them these other paths, O Lord
And where they lead and how society is shaped out of a vision of God.

Who can see this monkey as a reflection of the Mighty God?
Only those who have not the knowledge of God.

I pray, Lord God, that in a world that promotes pluralism
and values tolerance
You will raise up photographers and journalists to
shout back the truth to the world
through headlines, essays and articles
and show us the end of all idolatry,
the senseless hurt and pain caused by it
and your anger and wrath toward it.

Amen

I Came to Restore Order to a Broken Creation

It's Morning, Jesus
We were designed in covenantal relationship with God
to live in symphonic harmony with Him and all creation.
God gave the musical score that would give Him glory
He gave us our bodies as instruments and gave each of us the notes to play.
Yet, we tore up the score
There is no harmony in the world, as each insists on playing his own tune.
We desperately need a conductor if we are to play the right notesagain.

You have come back to creation, Lord God, in Jesus
Who is both composer and conductor.
You want to change the ugly disorder of our lives and our world
into the beautiful music they were designed to make:
a symphony of praise to the Creator.

You, yourself, played that perfect music as you lived in perfect submission
to God the Father.
In your death, you made it possible for us to return to God's orchestra
despite the way we have treated Him. Then, by your resurrection, you
were established as the eternal conductor.
As we take our lead from you, Lord Jesus,
We find our proper place in God's world once more.
Following you, our lives will make sense and will begin to produce beautiful music again, brining praise to God.

We confess, Lord, that we your followers still produce many discordant notes.
We still disobey you.
We still miss the note.
We tire.
We stop listening.
We rest in the wrong places.
We go off on our own with our instruments

In you, the Kingdom has come
and yet it has not come in its fullness
It is already, but not yet.

Glory be to your name as I live in the kingdom, today.
Amen

I Came to Glorify My Father

It's Morning, Jesus
Today I follow you in exaltation of the Father.

God Wants to be Glorified

ATLANTA - A storm crashed through the Southeast and brought up to an inch of rain in parts of drought-stricken Georgia, but forecasters said the storm likely did little to ease the state's historic drought

"The ground probably sucked it all up," said Vaughn Smith, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Peachtree City. "The ground is so dry, I seriously doubt if any of the lakes rose any."


More than a quarter of the Southeast is covered by an "exceptional" drought — the National Weather Service's worst drought category. With water levels low, many Georgia residents are under conservation orders — such as a ban on watering lawns.

The rainfall came two days after Gov. Sonny Perdue led a prayer service on the steps of the state Capitol to beg the heavens for an end to the drought.

Remind Me Again, Lord

It's Morning, Jesus
Remind me again, so that I stay on mission.
Why did you come?

I came to restore a broken creation in order that my Father might have glory.
I came to honor my Father.
I came to reveal the honor of the Father.
I came to exalt God the Father.

I came demonstrating the Father's love and stedfast covenant
I came to to reveal the wrath of the Father against sin, and so honor Him.
I came as the sacrfice for sin.
I came as the burnt offering.
I came as the lamb of God.
I came as the Passover Lamb.
Whoever believes in me, who ever accepts and abides in my covenant, will never die.


I came to proclaim release to the captives
I came to give sight to the blind
I came to build a people to scatter salt and light to fufill the mandate to cultivate the earth
I came seeking those lost to the covenant
I came seeking those who had wandered from the covenant
I came to give a new covenant

I came as a demonstration of the way, the truth, the life
of a covenanted people with a covenanted God
I came to restore the lost house of Israel
I came to build my church
I came to a new covenanted community
I came as a Shepherd for the names's sake of my Father.

Amen

Evening Examination

It's Evening, Jesus
Examine me, three personed God.
Did I do you proud today?

Refusing the Mandate of the Garden

It's Morning, Jesus

By the truth of your Word
By the light of our own history
By the evidence of your works
Show us ourselves.

In your covenant with Adam you gave a mandate:
"Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth." (Gen 1:28)
And even when man failed you, you still sent him
out of the garden to accomplish your task in a broken world.

But when the evil became so great, you were sorry you had
made man (Genesis 6:6) and decided to blot out the creation
with a flood.

Yet Noah found favor with you, O God, and you saved him and his
family, and in your covenant with Noah (Genesis 9:1) you said, as you
said to Adam, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth."

