Independence Prayer

Here is the prayer that was prayed by Kathy Bryson on Sunday morning of June 30th, our Independence day service. She wrote this herself just for Sunday morning and is very powerful. Let Kathy know she did a great job!

Dear Lord, Maker of heaven and earth, we thank you for creating this nation, a country where we can worship YOU in freedom. We’re so grateful for the freedom we have Lord and we bless Your name in thanksgiving and praise for your gift of freedom. We’re grateful that it was Your plan to establish this nation, the United States of America as a beacon of freedom.

Lord, we ask for your grace on our nation. We’re asking you Lord for your grace to reign in this land, through Your righteousness, Your goodness, and Your kindness that leads to repentance.(Romans 2) That we would turn from wickedness, and with humility and longing, we would pray fervently to You and that we would intentionally seek Your face, so that you will hear us, forgive us and heal our land.(2Chron. 7:14) We pray that You will revive YOUR work in our nation, that You would spiritually awaken us. That we would turn and return to You Lord so that our sins would be wiped clean and so that times of refreshing may come from Your presence. (Acts 3:19)

Thank you Lord that YOU said that “in the last days I will pour out my spirit upon all mankind. Your sons and daughters will prophesy and your young men will see dreams. Thank you that You will show divine wonders in the sky above and signs on this earth below. (Acts 2) We’re asking for MORE of you Spirit, Your Presence to be poured out on our nation Lord, that you would draw the people of America to YOUR heart.(John 6:44)

Lord we thank you that there is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against You.(Prov. 21:30) That it will be YOUR plans and YOUR purpose for America that prevails. And we pray for our nation’s leadership Lord, that You would direct the hearts of our leaders, just like your Word says, that You direct the hearts of kings like a watercourse wherever YOU please it to go. (Prov. 21:1) That you would enlighten the eyes of their hearts God (Eph 1:18), our local, state and federal leaders. That they would come to a loving relationship with You, the One True Living God, that their minds would be renewed (Rom. 12:2) and their hearts transformed (Ezek. 36:26) by the power of Your Holy Spirit.

Bless and protect our military and armed forces Lord. Keep them safe in all their ways, and encourage and strengthen American soldiers who are on the battlefields and bring comfort and peace to their families and loved ones. We love you Lord, and we bless Your name in thanksgiving for our freedom, and for faith in You.
In Jesus Name, Amen

A Poem about Creation

Here is a poem I wrote. I'm Still working on the last stanza but here it is so far.

 

The creator is reflected in his creation
Like a painter and his painting like a singer and his song
Like a preacher and his sermon
With a voice that's either quiet, loud, or strong
The creator is reflected in his creation

The creator is reflected in his creation
A look at the sunset, a look at the stars
With detail unimaginable filling our world,
Our solar system, our galaxy, our universe
With a creation so vast, so large our God is not small
And the creator is reflected in his creation

The creator is reflected in his creation
Look at our hands and feet, our eyes and ears
With detail that out matches the stars
We change and grow and are fashioned through the years
Our creator is reflected in his creation

Our creator is reflected in all of creation
With humor and wit, with passion and zip
With love and care, and truth with a skip
He fashioned and formed, molded and created
You, me, everything we see
Our creator is reflected in all of creation

Our creator is reflected in all of creation
Ancient skies seem new every morn
Ancient stars and moon each night again are born
With beauty and majesty
With mystery and adventure
Your creator, our creator, THE creator is reflected in all of creation

Directions anybody?

So here is my first attempt at a blog! I’m not sure how I feel about it yet, but it is exciting…
If you know me pretty well you know that I can talk about football (mainly niners), leadership/management/vision, music, theology/Jesus/grace, and a few others for quite a while. Probably each one of these topics for at least a week straight. But on this first blog I would like to mention a story first, it goes like this:

Alice came to an icy fork in the road. Panic stung her as she stood frozen by indecision. She lifted her eyes toward heaven, looking for guidance. Her eyes did not find God, only the Cheshire cat leering at her from his perch in the tree above. "Which way should I go?" blurted Alice. ’That depends, . . . ."said the cat, fixing a strange smile on the confused girl. "On what?" Alice managed to reply. "On your destination. Where are you going?" queried the Cat. "I don’t know," stammered Alice. "Then," said the cat, with a grin spreading wider, "it doesn’t matter." Alice in Wonderland


We are having an Alice in Wonderland Party for our youth ministry next week and as there are quite a few things that stick out about this movie, one part that jumps out is this little story. If you take a deep breath you could miss this part, but oh how it resonates within those who have eyes to see and ears to hear.

Many have no clue where they are going in life, and because they have no direction they end up floating around in life being blown about ending up in whatever situations life puts them in. There is no anchor, there is no direction, there is no meaning, there is no light, there is no truth, there is no freedom, and there is no life.

This is not life, and definitely not life more abundantly.

Jesus said ”I am the way the truth and the life.” And ‘The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” Paul said “Where the spirit of the Lord is there is freedom.” David said “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” David also says “He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.” Proverbs tells us “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” The Hebrews writer speaking of God’s promise and hope says this ” This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.”




Jesus is our anchor, our direction, truth, freedom, light, and life. As the song states “Nothing else matters, nothing in this world will do, Jesus you’re the center everything revolves around you, Jesus you.” C.S. Lewis said “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”


Thanks,
Jesse