Say Amen, Somebody!

Awesome week...thanks, everyone, for making the connection...

The big playlist is back now...

And please enjoy the other blogs...think of them as different rooms in the same house...

God is great!

CITNWOP42009: Last Night Tonight!

It Only Takes a Spark

Hey bloggers,

First, let me just say that I love 2009! Secondly, in case you're wondering, I haven't abandoned MATTHEW IN THE NOW...I'll be back on schedule with it next week. Right now I'm focused on the subject of prayer because of what is happening at CITN every night. Those of you local bloggers who haven't participated in this call to prayer really need to come out to meet with us tonight and/or tomorrow night...you seriously don't know what you're missing, and you need to connect with where we are on the journey. The attendance has been the greatest we've ever had for intercession, but it's not the same without you! Also, there's a lot of new stuff here everywhere (I'm enlarging my borders), so check it all out.

See you tonight,

Peace!

“Prayer does not change God, but it changes him who prays.”

- Søren Kierkegaard

“I pray on the principle that wine knocks the cork out of a bottle. There is an inward fermentation, and there must be a vent.”
-Henry Ward Beecher

Let Us Pray

The first two nights of the Week of Prayer for 2009 have been nearly indescribable. The presence of God has been tangible, and the corporate anointing has been authentic. In honor of what is happening right now at CITN, here's a re-post from last year...




The
Prayer
of
Saint
Francis
of
Assisi



"Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.










Where there is hatred...

















...let me sow love;













where there is injury...








...pardon;





















where there is doubt...








...faith;





















where there is despair...






...hope;




where there is darkness...







...light;














and where there is sadness...






...joy.
























O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life."











Can I get a witness?

New Creation!

Therefore if any person is [engrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation
(a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!
(2 Corinthians 5:17 AMP)

Today I will live in the now! I will live in the now because I am in Christ and, in Him, I am continually renewed to new creation status. In my life, old things have passed away; they have died and have been buried. Today I will make the effort to rethink my own self-perceived identity by seeing myself as God sees me.

Today I will abandon stale and unproductive patterns of conduct. I will begin to forsake what is obsolete and atrophied in the way that I think, speak and act. I will seek the new. I will welcome what is fresh and vibrant with the enthusiasm of a happily excited child.

Today I will not shy away from those who challenge me or even disagree with me. I will gladly engage in vigorous conversation with others who stimulate me spiritually and intellectually and will be open to new ideas. I will not defend myself from those who would expose my predictable comfort zones and defense mechanisms, but will, in fact, thank God for their purpose in my life.

Today I will know no person according to the flesh, but will rather allow them the freedom to also be recognized as a new creation in their own right. I will see the butterfly instead of the caterpillar. I will help to locate and celebrate what is new in them.

Today I will walk in a deeper revelation of what it means to be “in Christ” and will thoroughly meditate on the prospect of it. The Scriptures will come alive in me as I am tutored by the Holy Spirit all through the day. My heart and mind will be open to significant words, phrases, ideas and paradigms that will further unveil the real Christ and will awaken in me a new dimension of enlightenment concerning Him.

Today my concept of the new creation phenomenon will bring a greater sense of wellness and wholeness to my soul. Healing, therapy and refreshing will be available to me as I realize more and more that my sins really are forgiven and my past really is behind me. The concept of the new creation is my reality.

Today it will be easy for me to receive miracles. I understand that the same power that translated me out of darkness into the Kingdom of light can do anything else that I need for it to do. My faith as a member of the new creation species will be strong today, and today I will live in the now!

Father, help me to live today like the new creature that I am.
In Jesus’ name, amen.

It Really is a New Year!

Hey bloggers, I'll post something later, but I just wanted to say that apparently the stronghold with the Rockdale Citizen is at long last broken! The Walk By Faith was given front page coverage (CITN was mentioned three times), and the news is finally out that Church In The Now actually has a Sr. Pastor, and he has a name!

Thanks to all of you who came out for the event yesterday...it was awesome, and today was even better! What a wonderful day we've had!

Later

The Glory of the Lord Shall Be Revealed

"Then God's bright glory will shine and everyone will see it. Yes. Just as God has said."
(Isaiah 40:5 - The Message)