But now, here we are again, Lord, with rebellion in Noah's sons.
This distant grandson of Noah, named Nimrod, builds a city, and a whole
city, a whole culture, turns against you.

Rather than fulfilling the mandate of the covenant, "be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth", they hold up in Babel, and decide to build a name for themselves.

We come to you this morning, Lord, as a covenanted people.
As you made a Covenant with Adam, with Noah and then with Abraham, so you
have made a Covenant with us.

Reveal to us how we wander.
Reveal to us the temptations that rob us from fulflling your mandate.
Strengthen our character, renew us in our purpose, and find us made stronger by every test.

In Jesus name,
Amen

It's Morning, Lord God of the Covenant,

You give me all things in my life and you can take them all away,

By your hands my life may be governed.

I totally and completely offer everything to you.

All that I have in my life is yours, for you are the only one for me.

All that I am I give to service for you and your will.

For the only things I need I already have that is You!

I am yours to do with as you will, as you choose fit to use.



Amen

Covenant Prayer

I am no longer my own, but Yours
Put me to what You will, rank me with whoever You will
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed by You or laid aside for You,
exalted for You or brought low for You.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things
to Your pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
You have covenanted to be mine, and I am covenanted to be Yours. So be it.
You are mine. I am yours.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.

Living in a Broken World

It's Morning, Jesus
We are born into a broken world
We emerge in birth onto a torn canvas
And our lives are affected by the torness of our world.
By your mercy and grace
You are healing
You are help and hope
You are resoration
It is through our own "woundedness" that your light
is able to shine deeply into our lives
It is through our obedience to live faithfully in this broken world
that your grace supplies.
Thank you God for grace and truth
Grace equals: God working on our behalf.
Truth equals: Jesus Christ.
Amen

A World View: An Open System

Today...

"We've come together here simply for one reason and one reason only: To very reverently and respectfully pray up a storm," Perdue said after a choir provided a hymn.

Georgia and its neighboring states are caught in an epic drought that threatens public water supplies. Perdue has ordered water restrictions, launched a legal battle against the release of water from federal reservoirs and appealed to President Bush.

"It's time to appeal to Him who can and will make a difference," Perdue told the crowd.

The Drought

Jeremiah 14
Drought, Famine, Sword
1 This is the word of the LORD to Jeremiah concerning the drought:
2 "Judah mourns,
her cities languish;
they wail for the land,
and a cry goes up from Jerusalem.

3 The nobles send their servants for water;
they go to the cisterns
but find no water.
They return with their jars unfilled;
dismayed and despairing,
they cover their heads.

4 The ground is cracked
because there is no rain in the land;
the farmers are dismayed
and cover their heads.

5 Even the doe in the field
deserts her newborn fawn
because there is no grass.

6 Wild donkeys stand on the barren heights
and pant like jackals;
their eyesight fails
for lack of pasture."

7 Although our sins testify against us,
O LORD, do something for the sake of your name.
For our backsliding is great;
we have sinned against you.


10 This is what the LORD says about this people:
"They greatly love to wander;
they do not restrain their feet.
So the LORD does not accept them;
he will now remember their wickedness
and punish them for their sins."


14 Then the LORD said to me, "The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries [a] and the delusions of their own minds. 15 Therefore, this is what the LORD says about the prophets who are prophesying in my name: I did not send them, yet they are saying, 'No sword or famine will touch this land.' Those same prophets will perish by sword and famine. 16 And the people they are prophesying to will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and sword. There will be no one to bury them or their wives, their sons or their daughters. I will pour out on them the calamity they deserve.


19 Have you rejected Judah completely?
Do you despise Zion?
Why have you afflicted us
so that we cannot be healed?
We hoped for peace
but no good has come,
for a time of healing
but there is only terror.

20 O LORD, we acknowledge our wickedness
and the guilt of our fathers;
we have indeed sinned against you.

21 For the sake of your name do not despise us;
do not dishonor your glorious throne.
Remember your covenant with us
and do not break it.

22 Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain?
Do the skies themselves send down showers?
No, it is you, O LORD our God.
Therefore our hope is in you,
for you are the one who does all this.

Gratitude

It's Morning, Jesus
Did I say thank you?
Thank you for the common things
Thank you for the provisions
Thank you for the really free things
That I could never give my self
That no amount of money could buy.
Thank you for my eyes
I see clearly
I see sunrises and sunsets
I see small, tiny objects on the table
I see my children's faces
I see...
Thank you for my ears
I hear
I hear the laughter of my children
the harmony of music
the songs of the birds
the bark of the dog
the whistle of the train
I have so much in my health, Lord
that you have given me free.
Thank you for the strength of my muscles
the coordination of my hands and feet
I can walk upstairs and downstairs
I can hit golf balls
I can throw footballs
Thank you, God
For all the free stuff that comes with my body
As I go to the hospital today
and the nursing home today
As I visit thsoe in beds and wheelchairs
Let me not take for granted
What I have today.
Amen

That's My King

CLICK ON ARROW AT BOTTOM LEFT CORNER AND TAKE A FEW DEEP BREATHS
IT WILL START
BE PATIENT
YOU WILL BE BLESSED BEYOND MEASURE

Why Can't We See This Picture?: Had a Little Talk with Jesus

It's Morning, Jesus
And I just read your words again...all that stuff about the fields being white unto harvest.
You used word pictures, Lord.
Did you do that because you wanted us to see?
You didn't say the temple was empty and needed to be filled
You didn't say the synagogues were empty and needed to be filled
You said the "fields" were white unto harvest.
You didn't say the attendance was down at worship,
You didn't even say the "attenders" were few...
You said: The "laborers" are few.

Help me understand you Jesus.
I want to get it right.
I have tried to "look" at your word picture, Lord.
I have tried to "listen" to your voice.
I have tried to look at wheat, close up
I have tried to look at fields...ripe
I have tried to look at laborers "in" that field.

I'm stunned, Jesus.
It doesn't "look" like what I was always told.
It looks to me like that guy in the field is in
a hot place
a dirty place
a place where his clothes are going to get messed up
a place where his shoes are not coming out shined
a place where he may have to change clothes to get comfortable
a place...well...of labor.

Hmmmm.

And where would those fields be, Lord Jesus?
In this world, this state, this town, this village, this body, this pasture in which I serve?
What's that Lord? What did you say?
"Feed my sheep."
Oh, yes Lord, I got that part. I know that scripture. You said it to Peter. LOL
Well..I love you Lord. You know that. I've been sitting right here worshipping you all morning...right here at your feet!

"Feed my Sheep!"

Huh? Yeah. I got that part.

But, Lord....uh, I..uh..I sort of wanted to be like Mary today and sit at your feet...you know how busy Martha was...and all that. I sort of feel like Mary. I just want to look at you, Lord Jesus. I love you. I adore you. I bless you. I lift you up. I exalt you."

"Then feed my sheep, Greg! Feed my lambs!"

But it's Friday, Lord.
Last Friday I was leading a retreat. And the Friday before that I went to a funeral. And the Friday before that....well, you know what happened Lord, your're all knowing. Don't I get a day off?

Yes, Lord...
I know Christian is working with those kids today.
I know he has worked hard getting to know them, building relationships,
and now he's cooking for a tail gate party over at the school.
But that school and that parking lot is such a dirty place!
And I don't know those kids he's bringing in to our church. Their mamas and daddys don't even come with them.'

What's that Lord? YOU sent them? I thought Christian brought them.
YOU did?

You sent them on Wednesday night and Friday night?
Well, Lord, why didn't you send them and their mamas and daddys to Sunday morning worship?

Oh...the "field" thing...the harvest thing...hmmm.

You mean these lonely kids are "ripe" for harvest?
Oh...I know they are "ripe"
Ripe for the drug pushers
Ripe for the addicts to hit on
Ripe for the party crowd to grab hold of and lead them astray

What Lord...did you say Ripe for the Kingdom, too?

So...are you saying the drug pushers are after them, the party people are after them and you want YOUR people after them? And do you mean that the school parking lot is the field?

Hmmm...
But there's no altar down there.
No pulpit to preach from.
No water to baptize with.
No guitars and drums to worship with.
No pews to sit on.
It's a parking lot, Lord!

What?
It's a "field"?
"White unto harvest?"

How do you harvest if there's no aisle to walk down?

Nothing Short of a Mountain

2 After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them.
3 His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them.
4 And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.
5 Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah."
6 (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.)
7 Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: "This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!"
8 Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.

9As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders...

Mark 9:2-13

It's Morning, Jesus
I come to you on the mountain top of praise.
I come to you at the place to which you took your disciples
You took them to the mountain of worship.

After this worship, Lord
No mole hill will do; no thing or substitute will satisfy my soul.

Here, on this mountain top of worship I have the law giver- Moses.
Moses is with me now. Your Moses, who was buried on a mountain top overlooking the promised land. This Moses is not dead, but alive and a witness this morning to your glory.
Moses is here.
The words you gave him as law giver, are on my lap.
These words are words of life and they burn into me
These words are little swords that cut into me
These words are little flames that shatter and scatter all the darkness in me.
How wonderful to be with you, Lord.
You and Moses.

And here on this mountain of worship is Elijah.
Elijah who never died but represents all the living.
Elijah, to whom you gave a chariot of fire, a supernatural exit from this world.
Elijah is here on this mountain of worship, in the supernatural presence you promise to every living worshipper.

And so, on the mountain top of the back deck of my home, I worship you now
The supernatual presence of the Holy Spirit is with me now.
The supernatural presence of the Holy Word is with me now.

And here you are too, Jesus. Supremely present.
You are "meta-mor-phooed"...(metamorphosis)
You are translated. You are changed.
Your face still shines like the sun.
O sun and son of God, you shine on me.

And I want to stay here with you, Jesus
I want nothing else for my life right now
I want no other person
I want no other thing
I want no other presence
I want no more
For I am filled by You, by Word, be Spirit.

Why can I not just stay here with you, Jesus?
Why can the world not just wake up this morning and worship you?

And why are you filling me this way, my supernatural savior?
Why are you letting me live in this light?
For what reason are you filling me?
Why is there a flow of You into me?
I have come to worship you.
I have come to exalt you.
Why do you send so much of yourself back toward me
that I feel as though I should explode?

Even now, I don't even want to answer these questions, Lord
I just want to be with you.
I want to build a booth on my back deck
And tell you what I feel this morning.

If everybody would just worship you this morning
everything would be all right
If the world just stopped right now
nobody would miss a thing
If everybody would worship you and come up here
There would be no need of fasting or praying
For this is the end of all fasts, this is the object of all praying
If everybody would worship you and come up here
There would be no need for schools and teaching
For here is the end result of all learning
If everybody would worship you and come up here
There would be no hospitals and no surgeries
For this would be the perfect healing, the perfect translation of our life into your life.
What wound is really a wound when it is bathed in your light?
What pain is really pain when it is washed over by your soothing presence?
What demonic presence can dare to stand on this mountain? It cannot!

I want to stay here, Lord Jesus
I want to sit right here with you and Moses and Elijah
I kiss this book that you gave Moses
I open my mouth and am filled with wind and spirit like Elijah
I close my eyes but still the brightness of your radiance shines and burns
in my head
in my brow
in my face
in my chest
in my heart

I want to stay here, Jesus
I want to be here with you, and Moses and Elijah.

But deep down on the inside,
I wonder why.
Why have you, the one to whom I have come,
Flowed back so powerfully into me?

Why is it that the longer I sit here,
And the farther I read in your word
This light, this burning, starts moving?
It moves from my head, my brow, my face, my heart,
down into my arms and hands.
I sit transfixed
And it moves into my legs and feet
This transforming light.

And now my arms and legs and hands and feet
creep like vines toward your light
I cannot sit anymore, I stand
I can lean on no thing..
I lift my arms.

And why have you made me this way, Lord Jesus
Why is it that suddenly I find myself standing before you?
Why are my arms and hands suddenly lifted up?
Why do I feel like running?
Why do I feel like shouting?
Why do I have this emotional charge?

Thirty minutes ago, Lord Jesus
I sat before you
I slumbered with the book
I sipped coffee
I awakened from sleep
And now, look at me
I thought a moment ago I wanted to just sit with you
But now I am standing
I thought just a moment ago I wanted the world to join me in this silence
But now I am shouting
I thought just a moment ago the whole world should be all right
And I secretly wished you would make the world all right
And I inwardly despised the world for not being all right
But now you have made me all right
Now you have filled me.
For what reason?

I really thought, just a moment ago, Lord Jesus
That the answer was for you to somehow say to the world...
Come up here with me.
I really thought I should get off this back deck,
And go ring door bells and bring others right here
I thought I should fill this mountain with worshippers
Fill this back deck of mine with coffee drinkers, bible readers, spiritual believers

But Trish Butler is blind and cannot drive
She is crippled and cannot walk all the way here
Little Aiden is a baby, whose daddy left him when he was two weeks old
and his Mama worked late last night and is sleeping
Shall I ring their door bells?
Jack is getting ready to go to the jail
And Lin will teach this morning at the nursing home
And Matt is tired from teaching kids last night your Word.
Shall I ring their doorbell?

And you, even you, Lord Jesus
Are walking off this mountain
Down into a valley
A valley with a boy who has a demon

Don't go, Jesus!
Stay up here with me.
Call those people up here.
Give me a megaphone Lord, and I'll call into the valley
and get all those folks up here
This is where the power is
This is where the glory is
This is what I was made for.

Why are you going down the mountain, Jesus?
Stop! Why are you doing this to me?

What? What did you say?
Follow me?

If I Do Not Give My Mind to God, To Whom Shall I Open It?

Watch This Before You Pray for our Students

After you watch it....thank God for Christian and Kevin and Kevin, who sometimes seem "weird" to us with their My Space, FaceBook, Text-Messaging, Videoing World. Pray that we can reach our students with renewed respect for order, discipline, focus, thinking, and clarity. Pray that we not pander to the sad faces in this video, but call forth honor for logic and truth. Pray that every avenue will be exhausted to reach this generation.

The Tree of Knowledge

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"
2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' "

4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.


It's Morning, Jesus

And this still is our fallen nature: we seek knowledge and wisdom without reference to You. We have tried to lock you outside the creation that you gave us. We have separated all space into secular and sacred, and tried to confine you to the smallest part. We have treated you as a surprise guest, now and then, when something happens that we like. We have decided to proclaim you good on our terms, when you bless us.

Forgive us, Lord God.
So now we come to you in the morning, to sit down and pray at the well spring of your thought...with the words of scripture.

Amen

The Bible is Banned at Chinese Olympics

Organizers of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing have published a list of "prohibited objects" in the Olympic village where athletes will stay. To the surprise of many, Bibles are among the objects that will not be allowed.

It's Morning, Jesus
And the power of your Word still shatters men.
Presidents, Prime Ministers, Dictators and Kings still tremble at the truth of who you are.
I pray this morning for the ministers, church leaders and pastors in China, who oppose the "official" church.
I pray the world may see, by the light of truth, the real danger of a nation that denies who You are.

Turn your eyes upon us, too, Lord Jesus
For many in our nation neither open your word nor regard it.
Many in your church refuse to read it.

Convict us as individuals.
The "rule of the Chinese" and the "banning of the Bible" is effective here by our own lifestyles.
Our focus and attention to sports, media, news and entertainment effectively bans the bible from our minds eye.
Our hurry and scurry to the things of this world effectively ban our sitting still before you with Your word
Our pride in our own opinions and our belief in ourselves effectively denies your Word a voice in our every day meditations.
When we pick up the bible, it is often to "support" what we already believe.
We search the word, not for You, but for linguistic support of our personal views.

Forgive us God.
Renew us God.
Convict Bejing, convict America, convict us, convict me.

Amen

Show Me Your Way

It's Morning Jesus

May your name by exalted, not mine.
Your kingdom come, not mine.
Your will be done, not mine.


So today, Lord
I will seek to hear your word, and do it
To listen to your commands, and follow them
To watch the specific movement of your feet
and walk in that path.

Forgive me Jesus, for making you a bell-hop God
Bragging about how you bless me
Bragging about the good service I get
in Hotel Holy
Singing the praises of the Hotel Buffet
While the dogs lick Lazarus' sores.

I swim in a large and beautiful fish bowl, Jesus
I live in America.
You know that.

Is that why you helped us get Google Earth?
So you can show me Darfur is my neighbor?
Show you can show me how really close Uganda is?

This morning I will look at the fading starry host
Before I look at Starbucks
This morning I will read the most difficult passages of your Word
About the places to which you said "Go".

Today I will examine my schedule, my use of time, my life
And see where I engage or disengage from the least of these

Today, I will walk with you, precious Jesus.
Amen